The Bird Cage 3. Redemption.

Training Training Logs
141

Wednesday, 9th January 2013.

Today I had scheduled a rest day, but decided to go to the gym to do some rehab stuff (I must be getting old).

RECOVERY/REHAB

PM

Agile 8 and foam roll.
Broomsticks.
Face-pulls (4 sets of 12)
Rotator cuff work
Unilateral dB floor presses (3 sets of 12)
RDLs (4 sets of 12, bar only)
Back hyper-extensions (3 sets of 12)
Front planking (3 sets of 1 minute)
Eccentric single leg extensions super-slow (3 sets of 12)
3rd world squats (3 sets of about 1 minute)
Face-pulls (again) (4 sets of 12)

notes:
Not feeling the stretch in my hammies with the RDLs. Not feeling much glute involvement either. I suppose I will just have to keep trying until it starts to work. Lower back still feeling a little irritated(2/10). Ive decided I wont start 5/3/1 until my back feels 99% better.

Im expecting myself to lose some weight/size in the next month or so, but in hindsight this may be a good thing. I don’t think it is realistic to be playing another soccer season weighing 95kg+, like I did last season. A more realistic playing weight is 89-92kg. It will be much easier on my joints and I will be able to cover more ground. In the next month or so I will go easy on the weights, concentrating on improving my running and I will start to implement some skill work.

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142

You guys might find this boring, but Im putting these here for my own benefit, so I can access them quickly when I have to. The following videos show the skills and moves i will be working on for the next season. The second video is one of my favourites and is more for my entertainment/inspiration, if your only going to watch one video, make sure you watch the second one.

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143

Thursday, 10th January 2013.

TRAINING

AM

group bike ride

The first 10 km was fast. A month ago and I would of have been dropped, but I managed to keep up. I got to the half way mark(about 23km), before I got dropped from the peloton. I need to start demanding more respect from the peloton and riding more in the group opposed to behind at the back all of the time.

Time: 1:04:34
Distance: 33.72 km
Average speed: 31.3 km/hr
Max speed: 46.9 km/hr
Total climb: 112 m

In other news:

  • Did plan to go for a run this afternoon, but decided to rest and cook instead.

  • Im itching to get back into the gym and hold some heavy ass weight. Back is still recovering so squats are out at the moment. I will be heading to go to the gym tomorrow morning and work up to my 3 rep max for bench and maybe military press, so I can use the numbers to work out my max for 5/3/1. Plan is to do 5/3/1, with little or no accessory work, but some type of conditioning or skill work after lifting. I will soon publish a more detailed program soon.

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144

Friday, 11th January 2013.

TRAINING

AM

Agile 8, foam roll, rotator cuff warm-up, broomsticks.

Flat barbell bench
Worked up to a 3RM
3 x 95 kg

Military press
Worked up to a 5RM
5 x 50 kg (could of gone heavier, but didnt want to risk anything with the temperamental lower back.)

In between sets I did a bunch of pull-ups, face pulls and 3 sets of 15 reps of RDLs(bar only). Seemed to upset my lower back again doing the RDLs. This lower back issue is really starting to piss me off.

I then headed to the field…

Couch to 5km running program.
Level 3( Run 90sec, walk 90 sec, run 3min, walk 3min), set 1/3
Time: 0:20:01
Distance: 3.26 km
Average speed: 9.8 km/hr

I then spent 10 minutes practicing skills from the video I showed you. I worked on the “base move” and “clearing the space”(see the first 2 minutes of the video).

Notes:
Decent session, and this is the I will be structuring my training in the future. Strength training in the gym (nice and quick), and then conditioning work. Im still a little pissed off about my lower back. I also felt a slight twinge in my left groin as well, which I think is related to my back problems. Fingers crossed that this issue will be resolved.

So, with my lifts today I have calculated my one rep max, and I will be using these for my 5/3/1 program.

Flat barbell bench: calculated 1RM; 104 kg
Military press: calculated 1RM; 58 kg

Obviously with my lower back issue I have not bothered with testing my squat or deadlift. Once things are better I think I might incorporate weighted glute bridges and skater squats for my leg work. Im going to have to be careful with my back… hopefully things will get better.

I will put up a more detailed program soon.

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145

Saturday, 12th January 2013.

TRAINING

PM

Foam roll, agile 8, glute activation, bird-dogs, and super mans.

Couch to 5km running program:
Level 3, set 2/3.
Time: 0:20:50
Distance: 3.36 km
Average speed: 9.7 km/hr

7 sets of:
5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups. 90 seconds b/w each superset, in which I juggled the ball.

Practiced some moves with the ball, in particular “the base move” and “clearing the space”. 10 minutes.

