4 September 2012, Week 3 Cycle 2 Overhead Press

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With my new-found energy I figured I try a switch back to 4 day workout week.  Today was overhead press and I also made a decision to up the weight more than previously planned, it’s not something that is recommended but I really felt like the weight was too low (although I am sure I will regret it in a few cycles…)

Diet feels better, the carbs are fuelling my workouts nicely and I don’t feel tired through the day anymore.  My weight is still dropping, but it has definitely stalled a little.  I’m sure the pre workout carbs is going to mess with the weight a little as I am sure to be holding a little extra water.  I will drop the calories a few hundred anyway and see if I can kickstart the fat burning again.  I haven’t done much cardio lately so that could be another reason.

Overhead Press 
5 x 20kg
5 x 24kg
3 x 28.5kg
5 x 36kg
3 x 40.5kg
2 x 47.5kg *pb*
5 x 10 x 25kg

Chin Up
10/10/8/8/7

 

 

3 September 2012, Week 2 Cycle 2 Squat

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My last squat session wasn’t so great and I only managed two of the five reps I had planned at 127kg.  Not being able to lift weights I know I am capable of always knocks my confidence but with my secret TKD (Targeted Keto Diet) carbohydrates to power me and a nice shiny new belt from www.zuluglove.com I had high hopes this morning!

The extra energy definitely made a difference (although the workout still felt especially hard – maybe more carbs needed?) and the belt felt fantastic (review to come soon).

I’m still not sure how to properly programme in all the different things I want to practice/workout.  Why isn’t the week longer?

Barbell Squat
5 x 60kg
5 x 75kg
3 x 90kg
3 x 105kg
3 x 120kg
3 x 134kg
5 x 10 x 80kg

Seated Leg Curl
5 x 10 x 50kg

Wendler Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Squatting, Olympic lifts and Headstands

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Hmm, not the best workout ever today.  The major problem with having a set routine and working out in a gym with only one rack/bench is if someone is there first you are screwed!  It becomes more of a problem if that someone decides to spend more time talking than squatting…  While I don’t race through the end sets of squats (I usually have 3 minutes rest) I don’t have a large amount of time between my warm up sets and being low carb and dieting this might be effecting what I am capable of lifting at the end of the workout.  Unfortunately I only hit 2 reps at my top weight which is disappointing to say the least.  Could just be a bad day though.

I started hang cleans today and remember now why I haven’t included them before – these olympic lifts need a lot more thought than your normal gym exercises.  I have a few shoulder flexibility issues that hopefully can be sorted by just cleaning more often.  I might go in tomorrow on my rest day and just practice cleans and snatches.  Recorded another slow motion snatch video and my technique is improving (more hip drive) but it’s still got a lot of work.

More practice on head and handstands, I feel so comfortable in a headstand now and actually think I might prefer being upside down!

IMG 32411 300x300 Wendler Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Squatting, Olympic lifts and Headstands IMG 3243 300x300 Wendler Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Squatting, Olympic lifts and Headstands

Hang Clean
5 x 20kg
3 x 30kg
3 x 30kg
5 x 30kg
3 x 40kg

Hang Snatch
5 x 30kg
5 x 30kg

Overhead Squat
10 x 40kg

Barbell Squat
5 x 60kg
5 x 75kg
3 x 90kg
5 x 97kg
5 x 112kg
2 x 127kg
5 x 10 x 80kg

Seated Leg Curl
5 x 10 x 50kg

Video: Handstand practice

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Getting there!  I am staying pretty straight and hollow (when I remember to squeeze my butt!).  Handstand looks quite different though, my torso looks very broken.

Video: Hang Power Snatch Slow Motion

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Its getting better, but still lots of work.  I am getting some hip drive now but in the words of someone who knows…

“It’s looking better, i see the hip working! (do you have the non slow mo videos?) however there’s still the same basic things to fix: you’re bending your hip before your knee at the start, and although you’re definitely getting more hip into it, you’re still not using that drive to make the bar go up, instead you’re jumping, which is odd as you get into an almost full triple extension and THEN jump!

The jumping is making you bend your knee and minimises your hip extension because you can’t jump up+back, only up (and in your case, up and forward)!

A slight jump forward is actually not that big of an issue, but the way you’re doing it it’ll make snatching impossible with heavier weights, you’ll miss the bar every time.”

Video: Hip stretches for Hip imbalance – Myofascial release of Piriformis with a Medicine Ball

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I found this great video this morning trying to find some stretches to help keep toes pointed in.  It is uncomfortable to do – but there is a noticeable difference already!

Taken from http://www.functionalpatterns.com/2011/06/07/how-to-fix-walking-like-a-duck-video/

“I see it every day, people walking like ducks. What do i mean by this? Next time you look at a person’s feet while they’re walking, notice if their feet are pointing in the direction they’re moving in or if they’re pointing outward, similar to when a duck walks. Externally rotated hips happen to be one of the most overlooked dysfunctions within the body, yet one of the most significant in terms of building functionality in the lower body. If you look at the Quadriceps during a sprint, it only makes sense that they would extend the knee while moving straight forward, not with an outward angle. Same thing goes with the the Hamstrings as well as the Gluteus Maximus (although they do slightly externally rotate the hip). When your hips are set into an external rotation, It severely limits how well your body is going to move in all planes of motion. Ignoring this imbalance usually will lead to lower back pain, knee pain, ankle injuries, and flat feet. In this video, I utilize Self Myofascial Release with a Medicine Ball to help correct externally rotated hips. This usually happens to be painful initially, but if you’re willing to go through the sacrifice, it’s definitely worth your time! Enjoy icon smile Video: Hip stretches for Hip imbalance Myofascial release of Piriformis with a Medicine Ball“

20 August 2012, Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Bench Press. Also one handed handstands…

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The update on the parallette building from yesterday is not a good one with our first attempts not quite working to plan. Back to the drawing board on that one. I did however have a nice 6k morning walk for some cardio and did some unsupported headstands.

