Dec 17
Back Squat
5 x 97.5kg
5 x 112.5kg
10 x 127.5kg
Stiff Legged Deadlift (1)
2 x 7 x 118.5kg
Bird Dogs (1)
2 x 20
Reverse Crunch Hold
3 x 30 secs
Side Bridge, 70 secs
A solid session, got lower in the stiff leg DL rather than upping the weight.
Dec 19
Seated Jumps
1 x 5 x 100cm
2 x 5 x 105cm
Rebound Jumps
3 x 5 x 40cm->100cm
Pullups (14,14,11) and Dips (20,20,20)
Front Squat
5 x 70kg
5 x 81kg
14 x 92kg
Hip Thrusts
2 x 10 x 70kg
1 x 10 x 75kg
Sliding HS Curl
1 x 12 x 5kg
2 x 10 x 10kg
Ab Circuit, 5 mins
Knew I could get a fair few reps in front squat, 14 was right on the limit though. Loved the hip thrusts, made sure to get the full RoM at the top and squeeze my glutes. I feel absolutely wrecked after that and will not be moving for the rest of the day.
Dec 23
Running Arms
3 x 80
Bench Press (1)
3 x 72.5kg
3 x 82.5kg
7 x 92.5kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
3 x 8
Dips
3 x 20
Back Squats
3 x 105kg
3 x 120kg
6 x 135kg
Stiff Legged Deadlift (1)
2 x 8 x 118.5kg
Bird Dogs
2 x 20
Reverse Crunch Hold
3 x 30 secs
Full body workout after my first speed session in 5 days, had travelled up from home earlier in the day and was tired and hungry. The first five reps of squat were easy then my legs seemed to get tired really fast. I think by tomorrow i’ll feel back to normal and ready to lift.
Merrry Christmas T-Nation Guys & Gals!
Dec 25
Seated Jumps
3 x 5
Rebound Jumps
3 x 5
Front Squat
3 x 76kg
3 x 86kg
12 x 97kg
Sliding HS Curl
2 x 10 x 10kg
1 x 10 x 15kg
Hip Thrusts
2 x 10 x 75kg
1 x 10 x 80kg
Ab Crunches
4 x 45
Side Bridge, 75 secs
I think my front squat is limited by what I can hold on my shoulders, because at the lower weights I can crank them out. Abs were feeling more conditioned already, I heard an anecdote about Colin Jackson (110m hurdler) doing 600 crunches so that’d be a good total to reach over 4 sets.
Dec 27
DB Rows
3 x 10 x 37.5kg
Plate Toss
3 x 12 x 15kg
Alternate DB Bench (1)
1 x 19 x 36kg
1 x 17 x 36kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
2 x 8
I was so close to 20 in alternate bench, I gave it absolutely everything and must have been at the sticking point for ten seconds or more, surprised I could do any reps with my right arm in the following set. Still tweaking my diet but it’s already given me more energy than previous ones and i’m eating 6000kcal less a week. Lost a bit of weight so will creep up the carbs and fat until i’m maintaining/gaining.
Dec 28
Power Cleans
2 x 1 x 86kg
1 x 88.5kg
1 x 91kg
1 x 94.5kg P.B.
1 x 95.5kg P.B.
Good Mornings
2 x 9 x 67.5kg
Ab Circuit, 5 mins 30
Really pleased to hit p.b’s given that this time last week I was at home having to do a speed session on an exercise bike. Had a slight problem with my adductor beforehand but nothing that would hinder me. Good mornings felt easy and so did my ab circuit.
Dec 29
Running Arms
3 x 90
Bench Press (1)
5 x 77.5kg
3 x 87.5kg
6 x 97.5kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
3 x 8
Dips
3 x 20
Last rep of bench was all down to my housemate shouting at me, happy with the session and hoping for similar results in squats tomorrow.
