Tim's Journeyman Log

[TJ]

Well I do work mostly at a desk........ Oh, right

Well that still doesn't explain my crap form.


PV: Thanks dude. I'm liking how good the squats are going. I needed to keep the session short so I added in that last continuous rep set so that I didn't have to do another 5 sets. But have to say that the continuous rep set is not good for my knee, the "breathing" or paused reps I do are much better.

Well, I'm not sure what's wrong with your form but if you're sitting down a lot then your body might be making some small adjustments which, in turn, could affect your form. I mean, it could just be strait up bad form/motor patterns but it could be the sitting. I don't really follow anyones logs but what's wrong with your form?

 

[tim290280]

^^ Basically in the clean I'm not getting under the second pull correctly and racking it cleanly on the shoulder. Basically once the weight gets a bit heavy I stop pulling myself under the bar enough and end up leant forward a bit and catching the bar in the hand as much as on the shoulder. This then sets me up for a poor jerk. The jerk is usually ok, but once again I don't get under it enough.

I'm not sure if I'm partly protecting myself from going too low (ironic considering the power style lift) or if I'm not getting a good hip pull on the bar. I place it mainly down to the lack of getting under the bar. In snatches this is less of an issue as I do tend to get a good hip pull. If you check the video you'll see that I finish in a power stance, not a full squat for the the snatch. But I did get a good hip pull on the bar and get under it nicely.

Guess I'm unsure as to whether to go to a full squat style or just work on the power style and pulling myself under the bar properly......

Oh and I agree that my sitting down a lot of the day doesn't help. Hammys have been quite tight of late, in part due to the injury, in part because of the extra training to get them right, in part because they do nothing else.

 

[tim290280]

Zigurd: Hope that the C&J works for you. Trick is to practice the technique a lot before bothering adding weight to the bar. Good way to practice is to use the C&J as a warm-up for deadlifts, or use it to shoulder the bar for shoulder presses.

Roberthino: Good to see someone else doing weightlifting stuff! I've found that the snatch jerks can be a bit dangerous, that is why I don't do the heavier stuff for more than 1 or 2 reps. I've seen guys bust out 5 rep sets but I just see issues with control of the bar.

TJ: Always a pleasure dude. What did you think of my snatches?

Didn't post the workout I did last night. And didn't train this evening due to a meeting running long and travel.

Warmups (I'll write some of them down for a change)

Rope jump
Cuban presses
W holds
Lunges
OH squats
GMs
SLDLs
rack pushups
lat pulls
Rope stretch/broomsticks (take grip and move hands from front to back of body)
Leg swings
Arm swings
Band tricep ext
Band L-fly

Snatches
20kg x5
40kg x5
60kg x2
70kg x2
75kg x1
60kg x2
75kg x1
65kg x2
77.5kg x1
65kg x1
80kg x1

Chinups
BW x5
20kg x3
40kg x2
50kg x2
50kg x2
50kg x2
50kg x2
50kg x2

Seated DB OHP
22kg x5
32kg x5
37kg x5
37kg x4
37kg x4

Close grip rack lockouts
60kg x5
80kg x2
100kg x2
115kg x5
115kg x5
115kg x3 (arms absolutely fried by now)

Bicep curls
40kg x8
45kg x6 (biceps fried)

Soundtrack:

 

[PrinceVegeta]

Strong session man!

 

[tim290280]

^^ Check out the video:

Couple of things I've noticed:
My right leg trails along. Clearly my right hammy isn't doing the basic work it should be.
I'm doing a bit of kipping here (even though it wouldn't be effective due to the weight and would only really result in swing) which is odd, considering the footage the other night had none.

 

[tim290280]

Did cardio this evening.

35mins and 7000m on the rowing machine all at the hardest setting.

Actually felt quite good. Either fitter than I thought or I wasn't rowing hard enough. Either way next time I'll aim to do the 7000m or so a bit quicker.

 

[Hypocrisy86]

keep up the good work man, congrats on the cardio

 

[Lionheart]

I love those chins.Heavy stuff bro,keep it up!

 

[El Freako]

^^ Check out the video:

Max?

 

[PrinceVegeta]

Solid cardio man!

@ Freako: ....dont insult Timbo like that!!

 

[TJ]

TJ: Always a pleasure dude. What did you think of my snatches?

Are you talking about the video on the page before this? I'll be honest; I would never feel confident giving advice on any of the Olympic lifts aside from the very basics (like keeping the back flat, weight on heels, leg drive, etc). So, with that in mind, I think it looked okay. lol. Only thing I noticed was a little bit of flexion when you were squatting down but when you got into position it looked like you were arched.

Do you do any static stretches at night?

 

[tim290280]

Hypo: I actually think I'm getting fitter. Which should be all good.

Lionheart: I had to video these for posterity. I've gotta get more of my best lifts or good lifts on video.

ElFreako: I hope you mean you want to see me do a 1RM...... :bball:

PV: I'm surprised in how much I've improved on cardio. I need the fitness.

TJ: I'm lax with how often I stretch in the evenings. I do some hammys, chest and spinal deloads every evening before bed (all the stuff that tightens up from sitting all day) but a proper stretching session happens a bit ad hoc. And yeh the sitting position before the set is all about getting down and relaxed, I noticed a lot of weightlifters do this and it was in the book I'm reading so I'm copying it.

 

[TJ]

Hypo: I actually think I'm getting fitter. Which should be all good.

Lionheart: I had to video these for posterity. I've gotta get more of my best lifts or good lifts on video.

ElFreako: I hope you mean you want to see me do a 1RM...... :bball:

PV: I'm surprised in how much I've improved on cardio. I need the fitness.

