New Press technique and approach 175/185 lbs 4 x 2, 24 kg swings, wt pushups

 After seeing this video about building the overhead press and watching the guy press from his chin it got me thinking how much I could press from that position.Played with it a bit in warmups and while it didn't feel good it got me going on using a thumbed grip, my lifting shoes ( 1/2" heel adidas) and starting more upright and leaning back AS I pressed
it worked great!

here's the press video

https://youtu.be/okayOvGcEfQ

Here's my workout

Press

65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 2 x 4

185 x 2 x 4

these felt SO good.
Lock in looking straight ahead, elbows in
weight on mid foot lock legs
drive head back and press up
wrapped thumb
1/2 " lifter shoe

24 kg speed swings

5 x 8/8

wt pushups

bw x 10

53 x 10

85 x 10 x 2

BW 175.4

BF 13.6

we will see how this holds up on Monday but it felt great today and both glenn and nick agreed

215 press, 225 miss ,floor pushups, laterals

 Decent day. Stronger than expected but groove was loose. I was a SERIOUSLY  SORE all day sunday and still today in both hamstrings.All  muscular but weirdly sore like I haven't been in years. Glenn thinks its from the higher power output we did on Saturday, and he might be right. It was a strong workout but to put the ruck on top of it really made me tired and sore

And I couldn't stay tight in the lower body today either although shoulders and arms and back were solid. Good speed off the chest but got loose in the sticking point as usual.

But stronger than expected

Press

65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1 fast
175 x 1 fast
195 x 1 fast
205 x 1 decent
215 x 1 so so, weak lockout first of the loose ones

220 x miss x 3

210 x 1 x 3

long hard grinds but got done. not bad work really

205 x 1 good

floor pushups

63 x 1
52 x 1

one arm laterals 3 x 10/10 20
bent laterals 3 x 10 20

BW 175
BF 12.5 !!!!
W 58.3

THESE ARE THE PRETTY MUCH MY PERFECT NUMBERS! HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT CAME FROM BUT I'LL TAKE IT!

Black ruck ruck

 This went really well, except for my legs and hips being seriously tired and stiff right at the start. No joint issues just really tired muscles which again tells me, much like with the 32 kg, how much force I'm putting out with these sub max weights.
Which, the max weight works makes possible.
But man were they tight

Plus rucking the last few weeks has been spotty and weak for a number of reasons and my gait and strength endurance are definitely not at peak. So, to be expected

But man did the ruck feel great!
That new padding was awesome and I now appreciate the wide straps and hip belt so much more than I did before. It's a great fit

I'm getting used to the color
Also, getting very used to the Coyote suede GoRuck boots; loving the wide toe box

Legs actually loosened up quite well after lap five and then it was actually pretty brisk. weather was good. moderately cool and slight breeze

48 lb ruck
12 laps
13,419 steps
6 miles
2:05
5 squat stretches

last 1/2 mile in 7:30

BW 175.4
BF 14.5

40 kg One arm swing workout " Punisher" 10 sets of 10/10, lunges, laterals

  Solidly good but seriously  hard one. Felt like shit all day yesterday, thought I might be coming down with something ( like I did last week) but just like last week it dissipated and I felt great this morning. Great sleep, no headache or body issues and mentally felt strong

All was great til after this set ( 7th) when my legs got seriously tired and the last three sets were a major push- which is precisely the idea but it still was tough  as hell.
 The stronger you are the harder you push and the harder you push  the more it sucks :)

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
40 kg x 10/10 x 10

200 reps
17,600 lbs

Lunges
bw x 8/8 x 3 set
and barely made that. Great to see how much legs and glutes the swings are working

Laterals
3 x 10 with 15s

rear delts
3 x 10 with 15s superset

BW 174.8
BF 13.7 ( post bath!)
W 57.2

 

Ruck test, Rush 72 is the winner

 I tried to like it, I really did.Hell I tried to love it. But it's not the one. Took the Mystery Ranch out for my Thursday ruck and had the setting right where I thought they should be but even after one lap I knew it wasn't right
So I adjusted the chest strap. No good. Adjusted it lower. No good
Switched out the sand bag and the gypsum bag to re distribute the load. No good.  A little better but then the chest strap and shoulder harness didn't feel good. 
So, after four laps I head home, reloaded my new ( black) rush 72 with the same weight- 47 lbs ) and headed back out and within seconds I knew I had the right pack. It just fit right and, being brand new, had great padding and  no pre formed ruts so it really felt solid

