3/7/21 - KB Swings and Presses
Short and sweet session this morning. I’m going to try to run through the Swing/Snatch program with a 36/24. Today felt good and strong.
One-Handed Swings with 36 kg - 3 rounds of:
3+3
7+7
5+5
Rest three minutes
One-Arm KB OHP - 24 x 2 x (2, 3, 5) - These were easy, but I can tell I haven’t done them in a long time. I need to get the groove back.
Happy my back is feeling better.
3/5/21 - Jiu-Jitsu Day 7
Super fun class this morning with an instructor I had not yet met. Great instruction from the actual instructor and from some other practitioners. I don’t think I could have gotten beaten up any more than I did, but I enjoyed every minute of the struggle.
Onward and upward.
3/3/21 - Jiu-Jitsu Day 6
Finally got back to BJJ today and the back seems to have held up. It was a great class full of learning, fun, and great people. Onward and upward.
3/1/21 - Front Squats and Trap Bar Deads
This was a kinda sorta max effort lower body day. I’m still building up confidence in the back so I stuck to sets of five.
Front Squats - Worked up to 185 x 5 with no belt or shoes
Trap Bar Deadlifts (high handles) - Plate-quarter sets of 5 all the way up to 365 x 5. I wore a belt for these and everything held together so I’m happy about that.
Onward and upward.
2/28/21 - DE Bench, KB Rows, Curls, and Presses
DE Upper Body on a rainy Sunday morning.
Bench with monster minis - 125 x 9 x 3 - one set every 55 seconds - 3/narrow, medium, wide
One-Arm KB Rows - 32 x 4 x 10
Barbell Curls - 65 x 3 x 10
V-Sit One-Arm KB OHP - 18 x 3 x 6
This was a good session. I’m looking forward to building back up after the trouble with my back. Hopefully I can stay injury-free.
2/27/21 - Steady State Air Bike
Did 30 minutes on the Air Bike this morning for 10.6 total miles. Just wanted to move and get a little cardio in. Back was a little tight but everything felt decent overall.
2/26/21 - Dynamic Effort Box Squats, Deadlifts, and Swings
I finally got to get in a normal training session today. Everything felt solid with no pain. Super pumped.
Box Squats (16”) with light bands - 135 x 12 x 2 - one set every 55 seconds
Deadlifts with 50 lbs chains - 185 x 15 x 1 - one set every 30 seconds
One-Handed Swings - One round with 32, 36, 40:
3+3
7+7
5+5
Rest 3 minutes
2/24/21 - A Little KB Work…Finally
Well, I got a little training in today for the first time in two weeks. In my last training log entry, I mentioned that my left lower back was having an issue. It turned out to be way worse than I thought. It’s just a muscle strain, but I could barely walk the two days after it happened. I hate taking time off, but I had to shut it down for a couple weeks. I’m hoping to get back to BJJ next week, but for now I’m just going to test it out with some lifting.
KB work outside on a sunny 46 F day.
Grad Workout with double 24s - 2 cleans, 1 press, 3 front squats EMOM for 10 minutes. Felt strong.
Single KB Carries to hoop and back - waiter down rack, back, suitcase down, switch hands, repeat x 2 rounds
This all went well with no issues so I’m really happy. I am not myself when I don’t train. It’s a total mind-f!@# and I feel weak and useless.
2/10/21 - Jiu-Jitsu Day 5
Made it to the 0530 class and had a great time. Blue Belt Scott was very patient in working with me and taught me a great deal. I did some live rolling with him and Zack. Great workout with nice people. My left lower back got a bit wonky from some stupid deck shoveling the other day so I need that to heal up fast. Onward and upward.
2/9/21 - ME Close Grip Bench and Some Other BS
Hit a quick lunchtime session today. I plan on going to BJJ tomorrow so I didn’t want to get too crazy.
Close Grip Bench - 225 x 3
DBL KB Incline Rows - 18s x 5 x 12-15 superset with
One-Arm KB Incline Bench - 24 x 3 x 8
Good little pump. Followed this up by walking one awesome mile with Arvid.
2/8/21 - ME SSB Box Squats and KB Cleans
Really good lunchtime training session today.
