Saturday, March 31, 2012

100.1%

Yoke walk
15 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 285 kgs this actually felt weak and slow
11 meters @ 325 kgs PR

Sled pull (forward & back)
15 meters @ 200 kgs - 15 meters @ 200 kgs
15 meters @ 290 kgs - 15 meters @ 200 kgs
15 meters @ 290 kgs - 15 meters @ 200 kgs

Log
several @ 52 kgs
5 C+P @ 72 kgs
4 C+P @ 82 kgs

There's a persistent pain and weakness in my right elbow (and right shoulder on occasion) which was really limiting me on the log, and I would have liked to do more but just needed to get home and rest it up. I should maybe look into getting some elbow wraps/sleeves.

I'm heading back to the Pit tomorrow morning to setup and help out in the PL comp being held there.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Thursday Max Effort Deads

Deadlifts
12 reps @ 60 kgs
10 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 140 kgs
6 reps @ 180 kgs
4 reps @ 210 kgs PR
3.5 reps @ 220 kgs PR

Lateral pulldowns
10 reps @ 100 kgs
10 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs

Pinwheels (weight p/DB)
6 reps @ 40 kgs
6 reps @ 40 kgs
5 reps @ 37.5 kgs
5 reps @ 35 kgs

VIDEO: 220 kgs / 485 lbs deadlift x3

Weaksauce Wednesday

Bench press
12 reps @ 20 kgs
12 reps @ 60 kgs
10 reps @ 80 kgs
9 reps @ 90 kgs
4 reps @ 105 kgs

Incline bench press
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 70 kgs
3 reps @ 80 kgs

Standing OHPress (weight p/DB)
7 reps @ 20 kgs
8 reps @ 17.5 kgs
10 reps @ 15 kgs

Seated rows
10 reps @ 125 kgs
10 reps @ 125 kgs
8 reps @ 125 kgs
8 reps @ 125 kgs

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Slow Road: Progress Pics

June 2010

After 2 months of training. Bodyweight around 148 kgs / 326 lbs




March 2012

After 2 years of training. Bodyweight around 129 kgs / 284 lbs

2012 is the year I really got serious. The first 10 or so kilograms went slowly; I took it off in 2010 and put most of it back on in early 2011. Diet and drinking were all over the place, but I never quit training.
I'm now losing bodyweight at an average rate of 1.5 kilograms per month, all the while building muscle mass and bone density, and progressing on my major lifts.
I hope to be at 120 kgs / 265 lbs by June/July this year. Then I will be upping my calories and working on building mass, and damn the scale.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Squat Monday: Back to Formula. Again.

Squats
10 reps @ 30 kgs (cambered bar)
10 reps @ 70 kgs
8 reps @ 110 kgs
4 reps @ 150 kgs
1 reps @ 140 kgs (standard bar) pathetic
8 reps @ 100 kgs
5 reps @ 120 kgs better, but still shit


Good Mornings
10 reps @ 30 kgs (cambered bar)
8 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 110 kgs
7 reps @ 130 kgs TPR but depth was weaksauce


PRESSED for time again tonight, I loaded up the cambered bar since it was already on the rack and decided I was gonna try for 200 kgs (current best is 2 reps of 180) only to be advised that it wouldn't be any practical use to me if I was planning on competing later this year. Which I am.

So not only was the cambered bar scrapped, I also used a narrow grip on a standard barbell tonight for the first time ever. It f***ed me right up.

Turns out I misunderstood which qualifier my mate thought I was entering (SM > PL - for now, at least) and there wasn't a huge need to start using the standard bar. But it was still a good experience, all things considered.

It was a silly thing to go for 140 right away with a new setup and bar, but I did it anyway and, predictably, sucked ass. Later sets felt better.

Overall not impressed with my inefficient use of time and lack of focus when it comes to what I need to know and do to be a contender.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Saturday Events Training

Yoke Walk
15 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 285 kgs
15 meters @ 305 kgs PR
2 meters @ 325 kgs busted! But a TPR anyway

Log Clean-press
5 reps @ 52 kgs (C+P)
5 reps @ 62 kgs (C+P)
5 reps @ 72 kgs (C+P)
5 reps @ 82 kgs (Press only)
5 reps @ 87 kgs (C+P)

Farmers Walk
15 + 15 meters @ 60 kgs p/hand
15 + 15 meters @ 100 kgs p/hand
15 meters @ 120 kgs p/hand PR

COMPLETELY f***ing fried.

