The Training Week That Was - 11/25 - 12/1

11/25
Muscle Snatch - 50x2x3 60x2 70x1 75x1 80x0
Back Squat - 60x3x2 90x3 120x3 135x5 150x2 157x2 165x5 (PR)
Front PP - 50x3x3 70x3 82x3 90x5 95x2 100x4 100x1 (forgot to do my down sets here)
DB Row - 85x8 105x8x2 115x8x2
Lat Pulldown + 4 Way Neck - 5 sets each
GH Raise 5x5 up to 25lb plate
Arches - 35kg for two sets for max time
Traction and Hypers

11/27
Pendlay Snatch Drills
Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch - 40x1x3 60x1x3 70x1x2 80x1 87x1 95x0 90x1 95x1 100x0x2
-85x3x4
Pendlay Clean Drills
Clean Pull + Abv Knee CJ - 40x1x3 70x1x3 90x1x2 100x1 110x1 117x1 122x0 (jammed the shit out of my wrist; puked a bit outside and almost passed out. Real winner of a workout. Note to self: just let it go when you get that far out of position.)
SSB Squat (can't grip anything with the wrist) 70x5 100x5 120x5x2
Cal Back Extension - 5x10
I should have tractioned after the SSB (it messes my back up sometimes) but my hand is a mess. Tomorrow morning might be a very enlightening experience with this hand. I'm very hopeful that it isn't broken and it's just really really sprained. The one other time I did this I dropped 125kg right on the palm of my hand; thought I had a spiral fracture of my forearm. This one is much farther back on the hand, so I'm hopeful it's all soft tissue. Everything in my hand just feels stretched/sprained, all the way into my fingers. It isn't super swollen or discolored, so I'm hopeful.

This also gives me a chance to test out an idea. When I iced the crap out of things, I notice that things are stiff for multiple days and my mobility/flexibility goes to hell. So here's what I'm trying, we'll see what happens: just got home a little while ago and I covered my hand in liniment (All-Pro Science Complete Relief). I'm also working it over in a bowl of very hot water and some epsom salt, alternating with bowl of ice water. The swelling is coming in a bit in my palm of all places, so I'm hopeful it's more of a big assed bruise rather than anything serious. The heat is actually going to encourage swelling, so my guess is this thing is gonna blow up like crazy. Trying to keep it active as long as I can and more Complete Relief before bed. I won't be able to keep the ice/heat combo going at work, but I'll ice it up and see what happens.

11/28 - Hoping for Sprain, but Planning for a Break
Hand swelled up like the Hamburger Helper overnight:

I'm currently alternating the hot water/ice water and figuring out what I can and can't do in the gym. Bruising is coming in hot and saucy and I'm going for x-rays Thursday afternoon. It would appear I will be doing a shit load of Safety Squat Bar work, posterior chain work, abs and plyos. Hardly the worst thing in the world, but kind of a bummer for my upper body work as that's where I really need work, relatively speaking (I need work everywhere, but you know that). I'm hoping the wrist will allow me to do some upper body pulling work with straps in the not too distant future.

11/29
Little bit of bar work, nothing special
Kneeling Jump Plyos bunch of sets
Front Squat (used straps) up to 120x3 127x3 132x3 (PR) then 120x4x2 120x5x1 (smoked these)
GH Raise worked up to 4x6 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Cal Back Extensions 4x12 w/ 10lb plate
Planks/Neck/Rev Hypers - three sets each
Traction

X-Rays: NEGATIVE. No broken hand, just very f'd up. Alternating the hot water/epsom salt with ice water seems to be really helping. On Wednesday I couldn't hold a coffee mug, couldn't button a shirt, couldn't turn my steering wheel and turn a door handle. Today I did all of those things plus did some bar work in the gym. Function and pain-free grip strength is returning real fast but the swelling is staying stubborn, especially in my palm. Still targeting next Tuesday as a return to full lifting. This Sunday is my last week of sets of five in the back squat so I'm going to aim for another PR at 170. Not being able to Oly lift is a natural deload and my squat should be raring to go as long as I can hold the bar.

