TM's Training Journal/Torture Log

[TM79]

Sorry to hear about the head cold Trent. Man, me and you always seem to have similar ailments at the same time. I did a hard workout on Saturday and it lowered my immune system too. I've had a bad head cold since Sunday. They are no fun at all.

Btw, shuffle board is good for you! It's really a full body exercise (legs, back, shoulders, ...).

Man, glad I'm not the only one! Nah, that sucks that you ended up in the same boat. Noting burns me up more than being sick during time off from work. I have all the time I want to sit on my a$$ instead of training.,, Yeah man, looking forward to some shuffle board. The way I see it, I should be damned good by the time all of my peers get around to taking up the game.

Merry Christmas Trent!

Thanks Shane! You too!

[ElrondHubbard]

Conditioning: A LOT of Stuff…

Trent’s 40’th Birthday Metcon

Complete the following for time:
40 Pull-ups
40 Squats, 115 lb
40 Push-ups
40 GHD Sit-ups
40 Rows, 115 lb
40 Deadlifts, 115 lb
40 Bench Press, 115 lb
40 Back Extensions
40 Ring Rows
40 KB Swings, 40 lb
40 Overhead Press, 65 lb
40 Knees to Elbows
40 SDHP’s, 65 lb
40 Power Cleans, 65 lb
40 Ring Dips
40 Good Mornings, 65 lb
40 Straight Bar Curls, 65 lb
40 Goblet Squats, 40 lb
40 Push-ups on the Barbell
40 Sit-ups

Run 5,000 Meters

Post Time: 1:27:05

Metcon Split: 59:45
Run Split: 27:20

Comments: Well, even being optimistic, it’s pretty safe to say that life is at least half over, as of today... Yes, yes… The big 4-0. And you know what that means, it’s time for a monster birthday metcon! I came up with this one while laying in bed this morning. It looks like it is going to be brutal. I did keep the weights plenty manageable. It’s supposed to be the cumulative effect that gets you on this.

Metcon: Well that was rough… Got through it though.

5K: First time running any real distance since before spraining my ankle almost two months ago. It felt pretty good overall. I’ll tell you, that is a heck of a birthday present being out in that cool, crisp air getting it done.

Alright folks, time to cancel out all of this exercise with some good food and cold beer. Have a great day!

I went back and read this, and I'm sure that was a mistake. I think I pulled a muscle before the halfway point!

Wow, Trent, very impressive, and welcome to "maturity!"

[shaneinga]

Happy New Year Trent!

[TM79]

I went back and read this, and I'm sure that was a mistake. I think I pulled a muscle before the halfway point!

Wow, Trent, very impressive, and welcome to "maturity!"

Ha ha, thank you Sir. I have a feeling you will be amazing me in a very short period of time. Shoot, given what you've been through and your eagerness to bounce back, I'm already impressed.

[TM79]

Happy New Year Trent!

Thanks brother. Hope you and yours had a good one as well! Looks like you made some BBQ so you can't beat that!


Just an update here- after about 5- 6 days, my cold/sinus infection was almost gone and then I started doing some drywall work and a ton of painting in the master bedroom. Halfway through that, we went down to the beach for a few days, where I didn't sleep well and had too many beers. That has caused a rebound of this cold/sinus infection and I am now on day 11. It's back to work tomorrow (and traveling) so I will hopefully plan to start training again next week if I can ever kick this damned thing. Hope that you all had a great New Years!

[ElrondHubbard]

Thanks brother. Hope you and yours had a good one as well! Looks like you made some BBQ so you can't beat that!


Just an update here- after about 5- 6 days, my cold/sinus infection was almost gone and then I started doing some drywall work and a ton of painting in the master bedroom. Halfway through that, we went down to the beach for a few days, where I didn't sleep well and had too many beers. That has caused a rebound of this cold/sinus infection and I am now on day 11. It's back to work tomorrow (and traveling) so I will hopefully plan to start training again next week if I can ever kick this damned thing. Hope that you all had a great New Years!

