zen and the art of strength training

[kopp]

Tuesday January 30

Squat 325 x Fail

I think this is the first time I've ever had to bail on a squat. I squatted 320 on January 16th with no problem, and felt good during my warmups, so thought this wouldn't be an issue. In hindsight, it was foolish to push the weight, since I'd missed the January 23 squat session as a result of being sick. My hips rose faster than my shoulders, and I got pitched forward, which caused me to miss the lift. I was pretty frustrated, since I was able to squat this weight back in October. After failing the lift, I played around on the hack squat, stretched, and called it a day.

Wednesday January 31

Bench 185 x 8
Sled push
Pushups 6 x 10

I had initially planned to only do sled pushes, focusing on working on my hips, and get some active recovery and conditioning. When I got to the gym there was a group of middle schoolers who were working out on the turf where I do the sled pushes. I was a little annoyed at first, but they had a trainer working them pretty hard, and it was good to see kids sweating and working hard. By the time I warmed up and did a set of bench, they were done. I pushed the sled for about 30 minutes, and was pretty wiped by the end. Between a few of the sets I did pushups.

Thursday February 1

Deadlift 15 x 1 x 365
Assisted Pullups 3 x 10

The deadlifts took me 20 minutes, and were all double overhand.

Saturday February 3

Squat 3 x 1 x 295; 3 x 275; 5 x 225

This was with the dad's lifting group at the gym. I need to figure out what to do with squats to get these progressing again.

Sunday February 4

Ruck: 12 miles, 40 pounds, 3:18

Great ruck along the C&O Canal. I averaged 16:32 pace. I had some normal soreness in my calves, hamstrings, shoulders, but all of my joints felt good, and my feet felt good. I didn't start hurting until mile 9. Prior to that I felt really good.

Ok week overall - moved the ball forward on the deadlifts and rucking. For the next two months I really need to focus on exercises (squat, deadlift, sleds, pullups, shrugs, farmer's carries) that will make me better at rucking, since my main near term goal is to finish the rucking marathon on April 14. Going to deemphasize other exercises (bench, tricep accessories, RDLs).

[kopp]

Tuesday February 6

Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 160
Barbell Shrugs 3 x 10 x 145
Assisted Pullups -50 x 10, 10, 5
Pushups 7 x 10

I generally felt good following Sunday's ruck, with the exception of my hip flexors, which were quite sore. The purpose of today's workout was to progress on some of the movements I didn't get to last week, and which wouldn't be limited by hip flexor discomfort.

Thursday February 8

Squat 1 x 275; 3 x 6 x 225
Sandbag to shoulder 3 x 10 x 115

I'll add a fourth set next week, and then progress on 4 x 6 moving forward. I had good results with that last Fall. I started these pretty light since I haven't done much squatting lately. The sandbags felt good, though my low back was sore the next day and these leave me completely exhausted. For my money, doing sandbag to shoulder is the best conditioning exercise. At least, I haven't found anything better.

Saturday February 10

Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 165
Barbell Shrugs 3 x 10 x 155
Bench 1 x 230, 5 x 205, 5 x 185
Peck Deck 3 x 10
Meadows Row 3 x 10 x 25 (+bar)
Pushups BW x 20

This was the dad's Saturday lifting group. I showed up early to do rows and shrugs. On the bench I think 230 is a PR. At least, I haven't benched that much in a long time. Afterwards we did the peck deck, which I hadn't done since high school. Admittedly, my pecs had a really crazy burn. I don't know what the weight was. Then we did something called a Meadows Row. We used a 25 pound plate, which was attached to a barbell that was attached to a "landmine." I actually liked doing these a lot, and may try to work them in as another rowing variant.

Sunday February 11

Sled work

This was about 40 minutes. Push one way on the indoor turf; pull the other way; rest a minute or so; repeat. By the end I was completely drenched in sweat. I varied the weight up, but most of these were with 205 pounds. Goal here was to get in some conditioning, and get the blood flowing. My hips, knees, back, all felt good.

Ok week overall. Made decent progress on some of the secondary movements (row, shrug, pushups), got in some conditioning, and took the first step toward progressing again on squats.

