135 lb Military press 4x4,1x5, 44kg belt squat,floor pushups (pr),crawls, rear delts

Finally figured out how to get my stupid biceps tendon BACK into the humeral groove. By accident of course; the last thing I tried. I used my reverse grip overhead stick stretch and 'bang' I felt it slide back into place. After that all the little neck,levator scapula and scapula tightness and pinging went right away.

I tried the windmill stretches a million times and it felt like it worked but it wouldn't stay it. This did. As usual , the only thing harder than figuring it out is remembering to do it. I think I'll remember this one.

And it really showed up during the presses, All the little adjustments I've made to grip width, wear the bar hits in the hand, elbow position during take off and walk out were all good today. This was without a doubt the easiest my press has felt

I did sets of four but could have done all of five. Did one set at the end just to know and it was the strongest set of the day

Military press
stick x 5
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 2
120 x 1
135 x 4 x 4 sets
       x 5 x 1 set

44kg belt squat
13, 16, 18, 20
so strong. Really concentrated on keeping the tension on the legs throughout but also flexing the quads at the lockout. This should really help for the swing test cause that's where it's so hard at the finish; just locking out the legs.
Also I realize I have to up the reps and the lactic acid burn on this day. this exercise SHOULD be a major help to the test and I haven't been working it hard enough. They just freakin' hurt so damn much :)
Oh well.

Floor pushups PR for total volume
3 sets of 30
1 set of 20
110 total reps.

I was secretly hoping to get 4 sets of 30 but my triceps had other ideas.

Crawls
3 laps of 70 feet
strong

Rear delts
3 sets of 15 with 15's

haven't done these as light in awhile and slowing them down made them that much harder. all good

BW 162.4
BF 12.0
W 56.6


ok roll and stretch out tomorrow

datsit
DFQ

Fast Ruck

This was nice. Wasn't even trying and came up with some very nice times. Granted yesterday's volume was low but that wouldn't guarantee anything. Except something has shifted and that's very cool. Haven't really felt this in, well, decades, I guess. And I really never thought I would again, especially on the endurance side Just goes to show you never know.

50 lb Ruck
12 laps
10 isometric squat holds
1:51 min
4th lap 7:42
8th lap 7:27
12th lap 7:11!!!

wow. that was smoking fast and not hard at all. I started to bonk a little on the 10th lap as I was going slow trying to recover a bit in preparation for the next speed lap but once I got into it it was strong!

BW 161.8
BF 11.7
W 56.7

lighter than expected too. All good.

Press tomorrow, looking for 5 sets of 4 with 135 at least

datsit
DFQ

48 kg One arm swings 10 rep sets, 10x10(9th ), 135 hack squats, sandbag pushups, side delts

First try out with this alternate method and it worked very well. Just ten reps per arm, per set  trying to focus on maximum power and acceleration for the same amount of time as the set in the five minute test.
It was easier than expected and I got better height on these swings than ever.
It was pretty easy in terms of total volume but it's the same as we were doing before, I'm just stronger now.
Next weeks 10 x 10/10 wont be so much fun

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 5/5
36 kg x 5/5
40 kg x 5/5
48 kg x 10 x 10 sets

Hacks
65 x 10
85 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 10

these were hard but strong. need to get leg strength higher too

Sandbag pushups
bw x 12
32 lbs x 12 x 3
slow deep and strict

Side delts
3 sets of 15 with 15's

these felt better than of late

of long ruck tomorrow and back to 3 intervals

datsit
DFQ

Heel to butt Ruck!

Great day today. Had the full hour bodymaintenance stretch out and got to spend more time than I have in awhile working on my knee flexion. When I was up in the quad stretch, I thought for sure I was 'heel to butt' and asked another trainer to check it for me. Sure enough I was able to touch! Crazy!!

It was just "there" all of a sudden. Another threshold crossed.

Then I sat in seiza and it too was full! That really surprised me.I've really worked hard these last three years to get this and now it's arrived. Unreal

this was just a few months ago

and this a few months before that

the progress is amazing.

Now just to maintain it and make it even easier.

Ruck

Decided to leave the extra 5 lbs in the ruck and just tough it out with 50.I need as much leg and hip strength as possible for this Beast test

50 lbs
6 laps
55 minutes
One timed lap : 7:49

BW 163.2
BF 12.1
W 56.6

ok day off tomorrow then the new protocol for the 100 rep beast swings, ten sets of ten reps per arm

datsit
DFQ

28 kg Speed swings 10 min 1st w/o,walking lunges, parallel bar pushups, rear delts

The experiment was a success. The 28 was pretty much perfect for the job of challenging my cardio in the last five minutes of the workout. The weight felt light and swung easily 10 reps in 15 or less seconds. The first five minutes were not hard at all even while trying to maximize speed and power output.
But then it started challenging my wind and that's what I need for the test in March. It was about as hard to breathe as in the last 5 minute or so of a 20 min session with the 24 . But with a heavier bell so strength is being built as well.

