August 2018 Training Log

30     185.5 lb.  Pullups: 2x5 @ 15 lb. Squats: 2x5 @ 185 lb.- felt nice and easy. Dips: 2x5 @ 48 lb. Half-snatch, 24k: 10m @ 8rpm = 80 reps. Several hours of installing trim in house.

28     185 lb. Squats: 5,3,2 @ 185, 205, 215 lb. Pullup: 5,3,2 @ 15, 25, 30 lb. Dips: 5,3,2 @ 45, 55, 65 lb. Half-snatch, 22k: 20m @ 10 rpm = 200 reps. Two sets of wide-grip pullups to failure. Several hours of manual labor in 90+ degree heat. This “Even Easier Strength” program is working great. I hit a double today with the weight I managed for a single in the pullup three days ago, and a double with more weight than my dip single on the 25^th. My squats are feeling stronger also. My half-snatch technique is getting strong and efficient, and My conditioning is improving. I think there is visible hypertrophy in my chest, lats, shoulders, arms, and upper back. Still need to drop some body fat.

27    187 lb. I think it’s just fluid retention. I had Japanese food for lunch yesterday, then a funeral meal at church in the evening. Felt salty and swollen all night.

26    Even Easier Strength template called for 1x10 today, easy tonic sets. Squat: 1x10 @ 135lb. Dips: 1x10. Pullups: a total of 10 in easy sets of 2 and 3, since 10 would be too close to my max.

25    184.5 lb.  Great training day. Hit PR’s for this cycle in everything. Today’s template was 6 singles. Pullups: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 lb. Squat: 175, 185, 205, 215, 225, 230 lb. Dips: 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 lb. I’ve squatted more than this, but that was about 6 years ago during a powerlifting cycle. Rested a few minutes, then half-snatch, 22k: 24m @ 10rpm, hand switch OTM = 240 reps. My previous best with this weight is 200 reps in 20m, so this is a 20% improvement. Heart rate was about 180-185 at end of set, but I recovered quickly. Total kettlebell work: 11,616 pounds snatched. When hand switches are included, that’s 24 swings, so the total is 12,777 lbs. supported and moved. Finished with 2 sets each of dips and chins to failure. Did not count reps, just went slow until technical failure.

24    Pullup: 2x5 @ 15 lb. Squat: 2x5 @ 175 lb. Dip: 2x5 @ 35 lb. Started half snatch, but it did not happen today. 28k: 2m @ 8 rpm.

22    185.25 lb. Chins: 2x5 @ 12.5 lb. Squat: 2x5 @ 175 lb. Did not do dips.

21    186.5 lb. Chinese take-out last night, so probably just salty. Pullups: 2x5 @ 12.5 lb. Squats: 2x5 @ 175 lb. Dips: 2x5 @ 35 lb. Half-snatch, 20k: 20m @ 10 rpm, hand switch OTM = 200 reps. Rested a few minutes, then dips and chins: 3 sets each to momentary muscular failure. Since the low-rep strength work and high rep ballistic lifting don’t really lend themselves to hypertrophy, I decided to add a few sets of dips and chins to failure, emphasizing the negative, so I can maybe put a little muscle on. My theory is that the high rep snatching creates the right hormonal environment for hypertrophy, with the right kind of stimulus.

20    185 lb. Pullups: 5,3,2 @ 11.25, 15, and 25 lb. Squats: 5,3,2 @ 165, 185, 205 lb. Dips: 27.5, 37.5, 47.5 lb. Long cycle clean and jerk, 20k: 20m @ 8rpm, hand switch OTM = 160 reps. This pace felt easy. Could have gone longer, but just did a hard 30m set of half-snatches on Saturday, so I held back today. 20 minutes should be long enough to cause adaptation, while minimizing wear and tear. Next time I do long cycle, I may try for 9 rpm at this weight.

19     Pullups: 2x5 @ 10 lb. Squats: 2x5 @ 165. Dips: 2x5 @ 35 lb.

18     183.5 lb.  Pullups: 2x5 @ 10 lb. Dips: 2x5@ 35 lb. Squat: 2x5@ 165 lb. Rested a few minutes, then half-snatch, 20k: 30m @ 10 rpm, hand switch OTM = 300 reps. This is a PR for me with this weight. I’ve done 270 with 24k.  HR at end of set: 186 (31 beats in 10 seconds, multiplied by 6). So much for a maximum HR of 179.

16     182.75 lb. Left trapezius very tight and sore.  Still got Easy Strength training in. Pullups felt strong for the first time in a long time. 5 reps @ 10, 3 reps @ 15, 2 reps @ 20 lb. Squat: 5 @ 145, 3 @ 165, 2 @ 185 lb. Dips: 5 @ 25, 3 @ 35, 2 @ 45 lb.

15     183.25 lb. Pullups: 2x5 @ 7.5 lb. Squats: 2x5 @ 145 lb. Dips: 2x5 @ 27.5 lb. Rested a few minutes, then kettlebell work. Warm up: long cycle, 18k: 2m @ 10 rpm. Work sets: long cycle, 18k: 4m @ 10 rpm. This pace is too fast for good technique right now, so stopped short. Rested a few minutes, then half-snatch, 18k: 20m @ 10rpm, hand switch OTM = 200 reps. HR at end of set: +- 156 bpm. The half-snatch feels good these days, and this weight and pace are just about perfect right now. I’ll make these 20-30m sets my bread and butter for a little while, and include some faster and heavier sets, as well as a few lighter sets to deload. If I can progress through the 18k, 20k, 22k, and 24k bells at this pace, I’ll build a good base to push for CMS. After today’s workout, about an hour of physical labor. Very hot today.

