The Training Log of a Chronic Over Eater

Training Training Logs
41

So I just wanted to make note for myself:

The jv squat with deep breathing in the hole and exhale prior to concentric is a tremendous pain in the ass. Now while it doesn’t literally hurt my glutes, it is certainly testing their endurance, I really dislike all the time I spend in the hole at rock bottom. I also find the weights rather humbling, since I could lift more (not a ton more, but more) without the breathing technique. I guess it is illustrating a weakness that could use addressing. Plus the light weights let me squat every day trouble free.

Hopefully this will translate into my dead lift which had been stagnant at 455. I thought the 10k swinging program would assist my dead lift but it did not assist at all. I guess my lockout was never the problem. Prior to all the swinging I had done a good amount of sldl and that made a significant improvement in my dead lift, similar to swinging but different. I plan to use sldl during the six week dead lift phase of the 18 week protocol. Dan John recommends rack pulls but my commercial gym doesn’t really have a way to do that. I thought this would be a reasonable substitute considering my past success with them, and they’ll keep the hinge going.

42

Bw 221 today

We’ll see about some conditioning work tonight

43

No conditioning work yesterday.

Morning bw 220.7

Today’s workout

Squats are generally feeling better, sitting on heels more consistently, less knew feeling off (still pvc rolling each workout day)
Pull ups more explosive today, must be all that practice

Hip abductor machine 130 x 30, 150 x 30, 25
Seated leg curl 70 x 35, 35, 20 (sets of 35 are providing a good pump)
Reverse lunge x 10
Shoulder external rotation 7.5 x 3 x 25, 10 x 14
Face pull 25 x 35, 20
Pull ups x 31
Jv front squat b x 3 x 8, 95 x 4, 115 x 3, 145 x 5 x 2 (these 5 sets with deep breathing in the hole and exhale prior to concentric)
L sit regression heels down 30s x 3
Back extension 10 x 2 x 20
Machine laterals 50 x 11
Goblet carry 100 x 90s

Duration 64 minutes, a bit longer than I’d like

Things are generally feeling better with practice. Rep speed feels faster.
I like all the reps for my hip and hamstring warm up but I think I’ll take the Rep total down for face pulls

44

Morning bw 220

decent workout today. Duration 62 minutes

Not sure why but I felt like I had low blood sugar while squatting. I eat the same every day so that wasn’t it. I did feel especially tired getting up this morning. I’ve been more tired than usual the pay couple of days. Not exactly sure why, I’m going to bed on time and sleeping Ok.

Hip abductor machine 130 x 30, 150 x 2 x 30
Seated leg curl 70 x 2 x 35, 25

These feel good when getting ready to squat. Going to keep these for a while.

Reverse lunge x 10
Shoulder external rotation 10 x 3 x 15
Face pull 32.5 x 3 x 15

I’m not sure if I like doing face pulls daily. I might just do band pull aparts in lieu of face pulls. My shoulders can get a little finicky and I don’t always like the feel of face pulls. Sometimes it depends on the day. I might try less volume on them to see how it goes.

Chins x 42 done with full stretch at bottom, I always do that but am noting it today. Stretches held longer than others.
Jv front squat 45 x 3 x 8, 95 x 5, 115 x 3, 135 x 2

My right knee was feeling off again, like everyday. I might need knee sleeves. I have patello femoral syndrome.
Did more pvc rolling. Knots are reducing daily.

L sit heels down 30s x 3, right foot elevated 20s, left foot elevated 20s
Hammer curls 20 x 28

Curls done for elbow happiness. They were getting a little cranky. The one set made a noticeable improvement in elbow comfort.

Back extension 10 x 2 x 20, 12
Machine laterals 50 x 20, 15

I have a weak lower back. I think it’s holding back the more important lifts.
The laterals are for purely cosmetic purposes. I developed far too much anterior delt.

Suitcase carry 80 x 75s right, 85s left

This is weird to me because I’m right handed.

Maybe some conditioning this weekend? I know I could use some push ups and swings. …

45

Morning bw 220.3

Today began week 3 of the 18 week protocol

Duration 60 minutes

I enjoyed this workout today. Turkish get ups are essentially brand new to me so I’m not very good at them, hopefully they’ll progress quickly.

Hip abductor machine 130 x 35, 150 x 20
Seated leg curl 70 x 2 x 35, 25
Reverse lunge x 10
Shoulder external rotation with cable 10 x 3 x 16
Jv front squat 45 x 3 x 8, 65 x 4, 100 x 2 x 5

Knees actually felt normal today. Hips are loosening up a bit. Knots are reducing with regular pvc rolling.

