2024 Training Log Part 25

On the stereo today: Tres Hombres- ZZ Top

A decent if not great training week. I had a few bad back days that didn’t stop me working but kept me from training too hard. Them’s the breaks. A huge amount of that is due to sleep quality. I have a few things on the go at the moment so I’m a little stressed, and isn’t it funny how when you’re stressed you keep worse habits? Like later to bed, checking your phone late at night and so on? Piling bad on bad.

Monday

Upper Body session

1. Single arm stuttered eccentric press- 5×5
2. Standing cable row- 3×10
3. Pec deck 2xmax
4. Seated T-Bar row 3×12
5. a) Swiss ball plank 60s b) Hanging leg raises x20
6. EZ Curls 3×12
7. Cable kick backs 3×20

Tuesday

Gi sparring. 10 mins positional from open guard, 6×5 min rounds. Nice.

Wednesday

A day of rest. Loosened out the back for a bit, that was all though.

Thursday

Lower Body workout.

1. a) Med ball Side lunge 8×8 b) Split Squat 8×8 x5
2. Hamstring curl machine- 30,15,15,15
3. Quad Extension Kick and Catch 3×10,10
4. Ab and core circuit 20 mins

Friday

Show and Go Superpump Club

1. a) incline dumbbell press 5×10 a) standing cable row 5×10
2. Decline Bench 3×15
3. Bench row 3×10
4. Upright rows 3×12
5. a) EZ Curl 3×12 b) Hammer Curl 3×12
6. a) Push downs 3×10 b) Cable kickbacks 3×20

Saturday

Rounds. Actually, I did not enjoy this session at the start. My body was misbehaving. It was like I had some sand in my joints. So I resigned myself to being terrible for the day, but then by the 5th or 6th round, I was loose and had some fun. I think I did 11x 5 minute rounds.

I’d call that a 6/10 week overall.

Training Thoughts of the Week

I’m doing something you nerds might be interested in this week. I’m going to try some BFR training for my low body. Blood Flow Restriction. Now I’m not doing BFR in the modern sense of the pneumatic collars, I’m using some fairly basic elastic straps. This is a training protocol I’m not really familiar with, so I’m going to experiment a little with tension and other bits.

With BFR, you basically restrict your blood supply to the limbs through torniquets, and you can use less load for good effect. Why am I doing this? Well, with my low back issue I’m having some trouble getting loading on my lower body. I can’t load through the spine which means no heavy squats, deadlifts and so on. This leads to lower limb weakness, which leads to more issues with the back and so on and so on. The idea is to get stronger in the legs to reduce pain in the back.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Non-Training Thoughts of the Week

I am dealing with some stressors at the moment (aren’t we all, I hear you say). Nothing serious, just a lot of stuff I’m either trying to get off the ground or keep in the air. It’s exciting, and I like my life this way. I’m not a nine to five guy, which is the way I want it, but it does sometimes mean I’m a 6am-12am guy. And a Wake Up In the Middle Of the Night Guy. My brain doesn’t switch off, it runs on it’s own motor. So I have to control it. I have some habits-

1. I leave my phone downstairs. The staircase is like The Great Seal in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. My phone can’t pass it.
2. I prioritise the person in front of me. I don’t answer notifications when someone is present unless I’m expecting news on something. I may answer a phone call IF I know it’s important.
3. I don’t travel in rush hour unless I really have to. What a fucking waste of time.
4. If someone wants “a meeting”, I do a little calculation in my head. Something like- Time+€/What Else I Could Be Doing.
5. I write things down all the time. I have lists and pages and notes everywhere. But once I write it down, it’s gone from my thoughts which is good.

Those help. They’re not perfect, but they work. The interesting thing is that when I’m busy and stressed, I actually do those LESS than when I’m not!

Anyway, that was this week. What are you doing reading this? Don’t you have something better to do?

Barry