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Always Be Smashing

01/31 09:00

63min outdoor run 4.8m
- Ave HR 133, max 152

Too fast. Was cold, and I was a sniffly mess.

Was just lazy Friday evening. Then another weekend of mostly house project and kids sports. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on house stuff, but it's still a few weeks out.

02/01 10:00

Pushup test: x22
Cossacks test: x40+

Very disappointed to not see any progress on pushups. Maybe I can attribute it to getting sick this week. Will keep at it for another couple weeks before hitting the panic button.

On the other hand... huge increase cossacks, WTF?! Didn't feel any of the burn in my hips or back that I got the last time I tested. I stopped at 40 because I don't want my GTG sessions to go to a really high rep count - want to keep them relatively short. Maybe just got my technique dialed in better after doing them for a couple weeks? So I should probably pick some more difficult variant. Would like to keep including some regular Cossacks for the mobility work, will have to think about it.

Anyways, a bit later on:

Close squat test: x19

Pushups: 4x11
Close squats: 4x9

Sunday, more house projects, an indoor volleyball game, and a margarita-soaked Superbowl party. Not a bad game this year.

Pushups: 10x11
Close squats 10x9
 
02/03 12:00

5min samurai getups
Trifecta + rows
EYFS

02/03 17:15

GSQT 2x5 48
Shoulder dislocates 3x8
KB1HS 12x6 48
Circuit (2,2,3) x3
- KB C&P 32,28,28
- Pullups 10#,BW, BW
ZSQT 3x5 190#
Grip circuit x3

Strained my elbow a little during yesterday's volleyball game, felt it today. And feel like I'm not recovering well at the moment from GTG work. Close squats are kicking my butt - a lot of soreness in the back, I presume from folding too far forward to try to keep balance. Hopefully technique will come along.

Pullups felt good tonight. A couple of the unweighted reps felt close to a good slow chest-to-bar rep. Still need to keep improving range of motion on the pull.

Pushups: 8x11
Close squats: 8x9
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 16
 
02/04 07:15

5min 5# no-grip getups
Trifecta + rows
Foam rolling
FSPM
Neck circuit

02/04 21:15

GSQT 2x5 48
Shoulder dislocates 3x8
Circuit x10
- KB snatch x3 40
- Burpees x3
TGU 2x1 x side 40
Flat straight leg raise 3x6
Grip circuit x3

No karate yet again due to kid's school commitment. But finally got in a light conditioning session. First set of snatches on the left felt pretty bad, like last time, but things tightened up after that, other sets felt good.

Still feeling under-recovered on GTG work, but also feels like close squat form is improving. Did a light GTG day by choice.

Left pec was not interested in getups, so I had to cut that short. Mild strain is still lurking in there.

Pushups: 6x11
Close squats: 6x9
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 17
 
Took Wednesday off. Good night at volleyball, played with a couple of subs who are much better than our regulars. Felt like I was hammering the ball, but part of that is getting a bunch of good sets.

02/06 06:00

5min samurai getups
Trifecta + rows
EYFS

Felt really sore in the hamstrings and hips this morning. Spent a bunch of time wondering what I had tweaked in volleyball... then remembered that I'm 40-something, and that's DOMS from snatches/ burpees on Tuesday.

Spent most of the day moving boxes around. Even sucessfully negotiated a treadmill down a flight of stairs by myself. Long day, nothing left at the end for training.

Pushups: 8x11
Close squats: 8x9
 
Alarm went off at 5:45 this morning, and the body was quite clear that it had no intention of getting out of bed. No morning training.

Had an opportunity to go to a karate seminar this evening... but decided I was really more in the mood to lift and have dinner with the family. Seem to have lost my "fighting spirit" lately, I'm pondering why and what that means.

02/07 17:15

GSQT 2x5 48
Shoulder dislocates 3x8
KB1HS 8x7 58
Circuit (1,2,2) x3
- KB C&P 32
- Pullups 10#
Farmer's carry x3 40+48
Grip circuit x3

Good session. Sets of 7 on the swings is challenging, that's about the place where power starts to drop off. Presses and pulls felt good - maybe time to check in with the 40 again.

Going to drop Zercher squats for a while, to make sure I'm not interfering with GTG work on close squats - feels like I'm making some progress there. So instead, going to put in some carries, which seems like a good complement to the grip work anyway - forearms were really feeling it today. Graduated to the #1 CoC crusher, since I seem to be able to close the 0.5 at will now.

Pushups: 6x11
Close squats: 6x9
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 18
 
That's a lot of stuff you got going on there Dr. Banner.... :)

That's no joke, sir. And yet, people still seem to expect me to show up at work from time to time. Unbelievable!

