60 and 68 kg One Arm Swing 7 x 5/5, 3 x 5/5 pistol practice, laterals

 

This went super well today. Definitely extra focused but not so scared of it finally. This lets me concentrate on developing more force into the ground and not worrying about losing my grip when I up the power a bit
Therefore, better height on the bell. Felt strong, square and balanced and the new shoes worked great. Perhaps even more stable than the green ones which I used for almost 8 years now every week.
First time going super heavy in the new ones. Definitely a success

The first sets with the 60 were rough though, just getting warm as it's still upper 40's in the garage and I was stiff but good going by 4th sets

68 kg went even better than expected. It must be the bell is extra high compared to the 60 as the first hile pass always feels even stronger than the 60

Doesn't look like it from this photo but  I'll measure it later. Main thing; it was solid

60 kg One arm swings 7 x 5/5
68 kg One arm swing 3 x 5/5

Pistol practice bottoms ups

decided to go back to this method after my form starting deteriorating on the repetition method. This actually felt great

2 sets of 3/3
1 x 4/4

Laterals/rear delts

3 x 10/10 with 15s

BW 176.6 !
BF 14.7
W 57.2  a bit dehydrated

The Frame on the Press Puzzle.

This last technique, this last piece of the puzzle, the frame that holds it all  together, came to me after Mondays session and today's workout bore it out.

After I start the press by pressing to my face and then driving my hips forward I have to KEEP DRIVING THE HIPS FORWARD  as I finish pressing to lockout.

This keeps my hips under the bar the entire rest of the time as well as providing much needed momentum to keep the bar moving as well. It's like I am really getting my lower body into it the entire press, not just helping to get it started and then holding static.

I think that's it. I don't think I don't know what to do in any other part of the press now

It worked so well today. The only hard part was remembering to keep my eye on the X on the SECOND rep after I started the press. I had two reps that went just slightly forward and that's what happened. But only on my second reps

Couldn't be happier with this  or feel more confident. Now hopefully the search for the correct technique is over and I can concentrate on making it automatic and perfect every time

THE CUES

LOAD THE BOW

PRESS TO FACE

KEEP THE HIP DRIVING

175 x 2  x5 sets

185 x 2 x 5 sets

24 kg swings

5 x 8/8

wt v pbar pushup

bw x 10
53 x 10 x 3

BW 178.2
BF 14.1

Great Press day- 210, 215,220 lbs! floor pushups, one arm laterals

 

All the pieces of the puzzle fit together today, even though I went in feeling way off and still not sure of the hip/ press sequence. But we got it sorted out quickly and the rest of the workout was golden.

I always say  I've almost never  had a great day on a day I felt great going in and today was no exception. Particularly unmotivated today and pretty much down right apathetic about the whole thing.
Not having much confidence that I would ever really figure this thing out didn't help either but as I also always say, just suit up, show up and do your best and occasionally you'll have a great one

Today was that day.

I was confident about the unracking, setting the box and spotting the X but then wasn't sure what the next piece was; do I push to the face and then drive the hips, try to do both simultaneously  or drive the hips first then press to face? I knew press to face was a key but where to put it.

I first tried simultaneously driving hips and face push with 205 and it stalled

So that wasn't right. Next up was push to face then drive the hips and this 210 told me that was 100% spot on

Man that was butter! Easily the best 210 press I've ever done and one of THE best presses over 200 I've ever done.Push to face and then drive hips under is it.

I also HAVE to keep my eye on the X and I think I lost sight of it on this 215 although no complaints, it moved great

I had plenty of confidence and some aggression built up for this 220 and it motored too! Man I am happy! Felt no need to go 225 as I wanted to leave on this high note

Next up 205 for 3 sets of 1 and they were solid too. Last set I re-focused on spotting the X and it was the best rep. That's a key

Cues:
Spot the X on the unracking

Load the bow and re spot the X,PAUSE

Press to face then drive hips

Felt SO good and so NOT hard when I am under the bar

Floor pushups

3 sets of 60!

not a PR but can't remember last time I got three sets of 60 or more!

