MarkKO's Training Log

Training Training Logs
7534

@MarkKO @chris_ottawa Me personally, I’ve given up job opportunities to powerlift.

I’ve missed things I probably should of gone to.
I’ve hammered the same injury over and over because “I have to get my reps in”.

I’ve learned a lot about “to what end?”, my goals are to push myself as far as I can go and then keep pushing, except I want to do this for 10,20,30 more years. So now it’s “does doing this ruin my long term goals”.

Someone once asked me what would I do if I broke my arm. I told them “get really strong fucking legs”. Maybe I need a leg injury to force my arms to grow :laughing:

Either way no matter the sport to be the best you have to do some dumb or extreme shit. It’s how bad do you want it and what is it worth to you.

3 Likes
7535

I haven’t quite given up job opportunities but within my job I’ve turned down opportunities to earn more to make sure I can train when I need to. Similar with personal stuff, I’ll make sure I can train.

9 Likes
7536

Unless I’m injured, so sick I can’t get out of bed, or someone needs medical attention, I won’t let anything stop me from training.

4 Likes
7537

Woke at 253 lbs, looking much the same as usual. Still doing air squats on waking every day and I’m pretty convinced it’s making a positive difference.

3 Likes
7538

Woke at 254.4 lbs, a bit bloated

7539

Todays training

3x10 bracing hip thrusts

10x10 seconds bracing 90/90

This took too long. Less talk, more lift. Started watching the clock

Squat
Worked up to 2x10x302 lbs

Close stance squat
2x10x302 lbs

Drove to Sydney and back yesterday and I think this made my ankles a bit stiff. Calves had to pick up the slack.

Front squat
11x220 lbs

Goblet squats
2x25x44 lbs

Quads went numb

Seated hamstring curl
55x44 lbs, 10 second rests as needed

Walking not easy.

BB curls
4x15x44 lbs

From the start of the first squat work set to the end of the last curl set took 42 minutes. Rewarded with a sudden really fucking nasty headache which meant I had to sit with an icepack on the back of my neck for a while.

Took some extra time to stretch.

All up an hour and 30 minutes. Still too slow. Still not easy to walk either and it’s an hour or so later.

7 Likes
7540

Woke at 253.3 lbs, looking much the same as usual.

1 Like
7541

Todays training

3x10 bracing hip thrusts and 10x10 seconds bracing 90/90 interspersed with kb halos (right shoulder sounded like popcorn), band work and SuperD shoulder stabilisation

Bench press
Worked up to 3x10x170 lbs

Wide grip bench (pointer finger on rings)
2x10x170 lbs - right shoulder and bicep did not like. At all

CGBP to a one-board
11x132 lbs

DB flys
3x20x33 lbs - right shoulder and bicep didn’t like either

DB tricep extensions
4x12x22 lbs

Bench dips
3x20

Included some body tempering for the bicep and shoulder in my stretching. Well, I sat the 88 lbs DB on them and moved it around from place to place. Made a huge difference.

All up an hour and 40 minutes

4 Likes
7542

What’s next in you journey Mark. Are you still in a strength phase or back to building some muscle ??

7543

This is week two of the mandatory six week hypertrophy phase we do immediately after a meet. Then back to regular accumulation training.

The way Greg sets it out it isn’t really done in phases, rather it’s concurrent. We work in three week waves for each lift, which are offset with each other. So, on any given week we have a heavy, moderate and a light day. No lift is ever done the same as the other in a week, so one is heavy, one moderate and one light. The fourth day is assistance, and alternates between a full body and an upper day. Deload is every fourth or fifth week.

We compete every six months. So I’ll look for something in January or early February 2020.

I want a big total. I know I can get 800 kilos. That’s the medium term goal. If I can get it before I’m 40 I’ll be very happy. Past 800 is when I can really start looking at a big total. If I can keep adding three to five per cent every meet, I can realistically look at 800 in the next three to four years.

7 Likes
7544

Sounds like a well thought out plan Mark. Which is exactly what I would expect from you. Interesting that he puts hypertrophy after a meet. Is this to allow for recovery and a break from the heavy accumulation?

1 Like
7545

Basically, yes. It functions as an extended deload. The weights are really light.

1 Like
7546

Maybe you should ask Greg about these, wide grip bench is something that can mess up your shoulders and if it doesn’t feel good it’s probably better to switch it for something else.

If flys are bugging you then you could try doing them laying on the floor, that limits ROM a bit and will keep you from blowing out a shoulder.

7547

Woke at 252.8 lbs, looking much the same. Need to watch that drop.

@chris_ottawa it’s something I need to keep an eye on but I’m pretty sure it’s just my bicep being tight. If it keeps happening I’ll have to think about changing the wide grip, but we don’t do it much outside of the hypertrophy phase so I think I should be ok.

1 Like
7548

Todays training

3x10 bracing hip thrusts and 10x10 seconds bracing 90/90 interspersed with 45 degree back raises

DL, stiff bar
Worked up to 2x10x326 lbs

Block pull off seven mats
2x10x326 lbs

DL without touching the floor
11x264 lbs - grip was going so bad I was fingertipping the last three reps

DB rows
5x10x88 lbs

BB row
20x132 lbs

Seated press
3x12x88 lbs

Band facepulls
5x10 with five second rests - should only have been four sets.

Usual stretching and also worked on loosening my right shoulder

All up an hour and 25 minutes

4 Likes
7549

Love that feeling when you’re trying to pull and balance the bar on your fingertips at the same time!! Lol

1 Like
7550

Woke at 252.4 lbs, looking similar to the usual. The fuck? Wonder why the drop.

7551

Todays training

Tricep pulldowns, facepulls, Y-raises to get some blood into my upper body

Ten second rests aren’t enough, we’re supposed to beat the number of sets from the previous week.

Pushups
50 reps, 10 second rests - 4x11, 6

Can’t quite reduce the sets, so figured I’d try to at least do more reps per set

Diamond pushups
25 reps, 10 second rests - 2×11, 3

Dips
50 reps, 10 second rests - 7, 6, 5; longer rest, 7, 6, 5; longer rest, 7, 7

So that’s better than last week, cutting two sets out

Bench dips
50 reps, 10 second rests - 5x10

One set less than last week

Pullups
35 reps, canned the 10 second rests again and did 7x5 like last week (this took nearly half a fucking hour)

Air squats
80 reps, 10 second rests - 80

This sets a bad precedent

Lying leg raises
50 reps, 10 second rests - 20, 15, 15

Cut one set from last week

All up an hour and a half

10 Likes
7552

I grab a stick fairly wide and can take it to my waist on both sides of my body. Moving the hands closer together makes it harder and serves as a progression.

Like this.

2 Likes
7553

Woke at 253.3 lbs, looking similar to the usual.