[kopp]

Wednesday February 14

Squat 4 x 6 x 225
Barbell Shrugs 3 x 10 x 160
Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 170

Thursday February 15

Incline Bench 3 x 185
Sled Push 25 x 40m

I did these sled pushes indoors at the regular gym. They have a turf area that is usually pretty crowded with people stretching, but I did this late at night just before close, so it was empty. I don't know exactly how far it was, but one way was 25 steps, which I think is around 20 meters (did 25 sets down and back (or 50 paces/40m)). Most of the sled pushes were with 180 pounds (4 plates + whatever the sled weighs). The last six or seven I threw another 45 plate on. The sled pushes took about 48 minutes. I also did some sled drags, where I wrapped a harness around my waist and pulled the weight. I may try to work more sled drags in, since the movement is pretty close to rucking.

Saturday February 17

Deadlift 15 x 1 x 365
Barbell Shrugs 3 x 10 x 165
Pullups 3 x 6

I finished the deadlifts in 14:40. I did one at the top of each minute. All were double overhand, hook grip. This was my deadlifting goal, which I achieved earlier than expected. I felt great during this lift. The weight felt light, I felt explosive, and until the last few I didn't feel winded or like I was all that fatigued. I feel great about my deadlifts. Although my squats haven't really progressed recently, the deadlifting strength has really improved.

Sunday February 18

Ruck: 14 miles, 40 pounds

This was along the C&O Canal. Aside from a little mud, it was perfect rucking conditions. High 30s, very sunny, slight wind. I had a very consistent pace the first 13 miles, between 16:25 and 16:40 per mile, with a five minute snack break at the mid-way point. The last mile I slowed way down, as my legs really started stiffening up. The good news is my back, shoulders, and knees all felt great. I had no chaffing. Aerobically I felt fine, I could talk the whole way through and never lost my breath. My big issues are my hips and legs. They felt good the first 10-11 miles, started hurting miles 12 and 13 though didn't really slow me down, and started hurting a lot the last mile. On a positive note, the point at which my legs start hurting keeps getting pushed farther back with each training session. My feet feel fine except there's something going on with the toenail on the middle toe of my right foot, which hurts and is a little discolored. Moving forward, the next two weeks I'd like to continue similar to the last two weeks, continuing to progress squats, deadlifts, rows, shrugs, and getting in plenty of sled and sandbag work. My next ruck will be 16 miles on March 3, in two weeks.

Great week overall. Really happy with the deadlifting, moved most of the lifts forward, and pleased with the rucking this morning.

[kopp]

Tuesday February 20

Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 175
Barbell Shrug 3 x 10 x 170
Lat Pulldowns 4 x 8 x 170
Meadows Row 3 x 10 x 25

I had initially planned to take 2 days off after the big ruck on Sunday. But then I learned I wasn't going to be able to lift on Wednesday, so decided to progress some of the back exercises, since my back was feeling pretty good, unlike my legs, which still felt tight. Oddly, on Monday my left knee started hurting. Not sure what that was about. It only lasted a day, but something to watch for moving forward.

Thursday February 22

Squat 4 x 6 x 230
Sled Drags 10 x 40m x 180

Good workout. I did ten loops around the indoor turf with the sled. I connected a belt around my waist and dragged it down and back. When I ruck, my hamstrings and calves really feel sore and start hurting. I'm trying to find some movement that is similar to rucking, works those same muscles through a similar range of motion, but doesn't require me to load my back or walk for hours. I think sled drags are a fairly efficient way to target that weak point.

Saturday February 24

Deadlift 1 x 355, 2 x 1 x 385, 1 x 345
Pushups 5 x 10
Sled Push / Drag
Sandbag

My hamstrings were still sore from Thursday. My warmups on the deadlift felt pretty good, but after two singles at 385, my lower back and hips felt off, and I decided not to push it. I've made great progress on the deadlift recently so am not concerned. Afterward I spent 20 minutes pushing the sled one way, then dragging it the other. Finished with some sandbag to shoulder work with a 150 pound sandbag, which I just bought this past week.

This was an ok week. Made progress on a number of the lifts, and got in some good sled work. Hoping to hit it really hard next week, especially the sled, and then hike 16 miles next weekend.

