zen and the art of strength training

[kopp]

Tuesday August 27

Squat 1 x 315, 3 x 5 x 250
Barbell Row 4 x 10 x 155
Leg Extensions

The last set of barbell rows were 6/2/2, with straps.

Thursday August 29

Squat 1 x 315, 3 x 5 x 255
Lat Pulldown 3 x 12 x 160
Leg Extensions

Saturday August 31

Squat 1 x 320
Deadlift 15 x 1 x 355
Lat Pulldowns 2 x 10 x 180

The 320 moved really well, I think I have a lot of room left to progress. The deadlifts were all double overhand, with around half hook grip. They took 7:40 to complete. I think they were all solid, good bar speed.

[kopp]

Monday September 2

Squat 1 x 325, 3 x 5 x 260
Assisted Pullups
Leg Extensions
Cable Rows

The single at 325 is my heaviest squat since November of last year, when i squatted 330, which was an all-time PR.

Thursday September 5

Squat 3 x 1 x 295
Single Arm Lat Pulldowns
Stretching
Walk 2.5 miles

I had initially planned to workout Wednesday but my hips and legs felt like lead. Thursday's workout I felt like crap, so it ended up being a light day. I think it is just that I've been grinding pretty hard and needed some rest. Immediately after working out went for a walk in park with wife.

Saturday September 7

Squat 1 x 315, 3 x 5 x 265
Barbell Row 5 x 8 x 165
Lat Pulldowns

The barbell rows were pretty tough on my hips and spinal erectors. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping everything locked in place, but I was feeling pretty tired after. My arms were dead for lat pulldowns. I used straps for sets 3-5 on the rows.

I've been making pretty good progress, though the weight is starting to feel pretty heavy. I have one more week of going hard, then taking a week to hike in Utah from 9/16-20.

[kopp]

Monday September 9

Squat 1 x 330, 3 x 5 x 270
Sled Push / backward pull
Walk 2.5 miles

The single at 330 is tied for my all-time PR from last fall. I totally smoked it, it looked like the first rep of a five rep set. Afterwards I did some fairly light sled pushes and pulls, then went for a walk in park with wife.

Wednesday September 11

Squat 1 x 295
Deadlift 1 x 315
Lat Pulldown 3 x 10 x 180
Single Arm Lat Pulldown 2 x 10 x 50

My hips were really feeling off, and so decided not to push it. I made progress on the vertical pulling. This was basically a light day.

Friday September 13

Squat 1 x 335, 3 x 5 x 275
Sled Push 1 x 40m x 225; 4 x 40m x 250
Assisted Pullups
Leg Extensions

The 335 is an all-time PR. Everything felt really good. These are also the heaviest sled pushes I've done. The sled weight does not include the actual weight of the sled, only added weight. Rested as needed between sets.

Sunday September 15

Squat 1 x 315, 3 x 5 x 280
Deadlift 15 x 1 x 365

My left elbow started hurting on Saturday, but other than that I wasn't particularly sore from Friday's lift. Squats went really well. On the deadlifts, I did these on the minute, so completed all fifteen reps in around 14 minutes. They were all double overhand hook grip. I was wiped out by the end, though everything felt good.

I have been focusing on active recovery this week. Tuesday I swam for 30 minutes, and Thursday I walked 4 miles with my wife, and played kickball in the evening. Have been getting in close to 10k steps every day. Sleep has been hit or miss. Wednesday night one of my kids had a nightmare that kept us up for a long time, though I think I've gotten full nights of sleep at least a couple of times this week. Have been diligent with eating at least 180g protein. On Monday I head to Utah for a hiking trip, so will pick up lifting again in about a week. Plan to take a deload and start the process again.

[kopp]

I spent September 16-20 in southern Utah, hiking in and around Zion National Park. I rented a cabin at the Zion Ponderosa resort, which abuts the northeast portion of the park.

On Tuesday I hiked from the Stave Spring trailhead along the East Rim Trail to Observation Point, then out along East Mesa Trail. It was the best views of the trip.

On Wednesday I did a canyoneering tour. We hiked a few miles out to a slot canyon, and then did ten rappells. I had never gone rappelling before, and the first drop went against every intuition toward self-preservation I had, but after that I felt pretty confident and comfortable. The longest rappell was close to 100 feet, and several others were in the 50+ feet range. In the afternoon I hiked the Sand Bench Trail in the canyon, which is near the Courtyard of the Patriarchs. The views were great but the entire trail was loose, ankle deep sand, which made for slow going.

On Thursday I hiked from the Stave trailhead up Deertrap Mountain and Cable Mountain. This was around 13 miles, and had some great views of the bottom section of the canyon.

On Friday I did a UTV/Slot Canyon hike. This was outside the park near Orderville. It was probably the most interesting part of the trip. The slot canyons were in some places 50+ feet deep, and only two or three feet wide. In a dozen or so places you had to put your back against one side and your feet against the other side, and shimmy up the canyon to get over ledges. At the entrance to the canyon was a Native American petroglyph, which the guide said was of an animal, but I could only barely make out. In the afternoon I hiked the Narrows, and then in the evening caught a flight out of St. George to home.

