And I definitely missed the part where this was a “recovery” workout. I just intermittently saw the rower in your log and figured it was being used differently.
Yeah, I’ve had a few great bits of genius with the rower since I got it. The most recent one was “viking raid”
Row 100m, carry the sandbag, add 100m each round, go for 15 minutes.
Learning how to perfect the stroke does take a little doing, but if done right you can cycle it similar to a thruster in Crossfit, where the eccentric is as much an active phase as the concentric. Meanwhile, I despise long distance running BECAUSE every step is a “choice”. At any point you can descide to just quit…and there’s no consequence, haha. Not like getting to the bottom of a squat, where you probably SHOULD complete the rep at that point or else bad stuff happens.
But this is probably the most literal “different strokes” sorta thing. Probably, if I was king for a day, my preferred conditioning would be focus mits/thai pads with a partner. Grappling drills too. Combat sports just hit different (pun again).
@BrandonCrawford good shout there! Good enough for Marty Gallagher, Jamie Lewis and Dan John. Such diverse company.
Based on that picture alone, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. Not only silly, but he looks completely uncoordinated and unhealthily out of balance.
But, I’ll find it and give the book a read. At this point I don’t see myself doing it, but who knows.
Certainly read the book if you are inclined, but I think it’s pretty intuitive and you could go out and do it now and reap the benefits. I picked it up from this guy who I was talking to on another forum - like you I thought it was a silly concept, but hearing it endorsed from someone who can lift 300lb stones opened my eyes. Whenever I do it, I usually just change the “pumping” exercise every time I pass a stop sign or something. I don’t use a treadmill though, and have never used ankle weights, just a LIGHT weight in the hand.
I see what you’re saying, where you actively pull back with your legs.
That constantly increasing intervals is an interesting (cruel?) twist. I like it.
You could take the “viking raid” even further and just add the combat drills in the middle of each landing. Row the boat, pull it ashore, fight off the barbarians (technically, right? most were Rome’s “barbarians”), drag the loot back to the ships, row to the next village.
came up with an idea to make this even MORE “viking raid-y”: I could incorporate some heavy bag/Body Action System work into the workout. Row, get off the rower and hit the bag, then do the carry. It would fit the story of rowing to the shore, fighting the locals, and stealing their stuff. I’d have to come up with a specific combo or something like that, since I don’t have a round timer going, but it could be a fun way to work even more variety into this, and I have all this gear in my basement. Another approach would be to include a bag over shoulder first, to simulate throwing an opponent.
Fasted until dinner. We did rice bowls, of which my rice was scrambled eggs (3 whole, 5 whites) with some sardines, going heavy on the omega 3s to balance out the chicken thighs (L&L Hawaiian BBQ and salt & pepper) and Spam (Korean BBQ and low sodium). Had my fair share, and the family said it was a hit.
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 9, Workout 3
MAIN CLUSTER
Axle bench press
4x3x268
(4) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
14x455
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
Lever belt squat
4x8x285
Dips
4x8x90
Axle curls
4x8x88
ASSISTANCE circuit
Reverse hyper
3x15x360
Hanging leg raise
3x10
Notes:
Strongest I’ve felt on the flat bench in a long time, which is kinda bittersweet when I think about how this is my last flat bench workout for a while. At least 14 weeks by my math. But I’m such a non-technical bencher that I get stronger just by getting stronger, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
Was actually smart on the mat pulls and shut it down at 14 reps, despite having a 15th in me, because I could feel my hips/back giving me some warning shots. Wasn’t feeling as strong on the warm-ups today.
"And in a dream I’m a different me/With a perfect you, we fit perfectly/And for once in my life I feel complete/And I still want to ruin it" Those lyrics may as well be my training autobiography because, of course, since my SI joint felt good today, I wanted to get back on the ab wheel. I didn’t, because I understand my SI joint feels good BECAUSE I’ve been laying off the ab wheel, but literally every workout is a battle to NOT do something stupid because I can.
Sparring was a bit of a mixed bag last night. Got in some good rounds, but the whole family got blatantly fouled with no one calling it. I got kicked in the back so hard at one point it caused me to stumble forward, which was followed up with a punch to my kidneys. I don’t mind contact…but in “no contact sparring” it’s a bit lame. Still a decent workout though. 90 minute class tonight.
Weighed in at 82.3kg this morning. Always dig those coffee fasting days for the reset and the opportunity to really just eat ab libitum without consequence.
Breakfast was 14oz of beef rib finger “drowned ends”, and honestly these turned out so absolutely amazing I’m so upset with myself for having wasted so many of these in the past with inferior cooking methods. Had it alongside some beef liver, 3 whole eggs and 5 whites, topped with some blue cheese crumbles and sour cream. I’m honestly not a big blue cheese fan, but wanted to get in a little extra fat and protein.
Dinner was a leftovers night: eggs, beef rib fingers, and leftover london broil.
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 9, Workout 4
Prowler “sprints”
4 sprints w/90lbs loaded
Notes:
A repeat of last week’s effort with better outcomes. I was able to fully “sprint” the first round, and I never needed to stop for any round, whereas last week I would have to walk the last bit of the sprint for each round and had to just flat out stop on the 3rd round.
