Update

First off - hope anyone reading this had a great Christmas.

We didn't squat on Friday as there were loads of protests and so getting anywhere would have been a nightmare. We had planned to take this Friday as a say off over Christmas but instead we just took last Friday as our day off.

So I haven't trained for a bit and I'm really missing it. My idea had been to enjoy a break over Christmas and have a few drinks and then be eager to get stuck in again come new year so that it's feeling like I'm more than ready to get back in the gym.

I'm thinking I will hit some delt work tomorrow then squats on Friday. Then if the rockpit is open on ny eve some pulls and upper back. After that it should be close to business as usual and I can look at starting to ramp the weights and my body weight up coming into the comp in April.

Thanks for reading

Training 19/12/12

Equipped bench and accessory

Raw bench up to 170kg x1 

I decided to just bench in my old single ply super katana as I really wanted to get some solid full range reps in. It gives me nothing at lockout and has much much less support than my double ply rage X so I should be expecting a good few more kg once I'm back in it.

Equipped bench

200kg to 3 board x1 then straight into 

200kg to 2 board x1

220kg to 2 board x1 then straight into

220kg to 1 board x1 

240kg to 1 board x1 then straight into

240kg to chest x1

240kg full range 3x1

Last single:

Press ups x20

superset with

Triceps band pushdowns x20

This superset was completed 3 times

Cable rows x15

superset with

Dumbbell lateral raise 7.5kg x15

superset with 

Band pull aparts x15

This circuit was completed 4 times

Wrecked after this workout. The extra weight in the shirt which I'm not used to took its toll. Gonna take a break over Christmas. Training should be back to normal in a couple of weeks

Thanks for reading

Training 18/12/12

Deadlift and high volume upper back

Today I decided I'd test my deadlift a bit. Went as follows:

Raw deadlift (no belt)
worked up to 250kg x2

Raw deadlift (belt)

270kg x1

300kg x1

317.5kg x1

This is a raw pb for me and really didn't feel too tough. It felt like there was a 330kg there. Especially if I were able to drop the bar. The gym I'm deadlifting in (Centaur) is like 5 floors up and so I can't drop my deadlifts.

I left out the speed sets as I felt that a heavy single was enough.

Rope climbs x10

Wide grip chest supported barbell rows 120lb x50, x30, x28 (These were 3 sets of max reps and there was about 2 minutes break between each set)

Barbell band resisted shrugs with straps 170kg bar weight with 12" mini band 4x12
Barbell band resisted shrugs with straps 120kg bar weight with 12" mini band x50

Bodyweight rows on gymnast rings x12
superset with
Hammer curls 30lb x12
This superset was completed 3 times

All in all a decent workout and also buzzing as I passed my written finals. One step closer to doctoring next year! :)

Thanks for reading

Training 14/12/12

Safety bar squat raw (belt and 2m knee wraps) worked up to

210kg x5

Safety bar squat equipped (briefs and belt) worked up to

270kg x3

All squats were absolutely buried. We're moving away from cutting squats just in and instead making sure all squats in training are well in. This was the first time all of us had tried safety bar squatting and it was tough. We set some decent markers to beat in the future though

Eccentric cambered bar goodmornings (no blet) 140kg 8x1

Kettlebell pistol squats 24kg 3x8

Glute ham raises x12
Superset with
Incline sit ups 20kg x15
This superset was completed 3 times

Reverse hypers 20kg 3x12

My legs are in pieces. My upper body is also sore and locked up so I'm gonna play it smart and leave training tomorrow to allow myself to recover. Next week I should be back to my standard 4 day set up.

Thanks for reading

Training 12/12/12

Bench and accessory

Updating this on the phone so it may be a little messy. I'll clean it up when I get on the PC if need be.

Reverse band 2 board press (these bands were lighter than a few weeks ago)

Worked up to

160kg x3

180kg x3

200kg x3 (wrist wraps on)

215kg x3

225kg x3 (this was balls to the wall! lol)

Close grip reverse band 2 board press 160kg 3x8

Incline dumbbell press 35kg x20, x20, x16

Superset with

Triceps band pushdowns 3x20

Seated cable row 52kg x15

Superset with

Lateral raises 7.5kg x15

Superset with

Chest supported dumbbell rear delt raises x15

This circuit was completed 4 times at a quick pace as there was only Andy, Mike and myself training together tonight. As expected I struggled through this workout having hit upper body on Monday and Tuesday. Glad to have got through it.