12/1
Lot of warmup stuff
Bar work (ish)
Snatch Pull to 130x2x2 110x2x4
Clean Pull to 150x2 130x2x4
Rev Hypers

Function coming back real fast. Pulling doesn't bother it, but hand is still so swollen that my grip is messed up. Straps are unusable; causing too much pressure in the area. Tried compression wrap post-workout and having another thrilling day of alternating ice and heat. So satisfying ;)

The Training Week That Was - 11/18 - 11/24

Low back traction has been an absolute godsend for my jammed up back. I'm fully symptom-free right now, only about ten days after I thought I'd have to stop training and get into rehab full-time. I'm going to start backing off and doing these every other workout and see how the back responds. One thing to remember is that the body adapts to EVERYTHING, including recovery means. Recovery means need to be cycled just like you cycle through training exercises/reps/sets/etc. If I tweak it again and I'm already doing traction four days a week then that's a tool that I've basically taken out of my toolbox.

I'm actually ditching the McCauley drills for a little while as they seem to be putting a bit of a loop into my pull. This isn't a question of the quality of the drills; it's a question of my ability to correctly execute them. So I'll go back to Glenn Pendlay's drills (snatch pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3; clean pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3). I'm also thinking about doing an unsanctioned Oly meet here in Denver in three weeks, which would be seven weeks out from Iceland. I think it'd feel good to get in front of people and feel that adrenaline pumping again instead of lifting in my little corner of the gym. It's on a Saturday, so I could train straight through it without disrupting my schedule. Something to contemplate.

11/18
Drills
B Squat 60x3x2 90x3 130x5 145x3 155x5 135x5 140x5 (heavy, but nice and sharp)
Front PP 50x3x2 70x5 80x3 90x3 95x5 97x5 85x5x2
(didn't check my notes, thought 95 was a PR; should've been 97 and then 100)
Chinese DB Row 90x8 110x8x3
Dips and Chins - 30 reps of each w/ Back Ext mixed in between sets
Hypers and Traction

11/20
2+1 Snatch 40x1x3 60x1x2 70x1x2 80x1 90x1 97x0x2 92x1 97x0x3 102x0x1 (82x1 87x1 92x1 95x1 100x0)
2+1 CJ 60x1x3 80x1x2 95x1 105x1 110x0 (these felt awful so I called it)
Clean Pull - 110x3 130x3x3 140x3
Back Squat 3x5 130kg (not easy but sharp. Bar rolling around on my back a bit says I've been slacking on upper back work)

11/22 (Happy Thanksgiving!!)
Box Snatch - 40x1x4 60x1x3 70x1x2 80x1 87x1 95x1 100x0x2 / 85x2 90x2 90x2
Box CJ - 60x2x2 80x1x2 95x1x2 105x1 112x1 117x1 122x1 / 100-105-110 2+1
Front Squat - 60x3x2 80x3 100x2 110x2 120x3 125x3 130x3
Cal Back and GH Raise - Four sets each
Hypers and Traction

11/24 (Trained at my friends' place Crossfit MHF; all weights in lbs)
Snatch up to 215x1 and four singles at 205
CJ up to 275x1, Clarked 285 real bad (misses here at 265 and 275 as well). Nice reminder that I need to train pulls a little more often, will start sneaking them in after main movements. Standing up with weights is noticeably faster, so the squatting is definitely helping.) It's becoming pretty clear that my squat (or lack thereof) is a big limiting factor in my lifts and it's very possible that I've been punching above my weight in terms of competitive lifts given my shitty squats.

Next week I'll start adding back Wednesday upper body training. I might jerk, Sotts press, overhead squat or muscle snatch as a first movement but I want to keep the pulling from the floor and bar on my back to a minimum and keep this as an upper body focused day. Nothing maximal here (even jerks), this is a day for supportive exercises, prehab and muscle/connective tissue building rather than quick lifts. My upper back is caving a bit on my back squats, which is probably because I've been neglecting upper back work the past few weeks.

I think I'm going to change up my squats for December, taking Sunday's back squat down to triples and Thursday's front squat down to doubles and start pushing a bit more in the front squat. I might take the push press down to triples as well, but probably not for a couple weeks. One way I get some extra volume in those sets of five squats and push press is to do back off sets on days in which I don't make a PR. Nothing super scientific; I take 10-15% off the bar and knock out 1-3 more sets of five. When I make a PR for a set of five, I'm usually SMOKED so potential returns from the back offs aren't worth it.