I did remember to "catch" the bottom of the pushup position with my rhomboids and take the pressure off my pecs and delts. I think I've been overfocused on loading the tri's and not using successive induction in the eccentric rep

One arm laterals

3 x 8/8 with 20s

Bent laterals

3 x 10 with 20s

BW 176.6
BF 14.1

Put a star on this one

The Goldilocks Ruck

 

Everything was JUST right, the weather, my body parts, the new ruck weight and the pace. Just fell into place so well

So well in fact I did not stop for ANY  squat stretches the entire two hours, which, if it's not the first time it's the second. Legs and lungs just felt great and I found that runners high glide in my step and in my head. Just awesome

The 5 lbs less in the pack seems to make a great difference, plus I've been getting back in to cardio shape lately and this just confirms it

45 lb ruck

12 laps

6 miles

1:50 min! - for the 12 laps 2 hours for the walk in and back to the park

Ave pace 2.9- 4.3

Steps 13,212

BW 176.6

BR 15.1

48kg One Arm swings 10 sets of 8/8, pistol practice, laterals

 

Ah these worked great. Certain brands fit me like a glove right out of the box and this is one of them. Feel just like the old version but a bit stiffer, more stable and with a bigger toe box. But just as light( a few grams more)  and with the same heel height, which seems to be my idea. 
Plus the look cool.

Haven't had white lifting shoes since years ago with my white adidas and they still are cool. They  pop lol,

The swings went well, all hip and rec fem issues cleared up from earlier in the week and I felt good and weighed good but didn't feel quite as strong as I hoped and the bell height, while ok  was a bit off from the video

But good solid safe work got done. And the power and lungs were solid

Pistols went well too and I didn't kick my right hip out like I did last week which is what I think flared up the TFL and Rec fem
Right shoes too

pistols
3 x 5/5 slow and working on depth

laterals

3 x 10/10 with 15s

these felt strong today

BW 176.7
BF 13.5 (b)

don't know what I was light after a rest day but that's probably my ideal weight right now

Will see if the rain allows a ruck tomorrow. Won't hurt me to have a day off either. Better but still a bit banged up muscle soreness wise and that's unusual

Great Ruck, New pack weight 45 lb

 

Man this went well. Probably the best Thursday ruck in years. Plus ZERO calf tightness. Decided to wear my zero heel ultra shoes hoping it would provide a passive stretch to my calves and it did. It seemed the standing was what was tightening my calves before the ruck especially standing in my boots with a slight heel

This worked great and I love the shoes too. Big toe box and super light

Plus I lowered the pack weight to 45 lbs, 5 lbs less felt like 10

45 lb ruck

6 laps

3 miles

55 min

top speed 3.6 mph

RPE 5

BW 177.2

BF 14.7

175/185 lb press 10 x 2, 24 kg speed swings, wt pushups

 Really, really, really great day. Everything clicked and all the pieces fit together. Even, and maybe especially the timing. have to say these are the best presses I've done because the technique was correct and I realized how to do it.

I was 3/4 there on Monday but didn't implement the second hip drive that I needed after setting the bow. This is why it felt like I was really starting with zero reflex or rebound.

Just like I couldn't deadlift for beans without some kind of pre start movement I need some way to create a stretch reflex or it's too much work at the start which leaves little for the lockout

So after I set the bow and start to drive to the face I have to, AT THE SAME TIME, drive my hips forward again and that's the impetus for the start. I also have to make sure I keep my eyes on the X.

If I lose that ( and it seems to be easy to) the bar ends up forward

But today it all felt good and fast

175 x 2  x 5 sets

185 x 2 x 5 sets

the 24 kg speed swings 

5 x 8/8

wt pushups ( slight V on parallettes)
53 lb x 3 x 10

BW 177.8 !
BF 14.3

feel good at this weight actually. Also ditched the Reebok shoe, Heel is just too high and it jacked up my right TFL and Rec fem abit after mondays workouts

all good NEW Inov8 fastlift 360s will be here Friday!

265kg/584lbs ATG Squat for 10 Reps

205-217.5 presses, floor pushups, one arm laterals

 Was not great but was not horrible,either. The technique worked well but still needs refinement at these 90% + weights. 
As usual as I focused on one thing I forgot another but the good thing that even though the reps were mostly ugly, I made them and was under the bar enough to grind. Three weeks ago they would have been outright misses.

The idea was to load the bow and not move the bar back or forward or up or down after I unracked it. I accomplished that but not sure it gives me optimal start speed. BUT the hip forward position IS correct and driving to the face is also correct.