Dec 30
Back Squats
5 x 112.5kg
3 x 127.5kg
3 x 142.5kg
Stiff Legged Deadlift (1)
2 x 7 x 121kg
Bird Dogs (1)
2 x 20
Reverse Crunch Hold
3 x 30 secs
Had no spotter in squats and didn’t want to risk anything so did three comfortable reps. Normally have to keep chopping and changing weights to suit my track work but will be keeping this going for at least another month. Bring on the new year and a 100kg power clean (will video it when I get there).
Jan 1
Seated Jumps
3 x 5
Rebound Jumps
3 x 5
Front Squat
5 x 81kg
3 x 92kg
9 x 102.5kg
Hip Thrusts
3 x 10 x 80kg
Sliding HS Curl
3 x 10 x 15kg
Ab Crunches
5 x 60
Side Bridge, 80 secs
Don’t know what’s happened to my front squat but I seem to have jumped in strength and i’m finding it weird to rep 102kg easily. Hip thrusts and HS curl were both quite intense.
Jan 3
DB Rows
3 x 10 x 30kg
Plate Toss
3 x 12 x 10kg
Alternate DB Bench (1)
2 x 20 x 31kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
2 x 7
Front Bridge 90 secs
Side Bridge 60 secs
Easy week. Easy workout.
Jan 4
Power Cleans
3 x 1 x 78.5kg
3 x 1 x 83.5kg
Good Mornings
2 x 9 x 60kg
Ab Circuit, 4 mins
Still had to get psyched up for power cleans as I wanted to keep the explosiveness. Quads were pretty sore from the last three weeks workload but I think I should be fresh tomorrow morning.
Jan 5
Running Arms
2 x 80, 4 x 50
Bench Press (1)
5 x 42.5kg
5 x 52.5kg
5 x 62.5kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
3 x 7
Dips
3 x 15
No issues, still feel quite run down and sluggish.
Jan 6
Back Squats
5 x 60kg
5 x 75kg
5 x 90kg
Stiff Legged Deadlift
2 x 8 x 88.5kg
Bird Dogs
2 x 20
Reverse Crunch Hold
3 x 30 secs
Finally starting to feel a bit better in sprints, was getting more bounce in my legs and felt more energetic. Will be repeating week 2 in the next cycle so that my races line up with easier training.
Jan 8
deep breath …
Seated Jumps
2 x 5 x 100cm
Rebound Jumps
3 x 5 x 40cm->100cm
Double Leg Standing Jump
6 for 14.50m
6 for 15.25m
6 for 15.55m
SL Box Jumps
3 x 10 x 15cm
Muscle Ups
6 in total
Dips
3 x 15
Front Squats
5 x 42.5kg
5 x 55kg
5 x 65kg
Sliding HS Curl
3 x 8 x 10kg
Hip Thrusts
2 x 8 x 60kg
Ab Crunches
4 x 50
Side Bridge, 60 secs
I know it’s an easy week so I shouldn’t be ADDING stuff, but I have a few new exercises. The double leg jumps are so I get better at projecting my power forward rather than up, the mini box jumps are plyometric and should help with ankle stiffness and the muscle ups are an explosive equivalent to regular pullups.
I really enjoyed the new plyos, if you divide my standing jump distance by six you get an average of 2.59m, I know 3m standing long jump is quite big time so maybe ~2.80m would be a good target. I butchered myself head to toe with a massage stick yesterday and i’m feeling super-fresh today.
Jan 10
DB Rows
3 x 8 x 40kg
DB Front Raises
1 x 8 x 5kg
2 x 8 x 7kg
Alternate DB Bench (1)
2 x 14 x 39kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
2 x 8
Front Bridge 120 secs
Side Bridge 80 secs
Some of the other sprinters are already down to 5,4,3 reps for exercises so i’m lowering reps from 8-10 to 6-8 or 6-8 to 4-6. I think upper body is more conditioning than pure strength so that will be higher, but hip thrusts, stiff legged deadlifts etc. will be 6 reps. I’ve shifted a few things about so no hamstring work on saturdays with the new plyos.
I was comfortable with 39kg in each hand for alternate bench and it didn’t feel like much of a jump in weight. Front raises replace plate toss due to a well argued point in favour of the former. 7kg was enough to feel it working but allow perfect form.
