My dude, this is a bizarre combo.
2 Likes
Broccoli makes any meal healthy, no? 
1 Like
Add broccoli to a cheat meal? Automatically healthy.
I think we just found a new marketing strategy.
2 Likes
BDWP - PI - c1w4 - summary
Sunday - 13 June 2021
Metrics: 178.6/35.50/17.6% at 0520
Down 1.4 lbs from last Sunday, which is okay, I guess, but supposedly up 0.3% in body fat percentage. Don’t really care about the weight anymore, and the body fat metric has always sketchy at best, so…
I think my waist measurement is probably the best indicator of my progress at present, and I’m down 3/4" from last week—that’s a definite win! Oh yeah, that and I’m feeling leaner and I think I’m looking a little leaner as well.
Got all of the extra cardio in this week, did the Iron Cardio 200-Burpee and Cindy WOD workouts, hit 2x walks everyday except Friday (but technically 5 hours at the amusement park took care of that), and I did four sled push workouts. It was a good week.
Yesterday marked the end of my second 5-week cycle on CT’s Best Damn Workout Plan for Naturals (Part I). Overall it was a good plan for a low volume/high intensity/high frequency setup, and I enjoyed it. I do think I did better on his 3-day full body + 1-day gap workout plan last fall, but I was much better about both diet and more frequent conditioning at that point; certainly I wasn’t battling the mental fatigue of being six months into deeply restricted eating. I’ve increased the conditioning significantly over the past several weeks, but I threw all the tracking and super-restrictive diet-related stuff out the window too. In the end, I’m not sure if it would’ve worked any better if I hadn’t run out of steam on the diet and changed so much about my eating patterns right in the middle, but it is what it is.
That said, I particularly like the work set intensifiers, but I’ll be glad to move back into higher volume programming after I return from vacation.
Given that I’m between plans at the moment, my goals for the week are:
- Determine training maxes for 5/3/1 - press, squat, bench, deadlift
- Do 50 rows, 50 band pull-aparts, and 50 chins/pull-ups (on push days) or 50 dips (on pull days) after finding t-max
- Do Iron Cardio 200-Burpee and Cindy workouts
- Do 4 thruster/swing + bike workouts
- Do 2 sled push workouts
- Take quick walks (about a 1/2-hour) every day after dinner
That should fill out the week nicely, and then I’ll move into a sort of daily work plan while I’m on vacation: rows, BPAs, thrusters, swings, squats, push-ups, and whatever else I can come up with.
4 Likes
Sunday - 13 June 2021
Workout: Conditioning, 1230-1300 (30 minutes)
a) KB swing - 5x20s/40s - 20kg - 15, 15, 15, 15, 15
b) Bike@120 bpm - 16m
So today was weird in that it was the second day of a long-course swim meet for my kiddos; I was on duty, so we were out the door by 0600 and not back until after 1200. They both did really well and it was really nice to see them swim in person again! I kinda forgot how exciting swim meets can be.
Anyway, did this brief workout as soon as we got back home. No breakfast this morning, so this workout was fasted, about 15-16 hours since pre-bed snack. Felt good and hit 15 reps with the 20-kg 'bell in all swing rounds. HR ended in the 160s, was back down below 120 at start of ride, and then well above 130 for almost all of the ride.
Anyway, a good start to the work for today, all things considered. Now it’s time for some food!
Edit: Got a second 35-minute walk in yesterday after dinner.
3 Likes
Sunday - 13 June 2021
Workout: Supplemental
Iron Cardio Burpees, for time
a) 100 2-pump burpee
b) 100 1-pump burpee
Time: 11:51 + 9:01 = 20:52 total
Wow! Didn’t want to do this, but that’s exactly why I did. Beat previous best (06 June 2021) by 83 seconds. HR was way up in 170s by the end, now about 5 minutes after and it’s down in the mid-100s. If I’m not careful, I’m going to get efficient at these burpee thingies…
Either way, my body is on fire!
6 Likes
Well done my man
The Wolfpack is proud
1 Like
All of my yes. That’s pretty much the surest sign that a workout needs to get done.
I used to bring in a “meal” to work that was a package of bacon and a steamable bag of broccoli. I honestly miss that meal. There was an argument to be made that the fat in the bacon helped the fat soluble vitamins of the broccoli get absorbed…but it was also just plain delicious.