Next week we'll do 11 min then 12 then re evaluate.

Left biceps tendon was out the last two days I think from too much getup practice. It was really bugging me despite lots of bodywork and I wasn't sure I could swing! but I figure it would either fix it or I couldn't do it and it was fine. As usual. The massage ball work loosened up all the tight ass tissue then the old pattern set things right.


Thank you :) It brought back bad old memories of being in pain and really restricted movement which, of course, leads to even more restricted and compensated movement. No bueno. But the combination of SMR and my windmill and scap work brought things back into place. Just got to go slower with the getup work.

28 kg Speed swings
15:15 x 10
20 sets
200 reps
12,600 lbs
RPE 6.5

Walking lunges BW
4 laps of 40 steps
unbroken

Definitely getting lots of lactic acid quad burn here, also just what I need. Even mo betta after the swings
 Have to  just let the burn burn. Embrace it. It's what burns the last half the swing test

Parallel pushups
3 sets of 25
last set hard after 20 but do able

Rear delts
3 sets of 15 with 15

love these still and put the finishing touch on the shoulder re balance

ok ruck up tomorrow.
Good to know this path is the right one

datsit
DFQ

135 lb Military press 5 x 3,40 kg belt squat,Floor pushups,crawls, side delts

This was strong too. Much stronger than anticipated and way better than last week, that's for sure. It didn't feel heavy and I had 5's in me today
Was sore this morning( more stiff than sore, really) and got a good stretch roll this morning as well as some getups to tall sit with bodyweight as well as 10 and 12 kg.
Being tight in the hammies in the AM does not help my tall sit position,lol. But I am digging playing around with this move now though
Do have to be careful of my low back though as I did feel it in an old familiar way " just a bit". It's the flexion rotatation so I will be careful
No exercise is worth going back to that!

Military press
stick x 5
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 3 x 5 sets

found the grip and width during the stick reps that took all the pressure off the biceps tendon so i went with that in the actual press and it worked great! SO much easier to press when I don't feel any weirdness in the shoulder at the start

40 kg Belt squat
14.16, 18 20

strongest ever by far. Not out of breath at all

floor pushups
3 sets of 20

easy here too. good start back after the peak

Crawls
working on getting belly lower and head upper :)

Side delts
 3 sets of 12 with 15's
 shoulders achey with fatigue

ok stretch and roll tomorrow!

datsit
DFQ

Wet ruck

Walked out this morning to this beautiful sky, Much better in person, too. Beautiful deep, dark rich storm clouds brewing, and I didn't know if I would make it the whole ruck without getting soaked and I left my jacket in the house.

I thought I had a poncho in the ruck but I wasn't sure, But I did and I needed it in a bit
Body all good from yesterday which I can barely believe but it is a great sign. Hardly need to stretch or roll out, but I do, I feel as square plumb and neutral as I ever can remember being and the total body experience of it is great. And, as predicted, the more squared up I am the less I hurt and the less bodywork I need,

And the more physical work I can do with less ramifications. Not bad for a soon to be 60 year old old war horse,

50 lb Ruck
12 laps
10 isometric supported squat stretches, 30 sec each
8th lap = 7:49
12 lap = 7:35

faster than expected and easier too. Wasn't going to time any laps as I just wanted a nice break in ruck but things were going so well I got curious.
No trouble at all stepping on the gas a bit on the last lap to get a good time

Bar presses again and it's time to up the weight to 130 or 135 again.

Been practicing getups at home too. bodyweight and with 10-12 kg and that's really going well. Just a few reps a day everyday. but between my shoulders feeling way more mobile and figuring out some details to make it fit my body I'm excited about it. Just to the tall sit but that's the hard part for me

BW 162
BF 11.4
W 57.1

datsit
DFQ

48 kg One Arm Swings 10 x 8/8, 105 lb hack squats, sandbag pushups, rear delts

These went WAY better than expected. Perhaps I did cross a threshold on that 44 kg test. I expected at least grip issues or wind but neither occurred and power was solid too. I absolutely could have done tens, but it was a smart idea not too.

