More Trouble Than I Am Worth: Chaos Is The Plan (T3hPwnisher Log)

Training Training Logs
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I spent many MANY years focused on gaining muscle. During that time, I let my bodyfat rise. After those several years I had enough muscle that, when I dropped weight, I was lean rather than skinny. And now I am at the point where the physique I maintain is solid.

EDIT: Here are some photos from my first real size push, up to 217lbs at 5’9 at age 22

And then, at 33/34, I did my last great hurrah and got to a similar bodyweight in my pursuit of a 275lb keg press. THAT was one of the most successful undertakings I had in that pursuit, and eating for it was NUTS.

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23 ABCs in 5 minutes w/24kg bells

Got a stripe on my belt in Tang Soo Do tonight. Mrs did too. We’re still advancing along just fine. My elbow is still really sore, but it’ll find a way.

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Just wanted to say thank you sir for taking the time to write all of that up. I am going to need to re read it a few times to take it all in but so good of you to take the time to lay out your thoughts.

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I’m finding it interesting reading your posts man. It’s motivating as well as your workouts are damn impressive TBH.

How long does your workout take? The EMOMS, do you view those as more like cardio, do you progress them in weight?

What type of diet are you on? Calories, macros - I ask because with intensity and length of your workouts it would seem tough on a deficit?

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@simo74 Absolutely dude! I appreciate you sharing that sentiment. It’s good to get those thoughts down somewhere so they’re not swirling around my head.

@stidge20 Really appreciate that dude. I don’t know how long the workouts take, because they always start at different times. The end time is what is defined: 0530. So I will expand or contract to meet that timeline.

I’ve never counted a calorie or macro in my life, so I can’t speak to that. The easiest way to sum things up would be Jon Andersen’s “Deep Water” nutrition protocol. I eat no direct carb sources, and stick with meats, eggs, egg whites, nuts and veggies for nutrition. I aim for animals that are fed a natural organic diet to the greatest extent possible. If and when I deviate, I go with something from John Meadows “Mountain Dog Diet”.

My workouts ALWAYS seem tough, haha. Just like expanding or contracting to time, I expand and contract toward intake. Right now, I’m doing LESS training than when I’m gaining.

For the EMOMs, I progress on them in reps rather than weight. I started it going 8-7-6-5-4-3, and this most recent workout I did 8-8-7-7-7.

Always happy to discuss more!

Slept until about 0620 with some good quality sleep, got up and did

5 minutes of ABCs w/24kg bells (22 total)
5 minutes of burpee chins (29)
3 minutes ABCs (9)
2 minutes of burpee chins (11)

Fasted

Helluva way to start Saturday

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Another Saturday of getting after it. Got to mow the front lawn, take the kid to the zoo/walk around there, come home and then hit this

17x225 front squats
17x225 squats
17x225 SSB squats
17x225 deadlifts

Then immediately went and mowed the back lawn and did edging

Got some groceries somewhere in there and ate at an awesome mogolian grill.

For that workout, I REALLY wanna include trap bar pulls after the deads, but it’s tough to figure out spacing in the garage for it. If I really wanna do it, I’m gonna need to pull out my truck. But this was still awesome. The SSB squat absolutely fits in perfect. You can see the progression from hardest to “easiest” movement there, and the difficulty stays consistent as you go. Dropping the bar is still pretty crucial for having workspace for that SSB squat, but I like how there is less time between the squat and the SSB squat compared to the squat and the deadlift previously.

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My lungs and heart hurt watching this video.

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@tlgains Dude, next time you got 8 minutes, give it a go! It totally suits you.

Slept until 0630. Quality sleep. Did 10 minutes of the following

EMOM

3 barbell thrusters w/135lbs
AMRAP burpee chins

Kinda like a reverse Kalsu. The barbell was still loaded from yesterday, so I figured why not. Realized it’s basically “Cluster Bomb” with only 1 cluster, but was still a decent way to open a Saturday. Elbow still hurts with lockout, but I’ve finally found the damn nerve cluster causing the issue, so I’m going to mash the hell out of it over the next few days to make it heal.

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Not sure what else the day will bring, but I got 25 ABCs in 5 minutes again with thr 24kg bells.

I found out I was shorting myself on the clean. Started including a jump into it and it makes it fast and thr transition to press smooth. Had 9 or 10 seconds left in the round when I got 25. Tried to seal out 30, but every single time I reached for the bells my body shut down in self defense. It was wild.

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I can recall just one time this happened to me while training MMA. It’s the craziest feeling. Your body just outright refuses the command. Like automatic overheat shutdowns in electronics or something.

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I had the opposite problem, I felt tired af (dieting hard) all day and was telling myself I’m not doing the pre planned body weight circuit stuff. Had dinner and said nope not doing it, I’m skipping. Then did my workout anyway busted my butt and worked up a good sweat. Feeling happy I did that.

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@cyclonengineer Good to know I’m in good company, haha. I’ve had that a few times as well. Always so weird, especially when we’ve overcome so much in our minds before. At one point, the body gets a vote.

@jwlake06 I like to use something I’ve heard referred to as “the dishwasher topshelf mentality”. Unloading a dishwasher SUCKS. I hate that chore. So we tell ourselves “I’m just going to unload the topshelf”. That’s where the easy stuff is. Well, by the time we finish, we think “Hell, I made it this far, let’s just do the whole thing and we’ll be done”. And usually, that sets us up to be productive all over. It’s the same with workouts. It’s why I dig Tabata and 5 minute stuff. It “breaks the seal”, and after that, there’s more we can do, but even if NOT: at least we got the top shelf unloaded.