I also have a slight left anterior delt strain which I think I think I picked up during Monday's training. Thankfully I stayed tight during all bench reps tonight and kept it safe although it was sore during the bench. All in all a great workout. In theory it should be downhill the rest of the week now :)

Thanks for reading

Training 10/12/12

Delts and traps

So I didn't manage to get in on Saturday as the town was a mess cos of that rally. This week is gonna be tough - squeezing in 5 days. Today was as follows:

Kettlebell press 40kg 5x5

Dips +10kg 5x10 in 5 min

Arnold Press 70lb 5x5
superset
Swiss bar press 90lb x10, x12, x14, x16, x20

Inch dumbbell replica 1 arm power jerks 42kg 5x3

Barbell power shrugs (double overhand no straps) 150kg 5x10

Dumbbell shrugs with small size12" bands 55lb dumbbells

I then decided to throw in some extra stuff to hit my triceps a bit:

Neutral grip incline dumbbell press 60lb x20, x18, x16, x14, x12

Thanks for reading

Training 11/12/12

Deadlift and upper back accessory

Raw deadlift (no belt or suit) 232.5kg x5 (did an extra 3 reps just for some work)

Speed deadlift (no belt or suit) 190kg 8x3 (90 sec rest between sets permitted, I took 45)

Chins 5x5 10kg + 2 large chains

1 Arm dumbbell rows 62.5kg 4x8

Wide grip lat pull downs 130lb 3x15

An rollouts 40kg 2x8

Grip was hit pretty hard with the dumbbell rows and the pull downs were just fpr a bit of a burn out.

I was thinking of really hitting the volume hard today but seeing as I've to bench tomorrow I figured I'd give it a miss. I'll still be fairly fatigued tomorrow night while benching but I really need to get the workouts in. I'm really gonna try and keep the delt and trap day in my split as it's become very obvious to me that the stronger my overhead pressing is, the stronger my benching is.

Regarding my deadlifting - been doing some reading and I've seen that a lot of guys are saying that using bands on the deadlift became equivalent to using a smith machine for them. For this reason rather than band all my speed pulls in every workout I'm gonna band them every other week. I've also decreased my deadlift frequency to once a week as I want to dedicate a little more time to accessory on Fridays.

Time to eat! 

Thanks for reading

Training 07/12/12

Squat and accessory

Raw reverse band squat worked up to 230kg bar weight x6 (belt, no knee wraps)

Equipped reverse band squat (briefs no knee wraps)

300kg bar weight 5x2

Last set:

Snatch grip deadlifts 200kg max reps off 3" plates. Managed 15 reps:

Front squats paused at the bottom 80kg 2x5 1x10

Glute ham raise x12, x10, x8

superset with

Hanging ab twists x20, x16, x12

(first superset was 12 with 20 ab twists, second set 10 with 16 ab twists etc.)

Tonight's session was tough, really tough. There was just myself and Andy so we were kind of limited with how far we could go with the squatting for safety reasons. Hopefully this will change once we make the move to the RockPit. There should be a few more bodies about there.

The snatch grip pulls were just plain brutal. Glutes, upper back, lower back, hams etc were dead after them. This was my first time doing them so I was fairly happy with how I got on.

This was also the first time I've done front squats so we kept the weight light. Also bearing in mind we were pre-exhausted by all the work before it was wise. Because of this these still managed to hit my upper back and I could feel how they'll help me work on staying upright.

Overall a pretty grueling workout, but a real sense of achievement leaving the gym having soldiered through it.

Delts and traps tomorrow. I haven't done them for a few weeks so tomorrow may be more of a break in type session to get me back on the pace.

Thanks for reading

Training 05/12/12

Bench and accessory

Floor press 105kg bar weight + 60kg chain 5x5

Incline barbell press 80kg close grip x27

Incline barbell press 80kg max legal competition grip x21

Bench dips +25kg plate x15

superset with

Band push downs x20

This superset was completed 3 times

Band pull aparts x15

superset with 

Lateral raises 10kg x15

superset with

Pull downs 52kg x15

This circuit was completed 4 times

The pulley system on this lat pull down machine was really weird so I really have no idea if it was anything like 52kg. This were primarily for working scapular retraction.

I'd never done incline barbell presses before so these were messy as hell for me. Really struggled to find any sort of line and the bar was floating about everywhere :)

I was busted after this workout but felt great to have been back in the gym. Buzzing :) I'd say I'll be sore the next few days. I've lost a bit of weight as I'd gone off food as my throat was aching. Plan is to regain that weight quick enough and continue to increase the bodyweight steadily after that. It should be easier to stay on top of my diet now that I have my written exams over me. Plus a little Christmas bulk will help :)

We are making a move to a different gym soon - to the RockPit in Lisburn. Supposed to be an awesome facility and they have a new room refurbished with a load of strength and conditioning equipment. I'll have to see if I can get a few pictures of it once we get everything sorted up there.

Thanks for reading

Training on hold

Managed to pick up a chest infection and so have been completely drained by that. Hoping to get back in the gym tomorrow although if I'm still feeling rubbish I'll have to leave it as it will most likely do more harm than good to train through it.

Update

I haven't trained since Friday. I started my written finals yesterday. One paper yesterday, one today and two tomorrow. Not too bad so far. Hopefully tomorrow goes well then I'll be benching in the shirt tomorrow evening!

