Velvet's Lifting and Other Fun Stuff Log

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/17/22

Cardio

Adversity run: ~30 minutes

Super nice day out today, unseasonably warm. By the time I got out of work, changed, and got to the trails I wanted to run on, the clouds rolled in. Drizzled the whole time I was out there. I brought some nano-spikes but left them in the car because I could see that the trail was mostly bare with some patches of ice. That turned out to be a mistake, once I navigated the muddy section of the trail it was all ice for the remainder. Most if it was melty so I was able to jog on it, but there was sections of wet glass that were pretty treacherous. All in all I got what I needed out of this.

7th week TM test - deads

Box jumps:
x5

Power clean:
45x5
95x3
135x2
155x2
175x2
175x1 (hang)

Deadlift:
135x5
225x1
295x1
345x1
395x1

SUPER SETS (row - shrug)

BB row:
205x10
185x12

BB shrug:
205x10
185x9

SUPER SETS (core - core)

Seated DB good morning:
70x2x10

Reverse hyper:
2x10

Decided to just hit some singles on deads today instead of a set of 5. Top set was easy money, could pull that any day at any time really.

@bigpappafrance Thanks man! Training has been fine, albeit a bit directionless lately.

@wanna_be Hasn’t been, haha. Aside from the weddings I attend I don’t really spend much time getting down these days. Always something I have in the back of my mind for date night, but we haven’t been getting out as much for a variety of reasons.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/18/22

7th week TM test - bench

Axle bench:
50x10
120x5
140x3
170x2
190x1
210x4

SUPER SETS (chin - push)

Over hand pullups:
5x10

Ring pushups:
5x10

SUPER SETS (pull - push)

Ring face pulls:
3x10

Ring tricep extensions:
3x10

Quick and dirty workout today. Finished with TM testing for now. New programming starting next week, going with one I’ve done before - God is a Beast. I’ll be following it pretty close, but taking a few liberties with the assistance work.

I should be logging the following each week:

4 lifting workouts
2 running workouts
2 conditioning workouts
1 weighted vest walk

I’ll allow myself some flexibility in the above too. For example, if I go hiking that can count as my weighted vest walk, or a climbing trip can take the place of a conditioning session. Snowshoeing in place of running, though I doubt we’ll get any appreciable snow at this point as it all just seems to be ice.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/20/22

Mountain stuff

Took a crack at split boarding today. Being the hobby whore that I am, I’ll be on the lookout for a used set up in the offseason to get a good deal. This was awesome. I used to snowboard a lot in college, but got out of it due to time and money reasons. Hate paying $80+ to wait in lines and deal with crowds, but today we got to the mountain before they opened, skinned up (skis), then bolted the halves back together into a board and rode down. Nice little cardio workout on the way up and an easy ride down. Definitely need more of that in my life.

Also picked up a pretty sweet compound bow today, because I can’t have enough hobbies, and I’m beyond stoked about that.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/21/22

God is a Beast - W1/D1 - Squats

Warm up

Band shoulder dislocates - x20
Standing band hip flexor raises - x10/side
Standing tibialis raises - x25
Peterson step ups - x10/side

SUPER SETS (jump - clean)

Box jumps:
3x3

Hang power cleans:
45x5
95x3
125x5x3

SUPER SETS (squat - core)

Squats:
95x10
135x5
180x5
205x5
230x5
190x5
215x5
240x5

Incline standing ab wheel:
1x6
5x5

CIRCUIT

ATG split squats - BWx3x10

Band hamstring curl - 3x20

Sissy squat - 3x5

Seated calf raise (2) - 70x3x8

CONDITIONING

Burpees:
x50 - 5:51

Smart move getting back on a legit program. It’s just one workout, but it’s crazy how productive a workout can be when it’s not your own freak-show creation… for the most part.

I’ve run this program before, so I’m taking some liberties with it. I’m including power cleans from the floor and hang, using 3’s pro and 5x3 SSL. As such, no pull assistance work today. Also ditched the power snatch because I suck at it and it’s just not a real goal of mine to be good at it.

My leg assistance numbers are a bit overboard, but in reality it’s fairly easy stuff to recover from so I’m not worried. Also hit some small assistance moves as a warmup so I didn’t just skip them since I can’t deal with a list of exercises that long.

Got my push assistance and conditioning knocked out in one go with the burpees at the end - efficiency. 58 minutes from the time I walked down to the basement to when I shut off the speaker to head upstairs.

Gotta put the finishing touches on my plan for tomorrow next.