TJ: I'm lax with how often I stretch in the evenings. I do some hammys, chest and spinal deloads every evening before bed (all the stuff that tightens up from sitting all day) but a proper stretching session happens a bit ad hoc. And yeh the sitting position before the set is all about getting down and relaxed, I noticed a lot of weightlifters do this and it was in the book I'm reading so I'm copying it.

What about hip flexors? Have you ever tried the psoas stretch? You get down in the lung position (for the sake of argument lets say the left leg is trailing and the right leg is leading). Squeeze your left glute and think of driving your hips forward; instead of just sinking forward like most people do. Then, once you get a gentle stretch in the left hip flexor you will reach over your head with your left hand (think of trying to reach over your head and touch your right ear). I'm sure you know but tight hip flexors prevent the hips from rotating which will force the back into flexion. Like I said, your is not bad but it would probably be a good idea to work on it.

Also, since you're sitting a lot spider-man lunges would be a good idea as part of your dynamic stretching.

Or, warrior lung:

Glute activation would also be good prior to training (glute-bridge, side clams and X-band walks)

Not sure if you already do this since I don't follow logs everyday.

 

[tim290280]

^^ I have been doing a variation on the lunge for hip flexor stretching and thighs. But like I said not that regularly.

I might have to try the spidermans out in the warmup. My current lunge in the dynamics is probably not doing enough.

I'm actually not trying for glute activation too much. I actually have a naturally big ass, which is overactive (most of the time). So it makes it really hard to get hamstring involvement in most pulling movements. As a result my hammy development trials behind my glutes and thighs. So most of my activation work is about getting the hammys going and then getting the rest to work with them.

 

[Big VIC]

Kinda off topic But hows your dog timmy?

 

[Pickle]

nice vids tim. i approve of your snatches and the chins on the previous page. your 50kg chins looked a bit max monster ish but then i supposed ill let it slide when ur pulling 50kg. xoxo

 

[tim290280]

Kinda off topic But hows your dog timmy?

Dog strained her (equivilent of a) knee back before Xmas but is back to 100%. She did gain a bit of weight though so we had to lean her out a bit. Still a lean mean ball chasing machine though.

nice vids tim. i approve of your snatches and the chins on the previous page. your 50kg chins looked a bit max monster ish but then i supposed ill let it slide when ur pulling 50kg. xoxo

:crymeariver:

I actually hit my chin on the bar on the second rep....

I think the thing is though that I usually am pulling higher than that as I try to get my clavicles to the bar. So my heaviest and lamest looking reps, while getting the chin to the bar do look a bit lameo. Plus I've got the kip and head thrust going

 

[TJ]

Sounds good Timbo. I also forgot to mention the rectus femoris stretch which would be good as well.

 

[tim290280]

^^ And IT band stretches...... Oh the list goes on. Stupid sitting down work!

Ok just finishedmy workout. This was my first workout using SuperPump 250. Yes I have travelled to the pointless side of supplements
Braaq made a point about taking NO supps that resonated with me. Basically they are meant to give you more energy and pep you up and give you a better workout, and any extra muscle growth is incidental or related to training just a bit better. Considering how flat I've felt prior to workouts for awhile now it seemed like a good idea (although really expensive in comparison to a caffeine pill) so I'm trialling it to see if it does help get over the flatness.

My review of SuperPump 250 Lemon Burst flavour so far:

Mixability in water - clumped to shit and floated mainly on top. Eventually got most of it to mix.

Taste - had to check that I hadn't accidentally mixed in the lemon scented dishwashing detergent. Overpowering is the term, although not terrible.

Aftertaste - tangy back of mouth feel that you get from sucking a real lemon.

Effects - had a slight headache and tired feeling leading in which disappeared about 30mins after ingestion. Didn't feel to have any more energy nor the magical tingling people talk about nor did I have the skin tearing pump. I did notice though that I did train a little bit more this evening and (prepare for my obligatory n=1 anecdotal statement) could feel my muscles becoming fatigued at the end of sets.

Conclusion - the jury is still out. Will need many uses, especially on some days when I'm unmotivated and tired from work.

The workout:

Warmups

C&J - practicing form more than anything
20kg x5
40kg x5
60kg x4
60kg x4
60kg x4

Squat
60kg x3
100kg x3
120kg x3
135kg x3
135kg x3
135kg x2
135kg x2
120kg x4

Single leg Donkey calf raise (+10 reps both legs before each set)
40kg x10
50kg x8
50kg x8
50kg x8

Split squat
100kg x6

Single leg Hammy curl
20kg x5

Standing single leg calf raise
37kg x8

Soundtrack:

 

[raggamuffini]

Great workout! I find your log very interesting with all the different (from what i do) exercises
Also i totaly agree with Braaq about the benefits of NO supplements as Superpump 250. It has been clinically proven that NO products have no real effect on mouscle growth as them selves, but still many people find those products worth the money for some other reason.
I myself don't believe in NO products' benefits (as NO products), but still I have found Superpump 250 very usable. For some reason I can't get the same feeling of energy with selfmade caffeine, taurine, beta alanine etc. mixtures.
I hate paying the money for a product that i really don't believe in..(at least the same way and for the same reason it is marketed)
The only reason why I still occasionally buy this kind of products is that for me they make my training a bit more fun. I really don't even think that the effect on my training would be significant enough to affect my results even in the long run.
So is it worth the money? No, not from the functional point of view. But at least for me they sometimes might be due to the effect they have on my energy levels and mentality.

I hope I did'nt sound like a complete moron