3 Week Cycle Log

Pharma / TRT
41

18 February 2014
Tuesday
Weight - 217.5(at gym, clothed, couple hours after breakfast)

Squat - 195 x 5, 240 x 5, 290 x 3 / 365 x 5, 410 x 3, 460 x 3 / 485 x 1, 510 x 1* / 365 x 8;
Snatch Grip High Pull from Pins - 195 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Front Squat - 135 x 10, 170 x 5, 205 x 3 / 255 x 5, 290 x 3, 325 x 2 / 340 x 1, 355 x 1 / 255 x 10;

Didn’t want to push my squat day to the right, since I have to teach classes fairly early on Wednesday. After all the calories I pounded last night and spending time in the hot tub, I felt pretty decent this morning. I ate breakfast, then hung out in my room for a little while. Drank my pre-workout shake (PRO, CHO, creatine), then sat in the hot tub again for 5 minutes to warm and loosen everything up.

Supposed to go for 510 today, as one of my joker sets. Feeling good, but mentally a little iffy on trying it. Decided to play it by ear and see how I feel.

Hit the gym, which was busier than I expected. Squat rack was open (go figure), so I jumped in and staked my claim, then went through my warm up stuff. Started squatting, and was taking pretty short rest periods initially. Just pounding through the workout. Even though I was still feeling good, I went ahead and put the belt on at 410, even though I wouldn’t have put it on yet if I hadn’t worn myself out the night before.

Finished the work sets and moved on to the jokers. 485 felt pretty good, still seemed to be moving the weight fairly smooth and quickly, so I decided to go for 510. Loaded up, cued up a good song on the player, and then grabbed some random dude to video with my phone. Took a minute or so to get ready, went through the checklist, and got under the bar.

Came down smooth but slow, felt pretty good, then drove back up. Felt slow, but got it back up and racked it. Checked the video, and my hips looked a little high, like a couple inches above parallel. Kind of pissed, so I took a long rest and decided to try again. Set up a bungee cord at the proper depth, and then set the safety bars a notch higher.

This ended up being a bad mistake, as I set them too high. Got the guy to video again, got set, and hit it. Came down again, and before I was anywhere near parallel the right side of the bar contacted the safety bar. This threw my weight forward a bit (rather than to the left, like you would expect), and I just kind of stuck there for a second fighting the bar. Finally got it back up to lockout and racked it…and called it before I hurt myself.

Moved on to high pulls (which are still moving along very nicely), and then front squats. Realized I have been focusing on my squat and deadlift PRs so much that I have neglected the fact that I am setting PRs constantly in front squat as well. Hit 355 x 1 today. Like I said previously, I expect to be front squatting four plates by the end of the summer (barring any setbacks).

Should have done cardio again on Wednesday, but due to the earlier start time I decided to just skip it. I hate rushing around and being late.

42

20 February 2014
Thursday
Weight - 220 clothed at gym

1A. Band Pull Apart - 20, 20; Motorcycle Row - 170 x 10, 180 x 10, 190 x 10, 200 x 10;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 170 x 5, 205 x 3 / 255 x 5, 290 x 3, 325 x 2 / 340 x 1, 355 x no attempt / 255 x 8-3-2;
2A. 1 Arm Cable Row - 120 x 10, 10, 10, 10;
2B. Incline DB Bench - 65 x 10, 10, 10, 10;

Today seemed like a slow down. (Writing this several days later) I usually drink a cup of coffee some time before hitting the gym, don’t think I had one today. Was still moving some weight, felt pretty solid just…slower. After the double at 325, my left arm felt a little odd on the inside. Nothing serious, just felt different. Took a short break and did 340. Didn’t hurt during the rep, but about a minute after it started to feel sore. Wasn’t sure what was going on, but I didn’t want to push it so I stopped there. Going off my percentages, I was set to attempt 355 on my second Joker. However, by the time I got there, even without the weird feeling in my left arm, I don’t think I would have got it. Dropped back down and hit the rest-pause cluster.

Moved on to the next supersets. Inclines felt good, I probably could have moved up to 70s or done a couple more reps per set. Elbow stopped hurting during these, and I’ve had no more issues with it since. Guessing I may have minorly strained the tricep or something else in there, but I really don’t know. No popping, crackling, sharp pain, none of that. And it went away, so whatever.