2 Likes
Monday - 14 June 2021
Workout: OHP training max, 1000-1055 (55 minutes)
Warm-up
a) OHP - barx10, 65x8, 85x6 | 95x5, 105x5, 110x5, 115x5, 120x5, 125x4
b1) OA KB row - 20kg - 15, 12, 12, 12 = 51 total
b2) BPA - red - 20, 15, 15 = 50 total
b3) Chin-up - BW - 8, 8, 8, 8, 7, 7, 4 = 50 total
35-minute walk after dinner yesterday evening.
Today was interesting: I had a plan and I executed it, but it wasn’t a part of any particular program—went by feel, which was new and different. And not altogether bad, at least for this week’s purposes.
I guess I did something like the 7th Week Protocol TM Test, but not quite exactly that. Anyway, I’ll be using 85% TM for the first two cycles of Prep and Fat Loss Training, so I was looking for 5 smooth reps. I just started with the bar and did a few warmup sets with 60 seconds rest between, then once I reached a weight I could feel (95 lbs here), I just kept putting up 5 clean reps until I couldn’t. The rest periods between these sets was 90 seconds.
I had to work hard for 5 reps by the time I reached 115, barely got 5 at 120, and missed the last rep at 125. But that seems about right because the last time I tried 135, I got 2 or maybe 3 really grindy reps, and all of these weight/rep combinations put my e1RM somewhere in the low 140s.
Anyway, I could probably use 115 as TM here, but I’m going with 110. Worst case: I start too light.
The rest of the workout we’ll just call some daily accessory work. I was shooting for 50 reps over as few sets as possible. I ran these as a triset until I finished the BPAs, then as a superset until I finished the rows, then I just finished up the chins. Wasn’t looking for time or min reps/set or anything in particular here, mostly just wanted to do the work. Stayed away from failure, especially on the chins—tried to leave a rep or two in the tank for all of the movements.
Planning to hit some conditioning work later today, and then walk for a bit after dinner. I can feel my shoulders and back now as I write this, so hopefully that means I did some decent work here.
3 Likes
Monday - 14 June 2021
Workout: Supplemental, 1245-1315 (30 minutes)
Conditioning
a) Thruster - 5x20s/40s - 20 - 15, 15, 15, 15, 15
b) Bike@120bpm - 16m
Bumped up to the 20 lbs dumbbells on the Thruster rounds today—man, could I feel that! Funny how only 5 additional pounds in each hand can slow you down. HR finally broke 160, but just barely and only after the last round. Going to have to work into these. Bike ride was fine, though I had to push a bit to keep HR above 120 again today…
3 Likes
Tuesday - 15 June 2021
Workout: Squat training max, 1135-1220 (45 minutes)
Warm-up
a) Back squat - 135x10, 185x8, 225x6 | 235x5, 245x5, 255x4
b1) BPA - red - 20, 15, 12, 5 = 52 total
b2) Dip - BW - 20, 15, 13, 5 = 53 total
b3) OA KB row - 20kg - 15, 13, 13, 5, 5 = 51 total
30-minute walk after dinner yesterday evening.
Appetite was through the roof yesterday, or maybe it was just my sugar cravings. Either way, overdid it on the pre-bed carbs again: granola, Kodiak protein waffle, dry Cheerios, extra protein bar.
Looking for back squat TM today; same basic format as yesterday, except I rested 90 seconds between warmup sets and 120 seconds between work sets. Probably could’ve got a 5th rep at 255, but there was no point: even 235 was a bit too slow to be clean and smooth.
I want to make excuses for the numbers here, but the fact is, my back squat is just not where it should be. My 1RM is only 300 (tested Feb 2020, missed on my attempt at 315), and that was well before my SI joint/sciatic nerve issues. Oh, and I had been training the squat original 5/3/1 style for awhile at that point. Wait… Aren’t those just excuses?
Anyway, my ego wants to use 235 as the TM here ('cause +10 lbs somehow makes me a man, you know?), I’m going with 225: start too light, progress slow, set PRs.
The rest of today’s work went well, except for the fact that I can’t count. Hence, the last two sets of 5 on those rows.
Looking to hit up a hard conditioning dry-run with the sled in a bit—that’ll be 8-10x50 yard sprints at 132 pounds (sled + 1 plate, about 75% bodyweight)—and I’ll work in a 30-minute walk after dinner. Feeling like I should do more than that, given yesterday’s carb overload, but we’ll just have to see how the remainder of the day plays out.
