Tim's Journeyman Log

[tim290280]

I'm back in training after the Xmas break. I've decided that if I am going to become a one man hunting machine that can take down Santa, I will need to hit some heavy weights, and develop some more power.

With that my new program will have more hamstring emphasis, more overhead work (gotta be able to polax ~350lbs), and incorporate power days and olympic lifts. The power days will be jumping, clap pushups and pushup walks, and explosive chins.

So today was my initiation day into the new program starting Monday. I've got to practice these olympic lifts a bit, get used to them and find some working weights. Cleans worked easily, though dropping the bar is not good, need to be able to rack the bar (I'm lifting on the 'lawn' so that I don't hit the roof, nor smash the bricks). The jerk part, well putting weight overhead is harder than getting it to the shoulder, I'm clearly missing something here. Snatches, well I'm much better at the dumbbell version, which means I'm not even good enough to suck.

I finished with some beachbody moves. Its summer after all, gotta have some bi's........

 

[tim290280]

The new routine that starts today.....
superset - exercise - sets - reps
Day 1
A1 Clean and Jerk 3x3-4
A2 Stiff Leg Dead 4x6
B1 Front Squat 5x5
B2 Donkey calf 5x5
C1 Incline bench 3x10
C2 Chinup 3x10
D1 Incline bicep
D2 Tri pressups
D3 Wrist roller (2.5" bar)

Day 2
A1 Snatch 3x3-4
A2 1 arm bench 2-3x8 (warmup for bench)
A2 DB Calf 3x8
B1 Bench 4x6
B2 DB row 4x6
C1 Lunge 3x10
C2 Hammy curl 3x10
D1 BB bicep
D2 Skull crusher
D3 Wrist curl

Day 3
A1 Clean (warmup for deadlifts)
A1 Deadlift 4x5
A2 Overhead press 3x8
B1 Rack lockout 4x6
B2 Single leg SLDL 3x8
C1 Pullup 4x6
C2 Bulgarian squat 3x8
D1 Bi DB
D2 Tri DB OH
D3 Grippers.

Day 4
Swim 30mins

Day 5
Hill run 5-10mins

Day 6
Box jump or vertical leap or broad jump
Clap pushups
Fatman pullups (clap)
3-4 sets of each, low reps.

Days 1-3 will be spread over Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Day 4 will be either Thursday or Friday, with days 5&6 on the other free days as I see fit.

 

[Glex]

Interesting. Good luck getting used to the new lifts and with the new program.

Fatmans (fatmen?) suck as it is, let alone with claps. Have fun on Day 6

 

[tim290280]

Thanks Glex!

I was really sapped for energy doing the first day. Arms may turn into elbow protection work instead (20+ reps with an inner tube). I think the lack of energy is down to having a power move that I had only just practiced on the weekend for the first time.

Day 6 is meant to be a 5-10min thing just to keep me progressing on my knee and supplement my power moves. So shouldn't suck too much.....

 

[Glex]

Yeah, it didn't look like it'd be very long, but still, I'd almost rather put in an hour at the gym than do 10 minutes of jumping and pullups, lol. Jumping drills during volleyball always sucked

What kind of swimming do you do, by the by? Anything set or just 30 minutes of light cardio and to hit some other muscles?

Take care of that arm and knee!

 

[tim290280]

The swimming is basically just laps for 30mins. I do a lap of freestyle, then come back with a lap of breastroke. Considering I swim like a brick, this is actually quite challenging to do back to back laps. So it is actually meant to be a fitness thing, but also to help with my knee, give the back a break from loaded exercise, and gives me an excuse to have my pale skin shown off to strangers.

I'd almost rather put in an hour at the gym than do 10 minutes of jumping and pullups

I love the plyometrics, but they do make you pay pretty quickly!

 

[Glex]

Weird thing about swimming is that it really doesn't get any easier the better you get. It's great exercise even if you're don't have the best form; especially if you're wearing swim trunks instead of a speedo

I don't know if this will help your knee, hurt it, or not affect it, but if your pool has kickboards they're good for training. Interval training with kickboards is tough, or you can just use 'em to warm up.

