Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

Late night again and dog being a pain! Smacked him real good...he's gonna learn sooner or later...
Not as sore now, but hammies feel really hammered, especially the left side!
Probably should went for a walk yesterday and did some mobility work

weighed 95.5 kg 210.1lbs straight out of bed in underwear
Waist = 36.25 inches

Waist down again. Gradually leaning up. I can see that vein in the junction of the bicep/elbow start to peek up, and faintly see the bicep vein show on the left side. Funny how the left side of my body is leaner than my right, it always leans up first.
Bottom of rib cage starting to show from the side and when I lift my arms overhead, rib cage shape looks like that guy in the Bill Hartman shoulder article - scapular starting to fire properly now.
Also there is dent in the side of my glute, so it's contracting when I stand. I don't recall seeing that before when I had lower back tightness problems.
Only noticed that since I started doing hip mobility, flexibility and firing work. Goes hand in hand with fixing that issue - I had inhibited glutes from sitting on my ass for long periods of time.

what I ate yesterday -

1) small apple + protein drink
2) white peach + protein drink
3) small apple + protein drink
4) 4 yeast free rye toast + margarine, 4 hard boiled eggs, small amount of peas/corn
5) steak + small amount of broccoli/cauliflower/bean

 

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 20th February - Cycle 4 Get Lower Body Strong + Lean up - Week 1 - Day 2 - Upper Strength + Olys - Micro cycle 2

Pretty good workout, I wasn't expecting much with my ultra sore hammies, and crappy sleep but I had surprisingly good amount of energy, and felt snappy. Dynamic legs swings felt uncomfortable with my achey hams!
Fairly low volume, left the gym feeling good, not tired.
Did the powercleans and powerjerks on a whim and they felt good, smoked my cuffs and scapulars pretty good by then, no need for direct work there.

Body weight at gym - 213lbs
Workout time - 1.25 hours
Workout rating - 7/10

General warm up -

1) whole body dynamic stretches and swings
2) siting in bottom of narrow fullsquat x 30secs
3) standing side leg raise x 5
4) forward and back, hip swings x 15
5) side to side hip swings x 15
6) Prone Scorpion - x10 each leg alternating
7) Braced Scorpion under - x8 each leg alternating
8) hurdle over x 5 each direction and type
9) high glute dynamic stretch, until they lossened up
10) cross band walks with green jumpstretch band - x10, x 7 each direction

upper body stuff
1) some arm swings and mobility drills
2) single arm scapular pushup against wall, body at 45 degee angle x8 each side
3) Behind-the-Neck Band Pull-Aparts - green band held 3/4 length x 10
+ band dislocates with green band held full length x 10. For 2 sets
4) Over and under stretches, plus a set of 3 reach, roll and lifts


Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 1 to 2mins on warm ups and 3 mins between each exercise on work sets

stretched the side of neck and upper trap, a few times between the warmup sets


Bench

warm ups - 22 inch grip - bar x10, 95x10, paused 135x10, 14inch grip 135x10

shoulders tucked, elbows in, controlled, paused
Rotation 1) 185lbs x 5 - 22 inch grip
Rotation 2) 185lbs x 5 - 14 inch grip

its been a while, and probbaly won't be benching again for a while. I don't like the feeling of the pump you get from these...makes me feel tight...
185lb felt kinda hard. Wide grip benching finally pain free, but some slight discomfort in my left shoulder when the weights got heavier. 22 inch grip feels crappy actually, more pecs and lats. Doesn't even feel like a bench to me. 14 inch grip feels much better, more triceps but hits all the muscles in a more even way and it feels more stable. Like comparing a boxsquat to a fullsquat in a way


Chest Supported T-Bar Rows - medium overhand grip

warm ups - controlled + 2 sec hold at top on last rep - bar x 10, +25lbs x 8, +45x5, +70x4, +90x4, +115x3

elbows out, chin tucked - controlled , paused
Rotation 1) Bar + 135lbs x 3
Rotation 1) Bar + 115lbs x 6