But I think I need to re drive through the hips after I strart pressing; today I left the hips static and not sure that's best

I also forgot to drive to the five in the 210 and the first 205. I also missed two reps behind me. Re thinking the Reeboks too. I might get a better bow but not sure it's stable enough for the grind.

205 warmup

Definitely did not push back to my face enough

Better but still not enough towards face and no second hip drive

Decent drive in all aspects, starting hip position, drive back to face but this is where the extra heel height I think lent to instability in my back but I was under the bar well enough to finish it

217 lb press attempt

another solid attempt but my low back gave a bit here too. will go back to the Inov8s wednesday

this was probably the best rep of the day. the fourth I think. I missed two out of five  pushing back too much now that I remember

definitely going back to lower heel

Floor pushups

2 sets of 60

 just beat up

shoulders were sore coming in. the swings took a lot out of me an I'll be going back to lower heel here too. the ruck pushed me a bit and the insanity of the world has me hypervigilant and angry so definitely not recovered as well as I should be

one arm laterals

3 x 10/10 20s

bent laterals

3 x 8 20s

just tired

BW 176.8
BF 14.1

Strong ruckings

 

Really good one. Slept well, body wasn't too tight or stiff from yesterday and legs felt decent from the start then slipped into strong the last hour

I do admit it was a little tedious today but that's the deal, two hours is two hours but it was great not to have tight quads or glutes or calves or shins

50 lb ruck'

12 laps

6 miles

5 squat stretches

2 hours

ave speed 3.2 -3.8

BW 176.8
BF 14.0

44 kg One Arm Swings 10 x 8/8, pistol practice, laterals and new shoes

 

Since they worked so well for the press I decided to wear my Reebok lifters for the swing and see how they felt. Last time I used them I didn't seem have as good a knee lock as with the Inov8s but this time seemed better

A much heavier shoe they also seems more stable, I thought I could root better too. Not sure if the form was as good, better or worse then usual but we'll see when the bell gets really heavy. Very soon here, lol

This video was from last months 44 kg work. Not a great comparison as I start on a different arm (second arm is always less powerful) and I'm not wearing shorts but lets put it up

Just from the thumbnail it seems I'm leaning more with the reeboks. we'll see. but either way very strong feeling today, Legs lungs and power all good

44 kg 

16kg 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

44kg x 8./8 x 10

Pistol practice

The higher heels definitely helps here

3 x 5/5 

backing off to re focus on bottom position

Laterals/rear delts

3 x 10/10 with 15s

BW 176.4
BF 13.5 ( bath)

Purposely let me weight stay up a bit. 175 now feels small,lol

Strong ruck

 

Legs felt pretty good today for no good reason but I'll take it. After standing up for seven hours before the ruck the calves didn't really get tight til the fourth lap and that's not bad

50 lb ruck

6 laps

55 min

3 miles

BW 177.4
BF 14.3

175/185 lb press 8 sets of 2, 24 kg speed swings, wt bar pushups, new shoe

 This went great! My theory held out and the higher heeled Oly shoe, with this new technique, really made it easier to get my hips in front of the bar and hold them there as I pressed.It was a bit different of course but these are some of the best reps I have ever done in the press

The cues worked, well, on cue:

1) unrack and spot the X on the ceiling

2) press hips forward ( without leaning back OR letting the bar travel forward with the hip

3) press bar to face as I initiate press

I noticed a few reps where the bar moved forward as I reset the hip for the second rep and that's as bad as it going back. It has to stay motionless as I press hips forward. That's a key component I think

As is pressing the bar to the face. Can't believe I never tried this as I was missing reps forward all the time for years!

But now I get it

Press 

65 85 105 x 2

135 x 2
155 x 2

175 x 2 x 4

185 x 2 x 4

couldn't be happier with this especially since I just learned it. So much deeper to go with it

24 kg speed swings
5 x 8/8

wore the Reebok shoes, felt surprisingly good. Very stable and let me really get in my legs. Will wear them Sat with the 44 kg

Wt V pbar pushups
bw x 10
3 x 10 with 53 lbs
Love this new v angle, about 45 degrees. False grip feels great

BW 177.2
BF 14.3

feel better at this weight now than at 175. Waist has come back in and pants fit perfectly again

205-215 press, floor pushups, one arm laterals

  This went way better than expected. DOMS  hit hard this morning and  my hamstrings calves and glutes and shoulders were all feeling the work of the last two days. Combine that with all the anxiety of this bullshit that's going on in the world and pressing heavy was hard to get my head wrapped around

