TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 7, Workout 4
“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”
20m recover row
18 chins
Notes:
I woke up feeling better than I have over the past few days, but hips are still super stiff, and sitting on a rower for 20 minutes didn’t do much to help that. But it was good to move in general.
Tang Soo Do last night had a LOT of breakfalls. They’ve actually been somewhat therapeutic to my SI joint: like a cheap chiropractor. We got to work with one of the senior black belts for one-steps as well, and he’s 20, so he can take the falls a lot better and allow us to ragdoll him.
Weighed in at 83.8kg. I’m sure eating ham for all my meals yesterday was an excellent approach to sodium loading. And it’s on the menu for the next 2 days as well, because leftovers rock.
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 7, Workout 5
MAIN CLUSTER
Buffalo Bar Squat
4x8x335
Axle strict press from rack
2x8x158
2x5x158
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
(3) DB incline bench
12,11,10,9+3x75s
DB rows
4x12x130
GHRs
4x12x60s
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit up
30
Notes:
Motivation was low for this one, but knowing this workout punched my ticket for the weekend was enough to get me moving. I actually felt much better physically than I expected to. SI joint is ameliorating (there is your SAT word) at an appreciable rate, and including some bodyweight reverse hypers seems to be helping.
My pressing DID improve from Monday, but it was still rough. This is the hardest day of the program in that regard, so I’m going to hold onto the max and see how next week goes. I’m not putting on bodyweight at the rate I typically do when running Grey Man (I’m usually at about 86kg after 6 weeks), so being able to hold onto that rate of progression, especially into uncharted territory of an extra cycle, is not what I’d expect. This is still experimental.
GHRs felt better than Monday, same with the sit ups, primarily as a result of the SI joint feeling better.
Weighed in at 83.6. Heavier this week, which, again, some of it is most likely legit, but I’m also dealing with inflammation and a high sodium diet with all the ham I’ve been eating (and finished off this morning). Be curious to see how weight shakes out next week with a little “detox”
Took the truck in for maintenance this morning. Had the opportunity to walk, but chose to sit, enjoy the free coffee and read more of “Eat like a Human” by Dr. Bill Schindler. I’ve been feeling a little sorry for myself (physically) for a bit here. I’m wanting to get things a little more “in gear” starting next week, but this was a good week to just ease into the next training cycle and recover from the previous weekend’s stupidity.
Ideally, we’re going to get back on the ABF train tonight as family, assuming we all feel healthy.
As much as it was a total war to get them, I am a HUGE fan of these knee sleeves from Elitefts. I genuinely did not appreciate how significant compression impacts performance until I was able to wear double ply knee sleeves through a whole training session. My knees feel like I’m 20 again, and I’m able to move squats smoothly and deeply. I’m actually holding the bar higher on my back now as a result. @Trainforpain , I know you’ve had some knee issues as well, so wanted to get you in on these.
My knees sound like you’re stepping on peanut shells when I squat. Think something like these would do anything for me? I’m hoping to keep my knees as long as I can but basketball is going to be a big factor.
The Elitefts would be a huge upgrade. Those rocktape ones are single ply neoprene from the looks of it, which is good for keeping the knees warm but provides minimal compression. Double ply sleeves are effectively like wearing 2 pairs of knees sleeves: one on top of the other. It’s squeezing everything in place.
I’d wear those Rocktapes for basketball itself (when I did my run and when I do Tang Soo Do, I wear sleeves like that), but for lifting I’d do the Elitefts sleeves.
I think I bought the 5mm version for basketball.. I have the 7mm version with the skull and bones.
For basketball, I had a stretch where my knee just felt off. After experiencing significant injuries to both knees, that made me nervous. It was like my body was telling me something bad was about to happen..I used the sleeves for compression because it helped me feel like everything was being held in place. They don’t like basketball much so they were kind of annoying in that they wouldn’t stay where I wanted them.
I didn’t realize how much “knee confidence” was holding back my training until I put these sleeves on. My first rep of squats, in particular, felt like Bambi on the ice. I would take FOREVER to find depth because my knees were just putting on the brakes the entire time. Now I can sink fast (for me), which means not having to load up my back as much.
I don’t think I’ve been as bad but I’m descending very slowly on my first few squats because of my knees.
I saw you wear a medium. According to their sizing, that means your knee circumference is 11-12". Mine is 16 1/8" and that puts me in a XXL. I just don’t see that being correct. Do you know your knee circumference? Maybe I can use that to decide which size to get.
According to their sizing, that means your knee circumference is 11-12".
I wouldn’t rely on their sizing. It’s the struggle I spoke about. The top of my knee joint is 15” and bottom is 14”, as that’s what the original chart said to measure rather than the center. These things stretch. I had to contact Dave directly for him to recommend the medium to me. I figure a large would probably fit you.
@alex_uk It ultimately depends on what you’re trying to get out of the sleeves. For just keeping the knees warm, neoprene is excellent. For compressive support, double ply is going to beat out single ply neoprene.
The issue with the Thor sleeves/what sells the Elitefts sleeves I linked is the hooks/straps to allow for pulling on and off, and the elasticity of the top and bottom of the sleeve. I already have a pair of Elitefts double ply sleeves that I would wear in competition, but I couldn’t wear them for a full training session because they’d cut off my circulation and be a TOTAL pain in the butt to take off (it was a workout in and of itself). Those Thor sleeves will definitely provide some awesome compression, but may not be viable for full training sessions.