Well, if you can't be healthy during the holidays, at least be healthy afterwards. Good luck, and I'll be following along!

[Cantplankwell]

Thanks brother. Hope you and yours had a good one as well! Looks like you made some BBQ so you can't beat that!


Just an update here- after about 5- 6 days, my cold/sinus infection was almost gone and then I started doing some drywall work and a ton of painting in the master bedroom. Halfway through that, we went down to the beach for a few days, where I didn't sleep well and had too many beers. That has caused a rebound of this cold/sinus infection and I am now on day 11. It's back to work tomorrow (and traveling) so I will hopefully plan to start training again next week if I can ever kick this damned thing. Hope that you all had a great New Years!

Get well soon buddy

I was getting concerned as you had not made an entry since last year

[shaneinga]

Sorry to hear you are still under the weather Trent.

Hopefully you are finding some time to rest though it sounds like you are really busy with work travelling.

Heal up.

[TM79]

Well, if you can't be healthy during the holidays, at least be healthy afterwards. Good luck, and I'll be following along!

Get well soon buddy

I was getting concerned as you had not made an entry since last year

Sorry to hear you are still under the weather Trent.

Hopefully you are finding some time to rest though it sounds like you are really busy with work travelling.

Heal up.

Thanks gents. I think I'm just about out of the woods so I'm back in the saddle this morning! Very sorry for my absence in your journals. Other than logging workouts, I guess I don't spend much time online. I'll catch up this week!

[TM79]

Morning Session at Home

Box Squat
Work up to a heavy set of 10 reps.
10x145
10x165
10x185
10x205

Time: 9:00

(Superset)
Bench
Work up to a heavy set of 10 reps.
10x135
10x145
10x155
10x165

Ring Rows
10xBW
10xBW
10xBW
10xBW

Time: 9:20

Accessory
4 Rounds:
24 Dumbbell Bench, Alternating, 40 lb
24 DB Rows, Alternating, 40 lb
12 Goblet Squats, 40 lb
8 GHD Sit-ups

Time: 8:07

Conditioning: Intervals/Sprints
4 Rounds:
10 DB Clean & Press, 30 lb
200 Meter Jog

Post C&P Splits: 0:24, 0:23, 0:22, 0:21

Comments: The sinus infection still hasn’t quite cleared up yet. I am going to start back anyway, after two weeks off. Hopefully laying off the beers and getting some really good sleep will help my body kick it.

This cycle will be a shorter one at only 4 weeks as I am supposed to go to Vegas the first week of February. I am going to start with reps of 10 this week and will hope to work up to some heavier reps on week 3. Then will probably back off again on week 4 and take off for the week in Vegas. My bodyweight is still in the low-mid 180’s and my mid-section is noticeably bigger right now. I usually don’t start trying to diet until March or April but will try to start tapering off now. Ideally, I would like to get back into the high 170’s by then and then the mid to low 170’s by summertime.

Box Squat: Felt really strong on these. Even that last set was not hard at all. Maybe being fat helps. Ha ha ha… I actually looked back and one year ago today I worked up to 10x175 on box squat so that’s promising I guess.

Bench: Felt fairly strong on these. Probably had 10x175 with more rest between sets.

Ring Rows: Just supersetted these at a constant weight. I tried to use really good form. These were pretty easy.

Accessory: Good little combo. Trying to take it somewhat easy until this sinus stuff is gone. This still got the blood flowing.

Intervals/Sprints: Nothing Earth-shattering there. It felt good to keep the blood flowing.

Overall, I’m surprised how good I felt during this workout. I have done plenty of manual labor over the break so I guess that helped. I’ll catch up on your journals this week. Hope you all have a great day!

[shaneinga]

Great to hear everything felt good Trent. 10 rep squats are always tough and 10 at 205 is a very respectable squat set. BP numbers are very strong as well at 10 reps across.

