Bagsy's Training Log

@garagerocker13 A 300m hill? I presume it’s not super steep then? If you just keep gradually building up the volume, you’ll get better at running hills. But building a base could help you as well, like 30 minutes on an Airdyne or something if you feel you’re generally in poor shape.

I’m possibly giving terrible advice because I’ve never suffered much with conditioning… I’ve done too much of it in my life. I played tons of soccer for a decade and dabbled in distance running on the side. Growing up I remember on one of my teams we would condition 5 days/week for 2 weeks, twice per year, and it was brutal. Running sled hills, stairs, and zigzag trails. It was definitely overkill, but our team was always in superior shape. Thankfully once I got on increasingly better teams, we didn’t do this insane conditioning!

Do you experience pain when running, or do you simply suspect running will be painful because of your weight? I think what you should do will depend on the answer to that question.

@dagill2 Knowing things and doing things are very different from each other. For example, I’m pretty sure in order to make any progress on my lifts, I need to spend longer than 2-3 months in a calorie surplus to actually build some muscle. So, I think having a log will give people the opportunity to urge me to not chicken out :slight_smile: things like that. And I honestly think I would have kept ignoring my glaring form issues on the squat if I didn’t receive overwhelming commentary that I maybe shouldn’t do that.

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For a hill in general it’s not too bad, but for a hill of that length it’s pretty rough. I’ll get a picture sometime soon.

I don’t think I’m in too bad of shape, my issue is more along the lines of back/knee pain when I do run - especially with longer distances. I ran a 5k in 2018 and could barely walk for a few days after.

Do you have any need to be good at running?

Nothing outside of pride and general preparedness for any situation. haha

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The hill I use is quite steep but also quite short. I’ve never timed it, but I reckon each rep only lasts 30ish seconds. I could crank out many more rounds than I currently do if I weren’t inhibited by leg strength…

Well, running on flat ground, especially if on concrete, will be harder on your joints than many other conditioning modalities. And that might not even be solely attributed to your weight. Poor form, choice of running surface, bad shoes, not easing into it… I bet those are factors as well. And if you think 5k is long distance, AND that’s a once in a blue moon activity for you, then yeah, you’ll probably be hurting for a bit.

Though you’re nowhere near as heavy as he once was, your discomfort sorta reminds me of David Goggins. I think he was 300 pounds and started by essentially forcing himself to go run every day – only < 1 mile or so at first – despite hating how it made his ego and body feel. I’m not saying to go run every day, but if you want your body to acclimate to the stress of running a bit, then maybe try to be a bit consistent with it. Try running some distance a half mile or so once or twice per week, and experiment with some of those variables. Maybe your weight is not the only factor.

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Did you read this nugget?

Yeah, have seen it before. Like I said, I don’t expect to make progress in a caloric deficit. I fight to maintain strength. But I think if I push the fat loss for a little bit longer, I’ll be that much more encouraged to not chicken out of gaining weight consistently for 5-6ish months when it comes to an end.

In undergrad my sleep suffered, so that also played a role in spinning my wheels. But since then it’s been much better, though presently I don’t sleep as much in a deficit simply because my body doesn’t let me.

I don’t feel I have glaring issues with 3 or 4.

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C1W2D2

Squat
35x5
85x5
100x5
110x3
125x1

Bench
35x5
65x3
75x3
85x9

SA BB Row +40x5x10
100 band pull aparts
Standing ab wheel progression 2x6, following by 15 reps on knees

Almost skipped core work because my obliques were exhausted from yesterday.

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5 hill sprints.

Chilly morning, and my legs didn’t want to work very well.

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C1W2D3

54 pullups

Squat
35x6
90x3
105x3
120x3

Press
37.5x3
45x3
50x12

Deadlift
135x3
155x3
175x11

50 pushups
100 band pull aparts

Don’t know why I bother posting videos because it’s just me lifting the same weights over and over again. I think my back looks better this week even though weight loss is slowing a bit. I squatted a touch wider and cut some depth, but I honestly think I didn’t even hit depth on the last 2 reps. My knees still shoot back, and I don’t feel great going any wider than this.

Something fun to break up the monotony :slight_smile:

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This is a weird cue, that shouldn’t help with coming out of the hole but it does for me.

At the bottom of the hole, try and press the bar overhead.

Alsruhe deserves credit for this one.

FWIW, during the descent the cue is to bend the bar forward towards the nipples.

Have heard that one before. I’m really focusing on knee travel now though. I don’t do so well if I have to try adopting several cues at once

Had to post just to say: That’s very impressive!

Thanks! Though it’s mostly sets of 6 without strict rest times at all.

What cue are you using to help with that?

Tips compiled from Max Aita’s videos, such as the following (may have already posted some awhile back):

You have shared them in the past. Just wondering if you had something tangible going through your head as you perform. I really like Alsruhe’s cue cheat sheets that he uses with the practice of picking 1-2 cues to work on for a series of sessions before focusing on another pair. As you said, working with them all simultaneously just won’t go over too well

Personally, I like to pretend there’s a coach kneeling beside me with a hand touching my knee in the bottom position. I then fight to maintain that knee position, as if that person’s hands were still there, during the ascent, to discourage my knees from shooting back.

Obviously would be more effective if that person’s hands weren’t make-believe…

Ah, that cue. I remember Aita talking about imagining a wall. I can’t help but think you actually have an opportunity, with training at home, to do that. Place a bar next to the wall, put your squat shoes on, and spend five minutes doing it every day. Or a broom stick would probably be just as good. Might make it second nature for you.

I suspected you would say this. I probably should put forth more effort into doing something like that. Though honestly I think quad strength is also an important factor that will take much, much longer to address.