That 305 yoke I only set down once, and while it wasn't timed it felt like my quickest yet. But I actually had a dizzy spell at the start, without which I'm pretty confidant I would have made it all the way.

The log work was at sub-max weights just to keep the feel and work my bicep without straining it. The strain I felt Thursday night was pretty much gone now. Still a very slight twinge, but all good.

And my Farmer's nearly didn't happen! I felt incredibly weak at the start, and couldn't manage the walk back. But it's still the heaviest Farmer's walk I've done, and the time was passable.

Thursday Night

Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
10 reps @ 140 kgs
9 reps @ 180 kgs PR for reps
3 reps @ 200 kgs
4 reps @ 190 kgs
4 reps @ 180 kgs*

On the third rep of 200 my right grip failed and I nearly dropped the bar. The last two sets I used to test out a narrower grip and stance, with some instruction from a veteran lifter I was training with.

Kroc rows
left 6 reps @ 80 kgs
right 7 reps @ 72 kgs

I dropped the weight on the right side coz I literally couldn't do one successful rep at 80. I rolled out Brutus for this one, and when I was done I noticed a distinct tightness on the inside of my right elbow... bicep strain. I'd had seated rows on the agenda tonight after the Krocs. My energy level was good. So I was not happy about scrapping the rest of this.

45 degree Back raises
10 reps @ BW
6.5 reps @ BW +10 kgs
10 reps @ BW

These were performed to full vertical at the top of the movement.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Paleo Ad Nausea

Dig the Latin?

There’s been a lot of binary thinking going on when it comes to my approach to eating – much of it mine. But not all.

First: Let’s do me

I can freely admit that I have been over-using the word Paleo to describe my diet approach. Especially considering the amount of milk I drink. There have been many occasions where my dietary choices have had less to do with anything you could specifically label ‘Paleo’ and a lot more to do with simply not eating crap.

But then there’s the whole debate on what is and isn’t crap. I stay the hell away from all grains, even though I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue with white rice, or rice noodles for that matter. But all breads, cereals etc are all ‘crap’ to me, and it doesn’t matter how much delicious meat you stuff in a bun, I know enough to know I shouldn’t eat the bun. Without grossing out anybody, it’s hard to make it clear to you. Just know that shit is off my menu for good.

I also love to binge once a week on ice cream. I’ll eat a litre (1 quart) by myself in an evening. Just like milk and cheese, that’s certainly not Paleo. But it’s explained right here as not being that bad.

Oh, and here it’s actually called the ‘Primal’ blueprint. WTF. Which brings me to definitions.

Second: Let’s try and define some easy shit

I don’t get much respect in certain circles for referring to what I do as Paleo. It’s beset with contradictions and grey areas, certainly. But so are most things, when you really try to pin them down, or define their parameters. I mean, unless you’ve done more than a little reading on any one concept (and I’ll keep it in the nutrition genre for simplicity’s sake), you’re likely to misunderstand the finer points. Assuming there are any. And if you've done a whole butt load of reading on a concept, you're bound to find some distinctions are blurred.

Please keep in mind, these perspectives I do not subscribe to.

What is a vegetarian, and exactly where is the line when it comes to eating fish and eggs? I’ve been informed that thanks to human intervention virtually none of the factory eggs sold in supermarkets for the last half century were ever going to hatch into chicks, so there’s no issue with eating them. Similarly, apparently fish do not possess central nervous systems and/or don’t feel pain, so it’s okay to kill them.

What does being vegan actually mean (and can you in fact eat things that cast a shadow)? Where and how does it fit in with the basic needs of any human who wants to survive and thrive? And are legitimate Hindus kinda pissed off about the hipsters misappropriating aspects of their culture?

And just what the hell is raw?! Here’s one not-so-convenient definition, provided by Breaking Muscle:
Eating mostly raw is usually related to being one hundred percent vegan, but there are many people who follow a raw foods diet and also consume raw, organic, unpasteurized milk, and raw meat and eggs.' SO whatever I'm doing, it isn't raw. Love me a greasy burger and chocolate milk now and then.

