11/8/20 - Speed Bench, Rows, Etc.
DE Upper Body on a beautiful Sunday morning.
Swiss Bench with Monster Minis - 125 x 9 x 3 - narrow, medium, wide grip (EMOM) - These felt really good. Backing way down on the weight and bands was likely a good move.
Landmine Rows superset with
Floor Triceps Extensions
Face Pulls - two sets until the band broke and almost took out my right eye
Side Laterals superset with
Incline Rear Delts
This was a good session that wasn’t too taxing.
11/6/20 - Box Squats, Sumo Deadlifts, and Other Fun
DE Lower Body today:
Box Squats (16”) with Average Bands - 95 x 8 x 3 (EMOM)
Sumo Deadlifts with 50 lbs chains - 225 x 20 x 1 (every 30 seconds)
Ab Wheel - 3 x 6
Sled Work - Forward and backward walking, ankle strap walking
Great session on a beautiful sunny Friday.
11/5/20 - Hill Sprints
We’re having some beautiful fall weather here so I went over to the Y to run some hills. I went fairly hard and managed to not pull anything so I’ll call it a win. Ran 15 sprints, one every 1:15. The sunshine felt so good.
11/4/20 - Axle Push Press, TRX, Rows, and Mace
ME Upper Body on a beautiful fall day.
Axle Push Press - 160 x 3, 140 x 3 x 5 - This felt solid. I’m sure I could have gone up but I wanted to end on a good note.
TRX Push-ups - BW x 5 x 5 superset with
One-Arm KB Rows - 32 x 3 x 12, 36 x 2 x 10
Quad Mace Swings - 4 sets of 10 360s, 2 sets of 20 10-2s
Overall a great session. I hadn’t put a barbell overheard in a long time so I was happy with how the push presses felt.
11/2/20 - SSB Squats, RDLs, Band Leg Curls
ME Lower Body Day:
SSB Squats - 290 x 3, 240 x 3 x 5 - These were fun and felt solid.
Deficit (1.5”) RDLs - 135, 185, 205, 225 (all x 6)
Band Leg Curls - Average x 5 x 20
This was a really fun workout that left me feeling good. I particularly enjoyed the squats.
11/1/20 - Bench and Other Fun
Speed bench felt like shit but the rest of the workout was fun.
Bench with doubled minis - Started with 135 and ended up having to strip some weight. This just never felt right. Next cycle, I will use less bands.
16 kg chins and push-ups. 3 sets of 6 rounds:
1 chin
1 push-up
Sled Work - Face pulls and triceps
Hanging leg raises - 3 x 10
The weight vest work was an ass kicker. Getting up and down off the ground is tough.
10/31/20 - Hiking
Hiked the five mile loop at Valley Forge on a beautiful fall morning. It was great spending time with Cali and Arvid. Good times.
10/30/20 - Box Squats, Cleans, KB Swings
Took the day off so I got to train mid-morning. This was a great session.
DE Lower Body:
Box Squats (16”) with SSB and Light Bands - 190 x 12 x 2 (EMOM) - These felt strong.
Cleans - 12 singles - 80 kg first four reps, 70 kg last eight reps - Form and everything else felt like shit.
Two-Handed KB Swings - 48 kg x 20 x 5 (every 45 seconds) - This was great. I need to keep swings in my training.
Fired up for the Halloween weekend.
10/29/20 - Concept 2 Rowing
I was going to ride the Assault bike at lunch today but the batteries in the panel were dead so I hopped on the rower instead. It’s obvious I haven’t ben doing this regularly. Great 5000m session.
10/28/20 - Swiss Bench, Lat Pulldowns, and Other Fun
Fun lunchtime ME Upper Body session today:
Swiss Bench with 50 lbs of chains - 215 x 1 - This bar always kicks my ass.
Lat Pulldowns - 115 x 4 x 12, 90 x 2 x 12 superset with
One-arm KB Floor Press - 28 kg x 10, 24 kg x 2 x 10
One-arm KB Triceps Extension - 10 kg x 3 x 10
Barbell Curls - 65 x 10, 75 x 2 x 10
Really good session all around. Everything felt very solid.
10/27/20 - Hills (Sort Of)
I went over to the small hill here in the neighborhood to test out my pulled groin. I made it through 10 sprints of about 75%. I was just thinking I’d do a few more and push it a bit when I felt a little nag. It actually took some discipline, but I shut it down right there. I’m hoping I can heal up a bit more this week and run the steep hill at the Y on Saturday. Time will tell.
10/26/20 - Block Pulls, Good Mornings, Marches, Face Pulls, and Ab Wheel
Really fun ME Lower Body session today.
Block Pulls off 5.25” of mats - 425 x 1 - 405 moved real easy, 455 didn’t budge, so I went back down and pulled 425. Probably not the smartest approach but I’ll do better next time.
SSB Good Mornings with Monster Mini Bands - 110 x 8, 130 x 2 x 8
Dip Belt Marches - 48 kg KB x 5 rounds of 1:00/:30 work/rest
Face Pulls - Light Band x 3 x 20 - Just did these in between stretches.
