TM's Training Journal/Torture Log

[PtReyesGreg]

Great workout yesterday TM. Wow! That was a lot of work for one day. I'll bet you woke up feeling it a little today. Nice job getting all of the big lifts in there.

Nice pull-up routine you did this morning. I'll have to give that a try sometime. It looks like a good challenge.

Good luck with your run on Saturday. Is it the 5-k race you mentioned in my journal?

[TM79]

Nice work put in on Wednesday. That is a lot to knock out in a days worth of work.

Good looking numbers on your pull ups today. That pyramid looks pretty brutal with the 10 second rests in between sets.

Thanks Shane! Yes, it is a tough pyramid. I'd like to try it out with 30 seconds rest and see how it goes. Maybe that would allow for another set or two.

[mirroroferised]

Nice couple of sessions TM.

[TM79]

Nice couple of sessions TM.

Thanks!

[TM79]

Great workout yesterday TM. Wow! That was a lot of work for one day. I'll bet you woke up feeling it a little today. Nice job getting all of the big lifts in there.

Nice pull-up routine you did this morning. I'll have to give that a try sometime. It looks like a good challenge.

Good luck with your run on Saturday. Is it the 5-k race you mentioned in my journal?

Thanks! Man, I felt that more than a little. My legs are smoked and I'm pretty worn out still from all of it. No, the 5K isn't a race. I have a 5K route around where I live that I do. I don't really do races. If I felt like I had a shot at winning or placing really high I would, but there are several people out there who are much skinnier than myself who can out run me by a mile. I just huff and puff running around the neighborhood. Ha ha ha...

[fittofattofit]

Morning:

Squats
Work up to 3(5x70%)
5x135, 5x185, 5x205, 3(5x225)

Deadlifts
Work up to 3(5x70%)
5x235, 5x265, 3(5x295)

Time: 17:00

Assistance
4 Rounds:
8 Clean Pulls, 155 lbs
16 Walking Lunges, 40 lb Dumbbells
10 Squat Cleans holding a 25 lb Plate
10 Knees to Elbows

Time: 15:30

Comments: Had a dentist appointment this morning so figured I'd take some time to workout before hand. Rearranging things and doing both leg lifts today. That is in hopes that my legs can recover tomorrow and will be fresh for my run on Saturday.
Squats: My legs felt good for these but my lungs were struggling from sitting on my @$$ for 4 straight days.
Deadlifts: Same here. Man, I need to get a roman chair or GHD. My lower back is feeling weak.
Assistance: That was so much worse than I thought it was going to be. The lunges were terrible.

Evening:

Bench & Pull-ups
Bench: 5x135
One set of Pull-ups for Max Reps: 14
Bench: 5x165
One set of Pull-ups for Max Reps: 10
Bench: 5x185
One set of Pull-ups for Max Reps: 7
Bench: 5x185
One set of Pull-ups for Max Reps: 6
Bench: 5x185
One set of Pull-ups for Max Reps: 5

Time: 7:30

Assistance
4 Rounds:
10 Diamond Push-ups
10 Close Grip Pull-ups
10 Reverse Hypers

Time: 6:50

Conditioning: Metcon

21-15-9 Reps for time of:
95 lb Overhead Press
Pull-ups
Ring Dips

Time: 12:32

Comments: What the heck, let's just get it done...
Bench: Didn't feel that strong for these. Decent sets.
Pull-ups: Actually felt great for these. 14 on the first set!
Assistance Part Deux: Short and sweet. I took it easy on this because the metcon I'm doing is all upper body.
Metcon: Well, if that wasn't the perfect burnout set for the upper body workout I don't know what is. That was a variation of one that was posted on CF.com last week. Definitely harder than I thought it was going to be. Going straight from Ring Dips to OH Press sucked.
Well, I officially got all of my heavy lifts done in one day. Took it easy on the assistance work, but am glad that I got all of that in. Pull-ups tomorrow and then a run Saturday. Have a good night!

I just love your workouts and that was a huge day ... every spare moment you hit the gym! Seriously sick on that first assistance workout with heavy clean pulls ... those power movements really wipe me and then getting onto the lunges, squat cleans and knees to elbow would have finished me by round 2
Also mirin' that 14 rep pull-up set supersetting with the bench and the metcon for a classic CF 21-15-9 rep scheme 45 x OHPs, pul-ups and ring dips for a killer!

6/10/16: 5:20AM. I like my coffee black with a dash of pull-ups...

