180 lb Military Press 3 x 2 PR!!, Barbell squat practice,floor pushups, crawls, side laterals

This was great and weird at the same time. I wasn't quite sure I was going to even go for it today until mid morning and really didn't have a great mental prep. The body felt fine but I have lots on my mind with the cert coming up this weekend and while I wasn't sure it was the best idea for cert prep I've been on a roll and I thought it might go well

It did
Not as good as last week, groove wise,  but that was more mental than anything. This is the last Monday workout too, when I get back we switch the Press to first thing Saturday mornings! As I write this now I realize today was the perfect send off to this phase of my press training

Just had to exagerate my chest up position after walking it out, it's SO hard to nail that start angle precisely but the press was solid if not a little out in front

Warmups went perfectly and I had great confidence

Military Press
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
107 x 3
122 x 3( using 11 lb plates ,lol)
135 x 2 fast!
150 x 1 fast as well!
165 x 1 steady and in the groove
180 x 2 BARELY made the second and the first was too hard out in front have to arch more
180 x 2 STRONG! video above but still second rep out in front
180 x 2 first rep solid second a SERIOUS grind! but , I made it!!

Back squat
 bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5 x 2







I wanted to practice without the mirror and realized something important! I have to look down more, just like as in my swing to get the balance point and depth that I want. If I look straight ahead it puts me too much on my heels and it's harder to go deep.

Was a bit worried about going too deep and getting a weird sacral 'adjustment" this close to the cert so I played it safe.

BUT I also re  found my squat groove and balance point.

Floor pushups
40
40
35

perfect back off session easy and strict

crawls
3 sets of 50

side laterals
3 x 12 with 15 lbs

BW 169.4
BF 11.8 !!

ok pretty much just bodymaintenance  til the SFL! More next week


datsit

Flying Fast Ruck

Now this is what my rucking is supposed to feel like! Legs and calves(!) were loose and strong and pace was good from the get go.
Body felt great with zero aches or issues from yesterday or last week at all. Considering how wonky my left arm and shoulder felt Friday this was shocking
Just goes to show that when one bone is not sitting right the rest of the train tracks don't either .

Things I did different:

100 ups for a warmup before the stretching
Wearing vibrams five fingers three times this week for work
Thorlo hiking socks and not tight compression socks
Lacing Salomon high tops only mid way and looser as well

Zero calf or feet issues

Finished 15 minutes faster too! that's a speed record. I thought last lap would be 7:15 but was off a bit but still 7:31 after almost two hours is fine. Just  a wee bit faster than most of the laps

One difference is that I did not have to stop and shake it out at all this time. First in quite awhile

50 lb Ruck
12 laps
11 iso squats
1:45 min
Last lap 7:31

BW 169.4
BF 11.8

one more workout before I leave Thursday for the cert. Hope to make it a strong one!

datsit

40 kg One Arm swing 10 x 10/10, deadlift 240 x 5, wt pushups, rear delts

Very solid workout. Swings were powerful and crisp and the rest times between sets were short. didn't time but no more than 2 minutes. Lungs held up well as well as legs

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
40 kg x 10/10 x 10
200 reps 17,600 lbs
RPE 7

maintained full power to the last rep of the last set

Deadlifts


wasn't going to do any more deads but my back is feeling good and I thought a little bit of light work would be ok
worked up to my SFL test weight of 240 x 5  used the texas power bar instead of the york oly bar as I'm sure they won't have one
that knurling is like a freakin' cheese grater!

135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
240 x 5

Wt Pushups
bw  x 10
53 x 10, 10 x 8

yesterday my thumb, wrist, elbow and shoulder were wacky due to me doing bodywork on  a client and compressing the thumb which gunked up the works . took all day yesterday to un 'gunk' it
this morning everything felt perfect but the last set of pushups the biceps tendon said hello so I cut the reps

feels fine now 8 hrs later

rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20

BW 169.6
BF 11.8

ruck up tomorrow. Next Saturday at SFL!

datsit

45 lb Ruck, all systems go

Very good ruck today. Wore the Danner combat boots with the thorlo hiker socks and laced the boots very lightly and skipped the top run.

