4 rounds of:
—5 pull-ups
—1 deadlift @ 225#

Hand-Thigh lift (rack pull and hold): 310#
10 sumo high pulls @ 75#

Bear hug walk @ 70# 3 laps, putting weight down and picking back up between laps, + one 35# lap

Sunday, went on a couple miles walk with Pree and did a few exercises in the park we passed through.

Walk (don’t know exact distance, guess 1.5-2 miles)

Pull-ups: 7 each
Calf raises: 20 each
Dips: 10 and 3
Inverted rows: 10 and 5
Push-ups: 20 each
Squats: 10 each
Reverse crunches: 10 each
Walk-outs: 10 each
Tibialis raises: 20 each

Late last week did a little clean grip practice and stretching, then went for max effort bench from pins, and I managed to hit 150#. Doing it this way, I don’t need a spotter and I get to start with a concentric contraction. I’ll still have to do it the old-fashioned way for the comp though. I’m planning on participating in the upcoming virtual bench press comp in early December.

Today:

Bench press from pins: 6×4 @ 125#
Explosive push-ups: 4×5
Push press: 1×5 @ 65#
Hang cleans: 1×8 @ 65#
Barbell roll-outs: 1×10 @ 65#

Notes:
—I don’t know how much BB weight affects roll-outs, but since the abs are contracting against horizontal displacement and friction about the axle is low, I think it translates pretty well.

Hi!

Had to drop flogging for a while due to hectic grad school/social scheduling. At least I didn’t stop exercising, which the old me (from two years ago) would have done in a heartbeat. I was following a pretty intense 5-day a week workout schedule (realistically I only made 2-3 days a week out of those 5, but I think the written schedule kept up the motivation-via-guilt). Over those six weeks I brought my deadlift up to the target 250# I had set as a goal for June, and drastically improved my cardio conditioning. I took a week off, and now I’m back. I’m trying my hand again at random workouts — not haphazard mind you, but rather not adhering to a predefined prescription of volume and intensity week after week. One thing I need to keep in mind: NO OVERHEAD SQUATS. My shoulder girdle mobility just isn’t up to it, and I’m not going to force it just to include this exercise in my repertoire. I’ll sub in front squats every time from now on. Today I strained my lower traps from accidentally forcing an arch in my spine, something that my body did automatically to compensate for the lack of shoulder mobility in keeping the weight up AND back behind my head. My body just isn’t designed for this one.

Barbell Complex @ 65#
—Hang clean x 10
—Military press x 10
—Bent row x 10
—Forward lunge x 10/leg
—RDL x 20
—Calf raise x 30

Dumbbell Complex @ 25#
—Hammer curl x 5/arm
—Alternating shoulder press x 10/arm
—Forward lunge x 10/leg
—Alternating bent-over row x 10/arm
—Reverse lunge x 5/leg
—RDL x 20
—Calf raise x 30

Barbell Complex @ 45#

Dumbbell Complex @ 20#

Notes:
—I couldn’t do the full complexes, so I just finished each one doing two or three exercises at a time. These complexes are among the most intense exercises I’ve ever done. Sometimes I had to stop mid exercise as well.

Fun Saturday

Exhausting workout today, but I feel really good about it for a number of reasons. First of all, my starting max deadlift felt really easy. So naturally, I added weight until I ground out 245#. That puts 10# on my previous PR and almost gets me to 250# ! Also, the walking finisher at the end was killer, but I’m glad I did it. I needed that kind of stimulating cardio and the treadmill intervals I’ve been doing just weren’t cutting it in terms of getting my heart rate up. They’re still necessary for the metabolic advantages, of course, but for cardio for cardio’s sake, nothing beats the weighted walking.

Deadlifts:
—1×1 @ 235#
—1×1 @ 240#
—1×1 @ 245#

3x Superset: 8 bench press @ 105# + 8 knee step-ups
3x Superset: 12,11,9 inverted rows (AMRAP) + 8 ball leg curls

Front plank 60 sec + side planks 30 sec each

Finisher: 10 min. of walks, 2.5 min. approx. per style w/ 25# plates — farmer carry, front carry, bear hug, overhead carry.

Tuesday and Wednesday mirrored Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. Thursday a miss again. Going to try to up the poundages by at least 5 on every lift other than warm-ups every two weeks. This includes the max effort dead on Saturday. With any luck, by the end of this I will have put an extra 10 pounds on my max deadlift.

BOTB Miss Saturday + Today

Yesterday was too hectic to lift. I tried to make time but unfortunately there was no way. I then tried to make up for it a little today and I think I did well for myself.

1/4 mile walk  + 5 prone pull-ups + 12 dips + 2.75 mile walk + 4 prone pull-ups + 10 dips + 3 chin-ups + 2 neutral pull-ups + 1/4 mile jog

BOTB Miss

I’m marking today as a missed workout. I sneezed this morning and it reminded me how sore my back still is. I resume my regular schedule on Saturday.

BOTB Day 2

Yesterday’s workout was light enough that it could be considered active rest, yet gave me a pretty decent feel-good feeling from the adrenaline and endorphins bouncing around in my system.

3×10 straight-leg deadlifts @ 65#
3×10 machine leg curls @ 100#
20 min. treadmill intervals, work:rest = 1:3

BOTB Workout

Started a new exercise program today, one that should build my general strength base and conditioning at once. There are no frills, just basic foundation movements to get the body warm and working. I’m really looking forward to getting back to total body work for the next six weeks or so. To keep my knees healthy, I’ve added a variety of warm-ups that include stretches, body weight exercises, and some isolation work.

Warm-up:
—3×10/side reverse lunges
—3×10/side terminal knee extensions w/green band

Work:
—1×5 front squats @ 80#
—3 x superset: 5 deadlifts @ 200# + 4, 3, 2 prone-grip pull-ups (AMRAP scheme)
—3 x superset: 8 Swiss ball leg curls + 8 push-ups
—3×10 reverse crunches

Finisher:
—10 min. alternating DB complex @ 15#: DL + front raise + snatch + windmill + overhead press + curl + RDL eccentric