Being fat definitely helps strength, I can confirm that.

[GrouchyUSMC]

I was down for a few weeks too due to some winter funk as well. Glad to see you back at it!

[TM79]

Great to hear everything felt good Trent. 10 rep squats are always tough and 10 at 205 is a very respectable squat set. BP numbers are very strong as well at 10 reps across.

Being fat definitely helps strength, I can confirm that.

Thanks Shane. Ha ha, yeah, if only I could carry the weight in areas other than my belly and chin this might be sustainable.

I was down for a few weeks too due to some winter funk as well. Glad to see you back at it!

Thanks Grouchy! Sorry to hear that you were also a victim of the funk, but glad you are back as well!

[TM79]

Hex Deadlifts
Work up to a heavy set of 10 reps.
10x165
10x185
10x205
10x225

Time: 11:35

(Superset)
Overhead Press
Work up to a heavy set of 10 reps.
10x75
10x85
10x95
10x105

Pull-ups
10xBW
10xBW
10xBW
10xBW

Time: 11:25

Accessory
One set of 65 lb Overhead Press for max reps: 26
20 Back Extensions
20 One-Arm 65 lb Barbell Rows, Right Arm
20 One-Arm 65 lb Barbell Rows, Left Arm
40 KB Swings, 40 lb
20 Push-ups on the Barbell
20 Back Extensions
One set of 65 lb Straight Bar Curls for max reps: 18

Time: 7:50

Conditioning: Metcon

For time:
12 DB Overhead Press, 40 lb
1-Minute Plank hold
9 DB Overhead Press, 40 lb
1-Minute Plank hold
6 DB Overhead Press, 40 lb
1-Minute Plank hold
3 DB Overhead Press, 40 lb
1-Minute Plank hold

Post time: 8:45

Comments: Let’s do this.

Hex Deads: These sucked because my wife is asleep in the next room so I was trying to be perfectly quiet. Not ideal…

OHP: These felt heavy at first but got better as the sets went on.

Pull-ups: Same as above.

Accessory: This was fun. The one-arm barbell rows were an interesting touch. Lots of high reps on these sets.

Metcon: Supersetting planks with overhead work is extremely difficult. I didn’t think about it after the first set of OHP but the second set was a train wreck… Good stuff.

Alright folks, still trying to catch up in the journals. I’m drowning in work at the moment but will get to them as soon as I can. Hope you all have a great day!

[PtReyesGreg]

Great looking workout today Trent! That's a LOT of reps on the hex deads. Nice job with that especially that heavy set. I hear you about trying to keep them quiet. I'm at the other end of my house and somehow the family still hears them when I do them LOL.

Nice job on the OHP too. Those sets of 10 sound intense.

That accessory work and Metcon is just mind blowing.

[TM79]

Great looking workout today Trent! That's a LOT of reps on the hex deads. Nice job with that especially that heavy set. I hear you about trying to keep them quiet. I'm at the other end of my house and somehow the family still hears them when I do them LOL.

Nice job on the OHP too. Those sets of 10 sound intense.

That accessory work and Metcon is just mind blowing.

Thanks Greg! It felt good to get back out in the garage again after two weeks off. Yep, the higher rep stuff is difficult in its own way. I still sort of prefer it though as I can get those sets done faster than more sets at a heavier weight. Yep, my wife is still sleeping in the living room so that is forcing me to be really quiet in the garage. We are currently weighing whether or not we are going to move again. Hopefully one of these days life will return to normal...

[shaneinga]

Really nice workout Trent. Deadlifting at the house would be difficult. I never really thought about that.

Great lifting regardless. I like seeing the KB swings in there. I really need to dust my KB off and do some of those soon.

BTW, I am pretty sure planks and anything supersetted sucks!

[ElrondHubbard]

Impressive work, Trent. And yes, the higher rep stuff does have its challenges. And that's good weight for those reps!