Pull-ups (Pyramid)
Start by doing one pull-up and then
add a repetition after resting 10 seconds.
Continue as long as you are able.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, +5 (26 Total)

Then rest 60 seconds and complete
one set for Max Reps: 8

Comments: Better numbers than my last couple of attempts. Only got to the set of 5 plus a few more reps the last couple of weeks.
Well, time for another 14 hour day, but there is cold beer in the fridge at the end of the tunnel. Hope you all have a great Friday!

^^^^ that's awesome
I'm a total caffeine addict to start the day and getting in a mini-workout before a huge work day makes it even better! At some stage this weekend I'm going to do that pull-up challenge. After another 14 hour shift you'll deserve that beer

[TM79]

I just love your workouts and that was a huge day ... every spare moment you hit the gym! Seriously sick on that first assistance workout with heavy clean pulls ... those power movements really wipe me and then getting onto the lunges, squat cleans and knees to elbow would have finished me by round 2
Also mirin' that 14 rep pull-up set supersetting with the bench and the metcon for a classic CF 21-15-9 rep scheme 45 x OHPs, pul-ups and ring dips for a killer!


^^^^ that's awesome
I'm a total caffeine addict to start the day and getting in a mini-workout before a huge work day makes it even better! At some stage this weekend I'm going to do that pull-up challenge. After another 14 hour shift you'll deserve that beer

Thanks man! Yeah, that was a heck of a day of working out on Thursday. Like many hard-headed people, I don't just say, "oh well, I guess I'm not going to get to it this week." I'll just pile it up and try to tackle it. Glad you're digging the workouts. I'm digging the assistance work more now that I'm not doing 4(8x50%), or "moar" reps as you all commonly refer to it. But my strength will probably wain on my main lifts without that assistance. It's much easier to sub 155 lb clean pulls in for 205 lb deadlifts, at least to me.

Thanks on the pull-ups too. That was a good, quick one and is perfect for getting the blood flowing before work. The beers were wonderful last night

[TM79]

Well, call me a slacker. I didn't run today. Instead, I did a bunch of overhead (ceiling) drywall work for about 3 hours and then went out into the 95 degree heat, pruned the bushes and mowed the yard. So it wasn't a total waste I guess. Hope you all have a good night!

[fittofattofit]

Thanks man! Yeah, that was a heck of a day of working out on Thursday. Like many hard-headed people, I don't just say, "oh well, I guess I'm not going to get to it this week." I'll just pile it up and try to tackle it. Glad you're digging the workouts. I'm digging the assistance work more now that I'm not doing 4(8x50%), or "moar" reps as you all commonly refer to it. But my strength will probably wain on my main lifts without that assistance. It's much easier to sub 155 lb clean pulls in for 205 lb deadlifts, at least to me.

Thanks on the pull-ups too. That was a good, quick one and is perfect for getting the blood flowing before work. The beers were wonderful last night

It's the beauty of having some training gear at home ... you can fit in a quick metcon in between beers in the evening
I think the assistance work makes you a better all-round 'athlete' and that that will ultimately lead to a stronger core, better co-ordination, and stronger 'big' lifts .... at least that's the theory. Mind you, I think a 155 clean pull is much harder than a 205 deadlift

Well, call me a slacker. I didn't run today. Instead, I did a bunch of overhead (ceiling) drywall work for about 3 hours and then went out into the 95 degree heat, pruned the bushes and mowed the yard. So it wasn't a total waste I guess. Hope you all have a good night!

That overhead work would kill me. Mowing the lawn you can just pretend they're prowler pushes

[TM79]

I think the assistance work makes you a better all-round 'athlete' and that that will ultimately lead to a stronger core, better co-ordination, and stronger 'big' lifts .... at least that's the theory.

Thanks! I quoted this text because this really cuts to the core of why I train. To me, training should increase my strength and cardiovascular "readiness" for just about anything that life can throw at me. If I need to carry a bunch of supplies up the stairs at work or if I'm out on a boat 5 miles from shore and need to swim to get help I'll be ready. That and the obvious advantages for self defense of being strong, agile and also having good endurance. That's the never-ending mission for me. To take the body that I was given and keep it in the best all around shape that I can, as efficiently as possible. And that doesn't mean that if I'm faced with some crazy situation, that I won't fail. But I can promise that if I do fail, I will have at least tried my best to be prepared and have given it my all.

Also, I am a father......... of a cute daughter. And when that young man shows up on my door steps, there won't be any confusion about the way he is expected to treat my little girl.

