Well done on the PBs! Good way to start a year. And I’m sure your legs will be looking good by summer.
I’m sorry about the injury, it’s amazing that you’re back at it. Good for you!
Planks look good to me.
I have to get back into doing those, and it sucks because stop doing them for a short while and you gotta start all over lol
thanks masch. suspect my grip is only holding out because the weights are so low. will move to straps when i need to. can’t wait for my legs to look good, cal (not that i care about how i look wink). i used to do roll outs on a gym ball but stopped doing them after pulling an ab. very much starting from the beginning with these - trying to feel it in my abs rather than hanging off my lower back. think i have some work to do before ab wheel roll outs or even weighting the planks.
MONDAY:
OVERHEAD SQUAT: 20kg 1x5, 25kg 1x5, 27.5kg 5x5. haven’t worked these for a while so happy with that.
SNATCH: 20kg double, 22.5kg double, 25kg 2x1, 27.5 2x1 easy, 30kg miss, miss. Chickened out on the pull. It is official: I’m scared of 30kg 
27.5kg single - came down fast because balance was a bit forwards, 25kg 2x2
DEADLIFT: 50kg 1x5, 60kg 1x5, 65kg 1x5, 70kg 1x3, 72.5kg single, 80kg (what was I thinking?!) 2 fails. Got it an inch of the ground then panicked a bit about how I was going to lower it (no bumpers). 75kg single. Best I’ve pulled with using my legs properly 
PLANK: 2.00. Can’t do these anymore without thinking of Bobbi’s weighted plank. Holy crap.
TUESDAY:
FRONT SQUAT: 20kg 1x5, 25kg 1x5, 30kg 1x5, 32.5kg 1x5, 35kg 1x5, 32.5kg 3x5. I think my legs have had a bit of a growth spurt (woo hoo!) since I’m seeing some outline of a quad and I certainly haven’t dropped bodyfat over this period. Squats are feeling GOOD Going to try for 2 sets at 35kg next time.
POWERCLEAN: 30kg 1x3, 35kg 1x3, 40kg 1x3, 1x2 miss single
SQUATCLEAN: 20kg double, 25kg 2x1, 30kg single, 32.5kg single, 35kg single, 37.5kg miss. Lost tension in the hole. Try again. Lost tension in the hole. The thought occurred to me 'never mind about that just get it the f*ck up!!!. It actually worked. PB.
PUSH UPS: laddering up to 7. Failed at 6 on the way down. Haven’t worked these for a while, though, so its ok (even though I could get up and back from 8 before).
…i might copy your training…you make me excited to try oly stuff!! you’re doing fantastic!!
why have i not been keeping up with your log as much as i could have?? FIXED!
cool stuff alexus/
leg growth is a big win
[quote]alexus wrote:
It is official: I’m scared of 30kg
[/quote]
Me too! In fact, i’m ok up to 30k and then i chicken shit when its time to catch 30.
My problem is that I still don’t understand that I have to duck under the bar - so basically I’ve pulled the weight up to my chest and I think, “I have get under this”, and then i lose it.
Last night my coach made me get the bar w/ 30k on my shoulders and then just practice catching it, squat it back up, place back on my shoulders and catch it again. Have you tried this? It might relieve some of the fear of getting under the bar - get the body comfortable with holding the weight above the head, you know?
And great work on the Front squats!
Let the quad growing begin!!!
well let me put it this way in terms of fear. 30kg is 66 pounds. i mean really what can happen with 66 pounds on the barbell?
Take pride in that 2 min plank. I’m impressed. I’m good for a minute maybe. I hate planks–must mean I need to work them.
what can happen with 66 pounds on the barbell??? don’t even get me started (eyes widen in fear)… my main fear is that while i have medicare, the women’s competition bar does not, and putting the lightest bumpers on the bar involves my lifting 35kg. i think i’d rather break an arm than risk bending the bar by having it hit the ground funny with metal plates on it (have already bent a crappy bar because it hit the ground wrong). then i got to thinking about how if i lost my balance backwards things could go funny since without bumpers on it it isn’t high enough to clear my throat… best not think sometimes
drop snatches / snatch balances? i had forgotten about those… they gave me confidence to snatch something heavier than a broomstick i’m working on overhead squats (because i don’t think i’d feel comfortable trying to drop snatch / snatch balance what i didn’t feel comfortable overhead squatting). doing 5x5 27.5kg fairly smoothly now so anticipate getting comfortable with 30kg over the next couple weeks. having trouble catching most things at the moment.
