2025 Training Log Part 3

On the stereo today- Mercury Rev: Deserter’s Songs

I struggled to get sessions in last week, but I did okay. Bang average. I am going to the London Open at the end of next month, so I’m hoping I won’t have as many little upsets in the coming week. Let’s see.

Monday

No sparring partners in tonight. I got 3 rounds in though.

Tuesday

Hit the gym in the morning in BFRs.

1. Single arm dumbbell bench 5×8
2. Incline dumbbell press 3×15
3. Dumbell Row 5×5
4. Lat Pulldown 3×10
5. Swiss ball “stir the pot” 3x60s
6. Cable kickbacks 3×20
7. Skullcrushers 3×10

20 minutes in the sauna to feel warm and human again, ruined by some spanner who threw water on the coals. I said “Please don’t do that”, he went ahead and did it. I sat up and asked him if he’d any consideration for others. He muttered something about it being no harm. I pointed to the sign on the wall. I was not in the humour to fight a man in my shorts that day, so I just walked out. God damn it it’s DRY heat.

Wednesday

Sparring. 8 rounds. Decent session, I got about 3 high quality rounds in.

Thursday

Show and Go, BFRs on.

1. Floor Press 30, 15, 15, 15, 15
2. Supine grip dumbbell press 3×15
3. Supported dumbbell row 5×5
4. Face Pulls 20, 15, 12
5. Plank 3×60
6. Arnold Press 3×12
7. EZ Bar curls 20, 15, 12

A bit of a squib of a session. I was a bit stressed out coming in and then forgot to turn off my notifications on the phone. The gym is a bit of a black spot for signal but I usually knock off my data anyway while I train. Of course the phone bings and I look at it like an idiot in the middle of the session and see some work I’ll have to do when I get out. Lesson learned.

Saturday

A decent Saturday. I’ve been working on a few bits to keep heavier partners off me. Sometimes when you’re the most experienced on the mat, you get into bad habits, so I’m going back to basics on keeping people outside before I go in for attacks from bottom. Enjoyed it.

Training Thoughts of the Week

Okay here we go again, I’m going to repeat the Rule Of Five, as much for my own benefit as others.

In any 5 sessions, you will have 1 really good session, 1 really bad session, and 3 average sessions. So don’t beat yourself up about the bad sessions, don’t inflate yourself about the great session, and instead pay attention to how you are when it’s neither great nor terrible.

Non-Training Thoughts of the Week

My energy for training hasn’t been the best because I put my dog asleep the week before last. Look I’m not one for sharing this stuff online but 14 years is a long time to have a friend. The nature of my work means I spend a lot of time alone during the day. I’m okay with it most of the time, but let’s put it this way- you’re never alone when you’ve got a dog. And with a smart dog, you develop a relationship. I’d care for any animal of course, but when you train a smart dog, the bond is deeper. It’s mutual respect. They need your attention, your love, your discipline. If they don’t get it, they misbehave. And they respond when you give them what they need. And once you bond, when you’re going through the hardest of times, they know when to walk over and rest their chin on your lap. Ralph helped me through three of the hardest times of my life, just by always being there to walk, to pet, or to talk to. Yeah you heard me, to talk to. I’m not ashamed.

I think it’s so distinct because it’s your bond with others laid out for you to see. You can’t detect the ties that bind you to family or friends because they’re beneath your perception. Complex hormonal reactions rooted in thousands of years of evolution. We never stop to examine the whys and hows of loving your parents or your child or your friends. But with a dog, you make a conscious choice to bond, and they’re so simple at expressing their love, their sadness, their happiness with you, that you can see the relationship almost as though it’s written on a diagram in front of you. It’s understandable in a way that a relationship with a person isn’t.

If you don’t pay attention to your dogs needs, if you let your dog down- he goes hungry, or he eats your couch, or he becomes reactive. You can see your mistakes. You’re conscious of tending to the relationship, of maintaining that mutual respect. Dogs make you a better person.

Now if you just read that and thought, “Hey, what’s that bullshit! I came here to hear about weights and grappling and stuff”, well, sod off. I didn’t want you to read it anyway.

I’ll get over it. See you on the mat,

Barry