all posts post new thread

Always Be Smashing

04/26 06:00

5min jump rope
- Good one, multiple runs of 60+
Pushups 5x14 EMOM
- 5 diamond, 9 regular
BW squats 5x14 EMOM
- 5 close, 9 regular
Circuit x3
- KB good mornings x8 16
- KB pullover x8 16
EYFS

Some soreness in the shoulders today from the pullovers. Pushups are tough - I hold up pretty well until the 4th set, but the last rep in the last set is not pretty. Maybe drop a couple reps next week, reset the volume ramp.

I'm encouraged that I'm not feeling any back pain from yesterday's DL practice, but I can tell I've got some fatigue in the hips/hamstrings.

Elbow is starting to feel better, though I want to see what it feels like if I can get into TGUs tonight before deciding to start up regular pull up work again. Lowering the bell to the ground is one movement that has been hurting it.
 
Last edited:
04/26 18:30

GSQT 3x5 32,40,16 with curl
- Since I'm trying to work in the pullovers, going to swap out the front raises for curls for a while. Did some experiments with weight, can use the 24 next time.
Halo 3x5 16
Bridge 3x5

Circuit x8
- 0.5m treadmill run 5.7
- KB1HS x10 40

This session was a good indication of my "easy" running speed. 5.7 was no issue, vs 6.0 I feel it toward the end. Definitely could have gone two more rounds, had to cut it short for dinner time.

I know, even 6.0 is dirt slow. I like to think that I can squash most guys at the end of that 4 mile run, even if they get to the end 8 minutes before I do.
 
04/27 06:00

5min jump rope
Pushups 5x14 EMOM
- 5 diamond, 9 regular
BW squats 5x14 EMOM
- 5 close, 9 regular
Circuit x3
- KB good mornings x8 16
- KB pullover x8 16
EYFS
 
Friday evening was little league practice. I didn't have the fortitude to get in an evening session.

04/28 09:30

Karate practice. I was teaching. Instead of the usually opening calisthenics, I took the class through a crawling sequence. Was kind of fun to listen to them laugh about how easy it was starting out, but panting like dogs at the end.

04/29 09:30

4 hours of yard work. Sometimes I enjoy this... but not 4 hours worth.

04/29 15:00

Discus practice. First time since Fall, and maybe 5th time since college. The high school I go throw at had some distance marks for the first time since I started throwing again, so I got some actual feedback on my distance. Now, I know it's been a long time since college, and I'm in a very different body now... but it still hurts the old pride to see how short I'm throwing. :(

04/29 18:00

Double header indoor volleyball matches. Normally, this would be no big deal, but I was so wiped out from the rest of the day, this just took me down - aching all over the place.
 
04/30 06:00

5min jump rope
Pushups 5x12 EMOM
- 5 diamond, 7 regular
BW squats 5x12 EMOM
- 5 close, 7 regular
EYFS+
- By this, I mean EYFS preceded by a 3x8 circuit of KB good mornings & pullovers, using the 16 for each

Dragging this morning - session took 15 minutes longer than I want, partly because when I got to the courage corner I spent the first 5 minutes or so convincing myself that I had enough energy to do it. Have little league practice tonight too - unless some recovery miracle occurs, will probably not be doing anything else tonight.

Have been pondering what to do with training after the Spartan this weekend. I don't have any major goals in the near term - have my favorite 10k race and my once-a-year short triathlon toward the end of May & early June, considering a second Spartan in August, but not sure on that. Not sure if I'll be able to get in a track meet this year, because the meets I've found just aren't lining with my schedule. Then the TSC in October.

