Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

feel pretty sapped from yesterday - mild aches all over. Posterior chain is on fire - mostly glutes and upper hammies, calves, abs and upper back the next most sore

when your glutes are the most sore thing after a deadlift workout, you know things are going well as far as glute activation goes, and not using your lower back to do the work

 

[coolcolj]

Saturday 2nd February - Micro Cycle 6 - Week 1 - Day 2

Thought about going to the BBall court, but it was raining, and I thought to myself will this make me better the next time I jump - I figured no...so I headed to the gym. The Sun did come out after I finished...all the water dried up too - sucks - oh well

Had a bit of headache before heading to the gym and felt sleepy, and a bit tired from part-time this morning, but workout turned out well - jump is up, bodyweight is down, deadlift not bad, but squats felt terrible.
I'm finally getting the message, squats suck after maximal effort jumps, especially as my jump continues to go up!

finally under 200lbs at the gym!

Body weight at gym - 199lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

General warm up -

1 set each of my usual dynamic mobility exercises

Behind-the-Neck Band Pull-Aparts x 8 + band dislocates x 8.
with green jumpstretch band held 3/4 x 1 set, then 1/2 length x 1 set

lateral deep lunge x 8


Jumps


warmed up with 2 sets of 20secs rope skipping, low hops, low altitude drops, and easy running jumps

1) 15 max effort jumps did a variety of jumps - half of em running jumps in the boxing area

2) continuous jumps in place - 3 sets of 3


WOOT! Standing Vertical jump is finally up at the gym, I finally touched that high ceiling at the gym! Did it twice in a row, missed on a 3rd attempt later on, went to the fire exit and tried there, and couldn't touch that ceiling, later focused on keeping the weight and pressure on my big toes, dipped down super fast and nailed my finger through the fire exit ceiling! Went back and did the same on that high ceiling and touched it no probs again.

here is how it happened- I did a one step jump in that high ceiling area at first - there is a bit of structure that hides the ceiling from the general dumbell area where this gym instructor was standing. So he only saw my lower body, and said "that's a big jump"
I told him I haven't been able to touch this ceiling yet off a standing jump. Then I did a standing vertical jump and touched the ceiling, and told him I finally did it. Then he came over and I did it again, and he said "how on earth did you touch that?!"
He tried 4 times and only got within 6 inches off it. No hops
We compared reach height, and while I'm taller than him by 2 inches, his reach is 5-6 inches higher than mine - mofo!
I can out jump him by 11-12 inches though and he's way lighter and leaner than me

Running jumps felt explosive as well, got my elbow within 3-4 inches of the 8'10" ceiling in the boxing area. My elbow in that type of jump is about 3 inches below my head, so my head is reaching about 8'9" I guess. Getting to 9 feet will put my jump in the 40 inch area
Still mostly using my old style running jump, new style not getting as high or as fluid just yet.... hmmm maybe the old style isn't so bad, AUT (Air up There) does it the same way...stepping left-right into the jump...and he hits 46 inches...

continuous jumps in place improved again, height dropoff between each rep within a 3-4 inch bracket.

I haven't been pushing my squats too much - so it would seem jumps in place, explosive sumo deadlifts and recent single leg work is doing the biz on my jumping power, along with leaning up as well...
I'm 3lbs heavier compared to where I was before the layoff, a bit fatter, and a whole lot weaker on squats, I was cranking reps over 300lbs before, and yet I'm jumping higher now. Go figure, maybe squats after a certain level is overrated...and I'm doing no oly lifts right now, unlike before....
It's all in the GLUTES!!


Medium stance Full Squats - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - no Belt

warm ups - bodyweight x 8, 95lbs x4, 135lbs x 4, 185x4,

controlled down, paused, explode up - 4mins rest
1) 225lbs x 2
2) 205lbs x 3

felt horrible! Everything above 185lbs felt unstable, hard and uncomfortable as hell. Lower back felt "bad". When something doesn't uncomfortable there is no way you can apply max force. Slowly I'm switching out on squats...will keep them in for now, but light, as they help me warmup for sumo deadlifts....