4 Likes
Tuesday - 15 June 2021
Workout: Supplemental, 1320-1335 (15 minutes)
Hard Conditioning
Sled sprint - 132 lbs total, 10x50 yds
EMOM
Wow—those were awful! I think I hate them…
Last week’s sled workouts used a heavier load and more trips up-and-back, measured for time—kind of a slower, longer slog with minimal, if any, rest between each trip up-and-back.
Today I did actual sprints: explosive off the line, really churning the legs up the hill, fastest turns I could manage, and nearly flailing on the downhill return (but not actually uncontrolled).
Turned out to be nearly 20s/40s Tabata style for the work/rest periods. HR in mid-160s by the end of each sprint, recovering to mid-140s (I think) by the start of the next round.
Not sure if that’s the best way to execute the hard conditioning or not. Someone with 5/3/1 experience can correct me if I’m wrong, but my guess is JW doesn’t care: it’s conditioning, just get it done.
That said, I kind of like the EMOM setup, and I could progress it (if that mattered) in an actual Tabata style workout by reducing the work/rest periods.
Edit: Bah, I keep screwing up the date!
Edits 2, 3: Just re-read The Prowler section in Forever, and I see he does lay out some actual goals. Guess that’s how I’ll run things when I hit this up for real after vacation. Might stick with the EMOM setup for Friday’s post-deadlift sled work, though, just because it sucks so much.
4 Likes
Burn this mantra into your head
1 Like
Wednesday - 16 June 2021
Workout: Conditioning, 0610-0640 (30 minutes)
a) KB swing - 5x20s/40s - 20kg - 15, 15, 15, 15, 15
b) Bike@120 bpm - 16m
Didn’t get any other work in yesterday, except for a 35-minute walk after dinner—spent the evening at the pool so the kiddos could play.
Kids have summer time trials this morning, wanted to knock this out early. Two cups of black coffee, straight into first workout for the day. Good way to get my heart pumping and push some blood into my legs—should help stave off any effects from yesterday’s squats and sled sprints.
HR above 160 after third round, down to 120 at start of ride, above 135 for all of that except a few blips below near the midway point.
Still have Cindy and sled push workouts planned for later in the day; will probably hit those up in the late morning or early afternoon.
3 Likes
Wednesday - 16 June 2021
Workout: Supplemental 1
Cindy - AMRAP, 20 minutes
a) 5 Chin-ups/pull-ups
b) 10 Push-ups
c) 15 Air squats
Went in reluctantly, thinking to myself, “Just get it done.”
Came out with a new personal best: 18 full rounds with about 12 seconds remaining (but +0 chins).
New tactic: every time I caught myself thinking, “Just 5 more seconds,” during a rest, I forced myself to start the new round right then. I’m slow and stupid, particularly when I lack oxygen, so it took me longer than I’d like to admit to stop thinking, “Just 5 more seconds.”
Air squats were slow, but just what I needed.
4 Likes
It’s SO hard to make yourself do this, so congratulations! I will think of this the next time I’m saying this to myself too . . .
2 Likes
Careful—it’s a dangerous game to play!
1 Like
Wednesday - 16 June 2021
Workout: Supplemental 2
Sled push - 177 lbs total, 16x50 yds
Time: 14:42
This one was definitely, “Just get it done.” And so I did.
2 Likes
Thursday - 17 June 2021
Workout: Bench training max, 0905-1000-1025 (55 + 25 minutes)
Warm-up
a) Bench - 135x10, 155x8, 185x6 | 225x5, 230x5, 235x5, 240x4
b1) Pull-up - BW - 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 = 50 total
b2) OA KB row - 20kg - 15, 15, 12, 8 = 50 total
b3) BPA - red - 20, 15, 12, 5 = 52 total
c) Thruster - 5x20x/40s - 20 - 15, 15, 15, 15, 15
d) Bike@120 bpm - 16m
35-minute walk yesterday after dinner.
Body is feeling rundown… Today was rough with underwhelming results. Same basic format as earlier in the week; used 60-90 seconds rest between warmup sets and 90-120 seconds between work sets. As with squats, could’ve probably squeezed out one more rep on the last set, but wasn’t worried about it: going with 230 as TM here.
Was going to push thruster/bike conditioning work to later, but just wanted it done. Had to work hard at this today: HR was in 160s after first round and topped out over 170 by the end. Kept it well above 135 for almost all of the ride—a few blips below around the 8:00 mark again.
2 Likes