Couple nice videos here from Dave Tate to reinforce a couple of my above points; one on Recovery and one on Human Potential.

The Training Week That Was - 11/11 - 11/17

I've added a couple of Don McCauley's drills for the Oly lifts to my warmups. This and this are staples. This one is good, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I tweaked an ab muscle in performing it, so it's on the shelf for the time being.

11/11
Shoulder complex from NBS Fitness (my standard shoulder warmup)
Front Push Press - 40x5 60x5 75x4 85x4 90x4 95x3 100x1 105x1 110x0 80x10
(I'm no good at grinding out push presses at max weights; when I'm done, I'm done)
Chinese Row - 85x10 105x10x3
Lat Pulldown 4x10
Low Back Traction - strong band and medium band from Elitefts

11/13 (examples of today's snatch and CJ exercises here; I'm using the power jerk off and on)
Agile 8 Warmup/Shoulder Complex
Snatch - Two Pulls + Snatch: 40x1x3 60x1x2 70x1 80x1 90x1 95x0 95x1 100x1 105x0x2
Down Sets - 85x1 90x1 90x1
CJ - Two Pulls + CJ: 50x1x3 70x1x2 90x1 100x1x2 110x0 110x1 115x0 115x1
Down Sets - 95x1 100x1 105x1
Back Squat 3x5 120kg (nice and fast, just grooving after a week off)
Cal Hypers 4x10 40lbs
Rev Hypers - bunch
Low Back Traction

11/14 Off (being super careful with the back this week)

11/15
McCauley Drills - Snatch
Snatch - Box Just Above Knee: 40x2x3 60x2x2 70x2x1 80x2 90x1 97x1 102x0x3 100x0x1 100x1 102x0x2
Down Sets - 85x2 87x2 90x2
McCauley Drills - Clean
CJ - Box Just Above Knee: 50x2x2 70x2x2 90x2x1 100x1 110x1 120x0x2 120x1
Down Sets - 100x2+1 105x2+1 (only took two down sets; gassed)
Front Squat 60x3x2 80x3 100x3 115x3 120x3 125x3 (heavy, but nice and sharp)
GH Raise - 5-6x5, w/ 2x5 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Rev Hyper - 3x12
Band Traction

11/17
Snatch 40x2x3 60x2x2 70x1x2 80x1 90x1 95x1 (switched platforms) 95x0 100x0x3 (tried these eyes closed, then went back to other platform) 70x1 80x1 90x1 97x0
CJ 50x2x3 70x2x2 90x1 105x1 115x1 122x1 127xFJ 127xFJ
Hypers and Traction

I got jammed up by the high school kids in the gym and kinda f'd up my snatch work. Still good day with the CJ and good training with the snatch, if not accurate pulls. I probably should have just done some pulls and moved on to CJ, but that's all good.

The Training Week That Was - 11/4 - 11/10

Taking it down a bit this week. My back is seriously acting up, I believe due to some very poorly executed push presses. I've finally realized that my back can't take long sets from the back. It isn't the press, it's bringing the bar back down without wrecking my spine. Upper back is really tight and stuff, lower back is a mess. I think some therapy and removing some of the extra work will get everything back on track. I'm sticking to my usual schedule, but pushing Wednesday back to a true "upper body" day rather than mixing in muscle snatches, push presses or anything like that. Lots of pulling and abs, little bit of pressing assistance.

11/4
Muscle Snatch up to 70x2
B Squat 60x4 90x3 110x3 125x3 140x5 145x5 (heavy but not ball busters; building the squat back up)
Front PP 50x5 50x3 70x3 82x3 90x5 95x5 (PR)
-I was short on time so I went complex rather than upper body work.
Javorek Complex 50kgx3
-High Pull x6
-Muscle Snatch x6
-Back Squat to Push Press x6
-Good Morning x6
-Bent Row x6

11/5 - Chiropractor

11/6
Snatch doubles from High Hang
40x2x2 60x2x2 75x2 85x2 92x2 97x0x2 100x0
Down Sets (no foot movement) - 82x3 85x3 87x3
Clean, Jerk, Clean, Jerk
50x2x2 70x2x2 90x2 105x2 112x2
Down Sets (3+1) - 92x1 97x1 102x1
Back Squat 125x5 127x5 127x5 (fast, felt light and sharp)
Rev Hypers 4x15

11/8
Chins and Dips x50 each
Handstand Pushups 4x5
Chest Supported Row 3x12
Dips x25
Reverse Hypers - a ton
(Back is flared up so this is really turning into a legit deload week. Lots of therapy and prehab.)

