Paul's log - Staying strong past 50

Auxiliary Press workout:

Beltless Press - 165 x 5 x 3
CGBP - 245 x 5 x 3
Kettelbell swing (actually, 45 lb grip plate) - 10 rounds of: (20 second swings / 10 seconds rest)

Didn't want to spend a lot of time on the treadmill, so tried a HIIT Kbell swing routine. The first 5 rounds seemed too easy. But by the end, I was panting a lot and my mid-back was fried (probably thanks to Deadlifts yesterday).
I like these as a time-saving alternative to LSD treadmill work. I need to do them more often.

BTW: Happy New Year!

Going back to a split type of routine.

SSB w/belt - 365 x 5, 335 x 5 x 4
Press w/belt - 180 x 4, 170 x 4 x 3, 160 x 4 x 2

I've found that I like 4s for press. That 5th rep usually requires me to take a breath at the top after my 4th rep and I lose tightness, which really screws me up.

Today's work:

CGBP - 250 x 5 x 4
Rows w/belt and straps - 225 x 10 x 4
Plate swings - (20 seconds on / 10 seconds rest) x 10*

*Really good cardio. Liking a quick in-n-out cardio workout. Took 5 minutes total.

How do you do the plate swings, one hand or both together? or alternate one side

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BrooklynJerry

How do you do the plate swings, one hand or both together? or alternate one side

---

I use both hands together, side by side. The back of my hands are facing upward when I do the swings. It is not ideal, because you have to widen your stance or you'll break an ankle, but I have not had a problem doing these so far.
It's all I've got, so I'll just make the most of it for now!

Today's work - light squat and volume press.

Front squat w/belt - 315 x 3 x 5, 225 x 10
Press w/belt - 145 x 6 x 6
Plate swings - (20 seconds on / 10 seconds rest) x 10

Haven't done Front squats in a long time. Happy I could still get 315. Would like to eventually surpass my old front squat PR of 365.

Thanks Irongeek, I'll give them a try with my 25's.

Today: Heavy Pull / Heavy Bench

Halting Deadlift w/belt and straps - 405 x 8, 4, 4
Bench - 265 x 5, 270 x 5, 5, 5
Hanging leg-raise - One set

Trying to do halting DL/rack-pull per Rip's advice on the podcast. This was the first time I've ever done halting deadlifts.
They felt good. Lower back not nearly as wrecked as with full deadlifts.
I don't have a good setup to do rack pulls, so I'll have to come up with something for that next week.

I really like doing a split routine. Full-body workouts are just too taxing and take too much time. I can be out of the basement in well under an hour most days with a split schedule.
After an hour of working out, the returns seem to diminish - I'm just too wiped out.

Today: Heavy Squat / Heavy Press

SSB Squat w/belt - 370 x 5, 335 x 5 x 5
Press w/belt - 182.5 x 4, 165 x 4, 4, 4, 155 x 5, 5, 5

Good session. Was planning on doing this yesterday, but after doing some SSB warmups, I canned the idea. Was too fatigued from those front squats and halting deadlifts.
The back fatigue on these was more than anticipated. Resting an extra day was the right move. Things felt good today.

My son did the Andy Baker GGW program and tested his DL and press on Saturday. He hit a 460 deadlift and 190 press. I think this is good for a 16 year old kid who weighs 185 lbs.

Today: Recovery

Last night, I came down with some nasty little virus. Covid? Not sure. I got a test, cuz work wants to know, but I'll have to wait 2-5 days for a result. Anyway, today was pretty rough, but not unbearable. Had chils/fever/aches/some congestion and headache. Worst part is the headache for me. I deployed my I^2 protocol: Ivermectin + Ibuprofin (plus vitamins). Also threw in some benadryl. I think this really helped me to rest.

Not feeling up to training, so I'll be skipping a few days...

3 of 4 of the kiddos are going back to online school for a few days. Doesn't surprise me. Whatever is going around in michigan - it's just everywhere and staff levels are down due to illness. At work there were several people out with covid or suspected covid as well. I think we're at or near peak of this thing here. Hope it slows down in the next week or so. Then, I hope we can bloody well get back to normal.