Return of the King

brianthebard

I don't know much about pc's but it looks like you are reverse curling the weight, you'll need someone more experienced than me to weigh in but it looks like if you got a bit more hip drive and a bit more power in the upwards pull you could have a fair bit more on the bar. just my thoughts. Strong press though, good work.

BossArky

Tuesday February 3rd: 6:35 - 7:15am

Power Clean & Press
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up for deadlift
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
117.5kg - 5x5 ... 5x5 pb

External Rotation (dumbbell)
3kg per arm - 5x10
---
Face Pulls
10kg - 3x8

Pull Ups
3x3 ... weak after deadlift
---

The light power clean & press seems to work as a decent warm up for the deadlifts.

This 5x5 was probably easier than last weeks. The 3rd set I managed to knock out the 5 reps quickly with no stops. The other sets had me resting for a few seconds between each rep.

I had a bit longer this morning so crammed in extra stuff after the deads.

kevpants

Jaysus you've added some mass to your frame. Looked back at some of your old vids and you were half the size!

g'em

BossArky wrote: »

I know my technique needs to improve - I'm putting the video here as something to start off from. Constructive feedback welcome.

Now, I'm still fairly newby at Oly lifting too, so feel free to have the following confirmed by someone better at this than me.

What strikes me about your cleans is that they aren't really cleans at all, they're muscle-ups. Watch your legs when you execute the clean - they stay completely straight and your feet don't leave the ground. The drive isn't coming from your hips, it's coming from your arms, shoulders and lower back. Even though a power clean doesn't involved getting right down into the deep front-squat position, it does involve you bending your legs slightly to allow your hips to drive you up and your upper body to extend upwards (not backwards as you're doing here). Your feet (due to that drive/ extension) will break contact with the ground - this is the power behind the exercise coming into force.

You may also find that you're putting undue stress on your wrists because they get so twisted. With a proper clean (power, full or otherwise) you drive your elbows underneath the bar and the wrists remain quite stable (we use simple dressage bandages to stabilise our wrists)

This video should show it better than I'm explaining:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlbDQUWs0s

In other, better, news though, kudos on incorporating weightlifting into your program!!

BossArky

kevpants wrote: »

Jaysus you've added some mass to your frame. Looked back at some of your old vids and you were half the size!

Yes, I was (more of) a weed

I guess the major factor has been putting my triathlon career on hold and using those additonal calories to build muscle.

g'em wrote: »

your feet don't leave the ground. The drive isn't coming from your hips, it's coming from your arms, shoulders and lower back.... etc

This video should show it better than I'm explaining:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlbDQUWs0s

Great post & video g'em. It deserves more than the single thanks I can give it. There is so much in there that I have been doing wrongly.

My proprioception on this exercise is nil at the moment. Looking forward to putting this advice into practice.

Thank you!

g'em

BossArky wrote: »

My proprioception on this exercise is nil at the moment. Looking forward to putting this advice into practice.

Thank you!

Not a problem, and don't worry about the learning curve - I did weeks and weeks of bar-only technique work before I even began to think about doing the full exercise and I'm lucky to have a great coach to point me in the right direction and see flaws that I invariably miss. To execute oly lifts properly you really have to retrain your CNS to a large degree, but the benefits are ten-fold. Stick at it, and keep taking the videos

BossArky

Thursday February 5th: 6:35am - 7:15am

Squat
30kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x4
97.5kg - 5x5 ... pb for 5x5
---
One Arm Row (dumbbell)
16kg per arm - 3x10
---
Face Pulls
10kg - 2x8

Pull Ups (narrow, parallel grip)
bw - 1x5
---

The squats were tough but I got through them. Didn't eat enough yesterday so I was lacking energy rather than them being too heavy (if that makes sense).

I was a bit tired with DOMS from Sundays lunges and Tuesdays deadlifting so I cannot complain with completing the 5x5.