Once the exams are over things should be back to normal

Training 23/11/12

Raw Squat Movement and accessory

Reverse band squat 2m knee wraps and belt

170kg x3

220kg x3

250kg x3

270kg x3

220kg x8

Dimel Deadlifts 150kg + mini 12" 3x10

Hip extension with mini band 4x10

superset with

Hanging ab twists 4x10

1 arm kettlebell swings 36kg x10

superset with

Kettlebell front squat double 28kg x10

This superset was completed 4 times

Best of luck to anyone from the NIPF competing at the 4 nations powerlifting over the weekend. Bring it home :)

Thanks for reading

A note on videos

Ok, so I seem to have figured out what may be the problem with viewing videos on my blog. I'm running Firefox and after reinstalling Adobe Flash Player and Firefox I still had no luck. I then opened Internet Explorer to see if it would work...and it did. So, it must be an issue with the Firefox-Flash Player combo. Therefore I don't think I can do much to fix it. As far as I remember there was a Flash update not long ago and this may be the time that I started experiencing difficulties with viewing videos embedded on my blog. Hopefully Adobe +/ Mozilla get the finger out and get it sorted.

EDIT: Finally got it fixed. Had to delete Youtube cookies and bingo, works fine. Dunno why this became an issue, but glad I've got it fixed

Training 21/11/12

Raw bench movement and accessory

Reverse band bench press. I have just written the bar weight here. At the bottom the bands were taking about 70kg off. At the top I'm not sure but it felt heavy. lol

Warm ups then

150kg x1

170kg x1

190kg x1

210kg x1

225kg x1

235kg x1:

Paused close grip reverse band bench press of 3 board 190kg bar weight 2x8

Decline band resisted push ups (small) x10

superset with

Triceps cable push downs x20

This superset was completed 3 times

Face pulls x15

superset with

Dumbbell lateral raise

superset with

Fat Gripz dumbbell biceps curls x15

This circuit was completed 4 times

Good workout and the first time I have used reverse bands. Loved it! :)

EDIT: For some reason my Youtube videos are no longer working on the blog. I am using the blogger tool and it's not working and also trying to embed using HTML and it's still not happening. I have no idea why this is to be honest. Very frustrating, but as before if you click the title it should take you to view it on Youtube.

Thanks for reading

Training 19/11/12

Deadlift and low volume upper back

Ok, so I just assumed that I deadlifted on the 12/11/12. This means I would have completed the Coan Phillipi up to week 7. I am now gonna add 10% of my previous underestimated 100% and take this 110% as my new 100%. So in maths speak:

265kg/10 = 26.5kg. 265+26.5 = 290kg (roughly)

From here it's a simple case of going back to the % table and plugging in the values. Band tension will now be introduced on the speed pulls. I'm gonna use 12" minis. These shouldn't be too taxing at all and will really help me develop some snap on my pulls. I had considered adding 5% to 265 but I'll see how I go with 10%. If it goes nipples up I can always adjust

Deadlift 217.5kg x2

Speed deadlift 175kg + 12" minis 8x3 (40-60 second rest periods)

Band resisted chins 10kg+supermini 5x5

Wide grip cable rows 160lb 4x12

Inch replica rows 42kg 4x8

Fat grip biceps dumbbell curls 30lb 5x12
superset with
Triceps cable pushdowns 50lb 4x20 1x50

Ab rollouts + 35kg 4x8

Unfortunately no videos as I am just nipping in and out of the gym these days. One thing on the band resisted chins. These worked great. At the top the bands were giving a resistance of around 25kg. So total added was 35kg at the top. They didn't feel like this at all. I have a feeling these are going to work very well. I will post a video of the set up at some point when I have a little more time.

Thanks for reading

Training 17/11/12

Delts and traps

Barbell Military Press 85kg 4x5 1x10

Dips 10kg 5x5 in 3-4 minutes

Arnold press 60lb 5x10

superset

Band side laterals (mini) 5x15

Log clean and press 70kg 5x6

Trap bar power shrugs + bands no straps 140kg + 12" minis 5x10

Seated dumbell shrugs 45lb 5x20

This was a tough one. Fairly sore and tight from last night and trailing myself out of bed to get down to the gym early wasn't much craic. I had planned to go 10x5 on the dips but my pecs are still sore from the illegal wide bench on Wednesday so I just halved the volume and took the reps nice and slow but the sets close together. 

No videos today unfortunately. I was just trying to get in and out as fast as possible. Blog just hit 1000 views! :) Tells me someone is reading it at least, hopefully more people begin to comment over time. Time to study now

Thanks for reading

Training 16/11/12

Equipped squat and accessory

Raw box squat with bands

80kg + bands x6

110kg + bands x6

130kg + bands 2x6

Equipped box squat with bands (briefs and belt)

180kg +bands 5x2 

Last set:

Looking at this now it was moving a lot faster than it felt. lol. Working on my timing and it's looking a lot better. Upper back and head are moving before my hips. I'm happy with this. EDIT: Video doesn't seem to be working on blog page but if you click the video heading at the top of the video window it should go to Youtube and seems to work that way

Seated goodmornings 100kg 3x8 1x15

Lunges 35kg dumbbells

superset with

Hyperextensions 25kg x20

This circuit was completed 3 times. I dropped the lunges to 20kg a hand on the last set. Gassed

The band set up was not ideal as they pretty much almost deload at the bottom. This was just a gauging day really. Next time the bands will be choked and there will be more tension and more bar weight if all goes to plan! Not sure how much band tension there was exactly, but enough for now :)

Thanks for reading

Training 14/11/12

14/11/12 Raw bench and assistance

Illegal wide bench press raw
40kg x6
70kg x6
100kg x6
120kg x6
130kg x6 (wrist wraps on)
140kg x6
145kg x6

Had a few more kg in me here. These went better than I had expected

Incline dumbbell press 35kg 2x30

Barbell skullcrushers 40kg x10
superset with
Supermini band triceps push downs x20
This superset was completed 3 times

Supermini band pull aparts x15
superset with
Dumbbell lateral raise x15 (can't remember weight, but light enough)
superset with
Biceps dumbbell curls 10kg x15
This circuit was completed 4 times

I was cooked after this. Triceps are taking a lot of work these days, which is great. Hopefully I will see some increases in my bench - both raw and equipped.