[TM79]

6/12/16:

Pull-ups
5 Rounds of Pull-ups for Max Reps:
*Rest 90 Seconds between sets.
Round 1: 7
Round 2: 10
Round 3: 8
Round 4: 7
Round 5: 7

Bench
Work up to 5x70%, 2(3x80%). Then one set at 50% for Max Reps:
5x135, 5x165, 5x185, 2(3x205). 20x135

Deadlift
Work up to 5x70%, 2(3x80%). Then one set at 50% for Max Reps:
5x235, 5x265, 5x295, 2(3x335). 20x205

Time: 38:20

Assistance
4 Rounds:
10 Ring Rows
10 Ring Dips
10 KB Swings, 40 lb Dumbbell
8 Dragon Flies

Time: 10:25

Conditioning: Interval Run
800 Meters Slow: 4:13
800 Meters Medium: 3:25
800 Meters Medium: 3:25
800 Meters Slow: 4:03





Comments: Trying to get this one in before it gets hot. It's already 85 degrees. I've got three huge days to start the week off and may be out of town so I'm combing bench and deadlifts. Instead of programming 4 sets of 8 at 50% of main lifts into my assistance, I'm going to do one set of max reps immediately following the heavy sets. This should make setting up for assistance work a lot easier as I won't need multiple barbells laying all over the place. I may not get the full 32 reps, but that's OK. I'll still be doing some variation of the main lift in assistance. Switched the rep scheme up this week to more of "5-3-1-ish" scheme. Also, at least for today, I'm going to split up the heavy lifts and take some extra time between sets. I've been super setting heavy lifts and rushing through them lately, partly out of necessity, but if I want to maximize my strength gains, I need to take more rest between sets. Today, I have the time so I'm going to take more time.
Pull-ups: Did these every 2 minutes. Decent sets.
Bench: Felt nice and strong on these.
Deadlift: I am really loathing deadlifts nowadays. They used to just suck. Now they suck and hurt my back. Decent sets though.
Assistance: That sucked. First time doing dragon flies in a while. I usually skip them because they take a while. They are still not fun. Ha ha...
Conditioning: Wanted to do some running since I didn't go yesterday. Haven't done interval runs in about 6 months. It was 92 degrees for these and they were not easy after doing Deadlifts. Still, pretty decent results. Hope you all have a good day!

[JustBulk]

Nice work, senior.

[shaneinga]

Nice workout. 20 rep deads. Ouch. You will feel those tomorrow.

Nice conditioning work!

[TM79]

Nice work, senior.

Thanks! I appreciate it!

Nice workout. 20 rep deads. Ouch. You will feel those tomorrow.

Nice conditioning work!

Yes Sir. I will feel them in the car for the two hour commute when I get unbearable back pain. Thanks on the conditioning too! It was toasty out there.

[fittofattofit]

Thanks! I quoted this text because this really cuts to the core of why I train. To me, training should increase my strength and cardiovascular "readiness" for just about anything that life can throw at me. If I need to carry a bunch of supplies up the stairs at work or if I'm out on a boat 5 miles from shore and need to swim to get help I'll be ready. That and the obvious advantages for self defense of being strong, agile and also having good endurance. That's the never-ending mission for me. To take the body that I was given and keep it in the best all around shape that I can, as efficiently as possible. And that doesn't mean that if I'm faced with some crazy situation, that I won't fail. But I can promise that if I do fail, I will have at least tried my best to be prepared and have given it my all.

Also, I am a father......... of a cute daughter. And when that young man shows up on my door steps, there won't be any confusion about the way he is expected to treat my little girl.

Ha ... that's my feeling as well. It's nice to feel fit and, even though I always seem to be carrying injuries, I feel that in many ways I'm as fit as I've ever been. And my girls are 21 and 19 so I have be prepared to tackle guys that are a lot younger and taller than me


I loved everything about today! Great work wth the pull-ups and I think setting a time target is a great way to get the upper back and shoulders pumping. Easy reps benching 205 and that back down set would be a killer: 20 reps of a weight I'm good for 5 with , and very speedy off the ground with the 335 deads ... your back had to be screaming with the 20 x 205
Huge day to get the assistance work and the intervals in. Hope you manage to still get some good training in despite the heavy work schedule this week

[TM79]

Ha ... that's my feeling as well. It's nice to feel fit and, even though I always seem to be carrying injuries, I feel that in many ways I'm as fit as I've ever been. And my girls are 21 and 19 so I have be prepared to tackle guys that are a lot younger and taller than me


I loved everything about today! Great work wth the pull-ups and I think setting a time target is a great way to get the upper back and shoulders pumping. Easy reps benching 205 and that back down set would be a killer: 20 reps of a weight I'm good for 5 with , and very speedy off the ground with the 335 deads ... your back had to be screaming with the 20 x 205
Huge day to get the assistance work and the intervals in. Hope you manage to still get some good training in despite the heavy work schedule this week

Thanks my man! It's always good to know that you're among good company. It sounds like you are right there in the middle of the times I'm dreading, or maybe a little past it. I'm glad to know that we have the same motives for training.

