@tlgains Thanks dude. Always helpful for breaking paradigms. Also good for figuring out where failure REALLY lives.
@AnthonyP Nope. I was doing 200+ rep sets of push ups when I was 16, eventually working up to 400 at 19. I do a LOT of high counting, haha.
Tang Soo Do was decent tonight. Lots of fundamentals, stances, and one-steps. Really focused on keeping loose and letting power out.
BUILDING THE MONOLITH Week 2, Workout 1
AM WORKOUT (0307 natural wake up, approx 4 hours of sleep)
Box Jumps (highest yet)
5x3
Chins (various grips)
1x21
3x11
1x13
3x11
Buffalo bar squats
5xBar
5x140
5x230
5x300
5x350
5x5x390 (1 min rest between sets, total time 13 minutes)
Axle clean and strict press away
5x130
5x150
5x170
17+4+4x130 (rest pause, clean each new set from floor)
Band pull aparts
2x50
Dips
200 Total, finish and transition immediately to 75 lateral raises w/5lb plates
25 pushdowns
40 revrse hypers w/50lbs
20 standing ab wheels
18 GHRs
Neck bridges
SECOND BREAKFAST
CONDITIONING
10 KB clusters w/45lbs-1 swing w/40kg, then 9 clusters and 2 swings, etc until numbers reversed.
Notes: Iāll break this one down. Started off with giant sets of jump-squat-chin-press. Did that until I ran out of presses, then continued until I got to the worksets of the squat. At that point, cut out the jumps and did supersets of squat and chin with 1 minute rest between sets. When I ran out of chins, I did sets of 15 on dips instead. So in that regard, I blitzed through the squat work today, which was awesome: always trying to find a way to make this middle week tough.
Rest pausing went well on he press. Always a good approach. Happy to have slotted in those lateral raises. My box jumps are getting awesome. I took a photo of how I have my āboxā set up that Iāll upload later.
That conditioning circuit is a burner. I came up with it as I was making my protein shake, just trying to think of SOMETHING to do that didnāt have too much overhead in it, since I still plan to hit up Keg Grace at the end of the day today.
Appetite is through the roof.
Oh hell yes!
Did 8x3 with the Captains of Crush #2 gripper followed by a set of 20 with the 1.
Just finished watching the move sweat suffer episode and wanted to say thank you sir and great job to you and to @ChongLordUno.
Been back and forth with you for a long time on here but it was great to finally hear from you in your own words your approach and hear a little more of your journey. It was really easy to watch and flowed like a good conversation should. Thank you for sharing and I am sure lots of others will gain new ideas and momentum in their journey from hearing your message. Well done.
Awesome stuff both you and @ChongLordUno on the podcast. Iāll finish it up in the car tomorrow, but itās just awesome to see it up.
Dude. My sleep is getting pretty bad again, too, and this time itās starting to impact me. Have you tried anything that actually helps? I am pretty good about keeping a cold room, staying away from light/ TV, I read to the kids, take ZMA, etc. I can typically fall asleep (although thatās been worse lately), but I canāt stay asleep. Recently my window has shrunk on both ends.
@simo74 Been an absolute joy having you along for the ride. You definitely āget itā, and make great company.
@TrainForPain My sleep has actually been incredible lately; I slept for 4 hours last night because I stayed up late to help my wife with homework for a class she is taking. I have finally regained the ability to sleep in on weekends
Glad you dig the podcast. Been awesome to share with yaāll.
PM WORKOUT (1700)
Keg Grace.
2:35 (4 second PR)
1830
2 mile. 80lb weighted vest walk with dog
Notes: These PRs are pretty nuts, but I am going to keep riding them out. More pain tolerance at this point
Thatās very nice if you to say mate. I sometimes feel like the old cart horse just slowly chugging along compared to some of you guys that are more like war horses in the charge of the light brigade. What I see though is that you donāt have to be training the same way, but what ever you do, effort, time and consistency are still the magic formula. I often read the stuff you and Lee do and think damn I need to up my game but it is nice to know that even if I donāt seem as intense I am still part of the crazy.
@simo74 100%. Itās so much about whatās going on ABOVE the neck rather than below.
BUILDING THE MONOLITH Week 2, Workout 2
AM WORKOUT (0345 wake up via alarm) FASTED
1+hr weighted vest walk w/80lbs
Notes: Solid on the misery index. It was 30 degrees at the end of the walk, winds were high, had minimal layers (hat and gloves are key though) and listened to a VERY dry podcast on metabolism through it all.
@kdjohn would approve Iām sure.
This did take a good amount out of me as a result. Got back inside, had a protein drink and knocked out some of my daily work but getting through all of it wasnāt in the cards. Will finish it out later.
Want to get in a decent cheat-ish meal today. Deads tomorrow: plan is to slow eccentric them with a dead stop each rep to make it more challenging while using the power bar. Going to compress my schedule a bit so that my trap bar deathset falls on Thanksgiving. Also have plans to do all 50 reps of pressing in one shot for the 3rd lifting workout of this week. Lots of ways to make things challenging.
