It’s been a little more than a month since I finished the Bluegrass Half Marathon and, consequently, it’s been a little more than a month since I wrote up a weekly “thing.” If you don’t remember, the Weekly Thing (originally started on my other site) is just a weekly rundown of everything I’m training for the week. It was great getting to share my half marathon training in those posts but since the race ended, I’ve not had a lot to talk about.

So let’s catch up?

I took about a week off from training after my half marathon was over. I wasn’t sure what kind of training I’d get into next, but I knew I wanted to hit the weights again. I figured I’d go full-on bulk since I’d successfully dropped about 20 pounds on my training cut (down to 200 pounds for the first time since middle school). So I set out to create a heavy lifting program based off NASM’s OPT Model Phase 5 for Power. I set up a “Bro Split” schedule that looked like this:

• Day 1: Chest/Triceps
• Day 2: Back/Biceps
• Day 3: Legs
• Day 4: Shoulders

My cardio and core exercises would be taken care of thanks to the 3-4 classes at TITLE Boxing Club per week. NASM’s OPT Phase 5 model for resistance training targets a specific muscle group with 1-5 reps of 85%-100% 1RM for 3-5 sets supersetted with 8-10 reps of 30%-45% 1RM for 3-5 sets. I modified this slightly to include three heavy sets for eight reps on a specific muscle group followed by a superset of two medium-weight sets of 10 (weight dropped 20% or so) in the same muscle group, and then three sets at a very light weight with 12 reps.

And it fucking worked. Over the course of the month, the number on the scale fluctuated from 3-5 pounds gained but visually my body started blowing up a bit. Specifically my back, chest and shoulders.

I plan on sharing the actual program here soon if you’re interested in following it yourself.

I decided it was time to change it up a bit, though, so while I designed my new program, I followed a bodyweight-only routine that utilized pushups, rows, squats, L-sits, pull-ups, tricep dips and a variety of other full-body torture options. Every time I do bodyweight-only exercise programs, all it really does it make me question my body weight.

With that said, I figured it was time to start lifting again. This time around, I’m doing a vertical load, hitting every muscle group top-to-bottom three days per week so everything gets hit every day. Here’s what my split looks like now:

• Day 1:
  • Heavy Legs 5×5
  • Heavy Legs 5×5
  • Medium Chest 4×8
  • Medium Triceps 4×8
  • Light Back 3×10-12
  • Light Biceps 3×10-12
  • Light Shoulders 3×10-12
• Day 2:
  • Heavy Chest 5×5
  • Heavy Triceps 5×5
  • Medium Back 4×8
  • Medium Biceps 4×8
  • Medium Shoulders 4×8
  • Light Legs 3×10-12
  • Light Legs 3×10-12
• Day 3:
  • Heavy Back 5×5
  • Heavy Biceps 5×5
  • Heavy Shoulders 5×5
  • Medium Legs 4×8
  • Medium Legs 4×8
  • Light Chest 3×10-12
  • Light Triceps 3×10-12

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Before I post the full workout schedule for the week, I figured I’d go ahead and point out that we’re now offering MMA classes at TITLE Boxing Club Knoxville and they’re for MEMBERS ONLY. Classes are limited to TEN members per class so pre-registration is required. And I’m on the schedule for MMA this week so if you’re a member and you’re reading this, I think it would be rad if you showed up! See schedule below.

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This Week

• Monday: Morning Boxing Cardio, Evening Day 1 Split
• Tuesday: Morning MMA Cardio, Evening 7:00pm Boxing Power Hour at TITLE Boxing Club
• Wednesday: Morning Boxing Cardio, Evening Day 2 Split
• Thursday: Morning MMA Cardio
• Friday: Morning 5:45am Boxing Power Hour at TITLE Boxing Club, Evening MMA Cardio
• Saturday: Early Morning Winter Weightlifting Session with the Freaks, Later morning 11:00am Technique Boxing Power Hour at TITLE Boxing Club
• Sunday:Morning 9:30am MMA Power Hour at TITLE Boxing Club, later morning Day 3 Split

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My final thought this week comes courtesy of my brother DeMarcus. He posted a few thoughts on Snapchat this morning regarding “The Cost of Convenience.” I’m not a fan of counting calories for several reasons, but one specific reason is that I see a lot of people fall into a habit of only considering the number of calories in their diet and not the quality of those calories. Can you lose weight merely counting calories and eating wtf ever you want? Yes, absolutely. It’s a numbers game, after all. Are you getting healthy and will you feel better overall? Probably not.

Sure, Wendy’s may have a lot on their menu that fits your calorie requirements for the day, but have you thought about what you’re eating? Junior Bacon Cheeseburger? Small chili? Nope. It’s shit. It’s all shit. And that diet soda you’re washing it down with? Shit. And if you feed your body shit, you’re only going to get shit out of your body. So much shit coming out of your body may result in a good number on the scale, but it likely won’t result in much else positive inside your body or overall health. Just something to think about.

Recently Knoxville Martial Arts Academy posted this photo on their Facebook page to hype the upcoming fight of Knoxville’s own Ovince Saint Preux. I love the idea behind this — staying ready, never a reason to have to get ready. Personally, I fell into the convenience trap in the last week and my body has reminded me of it. I got most of my workouts in but I didn’t fuel my body properly and felt sluggish and bloated as a result. I was always ready, alright — always ready for more fries and wine!

With Thanksgiving coming up, I figure I’ll get enough of that shitty feeling at the end of the month and I don’t want anything to do with it until then, so it’s back on my game this week. You should do the same. You’ve been given a unique opportunity to start fresh TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not after the holidays. The time is NOW!

Until later this week, enjoy this mitt work I did with my boy Joseph on Sunday and then ask yourself why you can’t make it to the gym this week.