Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 12th March - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 3 - Day 2 Evening - Upper - Microcycle 1

Been 3 weeks since I have done any decent upper body work. And boy does it freshen you up to the exercises and clears up all the overuse aches. I haven't lost much strength at all and things didn't feel too heavy or shakey. I bet my gains will be better too than when I left off. I'll have to start doing this at least once a year
Probbaly went a bit too heavy for my first workout back, but I'm only working upperbody once a week this microcycle

Bodyweight at gym - 221lbs
Workout time - ?
Workout rating - 8/10

General warmup - lots of stuff

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1min on warmup sets and then 2 mins between each exercise

22-25 inch Grip bench - shoulder blades pulled together, no arch or leg drive

Warmups - explosive - Bar 2x8, 95lbs x5,135lbs 2x5, 165x5, 195x3, 225x1

Semi explosive
Rotation 1) 225lbs x 7
Rotation 2) 225lbs x 7 -> close to failure
Rotation 3) 135lbs x 12 - cooldown, flat back

The last time I benched with this wide a grip was almost 2 years ago. I mostly use a 14inch grip. Thumbs right on the smooth, but today I went wider, marking thumbs off the smooth. Certainly more pecs, feels a bit smoother to push, no noticable sticking point and you can drive better when it gets hard.
I pulled something in my right neck/upper trap this morning doing the runs/agility stuff.. WTF! WHich made it a bit uncomfortble benching, didn't realise how much my upper traps are used when benching.
Both worksets felt close to failure, but smooth and powerful.

Seated Pulley Rows - U Bar Parallel close grip

warmups - 25kg 2x6, 35kg x5, 45kg x 5, 55kg x 3, 65kg x 1, 55kg x 1

3 sec hold at the body
Rotation 1) 55kg x 6
Rotation 2) 55kg x 6
Rotation 3) 25kg x 12 - cooldown


Standing Dumbell Curls

warmups - curl to neurtral grip press 3kg x8, 5kgx8, curl - explosive 22lbs x5, 30x3, 35x3

explosive
Rotation 1) 35lbs x 5
Rotation 2) 35lbs x 5


CoolDown, Cuff Stuff and ISO Stretches - EQI

military press 70lbs x 12


Cuff circuit

1.5 min rest between each

Scapular pushups - 2 sec hold top and bottom
A1) BW x 10
B1) BW x 10
worked my core and hipflexors as well!

Lying single crossbody lateral - warmup 3kg x 6
3 sec ISO hold at parallel each rep
A2) 5kg x 5
B2) 5kg x 5

One Arm low pulley L-Flyes - warmup 10lb x 5
3 sec ISO hold at midpoint each rep
A3) 20lbs x 5
B3) 20lbs x 5

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Front of neck curls - 3 sec ISO hold at midpoint each rep BWx5

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff



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Right click on clip and save to avoid errors

first set of bench with new wider grip - 225x7

http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/CCJ_Bench_225x7_12April05.mpg

 

[coolcolj]

I expected to feel drained, but I'm not. Not as sore as I thought I would be given I haven't done some of those moves in a while, but that may change later today. Slight ache in the hammies, shins and feet don't feel to bad.
Upper body is achey all over, especially my traps
I keep respraining my right outter ankle, so no more swerves and sidesteps till it fully heals. There is so much scar tissue there!!

Waist is down another 1/4 of an inch, bodyweight lightest so far this training cycle, just under 99kg or 217.5lbs straight out of bed this morning. Surprising since yesterday I took 2 servings of whey+gatorade after each of my 2 sessions, that's an extra 700+ calories!

Can't wait to get down to 88-90kg 193-198lbs, that should add another 8inches on my vertical jump, and hopefully another 4 inches from training itself, for a grand total of 12inches. I would become a lean mean jumping machine with a 42+ inch standing vertical jump, a 44+ inch one step jump and a 45+ inch 3 step jump. Then I'll try and get my 3 step jump up to 6 inches over my standing VJ, and bring up my running one leg leg - yes I have lofty goals
But I need all the inches I can at my height!
By then I should be pretty fast down the 60m sprint as well....

