Yukon squats

Up to 420x3

315 x 8, 8, 8, 10, 10

Didn't try for 470 based on how heavy 420 felt. I think the strength is there but it was a bad day, either from being hungry or going too long without squatting heavy and having bar shock from the walkout.

Everytime I write an analysis like that I end up concluding that it's an excuse and at the end of the day the summary is I was too weak.

Anyway, a problem: eating this much leaves me nauseous when I wake-up, causing me to either undereat for breakfast or force a big meal down for way too long a time. Either way, I end up hungry when I train. This isn't inherently a bad thing but I want bang for my caloric buck if I'm putting the effort in, otherwise I would just train fasted. 

I end up eating my biggest meal before bed, which causes the morning nausea cycle to start all over again. 

Solution: eat what I can within 30 minutes, then train 45 minutes later no matter what. And be strict about these times, adjusting as need be (but once it's in writing, no changing on the fly).

Also cut down on the nighttime meal a little bit, with the expectation that things will start to fall in line and I'll be hungrier during the day and can eat more consistently large meals throughout. 

Woke-up coughing and having lifted heavy twice yesterday I decided to give my body a break today and squat tomorrow. Did some stretches and a light shadow kickboxing workout this afternoon.

Made some green tea with honey, ginger, and lemon today, and had turmeric with milk as well as a turmeric pill (supposed to help with coughing).

It's also been awhile since I've just gotten outside and enjoyed it for its own sake, partly due to the recent rainy weather. Today I stepped out on the balcony and sweeped, getting some natural vitamin D while my cat explored.

Nighttime

Swiss bar bench

185 x 10

205 x 10, 10, 10, 6

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

115s x 10-12

Dips, curls

Hit up Costco after work which is why the session was so late at 9:30, but foodwise I'm set for now. Yesterday I also treated myself to a Chipotle burrito and today I've got two Costco hot dogs with a slice of pepperoni pizza.

Bench press

260 x 5

295 x 3

330 x 0, 2

260 x 8

-

Last set super-set with dumbbell rows

115 x 10

* On the first attempt at 330 I didn't even go for it and react based on how heavy it felt. Took a break to assess whether I should go for it and then tried again. Literally said "Holy shit" as I reracked because I was blown away how 295 felt heavy and 330 felt like nothing. 

Called it here to go to work. 

Had a fun but hectic New Year's weekend extending into Monday with a work dinner. Sensing a crazy schedule, I did a light but fast-paced full body workout on Friday. Intensity wasn't off the chart as I was battling illness that incentivize me to get tested for COVID, which was negative thankfully.

I didn't even keep track of the rounds because I was figuring out what would be a good combination of things to hit. I organically settled on axle thrusters with 110, giant-set with chin-ups and Yukon squats with 135. I think it was around 6 rounds of that, finishing up with a set of 20 push-ups.

Nothing crazy but it got me breathing, which was making me cough. Because this workout was done before I got tested I wanted something easy to recover from. 

Clean and press

160 x 5

185 x 3

205 x 2

-

Last 2 super-set with pull-ups

10, 10

Swiss bar press

145 x 8, 8

-

Super-set with pull-ups

10, 10

Deadlift

570 x 3 (PR)

Returning at night:

Deadlifts

405 x 15

SSB squats

150 x 30, 30, 25

Did shadowboxing and hill sprints on Friday night before I hosted a friend, who responded with astonishment that I trained on Christmas Eve upon her arrival. Went to George's house for Christmas where we watch the new Matrix (it wasn't great IMO). Day after I didn't do any training but had a huge dinner of Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes. Did a lot of shopping for the cat too. Fun weekend. 

Clean first rep and press

150 x 3

170 x 3

195 x 3

-

Last set super-set with chin-ups

10

Clean and press every rep

145 x 8, 8, 7

-

Super-set with chin-ups

10, 10, 10

Incline Close-grip swiss bar bench press

135 x 10

Super-set with wide-grip pull-ups

10

SSB squatted 290x8 and 330x3x8 yesterday, then came back at night and did good mornings, band leg curls, and ab wheel rollouts. Good two days of lifting. Haven't felt my chest get sore from bench pressing in years but this amount of volume has been doing it.