BossArky

Saturday February 7th 2009:

Bench Press (dumbbell)
10kg per arm - 1x10 ... warm up
32kg per arm - 3x5 ... flat, pb
28kg per arm - 3x5 ... slight incline

Fly (dumbbell)
10kg per arm - 1x10 ... warm up

Calf Raise
bw - 6x20

Reverse Fly (dumbbell)
5kg per arm - 3x8
---
Squat
60kg - 2x12 ... a set before each of the flat and incline bench sets above
---
Pull Ups (narrow, parallel grip)
bw +11kg - 2x5 ... easy
bw +6kg - 2x5 ... ok
bw - 2x5 ... messy
---
Ab Pull Down (cable)
31.25kg - 2x20 ... rope
41.25kg - 2x15 ... rope
48.75kg - 2x10 ... used different handles, maybe better
---
Run 1km (4:45 mins, ~85 cals) ... wrecked after this. Started too fast. Need to do more interval work.
---

Good session overall.

BossArky

Sunday February 8th 2009:

Good Mornings (oly bar)
20kg -1x10
32.5kg -3x8

Calf Raise
bw - 3x10
---
Deadlift (stiff leg)
75kg - 3x8

Military Press (oly bar)
50kg - 3x5 ... slow & strict

Bent Over Row (oly bar)
50kg - 3x10
---
Bicep Curl (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x10
35kg - 1x10
37.5kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x5 ... all slow & strict
42.5kg - 3x0 :mad: :eek: ... biceps wrecked, 3 half reps
---
Power Clean & Press (oly bar)
20kg x lots ... of hopping & catching
22.5kg x lots, as above
30kg x lots, as above
---
Dips
bw - 3x5

Calf Raise
bw - 3x10 ... toes elevated on dip station step
---
Face Pulls
10kg - 3x10
---

Good session.

Towards the end I spent 5 to 10 minutes working on my power clean & press technique. I didn't bother counting reps or sets, just concentrated on trying to launch myself off the floor, catch in the correct racking position, and keep elbows up. Wrists seem to be a bit more flexible. I think I learned a bit. Hard to know really. I'll keep at it.

I'm two weeks into a slightly rejigged routine. The aim is to hit the exercises below on each day. Anything else is a bonus, especially on the weekdays. The main focus is still the weekday 5x5s. Saturday and Sunday are less sets, meaning more exercises. I now feel as if I'm not neglecting anything, as was the case a few weeks ago.

Tuesday: heavy deadlift - 5x5

Thursday: heavy squat - 5x5

Saturday: bench, pull ups, ab pull down, recovery light squat for high reps, calfs.

Sunday: good mornings, stiff leg deadlift, lunges, military press, rows, dips, power clean & press, biceps, calfs.

Face pulls, external rotations, flys and reverse flys are light stuff which I throw in whenever possible. Also, a run about once a week.

BossArky

Tuesday February 10th:

Good Mornings (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up for deadlift

Squat
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up for deadlift
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
120kg - 5x5 ... yay! 5x5 pb
---
Face Pulls
10kg - 2x10
---

For those of you who have been following my log and extrapolating my 5x5's on graph paper you probably saw that 5x5 deadlift coming. So did I - but the relief of having it over and done with is great! It was tough.

I did some serious grunting and farting throughout. Man the place stunk after. I actually blew someone out of the smith machine (behind where I was deadlifting) on my first set :pac:

BossArky

Thursday February 12th:

Good Morning
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up
---
Squat
20kg - 1x10
60kg - 1x3
100kg - 5x5 ... pb
---
Face Pulls
10kg - 2x10
---

Made it to 100kg on the 5x5. Party time. It was hard.

I had planned to bring my camera to video them, but forgot. My trusted training partnerette reckons they were executed with decent form. I'm a visual person though, so would have liked to see them with my own eyes.

This week I really noticed Sundays lunge DOMS spilling over into Tuesdays deadlifting, and then on into this mornings squatting. I'll take it a bit easier next sunday on the lunges. I need to recover more.

