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Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

I'm resting till Tuesday :)

Upper back and spinal erectors still pretty sore. Rest of body is somewhat sore as well. Bodyweight has gone back up again - guess I must have added some more muscle from the high volume fatigue sessions...
 
Most of the soreness is gone now, except in my spinal erectors, still some light to moderate soreness. Not feeling light, springy and fresh just yet.
Starting a new microcycle tommorrow

My posture does look better as a result of me pulling my shoulders back and locking it tight in the deadlifts on the later sets :)
 
Tuesday 1st January - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 28 - Day 1 - Upper 1 - Microcycle 7 - workout 1

Crappy workout. Was kinda hard, as eccentric work usually is, but at the end I felt like I hardly did anything energy wise, but definitely a lot of muscle damage today!

Heaviest bodyweight ever in my life! Man it seems I can't seem to get stronger and increase power without gaining too much muscle mass! I hate it, the way I feel, too bulky and right now my ROM is pretty bad. I can't even scratch the middle of my back or soap it without using a wall for leverage. I am so tempted to starve myself and strip a lot of fat and muscle to get back down to 180lbs or so, but I know I will lose a lot of strength...sigh...

Bodyweight at gym - 225lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 6/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1min on warmup sets and then 2-3 mins between each exercise, alternating betwen one bench and back set

14 inch Grip bench - no arch or leg drive

Warmups - Bar x 10, Bunch of reps with slow eccentrics 95, 135, 185, 225x4, 255x1, 275x1

Eccentric only, lowered as slow as possible
Rotation 1) 325lbs x 4 secs

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff (off 315lbs)
Rotation 2) 295lbs x 4 secs
Rotation 3) 295lbs x 2.66 secs

I did too much stuff during the warmups, definitely fatigued me a lot, I barely got 275 up during the warmups! 325lbs came of the rack easy enough, but once I got near 3/4 of the way down, I felt like I was just a passenger. Although I still lowered it under control fairly slowly in 4 secs, but was expecting to go for 8secs. So I based the dropoff of 315lbs, but even then I only got 4 secs with 295lbs. I should have stopped there as 295lb off the rack felt pretty heavy, and that meant I had done over 10% fatigue dropoff from 325lbs with the 3rd set!


Chins - 12inch grip

warmups - pulldown version - 30kg x12, 40kg x 6, 55kg x 4, Eccentric chins - BW x 2, +10lbs x 1, +50lbs x 1

Eccentric only, lowered as slow as possible
Rotation 1) BW (225lbs) + 75lbs x 12 secs
Rotation 2) BW + 75lbs x 9 secs
Rotation 3) BW + 75lbs x 5 secs

75lbs was too light, underestimated my strength, so I stayed at the same weight. Will go up to 90lbs next session


Seated Pulley Rows - close V Grip

warmups - one armed eccentrics each side - 30kg x2, 40x2, 55x1

Pulled up with 2 arms, Eccentric only with one arm, lowered as slow as possible. Left first
Rotation 1) 60kg x 10 secs
Rotation 2) 60kg x 6 secs

A touch too light


Cuff Stuff and ISO Stretches - EQI

rotating between both - 2mins

30 degree, face down bent over laterals
warmup - 3kg x8, 5kg x5

controlled
1) 15lbs x 15
2) 15lbs x 12

Dumbell Elbow supported Cuban Rotations

warmups 4kg x8, 15lbs x5, 25x3

no rest between each side
1) 35lbs x 4 sec eccentric
2) 20lbs x 5 -> paused at 90 degrees on the way and down
3) 15lbs x 15

-----

Narrow grip Chin pulldown Lat Stretched ISO hold
50kg x 45 secs

Pushup/Dip Stretched ISO hold - Knees on floor
BW x 45 secs

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff
 
Light upper body soreness, will probbaly get worse as the day goes on.
Did some isometric work for the front part of the neck at home after my workout - just for muscle balance and posture reasons.

20min walk late at night yesterday, last quarter up a moderate incline - will start to up the frequency of walks for fat, fitness and health reasons ;)

Raining quite a bit now - hope it dries up for tommorrow's sprint session or else I'm, gonna be shafted!
 
hey, CCJ, those safeties look like they are a little too low for you (though any higher would not allow you your full ROM). a lot like my rack, the safeties are about 1" too low, and 1" too high.

anyway, that looked like it hurt (the bottom of the eccentric bench)
 
I'm just too fat :)

No, it didn't hurt, I lust let the air out at the bottom and the bar hits the pins, but it depends on which bench I use. Some benches seem a bit lower

-----------------------------------------------
Someone asked what my fat % is - so I replied

well compared to a normal person I'm not fat I guess, well not obese. But compared to myself years back and speed/power athletes in general I am pretty fat.

I have a 39inch waist at around 220lbs, I had a waist as small as 29 inches many years ago at 155lbs, and 32inches at 192lbs 2 years ago!
Ok some of it is due to spinal erector and ab growth. But ideally my waist should be at no more than 32 inches. That means I have some 20lbs of excess blubber to shed.

I don't tend to look as fat as I actually am, due to my small bone structure, frame and even fat distribution. I hide my bodyfat well :)

But I'm around 20% bodyfat at a guess. So the potential for huge gains in jumping and sprinting is there for the taking

20lbs is a lot of weight, hell just holding 5lbs drops my jump 2 inches as is! I'd like to think I'd gain another 8 inches on my jump if I lost 20lbs
If i could get down to 180lbs and maintain my current power levels, holy crap 40+ inch VJ is there for the taking and maybe even a mid 10sec 100m sprint time!!!! Would be nice....

right now I eat mostly meat and veges, except at breakfast, after training. But my metabolism is really slow, I need to up my metabolic rate without killing myself, so walking will help.
 
Theres probably a few people out there who would like your problem of packing on muscle :D

Im on the other end of the metabolism spectrum, so dont really have anything to offer. What works for me will be very different for you. Whats your total kcal count for an average day? just curious...
 
well if they started to do more explosive/power work then that might have the same problem ;)


I don't know, never count it....


excerpt from an article by Brad Nutall

The Performance Loop

Hypertrophy-> Strength-> Power-> Hypertrophy

If you remember nothing else remember this: Strength roots Power roots Hypertrophy. It's a continuous loop so you can pick up wherever you need; Power roots Hypertrophy roots Strength, or Hypertrophy roots Strength roots Power. If your strength and hypertrophy work aren't getting you bigger then switch over to a power template until you can no longer push up your power numbers. Not only will this help increase your muscle mass, but it will allow you to catapult your muscle mass gains once you start using DUR methodics again. If you are having trouble getting faster or more powerful then get away from the RATE and MAG work for a while and focus on DUR work. The muscle hypertrophy you gain will help you achieve new speed and power development when returning back to a power template. Lastly, if your strength advancements have dried out and you've been spending considerable time using absolute-strength methodics then go back to your roots and build up your speed-strength and strength-speed abilities so you can receive the greatest training effect from your subsequent or concurrent strength-endurance work. This will result in tremendous potential to develop absolute-strength (DFM = MAG + DUR), which a few weeks of going back to a strength template will allow you to unleash!

Closing Remarks

Ever wonder why some athletes grow faster, gain strength quicker, or increase their speed and power better than other athletes on the same program? Now that you've read this article you should have a decent idea of why this happens, but let's take a few final examples to make sure. I've noticed that the majority of bodybuilders who think they've peaked their development have neglected MAG and RATE work for too long. A RATE and MAG training block will give them more performance potential. A sprinter or Olympic lifter, on the other hand, can virtually train two weeks like Ronnie Coleman and turn into one big stretch mark. Want another insider? Athletes hitting a ceiling with their speed and power development need to dump the MAG and RATE work and start re-building the foundation to their goals: muscle size and strength. Still not getting it? Maybe this one will help: Some powerlifters need to use more RATE and MAG work for a while, switch over to a hypertrophy template and then go back to a strength template if they want to slingshot their performance.

It doesn't matter what your training objective is, the same performance cycle is relevant. You still have to get more powerful to get bigger to get stronger to get more powerful so that you can get bigger- 'round and 'round you go. Have fun!
 
Col,
I hear you bro, I've been yo yo-ing my bodyweight down for a while now and its getting there slowly, but final year of uni is slowing things down. The bottom line....you need to work hard and put some effort in. My sincere advice to you is to get to fat loss NOW.
I embarked on it purely because it was impeding my performance, causing injury and ultimately keeping in me in the dreaded ranks of mediocrity. If you make a concerted effort to shed some fat, it WILL improve your performance, as you yourself pointed out. The psychological high alone will get any resulting strength losses/deficits back up in no time (as well as recuping strength via muscle/cns memory).

You're getting too hung up on not slowing your PR momentum, I don't think it will, all you need to do is add in more low intensity cardio, very mild calisthenic , empty light bar movements, nothing taxing, but twice a day on non training days (empty stomach, regardless of the negteives it won't be too muscle wasting) and just before bed for up to 30 mins. It is very easy, and shouldn't impair your fast twitch development too much, if you think it does, then remind yourself of the bigger picture.

Do this for a month and you should be at least under 210, provided your diet isn't too shabby (as much protein as you can afford and so much water that you gf refers to you as Henry Pissinger)

I don't mean to criticise but you've been on 'Get Lean' for several months and you're currently at your heaviest bw with, by your own admission a not so lean physique.
 
Well I do have a physically tiring part time job as well, so I can't really get too crazy or else everything will fall apart recovery wise. Right now I'm on a delicate balance :)

It's taken me ages to balance all this stuff so I can make gains, I don't reallly get as much sleep as I'd like, so that makes things a bit tighter too.
 
Upper body didn't get that sore yesterday, but I felt pretty crappy in the afternoon. Guess I overdid the eccentrics on bench.

Went for a 20min walk in the morning yesterday. Did some Mini band work later at night - one set of 15, partial ROM, light tension - face pulls, closegrip rows, cuban rotations, and rear delt laterals - felt good
bands rock, but these are a bit too heavy to use full ROM, might go buy some Thera bands which are much lighter - made for women ;)
 
Thanks for that post ccj. I am back to building a base of strength and size, otherwise i am wasting my time on speed-strength without the base.

On fatloss, maybe its worth tracking everything acurately to see exactly what you are eating per day. I find it easy after ive done this because i eat a lot of the same foods. boring but it works for me. :)
 
Thursday 3rd January - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 28 - Day 2 - Lower 1 - Microcycle 7 - Workout 1

Been 2 weeks since I have sprinted, but still made progress. Didn't feel all that great today, but work capacity is finally up, did 4 rotations vs the normal 3, which should me get leaner :)
Left my water at home - grrr, training when you thristy isn't fun, but it was very cold today for a summer day! So I didn't sweat much.

Hurt my left pec though doing the med ball throws! :(
That's what you get for doing explosive work that involves the upper body 2 days after a heavy eccentric bench workout! I should have known better...