L sit heels down 3 x 20s
Tgu 20#kb x 8 per side total, waves of 1, 2, 3
Machine laterals 50 x 2 x 20, 8
Back extension 10 x 2 x 20, 18

46

That’s awesome that you’ve started Turkish get-ups, how do you find them? I found that my technique was horrible at first but it seems to be improving at a decent rate.

47

Keep up the good work.

What are your main “lifts” these to weeks. If I remember correctly its a 2 week “cycle” of the main movements right? I don’t sound like I make sense.

48

Morning bw 221.4

Minor correction
Yesterday L sit holds were 30s
Farmers walk 85# x 70s wasn’t included

Today’s workout, duration 65m

Hip abductor machine 130 x 35, 150 x 25
Seated leg curl 70 x 2 x 35, 30
Reverse lunge x 10

The first two are done for pump, but also for me to feel the muscles working so I’m more aware of them. I find that “waking up” my hamstrings and external rotators is beneficial for squatting. Maybe it’s a crutch, I don’t know. But the pump definitely feels good before squatting. The reverse lunge is for range of motion and awareness of using hips and hamstrings to execute the movement.

Jv fs 45 x 3 x 8 (gently rocking back and forth in hole to loosen hips, slightly wider stance each set)
95 x 3
140 x 3 x 3 with breathing technique

Squats are moving faster. Hips are opening up better. Knee still feels good. I get some knee cracking in eccentric, usually one pop in one leg or the other, not necessarily every Rep. This doesn’t concern me because there is no pain or discomfort I think it’s part of the patellar femoral syndrome. Also sitting into heels more. My main concern is that my hips move a little before the bar moves up when initiating concentric. It’s not bad, but I’d like to fix it before adding weight, especially because the weights are light.

L sit heels down 30s x 2
Tgu 20# kb x 7

Tgu feels a little better today. Keeping shoulder more packed.

Shoulder external rotation with cable 12.5 x 3 x 16
Back extension 10 x 3 x 20
Machine laterals 50 x 2 x 20, 16
Waiter carry 65 x 67s right, 71s left

Did conditioning lay night due to a questionable dinner (not a terrible dinner, just not great)

20:15m

Totals

140 swings @45#
70 push ups
14 trips with 45#plate down and up to third floor

Final hr 162

49

[quote]furo wrote:
That’s awesome that you’ve started Turkish get-ups, how do you find them? I found that my technique was horrible at first but it seems to be improving at a decent rate.[/quote]

I don’t really know how good or bad my technique is. I watched some YouTube videos to see how it’s done. Unfortunately no one at my gym seems to train them so I can’t get live feed back.

But with that said I am liking them. I think they’re going to be good for them. So far my upper back seems like the week point, this becomes more noticeable if I’m doing a set of 2 or 3. Then my triceps start to tire during Rep 3. I’ve always had trouble with my shoulders, getting pain and stuff, so I can see this being very valuable for shoulder stability. The packed shoulder throughout the movement feels good.

So far I think I do them correctly. I’d like them to be more fluid but I’m sure that comes with lots of practice. Ithinkthere’s times between steps that I get distracted and unpack my shoulder or do something that doesn’t necessarily lead directly to the next step. This is what I consider to be not fluid, but it’ll come.

They also seem to provide a conditioning effect. So this is good, I’m fairly efficient at swinging but rather out of shape with a lot of other things. The tgu is the next thing to bring up. It’ll be good for me.

Then there’s the issue of only using 20# and getting tired. …

50

I also like the built in hip flexor stretches

51

[quote]young n wrote:
Keep up the good work.

What are your main “lifts” these to weeks. If I remember correctly its a 2 week “cycle” of the main movements right? I don’t sound like I make sense.[/quote]

Hey young n

Thanks. I appreciate that you guys take the time to share words of encouragement.

The two main lifts are squats and turkish get ups.

The squat variation can change or remain the same. The turkish get ups are done for low reps, up to ten per side, at least one day per week if I’m not mistaken.

The rest of the stuff I add is warm up/awareness oriented, or just for cosmetics like the laterals. I do back extensions because I think my low back is a weak point. I also think my abs are weak so I do L sit work.

I guess I think everything is weak and needs work…

52

[quote]pabergin wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:
That’s awesome that you’ve started Turkish get-ups, how do you find them? I found that my technique was horrible at first but it seems to be improving at a decent rate.[/quote]

I don’t really know how good or bad my technique is. I watched some YouTube videos to see how it’s done. Unfortunately no one at my gym seems to train them so I can’t get live feed back. [/quote]

Yeah I have no idea if I’m doing them right or not haha. Maybe post a video somewhere and ask people for advice? I was thinking of doing that myself.

