I’ve been reading through the forums for a little while and thought it was about time to get a training log up.
My immediate goal is to drop a bit of fat over the next 8 weeks before a holiday. I weighed in yesterday at 85kg and would like to drop about 5kg. I’ll be counting macros as this has worked well for me in the past, my staring point is 2250 calories and a minimum of 150g protein a day.
Training wise I’m halfway through Wendlers “Bronson” challenge which is daily bodyweight/weight vest work plus 2-3 lifting sessions per week. The daily work and having a consistency goal rather than performance goal seems to really work for me (hence the log title).
25/04/21 - Bronson Challenge Day 21
Recovery
3 rounds Wim Hof
Training
3x3 box jump
Trap bar deadlift
68kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 10
10 rounds, in 10kg vest, not timed:
3 chins
8 push up
15 squat
Training
Grease the groove style:
20 chins
40 push up
40 squat
28/04/21 - Bronson Challenge Day 24
Recovery
60 sec cold shower
3 rounds Wim Hof
Training
Grease the groove style:
220 push up
Nightmare work days yesterday and today, I was in work to do an upgrade which should’ve taken a couple of hours but failed and took two days to troubleshoot and fix. It was full on early starts and late finishes with little breaks so I just did the grease the groove stuff when I could. Wendler does say it’s okay if you don’t get the full amount of reps everyday on the challenge and that some days can be a few reps here and there but I’m proper annoyed that I didn’t get the full reps!
Training
First thing:
10 rounds, in 10kg vest, not timed:
3 chins
8 push up
15 squat
A few hours later:
5x10 band good morning
3x3 box jump
Safety bar squat
55kg x 5
65kg x 5
73kg x 20
Much better training day today. Weighed in at 84.1kg this morning which is down about 1kg for the week. Diet has been good this week, hit my macros everyday except one where I just underate in general.
Training
10 rounds, not timed:
5 chins
10 push ups
20 squat
01/05/22 - Bronson Challenge Day 27
Recovery
1 min cold shower
Training
10 rounds, in 10kg vest, not timed:
3 chins
8 push ups
15 squat
At a wedding yesterday where much food and wine was consumed. Really pleased with myself for getting my training done yesterday and today but the big win for me is I got right back on track with the diet today.
10 rounds, in 10kg vest, not timed:
3 chins
8 push ups
8 Bulgarian split squat (per leg)
Pulled or tweaked something in my side/oblique area. It was very painful on the chins and isn’t feeling great now. Not sure if it was the deads, split squats or just general fatigue but will see how it is tomorrow and have a couple of bodyweight only days.
Another slow training day, the first two sets of pressing felt really solid so was tempted to push the last set or go for some joker sets, but the last set felt a little off so decided not to push it. Circuit work was good and my side is feeling a little better, going to lay off chins and weight vest work for a few more days until its back to normal. Weighed in at 82.4kg this morning so weight loss is still moving in the right direction.
I’ve been doing them pretty consistently after I got given a Wim Hof book for Christmas a couple of years ago. At this point they’re more of a habit than anything else! The main benefits I’ve found are both mental and physical:
I feel really good after doing them and I feel very ‘awake’ and ‘ready to go’ afterwards. When I first started them I had a feeling of almost euphoria after doing them.
I think there is something to the ‘strengthening the immune system’ claim as since incorporating them I’ve had less colds/minor illnesses and when I do get one I bounce back a lot quicker and the symptoms are less severe.
I like the mental aspect of them, most days I don’t really want to turn the hot to cold and often end up playing mind games with myself (e.g. I’ll just do 30 seconds today). Once I get going and control my breathing it’s fine and once it’s over I feel great, plus it’s an easy way to start the day with a win.
I would like to incorporate ice baths and other more intense cold therapy in my routine. I’ve thought about rigging up some kind of DIY ice bath but it feels like a hassle when the cold shower is so simple to do!
I have a bath- which I could fill with ice I guess! A couple of years ago I did a running challenge where I was running 10km a day for 10 days straight and it tightened up my shins to the point I could barely walk by day 8, I took an ice bath then and it sorted it out 100%.
Showers wise, I live in Dubai, and it’s coming into summer so there’s not really such a thing as a “cold” shower- the majority of buildings here have the water tank on the roof so it’s usually pretty warm by the time it hits the bathroom! You can switch off the immersion heater and use the hot tap as the cold tap but even then its tepid haha
I’ve thought the same thing about filling the bath with ice, maybe this weekend is the time to try it haha! I also thought about a bin/barrel of some kind in the garden but haven’t looked into it properly.
That running challenge sounds grim! But crazy how much of an impact the ice bath had. I suppose it says something that you often see professional sports teams and athletes using ice baths.
I remember staying at a place with roof mounted water tanks in Bali a few years back and the shower was great (though it does slightly scupper the cold showers!). I have heard about people using a bucket of ice and putting their hands/face in as an low space/low equipment option but never tried it myself.
Training
E2MOM x 10 rounds:
5 inverted row
10 push ups
20 squat
Nothing crazy today, just easy reps after incorporating the running, dips and chins over the past couple of days. Still some pain in my side but it’s getting better so I’m going to slowly start re-introucing chins.
Later, grease the groove style across the evening:
50 inverted row
100 push up
200 squat
I’m trying to decide what to do training wise once this challenge is over. I will continue 531 for the main lifts and the goal for the next 1-3 cycles is still fat loss, so anything too intense is out. 2 or 3 days per week in the gym plus some form of daily conditioning (or at least some kind of activity) seems to be a sweet spot for me.