Edit: Forgot to mention I put 15 arrows on target with the new bow and got in a little over 2 miles on the train tracks with my fiancee and pup earlier today.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/22/22

God is a Beast - W1/D2 - Press

Warm up

Band shoulder dislocates - x20
Dead hang - x30s
DB external rotation - 5x10/side

GIANT SETS (chin - press - core)

NG chins: (widest to narrowest grips)
BWx10 - wide
+35x5x6

Axle clean and press away:
80x5x5

Band side bend:
5x10/side

GIANT SETS (press - curl - band)

Axle clean and press away:
80x5x5

DB hammer curls:
25x4x8
25x12

Band pull aparts:
5x20

DB bench mechanical drop set: (high incline, low incline, flat)
50x8 (3)
50x5 (2)
50x8 (1)

Dips:
x50 rest/pause

Lateral raise:
10x20
5x20
2.5x20
Hands x20

CONDITIONING

Tabata front squats w/75lbs
8-7-6-6-5-4-4-4

Think I have this day organized fairly well. Thought about taking each rep from the floor for the presses today, might try it next BBS week to see how much time/effort it adds. Got all the pulling and core assistance work done by giant setting it with the main work.

Push assistance is a real burner. Knocked out that mechanical drop set, then went immediately to dips until I got my 50, then immediately into the lateral raises. Super pump after all that.

Finished it up with some Tabata front squats which are a classic form of suck. Legs are pretty sore from yesterday and it dawned on me that tacking on a conditioning component to the end of each lifting session that targets the previous workouts muscles is probably the move for me right now. Should help with recovery and keep me honest with it. All that said, just holding the bar in cross arm position after all that upper body work was rough. Kept track of my reps to see if I can progress there, legs had plenty of juice in them but by core and shoulders were breaking down and causing the bar to slip as the sets went on.

Had some Welches fruit snacks as a pre-workout snack because without carbs you can’t achieve gains. Had my eye on some left over pork chop to have as a snack between now and when I cook dinner, but maybe I should just crush that entire box of candy.

[wanna_be]

Doing an absolute TON of work man!!

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/23/22

Conditioning

Heavy bag

60s on/30s off x 8 rounds

First workout of the day, got something in quick while I wait for a friend to bring his dog over for some puppy play time. Going to get a run in a bit later.

@wanna_be Haha it looks like a lot more written out than it really is, but it’s a good amount nonetheless. My notation style is pretty bulky.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/23/22

Cardio

~2.5 mile run

Beautiful day today. Sunny, breezy, 60*, can’t beat that in February. Forecast has us back in the single digits this weekend so enjoying this day as much as possible.

Put 12 arrows on target before this and got a nice walk with the dogs in. Gonna grab a beer and some wings for lunch (gains) outside next.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/25/22

God is a Beast - W1/D3 - Deads

Warm up

Laying band hip flexor raises - x10/side
Standing tibialis raises - x25
Peterson step ups - x10/side

SUPER SETS (jump - clean)

Box jumps:
3x3

Power clean:
45x5
95x3
135x5x3

SUPER SETS (dead - core)

Deadlifts:
135x5
255x5
295x5
325x5
275x5
315x5
345x5

Decline crunches:
1x8
5x7

SUPER SETS (row - shrug)

BB row:
205x9
185x9
155x10

BB shrug:
205x9
185x7
155x9

SUPER SETS (rdl - hyper)

Seated DB RDL:
70x3x8

Band reverse hyper: (single strand)
3x10

CONDITIONING

Tabata hold/hang:
Odd rounds - 45lb bumper plate overhead hold
Even rounds - hang board dead hang

Solid workout. Wound up traveling more than I expected for work yesterday and it was pretty late by the time I got home so I just decided to spend time with my fiancee and push my workouts off a day.

This workout is basically the exact thing I’ve been doing for deadlift days for a while, so nothing new to report.

I planned on doing something with overhead work for conditioning, but I was pretty smoked by the end already and still need to get out for my third bout of shoveling today so just did some mental toughness stuff. Shoulders and forearms got pretty pumped from that.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/26/22

God is a Beast - W1/D4 - Bench

Warm up

Band dislocates - x20
Dead hang - x30s
Band external rotation - x10/side

GIANT SETS (chin - bench - core)

Over hand pullups:
5x8

Axle bench:
50x10
135x5x5

Band oblique crunch:
x10/side

SUPER SETS (bench - row)

Axle bench:
135x5x5

Chest supported DB row: (2)
70x4x6
70x10

DB press mechanical drop set: (low shoulder press, high incline, low incline)
50x10 (4)
50x5 (3)
50x6 (2)

Ring pushups:
x50 rest/pause

SUPER SETS (pull - push)

Ring face pulls:
3x10

Ring tricep extension:
3x8

CONDITIONING

Tabata high hand trap bar pulls:
x135

Good workout. Bench was stupid light, but that’s the program. Launched every rep off my chest with as much speed as possible. Big pump to end it all and then those Tabata pulls were awful. Used straps and got through two rounds of non-stop lifting which was probably a mistake from a pacing stand point. Rested in the “up” position for the later rounds.

