Steve's Training Log

[bluejay44993]

Green Week 6 Day 2
Bench 175 3x5
Squat 225 3x5
Deadlift 275 3x1
Pullups 3x30 with 2:00 crunches in between

Green Week 6 Day 3
Fartlek Run 45 min. 5.4 miles with bodyweight exercises every half mile

This was a great run today. Felt quick as hell and ready to tackle every station that I had in mind. I ran at a pretty fast pace in between sets and didn't give myself any rest after or before a station. Definitely incorporating this into my program. Also, the pullups from yesterday was a good idea. I think Recon Ron may have been too much but doing pullups "SE style" feels better. We'll see come Monday.

Received some very sad news that a buddy I served in Afghan with had passed away today. I was pretty upset when I heard the news and am still somewhat in shock. It was very different from losing a friend in combat and I did not see it coming at all. Tomorrow I am going to be keeping him in mind during my workout. It's Marines like him that I'll be a reflection of when/if I get to OCS. There are a lot of ways to mourn and I believe the best way is to apply their impacts on my life in a positive way and hope it spreads to others.

Sorry for your loss brother, keep going strong.

[CelticFrost91]

Green Week 6 Day 5
HIC 3 mile run 20:40

Green Week 6 Day 6
Ruck Run 4-5 miles with Fartlek style stations 30 lbs

So before I go into a post about my PFT, I'll talk a bit about these two training days. The 3 mile run felt pretty strong and I felt great throughout. Honestly, I think I could have gone a bit faster but I wanted to conserve some energy for the ruck run. The ruck run was done with the OSO and we ended up going a little longer than expected (one of the LT's got us lost, cue the land nav jokes). It was pretty easy though. When we ran it was a very slow pace. We stopped at various stations to do body weight exercises and then followed it up with a sustainment hike pace eventually moving into a run. Even though I thought it was easy I think it kind of fucked me for my PFT.

Green Week 7 Day 1
PFT Pullups 23
Situps 121 in 2 min.
3 mile run 21:05
Total: 280

Needless to say I was pumped for the improvement in my score because that is what is getting sent to the board in a couple of days. My runtime bummed me out though. Pullups felt very easy, I actually surprised myself. I never was able to get 23 and even when I was enlisted I never got the 20 when that was the max. Situps are always easy, only time I struggle is if I don't practice them. I think the "situps" are a free 100 points. They aren't like the Army's full range situps, these are really crunches. When it came time to the run, I felt confident that I was going to break 20 min. I was pretty damn deflated when I heard the LT call out the time when I finished. I don't know how I dropped from 20:25 to 21:05. If anything I was expecting a lot of improvement. That's not good considering I ran a 20:25 way back in the spring. I don't think I have to run another PFT with the OSO but I'm going to run another one at the end of the next block. If I don't see some improvement, I honestly don't know what I can do to improve it.

[CelticFrost91]

Green Week 7 Day 2

SE 3x30
Pullups
Goblet Squats
Kettlebell swings
Pushups
Kettlebell OHP
Flutterkicks

Feels nice hitting SE again. I would prefer doing this with a barbell and in a gym but my gym is not the best place for SE. Limited space with lots of people. I found the kettlebell to be a decent solution. I might change some exercises around but for now, this is what I'm doing, pretty much the same cluster as my last block.

I ended up doing the first two rounds with no rest in between sets, at most maybe 10 secs. By round 3 I was needing 30 sec. rests. This is good because I know I wasn't anywhere near this the first time I went through SE. I kept 2 min. rests in between rounds. Pullups were done until failure, then followed by a quick rest before hitting the bar again. Pullups take up most of the time during the training session, but I think they are a great addition and make the rest of the round very challenging. Flutterkicks might go because of how easy they were. I'm probably going to add in situps or another core exercise.

Tomorrow school starts. Schedule juggling will begin and I feel like I am going to be smacked in the face by the semester. Also, thanks for all the support, it was hard going on the next few days after the passing of my friend but my old buddies from my platoon supported everyone through it. Until next time.

