MarkKO's training log

[MarkKO]

So, the call I'll have to make. This is more a speculation/mental preparation thing.

There are a couple of possibilities and paths here, which will become abundantly clear by the end of next week.

We all know what the ideal path is, which is I hit small PRs across the lifts next week. Current indications aren't very positive for squat, bench and deadlift are still in with a shot assuming this week goes well. Bench for once is probably the one lift I'm most confident of, the numbers indicate I'm good to equal or slightly exceed last cycle's max. Deadlift based on the few heavier triples I've pulled is on track to be around the 600 lbs mark, so not a PR as such but as good as it's been over the past two years.

So if all goes well the remainder of this week, I'm in with a decent shot at hitting target for bench and deadlift. I still *might* be able to pull something out of the hat for squat but at this stage I'm not counting on it.

The opposite end of the spectrum is all three lifts are off, and that's the point at which I'll be looking at pulling out. If I'm not in with a realistic chance of at least hitting one PR I see no point to going through with the peak. Really, where my head is at I want to go in with a shot at hitting a PR total and/or getting in the top three best lifters, and that's going to require at least two good lifts and one OK lift. I've got to assume to get into the top three I'll need a DOTS comfortably over 400.

In between, if I can go in with a good shot at hitting a good bench and deadlift I'm OK with that. I'll be able to post a squat over 500 lbs, and I may be able to get to 550 lbs if I play my cards right. If that's all I can do, fine, as long as I get my bench up past last cycle and my pull to 600 lbs plus.

All speculation though, until next week is in the books. It helps me to have a plan going forward though.

[MarkKO]

Wednesday bench
3x1x292 lbs, with a decent impression of a competition pause each time. Speed was OK, certainly better than squats
4x3x209 lbs bench paused for a three-count on the chest. These were easy. Easier than I remember these usually being. So, good, I guess?
10, 5 pullups
2x25 facepulls



Also, last three days every session has ended with about three minutes backwards treadmill walking which Mark showed me as a help for my knee. It's pretty magical how much of a difference it's already making. I will be incorporating this into my regular prehab work. During the peak I'm going to do it every day.

Anyway, today was a better outing. I'm going to do my darnedest to build on this come Friday.

[MarkKO]

The road to hell, apparently, is paved with good intentions. I added a paver today if that is true.

Friday deadlift on deadlift bar
1x540 lbs and nope, not doing a second single
2x15 back raises
2x25 facepulls

That was a very, very unconvincing single. It should have moved so much better. My back didn't complain, which is a plus and about the only plus going given the bar moved worse than 540 lbs has moved in a while.

Maybe something was just off overall, because I couldn't finish my breakfast this morning and that never happens. I wasn't nauseous, I just couldn't quite get my head around chewing and swallowing and if that sounds weird, it is. Then I forgot half my lunch. So it isn't like I laid great foundations for training today but it still should have gone better than it did.

I considered giving it one last shot on Monday when I squat but there's no real point. At best, I squeak out somewhere around 550 lbs and honestly, I'm not even sure that's a given at the moment. I could probably, and the emphasis is on probably, hit a 330 lbs bench, but pulling much more than 550 lbs is at best a possibility.

Best bet is to just chalk it up to bad fucking luck and move on. I've gotten through and done meets successfully in quite challenging circumstances, like my finger and the saw or a few years ago when I fucked my back a week out. I think maybe this time there was just a little bit too much combining for me to be able to get through. I could have worked around sup-par training since mid December; I could have worked around the myocarditis because it only took me out fully for a week; and I could have worked around the job change stress. Combine all three of them? Seems like that's a bit past my capacity and yes, that bugs me but not hugely. I didn't stop trying at any point, I just didn't succeed.

It isn't like I didn't kind of expect this given how the last six weeks have gone. In a lot of ways I'm quite happy just to be at this point what with one thing and another, and really that might just be a self fulfilling prophecy in a way.

Wound up at my job today, packed up and left with the owner, his son and the operations manager all separately telling me the door is always open for me to return and I'm very glad about that, not because I want to go back but for one, it's nice to know there's a fallback and for two, I really hate burning bridges and as employers go it really is good. The work is just boring.

Anyway, that's me for the day.

I'll start the diet tomorrow, since there's no time like the present; and just scrap the rest of the peak and bring the post meet block forward and start with a clean slate.

[MarkKO]

Feeling very sluggish today, and the gut/appetite is still off which means something is actually up. Carbon set my calories to pretty close to where I thought it would. Also somehow it lined up my planned timeline without me even having an option for that, which is kind of cool.

Back hasn't changed from the pulls, which is a bonus.

Went for a weighted vest walk. Same route, came in a minute or so slower than last week but I really didn't push the pace. Average HR was higher too, so it does seem like something is mildly fucking with my system.

I'll go for another walk tomorrow.

[MarkKO]

Feeling back to normal today, yesterday seems to just have been another little thing in this higher than usual BS level period.

Went for another weighted vest walk, time came in around a half minute faster than yesterday but HR average and max back down.

[MarkKO]

Ok so into week one of block one I go.