A well earned post workout Thai red curry stir fry... 500g noodles, 450g chicken, 250g veg. Over indulgent I know. But tasty!

 

Thanks for reading

Deadlift Technique

I decided to throw a few thoughts up on deadlift technique as I have facepalmed so many times as a result of many peoples' attitudes to it...

"The deadlift is the number one technique lift. If you don’t have technique in the deadlift, you just can’t muscle it up"

Ed Coan

This illustrates what I'm getting at. People go on all day about squat and bench technique. When was the last time you heard someone really talk about deadlift technique? It seems the attitude of most people is that you just pick it up. Not so simple. Try a 1RM deadlift with the bar starting 6 inches in front of you or with your arms bent. See what I mean?

I'm gonna run through a few pointers on deadlift set up. It may help some people, but it should also act as a refresher for myself and also allow me to vent a little :)

I'm gonna address conventional deadlift as I know very little about sumo pulling and conventional pulling is just 1000x times cooler anyways. Quite frankly, a well performed conventional pull just looks sharp and stylish. You will know one when you see one. A bad one will almost bring tears to your eyes

There's only two guys who make sumo pulling look good. Malanichev and Belyaev...

Many of the points I'll go on  about should still be applicable anyways.

First off - stance. Conventional stance I take around about shoulder width apart. If you are using a proper deadlift bar there will be no knurling in the centre. This is so it doesn't get caught on your thighs. It can also give you a decent idea of where you should be setting up for the path of least resistance. Don't roll onto your toes at the start of a pull, likewise don't roll back on your heels at the end of a pull. Distribute your weight evenly across your feet. The bar should be against your shins when you pull. Bleeding shins are to be expected. The closer the bar is to you the safer your lower back is

Gripping the bar - I use a mixed grip. My stronger hand goes underhand and my weaker hand goes overhand. I have started mixing this up during my warm ups and speed sets but on heavy sets and comp it is always right under left over. Grip should not be excessively wide or excessively narrow. Wide = more biceps tears. Narrow = getting in the way of yourself. We want the most efficient pull here so get the grip in as close as is comfortable. Grip the bar hard

Arch your lower back - arch your lower back like you would with a squat. Keeping your lower back arch is key to avoiding injury. Once this goes you're in an extremely vulnerable position. IMO you should be holding your arch whenever you are performing all accessory movements and they should be designed in such a way to strengthen this arch. (Reverse hypers are an exception)

Upper back position - bone of contention for some people. In an ideal world it should probably be in a straight neutral position. But this isn't an ideal world. Personally I know I pull with my upper back slightly rounded, but tight. Big pullers like Konstatinovs and Tom Martin do this so I don't see too much wrong with it. As long as you have the strength to finish through at the top of the pull and you keep your chest proud it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Taking your air - again take your air like you would a squat. Something a lot of people do wrong. When you take a big breath you breath into your abdomen, NOT your chest. This means that you shouldn't be shrugging your shoulders up, raising your chest excessively or making a huge noise when you take your air. A good breath into the abdomen will not need to sound loud and your abdomen should expand for a period before your chest begins to and your shoulders have absolutely no need to be moving upwards. Your diaphragm moves down when you breathe in, shrugging your shoulders just counteracts this. Breathing into your abdomen will help brace your lumbar spine. I have also heard complete idiot "personal trainers" advising people to tighten their abs by trying to pull their belly button towards their spine. WTF. What the actual... This is completely counterintuitive. Don't do it.

Belts and breathing - breathe as described above. Your belt should be tight enough that you can slide your hand between it and yourself. When you take a good breath it should then be snug against your abdomen. I don't recommend putting on a belt as tight as possible. How will you breathe in and contract your abs then? Pulling with a belt choking you is asking for an injury

Lats - lats should be tight when you engage with the pull. As you are warming up you should almost be able to screw the bar off the ground with a mixed grip purely by engagement of your lats.

Hip position - this is all about economy of movement so don't keep your hips low if you are only gonna shift them up before you initiate your force on the bar. I see this commonly with olympic lifters trying deadlifting. These guys have phenomenal weightlifting technique, don't get me wrong; but they tend to squat into a deadlift, begin to stand up and don't move the bar until their hips are well on the way up. There are few people that are built to almost begin their deadlift with an efficient hack squat type movement. I'd recommend not pulling like that. When you move your hips the bar should be moving IMO. This is something I have worked on a whole lot over the last few years and my pull has benefited as a result. At the top of the pull focus on tightening your glutes and forcing your hips forward.

