"And in those simple beautiful movements I remembered what was really important in training; that consistency trumps intensity; all the time. That intensity is born from consistency. That one cannot force it, one has to lay in wait for it, patiently, instinctively, calmly and be ready to grab it when Grace lays it down in front of you."
This was as tough as I thought it might be. Missing last weeks long one made the first hour no problem but cost me on the second. Nothing I couldn't handle, but the ease of what's come to be the norm was gone.
I just had to grind through it and I did but it was not close to easy. times were decent though, and that was a surprise. You never lose much with a week or so off, just the cream off the top but the base is still there.Luckily it was a cool morning
It's all in the mind; training, that is. You are always training the mind- to be stronger or to be weaker. The body is very much secondary. It's the mind that always gives out first.Or, pulls you through. I kept that in mind when I was noticing every step and every lap and not feeling the most energy. Just had to focus, focus focus.
No real soreness or stiffness from yesterday but the looseness in the legs wasn't there and halfway through they started to feel heavy. Slog on.
50 lb ruck
12 laps
1 hour 52 min
10 iso squat holds
4th lap 7:54
8th lap 7:42
12th lap 7:24 ( that was a surprise)
BW 163.4
BF 11.9
W 56.7
all systems go for tomorrow's max press workout
current plan
1st attempt 150
2nd attempt 160
3rd attempt 165
Things fell right back into place after wednesdays session and thursday's ruck. Felt solid this morning and didn't think I would have any trouble with today's weight ( 44 kg) nor the 10 sets of 5/5 and I didn't. In fact the reps felt very strong and powerful and the weight light.
The video above was the last set
No real tweaks either
One arm swing
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 4/4
36 kg x 3/3
44 kg x 5/5 x 10 sets
hacksquats
65 x 8
85 x 8
105 x 8
115 x 8 x 2
strong too
Horiz pushups
bw x 10
32 lbs x 12 x 3
rear delts
3 sets of 15 with 20
strongest yet!
Ok long ass ruck up tomorrow but I hope to be strong there, too
First ruck in a week or so and it was a scorcher! 100 degrees at 1 pm and it was just hard work, no fun at all. Just keep the head down and count my laps.This is the shit that makes you tough, not just fit.
Plus the street was freshly tarred so the smell of hot stinky tar was so nice on the lap side with zero air flow. perfect :)
ok rest up tomorrow then a serious date with the 44 kg. Have to get ready for that bad boy
45 lb ruck
6 laps
55 min
3rd lap 8:03
6th lap 8:01
Not that bad coming back today except that it's in triple digits again. Got through it but it was just that. Not the best of circumstances to excel in but it's not always about that. Just getting it done as best you can is the key and that's what happened today. Glad it was only 10 min. Screwed up the plan a bit but hey, that's life.
And travel.
All things considered speed, power and wind were solid.
Hardest part was keeping my head in the gym
24 kg Speed swings
15:15 x 10
10 min
200 reps
10,600 lbs
BW Walking lunges
4 sets of 40 steps unbroken, again :)
not half bad
Parallel bar pushups
3 sets of 20
No problem and no soreness, could have done more which was perfect
Couldn't get my ass into the 100 degree plus garage yesterday after getting off the plane at 10 so it was go time today.
It was amazing to me how badly I didn't want to move after not moving for so long. It's crazy; literally the less you move, can force yourself to move, the harder it is to ever move. and that's seriously vicious downward spiral
and that's why discipline and will power count, just to MAKE yourself get started and then things start to feel better so it's easier. But something's got to make you get going.
Percentage training starts today with 15 singles with 95 lbs, about 30 seconds rest between sets.This felt much better than I imagined it would and after 5 sets or so and warming up I was holding the rack position better and really launching it up. Plus holding the lockout better.
Mil Press
stick x 4
bar x 4
65 x 5
85 x 4
95 x 1 x 15 sets
Walkouts and holds
115 x 1
125 x 1
135 x 1
I think these are going to be very valuable for keeping in touch with the heavier loads as we go on and get into overloads about 135. Just like squat walkouts.
Belt squats
40kg x 10 x 4 sets
very easy as I needed it to be. Great to load the legs and hips and NOT my abs which were tight all weekend at the cert with so much demo'ing and sitting for travel.