Not sure if it made the difference with zero foot or calf problems the whole hour. Also have been wearing my vibram five fingers to work every other day and I can feel this is very good for my foot health and ankle mobility, as squatting totally flat footed really challenges my ankles and calves!

Need to get some wider toe box shoes though, probably New Balance minimus for daily wear too as the vibams, I just discovered do not allow for much toe flexion in the pushup. the toes are kind of molded tilted UP  and flexion is tough. Have to see if the minimus are any different as the toe box looks pointed up here as well


But a good ruck nonethess, fast and steady paced too

45 lb Ruck
6 laps
55 min
RPE 6

BW 170.2
BF 13.3
W ?

ok off tomorrow then a lot of reps on saturday. last swing workout before the SFL cert. Might do some light dl's and benches saturday
Or not :)

datsit

20 kg speed swings 16 min, 120 lb Military press 10x3,walking lunges, side delts

This went fine even though my body is tired. 16 min was not hard at all other than mental focus to keep on the rhythm and produce as much force as possible. But hips, back, legs and lungs were fine

20 kg Speed swings
15:15 10 RPA
16 min
320 reps
14,080 lbs tonnage
RPE 6.5

almost no double breathing except for a few reps at 14 min

Military press
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 3
 120 x 3 x 10

left biceps tendon was sore- from having to do some bodywork on a client this morning Combined with the last four days and it just got tired. No real issues though it just needs some rep. Just needed to warm up too

Presses felt great though. lots of confidence in the rack, press groove, timing and bar path.Just need a lot of reps in the tank

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 ft

stronger each week almost time to weight them again

side delts
3 sets of 12 with 20


BW 170.6
BF 12.5
W 56.8

ruck up tomorrow

datsit

175 lb Military Press 5x2 PR!!, 44 kg belt squats, Floor pushups 3 x 50 PR!, crawls, rear delts

This went pefectly. As good as I could have hoped. Nothing on my body hurt, warmups were fast and easy and gave me confidence instead of filling me with doubt.
It didn't hurt that it was a balmy 82 degrees in the cave, I mean my garage. So hard for me to lift heavy when I'm cold; it always takes me forever to warmup then I cool off way too easy in winter but this was perfect.

Made a small technique change too which worked great- I put the bar even higher on my clavicles than before and it was the just right place.The bar seemed to launch back over my head, right where I wanted it.

Military Press
45 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 1
150 x 1 good!
160 x 1 good!
170 x 1 solid too!
175 x 2 x 5 sets!!! PR

didn't have  a bad rep. One rep got slightly out in front but barely and I brought it right back in ( 3rd set 2nd rep I believe) but it was the best compilation of technique I have done in this lift

Walkouts
195 x 1
210 x 1
225 x 1 !!1




great view of my elbows and what they're doing ( right) at the start of the press. All I did when Glenn said press was to squeeze the bar and look how it jumped! Still. I see I need to get my elbows up even more!

44 kg Belt squats
10, 12, 14 ,16

legs were tired today!

Floor pushups
 3 sets of 50 !!!! All time PR!!!
 hard but not that hard!

Crawls
3 sets of 70 ft
needed gloves, concrete starting to cook

Rear delts
1 x 12 with 20
2 x 12 with 25 PR!

BW 170.2
BF 11.8
W 57.1

nice three days!!!

datsit

Good Ruck

Had an idea and switched back to my old Salomon mid height GTX and I had virtually NO calf or other foot issues today!?
Very strange. Too many variables though as I also did 200 Ups prior to the ruck to warmup, did not wear the compression socks and really stretched the calves well prior also.

But the shoe felt much easier. I will try the taller ones thursday but change the lacing as I think it's too tight too high.

Good progress though as my feet were fine today

Still a little slow total time but per lap times were quick

50 lb Ruck
12 laps
2:05 total time
11 iso squats
 too many stop and say hi to the dog( s) ,lol

the ruck felt light, too, for the first time in forever. interesting

BW 169.2
BF 10.8
W 57.7!!

