Apologies for the neglect; I’ve been training and I’ll try cram the highlights in here!
31.05.14 AM
This morning was one of my best conditioning sessions to date.
The first hour comprised of bodweight complexes and work with the turkish clubs.
The final half hour was the Russian Military test again, this time with 2 x 20kg KBs.
Here is where I began to feel I had “grown up” a little. My partner fainted after 15 minutes of work.
I continued and finished strongest in the class. I took great satisfaction from this accomplishment and I was glad to feel that competitive streak. I feel that I need that. I need adversity in the absence of competition.
RPE; 9+
01.06.14 AM
So technically this wasn’t training; but it was a good workout.
A friend asked me to climb a mountain with a group of her friends.
Croagh Patrick is maybe an hour and a half’s drive away and pretty famous climb for tourists and those on pilgrimage.
It’s 764 metres (2,507 ft) and reputed as a tough climb because of the rough limestone track, which is pretty loose.
We pretty much ate the track alive, but the views from halfway were beautiful. Unfortunately the view from the summit was spoiled by fog, but it was really enjoyable.
Had an excellent night afterwards. Went to see a great band & got to meet a lot of people from my home town.
RPE; 7/8
04.06.14 PM
Skipping ahead a couple of days, I visited my old gym for some training. Had a good 531 that morning, but it didnt tax me.
It was virtually the same as if I’d never left; but I was keen to show off the new “quick” Donny.
Warmup; Joints & Muscles
Skipping; Maintained a good pace.
Bagwork; Very satisfied with how these rounds went.
Sparring; I can’t say I’ve integrated all that I want to utilise just yet, but these were good, fast rounds.
I do need to keep the focus on my objectives rather than my strengths in sparring.
I moved well, threw good combinations and varied my work satisfactorily.
Cooldown
RPE; 7
05.06.14 PM
Visited another boxing club. I was drafted in for sparring some amateurs preparing for internationals.
Their coach is a great guy and a man I really respect. I’d love for him to work some fundamentals with me.
The 91kg; he’s in his early twenties and he might actually be good in future.
They had another 81kg boxer split the rounds with him, so they each boxed with me for 1:30.
The 81kg was very aggressive. Older than myself he marched forward to stamp his authority on the spar.
I waited until the final round and gave him a gentle lesson in pain.
I don’t care how much older or bigger you are than me; I didn’t get this ugly playing tennis;
Welcome to Bodyshot City pal; Population; You.
After sparring I jumped down to do some bag work.
After a round two of the little guys were staring at me, so rather than having them doing nothing I got them to hit the bag with me.
We formed a triangle; the first guy throws a combination; the other two must matchg that combination as quick as possible.
The final guy then sets the new combination. I like this. Thanks RJJ haha.
Bodyweight exercises; I just killed these…
But… having finished, my calf decided to freak. I had one of those horror movie cramps where you see the belly of the muscle go from a bulge to a golf ball sized hollow. Not pleasent.
I went home and drank some water with himalayan salt through it. I then had a hot epsom salts bath and rehydrated again.
I strapped on the Under Armour socks and just chilled.
RPE;7 , but a 10 for fun.
06.06.14 AM
Conditioning Session.
This was adjusted to just a circuit because of the calf.
It had maybe 6 or 8 stations; each station repeated before moving to the next.
When completing a circuit we would then rotate again.
Good circuit for 45 minutes, minimal hassle with the leg.
RPE; 7
I know that I’m not “injured” but this gave me a nice dress rehearsal of training hurt.
Its manageable and training can still be quite good with smart choices.
09.09.14 AM
STRENGTH
I’ve been throwing ideas around for strength. Its no secret that I’m a fan of the 531 system, but with cutting weight, I sometimes fail to give it the consistency it relies upon. However, I react well to weight training and feel I need a longer term plan 0
As such, I’ve been experimenting & testing to find the best approach for me.
This morning I tested FSL for Press and experimented with various assistance.
My assistance I feel must serve a definable purpose; I dont want to include exercises that are superficial or wasteful.
So what I’m proposing for my next training cycle is;
Plyometrics; Box Jump s/s Med ball throw. Power Snatches.
Strength; Military Press
Assistance; Pullups, Pendlay Rows, Curls s/s rev flye.
(Before I’m slated for the curls, I seek to develop the bicep for deccelerating on long ranges punches and addressing the elbow with regular bloodflow.)
10.06.14 AM
The 5.00am start had me worried today. I’ve been feeling the fatigue from some very late nights, but I woke this morning pretty refreshed.
I had water, Greek yoghurt, some blueberries and some raspberries. I was on the gym floor for 6.00am.
Today’s circuit was shorter and more explosive in nature;
a) Box Jumps
b) Bulgarian Bag Get-Ups
c) Battling Ropes
d) Hanging Leg Raises
e) One Arm Throws (R)
f) One Arm Throws (L)
g) TRX Tricep Extension
h) Inverted Rows
5 Rotations of the circuit.
3 x 3 Mins KB Snatches.
The food wasn’t sufficient for the KB snatches, I started to break. Will get a better BCAA drink and sip it through these sessions.
