Went to the beach on the weekend and ate a lot of seafood. Before that though I did another strongman event day. Some rounds of farmers' walk with 190 in each hand, keg carries with a 160 pounder, cleans with a 110 axle, neck crunches, band pull-aparts and Swiss ball planks. Nothing was very difficult; this is a 5th day of lifting and I have no strongman competition anytime so it was mostly for fun and to hit some stuff that could use more targeting like rear-delts and abs.

Monday:

Mat pulls (9)
550x8

SSB box squats
340x3x5

Small in variety, big on weight.

Had an excellent sparring session on Friday. I feel confident in saying that my cardio gave me a competitive advantage, although in one opponent's defense he just got done training BJJ. Bottom line is training with my mask is helping, although I only expected it to psychologically. I've also been redefining what it means to spar and to NOT let my opponent catch a break. That means following up with combinations after kicks, in particular, not stepping back to indicate that I'm done. I was pretty relentless. There were several times where I would double or triple jab and the other guy seemed to relax, figuring I was done, and then I'd throw more jabs from my extended arm, almost like a 1-inch punch. I love jabbing. Also got in some good body and leg kicks, and even planted my foot squarely into a torso for the cleanest front kick I've ever landed.

Got warned not to oblique kick because it could hurt someone. Fair enough. Yes, I was copying Jon Jones.

Forgot my headgear for this session but didn't get hit hard enough to have problems. Nose was just slightly sore.

Things to work on: I think I could slam my kicks a little more. Previously I've been more focused on just getting them to land in the right spots. Now that they are I need to actually make them as much a weapon in sparring as my hands are.