Go with the flow!

[Espi]

Monday July 30
Cardio
Came in for another rowing session and had first wanted to only concentrate on technical stuff. Started with two slow 500 metres on my own as the guy who would help me out, was busy.
1: 500m in 2:35,2 min (+1s) – 11551 m/hr (-47)
- aveW : 84 W (-9)
- kcals burnt: 27kcal – 596 kcal/hr (-7)
2: 500m in 2:40,9 min (+4s) – 11231 m/hr (-320)
Blegh, I felt quite disappointed about the poor performance and went downstairs for an espresso and a chat to that same guy who came up again and said that contrary to what I was told should get most of the force out of my upper body but do push back as hard as I can with my legs. And said I should slow down a LOT more when decelerating as otherwise I’d be pulling against air, since the spinning wheel inside would still keep winding. So: lesson learnt, accelerate as fast as possible, try to use the legs, but not lean forward too much as it hurts my ankle/psoas too much to do so (plus is tiresome for me). Also learnt to breath out when pulling back.
Pushed a few buttons and decided why not do a 2000m. Shot off as a cannonball and hit 2:10 on average for the first 500m but then was near completely wasted and almost had wanted to give up at the 1000m mark. Recovered a tiny bit and got to

2000 m in 9:49,5 min (-101s!)– 12214 m/hr (+1794m), a major improvement over the first 2000m. Yay!
- AveW = 109 (+41)
- kcals burnt: 110 kcal – 672 kcal/hr (+141).
It wasn’t the fastest split time as this happened last Thursday, but that was on a 1000m distance.

I was more wasted this time though, mostly because I’d started way too fast. With a slightly more moderate pace, I’d have been faster on average.
Walked back home with a smile on my face but feeling quite spent!

WO-Carbs: didn’t bring any but put 2 lumps of sugar in my espresso and had a peppermint.

[stingo]

Sounds like you had a great workout, and you learned a few things - definitely something to smile about. Great progress

[Espi]

Yes, thanks, I had almost wanted to give up on the rowing as joints were just hurting too much. Plus my head just hurt from the looking at videos, the reading and everything else that I have been trying to learn about this type of cardio.

Come to think of it, it almost reminds me of learning how to ride a bicycle. If you'd read about it, it would seem so complicated that you'd never learn it.
Fortunately I learnt to cycle at age 5. But my father did have to buy me a fixed gear bicycle, as I literally froze from fear of falling and... fell because I stopped turning the pedals.
Fixed gear bicycles never stop turning the pedals, so it's impossible to stop pedalling when you're scared to death.

From then on.. cycling was everything for me.

Ah, reminds me to get that damn touring bicycle revised. The psoas trouble had me lose my interest in cycling because it was outright painful to cycle after I had been ill. Hard to believe I only ride inside the city nowadays. Or that I would do 2 spinning classes /wk for 4-5 years on end.

[stingo]

I've been doing the 2 spinning classes/wk for about a year and a half now...

[Espi]

Tuesday July 31
TRAINING Go with the Flow Routine 8 WO 5
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING & BW COMPLEXES

1 windmill x10
2 torso stretching
3 Russian UB twist w 3kg ball x10
4 push up x 5 – knee push up x 10
5 renegade row (4kg) x10 – 10
6 mixed grip pullup + supine row 1+10 – 1+9


A1 Yates row (UH grip)
WU: 40x8
Wave 1 + 2:
47,5x10 (0) – 50x10 (0)
52,5x9 (0) – 55x8 (0)
57,5x7 – 60x6
Must have been tired from yesterday’s frenetic rowing sessioin.

A2 db press
WU : (2x13)x8
Wave 1+2:
(2x15)x11 (0) – (2x16)x10 (+1)
(2x17)x9 (0) –(2x18)x9 (+2)
(2x19)x7 (-1) –(2x20)x6

Hmm had hoped for 7 reps but reached utter failure at 6 already.

B1 narrow grip bench press
32,5x12 (+1)
30x14 (+1) – 30x12 (-1)
Thought to have upped the weight, but apparently did so already last week, so a reprise.

B2 pull ups
BWx2-2-1-1
Same reps.

C1 Saxon side bend
5x 13 reps each side.

D1 exorotation
3,8x16 (+3)

E1 standing face pull
8,8x22 (-1)

LB Complex
F1 DL + front squat w clean + static lunge
25x6-6 – failure
Had to have someone take the bb off my back and then I did military presses instead.

