Hope you feel better soon!
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That sucks, feel better soon mate
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I hope you’re feeling better!! And on the bright side, you can just restart the workouts on January 1st - with the rest of the world. Lol
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Feel better soon. At least we will start the year off with some new immunities that should keep us well for a bit.
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3/5/1 - 7week protocol restart (gym)
02.01.2024 (7.30am fasted session)
Mobility, warmup
16kg KB paused squat x3 x 5sec
Box jumps x 6
Squats
Ankle mobility work, hip aeroplanes
Bar x 12
40kg x 8
60 x 8
.
70 x 5 - belt on
80 x 3
90 x 1
Bulgarians
Single 15kg DB’s x 10, 10, 10 (L/R)
-ss-
Tib (shin) raises +6.25kg x 20, 18, 15
-was tough getting out of bed let alone hitting this. Some kind of restart / 7th week protocol.
-resting HR64
-still clogged up in the head slightly, last remnants coughing up from the chest. Will blow it away with some gymmage for sure. Thanks for the kind words friend! @simo74 @shaneinga @QuadQueen @ChickenLittle
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Way to get back in there! It seems like just about everyone I know caught something over the holidays. Glad you are almost out of the woods and back to training!
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3/5/1 - 7week protocol restart (gym)
03.01.2024 (7.30am fasted session)
Mobility, warmup
10kg side to side ball slams x 6 (L/R)
15kg ball slams x 6
OHP
bar x 10
30kg x 8
.
40 x 5
45 x 3
52.5 x 1
57.5 x 0 (1x push press)
-ss-
Pull up x 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5
-ss-
BPA 7 x 20
Overhead Carries
25kg BB x 100ish paces x 3 rounds
Dreadmill
1min run/sprint > 1min walk x 5 rounds, HR169max, 155ave
-clocked in 289 sessions in 2023, so averaging just under 6 times a week.
-sprints helped loosen up the chest a bit more
-mowed lawns once I got home too
-pretty much there now @TM79 thanks, but need to build things back up after a layoff!
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Now that’s consistency if I’ve ever seen it! Awesome job.
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3/5/1 - 3C’s (gym)
05.01.2023 (6.45am fasted session)
Mobility, warmup
Conditioning
20mins emom tabata
ABC’s Twin 20kg KB x 1 rep
then 3 burpees to round out the 20sec
-ss-
20sec skip rope
Core
Ab Wheel
4+2rp, 5+1rp, 5
Calves
Seated CR
+45kg x 12, 14+8rp
-rest day yesterday
-conditioning levels have dropped, this was toughish.
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3/5/1 - 7week protocol restart (gym)
08.01.2024 (5.45am fasted session)
Mobility, warmup
Lat engagement band work x nil
24kg KB Swing x 15
Vertical jumps x 6
Hex Deadlifts
bar x 8
60 x 5
80 x 5
.
100 x 5 - belt on
112.5 x 3
125 x 1
DB Rows 25kg x 10, 10, 10, 10 (40r)
-ss-
RDL’s 2x 25kg DB’s x 10, 10, 10, 10 (40r)
HLR
3 x 10
Dreadmill
10mins brisk pace low incline
-resting HR65
-strength is down, working back into things
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3/5/1 - 7week protocol restart (gym)
09.01.2024 (5.45am fasted session)
Mobility, warmup
Plyo pushups x 8
Bench
bar x 15
40kg x 8
.
60 x 5
67.5 x 3
75 x 1
85 x f
-ss-
BPA 6x20
Dips
BW x 12, 12, 12, 10+5+3rp (54r)
-ss-
10kg front plate raise x 12, 12, 12 (36r)
Elbow prehab work 3 x 10-12
Elliptical
15min SSC - nose breathing, HR120ave
-defo time to lower the TM’s across all lifts. 2 steps back for 3 forward.
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3/5/1 - 7week protocol restart (gym)
10.01.2024 (6.00am fasted session)
Mobility, warmup
Foam rolling, stretching, band work - 25mins ish
Dreadmill
30mins SCC - HR95-100 cruise
-time to insert some super low intensity sessions into the works me thinks. Let’s see how this pans out. Plenty of sore spots and haven’t foam rolled in earnest in some time.
-Resting HR66 > far too high for my liking (still have remnants from chest infection and headcold…)
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3/5/1 - 3C’s (gym)
11.01.2023 (6.00am fasted session)
Mobility, warmup
Conditioning
20mins emom tabata
ABC’s Twin 16kg KB x 2 reps
-ss-
20sec skip rope
Core
Ab Wheel
3+2, 4+1, 5+1rp (16r)
Carries (on dreadmill)
CT’s lighter weight for longer distance
Twin 10kg KB’s x 400m, 270, 200
(15mins approx including the 2x slow paced BW only walks between)
-forearms, grip, rear delts all smoked from those carries. One of CT’s articles I was perusing yesterday nominated a mile walk. Something to build towards.