11/10
Dips and Chins - 50 each
Reverse Hypers 3x15
Chiro

Back is still cranky, but pain-free. Starting back to regular training on Tuesday (11/13) and adding in some post-workout band traction to take down the compression. I haven't had to use it for a long time...which really means I've forgotten it/skipped it. Donnie Thompson made a couple excellent vids of band traction here. Elitefts has some info on traction for the shoulder in their rehab/prehab section here.

One quick word on traction: traction isn't a panacea or a cure-all. It's another tool to keep in the box. If you have some tight hips, shoulders, etc then it can be immensely helpful. But consider your training, competitive and injury history and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Personally, I can't do much single leg hip traction because it really tugs at my surgically repaired back. They aren't magic, but they provide some serious relief for some people with bulges, herniations or just jammed up joints. In 99% of cases (injury, training, etc), Movement is Medicine.

The Training Week That Was - 10/28 - 11/3 - Twelve Weeks to Iceland

10/28
Bar Work/Muscle Snatch/Muscle Clean
B Squat 60x3 90x3 110x2 130x5 145x2 155x5 160x5 (PR)
Front PP 50x4 70x3 85x5 92x5 85x5x3 (no juice left after the squats, probably bad jumps)
"Chinese" DB Rows 4x8 105lbs
Lat Pulldowns + GH Raise Four sets each
Batwing + Curls Three sets each
Barbell Rollouts and Rev Hypers Four of each

This was AM training, only on coffee/coconut oil/whey. Two scoops of isolate/leucine/creatine PWO, then ULC til nighttime, when I had some grilled chicken pho, bowl of Cocoa Krispies and two GF cinnamon rolls from Udi's.

10/30
Snatch - Doubles from High Hang: 40x1x2 60x1x2 75x1 85x1 90x1 95x1 97x1 (PR) 100x0x3 (made the first, missed the second all three times)
Down Sets - 82x3x3
CJ - Doubles from High Hang: 50x1x2 70x1x2 90x1 100x1 107x1 110x1 115x0 112x0 (made first CJ, missed second clean both times)
Down Sets - (3+1) 90x1 95x1 100x1
SSB Squat 110x5 115x5 120x5 (took this down a bit, legs are tired)
Cal Back Ext + Ab Wheel: Five sets of each
Forgot to do reverse hypers, left plates on the machine. Yep, I'm a dick.

10/31
Muscle Snatch from hang and high blocks to 55x3x3
Back Push Press up to 90x5x3 (didn't push these, just getting groove)
Chins 35 reps
Axle Pendlay Rows 4x8
Plate Pinches
Tate Press/Curls/Neck 3x15 each

11/1 (Just wasn't very snappy today)
Snatch from LOW Box 40x2x2 60x2x2 75x1x2 85x1 92x1 97x0x2 97x1 100x0x4
Down Sets 80x3x3
CJ from LOW Box 50x2x2 70x2x2 90x1x2 105x1 115x1 120x1 125xFJ 130x0x2
Down Sets 100x(2+1)x3
F Squat 50x3 70x3 90x3 110x2 117x3 122x3 (cut these short; my back is acting up just a wee bit)
Rev Hypers 5x10

11/3
Snatch  40x2x3 60x2x2 70x1x2 80x1x2 87x1 92x1 97x0x2 90x1 95x0
-Bar was moving forward off the floor and nothing felt right here.
CJ 50x2x3 70x2x2 90x1x2 105x1 115x1 122x0
-Again, didn't push these as there was nothing in the tank.
Sn Pull 100x3 110x2 120x2x2
Cl Pull 120x2x2 130x2 140x2
Rev Hyper 3x15

This whole week my body has felt "off". Sleep hasn't been great, work has been a bit stressful and food has been good but not great. Sleep in particular is something I need to get sorted out. I'm pulling back on the squats for the next week or two in an effort to get the competition lifts moving. No pushing any new PRs in the squats and cutting the target weights by about 10-15% and then working back up over the course of a couple weeks. The real idea here is to "dumb down" the squats and reduce the novelty of squatting (i.e. challenging PRs or changing exercises) so the body can devote more "juice" to the competition lifts.