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Power Cleans and Power Jerks - sneakers

a few overhead squats with a wooden staff, a few bodyweight reactive squats intop a jump and imaginery cleanpull jumps --> did these before each set as well

did overhead reach/roll/lift type lat stretch against the wall and pec stretch x 30 secs each inbetween each set

each powerjerk held overhead for a few seconds

hang power clean + 3 high hang powerclean + 3 powerjerks - bar
powerclean + 2 power jerks - 89lbs, 109, 119, 129

powerclean + power jerk - 155lbs x 2 with a 5 sec reset
powerclean + power jerk - 175lbs x 2 with a 15 sec reset
powerclean + power jerk - 195lbs x 1, rest 1.5mins, 195lbs x 1
powerclean - 195lbs x 2 with a reset

started crappy, since my lower body was starting to get cold by now but when I warmed up and the pump in my upper body went away and loosened up from the stretches, things felt good. Surprisngly snappy and explosive.
I haven't done any powerjerks in ages with anything over 40lbs, but yet form felt good. Every lift was right in the pocket and supported rock solid. Even with a bent bar and in sneakers! I didn't dip in any of the power jerks too.
Improved upper body mobility makes these feel so much better than before. All powerjerks done from an open handed clean rack, so it's all leg drive.
195lbs started to feel heavy across the chest, but core was solid.
Upper back, cuffs and scaps were smoked afterwards. Called it a day before I got too tired. I ahve to train lower body and jump again in 2 days time.

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Static stretches for lower body a few upper body ones.

 

[coolcolj]

Feel slightly sapped, but not drained. Probbaly did a powerclean set too many.
Whole upper body is pretty sore as expected, especially my shoulder girdle and front delts. Lower back has some DOMs too, I'm not sure what from though, chest supported rows, most probably. They always contract hard on em when I do that hold at the top. Body should be used to powercleans so it can't be that.
Hammies much less sore but still plenty of DOMS

weighed 95.5 kg 210.1lbs straight out of bed in underwear

not gonna bother recording what I eat anymore, it's the same week in week out just about. I'll probbaly end up eating like this long term anyway, just substute the protein powder for more real food over time when I get as lean as I want to.

 

[coolcolj]

Feeling ok. Still sore overall, but getting better. Hammies still achey, the left side more so. Good mornings will be fun....
Legs have a bit of that light springy feel though - didn't get much of that in the last training cycle.

weighed 95.3 kg 209.66lbs straight out of bed in underwear

 

[coolcolj]

I remeber Kelly Bagett saying he has long femurs with a 33 inch inseam

Q: I just finished reading the VJDB. I found the info on race and body type especially interesting. My question is this: By what standard/measurement do you qualify one as long limbed or not?

I've heard that one's wingspan is typically about the same as his height so I guess if you start to go above that then you're getting into "long arms" territory.

But what about legs? How long is one's inseam usually relative to height? I'm somewhere between 6'2" and 6'3" (not exactly sure), my wingspan is 77.5" and my inseam is 34.5".

A: It's all relative and their are no rules that I'm aware of. Do you have shorter limbs then most people or longer limbs? All you gotta do is observe. At 5'9 I have a 33 inch inseam so based on your height I'd say you don't have long limbs.

At around the same height as him my inseam is 32 inches, so my legs aren't that short, even though I do have pretty short arms! My wingspan is less than my height

In another life that would be real good for benching

 

[coolcolj]

actually if measured to bottom of ankle it's 30 inches, 32 to the floor

 

[coolcolj]

Thursday 22nd February - Cycle 4 Get Strong+Maintain Weight - Week 1 - Day 3 - Lower 2 Power/Assistance - Micro cycle 1

bodyweight down heaps, but jump not so good. So some fatigue there. Strength was decent though. Would have rated a 9 workout if I was jumping slightly higher.

Body weight at gym - 210lbs
Workout time - 1.45 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

General warm up -

15sec ISO holds - quarter squat, on toes, on heels (toes pulled up), hip back wide stance squat at parallel, on side of feet (for ankles), narrow full squat at bottom on toes

1) standing Side leg raise x 6 each side
2) dynamic stretches and swings, rocking on side of ankle etc
3) back extension x 5 + 6 twisting to each side
4) sit up complex on swiss ball
5) Prone Scorpion - x12 each leg alternating
6) Braced Scorpion under - x8 each leg alternating
7) "hurdle" over and unders x 5 each direction and each type
8) glute bridge x 8
9) various hops, prime times, running in the spot drills


Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 2-3mins

Jumps and Hops

Warm up - sets of 2-3 jumps going higher/harder each time

did these in between the warm up sets on squats from bar to 255lbs

a) Speed hops on a 3 inch step x 5 to start, later sets moved to a 9 inch step

rest 1min
a) standing Vertical jump,
b) one step VJ
c) running one leg jump
d) 3 step vertical jump

4 hard sets or so. Overall vertical jump was down 1.5 inches, at least on the one step jump. Standing jump seemed OK I think. Just didn't have the ommph in me today. Running one leg is feeling better and better. Lower leg and shins are coping pretty well with it, and my takeoff leg is a lot straighter now.

