After lurking the S&P for quite some time and making the occasional post, i decided it was time for a log. Ever since I started reading the S&P I've made HUGE changes to my training. I was basically doing machines and hardly any free weights and had huge periods of not training way too often. Now I'm doing a real strength program, basically a push/pull/squat routine. So first for some stats: Height: about 1.95m (6'6) Weight: 98-100kg Age: 21 Oh and I'm from Holland, so everything will be in kilograms. EDIT: Decided to put up my current (estimated) 1RMs and goals before the end of the year: 1RMs April 2008: Squat: 120kg Deadlift: 170kg Bench: 95kg (rough estimate, I never really max out on bench because I don't have a spotter to tell me it's all me) SOHP: 65kg Goals december 2008: Squat: 160kg Deadlift: 220kg Bench: 115kg SOHP: 90kg Some of these might be extremely optimistic, but at least I'll have to really push myself. My monday workout looked something like this (I really suck in memorizing exactly what I do in the gym, but for the sake of this log I'll try and do a better job): First some warming up with just the bar Power Cleans (my form on these is quite bad): 2x8x60kg 1x8x70kg Deadlift: 1x4x140kg 0x1x180kg (failed) 3x1x160kg 2x4x140kg DB Snatch (I'm gonna have to try BB snatches, since my shitty gym doesn't have heavier DBs than 35 kg): 3x5x35kg (each arm) Shrugs: 3x8x100 kg Pullups: 3x5xBW Afterwards i did some uphill running on a treadmill, which pretty much sucks, but try finding some real hills in Holland I usually do rows instead of shrugs, but the thread on lats got me really excited about doing some shrugs. Of course, any advice is always welcome!
Those are alot of reps on the power cleans.. But what do I know I just started doing them. Nice to see new logs popping up. Good luck.
Thanks. The thing with the cleans is that it's more the technique that's holding me back than the weight or volume. So that's why I do that many reps, focusing more on technique.
If you are focusing on technique, you should do less reps. Every rep should be perfect when you are learning, so I would suggest sets of 3-5 reps at the most.
I guess that makes sense. The way i figured was that ractice makes perfect. So I do more reps with lesser weight. But I'll take your advice and do fewer reps next week.
It's important that every rep is correct. So do a few, then stop. Take a break and do a few more. Don't worry too much about the weight.
Ok thanks man, I'll keep that in mind next week! As for todays workout: I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night and it just didn't seem to be a good day for me today, so I was a bit worried when going to the gym. Thankfully I did manage to get a decent work out. First some light squats to warm up a little: 1x12x20kg 1x8x60kg 1x8x80kg SOHP: 1x8x40kg 1x6x50kg 1x5x60kg 2x1x65kg Bench: 1x8x60kg 1x6x80kg 4x5x85kg Dips: 3x8xBW I had some energy left so I did some incline DB presses: 3x6x22,5kg And then some more squats: 1x8x70kg 1x5x90kg And then some uphill running.
Squat day: Back Squat: 1x20x20kg 1x12x60kg 1x10x80kg 1x4x100kg 1x3x105kg 1x2x115kg (I did get the second rep, but it was more of a GM) 2x4x100kg 2x6x80kg Front Squat: 1x5x80kg 1x5x70kg On about the third rep the bar sort of slipped, which hurt my wrist, so I continued wit Zercher Squats: 1x5x80kg 1x5x90kg Also, does anyone have any good advice as to what to do as a cooling down after squats, just to keep my muscles from cramping up right after squats? (Hoping this is a bit clear, since I don't really know how to describe what I mean
I ride the stationary bike for about 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I do some light leg extensions aswell. I find that they help minimize DOMS.
If it's muscle cramps, look to get the proper potassium, hydration, etc. If it's just tightness, stretch right after your workout, while your muscles are still warm.
Ok, thanks. I do ride the stationary bike, but only for 5 minutes or so, maybe doing that a bit longer would be better. Stretching seems like a good idea as well. That's one thing I neglect way too often.
Pull day: Power cleans: 3x4x60kg Clean & Press: 3x2x60kg BB Snatch: 1x4x60kg Snatch Grip Deadlift: 1x6x100kg 4x4x120kg Rack Pulls: 2x1x180kg 1x0x200kg (couldn't lock it out) 2x1x180kg Bill Starr Shrugs: 4x4x135kg I had a real hard time holding on to the bar on the last couple of reps, doing pretty much all DOH stuff really fucked up my grip. BOR: 3x8x80kg
Well, I'm still alive, but it was quite a lot of volume. I did feel pretty good about myself afterwards though.
It's because I still need to get a lot stronger, but thanks for the encouragement. So since tomorrow and thursday are both national holidays on which my gym is closed, I had to do my pushing today instead of tomorrow. That kind of sucked, because I wasn't feeling to well this morning. Anyway, for the workout: Push Press: 1x5x60kg 1x3x70kg 2x1x80kg 0x1x90kg (Almost got it) 1x3x70kg Bench: 1x5x70kg 5x5x80kg Dips: 5x8xBW After that some light incline stuff and some running and then I called it a day and went home.
Today I woke up feeling like shit and still really tire. I decided to go to the gym anyway, which of course resulted in a pretty bad squatting session. Back Squats: 1x20x20kg 1x10x60kg 5x5x80kg Zercher Squats: 5x5x80kg I just felt extremely weak throughout the entire workout, but at least I finished it. Days like this still suck though.
After being sick for the past couple of days I went back to the gym today. The only fucked up thing was that somehow i did something yesterday which caused my right shoulder to bother me. Clean & Press: 3x3x60kg 1x1x80kg My form kind of suffered from the pain in my shoulder in these, but stupid as I am, I decided to try 80kg once again. This caused me to pull a muscle in my back. Damnit. I still decided to try some deadlifts, which felt okay up until a certain point. So I decided to go for a PR. Deadlift: 1x3x120kg 1x1x180kg (10kg PR, 4 plates!!) 2x1x160kg Then I decided that maybe I shouldn't go on pulling stuff and go easy on my back. So I did some squats. But of course, having the weight on my back also hurt. Which didn't stop me from trying to set another PR. Back Squat: 1x6x60kg 1x4x100kg 1x0x140kg (hey, 3 plates would have been cool, but I failed) 2x1x120kg 2x3x100kg I decided to stop, went for a 15min run and went home.
Thanks man! I guess it's just easy to feel weak around here, which is a good thing, since it'll only make me push harder.
