Matt's Log

[Snowman]

Aug 20
Rest day

Aug 21
Push ups

The first few weeks of classes are pretty much 8-5, so I carried my 32k the mile up to our class building so I can use it during lunch.

KBS (2H) and clean-drop snatches @ 32K

Aug 22
Push ups
KBS (2H) and clean-drop snatches @ 32K

Aug 23
Push ups
KBS (2H) and clean-drop snatches @ 32K

Aug 24
Push ups
Note-Went on a bit of a "field trip," for a few days, so no KB work for that time. I pushed things a little extra harder (more volume) for the last 3 days to compensate.

Aug 25 and 26
Rest days.

Aug 27
Push ups

 

[Harald Motz]

The first few weeks of classes are pretty much 8-5, so I carried my 32k the mile up to our class building so I can use it during lunch.

pretty cool and strong not the least self-confidence to do your things. I'm sure you get some looks and some comments and conversation about the bell.

 

[Snowman]

@Harald Motz I found a nice little loading dock outside where I'm out of the way . Bozeman has a pretty health conscious culture, though, so I rarely get more than some raised eyebrows and "hello." Most folks around here are used to people doing "weird fitness-y stuff"

 

[Snowman]

Aug 28
Push ups
2H swings and clean-drop snatches @ 32K

Aug 29
Rest day

Aug 30
Push ups
Clean-drop snatches @ 32K
Note-I'm feeling pretty good about my heavy snatches, so I dropped the swings today. Here in the next week or two I might start doing normal snatches.

Aug 31
Push ups
Clean-drop snatches @ 32K
Carried the 32K the mile back to my apartment. "Real classes" start next week, and I'll be able to train at home again.

 

[Snowman]

Sept 1
Push ups
Sprints

Sept 2
Rest day

Sept 3
Push ups
Snatches @ 32K (real snatches this time!)

Sept 4
Push ups
2H overspeed swings and snatches @ 32K
Rucked 4.3 km w/ 50 lbs
Note-I had to supplement overspeed swings (sets of 5) with the snatches (sets of 3) since my hands were more tender than I expected from yesterday. Snatching 2 or more days in a row isn't going to be realistic until I get stronger/better at snatching with the 32K. I'm torn between keeping the A+A work high (well, high for me) by adding swings and sprints, and just doing more LSD work. I like the A+A work more, but I think I'll probably get more long term benefit with the LSD work (which I also enjoy). I think 32K snatches are a good weight for me (I weigh 155 lbs), and as long as I can snatch consistently with the 32K, even if it's just sets of 3, I think it's a given that I'll get stronger. Maybe I'll just alternate LSD days with A+A days (using mostly 32K snatches, with some swings and 24K snatches), and see where that gets me. If I go from sets of 3 to sets of 4 in a month or two, then that means I made the right choice...I think I have a question that I need to pose to the greater A+A practicing community.

 

[Snowman]

Sept 5
Push ups
Rucked 3.3 km w/ 60 lbs
Note-I felt good this morning, a little cold/tired in the afternoon, and was in bed with a pretty high fever by the evening.

Sept 6
Rest day. No fever today, but still not 100%.

Sept 7
Push ups
Snatches with 24K (mostly) and 32K. Not surprisingly, using the 24 and 32 seems to help my technique with the 32.

Sept 8
Push ups
Rucked 4.2 km with 60 lbs

Sept 9
I finally had a chance to go to a gym that I have a free membership to. I'm going to try to make it there once a week. Since I spend plenty of time training power with moderate weight, I think I'll use some of my "gym time" to get back under a heavy bar. A kettlebell can do almost everything, but it can't compete with a barbell when it comes to sustained force production. I decided to go with partial ROM back squats today, and I really liked it. I just set the safety bars 8" lower than the top of the squat and did all my sets from the bottom (off the safety bars). Worked up to a couple singles at 405. Heavy, but not a max lift.
Snatches at 28K. They had a 28K at the gym, and I was seriously curious about the 28 being the "one bell" I needed. Aaaand of course it was. I could do strong sets of 5, with good technique, but it wasn't too light. So yeah. Dammit. I want one now.

