5/12/20
I tried to walk Zeus during my lunch break but his hips were hurting so I ended up playing with the Quad mace instead. It’s obvious that it’s been a while as this worked me over.
Warmed up with 10 and 10 360s with a rest in between.
8 EMOM running clock:
10 360s
10 360s
20 10-2s
20 10-2s
10 360s
10 360s
15 10-2s
15 10-2s
130 reps total. I’m certain my triceps will be smoked tomorrow. I’m looking forward to incorporating this more throughout the summer.
5/11/20
I started a Swing/Snatch program today. I’m going to work through this and add in lifting. Should be fun.
One-Handed Swings done EMOM with 36 kg - Three rounds of:
3+3
7+7
5+5
Rest three minutes
Swiss Bench - 190 x 3 x 5
DB Rows - 50 x 12, 70 x 3 x 10
Great session. Everything felt solid and I’m happy to be back swinging again.
5/10/20
After a week of rest and some chaos at the house with an ongoing remodeling project, I was happy to get back to training today. I was warming up for squats when it became very obvious that the washer had not been reconnected correctly by the contractors. Water started pouring into the basement via the light fixtures and Cali and I had to scramble to get buckets. I went to Home Depot to rent some carpet blower fans and starting warming up for squats again when I got back.
Squats - 310 x 3 x 5 - I was super happy with how these felt. The fifth rep of each set was heavy, but still solid. This is a lifetime PR and there is more left in the tank. After only completing one set last week due to the issue with my side, I felt like there was unfinished business.
Farmer Carries - 36 kg KBs x 5 trips - Honestly, these felt kind of pointless after the squats. I also had a long rest in between sets four and five because I ended up talking to a neighbor.
5/8/20
I took a few days off after straining my side last Sunday. I was warming up some barbell squats today when I heard water dripping into the furnace room. Turns out the dishwasher drain hose had gotten disconnected and was spewing water everywhere. The contractors hustled back over and got everything squared away. I took that as a sign to stop what I was doing so I did some easier kettlebell work instead. It was short, sweet, and fun.
Everything was done EMOM:
DBL FS - 24s x 5 x 5 -felt like nothing
Press - 24 x 9 x 3/3
2HS - 32 x 10 x 10
Definitely different than how I’ve been training. I’m looking forward to adding kettlebells back into the mix, but I missed the feeling of heavy weight on my back. I’ll get it on Sunday.
5/3/20
Heavy training day today (did not go as planned):
Squats - 310 x 1 x 5 - On the first rep of this set, I got a terrible pain in my side, almost like a severe muscle cramp. I finished the set but the pain got worse with each rep. I shut the squats down there. I’m trying to be smart even though I wanted to keep pushing. The weight did not feel heavy, so that’s good.
Swiss Bench - 185 x 3 x 5 - These feel great, especially on my shoulder.
Two-handed KB swings - 24 kg x 10 x 10 EMOM - These were easy. Deadlifting was out of the question with the pain in my side.
Kind of a bummer of a workout but oh well. There are greater tragedies in the world.
4/29/20
Light training day:
Squats - 245 x 3 x 5 - easy
Press - 127.5 x 3 x 5 - felt way better than last week
Chins - BW x 12 x 3 every 1:15 - no sweat
Everything felt good today. I’m really pleased with how my shoulders have been feeling after switching to the Swiss bar for bench. I think perhaps the straight bar was bugging way more than I realized.
4/26/20
Heavy day today:
Squats - 305 x 3 x 5 - solid
Swiss Bar Bench (wide handles) - 145 x 3 x 5 - felt great
Barbell Rows - 80 kg x 3 x 5 - needed a week off from deadlifts
This was a fun session in the basement with Cali. I’m happy my squats are still moving. Taking two days off after my heavy days has definitely been helping.