Time has definitely been a big contributor to karate suffering. My wife and I coach our daughter's and son's basketball teams, respectively, and my wife also coaches my daughter's softball team, which is having winter practices... sometimes it feel like we all only see each other while scarfing down a girl scout cookie before bedtime. I was definitely getting to karate more when we had a lull in activities before basketball started.

Aside from that... have been asking myself what I want out of karate practice. The basic answer is, "control of an agile body". I'm certainly not competitive in karate as a sport, so I see it as an extension of GPP... a man who could kick you in the head without spilling the drink he's holding could do anything, right? I also like the mindfulness of it - focusing on one thing, doing it absolutely perfectly.

I'm happiest when drilling techniques for perfect form, and trying to train the body to react instinctively the "right" way. And I realize that the last few sessions I can recall, I wasn't getting to do that. There was a lot of drilling for speed, which means technique necessarily suffers. I feel like I start "flailing" to try to keep up with the pace of the class - kicks get low, punches get short, footwork gets sloppy. On top of that, recently for any partner drills I get paired up with one of two people; a teenage girl who is just far and away faster than I am, and a guy my age is who previously had a black belt in muay thai and is kind of there to fight. Neither one of them is great to work with. It just hasn't been as much fun.

Should probably talk to my sensei about it next time I get in. And should make a point of trying to refresh the things I really like about it on my own sometime.
 
02/08 06:30

5min samurai getups
Trifecta + rows
Foam rolling
FSPM
Neck circuit

Good session- felt easy, like the body wanted to do it. On my twist stretch, I can stay in position without having one on the ground, both sides - that's good progress.

Rest of the day went to kids' basketball. I'm developing a reputation as "that crazy dad who does pushups during halftime " at my daughter's games. Fortunately, most of the other parents already knew I was crazy.

Pushups: 10x11
Close squats: 10x9

Sunday - felt some soreness in the pecs... surprising how the GTG fatigue can sneak up on you. Need to take a day off tomorrow.

Got my treadmill up and running again, though didn't have time to use it. Hoping to get back on a regular LSS schedule next week.

Pushups: 8x11
Close squats: 8x9
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 18
 
02/10 06:00

5min tactical getups 20#
Trifecta + rows
EYFS

02/10 21:15

GSQT 2x5 48
Shoulder dislocates 2x8
KB1HS 12x7 48
Circuit (2,2,3) x3
- KB C&P 32,28,28
- Pullups 10#,BW,BW
Farmer's carry x3 40+48
Grip circuit x3

I'm pretty sure that's the most swings I've ever done in one session with these beast. Challenging, but good stuff.

But... this session went too long - 75 minutes. Several reasons:
- Fatigue from swings
- Have been doing some light jump roping between sets, trying to toughen the ankles and calves
- Grip circuit is getting long

I'm thinking I may need to split the grip circuit into A and B days. I'm up to 11 components now, and I'm sure I could find more to add if I looked.

EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 19
 
02/11 06:00

Trifecta + rows
40min treadmill run/walk 2.6m

Now, I know treadmills are the tool of the devil... but I'm so happy to have mine back on line. Feels good to have my LSS knocked out before breakfast.

02/11 21:15

GSQT 2x5 48
Shoulder dislocates 2x8
Circuit x10
- KB snatch x8 32
- Burpees x3
Grip circuit x2

Some random rope jumping and agility drills, trying to work out an agility sequence.

Pushups: 6x11
Close squats: 6x9
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 20
 
02/12 06:00

Trifecta + rows
40min treadmill run/walk 2.4m

Volleyball in the evening. We were a little erratic, but went our standard 1-2.

I have been very surprised how little interaction there seems to be between pushups and KB press. The press doesn't seem to be interfering with pushup work, and the occasional sore pec does seem to prevent a good press session. I expected a lot more dependence between the two. Seems to say that the common musculature is not the weak point on either.

Pushups: 10x11
Close squats: 10x9
RAGS: 20
 
Time has definitely been a big contributor to karate suffering. My wife and I coach our daughter's and son's basketball teams, respectively, and my wife also coaches my daughter's softball team, which is having winter practices... sometimes it feel like we all only see each other while scarfing down a girl scout cookie before bedtime. I was definitely getting to karate more when we had a lull in activities before basketball started.
hey I know this exact feeling! Cheers!
 
Up too late last night after volleyball, elected to skip morning session to catch up on sleep.