G1 DL + front squat w clean + military press
25x6-6 – failure w 25kg , cont’d with 22x6
22x6-6-6

Upon which I decided it had been enough. Hmm so I can’t even do a static lunge with a bb as I’m feeling too wobbly and then it’s too hard to lift it overhead again (from shoulders back to the front), What other lower body exercise *can* I do?

Cardio

522 m with 2:26,0 ave split/500m.
AveW = 111 (+19), compared to last 500m row

General: feeling OK. Happy with the presses, but less so about the rows, but this is understandable considering how much I’m rowing right now.
The complexes are difficult to combine so that I’m doing UB-only or LB-only workouts with a barbell. Can I do a complex with just 2 movements? I wouldn’t think so..

WO-carbs : lemonade from real passion fruit syrup w citrulline malate. Took the first dose of carnosine (or actually beta-alanine, citrulline and histidine). Dunno if it helped.

Training statistics
Volume: 11908 kg
# of sets: 42 (incl. WU)- # of reps: 333 - avg reps/set :7,9 - kg/rep 35,8 kg

[Espi]

Thursday Aug 2
TRAINING Go with the Flow Routine 8 WO 3B
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING
1 Frankensteins x 10
2 inch worm x10
3 lateral lunges x10

BW complex
1 walking lunge w rotary torso x 5 (each side) - 5
2 prisoner squat w 3kg medicin ball x10 - 11
3 Swiss leg curl x10 - 12

A1 front squat
WU : 27,5x8
Wave 1+2:
32,5x10 (+1) – 35x10 (+1)
35x9 (+1) – 37,5x9 (-1)
37,5x8 – 40x8

A2 DL
WU: 60x8
Wave 1 + 2:
65x10 (+1) – 67,5x10 (+1)
67,5x9 (+1) – 70x 9 (+1)
70x8 – 72,5x8
While the first 3 sets of the 2 waves were a breeze, things started to ‘grind’ around the 2nd set of the 2nd wave and I had to try hard for the DLs. Front squats started to hurt a bit, it wasn’t the legs that hurting, the wrists did.

B1 military bb press
25x9
24x9
23x9
B2 good morning
25x10
30x9
It’s been a while since I did those. Replaced pull throughs with these as I can’t stay in place for a pull through.

C1-2-3 BOR – OH squat – MP
22x10 (BOR, far too easy) – 10 (back squat, OH was too hard) – 7 (couldn’t get to 10 reps)
12x10 (OH squat, managed now) – 10 (MP too easy, tried also MP while seated in OH squat position.. that’s hard!)

D1 leg extension
33x10
28,5x20
High rep stuff.
E1 chin up
BWx3 (did also 2 separate chins earlier today).


Cardio
Rowing 300m (yeah, got tired really really fast!) : 2:15,8 /500 m split hmmm not as good as I’d wanted.
I’m getting more into the groove though and for the first few hundred meters manage to go forwards more and lurch back at the same time with arms and legs. Still hard to make arms do it later than the legs.
Remarkable part is that I have less trouble getting closer to the stops. This seems to work very well to get more flexible in the joints , including ankle.



General: starting good, but getting more tired as time goes on. Perhaps I’m a bit over(s)training by going nearly every day now , even if only for a very brief rowing session.
WO-drink : again (real!) passion fruit lemonade w citrulline malate.

Training statistics
Volume: 17980 kg
# of sets: 35 (incl. WU)- # of reps: 312 - avg reps/set :8,9 - kg/rep 57,6 kg

[Espi]

Saturday Aug 4
TRAINING Go with the Flow Routine 8 WO 4A
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING
1 windmill x10
2 torso stretching
3 Russian UB twist w 3kg ball x10

UB BW COMPLEXES
A1 push up x 6 –push up x 2 + kneepushupx10
A2 renegade row (5kg) x10 – 10
A3 pullup 2 – 2 (Smith was in use , so no supine rows)


B1 db press
WU : (2x14)x8
Wave 1+2:
(2x16)x10 (0) – (2x17)x10 (+1)
(2x18)x8 (-1) –(2x19)x8 (+1)
(2x20)x6 (0) –(2x21)x6

Going as well as hoped for. Still need to overcome the mental hurdle of handling these huge dumbbells (huge for me!)