The fifth or sixth week of a training cycle is usually about when things start to get a bit stale; the joints get a little stiff and some tendinitis usually starts kicking in around now. And right on schedule, my back is feeling dinged up and shoulders n elbows are getting stiff.

I stepped on the scale for the first time in six weeks and checked in at a robust 215lbs. My "yardstick" jeans fit better than when I weighed 205. This is about as high as I'd like to get weight-wise, so I'll look at cleaning up the backloads a bit more, adding in some complexes, or both. They're getting a bit snug through my quads, but the waist is feeling excellent right now. It's like there's some to this whole cyclic ketogenic, Carb Backloading stuff.

Twelve Weeks to Iceland!

The Training Week That Was - 10/21 - 10/27

“Reality's all you've got. But here's the real secret, the real miracle: it's enough.” 

― Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality


By popular request, I'll start slipping in some of my diet as I've been getting some hits on Twitter asking about Carb Backloading.

10/21
Back Squat 60x3x2 90x3 110x2 125x2 140x2 150x5 130x5 135x5
(150 felt shitty, didn't warm up enough; not enough reps)
Front Push Press 50x3x2 75x2x2 87x2 92x5 97x4+1
Iso DB Fat Gripz OH Press 3x8 60lbs
DB "Chinese" Row 100lbsx8 110x8 115x8x2
GH Raise/Lat Pulldowns
Cal Back Ext/Curls for the Girls/Four Way Neck

10/23
High Hang Snatch (Max Double) 50x2x2 60x2 70x1 80x1 82x1 90x1 95x1 100x0x2 (made one @ 100) 97x0x1 - Down Sets 80x3x3
High Hang CJ (Max Double - Clean, Jerk, Drop, Clean, Jerk) 60x1x2 80x1x2 95x1 105x1 110x0x2 95x1
Down Sets (Three Cleans + Jerk the last rep) 90x1 95x1 100x1
Safety Squat Bar Squat 3x5 @ 120
BB Rollouts + Cal Back Ext - 5 Sets each
Weighted Planks 2x10+10
DB Side Bend 2x10

10/24
Light High Hang Clean Work (my timing is off, going to the toes way too early)
Behind Neck Strict Press 50x5 55x5 52x5 52x5
Chins 4x5
Axle Pendlay Rows 4x10 + Four Way Neck x100

10/25 (low "box" is 25kg plates, bar at about mid-shin)
Lower Box Snatch 40xsome 60x2x2 70x2 82x1x2 90x1 95x0 95x1 100x1 105x0x2 102x0x2
Down Sets 85x2 87x2x2
Lower Box CJ 50xsome 70x2 90x2 100x1 110x1 117x1 122xFJ 122x1
Down Sets (2 Cleans + 1 Jerk) 100x1 105x1 110x1
Front Squat up to 115x3 120x3x2
Cal Back Ext 5x10
Hanging Leg Raises and Reverse Hypers

Nutrition:
Wake-Up @ 520am
Coconut Oil/Whey Isolate in a two shot Americano at 6:30
Another one at 9am
11am: Salad from Noodles and Co, Cioppino Stew, string cheese, 5g fish oil, 10g creatine
3pm: Coconut Oil/Whey/Coffee during training
6pm: PWO Shake: Two scoops of Muscle Feast Anabolic Recover w/ 5g creatine and leucine

Hourish Later:
Small bag of Surf Sweets Gummi Bears
One small spotted banana
30g Whey Isolate w/ Leucine and Creatine
Half a baked yam
Little bit of homemade chicken korma

Hourish After That
S'more/Chocolate Chip Cookie (gluten free, from my friend Claire at Simply Sweet Justice. Will post recipe when she posts it)
Small Bowl of Rice Krispies in Raw Milk (poor planning; ran out of cereal)
Shake w/ Leucine

