Axle push press

170 x 3

190 x 3

215 x 4

* In light of my recent string of poor performances I'm eating sooner after finishing breakfast. A stronger showing here than last week and to be honest I was still a little hungry going in so I'm going to cut the time down even more.

Axle press

145 x 3 x 8

Dumbbell press against bands, keg curls

All presses super-set with chin-ups

Felt under the weather yesterday. Mat pulled 570 for 3 reps off 7 mats, then deadlifted 405x13. In the evening I box squatted 275x2x8, did some split-squats, a 1:06 plank, and an uphill backwards run. 

Bench press

235 x 3

265 x 3

300 x 3

* My strength is at a low point but the 300 set was the easiest-feeling, at least. Another instance of warm-ups feeling heavy and the top set being breezy. What seemed to have happened is I lowered the poundages by switching to the Swiss bar and didn't retain what I could do with the straight bar due to losing so much weight. What I was using with the Swiss bar became the new norm. This has happened before when I've used previously successful methods while growing that ended up not panning out on a calorie deficit (50-rep goblet squats come to mind). Reinforces the notion that heavy weight is king in the absence of calories. 

Dumbbell press

115s x 7, 8, 6

 Ran uphill backwards for one round last night, then two normal uphill sprints, followed by a roughly 20 minute jog. Stretched afterwards. That uphill run is quite a leg workout, it's a decently steep hill.

Experimented with eating less before bed, pretty much just my protein shake (no high fat meal alongside it). I also didn't sip protein throughout the night when I woke-up to use the bathroom because I have ZMA now and it doesn't play well with casein protein. Woke up ravenously hungry.

Also woke up very sore in my legs today, my calves moreso than normal probably thanks to the backwards uphill run. Did a lot of stretching, some reverse hypers, and used the massage gun. Got in two shadowkickboxing rounds after stretching, mostly going very light and fluidly (or as much as I could on these two dead weights attached to my pelvis).

Hit the bag for 3 rounds last night (3:10 periods). Stretching afterwards. 

Yukon squats

315 x 5

365 x 5

410 x 6

Drop-down to 365x3

315 x 7

225, 135, 45 x 8

* Pretty much going as deep as possible with the width I'm standing, it's well below parallel. Happy to report this is the best my knees have felt squatting in a while.

SSB good mornings

60 x 20

150 x 10, 

Hanging leg raises

10

Ab wheel with mid-pauses

5

Axle push press

160 x 5

180 x 5

205 x 4, 5

-

Last two sets super-set with with chins

8, 8

Axle press

140 x 8

-

Super-set with chins

11

Went to a Muay Thai class at AKA on Thursday. Really excellent session, left me little doubt in my mind I want to come here more. The coach that evening, Derrick Yuen, actually taught one of my other coaches at XMA, Payam, for his kickboxing fights back in the day. He's a great dude with a stoic patience about the way he teaches. Definitely not the loud OSU-type that wants to hype the class up. I appreciate both personalities.

Got told I'm not rotating my shoulders enough when I kick. Shoulder should block the jaw to some degree. Made an instant correction as soon as I was told this and he said good job.

Most of the session was teaming up with partners and going back and forth between a simple jab followed by a low kick. After enough of this, we took turns push-kicking and batting it away to change trajectory. Really basic stuff but I have never actually learned to parry a push-kick.

Reviewing the fundamentals with a live opponent was a welcome step back to shaking off rust and remembering what it's like to react to a moving target versus the endless bouts of heavy bag work and shadow boxing I've been doing during the pandemic, which by the way have served me extremely well. I could just tell I looked far more polished than the last time I stepped into a gym and I change directions much more fluidly and naturally now when shadowboxing as opposed to just facing the same way.

 Mat pulls (8)
570 x 8
* 1 rest pause. I could have eked out more reps but my back has been hurting the past few days and I have Muay Thai tonight so I didn't want to soul drain myself. Felt very strong despite a stabbing headache once I went past 315.