Third: let’s settle some stuff

There’s plenty more scientific inquiry and application behind the ‘Paleo’ approach than some people will give credence to.

It has been put to me recently that pretty much all high-protein and fatty-food style diets originated with the infamous Dr Atkins. And, as Dr Atkins died of high cholesterol and/or related heart disease, diets which borrow the basic principles of Atkins own (like the hip, happening new Paleo scene) are not to be trusted.

Actually, Atkins didn’t die from an illness directly related to his diet. This is a widely circulated untruth perpetuated by factions with vested interests in Big Agriculture (and according to this article, fringe vegan reactionaries… scary).

He lived to 75 before dying of Cardiomyopathy; a weakening and/or thickening of the heart muscle. Though the term is more broadly used to describe a variety of problems related to heart function, it is no indication as to his cholesterol levels or general health, and it was most likely congenital.

And Atkins was certainly not the originator of all diets in this vein. The general consensus is that the first recorded ‘high-protein/fat, low carbohydrate’ diet was that of William Banting in 1862, which is described as: “four meals per day, consisting of meat, greens, fruits, and dry wine. The emphasis was on avoiding sugar, saccharine matter, starch, beer, milk and butter. Banting’s pamphlet was popular for years to come, and would be used as a model for modern diets”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Banting

…and I’m back to defending my milk consumption.

So, really, there is no nice, neat, clearly defined diet sitting on the high protein/fat OR high carb side of the fence. I cannot tell you that what I’m doing is 100% Paleo, 100% raw, or any other variant. I’m just paying attention to shit, and learning as I go.

And it’s working.

Monday, March 19, 2012

A Reason to Persist

My Re-comping Frustrations

The enigmatic thing about re-composition is that it gives no indication it’s working. In fact, if it’s working properly, it doesn’t appear to be working at all.

The scale stays the same. Your measurements may not move a millimetre. If you’re hardcore (not me) your meals are all boring equations. And for many regular - if not professional - lifters who set out to cut weight, training on a calorie deficit will mean little if any progression in the gym for even weeks at a stretch.

It can feel like you’re stuck in limbo.

I jump on the scale a few times each week. And cyclically, the reading is pretty much 132 kgs, (or 292 lbs). It may go up a kilo during one week and down a kilo in the next. But come Monday morning - without fail – I’m back at pretty much 132.

Really, I shouldn’t be so OCD about it.  Early February I was happy to have reached 134, and a month later I’m two kilos lighter… that’s still certainly progress. But in late 2011 I was shedding a kilo almost every week! And my diet was not nearly as regulated as it is this year.

Proof it’s Working
I consume between 2000 and 2200 calories per day*. Not enough to build good mass and strength, at least for a larger than average guy like me… yet my lifts are going up, and as of this week I am officially stronger than I was last year (my presses need some work, but lower body and accessory training is all in the green).

And I haven’t been eating clean, either. I have Macdonald’s for dinner perhaps twice a week, and a healthy variety of meats on other nights. I don’t trim the fat off my steak. I don’t feel the need to munch on raw vegetables or drink eggs.

What I do is eat my steak, lamb ribs, or bunless double quarter-pounder with cheese, late in the evenings before a training day and earlier in the evenings post-workout (wherever possible; Wednesday night I try and eat both early and late).

I do this because it works for me. A late dinner (around 10:30 pm) gives me a definite boost at training the following night. I usually train from 6:30 to 7:45 pm.

I don’t have any expertise when it comes to nutrition, and I’m far from technical in my training style… the latest PubMed journal or scientific study from the Mayo clinic won’t often feature in my day to day… lift heavy, eat sensibly and don’t drink are my only rules.

*A more thorough examination of my diet indicates I’ve actually been in the 2000 – 2200 calories p/day bracket for some time, but now I consume a 150-200 cal. shake PWO also. So I’m making the cut-off 2500.