Bodyweight at home - 220lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours in total
Workout rating - 6/10

Warmup

Dynamic warmup at home, then some jumps and RFI hops. Worked up to 5 maximal vertical jumps and 3 standing long jumps.

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 - 2.5 mins rest between each


Jumps and 12lb Overhead MedBall Jump Throws

Rotation 1) 1 vertical jump + 12lb medball x 3
Rotation 2) 2 vertical jump + 12lb medball x 3
Rotation 3) 2 vertical jump + 3 single Leg 2 step jumps
Rotation 4) 3 vertical jumps

I started with med ball throws, but on the firsts et, I pulled my left pec! Feels like my pec minor, perhaps it didn't release the tension properly due to all the strength/strain work I have been doing, like the eccentric benches 2 days ago... Didn't hurt as bad on the 2nd set, but it still bothered me, so I dropped em. Ouch, hope my pec heals before the next upper body workout in 3 days time!

VJ is marginally up if that, time to get back on altitude drops me thinks.
I'm jumping and landing off the balls of my feet now for some reason. And my legs kick up behind me like I'm doing a leg curl...maybe I'm hammie dominant in my jumping?
One legged jumps were way below my best! And made my left shin achey again...


Half Squat Reflexive Firing 2 legged side to side Hops

Rotation 1) 12 cycles in 10secs --> messy
Rotation 2) 16.5 cycles in 10secs
Rotation 3) 17.5 cycles in 10secs
Rotation 4) 18 cycles in 10secs

The stance is similar to a very deep jump position, just above parallel on balls of feet. Killer burn, almost dieing around the 8sec mark!
I was getting faster and smoother each set, but right ankle/tendons started to ache a bit at the end of the 4th set


Maximum Speed Sprints - width of park, about 105+ metres

From standing start - with stopwatch
Rotation 1) 12.69 secs
Rotation 2) 13.28 secs
Rotation 3) 12.41 secs New PR!! -0.12 secs
Rotation 4) 12.63 secs

I didn't feel all that fast today, and form felt really clumsy, not relaxed I kept stubbing my feet into the grass at max velocity, maybe I'm overstriding I dunno. Hips felt low. The pulled left pec didn't help things either, made me tighten up.

Must be a timing error on the 2nd run, because that's when I'm at my fastest, and it felt faster than the 3rd run which was a PR at 12.41 . Maybe I did actually run a 12.3 on the 2nd run...
Oh well, at least now the last run is under 13 secs, and only a tenth slower than my fastest last time. Next goal is to get all my runs under 12 secs :)

Shins and ankles started to ache towards the end of the 3rd run, and more so in the 4th, where the the right upper outter calf tendon started to ache as well. But its getting better each session. Calf strength and force absorbtion still needs more work.

Something else I noticed - when I jog in sneakers, my feet turn outwards on the recovery phase of each step. Not so when I jog in spikes on the balls of my feet. I guess I need more reactive GHR work for the hammies, but then they seem to be dominant in my jumping... ahhh what to do?
 
Fixed the link for the sprint vid above


Hmmm, I actually feel better today than when a few days back after my heavy eccentric bench session....go figure!
Waking pulse is up 6 beats as it normally does after a sprint session, but I don't really feel drained at all.
Outer part of my calves are sore, and my right ankle feels as well. Very mild aches in my posterior chain. Don't really get all that sore anymore from sprints in my hammies and erectors.

Left pec not too sore, so it doesn't seem to be serious - might do some stuff for it

20min walk today
Miniband work - one set of 15, partial ROM, light tension - closegrip rows, face pulls, LFlyes, cuban rotations, subscap rotations, rear delt laterals and forward neck curls
2x30sec ISO holds for front of neck - lie in bed, with head over the edge
 
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Sunday 6th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean + Maintain Strength - Week 29 - Day 1 - Upper 2 - Microcycle 7 - workout 2

Decent workout, much better than I expected given how tired I felt in the morning, but a 1hour nap did the trick.
Fairly low intensity workout to unload from the heavy eccentrics last time, and to work on starting strength. Even then it was pretty tiring in a high rep way. Every exercise fried the heck out of my forearms!!! Right now I feel like Popeye :)
I did a lot of warmups, but they were everywhere so I didn't bother recording em. Trying to find the correct loads was tough

Bodyweight at gym - 223.5lbs
Workout time - 1.25 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

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


25 degree Dumbell Decline Bench - palms facing, arms by side

3 sec pause at the bottom, explode up
Rotation 1) 90lbs x 11
Rotation 2) 90lbs x 7

90lbs was too light, I was aiming for 6-8 reps. Should have used 100lb dumbells. First set was almost a minute long, just about aerobic :)
It was near death experience trying to get the dumbells into place though!!! Especially on the 2nd set where my grip and arms were shot!
My left arm could barely hold the dumbell on the 2nd set and I almost dropped towards the end of the set. Forearms were worked hard which surprised me.


Single arm dumbell Rows - Palms facing grip

3 sec pause at the bottom, explode up
Rotation 1) 90lbs x 10 right, 95lbs x 9 left
Rotation 2) 95lbs x 10 right, 95lbs x 8 left --> paused on floor

Again too light should have used 100lb dumbells. I went heavier on the left side. On the first set I paused with the dumbells in my hand off the ground, ouch my forearms screamed! Left hand grip was the limiting factor, so I started to pause on the floor from rep 7 onwards, and on the 2nd set for both sides

Decline Tricep Extensions - palms facing grip

2 reps on one side, while the other side is ISO held at parallel, then swap over
and repeat to failure. Left side first

Rotation 1) 40lbs x 8
Rotation 2) 30lbs x 8 ---> misload should have used 35lb dumbells


Standing Dumbell Curls

2 reps on one side, while the other side is ISO held at parallel, then swap over
and repeat to failure. Left side first

Rotation 1) 30lbs x 8.5
Rotation 2) 25lbs x 8.5

up from 25lb dumbells the last time I did em like this

Bent over Laterals

Warmups - 5kg x5, 15lbs x5

2 reps on one side, while the other side is ISO held at parallel, then swap over
and repeat to failure. Left side first

Rotation 1) 5kg x 12 --> not to faliure
Rotation 2) 7kg x 9

first set too light. Didn't work too well for tehse like this, lever arm is too long. Should have done face pulls instead


Cooldown and Cuffs


Cuff complex - no rest between each exercise/side

rest - 2min between each complex
One Arm low pulley Face Pulls - 15lbs x10, 20x10
One Arm low pulley L-Flyes - 15lbs x12, 20x5

Free Motion High Pulley 2 handed Lat Stretched ISO hold
100lbs x 1min

Pushup/Dip Stretched ISO hold - Knees on floor
BW x 45secs

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff
 
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Just did a 20min walk. Turns out the walks I have been doing lately have only been 13min...no wonder I haven't been seeing any results like I have had in the past! That 7 mins makes a big difference, certainly can feel it now.
I'll keep at 20mins 3-4 times a week for now, last third up a moderate slope. And then up it to 30 mins later on with a longer slope.

On the whole the sprinting hasn't been doing much for me. I know walking leans me up in the past, when I do it properly.
 
Posterior chain is sore from the 20min walk yesterday. And upper body is still a bit sore from the last workout, and from me doing a new exercise. Its a bit like walking on you hands and knees, forwards and backwards, side to side. I like what it does for my shoulder stability, hips/groin, and kinda massages the knees too - although maybe not a good thing?
Did a few series of walks with that.

Lower body workout today should be ok to do though - CNS is in OK shape
 
Tuesday 8th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 29 - Day 2 - Lower 2 - Microcycle 7 - workout 2

Good workout, which surprised me a bit. Vertical Jump seems to be not as snappy as I recall, and landing kinda deeper than before...
Been over 1.5 years since I have used my bands, thought it was a good time to get back into em :)
I looked skinny in the gym today, but yet I weighed 224lbs...

Bodyweight at the gym - 224lbs
Workout Rating - 8/10
Workout time - ?

Warmup

1) Reverse hypers - BWx8
2) Twisting Back Extensions - BWx5 normal, and 4 twisted to each alternating sides.
3) Incline situps x1 held with 5 twists each way + 5 with Russian twists to each side at the top - arms held outstretched
4) Ankle Hops - 3x15
5) Some altitude drops off 6 inches

6) Olys - did one of each in between the warmup sets of the rest of the exercises

A few sets of stuff with the bar
PowerClean + MidThigh Hang PowerClean + HighHang SquatClean - 89lbs, 119lbs, 155lbs, 175lbs
PowerClean + MidThigh Hang PowerClean - 175lbs
MidThigh Hang PowerClean - 175lbs

MT Hang Powercleans much easier now. Focused on "jumping" more today rather than using back

7) Farmers walk with two 75lb dumbells to and from powerrack :)
pretty tiring...

8) some vertical jumps - quite a few, and one before each set of Reactive Squats to measure fatigue, once it drops an inch+ I stop everything


Rotating between each exercise

rest - 30secs to 1 min for warmups. 2 mins between each exercise after warmups.

Backward Semi Stiff-Legged Altitude Drops

Landing with heels off the floor and exploding into calf jump
Rotation 1) 12 inches x 5 --> left shin a slight twinge
Rotation 2) 12 inches x 5 --> drop and absorb only

On the first set I jumped upon landing on the floor, just using the calves and my left shin had some aches in it. But yet when I just drop down, its fine. Something about reacting after the drop that tweaks something, same deal as in my one legged jumps


Overspeed (LightBands) DiveBomb Back Squats - in Oly Shoes - RAW

Using Light bands, cinched around a 75lb dumbell, just in the top third adding about 40-50lbs resistance to slingshot down the bar

Warmup sets - divebombed down BWx5, Barx8, 95x5, 135x5, with bands 95x5, 135x3, 185x3, 225x3

about 75% of (85%BW+1RM) - dive bomb down, braked just before bottom, pushing floor away explosively up
Rotation 1) Light Bands + 245lbs x 3
Rotation 2) Light Bands + 245lbs x 3

Damn do the bands add a lot extra downward speed/force, even just at the top third only! My upper hams and glutes were working overtime trying to brake the bar - gonna be sore tomorrow!
First set 0.63 to 0.75 eccentric speeds, 0.7 to 0.8 concentric times. On 2nd set all eccentrics in 0.6secs, but concentrics at 0.8 secs


Overspeed (LightBands) Reactive Squat - in Oly Shoes

same band setup as above

about 55% of (85%BW+1RM) - Relax and Drop down, pull feet up a bit, and then brake hard and explode up
Rotation 1) Light Bands + 135lbs x 3
Rotation 2) Light Bands + 135lbs x 3

These went down even faster due to the fact my feet leave the ground.
A lot harder than without bands. About 1 sec per rep


Reactive GHR - on incline situp board

warmups - single leg curl - 4plates x 8, 7p x4, 10p x3

using hand to help
Rotation 1) BW x 5
Rotation 2) BW x 5

damn hammies were quite sore, from the walks...