Great numbers. Legs felt good, especially after yesterday load, lungs too. The heat is coming though, I can feel it

datsit

175 lb presses tomorrow

52 and 68 kg One Arm Swings 5 x 5/5,145 lb barbell hacks, wt pushups, side laterals

Solid one today. Heaviest part of the cycle but each time it gets stronger

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 4/4

36 kg x 4/4

40 kg x 4/4

44 kg x 4/4

52 kg x 5/5 x 5 ( 5750 lb)

68 kg x 5/5 x 5 ( 7500 lbs )

100 reps

13, 250 lbs

RPE 6

things went really well. Not cold anymore and the warmups went smoothly.
52 kg was really strong and I felt I got good height and the transfer was strong. 68 kg was solid too and the grip didn't give me grief at all.
I thought about being able to transfer but it's not really close at all yet. I could switch hands but it would be very hard , if not impossible right now, to shock absorb the downward force safely

Sometime

But, I am seriously thinking about buying a 60 kg bell. It's the weight I really should be using for overload.


Barbell Hacks

65 x 8

85 x 8

105 x 7

125 x 7

135 x 7

145 x 7

good volume

Wt Pushups

bw x 12

53 x 12 x 3

solid.love these

side delts

3 x 12 , 10. 10 with 20

BW 168.6 !!

BF 11.9 !!
W 57.7

where this came from I don't know?! HUGE bagel with ton o creamcheese for dinner last night, lol. But I did have  stirfry!

ruck up tomorrow

Thursday ruck

Made the mistake of wearing the crew level compression socks and my left calf got tight again. I totally spaced it that it might be the sock and it is. Turned down the sock and ten minutes later it was fine. Just pumps up! And that inhibits dorsiflexion

Still have to spend more time prepping it prior to rucking

other than that a strong and relatively fast one.

45 lb ruck
55 min
6 laps
RPW 6.5

BW 169.4!
BF 12.9

decent

off tomorrow then big bells on saturday

datsit

20 kg Speed swings 14 min, 120 Military press 10 x 3, walking lunges, rear laterals

 This went great. 14 min was no problem at all and I think the lighter bell and the higher reps are finally getting my lungs back. This is a good thing.

The presses went as good as ever. All the pieces are coming together and it's starting to feel much more automatic and smooth. Lets hope it continues

20kg speed swings
15:15 x 10 rpa
14 min
280 reps
12, 320 lbs moved
RPE 6.5
Finishing resting pulse 160 bpm

Military press


45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
120 x 3 x 10 sets

big jump but things were feeling good. Eventually I'm going to have to learn how to take bigger jumps correctly if I'm going to do bigger numbers. At least moderate jumps
bar  to 95
95 to 135
135 to 165 etc

in due time

Maybe :)

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 ft
so so let myself get distracted

rear laterals
3 x 12 with 20

time to go up to 25

BW 170.6
BF 12,9

at 1 pm BW 169.4

back on track

ruck up tomorrow

datsit

170 lb Military press 5x3!, 210 walkout,195 lb back squat, Floor pushup PR,crawls, side laterals

Busy day! Lots of stuff going on and all good! First thing I wanted was to repeat last week's workout weight and sets/reps with NO misses or even form glitches- and that happened. All sets were very solid.

Then I did walkouts and that went way better than expected and actually turned out to help me find the right set up position

Back squats were funky and had a scary SI adjustment  in the warmups. should have stopped there but stupidly didn't. Every thing is fine now ( I'll really know tomorrow am) but in the future that's a stop sign. I just don't like barbell squats or deadlifts. Or bench . I'll be happy when this cert is over. Just a few weeks now and literally, all the heavy stuff is done now. Just one more dl workout of 240 x 5 and that's it. Perhaps. I might not do anything til the cert. I'll see

Military press
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 2
120 x 2
135 x 1
150 x 1
160 x 1
170 x 3 x 5 sets
 2nd set


last set


then setups(walkouts)
185 x 1
200 x 1
210 x 1

these felt great and not heavy at all. It all about keeping the weight on the torso and not the arms!

