Mazikins's Training Log (strength/conditioning)

[Mazikins]

A little bit of background
I don't have much of a training history, until I moved to Iceland I wasn't doing any sports or physical activity. I started doing tribal bellydancing and some specialized yoga (don't laugh, good tribal bellydancers have incredible muscle control and awesome core strength). In an effort to get my (now ex) boyfriend to lose weight, we both went to a personal trainer, but I ended up the only one going to the sessions. Two months later I was loving my new muscles and the feeling of strength.

I started going to a group training called Combat Conditioning - a rather hardcore strength/medium endurance program aimed to train MMA fighters, police special forces and computer nerds (I work for a game company and a lot of my colleagues went to these sessions as well).

I also took up capoeira some months ago and I'm loving it - yes, I know a lot of people don't consider it a "proper" martial art, but I'll take its acrobatics and funky moves over the more "manly", full-contact martial arts.

Recently, Combat Conditioning classes have been suspended until January, so I moved to a kettlebells group class, which I'm loving so far. Also recently, I've undergone extensive breast surgery, so I'm kinda limited in the exercises I can do and the weight I can lift (but not for long!).

General info
Age: 28
Height: 1.50m (4'9'' in that funky non-metric system)
Weight: Between 49 and 51 kg (108 lbs to 112 lbs, or so Google says)

General goals
* Get better strength and conditioning
* Get more muscle definition
* Get rid of the last bits of fat layer (I have normal weight, but I'm a perfectionist)

Short-medium term goals
* Get back to my previous level of weights by the end of October (12 and 16 kg kettlebells, currently I work with 8 because I don't want to rip open the incisions)
* Deadlift at least 70 kg by the end of October (current max is 60)
* Be able to do unassisted pull-ups by the end of November

Now, compared to some of the big numbers I've seen around, they may not seem like much, but hey, you've gotta start somewhere.

[Mazikins]

Second kettlebells session:

Exercise | Reps | Sets

Single leg squats x 5 x 3 x 2 = 30 (3 sets for each leg)
Spiderman push ups x 8 x 3
Windmill with 8 kg kettlebell x 3 x 10 (5 sets on each side)
Push press with 8 kg kettlebell x 3 x 10 (5 sets for each arm)
Double clean and something in Icelandic (bringing the kettlebells to your chest) x 36 (with small breaks)
Lats pull x 8 x 3
Front plank + lateral plank on either side = 4 minutes (changing every 30 seconds after 1 minute front plank)
4 minutes of swings (12 kg) and squats, alternated every 30 seconds (we were supposed to do squat jumps, but I'm not allowed to jump yet).

Looks kinda weak now that I write it down, but the session was rather intense (no breaks between exercises). Meh.

[Mazikins]

Sick today, I considered not going to the kettlebells/crossfit session, but then I thought "hey, if one-legged people can go to the gym and train, so can I". So I hardened TFU, although this session was mostly conditioning and endurance, almost no strength training at all.

We did about 20 different exercises over an hour and a bit, some sprinting, swings, tons of pushups, suspended knee-to-elbow raises, military burpees and other fun stuff.

The high point for me was an exercise where we were supposed to walk on all fours with another person grappling us around the waist and upper torso. I was too short for this, so I did some kind of Romanian DL instead, only with a wide stance and without using my arms. The girl hanging from me was about 20 kilos heavier than I am. I didn't think I could DL above my body weight at this point, so this pleases me.

[Mazikins]

Today was supposed to be my rest day, but since the cross-training session yesterday was so unsatisfactory I grabbed vla and a third colleague and we went to check out the local gym. It's called "World Class". 'Nuff said.
As I expected, it was very cleand and crammed full of machines for every imaginable muscle in your body (although I did not expect the retinal scanners at the entrance). They only had one power rack and two barbells, but they had a curl machine and two Smith machines and one guy was doing bench presses in one of those. Oh well.

I warmed up with some dumbbell snatches, Turkish getups and other stuff. Then we moved on to serious stuff:

Squats: 1x10 with the bar, for warmup and so that vla can see my form (Olympic bar)
1 x 7 @ 50kg (110 pounds)
1 x 5 @ 50 kg (I tried 60 but couldn't lift the bar)

Deadlifts: 1 x 10 with the bar, for warmup and form control
1 x 6 @ 50 kg (110 pounds) (I reset the stance between lifts)
1 x 5 @ 50 kg
1 x 1 @ 60 kg (132 pounds) - new PR for me

Overhead squats: these were a first for me, so I did a couple with the bar just to figure it out
1 x 6 @ 30 kg (66 pounds)
1 x 5 @ 30 kg
I tried 35 kg but couldn't lift the bar overhead

I did a couple of 10 rep sets of bent over rows with a 16 kg (35 pounds) dumbbell, but the dumbbell is kinda massive, so I prefer the kettlebells for BORs.
I showed off with some plyometric pushups for our third colleague, who never did training before, and some renegade rows with 10 kg dumbbells.
Fooling around with suspended leg raises (only trying to raise the feet to my wrists) and suspended knees to elbows, I didn't do too many reps. Also some shoulder presses with 10 or 12 kg dumbbells, can't remember.

