Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

I dunno, had an upper respiratory viral then becamse a sinus infection and now I'm still trying to work through it...any suggestions?

I don't know much about virus I suggets you go see a docotor and get some antibiotics. That's what my mum did last week. worked fast

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Sleep not that bad, but I feel sleepy and tired.
Upper back a bit achey, but feck my hamstrings and groin are so damn sore!! I can barely move properly.

Also my lower back feels really good and strong. Big change from last week and before, where it was always tight and achey. Good Mornings are working better than I expected. I think it's because it stretches and strengthens the whole posterior chain as a unit. I never got that feeling with RDLs, it stretches the hammies, but makes my lower back tight. Funny because I avoided GMs for a long time because I thought they would stuff up my lower back....
Seem to work my hammies far better than than any other move as well, and if you go up to your toes like I do with the oly version your pretty much strengthening the whole posterior chain as it functions in jumping and sprinting.

weighed 95.4 kg 209.88lbs straight out of bed in underwear

 

[coolcolj]

Wednesday 6th December - Cycle 4 Get Strong+Maintain Weight - Week 1 - Day 2 - Upper Strength - Micro cycle 1

Average workout. Strength is definitely way down after the break and virus.
In the back of my mind I'm keeping the upper volume on the lower side as lower body is priority. Every bit of extra recovery is gonna help

Body weight at gym - 212lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 7/10

General warm up -

1) whole body dynamic stretches and swings
2) scapular push ups - on bench 2x10
3) bench scapular dip shrugs x 10


Rotating Sets between each exercise

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

stretched the side of neck and upper trap, 15secs each, at the start of each warm up and work set rotation


16inch grip Bench - shoulders slightly tucked, no arch or leg drive

Warm ups - pause at middle, and bottom on the war down, power up - Bar x 10, 95lbs x 5, 135x5, 165x4, 195x3,
normal - 225x2


controlled, no bounce, driven up hard
Rotation 1) 255lbs x 1 --> pretty hard
Rotation 2) 205lbs x 5
Rotation 3) 155lbs x 10

None of the sets to failure
255 was pretty hard, considering I did it for 3 reps + 1 gut buster before the break. Maybe the dual paused warmup sets tired me out more than I realise.
Pretty tired by the time I got to the 205x5 set, so I didn't much more after that. I was planning to do 2 more sets waving back up.


Chest Supported T-Bar Rows - medium overhand grip

warm ups - semi-Explosive + 2 sec hold at top on last rep - BAR x10, +25lbs x 8, +45x8, +70x5, +90x5, +115x3, +135x2

controlled
Rotation 1) Bar + 160lbs x 1
Rotation 2) Bar + 135lbs x 5
Rotation 3) Bar + 90lbs x 10

None of the sets to failure. Posterior chain didn't tense up like it normally does when I go heavy.

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Rotating Sets between each exercise

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


Elbow on Knee single arm External Rotation - started from bottom

warm ups - 4kg x 8

controlled - 1.5 min between sides
Rotation 1) 15lbs x 8

took it easy

Dip Shrugs

warm ups - regular 10sec Hold + 5 reps

controlled with hold at top
Rotation 1) BW x 12


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Cool down - Restorative - stretches

Static stretches - lats, shoulders, rear delt, bicep, tricep, cuffs and lower body

Dip/Pushup stretched ISO hold - knee on floor - 30secs

 

[coolcolj]

Good sleep but yet I still feel so tired, WTF!
Oh well at least my legs are starting to get that nice springy feel back. Adductors and hammies are still pretty sore though.
Upper body not that sore from yesterday which is surprising. And I feel quite good in the sense that I don't feel sapped from the workout yesterday. So much so I could actually go and sprint/jump/BBall today. This is a welcome change. Maybe dialing back the upperbody workouts will pay bigger dividends than I thought...you only have some much adaptive capacity, so you have to divide it accordingly etc

Feels like I'm starting to rebound back. Maybe by the end of next week I'll be back on track

weighed 95.8 kg 210.76lbs straight out of bed in underwear

 

[coolcolj]

Thursday 7th December - Cycle 4 Get Strong+Maintain Weight - Week 1 - Day 3 - Lower Power/Hypertrophy/Work Capacity - Micro cycle 1

Hammies and adductors still uber sore, but I have enough spring in my legs to feel I have recovered enough to train em today. I don't want to train on Friday, so I squeezed in this session today. Glad I didn't go all out yesterday.
Pretty good session in any case. Legs are feeling great from the high rep squats.