 

[tim290280]

^ I've made the mistake of doing laps with a kickboard after a previous days leg workout..... Needless to say I cramped up like a hooker on the rags.

I was actually thinking that at some stage that I'd get better at this swimming thing, and then it would be easier to do. Must be that all those people who can swim just make it look easy (they just seem to glide without actually pulling hard).

I did the hill sprints yesterday, and they felt good. Aside from 5min of exercise making me gasp like a fat man chasing a donut rolling down a hill, I was pretty happy. I haven't done a lot of cardio stuff in a few months, so being able to not kill myself is a good thing.

 

[Glex]

LOL. I feel the same way...it took me something ridiculous like 45 minutes for 3 miles today.

As far as the swimming thing goes...it's hard to explain. It's not really about how hard you pull but how smart you pull. If you watch a good swimmer you'll see them rotate their body to stretch out their arms in front of them, then they finish with their arms by their sides. So they might not even be pulling as hard as you are, but they're more hydrodynamic and are pulling on more water each stroke.

The trade-off, of course, is that when you learn how to do that, you go farther with each stroke, so you have to keep doing more and more laps to get the same workout. That's why swimming doesn't really get easier, lol.

Anyway, anyone can learn how to do that. Even after a week of instruction (and buying a speedo ) you'd be surprised at how much faster you get.

 

[tim290280]

I'll stick with the boardies thanks! Speedos are just advertising that the water is actually cold.

 

[tim290280]

Well it turns out that I don't suck as much at the snatches as I thought I did. I still suck (until I can do a 100kg snatch I'm going to say that I suck), but I've started to get the idea of how to move that bar, and move my body around it to catch it in the air.

You see thats what is great about weightlifting (olympic lifting to noobs). Its not about lifting, its about throwing a great big weight in the air and catching it at the right time.

That and you get to say "I do Snatches." with a big grin on your face.

The biggest problem I'm having at the moment is that these fullbody routines are taking a long time to complete. The actual exercises are fine, its the setting up and changing over in the home gym. Where as you'd just finish up with the squats and leave all the weight on the bar and walk over to the dumbbell rack to scatter some dumbbells over the floor (thats what everyone else seems to do in gyms I visit), in a home gym you have to strip all the plates off and then transfer over to the next exercise. So as a result my workouts are taking around 80mins (including warmups). Upper/lower were taking around 50mins with warmups.......

Oh well I enjoy lifting too much to gripe over that sort of stuff. Something about knowing that the immoveable object in front of you can be commanded to leap into the air by order of your muscles, that is very satisfying.

 

[tim290280]

Iron and water don't mix. So why does a man of iron (indulge my fantasy) seek out a large body of water to paddle in? Especially a body of water that is tanked to the brim with eye burning chlorine, small urinating children, and old people that are gradually soaking up the water into their dry wrinkled skin.

Well, iron is unforgiving, it is a test of yours, and my, mettle. In this weekly battle with an opponent that is greater than our soft and supple flesh (some more supple than others: I choose to call them women, and like them to retain a certain suppleness) we must admit that every battle will have consequences. So it is important to have a release from battle, a romp in the royal harem of sorts.

So I swim, walk the dog, run some hills, and keep the missus happy. I suck at swimming, but it is another battle that I can expect not to take such a toll on my body. The warrior battles on, and hopefully will do so for many years.

Now get the fuck out of my lane kid!

 

[Glex]

Now get the fuck out of my lane kid!

I know the feeling

How many snatches do you do at once? 8-12?

 

[tim290280]

How many snatches do you do at once? 8-12?

I try to keep it to a couple at a time......... Oh you mean the exercise!

Maybe I should clear up how many sets/reps and weight I use. Seems that CJU and Pegasus think that I'm hiding a weak bench by not posting numbers. Well just to spite them I won't ever post my lifts again in this log. So far I have occasionally included lift numbers when it was prominant to the workout (like when I was touring the USA and messed up what I was supposed to be lifting), but no longer.