[CelticFrost91]

Green Week 7 Day 3

Interval Run 50 min. 6.1 miles 200 meter max effort, 2 min. recovery pace

Got in a decent run after classes were done. I felt pretty good throughout and my PFT run was in the back of my mind the whole time, pretty much ensuring that I didn't slack off or go easy. I decided to go 5 min. longer than normal, just to get used to going at a fast pace for long distances (like at OCS).

Edit: Looked back through my post history, looks like I added 15 min. to my interval runs, not 5! Either way, I think I'm going to keep it at 50 min. Felt like the right amount of work.

[CelticFrost91]

Green Week 7 Day 4

SE 3x35 2 min. RI in between rounds 35 lb kettlebell
Pullups
Goblet Squat
Kettlebell Swing
Pushups
Kettlebell Press
Situps

Kicked my own ass today. I really pushed myself. Anytime I sought a break in the middle of an exercise, I pushed past it and just observed what my mind was going through as I completed an exercise. I added in situps and those were a good addition. Full range, hands behind my head, elbows to knees. I think I'll keep those here. Pullups were hell. I know by the end of this 23 won't be shit anymore.

One thing I need to change is an actual warm-up. I do one before MS and an E or HIC session, I need to the same here. The first round is usually a little sluggish because of that. Not to mention good ol' injury prevention.

Overall, great training session. Tomorrow is an E session. I'm thinking of a Fartlek run.

[CelticFrost91]

Green Week 7 Day 5

Fartlek Run 50 min. 6.4 miles 12 exercises
Pushups 25
Squats 25
Flutterkicks 25
Diamond pushups 15
Squats 25
Flutterkicks 25
Shoulder press 25 (Like a pushup but with your ass in the air)
Mountain Climbers 25
Bicycle Kicks 25
Plyo Push ups 15
Plyo squats 15
Flutterkicks 25

Just thought I'd share what my Fartlek looks like to give others ideas. It was a great workout. I pretty much ran at a very fast past for a half mile then I went straight into the workout, once all reps were complete I was back on my feet continuing the next leg of the run. I stopped the timer every time I went down for a station, this just helps give me an idea of what pace I'm going at and helps keep track of how long I've been running. Plyo pushups and squats can be bumped up to 20, I went conservative because last time I did 25 plyo squats and I nearly died. Need more ideas for core workouts on the go though. I'm not a fan of crunches or situps because I don't think they're the most optimal. I'll figure it out though. I'm gonna run a normal TB style fun run in next week, just to see how it compares to a Fartlek run. I've come to love these things and remember having a blast doing the fun runs too. Beats the hell out of the traditional running.

In other news, I'm still waiting on word if I got selected for OCS. I'm anxious to hear about it. Either way, I'm thinking about even making a little blurp every now and then to write about other ways I'm prepping for OCS. I'm sure there are a couple people out there who might benefit from seeing how others are prepping.

[CelticFrost91]

So school threw a wrench in my training log, haven't posted in about a week. I've been doing my training as scheduled, which is the most important thing. I'm not going in depth for every training day, just a quick summary for the records.

Green Week 7 Day 6
SE 2x40
Same workout set as before

Green Week 8 Day 1

Interval Run 50 min. 6.15 miles

Green Week 8 Day 2

SE 3x40

Green Week 8 Day 3

Fartlek Run 50 min. 6.9 miles

Same workout set as before with minor alterations

Green Week 8 Day 4

SE 3x45 35 lb kettlebell

Pullups
Kettlebell Squats
Kettlebell Swings
Pushups
OHP
Flutterkicks

Damn. Today kicked my ass, as did every training day this week. The more reps that are added, the more challenging this becomes. Pullups take the most time, but I manage to get the reps in. The squats are a pure kick, square in the nuts. I try to minimize the RI but usually end up giving myself maybe 30-50secs depending on how beat I am. Next week is going to be a pure mental test. I can tell that it's easy to seek comfort in these sessions, which makes it a great way to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

At the end of this week I might throw in some reflection stuff on how I think things are going for this program so far. I plan on doing an actual assessment at the end of Green. I'm actually surprised by how well this has worked out for me.

Tomorrow is a HIC session. 3 mile run, fast as I can.

