Daily training. Annual improvements.

[hector]

Before benching today I thought “Oh, shit. I’m scheduled to bench 280 for 3 sets of 5!” Sometimes it’s only a 5lb increase, but mentally it seems like more.
I start benching my first set and it feels easy. Not stupid easy, but manageable easy. And I think “Nice. This is going to happen.” But then, around rep 3, I think “Am I going to make all 5 reps?”.
And that sort of thinking has done me in before. Not even because the doubt fucks with me directly, but because the doubt distracts me. Once distracted, my form goes just a little off, and on a high RPE set that minute form deviation might be all it takes for failure to ensue.
So I just answered myself, before shit could go sideways, “Yes, we are going to get all 5 reps” and re-focused me efforts. Success followed.
To bring me back to reality, I saw Jen Thompson on IG dumbbell benching the 120’s today. Besides being a woman, she also weighs 130lb.

This was quite the journey to read. The hope… the doubt… the comeback and the victory! .. and the kick in the nuts lol.

@DCR , that kick in the nuts was brutal! But I’m a big fan of Jen Thompson.

[hector]

I saw Jen Thompson on IG dumbbell benching the 120’s today.

Yeah, she's a fucking monster.

I literally do not understand how she does was she does. Dumbbell benching the 120s? When I went to public gyms that was a rare, rare sighting, even among huge guys.

[hector]

2024 Feb 28 Wed

Main
Ssb Squat: 300 x 5 x 5
Bench: 280 x 3s x 5r
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 210 x 5s x 10r

Aux
Ab Mat: updated later

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: 7,500
Bench: 4,200
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,500
——————————————-
Total: 28,680

#####################

Good times.

I’ve kept up with the egg whites (50g protein) every morning with breakfast. Hard to tease out what did what, but it seems like the increased protein and the dumbbell bench are working.

[hector]

2024 Mar 01 Friday

Main
Trap Bar Deads: 405 x 5 x 5
Bench: 280 x 3s x 5r
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Aux
Ab Mat: update later

Tonnage
Trap Bar Deads: 10,125
Bench: 4,200
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
——————————————-
Total: 30,805

###############}}}}###

I read Shogun decades ago when I was 12 or 13 years old. It was a massive paperback. Carried around that tome for months like the dork I was.

Excited to see that it has just come out as a tv show on Disney/Hulu. Only seen first 20 minutes of episode 1. Seems dope AF so far and accurate to the source material, as best I can remember.

Went light on deadlifts today since I hadn’t done them in awhile.

[hector]

Mar 02 Saturday and Mar 03 Sunday

Running: 30 minutes on both days

Went light on deadlifts on Friday hoping my legs would be a little fresher for running on the weekend. Maybe it sort of worked? Adductors were still trashed.

[platypus]

I'm delighted to hear Shogun is off to a good start, I'm very curious to hear what you think as you get further in.

[hector]

2024 Mar 04 Monday

Main
Ssb Squat: 305 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 280 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 260 x 3s x 5r
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Total
Ssb Squat: 4,575
Bench: (4,200 + 3,900) = 8,100
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
———————————————————-
Total: 29,155

###########}}}##############

Traveling. Limited time. Got in most of it. If I’d had 10 more minutes I would have loved to have gotten some front squats in. Should have brought my ab wheel with me on the road. Or my kettlebell. F.

Commentary on Getting Old: Slept weird. Had crazy knot in my back all day. The hour it felt best started immediately with my first set of T-Bar Rows.

@platypus , finished first two episodes of Shogun. Love it. Will write more later.

[DCR]

Traveling. Limited time. Got in most of it.

Well done finding a spot to knock all of this out while on the road.

[hector]

Traveling. Limited time. Got in most of it.

Well done finding a spot to knock all of this out while on the road.

Thanks!!!

[hector]

2024 Mar 11 Monday

Main
Ssb Squat: 300 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 260 x 3s x 5r
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Aux
Jefferson Curls: shit ton with 10lb weight
Bar Hangs
Ab Mat: 2s x 20r

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: 4,500
Bench: 3,900
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
——————————————-
Total: 24,880

#####################

Did something to some tiny muscle deep in my lat a week ago. Not sure what it was (spasm, strain, something else) and not sure of the anatomy (so deep in my lat it was almost in lung area). Fucked me up. Could not lift. Could not run. Anything that involved my back was a no-go.
Today it was 90%+ better. So got a light and quick session in. On my closing sets of t-bar rows I felt that injury a bit, maybe I should have stopped, but it wasn’t bad so I just got my sets in. Idk.
After dinner I did a bunch of Jefferson Curls and bar hangs. Idea is pre-hab for my back. Also inspired by this guy (@AtlasPowerShrugged) and his book, which I haven’t bought yet but hope to soon.
https://atlaspowershrugged.com/products ... rn-lifters?

fbclid=PAAaYPvawWsGhEvP1lx5sn7w8wjmd6VXlIjYLp78Jtzo6dzzN_kKc4FLeLGOg_aem_AY1qSg6kMLHWDmJlL3E_4TfEs_5xDICQf4Y9XemuY1DEnLLd0OHAR-RM4pSDHm0A0Bk

[hector]

2024 Mar 15 Friday (rushed)

Trap Bar Deads: 420 x 5 x 5
Bench: 270 x 5 x 5
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Tonnage
Trap Bar Deads: 10,500
Bench: 6,750
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
——————————————-
Total: 27,250

#####################

Had to cut it short. Better than nothing.