B2 Yates row (UH grip)
WU: 42,5x8
Wave 1 + 2:
52,5x8 (-1) – 55x8 (0)
57,5x6 (-1) – 60x6 (0)
62,5x4 – 65x4

Maintained .

C1 pull ups
BWx3-2-2
One rep more.

C2 narrow grip bench press
35x10
32,5x12 (0)
30x13 (+1)

D1 Saxon side bend
6x 11 reps each side

E1 wood chop
21,3x8

F1 rotary torso (pulley at chest height)
8,8x12
New exercise that someone showed to me

G1 standing face pull
8,8x21 (-1)

H1 exorotation
3,8x10 (-6)
Tired.

LB Complex
F1 DL + front squat + Zercher good morning
28x8-8-8 / 8-8-8
Zercher good morning worked better than the lunge but I’m still dissatisfied. The bb kept rolling forwards. I’ve got to come up with something better.
Also I’d really would have liked to do a lunge instead but I can’t incorporate it into a weighted complex, other than doing a BW complex in which I do walking lunges.
Actually the only good complexes I can think of consist of only 2 exercises.
Like
- goblet squat + db swing
- BOR + RDL


Cardio

None, gym closed too early. Should come back tomorrow. Perhaps swim too.

General: feeling most OK and elated about hitting my lowest weight in 3 years. Satisfied too with the combo of our own Pasio supps I’m using: Karno4 & Stamina.

Oh, and almost forgot. Been thinking about NROL and my own routine a lot. I like how much new & fun stuff it has to offer but I generally really prefer the microloading and periodization principle of my own schedule tons better.
Plus I'm head over heels in love with waveloading
However, why not do both? Do my own program for half of the routine = do the heavy stuff , viz. wave loading, plus my own other love, the chinning routine.
And then turn to NROL and split that program in half so I do the A & B routine in 4 sessions instead of 2. Mix & match to my desire so that I get the best of both worlds.

I like the metabolic stuff but it's too much for this poor soul tht gets burnt out on balancing work far too easily. But I won't be as creative or daring myself as Cosgrove & Schuler are. Sweet deal if you ask me!

WO-carbs : again lemonade from real passion fruit syrup w citrulline malate with a tsp of Karno4.

Training statistics
Volume: 10748 kg
# of sets: 39 (incl. WU)- # of reps: 297 - avg reps/set :7,6 - kg/rep 36,3 kg

[Lost Dog]

The waveloading looks fun. I've been doing a little bit on a few lifts, here and there. I like it.

and, great job on weight loss!

[galya]

Sounds like you would enjoy such a combination, which is all that matters
I haven't been around for a while, but you seem truly on top of things

[Espi]

Magnetic plate mates would really have been the neatest solution but they are hard to get and I thought of these first.

Rethinking again about my desire to combine the core part of my own periodization routine , viz. the first 2 exercises in them that have wave loading as slow supersets (still getting over the hurdle of going reallllly low in reps)
plus
about half of the NROL workouts

Dynamic WU plus BW complex is mostly 9 (easy) sets
Waveloading : 14 sets incl. 2 WU sets as an UB/LB split with just 4 exercises: DL/SQ/BOR/db press

The NROL program has you do in between 25-35 sets for the various routines. Splitting them in half would give around 9+14+25-35/2 = 35-40 sets/workout.

However, most routines have a regular DL/squat/BOR/press incorporated.

Looking forward to the hypertrophy routine, I'm actually not seeing as many problems as with the fat loss routine and I might even just do it as per the book. Except that it wouldn't follow the natural strength rhytm that I and most other women seem to have.

In any case, when I'm back from my trip and will be gaining wt as usual, I'll need to do some more cutting and will finish off the FatLoss 3 routine that I broke off half way and indeed split it in half.

I feel a bit torn on it as it almost seems a betrayal to a program that so many people are loving so much.

Could have been since I'm really really freaking out over every single exercise that requires a lot of balancing and it releases just too much stress hormones. While there's not enough heavy lifting done to counterbalance the resulting muscle loss.
I really would love to improve on balance, but it's not gonna happen in just a few months: it's a multiple- year task to get better at it.

