Decent ruck

Not quite as hot today with some breeze and that helped a lot. Legs not bad at all and I got into my stride pretty quickly. No lactic acid buildup in calves or hips. back was good too.

Got a decent last lap of 7:02 but don't know how to make my legs go faster. Don't know how I did  this a few years ago. I must have airborne shuffled a bit but I'm not doing any of that anymore. But I must have.

48 lb ruck
6 laps
55 min
7:02 last lap
RPE 75

BW 172.6
BF 13.6

44 kg One arm swing 12 x 8,wt pushups, walking lunges, laterals

pretty solid workout. decided, obviously, to do sets of 8 on just one arm instead of 5/5's. It seems harder without getting into a longer work bout. Went fine and power was solid throughout. will probably work this up to 15 sets though to get over 100 reps -120-.
40 kg will be 15 sets of 10 for 150 reps
48 kg 10 sets of 5/5 for 100 reps and the same for the 60 kg

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 4/4
36 kg x 4/4
40 kg x 4/4
44 kg x 8 x 12 sets
96 reps
9312 lbs ( surprisingly high)
RPE 7.5

good height and power throughout

Wt Parallel pushups
bw x 10
53 x 10
78 x 10 x 2
sandbag and chain

love this. will do 103 with the other chain next week!

walking lunges
4 laps of 40 ft
strong!

laterals
3 x 10/10 with 15s
strong as well

BW 172.8
BF 13.3

127 lb press practice, pistol practice,floor pushups, laterals

Decent workout today. Body held up well from the weekend and actually felt strong today

Press
65,85,105 x 5
127 x 5 x 5
 technique felt solid

Pistol practice ( concentric start)
1/1 x 2
2/2 x 2
3/3 x 2

long pauses in bottom, strongest in bottom ever

Floor pushups
3 sets of 50! solid too first two sets unbroken third set unbroken to 40 then ten then 5 and 5

Laterals
3 x 8/8 with 20s

BW 173.8
BF 12.3 !!!
W 58

BW 1 pm (poop :) )
173

Strong Ruck

Finally a Strong one!! Cool morning  but most importantly legs felt light and loose! So nice. I did worry about a crash in the second hour but then realized I should just enjoy the loose speed as long as possible

Did squat stretches each lap and that felt good too

Last lap at 6:59 lol that's cutting it too close

48 lb Ruck
12 laps
1:55 min
11 squat stretches
Last lap 6:59

BW 172.8
BF 13.4

Weird day.  All over the place but it ended well. Started off with my Adidas powerlift shoe and I could tell pretty quick that the heels is too low and it wouldn't help me but I wanted to test it more.
I wore it through the 185 x 3 first two sets then switched to the Innov8 and it was immediately better. But I wasted the first sets a bit but now I know.

So I ordered the shoe with the highest heel out there, the AdiPower 2

Looks a lot like the Innov8 but with a slightly higher heel and heel to toe drop. We'll see. But I know that the Do Wins are too low. I just wish this had a leather stacked heel but oh well

Plus the colors are right :) Mustang Blue and Black :)

Press
65, 85 105 x 3
135 x 3
155 x 3 ( low heel)
175 x 2
185 x 3 x 2
this is second set


then back to Innov8 shoe and
3x3 ( first video is 5th set)

135 x 10

I was so pissed ( even though I have no right to be, for gods sake this is a HUGE PR! that I thought I would give 20 reps a go but I was shot ,lol

24 kg speed swings
30 sets x 5 reps
150 reps
7950 lbs
RPE 7

this was good. Used the GS style bell and the smaller handle was a nice change. Longer bell meant a longer stroke and it took a few sets to get use to but in the end it was good

Laterals
3 x 10/10 wth 15

BW 172.2
BF 12.3
W 58.3

dont know where the hell the bodyfat and hydration came from but I'll take it! this is the lowest it's been in ages and I actually feel leaner than at 174 a few months ago

Hot ruck

man I was caught off guard by the heat today. an hour earlier than usual but i don't think that made the difference. It just felt like I was rucking in a smelly sauna. No breeze, no clouds just nasty 90 deg heat that brought out the lovely bouquet of the park.