Barbell back squat
45 x 5
95 x 3
135 x 3
185 x 3
195 x 3


had the weird adjustment on 135. I can see in the video my right hip is higher. Time for more piriformis and right hip flexor release

Floor pushups
46
46
46

I think these are a PR but have to check. Did I do 3 sets of 50? don't think so but not sure

EDIT:

just checked, it is a PR. I've two sets of 50 but not three. excellent three sets of 50 is coming!

Crawls
2 sets of 70 ft

getting tired

Side delts
3 sets of 12 with 20's


BW 169.6
BF 12.3
W 56.8

bodymaintenance tomorrow!

datsit

Tough ruck to fast ruck

This was weird. Left calf just would not loosen up for about 45 min. The pace was solid but it kept tightening up and I had to stop to stretch and shake it loose. Didn't look good for the rest of the ruck but then at 45 min it just released and the next 1:15 was FAST!

Like I said, weird. Everything else felt very good. No real soreness or fatigue from yesterday. Going to have to do some 100 ups prior to the ruck to get the blood flowing sooner. I think going from nothing to the 50 lb pack is the culprit. think I have to warmup with bodyweight first

50 lb ruck
12 laps
1:55 min ( would have been a lot faster if I didn't waste so much time the first hour)
11 iso squats
last  lap : 7:19  faded last 1/4 lap! should have been 7:10

BW 169.4
BF 11.7
W 57.1

repeating last weeks 170 hopefully much easier this time

datsit

48 kg One Arm Swings 10 x 10, hack squats,barbell bench press, rear laterals

Today went well. All systems go at the start and the weather was perfect. Not used to not freezing in the mornings, it really helps

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 4/4
36 kg x 4/4
40 kg x 4/4
48 kg x 10 x 10

alternated each arm with sets of 10 reps per arm. Different for sure than 5x5 ; more specific grip and arm/shoulder work this way. I like it.

Barbell Hacks
95 x 8
115 x 8
135 x 8
145 x 8


Barbell bench
45 x 5
95 x 3
135 x 3
185 x 2
205 x 1 paused
225 x 1 paused with all commands.


I actually thought 225 was going to be lighter. It moved fast enough but it was definitely heavier than expected. Of course all the beast swings might have had an effect but.....

Horiz bar pushups
1 x 30

just to balance out the scaps

rear delts
3 x 10 with 25 lbs

time to move it up

BW 169.6
BF 11.7
W 57.3

good

long ruck up tomorrow. I'm ready!

datsit

45 lb Ruck

Solid ruck today. Used pose method again and it worked great. so much easier to go faster and no foot issues. It's probably not pretty to look at but oh well. It works better and doesn't hurt so there ya go!

45 lb ruck
55 min
6 laps
steady pace
RPE 6.5

BW 169.6
BF 13.1
W 56 ?

day off tomorow

datsit!

20 kg speed swings 12 min, 120 lb Military press 10 x 3, walking lunges, side delts

This went very well. Strong throughout and got some good techniques revelations for the press setup.

The swings were a  little slow getting going as I could feel the soreness the heavy presses had left behind but things soon opened up. Really concentrated on max power output and  bell height on each and every rep.

It's interesting how sometimes ( many time s:) ) the shorter sessions are the tougher as you don't hold back so much. Kind of the idea with Hardstyle

20 kg Speed swings
12 min
240 reps
10,560 lbs tonnage
RPE 7

Military press


45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 3
120 x 3 x 10 sets

so strong. Bar path and overhead position just how I want it to go with 200 lbs!
The key on the walkout is really having the bar weight on the chest and torso and not in the hands/arms.
That lets me get the elbows into position for the drive.
The one rep I didn't do that I felt my biceps tendon chirp and the bar went forward. Just what was happening on monday.
Wont' make that mistake again
Also, if the weight is on the chest and the arms AND hands relaxed I can "pull the trigger" i.e quickly crush grip the bar AS I start to press. I don't have to open my hands just have them relaxed. We'll see if this works with real weight on monday

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 steps
back to shorter steps and really letting the front leg go forward AND making sure the back knee touches
Hard today but quality reps

Side laterals
3 sets of 12 with 20
hard but strong

BW 170.8
BF 12.7
W 56.1

at 1 pm 170 even

Can't neglect the stir fry :)

ok ruck up tomorrow. can't wait!

datsit!

