Strength

Early afternoon

Clean and Jerk 5 X 3
Load: 140, 140, 160, 160, 170

Squats 10 X 2
Load: 165
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 10 X 5
Load: 120
*On the minute

Skills

2 X 10 Reverse Lunges
2 X 20 Calf Raises

Workout comments: Failed the 5th rep of the 9th set of incline dumbbell presses. They started getting to me towards the end. The last set of cleans turned into power cleans. I realize these might be harder than normal cleans, but they feel more comfortable than catching the bar so close to the ground.

I tried running a few miles on the treadmill. I made it half a mile before stopping. No serious pain, but it felt a little odd and I thought it best to stop. Maybe the fact that I was running on the treadmill had a little to do with it.

Body: Chest a little sore today. It has been almost a month since I worked a bench press. Some grogginess upon waking this morning.
Sleep: About 8.5 hours. Started using melatonin supplements for better quality sleep. Seems to work well at helping me dose off, but I still seem to be waking sporadically throughout the night and having trouble waking in the morning. I will try adding protein shakes before bed and see if this helps alleviate some of the muscular soreness.
Nutrition: Whey protein, fish oil, multi-vitamin in the morning, whey protein post-workout. Another whey protein shake just before bed. Combined with steak for dinner, this added up to about 180g protein throughout the day. I've read various articles claiming 0.7-1g per pound of body weight is a good amount depending on physical activity. After today, I realized how hard it is to get the required amount of protein. This is most likely the reason for my chronic soreness each morning.

Strength, Two Metcons

Early afternoon

Strength

Deadlift 4 X 5
Load: 260

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 10, 10, 5, 5
Load: 110, 130, 130, 130

Pullups 4 X 10
Sets of pullups were spread throughout the workout

Metcon
50 walking lunges
21 Push Press (80) 21 Pushups
Repeat this round with 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 (50 walking lunges between each round)
17:14

5 rounds
15 second plank hold
AMRAP situps 30 seconds
30 seconds rest

Total situps across 5 rounds: 96

Incline Bench, Pullups, Swimming Intervals

Afternoon

Incline Bench Press 4 X 5
Load: 135, 155, 155, 155

Kipping Pullups 3 X 15

Swimming Intervals

WU: 5 easy laps

Main: 3 X (50y, 100y, 200y)
*Rest exactly the amount of time it takes to complete each interval.

1. 0:51, 1:45, 3:48
2. 0:48, 1:45, 3:43
3. 0:47, 1:45, 3:44

Workout comments: Oddly, I felt better and more rested on each piece than I did on the previous set. I was pushing pretty hard on the 50y and 100y pieces, and didn't really start to feel my form fail until the 200y intervals. Every so often I catch a glimpse of someone swimming who is either a beginner or just has no idea what he/she is doing. I'm glad I can't really see myself or I would be totally de-motivated. Still, the workout today felt productive.

Shoulder Press, Chinups, Back Extensions, Metcon

Early afternoon

Shoulder Press 10, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Loads: 60, 90, 120, 130, 130, 130, 130

Chinups 5 X 10

Back Extensions 5 X 15
*Supersets

Metcon
20 Incline Dumbbell Presses (#90)
10 Wood Chops (#80) each side

5:50

One legged squats 3 X 10
Load: 35, 35, 55

Shoulder Press, Wood Chop, Incline Bench Press, Back Extensions

Early afternoon

Shoulder Press 10, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Loads: 60, 90, 120, 120, 120, 120, 120

Wood Chop 5 X 20 (10 each side)
*Supersets

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3 X 20
Load: 90

Back Extensions
3 X 15
*Supersets

Late afternoon

Military Pullup Workout

Supersets
Max Strict Pullups 11, 8, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 6
10 Bench Dips
20 Pushups
30 Crunches

~25 minutes

Workout comments: Nearing the end of the pullup regimen. I'll take a few days off from this and then retest myself on max strict pullups in a few days, probably on Wednesday. My max at the beginning of the program was 10 pullups. I'm hoping for 15+???

Shoulder Press, Weighted Incline Situps, Back Extensions, Incline Bench

Early afternoon

DB Shoulder Press 5 X 5
Loads: 100, 110, 120, 120, 120

Weighted Incline Situps 5 X 10
Load: 25
*Supersets

DB Incline Bench Press 3 X 20
Load: 90

Back Extensions 3 X 15
*Supersets

Military Pull-up Workout
Continuing this program...Even days call for 25-50 pullups done in one session or throughout the day in small sets. I did 50 today mixed throughout the normal workout, broken down into groups of 5. Since I only did half of the workout yesterday, I'll probably tack on another day at the end of the 10 days.

