Good lord. You too? You guys are brutal. For future reference, I have nothing but respect for your wives. Near reverence even.
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@wiseman83 @BethB it honestly reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Rob Howard
āCivilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.ā
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AM WORKOUT (0530 wake up via dog)
TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 2, Workout 4
MAIN CLUSTER
Buffalo bar squat
4x6x337
Axle strict press from rack
4x6x161
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
Band pushdowns
4x20
DB rows
4x10x135
GHR
4x10x40
ASSISTANCE
GHR
3x10
DB lateral dropset
35x10, 35x5, 35x2.5, 35xEmpty Hands
Band pull aparts
50
Chins during warm ups
Notes:
- Day off work, slept until the kid woke us up because the puppy wasnāt going back to sleep
- Pec is less āinjuredā and more āannoyingā, but Iām fighting all my instincts to absolutely bury it with stupid training. But Iām also delighted that I havenāt skipped a beat as far as training goes. Pretty much only thing Iām limited on is horizontal pressing, and I noticed that the chins were bugging it a little as well, so I cut them out of the main cluster.
- The pushdowns were decently challenging. Honestly, triceps are a neglected muscle for me, so this might be something moving forward as is.
- Huge milestone: I had completely pain free sets of squats for at least the final 2 sets, and possibly earlier. I NOTICED it on the final 2 sets, which is to say, I noticed I WASNāT in pain, which is a hard thing to notice, as we tend to more note when we ARE in pain. But this was awesome. Between the PT and switching to flats, things are in a good way, and using the tacky shirt has helped cure the elbow pain as well. Weāre really making barbell squatting viable again.
- Didnāt film the GHRs. The space I normally use to film in was hot to the touch and would have melted my phone.
- Got my keg carry in early: 235lbs. Yesterday was 233.5. Also a 1:05 hang yesterday.
- Weighed in at 83.0kg this morning. Thanksgiving was yesterday: did one meal, with both drumsticks, all the skin off the bird, the āPopeās Noseā (which I learned the term for that from āBinging with Babishā), and a few odds and ends pieces that had fat/skin/something chewy attached, alongside a substantial amount of deviled eggs I made with sour cream, primal kitchenās avocado mayo, greek seasoning and MSG, a spoonful of stuffing, corn casserole, and half a biscuit with some Amish butter. 5 hours later, desert of 2 wonderful slices of the Valkyrieās pumpkin cheesecake. No better way to take in carbs, and dropping a kilo after eating like that is pretty clutch.
Oh yeah, also, Costco had $10 off Turkeys.
Yeah: I do black Friday a little different. And if Valhalla had a freezer, it would look like this
3 20lb Turkeys and 2 9lb pork shoulders
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Nutrition Recap
The core of both meals was a leftover turkey thigh and wing, warmed up in beef tallow. I had 8 (or 4 dependingā¦) deviled eggs at lunch (faster until noon) and 3 whole eggs/5 whites scrambled topped with some Amish butter at dinner.
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I was thinking, āman that turkey looks good, almost like itās deep fried!ā And then I saw this-
Bravo. Been meaning to try that but havenāt pulled the trigger at the store, mostly due to sticker shock. Maybe this is my sign.
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Hell yeah brother. To clarify, I didnāt deep fry it: I just tallowed up the pan to reheat it. I prefer that over a microwave.
I actually donāt pay much for tallow. When I use my air fryer, it leaves behind a lot of fat, which I collect in a mason jar. Itās honestly like self-perpetuation: I use fat to cook meat, which renders fat. I actually have separate jars for separate tallows. I have one specifically for fat rendered from smoking, because when I use it to cook, it imparts the flavor of the smoke. Iāve separated them by animal before (beef tallow vs lamb tallow), but sometimes take to combine them to make a super tallow as well, haha.
But Iāve tried some store bought ones and there are a few good ones on the market. Iād avoid Epic: been the least impressive brand.
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AM WORKOUT (1030)
10 minute EMOM sprawl and pummel drill
Notes:
- 4 sprawls, then just pummel until the minute is over.
