I'm considering a Mon/Tue, Thu/Fri program where I'd squat and press on Mon/Thu and overhead press and DL on Tue/Fri. My minimum is once a week per lift. If I squat twice, they'll all be front squats; if I bench press twice, one will be barbell and the other dumbbell; if I deadlift twice, once will be frog and once will be conventional, I think - not sure about that one. And for overhead pressing, that remains to be seen - could be one press day and one pullup day, e.g..
OHS: stick x 8, empty bar x 3
Read Pavel's blog on the Zercher Squat and had to try them:
ZSQ: 135 x 2, 2 w/ DL start/finish - ugh, these are not fun
Main work of the day: FSQ and DB BP
FSQ:
bar x 3
95 x 8
135 x 5 - paused, felt rock solid
DB BP:
20's x 5 - 3-breath exhales
30's x 8, 8 - paused, most exhaled (if the groove doesn't feel right, I'll just press it back up again without a long pause or exhale)
48: 2-hand swings, single set of 9 reps experimenting with form, rooting, hip angle, etc.
Onward and Upward
Monday, December 10, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Another Variety Day
Still taking it wasy from the meet, but in ramp-up mode as the training week in earnest starts tomorrow or Monday. I was able to pick up a pair of 25 lb. dumbbells yesterday from craigslist and use them today.
DB BP: 25's x 7 - paused and exhaled but not quite the brutally long pauses of a couple of days ago. Wow, this is _such_ a good stretch. Each and every time I do these, the first few reps don't feel good on my left shoulder, and each and every time I do them, by the time the set is over, my left shoulder feels fantastic. Nice to have 25's - they're the right weight for me to start with - 20's are too light.
16: windmill, lf, 3 - haven't done these with weight in a while, should do them more often. Don't I always say that every time I do weighted windmills?
16: bent press, lf, 1 - hey, these are better, t-spine works better, had a nice pop/click on each side as I did these, form was basically OK.
20: bent press, lf, 1, left side was better, right side form sloppy somehow although not quite sure how.
24: bent press, lf, 1, left side was good, right not so good although it did go up - that's backwards from how my bent presses usually are. Think I wasn't really resting on my lat at the start.
That'll do it for now.
Onward and Upward
DB BP: 25's x 7 - paused and exhaled but not quite the brutally long pauses of a couple of days ago. Wow, this is _such_ a good stretch. Each and every time I do these, the first few reps don't feel good on my left shoulder, and each and every time I do them, by the time the set is over, my left shoulder feels fantastic. Nice to have 25's - they're the right weight for me to start with - 20's are too light.
16: windmill, lf, 3 - haven't done these with weight in a while, should do them more often. Don't I always say that every time I do weighted windmills?
16: bent press, lf, 1 - hey, these are better, t-spine works better, had a nice pop/click on each side as I did these, form was basically OK.
20: bent press, lf, 1, left side was better, right side form sloppy somehow although not quite sure how.
24: bent press, lf, 1, left side was good, right not so good although it did go up - that's backwards from how my bent presses usually are. Think I wasn't really resting on my lat at the start.
That'll do it for now.
Onward and Upward
Friday, December 7, 2012
Overhead Press and Sumo DL
Some floor work to stretch out today. Have a long day ahead and this is still recovery week so will take it easy today.
2 x 24 kg: mil press, 1 - long overhead hold, looking for good elbow lockout and t-spine extension.
2 x 24 kg: mil press, 2 - solid pause at lockout after first rep, long pause (~10 sec) after second.
It's important for me to remember that bench pressing isn't going to help my overhead press but my overhead press will help my bench press - so I need to keep overhead pressing. These are harder than they ought to be, right at the sticking point, and I need double kb work more often. Let's do one more set:
2 x 24 kg: mil press, 3 - as above, long pause on last one. Thought about clean and press format but my good press stance is narrower than my clean stance and I want the press to be the focus.
The down side to double kb work on DL day is that it's tiring to the lower back, even with a solid glute lockout. Perhaps we'll do double kb work at the beginning of this 13-week cycle and switch to single kb work as the DL's get heavier.
Inaba style or "frog" DL, now with Marty's set protocol - touch and go
135 x 8 - left over, 185 x 6 - right over, 205 x 3 x 3, alternating grips, and relatively short 1-2 min rests between.
Video of 205 x 3 x 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QYXiWDa-HM
Finishers:
48 kg 2-hand swings, 6 on the minute for 7 min, video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uZxq251ytw
Onward and Upward
2 x 24 kg: mil press, 1 - long overhead hold, looking for good elbow lockout and t-spine extension.