Today was a great workout; I felt strong for the bench press (although my wrists were a little sore from the rings still) and had no problem hitting all the prescribed weights.

Bench Press
5 x 28kg
5 x 35kg
3 x 42kg
5 x 46kg
5 x 53kg
5 x 60kg
5 x 10 x 38kg

Dumbbell Row
5 x 10 x 24kg

I decided to have a play about with some more headstands after the main workout, as I could use one of the big mats in the studio to help break any falls. Getting up into and holding a headstand is getting easier and I am happy holding the position for a good amount of time (I really should count to see how long). After messing about with the headstands I figured a wall supported handstand could be a good idea. As I was shimmying back to the wall on my hands I realised I was able to hold my weight on one arm so thought I would see if I could…

20120820 194751 20 August 2012, Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Bench Press. Also one handed handstands...

One handed handstand – wall supported

 

And apparently I can!

After handstands I worked on my L-Sit.  I am trying to keep my hips up but cannot do that with both legs straight so worked on just holding the position and then putting out one foot at a time.  Since getting home I have been upside down a lot – I could be addicted :D

Next step is to get my handstand away from the wall on two hands.  I need to walk before I run…

18 August 2012, Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Deadlift. Also parallettes, gymnastic rings and headstands…

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I was enjoying myself so much yesterday that I forgot to update here – oops!  This could be a long one to catch up.

Yesterday was deadlifts and now also “the snatch”.  I had planned to put the snatch in a few weeks ago but had only played with the movement before.  Cleans will also be added to my squat day.  With the two olympic lift  moves I will be keeping reps low to keep my form from breaking down.  I took videos yesterday of both lifts and was a bit shocked to see a rounded back when deadlifting!  I won’t be adding that video, but I have uploaded my slow motion 40kg power hang snatch video to YouTube (I highly recommend the SloPro app, its free but you need to pay to save your videos to your camera roll).  My technique needs a whole heap of work but with the aid of the video and some talented friends I have some things to work on for next time.

Hang Power Snatch
5 x 20kg
5 x 30kg
3 x 35kg
3 x 40kg
3 x 40kg

Deadlift
6 x 66kg
5 x 82kg
3 x 98kg
5 x 106kg
5 x 123kg
5 x 139kg
5 x 10 x 80kg

Hanging Leg Raise
5 x 10

 

After my workout I visited a builders merchant with the intention of buying some wood for my homemade parallette project.  I already have the dowelling but need the end bits.  Unfortunately they were not very helpful, anything that was remotely suitable was about 20m long (and no they wouldn’t cut it down!  I’m glad they didn’t have what I wanted however as I have since found it for free.  Will hopefully post up tomorrow the completed new toy :)

As well as parallettes, my gymnastic rings arrived today and are setup in my garage.  I knew movements on them would be hard, but its on a different level to what I expected.  There has been a lot of muscle shaking this afternoon whilst I have played on them…

Today has been a day of doing fun things, from practicing my headstand (and I did my first unsupported one!), playing on the rings and I even started the day with 100 pressups (split into 10′s) to work on my hollow body position.  On the rings I attempted muscle ups (not going to happen anytime soon!) pull ups, dips and L sits.  I neglected to wrap my wrists and have paid the price with a sore left wrist now – I won’t do that again!

 

IMG 3079 001 200x300 18 August 2012, Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Deadlift. Also parallettes, gymnastic rings and headstands...

IMG 3129 300x300 18 August 2012, Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Deadlift. Also parallettes, gymnastic rings and headstands...IMG 3083 001 200x300 18 August 2012, Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Deadlift. Also parallettes, gymnastic rings and headstands...

15 August, Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Overhead Press

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I made a decision to attempt training today and I’m glad I did.  I felt pretty strong throughout and it was a good workout.  I had hoped to take a video of my overhead press to check my form but it was a bit too busy for that.  Another good reason for a home gym!  Saw a gym friend who I haven’t seen for 3/4 weeks and the first thing they said was how conditioned I looked, little comments like that definitely make it worthwhile and dieting easier.  I have also put back on the 1kg I lost yesterday (minus 200g) so this was just water.  It shows just how much difference it can make.

I wasn’t sure what to do with the programming of my training after last week but I think I have decided now what to do (at least for now).  I am going with the Monday Wednesday Friday Monday idea and have started week 1 of cycle 2 again.  Will see how I feel at the end of the weeks last workout and decide if I want to move to week 2 or not (I think I might just go for it and see what happens).  Weightlifting is (surprisingly to some) as much a mental game as anything else so I think approaching the coming weeks with the right attitude will make a huge difference.

An order for some gymnastic rings was made yesterday through eBay, hopefully they don’t take too long to arrive – I want to start skinning the cat!

Week 1.1 Cycle 2 Overhead Press

Overhead Squat
10 x 20kg
10 x 24kg
10 x 31kg

Overhead Press
5 x 20kg
5 x 24kg
3 x 31kg
5 x 36kg
5 x 41kg
6 x 10 x 27kg

Chin Up
10/10/8/7/6

L Sit
5 x 15secs