Today. No, no training. I felt not too bad, so I did an impromptu dip test just to guage energy level. I got my body weight of 209lbs up 17 times, thought not to try for 18 as that might be a failure thing I am not trying to do with this. Later in the afternoon I felt a slight gumminess in my throat, so fuck, I am definitely going to exert more until at least Sunday.
sunday, April 29, 2012 week 2 day 2
deadlift 305lbs x 5 X 5 x 4 x 3 x 2
squat 225lbs x 7 x 3
I am calling this a good day. As I am finally back in the saddle in a better way after being off a little sick, this is good. I am starting my weight week now with day 2, last Monday doesn’t really count at this point. My ego took over for weight selection, but then this exercise/set/rep/rest scheme is new so I had to find out somehow. Oh, I took 90 seconds between sets.
Straps came out for the last 3 sets of deadlifts, I would say keep it at the same weight for next week when I double rest between sets, but I am alternating deads with squats for starters, So next week I might squat at 255lbs or 245lbs and see what i feel like when I aim for 2 sets of 7 deads after. Lightheaded when squatting, so I stayed cautious.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 week 2 day 3
Bb bench press 185lbs x 7 165lbs x 6 x 3 fail
DB lateral raises 2 X 15lbs X 15 X 8 x 7
BB bent rows 115lbs X 7 x 7 x 7 x 5
Supersets
BB lying triceps extensions 85lbs X 8 X 8 x 4
DB hammer curls 2 X 35lbs x L8,R8 X 8,8 X 4,4
Situps Body + 50lbs X 5 X 5 X 3 fail
Slightly better than last time around, but the goat is still pleased. With the supersets, I took 60 seconds between sets instead of 90, next week rest periods double. Nothing else to say for an excuse.
I think that maybe if I burn it all with legs, particularly deadlifts, my upper body only has so much resources, anyone agree?
I started back on creatine on Sunday, and I wonder if it will benefit me if I go for another 8 week cycle. Really I have the sense/opinion my physique is improving, I don’t know if the creatine made the difference. Or maybe it is due to having done assistance moves with Wendler in more 10 rep ranges.
Edit: I am really going over the next few days research tempo. I as usual with bent rows did the set too quickly, I see videos of others who also do, but that doesn’t negate what I have heard in the past. We will see how that turns out.
thursday, May 3, 2012
Skipped today. I tried the new routine I heard about over in combat. that is I aimed for 3 3 minute sessions of the highest intensity I could crank out, I minute between sets. I started out fine, but the first session I caught my toes several times and therefore extended the end of the first session by 30 seconds to try and make up.
The second sessions I caught so many times I made it an extra minute there.
The third I slightly slowed intensity and only went an extra 20 seconds by the shrewdness of my judgement. I suppose that over time I will work the catching out, and maybe work towards higher intensity. Eventually I hope to get into alternating foot contact.
Since I didn’t exhaust myself as compared to my old routine, I wonder if I could handle 2 sessions per week? I wonder what anyone thinks.
Edit: I just practiced Muay Thai kicks. I think I am averaging better balance, now I just have solidify that and make sure I am getting my body into and not catch myself chambering the kick and snapping my lower leg out.
After a while though, my mind wandered and I decided to stop for the day rather than learn bad habits.
Friday, May 4, 2012 week 2 day 1
BB shoulder press 105lbs X 7 x 7 x 4 X 2 fail
dips body (208lbs) X 7 X 5 x 5 x 5
chinups body X 6 x 2 X 2
situps body + 25lbs X L5,R5 X L3,R2 stopped
Somewhat of a good day. I decreased shoulder press by 10lbs, but believe the increase in reps justifies it. 1 rep drop off with dips, but should I be happy anyway? I think I should put more thought into diet, I wonder if there is a deficiency somewhere.
Chins the same bull. Situps are badly off, my energy level seems to have diminished by then.
edit: So, Sunday, the start of my next lifting week, rest periods between sets double. therefore, 3 minutes for legs, 2 minutes everywhere else. situps are a straight through 90 seconds.
