Still am. I lean more toward actual apple cider vinegar when possible, but use the pills when traveling/for lunch at work.
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Got TABEARTA done upon getting home from work. Left serratus/pec still doesnāt want to play. Pressing will be fun tomorrow.
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AM WORKOUT (0320 natural wake up)
5/3/1 FOR HARDGAINERS Week 5, Workout 2
MAIN WORK
Axle clean once and strict press away
5xAxle
5x126
5x146
5x166
5x10 band pull aparts accomplished between sets
SUPPLEMENTAL/ASSISTANCE
10 rounds of
- 5x125 axle clean each rep and strict press
- 5 chins (various grips)
- 10 dips
Time: 19:05
25 pushdowns
PROWLER
- 1 trip down w/low handles, 1 trip back w/high handles w/50lbs loaded
- 1 trip down w/low handles, 1 trip back w/high handles w/90lbs loaded
- 1 trip down w/harness, 1 trip back w/backwards drag w/140lbs loaded
- 1 trip down w/low handles, 1 trip back w/high handles unloaded
Time: 21:20
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
Poundstone curls
228xAxle
Notes:
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Another victory of a press day with me making it out without re-torquing my bicep/forearm. Even managed to clean all sets of all things this time. The bicep no longer has pain, but the forearm tendon is slow to heal. I am doing less and less damage to it each workout, which is a positive. My left serratus/pec is annoying: ab wheel was bothering it quite a bit. May switch to GHR sit ups for a bit.
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Was moving a little slow through the circuit, just to make sure I was set up strong on those cleans. Slop has to stop for a little. But I was still getting the metabolic effect I was looking for by taking everything off the floor.
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Was moving VERY well on the prowler today. Finished about a minute faster than usual on that first 3 rounds, which allowed for the 4th.
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Poundstones felt good on the arms. Restorative.
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Gonna lay down a shotgun āo thoughts here soon.
6 Likes
SHOTGUN Oā THOUGHTS
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Driving to work today, I started thinking and realized my current plan isnāt going to work. Iām going on a cruise from 17-24 Dec. Thatās awesome, but finishing up 5/3/1 for Hardgainers next week does not allow for a 7 week diet break followed by 6 weeks of Super Squats. To fit in 6 weeks of Super Squats, I need to start on 7 Nov. Iāll be ending 5/3/1 for Hardgainers on 7 Oct, so pretty much exactly a 1 month break. Chaos is the plan: this went from a diet break to a pivot. Part of me is thinking it would be a great time to run the Velocity Diet, as itās 28 days and would put me in a fat loss state before transitioning to Super Squats. Limiting factor is family life. The inclusion of a solid meal goes a long way, but weekends are family time, and that includes communal meals. But still, itās AN idea.
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As for training during that time, it opens up an opportunity to run ONE 5/3/1 cycle, but Iām fairly certain Iām going to do my own typical insanity with Zenos, ROM progression, and then whatever else it high intensity and low volume.
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Thereās a bit of ennui with my nutrition these days. I was in such a rush to turn the ship around for heart health, and now Iāve absolutely crushed it, but my obsessiveness is what drives me. I was always looking for ways to make it better, but itās better enough now. The plus side is the insurance of this. I was really operating without a net for a while there: just carving my own path based on what I had read and what āfeltā right. Iām glad it worked. Moving forward, I want to include more red meat, as I feel thatās been lacking.
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With 5/3/1 for Hardgainers wrapping up, I have to say that this program got me in phenomenal shape and I think itās a solid prep program for a gaining block. I think where I put it in order for my approach was less than ideal. It should have been BEFORE BBB Beefcake rather than after. But, at the same time, I got to squat 5x10x405 with the way I did things, so thatās cool. I also think Hardgainers would play VERY well with SVR II. With hardgainers, you train each lift differently, but it stays the same for all 6 weeks. With SVR II, you train each lift the same, but itās different each week of the cycle. Thatās some balance right there. I could see a lot of good just bouncing the two off each other. But remember: itās NOT Hardgainers if you arenāt using a sled/prowler.
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And that really seems to be the secret to Hardgainers: it makes you so goddamn hungry from all the work youāre doing that you just keep eating.
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Do you think hardgainers could be used in a cut? Just dial in less volume of food?
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Anything can be used anytime, but I feel it would be a poor fit. When calories are low, I train LESS: not more.
Blowing up the log, but I just got a colony of plantar warts carved out of my right foot and this text exchange shows what its like to have a spouse that āgets youā
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Got TABEARTA in after work. Not smart with the foot, but not smart is how I roll.
That said, sitting out Tang Soo Do, because pivoting would be a blood bath. Prowler is dicey tomorrow, but 50lb vest burpees are a given.
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But how was the meatloaf?
@cyclonengineer Oh my god so good. I got the whole family on the bison train these days, so it was a mix of turkey breast and bison. Mrs can make it without breadcrumbs/oatmeal as well, so itās a legit meat loaf. Fantastic for sandwiches too.
AM WORKOUT (0320 natural wake up)
5/3/1 FOR HARDGAINERS Week 5, Workout 3
MAIN WORK
Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x186
5x211
5x5x241 w/sets of 10 pull aparts
No rest between sets: bench-pull apart-bench, repeat until done
25 pushdowns
PROWLER WORK
- There and back low handles w/50lbs
- There and back high handles w/90lbs
- There w/harness, back reverse drag w/140lbs
- There low handles, back high handles unloaded
Time: 21:10
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
UPPER BODY ASSISTANCE/CONDITIONING
100 burpee chins w/50lb vest
Time: 29:10
Notes:
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After having all those plantar warts carved out of my right foot yesterday, things are a little interesting. Couldnāt get much leg drive on the bench, and couldnāt get a good posture on the prowler, so I adapted. However, itās honestly my left serratus/pec that is causing issues. Iām in agony, and breathing is tough. Unracking the bench was the hardest part, and starting each chin on the burpee chins was tough.
