Vanity Log: how much in a year?
- Thread starter mrthingyx
- Start date
Lovely bar rattle on triple extension
Snatch worked looked very speedy!
Heh - thanks.
Snatch has become a LOT faster since I re-worked the technique (suspect some problem with the camera, too.
): getting the same benefits out of the clean is slightly more challenging because the hip contact (as such) is not as... err... clean.It does, however, mean that I can get under the bar more readily as I'm less on my toes after the second pull. I guess this means that a full clean can be closer in weight - consistently - to my front squat, but I'm not going to sell that one yet.
Urgh... arms and upper back again, today, as I'm off to ASIAPAC for 9 days () for work.
Wanted to get some back squats in first, but the coach turned up early... so it was more sets of arms.
BOR ss/w WIDE GRIP CHINS 4*10
BOR: 40kg (this was probably too light for me);
CHINS: BW
I say the BORs were too light, but the chins absolutely hammered me. Lots of 5/10 second rests mid set for them as my lats just stopped working.
STANDING OHP ss/w TRICEP PUSHDOWN 4*10
OHP: 42.5kg
TRICEP: setting whatever...
This was unpleasant. OHP ruined my arms and shoulders, and then the push-downs just set everything on fire. Last set of push-downs involved a fair bit of physics, but there we go.
CLOSE GRIP PULLUPS ss/w FAT GRIPZ 21s 4*10 and 4*21...
Ow. FatGripz just made my forearms want to fall off...
LAT RAISE INVERSE PYRAMID 10-(14-12-10)
10-10-6-4
Did a set whilst the coach was finishing off his last set of 21s and then went straight into the pyramid with around a minute's rest.
Will try and do some proper lifting either tonight or first thing tomorrow, depending on time... I might just go for one session of leg blitzing to tide me over with DOMS until I get back next week. Not sure if it will work (theory is good), as sitting on a plane for 10hrs with glute, ham and quad DOMS does not appeal,
Arm pump was silly.
() for work.Wanted to get some back squats in first, but the coach turned up early... so it was more sets of arms.
BOR ss/w WIDE GRIP CHINS 4*10
BOR: 40kg (this was probably too light for me);
CHINS: BW
I say the BORs were too light, but the chins absolutely hammered me. Lots of 5/10 second rests mid set for them as my lats just stopped working.
STANDING OHP ss/w TRICEP PUSHDOWN 4*10
OHP: 42.5kg
TRICEP: setting whatever...
This was unpleasant. OHP ruined my arms and shoulders, and then the push-downs just set everything on fire. Last set of push-downs involved a fair bit of physics, but there we go.
CLOSE GRIP PULLUPS ss/w FAT GRIPZ 21s 4*10 and 4*21...
Ow. FatGripz just made my forearms want to fall off...
LAT RAISE INVERSE PYRAMID 10-(14-12-10)
10-10-6-4
Did a set whilst the coach was finishing off his last set of 21s and then went straight into the pyramid with around a minute's rest.
Will try and do some proper lifting either tonight or first thing tomorrow, depending on time... I might just go for one session of leg blitzing to tide me over with DOMS until I get back next week. Not sure if it will work (theory is good), as sitting on a plane for 10hrs with glute, ham and quad DOMS does not appeal,
Arm pump was silly.
Poverty workout in poverty hotel gym this evening!
Dum bells maxed out at 15kg, and they had two benches together with some lat pull down cantilever thing, a cruddy chest press and some leg extension things...
So a bro workout it was...
DBSS 5*8
BW-5-10-15-15
Funny how flying for ten hours causes my adductors to snarl up so tight... Sets were agony on the left leg as a result.
LAT PULLDOWN THING ss/w CHEST PRESS 3*8
Bottom of the stack for both, whatever that was. Pump was good, but chest press just felt so wrong being deprived of decent ROM...
LAT RAISES ss/w SINGLE ARM STANDING DUMBELL PRESS 3*10/8
LR: 10kg
OHP: 15kg
Pump, burn, and that was it.
Crikey I miss my gym. Going to hit it all the harder with these hypertrophied gains, though!
China tomorrow... Plus added 'roids!
Cortisol is a steroid...
Dum bells maxed out at 15kg, and they had two benches together with some lat pull down cantilever thing, a cruddy chest press and some leg extension things...
