zen and the art of strength training

[kopp]

Monday October 21 (BW: 228)

Squat 1 x 355 (PR)
SSB 3 x 5 x 205
Sled Push 6 x 40m x 250 (13:00)
Sled Drag / Backward Pull

Bodyweight is at an all-time high. I've gained at least 6 pounds since hiking the Maroon Bells trail over the summer.

Wednesday October 23

Squat 1 x 335
SSB 3 x 5 x 215
Sled Drag / Backwards Pull
Echo Bike 5 x 30s/30s

Our gym added Rogue Echo Bikes, and I did some sprints as a finisher. I'd go hard for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds. I tried to get up to 500 Watts and stay above that output. Pretty wiped afterwards. I'm considering adding these in at the end periodically, especially if the sleds are being used by other gym members.

Friday October 25

Squat 1 x 335
SSB 3 x 5 x 225
Walk 3 miles

My arms are feeling much better, they didn't hurt at all this week. In addition to switching to the SSB for the volume work, I also moved my grip in on the straight bar when doing singles, which may have helped. Because I'm still getting used to the SSB, this was basically a light week. My body is feeling really good. I am planning to push pretty hard the next three weeks before taking a week off to go to Mexico. Focus will be on squatting, both straight bar and SSB, deadlifting, and heavy sled work. Given how well 355 moved on Monday, I shouldn't have any issue hitting 365 in the next week or two. In addition to what is written above, went for a longish (3-4 mile) walk on Tuesday.

[kopp]

Sunday October 27

Squat 1 x 360 (PR), 1 x 365 (PR)
SSB 3 x 5 x 230
Sled Push 5 x 20m x 295
Backward Sled Pull 3 x 40m x 160

The squat PR was originally my goal for the end of the year, and then it was my goal to reach by November 17, when we leave for vacation. My brother was in town and when the 360 moved well, we agreed I could definitely get 365. I think my true max is probably above 385.

Wednesday October 30

Squat 3 x 1 x 335
SSB 3 x 5 x 235
Deadlift 15 x 1 x 375 (14:20)
Echo Bike 5 x 30s/30s

Deadlifts were all double overhand hook grip. They were much improved over last time. I focused on keeping the bar close to my body, pulling the slack out of the bar, and moving my shoulders and hips at the same time. My upper back was sore the next day, but my lower back felt totally fine.

Friday November 1

Squat 3 x 1 x 335, 1 x 5 x 290 (5 rep PR)
SSB 3 x 5 x 240
Suitcase Carry 5 x 20m x 70 (distance is each hand)

I felt extremely stiff and almost decided to give myself another day of rest. The squats actually felt really good. After hitting the top singles, I decided to go for sets of 5 with 5 pounds more than what I used a few weeks ago. After the first set my upper arms were hurting, which is why I then switched over to the SSB. Still, this was a 5 rep PR. After squats I wanted to do something else, but the sled was in use and I couldn't bring myself to do intervals on the bike. The carries were not particularly challenging, but decided not to push it since first time doing this movement, at least recently.

Sunday November 3

Sled Push 7 x 40m x 250 (13:15)
Squat 1 x 315

I was feeling pretty beat up and so decided to take a lighter day, focus on pushing the sled and getting ready to push hard the next two weeks. My wife and kids all have pneumonia. I feel fine but I'm guessing my immune system is battling this as well, which is why I'm not feeling 100%. Furthermore, the kids have been up at night coughing, and I've had to take all middle-of-night duties since wife is sick. So not great sleep. I think I succeeded in moving my body, working out some kinks, and leaving the gym feeling better than when i walked in.

In addition to what is outlined above, I swam for 40 minutes on Monday and Thursday, and hike 6 miles with 20 pounds along the Appalachian Trail on Tuesday. It was perfect hiking weather in the mid-50s, and great Fall colors. All things considered I'm feeling really good.

[kopp]

Tuesday November 5

Squat 5 x 1 x 335
Deadlift 15 x 1 x 385 (Goal)
Sled Pull / Backwards Drag

The deadlifts were all double overhand hook grip, completed in 13:30, so a little faster than one a minute. All felt solid. This was another goal reached for this cycle.

Thursday November 7

Squat 5 x 1 x 335
SSB 3 x 5 x 245
Suitcase Carry

The suitcase carries were with 70 pounds, I didn't track distance. This was a check-the-box workout.

Sunday November 10

Squat 5 x 1 x 335, 1 x 5 x 295 (PR)
SSB 3 x 5 x 245
Echo Bike 3 x 30s/30s

Good five rep on the squats. On the bike, after the third set I got really bad stitches in my sides, so decided to call it at that point.

In addition to the above, I went for a longish (2-3 mile) walk on Wednesday and swam 1600 yards on Friday. For the swim, I rotated between breast and freestyle, and tried to keep breaks at a minimum. Felt pretty good throughout the swim. On Saturday I felt sort of sick, completely exhausted, and was worried that the sickness that has taken my family out the last two weeks finally got me. I went to bed at 8 pm on Saturday night, slept for 10+ hours, and felt good Sunday.

I purchased a 200 pound Rogue sandbag, which I've filled with around 140 pounds worth of sand. Our gym got rid of their sandbags (they belonged to a trainer who took them home). I may start trying to add in sandbag-over-bar or sandbag carries. I'd like to eventually get to the point I can manhandle a 200 pound bag no problem.

[kopp]

Tuesday November 12

Squat 3 x 1 x 340
Deadlift 5 x 1 x 385
Sled Push 12 x 20m x 295
Suitcase Carries

The deadlifts felt extremely slow and heavy, so I did five good singles and called it. On the sled pushes, I took plenty of rest between sets and push hard, trying to focus on strength as opposed to endurance. I used 80 pounds on the carries, which was significantly more taxing than using 70 pounds. My mid-back was sore the next day, which I attribute to the carries.

Friday November 15

Squat 3 x 1 x 340
SSB 1 x 3 x 250
Leg Press 5 x 8 x 275

This was a fail of a lift for both physical and mental reasons. On the physical side, my left knee started hurting during the SSB squat, just generally feeling unstable, and I decided not to push it. On the mental side, I saw a friend of mine at the gym at the beginning of the lift. He told me that a mutual acquaintance of ours, a guy about my age with similarly young kids, had killed himself earlier in the week. The full story was horrific, and I was pretty much mentally out of it the rest of the morning. I decided to do some leg presses since they are not very technical and you can just push without a lot of thinking.

Sunday November 17

Squat 1 x 340, 1 x 5 x 300 (PR)
RDL 2 x 8 x 155
Leg Press 5 x 9 x 275

This was the last lift before taking a week off in the Caribbean. Ended with a solid 5 rep PR on the back squat. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the last few months. My two main goals were to squat 365 and to deadlift 15 singles at 385 on-the-minute, both of which I accomplished. I'm still considering what the next 8-12 weeks will be like after I get back from vacation, but as of now I'm thinking of significantly switching up the movements. I'm feeling pretty beat up on squats in particular, and have seen my motivation to go the gym drop the last week or two. I may try and focus on trap bar deadlifts, RDL, leg presses, and then add back in pressing movements, which I've totally neglected the last few months. We'll see.

In addition to the above, I swam 1700 yards on Monday and then walked about 5 miles in the afternoon. On Wednesday I swam 1800 yards. This week, other than staying up late to watch the Mike Tyson fight, I got 8+ hours of sleep consistently.