Sumo Deadlift - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - doubled overhand hooked grip

Paused good morning onto toes - Bar x 3 + split leg good morning - Bar x 3 each side

explosive up, semi dropped down - 111lbs x 3, 155x3, 205x3, 243x3

4 mins rest
1) 293lbs x 3
2) 293lbs x 3


hard, but decent, felt semi-fast. Lower back was feeling it a bit, and my right hamstring was a bit gimpy, has been for a while now, sorta comes and goes.


Cool down, upper body and stretches

reverse hypers - BW x 15

scapular dip shrug - 10sec hold + 3 reps

back supported leg raise BWx3, 5 reps in a locked out dip position - sort like a gymnast doing a hold, though I'd kill 2 bird with one stone - working my scaps/serratus and abs/hip flexors etc
BW x 10

dip shrugs, I do em to help offset the upper trap useage in deadlifts, keep my shoulder girdle down etc

 

[coolcolj]

Feel ok, just a mild worked feeling. Not too sore, mostly in my calves, posterior chain and upper back as usual, but hammies and spinal erectors are more sore and glutes less so.

weighed 89.4kg 196.7lbs this morning, but waist still at 35 inches
BF% still at 15.6% according to this http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi/
My tanita scale read around 24% - I always remove 10% off that, which comes to 14% .
Has been hovering around the 23-25% range, down from 28-29% a few months ago.

 

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 5th February - Micro Cycle 6 - Week 2 - Day 1

Pretty average workout, crappy sleep last night doesn't help. Just didn't have the ommmphh. Jump is back down again, still not recovered from last workout.

Body weight at gym - 200lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 7/10

General warm up -

1 set each of my usual dynamic mobility exercises

Behind-the-Neck Band Pull-Aparts x 8 + band dislocates x 8.
with green jumpstretch band held 3/4 x 1 set, then 1/2 length x 1 set

lateral deep lunge x 8


Jumps


warmed up with 3 sets of 20secs rope skipping, low hops, low altitude drops, and easy running jumps

1) 15 max effort jumps did a variety of jumps - half of em running jumps in the boxing area

2) continuous jumps in place - 3 sets of 3


Vertical jump is back down again, and inch under the ceiling...
No major change in the continous jumps in place. Running and one step jumps not too bad.


Medium stance Full Squats - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - no Belt

warm ups - bodyweight x 8, 95lbs x4, 135lbs x 4, 185x4,

felt crappy, stopped it there



Sumo Deadlift - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - doubled overhand hooked grip

Paused good morning onto toes - Bar x 3 + split leg good morning - Bar x 3 each side

explosive up, semi dropped down - 111lbs x 3, 155x3, 205x3, 243x3

4 mins rest
1) 263lbs x 3
2) 263lbs x 3


felt fairly hard


Cool down, upper body and stretches

reverse hypers - BW x 15

bench dip shrug x 10

scapular dip shrug - 10sec hold + 3 reps, x12 reps with hold at top

Lat machine situp, toes pressed into floor, knees as far forward as I can get em - progressively getting lower each rep BW x 12, +15lbs x7 paused middle and bottom

Pushup plus - BW x 10

Lying on side L-Raise external rotation - with a hold - 2kg 2x8
Lying on back subscap rotation - 2kg x 8, 3kg x 8

single leg kneeling deadlift - 2 sec pause at bottom - BW x 10
single leg RDL - dumbell in opposite hand - 2 sec pause at bottom - 15lbs x 8

left leg is pretty stable on these single leg moves, right leg not so, might have something to do with my busted up and scar tissue filled right ankle...

 

[coolcolj]

Mild achey feeling all over. Feel like crap, tired, and a sapped feeling.
I usually get that light loose feeling in my body and legs around Friday, so I tend jump well on Saturday even after my part time job.

Hopefully it will be fine on Saturday so I can jump at the BBall courts. Has been raining everday for a week already!

 

[coolcolj]

Woohoo hit 89kg 195.8lbs clothed just before my first pig out meal today - getting back on the fatloss track. Waist should heading on down to 34 inches soon. About 88.5kg 194.7lbs naked then, that's around where I was before I plateaued before the layoff
Just in time for another jump PR this Saturday I hope

 

[coolcolj]

Saturday 9th February - Micro Cycle 6 - Week 2 - Day 2

Still raining, so no jumping at BBall court
But the sun decided to come out as I type this...
Been raining for almost 2 weeks straight! Next Tuesday, isn't looking good as well forecast wise....