170 lb Military press 1x3,1x2,3x3,48 kg Belt squat, floor pushups, crawls, rear laterals

Such a weird workout. One of those days where I went in with everything 'right' but had a tough one. Felt flat. Slept well, ate and rested well yesterday, easy day at work etc , etc but just felt flat. The weight never felt heavy and was just 'slightly' out of the groove but just enough to make it much harder than it should have been

Looking back now two things stand out :

1) damn deadlifts. they always have a negative effect on my CNS. It seems impossible but this is the third time it's happened.

2) really fast ruck yesterday really tightened up my front panel and I just didn't get it opened enough during the day. The fact that nothing 'hurt' may have contributed. But I was just tight enough to not get under the weight on the walkout and setup.

Never felt like i was carrying the weight back on my torso. Too much in the arms which inhibited my elbow lift- THE key component, Still

the set above was good and set four was even better.

I could feel the tightness in the warmup sets but didn't take the time to really open it up. Won't happen again

Military press
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 1 good
150 x 1 not perfect
160 x 1 same this tipped me off
170 x 3 surprisingly good
       x 2,5 way off
       x 3 x 3  much better but too hard. it should have flown!

set two


48 kg belt squat
x 10, 12, 14, 16

legs were cooked from yesterday!

Floor pushups
2 sets of 37
1 set of 35

these felt good just overall fatigue. fast pace too, 2 min rest/sets

crawls
3 sets of  70

rear delts
3 sets of 15 with 20
strong

BW 170.2.
BF 12.5
W 56.5

ok needed rest day tomorrow

datsit!

Pose Ruck and another great day

Man this was a great week that I didn't see coming at all! I've just been strong all week and kept getting stronger as each workout went by. Today was a good test as my rucking has been not anywhere near where I want it.
Or, where it was 6 months ago. Nothing drastic but nothing spectacular, either. It's not the lack of speed that's bothered me as much as  the heaviness of my legs and gait. I just haven't felt a  flow at all.

But, that changed today. After deciding part of my right SI and QL issues were hiking my hip up too dramatically in my gait pattern, and, that weighted gait has to be different than un weighted, I went back to my old technique of "Pose" walking.

Basically leaning into the step, almost 'falling' and then letting reflex take over to take the step. It worked fantastically and it was SO much easier than what i've been doing. Plus, it felt like what I USED to do, Especially when I was using the ruck as prep for my five min swing test and turning in so many great lap times.

Now that was kicking my ass, and I was NOT training for a 200 lb press either but still. I needed the flow.
Plus, the new creatine is much better it seems and the energy system was a go as well.
We'll see how the presses go tomorrow but I feel solid

50lb Ruck
12 laps
11 iso squats
1:55 min ( still took it easy on the squat laps to shake out my legs- lap times were good though)
Last lap 7:22 ( honestly thought it would be faster, closer to 7:00 but I'll take it)

and felt the freshest at the finish as I have in eons

BW 169.6
BF 11.5
W 57.3

170 lb presses tomorrow for as many reps (til 3) as I can. New approach

datsit!

Pose running
https://birthdayshoes.com/introduction-to-the-pose-method-of-running-posetech-an-introduction

44 kg One Arm Swings, 325 lb Deadlift, 73 lb Wt pushups, side delts

Very very solid workout. Not sure if it's the new  brand of creatine I'm taking or that I'm actually just getting back into shape but my conditioning has seemed to jump to a new level this week. Wednesday's workout was so easy and today was too.

Bell felt light,speed felt great and wind was virtually easy. Recovered from each set in 30 seconds or less- we still took 3 minutes- but I finally felt good here.