 

[Snowman]

Sept 10
Push ups
Did some easy rock climbing with friends

Sept 11
Push ups
Rucked 3.2 km w/ 60 lbs

Sept 12
Push ups
Snatches with the 24 and 32

Sept 13
Push ups
Rucked 2.6 km w/ 65 lbs
-later-
Rucked 1.8 km w/ 65 lbs

Sept 14
Push ups
Snatches with the 24 and 32
Rucked 1.8 km w/ 65 lbs
-later-
Rucked 1.8 km w/ 65 lbs

Sept 15
Push ups
Rucked 3.3 km w/ 65 lbs
-later-
Rucked 1.8 km w/ 65 lbs
Note: All the 1.8 km rucks are me rucking to/from class. Since I always walk to class anyways, and I can shower there, I decided that it might be worth it to just load up the ruck, and use that instead of my ten pound backpack. It's also a lot easier to schedule on my actual ruck days, since I can just end my ruck at class, which means I can squeeze an extra few minutes onto the end of my ruck. Considering I'm doing much less LSD work than I would like to be doing, I'll take what I can get.

 

[Snowman]

Sept 16
Push ups
Snatches @ 28K
Back squat partial ROM (top 8")-worked up to 405x2
Steps ups (6") with the bar on my back-225 lbs

Sept 17
Rest day

Sept 18
Push ups
Rucked a total of 5.1 km w/ 65lbs

Sept 19
Push ups
Snatches @ 28K
Rucked a total of 3.1 km w/ 65lbs
Front squats with 24 & 28K
Note-I kinda want to play around with the front, so I'm going to start doing that.

Sept 20
Push ups
Front squat-52K
Rucked a total of 5.2 km w/ 65lbs

Sept 21
Push ups
Snatches @ 28K
Rucked 4.2 km w/ 65 lbs

Sept 22
Push ups
TGU's @ 28K
Front squats @ 52K
Rucked a total of 4.2 km w/ 65lbs
Note: As the weather gets colder in Montana, I am losing my desire to spend time outside doing LSD training. I will continue to ruck to and from class, and will still take a longer route when I have time. For those of you who don't live in Montana, two weeks ago it was in the 70's and 80's. We then had about two weeks of fall (50's and 60's), and now it's dropping into the 40's and 50's. We're supposed to get 6 inches of snow tomorrow. The point is, rucking is going to be cut down, and more of it will be of the shirtless, cold exposure variety. Instead, I need some strength work that I can alternate with snatches, but that won't beat up my hands. Enter the front squats and TGUs. I'm starting at 4x3 for the front squats (24+28K) and 5x1 for the TGUs (28K). I think I'll just do the triple progression tactic where you add a rep each week and see how that works.

 

[Snowman]

Sept 23
Push ups
Snatches w/ 28K
-later at the gym-
Back Squat-about 9 sets of 3-5 reps w/ 135-185 lbs.
A+A C&Js with double 24K, sets of 2
Note-Just tried to accumulate a lot of volume at the gym today.

Sep 24
Rest day

Sept 25
Push ups
Snatches w/ 28K, then switched to swings once my hands started to get sore
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Sept 26
Push ups
TGUs
Front squats

Sept 27
Push ups
Snatches @ 28K, then overspeed swings.
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs
Note-I've notice that sometimes the body is willing, but the hands are toast. When that happens, I've switched to doing some kind of grip-friendly swing until I'm done. I wrap a wash cloth around the handle to keep my hands from getting beat up any more, and since it's only 28K I don't have a problem holding on to the wrapped handle with both hands and still producing a lot of power.

Sept 28
Push ups-currently just doing maintenance at 3x4, 8, 12
TGU's
Front squats
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Sept 29
Push ups
Snatches-30x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs
Note-I usually do 22-26 repeats for my A+A work, but the air was dry and chilly today. My hands stayed in such good shape I couldn't help pushing it a little. My power might have dropped a little around set 28, so I think it was a good session.

 

[Snowman]

Sept 30
Push ups
TGUs
Back Squat-worked up to a 225 single, then did some triples at 165
Rowed an easy 6 km-I wanted to see if some LSD would reduce the normal post-squat creakiness

Oct 1-No post-squat creakiness
Rucked 6.3 km w/ 50 bs

Oct 2-Still no post squat creakiness, I consider the experiment a success.
Push ups
TGUs
Front Squats
Rucked 4 km w/ 65 lbs. I inserted 3x400 m runs (without the pack) into the rucking session. It seems like a good way to get a little bit of running squeezed in.

