Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

The only 2 clips I managed to get before the battery went dead.

Right click on link and save first to avoid errors

first set of explosive military presses 135lbs x 2, done normally. Hear what that guy is saying at the end, as explained above

http://www.members.optushome.com.au...ilitaryPress_Explosive_set1_135x2_21Nov04.mpg

first set of the reflexive firing plyo pushups, max reps in 20secs, clip is cutoff when the battery went dead.

http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj3/Movies/CCJ_RFI_Pushups_Set1_30degrees_21Nov04.mpg

 

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 23rd November - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 17 - Day 2 - Lower 2 - Microcycle 4 - Workout 2

I didn't feel like I was gonna have a good workout, because I felt tired and had been walking for a bit shopping etc earlier. But it went better than I expected
I guess the lighter bodyweight helps as well, 97.5kg or 214.5lbs at home.

Bodyweight at gym - NA
Workout time - ?
Workout rating - 8/10

Warmup

Dynamic warmup at home, then some jumps and RFI hops. Worked up to a maximal Vertical Jump.

Tested it against the brickwall -
1) Best Jump - inch above a brick boundary with a mark --> can't remeber what I got last time, but I think it's about an 0.5 to 1 inch higher

2) Then depth Jump of 18inches - 1 inch lower than above, so an inch improvement since last time. reactivity improving

both jumps definitely felt much more springy

Then went to the park 2mins from home - some Jumps, practised the RFI hops, and some short sprints increasing in speed.

Rotating between each exercise - 2 to 2.5mins rest between each

Vertical Jump

I found a spot on the roof support that I can barely reach on a jump to use as a baseline for measuring fatigue

Rotation 1) Touched easily
Rotation 2) Touched
Rotation 3) took 3 attempts to touch, barely skimming it
Rotation 4) 1 to 1.5 inches below

Big dropoff that's for sure!


Depth Jumps

Rotation 1) 18 inches x 5
Rotation 2) 18 inches x 5
Rotation 3) 18 inches x 5 --> last rep was very tired

Sets of 5 is too much for me, will drop back to 3 or 4. I was barely jumping by the last rep.


Reflexive Firing 2 legged Hops on a 6 inch step in 20seconds

Rotation 1) stuffed up the timer, prerssed wrong button...
Rotation 2) 33 hops in 20secs --> matches PR, felt slow
Rotation 3) 31 hops in 20secs --> hard

wasn't smooth today

Maximum Speed Sprints on toes - width of park

From standing start - with stopwatch
Rotation 1) 13.94 secs New PR!! -0.34 secs
Rotation 2) 13.78 secs New PR!! -0.5 secs
Rotation 3) 14+ secs

Huge progress from 1.5 weeks ago! I guess partly because I am lighter, but dang that's a big jump. The lower body work i did helps, but I suspect the upperbody work is a factor too. Was getting a nice bounce on each step, and I don't really feel all that tired after each run.

On the first run, I felt like I wasn't running hard enough, and I tried to push a bit toward the end, but it still felt pretty easy. 2nd run felt smooth, I just let it flow, and it felt good. I even started a fraction after starting the stopwatch and even stumbled slightly on a small pothole on the park. But damn that's a big decrease! Unfortunately I wasn't expecting to run any faster on the 2nd run, and didn't film it, but I have the first one on tape
The 3rd run felt slower, but I stopped the stopwatch at the wrong time, so the time wasn't accurate.
Surprised someone as fat and heavy as me, over 15% bodyfat, will soon be cracking into the 12s hopefully, and then into the 11s when I lean right up

 

[coolcolj]

Clip from today

Right click on link and save first to avoid errors

Only got the 13.92 sec sprint run, missed the 13.78 run
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj3/Movies/CCJ_SprintPR_13.94secs_23Nov04.mpg

 

[d-dub]

very nice on the speed pr's.

whats the vert at the moment with the recent added height? must be high 30's?

 

[coolcolj]

very nice on the speed pr's.

whats the vert at the moment with the recent added height? must be high 30's?

thanks, but MEH not quite that high yet, I think it's in the lower 30s, remeber I'm a lot fatter and heavier than I used to be

But once the lard comes off and some more reactivty and power I will make a date with 40 inches

Weighed 97kg today 213.5lbs, it coming down! I think I can hit 195lbs without losing muscle, we will see. Who knows how fast I'll run then....