02/13 21:00

GSQT 2x5 48
Shoulder dislocates 2x8
KB snatch 12x4 40
Circuit L3 x3
- KB C&P 32
- Pullups 10#
Farmer's carry x3 40+48
Grip circuit x3

Interesting night. When I first headed down to the gym, I felt really lethargic - wasn't sure I had the energy to train. The dice decided I should pick up the 40 for snatches... and in the first set, I felt indestructible. So went for sets of 4. :cool: Seeing some SAID to the recent swing volume, very encouraging. I realized after I was done that I was pretty dehydrated, that might explain how I felt initially.

Felt sore in the pecs today - this has been pretty consistent following a 10-set GTG day. Not sure what that's telling me, other than that I definitely have work to do there. Did a low-volume day by choice, plan to take tomorrow off for retest on Saturday.

Pushups: 6x11
Close squats: 6x9
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 21
 
Merry love day

02/14 06:30

Trifecta + rows
Foam rolling
45min treadmill run/walk 3.0m

Trying to work on increasing my cadence. My natural cadence right now is around 150, lots of things I've read talk about pushing that to 180+. But getting to 160 tends to drive my heart rate up. Gotta look at it as technique practice, I guess, but it's frustrating.

Spent a little time today exploring the ROM on the close squat. I can get to parallel pretty easy, but can't maintain balance below parallel. Seems like it's an ankle mobility issue; not enough flexion range, can't push the knees far enough forward to maintain balance. Barefoot, that is - if I have shoes on, I can get to the bottom no problem thanks to the ankle lift. Thinking I should make a point of hanging out in the bottom of the squat while holding on to something for balance, work the ankle mobility.

02/14 18:00

5min samurai getups
EYFS

Doing the mobility work in the evening is certainly different- body isn't fighting me as much.

Felt a little frustrated tonight with my mobility. I am far and away better off than I was a year ago. But, for all the work I've put in, I still wouldn't call myself flexible/limber. It's such a slow process. Anyone who say otherwise is selling something...

EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 21
 
For your ankles....if you want to practice, and aren't down in the basement (or wherever the "gym") with a weight available for a counterbalance....have you tried grabbing the edge of a sink, or doorknob of a closed door? You could rock and pry like they say in S&S. A little practice, every time you use the bathroom or shut some sort of door as a reminder. I did this when I was driving when in my home health job, in many a gas station bathroom (for hip stiffness though)

Just a thought....
 
have you tried grabbing the edge of a sink, or doorknob of a closed door?

Yup, that's exactly what I was doing yesterday. A few times during the day I grabbed on to whatever was close, and spent 30 seconds just camped out at the bottom of the squat. Hopefully just accumulating time in small chunks like that will be effective... but again, this stuff seems to take so long...
 
02/15 08:00

Pushup test x24
Close squat test x26

I was determined to hit 24 on pushups today, but I had to dip into the acid a little to get there. Still disappointed things aren't progressing faster there. I may be a "hardgainer" on pressing in general- back in my college weightlifting days, my bench press always lagged behind my other lifts.

On squats, I probably could have kept going, but I'd prefer to hold back until I'm getting all the way to the bottom. It does feel like I'm making progress towards that.

Pushups: 8x12
Close squats: 8x13
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 21
 
02/16 11:00

Trifecta + rows
Foam rolling
60min outdoor run 4.8m
- Ave HR 136, max 149

Comfortable run today.

Definitely feeling some fatigue in both pushups and squats today, tomorrow will be a day off.

Pushups: 6x12
Close squats: 6x13
EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 21
 
02/17 07:00

5min samurai getups
EYFS

02/17 17:00

GSQT 2x5 48
Shoulder dislocates 2x8
KB snatch 10x8 32
Circuit (2,2,3) x3
- KB C&P 32,28,28
- Pullups 10#,BW,BW
Farmer's carry x3 40+48
Grip circuit x3

Little bit of a rough session, but ground through. Definitely went acidic on the snatches.

So, something on the forum today reminded me to go check on TSC registration, and it opened today... without thinking too hard about it, signed myself up for the competitive division. Game on.

About time to start shifting training to TSC work. I was hoping my new gym floor would have been installed in the next week or so, but that's not looking likely. Going to just have to make do, and maybe fire up deadlifting on carpet (!). Naturally, something will have to go to make space - I'm thinking press work will have to take a hiatus. Deadlifting, some sub-maximal fighter pullup program, heavy swings, GTG pushups and squats, and grip work. Concern is that swinging and deadlifting mixed have caused some problems in the past... need to watch the volume carefully.

Plan to stick with what I'm doing through end of February, then fire up TSC training.

EOD stretching sequence x1
RAGS: 22
 
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