[mr.v3lv3t]

2/28/22

God is a Beast - W2/D1 - Squats

Warm up

Band dislocates - x20
Band hip flexor raise - x10/side
Tibialis raises - x25
Peterson step ups - x10/side

SUPER SETS (jump - clean)

Box jumps:
3x3

Hang power cleans:
45x5
105x3
125x3
140x3

SUPER SETS (squat - core)

Squats:
95x10
135x5
165x10x5

Standing incline ab wheel:
2x6
4x5

ATG slant board split squats: (1)
40x3x5

Band Nordic hamstring curl:
Purple x3x5

ATG quad extension: (crash pad regression)
3x8

SSB slant board calf raise: (2)
135x9
135x8

CONDITIONING

Burpees: x21-15-9 w/60s plank between sets - 6:54

Workout started off fine, then on the third rep of my fifth squat set my lower back seized up something fierce. Couldn’t tell if it was pain or fear that I experienced, but I was able to rack the bar no problem and spent a few minutes pacing around trying to figure out if I was okay or not. Unracked the bar and it felt twice as heavy as it did prior, so I re-racked, cursed a few times and did some high knees and stuff to try and loosen up my glutes/hips. Managed to finish the workout but everything was very deliberate after that and I didn’t push the assistance too hard. Should be fine in some time, now that I’m a little removed from the workout it’s 100% just a muscular spasm somewhere in my glute/hip/low back but damn did it surprise me.

Nice day today and got a long walk in with my fiancee and pup before this, cold but sunny and calm.

[bigpappafrance]

Great work velvet

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/1/22

God is a Beast - W2/D2 - Press

GIANT SETS (chins - press - core)

NG chins: (widest to narrowest grips)
BWx10 - mid wide
+35x1x7
+35x4x6

Axle clean and press away:
50x10
85x5
95x5
105x5
90x5
100x5
115x5

Band side bends:
x10/side

DB incline bench dropset: (2)
60x7
50x7
40x9

Dips:
x50 rest/pause

SUPER SETS (raise - band)

Lateral raise:
15x4x10

Band pull aparts:
4x25

Poundstone curl:
x120

CONDITIONING

Front squat EMOM w/135:
x2-4-6-5-4-3-2-1

Like how this day turned out. Able to fly through the workout for the most part. Main work was solid and then just transitioned into the DB work, into dips, into first shoulder superset without any real rest. By the end of the shoulder superset I had an awesome pump going, and then the Poundstone curl fear set in. Been a few months since I’ve done them, but was able to pick up where I left off. Think time spent on the heavier curls helped, but more forearms were thrashed after, took a while to be able to use my hands again.

I really wanted to skip the front squat stuff, but I figured I needed them to help loosen up my hips. Also needed to not make the problem worse with sloppy reps so tried something new out. Good idea in theory, get tired fairly quick going up by doubles and hold onto that fatigue for a bit coming down in singles, but I wasn’t able to push quite far enough. I think if I got up to 8 then started working my way down it’d be money. The last few sets would still be fairly easy though.

@bigpappafrance Thanks man!

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/2/22

Conditioning

Axle grace w/120lbs - 6:17

Work ran way later than anticipated so opted for something quick. Had a run planned but it was dark by the time I was free, should be able to make up for it tomorrow.

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/3/22

AM Cardio

~1 mile run

Slept in a little, which was nice, but was surprised to find some snow on the ground so I cleared that and went right out for the run. Not as long as I intended to do, but still got a run in.

PM God is a Beast - W2/D3 - Deadlift

SUPER SETS (jump - clean)

Box jumps:
3x3

Power clean:
45x5
115x3
135x3
150x3

SUPER SETS (pull - core)

Trap bar pulls:
150x5
240x10x5

Decline crunch:
2x8
4x7

SUPER SETS (row - shrug)

Trap bar row:
200x6
170x7
150x9

Trap bar shrug:
200x9
170x9
150x8

SUPER SETS (ssb - hyper)

SSB seated good morning:
65x3x10

Reverse hyper:
BWx3x10

CONDITIONING

Incline backwards treadmill walk w/60lb vest:
5 minutes - 1.5mph - incline 12

Decided earlier in the week I’d use the trap bar today because it’d allow me to get into position easier since I was so immobile, but I feel basically back to normal today. Front squats and burpees to the rescue I guess. Still wanted to use it though since I have it now and tbh I actually like using the trap bar more than a straight bar these days.