43

21 February 2014
Friday
Weight - 219 clothed at gym

Snatch Grip Hang Pull - 185 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Deadlift - 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 3 / 335 x 5, 380 x 3, 425 x 3 / 450 x 1, 470 x 1 / 335 x 8;
Leg Extension - 160 x 12, 12, 12, 12;

Another day without pre-gym coffee, another slow day. I’m at the end of two back to back 531 cycles, so maybe I’m just feeling a little beat up from that. Hang pulls felt great, weight was just flying like it has been doing. Moved into deads, and that was the slow down. Was still moving the bar, it just felt heavier than it should have. Got through it all, even did a triple at 425. Felt worn out by the time I finished those, so I just did some leg extensions and called it. I’ve been combining deadlift day with direct arm training, and that was not happening today.

Oddly enough, the pain in my left elbow/arm came back after deadlifting. I am very careful not to deadlift with bent arms, I try to keep them as straight as possible - to the point of flexing the triceps when setting up on the bar to keep them straight. I catch myself jerking a little, but I’ve been trying to squash that as well. Next week is a deload, so I’ll get a chance to rest it.

44

22 February 2014
Saturday
Weight - 215 (naked at gym after eating)

1A. Dip - BW x 10, 75 x 8, 8, 100 x 4, 4, 125 x 3, 3;
1B. Screw Curl - X, 45 x 8, 8, 55 x 4, 4, 65 x 3, 3;
1 Arm Pressdown - 30 x 8, 35 x 6, 30 x 8;

Kettlebell Complex - 40# KB - 3:45

Came in and did some arm training since I had nothing else to do on a Saturday morning. Elbow felt fine, so no worries. After that, I did a kettlebell complex I found somewhere years ago and haven’t done in a while. Goes like this: (2 KBs)

Layer 1-
Front Squat
See Saw Press (OH press one hand at a time)

Layer 2-
Clean
Front Squat
Seesaw Press

Layer 3-
Swing
Clean
Front Squat
Seesaw Press
Pushup (on bell handles)

Layer 4-
Swing
Clean
Front Squat
Seesaw Press
Pushup
Renegade Row (still leaning on KB handles)

5 reps each layer. Doesn’t look like much on paper, but if you really get after it, it’ll get the heart pumping pretty good. When I used to do it, I would do the complex, run a mile, do it again, run another mile. Not in that kind of shape right now, but I would like to get back up to that.

45

Quick note on my PCT, which just ended. Since I went three weeks this time (3 oral, 2 injected) instead of my normal two, I did a three week PCT to be safe. Around the end of the second week/going into the third week, I started getting acne on my chest. Got that last time as well, can’t say if I got it on my back this time since my wife wasn’t here to tell me.

I’ve seen guys on here talking about using accutane, which seems kind of harsh. I don’t know, they may be getting it much worse than I do. But, it bears mentioning that accutane has a very strong link to birth defects. My wife used it in high school, and they told her if she got pregnant within 5 years or so, she was almost guaranteed to have birth defects. We got pregnant right at the end of that five year period, and were sweating it a little until our daughter was born perfectly healthy. My point being, if you are planning on having kids in the future, you might want to rethink the accutane. If you already have kids and/or aren’t going to have any (more), then I suppose you don’t need to worry about it.

Anyway, what I use for my acne is St. Ives Apricot Scrub. My wife has used it periodically for years as an exfoliant, but they now make one with salicylic acid as well, and it clears my acne up within a week or so. Maybe I am getting an extremely minor case of it compared to other guys, I don’t know. But it works for me. Don’t mean to sound like I am shilling for them, just offering something that works for me.

46

Just realized I’m a full week behind. Got kind of busy last week.