From a training perspective, the trip served as a good active recovery or off week. Bigger picture, the main thing I was happy with was that I never felt particularly tired, or that my strength or conditioning was the limiting factor. Admittedly none of the hikes were great feats of strength or endurance, but it was good to know that I could do everything I wanted to do without being limited physically, which is the main reason I keep training at this point in my life.

[kopp]

Goal: The week of November 17 my wife and I are going to Cancun for our 10 year anniversary. In-laws are coming to watch the kids. The primary goal is to squat 365 by that time. I had initially set the end of the year as the target date, but I am going to accelerate it given vacation plans, and that I'll likely need to reset after that.

Primary Training:

Squat: Plan to squat every session. Will start out by lifting up to a heavy single, then do 3x5, adding 5 pounds each lift. I am going to slightly deload from where I stopped pre-Zion. Given how well 280 moved on 9/15, the target is to hit 3 x 5 x 305 before having to add variety. Will do light days as needed. Squat progress is how I'll gauge training success.

Deadlift: Plan to deadlift once a week after squats. Will do 15 singles, either on-the-minute, or with shorter rests if feeling capable. Focus is on maintaining bar speed. A good benchmark would be to be able to deadlift 15 x 1 x 385 by November 17 (deadlifted 15 x 1 x 375 on-the-minute in May).

Barbell Row: Plan to barbell row once a week after squats. A good benchmark would be able to do 5 x 8 x 195 by November 17 (in June rowed 195 x 8,8,6,6). These are "floated," meaning the bar doesn't touch the ground between reps. I try to do these with my torso pretty close to parallel to the ground and with minimal hip movement.

Other regular lifts: On a weekly basis, plan to do leg extensions, vertical pulling (lat pulldowns and pullups), cable rows, pushups. Likely will not track these as closely as the above primary lifts.

Conditioning / Active Recovery:

Sled Push: 1-2x per week, either after lifting or on "off" days, I plan to push the sled. I am going to stick to 250 pounds (plus the weight of the sled) until I can get 10 sets of 40 meters in less than 20 minutes (around 1:1 work:rest)

Rucking: Now that the weather has cooled off, I would like to ruck 1-2x a week. I will do these either 1) immediately after lifting, likely heavy (50+ pounds) for 2-4 miles, or 2) on "off" days as active recovery, using 30 pounds, for an hour or so.

Swimming: 1x per week will swim on "off" days as active recovery. Most of these sessions will be 30-40 minutes. I am not a very good swimmer, so generally I swim a lap, rest 30 seconds or so, repeat.

Other Factors:

Supplements: Taking creatine and whey protein

Stress: I am starting a new job (or more accurately returning to previous job), and was able to negotiate a start date after Thanksgiving. So I am taking off until then. This is a much needed break from the last decade grinding pretty hard as an attorney at a law firm and in-house. Hoping the lower stress levels during this period will help with training. At a minimum, I should have more time to devote to it, as opposed to rushing through workouts.

Sauna: Our gym has a sauna, both wet and dry, which I've only used once or twice. I am going to experiment with using it after lifting. There seems to be some anecdotal evidence that it helps with recovery/soreness. But even if it doesn't help with recovery, I enjoy it and since I have the time, am going to take advantage of it.

Yoga: Our gym offers free yoga. I am going to try and go once a week.

[kopp]

Monday September 23

Squat 1 x 275, 3 x 3 x 225
Deadlift 5 x 1 x 315
Pullups / Pushups

Felt like total dog shit. I know you have to reset after even a short layoff, but I was a little surprised at how heavy and awkward the weight felt. On Tuesday I swam for 30 minutes for some active recovery. That actually felt pretty good, in comparison to the lifting.

Wednesday September 25

Squat 1 x 295, 3 x 5 x 235

Due to family obligations, I had about 30 minutes to get a lift in early in the morning. Decided to just do squats and then get out of there. Tuesday night I got a bad night of sleep. One too many glasses of whiskey, then stayed up reading about the war in Lebanon, and had a hard time falling asleep. Kids were awake at 5:30. Wednesday night also had a bad night of sleep. I got up with my wife at 3:30 to help her prep for a colonoscopy, and couldn't fall back asleep after that. I got to bed early Thursday night and felt ok Friday.

Friday September 27

Squat 1 x 305, 3 x 5 x 245
Deadlift 10 x 1 x 345
Single arm lat pulldowns 3 x 10 x 50

Finished the deadlifts in around 8:30 minutes. They felt heavy and slow. Afterwards did 15 minutes in the dry sauna. All in all the week was kind of shitty but at least it trended in the right direction, am planning to be back to pre-Zion strength levels in 2-3 weeks.

[kopp]

Monday September 30

Squat 1 x 305, 3 x 5 x 250
Deadlift 15 x 1 x 345
Leg Extensions
Lat Pulldown 2 x 15 x 140

The deadlifts took just over 9 minutes. Afterwards did 15 minutes in the sauna. Saturday night my daughter got an ear infection, and we were up all night. Sunday I went to bed around 8 pm, and felt ok Monday.

