BLUEBLAH's Training Log: Keep on keeping on

[clavelle]

Mark I would call you the "Black Knight" at the point of no arms.

Congrats on your BW SQUAT! I bet it felt good to hit that record you set out for yourself. It feels really weird when you move up in the weights to warm up with your BW easily...keep hitting it hard brother.

[markg]

I'll bite yer legs off!

[BLUEBLAH]

Found it tough mentally today. I could make excuses about approaching the Christmas break and having James Bloody Blunt on the radio, but that's all it is, excuses. Although James Blunt is a fair enough excuse.

I want to keep going till at least April 2009, when I will have achieved a nice solid position of strength, and I will then review it. I am wary of injuring my back now the weights are heavier, so I am restricting my weight increases to once a week. Will also start doing a bit more fitness work
from now on, such as skipping and some sprints.

Squats 5x5 80kg/176lbs -tough
Overhead Press 5x5 42.5kg/93.5lbs - quite tough
Deadlifts 1x60kg, 1x80kg, 1x90kg, 1x100kg/225lbs - killed me
Pull Ups 4/1/2 - very tough as I was officially pronounced dead at this point
Reverses and prones.

[markg]

Death by pull up...that's how I want to go.

[clavelle]

Keep on pushing the limit blue!!! No one knows your body better then you and if you say slow down then slow down, you will keep making gains....or might I suggest micro loads? There are weight sets on amazon that are as low as 5/8 of a pound so you are basiclly sticking to the same weight for awhile with these things.

Keep pushing on though...Christian

[BLUEBLAH]

Thanks Christian, that's an idea I will mull over.

Brought in my Biffy Clyro cd and asked them to play that instead of the radio. Inspired me so much I upped the weight on the squat.

Squat 82.5kg/181.5lbs 5/5/5/3/2
Bench Press 72.5kg/159.5lbs 5x5
Power Cleans 42.5kg/93.5lbs 5x5
Dips 6/6/6
Pull Ups (wide grip) 4/3/3/3/2
Reverses and prones

My first failure at the squats. I was disappointed, but I have to accept that the weight is heavy for me. I will nail it hopefully in the next couple of sessions. My legs just don't seem to be overly strong. I was tempted briefly to introduce some leg curls or presses, but then realised this was just Bodybuilding Satan trying to lead me astray.

I kept the bench press the same as last time, as I was feeling weak. Ok, I should have increased the weight, but still it's a reasonable weight and I will up it next time.

My technique for the power clean is better, keeping it close to my thighs. The hook grip still feels awkward and I nearly dropped the bar at one point.

Dips were fine and the pull ups, I was just grooving the grease.

[markg]

Have you tried grooving the goose? I think it's the national dance of Turkey...

[BLUEBLAH]

Ha, ha, I think that's what I do when I hit the dance floor.

Squat 82.5kg/181.5lbs 5x5
Overhead Press 45kg/99lbs 3 sets of 5; 42.5kg 2 sets of 5
Deadlift 1x5@60kg, 1x5@80kg, 1x5@90kg, 1x1@100kg/225lbs
Pull Ups 3/2/1

Squats were superb. I got my head right, made sure my chest stayed up and my shoulder blades back and my technique more or less held up even on the last set.
Overhead Press was a good effort. 45kg is a lot for me, but I showed I wasn't too far away with 3 good sets.
I was surprised I wasn't better at the Deadlift. I could only manage 1 rep of 100kg.
Pull Ups were a bit poor, I was knackered by this time.

I've got a bit of a sore throat, feel a bit "coldy", so I quickly felt wiped out in this session. I'm sure I will sort out the deadlifts next time.

What I want to achieve in the next couple of months:
Squats 100kg
Deadlift 120kg
Overhead Press 50kg
Bench Press 80kg
Power Clean 60kg

[BLUEBLAH]

"Well I'm back, yes I'm back, well I'm back, yes I'm back, well I'm back, BACK, yes I'm back, BACK, well I'm back in black, yes I'm back in black," as AC/DC so eloquently put it. Although not really black, more of a white t-shirt and black trackie bottoms.

Squat 60kg
Bench Press 60kg
Power Clean 40kg
Pull Ups 4/3/2

Just taking it easy today, trying to shake off the rust after a 2 week Xmas break. The squat felt harder than I was expecting, given the light weight. It took a while for the technique to come back. But I was very happy with the power cleans, which I attacked nicely, using the hook grip, and kept close to my body.

So a major deload, but plenty of time to reach my goals by the end of February.

[BLUEBLAH]

I'm surprised at how much I've been aching from my Tuesday squat. I only had 2 weeks off and the weight in the comeback session was light. Perhaps it's because I'm in my 40s now. But I'm up and rolling again and determined to reach my goals. I think this strength is really going to pay off in my other sports, but I'm going to have work hard to achieve it. The only thing hampering me is a slight problem with my right shoulder, maybe from bad form? I have just got "Starting Strength" so I will be getting more techical.