-dropped back to 16kg KB’s for conditioning today to get an extra abc rep in. HR around 150 mark during this 20min tabata work
-resting HR65
Longer read incoming…
Time to shake things up. I’ve been mulling through some recent articles, and given recent bugs I’ve picked up, more focus on recovery and mobility is required - generally been more run down of late. Humbling to admit, but best for longevity to change things up now than continue on current trajectory. I prefer to hit sessions most days, and lift something in each of those sessions. Alas at 45 years young, it’s time to admit this isn’t necessary, or feasible with volume/numbers being chased on the bar.
Was initially contemplating EOD (every other day) training philosophy, but for now have landed on JW’s Con Clavi Con Dio (2x2x2) within 531 forever. Essentially 2x days lifting, 2 days conditioning, 2 days flexibility.
So the two lifting days are SQ & BP then DL & OHP.
Flexibility work has definitely been largely ignored in recent years.
TM’s need to drop back also - pushing the needle too far of late. A few more reps at a lower weight will be better for me than chasing low/single rep pr’s.
Today’s carries inspired somewhat by CT’s article here - nowhere near ‘barbarian level’ but a starting point:
This portion of the article really speaks to me.
5. More of a “Lifting” Feeling
This one is more psychological than physiological, but it matters. After all, the most important thing is to train hard consistently. If you enjoy it, it’s much easier to train hard consistently.
Loaded carries and sled work are close to weightlifting in that we can challenge ourselves to move more weight. We also get the same type of “muscle feeling” as we can get from some forms of lifting. From a motivational standpoint, this shouldn’t be overlooked.
Some solid longevity points here too:
Comments welcome, I know @antiquity plays around in this zone somewhat with a crossfit twist. @SvenG and @T3hPwnisher just get after it and lift daily it seems under 531 and chaos respectively. @TM79 gets plenty of sessions of variance in too. Others also please chime in @simo74 @shaneinga @burien_top_team
TL:DR
-time to try an alternative approach, 531 Con Clavi Con Dio (2x2x2) is the plan!
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@raven78 - Thanks for the tag, mate! I’ve got a thought or two, but I’m short on time ATM. I’ll edit this response when I get a chance.
Edit: Really I just wanted to say that I appreciate you laying out your thoughts here. For big picture stuff, I’m a fan of viewing things through a “seasons of life” lens, and sometimes you hit seasons like this:
It’s awesome that you’re able to step back and realize that—I’m not sure I have that capability, and end up seeing things like this only in the rearview mirror!
In any case, I’m excited to see how this goes for you. But we all know consistency and effort trump all else, and you’ve got both in spades.
Onward and upward, my friend!
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Your post really resonates with me because I have been feeling the same way. Pretty run down. I notice after I take a week off that I feel so much better. That probably indicates hitting it too hard/or at least not getting enough rest. I think you are definitely on the right track here. A few things that jumped out from your post are below:
-Doing full body sessions: I was doing those for years up until about the last 8 months or so when I started isolating muscle groups again. While I’m definitely looking more ripped, I have a lot more aches and pains than when I was doing full body sessions. While I hesitate to go back to that exclusively it may be good to switch back for some time just to take it easier on the joints. Then switch back to isolation for short periods just to switch things up and get a good pump.
-Only lifting 2-3 days per week: I’ve been doing that for years now and will probably never go back to anything more than that. It’s just too much wear and tear.
-Metcons for conditioning: A long time favorite of mine. For about a year now I’ve been following Josh Bridges on IG and doing his metcons almost exclusively. I’ve found them to be plenty challenging but still way less taxing on the joints than normal crossfit metcons. He posts a few metcons per week and usually keeps it pretty simple. Usually some form of full-body dynamic lift paired with a conditioning movement (usually bike, rower or Ski ERG). Or maybe something else thrown in. Just scale the weight down and sub as needed.
-Getting some mobility work in: THIS!!! That is the one thing that has been missing for years for me. You are really onto something here.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how this works for you and will likely start heading in this direction very soon. I think that those of us who are dedicated enough to do this day in and day out obviously love to push the limits. While that is healthy, it can be counter-productive when we are pushing too much too often. This sounds like a really smart move. I’ll be following closely. 
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Thanks for the tag! I do resonate with the methods you’re talking about. I’ve found that balance is the key, which looks like you agree based on the choice of JW’s Con Clavi Con Dio as a template. Some thoughts:
-
As I’ve gotten older and into my 50s, I’ve found that I can absolutely still hit it hard, but within smart limits. That’s what I have liked about CF, in that it will kick your ass for a short time, force new adaptations and movements, but keeps volume reasonable. Also, as far as mobility, I’ve found that doing appropriate warm ups and doing movements that require wide ranges of motions (like burpee box jump overs or snatches) go a long way towards that. I do spend about 5-10 minutes in the evening going some prescribed mobility work, as well, but nothing too crazy or long.
