Just wanted to pop in and say awesome work in here London! Keep it up.
Thanks Sento!
24th April 2015
Debated whether to train. Decided to. Had a pretty good session.
Conditioning intro:
Tabata thrusters - 20kg
30s rest
Tabata star jumps
Strength:
Squats 5/3/1
5s week - 5x172, 5x199, 10x225
FSL 3x5x 172
1x15 sb shoulders - put another 3 shovel fulls of grit in. I’m guessing it’s pretty close to BW now.
Conditioning outro:
400m interval - 59s
30s rest
400m interval - 58s
30s rest
400m interval - 59s
30s rest
400m interval - 57s
30s rest
400m interval - 58s
30s rest
400m interval - 58s
Pretty pleased with this. I’ve not run further than 100m in about 6 weeks. It goes to show there is more than one way to skin a cat, and that short, hard conditioning sessions can be very effective at increasing longer distance performance. Including the breaks, this translates to an 8:30 1.5 mile time, and I consider myself a pretty shitty runner.
Nice program above LB, I will have to try that sequence.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Just wanted to pop in and say awesome work in here London! Keep it up.[/quote]
Sento,
Need some advise on the Bad Ideas thread.
LB,
Sorry for the hijack, feel free to throw in your opinion as well.
[quote]Dude623 wrote:
Nice program above LB, I will have to try that sequence. [/quote]
Thanks mate, good to see you in here!
27th April 2015
Been away with the Army, and ironically haven’t trained since Friday as a result. Ended up pushed for time, but got the desired work in.
Conditioning intro:
As many rounds as possible in 12:30 of:
5 db snatches (2x 30lbs)
Sprint 100 yards
5 burpees (with pressup obviously)
Bear crawl 20 feet
5 pressups
sprint 50 yards
5 pressups
Bear crawl 20 feet
Sprint 50 yards
5 db swings(2x 30lbs)
I did 5 rounds. This was deceptively tough, and I was glad when it was over. I was surprised at how much lactic acid built up in my legs after the bearcrawl/sprint section, but it was good training to go from a more or less prone position, legs burning, to sprinting.
Strength:
Chins (hands facing away) - 8xbw, 5x5kg, 5x10kg, 2(sets)x3x15kg, 2x3x20kg, 1x3x25kg
Rope climbs - Just a lot of volume here. Less interested in sets, more about time spent on the rope and getting as much work as possible in. Did a few jumping rope pullups once I couldn’t climb the rope any more.
Amusing - I tried to do one arm rope hangs once I was too tired to pull myself up, as I couldn’t feel whether my grip was fried or not. Turns out it was, and I stacked it into a bed of nettles, getting stung to shit in the process. After all these years, still managing to push myself to new levels of stupidity.
Conditioning outro:
15 mins skipping, punctuated with 5 burpees and 10 jumping jacks whenever I felt like it. Did quite a few, but should have done sets of 10 burpees. Skipping was at a pretty rapid clip.
Not too high intensity, broke a sweat and then ran out of time.
For those that don’t read it, Alpha has just posted a new article on training intention, on his site (it’s called neversate dot com) under the articles header. It’s quite possibly the single most useful thing on training I’ve ever read. Anyone who is seriou about their training would be doing themselves a service to head over there and read it.
28th April 2015
Conditioning intro:
Useless. I had to do the manmakers inside because of the weather, so I was using round dumbbells on concrete, and it was more fatiguing than I intended holding them still. My elbows got sore, I slowed down, didn’t get a great conditioning effect, and it knocked on to my OHP.
3 x 2 minute of:
5 manmakers (2x 30lb dumbells)
10 burpees
star jumps to the end of the round
Strength:
OHP 5/3/1
5s week - 5x97.5lbs, 5x112.5lbs, 5x127lbs Joker set - 5x150lbs
FSL 4x10x 97.5lbs
20,20,16 very strict dumbbell rows - this was good, really managed to feel the muscles work through the whole range of motion, and got a great pump.
1 set rear delt raises.
Conditioning outro:
20x40m sprints - sprint 40m, jog back, immediately go again.
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
For those that don’t read it, Alpha has just posted a new article on training intention, on his site (it’s called neversate dot com) under the articles header. It’s quite possibly the single most useful thing on training I’ve ever read. Anyone who is seriou about their training would be doing themselves a service to head over there and read it.[/quote]
Checking it out now, thanks for the heads up.