2 x 24 kg: mil press, 2 - solid pause at lockout after first rep, long pause (~10 sec) after second.
It's important for me to remember that bench pressing isn't going to help my overhead press but my overhead press will help my bench press - so I need to keep overhead pressing. These are harder than they ought to be, right at the sticking point, and I need double kb work more often. Let's do one more set:
2 x 24 kg: mil press, 3 - as above, long pause on last one. Thought about clean and press format but my good press stance is narrower than my clean stance and I want the press to be the focus.
The down side to double kb work on DL day is that it's tiring to the lower back, even with a solid glute lockout. Perhaps we'll do double kb work at the beginning of this 13-week cycle and switch to single kb work as the DL's get heavier.
Inaba style or "frog" DL, now with Marty's set protocol - touch and go
135 x 8 - left over, 185 x 6 - right over, 205 x 3 x 3, alternating grips, and relatively short 1-2 min rests between.
Video of 205 x 3 x 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QYXiWDa-HM
Finishers:
48 kg 2-hand swings, 6 on the minute for 7 min, video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uZxq251ytw
Onward and Upward
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Post-Meet FSQ and DB BP - Easy but Ramping Up
FSQ: bar x 1, 95 lb x 5 deep, 115 x 5 deep, 135 x 4 deep and paused
DB BP: 20's x 6 exhaled
That's it for today
Onward and Upward
DB BP: 20's x 6 exhaled
That's it for today
Onward and Upward
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
4 Days Post-Meet: Getups
Cossack sequence to warmup.
Getups - alternating singles to half-kneeling, starting with weight in left arm: bw-only, 10 kg, 14 kg, 20 kg, Floor press on left side didn't feel particularly good, but w/ weight in right, stability on left was improved from what I remember - good. Should try to get these in at least once a week - it's a great exercise. Also felt the restricted movement in my neck looking to the right, much as I do when doing windmills with the weight in my right hand. ROM is barely acceptable and needs to improve. After these, left shoulder seems to have gotten a much-needed stretch - feels "lit up" in a good way, blood flowing, relaxed.
Good feedback from Marty this morning in email about my first attempts at frog DL - will try to implement next time I do these although I'm not sure if that will be before the end of next week.
Still in "relax, play, restore" mode after the meet. Will not exercise further, have a long day ahead, will try to get a long hot shower in before I have to leave the house. Two days in a row of swings - enough, rest day today.
Onward and Upward
Getups - alternating singles to half-kneeling, starting with weight in left arm: bw-only, 10 kg, 14 kg, 20 kg, Floor press on left side didn't feel particularly good, but w/ weight in right, stability on left was improved from what I remember - good. Should try to get these in at least once a week - it's a great exercise. Also felt the restricted movement in my neck looking to the right, much as I do when doing windmills with the weight in my right hand. ROM is barely acceptable and needs to improve. After these, left shoulder seems to have gotten a much-needed stretch - feels "lit up" in a good way, blood flowing, relaxed.
Good feedback from Marty this morning in email about my first attempts at frog DL - will try to implement next time I do these although I'm not sure if that will be before the end of next week.
Still in "relax, play, restore" mode after the meet. Will not exercise further, have a long day ahead, will try to get a long hot shower in before I have to leave the house. Two days in a row of swings - enough, rest day today.
Onward and Upward
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
3 Days Post-Meet
I thought I posted yesterday but I can't find it.
Sunday, 1 day post-meet, no exercise, eat everything in sight.
Monday, 2 days post-meet, some overhead squats with a stick and an empty Oly bar, plus some barbell FSQ with 95 lbs. Finished with 48 kg 2-hand swings, 3 sets of 5 on the :60. Felt great. Again, ate a lot.
Tuesday, today:
16 kg kettlebell - 5 bottoms-up clean-and-presses each side, alternating sides. Felt great. An interesting observation - if the weight is light enough, the exercise is what it should be, about grip and not about balance. I noticed that, as I started, I wasn't locking my knees - I fixed that by reminding myself that the bell would be where it needed to be by virtue of my strong grip, not my swaying underneath it like a snake charmer - problem solved.
PU: bw + 24 kg bell on belt, 3 singles - used false grip on Oly bar on rack
DL: Tried Inaba "frog" style, 3 "sets" of 2 singles @ 225, video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfp2wCuNkoA
48 kg: 2-hand swings, 5 sets of 5 on the :45. Balance was a little iffy on 3rd and 4th set as I experimented with stance.