Deload Week

24 February 2014
Monday
A. Pullup - BW x 10, 55 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5; BW x 15;
B. Military Press - X, 95 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
Lateral Raise - 25 x 8, 8, 8;
Neutral Grip Pullup - 10;

25 February 2014
Tuesday
Weight - 217

Squat - 195 x 5, 240 x 5, 280 x 3 / 320 x 3, 370 x 3, 245 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;
Snatch Grip High Pull from Pins - 185 x 3, 3, 3, 3;
Front Squat - 135 x 10, 170 x 5, 210 x 3, 245 x 3, 185 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;

26 February 2014
Wednesday
Weight - 217

Jump Rope - 2 x 1:00
100 Rep KB Complex - 50# KB - 4:00
1/2 mile Treadmill - 3:40
4 Layer KB Complex - 50# KB - 3:51
Elliptical - 20:00
**
Lateral Raise - 25 x 8, 8, 8;

27 February 2014
Thursday

A. Motorcycle Row - 150 x 10, 160 x 10, 170 x 10, 10, 160 x 10; Band Pull Apart - 20, 20 second hold, 30 second hold;
B. Bench - 135 x 10, 175 x 5, 210 x 3, 245 x 3, 185 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;
Incline Press to Fly - 45 x 8, 8, 8;
Inverted Row - 10;

28 February 2014
Friday
Weight - 215

Snatch Grip High Pull from Hang - 175 x 3, 3, 3, 3;
Deadlift - 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 3, 225 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;
1A. Dip - BW x 10, 75 x 8, 8, 100 x 4, 4, 135 x 3, 3;
1B. Screw Curl - 45 x 8, 8, 55 x 4, 4, 65 x 2, 3;
2A. 1 Arm Pressdown - 30 x 10, 10, 10;
2B. Incline Curl - 40 x 8, 8, 8;

Wasn’t much to write this week, especially since I am catching up a week later. I did notice that it felt like I was dragging through my workouts, don’t know if that was accumulated fatigue or just lack of drive/motivation since I wasn’t going all out like normal.

47

Starting a new 7 week lifting cycle.

Week 1 - 3 x 5
03 March 2014ut
Monday
Weight - 218 (immediately upon waking)

1A. Pullup - BW x 10, 50 x 5, 60 x 5, 70 x 3 / 80 x 5, 90 x 5, 100 x 5 / 110 x 1, 115 x 1 / 80 x 6-3-0;
1B. Military Press - X, 65 x 10, 85 x 5, 100 x 3 / 110 x 5, 125 x 5, 140 x 5 / 150 x 1, 155 x 1 / 110 x 10-4-2;
2A. Neutral Grip Pullup - 10, 10, 10; 1 Arm Pulldown - 120 x 10, 10;
2B. Lateral Raise - 35 x 10, 10, 10, 10;

100 Rep KB Complex - 53# KB - 3:20

Waited longer than I intended before hitting the gym. We were supposed to be done earlier, but it kept changing. Then the weather rolled in, and the base cut every one loose at the same time. Instead of trying to fight traffic and go to the base gym, I hit the work gym. Found out the group that was training there mid- to late-morning changed their times, so the gym was fully open. Got in and cranked through it. Felt good, hit some good numbers. Didn’t realize till I was about done that I took close to an hour and a half to finish. Because of this, I decided to do the KB complex once I got home. As short as it is, I should have just done it there.

48

04 March 2014
Tuesday
Weight - 215.5 immediately upon rising

1A. Squat - 195 x 5, 245 x 5, 295 x 3 / 320 x 5, 365 x 5, 415 x 5 / 440 x 1, 465 x 1 / 320 x 10;
1B. Box Jump - 38" x X, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Snatch Grip High Pull from Pins - 190 x 3, 3, 3, 3;
Front Squat - 140 x 10, 175 x 5, 210 x 3 / 225 x 5, 260 x 5, 295 x 5 / 315 x 1, 335 x 1 / 225 x 10;

Really dragging in the gym today. Still got my numbers, but felt like crap and took way longer than it should have. When I got to 465, I set up my phone to video so I could check form. Thought I went down all the way, but upon reviewing the instant replay it turns out I was a couple inches high. Becoming a trend…

Went through the rest - front squats felt pretty good, but when I dropped back down for the FSL set, I just didn’t have the motivation left to push past 10. Probably could have gotten a couple more, just didn’t really want to. From what I read prior to starting these, there is some type of spillover in gains and benefits after completing a short cycle. I’ve seen it both times, but this time I think I finally went past that point and went back to my normal state, albeit using heavier weights. This might explain why last week’s deload sessions and the last couple days of this new training cycle have been such grinders. Guessing really, who knows.