Question about your workouts. Are you doing pull aparts still pretty often? I know you’ve said in the past you do these a lot, but I don’t see it logged so wasn’t sure if it’s just an unlogged thing or you’re not currently doing them. Planning out a potential Gray Man run for myself and not sure if I should count them as one of the 4-6 accessory moves or just throw them in between sets of other stuff near the end.
@staystrong Hey man, those videos I upload actually show 100% of what I am doing in my training. It’s all raw footage, start to stop, with just the warm-ups and reverse hypers cut out (but still logged). Whenever I do pull aparts, I log them, and it’s basically based on if I have extra time at the end of the session. As the weights get heavier and the reps drop, I tend to have a little more extra time for assistance. You’re using some different terminology, which muddies things a little. Are you meaning the 4-6 supplemental cluster lifts, or do you mean assistance exercises? Because band pull aparts would land in page 60 of Mass Protocol, where he says “you can add some core work if desired, bodyweight-based ab and lower back stuff. Hanging leg raises, hyperextensions, face-pulls, ab roller, like that”. A band pull apart and a face pull are interchangible.
@TrainForPain Hell yeah dude! Medium is snug, but not tight. The big thing is I can wear them for a full training session, whereas I couldn’t do that with the Elitefts SHD sleeves. The elasticity in the cuffs is huge.
Breakfast was 10oz (cooked) of leftover ham, part of a piedmontese burger patty, beef liver, 3 whole eggs and 5 whites, topped with a little cheese and sour cream.
Our favorite local BBQ place updated their menu and now has a triple meat combo, which is my new favorite thing in the world, so I got a double order of ribs, sliced brisket, and then traded my cornbread to my kiddo for THEIR chopped brisket. This was a wonderful meal.
I wear single plys for the elbow, and I HAVE worn 2 pairs of elbow sleeves in competition to get a real pop on the lockout. For me, it boils down to how exhausting it is to get them off and on, and with the elbows it’s a bit of a “self-licking ice cream cone” sorta situation, as you most likely WANT such strong elbow sleeves because your elbows hurt, but struggling to get the sleeves off and on is going to hurt your elbows more.
This is exactly what I was trying to convey - spot on.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to trying out the knee sleeves. Amazon shipping has spoiled me. I’m less than 2 hours from the warehouse, so I was a little surprised how high the UPS fee was. Not insane, just a few bucks higher than I’d have thought. I got it back on the flash sale anyway
Sorry about the terminology. It’s been a month or so since I read the book and I tend to mix supplemental/accessory/assistance word choice due to a variability of authors and people using them interchangeably within their programs which muddles it in my mind. In this case, I was referring to the 4-6 supplemental lifts KB outlines to pair with the 2 main lifts and wondering if it would count as one of those supplemental. Where I got confused in the book is actually the line you quoted, he says core work and then lists what I interpret as core work (abs, lower back) and then seemingly randomly (to me) throws in face pulls in that sentence. Which is a rear delt and shoulder movement to me, not core, and confused me.
I have a tendency to want to try to keep adding “one more small thing” to a program and all of the sudden I’m doing way more than the author intended. So I’m trying to be intentional with Gray Man and follow his parameters. Which from what you laid out and answered, would mean I count it as assistance and not supplemental and add it at the end if desired. So thank you for the help!
Thanks, that answers the question, I’d be interested in trying them, but with knee sleeves if I’m on a day where I’m squatting, they go on at the beginning and don’t come off again until the end, with that in mind it’s not going to be worth it.
@staystrong Yeah, the way I read it is “you can include these small movements that don’t have significant impact on recovery”, which is how the facepulls are included. Because it’s not like you are going to set a training max on a facepull like you would the main cluster or even supplemental cluster lifts. I can find my max on a set of curls, but not on a set of lateral raises. You’ve got the right idea. I think the best way to approach it is to make the main and supplemental clusters the priority and only include assistance when time permits. Because for me, my assistance has it’s own priority system. I’ll always prioritize the abs and lower back, and will only include rear/lateral delts if I find myself with an abundance of time. Glad it was helpful!
@alex_uk Yeah, it’s why I was so jazzed about these having the hook and loops on them. Doubly ply sleeves are awesome for squatting, and then terrible once squatting is done, haha. Hopefully other companies take note and cop the design.
Not going to call this a training day. I got to sleep in and I got in a 3+mile walk while wearing my 20.4lb tac carrier, and got in my daily chins. My SI joint is finally feeling good, which meant I had to fight ALL of my instincts to immediately do something stupid. It’s “good”, but not “100%”, and a little more pro-active downtime will help there.
Ate very well. Breakfast was 2 omelets with 3 eggs, some leftover pulled pork from last night, swiss and grassfed butter, topped with grassfed sour cream, alongside beef liver, 3 strips of beef bacon and 3 chicken sausages.
Dinner was an 11oz and 8oz lamb leg steak, alongside 4 whole eggs (3 visible yolks, the 4th was one my wife used for an egg wash on some rolls that I threw into the mix) and 5 whites, topped with the leftover melted butter from the butter baste. Had some of the Valkyrie and kiddo’s steak off their plates as well.