[quote]pabergin wrote:
But with that said I am liking them. I think they’re going to be good for them. So far my upper back seems like the week point, this becomes more noticeable if I’m doing a set of 2 or 3. Then my triceps start to tire during Rep 3. I’ve always had trouble with my shoulders, getting pain and stuff, so I can see this being very valuable for shoulder stability. The packed shoulder throughout the movement feels good. [/quote]

I actually only ever do them for singles, and I’ve seen that recommended a lot. Like you’ve said too many other factors come into play when you do higher reps and they are tiring as hell. Just getting up and down off the floor with no weight is tiring lol.

53

Morning bw 217.5 this was a pleasant surprise, did not train yesterday due to work and ate rather lightly (still got the usual protein, about 240 grams)

Today’s training

Duration 77 minutes. This is too long for my preference. I tried to do too much.

Hip abductor machine 130 x 35, 150 x 30
Seated leg curl 70 x 3 x 35
Reverse lunge x 10, noted some discomfort in right hip flexor that lasted throughout work out
Shoulder external rotation with cable 12.5 x 3 x 17
Jv front squat 45 x 3 x 8; 95 x 3; 115 x 3; 135 x 1; 150 x 5 x 2

Light rocking back and forth on sets of 45#. Right hip giving me minor trouble while squatting. Going to pvc roll and dig in with the baseball. Added breathing technique to top sets. Hips kick back slightly when initiating concentric. The bar seems to be moving up with the hip movement. This is not like a gm since the bar would fall in that case.

Tgu 20# kb x 5/side 25# kb x 5/side

These are feeling more secure. Moving through them more quickly with less extraneous movement. Getting good hip flexor stretches in during reps. Shoulders packing better.

L sit heels down 3 x 30s
Back extensions 15# x 3 x 10
Machine laterals 50 x 2 x 20, 18
Suitcase carry 80 x 90s R, 95s L

I won’t do so many tgus when there’s so many squats to do. I don’t think I need quite so many squat warm up sets.

Hopefully the hip will feel better for tomorrow.

54

Morning bw 217.6

Ate a bit more than yesterday, all very clean.

Today’s workout

Comment: I’m enjoying this style of training. I like getting into the gym everyday and “practicing.” I find this approach to be appealing since it simplifies the training and I don’t have pressure to do anything other than what my body says is easily managed. I do suffer from training add, so I haven’t let go entirely… today I messed around with high pulls for no good reason.

Duration 68 minutes (high pulls)

Hip abductor machine 130 x 35, 150 x 35
Seated leg curl 70 x 40, 20
Reverse lunge x 10

Noted the same hip flexor discomfort from yesterday, it was less annoying today.

Shoulder external rotation with cable 12.5 x 18, 2 x 17
Jvfs 45 x 2 x 8, 65 x 4, 105 x 5, 135 x 3, 150 x 2

Some guys were quarter squatting 225 in the squat rack so I had to clean the weights for all these sets. I really suck at cleans so it was less than pleasant on the 150. I would like to address that movement and high pulls one day.
The sets of 5, 3, and 2 used the breathing technique.

Tgu 20#kb x 3, 25#kb x 3

These are all done as singles. They feel easier and more natural everyday. Threw in a set with a50#db. It was no problem, but I realized how lazy I was being on the light sets. Going a little heavier forced me to pay attention and be more deliberate. Will continue to practice with light weights. Thinking of going up 5# every week until my body says slow down.

L sit heels down 30s x 3, then held a legitimate L sit for 10s with knees locked out. I was happy with this because it was impossible before using the heels down regression.

Back extension 15 x 3 x 11
Machine laterals 50 x 3 x 20
Goblet carry 110# x 95s

Knees felt good today despite some cracking. Right hip felt slightly better, it doesn’t hurt or affect rom. Getting more weight into my heelswhen squatting with hips opening up pretty well. Squats feel decent, must be all that practice.

55

Congratulations on the L sit, that is pretty nice at your weight.

Of course I’m still trying to wrap my head around why a hip abductor machine (and a machine curl) during a warm up.

Keep up the good work.