I forgot to mention that I ripped my right palm on Tuesdays deadlifts. Looking to get some chalk over the next few days, ahead of next weeks deadlifting.

kevpants

Congrats man, they're real milestone numbers. Not too many triathletes out there doing those.

Al_Fernz

Impressive progress.

You're 100kg x1 doesn't seem that long ago at all.

Oh and you seem to have piled on a **** loads of mushkel, that always helps.

Hanley

That's some pretty sick increase you've seen there!!

Next stop is 3 plates x1!

BossArky

Thanks guys!

Al_Fernz wrote: »

Impressive progress.
You're 100kg x1 doesn't seem that long ago at all.

I think my first 100kg x1 squat was 8 months ago in May 08. At that time I remember my next aim after breaking 100kg x1 was to start repping 100kg :pac: I'll check that later.

Hanley wrote: »

Next stop is 3 plates x1!

I'll try

BossArky

kevpants wrote: »

Congrats man, they're real milestone numbers. Not too many triathletes out there doing those.

I'm not sure how well I'd do in a triathlon right now with this extra weight!

Weighted in at 78kg the past two mornings.

BossArky

Saturday February 14th: Valentine's Day

Bench Press (dumbbell)
12kg per arm - 1x10 ... warm up
34kg per arm - 3x5 ... flat, pb
30kg per arm - 3x5... slight incline, probably an incline pb?

Fly (dumbbell)
12kg per arm - 1x10 ... warm up, before the heavy bench sets above

Calf Raise (standing)
BW - 6x20 ... yawn

One Arm Row (dumbbell)
12kg per arm - 6x10 ... pretty light
---
Pull Ups
BW +11kg - 2x5 ... narrow, parallel grip
BW +6kg - 2x5 ... medium, palms facing in to face at 45 deg angle
BW - 2x5 ... medium, palms facing into face at 45 deg angle
---
Ab Pull Down (cable)
31.25kg - 1x20
41.25kg - 1x15
48.75kg - 1x10
---

I'm been wrecked this week following the deadlifts and squats, so decided to take it easy this morning and not do too much. Same tomorrow to save myself for another increment on deads and squats on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

The dumbbell bench is coming along nicely. I'm hoping the past 6 weeks of dumbbells only is building up my left and right sides independently so that when I go back to the barbell I'll blast my previous max (87.5kg) out of the water.

I'm not sure when I'll go back to the barbell bench, maybe March, maybe later. There still seems to be a bit of potential left in the dumbbells yet. I haven't barbell benched since mid December.

I used a slightly different grip on the pull up sets 3 to 6 today. It really hit the biceps more. The pull ups are the only thing which don't seem to be getting stronger at the moment. This may be down to the fact that my body weight is increasing gradually all the time.

BossArky

Sunday February 15th:

Good Morning (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10
35kg - 3x8

Military Press (oly bar)
2.5kg - 1x10 ... warm up
55kg - 3x5 ... pb, slight leg drive on very last rep of 3rd set. All the rest were strict. Had meant to do just 52.5kg, but the 1.25kg plates were nowhere to be seen
---
Lunges (oly bar)
35kg - 2x8 ... 15kg less weight and one less set than last week. Taking it easy on the lower body
---
Deadlift (stiff leg)
70kg - 1x5
75kg - 3x5
---
Calf Raise (oly bar)
75kg - 2x20
50kg - 2x20
---
Squat
60kg - 2x12 ... whoops, shouldn't have done this today, should have been yesterday. Hope it doesn't affect Tuesdays deadlifting.
---
Power Clean (oly bar)
20kg - 2x5
25kg - 2x5
30kg - 2x5 ... these six sets had me wrecked. Heart thumping. Concentrating on technique
---
Bent Over Row (oly bar)
50kg - 3x10
---
Bicep Curl (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x10
40kg - 1x4 ... missed 5th
30kg - 1x4 ... missed 5th
20kg - 1x10 ... sloppy, biceps tired from yesterdays pull ups
---
Dips
BW - 1x10
BW - 1x8
BW - 1x5
---
External Rotation (pulley)
1.25kg per arm - 3x15
---

Good session. I was supposed to take it easy on the lower body. Maybe I did slightly too much down there. Hmmm.