So a bro workout it was...
DBSS 5*8
BW-5-10-15-15
Funny how flying for ten hours causes my adductors to snarl up so tight... Sets were agony on the left leg as a result.
LAT PULLDOWN THING ss/w CHEST PRESS 3*8
Bottom of the stack for both, whatever that was. Pump was good, but chest press just felt so wrong being deprived of decent ROM...
LAT RAISES ss/w SINGLE ARM STANDING DUMBELL PRESS 3*10/8
LR: 10kg
OHP: 15kg
Pump, burn, and that was it.
Crikey I miss my gym. Going to hit it all the harder with these hypertrophied gains, though!
China tomorrow... Plus added 'roids!
Cortisol is a steroid...
Back in the Uk after a cortisol and MSG-fuelled trip around ASIAPAC, dropping my gains out through my lower intestine thanks to some dodgy airline food, and stuck with hotel gyms only until Sunday night...
Today was going to be awesome.
POWER SNATCH FROM HIP 3-3-3-3-3
40-60-70-70-75
BOOM! 75kg was heavy, but it went up without much of a fight... I am happy with that.
PB with the new technique... Just have to get some more time under the bar to work the transition to full catch. Also shredding the callus on my right hand, hanks to the bar... The thing doesn't have knurling, it has teeth... This also meant no cleans...
75kg set. It is long with much faffing about, so be warned.
FRONT SQUAT 5-5-3-3
60-90-100-102.5(2f)
Ah. Now I see where my gains had gone...
HIGH BAR BACK SQUAT 3-3-3
90-100-100
Yup. Still gone.
Great to get back into my gym... Now I just have to start eating and sleeping properly!
Today was going to be awesome.
POWER SNATCH FROM HIP 3-3-3-3-3
40-60-70-70-75
BOOM! 75kg was heavy, but it went up without much of a fight... I am happy with that.
PB with the new technique... Just have to get some more time under the bar to work the transition to full catch. Also shredding the callus on my right hand, hanks to the bar... The thing doesn't have knurling, it has teeth... This also meant no cleans...
75kg set. It is long with much faffing about, so be warned.
FRONT SQUAT 5-5-3-3
60-90-100-102.5(2f)
Ah. Now I see where my gains had gone...
HIGH BAR BACK SQUAT 3-3-3
90-100-100
Yup. Still gone.
Great to get back into my gym... Now I just have to start eating and sleeping properly!
Welcome back
Those power snatches, fuarrrr. Love it.
Thanks, buddy. It is funny how snatches are such a technique-bound lift, because it is clear they are not based my outright strength...
Last night...
SNATCH FIRST PULL 5*5
60-90-130-130-130-130
Was trying to find a decent weight and then just decided to load the bar with everything I could easily find. Wow, that was heavy!
Position over the bar got better as the sets went on, strangely, as my body s,only realised how to balance with this sort of weight...SLDL 3*5
140-140-140
Because this was clearly a good idea after the first pulls.
Could feel my core wobbling all over the place, so decided to bail. Massive erector pump!OHP 4*5
50-52.5-55-57.5 4+pp)
Yep - conditioning is all gone. Need more heavy stuff to really push this, and more - ironically - heavy push-presses. Still happy with the weights considering I have had a bad week off, but it's just one of those things, I guess.
Eurgh. Trained last night just to rework my front squats and re-drill the technique, but my back was still fried from the snatch first pulls on Saturday eek... as a result, these didn't really work too well. Pretty frustrating, but there we go...
60*5
80*5
90*4
100*2
60*5
90*3
Upper back was just exhausted. Will look at re-working the 'programme' so that I'm squatting differently to prevent too much fatigue, as I don't think I'm getting enough rest/recovery.
Today's training...
Hypertrophy with the coach.
OHP ss/w CG PULLUPS 4*10
OHP: 44kg
CGPU: BW
For some reason, this 'bodybuilding' lark is painful - sure - but it feels so much easier for me than proper (
) strength training. These were horrid, but amusing that the weight was up by 4kg on the OHP, despite the complete deload from the last two weeks.
INCLINE BENCH ss/w DUMBELL ROWS 4*10
INCLINE: 55kg
ROWS: 30kg
Yuk! I haven't done incline bench for over a year and wow that was uncomfortable! Rows were a bit easy, but I seem to be a puller rather than a pusher...