Monday upper
15, 10x44 lbs pushups using the cambered multigrip bar which makes them MUCH more challenging when that vest is on and results in a very good pec pump.
10, 5, 5 pullups
14x60 lbs, 10x40 lbs, 14, 12x20 lbs tricep pushdowns
15/side, 10/sidex88 lbs DB rows
50, 25 facepulls

New job is a breath of fresh air so far. The people are actually nice. Not that my previous colleagues weren't nice to me, but for a number of them I'm fairly certain were I not white, cisgender and hetero that would not necessarily have been the case. This new lot seems like they would be nice no matter who I was and for some strange reason that is important to me.

[Hardartery]

Ok so into week one of block one I go.

Monday upper
15, 10x44 lbs pushups using the cambered multigrip bar which makes them MUCH more challenging when that vest is on and results in a very good pec pump.
10, 5, 5 pullups
14x60 lbs, 10x40 lbs, 14, 12x20 lbs tricep pushdowns
15/side, 10/sidex88 lbs DB rows
50, 25 facepulls

New job is a breath of fresh air so far. The people are actually nice. Not that my previous colleagues weren't nice to me, but for a number of them I'm fairly certain were I not white, cisgender and hetero that would not necessarily have been the case. This new lot seems like they would be nice no matter who I was and for some strange reason that is important to me.

There is a certain underlying tension and companion negative impact on recovery and well-being when you don't really trust your environment. Being able to relax a little bit about the people around you has a lot of positive benefits, like I bet your stomach issues subside and your sleep will probably improve.

[MarkKO]

Ok so into week one of block one I go.

Monday upper
15, 10x44 lbs pushups using the cambered multigrip bar which makes them MUCH more challenging when that vest is on and results in a very good pec pump.
10, 5, 5 pullups
14x60 lbs, 10x40 lbs, 14, 12x20 lbs tricep pushdowns
15/side, 10/sidex88 lbs DB rows
50, 25 facepulls

New job is a breath of fresh air so far. The people are actually nice. Not that my previous colleagues weren't nice to me, but for a number of them I'm fairly certain were I not white, cisgender and hetero that would not necessarily have been the case. This new lot seems like they would be nice no matter who I was and for some strange reason that is important to me.

There is a certain underlying tension and companion negative impact on recovery and well-being when you don't really trust your environment. Being able to relax a little bit about the people around you has a lot of positive benefits, like I bet your stomach issues subside and your sleep will probably improve.

This is not something that occurred to me. Makes total sense though.

[MarkKO]

Wednesday lower
3x10 metres x 264 lbs backwards sled drag. It took a while to figure out a working weight. I also realised quite quickly this is something to do slowly while focusing on contracting my quads.
2x25x220 lbs reverse hyper and I realised I've been using too much weight until now because today this lit my back up in a way it hasn't in ages
2x10, 5 GHR which all but confirmed that my back issue is a glute or ham issue because I could feel it doing these but not the hypers.
15, 10x132 lbs lat pulldowns
40, 35 facepulls

[MarkKO]

More a note to self than anything, but I think I might have a shot at going back to training four days a week. It doesn't seem like I'll be doing tons and tons of overtime.

Monday squat
No change

Tuesday bench
No change

Thursday DL
As squat day

Friday secondary upper
No change

I'll need to work this out, although honestly it shouldn't take much.

[Hardartery]

Sounds like a win, win on the new job then.

[MarkKO]

Sounds like a win, win on the new job then.

Like you wouldn't believe.

The focus has shifted completely from getting things done as fast as possible with minimal regard for quality and precision to the absolute focus being as close to perfection as it's possible to get, so be it if it takes some time. That's how I was taught and to me is much nicer. I don't feel stressed trying to get things perfect.

It also helps I worked with the de facto foreman and one other guy there for a few years and we always got on well.

I'll give it a little while before I pull the trigger on going back to four days training though. If I can get away with three days I would prefer that.

[MarkKO]

Friday upper
30 metres x 264 lbs backwards sled drags. The only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres. I'm going to need to play with body angle on these at least because I got some feeling in my quads but much more in my glutes. Also, I added these in because I figured I would deadlift in this slot so I may as well do something vaguely related.
13, 12x44 lbs pushups using the cambered multigrip bar with the last set rest/pause at 6, 3, 3. I did the second set on Monday that way as well, but forgot to note that.
10, 2x5 pullups. First set was *just* 10, I didn't film it but I'm confident enough that last rep did count by the skin of its teeth.
10, 2x10x-44 lbs dips. I didn't really want to keep doing chain flys because I'm pretty certain the ROI on them for me is low. Ditto DB bench etc. I haven't done dips since I had my shoulder go out in February or March 2020 because they were the straw that partially tore the camel's supraspinatus. I'd never had issues with them previously and my shoulders have been absolutely fine for around two years now. So I figured I'd give them a shot, but carefully. First, make sure my ROM is sensible. Second, do one set with bodyweight and then the remainder with assistance taking off around 20% of my bodyweight. If my shoulders pull up fine tomorrow, I'll start looking at where I can use dips.
25/side x 88 lbs single arm DB rows
3x35 facepulls

The calorie deficit has definitely kicked in. I started noticing it around Tuesday and by Thursday I really noticed it. Mostly I notice it in the afternoon and evening, because the meal that's taking the biggest hit is dinner. First week was decent, dropped just under a pound and Carbon is happy so hasn't dropped my calories. Hopefully it won't have to any more. I'm going to switch to chicken breast for my lunches at work though, because ground beef is that little bit too calorie dense.