Chin - yes, chin. The deadlift is a whole body movement :p Keep your chin down

Arms - keep your arms straight. Pulls have resulted in many unfortunate biceps tears. Just ALWAYS think arms straight. Even on warm ups. Biceps are small muscles and tear easily.

Knees - knees should not come together or swing out. They should be neutral and extend at the top (obviously). Also - do not let your knees drift over the bar. If you pull like this your timing will be sucky and your deadlift fugly.

Hyperextension - do not hyperextend at the top of a deadlift. Totally unnecessary and risks injury.

Shrugging the bar at the top - do not do this. It's a deadlift, not a deadshrug and you will only look stupid

Speed - speed kills on the deadlift. Train to be fast, but don't jerk at the bar and let your technique fall to pieces.

Engage the bar -you should feel everything engage just before you pull. Hamstrings, glutes, forearms, lats etc Everything should be tight and ready to go

Timing - timing is everything on the deadlift. Like I said, a conventional pull should look sharp, fluid and stylish. Your body should not be horribly unfurling like some sort of mangled millipede. There's not much I can say about timing really. Well there is, but it would be really wordy. If you're concerned about it an experienced lifter should spot it a mile off, because your deadlift will look damn awful. They should be able to help you address it

A sexy conventional pull...

Lovely timing and smooth movement despite the astronomical amount of weight

Equipment in the deadlift

- Belt - yes

- Deadlift suit - yes

- Straps - yes if you are a strongman, no if not

- Wrist wraps - no. No need

- Knee wraps - no. They will get in the way

Thanks for reading. There is a good chance I will update this with more guff as it comes to me

Training 12/11/12

12/11/12 high volume upper back

Pull downs 190lb stack 9x5 1x25

Fat grip T bar row with bands 60kg plus 2x doubled super minis 5x20

Set up:

Last set:

Dumbbell row 52.5kg 5x10

Russian Twists 20kg plate 5x10

Ab rollouts 35kg of plate on back x5. I had planned 5x5 on these but my abs were shot. Here's the one and only set:

Seated cable row 120lb x20

superset with

Kettlebell triceps extensions 20kg each arm x20

superset with

Biceps dumbbell curl 30lb x12

This circuit was completed 5 times.

I decided not to pull tonight as I somehow managed to upset my lower back while doing some thoracic mobility stuff last night. There was some spasm going on so I figured I'd leave deadlifts out and save risking injury.

The fat gripz T bar rows with bands shot my grip. These were tough. I varied up my pulling angle throughout the sets. In the set in the video I am quite upright.

I had planned to do some rowing with the 42kg Inch replica tonight but that was never going to happen with the state my forearms were in after the T bar.

Similarly with the ab rollouts I was fatigued from the work I had put in last night and so I cut these short unfortunately. One thing on these - I keep my arms bent on them as when I did them with straight arms a good while back I only succeeded in really upsetting my elbows and developing a tendinopathy which took a while to shift.

This workout was a bit of a slog but I felt great after getting through the complex I threw together at the end. I will definitely be giving this a go again. I started to press the kettlebells a little more than extend with them as I got fatigued, but that's ok. I still felt them really hit the back of my elbows which was the aim

Everything is ticking along nicely at the moment. Bodyweight also drifting upwards - in and around 122kg now so things are going where I want them to at the moment. Thanks to wee Paul for the videos

Thanks for reading

Mobility and abs 11/11/12

The usual.

Foam rolled
- upper back
- lower back
- IT bands
- Hip adductors
- Calves
- Dorsiflexors of the foot (tibialis anterior area)

Tennis ball on delts and pecs

Goblet squats with 41" super mini doubled round my knees holding 16kg kettlebell held in bottom position for 10 seconds then stand up and back down ten times

Bodyweight lunges x30

Piriformis stretching

Ab rollouts 27.5kg weighted vest 5x10

Thanks for reading

Training 09/11/12

09/11/12 Pulls, raw squat movement and assistance

Raw squat (2m knee wraps and belt) 175kg 2x10

Second set:

Happy enough with the depth on these. Very happy with bar speed.

Deadlift raw (no belt or suit) 225kg x2

Read my training diary wrong and did 3x3. Whoops

Speed deadlift raw (no belt or suit) 185kg 3x3 (120 second rest permitted. I took 40-60)

I added bands to this to see how the set up worked. Holy lower back pump

Kettlebell pistol squat 36kg 3x3

Zercher deadlift 95kg x5

I had planned to do 3x5 on these but took a really bad pain in my shoulder trying to get set up on the second set so I shut it down.

Russian twists 16kg kettlebell 5x10

Kettlebell front squat double 20kg 5x10 in 4 min 30 sec

Kettlebell 1 arm swing 32kg 5x5 each arm total 50 swings in 3 min 30 sec

BUSTED

I won't be training delts and traps this weekend as I have a medicine course all weekend. Quite frankly I wish I hadn't booked it, they will be very long days.

NIPF unequipped powerlifting champs are this weekend. As always, the best of luck to everyone lifting and hopefully there are plenty of PBs and records to be had!

Thanks for reading

Mobility and Flexibility 08/11/12

So today my CNS was really tired. The heavier weights I haven't been accustomed to on the equipped bench have definitely taxed me.