think it is because the regular plates i’m used to standing on are locked away until my gym re-opens. have higher plates at the moment (best alternative i could find) but they are too high, really, and they shift my balance well forwards… and i’m frightened of overcompensating and losing my balance backwards…
cool that you are getting excited about oly stuff, brute. bet you would find yourself snatching pretty good with your brutish overhead squatting yay, indeed for leg growth! i started getting a bit excited about the ‘german volume training’ article and contemplating leg growth… but i’m far too lazy for sets of 10, i’ve decided. thanks about the plank nadia. it is hard work for me. must remember to take pride in accomplishments rather than thinking ‘i’ll take pride once i get to xxx more’. i hate planks, too. need to do them more, yeah. need to feel proud of myself when i do one or two since mostly… i bail on them, truth be told.
WEDNESDAY:
OVERHEAD SQUAT: 20kg 1x5, 25kg 1x5, 27.5kg 5x5. okayish. think i should be sitting back a bit more and bringing my chest through a bit more… ambivalent about putting weight up vs feeling happier about form. strangely enough the heavier sets feel a lot more stable than the light.
POWERSNATCH / SNATCH: really feel that i’m just stuffing around with these in probably unhelpful ways. things won’t get better until gym re-opens, i get my proper (for me) sized heel plates and i get the women’s bar back to train with (though might use a crap bar on these for a while and risk some tumbles when the dudes are around). 20kg PSN to SN double, 25kg SN miss PSN then SN single. 27.5kg couple of singles. tried a double and missed. feeling horribly fussy and unbalanced and pretty weak, actually. few at 25kg. ugh. best forgotten, really.
STANDING BARBELL ROW: 20kg 1x10, 25kg 1x5, 30kg 1x5, 35kg 5x5.
SNATCH GRIP ROMANIAN DEADLIFT: butt back against wall again. 20kg 2x5, 25kg 1x5, 30kg 1x5, 35kg 5x5. need to keep working on form. it keeps becoming about how far down my legs i can get the bar rather than being about how far back i can sit my butt. form is getting better though, i think.
tried a back squat (with a broomstick). haven’t done these properly ever. it was HARD. harder than i thought. felt it in my hip flexors (will take some work to break parallel). also not used to breaking from hips rather than knees (as in a front squat). some issues balancing and not falling over backwards (i remember that problem lol). i have a new program that i’m wanting to move to, shortly (3 day split rather than 2 day cycling front, back, overhead squat). will practice some back squats tomorrow with just the bar…
Sounds like my squats! My hip flexors are tight. My psoas are pretty tight but the real bitches are the pectineus muscles. I’ve been making a special effort to stretch those (cobbler pose, if you’re into yoga).
I will check out the cobbler pose. I’m not typically into yoga - until I find something tight that needs to be fixed, and then I’m all for it.
Had a few days training since I last posted. Regular gym is open so back to the regular sized plates for my heel raise. They are much lower than the ones I was using at the other gym… Will take me some time to get used to them for overhead movements (overhead squats and snatching).
I’m about to move to a new program. In honor of year of the legs. Still figuring it out, though, so something a bit different today:
FRONT SQUAT: 20kg 1x6, 25kg 1x6, 30kg 5x6. First time doing 6 reps instead of 5. It didn’t feel heaps harder, but a bit different mentally. Lets see if it helps my legs to grow.
CABLE PULL DOWN (CHIN UP GRIP): This machine is in pounds. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know. 80 1x5, 90 2x5, 100 4x5. This is heavier than I’ve gone with that before, and I haven’t worked these in a while. I’m pretty sure I got fatter… Will see how it translates to the chin-up bar next week.
I alternated the pull downs with:
BACK SQUATS: I’ve finally been persuaded of the virtues of back squatting. Or at least of seriously giving them a go. Did 5x5 with just the bar. The movement feels quite a bit different from the front (and even overhead) squats that I’m used to. Pausing in the hole and bouncing a couple times to try and get to the ends of my hamstrings. Think it will take a few more sessions before I’m ready to add weight. Feeling it in my hip flexors quite differently from how I feel front and overhead squats in my hip flexors.
Going to experiment with adding 4x3 back squats at the end of my training on front squat day once I’m comfortable with things. Legs gotta grow, by gee.
king pigeon pose - also good. Not that I’m even close to being able to do it. It is something that I try and progressively work on, though.
I got an EVA foam roller a while back… And a plastic softball. A little hard to explain… But every day I roll myself on top of the ball around my hip joint (starting with my butt then around the sides moving to the flexors in the front). I think I need an ART person to see about the flexor insertions in my lumbar spine, though, cause I rolled myself an injury trying to deal to that.
