Building callouses and chasing goals

EmcD123

So i found the title of my previous log outdated an dcouldnt find out how to change the title so i decided what with it being the new year and all i'd just make a new log.

Heres the link to my old one :
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057231855
so ya again im 18, 60kg, 5ft8
This year i want to try as many new things in fitness as possible and achieve as much as i can, i have a long list of goals not all of which will be achieved.

400m in 52 seconds
800m in 2minutes
5000m in 21 minutes(then 19 if i achieve 21)
200m in 23 seconds
Race in an open road race cycling
Go mountian biking
Squat my bodyweight
Learn the oly lifts, and do as well as i can in them

Those are the most achievable


College starts back next week aswell.

EmcD123

First session of oly lifting in limitless health, absolutely loved it!!

5x5 snatch with empty bar(20kg) ,being taught good technique
3x3 overhead squats empty bar
3x3 snatch pulls 40kg
3x5 back squats 50kg(never done back squats before)

it was a lot of fun, and very hard,i'll be in bits tomorrow
my hand is also seriously cut open with a blister #htfu

EmcD123

Im in a lot of muscle pain so i did a ton of foam rolling and stretching first to loosen out and recover.
Then did these 2 excercises real light to work on the techniques i was shown on monday night so as i can practice them before next week.


3x5 hang snatch 15kg
3x3 snatch pulls 35kg

Had to keep the sets and reps done as my hand blister is still super super painful

EmcD123

Decent session tonight with gch

8x100m sprints as preparation for starting blocks on sunday morning
Getting faster each session but not anywhere to close to where i should be

EmcD123

Sprint and speed session at the track this morning.

plyometric drills:
2x A-walk
2x B-walk
2x bicycle
2x alternating leg bicycle/3 step jog
2x one leg A-walk
2xsideways one leg A-walk

then sprints
6x100m sprints 70% pace really relaxed
1x200m relaxed again to finish

EmcD123

Another GCH session at the track
Plyometric warmup similar to yesterdays drills
Microurdle drills: one leg in x4,sideways one leg in x2,dead leg x2 , bunny hop x1
working on speed and power in all the drills

Sprint speed session then as indoor racing will be on soon.
4x60m from rolling start
4x40m from starting blocks
3x120m working on technique and try to relax while running
Am building up my speed gradually and am at the point where im finishing the sessions well now

EmcD123

Weightlifting tonight! so much better a session for me than last week, my form is apparently getting good really quickly.
My squats in particular were much tidier and less all over the place like last week
3x3 drop snatch @15kg empty bar
5x5 drop snatch @20kg empty bar
5x5 snatch from above knee @20kg empty bar
5x5 snatch from below knee @20kg empty bar
5x5 snatch pulls @40kg
Then 5x5 back squats which went like this
2x5 @50kg
2x5@55kg
1x5 @60kg
1x3 @65kg I failed the last 2 reps of that set but its a big big improvement

EmcD123

So the weather outside is too crappy to do the planned track session so i went to the gym instead during the public hours.
Managed to get a rack to myself for the entirety of my session

I only did back squats as i want to really get stronger at them
2x5 @20kg
2x5 @30kg
2x5 @40kg
2x5 @50kg
2x5 @55kg
2x5 @60kg
Did them all strong ,had no real trouble doing them,shoulders hurt though from supporting the bar
And bodyweight is now 61kg

EmcD123

Another easy track session,working on speed an dpower and of course stride length as ive always suffered from having a fast stride turnover but a short stride length and tiring quickly because of it
plyometric drills :
A-walk
B-walk
Bicycle
One leg A-walk
Sideways A-walk
Bicycle/3 step jog alternating leg
Did that circuit twice
Then 6x60m stride out working on pushing more with my back leg instead of reaching with the front to increase stride length without reaching

EmcD123

County indoors were on today in Athlone IT so was running in that
Wanted to see just how bad my race time are right now so as to asess how much work is needed,they were electronically timed i think
I did the 200m,got into a good heat, and ran a decent race technically and felt really good so it just my actual speed that needs work. Times havent officially been released yet but i think it was around 24.5 which is what i was expecting but isnt a good time at all ,my pb from 2 years ago is 23,5 seconds. i know though that i can easily cut a second off my time quickly just training up some speed and stamina in the next few weeks where ill hopefully get to test it again in the connaughts

EmcD123

Weightlifting again tonight

Did snatch from hip followed by drop snatch

1 snatch,1 drop snatch x5 sets empty bar(20kg)

Then snatch pull followed by snatch from below knee

1 pull,1 snatch x6 sets empty bar(20kg)

Then power cleans ,first time doing them here, need to work on shoulder and tricep mobility

2 reps x 5 sets 30kg

then one of the lads said you could do 40 went off and got 2 5kg plates and proceeded to rain encouragement till i managed it
so 2 reps by 3 sets of 40kg power cleans
Then back squats,was determined to get that 65kg squats for 5 reps after failing it last week.

1x5 20kg

1x5 30kg

1x5 40kg

1x5 50kg

1x5 60kg

1x5 65kg

The 65kg was easy!!! last week i could barely stand up with it and barely managed 3 reps
Cant wait for next week to see what i can do.

EmcD123

Had an endoscopy yesterday to check up on my stomach ulcers, apparently the situation is much improved now and i wont need another for maybe 2 years.