SSB box squats
Up to 290 x 5, 330 x 5

Can't believe I didn't record what an epic cheat day I had yesterday. The day before I weighed 193 and the same time yesterday I weighed just over 200 lbs. I was in pain most of the day.

Bench press

Up to 285 x 5

* Well that sucks, but fuck it, I appreciate being humbled. I thought the Swiss bar would magically make my bench skyrocket up. Yeah, that worked a decade ago but I was also eating like it was my job, whereas here I'm down 7 lbs and the lightest I've been in 15 years. And honestly, back then it was probably more attributable to simply training for a period of time and growing period, bar type be damned. The feeling I have at this bodyweight is that the first few reps feel like an atom bomb and then my endurance just dies. It's a notably faster decline than it used to be.

Dumbbell press

115s x 7, 8, 7

All set super set with dumbbell rows of 115

Rear delts, curls

I have a Muay Thai appointment with AKA at 8pm on Thursday. They're requiring reservations this way.

The past two nights I took what most would consider a microdose of edibles in anticipation of having a movie night and instead got thoroughly absorbed watching YouTube videos about either Mike Tyson or 90s boxing in general for hours. One guy in particular apparently remastered a bunch of his VHS tapes and uploaded sublime footage that I couldn't turn away from. I might have known this way back in the day but I don't remember Hajime No Ippo's Smash special punch being a real move by Razor Ruddock (a name I know but haven't really watched much of beyond other boxers' highlight reels). It's really cool to witness, kinda like a shovel hook but with a straighter trajectory fired from the hip.

UPDATE: According to the Ippo Wiki they do indeed mention Ruddock in the anime, damn. I blame it on me not having been that much into 90s boxing before, with some exceptions (Tyson and Foreman).

Deload

Yukon squats

200, 250, 300 x 5

225 x 8, 8, 8

-

Last 4 sets super-set with banded leg curls

12, 15, 15, 15

Hanging leg raises

2 x 10

Woke up with my knees feeling a little achy (weird since I had a complete rest day Sunday). Did the session without any sleeves and felt totally pain free by the end of it. That reminds me, I gleamed an idea from both kneesovertoesguy and a boxing Instagram to do runs backwards uphill. My usual sprinting place will do the trick nicely. 

Saturday before I went to a pool party. Deload

Push-press

Up to 185 x 5

Super-set with chins x 10

Axle press

130 x 7, 7

-

Super-set with chins x 10, 8

Double monster band chest press + dips

15 + 8

-

Super-set with wide grip pullups

8

Keg curls

8

Did more YouTube shadow kickboxing yesterday and then went on a jog for about 35 minutes. Got kinda lost in the music and ran for longer than I expected to. 

I've been neglecting to mention that I'm stretching everyday and making really good progress on my flexibility. Kicking high is becoming easier. It's a constant back-and-forth battle between lifting and stretching.

Deload

Mat pulls (7)
315 x 5
405 x 3
500 x 3

Banded leg extensions
30, 30

SSB split-squats
60 x 5

 Deload

Swiss bar bench
135, 185, 205 x 5

Close-grip 
185 x 10, 10, 10
-
Super-set with T-bar rows
2 plates, 3 plates, 4 plates x 10

Standing Arnold press
50s x 11
-
Super-set with dips
10

T-bar rows
4 plates x 11

Keg curls
160 x 10

Rear-delt flyes
35s x 10

Whenever I train heavy I look forward to doing it and then am miserable in the session. When I deload I have to drag myself to do it and end up thinking "This is nice" during it.

Did some really good shadow kickboxing yesterday evening. Followed along with Sean Fagan doing it on a Thai beach via YouTube, just taking some cues from him but doing my own flow. In the middle of it my friend arrived with a big batch of homemade cinnamon rolls, and on top of that, it was 100 all day as I was working so I refreshed with a cold beer. Kept going with my boxing, though, I was finding my pattern way too nicely to stop. I'd say total time was 25 minutes.

Woke-up and did 4 minutes bike warm-up, 60 burpees, shadow kickboxing, 120 jumping-jacks, 1 minute burning out on the bike, and more kickboxing. Total time was 19 minutes.

