knoted's Training Journal

[knoted]

04/10/09

79 kg, 14.4% body fat

Front, Side, Back

[knoted]

08 Oct 09

Squat
100 kg, 5x5
Press
55 kg, 5, 5, 4, 5, 4
Deadlift
110 kg, 1x5
Dips
10 kg, 10 x 3

[bkklift]

04/10/09

79 kg, 14.4% body fat

Front, Side, Back

Hey knoted, all photos seem to be from the front. Looking at your other photos, you've really made considerable progress, congrats!

How did you measure your bf%? Just asking as we look comparably lean, yet I was told I was 18% or so...

[knoted]

Crap, it seems the ctrl+c and ctrl+v thing is just too much sometimes I can't seem to find any way to edit my posts either.

As I'm in Afghanistan, the best I can do is a tape measure using the American DoD Body Fat Calculation. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it's consistent, so that's the main thing. I would have thought you'd be under 18% looking at your photos. But I'm not someone who's taken enough caliper measurements to know for sure.

I'm going to be going onto 5/3/1 as well when I hit the wall, looking forward to it.

[bkklift]

I'm not really bothered about bf%, as long as I don't see a fat bastard in the mirror! I'm just interested to see how people measure their bf%, as I see some people quoting insanely low bf% and yet still looking to lose weight. Like you said, if you are going to use it as a measurement then consistency is the key.

I'm really enjoying 5/3/1 and think it's the perfect "after" program for SL5x5.

[knoted]

08 Oct 09

Squat
100 kg, 5x5
Press
55 kg, 5, 5, 4, 5, 4
Deadlift
110 kg, 1x5
Dips
10 kg, 10 x 3


10 Oct 09

20 Minutes with a gym attendant doing power clean practice. Slowly progressing to something half respectable.
Squats
102.5 kg, 5x5
Bench
70 kg, 5x5
Pull Ups
5 kg, 7, 5, 4
Prone Hold
1A1L 30 s/side, 60 s 2A2L

I'm actually starting to get proper muscle soreness after training. Previously I was drained, and low on energy for the next few hours after the gym, but my quads, hammies and lower back are feeling it now. A little bit of stiffness the next day, but that is usually gone by lunch with a bit of walking around at work.

I still haven't failed to get my reps out with squats (at 1.28xBW) but I can see it coming soon. I may be motivated by the fact there are no safety bars to catch the weight if I need to drop it. It's going to be a load bang .

I'm not sure what to do about it. There is no power or squat rack, and I don't trust the muppets doing 1/4 squats to spot me. Even the gym attendant is usually a chick, who couldn't handle 100+. We have a power rack here at work, but nothing smaller than 5 kg plates (and there is dust blowing constantly, yes I'm soft).

Ah well, going somewhere else shortly, hopefully the next place has better facilities.

I sent a few photos to the wife the other day. She responded, "Look at your back! I'M SCARED!" That was my confidence booster for the week .

[knoted]

12 Oct 20009

Squat
105 kg, 5x5
Press
55 kg, 5x5
Deadlift
115 kg, 1x5
Pushups
15 kg, 20, 10, 8

Not enough sleep, stressing with Uni, nutrition is OK though.

79.8 kg
16.5% Body Fat

Body fat seems to be going up pretty quick. It's probably time to cut back on the calories a little bit. I've been hitting around 4000 cal per day with maintenance at 2700 (no training) 3400 (with training). I'll target 3500 average while maintaining proteinn (getting 300 g / day average) and see what happens in two weeks. I'm not worried so much about putting on fat, just worried about putting it on so quick.

[knoted]

14 Oct 09

Power Cleans - Worked up to 65 kg
Squats - 107.5 kg, 3x5
Bench - 70 kg, 3x5
Chin Ups - 7.5 kg, 10, 7, 6

Had to make it a short session. I need somebody to slap me every time I bend too early on cleans as well...

[knoted]

I'm moving onto 5/3/1 as of tomorrow. You can read my summary of my Stronglifts 5x5 experience here.

[knoted]

So I've started on 5/3/1. I'm really excited about the program, and I'm already enjoying going for max reps on the last set of the day. I've found the process of deciding on assistance exercises quite educational. I have a chance to put into practice the hours I've spent reading. Of course there will need to be a fair bit of test and adjust as I go to tailor the program for myself.

After the first week I'm leaning towards between Boring But Big and Body Weight (plus weight), with lots of Clean and Jerks to start the day. I'll work on the Snatch later. As I'm still a beginner I need the volume on the main exercises to continue learning technique. The body weight stuff applies to my work, provides the bulk of arm work, and I enjoy it . I will continue adding resistance to the body weight exercises. I have a set of Power Bands at home when I get back, and I'll hopefully get a pair of rings set up later for the body weight stuff.