Got a decent last lap and the legs felt good but this was just pure mental training. straight up masochism

48 lg ruck
6 laps
55 min
Last lap= 7:04
RPE 11

BW 171.2
BW 13.8

40kg one arm swings 10x5/5 78 lb wt pushups, walking lunges, laterals

Interesting one. Right glute at IT band insertion has been touchy for the last week and I was very careful not to overload it. It got a bit weird after the pistol attempts a few weeks ago and I've been working on it. It's releasing well so I didn't want to tweak anything trying for too much power on the lower rep sets

Worked out fine and went back to my Inov8 fastlight heels which I think  I'll stay with for swings. Need the 3/4 " height. 1/2 is not enough. I 'll use the do wins for pressing which I think will actually be better

Wasn't sure if fives were going to be enough work but putting out max effort to accelerate really caught up. Did twelve sets but actually could have stopped  at ten

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 5/5
40 kg x 5/5 x 12 sets
120 reps
10,560 lbs
RPE 7.5

Weight pushups parallel bars
bw x 8
53 x 8
78 x 8
78 x 10

first time going up by adding a chain. worked great. need to up this too

Walking lunges
3 sets of 40 sets

VERY ginger here because of the glute but it actually helped a lot to rebalance quad to glute tension
much better at end than at start

laterals
3 x 8/8 with 20's

BW 172.0
BF 14.1

Light press + singles practice,pistol practice, floor pushups, laterals

Weird day. Up at 2 am for some reason and never got fully back to sleep. All kinds of life shit happening and just feeling flat still. No worries but it was a solid workout nonetheless

Press
65,85,105 x 5
115 x 5 x 5
137 x 1
159 x 1
181 x 1
186 x 1 x 2 sets

practicing new technique.
unrack
lay back
layback then press

what's old is new again. this is pretty much my old technique from last year slightly adapted to the mono rack lift off


overall tired but the press felt great and this is basically 190! with no belt or wrist wraps! after 25 reps

Pistol practice arm support
2+2
3+3
4+ 4

from bottom up. one up one down =2 one down two up and down = 3 etc

this was great . even if I can't do these un assisted it's a great quad/leg move!

Floor pushups
2 x 50
1 x 40

just beat

Laterals
3 x 10/10 with 15s

BW 172.8
BF 13.6

Dead calves ruck

Man this was tough. My calves were tight as a drum for the first hour! I had to stop and rest and shake them out way more than I wanted to. Could it be the new lifting shoes with a slightly ( 1/8" 0 lower heel? Makes no sense but man they were tight.
Everything else felt great but I wasn't sure they were going to loosen up!

They finally did an hour into the ruck, then things got much better
 Wasn't even thinking of a timed last lap but by the end of the ruck I felt loose enough to go for it. Didn't break 7 min but close enough and considering how things started it was excellent

48 lb ruck
12 laps
11 squat stretches
2:00 even
last lap = 7:02
RPE 10/8

BW 172.8
BF 13.9

Standing press 185 x 3 x 2, 2 x 3, 24 kg speed swings 15 min, laterals

Just a flat day. Everything was good, solid nights sleep, food, bodyparts, mental focus but I was just 'meh'. Gave 215 a halfhearted push but no go. Plus it was going forward again and although I've seemed to figure out how to do heavy multiple reps, the maximal first one is still hit and miss

More miss than hit.
But I think I at least figure out why

Set's up good. Bar high on clavical is good. Pushing back is good from start and I THOUGHT  my lay back was enough to just 'push' straight up and back from the arch but at max weights is ALWAYS goes forward!!
Ack

At the end of the workout ( last three singles) I realized  that I have to layback to INITIATE  the press. NOT press first!

I used to do this last year(s) but thought there was something better. We'll see


Press
65, 85, 105 x 3
135 x 3
155 x 1 sluggish
175 x 1 same
195 x 1 ok but not crisp
215 x X not near as high as last week
185 x 2
       x 1 ( shoulder biceps tendon tweak)
       x 3 ( video)
       x 3
       x 2
       x 2
       x 1 x 3 ( working on the layback start)

 24 kg speed swings
30 sets of 5
On the 30 seconds
150 reps
7950 lbs

24 kg is perfect for this rep count and work/rest bout

laterals
3 x 8/8 with 20's

finally these are getting stronger

BW 172.8
BF 13.1

Heat conditioned achieved ruck

This one let me know I'm in solid heat condition right now. I still hate like going to the dentist but I can do it. And push a bit. And it was 102-4 today at 1 pm too. with no breeze.
Definitely think pushing the last lap of each ruck lately has really made the difference. Just that wee bit of high intensity glycolytic work to top off the cells make a world of difference it seems

The ZMA 5 has been giving me great deep sleep all week and that's making a huge difference too.