It's been a week with the kitten and my sleep hasn't really suffered considering he sleeps with me half the night. I've woken up a few times from him climbing on me but he's pretty behaved about learning when the giant bipedal furless cat is asleep and won't be getting up (very different from a dog's needs). 

Have significantly reduced my edible consumption in order to not be tired just in case. Very easy sacrifice. 

More than once I've put off training to tend to him or just catch up on chores, and since I'm not losing weight I think it's only benefitted my strength. Boxing and Muay Thai training at home have been greatly reduced lately although I've gotten some shadowboxing sessions in, will greatly increase that. I've gotten sidetracked about going to the gym and need to work that out, too.

Bench press

245 x 3

275 x 3

310 x 3

245 x 8

225 x 10, 10, 10, 7

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows (starting from 310 bench)

100 x 8

115s x 8, 10, 10, 10

125 x 10

Y-rowa, preacher curls, band pressdowns

The weight feels pretty heavy but when it comes to the money set I'm seeing steady improvements. 

Squatted 445x3 yesterday. Was planning on doing the rest after work but had company over to help with the kitten and didn't get to it. I did have the time but it was a rare moment of putting off training entirely. My plan is to do upper body today and then return back and make use of the SSB and get in some squat volume. 

Axle pressed 195x3 from the floor the other day. The work after is what's the most challenging. 145x3x8 clean and pressing every rep doesn't sound like much but the forearm fatigue is what makes this tough and the axle is hard to hold after awhile. It's important to not hesitate, just grip and rip without thinking and not let the mind get a chance to dawdle. The pressing itself isn't so bad.

My back has been hurting lately and I had a bad mat pull session yesterday. Couldn't break 570 off 2 mats so I did 500x5 before I stopped not out of fatigue but noticing pain in my lower left every time I unloaded the weight. 

Bench press

225 x 5

260 x 5

295 x 5

245 x 9, 8, 10, 9, 8

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

100 x 10

115 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 12

Push-ups immediately after last bench press set x 10

Got interrupted a lot from work, so made up for the long rest times with heavier weight and additional reps beyond the planned 8 for 245.

Glad I got this done on the 5 hours of sleep that I did because the rest of the day did not let up. Just insanely busy. Frozen Trader Joe's pepperoni pizza, homemade weightgainer, and a multivitamin kept me full with very little time expended prepping food.

So glad I got a blender last week, it's saved me so much time.

In other news, I'm going after work today to pick-up a kitten from one of my plumbers whose cat had babies.

Had at least three good training sessions I didn't record, but in a nutshell they were benching 255x5x8, squatting 365x5x8, and axle clean and pressing 205.

Mat pulls (3)

570 x 0, 3 (PR)

* Success. After a false start I mentally ran through form cues that help me (lift with legs, push holes through the earth with feet, pretend a giant rubber band is trying to crunch you and you're expanding against it) and did a strong triple.

Was running late for a zoom meeting (that I infuriatingly had to be in the office for) so I dropped everything here and rushed to work, drinking a glass of milk and eating a protein bar on the drive over. After it was done I had a little bit of leftover turkey and quinoa, then ate straight out of a mixed nut butter jar. Downed another glass of milk at home and finished up at night.

SSB squats

150 x 40(PR), 30, 25

Stomach felt absolutely wretched and my head felt bad too. Felt like I was going to throw up the nut butter. 

For some reason lifting at night gives me digestive issues lately and I yawn a ton, then feel fine and awake a couple of hours later. 

Did another living room work out yesterday reaching 75 burpees along with shadow kickboxing, exercise biking, and 120 jumping jacks. Total time was 14 minutes. 

Had two very productive sessions of Yukon squatting 365x5x8 and bench pressing 255x5x8 over the weekend while hosting a friend. Doing 5 sets of the same weight with compound movements is something I haven't done in a long time and with the calorie surplus I ought to take as much advantage of extra volume as I can. I also suck at it in terms of recovery between sets, which is an excellent reason to do more of it.

