Kdjohn: Physical Philosophy & Iron Insights

03/10/2021
BENCH & BICEPS

2100hr start

Bench

  • 160x5
  • 180x5
  • 205x5

Incline bench

  • 3x8 @ 130

DB flyes

  • 2x15 @ 25
  • 1x13 @ 25
  • 1x12 @ 25
  • 45 sec pec stretch + 15 sec pec flex

Wide-grip curl

  • 4x5 @ 110

Fat-grip tricep bar curl

  • 1x12 @ 65
  • 1x10 @ 65
  • 1x8@ 65

Zottman curl

  • 1x15 @ 20
  • 1x13 @ 20
  • 1x10 @ 20
  • 45 sec biceps stretch + 15 sec biceps stretch

Notes:

  • Good session. Biceps and upper forearms were pumped like crazy by the end. I’m always going to have at least one forearm-focused curling exercise on these days. My wife not only makes fun of my calves, but also my forearms. Sad face.
2 Likes

04/10/2021
RUCK

0700hr start
9°C, clear

Ruck

  • 6km @ 50lbs, approx. 01:06:25

Notes:

  • Talk about adversity training. Fuck me. I need to start doing these walks in my boots instead of running shoes, because the bottom of my feet blistered up something fierce. I also ran out of treats and my dog was getting hella distracted by the end, and forcing myself to remain calm, use proper leash techniques and positive reinforcement, while my back and traps were killing me, was fucking hard. Sure, I could’ve remained frustrated and used the leash as a correction tool (which it shouldn’t be used for), and that would’ve been easier, but that wouldn’t strengthen my dog and I’s relationship or build my character.
4 Likes

You know my wife is a champ and doesn’t do this but I almost feel like she should just to motivate me with how much mine lag lol.

1 Like

Whenever people talk about the benefits of training, dealing with adversity always seems to come waynout ahead of any actual physical benefits. Yet so few of us intentionally engage in it.

Love that thought process. Reminds me of the “challenge” workout in Tactical Barbell in which the challenge is to pull an all nighter inbetween two sessions.

1 Like

No creature’s base instinct is to seek out discomfort. Literally every animal on this planet does whatever it can to make life easier. Humans are simply the only ones with the foresight to realize that discomfort can, in proper doses, be used as a tool for personal advancement.

Sometimes – many times, actually – we allow base instincts to take over though. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, per say, since it’s simply acting as we were made, but knowing that measured and properly manipulated discomfort can be utilized to modify your base instinct into something “stronger” is very powerful.

4 Likes

How do you decide how much is appropriate?

I would suggest advancement would be the measure there.

1 Like

Could you please elaborate on what you mean?

I’ve made “advancements” in many areas of my life without really experiencing or seeking out any adversity

My assumption is that he’s referring to advancements in your ability to handle adversity. If you’re able to handle more and more stressful situations, whatever you’re doing is working. If not, you might need a little more, or maybe a little less.

Which leads me to answering your question:

There’s some trial and error here. But think about in like weight training progression.

If you’re training at an appropriate level, lifts should feel hard but doable. Eventually, certain weights will feel like a breeze, and you can up the weight. If you start too hard and heavy, you might be able to handle it for a while, but chances are you’ll just crush yourself right out of the gate. Similarly, going too hard too regularly will fry you.

Sometimes, you also have testing periods, usually at the end of a training block. This lets you gauge where you’re at and see how you need to adjust.

Preparing yourself for adversity is very similar. Start off with scenarios you know will stress you out, but only in a dose large enough to mildly frustrate or upset you. When you feel those emotions or states of being rising, you take a moment to pause and calm yourself down. Eventually, handling those small moments becomes easy and you train your natural instinct to be finding a state of calm. Slowly increase the level of stress you bring on yourself, working towards the same state of mind as the lesser scenarios.

However, if you go too hard too soon, you can cause your natural instinct to be one of intense panic, anger, fear, etc. You won’t know how to handle such an intense level of adversity, you won’t know how to reach a state of calm, and you’ll leave the situation in that negative state, thus training yourself to make that your base instinct.

There are moments where you can test yourself to see if you can reach a level of calm under far greater difficult circumstances than you’re normally used to, but much like training, maxing out is normally frowned upon because if you’re not ready, you can do more harm than good. In the case of steeling yourself against adversity, that harm is backsliding your progress or instilling an instinct of negativity in intense moments.

1 Like

05/10/2021
POWER SNATCH & BACK

1305hr start

P. Snatch

  • worked up to 155x1

Snatch high pull

  • 3x8 @ 155

Weighted chins

  • 1x9 @ +25
  • 1x8 @ “
  • 1x7 @ “
  • 1x6 @ “

BOB rows

  • 3x12 @ 225

EZ bar pullovers

  • 2x15 @ 50
  • 1x12 @ 50
  • 45 sec “pullover” stretch + 15 sec flex

45° hypers

  • 2x15 @ +30
  • 1x11 @ +30
  • 45 sec forward fold + 15 superman flex

Notes:

  • Great session. Not much to say, really. Finally starting to figure out how to use my lats on pullovers.
2 Likes