Bell felt light, moved fast and didn't throw me around at all.Took awhile to get my legs locked out solidly ( couldn't feel that, had to be cued) but once I locked in it was fine

Also, started out with my legs too close and once I widened the stance all was well

One Arm Swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 5/5
36 kg x 5/5
40 kg x 5/5
48 kg x 8/8 x 10 sets
160 reps
16,960 lbs

solid as I can hope for after a week off heavy

Barbell hacks
65 x 10
85 x 8
105 x 8 x 2
 solid too legs feel good but we'll see tomorrow

Sandbag pushups
bw x 12
32 lb  12 x 2
         x 10 x 1
very strict. chest touching bar

Rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20 lbs

BW 162.8
BF 11.2
W 57.3

ok back to the long ruck tomorrow. Hope its not all in the rain

datsit
DFQ

Ruck it

Felt good to be back on schedule and the ruck on my back, Stayed with 50 lbs as I've missed a few days. but the weight felt light and the ruck was not hard - not going to say easy- even though it was just an hour.
The top end of anything, strength, speed or endurance, always comes off fast and while my legs felt fine, I was ready for lunch  after 4 laps. Got my 6 and know that I'll be ready for 12 come Sunday.

It's the 48 kg swings I'm worried about Saturday :)

50 lb Ruck
6 laps
55 min
4th lap 8:04

BW 162.6
BF 11.5
W 57.2

datsit
DFQ

24 kg speed swings 12 min, sandbag lunges,parallel bar pushups, side delts

Surprisingly strong and easy set today. I was expecting to be more stiff and deconditioned but everything was fine. I was a bit stiff in the hips but that shook off quickly. No double breathing necessary and power was up on all sets.

Thinking about going up to the 28 kg at least every other workout. Our weak link right now is not speed strength but strength speed and I think the 28 will transfer more to that. The key is making sure we recover. Hence perhaps every other week but we will see

24 kg Speed swings
15:15
12 min
240 reps
12,720 reps

very powerful and strong.

Sandbag lunges
4 laps of 20 steps.

tough balance wise but leg strength good

Parallel bar pushups

3 sets of 25
strong again! shoulders not achey today

side delts
3 sets of 12 with 15 lbs

BW 162.2
BF 11.9
W 56.8

 solid day. feel back on the right time zone
ruck tomorrow then who knows what on Saturday. Probably a 5-10 rep ladder with the 48

datsit
DFQ

110 Military Press 5x5, 36 kg Belt squats,Floor pushups,crawls, rear delts

SMK NYC

Feeling pretty decent for less than 4 hours sleep and teaching nonstop from Friday through Sunday. This cert I demonstrated more than I ever have in any course. I did every drill and skill and taught all six movements as I was the only teacher. It's a long day and I did indeed feel All Day Strong :)

It's more than a good feeling for me; it's a freakin' miracle and I don't forget that. Plus thousands of walking steps per day dozens of trips up and down a long staircase to the Exceed training area for the cert. No problems, no pain. Amazing :)

It was a great group, really strong and prepared and that always makes it so much easier. Plus, plenty of good questions which is also always good.

I really feel like I fell into a seriously good groove this weekend, teaching wise. I was more relaxed and "myself" than ever. My fourth cert and I'm finding my voice.

But I was tired at workout today. no surprise

Barbell Press
stick x 5 x 2
45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 3
110 x 5 x 5

didn't feel not achey til the last two sets. this felt stiff and heavy

36 kg belt squat
x 12 , 14, 16, 18

surprisingly legs felt fresh. No heavy hacks rucking and iso squats probably helped that

Floor pushups
30
25
20

just tired now and hungry

Crawls
3 laps of 70 ft
just want to eat

Rear delts
3 sets of 10 with 20 lbs

felt relieving on the shoulders

ok I really need a no work day tomorrow and lots of stretching and rolling! and some more food, barely got to eat this weekend

BW 162.2
BF 11.4
W 57/2

datsit
DFQ

24 kg Speed Swings 15 min, bw walking lunge, parallel pushups, rear delts

This was amazingly strong! The strongest and easiest 15 minute ever. Was hard to believe. It seemed like I crossed a threshold with last weeks test. Just like when I was bike racing and for a long time everything up to 100 miles with seriously hard. Then, after I did 100 mile ride things got much easier across the board after that

Maybe it was just a good day but it felt great

Speed swings
15:15
24 kg
15 min
30 sets
300 reps
15,900 lbs

Walking BW lunges
4 laps of 40 steps  unbroken
ok THIS is going to be where we get a lot of our lactic acid quad training in. Need to up this game for real for the 48 kg test.
BUT we will need to rest more between sets

