"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."
Didn't get to it yesterday( for a variety of bad reasons) but I made up for it today. And, it was nice and cool and overcast to boot. Just wonderful.
But it was more of an effort than it should be- mentally- I kept trying to talk myself out of it. what i need to talk myself out of is the need to take it easier instead of harder. It's getting too easy to back off now. Have to cut that shit out
Hard(er) times are coming, in the world. I can feel it. If not me just getting older. Have to be ready.
Back to the start of the cycle. thought about doing 8 reps but there were some things going on and distracted me. Next time though All was good. Power and wind were fine. Nice and humid and warm for a change, too
Speed swings
15:15 x 7 RPA
12 min
169 reps
8904 lbs
that doesn't seem like enough work 8 reps per arm would bring it up to 10.176 got to build back
Press
117 x 5 x 6 sets
same volume but I'm not sure i like it. 10 first reps is a good thing too
This went way better than expected, after five days of no training at all. Very pleased. It looks like I needed a rest?
Press
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 2
120 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 2 x 4 sets ( video below of 3rd set, hardest of the previous ones)
175 x 3 PR ( video above.)
Man I just felt great, rock solid and the groove was there Perhaps this is the key for max efforts- a week of no pressing!
Oh and a new belt as well! Since I'm pressing like a weightlifter I decided I should use a weighlifter's belt! Worked great for it's initial voyage
Box pistols
4 sets of 6/6
right side coming along much better, don't need to hang on with second hand now. also, a key is to lift left leg HIGHER than on left leg side! way better control on descent than just letting the leg hang down. Must be activating the left rec fem connect something on right side
Floor pushups
3 sets of 40
a bit wider hand position and plenty in the tank
Back at it after being TOTALLY off training since last monday. Went down to santa barbara on wednesday for thanksgiving with friends and I did zero training although I did walk a lot and of course got on the floor to stretch out.
But this is the first real vacation I have taken in twenty years. Sure I travel a lot, but for certs or workshops. Basically if I'm getting paid. This time cancelled work on thur and fri and no training and gave myself a much need mental and physical break
Four days of total muscle inactivity was probably one day too long and I was itching to get some loading in today. Plus, I realized I hadn't sweated for beans in all that time too. No good
But I wanted to easy back in today so only 9 laps
1:25 min Ruck
45 lbs
9 iso squats
RPE 6
fast and easy. went well could definitely have done more but I have to press heavy tomorrow
This was good. Tough but good. Had a raging headache for some reason but I still got four solid sets of 5. It's enough. Ready to go up in weight and down in reps.
Had to skip ruck yesterday as the air was so bad. Thought it would help my energy more today than it did; so that's good info. doesn't make that much difference.
All things were good just whenever I have to grind a rep on a set of five the chances of getting all five sets go down dramatically and I had two or three grinds today. Amazing I got the last set!
Press
45 x 8
65 x 6 ( experimenting with higher warmup reps)
85 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
165 x 5 x 4 sets ( fourth set shown above)
x 1 x 4
135 x 8 down
This went great. Warmed up in the bath again and that's making a huge difference as the garage is pretty frozen and will be for quite awhile. All parts of the body were feeling as good as they have, all at the same time in perhaps, forever. SOOO nice
Warmups went well and power output on all the swings were good. Even the grip was good
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
48 kg x 4/4
60 kg x 5/5 x 7 ( 9240 lbs)
68 kg x 5/5 x 3 ( 4500 lbs)
totals = 13,740 lbs!
Box Pistols
4 sets of 5/5
didn't have to use both arm support for right side! a first! leaned into it more and the balance was there. very good elasticity in the bottom position finally
this is really coming along . and the rec fem strength to hold the non working leg up too
Wt pushups
bw x 10
53 x 10 x 3
left shoulder a bit stiff on first two sets, then released
laterals
3 sets of 10/10
BW 168.8
BF 12.1
W 57.7
post bath
probably won't ruck tomorrow. Air quality is still very bad :(
FINALLY got the shoulder, elbow, wrist to release yesterday and what joy of nothingness! No pain, no locked elbow no unmoving wrist. Finally got serious about the pec minor release and had tracy stick her sharp ass elbow in it for 10 min and got it full released. Then, I work on decompressing the wrist and got IT to release as well When I woke up this morning the elbow locked out fine, no pain and the wrist moved normally
Reverse chiropractic at it's best. Bodymaintenance for the win
so nice to feel nothing!
24 kg speed swing
15:15 x 7 RPA
14 min
196 reps
10,388 lbs tonnage
RPE 7
very good height and high power output the whole set
strong
Press
105 x 3 x 5 sets
115 x 3 x 3 sets
120 x 3 x 2 set
very strong. SO IMPORTANT to reset elbow each and every rep. Also NOT to flex spine when loading lats
not so easy!
Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 feet
worked on toe in on each step and and this helps load TFL . this could be the source of my adductor issues, too much to out on each step
this was a surprise given how locked up I was all weekend.Turns out it was my WRIST that was locking down my elbow and then my shoulder! Had time to really work on it this morning and still couldn't get it to release until a band distraction I was doing for my pec minor adjusted my wrist right at the base of my thumb and after that all the rest dissapated! By the time I finished my bath and got in the gym pretty much everything was a go
Except I was pretty beat up from a weekend of bodywork and joint restrictions and some pain. But all in all I am VERY happy with the workout. All the mistakes I learned from from last week worked great and with just a little more energy I would have made all five sets. Next week
Press
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
165 x 5 x 3 sets
x 4 3/4 x 1
x 4
I should really count the fourth set as it was SO close to lockout but I won't. it was hard ass rep which probably is what kept me from the 5 rep on the 5th set. On 5x5 you can't have any real grinds or it just kills the rest of the sets
Remembering to re set my elbows as well as 'pause" the lat flex before launch made all the difference Reset the elbows high, squeeze the sponge and glutes and wait just a sec then LAUNCH! the rest worked well
32 kg belt squat
12 15 18 20
nice to go light. a little closer stance and toe in a bit to work more TFL
Floor pushups
45
40
35
caught up with me :)
Band pullaparts
black band x 40 x 2 sets
red x 40 x 1
these were great. Just didn't the laterals to mess with my wrist but have to add these in everyother workout! they were great when done as a real exercise and not just a corrective
left elbow out of position for some strange reason ( over active flexors) and while it didn't hurt at all swinging it isn't comfy. Extensors in pretty good spasms and left biceps tendon not staying stable. Voodoo floss and lot of windmills and band work has helped but it hasn't settled in yet/
Training was strong though
One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5
20 lg 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 6/6 x 10
sixes were fine. No different, really than fives. Left side grip a bit of an issue because of the elbow but nothing terrible
Box pistols
4 sets of 5/5
these are still feeling strong but it is still interesting my right side is so off balance. I can use just one arm for support with left side leg but need both for right side! Must be right side ab/psoas is weaker , not just tight
wt pushups
bw x 10
53 x 10 x 3
surprised this didn't bother my elbow at all
laterals
2 x 6/6 with 20's
1 x 8/8 with 15
this bothered my elbow with the 20's
radial brachialis not happy
BW 169.2
BF 11.4
W 59%
first bath of the winter , lol
might not ruck tomorrow. The Camp Fire up north has made the air quality the level of Bejing. We'll see
It's so much easier for me to go fast when it's cooler out. Add in a nice breeze and I'm even better. Finally got a Thursday ruck like that today, so nice to not cook during the whole ruck
Legs were definitely tired and tight at the start but still could move quickly, a very good sign of decent conditioning
Decent training today! Speed work went very well and so did presses. A little stiff, still not enough time on the floor but getting better
24 kg speed swings
15:15
13 min
7 RPA
182 reps
9646 lbs tonnage
RPE 7
Press
105 x 3 x 5 sets
115 x 3 x 5 sets
normal warmups. Really worked on staying tight on internal bounce but still was hard! I have to make sure when I flex the lats I don't drop my chin, noticed that on the press videos!
Walking lunges
3 laps of 40 steps
being lazy. need to get back to 4 and then go back to sandbag lunges again
Just didn't have it today. For who knows what reason. Everything should have been good. Body felt good, gym not too cold, mentally good, bodyweight high, shoulders and back ok. But it was a long weekend with a lot of socializing and not enough naps.
then the time shift which helped as far as more sleep but had me training an hour later and not enough coffee. WAAAAHHH
Lots of excuses. Big point was I only got 2 sets of 5 ( still a PR ) but not what i wanted or thought I'd get.
I hate fives lol
Press
45 x 5 x 2
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 3
120 x 3
135 x 2
155 x 1
165 x 5 x 2 sets
x 4 x 1
x 3 x 1
what happened I think was that I didn't stretch out my front panel enough from the swings and rucking and as I initiated the press with the internal bounce I lost glute tightness. I save a lot of reps but the coordination wasn't there
On the last set as I initiated I really kept the glutes tight and that was the key BUT it was too later
live and learn
This was a shocker. Especially given the tightness in my glutes when i started. We got rid of daylight saving time today so i got an extra hour of sleep. that helped. Plus it was cool and that helped. Plus I ate up a bit yesterday and that helped.
But man I was fast! didn't time any specific laps but I was almost 15 minutes ahead of regular pace! thats crazy
45 lb ruck
12 laps
1:46
RPE 6
BW 170.2 !!!
BF 12.1
and there ya go
try to get a bunch of set of 5's tomorrow in the press
Good one today although I had a bit of vertigo upon awakening. Ears have been clogged a bit lately. Kinda freaked me out a little but I stayed calm. Very mild thank g-d. Still there at start of workout but not at end. that was good. Workload was solid power and speed good and bell felt light
Amazing to me how much easier this workload is that 4 kg lighter but 4 reps more per set!
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
44 kg x 8/8 x 10
160 reps
15,520 lbs that adds up quick!
RPE 7/5
Next week will bump up volume a bit on the 48 going to 6's to keep the delta change at 20 % or so . time to do it
Box pistols supported
these were much stronger today when I stopped touching my down leg to floor and used more arm support and stretch reflex. actually felt decent for the first time!
4 sets of 7/7
Wt pushups horiz bar
bw x 10
53 x 10 x 3 sets
left shoulder still achy but warmed up well. this is a better hand position to transfer to barbell
Another hot one. Felt good starting out. No food at all before as it never seems to help, no matter how hungry I am going in. Once I get going I'm not hungry as the activity brings my blood sugar back up.
But it was freaking hot, in the 80s , and it's november! Luckily there was some wind which is better than none but it still sucked.
I'd rather do two hours on a sunday morning than one on a thursday afternoon after work :)
ok enough whining
45 lbs ruck
6 laps 52 min
RPE 8.5( just mentally )
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