4/24/20
Medium day:
Squats - 270 x 3 x 5 - very solid
Swiss Bar Bench (medium handles) - 135 x 3 x 5 - embarrassing weight, but it didn’t kill my shoulder so I’m going to stick with it
Power Cleans - 77 kg x 15 x 1 every 1:15 - Rep six or seven felt like shit but they got better after that
Overall a good session. I’m going to stick with the Swiss bar for benching for a while. It’s not like I was moving any kind of good weight anyway. I might as well not destroy my shoulder and have it affect all my other lifts.
4/22/20
Light training day today.
Squats - 240 x 3 x 5 - super easy
Press - 125 x 3 x 5 - starting to get heavy but still solid
Lat Pulldowns - 90 x 12, 13, 13, 12 - I need to do these more because they always feel good.
Great session. I took a couple hours off work right in the middle of the day. Good decision.
4/19/20
Heavy day today. After squats, things didn’t go exactly as planned.
Squats - 300 x 3 x 5 - rock solid
Bench - Did not happen. My right and pec and shoulder felt like cucka poopoo.
Deadlift - 395 x 1 x 4 - Tried for a fifth rep but barely budged it. Time for a week off from doing heavy pulls.
Mace work with the Shoulderok. Just some 360s back in the sunshine. These actually felt much easier than anticipated after not doing them for six weeks or so.
Definitely wore out a muscle in my right lower back but nothing to be worried about. I’m sure a week away from deadlifts will heal it up.
4/17/20
Medium day today:
Squats - 265 x 3 x 5 - easy
Close-Grip Bench - 200 x 3 x 5 - may have messed up my right pec here
Power Cleans - 75 kg x 15 x 1 every 1:15 - these felt really good
I may need to take some time off from benching for this pec. It hurts like hell right now. Perhaps I will drop the close-grip bench and add in some mace work. My shoulders have been feeling like crap lately and I know the mace was good for their mobility. More to come.
4/15/20
Light day today. I took an extra day off after feeling fried by last Sunday’s session. I’ve been doing plenty of walking and stretching in the interim.
Squats - 235 x 3 x 5
Press - 122.5 x 3 x 5
Chins - 20 lbs x 5 x 4 (various grips), BW x 1 x 5 (supine)
This was a fun session and everything felt as it should and moved well.
4/12/20
Back to a heavy training day.
Squats - 295 x 3 x 5 - Got dizzy on the first rep of each set but finished everything just fine.
Bench - 210 x 3 x 5 - Felt solid.
Deadlift - 395 x 1 x 4 - I’m certain I couldn’t done five but my form was deteriorating and I was out of gas. I’ll get it next time.
This was a fun Easter morning session. Overall, I’m very happy with how things went.
4/10/20
Medium training day.
Squats - 260 x 3 x 5
Close-Grip Bench - 195 x 3 x 5
Power Cleans - 73 kg x 15 x 1 - When I was doing 5 x 3, my third rep was feeling like crap on every sit so I switched it to 15 singles. Did these on the minute, which worked out really well.
Awesome session in the basement. I’m very excited for heavy day on Sunday.
4/8/20
Light day today. I could still feel Monday’s workout a little bit but everything went smoothly.
Squats - 230 x 3 x 5
Press - 120 x 3 x 5 - felt easy
Chins - BW x 2 x (2,3,5), 3 x (2,3,3) - Did one set on the minute and changed the grip each time. This was tougher than it should have been.
Awesome session. Blasted some country music and enjoyed the nice weather.
4/4/20
Medium training day today.
Squats - 250 x 3 x 5
Close-Grip Bench - 190 x 3 x 5
Power Cleans - 71 kg x 5 x 3 - The third rep in most of these sets was not great and/or different than the first two reps.
This was a fun session. I can’t believe how solid my squats feel using the low bar position Starting Strength method. It’s night and day from what I had done previously.
3/31/20
Back to a Heavy day today. It felt heavy, but videos indicated that everything was still moving just fine.
Squats - 280 x 3 x 5
Bench - 200 x 3 x 5 - Shoulder didn’t feel awesome.
Deadlift - 375 x 1 x 5 - Felt like I got into my lower back a bit on the last rep but it didn’t look too bad on video.