Went out to the other house to get the mower and do some mowing, so I decided to take the dogs for a free run and hit some 400m intervals and see how I was doing. Last time, 3 weeks ago, my splits were 2:55, 2:40 and 2:13, and my goal was to beat that:
2:36
2:22
2:02
Mission accomplished, and didn’t work really any harder for those times than the last time. I could have broken 2:00 on the last one if I’d really pushed, but I still have to squat tomorrow so I saved it for my real goals.
Okay, I might be able to own that one…
8/8/21 5/3/1 Cycle 4 day 3
Warmup:
Squat:
10x45#
3x95#
3x135#
3x175#
3x205#
3x235#
3x265#
Jokers
3x295#
3x315#
Bench:
10x45#
3x65#
3x95#
3x115#
3x135#
3x150#
3x170#
Jokers:
3x185#
3x205#
superset with 25# pull-ups: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/5/5
25# weighted dips: 10/10/10
Superset with Zercher squats 175# 3/3/3
EZ bar curls superset with triceps extensions 65#: 8/8/8
Went up on joker sets all around today, and all felt good. 205# bench was hard, but totally doable. I’m happy to be back to 3 plates on squat, and I definitely had more in me there.
I also brought my old dive belt from the other house, so I can do weighted pull-ups and dips again. I’m going to have to spend some money, though. Someone went through my garage out at the other house this last winter and stole some stuff, including my generator and some more tool. I didn’t recognize until I went through my weight stuff out there that my lever belt and my dip belt are also missing, so I’m assuming that it was all stolen at the same time. I had that lever belt nice and broken in, too…
I also decided to see if I could find something to train toward in the near future, and there’s a USS Strongman competition in Salina, KS on December 18th. I have an email out to the organizer because they have some weird weight/age classification breakdowns. They have four normal open weight classifications, LW 181, MW 220, HW 275 and SHW >275. Then the have Masters 40+ open, Masters 50+ HW, and Masters 60+ open. Normally I would assume I could join the 50+ class and compete up, except for the fact that they specify HW there, but nowhere else? It matters because I know I will be able to hit the weights and not zero any events in the 50+ weights, but not so sure on the Masters 40+ open.
Anyway, here’s the events and classifications. Any advice would be appreciated.
Any advice would be much appreciated. The only thing I’m really concerned about is the log incline press, it’s not something I’ve ever seen before. That, and if I’m stuck doing the Masters 40+ I don’t know if I can hit the top deadlift weights.
I have no advice, but that’s awesome! Look forward to seeing how that goes for you. When is the last time you’ve competed?
It’s been almost 4 years, so we’ll see how it goes.
Okay, for afternoon workout, started with a couple hours of push-mowing the back yard and the ditches where the riding mower can’t go, then finished mowing and brought the mower back out to the other house. I decided, why not, I feel good and the next 1-2 days are rest days, so decided to take the dogs on another free run.
8/8/21 afternoon
Sprints: 9 x100m, enough rest between intervals to not be dying.
So, I think I need to adjust my diet somewhat if I’m going to do this competition in December. Not that I’ve been trying to, but in the last several months since I’ve started back to training again, I’ve lost 9 lb sort of by accident. I haven’t really changed my diet, except to work more good veggies in, and at least one protein shake per day, my body has just been using everything I put into it. Not that I expect to gain a whole lot of muscle in just over 4 months, but since I don’t have a weight target to diet toward, more weight moves weight better. I don’t want to get fat and sloppy, of course, but I do want to give my body all the fuel and building blocks it will use.
Cool stuff, good on you. What are the starting heights for the DL…does 7 inch, for example, indicate the height of the bar at the start? Do you have to do all that consecutively? I know nothing about this stuff.