TRICEP PUSHDOWN ss/w 21s 4*10
I'm pretty sure I felt one of my triceps detach itself doing the pushdowns... it was bloody murder! 21s were horrid as always, but we made it.
LAT RAISE REVERSE PYRAMID 2*(10-12-14)
(12-8-6)-(10-6-4)
This was baaaaaaaaaaaad. I felt like I wanted to be sick as I racked the 4kg dumbells back up... not sure if it was because I saw myself struggling to lift a 4kg dumbell or because my body was ready to implode.
Pump was ridiculous. I think I will see if I can persuade the coach he wants to go for 'The Steedie' leg workout on Thursday...
eek... as a result, these didn't really work too well. Pretty frustrating, but there we go...60*5
80*5
90*4
100*2
60*5
90*3
Upper back was just exhausted. Will look at re-working the 'programme' so that I'm squatting differently to prevent too much fatigue, as I don't think I'm getting enough rest/recovery.
Today's training...
Hypertrophy with the coach.
OHP ss/w CG PULLUPS 4*10
OHP: 44kg
CGPU: BW
For some reason, this 'bodybuilding' lark is painful - sure - but it feels so much easier for me than proper (
) strength training. These were horrid, but amusing that the weight was up by 4kg on the OHP, despite the complete deload from the last two weeks.INCLINE BENCH ss/w DUMBELL ROWS 4*10
INCLINE: 55kg
ROWS: 30kg
Yuk! I haven't done incline bench for over a year and wow that was uncomfortable! Rows were a bit easy, but I seem to be a puller rather than a pusher...
TRICEP PUSHDOWN ss/w 21s 4*10
I'm pretty sure I felt one of my triceps detach itself doing the pushdowns... it was bloody murder! 21s were horrid as always, but we made it.
LAT RAISE REVERSE PYRAMID 2*(10-12-14)
(12-8-6)-(10-6-4)
This was baaaaaaaaaaaad. I felt like I wanted to be sick as I racked the 4kg dumbells back up... not sure if it was because I saw myself struggling to lift a 4kg dumbell or because my body was ready to implode.
Pump was ridiculous. I think I will see if I can persuade the coach he wants to go for 'The Steedie' leg workout on Thursday...
A bit of technique, today, so covered both snatch, clean and front squat...
SNATCH (FROM FLOOR + 2 HANG) 3-3-3-3-3
40-60-70-70-70
Tried 80kg, but it wouldn't budge. 70kg is a good working range at the moment: felt heavy enough to be uncomfortable, but easy enough to get a good shape.
Full catches are absolute MURDER on legs, too!
CLEAN (FROM FLOOR + 2 HANG 3-3-3-3-3
60-80-80-80-80
Not particularly taxing, but I'm working on a decent catch position for these. 80kg is very easy for me to powerclean, but that wasn't the point of this exercise. However, this was pretty sore on my legs, making a brilliantly horrid segway into...
FRONT SQUAT 5-3-5-5-5-5
60-70-95-95-95(3+2)-95(4+1)
Urgh. Current nemesis. Back just gets destroyed by cleans and snatches. It would probably help if I dropped these to triples, but I'm a stubborn idiot.
OHP 5-5-5-5
40(WU)-55-55-57.5-57.5(4+PP)
Oooooh you b*gger!
Overall, I'm finding my front squat a bit annoying - it really seems to get hammered by some tiny changes in routine (i.e. sub-optimal eating, breaks in training, etc.), so will just keep batting at it. Legs feel worked, however, so clearly something was right.
Will probably do some more core work as well this afternoon to try and keep my back in good condition, but might leave it until tomorrow.
SNATCH (FROM FLOOR + 2 HANG) 3-3-3-3-3
40-60-70-70-70
Tried 80kg, but it wouldn't budge.
70kg is a good working range at the moment: felt heavy enough to be uncomfortable, but easy enough to get a good shape.Full catches are absolute MURDER on legs, too!
CLEAN (FROM FLOOR + 2 HANG 3-3-3-3-3
60-80-80-80-80
Not particularly taxing, but I'm working on a decent catch position for these. 80kg is very easy for me to powerclean, but that wasn't the point of this exercise. However, this was pretty sore on my legs, making a brilliantly horrid segway into...