Running on about 6 hours of sleep today due to a work meeting at 7:30 (free Chick-Fil-A though). Did my living room workout, getting 70 burpees with a couple breather seconds here and there.

Had a great second Thanksgiving over the weekend at a friend's house. Didn't train on Saturday and Sunday, being out of town.

While I'm typing about rest, I have actually been making a concerted effort to be on my feet less. A combination of martial arts training, cooking, cleaning up the kitchen, and just wanting to do some general house cleaning after work was taking a toll on my knees and feet.

Came back Monday and had a subpar mat pull session, managed to move 570 for 1 off 3 mats at least but after feeling a slight twinge in my back I was no good for more. Did SSB squats with 150 x 30, 25, 20 afterwards and my inner quads are torched from that. Still sore now on Thursday.

Also viper pressed 210x1 with my log on Tuesday.

Yesterday I did my living room workout with a PR of 62 unbroken burpees this time despite my legs being debilitatingly sore.

Thanksgiving:

Bench press

255 x 5

290 x 3

325 x 1
-
Last set super-set with dumbbell rows
100 x 8

Dumbbell press
115s x 8, 8, 7
-
Super-set with dumbbell rows
115 x 10, 10
125 x 8

A whirlwind of other isolation stuff.

Yukon squatted 435x5 yesterday. Assistance work involved 315 for 3 sets of 8, 9, 10, with the final being a strip-set down to 225, 135, and 45 x 10. Noticed lately my back really tires out on squats. I think it's the bar, which is cool. It's long, I think longer than a typical buffalo bar and more curvy, so it takes more back to keep it steady certainly than a straight bar but in a different way than an SSB.

Log pressed 200x3 yesterday. First two reps were smooth viper presses but had to use leg drive to get the third.

Did a 15 minute home conditioning workout before work today of the usual pattern. This time was 60 non-stop burpees.

Up to 205 lbs. Haven't even started making weightgainer shakes yet, but organic milk and toast with almond butter have been staples in my diet this week. Still doing the same amount of cardio, which I should make effort to log more.

Mat pulls (4)

500 x 0, 1

570 x 3 (PR)

500 x 5 (TnG)

* I normally don't write the work-up sets but the false start with 500 was notable. Been keeping about one rep left in the tank on 570 lately, still unsure if that's a good idea or if I should be giving it all every session. 

SSB squats

150 x 25, 20, 20

RKC planks

60 seconds, 30

Swiss ball crunches 

This workout took really long because I had a massive pressure headache after 570 that I waited out before continuing. I've been making efforts to shorten my workouts but I give a pass on this. Next time I think I'll ignore it though. 

Bench press

240 x 3

275 x 3

307.5 x 3

-

Last set super-set with dumbbell rows

100 x 8

Dumbbell press

115s x 8, 8

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

115 x 8

125 x 8

Didn't make it past my warm-ups today because of work, which was annoying, but next week my schedule should settle into more defined hours. I'll hit my log press session either this evening after work or tomorrow afternoon.

I'm putting a new bed together and am looking forward to seeing what a new mattress does for my back. It's been feeling better lately though. This is kinda funny but last week I watched Usman vs Covington 2, and I noticed before the fight Usman swiveling his hips in a circular motion. Doing that motion during periods I would otherwise be standing still has been making a marked difference.

Got my COVID booster shot yesterday and planned for a total rest day today in anticipation of feeling crummy but I feel nothing besides a sore shoulder. At work as a result. I'll still take the rest, though.

I'm up 5 lbs, at 199. Just been naturally drifting to eating more and more, and I figure why not? I can't find a single competition with openings, and my NorCal meet still has the last update from November 2020 saying they'll reannounce a date. I should get my $150 back, it's been 2 years I'm entered in that.

