3/12
Happy to have ended on such a positive note as I abandon powerlifts for the next few weeks.
I’ve printed out the ESOLFL program in giant font so I can follow this stupidly-simple program for the next few weeks, and easily scribble my weights and times on the pages to note progress.
Have brought the weight vest back, and doing a ton of family walking outside of scheduled training; but the bulk of “training time” for the next few weeks will be just the weighted walk. There is very little lifting in this program.
fat loss is the goal
6 Likes
3/13
ESOLFL, W1D1.
Everything per program, and the majority is the same every day, so workout summaries are going to be very brief for the next few weeks.
Every session starts with a 30 sec hang, then a 30 second sit at the bottom of a 50lb goblet squat.
Then 3 round of 8 reps each of a complex (RDL-snatch-OHsquat-squat) with a dowel rod.
Then the actual work, which isn’t much:
Snatch: Today was 5x2x85lb
C&J: Today was 5x1x115lb
Then a loaded carry. Today was 50lb suitcase carry “to the stop sign and back” which is a reasonable distance.
Then a walk. Wore the weight vest. I’m targeting 1-2 miles per session, today I was running late so just 1.1 mile (lap around my block).
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3/15 Wednesday
ESOLFL W1D2
Rx warmup.
Snatch 3x3x95
Cj 3x1x125
Suitcase carry 50lb
2.1 mile weighted vest walk, pretty brisk pace.
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3/17 friday
ESOLFL day 3
Including snatch at 75lb, c&j at 105, and a 1.1 mile holding the baby (making the best of an unfortunate situation).
Last 24 hours have been extremely stressful, the next 48 probably moreso. Jumping on a plane in a few hours for last minute emergency.
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Hope everything turns out okay.
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Currently at airport to fly home.
Diet summary: I was good. Hit a grocery store on arrival and bought tuna, egg whites, milk, salami, cheese, carrots, cucumber.
With no hygiene or prep areas available (see below) i could still eat clean food, in sufficient quantities and quality.
Restaurant trips at the end (and now at airport) were responsible choices, like steak and eggs.
Sleep summary: the first night i worked and had a couple naps in my rental car on the worksite. Not healthy at all, probably 3 hours cumulatively? But the second night i was able to shower and sleep in a hotel.
Everything went well work-wise.
8 Likes
3/20/23 Monday
ESOLFL w1d4 or w2d1 depending on how you measure lol.
To simplify, I’ll call it C1D4. A cycle is 5 sessions which should be done in a week but difficult for me to achieve that.
Standard mobility and warmup.
Snatch was 5x2@95, c&j was 5x1@125.
Suitcase carry, 2 minutes per side marching in place because baby.
The walk was 1.1 miles carrying said baby.
The lifting was horrible because when snatching, one should focus on snatching, rather than making sure the baby isn’t going to walk underneath.
And one should not have Winnie the Pooh on in the background either.
And other complaints but i digress.
5 Likes
Ignore this, just venting.
Im frustrated. Started lifting at home because ESOLFL isn’t conducive to the gym, but requires very little equipment. Seems like a great idea, right?
Well, welcome to my house. I have 4 kids and one is under 2 and apparently insomniac. Im waking up even earlier than before, but still get suckered in to watching the baby between 5am and 7 (when i leave for work).
When i go to the gym, the headspace is totally different.
ESOLFL is a VERY minimal program. Its nominally 5 days per week but tgat is simply not on the table with the family situation; so i definitely feel I’m working NOT HARD ENOUGH. I know, DJ says “its called easy strength. Its not supposed to be hard”. But i do feel that by doing only 60% of the weekly volume of this low-volume program, its too low.
On the other hand, maybe this break will be good for me to reset.
I derive a certain pleasure from more intense workouts and im not getting it. Need to just let it go for a while and see what happens.
Therapy session over.
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This is age old issue of training at home with a young family and exactly why when my kids were young I was a runner and didn’t train at home. Is there any way to carve out specific training time in the schedule that you agree with your wife and you train at that time regardless of what Armageddon is happening with the kids (that sounded like a crap idea now I have read it back). Maybe a better option is to simply only train a couple of movements and to just get daily work in. Lots of guys have stayed strong or even progressed on just a few sets of dead lifts or squats done daily. An y days where there is more time, work on sandbags and just get a pump ?
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3/22/2023
Despite having clearly asked for my workout time this morning, I was once again foiled by a baby who’d been up all night and a wife who wanted more sleep.
Rather than let this destroy the program, I decided to just switch the order of operations - do the long walk FIRST, then hand the baby off and do the lifting. It worked great!
Packed the baby into the stroller with a snack, and pushed him for - guessing - 2.6 miles/46 minutes. That and a couple cups of coffee killed enough time that I could lift guilt-free!
ESOLFL C1D5
2.6 mile walk;
Mobility; Rx Warmup;
Snatch: 5,3,2 using 75, 95, 105lb;
C&J 1x115, 1x135, 1x155
Loaded carry: 100lb bag bear hug carry to stop sign and back. No drops. Feeling my erectors big-time.
ANOTHER WALK HAHA! Had enough time to add 1.1 mile wearing a weight vest.
So I have snatched a “yes” from the jaws of “no”.
Took video of my C&Js and will post in BSL for critique when I have a chance.
6 Likes
It got moved to a subforum i cant find so I’ll
Link my form check post here:
Edit: welp nvm, I can’t get the link to post right.
“Bacon and beer bells” on Instagram has some epic videos of him lifting in his garage with his kid
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This is really inspiring
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aww thanks!
Do you mean accomodating my wife and kids, or “getting to yes” in the face of obstacles?
Either way, I’m blushing! haha
getting to “yes”.
99.99999999% of ppl (including myself) would have made an excuse and skipped
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3/23 lots of weighted walking.
3/24 ESOLFL C2D1
The rx mobility and warmup. Snatch 5x2x90, c&j 5x1x120. Suitcase carry. 1.1mi weighted walk.