48 lb ruck
6 laps
55 min
last lap  7:08 ( ack actually though it was going to be better but giving the heat I'll take it.)
RPE 8

also blood sugar and energy levels throughout morning have been the most smooth ever. really nice. must be the sleep

BW 172.2
BF 13.1

60 and 68 kg One Arm swings 10 sets of 5/5, Wt pushups,laterals

Interesting one. Hot as hell but another good nights sleep. Loving this Snac ZMA powder! Never felt this much deep sleep

Back locked up last night after all those pistols caught up with my abs and it freaked me out a bit. But then I thumped the abs and psoas, released the piriformis with the small super nova and did some lean in stretches on the cage. Released very quickly but it freaked me out a bit and made me question how heavy I should go today

As usual I played it by feel and it was fine

One arm swings
 16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 4/4
24 kg x 4/4
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 4/3
36 kg x 3/4
40 kg x 4/3
44 kg x 3/4
48 kg x 4/3
60 kg x 5/5 x 8 sets
68 kg x 4/4 x 2



this was toughest on my left wrist and grip! taping the wrist helped a lot but my grip was challenged to the max. right, not so much but this is one big ass grip workout!

Height and speed were good but it took me to the end to realize I was too much on my heels in the back swing and that actually made it worse on my grip!  Seems like forever since I swung this but it was just last month. But in the AM on Sat. Big difference for sure. Another level of resistance :)

Wt pushups
bw x 10
53 x 10 x 3

strong. time to put a layer of chain on this at the last set

Laterals
3 x 10/10 with 15s

best these have ever felt
skipped lunges. TOO hot and want to make sure back is solid tomorrow

BW 172.6
BW 13.7

105-140 lb press practice pyramid, pistol practice, floor pushups 3x52 PR, laterals

Solid day. Another fantastic night sleep from the ZMA nightcap formula. FOUR nights now of GREAT sleep. Deep sleep like I haven't had in years it seems. the 5-HTP must be the difference but it's great. Feel refreshed and I'd forgotten what that felt like

Press
65,85,105 x 5
115x5
125x5
135x5
140x5

all reps paused or light touch and go and held overhead for a dead stop

Pistolpractice



the idea was to do a concentric only /bottoms up first rep followed by a no hands eccentric and then if necessary use hands to ascend
this is what happened but it's definitely the strongest I've been in the hole. This will work over time. I am MUCH stronger on the negative and the static hold and doing the concentric only first really sets the groove

Floor pushups
3 sets of 52 !!! All Time PR!!
wow this was very strong all the way through

this schedule change is really good. Now these and pistols become the main course of "light day"

laterals
3 x 10/10 with 15s

even this was strong

BW 172.2
BF 13.5


A++ day!

Solid Ruck

The first hour started out great. I was thinking of writing this blog and calling it "auto pilot" because that's how my legs felt right from the start. Then the second hour the legs got a little heavy. nothing bad but not autopilot, either
Did NO squat stretches as my legs felt so good and I wanted to go as fast as I could

Did end up with a good last sprint lap though- watch read 6:54 but I had to stop twice, shut down the watch, then re start it to clear some rocks in my boot. That probably cost me at least 2 seconds and it was with NO 'airborne shuffling' lol

48 kb ruck
12 laps
1:50
last lap 6:54
RPE 7/8/5

BW 171.2
BF 13.5

215 x X Press, 20 kg speed swings 30 sets of 5, laterals

Decent day I just wasn't strong enough for 215. Can't blame it on anything else; technique was good, sleep was good, mind was good. Just not strong enough which was surprising but there it is.
Plenty of good work though

65,85, 105 x 3
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1  strong!
205 x 1 Decent but not fast, which did not give me confidence for 215 but went for it anyway. Also first attempt was my regular 'push it forward' which I HAVE to stop doing! it's a very bad habit. Second attempt was this

then
215 X Miss
190 x 2 PR

Not long ago 190 was my best so to double it on a down set is a good sign. Back to sets and reps next week

Interesting. Just looked back at my last attempt with 215 which was July 19. Missed it pretty much the exact same place ( one month ago or so). This time I went right to 215 from 195. Perhaps I wasted energy with the 205 attempt? hmmm



20kg speed swings
30 sets of 5
150 reps
6600 lbs
RPE 7.5

I think I'm going up to 24kg with this next week. Should be no problem for 5's without losing any power

Laterals
3 x 8/8 with 20's

BW 172.0
BF 13.5
W 57.1

Thursday ruck

 Solid day. A good nights sleep the last two nights has really helped.Started taking ZMA in powder form and it's working great. What a huge difference deep sleep makes!
Legs were tired but overall things felt good

48 lb ruck
6 laps
1:55
last lap - 6:52!
RPE 7.5

BW 172.8
BF 14.3

48 kg One arm swings 10 x 5/5 13 min, Pistol practice, Wt pushups with chain, band laterals