Sunday, May 6, 2012 week 3 day 2
squat 265lbs x 5 X 5 X 5 x 5 x 5
deadlift 285lbs X 7 x 5 fail
DB standing calf raies 60lbs X L15 stopped
Great day today. I am alternating with leg days starting with squats one week, deadlift the next. I felt ambitious going for the 265lbs, and am very pleased I nailed it all. My hamstring was telling me last nigt take it easy, so this is even better.
Deadlift was higher than last time they came second, I reached failure accidentally. Still, I am very pleased there.
My standing calves I cancelled part way through because it occurs to me I have skipped rope twice this past week, plus I do them with muay thai kicking practice.
With rope skipping, I did another session yesterday and barely caught on my toes until the last minute of the last set, so progress there already.
Creatine I am now doing a maintenance dose for 4 weeks.
tuesday, May 8, 2012 week 3 day 3
BB bench press 185lbs X 7 165 X 7 x 5 x 5
DB lateral raises 2 X 15lbs X 15 X 11 X 10
BB bent rows 125lbs x 7 x 7 x 7 x 5
Supersets
BB lying triceps 85lbs X 8 x 8 x 6 fail
DB hammer curls 2 X 35lbs X L8,R8 X 8,8 x 6,6
situps body + 50lbs X 5 X 5 X 5 X 3 fail
Great day today. Even though starting in week 3 rest between sets doubles, I mad progress with bench. laterals about the same when considering, but rows a hike up too. Curls better, I am doing 90 seconds for the supersets.
Situps about the same, but better than last time.
Wow, you look really lonely over here. Just dropped by to say good lifting.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
Wow, you look really lonely over here. Just dropped by to say good lifting.[/quote]
It is true I am not as much the social butterfly, as occurs on several other threads. Sure, I sometimes wish I heard this more, thanks, but on the other hand it keeps the journal more purpose oriented.
I am starting to be happy with my legs with this program. My squat is about where it was, or slightly better, than pre hamstring injury. Deads are still a hike behind, but still I am getting a good feeling about it. My upper body has gradually been waning over the last few years and hopefully I can recover something.
The other reason to post is that I just bought myself a 75llbs heavy bag. I have been over in combat with the shout out to rope skipping thread, and just today saw a web video of Boxing coach Freddy Roach. this has him demonstrating basic boxing moves with a subject doing the paces of it and I suddenly thought to go and actually do something about it.
http://www.treadmillfactory.ca/p-1735-c-113-century-75lbs-complete-set-blue.html
A quick web search yielded the above and if the price is really the deal they claim, well, I bolted for it. I realize I am not maybe in the shape I had thought for the number of times I put it down just getting back from the bus stop. I didn’t splurge and buy stand for it, so I had to think and improvise. What I came up with is setting my squat stands to the highest level and running my empty long bar across to hold it. Still, with the distance the chains allow it to hang I was unsatisfied with the height, I could barely tweak the top. So, I thought of some ideas, and what worked was to take a Dudley padlock and run the latch through the chain links part way through their length to clip the length and therefore hang the bag higher. What I have now is acceptable, although I am still working generally closer to the top.
The deal came with some cheapy freebies; A pair of practice mitts, a skipping rope, wrist wraps and a ceiling attachment I don’t need. Well, I got them so fine.
So, I cracked into it a bit with my best knowledge of form, and feel profoundly inferior about how much I am not affecting the bag. I am thinking obviously of getting into a routine with it, maybe on Sunday after legs and maybe some other day off from upper body days. Then again, maybe I will think to totally revamp training, but I just a few weeks ago started what I am doing, so maybe I have the luxury of time to research it.
Diet. I realize there has been talk of Kpsnap not being in a strict habit of watching it, and I am sort of the same. The point of mentioning it is a few weeks ago I saw my doctor who said that liver tests reveal a high enzyme of some sort, and high iron. She asked if I have a high protein diet and I mentioned that I lift and try to eat a lot of protein. So, she is allowing with what I would rather do and we left it that if in a few months I still have the high numbers, we would look more at options. What I have been generally trying to eat is about 1.25 - 1.5 g of protein for every pound of body weight. Carbs are moderate and I am supposed to rely on the fats associated with protein for a good chunk of energy output. Other than that I try to eat the right things, I just hate trying to strictly regiment it.