FRONT SQUAT 5-3-5-5-5-5
60-70-95-95-95(3+2)-95(4+1)
Urgh. Current nemesis. Back just gets destroyed by cleans and snatches. It would probably help if I dropped these to triples, but I'm a stubborn idiot.
OHP 5-5-5-5
40(WU)-55-55-57.5-57.5(4+PP)
Oooooh you b*gger!
Overall, I'm finding my front squat a bit annoying - it really seems to get hammered by some tiny changes in routine (i.e. sub-optimal eating, breaks in training, etc.), so will just keep batting at it. Legs feel worked, however, so clearly something was right.
Will probably do some more core work as well this afternoon to try and keep my back in good condition, but might leave it until tomorrow.
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Funny session today... was planning on doing some stuff with other stuff, but wound up having a mixed session with a colleague who was on dat der hypertophiez.
PUSH JERK 5*2
60-80-90-90-95-95(1f)
Pow! Core was working well, but still need more legs and more arm powahz! but we'll get there. Arms were spent by the last set...
Then my mate came in...
BENCH 12-10-10
70-70-70
Not too bad - nice that I can still manage this... all about strengthening my tendons, which support my shoulders for the jerks, right?
DUMBELL INCLINE 12-10-10
22.5-22.5-22.5
Ouch. These hurt. A lot.
Then it was back on to my stuff...
LOW BAR BACK SQUAT 5*5
110-110-110-115-115
Lots of grunting. 115 was a fun finisher, so will start here next time.
DBSS 4*5
BW-10-16-22.5 (weights for each hand)
Yessir. Legs were out of it.
Overall, I haven't done much pulling this week, so will probably include some BORs on the weekend workout, together with some wide grip chins.
Wanted to get some jerks in, too, as it's been a while since I last did some. Will probably use this routine as a Thursday base...
Another thing I noticed today was how the effort and movement pattern in deep DBSS is similar to a front squat, so I might change the weighting around on these (i.e. more DBSS and less back squatting), but we'll see how it goes.
Either way, I walked out of that session feeling like a legend with my legs tingling nicely. However, after sitting back at my desk for ten minutes, I have now realised it's going to be a horrid, horrid day.
PUSH JERK 5*2
60-80-90-90-95-95(1f)
Pow! Core was working well, but still need more legs and more arm powahz! but we'll get there. Arms were spent by the last set...
Then my mate came in...
BENCH 12-10-10
70-70-70
Not too bad - nice that I can still manage this... all about strengthening my tendons, which support my shoulders for the jerks, right?
DUMBELL INCLINE 12-10-10
22.5-22.5-22.5
Ouch. These hurt. A lot.
Then it was back on to my stuff...
LOW BAR BACK SQUAT 5*5
110-110-110-115-115
Lots of grunting. 115 was a fun finisher, so will start here next time.
DBSS 4*5
BW-10-16-22.5 (weights for each hand)
Yessir. Legs were out of it.
Overall, I haven't done much pulling this week, so will probably include some BORs on the weekend workout, together with some wide grip chins.
Wanted to get some jerks in, too, as it's been a while since I last did some. Will probably use this routine as a Thursday base...
Another thing I noticed today was how the effort and movement pattern in deep DBSS is similar to a front squat, so I might change the weighting around on these (i.e. more DBSS and less back squatting), but we'll see how it goes.
Either way, I walked out of that session feeling like a legend with my legs tingling nicely. However, after sitting back at my desk for ten minutes, I have now realised it's going to be a horrid, horrid day.
Home gym is great for what I do in it: snatch, clean, squats, rows and deads.
However, there are certain things that require dumbells, bench, whatever that I can't do, such as: bench, DBSS, tendon (isolation) work.
It is nice being able to work out without any concerns over who's going to complain, who's going to sit watching your set until you finish so they can occupy the rack, having people stretch out right behind you, etc., even if I miss the lack of terrified glances from the 'civilians'...
Plus it means I can get my kids involved!
In an ideal world, I'd have enough room overhead to jerk and OHP, but I still have a fully equipped work gym (was in there this morning) to play with...
However, there are certain things that require dumbells, bench, whatever that I can't do, such as: bench, DBSS, tendon (isolation
) work.It is nice being able to work out without any concerns over who's going to complain, who's going to sit watching your set until you finish so they can occupy the rack, having people stretch out right behind you, etc., even if I miss the lack of terrified glances from the 'civilians'...