But taking my own medicine I didn't think about it at all and just got under the bar and did my best.
It went very well especially considering how sore my shoulders were

Press
65 85 105 x 3
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1 fast!
205 x 1 not good
205 x 1 found the groove ( video above is of this set)
210 x 1 x 2 set 
215 x 1 x 2 sets
205 x 1 x 2 very solid

the key is really loading the bow until full hip tension and then driving into the bar. The sets that didn't go well I rushed 
But even the bad sets were decent. 
The technique and cues are proving themselves, especially considering this is only my second heavy day using the current method.

floor pushups
61
61
55

much better than expected.Groove felt great and I could have hit 60 on the last but didn't want to drain any more adrenaline than I have been

One arm laterals
3 x 10/10 with 20
bent laterals
3 x 10 with 20

BW 176.6
BF 14.1

Sunday ruck

 

This went much better than expected after that swing fest yesterday; I fully expected my legs to be sore, heavy and slow. They were just the opposite! The hams were tight but even right from the start of the ruck the legs felt loose and ready to go.

Now, I was tired, that's for sure and I decided early to go at a slow pace but it wasn't bad at all and lap pace picked up steadily throughout the two hours

So much so I didn't feel the need to stop for squat stretches and basically did zero of them.

Nice and chilly out and that always helps

50 lb ruck

12 laps

two hours
6 miles

Speed range 3.1-3.9 mph

BW 176.2
BF 14.3

40 kg One arm swings 10 x 10/10 pistols laterals

 Solid one. Was able to go hard the whole time and the rest periods were relatively short for us three. Legs held up well although I was feeling pretty queasy by the end. Sure sign of a good punisher workout lol

One arm swings

40 kg x 10 x 10/10

200 reps
17,600 lbs

Pistols
2 x 8/8
1 x 10/10

legs were toast from the swings!

laterals rear delts

3 x 10/10 15s

BW 175.2
BF 13.5
W 57.8 ( bath)

175 lb press x 3 x 10, 24 kg swings 5 x 8/8, wt pushups

 This went GREAT! the triples add up to 10-11 seconds of time under tension, just double the amount of time it takes for a true max effort single. Did them all paused too. Too hard on breathing with touch and go and this lets me work the start 3 x per set

The cues worked great and I actually tightened it up a bit and eliminated the extra "spot the X" after LOADING THE BOW. It just pushed the back too far 

Also worked great was the 'push the bar back into my face' cue off the start. in fact it really worked great

SO the cues are

1) wide foot set up

2) spot the x on the unracking

3) load the bow fully

4) drive the bar back to my face

these are sets 5 and 10

24 kg swings

5 x 8/8

wt pushups on V parallel bars

bw x 10
53 x 10 x 3

BW 177.2
BF 14.6

1 pm
BW 176.8
BF 11.4
W 59.4

215 lb press,205 x 1 x 5, floor pushups, one arm laterals

Really decent day. Most importantly the technique was right, and held pretty well. Definitely need to fine tune it, as well as the timing , but the techniques and cues worked very well and I'm more than pleased.

The bow worked well but I need to push the hips forward harder and let my shoulders drop back just a touch as I "spot the X" but other than that all good

Press

65 85 105 x 3
135 x 3
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1 fast!
205 x 1 solid!
215 x MISS
215 x 7/8 didn't get my hips into the bow enough but good enough to almost lock it
215 x Miss. shoulders are just tired and have been stiff all weekend. VERY low barometer too. everything is achy

205 x 1 x 5 these went GREAT and the last rep was the best 

floor pushups
3 sets of 60!
surprisingly strong as well

One arm laterals
3 x 10/10 20 lbs
bent laterals
3 x 10 20 lbs

BW 175.2 !
BF 14.5

Thursday ruck

 

 Not the best ruck, weather perfect but left shin tightened up from tight calf and fast pace right out the gate. walking with tracy always makes me start out too fast and I didn't take the time pre walk to really loosen it 
won't do that again

Only five laps as I had to pee too and out idiot governor has locked the park bathrooms for some idiot reason. I can deal with the shin or having fight not peeing but not both

50 lb ruck

5 laps

50 min

decent pace for most 3.2- 3.5 mph