The Staycation

This was a decent third workout of the week, involving Front Squats, Power Cleans, and Box Jumps. I was worn out from Monday and Tuesday, and running on too little sleep and too much stress. Bring on the semester’s end, and the major life stressors ahead already! I am ready to have a little baby and a non-pregnant wife. I am ready to begin the battle for sleep and against household chaos. The suspense is killing me.

Warm-Up

Bounding, Running, Tuck Jumps, etc. Stretching. Push-Ups (20). Pull-Ups (10, two sets of 5 dead hang). Kettlebell Halos (a lot, I didn’t count exactly). Front and Overhead Squats w/ PVC (at least 20).

Strength: Front Squat

It was time to work on a 3 rep max Front Squat. My last front squat session was a 5 rep max session, performed last month, on Oct 5th. During that session I set a 5 rep PR of 145, and had some form problems along the way. I last attempted a 3 rep max PR on Aug 17th, and I achieved less at that time than I did in October. I also last did a 1 rep max front squat on a day in which I attempted a three rep max, back in June.

Today, I did well.

Results:


5 x 45
10 x 95
3 x 115
3 x 135
3 x 155 (PR)
5 x 135 (work set)
5 x 135 (work set)

Volume: 3,740 lbs.

The volume in this session was slightly higher than my most recent Front Squat session (Oct. 5th), during which the volume was 3,720 lbs (0.5% increase). But my form was much better. The volume was really a lot higher than the Aug. 17th session (2,485 lbs) and also higher than the June 12th session in which I set my current 1 rep max PR (2,690 lbs).

I anticipate a good 1 rep max Front Squat session soon.

WOD: “Trip”

21-15-9 of
Power Cleans (using 80% of Front Squat 5 rm PR)
Box Jumps (26″ for men)
For time

I did this WOD very slowly, compared to others in our affiliate, with a workmanlike steady pace, until the last round, which I sped through to keep my time under 10:00.

Result: Weight: 115 lbs. Box: 26″. Time: 9:42.

I was definitely feeling it by the end of the WOD. I really went slowly on the first 36 Power Cleans, mainly because 115 lbs felt like a lot of weight; on its own it’s not a lot, but moving it 45 times during the WOD is a lot. (The volume = 5,175 lbs!) I also didn’t want to hurt myself or reinforce bad form. So, on the positive side, my form felt pretty good. I only landed on my toes on a couple of reps.

A Note On Dietary Matters

I am not quite hitting my targets for calorie cycling. What else is new? I am pretty much convinced that calorie cycling is not where it’s at. I am looking forward to trying Steve’s idea of carb cycling though. We’ll see.

If you look at my weight chart, you’ll get a sense of the effect of last week’s fast day on my body composition. I probably dropped some fat this week (and some lean mass too, but not in equal proportion, I’ll wager). Also, starting this training cycle I decided to make it official that I am keeping my carb intake to 16 blocks or less per day (i.e. under 150 g). I think this will help me stay leaner more than calorie cycling will.

One reason why I’m not hitting my calorie targets is that I find it really difficult to eat enough fat! I am hitting my protein and carb targets exactly every day. It’s the fat that is lower. I try to rationalize this by saying to myself that if my body doesn’t seem to want additional fats, then it doesn’t need them.

How easy it would be to vary calories if I ate sugar! Luckily for me, I don’t.