10/26 - Off-Day Sample Nutrition
5:20 wakeup
One coconut oil/whey/coffee during the day, then mainline green tea the rest of the day
(I avoid coffee during off days after the first one to keep the caffeine down and diversify my sources. Plus green tea is wicked good for you and I'm fighting getting sick. If I'm blasting coffee and I miss a night or two of sleep, it fries it pretty quick. Plus our coffee at work is awful, so I prefer to make it at home in my Aeropress)
11:30am Cioppino + fish oil, string cheese and small salad
4:30pm Three eggs over easy in coconut oil and some leftover homemade barbacoa.
8:30pm More Cioppino and an epsom salt bath

10/27
Snatch 40x2x2 60x2x2 75x1x2 85x1x2 92x0x3 92x1 97x1 102x0x3
(bar kept getting too far out in front on 92. All wasted lifts.)
CJ 50x2x2 70x2x2 90x1x2 105x1 115x1 120x1 125x1 130x0x2
Clean Pulls 130x2x2 135x2 140x2 145x2 150x2

I'm being more mindful of my warmups. I'm guilty of coasting through them instead of really ripping them up, so I'm focusing on snapping them off. It definitely made me a little inconsistent as I got to limit weights, but I think it'll pay dividends in the future.

10/27 Nutrition
7am wake-up
Coffee, slug of coconut oil, creatine and whey
Coffee only pre/during training
Train 9-11:30am
Isolate/Creatine/Leucine PWO shake
90mins PWO(?): Chipotle Salad
330pm:  Garbanzo Greens Salad w/ all the veggies
7:00: Whey/Leucine shake, baked yam, another smore/choco chip cookie/adobo chicken w/ 5g fish oil
8:30: Whey/Leucine shake, bowl of Cocoa Krispies in raw milk, choco chip cookie
10:

My longest sets of squats are sets of five and everything else is in a very low rep range, so I'm not really blowing through glycogen. My biggest mistake on my first go round of CBL was definitely overdoing my carbs; my backloads are pretty tame compared to what you'll read some people putting down. I also keep things as gluten free as possible, which was biggest mistake #2. Wheat and I are not friendly, especially in concentrated doses. About the only pastries that I get after during a backload are turnovers, baklava or Udi's Gluten Free muffins. Tip on the Udi's: DO NOT buy the ones from the freezer. Get the ones sitting out in the bakery section.

I'm also staying off the scale. I'll start sweating making weight (94kg = 207lbs) when I'm closer to meet day. When I hit the scale consistently, I tend to get fixated on the number rather than paying attention to my lifts and the mirror. In lieu of the scale, I'm using a pair of jeans as my "Fatass Barometer". Yes, dudes evaluate the fit of their jeans. I have a pair of 34" waist jeans that fit perfectly when I'm on point. If those start getting tighter, I know I need to either scale down my backloads or do more work.

The Training Week That Was - 10/14-10/20

10/14
B Squat 135x2 145x5 150x5 155x5
Front Push Press 60x3 70x3 82x5 87x5 92x5
Iso DB Press w/ Fat Gripz 55x8 65x8 60x8
Chinese-style DB Row 95x8 100x8 110x8 115x8
Lat Pulldown/GH Raise superset
Back Raise/Neck/YWLT Raise/Curl (for the girls) superset

10/16
Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch 60x2x2 70x1x2 82x1 90x0 90x1 95x1 100x0x3 - 82x3x3
CL Pull + Abv Knee Clean 60x2x2 80x1x2 100x1 110x1 120x0x2
Pull+Abv Knee Pull+Abv Knee Clean 100x3
(This explains a lot about where my mind was: I actually cleaned for singles up to 115 before I realized I was supposed to be doing doubles, so I started over. Genius at Work)
Back Squat 110x5 120x5 125x5
Back Raise 5x10 - 40lbs
Ab Wheel 3x15
Rev Hyper 2x12

10/17
Behind Neck Strict Press 3x5x50
Chins - 25 reps
Lat Pulldown 4x10
KB Split Press 16x5 20x5 24x5
Fat Grip Batwings