The way I’m guessing it works, is you start with the lower weight/lower height, and work your way up to the highest weight/height. And then rep out with the last bar? Or maybe it’s timed to get all 4 lifts? I’m still waiting to hear back from the organizer. Also, just FYI the way the events with 2 listed weights works, you can choose to use either weight, but a single rep at the higher weight beats any number of reps at the lower weight. The lower weight is for if you know you’ll zero the event at the higher weight.
8/12/21 5/3/1 cycle 4 day 4
Warm-up.
Deadlift:
3x45# + 2 power cleans
3x95# + 2 power cleans
3x135# + 2 power cleans
3x185#
3x220#
3x245#
3x280#
3x315#
Jokers:
3x340#
3x365#
Superset with chinups 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10
Press:
3x45#
3x65#
3x95#
3x110#
3x125#
3x140#
Jokers:
3x155#
3x170#
Superset with front squats:
3x45#
3x65#
3x95#
3x110#
3x125#
3x140#
3x155#
3x170#
Accessory:
1 arm DB press 55# fat grips 10/10/10
Superset with bent over BB row 165# 10/10/10
I was exhausted today. Strength was there, but no speed or power. Power cleans sucked, 185# turned into a crappy halfway up the chest sorta continental clean. No acceleration off the ground, and no snap to get under the bar. I’m attributing it to being on night shift this week and getting crap for sleep. Like I said, strength was still there, so I can’t be unhappy about that. I’m still hitting comeback PR’s every session, which means to me that I’m still working the weights back up to where my strength actually is.
Tonight is my last night of this shift. Then tomorrow night the wife and I are going to a Bourbon tasting event in Topeka that the proceeds go toward Big Brothers/Big Sisters, so that’ll be fun. I already have a hotel room booked because no way are either of us driving after that! The hotel room has a jacuzzi tub, so that’ll be even more fun!
So the more you drink, the more it benefits the children. Truly a win/win situation.
Heheh, I’d say we benefited the children quite a bit!
It was an overall good time, and one of our tablemates with more money than me drove the bidding on a decorative barrel and a couple bottles of good bourbon up to $1900 before she opted out. She had planned on stopping at $1000, but we kept egging her on with her husband’s help. 'Come on, it’s for the children! You’re not really spending the money, you’re just making the poor sap at the other end of the bidding war spend more! ’ They were a pretty awesome couple we only just met for the first time that night, but we’ll be getting together again.
8/15/21 5/3/1 cycle 4 day 5
Warmup.
Extra warmup, haul big-ass deadfall tree branch about 100m from my neighbor’s yard, across the street and through my yard to my burn pile.
Squat:
10x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x215#
3x240#
10x270#
Bench:
10x45#
5x65#
5x85#
5x105#
5x125#
5x145#
3x160#
10x180#
Superset with 25# weighted pull-ups 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/5
Accessory:
25# weighted dips: 10/10/10
Superset with Zercher squats 175# 3/3/3
EZ bar curls 65#: 8/8/8
superset with triceps extensions 65# 10/10/10
Beautiful weather today. The tree branch haul was a fun warmup challenge. No idea how much it weighed, well over 100#, but probably less than 200#, but about 25’ long and lots of branches and dead leaves, so provided plenty of drag to make it a challenging haul. Pulled it with the heavy end over my shoulder, and switched sides once because it was digging in pretty good, but had to switch back pretty quick because it wasn’t symmetrical so I was having to hold it at an awkward angle on my left shoulder.
Once again, I could have kept going on the last set of squats, but there wasn’t much left on the bench after 10 reps.
Edit, forgot it was 10 reps with just the bar on both main lifts.
8/17/21 5/3/1 cycle 4 day 6
Warm-up.