Oct 3
Push ups
Snatches @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Oct 4
Push ups
TGUs
Front Squats
Rucked 4.6 km w/ 65 lbs. Inserted 2x600 m and 1x800 m runs

Oct 5
Push ups
Snatches @ 28K
Ruck 3. 6km w/ 65 lbs

Oct 6
Push ups
TGUs
Note-I cut my training short today. My sone was sick a few days ago, my wife was sick yesterday, and today it felt like my head was taking a few seconds to catch up to my body...

Oct 7
Yeah, I got sick real good yesterday. I went to class in the morning, but I only made it til noon before I called it and went home. Today I took it easy.

Oct 8
Rest day. Did a lot of thinking about training paradigms. Actually, I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

Oct 9
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-1x1, 2 @ 28K
Snatch-26x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs
Note-On the note of training paradigms, my training goals, or lack thereof, have been on my mind. For the past few years I've been doing a strength focused GPP program, and I'm starting to think that it's time to change the focus. A big part of this is that I'm no longer making much progress. Due to time constraints, if I focused enough on strength to make more aggressive improvements I would have to drop the aerobic work, but I the bigger question is, How much stronger do I need to be? Certainly, stronger is generally better, but I might be at a point of diminishing returns now. If I look at some general strength baselines, like 2xBW deadlift, 1.5xBW back squat, 1/2 BW military press, etc, those are all things that I can currently do or could do with less than two weeks of training.
I'm going to flip the paradigm from my current one of focusing on strength and maintaining endurance. This might even work better with med school, since I can still listen to lecture recordings while I ruck....Really, things won't look too different from where they are now; I think I'm just now consciously acknowledging something that I've been doing for a little while already. I'll keep my A+A practice as it (2-3 times/week), and the only other strength work I'll do for now will be low volume push ups, TGUs, and goblet/front squats. The rest of the time will be rucking and running. I was discouraged by the cold for a little bit, but now that I'm used to it, I don't think I'll mind the extra time outside.

 

[Snowman]

Oct 10
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Front Squat-2x5 @ 52K
Run 3.2 km
Note: Had an early morning and a long day, no time for much LSD

Oct 11
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-1x 1, 2 @ 28K
Snatch-24x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Oct 12
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Front Squat-2x5 @ 52K
Rucked 5.8 km w/ 65 lbs and inserted 2x600m easy runs

Oct 13
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-1x 1, 2 @ 28K
C&J 30x2 @ 24+24K
Note-I did the TGU's at home, then went to the gym with my wife to help her test her deadlift. They didn't have a 28K, but the had two 24K's, hence the C&J's. On a positive note, after her first cycle back deadlifting on a regular basis (after about 2 two years of barely touching a weight), my wife's heavy single went from 85 lbs to 105 lbs. She definitely could have lifted more, but doesn't really do the whole "digging deep" thing. Which, for the sake of training, is just fine.

Oct 14
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Front Squat-2x5 @ 52K
Sandbag shoulder carry-1 km to the hill w/ 60 lbs

4 rounds (each round took about 10 minutes):
-Sandbag shoulder carry up and down the hill (450 meters) w/ 60 lbs
-10 DLs w/ sandbag
-10 Zercher squats w/ sandbag
-20 push ups
-Run/walk up and down the hill

Sandbag shoulder carry-1 km back from the hill w/ 60 lbs
Got home and found out my wife went for a walk and accidentally locked me out. I ran around for about a kilometer looking for her, then gave up and crawled in through the living room window and grumbled about living on the second floor.

 

[Snowman]

Oct 15
Rucked 5.7 km w/ 55 lbs. Stopped about 2 km in to let the boy out of the pack so he could play in the park. It's always interesting watching him play; he can't communicate very well compared to many of his peers (he's about 1.5 y/o), but he does seem to be more physically adept. I imagine it will all smooth out to some degree as time passes.

