conditioning | push sled | taking it easy bro | workout#2 for the day

 I bought the XPO sled for a couple of reasons:

• Get lean as fuck by adding a new amazing conditioning tool.
• Rehabbing my back.

After a sprint session with the sled this weekend, I found that #2 is not in the cards if I go balls to the wall. Either the angle I'm at or the speed I'm going made things worse, so today I mixed it up a bit. 

20min speed walking with the sled

Body angle almost completely upright

This is definitely not the same conditioning level as an all out sprint, but I was able to get outside and work up a sweat while making my back feel better. Tomorrow I can add in some leg work before repeating a slow sled walk.

ethos | grey hair exercise

Extension of the 'types of exercise' post a few weeks ago. This is a collection of the things that are actively working for me and why. The grey hair factor points to why through injury and random age bullshit I'm choosing to do what I'm doing.

2x a week: Quick and the Dead (Pavel)

• Type: Power training
• Length: 28min
• Volume: 100 reps KB swings, 100 reps explosive pushups
• Difficulty: Medium
• Risk: Medium
• Grey hair factor: Captures the element of the explosive training I actually want to do (see: cleans and high pulls) with a fraction of the risk.

I've found it best to only engage when I'm feeling fresh after a good night's sleep. The only time I've ever actually gotten hurt was jumping cold into 32kg swings after I woke up feeling like ass with a lower back that was already fatigued from everything else that happened that week.

Risk is listed as medium because of repeated hinges under load. 

The goal here is to apply more power over time. Each rep should be as savage as humanly possible. Eventually some measure of level up params can be applied, but these can be farrrrr in the distance. Level up params:

• Lvl1 KB: Add forceful downward push to swings
• Lvl2 KB: Add band tension
• Lvl3 KB: Heavier bell
• Lvl1 Pushup: Add band tension
• Lvl2 Pushup: Add weighted vest 

Warmups include:

(inside)

• Standing banded side to side walks (I do this while drinking coffee).
• Front and side planks. 1-2 reps per side focus on full body contraction below the neck for ~10s per hold.

(outside)

• Kettlebell sumo deadlift 2x10 super set with...
• Suitcase carry ~30yards each hand
• Swings (lighter bell) 2-3x5

Warmdown includes:

• Hanging from rings a la spinal decompression
• Front and side planks 1-2reps of 10s per side.

1-3x a week: Sled drags

• Type: Conditioning
• Length: 15-20min
• Volume: No set volume. As much as possible.
• Difficulty: Easy
• Risk: Low
• Grey hair factor: Builds legs and work capacity with very little injury risk or spinal loading. Tonic effect on knees and back from repeated concentric loading.

Look, we all want to do squats and deads and cleans and blugghghghghhhh. Sometimes it's not in the cards son. And even though my knee issues are really more 'quads are too fucking tight' issues, I'm enjoying keeping or growing my legs from something that makes me feel nothin but great.

The other major benefit to sled drags is they are great replacements for otherwise shit days. So let's say we are looking at a day when I'm not feeling 100%. My back is kinda meh, knees are kinda meh. I'm just overall tired. You can still always, always get in a sled drag. Fuck man, just take a light load and pull it around for 20min.

Level up params: Add more weight to the sled. This is not a progressive overload thing. Sometimes do heavy pulls. Sometimes do light pulls. Don't over complicate things. 

Warmups and warmdowns are the same as quick and the dead, although I've noticed less warmup is needed for sled drags to hit a groove.

5-7days a week: Grease the groove

• Type: Strength and hypertrophy
• Length: 1-2min per set. As many sets as possible per day (15min <= time between sets < 2hrs).
• Volume: 1/2 reps/set as testing day. Strive to have at least a 1:1 ratio between presses and pulls.
• GTG Movements: Ring dips, ring pullups, ring inverted rows, front/side planks.
• Difficulty: Medium
• Risk: Medium
• Grey hair factor: Build upper body size and strength with little to no fatigue.

Previous attempts at GTG used KB presses. It worked. Extremely well. The problem I found was that in my time of injury, repeated (even light) loading of my lower back via KB cleans fucked me up over time. Replacing KB presses with something with less spinal decompression (i.e. ring everything) is a nice sub both because of the safety factor, but also because bodyweight calisthenics are extremely easy to load (whereas each kettlebell is both expensive and a fairly large increase in weight). 

This is the only method on this post that strives to use classic progressive overload after successfully increasing reps under load on each testing day. If you have to round on 1/2 reps, round down. Planks have no level up structure.

Level up params:

• Testing day: Attempt to perform 12 reps on ring dips, pullups, and rows.
• Training day: Each set, perform testing day reps / 2. Stop any set that slows down even slightly. Isometric pauses on dips and rows are welcome additions to avoid staleness.
• Testing day (following week): Retest for 12 reps. If you hit 12 reps, slightly increase weight (5-15lbs) and restart.

