Fulfilling My Potential

Training Logs
1

My name is Michael Draper. I am a an 18 year old freshman at Tennessee Tech University. The name of my training log means exactly that. I have known for quite some time that I have extreme potential when it comes to physical fitness, and not pursuing it would be a sin to myself and my God.

Current Stats:
Squat Max: 445
Clean and Jerk: 250
Pullups: 12
Bent Row: 250
Bench Max: 315x3
Weight: 211

My Primary Goal that I will be chasing is to return my squat max back up to 500 lbs. by June 1st. I realize that this is going to have to be a very speedy increase in strength but that is the point.

The other lifts are ones that I would also greatly appreciate becoming stronger in but they will always come second. The lifts are in order of priority.

Goals by June 1st:
Squat Max: 500
Clean and Jerk: 300
Pullups: 20
Bent Row: 270
Bench Max: 350
Weight: 211, but with a lower bdyfat percentage

ADDED JANUARY 26: I just noticed that I do not have any cardio goals on here. I want to be able to do 20 100 yard sprints in one workout. Oh shit. I hate myself already.

2

Wednesday, january 21, 2009.
4:00. Ran for rugby. Ten minutes at beginning of practice. That?s about it. I was out of shape as hell. This is bullshit.

9:00.
Snatch. 135x4. Snatch 165x4. Clean and jerk. 185x3. Cj 225x2. Power clean 255x3.

Squat with 315 for 25 total reps.
4. 2. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 2. 2.
Next time add at least 15 pounds for squat.

Thursday, january 22, 2009
9:30. Bent over row. 205 lbs x 25 total reps.
5. 4. 4. 5. 5. 2.

Pullups non-weighted for 25 reps. Alternating behind the neck with in front. 5. 5. 4. 5. 3. 3.

Bicep curls 70 pounds 25 reps. Not really sure what reps i did. Didn?t feel like keeping track.
Sprints 100 yards.
1x50 percent.
1x75 percent.
1x95 percent.
1x100 percent.
1x100 percent.
1x100 percent? but just for 80 yards.
Move up to 220 pounds for bent over row. Keep track of bicep curls. Do abs. Increase sprints by one. Finish with calisthenics.

I felt great after my workout, which means i either did it right… Or completely wrong. I’m not happy about the limited amount of sprints that i could handle but that will definitely be improved upon. There is nothing that is holding me back besides myself, and that is what pisses me off the most.

3

I’m glad to see you started a log. I will be keeping up with it like you keep up with mine.
My only suggestion is to rewrite your first entry to include a little back story along with current stats so we can follow your progress better.

As far as the workout its seems pretty good. Olympic lifting and sprinting in the same day has to be pretty rough on the hammies.

I’m glad to see you are improving on your bent row. Most people are so screwed up in their pulling strength to pushing strength ratios its not even funny. If I ever get to the point where I row as much as I bench then I’ll be a happy man.

Oh and one last thing try to space out and break up your workout so its easier to read and analize.

Keep up the good work draper. I’ll bee watching.

4

the hamstrings are the devil’s muscles anyway.

and i will definitely work on the format. the back story is in the works and i will be adding onto it spiradically over the next few days until i have an extensive list of stats and goals with dates to accomplish them by.

5

Friday, January 23, 2009

Today is scheduled as an upper body pressing day along with triceps, but my shoulder has been a little off because of snowboarding a little too much so i just did sprints today. i would have done much more but i have to wake up at 6 in the morning to go snowboarding in NC

100 yard sprints
1x50 percent
1x75 percent
1x90 percent
4x100 percent

After my run today i felt like i could take over the world. I got a slight runner’s high (from sprinting… which has never really happened to me before) along with great stride length. Overall i am happy with today’s workout. successful.

6

Saturday, January 24, 2009
I went snowboarding today for nine hours. Woke up at 6, it’s now 3:12 am Sunday Morning. I am definitely not going to run sprints before i go to bed. Tomorrow should be an interesting day though.