 Mat pulls (4)
570 x 0, 0
500 x 9 (TNG)

Front squats/back squats
135 x 5, 5
225 x 5, 5

This is all I had time before between working first job and going to second. Felt kinda lousy about not being able to move 570, but 500x9 is a PR and I knowingly violated my method of longer stretches of recovery because I'm getting my COVID booster shot tonight and I wanted to get in all my training before a planned rest day tomorrow from the side-effects.

 Yesterday did 60 burpees and the rest of my typical living room conditioning workout, primarily with shadow kickboxing to videos, for a total of 22 minutes. Not fasted, was after breakfast.

Went on a jog at night.

Yesterday I had a solid squat sesh with the Yukon bar up to 435x3 with strip-sets of 365x3, 315x7, 225x8, 135x8, and 45x8. Did some banded leg curls and slow sets of 5 on the ab wheel after.

Bench press

225 x 5

255 x 5

290 x 5

Super-set with.dumbbell press

115s x 8, 7, 7

Last four sets of presses superset with dumbbell rows of 115-125 x 8

Incine skullcrushers

35s with Fat Gripz x 10

Without Fat Gripz x 7

-

Super-set with preacher curls

Same weight x 9, 8

As I type this my hands and forearms are so pumped from the combination of elbow sleeves and fat gripz I can barely press the keys on my phone. 

Okay, post-workout now. Wasn't able to keep up with everything in this log entry but finished up with some rear-delt lat raises and band pressdowns when I went to failure on the skullcrushers. 

Really solid workout. I'm feeling a bit stronger from having gained some weight. Since this just seems to be what's naturally occurring I upped the volume a little but I'm going to be sticking with my practice of more rest days in general since it's having my body feel good. 

Yesterday:

Mat pulls (5)

570 x 4

* Very pleased. Took an extra day of rest and did some stretches and back prehab like reverse band hyperextensions yesterday to have it feeling ready. I could have rest-paused for a 5th and maybe 6th, but I'm purposely leaving a little in the tank. If I can do three reps from the ground I'll be super happy but just two will be a PR.

Belt squats

6 plates x 8

8 plates x 10

-

Super-set with bodyweight split-squats

5, 8

RKC plank

58 seconds

I'm so over missing reps week after week. Time to have my expectations at a good place and crush workouts again.

Yukon squats up to 435 x 1
* Hit a deep 435 and it felt like a ton. I was both really hungry and also don't feel recovered enough. I'm learning that these deep squats are requiring more rest days so my hips get back up to speed. Called it here and am treating it as a deload.

Yukon squat pyramid
315 x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
* Left knee feeling a little raw. Different sensation from when it outright aches, this feels like something abrasive is rubbing inside.

Despite what I noted, I walked away feeling fresh. I'm REALLY looking forward to next week with my new training approach. I'm at a stage in my training where I'm hungry to try all kinds of new things, really.

Did my circuit cardio session yesterday of the bike, 50 burpees, shadowkickboxing, and the bike again.

 Landmine press

Worked-up to 3 plates x 10, 9, 8(7 on right side)

-

Super-set with pull-ups x 10, 10, 11

* PR on the sets of 10 and 9, to my surprise. Right arm was tiring quicker than left. Interesting to note that before bicep surgery this was my stronger arm.

Dips
15
10 lbs x 10
-
Super-set with pull-ups x 10, 10

Facepulls

Keg curls
160 x 8

40 second chinup x 2

This workout had me feeling excellent afterwards and I got a decent pump. It was a good choice to switch things up.

Woke up after 2.5 hours of sleep and felt wide awake so made breakfast and lifted early in the morning.

Mat pulls (5)

570 x 0

500 x 8 (TnG)

* Moving 570 just wasn't happening.

Belt squats

6 plates x 8

8 plates x 8, 9

Split-squats (bodyweight), exercise ball plank

Between my clicks shoulder and my right forearm pain flaring up again, my body isn't too happy right now. I'm going to be modifying my training to put more emphasis on recovery. Training to max effort four times a week on top of Muay Thai training while maintaining or losing weight just ain't feeling good. I'm looking forward to change. 