Reactive Lat Machine Situps

warmups - BW 2x5, 10lbs x 5, 25lbs x 1

Plate on chest - toes pressed into floor, flexing with hips
Rotation 1) 25lbs x 5
Rotation 2) 25lbs x 5

pretty easy now, time to go up in weight


Cooldown

Reactive Toe Curls one leg over the other 2x20

Stretched ISO hold GM start as per RDL, and then ended at parallel - 50secs
 
Clips from today

Right click on clip and save to avoid errors

MidThigh Hang Powercleans - pretty easy
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/CCJ_Powerclean+MTHangPowerClean_175_8Feb05.mpg

Overspeed divebomb squats - acclerated with light bands - 245lbs 2x3
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/CCJ_OSPSquat_LightBands+245_2x3_8Feb05.mpg

Overspeed Reactive Squats - with light bands - 135lbs 2x3
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/CCJ_REASquat_LightBands+135_2x3_8Feb05.mpg
 
moderately drained feeling, sore from head to toe. But legs feel light and springy.

Miniband work a few hours after yesterday's workout - one set of 15, partial ROM, light tension - closegrip rows, face pulls, LFlyes, cuban rotations, and rear delt laterals

did one set of walking on hands and knees today - forwards and back, side to side

Then a 20min walk after my "doggie walks" exercise, felt really easy and springy. Looking forward to sprinting on Sunday, just have a feeling I'm gonna tear it up :)
 
Thursday 10th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 29 - Day 3 - Upper 1 - Microcycle 7 - workout 3

Good workout, felt strong today. Also changed my focus on the cuff work

Bodyweight at gym - 224lbs
Workout time - ?
Workout rating - 8/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1.5 mins on warmup sets and then 3 mins between each exercise.


14 inch Grip bench - shoulders pulled together, no arch or leg drive

Warmups - Bar 2x8, 95lbs 3x5, 135lbs 3x3.
Pin press style with 2-3 sec pause - 165lbs 2x3, 195x2, 225x1, 245x1, 265x1

Pin press Style - pins set 2-3 inches above the chest, 6 inches under sticking point. Lowered under control onto pins, rest for 6 secs, then explode up

Rotation 1) 285lbs x 1
Rotation 2) 295lbs x 1 New PR!! by default, matches normal 1RM
Rotation 3) 305lbs x MISS

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff (off 315lbs)
Rotation 4) 280lbs x 1
Rotation 5) 280lbs x 1
Rotation 6) 280lbs x 1 ---> hard 4.4 sec strain

First time doing these and I really really surprised myself at my bench strength today, damn I must have gotten quite a bit stronger in the last 2 workouts...
I didn't want to drop the bar too fast onto the pins, so lowered these under control, which was a bitch!

Anyway I started off with 165lbs during the warmups, and found a big difference between a 2 sec pause and a 3 sec pause, wow doing em off pins from a dead start is so much harder, 165lbs felt like a ton! When I got up to 225lbs, I though no way I can get past 275lbs, so I worked up to 265, and nailed it. Tried 285, and it went up no probs! 295lbs went up ok too, with no major strain, only took 2.4secs from relaxed to lockout, which shocked me as this is my old 1RM done normally, with lots of strain!!! Tried 305 but got stuck at the sticking point. May have gotten it had I went straight from 285.
Was feeling beat up by the 6th set and that was a major strain, so I shut it down there, as I would have failed the next set, plus I did a lot of lead up sets as well.

Now I'm thinking if I can do 295 from a dead pause in only 2.4secs, plus fatigue from all the slow lowering and stuff from the previous lead up sets, 325 to 335 may be do able after this microcycle, a 30-40lb gain in a couple of months work!
I wonder if my "walking on hands and Knees" exercise, plus my miniband work for rear delts, back and cuffs had any hand in it? :)

45 degree supported T-Bar row - wide curl grip

warmups - Bar x12, 25x8, 45lbs 2x3, 70lbs 2x3, 90lbs 2x3, 115lbs 2x2, 135x1, 150x1, 160x1

assuming bar weighs 20lbs

Rotation 1) Bar+170lbs x 1
Rotation 2) Bar+180lbs x 1 New PR!!

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 3) Bar+160lbs x 1
Rotation 4) Bar+160lbs x 1
Rotation 5) Bar+160lbs x 1
Rotation 6) Bar+160lbs x 1
Rotation 7) Bar+160lbs x 1
Rotation 8) Bar+160lbs x 0.5

Work capacity surprised me a bit, 4 plates for this grip PR


Cuff Stuff and ISO Stretches - EQI

Cuff complex - No rest between each exercise

Free Motion Machine, single arm face pulls
warmup - 15lbs x 10

2 sec hold at each end
1) 25lbs x 5
2) 35lbs x 8
3) 40lbs x 8

Side Lying DB abduction to 45° - thumbs up
as shown here http://www.ruggedmag.com/images/002/cuff_08.jpg

2 sec hold at each end
1) 2kg x 10
2) 3kg x 10
3) 4kg x 10

from this article http://www.ruggedmag.com/index.php?type=Article&i=2&a=5
anyway I decided to change my approach to cuff work. I went far too heavy in the past. So now I use comfortable loads where I don't have to strain and muscle up the loads. Felt good. Although 4kg started to strain a bit towards the last few reps. So 3kg is good for this move.
 
20min walk today, and 2x30sec iso holds for front of neck

I measured myself on a Tanita scale today, some cheap model. It said I was 100.7kg 221.5lbs and 42.5% bodyfat....!
Don't think the BF% is accurate but it will be good to measure trends anyway. Let's see if I can get it to 40% :)
 
CoolColJ said:
20min walk today, and 2x30sec iso holds for front of neck

I measured myself on a Tanita scale today, some cheap model. It said I was 100.7kg 221.5lbs and 42.5% bodyfat....!
Don't think the BF% is accurate but it will be good to measure trends anyway. Let's see if I can get it to 40% :)
Click to expand...



FATASS!!! Do not worry - you are well on your way to joining the ranks of Chemerkin & Rezazadeh.

Nice powercleans by the way - still working on speed? or are you cycling up in weight again in the near future?
 
Sunday 13th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 30 - Day 1 - Lower 1 - Microcycle 7 - Workout 3

Average workout, but productive. I did a comparo between my standard vertical jump, and a jump with a 5sec pause at the bottom, and the paused jump is only about 1.5 inches lower! Guess that means my reactivity needs work.
Work capacity took a hit, but I guess the altitude drops do have a big impact.
Shins still not ache free, but better than last week, only slight aches towards the end of the 3rd sprint

Bodyweight at home - 222lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours in total
Workout rating - 7/10

Warmup

Dynamic warmup at home, then some drops off 6inches, in various directions, jumps and RFI hops. Worked up to 7 maximal vertical jumps.
Jump felt pretty snappy, but no major change.
As mentioned earlier I compared my VJ and paused jump. Paused jump is almost as high as my VJ, just 1.5 inches lower. So I guess that means I can stand to gain another 2-3inches on VJ with my current strength levels once I bring up my reactivity, which would also boost my sprinting too I think - top speed and accleration should gain a bit.

Then went to the park 2mins from home - and did another workout specific warmup.


Rotating between each exercise - 2.5 mins rest between each


Altitude drops off 1metre - heels off floor

1 VJ before each set to measure fatigue
Rotation 1) 1 metre x 3
Rotation 2) 1 metre x 3 --> heels collasping down, and legs felt tired, VJ down an inch

time to get back into these to work on my force power absorbtion. They felt good - no knee or shin issues. But I fatigued real fast

Half Squat Reflexive Firing 2 legged side to side Hops

The stance is similar to a very deep jump position, on balls of feet, heels off
Rotation 1) 18 cycles in 10secs
Rotation 2) 20 cycles in 10secs New PR!! +2 cycles
Rotation 3) 19.5 cycles in 10secs

Felt good. Killer burn on the 3rd set. Think I will go back to more straight leg hops to help my top speed part of my sprints, which needs much work.

Maximum Speed Sprints - width of park, about 105+ metres

From standing start - with stopwatch
Rotation 1) 13.5 secs
Rotation 2) 12.31 secs New PR!! -0.1 secs
Rotation 3) 12.53 secs
Rotation 4) 220+ metres @ 50% speed -> 55secs

PR, but gains are realling slowing down now. Maybe all the walking I'm doing is having a bigger impact than I thought?
Form was iffy today. I keep stubbing my feet into the ground on the leg kick forward, I think my knee lift isn't high enough or something. Start and accleration is fine, but once I reach the halfway point and beyond, I don't feel smooth.
Did a 4th set of 50% at speed for 220+ metres. Foward and back to start. Started to feel it in the last 5metres. Just to cooldown, build some work capacity and help my fat loss a bit.
 
mekannik said:
FATASS!!! Do not worry - you are well on your way to joining the ranks of Chemerkin & Rezazadeh.

Nice powercleans by the way - still working on speed? or are you cycling up in weight again in the near future?
Click to expand...

LOL those scales are not accurate, but I think if halve that figure that would be pretty close to the mark ;)

Right now I'm just working on power and reactivity, trying to close up my power to strength deficit, but after I do a strength phase, and then back into power, I'll max out and hope to hit 264+ lbs on powercleans, and maybe 200lbs on the powersnatch :)
 
did
1) balance on one leg with eyes shut - 6x10secs each leg
2) 20+min walk
3) Walk on hands and knees - 1 set of forward, backward, left to right, right to left. Pumps up the pecs, arms and shoulder girdle and upper back! This is my bench boosting secret exercise ;)
 
I asked
My Jump - what does this say?

1) a 5 sec paused jump is 1.5 inches lower than my regular counter movement VJ

2) one step VJ is 2 inches higher than standing VJ

3) and a depth jump off 18inches is one inch lower than my standing VJ. Haven't tested any other height drops.

So does this mean I have sufficient strength and still lack reactivity as far as increasing my standing VJ?

I've been doing the power template for a while now, and gains have petered out, so I'm just a bit baffled. On one hand my reactivity isn't great yet, and still plenty of room for gains there, but I haven't seen much of a return from the work I do there. I'm sprinting faster though.

So I'm thinking maybe I'm just not meant to be a reactive person?

Right now I'm thinking of returning to the power prep template and bringing up my strength a bit and see if that helps


--------------------------------------------

the answer -

It tells me that your not using your plantar flexors in conjunction with your hamstrings very well but that doesn't mean that you're not explosive or anything, you're obvoiusly a darn good athlete, but you are overly quad dominant. You see, when you do a down and up vert or a reactive jump or particualrly a unilateral jump, you gather energy in the hams and gastrocs like a loaded spring. These muscles are very fast twitch and thrive much more off reactivity much more then the quads. So the fact that your CM jumps are pretty close to your paused jump, along with your sprint video, tells me you're not using them all that well. Which isn't uncommon at all. Some of that is just due to structure and the rest is from training influence. Nearly every athlete I work with who's spent any time at all in the weight room has the exact same problems.

What I've found is the good cure is a steady diet of the following exercises that really emphasize engagement of the pf and hamstrings at full extension:

single leg hf jumps
bounding drill
single leg backwards pf drops (at full extension)
straight leg sprints (prime times)
flying sprints
single leg triple jumps

Rest assured, when you get your single leg triple jump up to around 3 x the distance of your bilateral standing broad jump, your problem will be cured.
 
Last edited:
felt a bit sleepy earlier, but not too bad now. I was pretty eager to train yesterday, but I stuck to my schedule.

Alrighty progress on the fat loss front, waist down a 0.25 inch to 38.75inches!
Once I get down to 38inches, hopefully there will be an improvement in power to weight ratio. I certainly feel "tighter" :)
I also doubled my intake of fishoil from 1 to 2 caps per meals yesterday, so 8-10 per day from now on.

Spinal erectors and lower leg a bit sore, from the walk I did yesterday, walked a longer uphill slope. Will probably do an easy walk today either before training or a few hours after.
 
suggested template in regards to the post I made a few posts above

----------------------------

Personally I would have you on the track running at 2 days per week anyway....not necessarily at full intensity though. It takes more frequency and volume when you're trying to change movement patterns etc. Maybe something like this:

Day 1- lower body
warmup- high knee, butt kick, skips, lunge, buildups etc.

short sprints - 10-30 yard varieties - 180-200 yards worth
bounding drill - 4 x 40 yards

weights:
snatch pull- 3-4 x 3 @ 80-85%
glute ham drop - 4-5 x 4-5

Day 2- off

Day 3- plyo, agility, + upper body
warmup- same as before
plyo, agility

stiff legg prime times- 4 x 40 yards

single leg triple jump - 4 sets per leg

low lateral depth jump- 3-4 x 6 (bounce left and back up on the box, then right etc.)

agility drills- pick a couple of varieties and do them for a few sets

Upper body- your choice

Day 4- off

Day 5- speed/lower body

warmup- same as before

speed work-
30-60 meter runs- total of ~300 meters divided up into any fashion. (here's where you'd do some flying runs etc.)

prime times- 3-4 x 50 yards

plyo - single leg standing triple jump - 3 sets per leg

Weights-
Clean - 3-4 x 3
Loaded Reactive Squat- 40-50% x 4-5 x 3
Rea glute ham- 4-5 x 3

Day 6- vigorous warmup LB- UB weights
(just pick any easy fun activity for LB to pump some blood in there)
upper body- your choice

You can adjust volume and implement AREG in some fashion but that'll give you an idea. You oughta be able to easily tolerate the volume cause you're not doing anything all that heavy and if you do everything on grass it'll be easy on your joints.

The bounding drill I believe someone around here ougtha have a video of. Prime times are hard to do at full effort, they're more of a technical drill then anythign....well actually so are bounding. Basically the entire focus would be on getting you to use your hams more as movement generators.

If you stand on one leg, keep it completely straight, and rise up on the ball of your foot you oughta feel your hamstring kick in. Now, go back down, bend the plant leg an little bit and do the same thing, rise up on the balls of your foot, but with the plant leg a little bent. Feel the difference? You oughta feel your quads and glutes kick in a lot more. Basically you want to get away from the 2nd situation and into the first. You gotta get that leg extended when it impacts the ground.
 
Tuesday 15th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean + Maintain Strength - Week 30 - Day 2 - Upper 2 - Microcycle 7 - workout 4

Good workout. Bodyweight down a bit at the gym, even one of the gym instuctors there said I looked leaner :)
Oscillatory Isometric heavy workout today. I don't really enjoy doing em, since it feels hard to quantify the work. Short rests today, lots of pump.

Bodyweight at gym - 222.5lbs
Workout time - 1.25 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1min on warmup sets and then 1.5 mins between each exercise


35 degree Dumbell Incline Bench - palms facing

Oscillatory Isometric style
Rotation 1) 65lbs x 16 OI
Rotation 2) 60lbs x 16 OI
Rotation 3) 60lbs x 15 OI


Seated Pulley Rows - U Bar Close Palms facing grip

Oscillatory Isometric style
Rotation 1) 45kg x 22 OI
Rotation 2) 40kg x 22 OI
Rotation 2) 40kg x 17 OI


Decline Tricep Extensions - palms facing grip

Oscillatory Isometric style
Rotation 1) 35lbs x 22 OI
Rotation 2) 30lbs x 22 OI
Rotation 3) 30lbs x 17 OI

Single Arm FacePulls on Free Motion Pulley Machine

Oscillatory Isometric style
Rotation 1) 60lbs x 16 OI
Rotation 2) 60lbs x 13 OI
Rotation 2) 60lbs x 11 OI

Standing Dumbell Curls

Oscillatory Isometric style
Rotation 1) 25lbs x 15 OI
Rotation 2) 22lbs x 13 OI


Cooldown and Cuffs


Cuff complex - no rest between each exercise/side

Not to failure - rest - 2 min between each complex

Dumbell Cuban Snatch Raise -
A1) 5kg x10
B2) 5kg x 10

Side Lying Dumbell abduction to 45° - thumbs up
A1) 2 sec hold at each end, lowered in 3 secs - 3kg x 10
B2) 2 sec hold at bottom, up to Oscillatory ISO, bounce to top, hold for 2 secs and lower in 3 secs - 3kg x 8

Elbow supported single arm dumbell Cuban Rotation
A1) 5kg x 12 OI
B2) done the same as 2nd set of lying abduction - 5kg x 7


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

Pushup/Dip Stretched ISO hold - Knees on floor
BW x 1min

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff
 
Hey CCJ, good to see you're still at it and making progress!
Saw the recent hang/powerclean vids, looking leaner and more solid and obviously not losing any strength :)

I'm down with mono for another week at least :( but looking forward to getting back to the gym and passing you in oly lift numbers sometime this year ;) (since passing you in any other lift is out of the question ;) )
 
I'm still a fat ass :chomp:

Olys aren't a major emphasis anymore, but they should still go up from general strength speed gains :)
I find the speed and reactive work having a positive influence on the olys, than just gaining raw strength - which doesn't help as much after a point in time

Man yesterday's workout kicked my ass a lot more than it should. All that straining before the release on the OIs, must be the cause. Feeling moderately drained, but not too sore.
 
yesterday I did some restoration work

Miniband - one set of 20, partial ROM, light tension - closegrip rows, face pulls,cuban rotations, tricep extensions, curls.
Bodyweight lying LFlyes x 20.
2x30sec ISO holds for front of neck
 
Thursday 17th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 30 - Day 3 - Lower 2 - Microcycle 7 - workout 4

Disappointing workout. I did my usual warmup stuff etc.
Then worked up to a maximal vertical jump and it was 2 inches lower across the board! :(
I tried and tried, but I just couldn't get up there, and I weighed 221lbs today, 3 lbs lighter than last session. So my CNS wasn't firing like it should. Did a few warmup sets with powercleans and squats, but there was no pop. So I called it a day, no point in beating a dead horse.

Looks like I haven't recovered yet, I might do it again tommorow. But I think I will just leave things be and let myself recover fully for the next session on Sunday, high volume upper, and Tuesday, high volume lower.
I don't really feel trashed though...but 2 inches is a lot to lose!

Bodyweight at the gym - 221lbs
Workout Rating - 2/10
Workout time - 30 mins

Warmup

1) Reverse hypers - BWx8
2) Twisting Back Extensions - BWx5 normal, and 4 twisted to each alternating sides.
3) Incline situps x1 held with 5 twists each way + 5 with Russian twists to each side at the top - arms held outstretched
4) Ankle Hops - 3x15
5) Some altitude drops off 6 inches

6) Olys - did one of each in between the warmup sets of the rest of the exercises

PowerClean + 4 Hang PowerClean - 89lbs


7) Farmers walk with two 65lb dumbells to and from powerrack


8) vertical jumps - worked up to a few maximal jumps. 2 inches lower than normal!!!


Rotating between each exercise

rest - 30secs to 1 min for warmups. 2 mins between each exercise after warmups.


Overspeed (LightBands) DiveBomb Back Squats - in Oly Shoes - RAW

Using Light bands, cinched around a 65lb dumbell, just in the top third adding about 40-50lbs resistance to slingshot down the bar

Warmup sets - Barx8, with bands, Bar x ,5 95x5, 95x3, 135x5
 
Achey all over and my spinal erectors and back is pretty sore, even though I did crap all yesterday
Well it looks like all this extra stuff I've been doing is catching up to me. I just need to rest. Active recovery may do just that for others, but not for me. Everytime I do it it just screws me up
 
feeling much better today. Went for a 20min walk yesterday, but I will rest up today.

I did some self massage on my upper back. To the side of each rear delt, just under the horizontal bone there, digging the fingers deep into there. Seem to be a lot of painful adhesions there. Was hard work, and its a bit tender today. Also did a lot of stretching on my hips/external hip rotors. Feels much looser now, they were really tight. One reason why my feet can't point straight ahead, and also why I have so much problem with overhead squating decent loads without my knees caving in.
The shoulder as well, felt much looser today. I was getting a lot more power and ROM when throwing, like i didn't have to put as much effort. So either the massage or the new cuff work I've been doing helped here.
ART would be better, this is a bit brute force, but its better than nothing and it's free :)

Also the front neck work is paying dividends in my posture, my neck doesn't seem to go as far forward anymore.
 
Sunday 20th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 31 - Day 1 - Upper FATIGUE TOLERATION - Microcycle 7 - workout 5

Not a bad workout, considering how tired my upper body was, so much so, I was tempted to do lower body instead. Dropped the dropoff to 8% for this fatigue workout, down from my normal 10%. Made a difference, felt much fresher after workout.

Bodyweight at gym - 223lbs
Workout time - 2 hours I think
Workout rating - 8/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1min on warmup sets and then 3 mins between each exercise, alternating betwen one bench and back exercise set

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

Warmups - Bar 2x10, controlled down - snapped up - 95lbs x8, 2x5, 135lbs 2x5, 165x3, 195x3, 225x3, 245x1

Rotation 1) 265lbs x 4 New PR!

92% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 2) 240lbs x 4
Rotation 3) 240lbs x 4
Rotation 4) 240lbs x 4
Rotation 5) 240lbs x 4 --> felt easier
Rotation 6) 240lbs x 4 --> felt easier
Rotation 7) 240lbs x 3

Controlled it down much more than I have in the past. Don't think I left much on the table, pretty slow through sticking point on the 4th rep. Not much of a repper though, big drop off between rep 3 and 4! Last rep took 3.6 secs from start to finish.
Interesting that the 5th and 6th sets felt easier, and then boom, died. I think my form changed on those sets. Still a good amount of volume for 8% dropoff.

Chins - 12inch grip

warmups - pulldown version - 30kg x10, 40kg x 8, 50kg x 5, 60kg x 3,
Chins - BWx2, +25lbs x 1

Rotation 1) BW (223lbs) + 50lbs x 2.5

92% of (85%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 2) BW + 30lbs x 3
Rotation 3) BW + 30lbs x 3
Rotation 3) BW + 30lbs x 2

Hard as usual, down a bit on these. Was hoping to get 4-5 reps


Seated Pulley Rows - close U-Bar Parallel Grip

warmups - 25kg x8, 35x5, 45x5, 50kg 2x3, 60x1

controlled, 1 sec hold at chest, keeping shoulders down
Rotation 1) 70kg x 10
Rotation 2) 70kg x 8
Rotation 3) 70kg x 9
Rotation 4) 70kg x 7

go figure!


Cuff Stuff and ISO Stretches - EQI

Cuff circuit

no rest - close to failure

Side Lying Dumbell abduction to 45° - thumbs up
A1) 3 sec hold at top, lowered in 3 secs - 4kg x 10
B1) 3kg x 8
C1) 3kg x 6

One Arm low pulley L-Flyes -warmup 10lb x 6
A2) 3 sec hold at each end, 2 sec eccentric - 15lbs x 8
B2) 15lbs x 6
C2) 15lbs x 5


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

Dip Stretched ISO hold - leg supported BW x 45 secs

Pushup/Dip Stretched ISO hold - Knees on floor BW x 30 secs

Crossover Stretched ISO hold 50lbs x 30secs
for pec minor and biceps

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff
 
Anthrax said:
Great video

Your elbows are really tuck in !
Click to expand...

Yeah I was making an effort to keep them in. I think that's why the latter sets got easier, as I let them come out, wasn't thinking about it then, just trying to get the bar up :)
 
Sunday 22nd February - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 31 - Day 2 - Lower FATIGUE TOLERATION - Microcycle 7 - workout 5

Excellent workout today. Beat the crap out of my posterior chain and core, from toes to neck, especially my hammies. Huge pump in my core and erectors. Gonna be real sore tommorrow, but I have a week off till the next weights session.
I mucked around on the punching bag inbetween a few of the later sets. Been years since I did any of that, and I still have the moves a bit, the speed is still there, and pretty good power too. Think I will add these in as upper body speed/rate work in the future. Plus it might come in handy if ever get in a fight ;)
I had energy to spare at the end, a good way to finish, even though it was a high volume and long one.

Bodyweight at the gym - 222lbs
Workout Rating - 9/10
Workout time - 2.25+ hours

Warmup

1) Partial upper range Reverse hypers - BWx8
2) Situp complex on the swissball
3) Twisting Back Extensions - BWx5 normal, and 4 twisted to each alternating sides.
5) Olys

Some stuff with bar for warmup

Hang CleanGrip powersnatch - 75lbs x 3
Hang Powersnatch - 75lbs x 3
CleanGrip powersnatch + Powersnatch - 89lbs x 2 sets, 109lbs, 119lbs
CleanGrip powersnatch - 129lbs, 139lbs

been ages since I did any powersnatches, especially clean grip ones. They felt good, but my form is crap. 139lbs felt close to maximal.
I think I will drop powersnatches, the crappy, bent bars here, that barely spin don't make em safe to do. Plus my form is not that good.
Cleangrip powersnatches feel a bit safer though, even though the bar does swing out a bit, and the loads are much lighter as well - more speed


Rotating between each exercise

rest - 30secs to 1 min for warmups. 2 mins between each exercise after warmups.

Full Back Squats - in Oly Shoes - RAW

Warmup sets - one set of backsquats, then a set of frontsquats up to 225lbs
BWx10, Barx5, 95lbs x3, 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 255x3, 285x3, 315x1
cleangrip frontsquat - Bar x 3, 95x3, 135x3, 185x3, 225x2

Controlled, for max reps
Rotation 1) 345lbs x 3 New PR by default

92% of (85%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 2) 300lbs x 3
Rotation 3) 300lbs x 3
Rotation 4) 300lbs x 3
Rotation 5) 300lbs x 3
Rotation 6) 300lbs x 3
Rotation 7) 300lbs x 2

I have done 355x3 before with a fast drop and bounce style, but doing in a slow controlled fashion on the way done is much harder, so 345lbs is my new default PR in this way. Last rep took 3.8 secs from start to finish, so close to optimal. And it felt really good, all the flexibility work on my external hip rotators has paid off, I can squat with my feet much straighter without tension. Everything felt really comfortable and stable, and the loads didn't feel "heavy" on my back like before - bands usually help in this area
Hope to get 405x3 in the future like this.

Interestingly I paused for a couple of seconds a few inches off the bottom on the way up, on the 2nd rep of a few of the warmup sets at 225 and 255, and it felt like nothing. Guess the Reactive and dive bomb squats really help in this area. Also first time I have failed at the bottom rather than halfway up, guess the bounce does help you get up a bit.


Eccentric Single Leg Calf Raises

2 legs up, one leg down in 5secs, alternating legs - unmarked plates
Rotation 1) 7 Plates x 3
Rotation 2) 7 Plates x 3
Rotation 3) 7 Plates x 3
Rotation 4) 7 Plates x 3 --> harder to control

man my calves a weak, very noticable - that's why I get shin splints!


Single Leg - offset Back Extension

single Dumbell held with opposite arm to worked leg, ISO hold at top, swap legs and repeat

Rotation 1) 45lbs 2x10sec
Rotation 2) 45lbs x 15secs
Rotation 3) 45lbs x 15secs --> right side failed at 13 secs

damn these were like torture!


Lat machine Situo

ISO hold just above parallel - toes presssed into floor - dumbell on chest

Rotation 1) 80lbs x 15secs
Rotation 2) 80lbs x 15secs
Rotation 3) 80lbs x 15secs
Rotation 4) 80lbs x 15secs

My best is 120lbs x 30secs, so these were sub-maximal, until the last set was was a ball buster. Felt much easier than before though, and no ab strains at all. Just pure tension on the abs and hip flexors.


Cooldown and ISO Stretches - EQI

Bulgarian splisquat stretched ISO hold - BW x 1min each side

Calf Raise stretched ISO hold - 4plates x 1min

Semi Stiff legged deadlift stretched ISO hold - start at knee and end at the floor - BAR x 1min

layed over a swiss balll to stretch out the spinal erectors x 1min
 
CoolColJ said:
squats from today

Right click on clip and save to avoid errors

fullsquats 345x3, and 300x3 set 5 and 6

http://www.members.optushome.com.au..._FullBackSquat_345x3_300x3-Set5-6_22Feb05.mpg
Click to expand...

great PR. amazing how much can be taken off your max when the tempo is slowed down. i believe i have a vid of you doing 385 or so.

one thing: you seem to be getting more and more shallow with the squats. get in the hole brother! just my opinion anyway.... maybe those bigass hammies are getting in the way ;)
 
Hmm, I'm a bit sore, but not as much as I thought, maybe I'll get worse later on today. Not drained which is good
Might go for a 20min walk today

also the cleangrip powersnatches from yesterday

Right click on clip and save to avoid errors

119 and 139lbs. My form will never be good on these, but it does the job. I jump a bit off the floor. Guess when I hit bodyweight on these, my standing vertical jump will be well over 40inches :)

http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj3/Movies/CCJ_CleanGripPowerSnatch_119_139_22Feb05.mpg
 
super_rice said:
great PR. amazing how much can be taken off your max when the tempo is slowed down. i believe i have a vid of you doing 385 or so.

one thing: you seem to be getting more and more shallow with the squats. get in the hole brother! just my opinion anyway.... maybe those bigass hammies are getting in the way ;)
Click to expand...

I only go shallow on the divebomb squats and reactive squats, because I don't want to touch the bottom, I need to make myself brake the forces without the bottom end cushion - it's actually harder that way

With the full squats they are rock bottom, I can't go down any further, don't look at the top of the thigh, look at the knee angle, its acute :)
Plus look at where the bar is in relation to the safety pins, its the same 1-2 inches above as in my older clips. Maybe its the camera and perspective angle - remeber I used to face away from the mirror
 
CoolColJ said:
I only go shallow on the divebomb squats and reactive squats, because I don't want to touch the bottom, I need to make myself brake the forces without the bottom end cushion - it's actually harder that way

With the full squats they are rock bottom, I can't go down any further, don't look at the top of the thigh, look at the knee angle, its acute :)
Plus look at where the bar is in relation to the safety pins, its the same 1-2 inches above as in my older clips. Maybe its the camera and perspective angle - remeber I used to face away from the mirror
Click to expand...

i see. i didn't know reative work shouldn't be done to full range like that.

why face the mirror? let us see your pretty face :rainbow:
 
so I don't bounce at the bottom - my form was getting pretty ragged for a while.
Plus just something different I guess :)

Also so I can see what my back is doing in the clips
 
is your sacral region (spelling?) supposed to rotate inwards at the bottom of a full squat? happens to me, and sometimes when i'm making a point of it i can keep it from happening, but it changes my ROM, and i have to over arch my back a bit
 
I don't think about it, as long as my back stays neutral I don't worry too much. I never arch my back hard.
I don't think it's realistic to keep the glutes sticking out all the way down there, because they have to contract as well. And when that happens the lower back arch flattens out

you can see it in the mirror if you try, tense the glutes and the arch flattens out
 
Nice job on the 345 squat.

Good jump on the powersnatches. Now I am going to have to get a camera to film my technique.... just to compare to the master.
 
mekannik said:
Nice job on the 345 squat.

Good jump on the powersnatches. Now I am going to have to get a camera to film my technique.... just to compare to the master.
Click to expand...

Thanks

I don't think my form is that good on the powersnatches, my arms bend way too soon. Although I think doing it with a clean grip and having to get it that high up, might make one do the move differently from traditional snatches

I didn't realise how high I was jumping on those Clean Grip Power Snatches until I paused it!
Getting a good 10+ inches on that 139lb set

screencap
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj/Photos/CCJ_CleanGripSnatch139lbs_Air.JPG
 
CoolColJ said:
I didn't realise how high I was jumping on those Clean Grip Power Snatches until I paused it!
Getting a good 10+ inches on that 139lb set
Click to expand...


That is EXACTLY my point. I feel that I am not getting anywhere off the ground (I assume - like I wrote, I have not taped my lifts yet) when I snatch or clean. I went over some ideas (weight percentage/rep schemes) with a college shot putter who put up some impressive numbers in his training. Most of his intensities thru out the year were in the 60-80% range. He only maxed once, maybe twice.

You are definately getting the speed side down (or up in this case).


What are your thought on doing weighted jumps? One lift I tried (hopefully without breaking an ankle) was to jump on to a 6-8" box from the floor with the bar in the high squat position. For a while I was up to 80 kilos for a set of 6. Not sure if it did that much for my speed. But it definately finished my workouts with a bang.
 
Ok - well olylifters generally barely leave the ground, hell some like Dimas don't even get up on the toes. This allows them to lift more weight, and get under the bar faster. But I think this won't help a person doing these lifts for athletic reasons as much. Although some Bulgarians definitely jump quite a bit, usually backwards :)

yeah 80% is usually where max power is for the olys - where you can comfortably do singles with good speed, and not be freaked out by the weight etc. 60-70% is better for reps

I find if I keep my feet planted I lose all my power, or I don't explode maximally. Although it doesn't seem to hurt my pulls as much - interesting

They can help. But I think something better that mimicks the rotatry hip motion of olys is jumping boxsquats, with fairly light loads, like 20-45lbs. You land down and back onto the bench, so its pretty easy on the knees if that is a concern. I find the hip thrust motion on these, allows me to jump a few inches higher than regular jumpsquats! Sort like the double knee rebend on olys.

old clip of me doing em - haven't done them in a while, but will be getting back into in future cycles
right click and save
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/blitzforce/Movies/CCJ_JumpBoxSquats_7May03.mpg
 
hey, you were really fast even back then... almost 2 years ago. well, a thinner version of yourself :)

the bulgarians, why are they always the "but" factor.

i tried some of those snatches with a clean grip. somehow, i feel more snappy and explosive with it than doing snatches from hang. but my form is crap on olys haha
 
I'd be even faster now, if I got back to that weight :)
I was 202lbs back then - just after bulking up from a lean 192lbs....so a bit chubbier than that pic I posted before.
See that gym? That's where my current gym used to be - I prefer it :(
And 2 power racks, well we used to have 3!!!!! Plus the bars weren't bent back then.....

Bulgarians, are just different I guess

Cleangrip is somewhat easier to get the feel for, I find. And safer to do, especially if you miss without bumpers etc. But the bar does swing out forward a bit more on the way up. But harder since you have to get the bar higher, and you can't dip down like in regular snatches, unless you can squat jerk or something :D
More speed needed since you have to use lighter loads and get it higher
 
Sunday 27th February - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 32 - Day 1 - Upper 1 - Microcycle 8 - workout 1

I look a bit leaner, but my bodyweight isn't really going down that much, nor is my waist. Even the Tanita says 38% down from 42 :)
Oh well. I also left my chin/dip belt at home so boo, no negative chins...
Had a confrontation with an old lady for hogging the power rack! meh

Bodyweight at gym - 224lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1.5min on warmup sets and then 3 mins between each exercise, alternating betwen one bench and back set


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

Warmups - Bar x 10, x10 (reactive drop/catch style)controlled down, snapped up 95lbs 3x5, 135lbs 2x5, 165x3, 195x3, 225x2, 255x1, 285x1

Eccentric only, lowered as slow as possible
Rotation 1) 335lbs x 6 secs +10lbs + 2sec

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff - Bar x6 before each set to "warmup"
Rotation 2) 320lbs x 4 secs

Nice improvement, up 10lbs and 2 seconds. Not sure if these are making me any stronger, but at least I know I can unrack weights well above my 1RM, and lower them under control. 335lbs didn't feel too heavy at all, and it felt pretty light in the bottom 2 inches, could have held it there for 5 secs or so if I wanted to. Will stay at this weight until I can lower it in 9 secs.
I barely just got that 285lb warmup single, maybe I need to go up in smaller increments like 20lbs above 225lbs


Chins - 12inch grip

warmups - pulldown version - 30kg x10, 40kg x 8, 50kg x 5, chins - BW 2x2

That's all I did since I left my chin belt at home!


Seated Pulley Rows - close V Grip

warmups - 30kg x 5, one armed eccentrics each side - 40x2, 50kg 2x1

Pulled up with 2 arms, Eccentric only with one arm, lowered as slow as possible. Left first
Rotation 1) 70kg x 5 secs
Rotation 2) 65kg x 5 secs
Rotation 2) 65kg x 4 secs

Up 10kg from last time, but down 5 secs. The first 3inches dropped pretty quickly, so I will stay here until i can control it fully.


Cuff Stuff and ISO Stretches - EQI

Cuff circuit

no rest between each exercise - 2 mins between each circuit

Dumbell Cuban rotation raises - warmup 3kg x 5
A1) ballistic up, controlled down - 5kg x 10
B1) 5kg x 10

Single Arm Face Pulls - warmup 30lb x 6
A2) controlled - 50lbs x 10
B2) 50lbs x 10

One Arm low pulley L-Flyes - warmup 10lb x 6
A3) controlled - 20lbs x 8
B3) 20lbs x 8 --> close to failure


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

Pushup/Dip Stretched ISO hold - Knees on floor BW x 1min

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff
 
here is a breakdown of exercises I plan to use in the new few microcycles on lower body, to help fix up some of my weaknesses, both muscular and motor pattern/recruitment wise.

Just a rough division between my 2 sessions. I can't obviously do all of em at once, so I will have to program them over a few session in a logical order, hopefully.
My head hurts....!

Session 1 - Gym

1 - Reactive squat - light bands
2 - Reactive GHR - BWx5
3 - Low Lateral depth Jump back onto box - alternating sides - 12inch x 6
4 - Stiffed legged backward Altitude Drop - heels off ground - 12 to 18inch x 5
5 - Single leg backwards Atitude drop (at full extension) - 6inch x 3 each side
6 - Jumping Box Squat - hammies at parallel - 25lbs x 3
7 - Oly variants
8 - Stiffed legged depth jump - 6 to 12inch x 3

Session 2 - at home/Park

1 - Agility type drills
2 - straight leg sprints (prime times)
3 - 200m Tempo type runs (for fat loss)
4 - Flying runs
5 - accleration short sprints
6 - Bounding drills
7 - Single Leg triple jumps
8 - Single Leg hops on and off a 6inch step for max reps in 10secs
 
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Tuesday 1st March - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 33 - Day 2 - Lower 1 - Microcycle 8 - workout 1

Turned out to be a pretty long workout, but a good one. Aiming to target my calves and hammie recruitment at high velocities
It's interesting that without the heavier divebomb squats I normally do to waveload, with the reactive squats, I was able to do a lot more sets.
I also arranged the exercises to add a bit of intra session waveloading.
1) stiffed leg altitude drop - high velocity absorbtion
2) reactive squat - higher load absorbtion
3) jumping box squat - high speed concentric
4) on inch dip hang power cleans - higher load concentric
although, maybe the order should be flipped, with high velocity following load.

I ended up doing a lot of jumps, since I did a vertical jump before every exercise to measure fatigue. Which allowed to me to play around with my form a bit, when I dip down fast and relaxed, I snapped up much easier and higher.

After I warmed up, my Jump was just bad. I have lost 3+ inches on Vertical jump! It got a little better during the workout, though, the snap starting getting better. Since 2 weeks ago, my jump has been going down. The only significant variable has been more walks, and increasing the duration from 13 to 20-20mins. I guess the walks have to go, or get cut back to what I did before. Its making me slow twitch or not allowing recovery!

Bodyweight at the gym - 223lbs
Workout Rating - 8/10
Workout time - 2 hours

Warmup

1) Reverse hypers - BWx8
2) Twisting Back Extensions - BWx5 normal, and 4 twisted to each alternating sides.
3) AB Complex on swissball
4) Ankle Hops - 3x15
5) Some altitude drops off 6 inches
6) Bar complex with 25lbs
7) Farmers walk with two 65lb dumbells to and from powerrack for bands
8) Vertical jumps - worked up to a maximal vertical jump - 3+ inches lower normal.
9) some single leg triple jumps - low intensity, these really work the hams, gonna take a lot of work to get these to 3 times my standing long jump!

Rotating between each exercise

rest - 30secs to 1 min for warmups. 2 mins between each exercise after warmups. One vertical Jump before each set of exercise to measure fatigue, once it drops an inch, I stop everything

Backward Single leg Altitude Drop at full extension onto toes

Alternating legs
Rotation 1) 8 inches x 8
Rotation 2) 8 inches x 8
Rotation 3) 8 inches x 8
Rotation 4) 8 inches x 8
Rotation 5) 8 inches x 8 --> shins starting to ache

Basicly a stiff legged drop onto toes, like a ballerina.
These were hard and scary at first, but after a while my body started to relax. I shut my eyes as well on some sets while doing em. I did bend my knees, slightly, body was reluctant to be locked there.


Overspeed (LightBands) Reactive Squat - in Sneakers

Using Light bands, cinched around a 65lb dumbell, just in the top third adding about 40-50lbs resistance to slingshot down the bar

Warmup sets - BWx5, Barx5, With bands Barx5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x1

about 55% of (85%BW+1RM) - Relax and Drop down, pull feet up a bit, and then brake hard and explode up. On balls of feet
Rotation 1) Light Bands + 135lbs x 3
Rotation 2) Light Bands + 135lbs x 3
Rotation 3) Light Bands + 135lbs x 3
Rotation 4) Light Bands + 135lbs x 3
Rotation 5) Light Bands + 135lbs x 3 --> shins aching a bit

Did em in my sneakers this time, made it bit harder as my ankles lack flexibility. Had to use a slightly wider stance as a result and turn my feet out a bit.

Jumping Box Squats

Situp back onto bench and jump - hammies at parallel
Rotation 1) 25lbs x 3
Rotation 2) 25lbs x 3
Rotation 3) 25lbs x 3
Rotation 4) 25lbs x 3
Rotation 5) --> Vertical Jump dropped an inch, and felt slow/hard

These felt good, but need a bit of work. Certainly made my calves work hard, and hammies, but didn't feel it as much.

Inch Dip Hang Powercleans

warmups - bar 2x5, 89lb 2x3, 109x3, 133x1

just dip one inch before exploding up.
Rotation 1) 133lbs x 4
Rotation 2) 133lbs x 3
Rotation 3) 133lbs x 3
Rotation 4) 133lbs x 3

Very short ROM dip on these, really forces you to extend fully to get the bar up, more speed etc. 2 years ago, I would snap these for sets of 5, really easily, and my calves would get pumped up. Today I was struggling with sets of 3, just didn't feel right, and my claves didn't feel it that much too. Even though I'm bigger and stronger now, I don't have the short range power and reactivity I used to have! Need to get it back.

Reactive GHR - on incline situp board

warmups - single leg curl - 3plates x 5, 5p x3, 7P x 3, 9p x3

using hand to help
Rotation 1) BW x 4
Rotation 2) BW x 4
Rotation 3) BW x 4
Rotation 4) BW x 4 --> started to muscle it up.


Cooldown

Reactive Toe Curls on lying leg curl machine
warmup - 1plate x 10 - controlled

1plate 2x10

I finally figured out a way to work my tibs properly - use a lying leg curl machine! I just sit on it, hook my toes under the roller pads, and point my toes, get a good stretch on the front of my low leg, and then explode up, bouncing the roller with my feet. Work really well!
 
I reset the Tanita scale, and it turns out I had it set to female, no wonder it said my bodyfat % was 42.5 before! :)
After I fixed that, it read 100.2kg and 28.5% bodyfat this morning straight out of bed. So that sounds a bit closer to where I am. Now to get it down to 20%....
 
So at 20% you would weigh 92 kg - correct?

How much did you weigh when you were a lean machine?

Nice workout BTW.
 
about 90kg I think.

at my leanest so far since I started training I was 192lbs or 87kg.
But I was still not sprinter lean, I had a 32-33 inch waist then. Could have gotten it down to 30 inch or so, and maybe would have weighed 82kg if I was really lean, 180lbs.

I'm bigger now, so 190lbs 86kg looks realistic if get sprinter lean.
But I need to get to 200lbs first :)
 
For a 4 - 5 kg lean mass increase did you feel this amount of weight gain was neccessary - or was it simply a case of eat when wanting to and train hard.

Im totally over 'eat everything in sight' mode becuase I add to much fat, i figure i can take a bit more time and have less fat gain. Thoughts?

:D
 
d-dub said:
For a 4 - 5 kg lean mass increase did you feel this amount of weight gain was neccessary - or was it simply a case of eat when wanting to and train hard.

Im totally over 'eat everything in sight' mode becuase I add to much fat, i figure i can take a bit more time and have less fat gain. Thoughts?

:D
Click to expand...

well that small amount of muscle increase made me a lot stronger, so the ratio is good. It's all down to how you train, and genetics off course. But if you train right, then the ratios of strength/power gain for each 1kg of muscle you add can be very good.

I didn't specificly train for it, well I did initially, but over the last 2 years, it was just a by product of training for strength and power. I actually don't eat that much, I don't make an effort to eat to bulk etc. That never works for gaining a good ratio of muscle/fat to strength/power.

Just train right for you goals, and you body will adapt as needed. Off course if you want to add size then, you need to adapt your program to do so.
It just takes time, muscle is expensive for the body to make. It's the last resort for the body to take.

this is how it works - Hypertrophy->Strength->Power--> then back to hypertrophy etc. Each stage sets the groundwork for the next part

Work on strength and strength endurance till absolute strength numbers no longer go up.
OR work strength endurance until you can no longer increase hypertrophy

Then you can go to power work and focus on force absorption.
After you can no longer push up your power numbers go back to strength and hypertrophy.


You can't keep doing just one thing and not expect to plateau
 
some inspiration

Nate Robinson - 5'7" + with 43+" hops!
Says he never trained for it, all genetics!!
I wonder how much higher he can jump if he trained...

I want some of that :)

SPT1226_NATE_P-thumb.JPG


When you went to the NBA tryout camp in Chicago, your official height measurement, 5 feet 7 3/4, was finally revealed. You've always been listed at 5-9. Does the smaller number bother you? "People to me are all the same height. The height thing is irrelevant. I don't mind it. If that's how people see you, fine. To be honest, I'm just 5-something. Not 5-5, 5-7 or 5-9. Just 5-something. When I went to the Nike Camp, I was measured at 5-9. Somebody's measurement is wrong. They're all just going to throw out different heights. Nobody knows."

When you were in Chicago, NBA officials measured your vertical leap at 43 inches, which is one inch on David Thompson, one of the college game's most profound leapers. Were you aware that you get off the ground better than the famed Skywalker? "I didn't know that. I knew who he was. That's a big accomplishment for me, but I try not to get tied up into jumping. I just play basketball. I love basketball. It makes me so much happier when I'm playing. I don't worry about anything when I'm playing. I just feel free."
Click to expand...

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/4378350p-4145426c.html
 
I feel light and snappy today, just the way i like it. Crappy sleep though, it took me ages to fall asleep as I was so hyped up after seeing Nate Robinson's hops and dunk - 5 feet 7.75 inches tall, 43+ inch vertical jump!

I was hardly sore at all after last workout - surprising since the volume of jumping was high, and it was a long workout. Hmm my body is really starting to adapt nicely, and increase its work capacity
 
Thanks for posting. Thats an awesome video clip. Some footage of him in a dunk comp would be awesome. I love watching Stevie Francis dunk as well, hes relativly short at 6-2 or 3, hes got a 40+ inch vert.
 
Sunday 3rd March - Cycle 2 Get Lean + Maintain Strength - Week 33 - Day 3 - Upper 2 - Microcycle 8 - workout 2

Good workout, but I'm totally exhausted from it! Damn my forearms and shoulder girdle are wasted - ISO pauses + high reps = torture!!!

Bodyweight at gym - 222.5lbs
Workout time - 1.25 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

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


Standing Military Press - in oly shoes

warmups - with pauses - Bar 2x8, 70lbs 2x5, 95lbs 2x3, 115lbs 2x3, 135x3, 145x1

3 sec pause at chin level, explode up
Rotation 1) 145lbs x 6 (30sec set time)

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 2) 135lbs x 4

I picked the weight perfectly - wanted 6 reps and got it :)
Last rep was a ball buster, major grind!!!


Pullups - Close Palms facing grip

Pulldown version - paused - 35kg x8, 45kg x5, 55kg x3, 65kg x 3 - BWx2

3 sec pause at the bottom, just before full extension, explode up, head to each side of the bar, alternating
Rotation 1) BW (222.5lbs) x 6
Rotation 2) BW x 4

Got 6 reps too.


Decline Tricep Extensions - palms facing grip

3 sec pause just before bottom, explode up
Rotation 1) 30lbs x 15.5
Rotation 2) 30lbs x 11.5

mega burn torture - forearm screaming for mercy! Set time must be over a minute...4% fatigue achieved too.

Low incline Dumbell Fyles

3 sec pause just before bottom, explode up
Rotation 1) 25lbs x 14.5
Rotation 2) 25lbs x 9.5

Painful as well, forearms, and biceps - no need for curls!


Cooldown and Cuffs

Cuff complex - no rest between each exercise/side

rest - 2min between each complex

Free Motion Machine, single arm face pulls - warmup - 30lbs x 5
A1) 35lbs x 15 - controlled
B1) 35lbs x 15

One Arm low pulley L-Flyes - warmup 10lb x 6
A2) 15lbs x 15 - controlled
B2) 15lbs x 15

45 degree Incline - Side Lying Dumbell abduction to parallel(floor) - thumbs up
A3) 3kg x 15 - controlled, 2 sec hold at top
B3) 2kg x 15

Free Motion High Pulley 2 handed Lat Stretched ISO hold 110lbs x 1min

Pushup/Dip Stretched ISO hold - Knees on floor BW x 1min

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff
 
Moderately drained, sore. Especially my triceps and upper back.
These lighter high rep workouts kick my ass much more than the heavier ones!

found this quite about Nate Robinson

nate robinson is truly one of the most gifted athletes you'll ever see. his 43 in. vert is legit. his two step vert was over 49 1/2 in. i know because i used to be an assistant strength coach at UW during nate's first two years. not only is he a stud on the bball court, but he is probably talented enough to play corner in the nfl. remember he started at corner for the huskies as a true freshman. then decided to focus on bball
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Triceps still extremely sore! Cuffs as well. Need more sleep, body is starting to breakdown. Tempted to train today, one day ahead of when I normally do.

I am thinking of stopping my workout and post workout, carb/whey drinks. This stuff crashes my blood sugar, and probably makes me fat too...
But I will keep em for the long fatigue workouts
 
Sunday 6th March - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 34 - Day 1 - Lower 1 - Microcycle 8 - Workout 2

Good workout, considering the amount of sleep lately, and my mood this morning. I felt snappy though.
Today is the first workout without any carb/whey drink during and after - see if it helps my fat loss efforts etc, but the 200m tempo runs are a first as well, which should help the fat loss as well

Decided not to do any vertical jumping in this workout, all horizontal stuff pretty much. Not a bad way to set it up, vertical strength speed/speed strength on session 1, horizontal rate and speed strength on session 2

Haven't sprinted in a few weeks, but overall they felt good. The stuff I did during the working to help me recruit my hammies and calves more while sprinting/jumping etc, must be working, because right now when I walk, I want to do it with a stiff legged pull on the balls of my feet :)

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

Warmup

Dynamic warmup at home, then some drops off 6 inches, in various directions, jumps and RFI hops. Did a lot of 360 degree spin drops off 6inches - pretty cool I can do these :)

1) the worked up to a maximal standing long jump in my studded touch football shoes -
got 103 inches - 8 feet and 7 inches New PR!! + 5 inches

up from 8 feet 2 inches a few months ago, at a slightly heavier bodyweight too. Since I haven't been doing these much, that shows pure power gains, rather than technique.
My all time best is around 9 feet at 192lbs, and much leaner than I now. So I'm only 5 inches off that, at 221lbs, when I get down to 200lbs, I should blitz that easy, should get close to 10 feet by then.

2) Then I did some Standing single leg triple jumps. A few each side.
And boy I suck at these, I was getting around 14 feet on my left leg, and 13 feet on my right. I'm obviously no where near 3 times my standing long jump - where I need to be - whooo I can't see myself getting there either!
25+ feet - fat chance...

Left leg wasn't too bad in feel, since its my layup leg, but my right is bad, my old ankle injury started to flare up. There is a tendon in there that doesn't have the same ROM as it's left counterpart, and it always gets injured :(
Both legs feel like they can't absorb the forces very well. So I decided not to do these in my main workout, I need to do a lot of prep work before I get into em. More single leg strength and force absorbtion stuff.

3) Then went to the park 2mins from home - and did another workout specific warmup.


Rotating between each exercise - 2 mins rest between each


Single Leg, forward and back RFI Hops at full exetnsion on balls of feet

max reps in 10secs - 2mins rest between each side, left leg first
Rotation 1) Left - 17 cycles Right - 17 cycles
Rotation 2) Left - 18 cycles Right - 19 cycles
Rotation 3) Left - 21 cycles Right - 19 cycles
Rotation 4) Left - 19 cycles Right - 18 cycles --> drop off achieved

These are like a hop version of those drops I did last workout, but going for max speed forward and back. 3rd set on the left felt really smooth and easy
Right side, feels much harder.


Stiff legged sprints - Prime Times - about 47 metres

Rotation 1) 45m x 1
Rotation 2) 45m x 1
Rotation 3) 45m x 1
Rotation 4) 45m x 1

First set was more like a prounced bound off each step. The rest were more rapid and relaxed like. Wasn't sure which way to do it

Maximum Speed Sprints - about 47 metres

From standing start - with stopwatch
Rotation 1) 6.56 secs --> in touch football shoes
Rotation 2) 6.28 secs --> in spikes
Rotation 3) 7 secs --> in touch football shoes

Did the first run, with my touch football shoes, sorta like more heavy duty sprint shoes with small plastic studs. I was running em with more hammies, kinda forced it. Definitely felt my hams work
2nd run I did in my spikes, and run all out hard like I normally do, and while I was faster, I didn't feel as smooth and relaxed. used more back/glutes and quads to run. And it was really hard on my feet and shins, I think its the shoes, they're just not right for this uneven kind of surface.
Third run back into my TF shoes, and that run felt butter smooth, like I didn't have to try that hard, but the air was really roaring across the face. Even though the time was slower, it felt much faster and easier. I felt liked my legs kicked out and landed more straight like it should. I think in time I will end up faster this way.