 

[coolcolj]

Thursday 25th November - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 17 - Day 3 - Upper 1 - Microcycle 4 - workout 3

My legs were achey and I felt slightly tired, plus blood sugar level was starting to sag down. But I turned out to be a pretty good workout.
Lightest bodyweight at the gym in a while too, 218.5lbs
Had to rush the later sets as someone was waiting to use the powerrack, resting only a min between each set, but this didn't seem to curb the volume too much as far as I can tell

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

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1min on warmup sets and then 1.5 to 2 mins between each exercise. Later sets were with 1min.

14 inch Grip bench - no arch or leg drive

2nd set of each weight done faster
Warmups - Bar 2x10, 95lbs x8, x5, 135lbs x5, x3, 185 2x3, 225x3, 255x1

Rotation 1) 285lbs x 2 New PR!! +10lbs

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 2) 270lbs x 2.5 --> went to failure
Rotation 3) 270lbs x 2
Rotation 4) 270lbs x 1 --> misgrooved, dumped then 270x2
Rotation 5) 270lbs x 2
Rotation 6) 270lbs x 1.5

Felt fairly strong during the warmups so was confident I would PR, and I wasn't dissappointed. 285lbs the last time I did it was a long slow grind for a single. Today the first rep flew up, 2nd rep was going up pretty easily too, and then for some reason, I hit a wall. Either I misgrooved or I lost concentration and drive due to my blood sugar levels, I'm not sure. But I got stuck 3/4 of the way up, and had to really grit it out for a few seconds to finally lock it out!

I went to failure on the 2nd set to see how many reps I could do, only did 2.5 reps, so every set after that was near failure, but yet I still had the work capacity to do 6 total sets. I don't know of any other training system that can develop that ability.

Curved bar was causing all kinds of issues...
I went off the groove on the 4th set, so I had to dump it, strip and reload the bar, and then redo it. Next week 295x2 maybe

45 degree supported T-Bar row - wide palms up grip

warmups - Barx10, 25lbs x5, 45lbs x5, 70lbs 2x5, 90x5, 115x3, 135x2, 150x1

assuming bar weighs 20lbs
Rotation 1) Bar+170lbs x 3 New PR +10lbs

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 2) Bar+160lbs x 3
Rotation 3) Bar+160lbs x 3
Rotation 4) Bar+160lbs x 3
Rotation 5) Bar+160lbs x 3
Rotation 6) Bar+160lbs x 2.5

Next session 4 plates


Reactive Standing Dumbell Curls

Warmups - explosive - 4kg x5, 5kg x5, 15lbs x5, 20x3, 25x3

Done reactively - explode up divebomb down, reversed just before full extension
Rotation 1) 30lbs x 3
Rotation 2) 30lbs x 3
Rotation 3) 30lbs x 3
Rotation 4) 30lbs x 3
Rotation 5) 30lbs x 3 --> harder

feeling a bit light, will go up next session

Reactive Accleration Rope Pulley Tricep Pressdowns

Warmups - 15kg 2x5, 20kg x3, 25kg x3, 30kgx3

Done reactively - explode down throwing plates as high as I can and letting the plates free fall down

Rotation 1) 35kg x 3 --> too heavy
Rotation 2) 30kg x 3
Rotation 3) 30kg x 3
Rotation 4) 30kg x 3 --> slower and harder, not as high


Cuff Stuff and ISO Stretches - EQI

Dumbell Elbow supported Cuban Rotations

warmups 4kg x8, 15lbs x6

1.5 mins rest
22lbs x10,
15lbs x (6+20sec ISO at 90 degrees) x 2sets

Hmm the ISO of the first with 15lbs, made the regular reps of the next set felt really light and springy. Will have to make use of that static/dynamic effect in the future
Although I only notice it in some exercise, and not in others.
ISO, gave the forearms and wrist a hefty workout as well