Parallel bar pushups
25
25
20

speaking of lactic acid! serious pump

Rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20 lbs

love these still

BW 163.4
BF 12.1
W 56.2

ok that's weird. everything seems to have re normalized BACK to where they were in keto and semi keto
the body loves homeostasis :)

Ok off tomorrow for NYC for a SMK level 1 Cert. This will be great I am really looking forwards to teaching the stuff I love so much The Way of the kettlebell.

datsit
DFQ

135 lb Military press 5 x 4, 32 kg belt squats,floor pushups,crawls,side delts

Didn't really know what to expect today. Body still felt fine but a little DOMS started to creep in, finally. Right hamstring was a little tight but I rolled it out. But I did realize what a peak it's been and didn't want to get greedy.

I still have to travel and teach a bunch this weekend.

Military press
 stick x 5 x 2
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 3
135 x 4 x 5 sets

this was better than expected but I had some tightness problems for a few sets/reps. Lost my glutes on a few reps and had to re adjust. haven't done that in awhile
arch was ok but I was front panel tighter than usual
ball back bends helped
I could have done at least 3 sets of 5 reps but did NOT want to grind at all today.
this was plenty and always good to have plates on :)

32 kg Belt squats
32 x 12, 14, 16, 18

One realization from the test was that I need to work more lactic acid tolerance for my quads. They were screaming more than anything at the end. that and glutes but mainly quads. Have to do high reps on the belt squats and time to take the lunge work up BUT how to do that and not overtrain my CNS is the issue.

Always some weakpoint to work on to get better

Floor pushups
3 sets of 30
decent. Last 5 reps of 3rd set very hard

crawls
3 sets of 70

have to push these up now too I guess

side delts
3 sets of 12 with 15's

excellent

ok roll and stretch tomorrow

datsit
DFQ

Long slow ruck

Ah yes, NO SORENESS from the test yesterday. Perfect. Other than a little bit of a hangover from too much celebratory wine  but that doesn't count.
In fact I felt like I hadn't even trained, even better.

Also first rains of the season so I got nice and wet and the air is so clean cool and crisp. Love it

took it nice and steady today and didn't time any laps, a first actually. Still riding the high from achieving my goal.

50lb Ruck
12 laps
8 iso squats
 1hr 55 min

BW 161.8 !?!
BF 11.8
W 57.2

wow re introducing carbs back into the mix seems to have worked well.

ok presses tomorrow

datsit
DFQ

44 kg Five Minute Test done!!! PR

I had three goals going into this test:

1) Do not get hurt
2) Finish
3) Don't howl like a wounded buffalo the last half

I got 2 /3 out of three- got to howling just a bit the last two sets but this was GOOD!

I had a feeling it should be a strong test, based on my training and conditioning and overall mental confidence but you just never know when you put things to the test; almost anything can happen and murphy's law is still murphy's law

But it all went well. There are a few reps I wouldn't count , height wise but this was way stronger that the last five minute test with the 40 kg. It should be given all the training since then ( six months ago) but, again, one never knows.

Just point in fact, I HATE doing these. They always suck in some way. Five minutes of high intensity work is precisely my weakest energy system and always has been. I can ruck hard for two hours or do ONE super heavy rep but five minutes? Even with a light bell always, always hurts.

But again, it is way stronger than before AND I can now see that I can do the 48 for five minutes on my birthday in another six months

ALL the guys got their reps in too which is awesome ,especially for Glenn as we are the two silverbacks in the group and showed the young bucks that not only can we keep up but we can push them :)
He earned every bit of it though. Best training partner ever, thanks man :) Semper fi indeed.

The hardest part of course were the last five minutes and even more specifically the last 4 sets. power started to go down and breath was hard to come by. I really focused on following the bell and keeping back swing speed as high as I felt I could handle.

Let the bell swing and stomp on the gas at the right time to maximize power.
But man there was so little air :)

The bell is 60% of my bodyweight :)
 As usual though my quads and glutes were the ones with the most lactic acid. Lower back is fine and grip was too

One arm swing test
warmup
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 10/10
28 kg x 8/8  ( this actually worked and got my HR up well)
32 kg x 5/5
36 kg x 3/3
40 kg x 3/3

44 kg x 100 reps in 10 sets of 10
15:15
Big fucking PR!!

hacks
65 x 8
95 x 8
115 x 8
135 x 8

Sandbag horiz bar pushups
bw x 12
32 x 12 x 3

rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20 lbs!!

YES YES YES!! This feel fantastic. Now I can relax a bit.

long slow ruck tomorrow

datsit
DFQ !!