Did another laps and brought  it in. Rush 72 is the winner. Oh well, just money :)

BW 176
BF 14.1
W 57.2

175/185 lb press Strong day! 24 kg speed swings, wt pushups

 Just as much as monday sucked today was solid. Just decided to just "press the damn bar" and find the leverage as I did

Remembered my caveat
1) think first
2) just do
3) analyze after

I've been trying to think my way through the lift and it shows. Timing's been way off and I have no 'feel'. that's cause I'm in my head

Took out the press call and just went when I felt ready, focusing on getting tight as possible, "coiling the spring" and it worked great

Really got a solid "heave" out of it and it felt like my whole body was doing the lift for the first time in forever

Press

65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 2 x 4

185 x 2 x 4

best sets in forever

24 kg speed swings
5 x 8/8 x 5

solid!
wt pushups

bw x 10
53 x 10
85 x 10 x 2
Back to my half reps and a fast descent . elbow feels fine

BW 175.8
BF 12.9 !!!!
W 58
153.37 lbs lean weight

this is the lowest first thing in the morning in forever and I have no idea why and right after a rest day? weird but I'll take it

215 press rough day, floor pushups, laterals

 A tough day for no good reason. Slept well. felt good, weighed good and had solid energy all morning and was mentally ready. Then, just shit the bed
Everything was all over the place and the head back cue didn't work at all. Good thing I figured that out early and dropped it. Just too much time getting set up

But it really didn't help much after as I missed 205 the first time and barely got it the second. Shoulders were definitely tired and the only reason I can think of is the ruck with the new pack. Shoulders were achy all morning and I didn't know why.

It wasn't good from the start and 155 was a sign

Press
65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1
205 x miss
205 x 3/4 !!!
215 x 1 barely but got it

215 x miss x 2!
205 x 1
205 x miss out in front!
200 x 1 

185 x miss
185 x 1 fast! what the everloving hell?

Floor pushups
63 x 2 sets
53 x 1

one arm laterals 3 x 8/8

bent laterals 3 x 8

BW 175.4
BF 13.6

Mystery ranch full two hour ruck, first time. 45 lbs

 

This went well. Not perfect but well. Great weather, air clear, cool and somewhat crisp and I was ready to go. But right off the pack, as set up according to SOP didn't feel that great so halfway through the first lap I adjust it. I put the shoulder harness down one full click and did another lap

Definitely felt better but I went on more click lower and it felt  much much better. Good in fact. The first setting had the weight too low on the hips and made it feel heavy. Not enough shoulders. The end placing felt the most evenly distributed

But I'm not sure how tough this pack is; the seams don't see very solid and I wonder how they'll hold up
We shall see

45 lb ruck
12 laps
6 miles
5 squat stretches
2 hours even
last .5  mile at 7:30

BW 174.8
BF 14.8

32 kg one arm swings 10 x 8/8 deload, bw lunges, laterals

 Easy peasy one today and it was great to do it. Not having to stress about the workload coming up is nice every once in awhile . Once every five weeks to be precise :)

One arm swings

32 kg x 10 x 8/8
160 reps
11520 lbs
RPE 6

strong and easy

BW lunges
3 x 8/8

deep and stretchy

Laterals/rear delts

3 x 10/10
15s

BW 175.2
BF 14.0

First MysteryRanch ruck

 

The air finally cleared enough for me to get out there. Only missed one day but 8 or so days of truly  foul air was not nice. It's always the simple things that are so crucial to happiness and breatheable air has got to be number one

Was rushed in the setup and tracy went with so didn't really have the focus to play with the adjustments of the ruck but overall I'd say it was very good. Not great out the shoot but that's got to be as much about a completely different system than the Rush 72

i wish the hip belt connected in a different way and that the thickness of the belt was wider but I think I'l get used to it. Tomorrow will be a better test
Regardless the load ( 45 lbs) felt a good 10 lbs lighter.  the pack is much more ergonomic, narrow and the hip shoulder system seems to work very well

