Finally reached some hard upper body weights. Deadlifts today were dreadful, I started rounding so dropped it down a weight, but no improvement. Was lifting at the athletics track rather than at home so that made me worse, as I have an 11 point form checklist on the wall at home that I read before I lift. So stretched out my back, went home and did a whole new workout.
Heard today that we’re getting Mondo laid outside in preparation for 2012, one of the best surfaces in the world and the type that Bolt ran on in Beijing.
That felt easier than last week, with the exception of squats which were equally tiring. Think the lack of walking lunges helped and my legs feel pretty fresh (i know they aren’t). This will be the hardest week of the season so i’m glad there are no lectures I have to drag myself to.
Couldn’t get DB’s as they’re refurbishing the gym, so a makeshift upper body with vertical pressups instead of OHP, and no rows. Today I was much stronger in the split squat and could feel my glutes working, and hips were dying in the plyo jumps.
Picked up an ache at the front of my left foot, probably from sunday as I felt it a bit on monday, it was bugging me in medicine ball throws but once I changed to sprint spikes I couldn’t feel it much.
Foot is much better, aching a little but rest day tomorrow. Had a great sprint session today, was close to throwing up breakfast. Had a mini panic getting changed after weights as I thought I had some sort of hernia going on in my lower abs, but i’m pretty sure it’s my hip flexor, which is pretty damn strong now so i’m going to ease off the ISO holds.
My training partner was there this time to accurately see where I touched, and this could explain the difference to week 1 as from my p.o.v. they looked around 58cm. It’s the end of 3 heavy weeks of training and probably a better indication of the very least I can jump and not my true rested max.
VJB Plyometrics (Week 4)
4 Star Drill
2 x 10
Ankle Jumps
3 x 15
Lunge Jumps
3 x 12 x 3kg per hand
1,2,3 Jumps
2 x 10
Jump Squat
3 x 8 x 41.5kg
Walking Lunges
2 x 12 x 30kg
Back Squats
3 x 6 x 117.5kg
Good to get to the end of that phase, I looked a right prat doing 1,2,3 jump and wouldn’t have seemed out of place in a meadow carrying a butterfly net. I’ve looked ahead and i’m happy with the new phase, it’s less volume than these 4 weeks and should fit in well.
I’m starting to have runs I can time myself for, keeping them in a word document but if anyone’s interested in them i can post here too, let me know.
e.g. saturday 2 x 90m (7 mins between, 30m intensity limit) 10.50, 10.40
Easy week, my arms were having none of it on Monday, must have been all the variations of press-ups in the circuits. Much better volume of ISO holds, will keep it there. New layout starting sunday, not finalised it but the plan so far is,
Tuesday: RDL, Donkey Kicks, Bench,
Thursday: Front Squat, ISO hip, OHP/Vert Pushup,
Sunday: Squat, Bench.
Very happy with all that, bench and squat were nice and easy. I used to do the squat jumps off a chair at home so it felt good to get back to them, and I did speed hops last summer. Weights schedule will indeed be the one laid out in previous post, this is going to be some high quality SPP.
Grip and bar position were a bit off in the first set of front squats, plus I wasn’t far back enough to touch the box, so a shambles really. Everything else was good, and it’ll be interesting to see what I can do next weekend in my first 100m. Current p.b. is 11.55.
Legs feel great. My circuits are still taking away some of my strength for bench but i’m not fussed. Bought a digital camcorder today. Mainly for use in training to record block starts, but can record squats and upload that to check form. Will also put up race videos.
Ok that was not a full effort. My lower glute was tight and aching on thursday, and wasn’t much better today. I tried foam roller & stretching but it wasn’t letting me accelerate beyond 25m without tightening up. It wasn’t the kind of thing that I felt would tear so I raced anyway, but beyond 30m I had nothing more to give and lost a good 2 metres there. Short of serious headwinds that’ll be my slowest race of the season, and I feel confident that I can build on it.
Friend video’d it, will get him to send me the file.
Those shock jumps feel weird when you don’t land right, so big focus on technique. Moved to 5 reps and had good power, those numbers should gradually go up through the season with any luck. Glute felt ok but i’m swapping out donkey kicks from Tuesday’s weights to save it happening again.
Damn glute… ran some good times in training then glute flared up and I hobbled home to ice it. Did weights this evening and am currently sat on a bag of frozen veg. Tomorrow is a rest day so if it’s sore when I wake up i’ll ice it intermittently throughout the day.
Found some chalk this time to make a mark. Pleased and a little surprised at the increase in the step in (4cm). I was talking to a guy who’d got to week 12 with no increase, rested up and tested in each of the next 3 weeks and it went up a little each time, so hoping for something similar.
VJB Plyometrics (Week 8)
Power Skipping
2 x 40m
Box Squat Jumps
2 x 6
Shock Jumps
3 x 5 x 75cm
SL Calf Raises
2 x 8
Back Squat
3 x 5 x 124.2kg
Bench Press
1 x 5 x 83kg
2 x 5 x 85.2kg
Abbreviated plyos as I want to be rested for next weekend’s county champs. Easy week coming up! I’ve adapted to the lower box squat so it’s no longer an ass-first search for the chair each rep.
I tried running yesterday and couldn’t make it to 10m without being impeded by my glute. Not an injury expert so assumed it’s been a pull. Spoke to my coach and he said it’s most likely an overly tight piriformis pushing on my sciatic nerve, which makes sense because I stopped the piriformis stretch after each workout thinking I was stretching a pull.
Have stretched it in about 5 different ways, done some activation work and he said 1-2 days it’ll be gone, but said it might put more pressure on my hamstring at top speed.
So the plan is to run the heat of the 100m on sunday at 95% and the final at 98% if I get through.
Tried it out on Friday afternoon, did 4 block starts and a relaxed 80m in quite a reasonable time. Got a quick sports massage off a friend so that’s given me the best chance at being ready.
100m - 12.0 hand timed. Ran 95% and I think my acceleration was maybe a bit less than that. The conditions were awful and I didn’t want to wait an hour and a half for the final so called it a day there. I slowed down the video to get an accurate time and it was around 11.92-94.
I think i’m going to wait a month before I race again unless my training times improve significantly.
Trying to mimic a dumbbell row, loaded up one end of the barbell a la t-bar rows, then stepped so my legs are both on one side, leaned against the wall and rowed. Realised I need a pulling exercise as i’ve only got bench and press-ups.