Finished off with some groin rehab stuff.

Notes:

  • For some reason today I decided to stretch out my lats, and voila my lower back pain almost instantly disappeared. Amazing. I dont think this will cure my lower back issues, but anything that helps is a bonus.

  • So one problem disappears, and another emerges. Lately my groins have been feeling a little “touché”. For those that followed in the original “Bird Cage 1”, you would know that a groin injury kept me out of action for almost 3 months. And now that injury is resurfacing… so I have to get on top of it and start doing groin rehab everyday. Glute activation will help this as well.

  • Depending on how I pull up in the next few days, I should be soon announcing my new training program.

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146

Hey ducklings,

So you have all been wondering what my plans are for the preseason. Below is a rough draft of my plans. Feel free to evaluate and add suggestions etc.

PRESEASON PLAN

Monday: 5/3/1 and conditioning skill work.
Tuesday: AM: bike ride PM: team soccer training
Wednesday: Either some skill work or some rehab/recovery work etc.
Thursday: AM: bike ride PM: team soccer training
Friday: 5/3/1 and conditioning/skill work
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: team soccer training

nb: another option would be to do my 5/3/1 work directly before team soccer training, leaving me more time for skill work on other days.

Mondays 5/3/1:

  • Military press. (Calculated 90% max: 55kg)
  • Weighted glute bridges. (not too sure on my max, but i will be starting off very light. Im thinking 40-50kg as my max)
  • Accessory exercises: Bodyweight dips, chins, skater squats, single leg squats, GHRs. (will pick 2-3 from the list).

Fridays 5/3/1:

  • Barbell bench press. (Calculated 90% max: 95kg)
  • Accessory exercises: bodyweight push-ups, chins, face-pulls.

Each gym session will be short and straight to the point(under 40 mins). A lot of the accessory work will be done in between the main sets. My goal for the gym is to develop strength and explosiveness. Hypertrophy and aesthetics is nothing to me.

After each gym session I will then head to the field where I will be doing some sort of conditioning such as hill runs, sprints, timed 400ms etc. I will also spend time with the ball as well, practicing moves and control.

You have probably noted the lack of direct leg work, such as squats. With all of the cycling and soccer training I will be doing I have decided to keep the leg work to a minimum. I know I will get flamed for this, but I believe this is the best way to go. You should see the legs on the guys in my cycling group… and none of them step under the bar.

I will be doing some sort of back rehab most days. This will include: mobility work, RDLs, hyperextensions, supermans, bird-dogs ect etc. My goal is that by the end of the season my lower back will be healthy enough to start deadlifitng again.

Lets do this. Bird-style.

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147

40-50KG Is verylight for glute bridges, I am using 86KG for sets of 15 and very low rest.

148

Good call on limited leg work. Squatting/dead lifting during the season is just a recipe for disaster

149

[quote]DSSG wrote:
40-50KG Is verylight for glute bridges, I am using 86KG for sets of 15 and very low rest.[/quote]
Thanks for that. i had no idea, as I havent done these for ages. I still want to be careful with the weight due to my history of lower back problems even though these dont seem to bother my back at all. i will set the max for 85kg.

[quote]jtownlax wrote:
Good call on limited leg work. Squatting/dead lifting during the season is just a recipe for disaster [/quote]
Yer. There is no way I could do a full-on leg day and still train/play the way I want to.

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150

Monday, 14th January 2013.

I usually train in the mornings, but as I had the day off I slept in and instead trained in the evening…

TRAINING

PM

Agile 8, foam roll and glute activation.

5/3/1-Week one
Military press
35 kg x 5
40 kg x 5
45 kg x 10 (Probably could of got one or two more, but didnt want to push it on my first day back)
3 sets of pull-ups in between sets

Glute bridge
55 kg x 5
65 kg x 5
70 kg x 5 (My form was terrible!! Im not even sure if Im doing it right. Im going to have to do this twice a week, using about 40-50kg for reps to try get the movemen right, and then Ill add back into the 5/3/1 scheme).
3 sets of 8 dips in between sets

Back hyperextension
3 sets of 10 (trying to feel the stretch and trying to use the glutes)

I then headed to the running track…

Couch to 5km program
Level 3 , set 3/3.
Time: 0:20:02
Distance: 3.12 km
Average speed: 9.3 km/hr

I then practiced some ball skills. Wall passes, “base move” and “clearing the space”. Finished off with some groin rehab.

Notes:
Decent first workout for my preseason program on a very warm afternoon. Going to have to work on those glue bridges. Im a little concerned about the groin. A couple of times during the run and ball work I felt a “twinge” in my left groin. Fingers crossed that it gets better. Will be doing groin rehab moves everyday.