[CelticFrost91]

Green Week 9 Day 4
Fun Run Advanced 50 min. 6.5 miles
Stop every 6 min.
Burpees 10
Squats 30
Pushups 30

Once again I haven't posted in a while. Still getting used to the school year. Haven't skipped a workout though. I did end up not doing Saturday's workout so I can go to the range and shoot my new AR for the first time, did an LSS run the next day instead of a rest day. I also figured that with the amount of SE I've been getting through fun runs I wasn't missing much from missing the 50x2 workout. I also think that doing the run instead refreshed my body.

Yesterday's run (the fun run) was an ass kicker. Decided to do a fun run by the book and compare it to the fartlek runs. I opted for the advanced version with the only adjustment being 30 squats instead of 50. What a run it was.

Today is gonna be an SE session. I have a one day drill this Sat. (mandatory fun day... don't miss those...). I'm going to try to get in the last SE session of the block, but this is pretty much it. Next begins my "phase 2" where I incorporate more OCS style workouts throughout the week. Speaking of which, my OSO gave me the news that they didn't have enough applicants to do a board... so I have to wait until November to find out. At least it wasn't bad news.

[CelticFrost91]

So I finished Green and I think it's time to go into my little review of how things went and what I'm gonna change for this upcoming block. It's gonna be a long post. If you notice anything that I can change in order to get the results that I want, please let me know.

I'm gonna break down the results into different categories: Strength (MS and SE), Endurance (distance and speed), Body composition (looks, muscle mass, and overall health). Now, there was one event that I believe had a big effect on my results. My 3 weeks in 29 Palms with no physical training, very poor caloric intake, and little sleep had an impact on my strength and body composition. I'll refer to this a few times.

Before I get into this, this is my second time doing Green. I started TB after getting shit results doing my own programming after I went into the reserves on my IRR time and I especially needed a program to prep for OCS. Base Building brought my run time down by an incredible amount (24 min 3 mile to a 20:25, my fastest yet). Strength was poor and seems to have stagnated. My first go at Green seemed to bring my strength back a bit but 29 Palms followed at the very end of my first block.

I'll be comparing my current results to where I was at one year ago, which by now I was just exiting strength training and moving on to a focus on muscle hypertrophy.

Strength: 5 rep max (then-now) Bench 205-180 Squat 250-235 Deadlift 315-315 Pullups 15-23

This is where I am most not happy with. Granted, 29 Palms had some impact on it but I also think that my focus on running and breaks from MS to SE have an impact on my overall strength. Fighter has me lifting heavy 2 times a week, something I was very nervous about doing at first. Although very low volume, I am still surprised to see my strength go up a bit or maintain. I wish I could focus on strength but obviously, if I want to do my best at OCS I need to focus on running and SE. I also attribute some strength loss to my drop in body weight. Obviously the more you weigh, the more weight you can put up. Having cut a lot of weight makes it very difficult to put high numbers up.

SE has improved greatly, however. Ever since I started TB my pull-ups have never dipped below 20. Even after 29 Palms, I was able to hit 20 pull-ups. Pushups and the like come easy now. Even my CFT (combat fitness test) improved, and we tested that the weekend after 29 Palms. As much as I dislike the volume for weightlifting, my SE has benefitted, something I will need for OCS. In my case, I benefit more from lots of pullups/pushups rather than an impressive bench (even though my ego says otherwise).

Changes
Obviously, I'm keeping Fighter but I am gonna do the Bangkok version. An added SE day will be good and who knows, maybe that will have a good impact on my strength as well. As far as numbers, I'm bumping my Bench to 180, Squat to 235, and Deadlift to 285. I am most concerned about my bench... so we'll see how this goes. I am also gonna sprinkle in small SE sessions throughout the week. Military fun-runs or fartleks, doing the push/pull/press workout before a run, and other small variations provided through the OCS blog should not be enough to interfere with my strength. If for some reason it does, obviously I'll make changes.