-
My goals are to feel good and be highly capable. Wanna go for a mountain bike ride? Sure. Play soccer? No problem. Run a 6 minute mile? Yep. I have decided I just don’t want to feel run down, which effects my sleep, mood, and quality of life. Luckily, I’ve found that hitting it hard and getting up to an intense level for a short time is perfect, and I don’t need to grind myself to a pulp by eking out every last rep. Once this mindset happened, I am having much more fun incorporating training into my life.
-
Have a go-to workout that meets your needs. For me, it’s JW’s Walrus workout. Throw on a weight vest, ride a mile on the Airdyne, crank out some calisthenics, jump back on the bike, and repeat. I find this workout both improves me physically and helps me recover from the shorter, more intense training sessions.
-
When in doubt, take the day off. Now, for most in society, this is an excuse to continue to be lazy, fat, and out of shape. But for those of us that are committed, it means we’ll skip a workout we just aren’t primed for, and will come back tomorrow and hit it much harder and effectively than we would have today. Of course, this shouldn’t happen with too much frequency, but having this mindset is really liberating and reminds me of why I’m doing this in the first place.
I’ll be following along with you! Good luck.
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Tons of great ideas and suggestions already shared. I pretty much endorse them all.
One thing I’ll add is the idea of intentionality. I’m trying to be much more exacting about why I do what I do. We spend so much time and energy in this space; as I get older, I find it increasingly important to prioritize what all this effort is for. As the kids say, there are “nice to haves” and “need to haves”. I want to put as many of my chips on the latter as I can.
Returning to jiu-jitsu last week was a huge reality check for me. If I’m going to bring jiu-jitsu training back into the “budget” then I’m going to have to make allowances in other places or go “bankrupt”. As much as I love the idea of doing weight training 4x week and multiple conditioning sessions, there’s just no room on the ledger for that kind of thing for me right now. Not given my list of priorities. So choices have to be made. The good thing is that these choices, these “sacrifices”, are at least in line with my goals - which makes them that much easier to live and train with.
If my goals change, then my methods can and should change. Otherwise, onward.
One last thing: credit to CT, whose recent work seems to be very much oriented around figuring some of these issues out.
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I would give advice on this personally, but I am awful at all of the things you are hoping to accomplish. My toxic trait is is as soon as I start feeling good, I load up more weight and decide to go chasing heavy singles again. 
On a serious note though, Peter Attia has a pretty good book about Longevity, diet training and medicine.
Definitely worth a read or listen if you haven’t done so yet. The name of the book is Outlive.
Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity - New Book by Peter Attia (peterattiamd.com)
He also has a great podcast called the Drive on apple podcasts.
Everyone here about covered everything else, so I thought I would add this to the list.
Other than that, yeah, mobility is definitely something I think we all need more of.
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3/5/1 - c15w1d1 (gym)
Con Clavi Con Dio (2x2x2) > Leader
12.01.2024 (5.45am fasted session + sportsfuel)
Mobility, warmup
16kg KB paused squat x3 x 5sec
Squats
Ankle mobility work, hip aeroplanes
Bar x 10
40kg x 8
.
55 x 5
62.5 x 5
70 x 5 - belt on
.
55 x 5 x 5 (FSL)
Bench
bar x 10
40kg x 8
.
45 x 5
50 x 5
57.5 x 5
.
45 x 5 x 5 (FSL)
-ss-
Pullups (assistance work)
BW x 5, 5, 6, 5, 6
Dreadmill
20mins SSC - low intensity focus
-the plan of NOT chasing bigger numbers for a while is now locked in, concur it’s an easy trap to fall into there @shaneinga appreciate the link too, will give it a listen!
-these numbers today felt too light. That’s a good thing, different approach. Found some sportsfuel (carbs etc for workout) in the pantry so rotating that into these sessions till it runs out, will see how things go there. A few hours later logging this, feel less ‘beat up’ somewhat.
-appreciate your detailed reply @antiquity as there’s so much goodness in your log, having it distilled down into one reply helps a heap. I reckon I’ve been ‘out of balance’ for a while chasing bigger numbers on main lifts.
-there’s only so much in the bucket for sure @burien_top_team a good explanation there thankyou!
-got your edit there @SvenG thanks for the input as always! A run of coughs, colds etc is super frustrating, it was a frustrating way to spend a majority of my xmas holidays - but when the body needs rest… so maybe a sign.
-we’re aging gracefully together @TM79 
haha, work and kiddo stresses defo add to the build up of life pressures too. Will check out JB’s metcons too thankyou.
-all this training is only part of the picture too. Sure there were plenty of xmas snacks and crap eaten over the holidays. No massive overindulgance and minimal booze too. But back onto keeping things gluten free food wise. Continuing to experiment to dial in what works for the gut food wise. Have brought in home made (in-laws) sauerkraut most days (small amount daily). And more veg always rqd… pure meat and eggs does read tempting some days. not sure how the gut would handle too many eggs though.
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