[MarkKO]

Both shoulders are totally fine this morning. Win.

I'm going to tentatively look at making dips the main secondary upper exercise because incline bench was just a filler that I put in as I know my shoulders tolerate it and it does a reasonable job hitting what needs hitting. Dips do that job much better and assuming my shoulders continue to tolerate them, will be a better pick.

I'll completely ditch chain flys and just slot puhsups into where they were as I know they do a good job. What I will do is do the pushups with weighted vest but NOT on the cambered multigrip bar just as a safety measure. The vest will limit my ROM to one that has almost zero chance of over stretching my shoulders.

I also might look at increasing the single arm DB row weight, or I might not. I'm currently using the heaviest non adjustable DB in the rack, but there's nothing to stop me doing multiple sets of 20+ reps. I'm also pretty sure there's a pair of 120 lbs or something holding a mono down that I could probably use if I really wanted.

The reason I mention this is that for whatever reason I stopped doing single arm DB rows a few years ago. Initially I just did whatever rows Greg Panora set out, which were usually not single arm that I can recall; then after it was because I stuck with what I'd being doing, and because I had this idea they hadn't been overly effective.

Now, maybe just because I haven't done them in so long, it feels like they are effective. Possibly I'm better at contracting my lats when rowing now. Either way, I'll run them for the next cycle because they feel like a good fit. I should also remember that if I can get what I need out of the eighty-eights there is no reason to use anything heavier.

[MarkKO]

Went for walk with the weighted vest again, same time as last Saturday to the second but average heart rate was significantly lower.

[MarkKO]

Another weighted vest walk, which is now kind of 'normal' for the weekend. Pushed the pace a little and got my first sub-20 minute time: 2.17 km in 19 minutes and 33 seconds. It felt like I was moving faster, but it wasn't harder and max heart rate was lower than before.

I do need to have a look at what exactly constitutes 'useful' time spent doing this, although I suspect in terms of active recovery what I'm currently doing is plenty. I'll also look at getting a jump rope because there will be weekends where it's raining heavily and I want a backup.

[MarkKO]

Week two of block one already. Shoulders still feeling fine so dips may well be the go.

Monday upper
12, 10, 13x44 lbs pushups with last set rest/pause 7, 3, 3
10, 8, 7 pullups and I should probably start filming these just to make sure my final reps are decent.
10x71 lbs, 8x60 lbs, 10x40 lbs, 22x20 lbs tricep pushdowns with last set rest/pause 12, 5, 5
15/side x 110 lbs, 10/side x 110 lbs single arm DB rows. This is a good weight. Next DB up is 132 lbs. That'll be a while
3x40 facepulls
Four minutes backwards treadmill walk

This was a good session.

[MarkKO]

Wednesday lower
40 m x 264 lbs backwards sled drags, only rest turning the sled around every 10 metres. Mark suggested lengthening the strap so I could lean back more to get more quads, and it worked.
35, 20, 20x220 lbs reverse hyper
2x10, 5 GHR, no tweak in the back this time which I'm taking as an improvement
12x198 lbs, 10x220 lbs, 8x176 lbs lat pulldown because Mark effectively challenged me to max the stack out for 10 reps. We'll gloss over the fact that the last four reps of the 10 saw quite a bit of body English. I'm upping my regular load to 198 lbs now.
2x40 facepulls

[MarkKO]

Friday upper
40 m x 264 lbs backwards sled drags, the only rest was turning the sled around every 10 metres
15, 2x10-44 lbs dips which seemed fine again, hopefully tomorrow morning I'll wake fine too. Tried the Bowtie but it didn't seem to do much
10, 7, 2x5 pullups which I checked on video and it was 10 albeit just
15, 10x44 lbs pushups definitely not on the cambered multigrip bar just to be safe
15/side, 10/sidex110 lbs single arm DB rows
2x50 facepulls

Coming to the end of week two of the diet and Carbon is still happy with my calories. Everything is still bearable so hopefully I can keep going for a while without calories dropping.

[MarkKO]

Decided that it was time to extend the weighted vest walk. I figured that getting the 2.17 km in under 20 minutes was a decent point to do that. So today I extended the walk to 3.12 km, which took 29 minutes and 56 seconds. That'll do for a little. I expect I'll knock that down tomorrow because the first kilometre today was really slow. I'll probably increase the distance once I get a time under 27 minutes, because that puts my pace at over nine minutes to the kilometre. Heart rate was much the same as previous walks.

Shoulders pulled up fine this morning as well so that's another positive indication for the dips.