I realize this is getting off focus from a basic lifting journal, but here goes. I have this heavy bag and I have been playing around a bit with hitting it and the more I did in the slightly more than 24 hours I have had it the more I want to do a specific training for it. this will include throwing kicks in the mix.
I did some site searching, and generally I found people have already said to keep lifting to 2 days a week, and do several days of bag hitting ( I am refreshing myself with some old knowledge of form) with more aerobic intensity. And skip rope as I have been recently (3 3 minute high intensity sets, 1 minute between).
I am wondering if I can take the program I am doing the last few weeks as you see above and just modify it. I suggest keeping the day 1 (BB shoulder press, dips, chinups, abdomen) and the day 2 2 days later (squats and deadlift, alternating order each week), and cut out the day 3 (BB bench press, Db lateral raises, Bb bent rows, supersetted lying triceps and hammer curls). Somewhere I should retain the extra abdominal work. Then again, I might just do some reordering to retain some stuff, lop other stuff out and still have 2 days.
Any thoughts?
Damutt does boxing. You might check into his training.
Friday, May 11, 2012 week 3 day 1
Bb shoulder press 105lbs X 7 x 7 X 7 X 5
dips body 210lbs X 7 X 7 x 7 x 6
chinups body X 5 X 3 fail stopped
situps body + 25lbs X L5,R5 X 3,2 fail stopped
Great day today. As the rest between sets doubles from week 3 onward, I improved in stepwise fashion, but it is still good progress. Soon I will need my dipping belt to challenge myself, I always feel spiffy putting it on. chins and situps a drop off, but I was never good with chins anyway. Situps I am doing a similar scheme when I was doing my rectus abdominus, but now that I am hitting obliques with it I might lower the weight for the shorter term.
Yesterday I skipped. 3 3 minute sets with 1 minute between. I am pleased that I got through it with only the rope catching once on my toes. I was however wondering at times if I was letting off on intensity level. Still, every time I thought it I hit it a little faster.
My new heavy bag makes me feel like a child Christmas morning. I have been sparring at in spurts since and want to get into an aerobic, sweating routine with it soon.
As to tempo, I caught myself with shoulder press and dips starting off too fast but feeling forced to slow down in later sets.
First I think in order to properly answer your question I have to ask what your goals are. What you want to be when you grow up so to speak. When I first started in the weights I was purely lifting for maximal strength. I do not lift for that now. I now lift to supplement my fighting. I am in a job that requires me to be ready for physical confrontation every single day and when I was power lifting there were days I felt like I could not walk while at work more or less fight. I have now changed my focus and weight lifting is more of a supplemental program.
Sp the question is, what do you want out of your exercise program. its not just weights your now adding in cardio and skill work its a package what do you want from your fitness package.
Again, thanks for taking the time to post.
First, I do want the benefits of higher intensity work that members of various boards have suggested over the last few years.
Also, it is interesting you ask what I want to be when I grow up. Not that I plan to go around like an asshole left, right and centre, but I have felt for the longest time a lack of confidence in dealing with situations that require a fuck off and don’t bug me approach.
Earlier in this journal I mentioned I take time to practice Muay Thai style kicks. what I am thinking now is to start working technique with pure boxing on my heavy bag, and hold off on getting fancy until the early stuff is ingrained.
[quote]damutt wrote:
Sp the question is, what do you want out of your exercise program. its not just weights your now adding in cardio and skill work its a package what do you want from your fitness package.[/quote]
More endurance strength, increased overall strength, and the skill sets development.
what exactly is wrong with your hamstring. I read your whole log and did not see it. As far as your goals anything you are doing will get you there. I really am starting to believe that if your goal is to be/have a more athletic lifestyle then anything you are doing will get you there. I don’t think you will be able to learn a ton of skill in fighting by training alone it may help some but fighting involves another person and training probably should too.
I have started reading Paul Carters Blog Lift,Run, Bang and he seems to be very inline with Wendler on his thoughts. You should be able to lift heavy shit, defend yourself and run if need be.
As I said before I read your entire log and I noticed you were kind of running 5/3/1. I say kind of because you were not addressing the conditioning side of his training. Wendlers 5/3/1 is a LONG TERM PROGRAM designed to keep a regular person looking for a strong athletic base going for the long haul with reduced probabilty of injury. running it for two cycles will not add 50 pounds to your bench for that matter nothing will add big weight in a short time.