Tonight was very much the usual in terms of mobility etc

Foam rolled upper and lower back, IT bands, adductors, calves.

Some shoulder internal rotation.

Tennis ball on pecs.

Goblet squat with 16kg kettlebell held in bottom position then some body weight lunges.

Feeling good. I have a fairly brutal leg workout lined up for tomorrow night but I'm looking forward to it.

I picked up a few things today from some reading online which I'll link once I'm on the computer - updating this on the iPhone at the moment.

Thanks for reading

Training 07/11/12

07/11/12 Equipped bench (!) and assistance

First time in a shirt in just a little under a year. Very happy with how things went tonight.

Raw bench 

100kg x6

120kg x3

150kg x2

Equipped bench

3 board 170kg x3

3 board 200kg x3

3 board 220kg x3

2 board 250kg x3

Press ups neutral grip feet on bench 20kg plate on back x10

superset

1 arm band triceps pushdowns (supermini) x20

This circuit was completed 3 times

Rear delt dumbbell raise x15

superset

Lateral dumbbell raise x15

superset

Zottman curls x12

This circuit was completed 4 times

Fairly happy with tonight. Technique was off and some reps were sloppy on the bench but otherwise things were good. 250 in my hands for a triple is definitely a good starting point for me. It will just take a little while for the CNS to really get firing again, but I should see some improvements when it does :)

Thanks for reading

Mobility 06/11/12

Tonight just some goblet squatting and staying in deep squat position with a 16kg kettlebell. Forcing knees out with elbows to open up my hip joint.

Nothing exciting at all. Just posting this for completeness

Thanks for reading

Training 05/11/12

05/11/12 Deadlift and low volume upper back

Thanks as always for Paul and Conor for the camera work

Deadlift raw (no belt or suit) 212.5kg 3x3

Speed deadlift raw (no belt or suit) 172.5kg 3x3
(1st set grip right under left over, 2nd set right over left under, 3rd set double overhand)

Gymnastic ring chins 5kg + chain 5x5

Set 2 of 5:

Chest supported wide grip barbell rows 145lb 4x12

1 arm dumbbell rows 52.5kg 5x8

Zottman curls 30lb 5x15

superset with

1 arm triceps band pushdowns (supermini) 5x20

Set 3 of 5:

This is the first time I'd done Zottman curls. A lot more difficult than I had expected. Seriously hit the forearms.

Good workout and through it fast. Bodyweight 121kg. Best shape I've been in for a long time in a number of ways - strength, size, fitness etc

Thanks for reading

Mobility 04/11/12

Thoracic spine was in bits last night. Badly locked up. I asked my girlfriend to walk on it but unfortunately she's not heavy enough to get the cracks out. lol. It's still not great today despite doing  a lot of foam rolling last night and getting a few cracks out of it myself; so I did the usual and went about doing some research and found this video:

Seems short, sweet and simple. I'm going to implement these additional movements and really focus on my thoracic spine while foam rolling tonight. I'll also do the usual 5x10 27.5kg weighted vest ab rollouts.

I've managed to get my hands on a copy of Relax into Stretch by Pavel Tsatsouline so I plan on trying to read my way through that in the next while, although my reading is largely limited to medicine with the exams coming up.

Looking at the results from the GPC Ireland open yesterday it looked like a good competition with some impressive numbers. Hopefully everyone's pleased with how they got on. I think that's about it for today

Thanks for reading

Training 03/11/12

03/11/12 Delts and traps


Thanks to wee Conor for the movie films

1 arm kettlebell press 36kg 5x8

Set 3 of 5:

Bodyweight dips 10x10 in 9 minutes

Arnold press 60lb 5x6
superset
Chain lateral raise/pull apart 5x12

Set 3 of 5:

Inch replica press 31kg 5x8 each arm

Set 4 of 5:

Trap bar power shrugs 135kg 5x10

Seated dumbbell shrugs 45lb 3x20

2nd set of 3:

Triceps cable push downs 40lb (1-6) x6

Had a mare today trying to embed this videos from Youtube. Dunno what's going on with it. Had to embed the final one with html rather than just using the blogger facility.

Happy with the kettlebell pressing. I hadn't done these in months so I was a bit wary about picking a weight that was too light or too heavy. 36kg was just right for me. The added movement with the bell also got a lot of pops and cracks out of my shoulders which has loosened them up a bit.

Just a note on the chain lateral raises - have to be careful not to jerk these too much as the chain can whip at the top if you're over-enthusiastic and could end up removing some teeth.

By the time I got to the Inch replica my delts were toast so this, like the log press is for a bit of conditioning too.