[kopp]

Monday February 26

Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 175
Barbell Shrug 3 x 10 x 175
Lat Pulldown 4 x 9 x 170
Sled Push / Drag 16 x 40m x 205

Thursday February 29

Squat 4 x 6 x 235
Sandbag to Shoulder 4 x 2 x 150

I woke up with what felt like a hangover. At first I though it might just be a hangover since my wife and I had some wine Wednesday night. Drank some water, and ended up having a solid morning lift. Then in the afternoon I was still feeling weird, my nose was running, I had a headache and we learned that family we'd spent the weekend with were positive for COVID. Took a test and, sure enough, positive. Felt kind of crappy on Friday, so spent most of Friday and Saturday in bed watching the Arnold Strongman classic. My appetite is still good, I'm getting plenty of sleep, and everything below my neck feels strong/good. But my head is a little off. Have been going to bed early and Saturday night got 9+hours of sleep.

Sunday March 3

Walk 3 miles

Goal here was to get out and move my body, get some fresh air and sunlight, without pushing it so hard that the COVID gets worse. This was a pretty good walk, my muscles felt fine but I started feeling a little flush and lightheaded toward the end, so called it quits after 3 miles. Moderate pace with no weight.

All-in-all this was a busted week. My training plan for the April rucking marathon was to do a 16 mile ruck on Sunday, but I obviously missed that and now am behind. The immediate goal is to recover from COVID as quickly as possible while losing as little fitness as I can.

Assuming I fully recover from COVID in the next few days, my plan for the rest of March to prepare the April 14 marathon is going to be to lift 2-3x per week, focusing on squat, deadlift, barbell row, shrugs, sled push/pull/drag, and sandbags. In terms of rucking, I see the next four weekends ideally lining up as follows:

March 9: Ruck 16 miles
March 16: Ruck along Appalachian Trail, at least 5 hours; focus will be on significant elevation and time with pack on back, not necessarily distance since AT is always a lot slower
March 23: I have a work reunion in Charlottesville VA starting at 3 pm. Will try to get there early and get in a 10 miler in the morning or early afternoon.
March 30: Ruck 20 miles

As long as I can hit 20 miles by the end of the month, I think I'll be okay to finish. I'm starting to feel a deep sense of panic that this is going to be a disaster.

[kopp]

Tuesday March 5

Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 180; 3 x 10 x 135
Assisted Pullups
Cable Row 3 x 10 x 85

I was feeling fully recovered, but decided not to push too hard just to be sure. The rows were hitting really well. The drop sets in particular really lit up my upper back.

Wednesday March 6

Deadlift 15 x 1 x 370
Sled Push 10 x 40m x 180

The deadlifts took a little over 20 minutes, and were all double overhand. Between the rows on Tuesday, and deadlifts on Wednesday, my upper back was pretty sore. Lower back felt totally fine.

Friday March 8

Light Squats
Barbell Rows 3 x 5 x 185; 1 x 10 x 135
Kettlebell Press 5 x 5 x 53

I thought the gym closed at 9 pm, but it apparently closes at 8 pm on Fridays. I didn't realize it until they were turning off the TVs and music, and I was the only person there. Rushed through doing some barbell rows, then went home and did kettlebell presses in the driveway.

Sunday March 10

Ruck: 40 pounds, 16 miles.

This took 4 1/2 hours, and I averaged 16:53 per mile. Miles 1-12 I kept a good clip, but I slowed down miles 13-14 (17:17 average) and 15-16 (18:07 average). I stopped at mile 10 for five minutes to pee and eat a peanut butter sandwich, apple, pickles, and olives. But other than that kept moving. Overall I felt pretty good, with the exception being the pads on my feet, which hurt pretty bad. My leg muscles all also felt pretty tired, but probably not as bad as last time. Good news is my joints all felt good, and my back/shoulders were fine during the hike. Afterwards my lower back felt pretty tight. All-in-all, this was a good confidence builder. Gun to my head, I could've done 10 more miles today.

[kopp]

Wednesday March 13

Deadlift 10 x 1 x 345
Barbell Shrug 3 x 10 x 185
Barbell Row 3 x 6 x 185; 2 x 10 x 135

The deadlifts were all double overhand, and I finished them in 6:30. These were all good form, good bar speed. I could have done more but wanted to have something left for the rows.