I've been going straight to shadowboxing after those burpees to simulate fatigue in a fight. Similar to the breath restriction mask, I'm more after the psychological impact. That final round of kickboxing felt totally fresh in comparison despite not having any rest preceding it; instead, I'm recovering while working.

Great way to start the day before my work-at-home shift. 

Was doing my work-up sets for squats and I actually had to dump 430. First time I've ever failed squats at home, too. I've been thinking I'm due for a deload for awhile now and am taking this as a stronger sign, I've been feeling really beat-up all over.

The Yukon bar also poses a challenge when it's hot out because of its smooth knurling. It was 98 today, which isn't uncomfortable to me, but I had to keep chalking my shoulders up and sweat still made the bar feel like it's slipping. I'm wondering if my positioning was off and I wasn't firing my legs properly trying to keep it stationed. On the plus side, it was REALLY easy to drop behind me.

I'm thinking I might try swapping in the straight bar next cycle just because I'm really curious what the transfer feels like like.

Night:

Came by after work and finished this in 30 minutes. 

Back squat/front squat

Up to 225 x 10/10

Drop-down to 185 x 8/8

Good mornings

150 x 10, 10

-

Super-set with band leg curls (no counting)

Ab medley of 5 slow standing wheel rollouts, 20 sec plank, and 10 slow Swiss ball crunches

Thanks to Mythical Strength's ebook for the squat idea, although I've been thinking about trying some of that same stuff from his training log for awhile. Zero knee pain here by the way despite going without sleeves. 

Hit this Friday.

Mat pulls (8)

570 x 1

* The injury spot in my back that I thought had recovered started acting up so I shut this down. It's possible I might have been able to pull this off but better not to risk it. I think it's a good feeling to be hungry for more and carry that into the next try . 

Deadlifts (TnG)

405 x 15

* This is always a good fallback option. Not a PR but I'm lifting with mats under my feet lately so it's a tad deeper. Didn't need to grind anything out either, I'll hit that nice-sounding 20 when my back is all better. 10 years ago this was above my peak performance. I know that's a long time but it's so cool to be 30 lbs lighter and have this just be an accessory amount now. 

Came back later in the evening to do banded leg extensions and split squats. 

Went on a 20 minute jog last night. Lately I've been wearing knee sleeves while I run to help out my knees. Feels stupid but effective. Even at what I consider a light weight I don't think a 197 lb person is supposed to run as much I like to but it's really therapeutic for me while I zone out to music. Guess it makes sense to protect my joints more than the average person.

Woke up today and did 5 minutes of bike warm-up, 55 no-rest burpees, shadowboxing, 100 jumping-jacks, and 2 minutes of bike burn-out. Total time was 15.

Swiss bar bench

275 x 6, 5

285 x 5

225 x 12

-

Super-set with Meadows rows

2 plates x 8, 8, 10

3 plates x 8

* Order out of chaos. Last night I wrenched my shoulder doing dynamic stretches and it hurt to raise my arm. Was still feeling it today so rather than try to continue and fail the cycle I'm on I switched to a favorite protocol of working up to 3x8 on a particular weight. I sometimes insert this after a 531 cycle just to change things up (modifications are bound to happen after 10 years) and periodize with a higher rep scheme than 5. Wasn't happening with 275, though. I got the hunch that my strength endurance is more hampered by the shoulder than anything so I reverted course and set-up 285 like I was supposed to. Mid-set of this as I grinded rep 4 up I realized many of my reps today have been very low down my body, almost like a decline bench, probably a subconscious measure to protect my shoulder. I pressed the final rep higher up on my chest and the weight practically fell over my head with how much easier that was. So I ended up getting the minimum reps I needed with a much tougher work-up journey despite a pissed shoulder.

Band-resisted Arnold press

50s x 8

50s without bands x 8

-

Super-set with T-bar rows

4 plates x 10, 10

Medley of chest flyes, rear-delt band raises, skull crushers, and keg curls