Nothing sore to report.

Squats, Incline Bench, Run

Squats 9 X 2
Load: 175 (60% 1RM)

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 9 X 5
Load 120

Immediately following: ~5 mile run through Malvern with Chris and Paul. All paved. Legs were feeling pretty tired in the afternoon heat. Chris and I broke away after a moderate section on the newly constructed Chester Valley Trail, part of Obama's stimulus package that Pa picked up. I remember a few years ago I stopped to run on this trail on my way home from Malvern. The trail crosses Rt. 76 near the KOP mall. I was dissappointed when I reached the end after about 1.5 miles. Apparently, this construction project will join that part of the trail with the section that cuts through Malvern. That would be pretty nice.

Squat, Incline Dumbbell Bench, Neutral Grip Strict Pullups, Metcon

Early Afternoon

Strength

On the minute for 10 minutes:

2 Squats (175#-60% 1RM)
5 Incline Dumbbell asdfasdfBench Press (55# DBs)
4 Strict Neutral Grip Pullups

Metcon

3 Rounds for Time:

10 OH Squats (77#)
20 DUs
5 HSPUs
10 Burpees
10 SDHPs

12:25

Workout comments: Need to work more on HSPUs. I would say I lost about 3 minutes of time doing these, probably more. OH Squats felt good without any pain in either shoulder.

Two Strength Metcons

Running water never goes stale, so you got to just keep on flowing.
-Bruce Lee

Early afternoon

Foam roller work
50 double unders for time: 60 seconds

Every minute on the minute for 10 minutes:

5 Dumbbell Incline Bench Presses (100#)
2 Squats (165#-60% 1RM)
4 Pullups

Total weight moved: 12,100#

Death by Power Clean and Jerk (120#)
Start with 1 rep on the first minute, and add one additional rep for each minute thereafter, attempting to reach 14 total minutes.

Reached 10 successful rounds. Total weight moved: 6600#.

Total weight moved for the day: 18,700#

Workout comments: The ideal weight for the Power Clean and Jerk workout was 135#, but I scaled it down because I got cold feet. It was surprising how quickly things started progressing downhill. As soon as you start breaking things up into sets, it becomes very difficult to get back into a rhythm. Obviously a great way to practice for Grace.

I warmed up with some foam roller work prior to the workout and felt some heat and light discomfort after the workout in my left upper hamstring. Pretty sure this is just the broken down tissue I created, so nothing really to worry about. The foam roller feels great on the back muscles because it's almost relaxing to lay on it. But with my short arms, it becomes difficult to work the legs, because you are forced to support your own weight in order to get deep into the muscle tissue. Still pretty good overall. I'm still feeling pretty tight in the mornings, but stretching each night for 10-15 minutes is making a difference.

Strength, Max Bench, Short Metcon

Early afternoon


Strength
Bench Press 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1
Loads: 195, 210, 225 (failed third rep), 235 (failed) DNF, DNF


On the minute for 10 minutes: 2 squats at 60% 1RM (160), 3 Incline DB Bench Presses (50 DBs)


Deadlift 5 X 3
80% 1RM (280)


Metcon

7 Thrusters 105#
7 Knees-to-elbows
7 Deadlifts (165#)
7 Burpess
7 Power Cleans (115#)
7 Pullups


2:05

Late afternoon

I had heard about some trails that exist within Valley Forge Park. I've been here a few times (both biking and running) and have only noticed the paved walkways that line the park. Apparently there is a non-paved trail system that exists on the northern side of the river, picking up right where the Schuylkill River Trail meets the Rt. 422 bridge. Ironically, I have ridden my road bike past here hundreds of times, and even made my way down into the parking lot where the trailhead is. I must have ridden right by it. The trail runs parallel to the river, except where it breaks off and winds through forest and meadow areas deep into Valley Forge. This place is a sanctuary for deer and other wildlife, and I was surprised that almost none of the deer and other critters scurried away when I passed by, unless they were close to being underfoot. Several times I came with 10 feet of adult deer and I started to wonder if they would even look up. The trail system was way to big for my 45 minute run. I'll have to come back with the bike, even though they are technically not allowed.

About 5 miles in 45 minutes.


Workout comments: Nothing to report on the max bench press attempt. I was frustrated and quit after the first attempt at 1 rep failed. I wasn't going to waste my time attempting another rep. This same thing happened last week. I don't know if I need more rest or more conditioning, but I have seen consistent gains in the 3RM, but not one improvement in the 1RM.