2026 Training Log Part 7

I’ve put a bit of Motorhead on the stereo today as Phil Campbell the guitarist died over the weekend.

Not a good start to ’26

If you read last week you’ll have seen that I had a great training week, but came down a bit awakwradly on my knee in a takedown attempt. Well, even with our new sprung floor, I did some damage to my VMO. Just a nasty contusion from impact. I have full function in my knee, but it bruised badly. I’m only able to even rub it without pain today. This means that I’ll have done 1 full week of training in 2026 (last week).

It’s not great, but there’s been extenuating circumstances- the gym move, illness, and a very busy working period. But it’s still very frustrating. I will be at American Nationals in Las Vegas in June, so I’d like to get a good full run of 8 weeks before that at least.

I’ll go back light tonight even though I’ve still some contact pain, but should be fine for positionals and some light movements.

Tuesday

It didn’t stop me hitting the weights thankfully, or I’d have gone insane.

Upper Body Day Push Day in the gym.

1. Bike 10mins
2. Close Grip Bench w/u to 5 @ 90kgs
3. Bench Max outs 2 sets
4. Cable “Jammer” press 3×15 each arm
5. Incline single arm press 3×15
6. Med Balll Sit Ups 3×20
7. Tricep pushdowns 3×15

Wednesday

Upper Body Pull Day

1. Bike 10mins
2. Neutral Pull Up 4×5
3. Neutral Seated Cable Row 5×15
4. Prone Row 3×10
5. Bent over raises 3×15
6. Plank 3x60s
7. Preacher Curls 3×12

Friday

Just some reps

1. Single Arm Prone Row 5×8
2. Ring Push Ups 2×25
3. Face Pulls 3×15
4. Crunch 4×20
5. Revers Grip Lat Pulldown 3×10
6. EZ Curl 3×15
7. Cable Hammer Curls 2×20
8. Skull Crushers 3×15

Training Thoughts of the Week

I can’t say much about the Jiu Jitsu end of things, but I can tell you what I’ve been doing in the sauna to try to improve my Jiu Jitsu. Firstly, I’ve been saunaing (assuming sauna is a verb) 3 times a week most weeks. Sometimes long sessions, sometimes just 10mins. While I’ve been in the past 4 weeks, I’ve been doing hip opening stetches on the clock. I’ve seen some early results. For starters, it makes the time go faster. Holding a stretch for 30s a time means you focus on the stretch more than on the heat. Secondly, I’ve got some movement back in my hip that I hadn’t noticed was gone. I first spotted it in training when I circled my lasso hook in on my left side quite comfortably in a position that I might have accepted half guard in normally. I also have a reduction in my low back stiffness.

A small project that doesn’t cost me any time and not much additional effort, but has yielded some quick results.

Non-Training Thoughts of the Week

Here, I mentioned Plumber Wars last week- the epic battle to get someone to fit our new water heating system. Looks like it’s finally going in on Thursday! Anyway, I’ll tell you about the wanker who came in a couple of weeks ago to price the job.

First, he walks in, looks at something I don’t want him to touch, and says “Well that’s all wrong for a start. Who did that?”

Now immediately I hear that from anyone, I don’t want to hire them. There is a thing in Strength and Conditioning from my time in that world, which is probably in most working environments where you hire freelancers- When taking on a new job, immediately shit on the last guy. I never did it, I’ll never do it. The worst thing I’ll ever say is “Well, it wouldn’t have been how I did it.”

This guy then goes on to start explaining all of how complicated it is and how he’d need a week and €15k to fix it. I just stood there listening, and he looked at me at one stage, obviously mistaking my silence for something else and says, int he most patronising way possible:

“Am I going too fast for you?”

That lad will never know how close he came to not getting out of that room alive. In the 5 seconds it took for me to respond, I had already come up with 5 ways of getting a dead body out of our boiler room undetected.

Anyway, hopefully Plumber Wars is at an end this Thursday!

See you on the mat,

Barry