Kev's Training Journal

Kev M

30.06.09

Hill Sprints @ Pope's Cross
10 on the less steep hill
18 on the steeper hill



This wasn't easy, and I was taking big breaks all over the place. Just easing into it because it's the first time I've run in probably over a year now. My days of cross country running are long gone. On the less steep hill I'd sprint up then walk down, and then my friend would sprint up and walk down, so there were decent little breaks here and it still totally took my breath away. I'll try do this every week or two, and start timing it to gauge some targets. As it stands 10 sprints with no rest at the bottom would probably kill me.

Weight this morning was 98.5kgs, so thats about +1.5kgs since Friday night. Heaviest I've been in a while.

Kev M

podge57 wrote: »

Good job on finishing sheiko, i dont think i could handle that sort of volume, i like to get in and out in under an hour

The volume actually wasn't that bad, but I think a huge part of that is because I'm not really lifting very heavy weights. As you get stronger I think Sheiko would seriously get more and more increasingly difficult. There's a big difference between a guy whose 1rm is 100lbs doing 5 reps with 70lbs, and a guy whose 1rm is 1000lbs doing 5 reps with 700lbs. I'd say most super elite lifters really couldn't do Sheiko for that reason.

Hanley

Kev M wrote: »

30.06.09

Hill Sprints @ Pope's Cross
10 on the less steep hill
18 on the steeper hill



This wasn't easy, and I was taking big breaks all over the place. Just easing into it because it's the first time I've run in probably over a year now. My days of cross country running are long gone. On the less steep hill I'd sprint up then walk down, and then my friend would sprint up and walk down, so there were decent little breaks here and it still totally took my breath away. I'll try do this every week or two, and start timing it to gauge some targets. As it stands 10 sprints with no rest at the bottom would probably kill me.

Weight this morning was 98.5kgs, so thats about +1.5kgs since Friday night. Heaviest I've been in a while.

It's actually ridiculous how much of a trend setter I am

Kev M

Hanley wrote: »

It's actually ridiculous how much of a trend setter I am

I am teh cat that copies. And now to go buy a skipping rope and some asics runners LOL

Kev M

06.07.09

Dynamic Upper

Dumbell Hammer Curl
20kg dumbells x 8

BenchPress
60kgs x 8 sets x 3 reps
65kgs x 2 sets x 3 reps

Incline Dumbell Press high rep set
22.5kg dumbells x 40

Tricep pressdowns
67.5 x 60 reps spread over 5/6 sets with 45 seconds between sets

Rear delt raises
8kg dumbells x 2 sets x 14 reps

Side delt raises
7.5kg dumbells x 2 sets x 14 reps

Facepulls
45 x 16
60 x 16

Dumbell Hammer Curls
20kg dumbells x about 10

Abs
Decline bench 2 sets x 10 reps




Spending less than an hour in the gym is just class really.
Dynamic bench, what can I say, fast and easy with 30-45 seconds between sets, got through the 10 sets in about 10 minutes.
High rep dumbell press, this turned into a complete party after about rep 20, and really left me feeling the heat. I was trying to gauge a weight that I'd get about 30 reps with, so maybe do the 25s next time.
Everything today was just done as fast as possible, including abs and arms.

Kev M

Here's the plan for the next while:

Monday - Dynamic Upper
Tuesday - Heavy Lower
Thursday- Heavy Upper
Saturday - Dynamic Lower

Wednesday/Friday/Saturday - run up hills, drag around sandboxes filled with bricks etc...

