2026 Training Log Part 11

On the Stereo today- Kate Bush

Not as many sessions as I’d have liked last week. Such is life.

Wednesday

Evening Jiu Jitsu. Rounds with the gang. I was under pressure to get this session back. When we moved, I chaged some of the class formats, and as a part of that I dropped my Wednesday Mixed class. Well, people missed it! I had to change it up and bring it back. Lo and behold, 25 people showed up to it last week. I got some round sin with some of the guys and had some fun. It’s also a chance for me to get to subject people to my musical taste, but I went easy on them with some Grunge on Wednesday.

Friday

I only got one session in the weight room all week, so I made it count.

1. Incline Bench Pyramid Set. w/u to 5 at 70kgs and back down
2. Hand release push ups, max in 2min. I got 46
3. Kettlebell Prone Row 3×12
4. Flutter kicks 3×100
5. Face pulls 3×15
6. Rolling tricep extensions 3×10
7. EZ Curl 3×15
8. Cable Kickbacks 2×20

The hand release push ups are a bastard. Someone sent me the Garda ERU physical test, and I decided to get them done. At peak, I scored 52 push ups in a minute in a strength test. Standard for the ERU is 45 in 2 minutes. Easy peasy says I. No, they are not. I got 40 in the first attempt and it was awful. Went again today and got over the line, but barely. Nice to challenge yourself.

Saturday

NoGi. Initially, I didn’t think I’d train as there were just 5 white belt lads there. I decided to watch and coach. Then in walk about 6 guys, late, so I warmed up quickly and jumped in for about 9 rounds. I had one of those sessions where I didn’t get going until about round 5, but still enjoyed it and played around a good bit.

Training Thoughts of the Week

Not the best of weeks in terms of quantity but I really enjoyed the 2 sessions I got on the mat. I’m in my busiest period with work at the moment, so it’s all baout maximising your return when you get the chance. That for me, is about bringing the love to it. If I can only get 2 hours in, I know I’ll feel, train, and enjoy more if I look upon it as a brilliant bonus rather than be frustrated that I can’t get there more often.

Non-Training Thoughts of the Week

I watched the fuel protests with a mixture of irritation at being put out by them, and agreement in principal with their point. As a small businessman with 3 businesses, I can tell you that the cost of doing business is rising in ways that it’s difficult for anyone to really appreciate. You see prices increase in increments- 3c here, 20c there, €1 on this or that maybe. But when you’re in business, you see the bulk cost, and it’s so much more stark. Not that it’s any better or worse for someone doing their shopping or buying a tank of petrol than it is for a coffee shop owner, it’s just more plain when you see it in invoice form every order.

We know that insurance, rent, energy and so on have all gone up by chunky percentages, but what about ordering things like paper towels, or shipping costs for an order from another country? Brexit, Covid, War… they’ve added as much as 40% to some things that I have to pass on to my customers, or else I’ll be working for free. Everything, and I mean everything, is up by orders of magnitude to where it was in 2018.

We put up our membership by €10pm a few months ago, but in truth it should have gone up by more to reflect the increased costs. It’s gone crazy, and I don’t know where it ends. Some invoices are going up literally every time I’m billed.

So yeah, it’s a bit shit that they blocked the roads. I don’t think they should have. But when they say “costs are spiralling”, I know exactly what they mean.

See you on the mat,

Barry