NathanC TB log

[Barkadion]

9/15/16
LSS easy run- 2.62 miles in 35:03 @13:21 min/mile
Dips-10,8,8
Hammer chins-7,7,5
Band Pullaparts- 20,15
Pushups-15,10

Just wanted to move around some today before I start Operator next week. The dips, chins, band stuff, and pushups is the sort of assistance I'll be running with Operator. I didn't do any extra leg/core stuff because of the running beforehand.

Nice!

I love assistance with using bands.. Push-ups with bands are really good assistance. Another great one is unilateral vertical band pull with half-kneeling position. You can tie a band to a pull-up bar and pull it down. Both moves can get very challenging once you get to heavy band(s).

Just saying..

Any recomendations on which bands to get? I've got a green one, but I'm not sure where from or if the colors are standard between companies.

IronWoody is the way to go. I've been using their bands for years.

[NathanC77]

Nice!

I love assistance with using bands.. Push-ups with bands are really good assistance. Another great one is unilateral vertical band pull with half-kneeling position. You can tie a band to a pull-up bar and pull it down. Both moves can get very challenging once you get to heavy band(s).

Just saying..

Any recomendations on which bands to get? I've got a green one, but I'm not sure where from or if the colors are standard between companies.

IronWoody is the way to go. I've been using their bands for years.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[NathanC77]

Well, I'm already switching up my plan before I start. I'm still going with Operator with Press(max=135), front squat(training max=160), and high handle trap bar deadlift once/week(training max=315). I'm still gonna keep the Wendler assistance stuff mentioned a couple posts back(50-100 reps in each of the following 3 categories: push, pull, and leg/core), modifying or dropping the sets/reps as necessary. Mostly sticking to pushups, dip, chins, pullups, ring rows, DB rows, band facepulls/pullaparts, kettlebell swings, and leg raises. However, the weather's been so nice and I've had enough invitations to go hike that I decided to go with Green. Mostly running at low heart rates. I find this pretty easy to recover from if I keep it below an hour, it'll help with hiking, and I won't feel like I'm falling off my conditioning plan if I go backpacking on a weekend instead of doing HICs. Also, a few people I've worked with have talked about trying a longer Spartan race next year, so I won't hurt for me to start building up to that now. I may still switch to Black in the winter if the weather makes E sessions inconvenient enough. I'll try and one HIC every other week. Probably hill sprints. I'll also extend weeks to 8 or 9 days as needed if I get busy and have a hard time fitting 3 Operator sessions in with 3 E sessions.

So to recap:
Operator with press, front squat, and TBDL once/week, plus accessories
3 E sessions minimum per week, of whatever sort I feel like doing. Mostly lower intensity and under an hour.
1 HIC every other week
taking an extra day or two to get in 3 strength + 3 E per "week" as needed

[NathanC77]

Technically my first week was supposed to start tomorrow, but I've got a pretty busy week ahead of me and had time and energy today, so I did my first Operator strength sessions
9/17/16:
Operator W1D1
Warmup: KB swings-62x3x10; goblet squats-35x1,2,3; KB haloes 35x3x5/side
Press-45x5, 95x3x5 - no belt, no wraps
Front Squat-45x5, 95x3, 115x3x5 - felt great, good depth, no pain. Didn't use a belt, though I do plan on using weightlifting shoes even on light weeks
Pullups-7; Chinups-6; Ring Rows-12; band facepulls-20
Pushups-15,10
Swings-62x2x10; hanging knee raise-15

The warmup and strength work here took about 30 minutes, which was nice. Another 10 minutes for the assistance stuff
All assistance work done supersetted, small rests. No real plan here, just getting in some reps of exercises I know are good for me, hopefully without causing much soreness or re-aggravating my elbow or any other joints.

[NathanC77]

Easy trail run-2.42 miles in 30:09 @12:27 min/mile
Trying out some zero drop shoes so I kept the time low. Feet and ankles feel decent right now. I tried these shoes (Altra Lone Peak) earlier in the summer but it was close to the Spartan race I did and I didn't wanna screw up my achilles or feet so close to the race. I've used them for some hill sprints since then, but this is the first time in a while I've ran in them for more than 30 seconds.

[NathanC77]

9/19/16: off
9/20/16: Operator W1D2
Warmup-swings 62x3x10; goblets 35x1,2,3; haloes 35x3x5/side
Press-45x5, 95x3x5
Front Squat-45x5, 92x3, 115x3x5
pullups 5, chinups 5, pullaparts 15, pushups 10, facepulls-10
Short on time and tired today so pretty minimal assistance, just going through the motions

[NathanC77]

The past couple weeks have been busy and crazy and I decided to postpone this block. I had a few nights of minimal sleep last week followed by working all weekend. I still did a few easy runs and a few bodyweight/KB sessions. Nothing too fancy but enough I think that I haven't lost anything. Things have slowed down somewhat but are gonna have the potential to speed up again.

Gonna go with Operator + Black. I'll give myself the option of two days in between sessions(ala Operator I/A) just to make sure I can meet the minimums if things get busy again.. I'll use press(135 max) and low handle trap bar deadlift(tested yesterday, 280x3 max, knocked off 10% for training max, so 265). Then add in pullups, chins, dips, swings, bw rows afterwards. Two HIC sessions a week. Probably a weekly LSS session as well, but I'll drop this to every other week if I get busy.

I noticed during one my bodyweight sessions last week while doing BW bulgarian split squats that my right foot and ankle were very weak and unstable compared to my left. I was aware of this already, since I often start to roll that ankle on trail runs when I get tired, and that foot tends to splay out more than the other. But this highlighted how big the discrepancy was. I think I'll try and work in some exercises to strengthen that foot/ankle. Maybe single leg light deadlifts with kettlebells(I lose my balance on that side very easily with these) and other things that hopefully won't affect recovery much.

[NathanC77]

10/2/16 Operator Week 1 Day 1
Warmup-KB swing 62x3x10; goblet squat-35x3x2; shoulder dislocates
Press- 45x5, 95x3x5
Low Handle Trap Bar Deadlift- 170x3, 190x3x5
Pullups/chinups-3,6,4; ring dips 3x5; bulgarian split squats-3x5; 10 pushups; 20 band pullaparts, swings 62x10
Just strung together some movements as a finisher. I'm hoping the bulgarian split squats will help with foot/ankle stability and strength. Just using bodyweight by now. I like ring dips a lot but it's been a while since I've done them consistently, so just gonna throw in a few sets after my main work, not going to failure or anything

[NathanC77]

10/3/16
HIC #10-Short HIlls
8x10-15 second hill sprints, walk down, no rest at the bottom. 5 minutes jog to and from the hill.

Felt good. Only problem was once I got to a certain point on the hill I would start running into thick clouds of flies. I was planning on doing full 30 second hill sprints but that cut the distance short. Still felt good.

[NathanC77]

Operator Week 1 Day 2
Warmup: KB Swings 62x3x10; goblet squats 35x1,2,1; shoulder dislocates
Press 45x5, 95x3x5
Low Handle TBDL-170x3, 190x3x5
Pullups-8, chins ups-6, band pullaparts-16

Short on time and my left knee was sore today so I kept assistance to just a couple pulling moves