Example:

• Saturday (testing day): Dips 8 reps, Rows 9 reps.
• Training day (Sunday - Thursday): Dips 4 reps / set. Rows 4 reps / set. Front/side planks 1-2 reps per side.
• Saturday (testing week 2): Dips 14 reps. Rows 10 reps.
• Training day (Sunday - Thursday week 2): Dips+5lbs 2-3reps/set. Rows 5 reps / set. Front/side planks 1-2 reps per side.

Exercise | 2020 - 22 | drags and dips

Dragging weight
Loaded up my sled as much as humanly possible (i.e. sandbags are near capacity). Great 15min workout but the rubber connector snapped near the end. No biggie.

Calisthenics 

I was showing ana ring dips and accidentally knocked out 5. Figured might as well continue to the point of adaptation (28ish reps).

Workout (all movements on rings)
- Dips: 28 reps in ~10sets
- BW tricep extensions: until i couldn't
- Rear delts: until i couldn't

Also, day 2 no sugar. Still on easy mode.

exercise | 2020 - 22 | sled drags 14min

Dunno how much i talk about this but i fucking love foods, supplements, and exercises that give me immediate feedback.

Food

• Broccoli? I feel like 1000 bucks
• Arugula? Every poop is my best poop. Why do i have so much poop in me? Is that always there? Lingering. Waiting. It just needed the fiber. Or. OR. Is the arugula making the bulk? The amount of arugula I ate != the poop I had. 
• Pasta? Someone is slowly choking me out

Supplements

• Maca? Earth crushing boners and orgasms
• Literally any preworkout? Explosive diarrhea 

Exercises

• Bench press? This feels wrong but everyone says it is gold. I must be doing it wrong.
• Behind the neck push press? The gains are out of this world but my neck keeps getting hurt. Part of the process I guess.
• Chinups? My entire body transforms when I can pull multiple sets of 3 with 90lbs+BW

Two(2) things have changes in this past week - I built a weight sled and hung 2 pairs of rings in my garage. The rings are being used for pullups, dips, etc, but I really wanted them purely for hanging for time. The relief provided to my back by a mixture of Stuart McGill's Big 3 and decompression hangs is fucking amazing and felt right away.

I mentioned sleds in my last post as well, but holy fucking shit I'm in love. My knees and back feel amazing. The risk of injury is really god damn low, and I cannot wait to start loading this more (which, is going to be super easy). Instead of buying plates, I'm picking up sand and/or pea gravel at ~$5 per 50lbs. Shove that shit in gallon freezer bags, duct tape up the bags so they are hard to break, and shove the bags in a larger canvas bag. For dirt fucking cheap I've got an easily loadable sled.



Equipment used:

• 20lb weight vest
• canvas bag filled with about 30lbs of pea gravel
• 45lb kettlebell
• 60lb kettlebell

Exercise | 2020 - 21 | Home-made sled drags

Hol-ee-shiitttttttttttt

Tried out my home made weight sled and it is a fuckin dreamboat. My back feels great. My knees feel great. I got in a great conditioning workout with only about 150lbs of drag.

I can load the sled more by adding in more pea gravel to the bag I slumped on the side.

Equipment used:
- 20lb weight vest
- canvas bag filled with about 30lbs of pea gravel
- 45lb kettlebell
- 60lb kettlebell

Dragged this forwards (easy) and backwards (way harder) for about 15min. The sled getting stuck was actually a great excuse to get some rowing motions in to get it unstuck.

How many recoveries you got?

My friend keenan is going to deadlift 600 before he turns 40. That's not to say 40yr olds cant gain strength or deadlift 600. Quite the opposite. We've been collectively hurt a lot over the last 12 years. Deadlifting 600 is crossing into territory where we are putting our bodies on the line for an arbitrary goal. The number is arbitrary because we are not powerlifters. No one will or should give a shit besides us. The push to get this record in now is because an injury along this path probably still will not come equipped with long term injuries.

My first disc was a reality check. It took me 3 months to move normally. 2 years to lift heavy again. 4 years before i was pain free. Thats a tall fucking order.

Although my latest and greatest lasted a fraction of the time, im still recovering from something major. Im still vulnerable. Im still mitigating what is long term and what is just painful now.

You can always bounce back. Normal movement is likely in your grasp. But like being brought back bt the lord of light. What gets chipped away in the process?

The 'i just want to be better' commercials

Article summary: (stealing this statement)
An ounce of prevention worth a pound of recovery.

