London's Log

Training
141

11th July 2015

5/3/1 Squats and snatches - Squats 3x185, 3x212, 8x238 (5 reps more than last time - crazy how easy it was)

Snatches (done first) - 5x44, 5x66, 3x88, 2x3x110 - Really getting the hang of these, and enjoying them.

Giant set:
Front squats8x105, 8x126.5, 8x148.5, 8x170.5, 8x192.5
Zercher squat - 8x105, 8x126.5, 8x148.5, 8x170.5, 8x192.5
Ab rollouts - 8,8,8,8,8

Finally hung my punch bag after 6 months. Whupped that sucker. Felt good. Not punching things has left a huge hole in my life that I hope to now fill.

142

14th July 2015

5/3/1 Bench

1’s week - 5x140, 3x157, 4x176 - 3 rep PR

Giant set:

BB rows: 104x8, 126x8, 148x8, 181x8, 203.5x8 PR
Incline bench: 130x8, 135.5x8, 141x8, 146.5x8, 152x8
Weighted rope chins - 8x+10, 8x+15, 8x+20, 8x+25, 8x+30
Weighted dips - 8x+10, 8x+15, 8x+20, 8x+25, 8x+30

143

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

Finally hung my punch bag after 6 months. Whupped that sucker. Felt good. Not punching things has left a huge hole in my life that I hope to now fill. [/quote]

You were probably obscenely slow you fat fuck.

144

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

Finally hung my punch bag after 6 months. Whupped that sucker. Felt good. Not punching things has left a huge hole in my life that I hope to now fill. [/quote]

You were probably obscenely slow you fat fuck. [/quote]

This was my conclusion too. I looked real pretty though, so that’s got to count for something right?

It’s funny, I always felt like 200lbs guys were big when I used to spar them. Now I’m more or less there, I don’t feel any bigger than I did when I was at light heavy. Better put on another 20lbs eh Irish, then I’ll be satisfied :stuck_out_tongue:

145

15th July 2015

5/3/1 Cleans and blockpulls

1’s week - Cleans - 5x127, 3x146, 2x164, Joker 1x180lbs (PR - easy)

Block pulls - 5x345, 3x390, 2x440 (also easy)

5x8 ab rollouts, 15s rest between sets.

No front squats today. My shoulders are beaten up and I’m desperate for this deload at the end of the week. Been a great couple of cycles, and I’m confident I’ll hit my numbers for my last two strength peaking cycles. I will probably be logging in the ‘Logs’ sectionas of the end of the week.

146

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

Finally hung my punch bag after 6 months. Whupped that sucker. Felt good. Not punching things has left a huge hole in my life that I hope to now fill. [/quote]

You were probably obscenely slow you fat fuck. [/quote]

This was my conclusion too. I looked real pretty though, so that’s got to count for something right?

It’s funny, I always felt like 200lbs guys were big when I used to spar them. Now I’m more or less there, I don’t feel any bigger than I did when I was at light heavy. Better put on another 20lbs eh Irish, then I’ll be satisfied :p[/quote]

Haha maybe that’s it …

In all honesty, I’m not surprised you don’t feel it - … although you might if you were to spar 10 rounds haha

147

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

Finally hung my punch bag after 6 months. Whupped that sucker. Felt good. Not punching things has left a huge hole in my life that I hope to now fill. [/quote]

You were probably obscenely slow you fat fuck. [/quote]

This was my conclusion too. I looked real pretty though, so that’s got to count for something right?

It’s funny, I always felt like 200lbs guys were big when I used to spar them. Now I’m more or less there, I don’t feel any bigger than I did when I was at light heavy. Better put on another 20lbs eh Irish, then I’ll be satisfied :p[/quote]

Haha maybe that’s it …

In all honesty, I’m not surprised you don’t feel it - … although you might if you were to spar 10 rounds haha[/quote]

No doubt brother, the real question is whether I could make my opponent feel the extra pounds I’ve put on by that point.

148

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

No doubt brother, the real question is whether I could make my opponent feel the extra pounds I’ve put on by that point. [/quote]

Absolutely. Were you always a reasonably powerful puncher? What sort of style do you use in the ring?

I would be curious if, after all the lifting, guys thought your hands were a little heavier now.

149

I had decent power in both hands, without being a devastating puncher or having 1 punch KO power. Tended to be a bit of an old school style fighter, as those were the guys I loved and always tried to emulate. Very similar sort of style to a Bhop or an Ezzard Charles, as they were guys I tried to copy off, and I have a similar build/height. I wasn’t much of a volume puncher, and it certainly cost me some finishes along the way, as well as some close decisions.

I got on the bag properly today, and I’d say my hands are definitely heavier, especially considering I’m out of practise. Whether they are heavy now compared to a typical 200lb fighter, I couldn’t say. My knuckles are pretty fucked though, I’ve gone soft.