[DCR]

Had to cut it short. Better than nothing.

Story of my life lately. I’m gonna need to start keeping a spreadsheet of accessory movements and the last weights I moved, because these days it takes forever to find in my log when I last did something.

[hector]

2024 Mar 18 Monday

Ssb Squat: 305 x 3s x 5r
Ssb Squat: 260 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 275 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 260 x 3s x 5r
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Ab Mat: 2s x 10r

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: (4,575 + 3,900) = 8,475
Bench: (4,125 + 3,900) = 8,025
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
—————————————————————
Total: 32,980

##############################

[hector]

2024 Mar 20 Wed

Main
Ssb Squat: 310 x 3s x 5r
Ssb Squat: 260 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 270 x 5 x 5
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Aux
Tib Curls: 30 x 3s x 10r
Overhand EZ Curls: 55 x 5s x 10r
Ab Mat: update later

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: (4,650 + 3,900) = 8,550
Bench: 6,750
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
Overhand EZ Curls: 2,750
—————————————————————-
Total: 34,530

##############################

Good times!!!!
Cannot believe the year is almost 33% over already.

[hector]

2024 Mar 22 Friday

Main
Trap Bar Deads: 440 x 3s x 5r
Trap Bar Deads: 400 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 275 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 250 x 3s x 5r
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Aux
Ab Mat: update later

Tonnage
Trap Bar Deads: (6,600 + 6,000) = 12,600
Bench: (4,125 + 2,250) = 6,375
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
—————————————————————————-
Total: 35,455

####################################

Lower back is a little sore. Ugghh.

[hector]

2024 Mar 23 Saturday (Off/Light Day)

Main
Bench: 290 x 4s x 1r
F Squat: 135 x 3s x 5r

6 months or a year ago I was making great bench progress doing high frequency stuff. Then life happened, like it always does (travel, injury, double shifts) and I lost my rhythm.

Would like to get back into that higher-frequency, more-gains training style again.

Today bench was just a few heavy-ish singles, idea was to hit the heaviest single weight I can before bar speed significantly drops.
The front squats were just to remember the movement and get in the range of motion. I look forward to the weight on both going up soon.

[hector]

2024 Mar 24 Sunday (off day)

Bench: 290 x 2s x 1r
Bench: 290 x 1s x 2r

Kettlebell Snatch: 53lb x 80r

***********************************

Years ago, maybe a decade, I was super pumped to finally accomplish one of Pavel’s challenges; I snatched a 53lb kettlebell 100x in 5 minutes. This was basically non-stop snatching for just under 5 minutes.

Today I did 80 snatches. In sets of 20. Because I was gasping between sets. Probably took 15 minutes. Wow.

[platypus]

Years ago, maybe a decade, I was super pumped to finally accomplish one of Pavel’s challenges; I snatched a 53lb kettlebell 100x in 5 minutes. This was basically non-stop snatching for just under 5 minutes.

Today I did 80 snatches. In sets of 20. Because I was gasping between sets. Probably took 15 minutes. Wow.

Fun fact: my BJJ coach told me recently that the only cardio workout that improved his conditioning for rolling was kettlebell snatches.

I think your ability will come back quickly with some practice.

[hector]

2024 Mar 25 Monday

Main
Ssb Squat: 315 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 275 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 240 x 3s x 5r
Dumbbell Bench: 90 lb’ers x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 200 x 5s x 10r

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: 4,725
Bench: (4,125 + 3,600) = 7,725
Dumbbell Bench: 6,480
T-Bar Rows: 10,000
———————————————————-
Total: 28,930

############################

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

[hector]

Years ago, maybe a decade, I was super pumped to finally accomplish one of Pavel’s challenges; I snatched a 53lb kettlebell 100x in 5 minutes. This was basically non-stop snatching for just under 5 minutes.

Today I did 80 snatches. In sets of 20. Because I was gasping between sets. Probably took 15 minutes. Wow.

Fun fact: my BJJ coach told me recently that the only cardio workout that improved his conditioning for rolling was kettlebell snatches.

I think your ability will come back quickly with some practice.

I believe it!

I also think the kind of low-intensity, persistent grip demands of kettlebelling would transfer over to BJJ. If you can grip better, and by extension control your opponent a little better, then it might improve your situation and require less cardio-demanding efforts on your part. (Hope that is coherent.)