Bodyweight back up to where I want it for now

Body weight at gym - 213.5lbs
Workout time - 1.75 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

General warm up -

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 full squat at bottom on toes
standing on one leg, balancing, and with eyes shut

1) dynamic stretches and swings, rocking on side of ankle etc
2) back extension x 5 + 6 twisting to each side
3) reverse hypers - BW x 10
4) sit up complex on swiss ball
5) various hops, prime times, running in the spot drills

Rotating Sets between each exercise

Resting 2-3mins


Jumps

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

did these in between the warm up sets on squats from 185lbs to 225lbs

a) standing Vertical jump,
b) one step VJ
c) running one legged jump
d) three step VJ

sequence for 2 sets total

jump just slightly under my current best at the gym, but I'm not expecting much during this phase with all the high rep squatting etc.
Just some low volume work to maintain my form and reactivity etc.
These are feeling even better on the landings after the Good Morning work. Knees felt real solid.

Full Squats - high bar, medium stance - Oly Shoes - no Belt

warm ups - controlled down, explosive up in sneakers - Bar x 8, 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x4
in oly shoes - 255x3, 285x2

controlled down, semi-explosive up
1) 315lbs x 1 - rest 3 mins
2) 285 x 5 - rest 5 mins
3) 235 x 10 - rest 6 mins
4) 305 x 5 - rest 6 mins
5) 255 x 10 - rest 6 mins

Up the waveloading sequence 10lbs from last workout. Was kinda nervous about this, but form was better, I felt stronger, support muscles held solid, and I didn't even need to take breaths between each rep. Powered em up like a piston!

255x10 made me real nervous, but my desire to squat 500lbs pulled me through and in the end wasn't as hard as I thought. The single I did 315lbs felt a lot lighter and faster as well.
Noticed the extra posterior chain ROM from the Good Mornings, allowed me to stay stiffer and more upright at the bottom. Lower back keeping the arch, and it didn't pump like before.

Next squat workout I'll intensify and lower the volume by switching to those ISO paused squats for 3 sets of 2 with 315lbs, well I'll see how many sets and reps I can get, but 2 reps per set planned for now. Plus some easy high rep single leg squats to flush some blood in there.

That will probbaly be the plan this microcycle, 2 waveloaded high rep workouts to one ISO paused intensification workout. With a sprint/jump/BBall session inbetween each squat workout. Then a deload after 2 such complete sequences.

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Rotating Sets between each exercise

minimal rest between each exercise

Narrow stance OLY style Good Mornings onto toes - pause at bottom - controlled - 65lbs x 6, 95lbs x 6, 105lbs x 6

Upped the weight 10lbs, wow 105lbs was pretty hard! Granted I did these after some tiring squatting, but I have no idea how people can toss around 300+lbs on these, but then again I ain't full squatting 600lbs for reps either
Did these is sneakers today and it felt much harder than in oly shoes last time. Thought the extra calf ROM would be nice, but you can sit back as much and it's a bit unstable, so I'm going back to oly shoes. Unstable GMs is not a good diea..

Lat Machine situp - BW x 12 (progressively lower each rep with hold at bottom)
hold at middle and bottom on each rep - 25lbs x 6

Toe curls on lying leg curl machine - 10sec stretched hold + 6 reps with with a hold at top, mid and bottom + 5 sec stretched hold - 1 Plate, 2 plates

Sideways situp on hyper bench - BW x 6 each side

Single Leg Standing leg Curl - hold at top, mid and bottom - forgot to do these.....

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lower body, and lower back stretches. Massaged squads in stretched position.

 

[coolcolj]

Not enough sleep, but not much choice on this. Will nap a bit to catch up.
Don't feel too bad, a little sapped but not drained. Quads and posterior chain pretty sore, lower back quite a bit, although my hammies and adductors are less sore than yesterday
Achey calves, and upper back/traps/biceps are pretty sore too. I think from holding the bar down on squats as I power up hard enough for the bar to come off my shoulders.

weighed 95.5 kg 210.1lbs straight out of bed in underwear
Just when I feel like I'm starting to bloat up, the high rep squats trim me back down

12 min walk and some easy stretching

 

[coolcolj]

Dynamic warmup - hip mobility drills
Hmmm trim female athlete, especially with pigtails/pony tails

http://orgs.jmu.edu/strength/Videos/Ally_Videos/dynamic_warmup_AB.htm

LOL I'd be tired after going through that whole lot ;D

 

[coolcolj]

Better sleep, but still not great. Damn dog needs to die!
Upper body beat up from yesterday, but I will still go to the gym and do my prehab/rehab light workout.
Lower back still pretty trashed, all that lifting and carrying around of medium loads yesterday doesn't help recovery. Legs still sore, but feeling better. Quads feel rock hard, VMO bulging! Getting some myogenic tone I guess

weighed 96.5 kg 210.54lbs straight out of bed in underwear
Pigged out yesterday, lots of carbs, so the weight jump is probably mostly water weight hopefully.

 

[coolcolj]

Sunday 10th December - Cycle 4 Get Strong+Maintain Weight - Week 2 - Day 1 - Upper 2 Prehab_Rehab - Microcycle 1

Surprisingly good workout, even though my upper was a bit sore and tired from yesterday. Felt much stronger than the last time I did this workout, and that was 2+ weeks ago! Body rebounding back, virus is just about all gone.