 

[coolcolj]

I fiddled around with Lewis Nonomgram equation some more - along with a scientific calculator, and inverting the square root,

and got some interesting stuff

At 99kg 218lbs bodyweight, if I keep the same power I have now and just lean up - my standing vertical jump would be -

At 90kg 198lbs - 36.25 inch vertical jump

At 88kg 194lbs - 38 inch

At 85kg 187lbs - 40.7 inch

88kg is a realistic and reachable for me without losing muscle mass and strength,
then I just have to increase my power/reactivity and get me another 4 inches to reach my goal of 42inches
I'd be just about ripped at 85kg, not realistic for me I think...190lbs maybe....

 

[coolcolj]

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=472224

good stuff, filled with exercies such as scapular pushups that will fix up your posture and thus your cuff/shoulders

part 5

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=535872

 

[coolcolj]

Upper body quite sore, especially my pecs. A bit sleepy, but ready to rock my workouts today. Legs feel nice and loose, springy.

Bodyweight was 99kg 218lbs on the dot this morning with clothes on, its a bit lower without, and waist is 38.5 inches just relaxed without expelling all the air out, down from 39.25 inches 3 weeks ago, so the fat loss and weight drop are real and concrete, phew!
Once I get under 38 inches I'll put up some progress pics every inch I drop. Goal is a 30 inch waist, so I have ways to go

The 3 lbs I've dropped so far is already quite noticable, body felt light walking up this steep incline I do everyday at my part time job. Man I'm gonna feel like a feather once I get under 200lbs!

 

[coolcolj]

Tempo - Thursday 14th April - Morning

Straight Leg Sprints in place with arm swing
on balls of feet - going at comfortable relaxed rate - barefoot on 2 layers of carpet

20 secs x 8 - with 1 min 45sec rest

17 mins worth - tibs felt a bit achey towards the end. Pulse rate comes from peak of 115-117 straight after a set to 88-90 at the 1min 30 mark. Yeah my countdown timer measures pulserate as well

 

[coolcolj]

Thursday 14th April - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 3 - Day 3 - Lower - Microcycle 1

Pretty good workout today. At first I felt a bit down at first, slight inflammation in my muscles from the tempo work in the morning, but once I got up to the heavier warmup weights, things started to fly and I got my aggression and power going. Upper body was really sore and stiff though, so I didn't particular feel like doing cleans, but I stuck with em, and they ended up going well.
Lightest bodyweight at the gym in a while - looking forward to BBall this weekend, me thinks I'm jumping a tiny bit higher
I am liking the way I look in the gym mirrors, looking a bit leaner already
I aim to drop 25lbs of fat, and holding a 25lb plate today made me realiase, that's a sh*t load of extra dead weight to be carrying around now!!!

I like my gym now, powerack, squat rack, platform and bumpers, just the crappy bent bars that make frontsquats and cleans hard! I dream of an Elieko oly bar...

Bodyweight at the gym - 218.5lbs
Workout Rating - 8.5/10
Workout time - 1.5 hours

warmup complex with 30lb bar, reverse hypers, back extensions and situp on swissball

Full Back Squats - in Oly Shoes - RAW


alternating sets with frontsquats
Warmups - Explosive - Barx5, 95x3, 135x3, 185x3, 225x3,
frontsquats - Explosive - Barx5, 95x5, 135x3, 185x2, 225x2, 255x2

About 78 to 87% of (1RM 385lbs + 85% Bodyweight)
Down controlled, Explode up
Rotation 1) 265lbs x 2 -> 0.8 sec concentric
Rotation 2) 285lbs x 2 -> 0.867, 0.933 sec concentrics
Rotation 3) 315lbs x 2 -> 1 , 1.063 concentrics
Rotation 4) 315lbs x 2 --> last rep much slower

No bands on squats this week, and they felt much lighter and faster than I recall! Bands always do that, you don't even need full range band tension and much of it. And maybe I am actually stronger? Would be cool to actually get stronger on the squat when I get under 200lbs, 20lbs of fat off me, should add 20lbs on the bar?
Still that's the fastest I've ever moved 315lbs, 81% of 1RM, and I did much more leadup stuff and 2nd workout of the day as well! I was moving 295lbs in 1 sec a few months back.