Went with 4 minutes of rest for the first 3 rounds and 5 for the final. I was walking the length of the course between rounds, and discovered that walking it twice takes almost exactly 5 minutes, so I’m just going to do that from now on.
Still meeting intent on this, which is huge for me. The sprint efforts are definitely having the desired effect, and I’m catching prowler flu at the end, while the adequate rest and recovery is allowing me to actually put in a hard effort each time. When I start Operator I’ll actually harness up to get some practice for the truck pull, but for now I’m just trying to get back into strongman shape.
Opened up with 18 chins. In general, my body is feeling the best it’s felt in a while, and it’s from a string of good decisions vs my usual insanity. I’ve been increasing the daily chins by 1 per WEEK, and I’ve kept daily reverse hypers at bodyweight, with a result being that my elbows and SI joint are playing nicely, and my knee has resolved. I WAS quite stiff going INTO this workout this morning, but a combination of deadlifts and sparring will do that. Movement is medicine, and I felt better once the sprints were done…minus my jello legs.
Sparring last night was solid activity. Had some long rounds with the Valkyrie, and ended up the dojang champion last night. Also had a moment to do 2 minutes on the bag all out, so got in some decent cardio there.
Weighed in at 82.8 this morning. Noted that my abs were looking fairly deep. Was thinking about how, without a weight class concern for August, I really don’t need to change how I’m eating as Operator rolls around. Since I’m more active in summer, I think leaning out will happen a bit more organically.
Fasted until dinner. We did nacho bowls. My base was scrambled eggs (3 whole, 5 whites), with ample 93% lean piedmontese ground beef, some hand shredded colbyjack cheese and sour cream. I did a second bowl of just beef, cheese, sour cream and some crumbled bacon as well.
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 9, Workout 5 (final lifting workout of cycle)
MAIN CLUSTER
Buffalo Bar Squat
4x3x385
Axle strict press from rack
4x3x183
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
(3) DB Incline Bench
4x8x85s
DB row
4x8x150
GHRs
4x8x65
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit up
30
Notes:
Zero motivation to get this done today. Lotta self-talk. I got pretty beat up in sparring last night: lotta contact for “no contact”, and my elbows, knees and shins weren’t pleased. It’s also incredibly hard to care about the final workout of the program, because it really doesn’t matter if I do it, but I knew it was my ticket to a good breakfast and the start of my weekend.
The above having been said, I was SO much stronger for this workout compared to Monday, despite it being the same weights. Warm-ups felt light and I felt strong. And after 9 weeks of low bar, my elbows don’t feel like they’re going to explode at a moments notice, so big victory there and good proof of concept. It’s also starting to warm up again, so be a good time to get out of the grip shirt.
Third set of strict press was the strongest. Had a very good brace coming out. Need to remember to focus on that.
I was pleased with my performance in sparring last night, even if I didn’t win the championship. Got to spar against 2 senior blackbelts and held my own, employing some solid angles and trickery, and the head instructor commented that my speed is really coming along, which is feedback I never receive. Being painfree goes a long way.
Weighed in at 82.2kg this morning. Great way to start a weekend, and after 9 weeks of “gaining”, I’m the same weight I was when I started, much stronger, looking leaner and bigger. Successful recomp/reverse diet. I’ve got 3 weeks of Specificity Bravo and then my cruise/bridge week before 9 weeks of Operator/competition prep, so I’m in a good place to keep up the eating.
Breakfast was 14oz of beef rib fingers “drowned ends” alongside some beef liver, leftover spam, 3 whole eggs and 5 whites, topped with some blue cheese and sour cream.
Dinner is my new favorite obsession of a double order of ribs, sliced and chopped brisket.
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 9, Workout 6 (final workout of cycle)
Stone of steel load to platform
170lb stone
1 minute on, 2 minutes off
3 rounds total
Notes:
Made some improvements to the platform. Working better, and I know what final touches I need for it. I’m a big fan of how this is working out: much better than loading over bar.
Not pushing too hard on this event. Mass build is still the focus and I’m a ways out from comp. Just working technique and testing equipment.
Breakfast was 2 omelets w/3 whole eggs, leftover chicken thighs, ghee and reduced fat swiss, topped with sour cream, alongside 3 strips of beef bacon and a grassfed beef hot dog.
The beef cheeks were a wonderful experiment. Sous vide at 155 for about 60 hours (first photo), then put on the smoker at 225 for 1hr 45min. Wrapped in foil with it’s own juices from the sous video and rested for an hour. It was like a mini-brisket.
Only seasoned with salt and pepper and it’s all it needed. One of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten while also being incredibly satiating. Absolutely divine, and I managed to have some leftovers, which I’m already excited to eat. Got some photos of the filet and sirloin I made for the Valkyrie and kiddo as well.
Days like this just affirm what a great thing I have going in life. Being able to train like this, and eat like this brings me so much joy. I never think “I have to do this”, but “I get to do this”