Kev M

Max Pain Lower
7.07.09

Squats
50kgs x 10
50kgs x 10
60kgs x 6
80kgs x 4
100kgs x 3
120kgs x 2
130kgs x 1
140kgs x 1
145kgs x 1....PR
110kgs x 5

Hamstring Curls, alternating legs
4 sets x 7 reps

GoodMornings
3 sets x 7 reps @ 65kgs

Dumbell Rows
22.5kg x 10
30kg x 7
40kg x 7
40kg x 7

Dumbell Bicep Curl on Incline Bench
10kg x 7
17.5kg x 7
17.5kg x 7
17.5kg x 7.... good movement, great stretch

Standing Ab Pulldowns
60 x 12
75 x 12
75 x 12

45 second lat bodyweight stretch hanging from bar




Squats were just okay. I was worried that anything heavier than 120 would feel completely alien, but tbh it wasn't so bad. Form wasn't great at all, I was going down too fast and way too low and then not firing everything 100% at the bottom. I'll think over whether or not I'll try for 150 next week or just stick to 3 sets around 140 (safe option).
I cut a few inches off the bottom part of my Goodmornings so as I could still see myself in the mirror, they worked well.
I actually watched a vid just this morning of a squat accident which didn't exactly help my frame of mind, I'll find it later and put it up, just so everyone else can be messed up too

itsallaboutheL

Nice skwotz

I've taken to doing all my squats minus spotters and safeties!!!..... it really gives you that little bit of motivation!! hahaha

Kev M

This is an interesting video of a guy called Ed Koo's most recent meet. He hurts himself during squat no. 2 (705lbs which he routinely handles in training). Then he goes on to win his weight class, despite the injury.
I know I can't really call out a bad spotter due to my lack of experience, but are the guys spotting his squats doing an unbelievably sh!t job? And should the people around him not have told him to call it a day since he was obviously risking getting more seriously injured? I mean he practically hobbles out to deadlift...

Hanley

Spotters not at fault there.. you don't expect someone to lose a weight when they're walking out. Even if they do, there's very little that can be done. If ya watch the vid, the spotters are in before he dumps the weight. If he hadda stuck with it and helped he might not have been as badly hurt.

And the only reason you win a 220 weight class with a 650 squat is cos it's a weak class!

kevpants

Yeah it was a dump, the lifter decided he was getting out of there and he was right. Ya can't catch 300kg when it freefalls. If he'd managed to squat it down and get stuck the spotters and the lifter can work together to bring it up but no ones catching a bar that drops from shoulder height. They guy lost all shape and there was no coming back. If someone is going to dump and you're a spotter get the hell out of the way forget trying to grab anything.

Kev M

08.07.09
Hill Sprints @ Pope's Cross

Steeper Shorter Hill
7 runs
5 runs
5 runs

I can get 5 runs in 1min 15-20seconds without having any major heart failure. My lower back was tired from Tuesday and felt it here.




09.07.09
Max Pain Upper

Bench
40kgs x 20
60kgs x 8
60kgs x 8
80kgs x 5
100kgs x 2
110kgs x 1
120kgs x 1
122.5kgs x 3....PR....only wanted one rep, spotter said do more, and since I had no willpower at that moment I went straight ahead and got one more good rep, then the third rep went about 60% of the way by itself, the spotter touched the bar from about 60-70% of the way, and I locked it out the rest... so okay I got 2 not 3.
100kgs x 8... reps PR... previous was 100 x 5.... this set was the most animated I've ever been in a gym, really made some noise for the last few reps lol, for some reason I really wanted 7, so was fairly happy to make 8.

Barbell Shoulder Press
20kgs x 7
40kgs x 7
50kgs x 7

Skullcrushers w/ straightbar lying on ground
30kgs x 7
35kgs x 7
35kgs x 7

Incline Ab Bench one level from top
x 12
x 10


Happy enough today, it's only a small bench PR but tbh I was worried that I'd struggle for 120, so in that regard I'm relieved. I also wanted to do dips and either vogelpohl pulldowns or facepulls, might try make it up tomorrow morning.

itsallaboutheL

Good stuff brother.....