Onward and Upward
Sunday, 1 day post-meet, no exercise, eat everything in sight.
Monday, 2 days post-meet, some overhead squats with a stick and an empty Oly bar, plus some barbell FSQ with 95 lbs. Finished with 48 kg 2-hand swings, 3 sets of 5 on the :60. Felt great. Again, ate a lot.
Tuesday, today:
16 kg kettlebell - 5 bottoms-up clean-and-presses each side, alternating sides. Felt great. An interesting observation - if the weight is light enough, the exercise is what it should be, about grip and not about balance. I noticed that, as I started, I wasn't locking my knees - I fixed that by reminding myself that the bell would be where it needed to be by virtue of my strong grip, not my swaying underneath it like a snake charmer - problem solved.
PU: bw + 24 kg bell on belt, 3 singles - used false grip on Oly bar on rack
DL: Tried Inaba "frog" style, 3 "sets" of 2 singles @ 225, video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfp2wCuNkoA
48 kg: 2-hand swings, 5 sets of 5 on the :45. Balance was a little iffy on 3rd and 4th set as I experimented with stance.
Onward and Upward
Saturday, December 1, 2012
USAPL Meet Report
My deadlift went up 7 lbs. and felt easier than the lower weight did 13 days ago. Squat and BP were a wash, not awful, not great. Details:
SQ: 1st attempt was about 200 lbs. - meet was in kilos which I found hard to keep track of. I made it, 3 white lights. 2nd attempt failed on depth - if it wasn't deep enough, it was close, IMHO. Third attempt found me having a "senior moment" and I forgot to wait for the start command so no lift.
BP: First attempt 77.5 kg, about 175 lbs., good. Second attempt 82.5 kg, about 183 lbs., also good but left shoulder didn't feel great during the press and it was slow so I elected to skip my third attempt.
DL: First attempt 142.5 kg, 314 lbs. good - had warmed up with singles to 300 lbs. Second attempt, which I planned to be my last, went for 155 kg or 342 lbs. and got it - it was surprising in that I clearly had more left in me but I didn't want to be a pig about things and my wife and I had family to visit on the way home, so that was it - packed up and left.
Other:
Food and weigh-in: weighed in a 67.1 kg or 147.9 lbs., good as the limit was 67.5 kg or 148.7 lbs. Was plenty hungry and thirsty, so had hotel breakfast enough for 2-3 people: 3 omlettes, bacon, potatoes, lots of water, lots of coffee.
Support: My wife came with me, and Phil Scarito was there with his girlfriend, a friend of hers, and even Phil's father was there for some of it. It was great to have them all around, and I felt like I was able to be of some help to Phil, which I was very glad to do.
Notes - bench press was OK, my technique is solidifying. Squatting find me still pretty clueless - looking forward to a solid 13 weeks of front squats starting next week. Deadlift - video
DL 2nd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFm55Bz_Otc
Onward and Upward
SQ: 1st attempt was about 200 lbs. - meet was in kilos which I found hard to keep track of. I made it, 3 white lights. 2nd attempt failed on depth - if it wasn't deep enough, it was close, IMHO. Third attempt found me having a "senior moment" and I forgot to wait for the start command so no lift.
BP: First attempt 77.5 kg, about 175 lbs., good. Second attempt 82.5 kg, about 183 lbs., also good but left shoulder didn't feel great during the press and it was slow so I elected to skip my third attempt.
DL: First attempt 142.5 kg, 314 lbs. good - had warmed up with singles to 300 lbs. Second attempt, which I planned to be my last, went for 155 kg or 342 lbs. and got it - it was surprising in that I clearly had more left in me but I didn't want to be a pig about things and my wife and I had family to visit on the way home, so that was it - packed up and left.
Other:
Food and weigh-in: weighed in a 67.1 kg or 147.9 lbs., good as the limit was 67.5 kg or 148.7 lbs. Was plenty hungry and thirsty, so had hotel breakfast enough for 2-3 people: 3 omlettes, bacon, potatoes, lots of water, lots of coffee.
Support: My wife came with me, and Phil Scarito was there with his girlfriend, a friend of hers, and even Phil's father was there for some of it. It was great to have them all around, and I felt like I was able to be of some help to Phil, which I was very glad to do.
Notes - bench press was OK, my technique is solidifying. Squatting find me still pretty clueless - looking forward to a solid 13 weeks of front squats starting next week. Deadlift - video
DL 2nd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFm55Bz_Otc
Onward and Upward
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