45 lb ruck

6 laps

55 min

175/185 lb speed press, 24 kg speed swing, wt pushups

 Switched back to vibrams and it worked great. Just as I thought/hoped: that the load the bow technique would do what i was wearing the heels to do- set the arch. But without the instability of the heel at the sticking point.
Again, the first key is elbows in (and stay in, without that nothing else works). I also incorporated "get the head out of the way" as I pressed but we figured out at the end that just setting the head into position after I load the bow works better. I lost balance a few times moving my head too quickly as I press 
Pre setting it should work better. But I didn't play with it til the very end but I think it's right.Another great Glenn call

Press

65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 2 x 4
185 x 2 x 4

24 kg speed swings ( also in vibrams)
5 sets of 8/8
 definitely more glutes flat footed even with the athletic hinge technique

Wt pushups
bw x 10
53 x 10 x 3 slow and deep
not sure my elbow likes the extra depth. will see

BW 175.6
BF 14.0

220 press ties pr, 215 press floor pushups one arm laterals

 Everything went really well today in terms of positions, cues and timing. 220 was as solid as it's been and I got loose on 225 or I would have made it too.

The "elbows in" cue worked great, as well as the "load the bow" for the launch. But I think I forgot to really "get the head out of the way" but otherwise I hit the marks

Now I'm wondering if I really need the heel looking back at my old 220 and 225 attempts with vibrams.  I will play with this on Wed with light weight. I think the set up is the key and I might have a tighter base barefoot again,

Here is 220 in vibrams

https://youtu.be/GtP8htGeJsA

and here is today in heels. pretty close to the same position but I think the flat is more stable

Here is 225 miss in vibrams

https://youtu.be/2SSQAS-nOTc

and today's with reelboks

have to analyse and see

Press

65 85 105 x 2

135 x 2

155 x 1

175 x 1

195 x 1

205 x 1
215 x 1

220 x 1 on first attempt too!
225 x X x 2
205 x 1

       x miss tried toe clenching technique, pushed me forward

205 x 1 x 3

floor pushups

63 x 2

50 x 1

one arm laterals rear delts

3 x 10/10 20

3 x 10 20

BW 175.4
BF 145.6

60 and 68 kg one arm swings bw lunges, laterals

 Very solid day. Scary as always but things moved well. A bit lighter today but still feeling strong

one arm swing
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 4/4
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
68 kg 5/5 x 3 

these went very well, height not bad and almost starting to be a 'regular' weight

BW lunges
3 sets of 10/10 
still burning!

Laterals

3 x 10/10 with 15s

BW 174.6
BF 13.1 ( post bath)
W 57.5

Thursday ruck

  Air quality shitty but we got it in. Reloaded the ruck with 25 lb of gypsum salt and the 47lb ruck had a completely different feel. Getting ready for the new mystery ranch scree 32 and it took a few laps to get the rush 72 setttled with the new load

But after 2 laps it settle in and the legs and lungs were good

47 lb ruck
6 laps
3 miles
54 min

solid day

RIP Ron McKee

 

175 and 185 lb speed press, 24 kg speed swings, wt pushups

 This went really well despite finding out that an old friend of mine passed this morning right before we started. See you on the other side Ron McKee, your memory will be a blessing.
I had Ron in my  mind as I trained this afternoon, wanting to do well to honor his memory, his strength, enthusiasm and passion for all things strength and power and friendship.

And it went well. The idea was elbows on lats, get the head out of the way. It worked well til I got to 175 and forgot to lay back first and tried to tricep press it. it fell forward and I thought I might have tweaked my elbow but it seems to be alright, I 'll know for sure tomorrow
But once I realized the 'head out of the way ' cue only works after I push into the bow things went much better

Press

65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 2 x 4

185 x 2 x 4

I can really see how it helps to , after unracking, press my hips and legs into tightness as I lay back and then get the head of the way
Cues:

Elbows IN
Load the bow ( as in hips move forward and body moves back as a bowstring)
Get the head out of the way
Press

If I do this technique with 220 and 225 they're a done deal

24 kg speed swings

5 x 8/8

fast! wore the reeboks here too

wt pushups

bw x 10

53 lbs x 3 x 10

much slower and deeper and it was way hard enough

BW 176.7

BF 13.7
W 57.7

217.5 lb press, 220 lb miss, floor pushups, one arm laterals

 What a solid day. Most excellent in fact. Felt great and was strong under the bar. Plus both Glenn and Nick hit pr's as well. Nick crushing the Beast with one double and 4 strong singles! Glenn did 40 kg for 5 singles strong as hell
It's nice when we're all strong on the same day, Doesn't happen off but when it does it's fun