Ab Wheel - 3 x 6 - This felt like enough. I believe I’ll be feeling it the next couple days.
This was a lot of fun. I couldn’t tell you the last time I did block pulls, but everything felt very solid. Looking forward to some heavy upper body work on Wednesday.
10/23/20 - Box Squats, Deadlifts, Farmers Walks
Lunchtime training session on a wonderful Friday.
DE Lower Body:
Box Squats (16”) w/ SSB - 170 + light bands x 12 x 2 (EMOM) - Groin felt like shit. May have to rest it for a week or two.
Deadlifts - 225 + 50 chains x 15 x 1 (every 30 sec)
Farmers Walks - Used the old school farmers handles - 105/hand x 5 trips down and back
If a sore groin is all I have to complain about, I’m doing pretty damn good.
10/21/20 - Incline Bench, Rows, and Hills
Lunchtime training today.
ME Upper Body:
Incline Bench - Worked up to 225 for a single. I have not incline benched in years so I had no idea what to expect.
Close-Grip Incline Bench - 135 x 10, 10, 8, 8 superset with
DB Rows - 50, 70, 70, 70 x 12
Side Laterals - 10-lb plates x 4 x 15 superset with
EZ-Bar Curls - 50 x 10, 10, 8, 10
This was a short and fun session. A 225 incline is nothing to write home about, but it’s more than I thought I’d get so I’ll take it. Pumped to run some hills this afternoon.
Well, my hills didn’t go exactly as planned. I had set out to run 10 hills, but on the fifth one my left groin popped and I had to shut it down. It doesn’t feel too severe, but hopefully it doesn’t nag and hang around. I’m determined to keep hill sprints in the mix.
10/20/20 - Hiking with Arvid
My late morning and afternoon were free today because I had to work this evening. Arvid and I headed out to Valley Forge for a hike up Mount Joy. We went just under four miles on a beautiful October day. I feel like Arvid and I have really bonded over the last two weeks. He’s a damn good dog.
Water break!
10/19/20 - Good Mornings, Sleds, and Sandbags
Lunchtime training on a nice Monday.
ME Lower Body:
Bottoms-up Good Mornings with Cambered Bar - 275 x 3
Sled Drags - 40 steps down and 40 steps back x 5 sets - 135, 180, 180, 160, 160
150-lb Sandbag Shoulders - 1 left/1 right EMOM for 5 minutes (10 total)
This was a fun session. The good mornings were tough. It’s obvious I haven’t really strained under a weight in a while.
10/18/20 - Bench, Sleds, and Abs
Today was a DE upper body day. I’m embarrassed to say it, but I should have used even less weight than I did on bench.
Bench w/ doubled minis - 115 x 9 x 3 (3/narrow, medium, wide)
Sled work - All manner of rows, rear delts, tris, and front raises. This all felt good.
Hanging Leg Raises - 3 x 12
Fun, short workout on a beautiful Sunday morning.
10/17/20 - Hiking with Friends
We’ve had a beautiful October thus far, and this Saturday was full of fun fall activities. We went apple picking some friends in the morning, which included lots of walking and racing Cali up a very long, steep hill.
In the afternoon, we went out to Valley Forge and hiked about three miles. The weather was perfect and Arvid was a happy pup. Our friends with their sweet dog Dorian are in the background of this picture.
10/16/20 - Box Squats, Deadlifts, etc.
I’m going to do a little conjugate training for a few months. It should be a nice change of pace and make me do some movements that I haven’t done in a very long time.
DE Lower Body:
Box Squats (16”) w/ SSB - 150 + light bands x 12 x 2 (EMOM)
Deadlifts - 205 + 50 chains x 15 x 1 (every 30 sec)
SLDL - 22 kg KB x 3 x 5/side
Band Leg Curls - light band x 3 x 15
This was definitely very different than how I’ve been training. When training conjugate in the past, I’ve done a lot of GHR and reverse hypers, but I no longer have those machines so I’ll have to get creative with other accessories. Whenever I switch up my training, I always fret about everything that I’m NOT doing, even though the change usually works out being the best thing for me as long as I’m sticking to my basic training principles. Today, I was thinking about how I was missing out on kettlebell snatches and other movements that I’ve been doing throughout the summer months. I need to just enjoy the variety of this form of training and try to get better and stronger every day.
Arvid came down to see me during my squats and then Cali came down towards the end of my workout. I predict Arvid will be a good gym dog before it’s all said and done.
10/15/20 - Hills
This past weekend, I ran some sprints on this gentle slope in my neighborhood. To be honest, it was kind of unsatisfying, so today I wanted to take it up a notch. I drove over to the local YMCA and utilized their walking path and one of the big grassy hills that’s on the route.
I set a running clock and ran 12 sprints, one every 90 seconds. It was 75 and sunny and all felt right in the world. I didn’t have the greatest morning due to a silly little argument with Cali, but we have since talked it out and this workout put me in a great head space. I’ll be working on this hill again, sooner rather than later.