Legs were like jelly when finished squats after lunges. Must have pre fatigued some part of my lower body with the lunges, causing the high rep squats to rely more on different muscles. Felt good.

Somebody complemented me on my squat form which was nice. We had a bit of a conversation about technique. He was telling me that he has had to correct his form as he is recovering from an injury picked up when letting his knees drift too far forward.

When I was finished he started squatting with terrible form and only going down half way. Maybe I should have said something or tried to help. I think he thought he was doing it correctly though, so would have been annoyed if I had said something. I usually don't try to give advice in the gym.

BossArky

Tuesday February 17th:

Good Morning (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up

Squat (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up

Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
122.5kg - 5x5 ... pb
---
Face Pulls
11.25kg - 2x10
---

A lot of the 25 reps in the 5x5 felt like one max rep attempts. Heavy. I need to be careful as apparently I'm rounding my back a bit on some of them as I tire. This happened in the middle sets. I think I sorted it out towards the end as I was paying more attention to form.

I bought some liquid chalk in Decathlon on Saturday. It helps nicely with the grip. No more skin tearing on the bar.

In other news, I'm now both 171 cms tall and 171 lbs heavy. Lol. It's hip to be square!

BossArky

Thursday February 19th:

Squat
20kg - 1x10
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 5x5 ...equals pb, i.e. same as last week 'cos I couldn't find the second 1.25kg plate to increment by another 2.5kg

I was about 10 mins later than normal getting to the gym this morning. It seemed busier than usual. Some fellow wanted to use the squat rack too just as I was starting so I offered him the chance to work in. He dissappeared after 3 sets of dodgy half squats so I had the rack to myself again.

I video'd the last set of the 5. Looks fine I think. I'll post it up later. Any comments, let me know. The camera stopped in the middle and had to be restarted so there are a few seconds missing. Don't worry, I didn't rack the bar and take a break.

Over the past weeks I had been worried that my form was deteriorating as I went heavier on the 5x5. This video reassures me. Perhaps the 5th set looks better than the earlier sets as I was warmed up more. Hmmm.

Next week I'm going to bring my own home 1kg plates to the gym and tie them to the oly bar with shoe laces to ensure I can keep incrementing the weight, in case the 1.25kg oly plates are missing again.

BossArky

BossArky wrote: »

Thursday February 19th:

Squat
100kg - 5x5 ...equals pb, i.e. same as last week 'cos I couldn't find the second 1.25kg plate to increment by another 2.5kg

I video'd the last set of the 5. Looks fine I think. I'll post it up later. Any comments, let me know. The camera stopped in the middle and had to be restarted so there are a few seconds missing. Don't worry, I didn't rack the bar and take a break.

Here are the first 4 reps of the 5th set - 100kg: 5x5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4_8XYcjGII

... and the last rep of the 5th set following the camera restart - 100kg: 5x5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjTVe0RFd2s

Bodyweight 78kg.

BossArky

Friday February 20th:

Swim 1km as follows (40 lengths of 25 metre pool):

• 200m fc
• 200m fc
• 200m bs
• 200m bs
• 200m fc

It has been a while since I've been in the pool so today I decided to unleash my inner dolphin.

It was a recovery swim after yesterdays squats. I felt like I could go all day with breast stroke. Front crawl was fine too, slightly more tiring in the shoulders.

I concentrated on technique: breathing, reach, rolling, chest down, etc.

All in all I was pleased it felt so handy considering I have done very little cardio in the past months.

kevpants

Good work man. You're on fire.