7

A good long day of skiing/snowboarding can destroy your body and I always sleep and eat like crazy the night and day after I’m done.

Your first entry still needs some work.
If you want people to take the time to read your posts and give advice they need to know about you, where you are, and where you want this log to take you.
Post a picture as well.

Another suggestion I have is set some date specific goals for yourself.
You said you want to squat 500 well so fucking what. I want to squat a 1000 but saying it doesn’t do anything. Tell me your fucking plan and set a date for it.
Try something like I want to squat 500 by the last day of the semester or May 20th etc.

So include some pictures, more specific goals, and what general direction you want you training to take you.

Keep up the good work.

8

Jeez this is exactly why I wanted you to know about this Log. Inspiration.

9

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Snatch. 135x4. 175x4
Clean and Jerk. 225x4. 245x2
Power clean. 225x4
Straight Leg Deadlift. 245x5. 275x5. 275x5. 275x5.
I had to lower the weight and even drop the last set of power clean. I didn’t feel too great.

100 yard sprints.
1x50 percent
1x75 percent
1x95 percent
2x100 percent
I also cut my sprints short. My body didn’t necessarily like me today.

Today I slept in super late (2 pm) because I was out so late last night snowboarding, which inevitably lead to a horrible workout because i didn’t get to eat as much during the day. For me, i have to have at least three meals before i train, and today I only had two.

I felt like someone put me in a sleeping bag full of horse shit and beat me with a bat. I had no stamina or strength. My first few sets of snatch had excellent form, but it was nothing but downhill from there.

I’m going to sleep, eatin’ a shitload tomorrow and seeing what that will do for me.

10

I think it was a good idea for you to drop the last set of Power Cleans. Olympic Lifting is all about explosiveness and if you don’t accelerate through the movement then its a wasted lift.

I don’t know how long you’ve been O-lifting and sprinting in the same day but that has to be taking a huge toll on your body.
It also seems like you are doing them in the same workout. I know your insane but don’t kill yourself.

As far as the bad workout I feel you man. It is easy to get discouraged but what matters is how you handle it. So just look forward to the next workout and prepare your body for it like you said by getting good sleep and good food.

Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.

11

Monday, January 26, 2009

6:00 pm Rugby Practice. Today rather than having our usual hour long practice, we were there for over an hour and a half and did nothing but sprinting. I was too tired even after three meals (yes, three meals AFTER eight, practice was that grueling) to even think about working out. I’m hittin’ the hay a little earlier as well. Tomorrow I will combine my upper body pulling and pushing workouts into one so i can catch up.

12

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Bodyweight Pullups-Alternating front/behind neck
8 8 7
Bodyweight chinups
5 5 4
Bodyweight Dips
10 10 10
Close Grip Bench Press
205x5 205x5 205x5

100 Yard Sprints
1x50 percent
1x70 percent
1x95 percent
4x100 percent

I was pretty happy with my pullups, but the chinups were weird. I could go strong and easy for the first four reps, but when I came upon the 5th rep i just gave out. I’ll add these to my regular routine and see if this changes at all. Also, doing dips before close-grip was the most amazing burn I have ever felt. I only did six sets of tricep work and i was completely fried. Definitely not the last time I am doing that.

SPLIT UPDATE! My Current Split is as so:
day one: power clean, squat, front squat, calf raises.
day two: bb bent row, unweighted pullups, bicep curls
day three: db incline bench, weighted dips, tricep extensions
day four: OFF
day five: power clean, straight leg deadlift, calf raises
day six: db bent row, weighted pullups, bicep curls
day seven: bb bench, french curls, unweighted dips
day eight: OFF

Although I am not changing much, I do want to move around some stuff to emphasize some lagging body parts

  1. work more upper pec, create fuller pectoral
  2. Do all heavy leg work in one day, and all power clean in next leg day, so i can focus on pure strength more
  3. add in chinups
  4. add in close grip

NEW SPLIT!
day one: back squat, front squat, straight leg deadlift
day two: bodyweight pullups, bb bent row, chinups
day three: incline db bench, weighted dips, close grip bb, shoulder flyes
day four: OFF
day five: snatch, clean and jerk, power clean, calf raises
day six: weighted pullups, db bent row, bb bicep curls
day seven: incline bb bench(every other week do flat bb bench), bodyweight dips, french press, shoulder flyes
day eight: OFF

13

I will also be working on a VERY low intensity post workout consisting of calisthenics and ab work.