Thanks on yesterday's session. It was a long weekend with constant work going on around the house. Saturday and Sunday I basically worked from 8:00Am to 10:00pm. The workout was only part of that. I'm feeling it this morning though. Yeah, I got the idea for those back off sets from a lot of you guys on this forum. I think I prefer that to what I was doing before. Yep, the back is feeling pretty decent today. I need to get a GHD or Roman Chair and actually start targeting those muscles. That will hopefully take care of the problem.

[TM79]

Just an update. I've taken a break for a while as far as training goes. Just finished week #3 of working 60+ hours and working even longer days on the weekends at home. Somewhere in there I managed to catch my daughter's cold. Got a sore throat on Monday and somehow my body limited it to just that until I got home from the place I had been working at on Wednesday night and then it finally "took a break" and the cold officially began. I'm in the thick of it now and will rest from training until it's over. I've tried training while sick before and it always just made things worse so I guess I've smartened up in my old age. Truthfully, my body was worn out and needed a break. I'm starting to re-evaluate my program and may change things up when I return. I may abandon the laser focus on strict powerlifting and start subbing in variations from week to week. Doing the same lifts over and over again has just worn me down. Especially my back. I've found myself just hating deadlifts. So things may be changing once I dig myself out of this hole. Until then, I'll continue to live vicariously through you all. Keep pounding for me!

[TM79]

Comments: This month has been super busy at work and at home. After a few weeks, I got run down and got a cold so I stopped training for a while. Honestly I felt pretty good because of it and it made me re-think what I'm going to do for training. My lower back has been hurting off and on (mostly on) for a long time now and deadlifts seem to aggravate it. I feel that I have gotten very close to my genetic potential on that lift and the other powerlifts and that I have no real aspirations of competing or continuing to push the envelope. Therefore, I will start to sub in variations in place of deadlift. Exercises like: Power Clean, Power Snatch, Clean Pull, Snatch Pull and sometimes I will go back to Deadlift. I will also program the Olympic lifts as they were meant to be be programmed (i.e: mostly sets of 1-3). I will be trying for good form on these lifts, but have no real goals as far as increasing the weight substantially. This is more for recreation, variety, and to build speed. For the burn out set, I will sub in something that can be done safely at higher reps. Also, I will sub in variations for the other main lifts (squat and bench), but am somewhat limited by equipment on those. All of these lifts will be auto-programmed as well. No more coming home from a long day of work and trying to set a new deadlift PR when I really just feel like collapsing on the floor. The powerlifting program was fun and I got further than I ever would've imagined. I got within 15 lbs of a 1000 total and never would've expected that, but sometimes you just have to know when to stop. When you are all stiff and limping around, it is probably time to rethink your training. The conditioning work will likely remain the same. Two metcons per week and two running/cardio sessions. It's time to start enjoying training again. Here we go!

6/21/16:

Power Snatch
Work up to a 3 Rep Max for the day.
3x65, 3x75, 3x85, 3x95, 3x105

Squat
Work up to a 5 Rep Max for the day.
5x135, 5x185, 5x205, 5x225

Then, one set of Squats at 40% for Max Reps: 25x135

Then, one set of Snatch Pulls at 110% of Power Snatch for Max Reps: 15x135

Time: 22:54

Assistance:
4 Rounds:
16 One-Arm Ground to Overheads (alternating), 40 lb Dumbbell
10 Knees to Elbows
16 Box Step-ups (alternating), 30 lb Dumbbells
10 Reverse Hypers

Time: 15:35

Conditioning: Intervals/Sprints
4 Rounds:
10 Burpees
30 Seconds Rest
50 Single Unders
30 Seconds Rest

Post Splits:
Burpees: 30, 33, 34, 36
SU's: 29, 28, 27, 35





Comments: Happy to get back to it. I'm combining the two leg lifts today to get them out of the way. Doing bench and pull-ups later in the week will be easier when I'm worn out. Next week is vacation so that will be more time off. Going for reps of 5 on power lifts. Happy to see some new stuff on the board!
Power Snatch: These felt great. Boy was it refreshing to do some Oly lifts again. My form started to break down at 105 so that was it.
Squat: Legs felt super fresh for these. Good sets.
Burnout sets: Lungs were burning for these. Not as many reps as I'm used to, but not bad after a week off. Not to mention I took almost zero rest time after squats and went straight into Snatch Pulls.
Assistance: Man, that was rough. Drenched in sweat now...
Conditioning: This was a good little conditioning workout. That's a nice mixture of movements.
OK, working until midnight tonight and then flying up to New York tomorrow morning. I'll try to get a metcon in tomorrow evening in the hotel. Hope you all have a great day!