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
44 kg x 8/8 x 10 sets
160 reps
15, 520 lbs tonnage
RPE 6.5

deadlift


This is probably the last time I go over 300 until the SFL. We'll see how I feel tomorrow but the DL's seems to have been 'talking' to my lower back just a little and it's making me nervous. I wanted to take this weight today in case I need to do some correction work. There's plenty of time. I'm not THAT worried but I don't want to even feel my lower back going into this cert.
Next week I'll do hacks and then the week after go up to 275 and then that's it til the course. 2 more weeks.

This didn't feel hard at all so 15 lbs more should be no issue. Especially if I don't do 15,000 lbs of swings first. But I do have to do 3 days of training after I test and that's key

Deads
135 x3
225 x 2
275 x 1
297 x 1
325 x 1

Wt pushups
BW  x 10
53 x 8 paused
63 x 8 paused
73 x 6 paused

these felt very strong Will probably bench next week instead of these

Side delts
3 sets of 12 with 20's

very strong. best ever

BW 169.4
BF 11.2
W 57.1

looking forward to tomorrows ruck. Had to miss Thursday for a business call . That was a good thing, My right foot and hip feel better already

datsit

20 kg Speed swings 15 min,115 lb Military press, walking lunges, rear laterals

 This went way better than expected. This speed work has been kicking my ass for I don't know how long but I expected it to be stronger than it's been. Even when I dropped to the 20 kg it wasn't much better.
Until today.
Today felt like it used to feel. Strong. Mentally as well as physically. I dialed right in and didn't even look at the clock. At no point was it hard and I put max effort into each rep and set
Finally!
Bell speed and height was good and things fell into place

20 kg speed swings
15:15 x 10 rpa
15 min
300 reps
13,200 lbs

Military press


this was excellent as well. Weight felt light, bar path was perfect and it was easy
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 2
120 x 3 x 10 sets

I'm really excited about this lift now going forward

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 steps

even this was easiest it has been in forever!

Rear laterals
3 sets of 15 with 20
same here! highest reps done yet

BW 170.2
BF 11.9
W 57.1

ruck up tomorow. lets see if it holds there too

datsit

165 lb Military Press 5x3, 44 kg belt squat, floor pushups,crawls, side delts

THIS WENT BETTER THAN EXPECTED.For some reason could not fall asleep last night and ended up with about 5 hours. Felt ok waking up but started to flag abit going into the session. Nothing hurt just not very excited. Resigned myself to just getting what I could with 165 and not expecting much. But it went great

ONCE I got the idea that I had to actually lift the damn weight myself and not just levitate it someone. I was that tired.

But the groove was the easiest it has ever been. Everything worked pretty much effortlessly and I can see how this is going to get much better once I get some reps in the tank
I tried using the trigger but as I thought, with this much weight I can't do it . yet. we'll see but this groove is so much simpler, so many less moving parts that it was so much less stressful to do

I think all that leaning back was an effort to get my damn elbows in front of the bar! That is truly the key for me for this. All else just falls into place once I set that up. And I still have to exaggerate it , for now

Mil Press
 45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 2
120 x 2
135 x 2 ( fast!)
150 x 2 !!! fast as well
165 x 3 x 5 sets

strongest ever with this weight. Not ONE rep pushed forward.

44 kg belt squat
10,12, 14, 16

easy! strong here too for who knows why

Floor pushups
3 sets of 46.

amazing I got the last set

Crawls
3 sets of 70 ft

side delts
3 sets of 12 with 20

strongest here ever

BW 169.2
BF 12.2
W 56.5

datsit!

Sunday Ruck,

A day late! Just didn't get to it yesterday.

A strange one. Calves were super tight from the start and took a full hour to loosen up. A slow hour of having to stop and stretch and shake them out. So tight it inhibited dorsi flexion and couldn't do the correct heel toe strike. Weird.

And then, once it opened up, smooth and fast sailing!
Lungs and legs otherwise were good

50lb Ruck
12 laps
11 iso squats
2 hours exactly

good lap speed just wasted time having to stretch and shake it out each lap

BW 169.6
BF 12.7
W 56.7

datsit