stop talking about facepulls .....I want my cable machine back

Kev M

11.07.09
Dynamic Lower

Wide-grip Pullups
x 4
x 4
x 4..... pathetic really

Close grip regular military pullups
x 6..... stopped here in shame

Speedy Deadlifts, switching between conv. and sumo
70kgs x 2
70kgs x 2
80kgs x 2 x 5 sets w/ <1min between sets

Quad Extensions
4 sets up to the full stack for 12, then 2 drop sets of 12 reps each, BURN

Standing Ham Curl Machine
4 sets x 5-7 reps

GMs
40kgs x 10
40kgs x 10
50kgs x 10
50kgs x 10

Shrugs
50kgs x 12
90kgs x 12
120kgs x 12
140kgs x 12..... probably a reps PR

Alternate seated dumbell curls
7.5kg dumbells x 10
15kg dumbells x 7
17.5kg dumbells x 7
20kg dumbells x 7
20kg dumbells x 7

Standing Ab Pulldowns
60 x 12
75 x 12
75 x 12
82.5 x 12

Side raises on hyper bench
12 reps each side
12 reps each side with 10kg plate



Not really in it today, tired and bored, Dynamic Upper is much more fun. I hate hamstring/lower back/abs training. Having said that the new objective is to increase the weight on ab pulldowns.

Kev M

13.07.09
Dynamic Bench

Bench
10 sets @ 65kg x 3 reps

Incline Dumbell Press
17.5kg Dbells x 12
25 x 12
27.5 x 15

Tricep pressdown
52.5 x 10
60 x 10
67.5 x 10
75 x 10
82.5 x 10

Rear Delt DBell Flyes
7.5kg Dbells x 12
10 x 12
10 x 12

Dumbell lateral raises
10kg Dbells x 12
10 x 12

Facepulls
45 x 12
52.5 x 12
60 x 12
60 x 12

Hammer Curls
10kg Dbells x 7
20 x 7
20 x 7
20 x 8

Decline Ab bench
x 12
x 12





Decent session tonight, despite being fairly wrecked tired, the traps and obliques are still feeling Saturday's workout bigtime.

Kev M

Max Pain Lower
14.07.09

Squats
50kgs x 10
60kgs x 10
70kgs x 8
90kgs x 6
100kgs x 4
110kgs x 2
120kgs x 1
130kgs x 1
140kgs x 1
150kgs x 1...PR

HammerStrength Hamstring Curls
30kgs x 7
40kgs x 7
50kgs x 7

Dumbell Rows
20kg dumbell x 10
30kg dumbell x 7
42.5kg dumbell x 7
42.5kg dumbell x 7

Hyperextensions
x 12
x 12

Lat Pulldowns
60 x 7
60 x 7
75 x 7

Cable Ab Pulldowns
60 x 10
75 x 10
82.5 x 10
90 x 12... getting better and heavier on these



The mission today was to squat 150, so mission accomplished, good squat, down under good control and up at a decent enough speed. Definitely better than last weeks top squat.
Incrementally increasing the weight on dumbell rows and ab pulldowns.

itsallaboutheL

I'll race ya to a 180 squat!!

Kev M

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

I'll race ya to a 180 squat!!

I like your optimism

Kev M

15.07.09

Pope's cross
short steep hill
x 5
x 6 w/ bw squats between sprints

and then a nice scenic walk where I saw peaceful deer and a busy squirrel.

Kev M

16.07.09
Max Upper

Bench
20kgs x 20
20kgs x 20
60kgs x 8
70kgs x 4
70kgs x 4
80kgs x 4
100kgs x 2
110kgs x 1
115kgs x 1
120kgs x 1
125kgs x 1.....PR....ugly
120kgs x 1..pretty much drop sets from here
100kgs x 6
80kgs x 10

Dumbell Shoulder Press
17.5s x 10
25s x 10
25s x 10

Rolling Triceps
12.5s x 8
12.5s x 8
17.5s x 8

Decline Ab Bench
x 10
x 10
x 10



Not particularly happy with that. I must have forgot how to bench for the 125, because form/technique just went out the window. Lots of small things I should have done to make that a better lift but anyway it went up, with a serious rush of blood to the head.