10/18
Low Box Snatch 60x2x2 75x1x2 87x1 95x1 102x0x2 100x1 105x0x2 - 85x2 87x2 92x2
Low Box Clean 60x2x2 85x1x2 97x1 105x1 115x1 122x0x2 120x1 122x1 125x0x5 - 100x2 102x2 105x2
F Squat 112x3 117x3 120x3 125x3
Rev Hyper 2x20

10/19 (had to train four days straight because I have a charter exam for work all day Saturday)
Snatch up to 82x1 then 6x2 Snatch Pulls 90x2 100x2x2 110x2 115x2x2
Clean to 112x1 then 5x2 Clean Pulls 110x2 120x2 130x2x3
OH Squat (muscle snatch it up) 3x5@50 1x5@60


Trying to fix my clean pull as it has been going shitty for some time now. I still have fifteen weeks to go til Iceland, so plenty of time to fix it and get things in gear.

The Training Week That Was (and Beerfest) - 10/7-10/13

10/7

Back Squat - 125x2 135x5 145x5 152x5 (PR)

Front Push Press - 70x5 80x5 85x5

Iso OHP - 45x8 55x8 60x8 (w/ Fat Gripz)

DB Rows 3x8

Fat Grip Batwings 5x10

GH Raises/YWLT Raises

Cal Back/Neck/Curls/Planks

10/9

Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch to 92x1 97x0x3 (made snatch, missed the hang x3)

Snatch + (Abv Knee Snatch x2) 82x3x3

Clean Pull + Abv Knee Clean to 115x1 120x0x2

Clean Pull + Abv Knee Pull + Clean 100x3x3

Back Squat 120x5 125x5 130x5

Cal Back 4x8

Planks/Hanging Leg Raise/GH Raise

10/10

I had a broker dinner this night, so I snuck in a quick upper back day at the Glendale YMCA. They have kettlebells in pairs up to maybe 48kg(?), two platforms, two squat racks and bumper plates. The bars are godawful, but you can't always get what you want. Highly recommend if you're in the Glendale area and need a decent place to train; plus, the rugby pitches are there and always open, so you have someplace to sprint.   

10/11

Low Box Snatch - 80x2 87x1 95x1 102x1 107x0 105x1

Doubles - 85-90-92

Low Box Clean - 95x1 105x1 115x1 122x1 127x0x2 125x1 

Doubles - 100x2x3

Front Squat - 110x3 115x3 120x3

Cal Back - 4x8 50lbs

Chinese Arches/Ab Wheel

10/13

Snatch - 70x2x1 80x1 82x1 92x1 97x1 100x1 105x1 (PR) 110x0x2

Clean -  70x2x2 90x2 100x1 112x1 120x0x2 122x0 115x1 120x1 

Reverse Hypers 1x15


So 10/12 was Great American Beer Fest in Denver. I'm not a massive fan of enclosed spaces with large numbers of hammered people, and I'm not a huge fan of getting smashed up, so I've never been. One of my training partners is an engineer and did some work for a new brewery (Hogshead) that named a beer after him (Barge's Mild), so he came across some tickets. So Friday basically involved beer drinking and walking around from 5-11pm. I do think I found a good protocol for minimizing the effects of a night out: epsom salt bath right before bed with some food (I went with Cocoa Krispies and leucine/whey shake), contrast shower when you wake up (mine was at 6am; finish on cold) and then back to sleep for another hour or two.

Two thoughts on Saturday's max day:
1. It's an illustration of "sometimes your best lifts come when you feel like shit". This is solely based on personal experience that I can lift OK on not much sleep as long as I make fewer attempts. The body can absorb a TON of stress and fight/flight pretty damn well. It's a risk/reward to consider and, as Jim Laird is fond of saying, you have to pay to play. I might have changed plans if it weren't a max day, but the whole purpose of the max day is to put some pressure on yourself, achieve the highest possible training effect and seek new records.

2. Missed opportunity. I smoked the 100 and 105. A well rested and recovered Kyle would have taken 110 for a better ride. The first try was my only really credible attempted; I Clark'd the shit out of the second one. I'm seeing both sides and trying not to dwell too hard on this aspect, as it's really early in my meet prep.