SSB Box Squats (16”) - 220 + 50 lbs chains x 5, 170 + 50 lbs chains x 3 x 5
One-arm KB Cleans - 32 x 3, 36 x 3, 40 x 3, 44 x 3, 48 x 2 x 5
Short and sweet. It felt great to do some box squats again and not have my shoulders killing me after squatting.
2/6/21 - Jiu-Jitsu Day 4
This was a really fun Saturday class. The spider guard techniques we worked on were kind of difficult to get right, but it was a great workout and I got a lot of live rolling in. Good times. Onward and upward.
2/5/21 - Press and Pull-ups
Lunchtime training today. This has been kind of a long and brutal week. I didn’t feel super strong today but I pushed on.
Press - 105 x 5, 120 x 3, 135 x 3, 140 x 3
KB Push Press - 28s x 3 x 6
Weighted Chins - 10 kg x 5 x 3 (various grips)
I need a few nights of good sleep in a row.
2/3/21 - Jiu-Jitsu Day 3
I wanted to go to the 0530 class but this morning was a mess. Cali had to leave for work super early and Arvid was on edge without any food or water since we had to make him fast before getting neutered. Poor pup.
Everything worked out though because I ended up going to the 1900 class and having a great time. There was a good group there and I learned some new techniques. Blue belt Mike absolutely destroyed me in my last round, but that’s okay. I need more of that.
My groin, hip, and glute felt amazing after getting dry needling done earlier in the day. It still feels good as I type this up the next morning. Onward and upward.
2/2/21 - Deadlifts and Swings
I’ve done a lot of snow shoveling yesterday and today so I wasn’t sure how this would feel. Turns out I was being a little baby because it felt great.
Deadlifts (no belt) - 235 x 5, 270 x 5, 310 x 5
One-Handed Swings - 4 rounds through using a 36, 40, 44, and 32 (EMOM). This was a fun way to do it.
3+3
7+7
5+5
Rest 3 minutes
Pretty good session despite my weak mental state. I hate feeling cooped up when the snow is really blowing.
1/31/21 - Bench and Rows
Short and sweet session today. I’m going to keep the lifting volume low until I feel like I’ve adapted to the extra work at BJJ.
Swiss Bench - 160 x 5, 180 x 5, 205 x 5, 160 x 3 x 8 superset with
Meadows Rows - 25-30 kg x 6 x 10-12
Done. Left bicep was killing me. It flared up during last week’s low-bar squats. Onward and upward.
1/30/21 - Jiu-Jitsu Day 2
This was a really fun class with about an hour of technique work and then some live rolling. The instructor and other class participants were very gracious in teaching me some new things, and I was really pumped that my wonky groin did not bother me in the least. Good times. Onward and upward.
1/29/21 - Squats
I really wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to do today because my groin has been bugging me after going to BJJ on Wednesday. I pushed on and the squats actually felt quite comfortable. Assistance work was skipped because I plan on going to BJJ tomorrow and I want my body to have time to adapt.
Squats - 200 x 5, 230 x 5, 260 x 5 - easy
Front Squats - 135 x 5, 160 x 5, 185 x 5, 205 x 5
Good morning session with Arvid keeping me company.
1/27/21 - Jiu-Jitsu Day 1
This morning I went to my first ever Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class at Precision Jiu-Jitsu Spring Mount. It had been on my agenda for awhile. I just needed to get my balls and make myself go do it, and, not surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. BJJ is a great workout that is markedly different than anything I’ve ever done before. I found that I really liked the pressure and struggle of it. In a way, it reminded me of a max effort lift, only in BJJ the struggle lasts for minutes rather than being over in, at most, a few seconds. I plan on going back Friday for more, so we’ll see where this goes.
1/26/21 - Press, Rows, Push-Ups and Tris
Quick little lunch session today. This was short and a good pump.
Press - 95 x 5, 105 x 5, 120 x 5, 95 x 3 x 5
Blast Strap Inverted Rows - BW x 4 x 8 superset with
Push-Ups - BW x 4 x 10
Triceps Pushdowns - Light band x 4 x 15
I need to get my press way up.