Wednesday October 2

Squat 1 x 315, 3 x 5 x 255
Barbell Row 5 x 8 x 155
Sled Push 5 x 40m x 250
One arm lat pulldown 3 x 12 x 50

The sled pushes took around 15 minutes, which is a 2:1 rest:work ratio. Spent 15 minutes in sauna afterwards.

Friday October 4

Squat 1 x 315, 3 x 5 x 260

On Thursday night I played kickball as part of a rec league. Before the game I spent about 20 minutes warming up by throwing and catching the ball. Afterwards my upper arms were killing me. It reminded of when I was a kid, the first day of baseball practice if I hadn't done a lot of throwing in the weeks prior, my arms would hurt. Same feeling. They felt ok Friday morning, but after the squats they were killing me again, to the point I could barely empty the bar after the sets were done.

Sunday October 6

Squat 1 x 320, 3 x 5 x 265

Only had about 30 minutes to lift early in the morning due to family obligations. Decided to keep progressing on squats and then get out of there. Arms hurt afterwards, though not as bad as on Friday.

Aside from the issue with my arms, this was a good week. In addition to lifting, I went for some longish (3-4 mile) walks on Tuesday and Friday, and swam for 40 minutes on Thursday. For the swim, my heart rate was pretty consistently around 140. Overall, I'm feeling pretty good.

[kopp]

Tuesday October 8

Squat 1 x 340 (PR), 3 x 5 x 270
Deadlift 15 x 1 x 365

I felt great during my warmups and decided to progress the heavy single in addition to the sets of 5. 340 moved really well. I got it on video and it doesn't look close to a max lift. The deadlifts took 11:45, all were double overhand hook grip. My arms hurt a little bit during the squats but felt better during deadlifts.

Thursday October 10

Squat 1 x 305, 3 x 5 x 275
Sled Push 5 x 40m x 250

The sled push took around 9:30, for a 1:1 work:rest ratio. I was quite tired after this, my heart rate was in the high 160s at the end of the sled pushes. After the squats I tried to do barbell rows but my biceps were killing me.

Saturday October 12

Squat 1 x 345 (PR), 3 x 5 x 280
Deadlift 15 x 1 x 365
Sled Push

All of the squats moved well. All deadlifts were double overhand hook grip, finished in 10:15. I was not terribly winded after the deadlifts, though I did have an intense lower back pump. On the sleds, I loaded 275 (five 45 pound plates, two 25 pound plates) and did a handful of shorter distances. I didn't pay close attention to rest periods for the sled pushes.

Good week overall, moved the ball forward on squats and deadlifts. My arms are still hurting, which is pretty annoying, but it doesn't seem to be holding back the two main lifts I'm focusing on. Although I wasn't able to row, I got in two solid deadlifting sessions, so I'm ok. In addition to lifting, I went for a 4 mile walk on Monday, and on Wednesday went for a swim in the morning and a 4 mile walk in the afternoon. Have been sleeping pretty well. Thursday night in particular my kids slept through the night and I think I got close to 9 hours. Sat in the sauna after every lift.

[notacrossfitter]

Congrats on the PRs

[kopp]

Monday October 14

Light day

Went for a long walk in the morning, followed by light paused squats, band work, stretching, and sauna. I was feeling pretty banged up, so needed an easy session.

Wednesday October 16

Squat 1 x 350 (PR), 3 x 5 x 285 (PR)
SSB Squat 3 x 5 x 185
Sled Drags

The 350 and the sets of 5 all moved well, I think I could probably squat 365 today if I needed to. My arms were really hurting at the end of this. I added in SSB squats and sled drags since I can do them without further irritating my arms. I've never squatted using the SSB bar before, but it felt pretty natural. My upper back and quads were sore the next day.

Friday October 18

Squat 1 x 335
Deadlift 12 x 1 x 375
SSB squat 3 x 5 x 195

The deadlifts were on-the-minute. I stopped at 12 because the bar was moving forward a little at the bottom and I was having a hard time keeping position. I had an intense lower back pump and felt the risk of continuing wasn't worth it. I'm not sure what the issue was, I was feeling pretty stiff, which may have been why my form was struggling. The next day my lower back was sore.

The big issue moving forward is that my arms are still hurting, and the problem doesn't seem to be solving itself. My arms feel fine most of the time. But if I pick something up (even a kid, not necessarily something heavy), throw something, or back squat, the upper arms start throbbing. I think I must've strained them playing kickball two weeks ago, and haven't given them time to heal. My solution is going to be to continue to work heavy back squat singles (which don't seem to bother them as much as the longer sets), and then use the SSB bar for volume work, and also pull the sled, which doesn't involve arms at all. This will give me a natural deload period since I'm still getting accustomed to the SSB, and will take a lot of the tension off the arms. In addition to lifting, this week I swam for 40 minutes on Tuesday and went for a 6 mile ruck with a friend on Thursday. Took the weekend totally off.

Congrats on the PRs

Thanks!