I'm considering the 10000 swing challenge (The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout | T Nation). It actually sounds fun to me, and I think with the addition (!) of some LSD one day a week, it should be good prep for the races. But I've got a few concerns:
  • Will my back tolerate the volume? That's non-negotiable, but I won't know unless I try, of course.
  • I'm terrified of losing the gains I've made in S&S and snatches (no TGUs or snatches for 5 weeks?!). But, this is part of what made my old training programs unfocused - I never want to give anything up, but I try to keep adding things. Mr. John claims that his athletes saw improvements in their core lifts afterwards - per the program, without doing the core lifts. Seems like this might be a good mental exercise for me - really trust a program.
  • Time per session. I don't like budgeting more than 1 hour per session, that's a recipe for having sessions not happen. It seems like 12 minutes per cycle ought to be enough... but I can imagine fatigue stretching that out longer.
I figure, if the race this weekend hasn't broken me, I'll get it a try next week.
 
Just stopped in to say I have been reading your entries for about a week or 2 and you are doing great! I like the exercise you use and the weights you laid up with. Plus the hulk is cool as hell.

Keep up the great work and good luck this weekend!
 
@Strong Rick , much appreciated!


Last night my daughter had a late softball game. She did awesome, but we didn't get back home till almost 10:00, so no evening session. Guess I should be sort of deloading before the race anyway.

05/02 06:00

5min jump rope
- Had a run of almost 2min continuous in there, probably best ever
DL 155 x 5, 205 x 5, 235 x 5, 265 x 5
- These felt good, easy. Think I'm getting better at tensioning up without sticking my knees forward or putting all the weight into my back.
BB side press 45 x 5, 55 x 5
Bridge 6s x 8
Straight leg hold 6s x 8
Twists 20s x 4 x side
 
05/02 21:00

No volleyball tonight, so got in a long evening session instead.

GSQT 3x5 32,40,24 with curl
Halo 3x5 16
Bridge 3x5
Circuit x4
- 0.25m treadmill run 6.0
- KB1HS x10 40
Circuit x2
- jump rope, 30s work 15s rest
-- 2 feet
-- alternating feet
-- in / out
-- right foot
-- left foot
-- 2 feet
- KB1HS x10 40
Circuit x4
- 0.25m treadmill run 6.0
- KB1HS x10 40

TGU 5x1 x side 40,40,32,40,40

A little front splits practice with yoga blocks afterwards.

100 swings with the 40. (y) First time, good stuff.
 
05/03 21:00

GSQT 3x5 32,40,24 with curl
Halo 3x5 16
Bridge 3x5

After the warm up, took a bit of a goof off session. Shuffled some light running or stationary bike with 2 ladders of 1,2,3 for the strength movements for the 10000 swing challenge, to see what might be reasonable.

Press: started off with KB military press, but found these hurt my elbow, at least with the 32. Switched to BB side press at 55#, no pain. Seems like a good time to use that lift.

Dips: did the first ladder (2,3,5 on these) with 20#, felt manageable. But I figure I'll do the first session at just bodyweight, see how the fatigue goes.

GSQT: did the ladders with the beast. That went OK for this short session, but I don't think I could manage 30 total reps with it (and don't forget all them swings). Probably best to do the first session with the 32.

Pull ups: tried a few weighed reps, but can't get chest to bar. I'm worried about the volume here, particularly with my elbow. Might have to drop the ladders to something like 1,1,2.

Altogether, even with a pretty lazy session, I'm feeling it here, mixing all that together. I can see where this can shock the body into some adaptation.
 
05/04 06:30

5min jump rope
EYFS+

Woke up late today, and felt pretty sluggish. Came pretty close to just bagging it and going back to bed, so even the shortened session is a victory.
 
05/05 09/45

Spartan day! AROO! A great day. 9 miles of grueling fun. Ended up at somewhere around 3 hours, which is about what I expected.

