Squats

315 x 17

Kettlebell pull-overs

25 x 20

Incline Swiss bar bench press

185 x 8, 9, 9

Super-set with dumbbell rows 

115s x 3 x 8

1-minute chin-up

Feeling sick and wasn't sure if I would train today. Got set-up and felt pretty dead in my warm-ups. Lately I've been pretty mature about walking away and saving it for the next day, but I just had too much fire burning in me and ended up having a good workout. Felt better afterwards, not depleted. Back is also feeling a bit better.

Snapped a shirtless pic after the squats and a shot of my training partner:

Ended up having crazy vivid dreams from taking 2 ZMA capsules when I woke-up at midnight to use the bathroom. I've taken the stuff off and on for almost 2 decades and my dream responses to it vary from normal to yeah that was a little more intense than usual, but man, it was like experiencing movies all night long this time. The most memorable: I was a hacker and ISIS was operating in my town so I broke into the electronics of their vehicles and made one of their convoys crash and explode on the freeway. Reviewing footage of the crash, however, revealed my last name in the filename of the executable I used to hack them flashing onscreen (it only made sense in the dream) and I was worried they'd find my identity. I woke-up and had to take several minutes to accept that no part of that was real. 

 Tuesday: Worked with an inexperienced partner at boxing and it was a very low-intensity session of trading combos both with gloves and later with mitts, which benefits me being able to slow way down and polish my technique. 

We ended with bagwork and my punching bag ended up falling off of the rafters when the carabiner exploded from a heavy right hand I threw. Coach had me ground-n-pound for the rest of the round MMA-style. I wanted to low kick it so bad. Having a target low to the ground shifted something in my brain to go from boxing to Muay Thai.

Came home and felt the spark to do 3 rounds of hill sprints up Heart Attack Hill. Haven't done these in awhile and my calves were sore the next day.

Wednesday: Similar to Tuesday with another slow but technical session. Trained pivots and angles by throwing a right to the body, left to the body, left to the head that we duck under, then circling around while throwing a double jab. Eventually added a cross after the jabs. Finished with bag work.

Left shoulder is still tender but feeling a little better than last week. Going to see how much difference the Swiss bar makes instead of straight bar incline benching today. Back has also been in pain this week, but better today after consistent walking and opting for laying down vs chair or couch sitting at home and during my lunch break. Also experiencing a runny nose and mild sore throat.

Press

195 x 1

Push press

205 x 1

Press

145 x 3 x 8

Overhead shrugs

145 x 2 x 8

Neutral-grip chin-ups

Bodyweight x 10

60 x 3 x 8

Dumbbell curls

50s x 3 x 10

Heavy band pressdowns

2 x 10

Hit exactly what I aimed for on everything. 195 felt very heavy, but was surprised that 145 felt so light. It was what I was working with when I was much heavier and stronger.

Left work early yesterday and headed to the boxing gym for my physical to get cleared for sparring. The doctor had me do some simple tests for vision and shoulder health. I assumed the final test would be a fight, but he never even attacked me. I then realized the genius in this: sometimes the toughest fights are the ones that don't exist at all. By wanting to fight, I would not truly be fighting by fighting. Walking away was the true fight. Or something.

Boxing on Friday evening was pretty standard for that session with dumbbells, push-ups, simple combo-trading, and bagwork. Returned the next morning and registered to get my physical taken by the gym's physician on Monday so I can start sparring.

Squats
430 x 3
Drop-down to 385x5, 315x8, 225x8, 135x8

Single-leg curls
200 x 3 x 10

Abs:
Banded ab twists x 10 each side
Hanging leg raises x 8
Ab wheel x 12 (5 kneeling, 7 standing

Legs are feeling incredibly strong but my back was the dark horse here. I went to see Alien Romulus (which kicked ass) last night and even though the theater had lounge seats, my back got stiff lying in position for so long. It didn't feel great going in but it held up. About to go on a walk to downtown for lunch and that should do me good. The positive thing is that the most uncomfortable back days I have now are far better than how painful it used to be.

Boxing was low intensity combo trading with a partner on Wednesday, which was good for my hips. Twisting when throwing hooks was a little uncomfortable but not too bad. Ended with bag work. Had the most difficulty training abs at the end because keeping my legs elevated in the air was painful so I kept my feet planted for crunches.