AM WORKOUT (0334 natural wake up, ONE minute before alarm: score!)

Squat warm up (jump-squat)

Box Jumps
4x3

Buffalo Bar Squat
4xBar
2x195
1x285
1x375

ZENO SQUATS (12 deep breaths between sets)
9x425
5x425
3x425
2x425
1x425
9x375
5x375
3x375
2x375
1x375
14x335

10 minute EMOM

Every minute, so 2 Stone of Steel to shoulder (alternate sides), then KB front squats w/24kg bells. Start with 8 front squats, then 7, 6, etc. On round 9, it boils down to 2 SoS to shoulder, rest the remainder of the minute, finish out w/2 SoS to shoulder

20 standing ab wheels
50 band pull aparts
25 pushdowns

Reverse hyper
25+15x360

POST WORKOUT SHAKE

CONDITIONING: 20 Tabata rounds of the following

Odd rounds: 2 bear complexes w/95lbs
Even rounds: 3 burpee chins

30 GHRs

Notes:

• Before I write anything else, I should note it’s going to be 102 degrees today WITHOTU adjusting for heat index. My garage was like a sauna. I appreciate how it makes me stronger, but it always takes away from me quite a bit. My back is absolutely shredded from the bar ripping into it because of all the sweat.

• I am really pleased with those Zenos, because warm-ups weren’t awesome. My right elbow doesn’t care for low bar squats, and was being a little pissy. I legit struck it with my fist a few times before the topset, and that seemed to help. Effectively, I made it hurt BEFORE it started hurting, so the pain was already an element to contend with, and not something that introduced itself midset. 9th rep was grindy, but that’s expected. No windmilling this time. Most likely cut it high, but I just care about moving heavy weight at this point: I use the shorter sets for depth.

• 14 reps was what I had for that last set. Effort was there.

• I REALLY dig what I came up with for that stone training. Legit one of those ideas that hit me in bed last night. The sandbag is tearing up my connective tissue, so I wanted to take a lighter load but make it feel heavy, and I wanted to still blow away my lower body on this day. This worked perfectly. Original idea was to front squat until the time expired, but using the countdown approach had it so that, with fatigue, I was finishing the front squats with a little less than 10 seconds left in the round. Timed out perfect, I was absolutely exhausted when it was done. The final round works out such that it’s 2 SoS to shoulder and then rest until remainder of round, which is absolutely perfect for how gassing the workout is. I’m definitely keeping this. The only x-factor is the wife has to be awake when I do it, because it’s much louder than the sandbag, but she’s taken to running in the AM again, so I’m going to take that for what it’s worth.

• I was dying through conditioning, and it was “easier” than straight up TABEARTA, but between the heat and that stone workout it was simply a matter of holding on.

• Weighed in at 182.0 after my shower. So again, not a fasted weigh in, although there’s something to be said about how much I’ve sweated out at that point. Not concerned about making weight, but I still have to be diligent. My body is PRIMED to grow right now, which is one of the benefits of these diet breaks, but I have to exercise discipline and NOT give in to feeding it quite yet. It’s the reason I’ve held off on the Surge workout fuel. Once I compete and come back from my San Diego vacation, I’m excited to blow up.

• ABCs are about all I have on the horizon.

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Man, I don’t follow your log closely - can’t keep up - but holy crap you’re still smashing it into the ground! Every session is amazing.

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Thanks man! The only consistency is insanity, haha. I try to keep up with as many folks as I can, but everyone is out there getting after it.

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If you get a minute Pwn, you need to check out Joe Hotai on YT doing his front squat, back squat and deadlift set at the weekend in a full on thunder storm. It was awesome.

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@simo74 Thanks for the heads up! That was amazing.

PM WORKOUT (1630)

23 ABCs in 5 minutes w/24kg bells

Notes: Great showing after the monster squat workout this morning. That bump in technique is really carrying me far. The garage is like an oven: tomorrow morning is going to be intense.

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My pleasure mate, I know you are heaps busy, but I knew you would appreciate this more than most people I know. When it comes to Zero Excuses both you and Joe are like the poster boys.

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But you need to unload the bottom shelf FIRST chief, otherwise the cups (with water on them still) drip on your nice dry plates on the bottom shelf… yep done this a few times. Ha.

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Long time no read, Pwn. I’ve been gone for a bit, but as always I am happy to see you pushing along and doing insane shit.

First, I want to say I have been swamped at work and EMOM strength sets have been a godsend. I can get in a few 10 minutes sessions here and there and get in a lot of quality work. I tried the 2 set method you’ve been doing tonight and it makes a world of difference, so I am once again appreciative of everything you do for the site.

Lastly, I have massive elbow flare ups as well from sandbag work. One of the things that has helped me immensely has been doing pick and extensions with the bag vertical. My arms are short (at 5’8”, most of me is short) so it makes the pick have very little arm engagement. I don’t know if you’d have any success with it, but figured I’d say something!

Hope you and everyone else here is strong and well!

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@raven

Image of Don't focus on the wrong part of the story, brother.

@oldbeancam Great to hear from you dude! Your presence has been missed. Glad to hear the EMOM is working out for you. It’s a great way to get in good work quickly.

For the sandbag, the vertical pick is a popular one. I’m training the sandbag not to get better at sandbag picks but natural stones, and it’s forcing my hand on the horizontal line. But I feel like I’ve gotten what I need out of it. Also on the short side, but with monkey arms I have to be careful not to try to row the bag when I lap it.

Strength to you as well!

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