Power Cleans - in sneakers

did these after each set of jumps and before earlier sets on squats

Powerclean + 2 x mid thigh Hang Powerclean - bar, 89lbs, 119lbs 129lbs, 149lbs


Front Squat - clean grip - sneakers - no Belt

warm ups - controlled down, explosive up - Bar x 5, 95x3, 135x3, 185x3,

1) 225lbs x 3
2) 240lbs x 3 --> misloaded bar 225lbs + 15lbs on left side only....
3) 275lbs x 3
4) 295lbs x 2 --> NEW PR!!

Woo first time front squatting in ages, it's been at least year since I front squatted in any shape of form, and with anything over 225lbs.
And I bagged me a PR, legs felt good enough a tripled 295lbs, but my upper back was aching and starting to cave in. Everything above 240lbs really taxed my upper back, I could feel the small back muscles and scapular burning. These will be good for my shoulder health because of that.

And the cool thing is I did these in soggy flattish sneakers! Crappy bent bar, have a big red welt on the collar bone when the bent part dug into me. Stayed pretty upright too, felt smooth. Just goes to show how much better my hip and ankle mobility is now, thanks to all the work I have done there recently. 2 years ago I would have had to front squat in oly shoes and it still didn't really feel that comfortable even then. And no pressure on my wrists today unlike bacj then.
Figure my 1RM must be around 335lbs if my upper back could support it. 315x3, would be a logical goal. So I got some upper back strength weakness to work on before that can happen.

Video of all work sets. 225lbs looks easy, that's like speed weight for me.
240lbs was a bit of struggle setting due to the uneven load up as noted above. Was wondering why it felt so funny and hard
You can see the bar wobbling all over the place when I walked out 295lbs, upper back was having a hard time stabilising....
Right click on link and save first to avoid errors
http://www.members.optushome.com.au...ontSquatPR295x2_225x3_240x3_275x3_22Feb07.mpg

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Rotating Sets between each exercise

3 mins rest between each exercise

Good Mornings onto toes - high bar, sitting back enough for toes to come off the floor - 2 sec pause at bottom and hold at top - oly shoes - controlled - bar x 3, 95lbs x 3, 135lbs x 2,

185lbs 2x6

hard, but easier than last time. Will stay here some more

Reverse Lunge - vertical shins, medium wide stance, rear leg kept on the straighter side - 2 sec pause at bottom - oly shoes - alternating legs - BW x 3 each side, Bar x 3 each side, 95lbs x 3 each side, 135lbs x 2 each side,

explosive up
145lbs 2x4 each side

First set much easier, and stable. 2nd set harder and wobbly, knee would hit the floor on the way down, need to stay more controlled. Might go up 5lbs next time.

Toe curls on lying leg curl machine - 1 Plate x 6, 2 plates paused top and bottom 3x5 --> hard

Lat Machine situp - BW x 12 (progressively lower each rep with hold at bottom)
hold at middle and bottom on each rep - 25lbs x 3, 50lbs x 8 (+1 rep)

--
barbell sidebends x 8 each side

lower body, abs and lower back stretches

 

[coolcolj]

Tired, crap sleep, was really wired out. Sapped but not drained.
Overall achey feeling.

weighed 95 kg 209lbs straight out of bed in underwear
nice! Tanita scale spat out 26% BF down from 28.4% a month ago since I started dieting. It does flucuate a bit, but this is lowest reading so far.

Easiest diet I have done by far! Gonna pig out tonight though.

 

[coolcolj]

Good deep sleep, but had to get up early. Still kinda beat up.
Felt pretty strong and good energy at part time job though

weighed 95.5 kg 210.1lbs straight out of bed in underwear
Lots of carbs last night so holding more water

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I found these ratios

Front Squat: <- Expected front squat using 1.14 ratio to clean and jerk.
OL Back Squat: <- Expected using 71.92% of total
Power Snatch: <- Expected using 36.18% of total (80% of Snatch)
Power Clean: <- Expected using 45.72% of total (83% of C&J)

and I seem to fall inline with them fairly closely

I last powercleaned close to 240lbs, but probbaly could have done 250 on that if I went all out. Front squat is about 335lbs if my upper back can support the load I think.

So ratios say I should be able to -
total - 524lbs
snatch - 231lbs
Clean and Jerk 293lbs
Calculated Powerclean from that = 243lbs
Calculated Powersnatch from that = 185lbs

so from that
powerclean is 72% of frontsquat, 60% of backsquat
powersnatch is 55% of frontsquat, 45% of backsquat

all about where they should be assuming good form. Gonna have to drive up my frontsquat to 405lbs for bigger numbers in theory

And get my bodyweight down to 185lbs or less...

 

[coolcolj]

Still achey, IT band very sore when I walk down stairs

weighed 95.5 kg 210.1lbs straight out of bed in underwear
pigged out even more last night, so this is about maintenance for me.

skipped my upper body workout today. Didn't feel like training