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151

theBird,
Although I weigh much more than you do (I’m 215-220#) I know that running can aggravate my lower back. I’m wondering with all of the conditioning stuff, combined with the groin/lower back problems, if you should be working on running?
Just a thought.

152

Your glutes seem to be very very weak, Bird. Since glute bridges are an exercise that you can really rack up the plates on, one of the writers for T-Nation Ben Bruno, or Brett Contreras either could do them with the high 300’s or low 400’s.

153

quote]strangemeadow wrote:
theBird,
Although I weigh much more than you do (I’m 215-220#) I know that running can aggravate my lower back. I’m wondering with all of the conditioning stuff, combined with the groin/lower back problems, if you should be working on running?
Just a thought. [/quote]
Thanks for the suggestion. Im actually thinking that with all of the lifting I have been doing over the past 2-3 years and with the extra weight that I have been carrying may be the reason for my recent run with injuries. With the extra conditioning work Im doing I will lose some weight and I think that may make things better for me. I need to improve my running if I want to play soccer this year.
On the other hand, maybe your right. Maybe my body can no longer cope with what Im trying to make it do…

[quote]DSSG wrote:
Your glutes seem to be very very weak, Bird. Since glute bridges are an exercise that you can really rack up the plates on, one of the writers for T-Nation Ben Bruno, or Brett Contreras either could do them with the high 300’s or low 400’s. [/quote]
Yer, i think you may be right. I also think its because its a new exercise to me and it felt strange. The bar was digging into my hip bones(yes, I was using the pussy pad) and Im not sure if all the right muscles were been “activated”. I will be doing them twice a week for reps, and hopefully my technique and glutes will improve.

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154

Tuesday, 15th January 2013.

TRAINING

AM

group bike ride

New distance PB! I kept up with the group up to the 26km mark before I got dropped. Rode as hard as I could and almost blacked out. Good effort.

Time: 1:04:22
Distance: 33.70 km
Avearge speed: 31.4 km/hr
Max speed: 48.2 km/hr
Total climb: 81 m

PM

I went to the local park to kick the ball around. Practiced some juggling and wall passes. Nothing strenuous.

10 sets of; 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups. 90 seconds active rest b/w each superset (wall passes).

I then finished off with some groin rehab moves.

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155

Wednesday, 16th January 2013.

TRAINING

PM

Foam roll and agile 8.

Couch to 5km running program.
Level 4(run 3 minutes/walk 90 sec, run 5 minutes/walk 2 minutes, for 20 minutes), set 1/3.

Time: 0:21:25
Distance: 3.94 km
Average speed: 11 km/hr

I then spent 20 minutes juggling the ball and practicing some moves. Slowly. the ball and me are becoming “one”. Finished off with 4 sets of 7 reps pull-ups and some groin rehab. Groin rehab is coming along well, and my lower back is feeling much better as well. Saying all that I still need to be conservative with my training, ramping things up slowly and continue with my rehab.

Bird is the word.

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156

The following video is a highlight clip of Ronaldo. I actually think Messi is better, although I can relate/understand Ronaldo’s style of play better. He is more about brute speed and strength, plus some skill and flare. While Messi is just amazingly good, that I cant relate to his freakish control and movement.

Enjoy.

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157

That was a pretty cool video, I didn’t care for the song just cause it was run into the ground on the radio. What do you think about Ibrahimovic? I would take him over Messi. That’s me though.

158

[quote]stefan128 wrote:
That was a pretty cool video, I didn’t care for the song just cause it was run into the ground on the radio. What do you think about Ibrahimovic? I would take him over Messi. That’s me though. [/quote]
Ibrahimovic is good, but not is not as consistent or versatile as Messi and Ronaldo. I like his style and freakish skills though.

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159

Thursday, 17th January 2013.

TRAINING

AM

group bike ride

Was a very windy morning with gusty 45 km/hr plus winds. Managed to keep up over half way, up to the 24 km mark. With the tail wind we managed speeds of 50 km.hr plus on the flats. The head wind was too much for me in the last part of the ride.

Time: 1:08:17
Distance: 33.52 km
Average speed: 29.4 km/hr
Maximum speed: 51.1 km/hr
Total climb: 111 m

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160

Friday, 18th January 2013.

TRAINING

Agile 8 and shoulder warm up.

531 week one
Bench press
65 kg x 5
70 kg x 5
80 kg x 10
Pull ups in between sets

And then I did a bunch of face pulls, back hyperextensions, glute bridges and trx pushups.

Woke up late so didnt have time to do the usual conditioning work. Ankles/achilles are feeling a bit beat up so an extra day break might be good anyway.
Will make up for the conditioning tomorrow morning.

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