- Got snowed in, so got creative. Not as exhausting as the sandbag workout, but still some decent stimulus, especially prepping for grappling. Got me used to that feeling again. Also, apparently my pec has healed, because I didnāt notice it on the sprawls.
- Sprawls were more burpees at the start, but by the 5th round I remembered how to do it.
- Got up at 0600 this morning: pretty decent sleeping in.
Nutrition Recap
Breakfast was a weekend standard 2 omelets with 3 whole eggs, filled with leftover thanksgiving turkey, beef tallow and a slice of jarlsburg swiss, alongside 3 strips of beef bacon, a Teton Waters grassfed polish sausage and some prosciutto.
Dinner was 3 whole eggs, 5 whites, and then from that plate I had one chuck steak, 3 lamb chops, the fat off my Valkyrieās filet mignon and some of the fat off another chuck steak. Another chance to break out the sous vide and finish off in my cast iron pan with an Amish butter bath/baste. Really enjoying this cooking method, and the outcome is awesome.
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This made me laugh. Itās something Iāve always done, and makes my wife and kids nauseous.
Any chance you can find an open mat before the competition? Just an hour of live rounds would do wonders.
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Chance of me finding 1 is 100% There is a school literally across the street from my Dojang. Finding it hasnāt ever been the issue: itās a bandwidth thing. If my priority was doing well, I would train, but I compete for the fun of competing: not winning. This is like playing a pick up game for me.
And my family is too awesome with sharing their fat with me, haha. We have a great arrangement.
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AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm, very good night of sleep)
TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 1
MAIN CLUSTER
Buffalo Bar Squat
4x3x360
Axle strict press from rack
4x3x172
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
Band pushdowns
4x21
DB rows
4x8x145
GHR
4x8x50
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit up
3x10
Reactive slingshot push ups
60
Notes:
- Felt awesome in the training today. Knee was feeling smooth and springy, and I was able to get to depth on the final 3 sets without a break in motion. Pec has just the slightest bit of discomfort in it, and with the potential competition this weekend, I saw no reason to put it at risk, so stuck with the push downs.
- Valkyrie put the flannel sheets on the bed last night with the colder weather here, and it went a long way toward improving sleep quality.
- Push ups at the end were to get a little work through the pec. Cut out chins because it caused a slight amount of agitation.
- Regrettably, I slipped on the ice on the way in to work and really torqued my healing knee. Thankfully, the rehab has been going well enough that I managed to recover, whereas before Iām pretty sure I would have needed medical attention. Still sucks. On that note, the keg carry experiment may be on hiatus until conditions improve. But I did carry a 237.5lb keg last night with a 1:12 fat grips hold.
- Weighed 84.7kg this morning. Thereās no one in my weight/age group currently, so I may just compete up a class and not sweat making weight.
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Money! Try a weighted blanket if you havenāt yet.
@OyAmPipMayo Weāre going the cheap route and just stacking up the blankets, but that does sound wonderful. I like how heavy the blankets are when we cruise.
Nutrition Recap
Breakfast was 8oz turkey breast, 4oz of venison mixed with 4oz of 73% lean ground beef (this reads like a math problem) to make the meatballs, sprayed with duck fat spray, alongside beef liver, a Don Lee Farms chicken breast patty, and 3 whole eggs/5 whites. No photo of dinner, but we did a breakfast scramble of 16 eggs, a blend of different grassfed cheddar cheeses, cubed ham and low sodium bacon, that I topped with some sour cream. Iām not sure how much I ate of it, but it was my fair share, although I could very well have eaten the whole thing. Thatās my super power. Itās why I like Fred Dukes.
The keg carry experiment was put on hiatus tonight. Between the knee being torqued, the driveway being icy, and a competition on the horizon, juice wasnāt worth the squeeze. Milo will return.
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I got a weighted blanket for my daughter when she was younger, used it once and ordered myself one. My son stole it, ordered another.
Iām a big fan.
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AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrieās Alarm)
TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 2
āROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOATā
20 minute recovery row
Notes:
- Ended up taking a total of 4 motrin yesterday, and as much as I didnāt want to, I think it was the right call, because my knee is feeling much better. Seriously felt like I had reset my rehab back to square one after yesterday. Zero issues on the rower, minus my hips feeling tight from sitting right after waking.