Endurance 3 mile run >25:00 now= 21:05

My draw to TB was because of the fact that I could work on endurance and strength simultaneously. My endurance for distance has improved greatly. 8 miles is not such a daunting task anymore. However, speed is another story. It seems that my run time has peaked at 20:25, and that was near the end of BB, where I thought my runtime would only get faster with green. Currently, I'm finishing 3 miles at 20:40 on a good day and averaging 21:05. It's frustrating as it seems that my 3 mile run is only getting slower in a program that is supposed to be focusing on things like endurance. My second go at Green I changed up some things. Instead of longer slow runs (like LSS), I did more fun runs, added fartleks, and pretty much said fuck it for slow steady paces and went on faster longer runs. This seems to have helped somewhat, I just need more guidance on how to get faster.

Changes
Pretty much doing the same thing as this last block, however, I'm gonna hit up the forum and ask for some guidance. I've seen some threads about OCS but I seem to be missing something. Hopefully, I'll pick up something and add it to my program. My goal is to get at least in the 19 min. range by the end of this next block.

Body Comp 185lbs-165lbs

Aesthetics is obviously not a focus in TB but I thought I'd hit up on it. Last year I was putting on a lot of muscle and got up to 185, that's with some fat as well. I expected some loss of muscle mass as I would be doing low volume weightlifting and lots of running. Although I lost a lot of bulk (I weigh 165 now) I look and feel much leaner. I even got compliments saying that I look more athletic. Although I would prefer to lift to get big as I'm naturally a skinny guy, I'm ok with being lean. I noticed a lot of fat loss and I am eating very much on the surplus side of things. Speaking of diet, I noticed an improvement in performance and overall well-being once I significantly cleaned up my diet. Another thing I noticed ever since I started TB is that I feel much more energized throughout the day and I feel much more fit compared to how I felt with no cardio and a big focus on adding weight and lifting heavy. I don't feel sluggish after a hard workout, I just feel more "good" inside.

I'm gonna try to stay at 165 which means eating at a surplus. It's easy for me to lose weight and I think the 165-170 range is where I want to be right now.

That's pretty much it. For the rest of the week, I'm kind of taking off. No running but I am getting a head start in the gym with MS just to keep me active by lifting light weights. Next week starts Green Phase 3. Hopefully, I can see the improvements that I want.

[CelticFrost91]

Green Block 3 planning

Had some time to research some reasons as to why my runtime has been going a little south. I got my answer thanks to some very informative/experienced TB users. I'll post the threads that I found useful for anyone to look at. My goals are shooting for a damn near 300 PFT (USMC) and prep for OCS, so if that sounds like you, these threads are going to be very useful.

User looking for guidance on OCS prep
Working for speed and long distances
E after BB
Also, something that was mentioned was the "Perfect 30 mile week." The closest to what I could find to what the poster was talking about can be found here. I'm going to roughly use it as a guide and it seems to work well with what is talked about in TBII.

And of course the OCS blog which I'll be looking at for some of the workouts (fartleks and push/pull mainly).

Here is how my Green is going to work. It's going to be much more specific than my previous blocks with more speed work in the right direction. Weeks 7-9 obviously is when SE kicks in and my training may have changed some by then, so I won't touch up on this yet.

1-MS Bench, Squat, DL + plank & shank pullups (either the push/pull/press or a 30x3)*
2-E- Fun-run or fartlek
3- HIC- F5's, BOO, Oxygen Debt, Buffalo Laps, or Anaerobic Capacity (or an interval run of the sort)
4-MS Bench, Squat, OHP +plank & shank pullups
5-HIC same options as previous
6- SE + E- Long distance run These will generally be done at a faster pace with an LSS thrown in every once in a while. I'm gonna shoot for 50 min. plus but not exceeding 8 miles.
7- Rest

For my SE, as per Bangkok, I'll be running Tango.
Starting off with 1 min. RI and doing AMR in 1 min starting with 2 circuits
Pullups, Goblet Squats, KB Swings, pushups, KB press, and crunches
35 lbs KB.

*Depending on what I have planned for HIC, I may include the P/P/P/A workout. This is usually if I don't plan on doing a fartlek or funrun. This, of course, will affect how my pullups look after MS, which I might do max set.