I'm not really loving this training template at all, a max effort attempt will sooner or later cripple or kill me. I'll do this Saturday's DE lower as planned and then see from there.


edit; also, I should have went straight from 115 to 125

Hanley

Thing to be careful with on Westside is testing -vs- training.

You don't wanna just take massive jumps to hit PR's if you're not getting a decent amount of volume in cos that's not how you'll get stronger. The strain of getting 3-5 reps above 90% is where the progress comes from on ME work.

Kev M

Hanley wrote: »

Thing to be careful with on Westside is testing -vs- training.

You don't wanna just take massive jumps to hit PR's if you're not getting a decent amount of volume in cos that's not how you'll get stronger. The strain of getting 3-5 reps above 90% is where the progress comes from on ME work.

Yup, I hear ya loud and clear. The thing is, what's going through my mind after nearly failing 125 is "If I can hammer the form a little better, 127.5 shoud be on!" Which is retarded because I'll just end up chasing PRs every workout, and probably fail em half the time. So being a little conservative with weight could be a good thing here. Cheers.

Hanley

Kev M wrote: »

Yup, I hear ya loud and clear. The thing is, what's going through my mind after nearly failing 125 is "If I can hammer the form a little better, 127.5 shoud be on!" Which is retarded because I'll just end up chasing PRs every workout, and probably fail em half the time. So being a little conservative with weight could be a good thing here. Cheers.

Yeah, that's the trap you fall into. Good that you're recognising it before it happens!!

Kev M

18.07.09
Dynamic Lower

Lat Pulldown/delt raise warmup

Deadlift
60kgs x 8
60kgs x 8
90kgs x 4
90kgs x 4
120kgs x 12
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3

Quad Extensions
4 sets up to the full stack for 12, then drop sets

Standing Ham Curl Machine
4 sets x 5-7 reps

GMs
40kgs x 10
50kgs x 10
60kgs x 10
60kgs x 10

Shrugs
60kgs x 12
90kgs x 12
120kgs x 12
145kgs x 12...reps PR

Alternate seated dumbell curls
17.5kg dumbells x 10
20kg dumbells x 7
20kg dumbells x 10

V grip pulldowns
75 x 10
75 x 12

Standing Ab Pulldowns
52.5 x 12
75 x 12
82.5 x 12
97.5 x 6... :mad:
67.5 x 20



Solid day today, volume is a bit high I think, but what else is there to do when you're young free and single on a Saturday night :cool:
Increased the weight up to 97.5 for ab pulldowns, that was heavy, 10 reps didn't happen, but it will soon.

itsallaboutheL

Kev M wrote: »

18.07.09
Dynamic Lower

Lat Pulldown/delt raise warmup

Deadlift
60kgs x 8
60kgs x 8
90kgs x 4
90kgs x 4noym no120kgs x 12ym
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3

Quad Extensions
4 sets up to the full stack for 12, then drop sets

Standing Ham Curl Machine
4 sets x 5-7 reps

GMs
40kgs x 10
50kgs x 10
60kgs x 10
60kgs x 10

Shrugs
60kgs x 12
90kgs x 12
120kgs x 12
145kgs x 12...reps PR

Alternate seated dumbell curls
17.5kg dumbells x 10
20kg dumbells x 7
20kg dumbells x 10

V grip pulldowns
75 x 10
75 x 12

Standing Ab Pulldowns
52.5 x 12
75 x 12
82.5 x 12
97.5 x 6... :mad:
67.5 x 20



Solid day today, volume is a bit high I think, but what else is there to do when you're young free and single on a Saturday night :cool:
Increased the weight up to 97.5 for ab pulldowns, that was heavy, 10 reps didn't happen, but it will soon.