[Espi]

Monday Aug 6
TRAINING Go with the Flow Routine 8 WO 4B
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING
1 Frankensteins x 10
2 inch worm x10
3 lateral lunges x5

BW complex
1 walking lunge w rotary torso x 5 (each side) - 5
2 prisoner squat w 3kg medicin ball x10 - 10
3 Swiss leg curl x10 - 10

A1 front squat
WU : 30x8
Wave 1+2:
35x9 (0) – 37,5x9 (0)
37,5x8 (0)– 40x8 (0)
40x7 – 42,5x7
Woot , woot… managed to clean all of the weights for the first wave up to 40 kg! Highest weight I’d managed sofar was 35 or 36kg. Second wave I did by taking them off the rack at shoulder height.


A2 DL
WU: 62,5x8
Wave 1 + 2:
67,5x9 (0) – 70x 9 (0)
70x8 (0) – 72,5x8 (0)
72,5x7 – 75x7
Some lifts felt easy, other difficult. Halfway first wave I suddenly had a painful twinge in the knee. Got it from an uncontrolled move during the walking lunges (BW)

B1 military bb press
26x8
25x8

B2 step ups
(2x10)x8

Only 1 set due to wobbly legs and again, painful knee. The waves took the best out of me.

C1 db swing & goblet squat complex
10kgx 6 – 6
Made this one up and it’s loads of fun! Squat down with db clenched to chest and then get up and do a swing! Woot!

D1 BOR – OH squat+ MP
25x10 (BOR, far too easy) – 8 (front squat) , tried to do a MP while down but couldn’t even get the weight up.


E1 leg curl
33x15
High rep stuff.


Cardio
Rowing 227m (again got tired really fast!) : 2:12,5 /500 m split

I knew it wasn’t going to be any good. I’d been getting cramps in my calves off and on during the workout. It made it impossible to do more sets of step ups as it already started there. Yet I wanted to try rowing with the damper setting on #1 . Yes, a totally different feeling to it.



General: Today is my refeed/junkfood day as it’s leg day. And boy did I inhale those carbs. Unfortunately I opted for naughty carbs, viz. the Dutch national addiction, licorice. Too much ammonium chloride = bad cramps!
WO-drink/carbs : once again passion fruit lemonade w citrulline malate. Also far too much licorice (sweet-salty pyramids). Here speaks an addict.

Training statistics
Volume: 16791 kg
# of sets: 40 (incl. WU)- # of reps: 265 - avg reps/set :6,6 - kg/rep 63,4 kg

[stingo]

That's a heck of a workout, training squats AND deadlifts in the same session.

I always enjoy reading your log Espi as it's clear you put a lot of thought, time and effort into the construction and execution of your programs. Keep up the great work!

[Espi]

Wednesday Aug 8
TRAINING Go with the Flow Routine 8 WO 5A
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING
1 windmill x10
2 torso stretching
3 Russian UB twist w 5kg ball x10

UB BW COMPLEXES
A1 push up x 6 –push up x 8 + knee pushup x8
A2 renegade row (6kg) x8-10
A3 pullup 3 – 2 (again Smith was in use , so no supine rows)


B1 db press
WU : (2x15)x7
Wave 1+2:
(2x17)x8 (-2) – (2x18)x8 (0)
(2x19)x6 (-2) –(2x20)x6 (0)
(2x21)x4 (-2) –(2x22)x4
Equalling best performance 22x4 of May.

B2 Yates row (UH grip)
WU: 50x7
Wave 1 + 2:
55x8 (0) – 57,5x8 (+2)
60x6 (0) – 62,5x6 (+2)
65x4 (0) – 67,5x4
Too bad I’m getting major wrist problems with UH grip now. OH grip I’m not as strong as there’s less biceps involved. Need to bring up triceps?

C1 pull ups (or chinups?)
BWx2-2-2 and then 1-2 for the fun of it.
I so badly want to do a pullup specialization. After I’m done with this cycle, I’ll be trying out weighted chins to replace the BORs.

C2 close grip bench press
37,5x8
35x10 (0)
32,5x14 (+2)
Not sure if this is a real close-grip bp but for what it’s worth 32,5x14 was a PR with this grip.

D1 Saxon side bend
7x 8 reps each side

E1 standing face pull
11,25x20 (-1)
Almost same amt of reps with 2,5 kg more wt.

F1 exorotation
3,8x15 each side (+5)

LB Complex
F1 SLDL + front squat + Zercher good morning
28x8-8-8 / 8-8-8
OK. Barbell still rolls down the arms too much but it’s OKish. Really nice stretch on hammies.

Cardio
Dabbled a few hundred meters on the rowing ergometer but got tired soon. Then got in 11 mins of SS cardio on TM. It’s not that I was tired just no desire for cardio today.

