[quote]Destrength wrote:
Noice, it looks like you are back into Soccer. Also, I saw your Febuary progress pic, it always surprises me when I see how big/ripped you are. haha [/quote]
JESUS ****IN CHRIST BIRDY!!! I just looked that up![/quote]
Thanks buddies.
I do look stronger than I actually am. I haven’t weighed myself, but I feel 1-2 kg’s lighter lately due to the extra conditioning work I have been doing.
I will post some new pics up here in my log. It will be interesting to see the changes as the season progresses.
Front squats: (10 x 60 kg) x 3, (8 x 65 kg) x 2. (with a few sets of pull-ups in between sets).
Bike ride home.
notes:
Feeling tired after a big week of training and work. Was not motivated to train today, but Im glad I did. A few reps of the deadlifts were a little off, and my hips were feeling a little tight. I think I need to up the frequency of my mobility work. Even 15 minutes in the morning can make a significant difference, and there is no excuse why I can’t do that. I could do half of it while I wait for my coffee machine to warm up.
10 minutes of warmup with the ball with general play, 3 sets of 3 reps of cone dribbles, 2 sets of 2 reps of cone doggies, 10 minutes more of general play and finished off with 6 x 60 m sprints.
notes:
Lower back feels a little off. i think I tweaked something while doing deadlifts while half asleep on Saturday. Does not feel too bad, and hopefully it will be fully recovered within a few days. I could only go 75% on the sprints this morning.
In other news, I had a really interesting conversation on Twitter with Ron Smith, who coaches young football players at the Australian Institute of Sport. This is where the most talented youth go to train to try to maximise their potential. I wont go into too much detail, but he advocates that football players; train 2 times a week in the gym, use squats and power cleans as the main movement, and always lift with maximum explosiveness and speed. The goal of gym work is to prevent injury and maximise the fast twitch fibers. Size is not really a consideration. He also noted that the biggest factor he had noted to increasing speed of players, is to decrease fat levels.
My conversation has got me thinking about what I am doing with my own gym work, and I am thinking it may not be best suited to my current goals. Anyway, I will ponder this over the next few days and consider making changes to my program if needed.
[quote]theBird wrote:
My conversation has got me thinking about what I am doing with my own gym work, and I am thinking it may not be best suited to my current goals. Anyway, I will ponder this over the next few days and consider making changes to my program if needed.
tweet [/quote]
I agree that you - as we all do - need to figure out your long term priorities. Yours have been changing a lot over the course of the past 18 months, from what I’ve seen. Some time ago you said you’ll retire from football and do martial arts, more recently you decided to bulk a bit, then you wanted to cut… IF (!) you want to pursue playing on the field for the next few years competitively, then you could (should?) follow his advice - squat, power clean and close grip bench explosively, do lots of running and don’t try to gain mass. If, however, you decide to retire for good after this season or the one after, all of that changes. It’s decision time - but I guess you know that anyway. Good luck.
Good call. Did he say anything about extra work for the posterior chain? Most of the time my program revolves around front squats, deadlifts and some type of explosive hip extension - at the moment it’s dumbbell hang cleans. I find with this that I need more glute/ham work than I get from the pulls otherwise I get too quad dominant - which is something that soccer players are at high risk for anyway.
Would be interested to hear any other thoughts on this.
Interesting about tailoring your program towards your sport. I do find in past I lose focus on what I am really training for. Definitely something to think about of you want to maximise your time in the gym.
Quick question, I remember you mentioning your old workplace being a negative environment. How much of a difference did it make when you left in terms of how you felt, energy and general happiness?
NightHawkz; Thanks for pointing that out. Its kind of embarrassing that I have changed my focus so often. I think I am coming to the realisation that I would prefer to keep my goals to the more athletic side of things. For example I want to be able to run 5 kms, do heaps of pull-ups and have a decent squat number. But your right, I have some thinking to do over the next few days.