Stuff that went well:
  • Grip strength: massively improved vs. last year. My first Spartan last year was before I had hit Simple. Now I do work with the 40, and I absolutely notice the difference. I almost got through the rings, the rope climb was flat out easy. S&S + pullups + LSD = effective OCR training.
  • Only failed 2 obstacles - vs. 3 last year for a race half the distance.
  • Ring swing was one of the obstacles I failed - but I was dang close to finishing it, vs. last year I couldn't even do one swing. I have to call it a success - big improvement in grip and shoulder strength.
  • Nailed the spear throw. Throw would have absolutely killed a man. I know, that's morbid and juvenile. I can't help it - got that Y chromosome and all.
  • Cardio - my cardio was not the point of failure, there was still more gas in the tank for the heart, at least. There was a solid 1 mile of running around mile 5, and I was able to just coast through it - actually got some recovery time out of it while still maintaining a nice, even jog.
Stuff I should work on:
  • Hill climbs. There were 6 big hills to get up and down, and that's what really took the energy out of me (see next point).
  • Leg cramps. Definitely improvement vs. last year - I didn't get calf cramps until mile 6. But during mile 8, I started getting very nasty quad cramps. At one point when I was sitting by the side of the road waiting for things to relax, a guy came along and offered me a salt tablet of some kind (Spartans are good folks), said it would help. Things relaxed during mile 9, will definitely get some of those tablets for myself next race. But I also need to look into what training I can do to cut down on leg cramps as the distance goes up. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to drop a few pounds, of course.
  • Pull endurance. Both obstacles I failed were about missing this - either inability to hold the L-shape arms long enough, or inability to generate an explosive pull when I needed it.
All in all, I am really stoked about the performance. But with that said, one of the things I was debating was whether I might be ready to pull off a Beast in August. I think the answer is a resounding no - mile 8 was so painful, I can't imagine throwing on another 4 miles on top of that at this stage. I think I need to be able to finish a Super without horrible cramping before considering taking on a Beast.

And I aint doin a God @)#$ thing tomorrow. Rest day.
 
Last edited:
05/07 06:00

10min walk
EYFS+

Still feeling a lot of soreness in the legs from the race. Will need a couple more days recovery before I start up anything serious. Tried to do some foam rolling of the quads - wow, that hurt.
 
05/08 06:00

10min walk
EYFS+

Still sore! But improving. Was able to do some more foam rolling last night, try to keep at it today.
 
05/08 21:00

GSQT 3x5 32,40,24 with curl
Halo 3x5 16
Bridge 3x5
KB1HS x10 40,40,32,40,40
TGU 5x1 x side 40,40,32,40,40

Legs feeling almost normal, so went for an S&S session. But, still feeling fatigued enough that I had to take a lot of rest with the TGUs. Lowering the bell really bothered the elbow. Guess it might be good to lay off them for a while to heal up more.

05/09 06:00

5min jump rope
DL 155 x 5, 245 x 5/3/2, 275 x 1, 305 x 1, 335 x 1
BB side press 60 x 5/3/2

Quad soreness pretty much gone, still a little in the calves.
 
05/10 06:00

5min jump rope
Pushups 5x12 EMOM
- 6 diamond, 6 regular
BW squats 5x12 EMOM
- 6 close, 6 regular
EYFS+

Terrible volleyball session last night - they just happen sometimes. Feeling back to normal, time to get a move on.
 
05/10 21:30

10k swings D1

KB2HS 10,15,25,50 x5 24k
TRX-assisted pistols 1,2,3 x5
Time 46:11

1.0m treadmill run 5.4

Those sets of 50 are brutal on the grip. Now, can I recover enough to do it again tomorrow. ..
 
Last edited:
05/11 06:00

5min jump rope
EYFS+

05/11 16:30

10k swings D2

KB2HS 10,15,25,50 x5
Pullups 1,2,3 x5
Time: 46:35

1.0m treadmill run 5.4

Sets of 3 for pullups were ugly all around - some kipping. But I figure, it's a challenge, just f#$%ing get it done. Very taxing session in the grip.
 
Last edited:
05/12 09:45

Karate practice. Was just me, my kids and the instructor today, so I got to spend a lot of time with the instructor - that dude's blocks are like getting hit with a crowbar, really beat up my forearms. On the other hand, my down blocks today felt really sloppy - maybe some elbow fatigue from the pullups yesterday.

During goof-off time before class, I managed to hold a free-standing handstand for about 10s, PR for me. Maybe some carryover in should mobility from the KB pullovers?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom