Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 24th January - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 5 Day 2 - Upper + Lower Strength DELOAD - Microcycle 6

Ok workout. Deloading a bit, next week I'll change things up and deload even more. Drop the intensity a bit.

Form was really bad today on both squats and Clean deadlifts. Legs were wobbly and all the old habits returned!
Maybe I'm starting to get too elastic/springy from all the running, jumping, and dancing etc...

On the plus side, my bodyweight at the gym has been inching down and my strength levels are holding steady so far, depsite the low calories and crap sleep

Bodyweight at gym - 207lbs
Workout time - 1.5+ hours
Workout rating - 7/10

General warmup -

20sec ISO holds - quarter squat, on toes, on heels (toes pulled up), hip back wide stance squat at parallel, on side of feet (for ankles), narrow fullsquat at bottom on toes

1) dynamic stretches and swings, rocking on side of ankle etc
2) reverse hypers - BWx10
3) back extension BWx6 + 6 twisting to each alternate side
4) situp complex on swissball
5) sitting in bottom of a narrow fullsquat for 40secs
6) adductor/hammie stretch into back tumbells x8
7) usual bar complex with 30lbs

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 3.5 mins between each exercise on work sets


Full Oly Back Squats - in Oly Shoes - RAW

Warmups - semi explosive
rest - 1min between earlier sets, 2-3mins between later sets
BWx8, Bar x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x4, 255x2 singles (30secs rest), 285x2 singles
Frontsquat - Bar x5, 95x3, 135x3
Wide stance fullsquats - Bar x5, 95x5

Controlled down, slight pause at bottom
Rotation 1) 325lbs x 2 (+10lbs)
Rotation 2) 335lbs x 2 (+10lbs) --> hard strain on 2nd rep
Rotation 3) Explosive - 245lbs x 10 (+10lbs -2reps)

explosive squats -
Rotation 1) 285lbs x 2 (+10lbs)
Rotation 2) 295lbs x 2 (+10lbs)

Form on the heavy sets were crap. Legs wobbling like hell, and my old GM'ing habits with my knee rebending to stop it returned. Doh, thought I had fixed it for good! Looks like my stance was a bit narrower than I normally use which probbaly help caused the problems.
Plus my olyshoes are really worn out at the rear, which probbaly doesn't help. Not nice when you have a wooden heel that's uneven...time to get a new pair me thinks.

245lbs x 10 set was quite a bit harder than the 235x12 last week


Clean/RDL Deadlifts - in Oly Shoes - RAW - HookGrip

Warmups - 139lbs x2, 196x2, 243x2, 293x1

semi-explosive up, lowered under control RDL style, then reset
Rotation 1) 333lbs x 2 (+15lbs)
Rotation 2) 313lbs x 2
Rotation 3) Hip back Stiffed Leg Deadlifts to knee level - normal grip - medium stance, toes angled inwards a bit - 243lbs x 10 (grip failure)

Crappy form and didn't seem to lock my back as straight as I should have.

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clip of the main squat and deadlift worksets - except the 333lb deadlift - camera didn't film it, I stuffed up...

right click on link and save first to avoid errors
http://www.members.optushome.com.au...d_285_295x2_245x10_CleanDead313x2_24Jan06.mpg

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Rotating Sets between each upper body exercise

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


Chest Supported 45 degree T-Bar Rows - Overhand grip

warmups - +45lbs x8, +90x3, 135x1

controlled,
Rotation 1) 135lbs x 5.75 (+5lbs)


Elbow on Knee L-Fyle Extenal Rotations

Warmups - 4kg x8, 15lbs x 6, 20x2

starting from bottom, controlled - 2mins rest between each side
Rotation 1) 22lbs x 9 (+2lbs +2reps)

Just the one set

 

[coolcolj]

Actually feel Ok considering the late night and all. I'm forcing myself to wake up later, so I can actually sleep in for once when I return to my normal sleeping time....
Waking pulse is pretty low at 55 for a day after a heavy workout. My pulse hasn't gone over 60 in a while and average pulse is quite a bit lower these days. Either I'm just a lot fitter or I'm not stressing my body much, even on crap sleep.

Don't even feel drained either. Slightly sore all over. Moderate soreness in my posterior chain and upper back/rear delts. Notice it mostly in my glutes and mid traps.

weighed 92.8kg 204.16lbs straight out of bed in underwear

Must say the new interval structured workouts I've been doing on Thursday and Sunday are pretty effective for leaning up so far.

 

[coolcolj]

Meh on the sleep - 6 hours...
Glutes still a bit sore, but at least my hammies are fine.

weighed 93.1kg 204.82lbs straight out of bed in underwear
Carbed up a bit yesterday

Yesterdsay I did
2 sets of 5 Reach, Roll and lift
10min walk + whole body stretch after

 

[coolcolj]

Thursday 27th January - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 5 DELOAD - Day 3 - Energy Work - Microcycle 6

Not much of a deload in volume today.
Weighed 204.4lbs in shorts and t-Shirt at home before the session, which is actually lighter than what I was this morning straight out of bed in underwear..... So my training/playing weight has come down 3+ lbs so far in 19 days. Plus I have gained some musclemass in that time as well.

Workout Rating - 7/10
Workout time - 40 mins

Warmup

warmup - 20sec ISO holds x 2 each - quarter squat, standing on toes, on heels (toes pulled up), hip back wide stance squat at parallel, on side of feet (for ankles), narrow fullsquat at bottom on toes.

dynamic stretches and swings, rocking on side of ankle, standing on one leg with eyes shut, various hops in place in bare feet at home.

Slow Jog - 50m x 4 - 1 mins rest, 25-14secs duration each, getting faster

Run complex increasing in speed each run to 50% speed - 1.5 mins rest

3 sets - trying to stay as smooth, relaxed and fluid as possible
25m prime times (stiffed legged runs), 10m straight run, then into lateral run, right side 5m, left side 5m, into backwards run 5m, then three 360 pivots runs

2 sets - 4 dropsquats (hammie to parallel) sitting back, focusing on activating the hammies + 3 point start into 40m accleration runs to 70% speed - 1mins rest

then rest 2 mins

Tempo Runs + Energy Work

56 metres @ 70-80% speed - from casual standing start

rest = walk back to start - 1min
3 runs - average around 10secs

then ran one lap around the football field - about 340ms, did that in 1 min 16.39 secs - 3 sec improvement over last week

rested 2mins - did 8 more 56 metre intervals as above

Shins started to ache on last run and fatigue creeping in so I stopped.
Pretty hard today, did not feel loose. Ran a bit choppy and tight. Plus the field seemed chewed up by someone doing burnouts or something...So grip wasn't good.

Calves were pretty trashed today.
These do not seem as effective as the stuff I do on Sunday in leaning me up I must say.

 

[coolcolj]

Thursday 26th January - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 5 - Day 3 -

Upper + Lower Prehab - Microcycle 6

Did this 1.5 hours after the above running session. Circuit interval style. 10-30secs rest between each, twice through, made it about 30mins, sweet, perfect. Sweating like a pig and breathing hard, but my heartrate wasn't as high as it was on Sunday. But combined with the above running session, I should burn a crap load of calories, especially over the next 24 hours.

First time through was more relaxed and controlled, but the 2nd rotation was more explosive and ballistic as it got quite a bit harder!

Bodyweight at gym - 208lbs
Workout time - 1 hour
Workout rating - 8/10

General warmup -
1) dynamic swings etc
2) back extension BWx6 + 4 twisting to each alternate side
3) reverse hypers - BWx10
4) Situp complex on swiss ball
5) warmup complex with 30lb bar
6) scapular pushups - on bench x 12, on floor x 12

Rotating Sets between each exercise, one upper body exercise then one lower/mid toso move - all stopped short of failure

Resting 30secs on warmup sets, and then 10-30secs between each exercise and 1min after each complete rotation

Upper Body -

Shoulder width Pullups - warmups - Pulldowns 35kgx8, 50kg x5, 65kg x 3, Pullup x3

Rotation 1) +10lbs x 9
Rotation 2) BW x 6

Dip Shrugs - warmup - BW x 10sec hold + 5, BW 3x5

2 sec hold at the top each rep
Rotation 1) BW+15lbs x 20
Rotation 2) BW+15lbs x 16

Seated Cable Rop Pull to Neck - warmups - 10kg x3, 10kg x5, 15kg x3, 20kg x3

1 sec hold at the top each rep
Rotation 1) 20kg x 15
Rotation 2) 20kg x 12

Closegrip triangle Pushups - warmups - BWx3, BW 3x5

Rotation 1) BW x 20
Rotation 2) BW x 20

Dumbell Curls - warmups - 2kgx10, 4kg x5, 15lbs x5, 30lbs x3

Rotation 1) 35lbs x 10
Rotation 2) 30lbs x 12


Lower/Mid torso -


Lunging Step-up - warmups - BW 4x4

alternating between each side
Rotation 1) BW x 20
Rotation 2) BW x 20

see clip down the middle of it
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=6D1DE1B547AEA7F85651B6D6E9C03663.hydra?id=890123
Not too hard loadwise, but man was my legs wobbling /buckling a lot on the concentric, especially my left leg. Obviously a weakness for me so I'm gonna be doing these a lot from now on! I did get a bit more stable towards the end though. Great move, feels like a single leg version of a hips back fullsquat, lots of stretch on the upper hammies.

Lat Machine Situps - Warmups - BWx6, 25lbs x5, 60lb x3

dumbell on chest, 3sec ISO at the bottom of each rep.
Rotation 1) 60lbs x 8
Rotation 2) 60lbs x 8

Single Leg Back Extension - Warmups - BW 4x2

2sec Hold at the top on each rep - No rest between each side
Rotation 1) BW x 10
Rotation 2) BW x 10

Sideways situp on hyper bench - Warmups - BW 4x3

No rest between each side
Rotation 1) BW x 8
Rotation 2) BW x 9

Standing Single Leg curl - Warmups - 4plates x 5, 6P x3

deadstop, feet angled inwards
Rotation 1) 6Plates x 15
Rotation 2) 6Plates x 12

Toe curls on lying leg curl machine - warmups - 1plate x 12, 2P x10

Rotation 1) 2Plates x 20
Rotation 2) 2Plates x 20


CoolDown and Stretches

Pec/subscap stretched ISO hold 5kg dumbells x 1min

bunch of static stretches

 

[coolcolj]

Feeling a bit tired, but I got 2 days of rest so all is well. Sore all over as expected. Which is fine cause that will just boost my metabolic rate in the recovery

weighed 92.5kg 203.5lbs straight out of bed in underwear

Looking leaner. Will be carbing up a bit today. I didn't eat all that much yesterday, about 1700 calories. Not much time to eat when you exercise a lot, plus I didn't feel like eating after those 2 sessions, killed my appetite. Just went to straight to bed after the postworkout meal

 

[coolcolj]

Crap sleep - keep walking up too early!!!
At least I'm starting to get that loose snappy feeling back.

weighed 93.1kg 204.8lbs straight out of bed in underwear

 

[coolcolj]

Much better and deeper sleep, just need more of it, but I woke up much later than before. I ate a lot of fat and carbs before going to sleep, that probably made the difference. A taboo thing to do, but I look leaner this morning
Still a bit achey all over.

weighed 92.9kg 204.4lbs straight out of bed in underwear

 

[coolcolj]

Sunday 29th January - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 6 - Day 1 - Energy/Prehab/Movement Efficiency work - Microcycle 6

Nice workout, changed things up, much better balanced. And it sure worked my ass off! Did most of the workout outside in the backyard concrete, so I wore shoes today.

Workout time - 32 mins not including warmup stuff
Session rating - 9/10

Reach, Roll and Lift move for lats and internal rotors - 2x6 for each side

warmup - 20sec ISO holds x2 each - quarter squat, on toes, on heels (toes pulled up), hip back wide stance squat at parallel, on side of feet (for ankles), narrow fullsquat at bottom on toes.

- dynamic stretches and swings, rocking on side of ankle, standing on one leg with eyes shut
- scapular pushups against chair - BWx10, pushups against chair BWx6, pushups on swissball x3
- various hop patterns in place in bare feet, 10 reactive squats, 5 easy vertical jumps.
- Then a few reps of each of the exercises


Done circuit style - 4 times through
10-20secs rest between each move - however long it takes me to get ready etc

1) 30secs of Burpees - jumping 80-90% effort, sticking the landing, about 10 reps.

2) 30secs of Shadow boxing - high intensity, concentrating on punch combos, but some footwork too and switching stances.

3) 10 x 12lb MedBall 2 handed Throwdowns - slight hop, throwing hard enough to bounce the medball to head height, 75% effort

4) 10 Swissball Pushups

5) 30 x 12lb MedBall twists in situp position - touching the floor on each side of the body as fast as possible

6) resting 2 minutes - while doing 15 External L-Rotations, bent over 45 degree raises - 15 thumbs-up upwards, 15 out to side --> all with 1lb collars

about 30 mins all up

- then I did 5 more burpees, focusing on the landing
- 12 more medball throwdowns
- a few hop/dance patterns

static stretches for the whole body, especially pecs, lats, and rotors

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

Decided to use my Nike 12lb Medball which looks and feels like a Rubber BBall, but a lot heavier
Bounces nicely on those throwdowns, which is sortalike doing a 2handed tomahawk dunk, and catching it after the bounce works the upper body too.

Phew I was gasping for air with this new combo of exercises much harder than before! Just about worked every major muscle group in my body in a dynamic/explosive fashion.

Less overall sets, so I jumped harder on the Burpees. Felt good, and a lot more tiring. I kept landing with my feet flared out and it felt a bit strange on the slight slope. Burn in my VMO. So I did an extra set of 5 facing down the slope and focused on landing with feet more straight ahead and pushing the knees outwards - that felt much better. Something to work on next week.
I was back more on heels on that last set when jumping, versus the other where I was up on my balls of my feet, and I felt some serious hang time! Interesting, having to wait for the landing....not sure how high I'm jumping now, but I hope to surprise myself when I head back to the BBall court in the future

Something I've noticed since I started doing these 20sec ISO holds in the warmups, which I do 4-6 times a week...my calves and tibs are blowing up.
Either that they just look like it because I'm getting leaner...?

 

[coolcolj]

More sleep, but I feel a bit groggy and light headed.
Mild aches all over - mostly in my upper body and spinal erectors. Left lower/outter hammie is a bit strained. Only on the knee joint side, ie when I do a leg curl motion. Not sure how that happened, but I think it might be from the dynamic stretches which I did more aggressively yesterday.
Funny that I didn't feel anything during yesterday's the workout or even hours after...

weighed 92.5kg 203.5lbs straight out of bed in underwear

Down 1+lb from last week. And I really look and feel a lot leaner. Even the unflattering mirror in my room, with soft cross lighting, which shows up my spare tyre really well. I can see my waist has shrunk, but it still measures 35.5inches...hmm guess my spinal erectors and some muscles there have gotten bigger.
Even my girlfriend confirms I've gotten leaner, and she would know - LOL

The combo of stuff I did yesterday is sure effective, even more so that sprint intervals and normal weight circuits. You can't beat the combo of whole body explosive/fast moves and unstable compound exercises and lots of lactic acid all mixed up together.
Been thinking about adding some stuff like this after my heavy lifts on Tuesday to keep the ball rolling.

10min walk planned today and some easy stretching