8/06/2020
Week 6, Day 1 of BTM
Zercher squats: 5x85, 5x105, 5x135, 5x155, 5x175, 5 sets of 5 at 195 lbs
Superset with 70 pull ups, 60 ring dings
OHP: 5x55, 5x65, 5x85, 5x105, 5x115, 5x130. 20 reps at 102.5 lbs.
Superset with 30 pull ups, 40 rings dips, 100.
Total time: 50 minutes plus 10 minutes of warm up.
8/08/2020
Week 6, Day 2 of BTM
TB DLās: 5x135, 5x165, 5x205, 5x255, 5x285, three sets of 5 at 320 lbs.
Superset with 5x10 curls
BP: 5x95, 5x125, 5x145, 5x185, 5x205, five sets of 5 at 230 lbs.
Superset with 5x12 rows and 5x10 curls.
8/11/2020
Week 6, Day 3 of BTM. LAST ONE!!!
Squat: 5x115, 5x135, 5x165, 5x205, 5x230., 5x257.5 lbs. 20 reps at 190 lbs.
Superset with throws, jumps.
OHP: 12 sets of 5 at 102.5 lbs
Superset with 5x20 TB shrugs at 185 lbs, 5x5 weighted pull ups (+45 lbs) and 5x20 band pull aparts.
Canāt believe Iām done. I plan to do some testing later this week, and write something up (oh boy, another write up on BTM).
8/13/2020
Done with 531 BLM (will test strength this weekend).
Round 1 (with 45 lb weight vest):
5 rounds alternating: 12 push ups, 10 goblet squats (with 60 lb DB).
Round 2 (no weight vest)
5 rounds alternating: 6 pull ups, 10 ab roll outs.
Round 3 (no weight vest):
5 rounds of: 15 KB swings followed by a single BW move (cycled through: push ups, pull ups, HLR, squats, band pull aparts)
Total time = 42:44.
Notes: pretty tough, actually, and I had to keep a decent pace to get it done. Had planned for Round 2 to also be weighted, but decided against it based on how I felt after Round 1. After finishing Building the Monolith, I now want to do less barbell training for a bit.
8/15/2020
DL record! 400 lbs, but could have done more. Tried 435 and failed.
See proof here:
Then tried 300 lbs on bench, and get stuck about half way up. Went to give this another go soon.
Then, to get some work in:
5x12 ring dips, 5x12 ring rows, 5x12 ab roll outs
8/18/2020
Dan John-style workout:
1 arm clean and press with 60 lbs dumb pull (1, 2, 3 each arm) 5 rounds, withā¦
Pull ups 1, 2, 3 (immediately after c/p). 5 rounds.
3x8 1 arm DB BP with 60 lbs
3x8 ring roll outs
Shoulder complex: 3 rounds of 10 each of: BTNP, rear delt raises, lat raises (if @samul see me doing lat raises this, heād be proud.
Iām going to go with that fail being mental. You smoked 400, I donāt believe that you donāt have 435 in you right now
For what itās worth, I second @hardartery that 400 looked like a warm up set.
Iām a bit between programs and just getting some work in. Today was very hot and smoky (fires nearby) outside, so moved things indoors. Inspired by some other threads, I decided to try a day in the life of the 10,000 KB challenge, doing 500 swings.
I only have a 35 lb bell, which Dan John says is the suggested weight for a woman. Well, screw it, thatās all Iāve got.
There are many ways to divide this up, but I wanted something I could easily keep track of, and get some extra work in. I did it like this:
5 rounds of:
25 swings
10 pull ups
25 swings
10 bodyweight squats
25 swings
10 push ups
25 swings
10 ab wheel roll outs
In all: 500 swings, 50 pull ups, 50 push ups, 50 squats, 50 roll outs.
Total time: ~48 minutes.
Notes: even with only a 35 lb bell, this really gets the grip and forearms burning. I wasnāt pushing it for time, but I also wasnāt lolly gagging too much. The 10 pull ups was the hardest of the extra work, but with plenty of breaks between these sets it wasnāt bad. Overall? I liked it, but can see if I moved up to a 24 kg bell and did this for 20 workouts, it would be a killer.
8/20/2020
Still just kind of winging it and having fun with getting work in. I am avoiding the big barbell lifts of BP, OHP, DL, and squat just for a change up.
Workout:
Snatch grip High Pulls EMOM for 10 minutes: 3 reps of 145 lbs.
10 push ups, 10 hands-released push ups, 10 ring push ups, AMAP weight-vested ring push ups (got 22 reps)
10 pull ups, 5 pull ups +18 lbs, AMAP pull ups + 35 lbs (got 12 reps)
10 DB presses with 25 in each hand, 5 with 35, then AMAP with 45 lbers (got 18 reps)
10 curls with 25 in each hand, 5 with 35, AMAP with 45 lbers (got 13 reps)
10 skull crushes with 25, 5 with 35, AMAP with 45 lbers (got 8, getting tired here)
Took about 50 minutes. A blended Dan John/Chad Waterbury workout
8/21/2020
Back inside today, due to poor air quality because of fires nearby.
500 KB swings again.
5 rounds of (with a 35 lb bell)
25 swings
25 left arm presses
25 swings
25 right arm presses
25 swings
10 sit ups
25 swings
10 BW squats.
Total time: 31:30.
Much faster than last time. My hands and forearms are still sore from doing it a few days early. I like this because it is so simple, and only takes a KB to bring upstairs to the bedroom from garage. If air quality stays bad, Iāll do different variations of this. I like that it is also a conditioning workout.
