Awesomeness! I didn't train at Axxis and Brandon still wasn't around but I killed these box squats.
Triples @ 45, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275
Added belt
Triples @ 295, 315, 335
Added Wraps
Triple @ 355
3 x 2 @ 370
Fast, solid and sharp. Looking forward to trying it with 375 in six weeks.
Leg Press
Sets of 10 @ 90, 180, 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, 720
Thursday 12 June 2014
Heavy Bench June 8
Kinda sucks doing heavy bench only a couple of days after accessory bench. Normally I leave 72 hours between two upper days or two lower days. I recovered pretty well though, might have had something to do with the 16oz of steak my wonderful wife had bbq'd up for me by the time I got home the night before. Brandon was busy so I once again had no spotter, which left me with a bit of a dilemma. I was supposed to do 3 x 2 @ 270 with a relaxed pause just like I did with the 5 x 3 @ 250 last week. Trouble is, I haven't done bench with a full relaxed pause that heavy before, and though I was confident I could pull it off, I knew that might change if I got into a bit of trouble without Brandon. The other side of the dilemma was that 3 x 2 touch and go with 270 would've been way too easy for a heavy day. I've done sets of six with 265. I decided I'd add a couple of sets, focus on speed and see how it went.
Triples @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245, 265
5 x 2 @ 270
Still felt a bit easy. With a proper rest between I probably could've done five more sets afterward. Hard to believe what a huge difference a full relaxed pause makes.
Pull-ups - 3 x 10 with different grips
Dips - 5 x 10
Tricep Pushdowns and curls, don't remember how many.
Triples @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245, 265
5 x 2 @ 270
Still felt a bit easy. With a proper rest between I probably could've done five more sets afterward. Hard to believe what a huge difference a full relaxed pause makes.
Pull-ups - 3 x 10 with different grips
Dips - 5 x 10
Tricep Pushdowns and curls, don't remember how many.
Close Grip Bench Friday, June 6 at Axxis
Brandon couldn't make it today but I went back to Axxis to try an accessory upper day. They've got an old Apex bench that I absolutely love. The pad is probably about 12 inches and there's no taper so I can easily fit both shoulderblades on it. Trouble is, I didn't remember what programming was for that day and my phone was dead. I also accidentally locked up my stuff in the womens changeroom (the entrances look identical, the mens one is just a bit past it). I was just lucky that it was empty at the time, or it could've gotten really weird, really fast. Anyway, I ended up going a bit heavier than I normally would, especially without Brandon there to spot me.
Triples @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245
5 x 3 @ 255
These were touch and go because I wanted a full range of motion but with the emphasis on the triceps. I had a few shaky reps but nothing major. It was a bit weird going heavier on my accessory day for close grip than I did on my last heavy wide grip day, but I have to keep reminding myself that the pause makes a huge difference and that it's an investment for later.
I did lateral raises, dips, pushdowns and curls for accessory work, don't remember sets of rep schemes.
Triples @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245
5 x 3 @ 255
These were touch and go because I wanted a full range of motion but with the emphasis on the triceps. I had a few shaky reps but nothing major. It was a bit weird going heavier on my accessory day for close grip than I did on my last heavy wide grip day, but I have to keep reminding myself that the pause makes a huge difference and that it's an investment for later.
I did lateral raises, dips, pushdowns and curls for accessory work, don't remember sets of rep schemes.
Box Squats Monday, June 2 / Axxis Gym First Impression
Solid training this morning, Brandon and I checked out Axxis Gym for the first time. I'd heard about it from my friend Jay who's a pro strongman and describes it as the last real gym in Edmonton. The owner definitely seems committed to making sure it's as no-bullshit as a profitable gym can be. I like the equipment, too. They have one of the same Icarian cages that we use at Gold's, but two others besides. While we were there we still saw some pretty awful stuff but it wasn't nearly as bad or as widespread as what you see at Gold's. Still, I could have picked a better day to try it out. My program for heavy days ranges between 82% triples and 90% doubles, so it probably would've been a good idea to try the brand new gym on the 82% day. I had to spend a bit of time setting up the cage, placing the plyo box and finding a plate to go on top of it that would make the squats exactly parallel, but the squats themselves went pretty well.