Alpha’s the man.
30th April 2015
Conditioning intro:
4 x 2:00 minutes on:30s off :
10 burpees
10 DB swings (2x30lb dbs)
10 Jumping Jacks
10 thrusters (2x30lbs dbs)
Strength:
Below the knee block pulls: 5x192.5, 3x258.5, 3x303.5, 3x347.5, 3x369.5, 3x415.5, 3x440
SB shoulders 180lb SB - 11 sets x 2 reps (2 reps every minute and a half)
Conditioning outro - 1 mile max effort - 4:48 Far and away the fastest mile I’ve ever run. Ran another 1/2 mile after in 2:33 as I was feeling pretty good. Had intended to do more of a slow pace long distance run, but I ran low on time so had to get something in. I’ll run a longer distance tomorrow, or do some skipping an shadowboxing for time.
Notes: This was quite a significant session for me. That’s the most weight I’ve ever had in my hands, and honestly it was pretty comfortable. It was the first time I’ve ever done block pulls, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t go to hard too soon, but I reckon I should be able to get 500lbs in the next month or so.
I feel like I understand strength better as a result of this session. When I had the 440 in my hands, I was thinking at the top of the rep that I could pull it from the floor, now that I knew I could handle it. It sounds strange, but I think I’ve been psyched out in the past by the weights, without really realising it. Just by having that much weight in my hands, and seeing that my body had no problem moving it and holding up with it, I feel much more confident in my strength. I know it is a baby weight for most people on this site, and I’m not explaining myself very well, but fundamentally I feel like I understand strength better now, and what it is to move a heavy weight, without being afraid of it. I understand the strain you feel now, and what maximal feels like, and am a bit closer to understanding being comfortable being uncomfortable with a weight, if that makes any sense at all. Like with my bench or my squat, I’ve always managed to make them feel difficult, but I’ve never felt that kind of deep strain and compression, and I’m already confident that I can lift a good bit more on my other lifts because of today.
Thanks Loftearman for pointing me in the right direction with these. I think you may end up having made a big difference to my training overall with that one pointer.
Great job on the block pulls and glad I could help. Coming to that realization marked a real turning point in my strength development as well. Breaking the psychological barriers is the hardest part!
[quote]Loftearmen wrote:
Great job on the block pulls and glad I could help. Coming to that realization marked a real turning point in my strength development as well. Breaking the psychological barriers is the hardest part![/quote]
Couldn’t have done it without you mate.
It’s almost a different thing entirely, and I wish I knew how to phrase it better. It just feels different being under a heavy weight. Not necessarily a difficulty thing, just a total shift change in the level of focus and body awareness that’s needed. I could certainly have repped out 6+ reps for my top set, despite it being heavy in a way I’ve never felt before, and it was because I think I found a different level of focus, like I knew I was lifting something that could possibly hurt me, for the first time in my weightlifting career, so I needed to find another level of concentration within myself. For the first time in my life under the bar, every rep felt like progress.
This is turning into some hippy shit, so I’ll stop, but for the first time since I took up weight lifting, I realise that a) I can get really objectively strong (not as strong as you perhaps, but for the first time I believe I can hit 3/4/5 in the next few years), and b.) I’m excited about what I might be able to achieve (again, not competitively, just with regards to weights I thought would always be out of my reach).
3/4/5 is probably obtainable a lot sooner than that. If you put a little more focus into your strength and ate appropriately, you could hit those numbers in (probably) under a year. You are coming from a point of little strength adaptation so gains could come very quickly if strength was your priority.
[quote]Loftearmen wrote:
3/4/5 is probably obtainable a lot sooner than that. If you put a little more focus into your strength and ate appropriately, you could hit those numbers in (probably) under a year. You are coming from a point of little strength adaptation so gains could come very quickly if strength was your priority.[/quote]
Out of respect, given that I know you earn from your coaching advice and I’m in no position to commission help, I’m hesitant to ask you for too much in the way of pointers on an open forum. That said, if you feel I’m going wrong, or could be making better progress, and had any advice you were happy offering, I’d gladly take it (obviously).