Decent workout despite feeling fairly tight and beat up from last night. I was very tight in the thoracic spine coming into the gym and this is one of the reasons I decided to go for the seated shrug movement. They helped pull my scapulae apart a bit and loosened things up. Foam rolling this evening should help too

Thanks for reading

Training 02/11/12

02/11/12 Equipped squat and assistance

Raw squat (no belt or knee wraps) 170kg 2x5

Squat (briefs no knee wraps) 220kg 5x5

Wide stance goodmornings with chains (no belt) 80kg bar weight + 60kg chains 4x8

Bulgarian split squat isometric hold 3x30 seconds each leg

Close stance band resisted goodmornings (mini and supermini bands) 3x20

It totally slipped my mind to get a few videos tonight unfortunately. We rattled through this at a good pace. Just as well as the gym was freezing! Knees and hips felt rough as though in the cold

Thanks for reading

IPF World Championships

Just found this live link to IPF world championships for anyone interested

IPF

Training 31/10/12

31/10/12 Bench and assistance

Bench press (raw) + 60kg chain at top end

Warm ups then

125kg + chain x1

140kg + chain x1 (wrist wraps on)

150kg + chain x1 (wrist wraps on)

Close grip bench press + 60kg chain at top end 100kg 2x5

Bench Dips +25kg plate x40, x35, x25
superset with
Triceps band pushdowns 3x20

Face pulls x15
superset with
Dumbbell lateral raise x15
superset with
Hammer curls x15
This circuit was completed 4 times

Very happy with this workout. I had expected to be flattened by some heavier benching as I had only taken 100kg in training up to this point. The plan is to be in the shirt next week. Can. not. wait!

Having recently taken a break from powerlifting I'm buzzing to be back training with my friends. It makes a hell of a difference. I'd also like to point out that I'm following bench workouts which Mike Gibson has been putting together. I had planned to bench equipped every other week and between that do raw work in Centaur; however once I got chatting to the guys it definitely seemed like way more fun to train as a group taking the same approach to training together and everyone has been getting great results with Mike's programming since I have been away. It also fits in really nicely with all the variation which I had been hoping to add :)

Global Powerlifting Committee (GPC) Ireland are having their inaugural Irish Open this weekend in Dublin so I'd just like to wish everyone competing all the best with their lifting. It should be of a very high standard and I'm looking forward to seeing the results. I would try and make it down to spectate but with exams on the horizon I will have to give it a miss.

Thanks for reading

Random post

I came across this link late last night. I'm posting it up just to illustrate that even reading a small amount of information can have great benefit. For a considerable amount of time I've been unhappy with my form coming out of the hole on the squat. This is one reason I have been implementing the box squats. What I find is my hips kick up first, I fold slightly and my posterior chain gets loaded more. Basically my timing is off and I haven't been quite sure how to adjust it. What I'm describing is quite obvious on my box squat videos and also on my equipped squat video from about 2 weeks ago.

#9 on this list seems to have made a whole lot of sense to me. If I can bear this in mind I think I should see some improvement in the fluidity and overall form on my squat.

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/daves-twitter-chat-squat-mistakes-needs-edited-and-formatted/

Thanks for reading

A bit of Q and A

Just some stuff I got asked on a forum about my blog. I'm far from an expert and this blog is just for some extra motivation for myself and to show what way I'm going about things at the moment. I'm not trying to be any sort of authority on the subject. I'm actually really hoping to learn a lot from recommendations people can give me on this blog. As an aside, starting this blog up has really got me thinking about my training and planning ahead

Q: Do you find the Zercher deads help improve your regular DL?

A: Haven't been doing them very long but I hope they do! lol. It's also hard to tell because my deadlift working weight is so far off my projected max so in reality they should all feel easy. I'm just using them as something slightly different in my program plus they are pretty functional

Q: Video stuff is ace man! Something I can't find myself when reading through blogs is advice for Intermediate lifters. EliteFTS has some stuff but their all lifting 2/3 times the numbers I can throw up. Did you train similar to what you do now as you did back then?

A: At the moment I'm probably making the biggest changes to my programming that I ever have. All my training until very recently had been straight weight linear programming. When I was talking to Pavel Tsatsouline he told me that's all I need, so it definitely does work. I'm just adding more variation to try and make things a little more interesting for myself and also to make me more versatile as a lifter. I'm going to spend a little less time in the equipment, and address my mobility, flexibility and conditioning more this time round. It's still very early days in this program and I'm coming off a 2 month break of zero training so I'm hoping there are plenty of gains to be made if I work it smart. Everything is very very submaximal at the moment

Thanks for reading 

Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program

This is the program I'm currently following although heavily modified. I've put it up at the request of a friend of mine (wee Paul the camera man!).

My approach to it really hasn't been as written. It's based on a projected max. I've found this doesn't work so well - mainly because everyone is greedy and overestimates (myself included). To be fair I tried this around the Spring of this year with a fairly realistic projected 1rm. By week 5 I was baked. Friends of mine have had similar experiences with this program. From a personal point of view - I deadlift in an old old gym a few floors up so getting tired and dropping deadlifts really isn't an option.

This time round I've taken a more conservative approach. I am a long way out from competing so I have plenty of time to build strength. I underestimated my 1rm at 265kg and I've worked my percentages off that. I am going to work to week 7 (after hovering around an underestimated 90% for a few weeks) then recycle with a new conservative 1rm. The idea is that my deadlift should fairly effortlessly improve. Bearing in mind I will be pulling 3 times in every 2 weeks I will complete what would have been a 7 week wave in around 4 1/2-5 weeks. I'm going to implement some bands and chains on my speed sets after my first wave. This will all be documented here and I'll see how I get on.

There are accompanying assistance movements for this program which I haven't added in here. At present I am working out my own assistance and so far I'm fairly happy with how things are moving.