Drank my PWO shake, decompressed the old spine with my gravity boots, and then stretched. After that, went into the HP office and had an analysis done with the dexa scan. At a height of 5’11.5" and bodyweight of 215, I am currently at 16.8% bodyfat which is apparently right about average for the local tested group of my work community. Between the 800ml of water which contained my BCAA mix, the other water I drank, and the PWO shake (15 oz of water plus powder), my total mass was 224.6 lb according to the scan. Guessing that includes my clothes, since there is no way that water (plus the food and water I took in earlier) weighs 9 pounds. So, 224.6 total mass, 179.3 lb lean tissue, 36.1 lb fat. Not real happy with it, but it gives me an idea where I am before my next cycle.

Apparently, doing the scan after working out can skew the results. If the muscles are dehydrated at all, then it appears as less muscle mass. Not trying to make it look like more of a gain than it was, but I’ll make sure to do the next scan prior to working out and fully hydrated for best results. One of the benefits of the dexa is that it will record each subsequent scan in the same file, and create a tracking graph so you can easily see your progress (or lack thereof).

49

06 March 2014
Thursday
Weight - 216

1A. Band Pull Apart - 20, 20; Motorcycle Row - 160 x 10, 10, 170 x 10, 180 x 10;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 170 x 5, 205 x 3 / 220 x 5, 255 x 5, 290 x 5 / 305 x 1, 325 x 1 / 220 x 10-5-3;
2A. 1 Arm Cable Row - 120 x 10, 10, 10, 10;
2B. Incline DB Bench - 65 x 10, 10, 10, 10;

Felt much better in the gym today. Started using Formeron a couple days ago, so placebo effect or real that seems to be helping. No huge boost, just feeling better and more aggressive in the gym. Last night was also the best sleep I’ve gotten in a week or so, so that would obviously help. Still took about an hour, but felt better than earlier this week.

I’ve been playing with the thumbless bench grip, and actually felt solid enough with it to go all the way to 290 with it, but thumbed it for the two Jokers and then went thumbless for the rest-pause clusters. Like I said, felt great. The bar was moving really well, got all the numbers I wanted to hit. Would have liked to have gotten 6 or more at 290, but I never expected to hit 290 for 5 anyway. 3x5 week is my least favorite, because I’ve gotten so used to working in the lower rep ranges that hitting 5 or more gets very difficult.

50

07 March 2014
Friday
Weight - 217

Snatch Grip High Pull from Hang - 185 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Deadlift - 185 x 5, 230 x 5, 275 x 3 / 300 x 5, 345 x 5, 390 x 6 / 415 x 1, 435 x 1 / 300 x 10;
1A. Dip - BW x 10, 75 x 8, 8, 100 x 4, 4, 135 x 3, 3;
1B. Screw Curl - X, 45 x 8, 8, 55 x 4, 4, 65 x 3, 3;

Felt much better today. The Formeron appears to be helping, as I feel stronger and a bit more aggressive in the gym. Weights felt much better today - if it’s placebo effect, I’ll still take it. Still seem to be moving a bit slow in the gym. Got all this done in under one hour, but I usually add another superset for arms and something for quads in addition to this and still only go about 15 minutes over.

Not much else to write for today.

Kept the same weight through the weekend, and then took first injection on Sunday. Weighed 217 immediately upon rising, and did the injection shortly after. Managed to keep about 6 pounds during this off period, hard to say with my weight fluctuating like it does. I would assume everyone’s does, I’m just seeing it more because I’m being anal about keeping weight on. Had hoped my order would arrive in time to play with individual doses, but it has not. Instead, did today’s injection (Day 0) at 1.5mL, meaning 75mg per hormone instead of 50. Will do the same tomorrow to get levels up a little faster, and then drop back to 1mL like usual. Stopping the Formeron as well. Thinking I will only use that as a week 5 intro before starting back up, since it seems to give me a little boost.

51

Really really really cool to read your log.

I’ve always been curious about 3 week cycles. My thought is that if I could keep 3 pounds of muscle, that’d put me like 6 months ahead of the progress I normally make, and would be an awesome use of the six weeks (3 weeks on/3 weeks PCT).

Now that you’re at the end of your PCT, how do you feel like the whole thing went? Does that 6 pounds you’re up feel legit, or is weight still coming down?

