UB: Conditioning Week 4. Squat, Deads and Sprints

Walk to Gym - 20 minutes

Defranco stuff: Rollovers, fire-hydrants, hip-flexor stretches

Squats -
BarX10
135X5
185X5
205X5

Deads -
135X5
225X2
275X1
295X1X5

BB Curls - BarX6, 65X12, 12, 12, 12, 6, 7

Incline Sprints - 14 sprints X 13 minutes

Walk home - 20 minutes

+10% day.  Squats still feeling a challenge.  A little nervous to see how the 265X1's go next week.  I should be strong enough for those, but I've never actually squatted 265.

Deads continue to feel strong as hell.  The 295 didn't fly up or anything, but there was certainly no doubt I was going to get all of them.  This was my max last time I tested it back in 2011.

I made my target number of sprints with almost a minute to spare.  I was just smarter early than last time.  While I was still fresh, I jogged back to start between each sprint.  As I got more fatigued, I'd call an audible whether to jog, walk, or 1/2 and /12.  Progressing, y'all.

UB: Conditioning Week 4. Press, Hammer & Tire

Defranco Shoulder Mobility + band pull-aparts

Press -
BarX10
95X2
115X1
125X1X5

45 deg. Inverted Rows to bottom of sternum - BWX10X2

Hammer Curls - 15sX15-20X4

Hammer & Tire - 30 sec. on / 10 sec. off; 12 minutes

Everything felt solid today, but for some reason I wasn't feeling push-ups and skipped them.  I think my arms just felt done after all those curlz.  I added some pull-aparts at the end of the mobility work.  I think if I settle on the right grip width it will be a good warm-up for my shoulders on pressing days.

Press was slow and heavy, but never had any doubt the weight was going up.

I took a longer break at the 6 minute mark of the Hammer swings.  My grip was feeling a little fried after all those damn curlz.

UB: Conditioning Week 3.Sprints

Incline Sprints (30 yds.) - 12 sprints, 12 minutes

I programmed to do 13 sprints in 12 mintues here, and I didn't make it.  I probably needed to jog back after each sprint, but I didn't realize that until too late, when I'd lost too much speed on the sprints.  So by the end I just couldn't get up and back fast enough to get the 13th sprint in. 

I've revised my programming accordingly (I hope).  I was originally aiming to get 20 sprints in 15 minutes on the last week.  I've dialed back each of the remaining weeks to end up hitting 18 in 15 for the last week.  Next week I'm programmed for 14 sprints / 13 minutes.  If I fail again to get more sprints than minutes, then I will assume that is my pace, and just add more time each week.  So it would end up being something like 14, 16, 18+ minutes for the last three weeks.

Also, my calf strain didn't give me any problems sprinting even though it's still sore.  I bought some more bananas, and I'm just not fucking with it, i.e. not constantly stretching it and massaging it through the day.  It seems like when I do that with things like this it becomes compulsive, and just ends up aggravating the strain.  After the initial onset, if I just leave it alone, while trying to be cognizant of not re-straining it, it gets better sooner.  That was my experience with the mid-back strain I developed on my last cycle, and it seems to be working out with this calf strain as well.

UB: Conditioning Week 3. Squat, Deads and Steady State

Defranco mobility

Squats -
BarX12
135X5
185X2
225X2
255X2X3

Deadlift -
135X10
225X5

Rope Hammer Curls - 4 sets of 20-25

45-minute walk

Stayed out a little too late and had a little too much to drink again on a Saturday night.  Squats were okay though.  The 255 moved kind of slow, but not straining if that makes sense.

Deads were fast and easy.  This is definitely my lift.

I've had bad cramping in my calf that started during the 1-mile run the day before this.  I decided to push sprints back a day, eat some bananas, and see if it eases up enough for me to run sprints on Monday.

UB: Conditioning Week 3. Timed Mile

Timed Mile (against wife's time) - 2:00, 6:50, 9:45, 12:51

Beat all the markers including the total time we set last time my wife ran with me.

UB: Conditioning Week 3. Bench, Hammer & Tire

Defranco shoulder mobility

Bench -
BarX15
95X5
135X2
155X2
170X2X3

OH Triceps Extensions - 45X20, 55X12

Chin-ups (V-Grip) - Gym BW 204X10

BB Curls - 45(Bar)X18, 65X15, 45X15

Hammer&Tire - Swing for 30 seconds, rest for 10; 10:30 minutes; 20-23 swings per round

Reverse Crunches (with hip raise) - 10, 10

Solid Session.  The first set of 170 felt kind of hard.  The 2nd rep of the 2nd set felt really hard, and the last set felt easy.  My set up felt tight every time, so I don't know.  I got all the reps in without having to scream for help, and that's what matters.

I downloaded a great new timer to my phone that helped with these Tabata-style hammer swings.  Now I can set the work AND rest periods, plus the screen goes green during work time, and red during rest time, so I don't have to get the phone close enough to read, I can just watch for the color change.  My swings per 30 seconds were up and down today, but generally 1 or 2 more than last time, and I did 1 more round of swings than last time.  Progression, y'all.

UB: Conditioning Week 2. Squat, Deads and Sprints

Defranco mobility work

Squats -
BarX20
135X5
185X5
205X5

Deadlift -
135X5
225X2
275X2X3

BB Reverse Curls - BarX20, 35X15X2, BarX20

Incline Sprints - 10 sprints, 11 mintues

New addition to the gym, and I walked by, like, 5 times today before I noticed it:

A monolift, for God's sake!  I doubt I will ever use this unless all the squat stands and power racks are occupied.

Speaking of which Squats felt okay today.

Deads, however, felt awesome.  I know 135 is light, but it never felt as light as today.  It felt like nothing at all, and I'm wondering if that's partially due to the squatting beforehand.  It felt so light, that's why I decided to jump straight to 225 for just one more warm-up set.  That felt fast as well.  Then the first work-set felt heavy, and all the others felt pretty easy.  Not light, exactly, but I was still able to focus on speed and form because I had full confidence in my ability to pull the weight.  This is different from how my heavy sets of the other 3 movements have felt, but it could just have been a good day.  We'll see how it goes next time.

Sprints were interesting.  I got the programmed amount in, but it took a little more effort than I expected.  The idea is that the first week or two are relatively easy, and I hope I haven't programmed my jumps to big.  On the other hand, it was spring forward, and I was on less than 6 hours of sleep.  We'll just have to see how it goes next week.