Solo workout today. As usual both easier and harder. But definitely faster. Also found out that doing lunges on monday isn't a great idea. Decent DOMS on glutes and hamstrings not the ideal situation for this day's workout so I will switch it to pistols on monday and lunges on wednesday from here on out

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5
20 kg x 4/4
24 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 4/4
40 kg x 3/3 ( bigger jumps easier in the afternoon, way more warmed up at start )
48 kg x 5/5 x 10 sets
13 total minutes
RPE 7.5

 Could have gone faster but didn't know I was going to push it until. like last month where I did it in 11 min, I looked up and realized I could . Recovery really good. All those last lap sprints during rucking are helping too

Plus 5/5 is much less draining than 10 reps per arm, Better overall power output
Grip was good but legs were sore

Pistol practice
( from bottom up)
4 sets of 3/3

these went very well

Wt parallel pushups with 25 lb chain on neck
bw x 8
25 lbs x 8 x 3

interesting. best setup I could do solo

black band shoulder pullaparts 4 way
3 sets
tough

BW 172.4
BF 13.9

Fate Whispers

Fate Whispers to the Warrior;
A Storm is coming.
The Warrior whispers back

I am the Storm

Light press, walking lunges, floor pushups PR , laterals

Felt ready to go today although it's still hot as shit. But at least the hard work is over. Still really enjoying the stress reduction from this schedule shift. It's little things like this, that you never know til you do them , have such a huge effect on everything.
That's why you have to experiment and not be satisfied til everythings' running smoothly as it's ever been

Press
65,85, 105 x 5
117 x 5 x 3
129 x 5 x 2
139 x 5

Mostly pauses with holds at top working on high on the neck setup and driving the bar back from the start. worked well and even the 139 moved fast and easy

walking lunges
4 laps of 40 steps

this was freaking hard. legs tired and hot as hell. no wind or shade

floor pushups
3 sets of 5!! all time PR

surprisingly strong. Thought about this and realized I need to make this day about really pushing the floor pushups. the bar press is light so no worries there but make this a tough one. and it was. this is the key exercise for me these days for my press

Laterals
3 x 10/10 with 15s

these are the best they've been in years

BW 172.6
BF 13.8

Easy/Hard ruck

This was a strange one. Started of very strong for the first hour, then energy just left for the second half.  Still finished with a decent last lap sprint though
Didn't take any creatine yesterday, didn't think it would make that much difference but perhaps it did

48 lb ruck
12 laps
3 squat stretches
2:03
last lap= 6:53
RPE 8/9.25 ( first then second hour)

BW 171.8
BF 14

200 lb press x 1 x 5 sets PR. 20 kg speed swings 30 sets,laterals

Another very very solid press day. And another important piece of the puzzled solved. The weight felt light, but I missed a few starts, first set went way out in front,  , did it right over with no rest, and this one above, the second set was also pushed forward at the sticking point because I thought that the arch was enough and then I just had to push UP.
NO
I have to push BACK right from the start.
The fourth and fifth sets were perfect
Smooth and fast from start to lockout. Without a doubt the best reps I have ever done with a heavy weight. But it was after I realized I had to push it back right from the start to have that nice straight line; that made all the difference

Press
65,85, 105 x 3
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 1 fast!
190 x 1 FAST another perfect rep
200 x miss, then immediate x 1 got right out in front
       x 1 video above, just a slight push forward at exactly the wrong time
       x 1 long grind! pushed forward !
       x 1 x 2 PERFECT this is the setup and start!
Big pr

I just did this weight ONCE for the first time this last April

Speed swings 20 kg
5 reps every 30 second
30 sets
150 reps
15 min
6600 lbs
 felt great! perfect power output each rep and just enough winding to make it feel like cardio especially at the end

Laterals
3 x 10/10 with 15's

BW 172
BF 14.5

Hard,hot, fast ruck

 My Sunday ruck will be easier because of the schedule change, however Thursdays will be tougher because of it and today was no exception.
The 44 kg swings took a nice toll on the legs and hips, in a good way, but a way nonetheless and it was a slow start.
Plus it was super hot again and I've slept like shit for the last two night. This really made the first 30 min ugly but then things relaxed once I got a good sweat going ( as it used to be when running; the first thirty minutes always sucked ) things got much easier
Even pulled off a decent last lap of 6:56 which I did not think at all I could do. So that was nice
My regular daily lap speed has increased according to my wife. Makes sense if I  could pull off off a sub 7 min lap at the end of today

48 lb Ruck
6 laps
55 min last lap : 6:56
RPE 9.5

BW 173.2
BF 14.3 !!

Need sleep!