Also - just in general, how’d this feel compared to longer runs? Do you feel like you need this second short run, or could you have walked away with the 6 pounds from the first run?

52

dick -
After this PCT, I feel like I did decent, but I look a little softer around the middle this time. It was feeling pretty legit, but I think I screwed myself by trying to hard to keep weight.

I’ve only done one longer run, and that was years ago. I may do a longer run at some point in the future, but no definite plans to yet. I am doing these for a couple reasons, basically don’t want to draw too much attention to myself and to prove/disprove if these are worthwhile. I did a dexascan a few days ago, and will do one again at the end of this run.

53

3 x 3 Week

10 March 2014
Monday
Weight - 217

1A. Pullup - BW x 10, 50 x 5, 60 x 5, 70 x 3 / 85 x 3, 95 x 3, 110 x 3 / 115 x 1, 120 x 1 / 85 x 6-2-1;
1B. Military Press - X, 65 x 10, 85 x 5, 100 x 3 / 115 x 3, 130 x 3, 150 x 3 / 155 x 1, 165 x 1 / 115 x 10-5-2;
2A. Neutral Grip Pullup - BW x 10, 10, 10; 1 Arm Pulldown - 120 x 10, 10;
2B. Lateral Raise - 35 x 10, 10, 10, 10;
100 Rep KB Complex - 44#KB - 3:12

Good start to the week, hit it nice and hard today. Was only able to get 3 for the final work sets but I chalk that up to the higher working weights I am moving into. Knocked out my main lifts, then had to run back up to the office so there was a decent amount of time between the main and accessory lifts (around 40 minutes or so). Finished those, took a short break and then did the 100 Rep KB Complex. Shoulders felt a little smoked, so I went with the 44 pounder instead of the 53. KB was basically flying up on the push press, so I should have gone with the 53. Fatigue makes cowards of us all…

Feeling better this run so far. Last couple I was having some minor sexual issues - trouble keeping it up, trouble finishing, loss of interest to a certain extent. I’ve been taking selegeline for a while now, at 2.5mg per day. Decided to bump it to 5mg/day during this cycle to see if it helps with prolactin and libido issues (like I had heard). So far, seems to be helping. That’s the only change (aside from increased dosage the first two injection days), so guessing it is that.

Also, got my blood work back. June of last year - prior to doing any gear - my total cholesterol was 173, Triglyceride 52 (0-150), HDL 68 (40-60), LDL 95 (0-100), VLDL 10.4 (no specified range, and Lipid Risk was 2.5 (3.3-4.4). So apparently it was pretty good.

On 13 February, total cholesterol was 148, Tri was 38 (just says 149 for range, but guessing same range as previous panel), HDL 31 (40-60), LDL 109.4 (130?), VLDL 7.6 (range undefined), and no lipid risk mentioned. So even with a couple weeks of no-flush niacin, stuff was a bit out of whack. Unfortunately I can’t get panels done real often without raising flags, unless I go pay for it myself.

And if anyone cares, I still don’t have HIV.

54

11 March 2014
Tuesday

A. Squat - 195 x 5, 245 x 5, 295 x 3 / 345 x 3, 390 x 3, 440 x 4 / 465 x 1, 495 x missed rep / 395 x 8;
B. Box Jump - 38.5" x 3, 3, 41.5" x 3, 3;
Snatch Grip High Pull from Pins - 195 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Front Squat - 140 x 10, 175 x 5, 210 x 3 / 245 x 3, 280 x 3, 315 x 3 / 335 x 1, 350 x 1 / 245 x 10;

Felt good getting started today, but kind of tapered off. I normally train with my headphones in, and I think I’ve gotten used to staying in my own little world while training. It helps me keep the intensity, especially when I get to the higher weights. Today, there was no music playing in the gym, so one of the guys talked me into plugging mine into the sound system instead of wearing my earphones. Still started off good, cranked through my warmup and working sets pretty well. Then, while taking a short break between working sets and Joker sets, I got to talking and lost my momentum. Had some trouble getting it back when I jumped into the Jokers. Got 465, though I think it was probably a little high. Attempted 495, but whole body starting shaking as soon as my hips and knees broke. Got about halfway down, and bailed - still had trouble getting it back to lockout.