If you still have lingering head cold issues, Vegas might be the cure, although February is not always the driest time for sinuses.

[TM79]

Really nice workout Trent. Deadlifting at the house would be difficult. I never really thought about that.

Great lifting regardless. I like seeing the KB swings in there. I really need to dust my KB off and do some of those soon.

BTW, I am pretty sure planks and anything supersetted sucks!

Yeah man, you should have seen my brief stint as an Oly lifter. My wife came walking out after the first time that barbell hit the floor from overhead and was like, "what the ___ is going on out here?!?"

Impressive work, Trent. And yes, the higher rep stuff does have its challenges. And that's good weight for those reps!

If you still have lingering head cold issues, Vegas might be the cure, although February is not always the driest time for sinuses.

Thank you kindly Sir. I think it is the back and forth between cold and cold and rainy. Definitely looking forward to Vegas. I have this fear that our family will come down with the Ebola right before and I may have to cancel but I hope not... It's the wrong time of year for conferences, that's for sure.

[TM79]

Conditioning: Metcon

4 rounds for time of:
20 ring push-ups
20 sumo deadlift high pulls, 65 lb
20 jump squats
20 GHD sit-ups
20-cal. Run

Time: 19:12

Comments: Man, the stress from going back to work, plus the house stuff is just relentless right now. One of the kids woke up at 3:00AM last night and I never slept much after that. Still out here for a metcon this morning though.

Metcon: This was a good one. I was supposed to do 5 rounds but ran out of time. The sumos, jump squats and running were unbroken. The ring push-ups and GHD’s were 15+5.

Have a good day folks!

[Payton1221]

You're still killin' it, Trent. Keep up the great work.

[ElrondHubbard]

Yeah man, you should have seen my brief stint as an Oly lifter. My wife came walking out after the first time that barbell hit the floor from overhead and was like, "what the ___ is going on out here?!?"


Thank you kindly Sir. I think it is the back and forth between cold and cold and rainy. Definitely looking forward to Vegas. I have this fear that our family will come down with the Ebola right before and I may have to cancel but I hope not... It's the wrong time of year for conferences, that's for sure.

For sure! This weather really does a number on my wife. It's better than the humidity back east would be, but when it's cold and the barometer drops, she has a tough time.

If I could pack my scope up and wander over to the Galapagos Islands for the winter, we'd probably do that.

[Cantplankwell]

Good to see you back at it Trent

Nice couple of sessions.

If you dont mind me asking..what was the rationale behind the box squats? These are good numbers anyway, and some big volume there.

I read about your barbell rows, sounds awkward as heck, but sometimes that is thinking out of the box.

Keep up the good work!!

[TM79]

You're still killin' it, Trent. Keep up the great work.

Thanks Payton! I need to stop in and see how you're doing!

For sure! This weather really does a number on my wife. It's better than the humidity back east would be, but when it's cold and the barometer drops, she has a tough time.

If I could pack my scope up and wander over to the Galapagos Islands for the winter, we'd probably do that.

I bet. Whenever I get off the plane somewhere dry my nose usually starts bleeding within 24 hours... The Galapagos? Hadn't thought of vacationing there.

Good to see you back at it Trent

Nice couple of sessions.

If you dont mind me asking..what was the rationale behind the box squats? These are good numbers anyway, and some big volume there.

I read about your barbell rows, sounds awkward as heck, but sometimes that is thinking out of the box.

Keep up the good work!!

Thanks CPW! The purpose of the box squats for me is different than most lifters. The original reason I started doing them, several years ago now, was to build my squat, and I can tell you that doing paused, touch & go (not sitting on the box) box squats below parallel was the best exercise that I ever did for building squats. My 1RM when I started them was 225. After about a year of doing box squats almost exclusively, My 1RM was 315. Then, of course, my back started getting injured, which lead me to back off the squats for good. But they will build squat strength unlike anything else.