Weird life indeed, I guess I just needed a hard push in the face of reality. Just need to keep this focus and give it everything, everyday; I canāt say it doesnāt feel ā¦ good.
Youāre welcome dude.
I think AnthonyPās question is good. I would add, āhow long afterward can you raise your arms?ā
Simo74ās ātime and consistency are the magic formulaā quote is dead on. Although itās still good to read these incredible workouts. Still want to be T3hPwnisher next time Iām 30.
Brings a tear to my eye.
Gloves and hat are definitely key. I find as long as my ears and hands have some reprieve from the wind, itās much easier to push through the cold.
@biker After those lateral raise sets, it takes some doing to get the arms up, haha.
@kdjohn Itās amazing the difference that makes. Iāve shoveled snow when it was below 0 out in just a t-shirt and jeans, but ALSO needed that beanie and gloves. Knew a dude whose ear fell off from the cold: donāt need that.
One day I need to nerd out with you about my Tang Soo Do experience. Weāre getting to the point in the curriculum where it has appreciable differences from Tae Kwon Do. The Shotokan influence in particular is really shinning through. LOT of emphasis on strong stances and power generation through that. Hips are becoming a key player. TKD was a lot more mobile and flippy/dippy for me. But Iām still making their roundhouse my own Muay Thai mutation that, in my mind, will accidentally become Kyokushin, because Mas Oyama was too cool.
Some random thoughts, but Iām still loving my 6-in-1 Ninja. Been using it every day. Made up some air fried onion straws yesterday to put on top of my salmon and mahi mahi burger that I grilled on the grill function. Also been eating liver omelets every night that I air fried the liver for. Iāve found that āheatā is the secret for liver. I mix in jalapenos and some hot sauce and it compliments it very well. Plus itās like the original superfood.
Diet break coming up will time out well, because Iām already tired of having to eat so much damn food. At least I have a way to make the cooking fun.
My kid earned their final stripe on their belt for TSD, so weāll all be testing in December. Assuming they pass (no way they wonāt: theyāre crushing it), we intend to start doing TSD twice a week, so that will be good new activity to add.
Iāll be doing an AMA over on a subreddit soon. Iām excited about that. Been fun to have multiple avenues to talk training and nutrition.
EDIT: Oh yeah, this was one of the whole reasons I meant to write this: @tlgains should appreciate this, but the fast food addiction is becoming incredibly manageable as a result of all the cooking and high quality food I have in the house. These days, the idea of picking up food and bringing it home seems REAL stupid to me. Why would I buy a burger using 70% low grade beef, enriched bread buns, old veggies, etc when, in the same amount of time it takes me to wait in line and order, I can come home and make a bison, salmon, or mahi mahi burger with a tomato I grew out of my own garden? Why have someone make me a sandwich for $9 when I can make my own at home? I wouldnāt bat an eye at this before, but thinking it through these days, itās weird. Same thing happens when I go out: if Iām going to order out, itās gotta be something I canāt make at home that I can do a better job with.
From what Iām hearing, that 6-in-1 Ninja sounds nice dude. I bet it aids in making your food taste better as well. It really all does come down to learning how to cook doesnāt it. Cause if you liked the food you cooked, you would crave less fast food. I actually ordered a ribeye and grilled shrimp from Outback Steakhouse a couple weeks ago. I donāt plan on doing that again because those three ribeyes and shrimp I made last week or so taste better/the same as that.
Thatās up to the chef, haha. And buying quality ingredients to start. But even before that, I started feeling the same. āThe ship is turning aroundā as it were, and having a fully stocked freezer and fridge has me at the point that Iām not going to spend even MORE money to buy someone elsesā not great food when I can make it better at home.
This is why my wife doesnāt order steak anymore: she says I make it better at home. Itās pretty liberating.
Dude you wanna know whatās funny, I realized I literally have the power make the best taco bowl ever. Most places are skimpy with the meat anyway.
Being a pretty good cook has definitely ruined eating out for me in a lot of cases.
On the one hand, itās great bc I save money and eat good food, on the other hand, I sometimes really just want to eat out but canāt justify it
Iāve also had to turn down a number of social opportunities bc I really couldnāt justify the cost of eating out
@anna_5588 In those situations I attend because the cost isnāt for the food: itās the experience. I can trigger my adrenals by hitting up the nose tork, but I buy Disneyland ticket and ride the rides for the experience.
@tlgains Protein recs are so sparse that itās hard to ever get enough servings. Itās one of the reasons Iām so āanti-beanā: beans have always been a cheap filler in the place of meat.
AM WORKOUT (0545 wake up via dog) FASTED
2 mile 80lb weighted vest walk.
Notes: Not a bad start to the weekend. May have been able to sleep more, but schedule is pretty packed and getting the dog walked early relieved some of that. Still have deads and bench today. My plan for a cheat meal didnāt really unfold. By the time I got to dinner, all I wanted was meat, so I got wings again. I think I need to start actually doing a cheat meal at breakfast if Iām going to start implementing them, because by the time dinner rolls around, Iām so full of nutrient rich foods that I just plain donāt have any hunger in me and the idea of eating something I enjoy doesnāt manifest because I just plain donāt want to eat. Interesting development.