I’d really like to think 3/4/5 would be possible in a year or so, that would be awesome. I’m not a particularly big bloke though, as in my frame is pretty average from a ‘designed to move heavy shit’ point of view. For example, my measurements are: Waist 32.5", Chest 43", Shoulders 47.5", Arms 15", Neck 16" - and that represents growth from when I was boxing!
Honestly, I thought that given my build I’d probably tapped out my ‘beginner gains’, but after yesterday I’m questioning how much that may be correct. In some ways, I think that I may not have tapped into my beginner gains AT ALL yet.
Every muscle in my back feels worked today in a way they never have done from deadlifts.
1st May 2015
After all the hype of yesterday, I really flopped today.
Conditioning intro:
10 mins skipping + 50 burpees
Strength:
5/3/1 bench
3s week - 3x130, 3x148, 3x166
FSL 4x7x130
BB rows - 10x105, 10x126.5, 10x150, 10x160
Rear delt raises - 10,6,6,7,7 reps (rest pause 10s)
Shitty session. My first set of 3 felt heavy, and by the time I got to the top set it wasn’t any better. My 3 reps were crap, barely to depth and shakey. I let myself down here, I went into the gym, already hungry. I realised I’d eaten 3 pieces of toast (2 with cheese, 1 with PB&J), 4 eggs and 3 rashers of bacon all day. Not enough to make the progress I want to, particularly with conditioning pre-strength training. I didn’t do a conditioning outro, I went straight to eat something substantial.
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
[quote]Loftearmen wrote:
3/4/5 is probably obtainable a lot sooner than that. If you put a little more focus into your strength and ate appropriately, you could hit those numbers in (probably) under a year. You are coming from a point of little strength adaptation so gains could come very quickly if strength was your priority.[/quote]
Out of respect, given that I know you earn from your coaching advice and I’m in no position to commission help, I’m hesitant to ask you for too much in the way of pointers on an open forum. That said, if you feel I’m going wrong, or could be making better progress, and had any advice you were happy offering, I’d gladly take it (obviously).
I’d really like to think 3/4/5 would be possible in a year or so, that would be awesome. I’m not a particularly big bloke though, as in my frame is pretty average from a ‘designed to move heavy shit’ point of view. For example, my measurements are: Waist 32.5", Chest 43", Shoulders 47.5", Arms 15", Neck 16" - and that represents growth from when I was boxing!
Honestly, I thought that given my build I’d probably tapped out my ‘beginner gains’, but after yesterday I’m questioning how much that may be correct. In some ways, I think that I may not have tapped into my beginner gains AT ALL yet.
Every muscle in my back feels worked today in a way they never have done from deadlifts. [/quote]
I know what you mean, as I am in a similarly precarious situation giving advice on forums. I always feel compelled to help but I have to impose a rule on myself to only take 1 pro-bono client at a time and right now FightingIrish holds that spot until he hits his 315 deadlift I promised to help him achieve.
The advice I would give to you though is that if your goal is to become strong (or well conditioned, or fast, or whatever else), then you must make that training attribute your priority. Right now you are doing conditioning, strength training, and then some more conditioning. If your goal is to push conditioning and put strength on maintenance then that is a great plan; however, if your goal is to prioritize strength, it should look more like: strength, strength, conditioning. Nawmsayin?
Your session probably felt shitty because your nervous system was burnt out from doing those block pulls. When you make the change to really heavy weights it will take your brain and motor units a while to get used to the increased demand. Lighter/moderate weights do not require a terribly high amount of neural drive so they are far less taxing on you as a whole. You’ll get used to it or you’ll learn how to periodize your training so that the session after a big lift you get to take it easy and just get in some solid rep work.
Deadlifts also impose a much higher burden on your recovery ability than squats/bench presses/ohp’s because there is no concentric portion of the lift. Abruptly breaking 400+lbs from its resting place is a lot harder than generating a stretch reflex and then reversing a large weight that you were already lifting.
Thanks very much for taking the time to hold my hand on this Lofty, you’re a good man. I agree with the advice about prioritising goals, and I’m feeling my way in the dark here a bit. For reasons related to what it’s been suggested I’m likely to be doing within the Army in the near future, it is important that I maintain an extremely high level of fitness. At the same time, while I am relatively fit, I’m not nearly as strong as I usefully could be. I guess my most important goal at the moment then, is to increase strength, and not lose conditioning.