Bench press
255 x 5
285 x 3
320 x 1
-
Last set super-set with unilateral dumbbell rows
100 x 8

Decline bench press
235 x 8, 8, 8
-
Super-set with unilateral dumbbell rows
115 x 8
120 x 8, 10

Band pressdowns, curls

Left shoulder is pissy from one of the bench sets. Felt pain when I tried to do banded chest press and it's clicking a little now. Should be fine in a day or two.

I feel like I'm doing a lot for a gain of little to none under my current weight status, basically hovering around 194 consistently. Too often I extend the length of my workout to squeeze in yet another "thing", but I'm just not seeing the benefits play out if I'm not gaining weight it seems. As far as recovery goes, I also need to consider how much shadowboxing I'm doing between lifting sessions, some of it very intense, and this is only going to increase when I go back to the studio.

I also think I'd benefit from being in my workouts a shorter period of time but this is tough with work interrupting me. My answer to that is get to it earlier and hit it hard and fast.

Mat pulls (6)
470 x 5
* Focused on powering through with my legs. Probably had more reps in me.

Belt squats
Up to 8 plates x 10, 10

Alternating SSB lunges 
150 x 16

Planks

Have been on creatine for a little less than a week now. Not loading, just taking it with my protein shake.

The pumpkin patch weekend ended up being a lot of fun. Had an annoying start when I found out they had no food there except gas station-type snacks, with no protein except for nuts. Did not plan for that. My friend was gracious enough to be cool about turning back and going to a nearby diner so I could load up on calories. It worked out because this restaurant is themed and a visiting point all on its own, so I'm actually glad it ended up happening this way. Ordered a massive burger that I didn't think I'd finish but did very easily.

Also had a sushi feast on Sunday to end things on.

Bench press
235 x 3
275 x 3
305 x 3
235 x 9, 9, 9
-
Super-set with dumbbell rows
50s x 8, 8
100 x 8
125 x 9, 9, 9

Arnold press against bands
50s x 8
-
Dips
10
-
Wide-grip pull-ups
10

Incline skullcrushers
35s x 7
-
Curls

Yukon squats
315 x 5
365 x 5
415 x 5
* Going as deep as I am actually makes this pretty damn challenging. This was just the right amount of weight for 5. Or maybe I'm just weak. It'd be interesting to go back to parallel-depth squats and see how I measure up to before.

315 x 7, 10

SSB lunges
150 x 10 (alternating)
-
Good mornings
150 x 5 
-
Banded leg curls
15, 15

Hanging leg raises, ab wheel

Going to visit a pumpkin patch tomorrow. Besides just liking to mention life stuff that I come back to read later, it's relevant because I'll probably be eating a lot while out and about. For Halloween I'm leaning toward doing an updated Ash from the Evil Dead series. I was him a few years ago but I look very different now at 25 lbs lighter a bodyweight and I want my get-up to be more battle-worn and tattered.

Practiced some Muay Thai shadowkickboxing rounds yesterday alongside a couple Shane Fazen YouTube videos. I like to have him on in the background, working alongside me. Sometimes I get ideas seeing his combos out of the corner of my eye.

I think my uppercuts have traditionally looked awful when not on the heavy bag and watching him has taught me to telegraph them less. I was really exaggerating the dip-down.

 Axle push-press
160 x 5
185 x 5
210 x 4, 5
-
Super-set with wide-grip pull-ups
8, 10, 16

Got called into second job early so left it at here. Happy I was able to get that second attempt of 210x5.

Something to note, the last 2 weeks I've cut the nightly frequency of my edible usage significantly down and I've noticed my sleep quality has risen because of it. Seems like the regularity of doing it makes the difference, not an amount on any one night. In other words, taking the amount I did (usually half a pomegranate juice gummy) on a regular basis causes the fatiguing effect, but taking a full gummy or two once or twice a week does not.

Unrelated but my finances are in a healthy-enough spot that I can sign-up for Muay Thai again. That free session at AKA was a good one, and it's the only place I've found that has a Muay Thai technique class that late so I can hit it up after work (only other option is a kickboxing cardio class at a gym closer to my place, which isn't what I'm looking for).

