23/06/2014
Ended up stuck in the office until late which wasn’t ideal.
5 rounds of following:
1 minute plank
10 trunk twists
10 glute bridges
10 lunges each leg
1 minute using rumble roller
More of a back rehab session tonight. Get to leave work early for the world cup tomorrow so going to use it as a chance to get an extra walk in and get back in the pool as swimming really seemed to help.
Man, every once in a while I will tweak my back. Not hurt it bad, but enough that I am down for a week or two and then bounce right back. I really hope this is short lived for you brother. Keep swimming!
24/06/2014
@Alpha - Thanks man, I seemed to have escaped anything too serious so it shouldn’t be too long until I am back at it.
Finished early from work due to world cup so used opportunity for stretching and LAX ball work.
Swim:
200m warm up
6 x 100m freestyle on 1:40
3 x 100m breastroke on 1:50 (too ambitious and missed the 3rd one so had to increase the time to complete)
3 x 100m breastroke on 2:00
4 x 25m sprints butterfly. Hit a pleasing 16s on first length, but then died quickly after.
Overall pleased with the pace though and hopefully one step closer to my back healing up.
25/06/2014
So time to see how the back is!
10 minutes crosstrainer at 231 watts per hour.
5 sets of following Giant Set:
18kg DB Romanian Deadlift x 5
18kg DB Shoulder Press x 8
18kg DB Curl x 5
1 minute plank
10 minute crosstrainer at 256 watts per hour.
Notes:
Obviously kept it very light. Didn’t feel any twinges or shooting pain, just the left side of my back is still very tight. Will do more LAX ball work later tonight and see how it is in the morning before deciding where to go.
26/06/2014
Another back rehab session:
5 rounds of following:
1 minute plank
10 trunk twists
10 glute bridges
10 lunges each leg
1 minute using rumble roller
Will get another swim done tomorrow, then will get back in the gym Saturday and see how things are. Definitely made a lot of progress with LAX ball work and keeping it moving. Also in good news I have been picked in the 4 I wanted for the race in July which I am very happy about even if I do have to switch sides. Really hope to step things up fitness wise again as I don’t want to let the others in the crew down.
27/06/2014
Swim:
250m warm up
3 x 100m front crawl on 1:30 (really tough pace, managed the 1st one, was a couple of seconds of the 2nd and then was playing catch up so came in 15s over on the last. Was good to really push it though).
3 x 100m breastroke on 1:45 (again really tough pace, made the 1st one, was 5s too slow and 2nd then really burned out on the last one).
100m gentle front crawl
Much harder session than it looks. I really struggled holding the pace particularly 1 minute 45 seconds on the breastroke, but was good to test myself.
29/06/2014
Return to the erg.
10 minutes at 1:50.2 split r24 (did feet out of the straps to make sure I wasn’t overextending at the finish which would put unnecessary pressure on my back)
12 minutes on the bike at 258 watts per hour. (Was meant to be 20, but I was destroyed after this).
30/06/2014
Agile 8
2 x 1500m erg 5 minute rest at 1:47.4 split.
Bottled the 3rd 500m in.
5 minute on bike at 272 watts per hour.
Good to do intense erg without back issue. Back to the old bottling it mentality.
01/07/2014
Lunch:
5km run
PM:
7k on erg r20 at 1:59.8 split. Wanted to do longer, but guess its a step in right direction.
02/07/2014
Big test for both my wrist and back today!
Insert:
1k warm up on erg averaging 1:53.0 split (increasing pace throughout)
Tabata (8 x 20s on 20s off) on erg averaging 1:35.1 split. Little disappointed in power, but at least I pushed through to completion.
1st Giant Sets:
Bench Press: 60/3, 70/3, 80/3, 90/3, 80/3, 60/3
1 Arm DB Row: 24/5, 32/5, 38/5, 38/5, 38/5, 38/5
V Sits: 12, 12 , 12, 12, 12, 12
2nd Giant Sets:
Deadlift: 60/3, 100/3, 100/3, 110/3, 110/3
Shrugs: 60/6, 100/6, 100/6, 110/6, 110/6
Hammer Curls: 16/9, 16/9, 16/9, 16/9, 16/9, 16/9
Strength work done in 30 minutes, whole session under 40. Wrist hurt a little on 90kg bench so dropped it back down. Back is still tight so kept it sensible on the deadlift, but overall a positive session towards recovery.
03/07/2014
Swim:
200m warm up
1150m front crawl (just under 20 minutes)
Happy with the pace and felt good to go on for the planned 2k. Then the swimming club turn up. Thought the buggers had gone for the summer, but I got kicked out of my lane just as I was enjoying having a lane to myself.
Couldn’t believe when I got to the gym to find out that the Tour de France procession was starting from there and saw some of the Garmin Sharp team hanging around the sports hall.
04/07/2014
Lunch:
2 x 1.5k fairly fast paced run with long stretching session in the middle.