Plus it means I can get my kids involved!
In an ideal world, I'd have enough room overhead to jerk and OHP, but I still have a fully equipped work gym (was in there this morning) to play with...
Yeah . negatives at 95kg weren't clever. Some nasty, irritated fibres in my anterior delts this morning!
Anyway, was faffing about this morning doing... whatever I was doing... so the session wasn't quite as comprehensive as it should have been.
POWER SNATCH FROM HIP 3-3-3-3-3
40-60-70-80(1ff)-75
Yup. Power is back with the new second pull, which is nice. 80kg went up well for the first two, but I managed to crack myself on the forehead with the third... which curiously highlights a problem with my technique: I'm ducking to catch, not squatting as much as I should.
However, now I'm sure the power is working fine, I have an excuse to restructure the workouts to make sure I'm lifting right as well as hard.
Snatch @ 80kg (long and dull, but skip from 20secs to 1m 5s for the lolz)
HANG CLEAN 3-3-3-3
60-80-90-90
Not as much volume as I'd like, but was getting pushed for time at this point. Will have a play with this over the coming weeks to make sure the squat catch is working well...
FRONT SQUAT 5-5-5-5
60-90-97.5-97.5(4f)-97.5(4f)
Low volume, again, and really struggled with these. Back went before my legs, which suggests (to me) my upper back is having to do too much in one short session (1hr and 10 sets of Olympic stuff?). If I gave it more time, I could probably adapt, but I probably need to spend more time with my weightlifting coach to determine how this would work... and as he costs £30/hour, that's not going to happen.
So, overall, I'll probably drop back to something along the lines of:
- Monday: clean;
- Tuesday: errr... tendon strengthening;
- Weds: snatch;
- Thurs: ancillary;
- Fri: squatz.
I think at the moment I'm taking too much out of myself before getting on to the strength work, meaning I can transfer the power to my snatch/clean nicely, but that I'm going to butt up against a brute strength wall (probably there already) very soon.
I will see how this goes for the next month, and then... *deep breath* find a regional comp somewhere around here/London and just go for it.
Anyway, was faffing about this morning doing... whatever I was doing... so the session wasn't quite as comprehensive as it should have been.
POWER SNATCH FROM HIP 3-3-3-3-3
40-60-70-80(1ff)-75
Yup. Power is back with the new second pull, which is nice. 80kg went up well for the first two, but I managed to crack myself on the forehead with the third... which curiously highlights a problem with my technique: I'm ducking to catch, not squatting as much as I should.
However, now I'm sure the power is working fine, I have an excuse to restructure the workouts to make sure I'm lifting right as well as hard.
Snatch @ 80kg (long and dull, but skip from 20secs to 1m 5s for the lolz)
HANG CLEAN 3-3-3-3
60-80-90-90
Not as much volume as I'd like, but was getting pushed for time at this point. Will have a play with this over the coming weeks to make sure the squat catch is working well...
FRONT SQUAT 5-5-5-5
60-90-97.5-97.5(4f)-97.5(4f)
Low volume, again, and really struggled with these. Back went before my legs, which suggests (to me) my upper back is having to do too much in one short session (1hr and 10 sets of Olympic stuff?). If I gave it more time, I could probably adapt, but I probably need to spend more time with my weightlifting coach to determine how this would work... and as he costs £30/hour, that's not going to happen.
So, overall, I'll probably drop back to something along the lines of:
- Monday: clean;
- Tuesday: errr... tendon strengthening;
- Weds: snatch;
- Thurs: ancillary;
- Fri: squatz.
I think at the moment I'm taking too much out of myself before getting on to the strength work, meaning I can transfer the power to my snatch/clean nicely, but that I'm going to butt up against a brute strength wall (probably there already) very soon.
I will see how this goes for the next month, and then... *deep breath* find a regional comp somewhere around here/London and just go for it.
It's not actually sore, which is funny. It's starting to throb now, however, which is probably not a good sign.
80kg travelling at pace into one's forehead is more or less guaranteed to do something unpleasant. I probably should update some of the videos in that thread, because the premise for them is to get people using hip drive as opposed to their backs. Whilst this is still fundamental to the clean/snatch, it's not a refined process in any sense.
