Back to training again, will be likely using a loose “make it up as I go along” structure.
Todays work:
4 x 500m on the rower, 2min pace
Powercleans:
10mins of work, working up to 70kg x 1. Snuck in some front squats on the last few singles
Squat:
worked up to 100kg x 5
Superset:
5 pull-ups, 5 single dB clean and press, each arm (20kg), 5 rounds
Love couplets like this when intensity is the issue
15mins of heart rate intervals on the stationary bike. Peddle to the metal until heart rate hits 170, then chill it out until it hits 140, lather, rinse, repeat.
Thanks for dropping by. Life has this way of happening at the minute which has been making training tricky.Very much a case of grabbing the opportunity to train whenever I can. Seems like my lower body lifts are relatively unaffected but my conditioning and upper body have noticeably suffered. These will likely be the focus for me once life stops happening and I can return to regularly scheduled programming.
The conditioning wasn’t a surprise really, never been a strong point of mine. I was shocked at how much upper body strength I’ve lost as much as I was shocked how little lower body strength had gone.
It could also be just how your body works too. Some guys don’t have to do much to maintain upper body strength and some do. I think you and I are in the second group.
I’ve never trained much for upper body size, and as a naturally skinny runt, this is probably where my issue is. I’m told that size is a much more important factor on upper body lifts than lower.
It is. Also volume, which leads to size. I’ve found a way to boost volume for presses is to do some sets every training day. That helped my bench heaps.
I’ve found frequency on the bench leads to banged up joints quicker than a bigger bench. Having said that, I’ve yet to figure out what exactly does lead to a big bench.
I think the answer to both is in the setup. I put my lack of shoulder issues down to the fact that my setup puts my shoulders in a very stable, locked down position. I also do pull aparts every session and row a lot. I also row heavier than I bench in terms of reps (same grip width). Have you approached your setup like you would the squat or another lift?
My bench took off when I started treating my setup with as much care as the bench itself. So, every set of bench is also a set of setting up.
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but hopefully it’ll help you.
My set up is pretty standard, maybe not very good. There are a few cues I use every time, but they are more geared towards helping me lift more than staying healthy doing it, which may be the issue. I will certainly look at it once I’m back to lifting. Thanks for the advice.
Film yourself from the side and check how much of your back is on the bench. I figure that below where the bar sits for a squat your back should be pushed up and off the bench. Unless you squat very high bar, of course. I sit it on my acromion.
Back to work at last. Life hasn’t calmed to massively, but enough to get back to training at last. Likely lost a lot of strength and conditioning so this week will be a feeler week to see how my mental template works and to get a feel for where I should be setting my TM’s next week.
Squat day:
Jump Squat: 5 x 5 with a 10kg kB
Squat:
Worked up to a single at 120kg slowly. The pressure in my lungs felt like more of an issue than the weight, which I think is a good sign. I can get used to being uncomfortable quicker than I can get stronger.
Paused squat:
5 sets of 5 at 80kg
Leg Press finisher:
Lots of reps with constant tension. Basically load up with a decent weight and rep out until you hit lactate city. Lather, rinse, repeat for a few rounds.
Keep toying with the idea of good old fashioned “chair” exercise as a finisher for squat day. One of those ideas that seems awesome, and yet I’ve never heard of anyone do it, which gives me pause for thought.
I was wrong, life didn’t calm down any more. Yes I could have trained, I chose not to, my priorities shifted for a few months and I had more important things to do.
Hopefully, that’s now over and I can bring training back into my life. The plan is simply to get myself used to training again using full body lifts, based around the basic movements and a mix of dynamic work, strength, hypertrophy and conditioning. So everything, basically.
Powercleans: worked up to 70kg x 1
Pull-ups: focused on many sets of slow, deliberate reps. It’s embarrassing for unloaded pull-ups to be part of a low-rep strength protocol, so this is somewhere I need to be spending some time.
Continuous tension arnold presses: 15,12,10, 8, 5 @ 2 x 14kg supersetted with:
dB row: 5 x 5 @ 30kg
Front squats: 3 reps EMOM at 60kg.