BW 162
BF 11.8
W 56.8

Thursday ruck , fast and easy

 Writing this Friday.

Yesterday's ruck was surprisingly strong. Didn't time any laps until the last one ( couldn't help myself ) but they all felt about the same.
Last lap was 7:43
Legs felt loose and solid, lungs good and ruck light.
All systems go

45 lb ruck
6 laps
55 min
6th lap 7:43

BW 162.4
BF 12.4
W 56.5

ok big day tomorrow. we'll see how it goes

datsit
DFQ

24 kg Speed swings 10 min, sandbag walking lunges,parallel pushups, side delts

Last kb workout before Sat test and it couldn't have gone better. 20 sets of 10 in 15:15 and each set was strong powerful and fast. Lungs were great, no double breathing and mind set was solid.
I feel confident. Of course anything can happen but I don't think I could be more prepared.


24 kg speed swings
15:15
10 min
200 reps
10,600 lbs

when I got to the five minute mark I was thinking "man, the test will be over by now and I feel fine". Of course the bell will be much heavier but it felt good to feel that!

Sand bag lunges
32 lbs x 20 steps x 4 laps
over shoulder carry back

this also was as strong as ever, slow deep steps and no cardio issues

Parallel bar pushups
2 sets of 25
1 set of 20

could have done the last five but didn't want to push

side delts
3 sets of 10 with 15 lbs

solid also

short ruck tomorrow then it's go time
As confident as I could be

datsit
DFQ

130 Lb Military press 5 x 5, 44 kg belt squat,floor pushups, crawls, rear delts

Stronger than I expected to be. I was hoping 130 for triples but I got all five sets of five. The last one, which I videoed, the left biceps tendon moved a bit on the first rep( the first time that happened all workout) so it set my groove off a bit but otherwise it wasn't that hard

Mil Press
 stick x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 3
130 x 5 x 5

44 kg belt squats
12, 14, 16, 20

non stop reps.feeling strong

Floor pushups
3 sets of 30

had another set of 15 + in there too. strength and endurance comeback from the trip is good!

crawls
3 sets of 70 ft

strong  here too

rear delts
 3 sets of 10 with 20's

BW 162.6
BF 11.7
W 57.3

definitely seems like adding in some carbs in the evening is working on all fronts. weight down, fat down strength and endurance up/
Intermittent fasting + slow/low carb high fat/ fiber is the ticket

off tomorrow

datsit
DFQ

All time Lap PR Ruck

I was hoping today's ruck would be strong and fast and it was. Way better than expected too. I did feel a bit stiff when I got up this morning but that shook off quickly. Plenty of sleep and it was 57 degrees so nice and crisp

Knew I was going to time three interval laps today so I set my mind on really pushing them all something I've not done before. Each laps takes about 7-8 min so it's a little longer than the test set but though it would be good mind and lung practice to go hard three times

50 lb ruck
12 laps
10 iso squat holds
1 hr 52 min
4th lap 7:41
8th lap 7:13 !!!
11th lap 6:43 ALL TIME PR!!!!

Man! I was moving fast. I went for 3:30 or under for the half lap and got through the first half at 3:22 but must have sped up. Really pushed myself and lungs felt easy but I don't know if I can move these short legs any faster!

Really was pumping my arms big time!!

The ruck felt like nothing. :)
 Legs and lungs ready to go

back to presses tomorrow.

datsit
DFQ

48kg One Arm Swings 10 x 5/5, hack squats, sandbag pushups, side delts

I was nervous about this because I feel so strong. I didn't want to get overconfident and tweak something just because I felt good and it was only 5 rep sets
So I didn't but it was hard to "relax" into the workout. The test is coming up next week and hopefully everything will go as planned. We shall see though but, mentally, it doesn't scare me. I respect it, of course, but I'm not scared because I think I am ready.

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 5/5
36 kg x 5/5
40 kg x 5/5
48 kg x 5/5 x 10

best height and power ever. Grip was solid and lungs weren't even a mention. Plenty left in the tank, as should be

One thing I have to remember next week is to get my HR up before the test. 24 and 28 kg warmups will be 10/10 just to actually break a sweat and get warm for real. And the HR up then down.

Barbell hacks
65 x 10
95 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 10 pr

doing reps on this day is right

Sandbag pushups
bw x 12
32 lbs x 12 x 3 all reps chest touched bar, a first

Side delts
3 sets of 10 with 20 lbs

felt strong!

of long ruck tomorrow with some speed work thrown in.

datsit
DFQ