Having said all that, I'm gonna say this: you gotta live your life. This doesn't mean this "Work Hard, Play Hard/YOLO" bullshit that people like to use as an excuse to make some terrible choices. Catch phrases from a top-40 rap song are not justification for your shitty vices. Do some stuff and have some new experiences.

Quick Beerfest writeup - Beerfest Favs were both from the same brewery: Heavy Seas had both a Bourbon and a Cabernet beer that were AWESOME. They were the kind of beers that you want to drink on your porch at sunset, possibly with a cigar if you're into that sort of thing. They were LEGIT. I'm no connoisseur of beers, but I know what I like and what tastes good. If I want something drinkable, I'll go for whatever they have as far as Colorado craft beer or a black and tan. On the beach, I want all the Longboards I can find.  

The Training Week That Was - 9/30-10/6

An entire week free of back pain is a win in my book. I did get a little tweak on Sunday from the push-pressing, but I've been pain free the rest of the week. You'll notice I haven't been doing jerks at all; the overhead work seems to have been what was causing the spasms. I'll give it another week to let things heal up a bit more and then add jerks back in when I change exercises after this upcoming week. My contingency plan is to rotate split jerks if they continue causing issues.

9/30

B Squat up to 140x5

Back Push Press up to 90x5 95x4 (back locked up)

Iso DB OH Press 3x8

Hip Thrust vs Bands

Pulldowns/Iso Neutral-Grip Pulldown/YWLT 

Core x100 

10/2 - Complex(ish) Day

(Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch): 82x1, 87x0, 85x0.5 (made snatch, missed abv knee)

-Down Sets (Snatch+Abv Knee Snatch+Abv Knee Snatch) 70x3

(Clean Pull + Abv Knee Clean): to 115x1 

-Down Sets (Cl Pull+Abv Knee Pull+Clean) 90x3

Clean Pull 3x2

B Squat 120x5x3 

Hypers 4x12/Planksx60/Rev Hyper 1x20

10/3 - Upper Body Assistance Work (no squats, no quick lifts)

Chest Supported Row 4x10

Iso DB Bench + DB Chest Sup Row 3x10+10

Fatty Pullups 5x8

Pulldowns 4x8

Sled Drag Row - 2 trips

Pull Apart/4 Way Neck/Axle Curl x50 of each

10/4 

Low Block* Snatch 70x2x1 80x1x2 85x1 90x1 92x0x2 92x1 95x1 97x1; Down Sets 80x2x3

Low Block* Clean  80x2x2 90x1x2 100x1 110x1 115x1 120x0x3; Down Sets 90x2 95x2x2

F Squat 110x3 115x3x2

Hypers 4x12

Rev Hyper 1x20

10/6

Snatch 80x1x2 87x1 92x0 92x1 97x0 97x1 99x0; Down Sets 80x2x2

Clean 80x2x2 95x1x2 107x1 115x1 120x1 125x0; Down Sets 100x2x2

Rev Hyper 1x20

(My low block here is a 10kg plate and a 25kg plate; bar started just below my patellar tuberosity. I think one more cycle with bar just a bit lower, then I'll move the box/hang work higher.) 

Gratitudes of the Day

1. I'm grateful for the upcoming market holiday on Monday. Option expiry has been a brutal one for us, and an extra day to recharge a bit is gonna be excellent. My only fear is that, with the German news that their president is stepping down, a long weekend for US markets is a good time to announce something ridiculous. Plus I get to do all that awesome stuff that doesn't get done during the week, like laundry!

2. Grateful for my training partners for changing my squat form. My squat has started moving again after being stale for about 6 months. Very fulfilling (and slightly weird) to see that moving up as my bodyweight moves down.

3. Grateful to my core group of friends. A friend from work last night said "You have got the weirdest group of friends I have ever seen." I think we should all be so lucky as to have a group of "weird" friends. I count among my closest friends two aerial dance performers, a consultant, a director for the New Teacher Project, two energy traders, a real estate developer, a cleantech startup president, a fashion and makeup blogger, two pro strongmen and an event planner. I like to think that they keep me on my toes because any conversation feels like I'm getting my learn on at the same time. One dimension is fine for cartoons, but you gotta live in three!