Cues got dialed in well too. The first one is "elbows on the lats". I have to make sure my  elbows start in and stay in, There's other important ones too but if that doesn't happen the rest don't matter

And I think instead of putting my head back or my face up to try to get the proper arch thinking 'move your head out of the way 'as I pressed seemed to work really well. When I cued that everything else seemed to happen automatically.
Can't have too many cues though, no time

Still had the bar lower on the chest, still with Reebok stillettos  and eyes on ceiling
On  the  220 miss I can see I didn't get my elbows on my lats tightly, they're moving around right before launch and I just missed it

Of course I didn't take video of the 217.5 and it was grand! and that was after a 215 miss

Go big or go home

Press
65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1 fast!
205 x 1
215 x miss
217.5 x 1 ( ties second best real pr, and this was locked out well)
220 x miss x 2
205 x 1 x 4 ( missed one out in front)

Floor pushups
63
50
spent and it was 90+ in the gym

One arm laterals
3x8/8 with 20
bent lateral
3 x 10 with 25

BW 174.8
BF 13.7
W 57.5

12 noon
BW 176.8
BF 11.7 !!!!
W 59.1

that's the best measurement I've had in ages and I feel it, Big and lean ( relatively)

Ruck experiments

 

The old Rush 72 is really showing some wear and tear and it's time for a new ruck. I've been eyeing the Mystery Ranch system ruck for  awhile now since I learned about their shoulder harness adjustable system, REI put it on sale and I  bit, or bought. Literally

It's definitely smaller, 32 liters compared to the 55 the Rush has but I think most of that extra size is in the  numerous small compartment bags sections that I never use. I think the main carry section is pretty close in size 22 cu vs 20 so it should carry my 30 and 10 lb sand pills that make up the bulk of the ruck

But it only weighs 3 lbs so I'll make up the difference with more sand or rice bags or pea gravel, haven't made up my mind. I'll see when it gets here. Thought about just chucking the 20 lb of kitty litter I've been carrying around and just getting a 30 lb bag of pea gravel. We'll see

I tried to use the voodoo tactical bag I have here but it just wasn't a fit and I knew it right away. Just did  3 laps and came home and switched out bags it was so obvious

Rest of ruck was with 45 lbs

45 lbs ruck
2 hours
12 laps
6 miles
7 squat stretches

BW 175.4
BF 15 %
got to hydrate it's going to be a sauna here for the next few days

48 kg One arm swings, 10 x 6/6,bw lunges, laterals

 Solid one. This has definitely become a training weight instead of a peak weight because of all those 60 and 68 kg overload swings we do. It's really made the difference and made this bell feel submaximal, which it is now.Soon the 60 will feel this way too.
Just when, not if

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 6/6 x 10
160 reps
16,960 lbs

bw lunges
3 x 10/10
still burning, still good

laterals/rear delts

3 x 10/10 

BW 175.0
BF 14.5

Thursday Ruck

 

Late entry but it got done

Wore my coyote GoRuck Macv2s again and they felt great. Must've broken in because now I prefer them. I really like the new outsole for comfort which I really thought was too much at first. Now of course I really want the green/black Vietnam era version lol

50 lb ruck
3 miles
50 minutes

no calf or shin issues

175 lb press 2 x 4, 185 x 2 x 4, 200 x 1, 24 kg speed swings 5 x 8/8, wt pushups

  

This went great. Bar path was the most consistent yet, even from the first 175 lb set which usually isn't the case. Usually takes 2-3 sets to settle in. Not today.

Focus was

elbows in
unracks then set lats
lay back a bit more and lock in
drive triceps off lats

worked really well especially at the end. the 200 was the best rep. I think all of the above and the final setup up piece is not lay back from mid back but move head back

Press

65 85 105 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 2 x 4
185 x 2 x 4
200 x 1

24 kg speed swings

5 x 8/8

wt pushups
bw x 10
53 x 10
85 x 10 x 2
I think I need to stay with 53 on this. the heavier loads shifts and I always end up feeling the right  shoulder after. Stay with 53 and stick them out

BW 176.4    

BF 15.0

W 56.6