Supersetted squats with box jumps. Haven’t been doing those for a while, but I’ve been trying to get back into them. Finished those and moved to the high pulls. Weight felt good, bar was flying up. Cranked through the high pulls and moved on to front squats. Was getting tired at this point (duh), so I slowed down a little between sets. Got to the joker sets, and 335 went up slow. Because of this - and what happened on the second squat joker - I almost skipped the second front squat joker. Said eff that, and hit a pretty quick 350 x 1. Dropped down and hit the max rep set, then moved to abs. Did the wheel, interspersed with quad stretches. Finished by stretching, hung upside down with the gravity boots to decompress the old spine, and was finally done.

55

12 March 2014
Wednesday
Weight - 218.5

Command PT - HPP focus
1A. Bulgarian Split Squat - 35# DBs 4 sets of 5 / 1B. Goblet Squat - 53# KB 4 sets of 8
Did these light so as to avoid affecting recovery from my other lifting. Still caused my lower back to tighten up. Took a break and tried to stretch it out. Eventually loosened up, so I did a modified version of the rest.

2A. Bench - 135# 4 x 5 / 2B. Pushup - 3 x 10 / 2C. Pullup - BW - 4 x 5
Did these circuit style, rather than the way they were prescribed. Got the heart rate up a little, but not much.

300m Shuttle run - 25m down and back, 6 times - Did this twice, with a 3:00 rest between. Didn’t time my first one, but got 1:10 on the second go. Really couldn’t say how good or bad that is, but I was keeping pace with the guys around me, all of which were quite a bit smaller.

We are being forced to attend command PT all of a sudden, for various reasons - none of which include guys failing the physical requirements of the job. ‘Command PT builds camaraderie!’ Um, if it does, then you’re doing it wrong. PT is for performance improvement or maintenance, depending on your goals and/or training block. It’s not a social event. But I digress.

Interesting side note, the E-9 who is making a huge issue about guys being at PT couldn’t even do proper pull ups with his body weight, let alone with weight as prescribed. And this is an e-lite member of the SOF community.

56

13 March 2014
Thursday
Weight - 221

1A. Band Pull Apart - 20, 20; Motorcycle Row - 170 x 10, 180 x 10, 190 x 10, 200 x 10, X, X, 210 x 10;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 170 x 5, 205 x 3 / 240 x 3, 270 x 3, 305 x 3 / 325 x 1, 340 x 1 / 240 x 10-4-2;
2A. 1 Arm Cable Row - 125 x 10, 10, 10, 10;
2B. Incline DB Bench - 65 x 10, 10, 12, 12;
100 Rep KB Complex - 53# KB - 3:15

Good work today, in my opinion. Moved pretty good through my main lift, hitting decent numbers. Would have liked to get more than 3 at 305, but 3 works. Moved into the jokers, and kept doing good. 340 made me a little paranoid, especially given there was no one else in the gym. I set the safety bars for that one (I bench in a squat rack most of the time), low enough they were out of the way but high enough I could roll it down onto those instead of across my junk if I got stapled.

Cranked through the accessory stuff, then took a few minutes and hit the complex as a finisher. Good day, all in all.

57

14 March 2014
Friday
Weight - 223

Got up and started my routine, getting ready to head to the closer gym since I didn’t have to go to work today. Drove my old truck today, since of the four vehicles we have it has been giving the least problems. Well, as luck would have it, it decided to sputter and die as I was cresting one of the bridges en route to my destination. Dropped it into neutral and rolled it down, getting off the side of the road once I was off the bridge. Long story short, between a trip to the parts store only to find out it wasn’t what I thought, then waiting over an hour for a tow truck only to be told they wouldn’t be there for another 20-30 minutes, and then cancelling in order to use the tow bar I forgot I had, and then getting a bolt cross threaded and partially stripped while installing said tow bar improperly and then calling for another tow truck which took another hour+…all told, about 6 hours dealing with getting the truck home. Only to have it fire right up when I started messing with it before replacing parts. So no gym, and since I spent the better part of 3-4 hours running around and messing with the truck, I didn’t eat as much and lost two pounds by the next day. Which I still have not re-gained.