Quick workout today. Again inside because of air quality. This is a Waterbury workout:
6 x 8 of pull ups. (parallel grip, and focused on full range of motion. One minute between sets)
6 x 8 DB presses, with 45 lbers. (One minute between sets)
6 x 8 SLDL with shrugs at top (One minute between sets)
Notes: Took about 25 minutes, and was a not overly taxing. I only brought inside the 45 lb DBs and have a doorframe pull up bar, so worked with what I had.
Outside workout! Air is not wonderful, but not too smoky outside here in NorCal.
Decided to do a day in the āZombie Apocalypseā workout:
4x5 SG High pulls (135 lbs) supersetted with 4x5 vertical jumps with a 35 lb KB.
3x3 Powersnatches from hang, with a 30 meter overhead walk on last rep.
For time (took me 21 minutes):
3 rounds of:
10 pull ups
20 ring dips
30 push ups
40 walking lunges
50 air squats
(total time for entire workout = 44 min).
Notes: Pretty fun but definitely tough. Another āall in oneā-type of training day, where Iām using the workout to get my conditioning as well. I usually schedule my week of 3 weight lifting days (531 usually) and 3 conditioning days, so this is different and a welcome change. I think not doing any heavy barbell lifts allows me to stay fresh enough to push it each day. I will take tomorrow off, though.
8/25/2020
4x5 Snatch grip high pulls at 145 lbs, 4x5 KB jumps with 35 lbs
With a 45 lbs weight vest:
50 ring dips
50 inverted ring rows
75 squats
(divided into 5 rounds)
10 min Airdyne
Notes: still just kind of winging it. Iāve been enjoying the change up, with weight training being more frequent but lacking the big barbell lifts. I will probably do this a bit longer and settle into a program.
8/26/2020
4x5 DB High Pulls (with 60 lb DBs), 4x5 KB jumps with 35 lbs
3x4e 1 arm DB snatches followed by 25 meter walk (with 45 lbs).
CTās V-taper workout. 3 rounds of:
Lat raises with 20 lbers x10
BTNP with 65 lbs x 10
Rear delt raises 35 lbers x10
100 band pull aparts
Airdyne for 7 minutes, with 3 hard sprints.
Total time = 44 minutes
Notes: Again, just focusing on getting work. I think I need an easier conditioning day tomorrow to take a beak from from strength-based days. Will plan on 10 miles on Airdyne or something similar.
8/27/2020
I decided to start one of CTās program this Saturday, with a goal of using it while trying to lean up. I donāt have an exact weight in mind, but thinking mid-170ās will be about right. Iām not looking to get ultra-lean, but want to get back to where I typically was and possibly even have added a couple pounds of muscle.
I did a condensed run-through of one of the days to get a feel for it, which involves total body, boot-camp style workout followed by SS cardio.
Looked like this:
15 push ups
12 DB squats (single 25 lb DB)
15 rows (25 lbers)
12 SLDL (25 lbers)
15 bicycles
Break
15 reps DB shoulder press (25 lbers)
15 walking lunges (BW)
10 pull ups (rings)
15 Good mornings (65 lbs)
20 sit ups
Rest
20 DB curls (25 lbers)
20 calf raises (25 lbers)
20 band pull downs
20 Mountain climbers
15 lat raises (15 lbers)
Then 25 SS min on Airdyne. Total time about 40 minutes.
Notes: The real workout will have me do each one 3x through before moving to the next one. I tried to make it simple and used the same weight (25 lb DBs) for all moves except lat raises. Logistically not too bad to do.
Taking Friday 8/28 off, and will begin the workout tomorrow. My plan is to run it for 4 weeks, and check my progress.
Today I am starting a program from Thibarmy. My goal is to run it for 4 weeks, and also be more deliberate in my eating and aim for a ~8 lb weight loss or so while maintaining or increasing strength.
Iām starting at 187 lbs.
Week 1. Day 1 workout.
This is an upper body, strength-focused workout. It went like this:
A1: Bench press 215 lbs x 6
A2 (no break): weight vest push ups x 8 (45 lbs vest)
60-90 sec break:
B1: Weighted ring pull ups (+35 lbs)
B2: Rear delt raises x 8 (45 lb DBs)
Do this 5 times through. Took about 24 minutes. The most annoying part was the weight vest on/off, but it wasnāt too bad.
CT says some arm work is allowed at the end, so did 12-10-8 each of:
Fat grip reverse curls, hammer curls.
I still have 7 sprints to complete later today, so will update this post when I do them at about 2:30 this afternoon.
8/29/2020
Second workout:
4x10s sprints (all out)
3x15s sprints (all out)
On Airdyne with ~2 min in between of easy riding.
8/30/2020
Metabolic pairing workout:
3 times through:
8 reps power pull (115 lbs)
10 burpees
(75 sec rest after each round)
3 times through:
10 reps DB thrusters (35 lb DBs)
10 vertical jumps + 10 air squats
3 times through:
10 clean and press (115 lbs)
10 burpees
25 min on Airdyne, steady state.
This was a tough workout. Really gets the heart rate going, and is tests conditioning. Iāll slightly alter the moves each week, but keep them based on the Thibarmy specifications.
9/01/2020
Quad/Ham day. I did the following over about 35 minutes (after a 10 min warm up):
A1. Zercher squat, 205 lbs x 6
A2. (no rest after A1) Split squat 45 lb DBs x 8e
2 min rest
A3. Snatch grip SLDL 185 x 6
A4. (no rest after A3) SLDL with 60 lb DBs x 8 (shrug at top)
Rest 2 minutes, repeat four more times.
This was absolute hell on earth. Do not attempt this. I will alter it for next week (looking for advice on CTās forum). Iām thinking of dropping the first lift to 5 reps and swapping out one or both of the secondary exercises for an easier isolation move that is easier on the lower back.