I also got a 16 kg and 24 kg kettlebell delivered, so I want to work those in a bit later. Mainly for conditioning and core work, I'll probably end up doing some sort of timed complex on Squat / Deadlift days.

So far, my program looks like this.

Monday - C&J (5x3), Squat (5,3,1), Squat (3x10), Hip Thrusters, Barbell Rollouts
Tuesday - C&J (5x3), Bench (5,3,1), Bench (3x10), Dips, Push Ups
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - C&J (5x3), Deadlift (5,3,1), Deadlift (3x10), Sit Ups, Standing Side Crunch
Friday - C&J (5x3), MilPress (5,3,1), MilPress (3x10), Heaves, Chin Ups

Saturdays will be Interval Sprints. To start with, 2x400m, 4x200m, 8x100m. I'm thinking 2 min break to start with and see how I go. I'll probably look at specific programs for that a bit later.

Anyways, training for this week.

Monday 19/10/09
C&J - 40 kg, 5x3
Squat - 5x75, 5x87.5, 10x97.5
Tried a few different assistance exercises. Lunges were good, that's an exercise I'd like to do a few of. I think it's because of being unilateral.

Starting to get used to training at 6am. Still need to get a coffee and walk around in the sun for 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes on the rower, flexibility warmup and then go. Takes about 20 minutes from walking out the door before the first clean.

Tuesday 20/10/09
C&J - 40 kg, 5x3
Bench - 5x50, 5x57.5, 11x65
Bent over row - 3x10, 50 kg. I like them. Another one to come back to.
Incline bench - 3x10, 50 kg, might come back to if I get worried about my upper chest.
Kroc Rows - 1x20 / s, 27.5 kg, these are nasty. Certainly are what they are cracked up to be.

Felt decent that day. Started to see my C&J improve, I don't feel entirely retarded doing them now. Still having problems getting the stomp and rack timing happening though.

22/10/09
C&J - 40 kg, 5x3
Deadlift - 5x82.5, 5x95, 7x107.5
Deadlift - 3x10, 50 kg
Sit Ups - 3x20, feet not anchored
Standing side crunches - 31kg

Woohoo for seeing stars on the last set! Deadlifts are probably my favourite exercise.

[knoted]

23/10/09 Milpress

Clean and Jerk
40 kg, 5x3
Milpress
37.5 kg x5
42.5 kg x5
50 kg x5
30 kg 3x10
Heaves - body weight
30 total
Chin ups - body weight
30 total

Military Press Day today. I was previously doing a standard press, so the feet together provided a bit more of a challenge, especially when going for reps. I was a bit suprised how sore I was getting with such a low weight. Not to worry though, it's a tough exercise. I also like the idea of going for total reps with the body weight stuff as a few people around here have mentioned. It just seems to make more sense to me.

I'm not entirely looking forward to starting intervals tomorrow, they aren't ever fun. I know they are effective though, and I really want to have some sort of endurance to go with my strength gains. Intervals are one of the best ways to get it. I may move into Tabata style once I get a reasonable level of V02 max, but probably not .

[knoted]

Hill Sprints today. 50 m run with about a 10 m rise. 15 times. It hurt...

[knoted]

Squat Day

Clean and Jerk
5x3, 45 kg
Squat
3x80, 3x92.5, 9x102.5
Squat
3x10, 57.5
1 Leg Hip Thrusts
2x10
Barbell Rollouts
x20

I was pretty happy with my squats today, and the Clean and Jerk is improving. I'm getting the stomp and front squat much better now. First time doing barbell rollouts, they are pretty tough even on my knees.

[knoted]

27 Oct 09
Clean and Jerk - 45 kg, 5x3
Bench - 52.5x3, 60x3, 67.5x10
Pendlay Rows - 3x10x50 kg
Bench - 3x10x40 kg
Dips - 30x10 kg
Kroc Rows - 33 kg

This was my first attempt at Pendlay Rows, I quite like them. Technique is definitely an issue though, I noticed my arse moving up and down an inch or two on the pull (standing side on to a mirror). Good exercise though, I can't see it balancing the bench very well.

[knoted]

29 Oct 09
Deadlift Day

5x3 Clean and Jerk - 45 kg
Deadlift - 87.5 x 3, 100 x 3, 112.5 x 6
Deadlift - 3x10 at 75
Situps - 100

30 Oct 09
MilPress Day
5x3 Clean and Jerk - 45 kg
Milpress - 40 x 3, 47.5 x 3, 52.5 x 3
Milpress - 3x10 at 35
Pull ups - 30
Chin ups - 30

31 Oct 09
Was planning to do sprints, played volleyball for 3 hours instead.

2 Nov 09
Squats
3x3 Clean and Jerk 50 kg
Squat - 87.5 x 5, 97.5 x 3, 110 x 2

Only got about 5 hours sleep so I felt shit, and it was within 20 minutes of waking up. It showed on my last set big time. In to bed earlier tonight for the bench.