Triples @ 45, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, 295, 315, 335
5 x 3 @ 350
I was having some issues with the bar placement. At Gold's they have a couple of 32mm powerlifting bars that we use for squats, so I'm used to that bigger diameter. These were good bars weight-wise but they were probably about 28mm so I was having a hard time hitting the groove across my rear delts where I'm really comfortable and confident in maintaining the arch with heavy weight. I ended up doing a couple of squats that looked suspiciously like good mornings, but I figured it out and my last couple of sets were my best ones.
Triples @ 45, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, 295, 315, 335
5 x 3 @ 350
I was having some issues with the bar placement. At Gold's they have a couple of 32mm powerlifting bars that we use for squats, so I'm used to that bigger diameter. These were good bars weight-wise but they were probably about 28mm so I was having a hard time hitting the groove across my rear delts where I'm really comfortable and confident in maintaining the arch with heavy weight. I ended up doing a couple of squats that looked suspiciously like good mornings, but I figured it out and my last couple of sets were my best ones.
Sunday 1 June 2014
Bench June 1st
More solid bench work. Last week's 6 x 3 @ 240 felt really easy, and so did my 5 x 3 @ 250 this week so the momentum is still strong with this one. Focusing on a full relaxed pause at the bottom, and an explosive reversal. A relaxed pause with weight that's actually heavy could be potentially disastrous as far as my tendonitis is concerned, so I'm happy to take the ego hit for now. It'll pay dividends down the road when I'm the guy handling triples with the same relaxed pause in the 300's.
Triples @ 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225
5 x 3 @ 250
http://youtu.be/dwQ883VOF54
Body Rows on Smith Machine, Feet on Bench
5 x 10 chest to bar and pause
Dips
2 x 20
Segmented Lateral Raises - 10 Lower half ROM, 10 upper half, 10 full
5's, 10's, 15's, 20's
DeFranco 21's - 7 Zottman Curls, 7 Supinated Curls, 7 Hammer Curls in succession
5's, 15's, 25's
Swimming May 31
Drastic improvement tonight in the pool. I feel like I can chalk it up entirely to more of the technique coming back and clicking because as soon as I hit the water I felt different.
600m warm-up - 200 full freestyle, 200m kick only, 200m pull only
10 x 50 @ 1min
Basically this means I start a hard 50m freestyle every minute, on the minute. The faster I go, the more rest I get. It was the standard training format my coaches used. I try not to think too much about the fact that I used to do 50's on 40s intervals and go a lot faster. This is a process.
The first 50 was 32 seconds, the fastest I managed last time but most of the 50's averaged about 34, 35 seconds with the slowest being the last couple at 38 seconds. I noticed the biggest difference in my breathing. Proper breath control in swimming isn't just about managing oxygen and C02 for endurance purposes, it's also about ballast. Manage your air improperly, and your hips sink and wreak havoc on your hydrodynamics.
I'm feeling pretty good about this. I tried doing backstroke and breastroke in my cool down and the technique for those actually came back more readily than freestyle had. I'm afraid to try butterfly. It was my best stroke back in the day, and 200m butterfly was my highest national ranking event so it'll probably be where I see the true extent of my decline. I'll leave that until I've put some more time in. One psychological barrier at a time.
600m warm-up - 200 full freestyle, 200m kick only, 200m pull only
10 x 50 @ 1min
Basically this means I start a hard 50m freestyle every minute, on the minute. The faster I go, the more rest I get. It was the standard training format my coaches used. I try not to think too much about the fact that I used to do 50's on 40s intervals and go a lot faster. This is a process.
The first 50 was 32 seconds, the fastest I managed last time but most of the 50's averaged about 34, 35 seconds with the slowest being the last couple at 38 seconds. I noticed the biggest difference in my breathing. Proper breath control in swimming isn't just about managing oxygen and C02 for endurance purposes, it's also about ballast. Manage your air improperly, and your hips sink and wreak havoc on your hydrodynamics.
I'm feeling pretty good about this. I tried doing backstroke and breastroke in my cool down and the technique for those actually came back more readily than freestyle had. I'm afraid to try butterfly. It was my best stroke back in the day, and 200m butterfly was my highest national ranking event so it'll probably be where I see the true extent of my decline. I'll leave that until I've put some more time in. One psychological barrier at a time.
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