56

Saturday bw 216.5
Sunday bw 219.5
Today’s morning bw 217 (interesting fluctuations this weekend)

Previous bw high 233 (estimated)

Today’s workout duration 61 minutes (these times always include warm up and stuff)

Hip abductor machine 130 x 40, 150 x 20
Seated leg curl 70 x 40, 25
Reverse lunge x 10
Shoulder external rotation with cable 12.5 x 18, 2 x 17
Tgu 25 x 2, 30 x 3
Jvfs 45 x 2 x 8, 65 x 4, 95 x 2, 105 x 2 x 5
L sit heels down 30s x 3
Back extension 15 x 3 x 12
Machine laterals 55 x 3 x 10
Farmers walk 85 x 76s (upper body locking together, staying solid longer)

Messed around with snatch grip high pulls today. 45 x 2 x 10 and 65 x 2 x 8. These are deliberately light weights for practice. All reps are performed from the hang above knees. Got good hip whip today, reminded me of those 10, 000 swings I did recently. Hip whip into vertical plank lock out, very aggressive, shoulders naturally shrugged and bar floated up on it’s own. Pulled elbows up and back to keep bat near body. Might take these slightly heavier over the weeks of I insist to keep doing them. They feel good so far and get blood moving.

57

Afternoon pull ups, neutral grip

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

25 reps total

Sets done on top of every minute, so 8:10 minutes total

I want to maintain my pull ups

58

[quote]young n wrote:
Congratulations on the L sit, that is pretty nice at your weight.

Of course I’m still trying to wrap my head around why a hip abductor machine (and a machine curl) during a warm up.

Keep up the good work.[/quote]

Thanks about the l sit. I like doing them. I’m guessing it’s an ab exercise with a lot of carry over to other exercises. I don’t know much about it, but that’s my guess. Plus it’s easy to turn into a max effort since I can’t hold it long (if that’s what I wanted to do).

I laughed to myself about the machine work. I know it looks strange. I think of it like oiling up my joints. My hips are usually stiff and take a bit of warming to feel ready. The seated leg curl gives me a great pump, especially on the sets of 40. I like squatting with that pump, it just feels better.

I also do leg swings, hip circles and stuff at home. Plus the squat stretch after warm.

Any ideas for someone that warms up slowly?

59

[quote]pabergin wrote:
Thanks about the l sit. I like doing them. [/quote]
But do you need to do them, why are you doing them, how do they address your weakness(es)?

[quote]pabergin wrote:
I’m guessing it’s an ab exercise with a lot of carry over to other exercises. [/quote]
Yes and no, as always it depends.

[quote]pabergin wrote:
I don’t know much about it. [/quote]
I’m not an expert on them myself.

[quote]pabergin wrote:
Plus it’s easy to turn into a max effort since I can’t hold it long (if that’s what I wanted to do).[/quote]
Try a plank variation instead: 2-3 sets of a certain time with the last set being a “max effort” if you feel the itch, though I wouldn’t recommend it.
(You could end up on passive restraints during the plank, which is not the goal.)

[quote]pabergin wrote:
I laughed to myself about the machine work. I know it looks strange. I think of it like oiling up my joints.[/quote]
I think it is a great idea for everyone to oil up their joints.
Defranco’s Agile 8 fits the bill perfectly here.

[quote]pabergin wrote:
My hips are usually stiff and take a bit of warming to feel ready.[/quote]
Welcome to the club buddy.
Try Defranco’s Agile 8.

[quote]pabergin wrote:
The seated leg curl gives me a great pump, especially on the sets of 40. I like squatting with that pump, it just feels better. [/quote]
I wholeheartedly agree with having a leg curl variation prior to squatting.

[quote]pabergin wrote:
Any ideas for someone that warms up slowly? [/quote]
Defranco’s Agile 8?

I know that you know the difference between warming up and training, but it needs to be said.
Remember this is a warm up not a workout, take it easy, take it slow, do not force certain stretches/drills, do only the range of motion that is pain free, you will gradually get better, smoother at it, live to come back tomorrow.
Please use your best judgement to decide what works for your body and what does not.

60

[quote]pabergin wrote:
Saturday bw 216.5
Sunday bw 219.5
Today’s morning bw 217 (interesting fluctuations this weekend)

Previous bw high 233 (estimated)

Today’s workout duration 61 minutes (these times always include warm up and stuff)

Hip abductor machine 130 x 40, 150 x 20 --------------Defranco’s Agile 8
Seated leg curl 70 x 40, 25 ------------------------------Supine swiss ball leg curls x8 reps
Reverse lunge x 10 ----------------------------------Defranco’s Agile 8
Shoulder external rotation with cable 12.5 x 18, 2 x 17 -------Push up plus x8 reps

Tgu 25 x 2, 30 x 3
Jvfs 45 x 2 x 8, 65 x 4, 95 x 2, 105 x 2 x 5

L sit heels down 30s x 3 -----------------------Planks, side planks, reverse crunches, rollouts
Back extension 15 x 3 x 12
Machine laterals 55 x 3 x 10
Farmers walk 85 x 76s (upper body locking together, staying solid longer)
[/quote]

Sorry I try to make sense, but it came out looking stupid.
If you got any questions feel free to ask.

Stay strong.