BossArky

Saturday February 21st:

Chin Ups
50 reps as follows:

• 4x8
• 1x7
• 1x5
• 1x6

External Rotation (pulley)
1.25kg per arm - 5x8 ... plus a few extra reps here and there as I lost count
---
Squat
60kg - 2x12
---
Face Pulls
11.25kg - 3x8 ... plus a few extra reps here and there as I lost count
---
Fly (dumbbell) ... warm up chest
12.5kg per arm - 1x6
---
Bench Press (dumbbell)
12.5kg per arm - 1x6
36kg per arm - x3, x2, x1 ... flat
26kg per arm - x5, x5, x5 ... incline

One Arm Row (dumbbell)
12.5kg per arm - 3x10
---

My copy of the 2nd edition of Starting Strength arrived yesterday. Today I concentrated on putting bits and pieces of his advice into practice on my high rep squats, as I finished reading the squat section last night.

I concentrated on keeping knees as far apart as possible to engage adducters. Seems to work, I could feel them.

I am taking too much of the weight on my wrists. Need to figure out how to avoid this. When I use a narrow squat grip my wrists end up getting bent backwards by the bar. I prefer the narrow grip as it wedges the bar better, but is sore on the wrists. Using a wider grip is more comfy but the bar slips around more.

Note to self - I think my recent 2 squat vids above were a bit high.

I also invested in two grippers last weekend so hopefully a combination of these plus liquid chalk will see my grip strength increase over the coming months.

Flat dumbbell bench was a bit weak today. Last weekend I managed 3x5 on 34kg, whereas today I just got x3, x2, x1 on 36kg. I'll put it down to leaving the bench until last and yesterdays calorie munching swim.

BossArky

Sunday February 22nd:

Power Clean & Press
20kg x a few warm up reps
30kg - 6 x 5 ... video of 6th set to follow
---
Good Morning (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x10
40kg - 1x10
50kg - 1x10 ... hard

Military Press (oly bar)
40kg - 3x10 ... huffing and puffing and blowing your house down (in a strict fashion)
20kg - 1x10
---
Bent Over Row (oly bar)
55kg - 3x10

Calf Raise
15kg plate per arm - 3x20

Shrugs
15kg plate per arm - 3x10
---
Ab Pull Down (kneeling, pulley)
41.25kg - 2x15 ... see notes below
48.75kg - 2x10
---
Bicep Curl (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x10
35kg - 1x5
---

I tried the kevpants Ab Pull down on the first set of 4 (with rope around shoulders). It is awkward to do this kneeling, so reverted to my own version (rope gripped up behind neck / ears). I think my way makes the lever longer, which in turn makes it harder. This is a good thing as the pulley stack only goes up to 48.75kg, so I need to make it as hard as possible

During the initial phase of the Power Clean & Press I worked on getting my feet off the ground. I think I managed this in a good few of the sets... but then kinda forgot in the set I videoed :eek:

On the first rep of the vid set my feet come off the ground a bit, and a tiny bit on the 2nd and 3rd. The 4th and 5th look more like calf raises. I kinda got distracted with my concentration on racking it correctly on my wrists and bringing my elbows up. A slight improvement on my last Power Clean & Press video... but still woeful I know

The bar seems to stay closer to my body which is a bit better than before.

Hopefully these vids will shame me into learning the correct technique. I have not yet read the Power Clean chapter of starting strength, so looking forward to garnering wisdom from that over the coming days.

BossArky

Wednesday February 25th:

Good Morning (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10

Squat (oly bar)
20kg - 1x10
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
125kg - 1x4, 2x2 ... 5x5 breaks down for the first time this year. Looks like last weeks 122.5kg was the max. 125kg today felt like 10 elephants
110kg - 1x4
100kg - 3x5

Calf Raise
BW - 2x20
18kg plate per arm - 3x10

Shoulder Press (standing, dumbbell)
18kg - 3x8
---
Ab Pull Down (high pulley, kneeling)
41.25kg - 2x20

Hanging Leg Raise (feet to hands)
2x5 ... abs starting to cramp as supersetted these with the ab pull downs above
---
Seated Machine Row
35kg - 3x8
---

I guess I was a bit dissapointed that the 5x5 wouldn't continue upwards today. However, upon reflection I suppose getting my 5x5 up to within 7.5kg of my previous 1 rep max (130kg back in Dec 08) isn't too bad. Need to figure out my plan of attack for next week. I'll probably take it easy for a week or two and then go heavy again.