150

Be mindful of your wrists and assorted tendons once you’ll start punching more regularly with the added bodyweight. You might just go through a period when they’ll bug you for a bit.

151

[quote]Vrednic wrote:
Be mindful of your wrists and assorted tendons once you’ll start punching more regularly with the added bodyweight. You might just go through a period when they’ll bug you for a bit.[/quote]

You’re dead on, I’m very conscious of this. I did about 5 or 6 rounds last night, and my knuckles were beaten up, and I could start to feel the stress on my joints. I’m going to build back up quite slowly, since I don’t have any competitions any more, and I can afford to. I’m also conscious that whilst I’ve put on more muscle, my bones and joints aren’t any bigger, so there’s more force being applied against the same surface area. I think if I continue the weight gain, I will always limit my heavy bag work, and spend time on my shadow boxing (which I prefer to do anyway). I’ve got several family members who were fighters with arthritic hands in their 70s, and I want to try to avoid that if I can.

152

Your bones, tendons, ligaments and capsules will grow thicker, denser and more fibrous as you get stronger. They take longer to adapt than muscle; however, so you probably aren’t seeing the effects of this yet. Just give it time, you’ll get stronger all over.

153

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

[quote]Vrednic wrote:
Be mindful of your wrists and assorted tendons once you’ll start punching more regularly with the added bodyweight. You might just go through a period when they’ll bug you for a bit.[/quote]

You’re dead on, I’m very conscious of this. I did about 5 or 6 rounds last night, and my knuckles were beaten up, and I could start to feel the stress on my joints. I’m going to build back up quite slowly, since I don’t have any competitions any more, and I can afford to. I’m also conscious that whilst I’ve put on more muscle, my bones and joints aren’t any bigger, so there’s more force being applied against the same surface area. I think if I continue the weight gain, I will always limit my heavy bag work, and spend time on my shadow boxing (which I prefer to do anyway). I’ve got several family members who were fighters with arthritic hands in their 70s, and I want to try to avoid that if I can. [/quote]

Been checking in on you, glad you are back on the bag, you delicate little flower:)

154

[quote]idaho wrote:

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:

[quote]Vrednic wrote:
Be mindful of your wrists and assorted tendons once you’ll start punching more regularly with the added bodyweight. You might just go through a period when they’ll bug you for a bit.[/quote]

You’re dead on, I’m very conscious of this. I did about 5 or 6 rounds last night, and my knuckles were beaten up, and I could start to feel the stress on my joints. I’m going to build back up quite slowly, since I don’t have any competitions any more, and I can afford to. I’m also conscious that whilst I’ve put on more muscle, my bones and joints aren’t any bigger, so there’s more force being applied against the same surface area. I think if I continue the weight gain, I will always limit my heavy bag work, and spend time on my shadow boxing (which I prefer to do anyway). I’ve got several family members who were fighters with arthritic hands in their 70s, and I want to try to avoid that if I can. [/quote]

Been checking in on you, glad you are back on the bag, you delicate little flower:)
[/quote]

You guys are so mean to me

155

17th July 2015

5/3/1 Push press

1’s week - 5x112, 3x127, 3x143, 1x150, 1x168!!! (PR - a long time strength goal!!! Hit it by accident)

Giant set:

BB rows: 104x8, 126x8, 148x8, 203.5x8 PR
Incline bench: 130x8, 135.5x8, 141x8, 152x8
Weighted rope chins - 8x+10, 8x+15, 8x+20, 8x+30
Weighted dips - 8x+10, 8x+15, 8x+20, 8x+30

Just burned out as hell with this twice each week. My shoulders are very sore, will definitely be changing this up, but sticking to the the principles, as I have seen great progress.

Squats tonight.

156

19th July 2015

5/3/1 snatches and squats

1’s week

Snatches: 5x45, 5x67, 3x3x90

Squats: 5x199, 3x225, 3x252, 1x275

Called it there. Pretty burned out mentally from doing the same shit all the time, just couldn’t get motivated today. I have really struggled with the 5x8 rep scheme, although it’s done some good. I struggle to stay concentrated for the last couple of reps of each set when every set is the same. While I like higher reps for some stuff, for others it has just been boring. The next cycle I’m going to vary rep schemes slightly more.

The primary aim of the next 6 weeks is to peak my strength and hit those numbers I’ve been after. I’ve obviously already hit them on push press and deads, but I want to squat another 44lbs from bottom position, and bench another 22lbs more than I have done so far. Squats should be do-able, bench will be the interesting one. Secondary aims are to increase conditioning and to come off the calorie surplus before I put on any more fat. I hate not being very lean - I find as soon as my body gets soft, so does my mind and my motivation to train goes down. When I’m lean and fit, I feel much more like a fighter, and feel motivated to train accordingly. Probably not the best for my long term goals, but ‘know thyself’, I suppose (Edit - I’m not entirely sure about this, it may well just be the mental frustration of the end of the training cycle - I suspect it’s equally as likely that I keep trying to get bigger and stronger next cycle after a week of limited training when I’m raring to get back into the gym again, I’m a bad judge of how much excess BF I’m carrying, and I suspect that all the squat variations and block pulls have beefed out the muscles of my midsection. Plus I’m eating quite a lot of carbs, so may be no need to panic).