Jan 11
Power Cleans
3 x 1 x 88.5kg
1 x 93kg
1 x 96.5kg
1 x 100kg !!!
Stiff Legged Deadlift
2 x 6 x 126kg
Res. Band Hip Flexor Pull Throughs
3 x 8
Eccentric Calf Lower
3 x 15 x 10kg (Gastroc)
3 x 15 (Soleus)
Ab Circuit, 6 mins
First things first, 100kg power clean 
Got rather aggressive, could’ve done 101kg but I wanted to secure the milestone of triple figures (@ 72kg BW). Resistance band work and calf lowering are recommendations from a physio who saw me run, will see how those pan out. I have another thing where I have to write the alphabet with my big toe, strengthens ankle I think. Oh and GC, Soleus is just straight leg/bent leg, up on two legs, down with one.
Note to any sprinters: he said most people think they need strong plantarflexion to ‘push off’ when your foot is behind you, when in actual fact there is very little force there and a strong dorsiflexion is more important because when your foot hits the track at top speed you want to limit/control your ankle movement there and not collapse under the forces.
Edit: got dorsi n plantar wrong way round, corrected now.
Jan 12
Running Arms
2 x 80, 4 x 50
Bench Press (1)
5 x 68.5kg
5 x 78.5kg
8 x 90kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
3 x 8
Dips
3 x 22
No spotter so didn’t risk a 9th rep of bench. Tight upper back from either Mon or Tues workouts, did extra stretching in warm down.
Jan 13
Back Squats
5 x 101kg
5 x 116kg
8 x 131kg
SL Eccentric Ham Curls
2 x 8 x 25kg
Bird Dogs
2 x 20
Eccentric Calf Lower
3 x 15 x 10kg (Gastroc)
3 x 15 x 10kg (Soleus)
Reverse Crunch Hold
4 x 30 secs
I got hamstring cramp after the first set of HS curls, only had it once about 7 years ago and for a few seconds I thought i’d pulled it, very relieved it was cramp. My lower abs ached and I didn’t feel stable in squats, the 8th rep was a bit dodgy so left it there. I’m happy to pick up ham curls at 25kg as I think I only got to 32.5kg for 6 in late 2010, would’ve upped the 2nd set if it wasn’t for cramp. Those power cleans have trashed my body so I look forward to tomorrow’s stretching and resting.
Jan 15
Seated Jumps
2 x 4 x 105cm
Rebound Jumps
3 x 5 x 40cm->100cm
Double Leg Standing Jump
6 for 15.75m
6 for 15.85m (average 2.64m)
6 for 15.75m
SL Box Jumps
3 x 10 x 15cm
Muscle Ups
1,1,3,3,5
Dips
3 x 20
Front Squats
5 x 72.5kg
5 x 83.5kg
9 x 95kg
Hip Thrusts
1 x 7 x 90kg
2 x 6 x 95kg
Ab Crunches
4 x 75
Side Bridge, 2 x 80 secs
Looser from stretching, if not that much fresher after a rest day. I am tweaking my weekly layout as my energy isn’t high enough for both speed sessions. Next week is leading up to a race but in future I think tuesday front squat, thursday back squat, power cleans alternate saturdays. My muscle ups were much better and I managed five in the final set. I wasn’t taking front squat seriously and the bar slipped off my shoulders as I descended for tenth rep, that’ll teach me to focus in future.
Jan 17
DB Rows
3 x 8 x 42.5kg
DB Front Raises
3 x 8 x 8.5kg
DB Alternate Bench (1)
1 x 14 x 39kg
1 x 13 x 39kg
Explosive Pushups (1)
2 x 8
Front Bridge 2 x 90 secs
Side Bridge 2 x 60 secs
Biceps were hurting from the weekend. I like these front raises, can really feel my muscle working. I’ve got my calories to a stage where my weight is stable, now looking to refine my diet and remove some of the processed junk i’ve been sneaking in. Race on saturday, still a week or two from peak shape but should be able to produce a decent run.