ja,

Kev M

20.07.09
Dynanic upper

Flat Dumbell Bench
17.5kg DBells x 12
30kg DBells 4 x 12

Incline Bench
60kg 4 x 12

Tricep Pressdowns
45 x 12
60 x 12
75 x 10
75 x 10

Rear Delt flyes
10kg DBells 2 x 12

Lateral raises
10kg DBells 2 x 12

Facepulls
45 x 12
52.5 x 12
60 x 12
60 x 12

EZ bar curls
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 10
40kg x 12

Machine Lateral Raises
2 x 12




Flat dumbells were good, could have gone heavier but it's supposed to be DYNAMIC, or at the very least somewhat fast. Fast repetitive effort.
Incline Bench wasn't easy. WTF. Gotta bring this back up.
Skipped abs today, but I'll be doin em tomorrow anyway, + now I'll be that bit fresher for squattin.

Kev M

21.07.09
Heavy Lower

Squat
20kgs x 20
50kgs x 10
50kgs x 10
80kgs x 6
100kgs x 6
110kgs x 2
120kgs x 2
130kgs x 5... reps PR

Lying HamCurls
5 x 7

Dumbell Rows
17.5kg Dumbell x 10
35kg Dumbell x 7
45kg Dumbell 3 x 7

Hypers
3 x 12

Hammers
3 x 9

Standing Ab Pulldowns
52.5 x 12
75 x 12
82.5 x 21



Good enjoyable session tonight. The plan was 3-5 sets of squats @ or above 127.5 for 1 rep each, but I went for reps on 130 instead, just to mix things up a bit. Looking back, I remember about 13/14 weeks ago, before this log was started, doing 110 x 4 and thinking it was badass, and then about 8 weeks ago doing 130 x 2 with pretty cr^ppy form and still being happy about it. So slowly but surely things are moving in the right direction.
Another thing, there's two types of bar in my gym, and I'm now 100% convinced one type is heavier than the other. Had I used the lighter type today, that would have been 130 x 6! :rolleyes:
Went for a high rep ab set, because I'm afraid to get near 97.5 again.
Added another 2.5 on the dumbell row, really liking these after not doin em in a long time.

Kev M

22.07.09
Extra Workout

Too wet to be hill sprinting today.


Decline Ab bench
x 10
x 10
x 10

seated calf raise
x 60

standing calf raise
x 60

leg press calf raise
x 60

Leg Extensions
x 60

Standing HamCurls
x 20

Hanging Abs leg raise
x 60

standing calf raise
x 12

seated calf raise
x 20



Super light, haven't done calves in aaaages, they're currently dead, and will be in bits tomorrow. Walking will be a pain.

Kev M

23.07.09
Heavy Bench

Bench
40kgs x 15
60kgs x 8
60kgs x 8
80kgs x 4
100kgs x 1
110kgs x 1
115kgs x 1
115kgs x 1
115kgs x 1
115kgs x 1
100kgs x 8

Reverse Grip Bench
40kgs x 12
40kgs x 12

Barbell Shoulder Press
30kgs x 7
40kgs x 7
50kgs x 7
60kgs x 7

Skullcrushers on floor
30kgs x 7
35kgs x 7
40kgs x 7

Dips (paused near top)
x 7
x 7
x 7

StraightBar facepulls
4 x 15

Ab Bench
x 10
x 10

Side bends on bench w/ 10kg
x 20
x 20
x 20



Solid training today. Was tempted to do board presses because that's now 3 weeks in a row of regular bench, so next week I'll either deload or go to board presses, depending how I feel come Monday. 100kgs x 8 is a joint PR so it's good to know I'm not getting any weaker.
Abs are feeling a lot stronger these days.

itsallaboutheL

Kev M wrote: »

Reverse Grip Bench
40kgs x 12
40kgs x 12

these scare the crap outa me!! How do you find em?? Can't imagine ever using enough weight to make the a viable option myself