Squat Monday: Sleep Deprived & Hyperactive

Squats - Mastodon barbell
10 reps @ 30 kgs (bar)
8 reps @ 70 kgs
8 reps @ 110 kgs
5 reps @ 140 kgs TPR for reps
3 reps @ 160 kgs TPR
3 reps @ 150 kgs

Squats - Cambered bar & bands
5 reps @ 30 kgs (bar) + 70 kgs tension (approx)
5 reps @ 70 kgs + 70 kgs tension
3 reps @ 90 kgs + 70 kgs tension
0 reps @ 110 kgs + 70 kgs tension

Farmers walk
20 meters + 20 meters @ 100 kgs p/hand (no rest)
15 meters @ 110 kgs p/hand

THINK I've had about 14 hours sleep over the last 4 days. I plan on writing up something about my trip to FitX when I have the time. Right now I'm operating on caffeine, Jack3d, and the fact I'm too busy to close my eyes.

I have never used rubber bands (or the monolift) before, so tonight was challenging and fun, like combining floor barre and zumba... I imagine. Actually nothing like that.

The Famers at the end just kicked my ass.

FitX 2012 GIANTS LIVE Viking Press Video

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Deadlift Thursday - New Ground Broken

Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
10 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 140 kgs
8 reps @ 180 kgs PR
5 reps @ 200 kgs PR
3 reps @ 210 kgs equal to best effort
1 reps @ 230 kgs PR

6 Pull-ups


Lateral Pulldowns
9.5 reps @ 100 kgs
10 reps @ 90 kgs
10 reps @ 80 kgs

Dips
10 reps @ BW TPR
8 reps @ BW

Triceps Pushdowns
15 reps @ 45 kgs TPR
9 reps @ 45 kgs
11 reps @ 45 kgs TPR


ALL TIME best ever deadlifts tonight - a bunch of them!! Very happy to be finally - officially - past my 1RM from last year and into +500 lbs territory. For my American friends, cracking 500 is an admirable goal for any intermediate lifter. Next stop: 600!!


SMWA numbers at the Pitt were down tonight, as Dan and Joel have already begun their trip over east for FitX. Thanks to Dave and Carl for the screams and curses while I put that big bitch up.

I fly out myself tomorrow afternoon, and should be hitting Melbourne around 11PM.

Squat Wednesday...

Squats
10 reps @ 30 kgs (barbell)
8 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 110 kgs
5 reps @ 130 kgs
4 reps @ 140 kgs TPR
3 reps @ 150 kgs equal to best effort
2 reps @ 160 kgs TPR

Good Mornings
10 reps @ 30 kgs (cambered)
8 reps @ 70 kgs
8 reps @ 110 kgs
6 reps @ 130 kgs PR

Pinwheelz (weight p/DB)
8 reps @ 40 kgs PR
8 reps @ 37.5 kgs PR
8 reps @ 35 kgs PR

Technical PRs with the straight bar were gruelling... and I'm gonna deadlift something properly heavy tomorrow night.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Deadlift Focus - Back in Action

Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 140 kgs
6 reps @ 180 kgs
4 reps @ 200 kgs equal to best effort (which was last week)
3 reps @ 210 kgs PR

Seated Rows
8 reps @ 125 kgs PR
10 reps @ 115 kgs TPR
8 reps @ 115 kgs TPR
8 reps @ 105 kgs

Pinwheels (weight p/DB)
7 reps @ 40 kgs TPR
7 reps @ 37.5 kgs TPR
7 reps @ 35 kgs
7 reps @ 32.5 kgs


LOOKING back through my logs, I was disappointed to read I'd performed 6 reps of 190 kgs in December last year, knocking my fourth set out of PR territory (and I remember the afternoon now... Joel pretty much forced me to keep going)

But now I've got to admit; that last set may in fact have been only 207.5 kgs (still a PR)... after I put it down and walked away, triumphant, I remembered that a couple of guys were waiting to use the platform, so I started unloading my plates... and I'm pretty sure I tool a 5kg plate off one end and a 2.5kg plate off the other.

Pretty sure I've moved heavier weight on the seated rows and pinwheels last year, but with thinner dumbbells that were easier to hold, and my rows now have next to no 'body language'.