Floor pushups
2 x 25
1 x 22
wow these were much more tired than I expected but also felt great to do, to oppose chest flexion postures I've been in but I'm wondering if those light speed presses had some effect?
Have to admit a little nervous about doing this whole workout the day before getting on a plane to teach kb's for three days straight but that's the old me thinking. The pre TKR me. It shouldn't be any problem at all and today's speed swing workout went SO easy and strong.
Used the new KBUSA 24 kg bell the whole time and I really am starting to love it. I seem to have instantly gotten used to the longer window and the finish on the handle is perfect. The slightly longer swing stroke actually worked to my advantage today. Interesting. All I know is that I wanted to use it and not my vintage DD so I did and it was excellent
24 kg Speed swings
15:15 x 10 per arm
17 min
34 sets
340 reps
18,020 lbs
lowest rate of Perceived exertion yet. ever. No double breathing and didn't even look up until 13 minutes in. Don't know why is was so strong but it was and it's a good omen
Sandbag walking lunges
32 lbs x 4 laps of 20 steps
strong too.Best eccentric control yet and wind was solid too
Parallel bar pushups ( feet up on tall bench)
3 sets of 20
the taller incline made in more of an incline than flat press which was fun. have to add this in for variety now
rear delts
3 sets of 15 with 15 lbs
strong and easy
BW 163.8 !
BF 12.
W 56.8
weird. felt smaller and leaner
ok off to Seattle SMK tomorrow after noon. Can't wait, really looking forward to teaching this again
Did NOT see this coming. I was hoping for 1-2 sets of five and the rests fours, given how tough last weeks presses were. No way did I think for a second I was going to get 5x5. But here it is! Very very happy to say the least. This was almost two years in the making from my humble beginning with 55 lbs and 2 sets of 5
A simple progressions, solid assistance exercises ( pushups and lateral raises!) wave loading and LOTS of patience are the keys. Just kept plugging away and there it is. Truthfully, when I set out to even attempt this I wasn't sure at all that I could do it. It was just one of those "out there" dream goals that if I got I got but if not, well, it was so far off.....
But once I got my shoulders squared away with the biceps tendon and could just concentrate on pure pressing it got much better. and progress much faster.
It was tough as shit though. The video above is set two. Set three was strong but set four I stalled the first and fourth rep and rep five was a LONG grind! I really thought I had shot my wad there and when I started set five ( LONG rest between sets) I didn't know I could do it. And, when rep four was SO SLOW I was pretty sure I was fucked.
But I really didn't want to come so close and miss it; so I paused rep five on my chest and just ground and ground and ground til I finished it. Oh yea, and YELLED IT UP! lol. Glenn was laughing it took me so long to finish. But if I'm in the groove I can press. Always could and guess I still can
NOW, onto percentage singles training ala Prilepins table and towards my bodyweight press. Just SO glad to be done with FIVES!!!
Mil Press
stick x 5
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 4
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 5 x 5!! All time PR
40 kg Belt squats
10,12, 14, 15
these were strong
Floor pushups
3 sets of 28 PR!! 1 sets of 22
106 total reps
interesting I could still do this after all that grinding.
Crawls
3 sets of 70 feet
just hard on my stomach. these always want to make me puke
Side delts
3 sets of 12 with 15 lbs
this is starting to feel light. I feel that these, along with rear delt raises have been invaluable in my pressing journey. Have to stay in balance and I was SO weak on these when I started.
BW 163.4
BF 11.6
W 57.0
had a good amount of carbs yesterday, perhaps that helped :)
It was SO nice and cool this morning. made a huge difference in the ruck. Plus I wasn't dehydrated at all and that also made a big difference. Alternated green tea with red wine last night. Seems to be the formula for success :)
Recovered well from yesterdays' training although the glutes were tired from the get, which is good. It could be my back
50 lb Ruck
12 laps
10 30 second iso squats
1 hr 50 min
4th lap = 7:56
8th lap= 7:44
12 lap= 7:33
very solid walk, didn't have any energy lap until the 8th lap and then bogged down a bit on the ninth and tenth.pushed it and came back strong on last two laps
BW 162.6
BF 11.7
W 57.2
decent all around
back to work on the 135 lb military tomorrow. hoping for 1-2 sets of 5!
