12/30/20 - ME Pin Press, Rows, and KB Presses

ME Upper Body on a fine Wednesday morning:

• Pin Press (Hole 17) - 275 x 1 - I’m pretty happy with this. Definitely the most weight I’ve benched at this bodyweight.

• Landmine Rows - 90 x 4 x 12 superset with

• Seated (on floor) One-Arm KB Press - 18 x 6, 22 x 3 x 6

Good little session. I didn’t feel super strong starting out but things went well. Arvid kept me company the whole time.

12/29/20 - Valley Forge Hike

I’m thoroughly enjoying being off this week. Arvid and I headed out to Valley Forge and were on the trail just before sunrise. We hiked five miles in just over 1:20:00 which is a pretty solid pace. Arvid is a little trooper.

12/28/20 - ME Block Pulls, Sumos, and KB Reverse Lunges

ME Lower Body today. This didn’t go as planned but whatever. I still got to lift and move.

• 3” Block Pulls - 405 x 1 - I failed 430 largely because I pussed out. If I had kept pulling, I could have finished the lift.

• Sumo Deadlifts - 225, 250, 275 x 5 each set - No issues with the groin makes me happy.

• KB Reverse Lunges - 36, 40, 44, 48 x 10 each set

Still grateful for my body.

12/27/20 - DE Bench, Inclines, and Rows

DE Upper Body today:

• Swiss Bench (wide grip) with light bands - 125 x 5 x 5 (EMOM)

• Swiss Bar Incline - 125 x 4 x 8 superset with

• KB One-Arm Rows - 44 x 8, 36 x 3 x 8

• Swiss Bar Curls - 65 x 3 x 10

Good little session on a Sunday morning.

12/26/20 - Valley Forge Hike

Cali, Arvid, and I hiked 8.13 miles in ~2:28 today. Temps were in the teens with a cold wind when we started, but we pushed through and had a beautiful hike in some winter sunshine. This was a blast.

12/25/20 - DE Box Squats, Swings, and Rack Holds

I was kind of slow getting going this morning, but everything felt good once I started.

• SSB Box Squats (16.75”) with light and mini bands - 130 x 5 x 5 - one set every 2 minutes

• One-Handed KB Swings - 44 x 10 x 5 - one set every 30 seconds - alternated hands each set

• One-Arm KB Rack Holds - 44 x 3/arm - :20/:15 work/rest switching hands every set

Really fun session. I didn’t deadlift because I plan on doing ME deadlifts on Monday.

12/24/20 - Green Lane Park Family Hike

Family hike at Green Lane Park today. We hiked the orange trail and around the small lake. This was 3.3 miles in beautiful winter weather.

12/23/20 - ME Overhead Press and Bodyweight Work

I haven’t overhead pressed in a while so I was looking forward to this session.

ME Upper Body:

• OHP - 140 x 2, 150 x 2, 135 x 3 x 3 - This all felt great.

• TRX Inverted Rows - BW x 4 x 7 superset with

• Dips - BW x 4 x 6

Great session in the garage. Being on leave makes everything easier.

12/22/20 - Green Lane Park Hike

I’m off for the holidays so I took Arvid out to Green Lane Park for a hike on the blue trail. This was a slog through some very snowy and slushy terrain. The good news is I managed to not fall on my ass going down some of the steep hills with Arvid pulling me. We went 3.69 miles in almost two hours. It was so going but tons of fun.

12/21/20 - ME SSB Box Squats, GMs, and KB Cleans

ME Lower Body on a fine Monday morning.

• Beltless Wide-Stance SSB Box Squats (16.75”) with 65 lbs of chains - 260 x 1, 220 x 3 x 2 - Happy with this. No groin issues.

• SSB Good Mornings with 65 lbs of chains - 80 x 8, 100 x 3 x 8

• One-Arm KB Cleans - 48 x 3, 2, 3, 5, 56 x 2 x 2 - First time cleaning the 56 felt solid.

Really great session all around. I’m so relieved my groin is finally just about healed up. This was the right amount of volume for today.