Great work in here, I know that your legs are going to be back where they were.
I think that as long as you’re even squatting, you don’t have to rush the back squats. Just give it time. I know sometimes my hip flexors are like “Screw you, I’m not doing back squats” and I have to respect that.
I love VOLUME!!! So 10 sets will be awesome for me. Following a program though… not my thing.
Look forward to seeing the new leg program. I love legs
Hey alexus great work and story that you have. You have made really inspiring progress, very awesome. You should check out mobilitywod.blogspot.com - Kstar has some great stuff for working on problem spots and “goats”(as he calls the problem areas). You might be limited in some of your abilities cause of your accident but from the way you are lifting, I dont think it is out of line for you to be able to do most of the stuff that he shows.
lol, I disagree, volume is definitely not fun. When you are doing 10x3 of heavy squats, not only are you a bit bored, but you wanna shoot yourself in the face.
Oh yeah, I think putting in those back squats will def get those legs growing.
I understand the flexibility issues too. In fact, I’m trying to get a yoga class in here and there because my flexibility is sooo bad and I just don’t have the discipline to stretch on my own.
Great work in here Alexus! Keep it up.
In a year of the leg, a prescription for back squats is most definitely required!
I did a chin-up from a dead hang!
If it wasn’t the ugliest chin-up in the history of the world, it must have been a close second, but did it, I did! Then, after a few minutes, I did another just to check it wasn’t a fluke. Can’t quite believe it! Now I can do them every (or almost every) time I walk past the bar and (eventually) aim to get the form good… This is a huge moment for me because I’ve been working pretty hard towards this for about a year (blush) After putting on some Christmas podge, too!
Found a you-tube vid for Cobblers Pose and it really does feel bad / good. Different from what I’ve been doing but I have been worrying for a while about my difficulty with abduction while keeping hips forwards in Warrior II. I can tell that this is going to help with that. Thanks for passing that one on, Cal. I also had a look at mobilitywod and I think I will use that. He was doing something that looked a little like Cobblers Pose but with a weight to help push his leg down (owie!) Not ready for that yet, but really very helpful to get some different movements to work on rather than working the same ones over and over. Lots of good stuff on that site.
I don’t mind volume so much (though yeah, sometimes get the ‘I’d rather shoot myself in the face’ feeling). I have trouble with high reps, though. Anything over 5 is high rep for me and 5 reps usually involves a fair bit of huffing and puffing after rep 3. Smoking. Reduced lung capacity. Reduced oxygen absorption. Will add to my ‘reasons to quit’ list. Did 20 minutes cardio yesterday (AMT - varied intensity including some sprint substitutes). Lungs literally hurt after that and the limiting factor is feeling like I’m going to have an asthma attack Good though. Didn’t want a smoke for a couple hours after that. Lungs hurt too much.
I try and do a Bodybalance class once a week for my stretching, Masch. It is a fairly low key pilates / yoga / tai chi blend. The instructor is pretty good with introducing progressions and the content changes every few months, so I get the chance to make some progress and then things get mixed up a bit. I thought it was a waste of time for a while there, but I simply don’t do it on my own, and really notice I’m starting to seize up a little if I miss the class for more than a couple weeks. Do need to get better at doing stuff outside the class, though, because it is more of a unwind and relax thing and I need to work mobility a bit harder. Will be the first day back this Saturday from since the gym closed before Christmas.
I’VE BEEN:
5x5 back squats with 20kg bar. Still working on getting a smooth movement and really pushing down the bottom position as low as it can go. This is going to help me with front and overhead squatting. Using glutes to get out of the hole, sitting back more with overhead squats, having a tighter bottom position more generally. Takes the full 5 sets before my hip flexors loosen up enough for it to be smooth(ish). So… Will persist for a while longer before weighting them.
Aside from that just the usual stuff for me… Still figuring out my program…
Have moved to 5x6 front squats (very high rep for me!!!) It is taking it out of me a bit with respect to my recovery time… Might mix it up a bit soon to work on my 1RM / max squat clean. Can get 37.5kg pretty good but having trouble with squatting 40kg so maybe time to work that… Still, can’t do everything at once and I’m fairly sure these legs are growing!
Congrats on the chin-up, you should be proud!
They’ll just get easier and easier.
I used to hate counting reps higher than 5 as well, but hey, gotta be done sometimes.
Great news on the leg growth, you’re doing very well.
Now, to tackle those cigarettes 