- Woke up at 84.7kg. I have until Thursday to decide my weight class/division for Sunday, and right now still no one else in my age/weight range, so unless that changes, Iāll be competing up a weight class and with the 30-35 year olds. Which, on the plus side, means zero worries about making weight.
- Tang Soo Do tonight. Weather is supposed to be warmer, so if my driveway has thawed Iāll take out the keg again.
- Valkyrie is going strong on ABF. She completed 15 ABCs on Sunday and 75 presses yesterday. Sheās honestly outgrowing her bells, but weāre keeping it slow and steady for now.
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Nutrition Recap
Breakfast was a repeat of yesterday. Dinner was leftovers night: 2 lambchops, a bunch of leftover steak (chuck and filet mignon) and that breakfast scramble from yesterday, topped with some Amish butter. I am really enjoying being able to eat to recover from the training. This has been an excellent positive feedback loop.
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AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 3
MAIN CLUSTER
Deadlifts
16x405 (+1 rep PR, hell yeah)
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
Lever belt squat
5x8x230
Behind the neck barbell press
4x8x105
Axle curls
4x8x81
ASSISTANCE
Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset
3x15x360/3x10
Band pull aparts
1x75
Notes:
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16 reps of 405 is a +1 rep PR from last time I pulled this.
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In a fair bit of irony, I was listening to āSomewhat damagedā from NiNās āFragileā album, wearing my torn up āsomewhat damagedā sweatpants that have the words ābroken, bruised, forgotten, soreā written on them, and right before the very first rep of the deadlift, the lever on my belt broke. The bottom half of the latch snapped off, so it was only secured from the top. Which means I actually pulled this without the belt fully latched, which is really pretty awesome. I had some more in me, but with the grappling competition on Sunday, I didnāt want to blow myself completely out. Right now, my left hip flexor is calling me an idiot, so it wa a good call to not completely send it.
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Youāll see that the lever belt also had a small mechanical issue in the middle of the set, so the irony continued. But my knee felt awesome.
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Stuck with the BtN presses. My pec is feeling pretty good, but, in turn: why push it on the last week of the program? Iāll continue letting it rest and heal and see what I can do in Specificity. BtN presses rock anyway. Same reason I cut out benches at the start of the workout.
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I DID manage a keg carry of 238.5 last night, but immediately after I went to Tang Soo Do and noticed that my knee, which had felt awesome all day, was tight and uncooperative. Iām going to read the tea leaves here and just put the Milo experiment on continued hiatus. If I can get my right knee recovered, Iāll be able to do more damage in the long run compared to if I keep hammering it. Also got a 1 minute hold.
-
Weighed in at 85.0kg this morning. Growing well.
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Tang Soo Do on the schedule for tonight.
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Loving the effort here sir. Salute
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Thanks so much @simo74! System keeps working.
Nutrition recap
Breakfast was a repeat of yesterday. Dinner was a new product: Tyson high protein chicken nuggets
Not 100% my style, but good enough. Now whole family has chicken nuggets. Had it alongside eggs, some smoked herring, and made a dipping sauce of butter and ghee.
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Today was a semi-unplanned rest day. The Valkyrie took the day off work, so I cut out my morning ruck so I could sleep next to her until our kiddo inevitably woke us up with the puppy. That happened at 0425, so I didnāt sleep in much, but I got to take the pup and let my bride sleep a little more.
And because she has the day off, weāre going to meet for lunch, so I fasted through breakfast. I allowed myself an extra cup of coffee today, as a result. I have to watch myself, because I can already tell that I REALLY like coffee. But I can also see this being a really helpful fasting tool. Which makes me think that, come the fat loss phase, I may employ days where I just have coffee at breakfast vs a breakfast. Perhaps a protein coffee depending.
And I officially registered one weight class up and 2 age categories down for Sunday, which means I definitely donāt need to worry about making weight, which is awesome, because I was 85.1kg this morning.
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Dude how you fit all of this in your stomach? It looks tasty though
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