14

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

OFF

Recon Ron Pullup program starts tonight.

I began on week… well, the week that starts with eight. not sure if it matters or not, but i did it anyway. i used a little variation though

pulling in front 8
behind neck 7
front 5
back 5
underhand chin 5

That’s about it. I think I ate super good today and I can’t wait to squat tomorrow with my new split!

15

January 29, 2009

Holy Shit. I love squatting more than anything in my life (besides Mortal Kombat V. DC Comics and sex of course). Today was a beautiful day.

Back Squat- aiming for 25 total reps @ 345

Warmup
225x6
275x5

Session
345 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2
315 3, 4

Straight Leg Deadlift
225 5
275 4, 4
295 4

I am very proud of myself. for the first 18 reps of squat i improved by 20 pounds from eight days ago. and when i went back down to 315 for the final sets, i advanced from doing 2 and 2 from my last session to 3 and 4 in this session. SLDL is whatever. I’m pumped. g’night.

Before Bed- Recon Ron Pullup Program
8 7 5 5 5

16

Friday, January 30, 2009

Recon Ron Pullup Program
8 7 5 5 5

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Recon Ron Pullup Program
8 7 5 5 5

I haven’t worked out in two days. Long story short I have gone off course. I will be back on tomorrow. I will take my Off day and turn it into yet another upper body push/pull routine. I will do better.

17

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Super Bowl Sunday proved very busy for me today, so i had to create a makeshift gym in my basement with foldout chairs.

bodyweight dips
10 10 10 10

pushups
10 10 10 10

No recon ron pullups- sunday is off day.

I will get back on track tomorrow. Leg days always help me stay inspired. I am not able to play rugby because I am ineligible so my goal pertaining to conditioning is no longer valid. Instead of running every day I am going to change a little bit:

  • No running the day before squats
  • No running the day of squats
  • No running the day of power cleans
18

Tuesday, February 2, 2009

Snatch 140x4 180x4
Clean and Jerk 230x2 250x2
Power Clean 250x2 225x2
Hamstring Curls 130x10 160x10

Recon Ron Pullup Program
9 7 6 5 5

Autry you were right. I cut back the running as I wrote about above and minimized squatting to one day and olifting to the other and i was strong today. Really strong.

I had planned on performing three reps on the last two sets of power clean and ending up with 270 but I murdered my wrists with my first snatch because it was so sloppy, so I had to just stop all together. I kept dropping it and you know how they respond when you do that.

19

I’m telling you K.I.S.S is the way to go when it comes to training.

Keep It Simple Stupid

I’m glad that you rearranged your lifts because now you can hammer the O-lifting and have enough time in between to recover so you can hammer the squats.

How long do you workouts take?

Do you do them in 30-45min or are you going over an hour?

When are you doing your pullups?

Since Rugby is out the window what are your new goals for conditioning and how are you going to accomplish them?

20

None of my workouts take more than 1 hour. I usually stay within the 50 minute mark though. Squat days usually tend to take longer though.

I usually train from 9-10, then eat, shower, pullups, protein shake, bed.

As far as conditioning goes, I will still be sprinting. No more than 400 meters and no less than 100 meters. I’ll most likely do sprints right after my workouts, summer football workout style. I still would appreciate being able to do 20 100 yard sprints in one session. I don’t want to veer off the path of pushing myself too much, so the goal is remaining the same, simply the work frequency has been lessenned.