Or maybe I should calculate an equation for converting actual lifts into internet lifts..... I could sell it at BBing forums internet wide. I could then morph into a 16yr old, MMA fighter, weighing 260lbs at 2% BF year round, with gym lifts of 900x10 bench, 850x10 squat (because I squat more than I bench and am proud of it), and deadlift 1000 and just rep out.

 

[Banshee20]

I like your log Timmy! Errr....I guess that sounds a little odd, but oh well.

Very entertaining convo between you and Glex. Looks like a fun new routine. I look forward to following along and good luck!

Banshee

 

[Glex]

I try to keep it to a couple at a time......... Oh you mean the exercise!

Nope!

LOL at internet lifts...if I take that equation in reverse I'm a 260 pound, 40% bodyfat, 40 year old living in his parent's basement. Don't let it get to you man, you obviously know your shit.

 

[tim290280]

I like your log Timmy! Errr....I guess that sounds a little odd, but oh well.

Very entertaining convo between you and Glex. Looks like a fun new routine. I look forward to following along and good luck!

Banshee

Thanks Banshee! Its fun to do something a bit different (both log wise and routine wise).

LOL at internet lifts...if I take that equation in reverse I'm a 260 pound, 40% bodyfat, 40 year old living in his parent's basement. Don't let it get to you man, you obviously know your shit.

I wrote an article on my webpage about internet lifts. I think it was based on the signatures at the elitefitness.com forums. All of them had how big and strong they were, and a lot were supposedly at 1-2% BF! LOL In the reverse I'm 110lb skinny fat 40yr old virgin, living in a cardboard box outside the office that I work in. I lift the huge weights they have in the office gym. Those 5lb DB's are hard work on deadlifts.

Its easy enough to spot a fake, its in the balance of strength. If you have a big lift then you can expect certain other lifts to be in proportion (e.g. squats and lunges). I just hate being associated with liars and deceivers by "kids".

 

[tim290280]

I went to the doctor the other day. Apparently I am iron deficient from the holiday season. He prescribed a higher dose of lifting to bring up my levels, and recommended a personal trainer to help with my intake.

I decided to get the generic brand of personal trainer, as I think otherwise you pay a lot of money for exactly the same product. The dose of the personal trainer was 3x8 for flys, situps and curls, to be taken directly before a meal.

I wasn't entirely happy with this treatment so I saw a specialist. They recommended I go in for a periodised high volume iron loading. Its a tricky procedure but I have already had a week of it under my belt. Fortunately the remedy seems to suit me so far, with the added Olympic movements really benefiting my shoulders.

Second week in and I wasn't sure whether to add weight to the C&J or to keep practicing the skills. Still seems hard to get the jerk right, and my wrists are getting sore on the catch. So I might practice this one with lighter weights a bit more (like everyday).

Getting through the leg exercises was a challenge. Really finding front squats tough, after not having done these for awhile I seem to struggle keeping the bar on the shoulders rather than the actual squatting giving me issues.

Finally moved onto my last dose of inclines and chins. They were better than last week, and the dead hang seems to be a lot more challenging than I thought it would be.

I think the Doc will be impressed, especially if I keep the intake up. Hopefully he won't need to keep checking my prostate now.

 

[Glex]

I've got to stop reading your posts so seriously at first. "Iron deficient? Red meat and vitamins should...oh..."

I haven't done front squats in a long time...if I want to breathe the bar slips off my shoulders, and if I jam it so far into my neck that it doesn't slip I get a 50% blocked windpipe.

 

[tim290280]

^^ Yeh my front squats are good for the first half of the set, and then I either choke myself (not as pleasurable as people make out) or have the thing rolling forward off my shoulders.

Although I was just reading about a trick to help with doing them. Get some staps and tie them around the bar and hold them instead (so that you keep your arms higher). I don't even own straps so I'll have to find some rope.