Tricep Dip Forward leaning Leg supported Stretched ISO hold
BW x 1min

Free Motion High Pulley 2 handed Lat Stretched ISO hold
120lbs x 1min

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff

 

[coolcolj]

Clip from today

Right click on link and save first to avoid errors

14inch Grip Bench PR - 285lbs x2, plus 3rd and 5th sets with 270lbs
http://www.members.optushome.com.au...4inchGripBenchPR_285x2_Sets270lbs_25Nov04.mpg

 

[coolcolj]

Interesting thing I noticed about the benches is that I now push the bar directly up rather than slightly back towards my head. Which I think is what is causing me to stick towards the top. Not sure why the change in groove though...becuase I think I'm much stronger pushing it back towards my head. You can see that when I got stuck on the 5th set, I got it going up again when I pushed it slightly back towards my head.

 

[d-dub]

I think shifting the weight back towards the your head will bring more triceps into the bench more, eliminating the front delts a little.

 

[coolcolj]

I dug up these Jay Schroeder tips again - It's all starting to make sense to me now


--



"To prepare for a training session, get up early enough to allow your core temperature to rise to where it needs to be to allow the body to start functioning normally. As you approach your gym or work out facility, your blood pressure, respiration and heart rate should begin to increase. If these things don’t happen just turn around and go home. You got to be excited about going into the facility. You have to be stimulated in order to create adaptation. The whole idea is to come in to stress your body, to stimulate and adapt it in whatever manner you have chosen. Not in any manner that happens, but in a manner you have chosen."


"Today, everyone wants to run faster, but nobody is working on relaxing and contracting specific muscles at the same rate at the same time for the same amount of time. They don't work on that. They do running drills. They do jumping drills. They lift weights that are associated with a sprinter and 1 in 1000 people, no matter what they do, are going to come out good. What about the other 999? That is what we work on here."


"I don’t have sport-specific programs. We train for human movement. Anybody can learn a skill. A skill is easy to learn, but what people don’t have is the ability to physiologically do it to the way it is meant to be done. I have two young swimmers and a volleyball player who train right alongside my NFL guys and there are getting as good of improvement in there sport as my NFL guys are getting in their sport. Now are they going to go play NFL football, no, but they are going to have the same physiological capabilities. And that is what we all want."


"Most of the high school and college athletes I get have no clue what position is and they have no clue what their body should be looking like when they are running. They do running drills and they do all the things that Joe Expert sprint coach says, but unless they are physiologically capable of getting in the correct positions, holding those positions, making the right muscles contract at the right time and being capable of relaxing antagonistic muscle groups at the right time, it doesn’t matter how many drills they do, how much weight they lift or how strong they are, none of that matters."


"We don't run for any conditioning. We do no running in our programs. No, running at all. I had one athlete in 11 weeks gain 31 lbs. increasing from 232 lbs. to 263 lbs. and drop his forty-time by (.25) two-and-a-half tenths of a seconds. But, we don't run."


Coach Schroeder's Training Philosophy

"The will to prepare for success is more important than the will for success. We base everything on absorbing force and absorbing loads in the right position. Every single athlete has the same philosophy as the base for their program. If an athlete is not able to get in the right position, we have to first train that. If an athlete is not able to hold that position, we have to first train that. There is an entire evaluation that we go through where we monitor how much force can be absorbed. I videotape everything and I calculate the amount of force an athlete can absorb, the position the athlete is in at that point and where the athlete breaks down. Then, I set up the individual program accordingly."


"Don't play sports so early. Be an athlete first. It doesn't matter if you are any good in junior high or high school. With the way scholarships are today and all the Universities, it doesn't matter where you go anymore. You can go NAIA or Division II and the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL are all going to find you. Prepare to be an athlete above all and prepare to have a long career. Get everything you can genetically and do not specialize early."


"I support lifting in the sense that you are preparing your body to be athletic. Don't just lift weights to get strong and big. Lift weights to prepare connective tissue and stimulate the nervous system so that the correct hormonal and enzymatic responses happen at the right time. Lift weights with a purpose. Anybody can get strong and big, that’s easy. But, not everybody that lifts weights is good on an athletic field. That’s what you want to do."