Woke-up on Thursday feeling better; still a little pain if I lift either leg up, but was able to squat with a closer stance no problem.

Squats (high bar)

315 x 17

20 kettlebell pull-overs with 25 lbs

Incline bench press

195 x 7, 7, 7, 8

Super-set with lying dumbbell rows

115s x 4 x 8

Poundstone curls

30 x 100

Left shoulder is hurting. Throwing power jabs and lifting are taking their toll together. Managed to incline bench OK but will change the movement if shoulder hasn't improved next week. Will add in more bar hangs and reintroduce Turkish get-ups. Also haven't done band pull-aparts or facepulls in a minute. 

On the plus side, got 2 more squat reps than last time. 17th rep is when the grind started and I had to really squeeze my abs tight to keep my back from folding over and there was a little bit of a good morning effect. Woke-up with my back feeling great despite that. 

This morning before work I did 50 band pull-aparts and 3 Turkish get-ups with the 15 kettlebell. Hips continue to feel better; can raise my legs without any pain today.

Monday was largely a rest day. Went on a 15-minute jog in the evening for fun. indulged in leftover bison burritos from the weekend and went to bed early. Passed out hard and got 9 hours of sleep. 

Boxing yesterday was awesome. I got there early and noticed I was 1 of 2 people skipping rope when the coach called it out. He said what's up to me and mentioned people seem to be confused about the class location, which was in a different area than normal but the other room was locked so people shouldn't have been confused (when I saw the door was locked, I came right over to room 2). I saw some regulars to this class milling about in the gym, taking their time getting wrapped or just wandering around while I jump-roped. What the hell, people? Show the coach and your class some respect. 

After shadowboxing, we partnered-up and the coach paired with me. Had me throw two jabs, a feint, and a 1-2-3, eventually adding a roll to the end and rising up with a 3-2. We switched and I held for him before repeating. He kept challenging me to not step in when throwing the jab for this session and use my reach. Felt some difficulty whipping my jab out because my left shoulder in particular was sore and I had to fight a tendency like pulling my hand in for recoil before throwing it. Also got told to keep my right up higher when throwing the hook. It was by my chin but coach wanted it closer to my brow. Finally, I need to plant my feet a bit more when throwing. I used to be too flat-footed in Muay Thai and now I'm overcompensating.

After class, coach took me aside to review some of the tweaks to my form we went over today and then told me he felt my power when holding mitts. 

Both of my hip flexors began hurting from moving around. This seems to have started last week when I squatted heavy Tuesday and did sprint and bear-crawl races in Wednesday's class. They hurt until the weekend, got better, and now the pain is back. I'll try to avoid aggravating them in class today, possibly by adopting a narrower stance. 

Went on a hike Saturday and scouted out a good camping spot. Booked the location for October.
2-board press
315 x 1
335 x 1
350 x 1

Seated overhead dumbbell press
80s x 6, 8, 7, 7
Super-set with T-bar rows and weighted chin-ups
Rows: 5 plates x 8, 8, 8
Weighted chin-ups: 50 x 8

Dumbbell skullcrushers: 50s x 7, 8
Super-set with alternating dumbbell curls: 50s x 20, 20

Wasn't expecting 350 to feel so light even with a board press, but the bar absolutely shot up. Last weekend I grinded out 315x3, although that was paused and this was touch-and-go.

I also boxed less during the last week and I think the results of that were clear on this day, but I'm back to the boxing gym 3 days this week.

Having a great weekend so far and am taking time to record on the same day rather than catch-up at work on Monday.

Mat pulls (4 mats)
500 x 5

Romanian deadlifts
315 x 8, 8
225 x 10 + 10 shrugs

Barbell shrugs
225 x 2 x 15

Belt squats
6 plates + human x 3 x 12

 

Weighted decline twist crunches
25 x 20
50 x 20

Today's my diet break day. Going to stuff myself all day and likely go on a hike soon.

 Incline bench press

190 x 8, 8, 8, 7

Super-set with lying dumbbell rows

115s x 8, 8, 8, 8

Reverse hyper

200 x 8, 10, 15

1-minute chin-up

Was originally going to combine hamstring work into this via Romanian deadlifts, but I felt very low-energy. Decided to post-pone pulls and do heavy deadlifts on Saturday.

Despite feeling sluggish, benching felt light. My pressing strength is going up while I'm maintaining a low bodyweight. Been off creatine for a month, too, although I never notice a difference on or off it.

