Sunday, July 31, 2016

Mind ruck

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

we shall see

lots of stretching and rolling to do

datsit
neverquit

Saturday, July 30, 2016

44 kg One arm swings, 115 lb hack squats, 32 lb horiz pushups, rear delts



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

datsit
neverquit

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Hot Ruck

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

freakin hot

BW 162.4
BF 11
W 57.5

datsit
neverquit

Motivation

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

24 kg Speed swings 10 min, BW walking lunges, parallel bar pushups, side delts



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

Side delts
 3 sets of 15 with 15

perfect little start back for conditioning

ruck tomorrow should be ugly. :)

datsit
neverquit



Tuesday, July 26, 2016

70% (95) Bar press x 15 singles, 40 kg belt squats,floor pushups, crawls side and rear delt

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?

side delts
3 sets of 15 with 12s

rear delts
3 sets of 10 with 15s

these always make my shoulders feel more stable

Crawls
3 sets of 70 ft

solid and easier than usual

ok already feel better
Swings tomorrow 15 min

datsit
neverquit

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

24 kg speed swings 17 min,sandbag walking lunges, parallel bar pushups, rear delts

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

datsit
neverquit


Monday, July 18, 2016

Big Dream Goal Achieved! 135 lb Military press 5 x 5 , 40 kg belt squat, Floor pushups pr,crawls side delts



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 :)

ok off to celebrate!

datsit
Neverquit


Sunday, July 17, 2016

Cool rucking



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!

datsit
neverquit

Saturday, July 16, 2016

36 kg One Arm Swings,135 lb hack squat, 32 lb pushups, rear delts, curls, tkes



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!

datsit
neverquit

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Too fucking hot ruck

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

BW 162.4
BF 11.7
W 57.2

ok rest up and cool off




Wednesday, July 13, 2016

24 kg speed swing 12 min, BW walking lunges,parallel bar pushups, side delts, TKEs


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

BW 163.4
BF 12.3
W 56.7

ruck up tomorrow

datsit
neverquit

Monday, July 11, 2016

135 lb Military Press 5 x 4 PR! 36 kg belt squat, floor pushups crawls, side delts TKE



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

BW 162.4
BF 12.1
W 56.7

solid solid workout!

datsit
neverquit


Sunday, July 10, 2016

Good Ruck



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

datsit
neverquit

Saturday, July 09, 2016

32 kg One Arm Swings 10x10/10,hack squats,Horiz sandbag pushups, side delts curls



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

all good.

BW 163
BF 11.9
W 57.1

feel very lean and muscular

Big ruck tomorrow!

datsit
neverquit


Thursday, July 07, 2016

Ruck

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

off tomorrow then start of a new cycle on Sat

datsit
neverquit

Wednesday, July 06, 2016

20 Min 24 kg Speed Swings,sandbag walking lunges, parallel bar pushups, rear delts


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.

BW 164
BF 11.7
W 57.1

ok ruck up tomorrow

Monday, July 04, 2016

Military Press 135 lb 2 x4/3 x3 pr, 32 kg belt squats, floor pushups,crawls , side delts, curls

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

Side delts
3 sets of 12 with 15

Curls
2 sets of 10 with 15s

ok big roll out and rest up tomorrow

datsit
Neverquit



Sunday, July 03, 2016

Slow and hard ruck

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

Datsit
Neverquit





Saturday, July 02, 2016

48 kg One arm swings 10 x 5/5, barbell hacks, sandbag pushups,rear delts , db curls

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.

Rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20's

DB curls
2 sets of 10 with 20's

excellent strong ruck tomorrow

datsit
neverquit




205, 215, 217.5,205 x 1 x 6, 190 x 1 x 3, laterals, rear delts bw pushups

 Well this went great. not perfect but the basic premise worked and I'm happy. I was not optimistic at all about this at all given recen...