07/10/2021
POWER C&J, SHOULDERS & TRICEPS

1155hr start

P. C&J

  • worked up to 210x1

BTN push press

  • 3x8 @ 155

Wide upright row

  • 2x15 @ 110
  • 1x12+3 cheaters @ 110

Weighted dips

  • 1x10 @ +40
  • 1x7 @ +40
  • 1x6 @ +40
  • 45 sec dip stretch + 15 sec flex

Seated EZ bar overhead extensions

  • 1x15 @ 50 (too light)
  • 1x8 @ 70 (too heavy)
  • 1x10 @ 60 (just right)
  • 1x8 @ 60
  • 45 sec triceps stretch + 15 sec flex

EZ bar overhead sit-ups

  • 2x12 @ 60
  • 1x10 @ 60
  • 1x8 @ 60

Notes:

  • Jerks felt strong today. Wrists were a little buggy, so I was adjusting my grip frequently on the later exercises, but all in all a good session.
6 Likes

08/10/2021
MOBILITY

0630hr start

Yoga, balance focus

  • 24 minutes

Notes:

  • Aside from my morning run or ruck sessions, I’ve also been doing two walks with my older dog and two yoga sessions. I haven’t been logging those, because they’re not strenuous at all, but I think I’m going to start logging the yoga sessions. This one was balance focused, so lots of bipod and tripod poses, along with standing single-leg poses. When you add an elements of instability to some of the normally average poses, they suddenly get really difficult. It’s a great challenge.
2 Likes

09/10/2021
AEROBIC THRESHOLD & ABS

1415hr start
18°C, overcast & muggy

Running

  • 25 minutes, approx. 4.5km

HLR

  • 3x12

Notes:

  • What a fucking clusterfuck of a run. Firstly, my dog and I just weren’t in sync today, and he was way more concerned with every single dog rudely staring at him than listening to me. Secondly, since I don’t have a HR monitor, and this threshold run was supposed to be at approx. 85% of my training HR, I just pushed until I was uncomfortably breathing and my legs were on the edge of burning. However, because of a lack of food, water and sleep this morning, I crapped out like halfway through the run, and had to stop and walk for a minute or two because I got a horrible stitch in my side. Not good. We also had to stop at literally – and I mean 100% literally – at every intersection we came to, because apparently everyone and their mother was out and about today. Lastly, my wife kept blowing up my phone with calls about inane things, and couldn’t seem to grasp that I was busy.
  • This was an example of too much adversity all at once, and I wasn’t in a position to overcome all of it. I couldn’t control my environment, I couldn’t control my dog, but I could at least just keep going, even if it meant walking for a minute or two. We’ll do better next time.
3 Likes

09/10/2021
SQUATS & LOWER BODY

2115hr start

Prone band leg curls

  • 3x15; 15 sec iso hold on last rep of each set

B. Squat

  • 230x5
  • 265x5
  • 295x5

High bar cyclist squat

  • 3x8 @ 185

G. Morning

  • 170x12
  • 180x10
  • 190x8
  • 45 sec hamstring stretch + 15 sec flex

Barbell reverse lunges

  • 2x10 @ 170
  • 45 sec quad stretch + 15 sec flex

Standing barbell calf raises

  • 4x12 @ 120
  • 45 sec calf stretch + 15 sec flex

Notes:

  • Squats were smooth as butter. Those cyclist squats are weird; the majority of my lower body was like, “The fuck is this light weight?”, but my VMO’s were like, “Why must we suffer?” Gonna keep it in the supplemental rotation for building up the quads.
  • Accidentally did extra reps on the good mornings. It was supposed to be 10-8-6, so I guess that means it’s time to up the weight.
  • I really wish I had a bench with a leg curl/extension attachment. Want to absolutely destroy my quads, but exercises like lunges and split squats always hit my hamstrings and glutes more. Time for the drawing board.
2 Likes

10/10/2021
MOBILITY

0630hr start

Yoga, spinal focus

  • 26 minutes

Notes:

  • Flow focusing on spinal movement this morning. Felt like a good idea after all the spinal loading from last night.
3 Likes

I’ve had solid results with no lockout landmine belt squats.

2 Likes

I’ve thought about that. I need to find a way to set it up better than I have in the past, because it’s just a colossal pain in the ass without an actual landmine base.

EDIT: Figured it out! Landmine hack squats.

1 Like

Assuming you have a corner in your gym space

Or you can get one of those landmines that just stick in a set of weight plates (it’s what I use)

Just saw your edit and I love it. On that note, a similar set up is the car deadlift simulator

3 Likes

10/10/2021
BENCH, CHEST & BICEPS

2145hr start

Bench

  • 155x5
  • 175x5
  • 200x5

CGBP

  • 4x6 @ 140

DB flyes

  • 2x15 @ 25
  • 1x13 @ 25
  • 1x12 @ 25
  • 45 sec stretch + 15 sec flex

Wide-grip barbell curl

  • 4x5 @ 110

EZ bar drag curl

  • 3x12 @ 60

Incline top-down alternating hammer curls

  • 1x15 @ 20
  • 1x12 @ 20
  • 1x10 @ 20
  • 45 sec stretch + 15 sec flex

Notes:

  • So, there was a huge thunderstorm passing over while I was doing this. Thor Brodinson was clearly smiling on my total bro session.
  • Drag curls, followed by incline curls, had me whimpering. The weight could’ve been higher on the drag curls, but they hit the lower half of the biceps so intensely. Then the incline curls just wreck the entire muscle, especially because of the iso hold when doing them top-down. So painful. So awesome.
3 Likes