Friday March 15

Barbell Row: 3 x 6 x 185; 2 x 12 x 135
Lat Pulldown 170 x 10, 10, 10, 6
Sled Push/Drag 10 x 40m x 230

On the sled, pushed it one way (20m), then dragged it the other way. For the drags, had a strap around my waist. I was pretty spent after this.

Sunday March 17

Ruck: 40 pounds, 11.6 miles, 1500 feet elevation

This was along the Appalachian Trail near my parents' house. I was pretty slow (this took around 4 1/2 hours), took a few breaks. Aside from being generally worn out, I felt pretty good, nothing hurt. I have two more training rucks and then a short taper, and then the marathon on 4/14. I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll finish, which is my only goal. For the next three weeks just going to keep hammering back and legs, getting in lots of sled work, and keep pushing the weekend rucks.

[kopp]

Tuesday March 19

Deadlift 10 x 1 x 375
Lat Pulldown 4 x 10 x 170
Sled Push/Drag 10 x 40m x 215

The deadlifts were hook grip, on the minute.

Thursday March 21

Light Squat 2 x 5 x 225
Barbell Row 3 x 7 x 185; 3 x 10 x 145
Barbell Shrug 3 x 10 x 185

I haven't done much squatting lately. The goal here was to do enough to prevent detraining on this movement but not enough to get sore. As it happened even this left my legs pretty sore. I don't know why squats beat me up so much. I can deadlift 375 for ten singles and feel totally fine the next day. But the same number of reps squatting 225 leaves me with extreme DOMS.

Saturday March 23

Deadlift 20 x 1 x 315
Sandbag to shoulder: 6 x 2 x 150
Ruck (treadmill) 50 pounds, 2.5 miles, 4.0 elevation

My initial plan was to do a long ruck today, but it was a monsoon outside. Then I though maybe I could do it on the treadmill, but I axed that idea because too boring. The goal of this workout was to create a stress similar to a long ruck. The deadlifts were on-the-minute, and all were double overhand. For the sandbag work, I did one rep on each shoulder, then would rest a minute, before going again. All six sets took about 10 minutes.

[kopp]

Monday March 25

Light Squat 2 x 5 x 225
Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 190
Sled Drag 480m x 160; 4 x 100m x 185

The sled drag was in the alleyway behind the gym. I had a harness around my waste, and dragged the weight (three 45s and one 25) down to the end of the alley and back, which was 480 meters according to my phone. The way back was up a slight incline, which was pretty challenging. After that I added some more weight and did a few 100 meter lengths.

Wednesday March 27

Deadlift 15 x 1 x 345
Lat Pulldown 3 x 8 x 180
Cable Row 3 x 10 x 100

The deadlifts were all double overhand hook grip. I finished them in 11 minutes. After that did some more upper back work that didn't stress the low back.

Saturday March 30

Ruck: 40 pounds, 18 miles

This is my last training ruck before the marathon in two weeks. The first ten miles were right where I wanted, exactly at 16:30 average pace. Miles 10-14 were slower, around 17:15. Then my phone died so I don't know exactly how fast miles 14-18 were, but I'm pretty sure they were really slow. Likely in the 18-20 minute range. My legs and hips were pretty sore, and afterwards my traps and spinal erectors felt pretty tight. My feet were sore, though no blisters. I am confident I'll be able to finish the marathon, but, if today was any indication, the last leg will be pretty slow.

[kopp]

Tuesday April 2

Barbell Row 3 x 5 x 195; 3 x 12 x 145
Sled Push
Cable Rows

Was in New York for a hearing. The hearing finished earlier, so I got a quick lift in at the gym next to my hotel. Legs were still a little sore from the long ruck, but back felt ok, so focused on rows.

Wednesday April 3

Sled Push (30 minutes)
Sandbag to shoulder

The sled push was with a variety of weights. I did a few sandbag to shoulders with a 150 pound bag, then felt a pain radiating through my traps and upper back, so stopped. Felt pretty sore on Thursday, but better Friday.

Friday April 5

Deadlift 15 x 1 x 365
Sled Drag 30 minutes
Lat Pulldown 180 x 10, 6

The deadlifts were double overhand hook grip, on the minute. The sled drags were with a variety of weight from 135 pounds up to 185 pounds. This was my last training workout for the marathon on 4/14. Will plan to do a few easy walks this week, maybe do a back workout mid-week, but goal is to be fully rested come next weekend.