I'm not logging my Bench Focus routine last night because I barely did it. I jarred my elbow on the weekend doing something domestic and completely not heavy lifting, and it flared up while benching 115. I didn't want to risk further injury so I called it a night after 5 sets.

I'm sore as hell still from Monday's squat session, and I'll be sore in another 36 hours or so from tonight's deadlifting. And it's freaking awesome.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Squat Monday - Straight Bar PR Fest!

Squats
10 reps @ 27.5 kgs (barbell)
8 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 110 kgs equal to best effort reps
1  reps @ 160 kgs TPR
5 reps @ 130 kgs TPR
3 reps @ 140 kgs TPR
3 reps @ 150 kgs TPR

Good Mornings
10 reps @ 30 kgs (cambered bar)
8 reps @ 70 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 120 kgs PR
5 reps @ 130 kgs equal to best effort reps

Pull-ups
6 reps @ BW

Lateral Pulldowns
8 reps @ 100 kgs
10 reps @ 90 kgs
8 reps @ 90 kgs

WELL, swapping back to the straight bar after using only the cambered all this year proved to be a shock to the system! In a way it was a good thing - I wasn't intending to use the barbell tonight. It was just there, already set up. So I went with it, and on 160 I managed one pained squat and felt like I was gonna collapse. 

Too much too soon perhaps. Because I dropped it down and worked my way back up to what turned out to be PR territory for reps, and well above my previous efforts with a straight bar, last year. 

But still well off the 200 kilo 1RM I might have had in me today... with the cambered bar.

Rest tomorrow, thank the spaghetti monster. Then bench focus Wednesday, with possibly a little more OHP thrown in.

Mass and Shape Beginning to Show...

What I'm Reading Now


 
On the very rare chance you give a shit.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Saturday Events Training

Yoke Walk
15 mtrs @ 205 kgs
15 mtrs @ 285 kgs
10 mtrs @ 305 kgs - couldn't physically lift the yoke and finish the walk, as the bar was too low
15 mtrs @ 285 kgs - this one felt better than the last at this weight, as the height was corrected! Lesson learned

Log Clean-press
5 reps @ 52 kgs
3 reps @ 72 kgs - fluid clean into strict OHP
0 reps @ 92 kgs (big boy log - failed to press it again!!)
1.5 reps @ 92 kgs
5 reps @ 62 kgs - quick time, moving fluidly from squat and lap to strict press.

Farmer's walk / Sled drag medley
FM 25 mtrs @ 100 kgs p/hand
SD 25 mtrs @ 80 kgs

I had some minor heart palpitations that wouldn't go away after the sled drag, and decided it was probably best I stop here.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Deadlift Focus - Serious Improvements

Deadifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 140 kgs
5 reps @ 190 kgs - 1 rep less than my best effort & I knew I had at least one more tonight
4 reps @ 200 kgs PR
3 reps @ 205 kgs PR

Lateral Pulldowns
10 reps @ 100 kgs PR
8 reps @ 100 kgs PR
7.5 reps @ 100 kgs PR
*
8 reps @ 90 kgs

*I performed a set of 8 Dips here. I just wanted to see if I could do a few... it's been a long while since I moved my bodyweight with just my triceps!

Pinwheels (weight p/DB)
6 reps @ 40 kgs
6 reps @ 37.5 kgs TPR (...picked up the wrong pair)
6 reps @ 35 kgs
6 reps @ 30 kgs

That's a lot of green. I took the time to check my logs, and can confirm they are all legitimate personal bests (apart from the gunzwork). Add to this, I have today been operating on about 5 hours sleep because the jack3d I took last night kept me awake till after 1AM and I have been starting work an hour early this week.

One notable difference to my diet during the previous 24 hours; I did not eat dinner till 10:30PM. I had a bun-less double quarter pounder with cheese (850 calories w/bun). Everything else was completely standard; 2 litres of milk, a bit of chocolate powder for flavour, and a very small handful of brazil nuts and almonds.

So why the dramatic strength increase? Well, a number of factors are at play, but the main one is the very late dinner. I've read several articles advocating carb-loading in the evenings, based on the assertion that the meal eaten the night before training has more impact on strength and energy levels than the meal(s) you consume during the day.

While I didn't 'load carbs', I did load. And it did work.