Deadlift:
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
5x265#
3x300#
10x335#
Superset with chinups 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/10
Press:
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
3x130#
10x145#
Superset with front squats
3x45#
3x65#
3x95#
3x115#
3x130#
3x145#
Accessory:
1 arm DB press 55# fat grips 10/10/10
Superset with bent over BB row 175# 10/10/10
So today was a little tough, because I got my finger bit clean through to the bone right at the base of my left index fingernail last night when I accidentally got it in one of my dogs’ mouth while breaking up a fight. Also a little laceration on my other arm but the finger bite is what is bothering me. I felt right away during bar warmups that power cleans weren’t going to be a thing tonight, because I catch on my rack position with just my fingertips. Grip was somewhat affected on chin-ups, and deadlifts until I switched to mixed grip, but other than that I was good except for some throbbing during sets. I went into the doctor and got it irrigated out and got some antibiotics, but they didn’t want to stitch it for fear of sewing infection in. That fingernail is definitely going to be a goner, bitten clean through all the way across right above the cuticle.
Mate that sounds nasty as. Hope it doesn’t get all infected.
That’s why I went to the Doctor and got it irrigated, and got a prescription for antibiotics. The injury isn’t nearly as bad as the threat of infection.
So I added an extra couple of days off, so my cycle 5 will start tomorrow. Yesterday my youngest son and his fiance got married, and I got to be the officiant. He’s technically my stepson, but he’s my son in every way that counts, and the fact that he asked me to officiate meant a lot to me. We did a small ceremony with just family, and then ate a whole lot of barbeque along with too much cake.
Shawn and Brenna, and a sliver of me in there doing the ‘You may kiss the bride…’ thing.
A picture of my lovely wife and I that I particularly like because she’s smiling, and you don’t have to see too much of my mug. Plus, my oldest son in the background in his natural environment of playing on his phone…
And one of the happy couple and the new granddaughter
8/22/21 5/3/1 Cycle 5 day 1
Warmup:
Squat:
10x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x190#
5x220#
15x250#
Bench:
10x45#
5x65#
5x85#
5x105#
5x125#
5x145#
15x165#
superset with 25# weighted pull-ups: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7
25# weighted dips: 10/10/10
Superset with Zercher squats 185# 3/3/3
EZ bar curls 65#: 10/10/10
superset with tricep extensions 65#: 12/12/12
Good start to cycle 5, it was warm out but not hot, and with a nice breeze. As it has been, 15x250# on squats wasn’t bad, I did them straight through with no pauses for extra breaths, could have kept going. Bench was challenging, hands were shaking, possibly partly because my injured finger was throbbing. I split the scabs with the pressure from squeezing the bar, which sorta sucked.
I finally got to talk to the guy running the Strongman competition in Salina in December and got the answers I was looking for, so I’m signed up for the contest in the Masters 50+ class. He actually said that while right now 50+ Masters is an open category, he might have enough people signed up to split out middleweight and Heavyweight + into two separate classes. I didn’t go in expecting that, but it would be sorta nice not to have to compete with people who outweigh me by 100+ lbs. So, here’s the weights for my class, snipped from my previous post:
I know I got all those top weights for at least a rep, so I won’t zero anything. I just have to figure out where to start the farmers walk at.
8/25/21 5/3/1 cycle 5 day 2
Warmup.
Deadlift:
5x45# + 2 power cleans
5x95# + 2 power cleans
5x135# + 2 power cleans
5x185# + 2 power cleans
5x235#
5x275#
10x305#
Superset with chinups 1/2/3/4/5/6/15
Press:
5x45#
5x65#
5x85#
5x105#
5x120#
13x135#
Superset with front squats 3x 45/65/85/100/115/130#
1 arm DB press 60# fat grips 8/8/8
Superset with bent over BB row 185# 8/8/8
Another solid training day, and it was in the 75-80F temp range with a mild breeze, so not miserable from an environmental standpoint either. 10x305# deadlift was easy, just getting the work in but not pushing the reps and hurting myself. 13x135# press was still hard, but easier than 13x130# was 3 weeks ago, so pressing strength is still going in the right direction. bumped up the weight and dropped the rep #'s on DB press and BB row, both felt fine.
Strong pressing, way to represent us old folk.