12/20/20 - DE Bench, Lat Pulldowns, and KB Bench

DE Upper Body today:

• Bench with minis and monster-minis - 115 x 9 x 3 - 3 sets of each grip, one set every 45 seconds

• KB Bench - 24s x 3 x 15 superset with

• Lat Pulldowns - 90 x 5 x 15

Good session. Short and sweet.

12/19/20 - Neighborhood Trekking

We figured the hiking trails would be covered in snow and ice after this past week’s snow storm, so we decided to do 10 miles of trekking in our beautiful neighborhood. We did walks of four, four, and two miles. The first walk was around 0730 and it was only 10 F outside. We weren’t sure if the ice, snow, or salt would bother Arvid, but it didn’t seem to phase him one bit. This was a beautiful way to spend a Saturday.

12/18/20 - DE Box Squats, Deadlifts, RDLs

DE Lower Body on a fine Friday morning:

• Cambered Bar Box Squats (18”) with 65 lbs chains - 10 x 2 - one set every 50 seconds

• Deadlifts with 65 lbs chains - 265 x 10 x 1 - one pull every 30 seconds

• RDLs - 135 x 8, 185 x 8, 205 x 8, 225 x 10

Good session. My groin is really feeling solid. I’ll test out some sumo pulls in the next couple weeks.

12/16/20 - ME Close Grip Bench and Other Fun

ME Upper Body on a fine Wednesday morning. We’re supposed to get a snow storm this afternoon/evening so maybe I’ll get some shoveling GPP in later.

• Close Grip Bench - 255 x 1

• Wide-Grip Bench - 135 x 6, 155 x 5 x 6 superset with

• One-Arm KB Rows - 44 x 6 x 6

• BB Curls - 65 x 10, 85 x 3 x 8

Good early morning session. I’m fairly happy with a 255 close grip.

12/14/20 - ME Good Mornings, Squats, and KB Work

ME Lower Body today. This was done just after 0400 on Monday morning.

• SSB Good Mornings with light bands - 180 x 5 (belt)

• SSB Squats - 180 x 5 x 5 (no belt)

• Two-Handed KB Swings - 56 x 10 x 3 - one set every 30 seconds

• Alternating Reverse Lunges - 44 x 10 x 4 - one set every 30 seconds

Good session all things considered. Good mornings with the safety squat bar always kick my ass.

12/13/20 - DE Bench, Chins, and Push-Ups

DE Upper Body on a fine Sunday morning.

• Bench with minis and monster-minis - 105 x 9 x 3 (3/grip, every 45 seconds)

• Put on 10 kg weight vest:

  • Chins - 5 x 5 of various grips

  • Blast Strap Push-ups - 5 x 5

• Quad Mace Swings - 4 x 10 360s, 2 x 10 10-2s

Great session. Didn’t kill myself but got some good movements in.

12/12/20 - Hiking at Green Lane Park

Hiked 10.62 miles in just over three hours today. It was foggy, muddy, and a little cooler than we thought it would be, but getting outside was amazing. Arvid trekked right along and didn’t show any signs of fatigue.

12/11/20 - DE Box Squats, Deadlifts, KB Cleans

DE Lower Body on a beautiful Friday morning:

• Cambered Bar Box Squats (18”) with 65 lbs of chains - 12 x 2 - one set every 55 seconds

• Deadlifts with 65 lbs of chains - 15 x 1 - one set every 30 seconds

• One-Arm KB Cleans - 44 x 5, 48 x 5 x 3

Great session all around. I’m super excited about being able to clean The Beast so efficiently.

12/10/20 - Steady State Air Bike

12.7 miles in 35 minutes on the Air Bike this morning. This was easy and I felt good and strong. I’m in a good training groove right now.

12/9/20 - ME Axle Floor Press, Close Grip Inclines, Landmine Rows

ME Upper Body today.

• Axle Floor Press - 260 x 1, 190 x 4 x 5

• Meadows Rows - 45-55 x 5 x 10-12 - supersetted these with my floor press back-off sets

• Seated (on floor) One-Arm KB OHP - 12 x 10, 16 x 2 x 10

• Axle Curls - 70 x 3 x 8

This was a good session. Haven’t done floor press in forever so I’m happy with 260. Onward and upward.