Really fun boxing class yesterday. Partnered-up with the tallest guy in class again and it's just blatant how we always pick each other now. Took turns throwing simple combos and defending. Got to practice actual shovel hooks this time by drilling a 6 to the body, 5 to the body, and ending with a 3 that we ducked under. The hook to the body followed by the head shot on the same side always makes me think of Tyson. This guy doesn't have the best cardio and tends to slow down, but I appreciate that he never stops the action and keeps pushing. 

Because I'm usually facing against guys smaller than me, staying close to this partner while throwing to the body made me think holy shit, there's so much target for me to hit if this were a fight. Not a feeling I'm used to. I just need to find a big guy who also moves fast.

We ended doing some P.E.-style team races. Formed 2 lines outside and bear crawled, side shuffled, and sprinted against the other team's opponent. I exploded out of the gate bear crawling and my abs suddenly got attacked by a massive cramping episode from the squats and ab work I did yesterday, which made me lose the round. Won the rest of the rounds without incident or trouble. I was WAY ahead of my opponent during the sprint, which I've always been good at. I'm built like a cheetah but trying to be a lion.

Worked the heavy bag at home for 3 minutes across 3 rounds on Monday, then had a friend who I was letting use my gym throw punches at me while I could only defend for 2 rounds of 2 minutes. Wanted to go on a run afterwards but opted to start winding down for bed to get a lot of sleep.

Yesterday:

Yukon bar squats

420 x 3

Drop-down to 370 x 5, 320 x 8, 230 x 8, 140 x 8

20 Russian twists

Ab wheel

5 lying + 5 standing

5 standing

420 felt heavier than I expected. Was aiming for 5 but was content with 3. Had some difficulty with the low-bar placement today. I started by experimenting with high bar in the work-up sets but with this curved bar, it wasn't happening by 320. Switching mid-workout and finding the positioning was surprisingly tricky.

 Press

185 x 3

145 x 3 x 8

8 overhead shrugs at the last press rep of every set.

Behind-the-neck press

115 x 6, 6

Chin-ups

Bodyweight x 10

50 x 4 x 8

Dumbbell skullcrushers

50s x 5 -> drop-down to 35s x 6

35s x 9

Axle preacher curls

70 x 2 x 10

Keg curls

160 x 15

39-second chin-up 

Biceps were fried; no way was a 1-minute chin-up happening. Pleased that my press is rebounding. I've put 10 lbs on it in a month while my bodyweight has remained steady in the low 190s. 

Chin-ups and preacher curls were quite uncomfortable on the elbow this time. It'd be a good idea to do this workout at the gym so I can do some really heavy machine rows without aggravating the elbow.

Had a fairly standard Friday boxing session with the usual rounds of calisthenics and bag work. We don't usually work with partners on Fridays, but this time we partnered up to practice what the coach thought were shovel hooks. I really like this coach on a personal level but occasionally he ponders out loud what he's teaching and admits he's not sure and to ask another coach. He did that with shovel hooks this time while showing what was a straight to the body but with the wrist kept sideways and the thumb facing up (I.e. not rotating the fist). 

Got set-up to squat yesterday after work, felt like I had no energy just moving the empty bar, and made the call to rest and wake-up early in the morning to lift instead, giving me a full rest day followed by a lifting and boxing day. Absolutely the right call. Got to go to bed early and woke-up an hour before my normal alarm to eat a light morning snack of a mini hummus cup, half an RX bar (they're small so this was literally one bite), the rest of my Metabolic Drive shake from the night before, and some coffee before training 10 minutes later.

High-bar squats
315 x 15

Incline bench press
185 x 3 x 6

Lying dumbbell rows
80s x 3 x 10

Axle curls
30 x 50

Including the warm-up sets for my knees and back, got this done in 40 minutes. Left a couple reps in the tank on squats and bench, knowing I'll be killing myself with bodyweight exercises in boxing today. Light weight on the rows really allowed me to get an extreme squeeze at the top and the ROM almost resembled a lateral raise.

Felt AWESOME to lift before work and head to the office after getting that done. Going to see if this positively impacts my recovery and make it more common if it does.