Then moving on to another first timer for me: bench presses.
1 x 3 with the bar to learn the exercise
1 x 3 @ 30 kg (66 pounds)

Then stretchy-stretchy.

[atypical1]

Welcome to the site!

Now this is a detailed log. Nobody will ever accuse you of leaving anything out

james

[crossfit]

Nice idea to exercise where you want and where you walk.

[Mazikins]

I got word of a small gym that might fit my needs, so I went to check it out yesterday. After 30 minutes of walking, turns out it's a huge hole in the ground now. But I found out where they moved, so it's not all bad.

Kettlebells today (still working with 8 kg KBs):

Warmup with kettlebells, doing mostly rings around our bodies from different angles and different heights, some clean and presses and other stuff.

15 minutes of alternating between double clean and squat and double clean and press.

Sequence of exercises with no breaks in between:
- swing 30s
- military burpees 30s
- snatch 60s (L+R)
- mountain climbers 30s
- squat and thrust 60s (L+R)

About half a billion pushups - 20 seconds of pushups, 10 seconds rest - for 8 or 10 rounds, I didn't really count.

Then the sequence again, same exercises, same duration.

-------------

atypical - thanks, I guess it's a professional quirk, as a tester I need to pay attention to details and leave nothing out when making a report. ^^

[XCouchPotato]

Welcome Mazikins:

I was reading your stats and we are both around the same height, although I do have a few years on you. You lifts are pretty astounding for someone just coming off surgery. I look forward to watching your progress.

[Mazikins]

Today I finished the quest of searching for a good gym, which was begining to take epic proportions. First gym was... um, unsuitable. Second had turned into a large hole in the ground. Third was slightly bigger than my living room, under construction and with barely any equipment. Fourth had closed down in April. So after following what could be best described as bread crumbs trail after the passing of a hamster army, I found it. My precious. It's an hour's bus away, but it's being ran by Iceland's strongest man and his wife. No-nonsense gym, lots of powerlifters and strongmen (and strongwomen) training there.

So today was the first day of my SL 5x5 program:

Squat: 5x5 @ 40 kg (88 lbs)
Bench press: 5x5 with the bar - 20 kg (44 pounds)
Inverted rows: 1x9, 1x9, 1x8 @ bodyweight
Pushups: 1x22, 1x18, 1x16 @ bodyweight
Reverse crunches: 3x12 (no counterweight)

Don't laugh at my bench press, I'm still working on form and technique. >.<

Thanks, XCouchPotato. I actually had my final check up at the hospital today and things are looking pretty good, but I'm still not allowed to jump for another two weeks. And hurrah for the first doctor to take me seriously when I say I do weight lifting.

[XCouchPotato]

Congradulations on finding a gym you like! It really helps to be surrounded by people who know and like what you do!

[Barry06GT]

.
Took a look at the Facebook page of the new gym you train at. Looks like a really good gym for doing 5x5 or anything else.

Two questions:

The site is in english. Do Icelanders speak Icelandic or english?

The gym fees are 44,440 for 12 months, is that expensive?
.

[Mazikins]

Icelanders speak Icelandic, which is very close to old Norse. But a majority of them speaks English as well, there used to be an US Army base in Keflavik until recently, and a lot of Icelanders also go to study or work abroad for a few years when they are young.

44 400 krona for 12 months is 243 euros or 356 dollars. It's about the same amount I paid for my old gym membership a year ago (it closed down). But I think it's telling the fact that they already have around 100 members even without advertising. ^^

[Mazikins]

Second day of SL 5x5:

Squats: 5x5 @ 42.5 kg (93.6 lbs)
OHP: 5x5 @ 20 kg (44 lbs)
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 40kg (88 lbs) - resetting position after each one
Chinups: 2x5, 1x4 @ BW (had to kick off the bench a little bit)
Prone bridges: 3 x 30s - one frontal, one on each side

In closing, I tried to flip a 185 kg (407 lbs) tractore tyre (tire) they have in the strongman room, but only managed to lift it to hip height. Tractor tyre is now my nemesis. Next time, tyre!

[Kathy]

In closing, I tried to flip a 185 kg (407 lbs) tractore tyre (tire) they have in the strongman room, but only managed to lift it to hip height. Tractor tyre is now my nemesis. Next time, tyre!

Congrats on even getting the tire (tyre) up!! I want to learn how to do this as well. Think it will be so cool to be able to do it...now I just need to find a place that has a tire

Your gym looks great...and SO inexpensive!

[maroon]

In closing, I tried to flip a 185 kg (407 lbs) tractore tyre (tire) they have in the strongman room, but only managed to lift it to hip height. Tractor tyre is now my nemesis. Next time, tyre!

The tire will flip! Eventually! Wish my gym had these things. But it's more martial arts oriented really.

Sounds like a great gym that you found. Benchpress is cool, just spend that time on the technique Many can not even work the bar at first. Your pushups are solid so I'm sure the weight will be added to that bar in time!

Keep having fun with your training!