Just some more thoughts, but work is cracking the whip on gatherings again, so those meets I posted earlier may be a non-starter. Will have to see.
Mrs commented on how my hamstrings are looking bigger these days. Daily GHRs seem to be working.
Leanness is still pretty similar to where I was in Oct when I started weight gain. Haven’t stepped on a scale and don’t particularly want to at this point. Excited for Thanksgiving though. We bought a 20lb turkey in anticipation of company coming over which has now had to cancel, so I will have access to LOTS of white meat for a while.
Haven’t been good with the grippers. Need to get back into them.
I’m getting half as many reps, rounded up, on the first section. Second section I’m using Josh Bryant’s “Juarez Valley” approach. Third section is sets of 6 (Got 3 last time, so did 4 this time). Final section is a widowmaker.
Chins (underhand) between sets of benching
5x12
Sets of 11 for the rest
Dips (Rest pause)
51-24-25-25-21-4
Poundstone curls
136xAxle
Stone of steel to shoulder
12 reps (alternating shoulder) in 3:15
1 hour break
Axle Grace WOD
3:47
Notes: 3:00 between sets of benching. Slept until 0530 again (wife’s alarm going off). I’m sure this has been good for me. Bit of a rushed day after that, but got in a lot of solid training. I was feeling really fatigued during the bench workout, but also getting a very solid pump and pushing out strong reps. Nice to actually hit all my targets in a workout: been a while since I’ve done that. Grace was brutal after all the work I did before it, but I’m getting better at it.
Went for a fasted weighted vest walk this morning. Took about an hour. Got in the daily work. May do some harder conditioning later.
Gonna take nutrition on the lighter side today to make some room for some serious gluttony tomorrow. That said, I’ve had 3 great nights of sleep in a row and it correlates to 3 big high fat meals before bed. I’m really glad I figured that out.
I’m continuing to go batty with my training while my nutrition dictates my approach. I’m honestly wanting to just get on a real program so I can shut off my brain and follow percentages. A classic BBB approach keeps calling my name. I need to be able to eat to support it. Really need some good news in Jan to let that happen. I’ve learned a lot about nutrition these past few months and I think I can really maximize it. That said, I also need to get out of my own head regarding pushing toward my absolute limits if I do take that approach, so there’s that.
I really like BBB. I mean its so so simple and easy to follow that it kind of takes the brain out of it (and stress for that matter) and lets you focus on the lift. My wife just finished BBB and is now running beef cake. She is even liking chins and dips which she always hated before.
Thinking my next foray into some 531 may be the Five and Dime template. Seems like a boring but really solid template.
I’m really just liking the idea of getting in and out of the gym in under an hour again. My workouts are taking too long. It worked back when the Mrs was in the office and I had nothing else to do, but now it’s taking away family time. I’m also eyeing Super Squats again for similar reasons.
I really appreciated SVR II as well. Great for ADD.
Did Tabata high handle trap bar pulls of 135 for a quickie workout. Hoping it’ll speed up some recovery from my squat workout, as tomorrow I wanna set a rep PR on the movement.
Notes: Honestly wasn’t expecting to top my previous best. Came into this super beat up and underate yesterday in anticipation of some good old fashioned American gluttony today. Quads pumped up instantly in the set and from there it just really sucked, but I kept finding more reps. I honestly had some more after 251, but it was once again running into that whole “how much more is worth it?” sorta moment. I’ve got a crazy topset buried in me somewhere that is going to come out one day.
Skipped the morning walk because I didn’t wanna do it. Engaged in my second favorite breakfast of all time: an energy drink and a quest bar. I legit almost named this log “Rockstars and Quest Bars”, but out of respect for BioTest I didn’t want to promote different brands. Had 2 cinnamon rolls for my pre-lifting meal, and now it’s just a matter of time before Thanksgiving and another pumpkin cheesecake made by the Mrs. Going to be a great day.
Also ran my daily work like a circuit this morning. I prefer that approach. I’ve been doing daily bodyweight reverse hypers instead of KB swings and they seem to be doing me some favors.
One thing I want to revisit that had me running brief but awesome sessions was continuous ramps but I have a semi-good stride with what I’m currently doing so I’ll ride it out a bit more.
Zercher Squat
Front Squat
Back Squat
Zercher Deadlift
RDL
Deadlift
BTN Press
Press
Push-press
Didn’t do it for bench but Incline, flat, decline could be an option.
4-5 sets ramping to a 5RM on the first exercise, continuing to ramp with 3 sets to 5RM for each subsequent exercise.
Don’t think I was logging when I did this but… I like it