Rowing the damn thing was way harder though.

Seated good mornings are a weird exercise, especially with the SSB. Hamstring stretch is unreal, but I have no idea what muscles are moving the weight.

That incline treadmill thing didn’t really hit my lungs that hard, but my quads were burning up something fierce. I think next time I do it I’ll max out the incline and up the speed a little bit.

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/4/22

God is a Beast - W2/D4 - Bench

GIANT SETS (chin - bench - core)

Over hand pullups:
1x9
4x8

Axle bench:
50x10
120x5
150x5
170x5
190x5
160x5
180x5
200x4+1

Band oblique crunches:
x10/side

DB high incline bench drop set: (3)
60x5
50x6
40x8

Ring pushups:
x50 rest/pause

SUPER SETS (axle - band)

Axle overhead tricep extensions:
50x3x10

Band tricep extensions:
3x10

Kroc row + Kelso shrug dropset:
90x13+5

CONDITIONING

EMOM suitcase deadlifts w/110lb:
x2-4-6-8-10-12

Decent enough workout. Misgrooved the third rep of the top set pretty bad and was able to fight for the fourth one but had to re-rack and come back for the fifth.

The Kroc row/Kelso shrug drop set is pretty killer. The whole body starts to protest once the shrugs begin.

Original plan was to work my way in 2’s then back down by 1’s for the conditioning work again, but I was running low on time and the sets weren’t taking long enough so I just kept bumping the number up higher. Still wound up having to call it before I ran out of clock time but I was breathing pretty good by the end.

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/5/22

Helped a friend move a hot tub from a trailer to his deck yesterday. Wasn’t too bad and didn’t take very long but involved a few bursts of lifting and pushing go get it up the stairs and through a couple doorways.

Followed that up with some lift service snowboarding for the first time in like 6 or 7 years. Brought back a lot of good memories and it was like riding a bike for the most part. I think I need to re-up on some winter gear because it makes living in New England much easier.

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/7/22

God is a Beast - W3/D1 - Squats

SUPER SETS (jump - clean)

Box jumps:
3x3

Hang power clean:
45x5
95x3
135x5x3

SUPER SETS (squat - core)

Squats:
95x10
135x5
165x5
190x5
215x5
185x5
205x5
230x5

Incline standing ab wheel:
3x6
3x5

CIRCUIT

ATG split squats:
BWx2x15

Band hamstring curls:
2x30

Sissy squats:
BWx2x8

Seated calf raises: (2)
70x2x12

CONDITIONING

Burpees: x50 in 5:53

The desire wasn’t there today (is it ever?) but got it done regardless. Things moved well despite feeling like a zombie heading into the workout.

Tried to pace myself in the beginning of that burpee session but that proved disastrous. I thought by holding a steady rhythm I’d be able to knock them out faster than the sprint and fight method, but no dice. It really wasn’t any easier after about 15 reps and I wound up having to blast through the last 10 to try and stay competitive with my original time. Back to the OG method next time.

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/8/22

God is a Beast - W3/D2 - Press

GIANT SETS (chin - press - core)

NG chins: (widest to narrowest grips)
BWx10 - middle grips
+35x2x7
+35x3x6

Axle clean and press away:
50x10
85x5x5

Band side bends:
x10/side

GIANT SETS (press - curl - band)

Axle clean and press away:
85x5x5

DB hammer curls:
25x4x9
25x12

Band pull aparts:
5x20

DB bench mechanical drop set: (high incline, low incline, flat)
50x12 (3)
50x7 (2)
50x8 (1)

Dips:
x50 rest/pause

Lateral raise drop set:
15x10
10x20
5x30
Hands x40

CONDITIONING

Tabata front squats:
75x8-8-8-6-6-6-5-5

Solid enough workout, just chugging along on this program. It’s a good one for sure. Having some ideas about future training approaches creep into my head, going to keep those locked away and just focus on finishing this out.

Improvement on that conditioning workout today, for better or worse haha.

[mr.v3lv3t]

3/9/22

Cardio

~2 mile jog

Nothing exciting here, just some road work for the lungs.