Monday:

Paused 2-board press

315 x 3, 3

Close-grip incline bench

175 x 9, 8, 8, 9

Weighted wide-grip pull-ups

50 x 4 x 8

Keg curls

160 x 20

Dumbbell curls 

35s x 10

Opted for board pressing because my shoulders were still sore on Monday from Friday's class.

Went to boxing Tuesday and Wednesday. Got to work 1-on-1 with the coach on Tuesday, taking turns throwing combos and blocking or slipping. Wednesday was a HUGE class but few people want to go in the boxing ring for some reason despite the coach's urging, so I was able to spend most of my time in there with reasonable space. Did a lot of partner shadowboxing with different people, which I love doing in the absence of real sparring (more on that later...). Ended with bag work, hitting the shield by coming forward with 1-2s and then retreating with 1-3s, and then medicine ball conditioning. Shoulders are wrecked.

Lost my paperwork to sign-up for sparring so I got a new set on the way out. Requires a doctor's sign-off, which I've been dragging my feet over, but I want to make it happen finally.

Stopped by the gym on the way home and did a 39-second dead hang for my shoulders. The gym pull-up bars are covered in very slick rubber. It's comfortable and soft on the hands but harder to grip than metal. I appreciate the grip challenge. Afterwards, took a brief shower and sat in the cold plunge for 3 minutes and then the sauna for 8. Went in the steam room on my walk back to the locker room and some jackass sitting behind me broke the silence by shouting "HEY!" several times which made his 2 buddies laugh. Then he got down and started loudly telling a little kid behind the glass door that he needs his dad to come in with him. He then announced to his friends that he was hitting the cold plunge, so I'm glad I missed him there.  Great experience overall though. Walked out feeling refreshed.

Monday:

Yukon bar squats

410 x 5

Strip-sets of 320 x 8, 230 x 8, 140 x 8

Romanian deadlifts

275 x 3 x 10

Barbell shrugs

275 x 2 x 10

Reverse-hyper

200 x 2 x 10

Russian twists

25 x 2 x 20

Hanging leg raises x 15

Climbing back up. Squatted a little wider in a deliberate move to boost my squat numbers for a few weeks. I'm really enjoying switching stances, bars, angles, and grip placement around. Not avoiding what I'm weak at, but occasionally going back to what I'm strong at so my body stays used to heavier weight.

After recently training with the safety squat bar, my back felt like iron and handled the deadlifts just fine after squats. Abs were really feeling it during the leg raises after the ab twists.

Tuesday: 

Spent a looong time in traffic coming back to the office from a field visit and ended up leaving work 45 minutes late. Was annoyed on the road and my back was bothering me even with a lumbar cushion due to the rigid vehicle seats that don't recline, but once I got back to the office I scarfed down a Dave's Killer Bread sandwich with Nuttzo butter and the rest of my protein shake, which was just perfect enough for boxing 30 minutes later to feel neither hungry or too full. It all worked out.

Boxing was tough. Was very sore from those 2 intense lifting days, especially traps, shoulders, and legs. Body and conditioning held-up, though. Even with sore legs, I had the stamina to move well in the ring as long as I didn't talk myself into being weak. Threw hard combos at the mitts and body shield, finishing-up with bag work that alternated between speed and power depending on the coach's callout. Shoulders and legs felt like lead when I walked out. Took a bath at home and played Metal Gear Solid afterwards. Was craving carbs, but stuck to a dinner of chicken, steak, and stir-fry vegetables, with the usual Metabolic Drive before bed.

Plan on making today a rest day. Haven't decided if I feel like going on a jog or not, but walking and stretching will definitely happen.

Friday boxing was almost all calisthenics after the usual rounds of skipping rope and shadowboxing. Alternated between many rounds of medicine ball burpees, plyo push-ups, and dumbbell lateral holds. My shoulders are STILL sore today from that. I'll always prefer classes where I actually learn how to box, but I think it's good for me to suffer through something I don't want to do and I signed up for the same Friday class this week, along with 2 other technique days. Ended the class doing bagwork, which is always a good challenge to push through after exhausting the muscles. 

Saturday was a rest day. Went out for a bomb Italian restaurant dinner.

Sunday:

Mat pulls (5)

500 x 5

Walked to the gym immediately after:

Leg press

4, 5, 6, 7 plates x 10

Lying leg curls

130 x 3 x 10

Leg extension

130 x 12

200 x 10

Hanging leg raises

2 x 10

Cable ab twists x 20