SQUAT 65kg 5x5 -Since I built up to 82.5kg before Xmas, I'm hoping to get up to 90kg this time and then will really have to battle it out for the last 10kg up to 100kg.
OVERHEAD PRESS 32.5kg 5x5 -Getting to 50kg is going to be a problem even though I was on 45kg before. It all depends on the shoulder.
DEADLIFT 1x5@40kg, 1x5@50kg, 1x5@ 60kg, 2x5@70kg -I was bending my knees a bit more because I think I was too straight-legged before, almost like a romanian deadlift. Will have to see what my mate Rip has to say. I did 2 final sets, should only do 1, because I like this exercise. I think I will reach my goal of 120kg on this, although it seems a long way off now.
DIPS 3/3/3 -All out of sync, should be doing pull ups/chins.

Reverse Crunches
Prone Bridges
Skipping
Agility Ladder & Hurdles
Medicine Ball

Feel I can do a bit more fitness work now I am up to 13 stone without wasting away. So I did a bit of extra stuff such as skipping in the garden/garage. It was cold out there!

[BLUEBLAH]

Squats 70kg 5x5
Power Clean 42.5kg 5x5
Bench Press 65kg 5x5
Dips 5/5

I remember doing the squat 20 years ago when I was at University. Compared to the other typical weightlifting exercises that I was doing, such as bicep curls, leg presses, it felt totally different. Those "isolated" exercises produced a satisfying burn in the muscle being worked. But with the squat, I'd be covered in sweat, heart beating out of its cage, gasping for breath. It was an exercise I dreaded and tended to avoid to be honest.

Now the squat feels tough, but not such a shock to the system, perhaps because it is in keeping with the other compound "all body" exercises, such as deadlifts, power cleans etc.

I've skimmed through Rippletoe's book and I need to slant my back more. A useful cue for me is to think of the tops of my thighs being touched by my hips, whilst keeping my chest up. It's something I also noticed watching a video of Mehdi, how diagonal his back appears, with his backside out. When I was taught the squat, I was told to keep looking at the ceiling, which has resulted in me holding my back too vertical. I was also told to breathe in at the top and out as I come up, whereas Rippletoe recommends maintaining a full chest throughout the movement.

I sympathise with gyms that only have machines. Free weights are so much more technical and really require a full time trainer on site. So much easier not to bother with them.

The power cleans were a disappointment. At 40kg, I can explode with good technique, keeping the bar close to me and touching my thighs on the way up. At 42.5kg, the technique seems to waver and my hook grip feels awkward. I don't know whether to go back to 40kg again or persevere and go up to 45kg.

Bench press was lemon squeezy.

Now the above may appear slightly boring, but I assure it was originally (and even second time round) brimful of interesting observations and anecdotes. A bit of advise from someone who now knows: never try to make a post whilst getting your children ready for bed, the timer will always get you.

[BLUEBLAH]

SQUAT 72.5kg -I'm not finding it easy, but easier than last time I was at this weight.
OVERHEAD PRESS 35kg -Pretty good. Had to warm up right shoulder to do this. Some of the reps felt ridiculously light, but straining at the end.
DEADLIFT 1x5@60kg, 1x5@70kg, 1x5@80kg -Easy really and I think my technique was fine.
PULL UPS 4/3/2 -Grrrrr, should be better at this.
Reverse Crunches - I do this at home on a hard surface, really concentrating on my abs to do the work. I think the hard floor acts like a foam roller, really pushes down on my spine and back muscles, it's good.
Prone Bridges -Thinking of doing Turkish Get Ups.
Skipping -In the garden.
Hurdles
Agility Ladder

All is good. My back is now much better. Can live with my right shoulder. Weights are going up. Just need more sleep!

[amaeland]

Hey mate, yes we do seem to be in the same ballpark as far as weights go The OHP is a deceiving exercise, it always surprises me. It will be fun to follow your log!

[BLUEBLAH]

Squat 5x5@75kg
Bench Press 5x5@70kg
Power Clean 5x5@45kg
Dips 6/6/6

When I was squatting, someone commented on their quality and depth. But then they asked whether I got knee pain by going so deep, so they obviously didn't know too much what they were talking about. I'm searching for the low bar position, not sure I've quite got it. Oh well, have to get the book out again.

The bench press was easyish apart from the last rep of the last set where I was straining.

Power cleans were better. I was lying in bed a couple of nights ago and it suddenly hit me I'd got the hook grip all wrong last time. I had my thumb over the bar rather than under. Must have had a brainstorm. Anyway, these were better but I'm still jumping backwards. Will have to keep working on it. Would be interesting to see other people's perspective on this and the weights they are on, butI haven't seen anyone else in the logs doing this exercise.

Dips were strangely easy. For the 1st time I was crunching them out, like Brian Jacks on Superstars. Could have done more and should really use a dip weight belt now.

Also did skipping, agility ladder, hurdles, medicine ball throws, reverse crunches and prone bridges (last night).

[markg]

Hi blueblah,
I'm needing some help to find the low bar position too. This Squat Rx #4 video is a useful one, not sure if you've seen it yet...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2eZ1HzoH0Rw

Mark.