Cut down the work sets to just 1. The 2 work sets I did before was just too damn tiring. Also dropped a few exercises.
I had more energy to do the post workout stretches today.
Also I will probably drop the loads to 60% of what I use when I go hard in this workout, every alternate time I do this workout to back off.
In the last microcycle I started dreading every time this session came up so this will help keep me relaxed and improve recovery, especially now that upping my leg strength is the main goal.

Even though there are 4-5 days break between each upper body workout, and at least a days rest between any workout there was still too much CNS drain on a global level. I figure erring on the side of under training my upper body will give me better lower body gains, make me feel better, and who knows my upper body just may make better gains too!
So I'll have roughly 4 hard upper body workouts a month, 2 for each of the two upper body session. And lower overall volume compared to before.

Body weight at gym - 215lbs
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 8/10

General warm up -

1) whole body dynamic stretches and swings
2) scapular push ups - on bench 2x8
3) situp complex on swiss ball - warmup my core for military presses


Rotating Sets between each exercise

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


16inch grip standing Military Press - pushed behind the head at the top

Warm ups - with slight hold at top and pause at the middle on the way down - Bar x 8, 95 x5, 115 x4, 135x3

controlled, pause at the middle and bottom on the way down. Relaxing at the bottom
Rotation 1) 155lbs x 7 NEW PR!!

not bad at all, and with double pauses. Once it gets easier I'll for maybe 8 reps I'll go up to 165lbs. Once I can do 175lbs for at least 6 reps I'll take a crack at 225lbs.


Pull Downs/Rows

warm ups - Shoulder width Pull downs, 2 sec hold on the last rep - 35kg x 10, 50kg x6, 70kg x3


Dumbbell high angle Rows to ribcage - pulling with mid/lower traps and delts - hold at top - warmup 25lbs x 5
Rotation 1) 40lbs x 10


Dumbbell Bench - arms/elbows by side - neutral grip

warm ups - incline - 15lbs x10, flat - 45x5, 75x5, 95x3,

controlled, 2 sec pause, shoulders pushed off bench at top
Rotation 1) 100lbs x 7 NEW PR!! (+5lbs -1 rep) --> hard strain on last rep

I'm finally in the "Big Boys" club - LOL. Not that hard at all, I could probably get 10 reps without doing the pause, extension at top and lower down a bit faster. Grip was barely holding the 100lb dumbbells though when carrying em! Will stay here till my grip catches up, Maybe time to dust the cobwebs off my Ivanko Super Gripper


Dumbbell Curls

warm ups - with pause at the middle on the way down on some reps - 4kg x10, 25x5, 30x4, 35x3

controlled, hold at parallel on the way down, pause at bottom
Rotation 1) 40lbs x 7 (+1 rep) --> hard strain on last rep


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Cooldown - Restorative - ISO stretches

Subscap raises 6kg x 10 (paused) + 35 sec Pec/Subscap stretched ISO hold

Knee supported Pushup/dip stretched ISO hold - 30secs

upper and lower body stretches etc

 

[coolcolj]

kinda crappy sleep. Upper body moderately sore.
Legs getting the loose feeling back, 4 days after not squatting, like clockwork.
Lower back/posterior chain still sore, some of it from yesterday's workout. I might train lower body today, I will definitely feel better tommorrow, but the urge is there to train, and I feel good enough to do it

weighed 96.3 kg 211.86lbs straight out of bed in underwear

ran out of protein powder, didn't take any yesterday. Kind lazy to go buy some more, so I'll see how I go without it for a week or so

 

[coolcolj]

I actually went to the gym today to do my lower body workout, but aborted it early when the squat warmup sets felt too hard compared with what they should feel like. CNS is still sapped from yesterday's workout I guess...
The signs were there , I just ignored them - that warm fuzzy feeling I get, it just wasn't as pronounced as when I really feel drained, and I wasn't tapping beats in the key on the way to the gym like I usually do, had a serious mood or something.

Funny though the general warmup drills I did felt pretty good, as did the lighter squat and powerclean warmup sets. But when I got to 149lbs on the high hang powercleans that felt pretty heavy in my hands.
The 225x4 squat warmup set felt way too hard for the load, then 255x3 wasn't that much easier considering I did it for 10 reps last time, and 285x2 sealed the deal - I left the gym then.
Didn't do to much damage, pretty light workout in terms of volume etc
and only 40mins long.

On a positive note the high rep wave loaded squats I've been doing has reduced the amount of lactic acid build up and winded feeling in the earlier light squat warmup sets. That stuff usually gasses me out a bit.

I need to learn another lesson on back to back high intensity workouts again... I may or may not retry this workout again tomorrow. In the past I've had bench workouts where the warmups felt real heavy and hard, and I stopped the workout then and came back the next day, and then warmups felt a lot lighter and I cranked a PR. See how I feel tomorrow....

So frustrating!