Oct 16
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-1x 1, 2 @ 28K
Snatch-28x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Oct 17
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Front Squat-2x4 @ 52K
Rucked 5.7 km w/ 65 lbs
Met a friend of mine at the gym. He's an endurance guy (running and biking). We decided that we should try to work out every week or so to get each other out of our comfort zones. We did deadlifts and some lactate threshold work. I'll leave it up to you to figure out who was out of their comfort zone for what...

I will probably try to do some lactate threshold work about once every week or two. I definitely don't have that "top gear" like I used to when I was killing myself with poorly designed conditioning work every day, even though I can get way more work done with less fatigue over a long period of time. Five to fifteen minutes of hard intervals per week seems like it might be a good way to round things out.

Oct 18
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
Snatch-24x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Oct 19
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Front Squat-2x4 @ 52K
Rucked 4.9 km w/ 65 lbs and inserted 600m, 700m, and 800m easy runs

 

[Anna C]

I will probably try to do some lactate threshold work about once every week or two. I definitely don't have that "top gear" like I used to when I was killing myself with poorly designed conditioning work every day, even though I can get way more work done with less fatigue over a long period of time. Five to fifteen minutes of hard intervals per week seems like it might be a good way to round things out.

I agree, and this sounds perfect. It's exactly what I would do if I were more disciplined with my bike riding, but my Sunday rides are group rides, so you kind of have to go with the flow with those and the intervals end up being more random (either when pulling, or when trying to keep up with someone pulling at a faster pace than usual). I end up getting a few decent LT intervals in though. I believe there are aerobic benefits, but only if done in proper relation to the easy LSD work, which is, much more LSD than LT.

 

[Snowman]

but only if done in proper relation to the easy LSD work, which is, much more LSD than LT.

I think this is critical. The main reason I don't do much LT work is because I don't like it, and I've been spoiled by making so much progress doing things that are actually fun. From a performance (and even longevity) point of view, I think a little bit of LT work can actually go a long way. A few years ago I was doing 10-30 minutes of HIIT on a near-daily basis, and almost no aerobic work. At the time I didn't understand why I stopped making progress after a few months, but it makes a little more sense now

 

[Anna C]

Yes, exactly! But this is why runners, cyclists, triathletes, etc. are misled by each other's training. Let's take 3 cyclists with similar abilities on shorter rides who decide to do hard interval training twice a week. Athlete A has a good aerobic base, absorbs the training well, and improves performance. Athlete B has a so-so aerobic base, gets better in the short term, but then hits a plateau or declines in performance and/or health. Athlete C has a poor aerobic base and can't even sustain the training without a crash and burn. Athlete B and C don't understand why A does so well when they are trying and training just as hard. I see it all around me...

 

[Snowman]

You mean we actually have to understand context, and can't just blindly copy successful people? You gotta be careful saying things like that, you could put a lot of personal trainers and fitness column authors out of business .

 

[Snowman]

October 20
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
Snatch-22x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Oct 21
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Track workout w/ a sandbag:
Zercher carried the SB a 3 laps, and ran a lap every time I put the SB down (about every 100 meters)
Carried the SB a total of 1200 m
Ran 11x400 m

Oct 22
Rest day

Oct 23
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
Snatch-28x5 @ 28K

Oct 24
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Front Squat-2x4 @ 52K
Rucked 5.8 km w/ 70 lbs and inserted 800m, 600m, and 1100m easy runs

Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
Snatch-28x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

 

[Snowman]

Oct 26
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
Front Squat-2x4 @ 52K
Rucked 5.8 km w/ 65 lbs and inserted 900m and 3x800m easy runs

Oct 27
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
Snatch-22x5 @ 28K
Sumo DL-5x5, working up from 165 to 245
Air Assault bike intervals, for calories-2x30, 2x15, 6x10--My HR went nice and high (170) for the first two intervals, but once I couldn't generate the power I needed, it stayed pretty low for the other intervals (just a little higher than an aerobic HR). I think I might need to convince my buddy that longer rests lead to better intervals.
Rucked 6.4 km w/ 50 lbs--I dropped about 15 pounds out of my pack because the straps were compressing some nerves in my traps, giving my some tingly fingers. Not a big deal now, but not something I want to expose myself to a lot of. I'll just walk faster instead.