Training will probably look like this:

Day 1: Bench 5/3/1

Giant set (adding weight each round):

BB rows: 5x5
Low incline bench: 5x5
Weighted rope climbs: 5x10
Weighted dips: 5x10

Shadow boxing and skipping

Day 2

5/3/1 Cleans and blockpulls

Giant set (constant weights):

3x10 SB shoulders
3x50ft Farmers walk (I have two identical 5ft/1" BBs)
3x8 weighted ab roller

Heavy bag 5 rounds

Day 3

5/3/1 push press

Giant set (adding weight):

5x4 weighted rope climbs
5x3 HeSPU (looking to add reps to final set, then last two sets, etc)
5x20 DB rows
5x10 BTN Pushpress

Skipping and shadow boxing

Day 4

5/3/1 Snatches and squats

Giant set (adding weight):

5x3 front squats
5x5 Zerchers (not sure my elbows are ready for 5x3 zerchers!)
5x10 ab roller

Heavy bag 5 rounds

I’ll also be doing a bit of light ruck marching early in the mornings, then training in the evenings. No more than 30 - 60 minutes, with a moderate load. Not really looking to push this to hard yet.

I’m hoping that reducing bench volume and frequency, and front squat volume and frequency, will ease some of the stress on my shoulders.

157

20th July 2015

Deload week

AM - Ruck march 33lbs - 30 mins - 2.2 miles

PM - 5/3/1 Bench - redid 5’s week of this cycle, without the PR set, so 5x120, 5x139, 5x157

Then did the giant set for half the reps, skipping one set, so:

BB rows: 104x4, 126x4, 148x4, 203.5x4
Incline bench: 130x4, 135.5x4, 141x4, 152x4
Weighted rope chins - 4x+10, 4x+15, 4x+20, 4x+30
Weighted dips - 4x+10, 4x+15, 4x+20, 4x+30

Then 15 minutes split between skipping and shadowboxing non-stop. Very comfortable but got a good sweat going. I’m going to use this deload week to play with my proposed set up for the next cycle, with low reps and submax weights, just to see how I like it for volume and general programming.

159

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
What are you using for your ruck marches man? What kind of weighting, pack, etc?

I’ve rolled this over in my head, but haven’t had time to do it yet. … [/quote]

It depends on what I’m trying to get out of it. At the moment I’m just trying to build back up my conditioning. For that I’m using a fairly light weight - 33lbs, for anywhere between 30-60 mins, shooting for 15 min miles. This is a fairly basic army standard for non-infantry units. It’s the sort of standard that all soldiers (including the girls) are expected to be able to meet, so it should be manageable - just wear good boots.

Usually I ruck for an hour each day (6 days/week) with 55-66lbs. When I’m taking it particularly seriously I’ll march for 3-4 hours with that weight on a weekend day. To be honest though, I’m a bit like a camel, in that I have a natural predisposition to walk fast under load. I’ve always been a really good, fast marcher. I’m a shitty runner, and as you can see from my log I’m not predisposed to massive strength, but covering ground with a reasonable load is something I’ve always been good at.

Pack - I use either my civilian one, which I think is North Face and cost me about £50, or my Army issue bergen. I tend to use the civvie one because it is less likely to have people asking me if I’m a soldier. I’d go with anything with decent back support. Plus, the Army in their infinite wisdom and competence have issued me multi-terrain DPM, and woodland camo webbing and bergen, so I look like a fucking plonker if I go marchin about in it.

160

21st July 2015

Deload week
AM:
40lbs ruck march 40 mins.

PM:

Ran 5’s on cleans and blockpulls:

Cleans: 110, 127, 145
Blockpulls: 300, 345, 390

Had to stop the weights here. I split my little finger open down to the bone right across the bottom joint, on the inside of my hand, so gripping heavy shit was not doing it a lot of good. There was a significant amount of puss and blood, so farmers walks can wait. I carried my heavy bag 400 yards, hung it up, hit it for 20 mins, then carried it back. I only have MMA gloves at the moment, and my knuckles have gone soft, so I was ready to call it a day by the end. Elbows a little tender. That’s partly because I’ve had to hang the bag higher, and all the stuffing has previously been pushed down to where I’m hitting the bag now, so it’s pretty compacted and solid.

161

LB,
Been on an assignment for a couple of weeks, get back and check in, and find out you have not been doing a damn thing. What? you broke your fingers working the bag? Check in bro.