[shaneinga]

That reads like a tiring workout TM. Good to hear the time off did you well. Changing up things looks like it is going to work well for you. I like the addition of the Olly lifts in here. I don't do them, but they are fun to watch.

[TM79]

That reads like a tiring workout TM. Good to hear the time off did you well. Changing up things looks like it is going to work well for you. I like the addition of the Olly lifts in here. I don't do them, but they are fun to watch.

Thanks Shane. I'm not an expert at Oly lifts by any means, and I can't do a proper (squat) snatch or clean to save my life, but I enjoy doing what I can.

[fittofattofit]

Those 95 snatches looked so easy for you! looks like you'll easily be snatching 1pps+ with a bit of practice. Great looking squats as well and I'm very impressed that you can do 10 burpees with a 30 second split
I'm sympathetic with your problems with deads and the PL workouts because joints and tendons do take a beating. Your programme is looking more like you're turning into a CrossFitter

[TM79]

Those 95 snatches looked so easy for you! looks like you'll easily be snatching 1pps+ with a bit of practice. Great looking squats as well and I'm very impressed that you can do 10 burpees with a 30 second split
I'm sympathetic with your problems with deads and the PL workouts because joints and tendons do take a beating. Your programme is looking more like you're turning into a CrossFitter

Thanks man. Just adding some variety and working on speed. I try to force my body to adapt, but sometimes my body forces me to adapt. Ha ha... The crossfit comment makes me nervous though. Maybe I just need to go back to doing deadlifts.

[mirroroferised]

Good session man. A good rest sometimes is a great idea!!

[TM79]

Good session man. A good rest sometimes is a great idea!!

Thanks! Yeah, it's so easy to get carried away with this stuff. We are all pretty competitive and driven and that's a good thing, however, it can come back to bite you sometimes when you push yourself too hard. Oh well, you never really know your limit until you push it.

[TM79]

6/22/16:

5 Rounds of Pull-ups for Max Reps
*Rest 90 Seconds between sets.
Round 1: 13
Round 2: 9
Round 3: 8
Round 4: 8
Round 5: 8

5 Rounds of Push-ups for Max Reps:
*Rest 90 Seconds between sets.
Round 1: 32
Round 2: 26
Round 3: 20
Round 4: 17
Round 5: 18

Comments: Haven't done anything for upper body in a week and a half and just wanted to do something. This hotel also has a pull-up bar in the fitness center so I couldn't pass it up.
Pull-ups: Good sets here. Strong and consistent.
Push-ups: Threw these in just for fun. Not bad. Have a good night!

[PtReyesGreg]

Nice workout TM. Way to make it happen with what you've got available. Nothing wrong with doing a butt-load of Pullups and Pushups...good way to get Prison Strong.

[TM79]

Nice workout TM. Way to make it happen with what you've got available. Nothing wrong with doing a butt-load of Pullups and Pushups...good way to get Prison Strong.

Ha ha! Thanks man. Yeah, you've gotta do what you've gotta do in the hotel.

[shaneinga]

Looks like something I would do if I was stuck in a hotel room. With the exception of pull ups. Haha.

Great work out TM.

[TM79]

Looks like something I would do if I was stuck in a hotel room. With the exception of pull ups. Haha.

Great work out TM.

Thanks Shane! Man, you should've seen some of the metcons I used to do in hotels while I was working my old job. We had a lot more down time, so I got really creative. Overhead Pressing coffee tables, running up and down the steps, dips between pieces of furniture, "suitcase rows," "suitcase power cleans," backpack kettle bell swings, walking lunges, etc. Those were the days...

[mirroroferised]

Thanks Shane! Man, you should've seen some of the metcons I used to do in hotels while I was working my old job. We had a lot more down time, so I got really creative. Overhead Pressing coffee tables, running up and down the steps, dips between pieces of furniture, "suitcase rows," "suitcase power cleans," backpack kettle bell swings, walking lunges, etc. Those were the days...

That's pretty clever actually and a good use of time. If there isn't a gym I usually do chair sits and bed lie downs.