Oct 28
Rest day

Oct 29
Front Squat-2x4 @ 52K
Hill workout w/ a sandbag:
Zercher carried a 60 lb SB a 3 laps (450m) up and down a hill, and ran a lap every time I put the SB down
Carried the SB 3x450m
Ran/walked 10x450 m
Note-I really like this carry/run format, but my knees don't like doing it on a hill. Flatter trails next time...

 

[Snowman]

Oct 30
Push ups-2x5, 10, 15
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
Snatch-28x5 @ 28K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 50 lbs

Oct 31
Push ups-2x6, 12, 18
Front Squat-2x5 @ 52K
Run 3.2 km-I went on an actual run today. And I didn't die. After all the shorter practice sessions, it was actually even a little fun.
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 50 lbs

Nov 1
Push ups-2x6, 12, 18
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 50 lbs
Note: Didn't have time for a full training session, so I just did the morning push ups and ruck to class.

Time to make a couple small adjustments again, neither of which I really want to make, but both of which are necessary.
-The first is to temporarily switch from snatches to swings. I developed golfer's elbow a couple months ago, most likely due to issues with my snatch technique (my drop catch isn't as stable as it could be). I started using extensor bands and cleaned up my technique some, which helped, but after the initial reduction in pain, it stopped improving. While it doesn't actually hurt unless I do very specific things, I'd like it to go away completely. Maybe switching to swings for a few weeks will be enough of a break for it to resolve.
-The second is a reduction in weekly training time. We just started a new block of classes this week, and they're no joke. Not that they were a joke initially, but any illusions I had of increasing my training hours are pretty well shattered . I don't have a specific plan for volume reduction, but I'll probably dial back the LSD work more than anything else. I think the return on the A+A work is too high to cut out much of it, and my Friday suck sessions have become a social obligation (albeit one that is good for me). I'll also throw the extra weight back into my ruck, since I won't be doing many long rucks.

 

[Snowman]

Nov 2
Push ups-2x6, 12, 18
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
KBS-1H and 2H overspeed-22x8 @ 32K
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Nov 3
Push ups-2x6, 12, 18
Front Squat-2x5 @ 52K
KBS-2H-10x8 @40K
Trap bar DL-Worked up from 140 to 290 over 6 sets, doing 5 and then 3 reps
Box jumps-a set of 5 after each set of DLs
Assault bike intervals-4 intervals. Each interval was a max effort until my HR peaked and started to drop. It hurt. I realized that I don't actually know what my HR Max is though. Below is my HR data for the session, the swings (which I intentionally rested a long time between) are first, then the DLs, then the last four spikes are the intervals. My first interval got me up to a max HR of 170, then it went down from there.

Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs

Nov 4
Push ups-2x6, 12, 18
TGU-2x2 @ 28K

Nov 5
Push ups-2x6, 12, 18
Front Squat-2x5 @ 52K
KBS-2H-16x7 @40K

Nov 6
Push ups-2x6, 12, 18
TGU-2x2 @ 28K
Ran 1.8 km
Rucked 3.6 km w/ 65 lbs
Note-Got a hefty dose of snow last night. I had to wear my lightweight boots during my run and ruck this morning.

Nov 6
Mil Press-5 sets w/ 24 & 28K. Thinking of alternating push ups and presses as my "wake up" exercise. I can't quite press 1/2 BW anymore, and that hurts my pride enough to make me want to press a little bit.
Front Squat-2x5 @ 52K
KBS-2H-27x6 @40K
Note-I've been using my HRM a little more lately, just to re-calibrate my idea of how I feel and what's actually going on in my body. I now realize that I'm probably resting more than I need to between A+A repeats. What "feels good" to me is starting a new repeat at HR=110, but I found out that I can start each repeat at HR=130. I still get excellent power production at that point, my HR still never goes over 145 (I'm not sure what this means), and I get more volume in during my 30 minute session. I'll have to play around with this some more, but here's the data from this morning.

I'd like to figure out the highest HR where I can maintain good power output, but also maximize volume. My guess is it's probably around 130-135, but I'll keep playing with it. I really do need to get the most out of my training sessions these days, mostly because studying is starting to take up more time. Also because my feet get cold if the session drags on too long. I'm still training outside, which is great, but a chill starts to creep up through my hippie shoes and socks after about 20 minutes.