TheWolfMan: We did not discuss the posterior chain, although he did say that lifting weights was purely for injury prevention and to maximize the fast twitch fibers. He also did mention that the weight used would be nothing heavy enough to significantly slow bar speed when doing about 6 reps. 1.5x body-weight squat was the minimum amount they wanted athletes to be squatting at.
IronWarrior25: I was initially hesitant about leaving that job, as it was my first job I had after graduating. So at the time, I was nervous about my decision, as I was worried maybe I was doing the wrong thing, so I didnt feel any instant gratification when I left. But looking back at it, I feel I probably stayed in that position for longer than I should have, and its feels good that I had the courage to change things.
So i woke up today, and my lower back has seized up. There is a constant pain, although my range of movement is still pretty good. Im pretty sure it was the deadlifts on Saturday that has caused this. Im really angry about it. A few days ago I was feeling as strong and as fit as I have ever felt, and today I feel like Im crippled.
Fingers crossed things get better very quickly and I am still able to play this Saturday nights cup game. I think deadlifts are out for the rest of the season and I probably will need to come up with a different lifting routine. Probably will take this week off from the gym, unless the back miraculously gets better.
I have been nursing a bad back. Only activities I have been doing has been treading water in the ocean. Diet has been pretty poor as the back pain has sapped all of my motivation. Hoping to do some work tonight and slowly get back into things. Will be announcing a new modified workout plan.
TheWolfMan; Thanks mate. Your encouragement and support means more than you think to me.
Dr. Pangloiss: Hey Doc, no I have not seen any Dr’s or chiro’s. I have dealt with this injury before and all that the health professional tell me is to rest, take ibuprofen, and stop working out so hard. I probably could of done with some better drugs, but trying to get in to see a Dr. can be a bit of a pain. I think the acute phase is over and I don’t think I am going to do any more damage if I start up my training again. There is still some tightness and pain left over, but its manageable. Thanks for your support.
PowderPuff: Thanks PP. Almost back to normal. I now have to improve on my mobility and flexibility, especially my hamstrings. Going to also work on some more bodyweight stuff, which is probably more appropriate for my goals. As a former ballet person, you must have some decent hamstring flexibility. Any tips?
So, last night I went for a 15 minute light run, and then got the GF to throw the ball at me to practice some skills for 10 minutes or so. Still felt some “left over” discomfort in my lower back, especially on the left side, but I think its safe to say that I can return back to training, although I wont be doing any heavy weights for probably another week or two.
ravenBird, WolfMan & IronWarrior; Thanks for the support guys. Means a lot to me.
Just a quick update. I am no longer in agonizing pain and I feel my mobility is coming back. i do still feel a slight niggle in my left hip and I plan to keep resting for the next few days. I will be doing heaps of walking and push-ups.
On Monday I hope to start to get into my hip stretches and piriformis foam rolling. Hopefully by Wednesday/Thursday I will be ready to return back to training. My chiro seems to think that I need to rest for another 3 weeks, but Im confident I will be better within the next week or two.
On a side-note I have been listening to DeFrancos new podcasts while I have been going on my walks. Highly recommended for those that listen to podcasts.
Finally bak in the gym! This has probably been one of the most frustrating injuries I have ever had. I managed to visit my osteopath town in the city on Monday and whatever he did has seemed to work. There still some residual tightness left over and it will probably be another few days before I can return back to football training, but at least Im able to move some decent weight with the upper body now.
Im going back to DeFrancos WS4SB 3 day split which will include a upper ME day, lower ME day and an optional vanity/rehab day. Today I started with upper ME.
UPPER ME
Agile 8 and shoulder warm up.
Bench Press
6 sets of 3 x 80 kg. (with heaps of band pull-aparts in b/w sets)
incline dB press
3 sets of 15 x 15 kg.
seated machine row
Aborted due to some discomfort in m lower back.
SS: 3 sets of dB hammer curls (15 x 12.5 kg), with lateral raises (12 x 7 kg).
I was then tempted to go to football training, but due to some tightness/discomfort with the seated rows I had decided not to risk it.
Even though my injury has not fully healed, I feel its only a matter of days before I am back into the swing of things. Its good to be back!!