Yesterday

Mat pulls (6)

570 x 0, 2

500 x 8

* My second attempt was too wide a stance despite being able to eke out a couple of reps compared to the first try. I also feel like there's a wide disparity by dropping down to 405 and repping that, it'd be good to stay in the 500 range sometimes and make that a win.

SSB box squats
Work up to 290 x 5, 330 x 5

SSB walkouts and quarter squats
420 x 15

Came back in the evening and did two backwards hill sprints, some split-squats for knee health, and reverse crunches and planks

Benched 285x5 on Saturday and did my usual fasted workout in the morning Sunday. Got up to 60 burpees with one short 10ish second rest at the 50 mark. Lots of stretching on both days as well.

Practiced some shadow kickboxing today going along with a YouTube video in the background. 

 I'm falling behind on this due to my work schedule. I recently became manager at my first job again and coincidentally my work-from-home job has gotten much busier. The last two days I've trained while working on my phone, which is annoying as holy fuck but necessary.

Today especially was looking bad. I woke up 2 hours early and thought I'd have an excellent chance at knocking my squat session out and then clocking in for work. Nope, it was phone meetings practically non-stop until the afternoon. I managed to work-up to squatting 275 over a period of 2 hours doing this, eventually putting the boss on mute to get my sets in (he takes long pauses while he looks over things). By the time that mercifully ended I was hungry and cooled down, so I just went up to eat. Then I discovered that Amazon had dropped-off my groceries out on the street 5 minutes away so I walked over and picked them up pissed-off (they refunded my order so at least it was free food and all my bags were untouched). 

Reprepped for my workout and this time managed it undisturbed, although it sucked that I woke up early and ended up getting to it at 3pm.

Yukon bar squats
Up to 455x1
Strip-sets of 405x3, 315x8, 225x8, 135x8, 45x8

During this I fielded calls from my second boss asking when I could be at the office. I intentionally rested just a little longer because he was annoying me.

Finished it there and went to the office for a meeting, and will do hamstrings and abs at night when I have a friend over. My friends are all used to me doing shit like that lol.

That was quite a mishmash of thoughts and reflections, I'm feeling like lightning after that second cup of coffee despite not enough sleep.

Mat pulls (7)

570 x 0, 5

* Couldn't fire on first attempt, came back a minute later and focused on leg drive. Solid comeback. Trained hungry again, looking forward to dropping the mat count by one next week and seeing what I can do on a full stomach. 

Deadlifts
405 x 13
* I'm standing on a decline so there's an extra factor of trying not to fall forward, which is murder on my calves. I think it's a good challenge but it might also be teaching me to deadlift too carefully instead of concentrating on ripping the bar.

Had a pressure headache after the mat pulls but now I feel extremely high energy and hyper. I'll be back in the evening to do box squats and abs.

Before breakfast today I did my usual fasted workout routine. 50 burpees, total time for everything was 18 minutes.

Had a near total rest day yesterday and feeling very refreshed. Still got in some stretches and a few minutes of shadowboxing. 

Yukon squatted 435x3 and benched 315x1. For my horizontal pressing I'm simply bringing in more bench pressing for the assistance work, nothing works better than that. Hit sets of 225-235 for 6-8 reps. 

Recently reviewed my squat videos from a year ago when I was repping 500 and I'm not sure some of those would have passed depth in a meet. I'm sinking in deep now.

That has been higher in carbs lately, I've been so rocked from soreness that my body just wants to eat. I weighed 194 yesterday in the morning. Basically zigzag dieting, sometimes I'm lowering carbs and then when my body is feeling rocked I eat more. 

Axle push press

170 x 3

190 x 3

215 x 4

* In light of my recent string of poor performances I'm eating sooner after finishing breakfast. A stronger showing here than last week and to be honest I was still a little hungry going in so I'm going to cut the time down even more.

Axle press

145 x 3 x 8

Dumbbell press against bands, keg curls

All presses super-set with chin-ups