This was also the strongest this weight has been swung by me. Most power on each rep as well as most continued power throughout the entire workload. Lowest perceived exertion also. Weight felt light and I felt strong, Nice
One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 4/4
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 3/3
36 kg x 10/10 x 10
200 reps
16,000 lbs
fast too, there was just three of us and the pace had no lagging
Barbell hacks
65 x 10
95 x 8
115 x 8
140 x 6
strong too. this challenges the grip as well. double overhand
Sandbag pushups horiz bar
bw x 12
32 x 3 sets of 12
strongest yet deepest too
rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20
curls 3 sets of 8 with 20
tke 3 sets of 30 with purple band
BW 163.4
BF 11.7
W 57.1
got to get out to ruck early before it gets too hot!
Man my heat tolerance is just not kicking in and as much as I loved summer last year I am NOT digging it this time around
High 90's and dead air and and direct sun at 1 pm and all I wanted to do was get my six laps done.
Just another day in the office and it got did but it was not fun
45 lb ruck
6 laps
3thlap 8:00
6th lap 7:48
good time to back off as everything was just tired and hot
Lol this was much tougher than expected. Had a decent case of muscle soreness from those heavy presses on Monday and the bell felt heavy in my hands at first and my upper body was just worked and tired.
I knew it would warm up a bit at first, but it was a slow start.For some reason the short day workouts are almost always the hardest ones
24 kg Speed swings
15:15 x 10 reps
12 min
240 reps
12, 720 lbs
definitely got easier as I went on but everything felt tired.
Used the KBUSA 24 kg for the last half of the workout and it was great. I was worried as it has a slightly longer window in the handle and I thought that would slow my rep speed down but taking my center of balance forward even more than it already is but it was fine
And the grip was perfect, the texture very good and the handle just a tad bit smaller in circumference.
This has the best coating I've seen since DragonDoor's military grade coating
Going to get to use a variety of weight sizes next weekend at the Seattle SMK so that will be a nice test.
BW walking lunges
4 laps of 40 UNBROKEN!!
First time I've done this in EONS! nice quad burn. Interesting that although I was tired in the swings my lungs were fine. It was the muscles. I did some double breathing at the end to try to up the amperage but it wasn't because my wind was hurting
About time these got better
Parallel bar pushups
3 sets of 22
not bad but not easy. did less on purpose
Side delts
3 sets of 10 with 20 lbs
perfect weight and lower reps
TKE
green band 2 sets of 30 left leg only
good need to do these regularly. next week up to three sets
This was nice. I was hoping for 3 sets of 4 at best but it was a strong day. Didn't hurt at all having Glenn there today ( he was out last week)- definitely made me stronger :). Once I got to 4 sets I knew I had to go for 5. Stalled out pretty badly on the third rep of the last set but brought it back in line and ground out the last one. Not bad if I say so myself
Military Press
stick x 5
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 2
120 x 1
135 x 4 x 5 sets PR!!!!
video above was of second set
36 kg Belt squats
four sets of 12, 14, 16 18
yeowch. legs are tired but still strong
Floor pushups
3 sets of 27
1 set of 15
96 reps
stronger than last week too
Crawls
3 sets of 70 feet
strong here as well. gloves make such a difference on the hot pavement
rear delts
3 sets of 15 with 15 lbs
this felt LIGHT
TKE
green band 1 set of 40
wanted more but was tired and hungry. need to superset them with laterals next time
For some reason woke feeling really good. Legs, back shoulders head, everything right as rain. Not one to question such good luck I figured the ruck would let me know for sure if it were real or some devious delusion :)
It was real. Started off good and just got better.
50 lb Ruck
12 laps
1 hr 50 min !!
10 iso squats
4th lap 7:58
8th lap 7:37
11th lap 7:18 PR All time!
man I was almost trotting! and it was easy. weight felt light, legs felt loose and lungs felt open.
sweet.
BW 162.4
BF 12.1
W 56.7
I'll take it. More 135 lb presses tomorrow. hopefully 3 sets of 4 and 2 sets of 3 but we'll see
BTW back on keto again and feel better already. I am leaving the yoghurt in there but that's a total of 30 gm of carbs so it's within limits. that and the quest bars go well together and give me the intestinal bacteria and extra fiber I am looking for. Will sub out reg yoghurt and add in the raw honey instead of pre mixed honey this week
The 32 kg is indeed the new 24 . It felt,and moved, like a feather today and NO problems with wind or condition at all; even though I moved each rep with utmost power and acceleration. Easily my best effort ever with this weight.