If i wasnt a slave to marketing before, i sure as heck am paying attention now. Commercials are not selling a product. They are selling an idea, a lifestyle, a paradigm shift. If only i had X, i could make progress, I wouldnt be in pain, she may fuck me, etc etc etc.

The commercials im thinking of specifically are medications geared towards the elderly and the odd 5hr energy commercial.

Elderly something something hurts
These are always somewhat similar. There are less talking heads than in commercials targeting a younger audience (Its a gamechanger, change your life, i cant live without it, who goes on a commercial to be a talking head CRAZY PEOPLE THATS WHO). More so, you will see the actor or actress doing something completely normal.
- Walking with their family
- eating at a restaurant
- pointing at things with grandkids. Lookie here...sonny?

When you are injured, and hurt, and depressed from said hurt, these normal things consume you. All i can think about is how good life will be when i can move and dance and fuck without pain. These normal things are worth everything.

To repeat: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of recovery.

Im doing now what i should have been doing for years.
- abdominal exercises. Daily
- forearm exercises. Daily
- stretching. Daily
- rear delt work. Daily
- neck strengtheners....not daily but a few times a week

Im about to become a mother fucking bullet proof expert, because ive seen both ends of the pool. The shallow end seems boring until you are drowning.

When do you get hurt? When you get complacent with your training. When you ignore you prehab. Most of all, when you think you can't.

Do your prehab. Do it often. It's not sexy, and it wont directly make you jacked and tan, but it is the key to long term health and stability. If you are hurt, you cant do normal activities or special moves

Traps and herniated discs

If you want to skip the article...tl : dr
- overhead pressing (dumbbell, barbell, klokov press)
- handstand pushups
- resistance band shrug dropsets
- neck curls

If youve seen the litany of hot complaints ive been dropping for the past few months, you will notice the common theme BUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MUH TRAPS.

Man i fucking love traps. Most movements i use to build them are complimented by performance enhancing, boulder shouldering, and glute growing add ons. They are stronger than you think and more resiliant than you know. But god damn, do they look cool or what?

Ive accepted the fact that my glutes will have to catch up to the rest of my body in a few months. Although they are still getting worked, their progress pales in comparison to the rest of my body. I have not accepted the fact that my traps will lag while my back recovers. Thankfully, i dont really have to.

Make no mistake, olympic lifts and front squats are mega awesome trap builders. I miss them and want them back. But in the face of injury, the options below are money.

Overhead pressing
- dumbbells, one or two arm, with or without light bands
- barbell
- klokov pressing
- push pressing (NOTE: be careful here. Ive had mixed responses from my back when catching the bar)
- handstand pushups

All pressing overhead is going to engage your traps. Ive found that horizontal standing or kneeling presses are easier on my back than horizontal (the leg drive on bench press hurts).

Handstand pushups are another avenue for the same result.

Resistance band shrug dropsets
This is what i came here to talk about. The problem with barbell shrugs and a fucked up back is the equal tension on all parts of the movement. Even reverting back to 225 or 315 hurt. My usual power shrugs are not options at the moment.

However, replace the barbell with SEVERAL resistance bands. Baby, you got a stew. The tension at the top of the movement is still hundreds of pounds (depending on the amount and type of bands youre holding) but has minimal impact on compressing your discs.

Your set will go something like:

Holding 2 to 3 bands
- as many reps as possible with a hold at the top and a slow eccentric
- when you cant do holds anymore, do as many quick shrugs as you can
- drop one band, repeat the process until you run out of bands

As the band tension gets lighter, extend the range of motion (i.e. try to do essentially a high pull with a hold) to add in some delt work as well.

Neck curls
This has been a pleasant find. My neck has been injured a ton. It sucks and im tired of it happening.

Much like ab work to fix my lower and mid back. Neck work is done as much to protect my neck as it is to build my neck and traps.

In this state, lighter work feels better. As ive stated in previous blogs, im a big fan of 10x10 with 10s rest between sets. Credit to alpha destiny.

Dan john and (A+B+C = D)

A+B+C = D
Or
A = Upper body presses/pulls
B = lower body a la knee extension and hip hinge movements
C = abdominal
D = total fitness and performance

Dan john brings this formula (sic: it's just a visual aid to tell a complicated tale) into vogue to illustrate why and what he focusses his atheletes on.

Increasing:
A = small effect on D
B = noticable effect on D
C = not a direct effect on D, but without it A and B fall apart

Im learning this lesson way too late, and not for the first time. 2015 was my most bulletproof year. Neck, shoulders, hips, whatever. I could lift the world and be fine.  The difference was that every training session focussed on weighted and unweighted ab wheel rollouts.

The injuries i have are annoying, but it's ridiculous how quickly my pain and discomfort have gone away with the addition of corrective exercise.