PowerClean + HighHang SquatClean Complex

warmups - some stuff with bar
110lbs - clean deadlift x2, Powerclean,
Powerclean + HighHang SquatClean - 110x2, 155x2, 165

Rotation 1) 185lbs
Rotation 2) 185lbs
Rotation 3) 185lbs

a bit better this week, also change my form a to a more "correct" way - pulled mid back together and locked it tight at the start, and curled wrists back towards body a bit. Seems to help the snap nicely, bar was flying up better than before.
I was cleaning with my future bodyweight


Cooldown, prehab and ISO stretches

Barbell Splitsquats - 95lbs x 10 each leg - tough!

Prehab Complex - no rest between each exerecise
1) Peterson steups on 6inch step - 2x30lb dumbells - 2x10
2) Single leg toe curls on lying leg curl machine - 1 plate 2x8
3) Seated calf raise - 40lbs 2x12 --> achilles was really bouncey, hope I don't stuff up its spring...

Low pulley split squat - left leg only - 35lbs x 12

Bulgarian splitsquat stretched ISO hold - BW x 1min
Seated Calf raise stretched ISO hold - 40lbs x 1min
RDL stretch ISO hold - bar x 30secs

layed over a swiss balll to stretch out the spinal erectors x 1min

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clip from today

Right click on clip and save to avoid errors

Explosive fullsquats - 265x2, 285x2, 315x2
http://www.members.optushome.com.au...ullSquat_explosive265_285_315x2_14April05.mpg

Clean complex with 185lbs
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/blitzforce/Movies/CCJ_CleanComplex_185_14April05.mpg

 

[d-dub]

Sounds like you are making some good progress in the fat loss effort - nice.
It looked like you had plenty of speed on those squats.

 

[coolcolj]

BTW those seated calf raise ISO holds for a minute worked a treat for improving my right ankle ROM to match my left's - I know you said before you had the same problem, so try em

useful for frontsquats I must say. It used to hurt like hell when I did a deep jump from the extreme stretch on it. Slowly but surely my turning my body back into a well oiled machine

 

[coolcolj]

cool guidelines from Kelly Baggett that sum it all up when training for performance

1. Get big and strong by lifting big weights
2. Make sure you can also move big weights fast
3. Do your sport specific stuff and make sure you can move your bodyweight with efficiency, and that your explosiveness and speed are commensurate with your level of strength.
4. If #3 is in check then pay more attention to #1.
5. If you suck at #3 then pay more attention to it specifically, as well as #2.


Watch them move mainly and then relate that to their strength levels. Tests of explosive strength will provide further insight. For example, a guy can have poor running mechanics, poor agility, poor deceleration abilities etc. due to either underdeveloped relative strength in the appropriate musculature or sufficient relative strength but inferior speed-strength function.

For the guy squatting 225 lbs with poor on-field performance it's obvious, get him stronger.

For the guy squatting double bodyweight it's usually going to be more of a lack of specific speed-strength function.

For the guy who you're not sure about watch how explosive he is moving loads and see how is strength-speed relates to his absolute strength. If he knows how to clean and snatch and speed squat, yet these lifts are way behind what you'd expect from his squatting numbers, then he probably needs more explosive work with light to medium loads and more specific on field work.

See how well he moves in absence of load too. You can assess his reactive ability using a rebound jump test for further insight as well as time split runs...compare his first 20 yards to his final 20 yards and see how he compares to others that you are sure about.