I’ve obviously just laid out a new template, with conditioning at the start and finish. I don’t want to ‘program hop’, and I like the template for the long term, but yesterday’s session has thrown me off a bit. I realise that a mental and physical shift is required to kick on from where I am at the moment with my strength training, and in line with your advice (strength, strength, conditioning rather than conditioning, strength, conditioning) I do clearly need to concentrate hard on one goal, and see where that takes me. I can’t afford to become de-conditioned, but I suspect I could maintain a similar level of performance based on one post-training conditioning session.
I think you’re exactly right about yesterday - I’ve been yawning all day today, despite getting a good night’s sleep. I’m usually full of energy, so perhaps it did take a lot more out of me than I realised. I am also going to eat more, as I think that can only help with my energy levels and general recovery.
I need to sleep on it, because at the moment I’m confusing myself with how to structure my training to get solid work in 5/6 days per week, building strength, and ‘useful’ mass (if I have to carry it across miles of rough terrain, it needs to be effective), while not losing (too much) of my current conditioning base.
I’ve got about half way through that Ripptoe book you recommended by the way, and it’s great, really helping me understand a lot of things. Thank you again for the recommendation.
I’ve been thinking about Loftearman’s advice on rejigging my program a bit, and prioritising strength. I’m going to do as he suggests, and make a few small adjustments to the training template I posted earlier. I wouldn’t call it program hopping, as the principles will be largely the same, still using 5/3/1, and maintaining a high level of conditioning.
Here’s what I’m proposing:
Day 1:
Strength focus:
Bench 5/3/1 - I’m thinking I’ll shoot for a joker set or two as well, for 1-3 reps.
First set last 3x5 paused reps
Rows - work up to top set of 3-5 reps
Conditioning - 10-15 minutes high/medium intensity
Day 2:
Rep & conditioning focus:
Strict press - 5x8-12 (will start with a weight I can do 8 reps on and build up to 12 reps for all sets)
Rope climbs/rope pullups - until fatigued
Longer duration conditioning - either long circuits (with odd objects), or long(ish) distance ruck marching
Day 3:
Strength focus:
Squat 5/3/1 - 1-2 sets of jokers for 1-3 reps
FSL - 3x5 paused reps
Below the knee block pulls - work up to a top set of 3
Conditioning - short session 10 minutes or so unless I feel like more, as I’m expecting this to be my most draining strength session
Day 4:
Rep & conditioning focus:
Bench - 5x8-12 (will start with a weight I can do 8 reps on and build up to 12 reps for all sets)
DB rows - 5x15-20 reps
Longer duration conditioning - either long circuits (with odd objects), or long(ish) distance ruck marching
Day 5:
Strength focus:
Push press 5/3/1 - Jokers for 1-2 sets of 1-3 reps
FSL - 3x5-8
Weighted chins - work up to a top set of 3 reps
Conditioning - 10-15 minute session
The idea is to direct the majority of my attention towards the 3 days where strength is the real focus. They will be the measure of progress - am I getting stronger on the 6 main exercises? I may well use dumbbells on the ‘rep’ days, and the idea here is to get some extra volume in without taxing the muscles that I’ll use the next day, before doing some more serious conditioning work and using some well below max weight odd objects too.
I should also mention that, as one of the luxuries of my current circumstances, I’m about to go on a pseudo-Walden kick. I’ll be trying, as far as possible, to live off the land, and feed myself entirely on what I can hunt or grow. Given the amount of pheasant, rabbit and deer around where I currently am, that shouldn’t be particularly hard, and I have a vegetable garden about to come into its own. I’m excited to see how this pans out, and I might document it here. I also have a few farmer friends I’ve cultivated (lol) who I’ll be getting the odd quarter cow/pig off. I’ll be supplementing that with rice and milk, but other than that I’m hoping I can more or less live off the land.
2nd May 2015
Rep & conditioning day:
5x8@93lbs
50 jumping rope pull ups - jump and grab as high on the rope as possible, hang for a second, do a pullup. Did this without any rest between reps, so 1 big set.
6 mile ruck march with 72lbs in a pack completed in 1hr 22 minutes.