PM
2 x 6k on erg r19, 90s rest averaging 1:58.4 split.
Looks like things are back on track.
Massive strength sessions. You must be eating heaps to help with the recovery from all of that.
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@ theBird - Thanks man, Friday’s 12k row went fairly well and I am happy with that pace, especially when on my own as it is so miserable erging without any company. Hope things pick up for you again after the World Cup. As for the strength sessions, the last couple of weeks I have actually kept my calories down because I am having to train light until my back is completely right. Once I go back to lifting heavy again though I will up the protein and the size of my postworkout meals, but the good news is I have dipped below 90kg again on the scales.
05/07/2014
Day off to watch the tour and drink beer. Would be rude not to considering the Tour de France passed within half hour walk of where I live. Awesome day even if Cavendish did crash out.
06/07/2014
8.7km run to rowing lake, done in just under 45 minutes, quite a lot uphill.
Outing in coxed four on bow side. Don’t really know the distance, but we got a decent chunk of work done.
8.7km run back. didn’t time it as I was destroyed.
Good distance covered today, will be back on the weights tomorrow.
07/07/2014
Legs were sore as hell today, and my right hand is pretty badly blistered (thought my hands were resistant now, but clearly not after switching sides). Still I only have less than 3 weeks left before I race, so no time to lose.
Insert:
Agile 8
10 minute bike at 255 watts per hour.
1st Giant Sets:
Front Squats: 40/5, 60/5, 70/5, 80/3(PR), 60/5
DB Romanian Deadlift: 28/5, 28/5, 28/5, 28/5, 28/5
Bicycle Leg Crunches: 20, 20, 20, 20, 20
2nd Supersets:
Weighted Wide Grip Pull Ups: BW/5, 10/5, 15/5, 20/5
Weighted Dips: BW/10, 10/10, 15/10, 20/2 (wrist wasn’t having it)
Extract:
5 rounds on bike of
45s light
15s all out
Did this with a few mates challenging to see who could hit highest watts in the 15s. Highest I hit was 742 watts per hour (however only made it over 600 3 times, so aim next time is to keep it consistently higher). Still was good lactate work. Happy with front squat PR. Nothing to shout about, but I have not done them in ages and they didn’t bother my back at all. To be honest my wrist is causing more issues with any push work.
I have been doing some work with my front squats lately.
I am kind of hoping to eventually front squat my body weight, although Im not sure what benchmark I should be aiming for? Do you know what we should be front squatting as 90 kg athletes?
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@theBird - Really not sure mate. I find getting bar position right one of the hardest things with front squats as when the bar starts slipping that often limits how much I can do. I personally would like to aim for 150% of bodyweight so looking around 130kg once I get my bodyweight down that little bit more (although I am not going to force this too much).
08/07/2014
8 x 500m sprints on erg 1 minute rest. Averaged 1:40.9 split.
Not too bad at this stage, but plenty of room for improvement.
[quote]Ironwarrior25 wrote:
@theBird - Really not sure mate. I find getting bar position right one of the hardest things with front squats as when the bar starts slipping that often limits how much I can do. I personally would like to aim for 150% of bodyweight so looking around 130kg once I get my bodyweight down that little bit more (although I am not going to force this too much).
[/quote]
What method of holding the bar up are you using?
I have heard that using the “clean” position is better for athletes as it promotes mobility/flexibility of the back and pushes the chest in proper “forward and out” position. Im loving the front squat at the moment as it is the only squat that doesn’t cause my back or knee trouble, although I need to work on my form.
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@theBird- I am using the bodybuilding grip at moment, mostly because my wrist is still not right. Might look at improving back mobility. Might need to look at the Max Shank stuff for that. Think I will keep front squats in place of back squats at least until after my race on 26th July, to make sure I don’t make my back worse.
09/07/2014
Insert:
500m warm up on erg.
Rate pyramid:
3 minutes at r24
2 minutes at r26
1 minute at r28
Averaged 1:49.4 split.
Bench Press: 60/5, 80/3, 90/3, 100/2, 100/2, 60/10
Giant Stes:
DB Snatch: 20/3, 20/3, 20/3, 20/3, 20/3, 20/3
Deadlift: 60/3, 100/3, 120/3, 140/3, 160/3, 140/3
DB Shoulder Press: 20/5, 28/5(PR), 28/5, 28/5 28/5, 20/5
DB Curl: 20/5, 20/5, 20/5, 20/5, 20/5, 20/5
Steady progress again. More there on the deadlift just easing into with my back. Wrist was hurting during 100kg on bench, but no problems with DB pressing anymore. Still happy with the intensity of giant stes and nice to finally be lifting more weight again.
10/07/2014
60 minute bike at 254 watts per hour. Solid pace, things still ticking along nicely.
11/07/2014
4k run at lunch
12/07/2014
2 outings in coxed four on bow side. Was still drunk from last night, but at least got the work done. On the water tomorrow and will try and fit some weights in too.