Another average workout, but better than the last one, a little fresher. Felt sleepy/tired and I thought about having another meal and nap before heading to the gym, but decided not to, would have helped as I felt like a zombie at the gym

Jump is still down, even with a way lower bodyweight. No big deal, next week I drop all the weights and focus on jumping and power/reactive work to freshen up. Hopefully a new jump PR at the BBall courts next Saturday will show. Then next block I drop the frequency of weight work to once a week to keep the unloading going. And might separate the jumping from the weights.

If I can keep this weight drop going, and not have my strength levels nosedive, I'll be doing a few reps with double bodyweight on a few things - who knows I might be able to get my weight down to 160lbs, I'll be back to where I was in High school but with bigger legs/hips and leaner

Body weight at gym - 197lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 7.5/10

General warm up -

1 set each of my usual dynamic mobility exercises

Behind-the-Neck Band Pull-Aparts x 8
with green jumpstretch band held 3/4 x 1 set, then 1/2 length x 1 set

lateral deep lunge x 8


Jumps


warmed up with 3 sets of 20secs rope skipping, low hops, low altitude drops, and easy running jumps

1) 15 max effort jumps did a variety of jumps - mostly one step and standing jumps

Vertical jump still an 1+ inch down despite the bodyweight drop
Dropped the continuous jumps in place. The jumps were more for testing, no pop in my hops.


Medium stance Full Squats - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - no Belt

warm ups - bodyweight x 8, 95lbs x4, 135lbs x 4, 165x4, 195x3, 225x2

controlled down, paused, explode up
1) 255lbs x 3

smaller jumps on warmups, plus dropping the continuous jumps in place, made the squats feel much better. Still not great, but much better form and stability today. Those jumps really fatigue my core and CNS.


Sumo Deadlift - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - doubled overhand hooked grip

Paused good morning onto toes - Bar x 3 + split leg good morning - Bar x 3 each side

explosive up, semi dropped down - 4 mins rest between each set - 133lbs x 3, 177x3, 207x3, 243x3, 273x3, 303x3, 333x3

333lbs felt close to maximal and not that fast - around 1.3 secs for the first rep and 1.2 for the 2nd, slightly faster on the third. 303lbs was fairly quick


Video of 333lbs set - right click on link and save first to avoid errors
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/CCJ_SumoDeadlift_333x3_Explosive_9Feb08.mpg


Cool down, upper body and stretches

reverse hypers - BW x 15

bench dip shrug x 10

scapular dip shrug - 10sec hold + 3 reps, 2x12 reps with hold at top

1.5 mins rest between each side
single leg kneeling deadlift - 2 sec pause at bottom - BW x 5, 2x2kg dumbell x 8
single leg RDL - dumbell in opposite hand - 2 sec pause at bottom - bwx5, 2x4kg dumbell x 8
Right side much more stable today, maybe the dumbbells help

Lat machine situp, toes pressed into floor, knees as far forward as I can get em - progressively getting lower each rep BW x 12

 

[coolcolj]

Don't feel too bad today, mild sapped feeling and mild overall achey feeling, Mostly in my traps, posterior chain, calves and VMO. Might get more sore later in the day though.

weighed 89kg 195.8lbs this morning straight out of bed. Nice and I ate a lot of carbs last night

Waist is down half an inch to 34.5 inches as well since the last time I measured it a couple of weeks back.
Using http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi/ puts me at 14.7% bodyfat
My Tanita scale spits out around 24% bodyfat - I usually take off 10% off that so it's fairly close

I'm getting there.

 

[coolcolj]

I can tell my body is still recovering from the last workout, so I'll be resting till Saturday where I'll heard out to the BBall courts and test my hops

 

[coolcolj]

Joe Defranco posted a 4.16 sec 40 yard dash video on Youtube
I figured it was hand timed...

I put a timer on it....to get an "electronic" time
Well Well, I get about 4.5 sec on the 4.16 sec 40 yard dash video
It was hard to tell while flipping frames on the video editor where he crossed the line, but it's definitely over 4.4 from first motion...

right click and save first
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/4.16sec_40yard_dash.mpg