15 March 2014
Saturday
Weight - 221.5

Snatch Grip High Pull from Hang - 190 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Deadlift - 185 x 5, 230 x 5, 275 x 3 / 320 x 3, 370 x 3, 415 x 5 / 435 x 1, 460 x 1 / 320 x 10;
A. Leg Press - 400 x 8(wide stance), 10(narrow), 12(narrow);
B. Glute Bridge - 225 x 8, 8, 8;

Hit the gym fairly early, and hit it hard. Cranked through my high pulls, followed by deads. Was playing it by ear, not sure yet if I was going to do the jokers since my lower back and been tightening up a little. As I was going through the work sets, I felt absolutely no pain or tightness, so I went for it. Got both of them, and 460 was one of those where you feel it nice and solid in the hams, glutes, and lower back. Hit 10 for the drop set, and then moved on. Did a set of wide stance leg press to try and stretch out the lumbars (it’s worked in the past), but was super-setting them with glute bridges (got them from here - sitting on floor with bar across hips and shoulders on edge of bench, then squeeze glutes and bridge up till hip-to-sholder line is flat. Think those had a greater spillover on the lumbars than I was expecting, since they tightened up really good this time. To the point that it was hitting my sciatic and affecting how I walk. I hobbled into the fitness/stretching room, and laid out with my back flat on the floor. After a few minutes like that, along with foam rolling and stretching the hips out, the pain subsided and I felt better. Had intended to do arms, but after that I was spent.

58

531 Week
17 March 2014
Monday
Weight - 222

1A. Pullup - BW x 10, 50 x 5, 60 x 5, 70 x 3 / 90 x 5, 100 x 3, 115 x 2 / 120 x 1, 125 x 1 / 90 x 6-2-1;
1B. Military Press - X, 65 x 10, 85 x 5, 100 x 3 / 125 x 5, 140 x 3, 155 x 2 / 165 x 1, 175 x M / 125 x 8-4-1;
2A. Neutral Grip Pullup - 10, 10, 10; 1 Arm Pulldown - 125 x 10, 10;
2B. Lateral Raise - 35 x 10, 10, 10, 10;
100 Rep Complex - 53# KB - 3:24

Felt pretty good today, cranked through fairly quickly. 90 x 5 kind of sucked, judging off how that one felt I wasn’t sure I would get the other pullup reps I was intending. That was a poor judgement though, as I had little trouble getting my numbers. Wasn’t easy, obviously, but was easier than I expected. Even managed to double 115, and still get all my Jokers. Military press was pretty good as well, until the jokers. 165 was a pretty good grinder, 175 never got above my head.

Finished up my rest-pause sets, and then moved on to accessory moves. Felt good through those as well, after doing the heavy pullups, doing 10 at bodyweight pumped my lats up something fierce. Threw in the 1 arm pulldowns, getting a good squeeze at the bottom. Finished off with the 100-rep, which is aggravating my lower back somewhat. Kind of sucks, because every time I find a good conditioning complex or set up I like, it starts to bother the ole lumbars. Have to keep looking for a good finisher…

59

18 March 2014
Tuesday
Weight - 221.5

1A. Squat - 195 x 5, 245 x 5, 295 x 3 / 365 x 5, 415 x 3, 465 x 1 / 500 x 1 / 365 x 8;
1B. Box Jump - 40" x 3, 3, 3, 3;
Snatch Grip High Pull from Pins - 200 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Front Squat - 140 x 10, 175 x 5, 210 x 3 / 265 x 5, 295 x 3, 335 x 2 / 350 x 1 / 265 x 8;
Ab Wheel - 12, 12, 12;
Sprint EMOM - 10:00

Went to a different gym today, the one where I used to work up here. It’s been renovated and expanded greatly since then, so it was nice to check it out. The main reason I used that one was the indoor turf field. Wanted to hit some sprints but the crappy VA weather just ain’t cooperating.

Squats went okay, took my time a little bit (tried not to go too slow). I was already hitting 365 on my first work set, and didn’t use the belt. Felt a little heavy, but I try not to use the belt too much. I’ve been holding off putting it on till my set hits around 400 - this is obviously happening quicker and quicker. Set might have felt better if I had worn it, but really can’t say. Pushed on through the rest of the work sets, only getting a single at 465. Jokers called for 490 and 515, but with the trouble I’ve been having at the heavy end lately, I wasn’t feeling it. Still wanted to get something done, so I just did one joker at 500. Set up my bungee early in the session, and had it dialed in by that point, so I know my depth was right at parallel. Dropped back down and did my drop set at 365 without the belt again, was really feeling the fatigue. I also supersetted box jumps with my first 4 sets, those felt good all the way through.