My deadlifting was pushed back from Tuesday to Wednesday this week ... as I was knackered on Tuesday morning.

BossArky

Friday February 27th:

Inverted Shurg
1.25kg plate per arm - 3x20 ... waiting for squat rack

Bent Over Row
1.25kg plate per arm - 3x10 ... waiting for squat rack

Calf Raise
BW - 1x20 ... waiting for squat rack
---
Squat
BW - 1x10
20kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
102.5kg - 1x5 (pb for set of 5), 1x3, 1x0 :eek: ... 5x5 squat breaks down this week too (along with deadlift the other day)
80kg - 3x5
---
Hang Clean
20kg - a few
30kg - 5x5 ... using hook grip (middle finger closed over thumb)
---
Front Squat
30kg - 3x5 ... hang clean to get each set going
---

So there ends a tough 8 week cycle of gradually increasing both deadlift and squat. I'm tired and need an easy week or two before restarting a new cycle.

Totally died on the second set of 102.5kg. That is a bit suprising since I have managed 100kg 5x5 for both last week and the week before. I unracked the 3rd set, got to the bottom and couldn't start up. Don't think I bothered trying. No point. I could feel I was dead already.

My blood sugar level was 4.6 this morning. Found that out at a pre-operative appointment. I have a minor operation next Thursday to correct a musclar imbalance in my right eye (so can use next week as a nice easy training back off week). Apparently 4.6 is good/low. This is based upon grams of glucouse blood sugar per 5 litre volume of blood (according to wiki this is the blood volume of a typical male).

I asked the nurse what 4.6 good/low means ... she said "well, you may have to eat more sugar if it is too low, and less if it is too high". Thanks Nurse!

She also weighed me. Her scales reckoned I was just over 80kg (with shoes and clothes). I had already weighed myself at home earlier this morning and was only 77kg. This home measurement is a couple of kg lighter than the past week or two and I'm wondering how I am managing to loose weight when still eating loads.

BossArky

Saturday February 28th:

Bench Press (dumbbell)
12.5kg per arm - 1x10 ... flat, warm up
36kg per arm - 1x3 ... flat
34kg per arm - 3x5 ... flat
24kg per arm - 3x5 ... steep incline

Fly (dumbbell)
12.5kg per arm - 1x10 ... warm up for bench above

One Arm Row (dumbbell)
12.5kg per arm - 4x10

Calf Raise
BW - 4x20
---
Chin Ups
BW - 1x10
BW - 1x6
BW - 1x4
---
Face Pull
10kg - 2x10

Ab Pull Down ... kneeling facing away from pulley with toes under rack. Too easy this way so will go back to other version next time
20kg - 1x10
27.5kg - 1x10 ... max weight available on stack that allows this position
---

BossArky

Tuesday March 3rd:

Good Morning
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up for deadlift

Squat
20kg - 1x10 ... warm up for deadlift
---
Deadlift
60kg - 2x5
110kg - 5x5 ... sets 1, 2 & 3 = double overhand. Alternated mixed grip on last 2

Shoulder Press (standing, dumbbell)
12.5kg per arm 1x8, 1x10, 1x12, 1x14
---

Reset deadlift to 110kg. As per Hanley's recommendation I'm going to try the following progression with my 5x5 over the next 8 weeks. Today was week 1:

110, 115, 120, 125 .... then reset again... 115, 120, 125, 130.

BossArky

Saturday March 7th:

Walk 5.6km ... slow & painful