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Pleased with my ability to just knock out the bench main work, and ending the prowler with that unloaded sprint has been a good finisher.
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The burpee chins were absolutely a bad idea, but itās the one thing that excites me on this day. I allowed myself to take it slow and just get through it. By the 20 minute mark, I had 72 done, so if I wanted to play by my own rules, thatās the number to beat.
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people put things other than meat, eggs and seasoning into meatloaf??
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Yup. Traditionally it was a āmeat LOAFā because of the bread/oatmeal used as a binding agent. It also made meat āgo furtherā by mixing in cheap/stale bread. Crackers worked too.
But on the other end of the scale: if the goal is gaining, itās a great way to get in some extra and sneaky calories.
But weāve also gone the other way sometimes and put bacon inside the meatloafā¦although weāve also done bacon wrapped meatloaf, and that was ALSO amazing.
4 Likes
Oatmeal too, for a āhealthierā spin, but Iāve never enjoyed an oated meatloaf as much as a more traditional one.
It recently dawned on me that beyond the complete absurdity of the training here, your supplemental, assistance, and conditioning ideas are what keep drawing me to your log.
I know for some folks thatās āmajoring in the minorsā but main work, frankly, is usually pretty boring. Keep on keepinā on man.
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Soooo much oatmeal up in here, haha.
And thanks man! Itās honestly what I dug about Hardgainers. The loose structure on assistance with hardset rules gave me SO much to play with.
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Got TABEARTA knocked out. My serratus/pec is in agony and breathing is tough. If deads are a no-go tomorrow, Iāll come up with something wicked.
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AM WORKOUT (0320 natural wake up)
5/3/1 FOR HARDGAINERS Week 5, Workout 4
MAIN WORK
Axle deadlifts
5x136
5x226
5x326
5x376
6x426
5x10 band pull aparts between sets
SUPPLEMENTAL/ASSISTANCE
Axle deadlits
5x5x326, doing 1 set EMOM
40x360 reverse hypers
30 GHRs
20 GHR sit ups
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
ASSISTANCE/CONDITIONING
100 KB burpee swings w/push up each rep using 40kg bell
Time: 17:20
25 pushdowns
50 axle shrugs against strong short bands
Notes:
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I was incredibly pleased to discover that I can deadlift heavy without bothering my pec/serratus at all. I thought for sure it would be a limiter. Got in some great top set work there.
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That said, chinning is entirely off the menu. Just absolute agony. I managed 1 round of my circuit before I decided it was just a dumb idea to continue. Itās what resulted in my pivot, going for the EMOM sets on deads and then that swing workout. Both proved pretty productive. I was pleased with my performance on the EMOM sets: shows just how strong and conditioned my pull has become. That swing with push up workout was solid: level change-level change-level-change-swing. Itās a lot of movement in a short space, and by the end of it I was wiped out.
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Will attempt Tang Soo Do tonight. Foot is in a healed enough state. That said, walking into work today, I had to laugh at the physical state Iām in. If anyone read Dick Marcinkoās āRogue Warriorā, he talked about 3 states of being (stealing from military jargon): SNAFU, TARFU and FUBAR. Respectively: āSituation Normal: All fāked upā, āthings are REALLY fāked upā and āFāed up beyond all repair/recognitionā. Iām definitely transitioning from TARFU to FUBAR. I think I may have actually broken something in my left foot a few weeks back when I dropped the 45lb plate on it, my right foot is healing from having those plantar warts carved out of it, my left bicep is mending from a tear, the left serratus/pec is all junked up, tore the tricep on that side a while back, right lat has been on fire for weeks, etc. Just keep adapting and moving on.
8 Likes
PM WORKOUT
Tang Soo Do was pretty light on training, so I got in TABEARTA when I got home.
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Typical insane saturday
Got in a fasted TABEARTA+50 swing workout around 0630. Chins are still a bad idea, so no full PBJ
Went walking around a pumpkin patch for 3+ hours, came home and got this done
21-15-9 of thrusters into front squats into squats into deadlifts with 95lbs
Then mowed the lawn for 90 minutes
And we got all the other chores done, because we rock. I feel like Iāve been open ocean swimming all day.
8 Likes
Hey Pwn, how are you, what kind of IronMind equipment you got man?
Iām not gonna lie, I really want to buy everything off that site, the rolling thunder, the loading pin, hip belt squatā¦uhhh belt. First thing I will buy from that site are a pair of straps, cause mixed grip deadlifting seems to screw everything up, any kind you recommend?
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Hey dude,
I legit own most of the catalog. I scored a CRAZY craigslist find back in 2015 where a dude was selling almost everything Ironmind owned for $1000. I actually have a post about it here!
On top of that, Iāve owned there Strong enough straps since 2008 and still use them. Theyāre amazing. I have their black axle straps and never cared for them. I also own the dip belt, got it the same time as the straps, and still use it. All amazing stuff.
Slept until 0620 this morning and got in a fasted workout of
TABEARTA
50 kb swings w/40kbg bell
Half TABEARTA (3 complexes per round, but only 4 rounds)
25 swings
THAT was pretty effective. While my serratus heals, I still have ways to make things suck.
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