Tempo Runs - about 200+ metres - 50% speed

Rotation 1) 55.47 secs
Rotation 2) 54.19 secs
Rotation 3) 52.63 secs

Last 10 metres in each run was starting to be a struggle. Not sure why I got faster though, because they all felt the same sppeed :)
More for fat loss than anything, but it should help my conditioning as well.
 
Interesting reading CCJ. I definitely hear you on the old ankle injuries messing things up. I have about 2 inches less ROM on the left ankle than the right. Sucks for anything involving a deep knee bend.

Couple of questions for you: When i stand up after sitting for a while, my hips crack. It doesnt hurt it just sounds like a knee or ankle cracking. Is this a sign of an imbalance in musclature causing tracking problems? It tends to happen easier if my feet are externally rotated, my feet tend to externally rotate when walking if i havent been keeping up with stretching. Anyway, anythoughts on the cracking thing?

Judging by your volume on your cuff stuff it looks like i need to increase mine. Rows just dont seem to do enough to help the cuff strengthen imbalances from pressing.

Cheers.
D.
 
Clicking and popping is just the tendons and stuctures plucking one another. If it doesn't hurt then, I wouldn't worry about it too much. As the muscles get bigger the angle of pull of the tendons change a bit
It's unusual that it happens in your hips though, I get it once in a blue moon, on my left side. My hammies are tighter on that side, and it does ache a bit, when it does. I do a lot of hip rotations these days as part of my warmup to keep em loose

feet external rotation is either a tightness in the hips or weak hammies vs the glute. Turning the feet outwards engages the glutes more etc


well you need to think of more than Rows. Read that Ian King article on the shoulder. To balance the pecs, front delts, upper traps and lats -
your rear delts, mid and lower traps, and the many muscles that make up the cuff need to be strong. And then you need to make sure you cuffs, pecs and shoulders have good range of motion too.
 
About that standing single leg triple jump

here is a clip of Wellman, doing it
http://s20.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=11FC9SDKX89CD1I7I6NL2Z0JL7

well not quite - the 3rd series of jumps is pretty close to it. But he does it from a running start, and only does 2 jumps

Now try that from a standing start, with the other leg behind at the start, and off course do 3 jumps with only one leg. It's damn hard!

According to someone, if your posterior chain recruitment is in order, then you should be close to 3 times your standing long jump. ie your a stud of sorts 8-)

I'm no where near right now, it takes a lot of leg strength, force absorbtion and reactivity to pull it off. Maybe when I get leaner :)

Yeah I think for a lot of people 3 x SLJ is probably unrealistic for a lot of people but the key is improvement. I had one guy improve about 7 feet within a month and he ended up right at 3x and has short legs. I talked to one other coach who uses the test and his top guys were all doing about that but it's a pretty small sample group so I more or less just pulled those numbers out of my ass :D
Also it would be affected if a guy has a really good standing long jump like 12 feet there's no way in hell they're gonna get to 3 x. Maybe if I could test a big group of people it would lead to some more reliable standards but anyway I have used it enough to tell that for those who are strength dominant when they improve that it improves a lot of other things as well so I think it's worth incorporating.
Click to expand...
 
CoolColJ said:
Clicking and popping is just the tendons and stuctures plucking one another. If it doesn't hurt then, I wouldn't worry about it too much. As the muscles get bigger the angle of pull of the tendons change a bit
It's unusual that it happens in your hips though, I get it once in a blue moon, on my left side. My hammies are tighter on that side, and it does ache a bit, when it does. I do a lot of hip rotations these days as part of my warmup to keep em loose

feet external rotation is either a tightness in the hips or weak hammies vs the glute. Turning the feet outwards engages the glutes more etc


well you need to think of more than Rows. Read that Ian King article on the shoulder. To balance the pecs, front delts, upper traps and lats -
your rear delts, mid and lower traps, and the many muscles that make up the cuff need to be strong. And then you need to make sure you cuffs, pecs and shoulders have good range of motion too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I do think my hammies are weak compared to the glutes. I have and will continue to hit the improvised GHRs as i feel these in the hams nicely. I'll have to have another read of that Ian king article; if i dont use it i forget it... :)
 
Nice vid clip. Who is Wellman? a triple jumper? sprinter?

I think this might be good to include at lower intensity to start with to bring up reactivity.
 
d-dub said:
Nice vid clip. Who is Wellman? a triple jumper? sprinter?

I think this might be good to include at lower intensity to start with to bring up reactivity.
Click to expand...

Jamican triple jumper


yeah, but start building up single leg strength, especially your calves and with stiff legged altitude drops, and single leg RFI work like I have been doing, you will need it :)


That's why you need to train this way to be good at these things, squats, deads and olys don't really prepare you for the forces and kind of reactivity you need for this
 
That slomo is great. The man is floating...

I do very little reactive stuff at the moment. Have been adding more in recently tho.
 
You need to build a base of strength first. Reactive work just potentiates your strength levels. They also require strength to absorb the forces

But they in turn help your strength levels too

Anyway I have a feeling when I get my standing triple jump up another 10 feet close to 3 times my standing long jump, my running single leg jump and running jumps in general will sky up a lot compared to before :)
Hopefully my depth jumps will start to increase as well vs my standing jump

Someone said that it resembles a GHR on one leg but at high speeds, so you can see how it can help you learn to fire your posterior chain properly for jumping and such. ie when you improve it, there will be gains in other types of jumps too
 
forces are pretty high for me on em - especially on my feet.

That's why I decided to start off with single leg RFI work at full extension, on the floor, then progress to a 3inch height and then to 6inches, before going into em full on

Plus more prep work with single leg work like split squats and split RDL/deadlifts etc. And the single leg drops and stiff legged drops

My hammies have a good ache now from the last session. So I'm starting to recruit them better. Especially on the short sprints, I had a different kind of ache I never felt before on em.
 
CoolColJ said:
You need to build a base of strength first. Reactive work just potentiates your strength levels. They also require strength to absorb the forces

But they in turn help your strength levels too

Anyway I have a feeling when I get my standing triple jump up another 10 feet close to 3 times my standing long jump, my running single leg jump and running jumps in general will sky up a lot compared to before :)
Hopefully my depth jumps will start to increase as well vs my standing jump

Someone said that it resembles a GHR on one leg but at high speeds, so you can see how it can help you learn to fire your posterior chain properly for jumping and such. ie when you improve it, there will be gains in other types of jumps too
Click to expand...

This i know, i need to get stronger first. :) But i have started to include some low intensity stuff to prep me for the start of bball training, i dont really want shin splints.
 
Tuesday 8th March - Cycle 2 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 34 - Day 2 - Upper 1 - Microcycle 8 - workout 3

Not a bad workout I guess, but no bench PR :(

Bodyweight at gym - 223.5lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 7/10

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 30secs to 1.5 mins on warmup sets and then 3 mins between each exercise.


14 inch Grip bench - shoulders pulled together, no arch or leg drive

Warmups - Bar 2x10, 95lbs 3x5, 135lbs 2x3.
Pin press style with 2-3 sec pause - 135x3, 165x3, 195x2, 225x2, 245x1, 265x1, 285xMISS

Pin press Style - pins set 2 inches above the chest. Lowered under control onto pins, rest for 6 secs, then explode up

Rotation 1) 305lbs x MISS

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff (off 285lbs)
Rotation 2) 265lbs x 1
Rotation 3) 265lbs x 1
Rotation 4) 265lbs x 1
Rotation 5) 265lbs x 1
Rotation 6) 265lbs x 1
Rotation 7) 285lbs x MISS

Well I'm really dissappointed. I was hoping to hit 305lbs, which would be a 10lb PR from the last time I did these. The warmups up to 245lb felt much lighter than last time. 265lb felt heavy, and 285 was a disaster, it fell out of groove and landed back on the pins. I got 305 off the pins, but then stalled.

So I based the worksets of 285lbs. The first few singles with 265 felt harder than they should. It just didn't feel like last time. So I had a think about what I did before - I really tucked my elbows in hard on the way down, kept tight and then pushed hard while flexing the lats, then halfway up, I would automaticly flare the elbows and snap the bar towards my head. And it feels so much easier. So I did this with the later singles, and it did feel better. I tried 285 again, and it went down much lighter than before, but I was too tired by then to lock it out.
I could have done a few more singles with 265, but decided to call it a day.
At least I know which form makes me the strongest on these now

45 degree supported T-Bar row - wide curl grip

warmups - Bar x12, 45lbs x5, x3, 70lbs 2x3, 90lbs 2x3, 115lbs 2x3, 135x1, x2 160x1

assuming bar weighs 20lbs

3 sec pause between each rep
Rotation 1) Bar+170lbs x 2.75 New PR!!

96% of (15%BW+Session max) dropoff
Rotation 2) Bar+160lbs x 2
Rotation 3) Bar+160lbs x 2
Rotation 4) Bar+160lbs x 2
Rotation 5) Bar+160lbs x 2
Rotation 6) Bar+160lbs x 1.75


Cooldown and Cuffs

Cuff complex - no rest between each exercise/side

rest - 1min between each complex

Dumbell Cuban Rotation Raises - warmup 2kg x 10
A1) 6kg x 6
B1) 6kg x 6

Free Motion Machine, single arm face pulls - Neutral grip
A2) 40lbs x 10
B2) 40lbs x 10

One Arm low pulley L-Flyes - warmup 10lb x 6
A3) 10lbs x 20
B3) 10lbs x 15


Free Motion High Pulley 2 handed Lat Stretched ISO hold 110lbs x 1min

Dip Stretched ISO hold - leg supported BW x 1min

Shoulder Dislocates pec stretch with wooden staff
 
Last edited:
Minimal soreness, but feel slightly drained. Big jump in walking pulse.
I weighed 99.5kg 219lbs with 28.1% BF on the Tanita this morning straight out of bed. Finally on a downward trend. Waist is still the same size though for some reason...

But I do look and feel leaner, notice it in my face and shrinking double chin :)
Lost of a bit of size on the legs in a good way, not as bulky now. Which is what I want, which will help my limb speed, as long as I don't lose strength. Muscles are still there, my hammies have gotten quite a bit bigger lately.

Started taking whey again on off days, and more on training days to make sure I get enough protein, since I have cut back on the food a bit.
 
crap sleep last night, but I feel OK. Just a nap before training and I'll be fine
Hammies still quite a bit sore, but I felt lighter and stronger walking up this steep driveway today.

GT4 getting released for the PS2 today here - sweet! Another distraction, girlfriend won't like that too much :)
 
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