General: feeling quite OK, almost surprising since I felt so hungry a day after leg day that’s always an overfeeding day.
WO-carbs : citrulline malate with IsoDex (new sportspowder)

Training statistics
Volume: 10593 kg (-155)
# of sets: 40 (incl. WU)- # of reps: 271 (-26) - avg reps/set :6,8 (-0,8) - kg/rep 39,1 kg (+2,8)
Not bad: same volume, more intensity. That’s what (linear) periodization is about.

[Espi]

Friday Aug 10
TRAINING Go with the Flow Routine 8 WO 5B
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING
1 Frankensteins x 10
2 inch worm x10
3 lateral lunges x5

BW complex
1 walking lunge w rotary torso x 5 (each side) - 5
2 prisoner squat - 10
3 Swiss leg curl x10

A1 front squat
WU : 30x8 – 32,5x8
Wave 1+2:
37,5x8 (0)– 40x9 (+1)
40x8 (+1) – 42,5x8 (+1)
42,5x7 (-1) – 45x7

First wave went very poorly, felt tired coming into the gym (didn’t do 2 series of BW complexes like last time), but then after inhaling candy and my sports drink things went better. Didn’t even bother to try cleaning the 40kg but did work up to 37,5 kg which is still better than the 35 kg I used to be able to clean.

A2 DL
WU: 50x5 (didn’t bother to do more warm-ups)
Wave 1 + 2:
70x8 (0) – 72,5x9 (+1)
72,5x7 (0) – 75x8 (+1)
75x7 – 77,5x8
Same as for front squats. First wave being so-so and 2nd wave much better. Still a far cry from previous DLs at 100kg or more. I’ve got to stop doing staggered supersets and give each exercise it’s own day, viz. do a higher rep DL one day and heavy fronts and then higher rep fronts plus heavy deads another day.

B1 military bb press
27,5x9
25x9 (+1)

Yay, according to my numbercrunching Excel, the 27,5x9 is supposedly best performance re calculated 1RM.

C1 db swing & goblet squat complex
10kgx 6
Only 1 set of each

D1 pull/chin up
BWx2
Just can’t go into the gym without at least one chin. Didn’t I mention I wanna do a specialization routine for chins?

Cardio
Skipped on purpose. Don’t want to force myself into binge mode by overtraining myself. Been there done that.

General: hmm high calorie day. I’m feeling tired enough to not be hungry, perhaps due to the butt load of fruit I had pre-workout and plenty carbs during.
WO-drink : Iso-Dex (grape lemon sports drink) w citrulline malate and salmiak licorice balls on the side

Training statistics
Volume: 14247 (-2544) kg
# of sets: 31 (incl. WU, -9) - # of reps: 198 (-67) - avg reps/set :6,4 (-0,2) - kg/rep 72 (+8,6) kg

[Espi]

Sunday Aug 12
TRAINING Go with the Flow Routine 8 WO 6A
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING
1 windmill x10
2 torso stretching
3 Russian UB twist w 3kg ball x10

UB BW COMPLEXES
A1 push up x 8 – knee pushup x12
A2 renegade row (7kg) x8– 9
A3 pullup + supine row: 2 + 8 – 1+ 7


B1 db press
WU : (2x16)x8
Wave 1+2:
(2x18)x8 (0) – (2x19)x8 (+2)
(2x20)x6 (0) –(2x21)x6 (+2)
(2x22)x4 (0) –(2x23)x2 – 4 (PR!)
Feeling a bit sleepy during the exercise so trying hard to concentrate. Which went wrong on the very last set after yakking to someone the 22+1 kg wt was too much and it dropped down on me after 2 reps. Focussed once more and got 4reps after all, which is a PR for 1RM.


B2 Yates row (UH grip)
WU: 52,5x6
Wave 1 + 2:
57,5x5 (-3) – 60x6 (0)
62,5x4 (-2) – 65x4 (0)
67,5x4 (0) – 70x3
Tried to use less ‘body English’ which showed by doing up to 3 reps less than before.

C1 pull ups in Smith
BWx2 (0)-2 (0) -2 (+1)

C2 close grip bench press
40x8 (PR!)
37,5x9 (+1)
35x8 (-2)
Starting out much stronger, but finishing weaker.

D1 wood chop
21,3x6 each side (-2)

E1 Saxon side bend
8x 8 reps