There were five in the rotation- good friend Geoff Neupert stopped by for his yearly visit at Stone's gym but we were almost pushing each other out of the way to get our turn. Overall time of training was about the same. We are seriously getting in shape.
One Arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 10/10 x 10
200 reps
14,000 lbs
Barbell Hacks
65 x 10
95 x 10
115 x 8
125 x 6
legs felt tired faster. Not sure but probably the increased power output on the swings.
Sandbag Horiz bar pushups
BW x 12
32 lbs x 12 x 3
getting stronger and increased ROM still. elbow and shoulder fine
Side delts
3 sets of 15 with 15 lbs
Curls
2 sets of 10 with 15 lbs
Better than expected. Energy good , legs and back good and lungs too
. Not quite as fast as I hoped but I did just do 20 min of speed swings yesterday too. but my legs don't feel that heavy or tired so I guess I was hoping for more.
it's more than fine ;)
don't be greedy
45 lb Ruck
6 laps
55 min
3rd lap 8:00
6th lap 7:50
BW 163.4
BF 12.5
W 56.7
backed off the extra carbs I was taking in and water dropped. Feel better though overall.Sweet carbs just make you want more sweet carbs
These were as strong as they every have been. Especially after such a heavy and tough weekend and Monday's super heavy presses.
I was sore and upper body tired when I started but the groove and my wind were very solid. Decent power on each rep throughout and really was able to finish strong the last five minutes where power output picked up!
Double breathed for 5 or sets toward the end but then stopped as my wind kicked back in.
24 kg Speed swings
15:15 x 10 reps
400 swings
21,200 lbs
20 minutes
PR for strong.
Sandbag lunges
4 laps of 20 ft 32 lb bag
these were also the strongest ever. kept torso squat on step out, and pressurized. much stronger but also legs felt very strong
Parallel bar pushups
4 sets of 22 pr
also strong
rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20 lbs
still among my favorites I feel they are doing such good for balance.
Slept well, felt rested, easy work day everything good and TOUGH ass workout. Yesterday was a clue. Just tired from the volume and the heat/ Can't complain about a two set PR either AND the first time ever doing four reps with this weight. Was secretly thinking 3 sets of 4 but I tried and it wasn't there. Still happy and doing three's is a VERY recent thing.
DON'T BE GREEDY.
Mil Press
stick x 5
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 4
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 4 x 2
x 3 x 3
PR!
32 kg Belt squats
15, 17 , 20 , 20 OUCH!!! serious quad burn
Floor pushups
28, 28 , 22, 20
98 reps!! PR
hit a wall after the second set
Crawls
3 sets of 70 ft
gloves make a huge difference dont have to deal with scorching sidewalk
Didn't expect to be super fast today but it was even slower than that. Glutes and hammies were tight from the start and loosened up a bit but never got really loose enough to go very fast. Then Tracy dropped her phone and we had to backtrack for a 12 + minutes to find it. Rhythm got messed up and the rest of the ruck as just a slog. No worries though I was overdue for a tough one and getting off the rhythm is a good thing once in awhile; made me work harder.
Big stretchout today though! Lats, legs and everything in between was tired. While the volume of yesterdays' 48kg workout wasn't that high the increased power output must've made the difference
50 lb ruck ( added 1 pound finally )
12 laps ( or there about)
1 hr 55 min
10 iso squats
7th lap 7:58'
12th lap 7:49
BW 162.4
BF 11.7
W 57.1
ok 135 lb presses tomorrow. Shooting for 1-2 sets of 4 then the rest 3's
Our new experiment with rep schemes went well. Just 5/5 on the swings today for 12 sets and it worked well being able to really focus on more max power on each rep. Bell swung higher than ever before and felt lighter.
A good program change and very interesting how such a small change can make such a big difference.
One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 4/4
36 kg x 4/4
40 kg x 4/4
44 kg x 4/4
48 kg x 5/5 x 12
120 reps
12,720 lbs
very happy with this work
Barbell hack squat
65 x 10
95 x 10
115 x 10
125 x 10
135 x 10 PR
new technique of rooting feet solid every time AND leaning more at the start before the descent works every time. excellent
Sandbag pushups horiz bar
bw x 12
three sets of 12 with 32lbs
very very strong and much deeper.chest was touching bar and that's a first. shoulder flexibility is improving.
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