Nowadays, I use them because of hip bursitis that I've been dealing with for two years now (that I presume is permanent). If I were to do a session of regular squats (below parallel) I would have trouble walking for days afterwards because of sometimes debilitating pain from the bursa on my left hip. Doing box squats at parallel seems to not aggravate it as much so that's what I've stuck with for the last two years. Plus, they seem to take a lot of the stress off of my knees and back too (which are huge problem areas for me). That is also why I do hex bar deadlifts. It's all about rolling with the injuries it seems... Sorry for the extremely long explanation.

[TM79]

Conditioning: Distance Run. Outdoor, Paved
4.02 Miles, 35:40, 8:52 Pace, 504 Calories

Comments: Had to take advantage of a 70 degree January morning. Unfortunately, this was kind of an impulse decision as I was going to go shopping this morning. I had just eaten a bagel and had a bottle of water right before this so I felt really sluggish. That was still a good pace and it felt great to get out there on a cloudy warm morning like this. About a mile of this run was on a greenway near our neighborhood that I had never tried before. That was pretty cool.

Alright, hope you all have a great weekend!

[ElrondHubbard]

Conditioning: Distance Run. Outdoor, Paved
4.02 Miles, 35:40, 8:52 Pace, 504 Calories

Comments: Had to take advantage of a 70 degree January morning. Unfortunately, this was kind of an impulse decision as I was going to go shopping this morning. I had just eaten a bagel and had a bottle of water right before this so I felt really sluggish. That was still a good pace and it felt great to get out there on a cloudy warm morning like this. About a mile of this run was on a greenway near our neighborhood that I had never tried before. That was pretty cool.

Alright, hope you all have a great weekend!

Been a loooooong time since I did a 4 mile run on an impulse! That's some good stuff there, Trent!

[PtReyesGreg]

That sounds like a great run the other day Trent! It's awesome to see you back in the game and running again. I'm still jealous of your pace as always.

Sometimes those impulse runs are the best ones.

[TM79]

Been a loooooong time since I did a 4 mile run on an impulse! That's some good stuff there, Trent!

Thank you Sir. I'm sure I will be able to say that at some point as well.

That sounds like a great run the other day Trent! It's awesome to see you back in the game and running again. I'm still jealous of your pace as always.

Sometimes those impulse runs are the best ones.

Thanks Greg. It feels good to be back out there.

[TM79]

(Superset)
Hex Deads
Work up to a heavy set of 6 reps.
10x165
8x185
6x205
6x225
6x245

Overhead Press
Work up to a heavy set of 6 reps.
10x85
8x95
6x105
6x115
6x125

Hammer-Grip Pull-ups
Work up to a heavy set of 6 reps.
10xBW
8xBW+15
6XBW+25
6xBW+35
6xBW+35

Time: 25:32

Accessory
4 Rounds:
10 Hex Deads, 185 lb
10 OHP, 75 lb
8 Hammer Grip Pull-ups
10 Back Extensions

Time: 11:30

Conditioning: Out of time. Will make up!!!

Comments: Week #2. Time for some reps of 6.

Hex Deads: Could have gone 20-40 lbs heavier on these/added an extra set or two.

OHP: The reps at 125 were a little iffy with a small bounce at the bottom on some of them. Still, that is the heaviest set of OHP in a while.

Pull-ups: Feeling the weight gain on these. These felt super heavy.

Accessory: Did some BBB sets for a change. I’m thinking of going heavier next week and thought these might pay off. Got ‘em done.

Pissed that I ran out of time for conditioning. I really need it and will absolutely make it up later this week. Have a good one!

[PtReyesGreg]

Good looking workout today Trent. Nice job with the sets of 6 on the hex deads and OHP. Both of those lifts are looking strong. I like the look of your accessories too. Those BBB sets, with the added volume, will pay off big time.

Keep up the good work!