Yes, it's a funny one, isn't it? Part of the brain is clearly tracking the bar through the position of the arms, with a big reliance on technique to manage the catch as the body descends...
The brain bash came around through stupidity: simple as... should have dropped the bar after the second lift. The rushed 'reset' meant that - if you're bothered and look closely - I get hardly any hip/knee extension as a result.
Accident waiting to happen.
Yeah I did notice that.
Overall, it's cool to see your progression moving in the right direction. Your snatch is looking a lot more connected and solid, particularly if we ignore the occasional accident
But if you ignore the accidents, it's all far too serious.
Yeah, my travel regime has wreaked havoc with all kinds of gainz (haven't breached snatch or clean/jerk PBs for a while), but technique seems to have been getting better and better (even if it's a slow process). I'm determined to get to competition next year, but not sure how or where it will pan out.
My other problem is that - even though I am leaning out (obliques and abz are increasingly visible, quad separation is better and I get vasc just by rubbing my eyes - my weight is going up. I'm not back loading especially heavily at the moment (was trying again to get my weight to 85kg), and anything less than my current calorie intake (around 3000cals/day) just has me exhausted (yes, I appreciate fatigue is something that happens during weightloss) with my current training regime with no power or anything.
So I think I just have to accept my body wants to be in the 94kg category... meaning I have to lift more.
Active rest day yesterday.
KLOKOV PRESS 3*5
40-42.5-45
Not as bad as I was expecting, and will probably start at 45 next time...
OHP 5-3-3-3-3
40-57.5-60-60(4)-60
Psychologically, needed to get 60kg in the bag. Sure, it was only 3/4 reps a set, but have been ramping for a while, now!
PENDLAY ROWS 5-5-5-5
70-70-80-80
I do love these... Was tempted to have a play with some t-bars but...
CLEANS 3-3
40-70-70
Practise, practise, practise, practise... No drama here, but trying to keep my lumbar and torso in good receiving positions...
Overall, I love having a home gym.
Snatch day, today, and we're playing catch...
KLOKOV PRESS 3*5
40-42.5-45
Not as bad as I was expecting, and will probably start at 45 next time...
OHP 5-3-3-3-3
40-57.5-60-60(4)-60
Psychologically, needed to get 60kg in the bag. Sure, it was only 3/4 reps a set, but have been ramping for a while, now!
PENDLAY ROWS 5-5-5-5
70-70-80-80
I do love these... Was tempted to have a play with some t-bars but...
CLEANS 3-3
40-70-70
Practise, practise, practise, practise... No drama here, but trying to keep my lumbar and torso in good receiving positions...
Overall, I love having a home gym.
Snatch day, today, and we're playing catch...
Smashing day, this morning, but PBs nowhere in site...
Bad catch/recovery on 70kg this morning meant my shoulder went through a non-safety glass window, which proceeded to shatter.
This was only an issue as I have kids and needed to spend the next hour cleaning and boarding up!
So, stuff this morning was...
SNATCH BALANCE 2*5
BAR-40
Slow, but getting better, as is always the case at 06:45 in the morning...
FULL SNATCH 4*3
40-50-60-70(2)
All the reps up to 70kg were fine. Catch was a bit ropey on the first rep of each set, and 70kg was pretty dire at the start... one clean rep (#2) and then smash!
It's funny - I go through all the effort and expense of creating a proper floor to drop and then I'm too chicken to use it when it actually counts.
Will see about fitting some back squats in this afternoon for punishment.
Bad catch/recovery on 70kg this morning meant my shoulder went through a non-safety glass window, which proceeded to shatter.
This was only an issue as I have kids and needed to spend the next hour cleaning and boarding up!
So, stuff this morning was...
SNATCH BALANCE 2*5
BAR-40
Slow, but getting better, as is always the case at 06:45 in the morning...
FULL SNATCH 4*3
40-50-60-70(2)
All the reps up to 70kg were fine. Catch was a bit ropey on the first rep of each set, and 70kg was pretty dire at the start... one clean rep (#2) and then smash!
It's funny - I go through all the effort and expense of creating a proper floor to drop and then I'm too chicken to use it when it actually counts.
Will see about fitting some back squats in this afternoon for punishment.