Bear in mind my interpretation is pretty much purely a hunch that this approach could do me some good. The outcome could be bitter or sweet!

Reps and percentages are as follows:

WEEK	WORK SETS	SPEED SETS
1	(75%)x 2 reps	(60%)8 sets x 3 reps (90 sec rest b/w sets)
2	(80%)x 2 reps	(65%)8 sets x 3 reps (90 sec rest b/w sets)
3	(85%)x 2 reps	(70%)6 sets x 3 reps (90-120 sec rest b/w sets)
4	(90%)x 2 reps	(75%)5 sets x 3 reps (90-120 sec rest b/w sets)
5	(80%)3 sets x 3 reps	(65%)3 sets x 3 reps (120 sec rest b/w sets)
6	(85%)x 2 reps	(70%)3 sets x 3 reps (120 sec rest b/w sets)
7	(90%)x 2 reps	(75%)3 sets x 3 reps (120 sec rest b/w sets)
8	(95%)x 2 reps	(70%)3 sets x 3 reps (120 sec rest b/w sets)
9	(97.5%)x 1 rep	(70%)2 sets x 3 reps (Rest as needed)
10	(100%)x 1 rep	(60%)2 sets x 3 reps (Rest as needed)
11	MEET DAY	N/A

Training 29/10/12

22/10/12 Pulls and high volume upper back

Deadlift raw (no belt or suit) 237.5kg x2

Speed deadlift raw (no belt or suit) 200kg 5x3 (90-120 seconds rest permitted between sets but I took 40-60 seconds)

Pull downs 180lb stack 9x5 1x20

Chest supported wide grip barbell rows 140lb x20, x18, x16, x14, x12

Inch dumbell replica rows 42kg 8x5 each arm in 10 minutes

Biceps dumbell curls 30lb 5x12

supersetted with

Cable thingy 5x10

3rd set:

Deadlift is feeling good. Despite abs being very DOMmy and hams and glutes a bit tired they shifted well. Switched up my grip on the speed pulls. I normally pull right hand under left hand over but did the 2nd and 4th sets left hand under right hand over and the 5th set double overhand

The Inch replica rows are leaving my grip fudged. This is definitely the limiting factor for me in this movement. Really not too taxing for my upper back at all. I think I'll need to approach these smart and be consistent to hopefully see some good improvement in my grip

Regarding biceps curls - I prefer not to do biceps barbell curls. Enforcing a symmetry on my body with this movement has caused me elbow issues in the past. Biceps is also a flexor and a supinator. Curling a barbell will only hit the flexor movement of the muscle hard IMO. Different strokes for different folks though

The cable movement I was doing I dunno what I'd call it. Hit my delts more than I would have liked which isn't ideal when I think I'm going heavy-ish reverse band benching on Wednesday

Update from last night - L-sits post weighted ab rollouts probably not the best idea in hindsight! Abs were shot by the time I had the rollouts done

Thanks for reading

Training/Mobility 28/10/12

Earlier today I was playing with the notion of going for a run for the first time in a long time. On second thoughts I figured I'd spare my joints the abuse. Running at 19 1/2 stone not a good idea - last year Pavel Tsatsouline told me this sort of stuff would be a stupid idea for me too so I guess I won't. lol

Anywhos, just gonna do some ab work this evening. I have seen L-sits suggested in a discussion online this week so I might give some of them a blast and see how they feel. So tonight it will be something like

27.5kg ab rollouts 5x10

L sits

Later in the evening I think I'll do some foam rolling, hip and shoulder mobility then a hot bath if I have the time. Kind of sore and tired from my leg workout on Friday and I'm planning to pull again tomorrow night so it would be nice to get loosened up.

Saw this article linked via Facebook today. Some really nice points and good reminders for me.

elitefts Classic: Training Log Tips

Thanks for reading

Quick note

I changed the blog settings today so that to comment you don't need to have a blogger profile.

As in the description to the right, please comment, give constructive criticism etc please! :)

Thanks for reading

Training 27/10/12

Training 27/10/12 Delts and traps

I had some awesome camera work this session from wee Paul who works in the gym :P Delts have always been a terrible point for me so I'm working on trying to keep volume and pace high while hitting them with a variety of movements. The shoulder is a very mobile joint so I think that a good variation should benefit it. Changing things up a little has also helped my over head strength in the past

Standing military press 80kg 4x5 1x 12

Incline dumbell press 47.5kg 4x8

First set: 

Seated Arnold press 55lb 5x10

supersetted with

Lateral raises 15lb 5x20

Second set: 

Log clean and press 65kg 5x10

Last set:

Barbell power shrugs overhand grip no straps 130kg 5x10

Dumbell shrugs dropsets 5x20 47.5kg, 80lb, 70lb, 60lb, 55lb

Band triceps push downs 5x20

The log clean and press is also aimed to pick up my conditioning. By this stage my delts are usually dying so I strict press whatever reps I can and then allow some leg drive to complete the set. Today felt ok and I managed to strict press all the reps

I have added the incline dumbell press to this workout while cutting my military press volume as my mid week bench workout is in another gym which does not have dumbells to any sort of decent weight.

Thanks for reading