Anyway I am getting long winded, my advice is to relax, stop reading every article posted on the internet, pick a program and run it as advertised for a year. then look back at the LOG tha I am sure you are keeping and see where you are. If you added 25 pounds to your bench, 50 pounds to your sqaut and deadlift and can run 2 to 3 miles any time that you want. I would think that is a great year.
[quote]damutt wrote:. You should be able to lift heavy shit, defend yourself and run if need be.
[/quote]
Are you saying you think I already have a reasonable amount of these abillties?
My hamstring got strained in March 30, 2008. I was doing the Bill Starr, Glen Pendlay periodized program for advanced lifters. I ran one 9 week go at it and felt like a beast, at least with my deadlift. Around the same time I was beginning to incorporate cleans into my program, for explosive strength. I started the tiniest little bit of a strain in my left hamstring that I thought i could train through and would eventually turn out fine.
I took 2 weeks off, and ran the program again with aggressive targets. Week 1 my deadlifting was 340lbs for a full 5 X 5. week 2 was a 5X5 at 360lbs, and I only fell short on the last set because I didn’t realize I needed my straps ready. The week after was a 5 X5 at 375lbs. the day before I was to do it I almost got in a fight with some man, and said, “fuck it, I don’t dare let up on my target”. So the second rep of the second set ripped it.
Since then I have had trouble showing the patience to rehab it, although I have seen a medical doctor physio . I can train my hamstring, I just can’t do any explosive power moves with it.
Oh, and I did some web research to figure out how good a deal I really got on my heavy bag. while the price I paid is at the low end, I didn’t come close to saving $100. I unzipped the top and it looks like value village castoffs shredded up inside. The vinyl seems reasonably thick, and that is what a lot of other bags are made of so I don’t suppose I am badly done by there. Still, when I beat it up a bit it noticeably dents after a while so I find myself sort of ear smacking to to plumpf it back. Well, it is what I have so I will love it.
I didn’t do legs on Sunday, or today, because I did some leg work carrying the bag home last Wednesday and slightly tweaked my hamstring. I worked over the weekend unplugging computers and setting them up elsewhere and had to get down and back up a lot, so that didn’t help. Maybe tomorrow, but I wonder if I really should cancel my day 3 like I thought, I am still on the fence.
Today I took closer to a more serious approach to sparring with the bag. So far I am not on my bicycle with it, I just stood in front of it and reviewed technique for jab/cross jab, I will gradually get fancier with it when I think warranted. I started off Southpaw because of my belief my left jab is a weak area, my left cross jab can’t be too weak I thought.
[quote]DeadKong wrote:
[quote]damutt wrote:. You should be able to lift heavy shit, defend yourself and run if need be.
[/quote]
Are you saying you think I already have a reasonable amount of these abillties?
[/quote]
I would say that is up to you its your life. Lifting and staying in shape is not something that you do for a couple of months and become great. It takes years to get to an elite level. Frankly I think all of these " Get huge in 6 week articles" are a slap in the face to THOSE guys who have been hitting the iron hard and seriously for 15 or 20 years with a serious diet to get where they are at. I have after a couple of years of reading everything on the net realized that nothing worth having is gotten in a short period of time.
For instance I grew up fighting on the street and was a pretty tough guy… I of course out grew that and had not had a fight in a long time. I am in law enforcement now and have to use force from time to time and hold my own. I had competed in 2 charity boxing matches knocking out both of my opponents in 3 1 minute round fights. My confidence was pretty high until I went to a local MMA club to help me train for my third Charity boxing match and got my ass kicked right off the bat. My endurance sucked and my aerobic ability was non-existent. I trained with those guys and started to get better. I then went to the local high school (with high school kids) and began to train wrestling a little. Again I got my ass kicked. So abilities are all about experiences. I thought a body weight bench press was pretty impressive until I trained with bulldog and watched him bench 400 lbs. n Goals are yours you have to figure out what is reasonable and what is not… don’t let perceived limits hold you back, break the barrier The greatest transformation in fitness history! - YouTube
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