Reset everything, and pounded through the high pulls. Guessing it’s some sort of CNS activation thing - in spite of the fatigue from the heavy squats, doing these explosive pulls seems to re-energize me for the front squats. Worked through those, again only doing one joker set. The single at 350 felt a little off (got my depth and back up, but still) so I stopped there. Stripped weight for the drop set, and only got 8 - my little ‘recharge’ had definitely worn off.

Did the ab wheel, and then started doing the sprints. For some reason I swear I thought it was a 40 yard field. Then after the second sprint, as I was walking back to start I actually looked at the marks. Sure, there are four lines - with four hash marks in between, each hash mark about the distance of one of my strides. 20 yards…not 40. So for the rest of the 10:00, I did a sprint every thirty seconds instead of every minute. Decent work, but not real taxing. I was doing them in Vibrams, and the turf runs out onto hard rubber gym flooring - that doesn’t feel good on the feet. So I was only really sprinting 10-15 before I was decelerating. I was still running off the end, but not as far. Should have just set up a prowler.

End note - Like I mentioned earlier, I have been having issues at the heavy end of the workout - making depth, feeling stable under the bar, etc. I am also starting to feel rundown, even while using ‘assistance’. I did a no-shit deload just a couple weeks ago, but I’m not supposed to do another for another three weeks. Thinking about dropping the jokers, or (more likely) dropping some of my TMs 20-30 pounds for the lifting cycle starting next week. I’m still hitting my numbers (mostly), but I don’t want to start sacrificing form in pursuit of increasing numbers. I’m not competing, but using parallel as a standard keeps me doing the same thing instead of ‘that’s good enough’. That road can also lead to injuries, so caution wins out here.

60

19 March 2014
Wednesday
Weight - 221.5

Conditioning
Versa-Climber High Resistance Intervals - 10:00 on / 2-3:00 off

If you recall, I mentioned last week how we were being forced to do command PT on Wednesdays. So here we are again, mandatory PT…why? Very first answer given…it builds camaraderie. I’m sorry, I thought physical training was meant to improve or maintain your current level of conditioning. You know, prepare yourself for the rigors of the job. It’s not a fucking social event. But I digress.

So after last week’s debacle of trying to do the prescribed workout the day after heavy squatting (and killing my lower back in the process), I decided I was going on my own program. Which I have done for years, and always works out better. I showed up on time, participated in the warmup/mobility work, and then looked at the workout on the big screen. Volume work, utilizing…you guessed it, KB front squats. Descending ladder reps, ten sets, each one supersetted with another movement. Not doing that.

So I went upstairs where the ‘cardio’ equipment is - treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, rowers, even a rope climbing machine (which I was skeptical of when I first heard of it, but actually isn’t bad if you set the weights right). I jumped on the versa-climber.

For those unfamiliar with high-resistance intervals, they are a sort-of recovery/low impact conditioning tool. I’ve done them on the versa and the bike. Versa is simple - crank the resistance all the way up, and climb away. The high resistance forces a slow tempo, so even with the work you are doing, the heart rate stays fairly low (below 150, unless you try to get it higher). On a bike, it’s a little more complicated. It can’t be one of those commercial fitness center bikes with the electronic (magnetic) resistance controls. It has to be some sort of bike with friction resistance - spin bike, keiser bike, whatever. Again, set the resistance as high as you can handle, and set one pedal at the top of the rotation. When you start pedaling, you will push the top pedal to the bottom, pause for a split second, and then push the other pedal to the bottom, pause, etc. It’s a very brief pause, like just long enough that your feet have stopped moving, and then move. You are pausing every half revolution, so your tempo is: push-pause-push-pause. Repeat.

Whichever you are doing these on, go for 10-20 minutes, take a break, and then do the same time interval again. Today I did 10:00, took a 2-3 minute break, another 10:00, 2-3 minute break, another 10:00. Heart rate didn’t go very high, but got a decent sweat on. These are great for leg recovery, either one interval after leg day, or a longer session the following day. Seems to cause some sort of flushing, and helps with soreness.