14     183.25 lb. Ate moderately yesterday, with lots of protein and water. Today was a tonic day on the program: 1 set of 10 in each lift. Did 10 pullups, assisted with my foot on a stool. 10 squats @ 95 pounds, nice and easy. Forgot to do 10 dips.

13     186 lb. Weight going the wrong direction. I’ve been loose in my eating habits, so it’s time to get it under control. This may also be why my pullups feel so heavy. I’ve gained 3.5 pounds since I started this cycle. I can see by my body comp that it’s not muscle. Training today on the Easy Strength program was 6x1. Pullup: 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15lb. Squat: 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160lb. Dips: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 lb. Easing the weight up slowly, staying away from max effort. Just getting reps in, like the program calls for. Rested a few minutes, then half-snatch, 18k: 20m @ 12 rpm, hand switch OTM = 240 reps. HR at end of set: 174 bpm. I’ve ended my last two sets of 10rpm half-snatch at 162 bpm. This pace is 20% faster, and produces a HR that’s 7% faster. I held this HR without distress. Kept breathing, recovered immediately, no loss of vision or muscle control. This tells me that my actual max HR is a lot higher than the Maffetone model of 179.

12       Did a quick workout after evening church service. Pullup: 2x5 @ 7.5. Squat: 2x5 @ 140. Dips: 2x5 @ 27.5.

10     185 lb. Need to cut back on eating. I think the extra work has made me hungier, and instead of losing fat, I’m eating too much. Pullups: 2x5 @ 7.5 lb. Squat: 2x5 @ 140 lb. Dip: 2x5 @ 25 lb. Rested a few minutes, then half-snatch, 18k: 30m @ 10 rpm, hand switch OTM = 300 reps. Felt good throughout the set. Pulse 162 at end of set. My max HR is supposed to be 179, but I don’t think so. This would have been 90% of my max HR, and there is no way.  Felt much lower.

9      Pullup: 2x5 @ 7.5 lb. Felt heavy, hard to get the last rep. Squat: 2x5 @ 135 lb. Felt good. Dip: 2x5 @ 25 lb. Felt strong. Rested a few minutes, then kettlebell half-snatch, 12k: 20m @ 10rpm = 200 reps. Focused on making each rep as easy as possible. Could have gone much longer. Conditioning, legs, grip, and shoulders all felt great.  Finished with some easy “pumping” exercises: see-saw press, 2x12k: 2x12. Hammer curl, 12k: 2x12. French press, 12k: 2x12. Light construction for a few hours.

8     Pullup: 5 @ 7.5 lb., 3 @ 10 lb., 2 @ 12.5 lb. Squat: 5 @ 115 lb., 3 @ 135 lb., 2 @ 155 lb. Dip: 5 @ 20 lb., 3 @ 25 lb., 2 @ 30 lb. Nothing else today.

7      182.5 lb. Feel good today, but woke up with some allergy symptoms- sneezing, runny nose. Used fizzy tablets and cough drops to get through training. Pullup: 2x5 @ 7.5 lb. Squat: 2x5 @ 115 lb. Dip: 2x5 @ 20 lb. Good kettlebell session today. Half-snatch, 16k: 30m @ 10 rpm, hand switch OTM = 300 reps. Everything felt good. Started to feel a little burn in shoulders the last few minutes, but grip, back, legs, and conditioning held out fine. Rested a few minutes, then did some GPP work. 10 reps on the ab wheel. Dumbbell curls, 8 lb: 1 set to failure- 25 reps. Pushups: 1 set to failure: 25 reps. Finishing with a little pump to help with hypertrophy and recovery.

This cycle, I plan to focus on high reps with lighter weights, but will add a few heavy sessions (28k, 32k) occasionally. I’ll be working the weights up in the squat, dip, and chin, so I should add some strength. If I can push up my ballistic numbers and time as well, then I can come at CMS rank from both ends: strength and endurance. Next cycle I can peak and try for rank.

6      First day back to training. Have had a lot of stiffness and soreness in lower back. Started a new cycle today. I’m using the Ironmind program of strength training with weighted dips, chins, and squats. I’m plugging them into Dan John’s “Even Easier Strength” template, along with kettlebell marathon training. I’ll do the strength program as written, and add kettlebell sets about three days a week. Today’s training- squat, 2x5 @ 95 lb. Pullup: 2x5. First set, used 10 lb, but this was too heavy and left little room for progression. The program is supposed to start light, so I dropped it to 5 lb. for the second set. Dips: 2x5 @ 5 lb. Felt ridiculously easy. Rested a few minutes, then tried long cycle with 24k. Could not comfortably get into rack position due to lingering low back stiffness. Did 12k half snatch instead: 20m @ 10rpm, hand switch OTM = 200 reps. Focused on technique, breathing. Conditioning felt like I could have gone all day, but did not want to overdo elbows or shoulders.

Over the next 40 sessions, I plan to ease up my numbers in squats, dips, and chins, as well as to build some training momentum in half-snatch and long cycle. I don’t know if I can get CMS at the end of this cycle (250 reps in either lift with 28k), but I expect to get stronger overall, and better conditioned. Maybe after this cycle I’ll peak for a CMS test.

1      182.5 lb.  Early morning training. Got down to the gym about 6 am.  Bent press, 24k: 1 rep OTM for 22m = 11/11 reps. Slow and easy, focusing on technique and flexibility. Afterward, felt strain and tightness in lower back, left side.