So didnt do the track session i had planned for this morning to make sure i was recovered from yesterday but i felt good when i got home form college so i pulled out the barbell and did a quick session
And it went like this

• 1x5 hang power cleans 15kg
• 1x5 hang power cleans 25kg
• 1x4 hand power cleans 35kg
• 2x2 hang power clean and power jerk 35kg
• 1x5 front squats 25kg
• 1x5 front squats 235kg
• 2x5 front squats 45kg

Felt really good and strong, form was as solid as i can get it at this stage.The hang position is great because it negates the fact that the plates i have at home dont put the bar high enough to do the first pull comfortably.
Proper gym session should be tomorrow afternoon when i pay for public hours in the kingfisher

EmcD123

Was at a party last night and one of the persons house mates had a bench press in his room, and some intercounty ****head challenged me to outbench him because he apparently saw me squat a '****load of weight' in the gym.
Long story short me being so competitive stupidly accepted it,i nearly crushed myself since ive never benched in my life

EmcD123

Had a fabulous session today in the gym,the session was full of surprises particularly in the squat! SQUATS ARE THE BEST EXCERCISE EVA!!
I have got a bit of a niggle in my shoulder now so ill ice it tonight and all will be good then.
right when i arrived the squat racks were full so i did some other stuff first
so 3x3 pullups
5x5 dips
Then a rack freed up
so Back squats

• 1x5 20kg
• 1x5 40kg
• 1x5 50kg
• 1x5 55kg
• 1x5 60kg
• 1x5 65kg
• 1x5 67.5kg
• 1x5 70kg
• 1x5 72.5kg
• 1x5 75kg

Every set from 65kg onwards was a new pb,i felt i had more in the tank after 75kg and might have managed 77.5 but i felt id done enough
Then power jerks

• 1x5 20kg
• 2x3 25kg
• 1x3 27.5kg
• 1x3 30kg
• 1x1 35kg

The 35kg was a struggle but i did them,copying the form i'd seen the guys at the gym do on monday.Shoulder a little sore afterwards though
Then snatch pulls

• 2x5 30kg from hang
• 2x3 40kg from floor
• 2x3 50kg
• 1x3 55kg
• 1x3 60kg

the first set was done from hang as the bar wasnt high enough to pull from the floor comfortably but afterwards they were all from the floor.
Just working on clearing the knees correctly and keeping the line of the bar and really exploding from the hips and getting up onto toes
Overall a very enjoyable session.but very long aswell

EmcD123

Right a track session today as lectures dont start till 11 on fridays.
Happy enough with the session,its an endurance one and tbh ive done very little of that so wasnt expecting much but plan to build even just a little bit per session till i work up to doing the full planned session even if it takes a month to get there
Pyramid session

300m,200m,150m,120m,150m,200m done with a walk back break:eek:

As its a pyramid i should have done a second 300m at the end but i could barely do the last 200m but im not too mad about that.My stride felt alright and thats what matters. ill manage the full pyramid next week.The plan is to build up to doing 2 full pyramids of that with a break in the middle

EmcD123

Very light weight practice,just trying to drill the oly lift coordination into my muscles,and i think my technique is improving
so first a warmup type circuit with the empty barbell(5kg)
2 circuits of

• 2 overhead squats
• 5 sotz press
• 5 hang snatch pulls
• 5 hang clean pulls
• 5 drop snatches
• 2 snatches
• 2 hang cleans

My mobility at the bottom of the snatch is really improving,im happy with that,and sotz press is tough!!!
Then the session

• hang power cleans +power jerk
  3,3 x4 @25kg
• Front squats
  2x10 @25kg
• Bent over rows
  2x5 @25kg

Real easy session as im tired and have my oly lifting session tomorrow at limitless and just trying to make sure i have the coordination improved each week

EmcD123

4th week of oly lifting at limitless and what a session it was!!!
Graduated to adding 2 full size 5kg plates to the snatch!!

So opened up with drop snatches + snatches from the hip

• 5x 2,2 @20kg
• 3x 2,2 @25kg
• 2x 2,2 @30kg

Snatch pull + snatch from floor

• 4x 2,2 @30kg
• 4x 1,1 @30kg

Power clean + Power jerk

• 6x 2,2 @30kg
• 4x 1,1 @35kg
  • 2x 1,1 @40kg

Quite a lot of volume tonight,did more sets of each thing that was on the plan so as to drive home techniques. Very very very good session, i failed as many snatches as i completed and i managed to smack myself in the chin with the bar on the power jerk not once but TWICE!!!twice on the same set
Then finished with squats
few warmup reps then

• 1x5 @60kg
• 1x5 @65kg
• 1x5 @70kg
• 1x4 @75kg:mad:

Failed the last rep on 75kg even though i got it last thursday ,pissed off about that. I got stuck in the hole and couldnt get out of it. Still happy overall

And also bodyweight is now 62.5kg ,so that 2.5kg weight gain in the last 4 weeks,supper happy with that:cool:

EmcD123

The body is still in bits after monday nights session, my arms,back and shoulders especially.
But i have gym tomorrow aswell and i want to do a deadlift session because its been ages since i did deadlifts but i also want to do squats, getting a bit sick of back squats and was thinking of doing some front squats and testing how much weight i can do on them but the only thing holding me back is that i want to keep increasing my back squat but after failing the set last monday on a weight i can do i feel like taking a break.
Unless i do both and keep the back squats really light or something.
What do you think i should do ?

EmcD123

So today was a day of sweat and very nearly tears,legs shook weakly,arms twicthed and wobbled,long periods of time struggling to get out of the hole, fingers ached,grip gave out but i made it through with 2 new PR's.
So did deadlifts today as i was curious as to how much weight i could lift in it after all the back squatting and complete lack of deadlifting. and it went like this
Deadlifts

• 1x5 40kg
• 1x3 50kg
• 1x2 60kg
• 1x2 70kg
• 1x2 80kg
• 1x2 85kg
• 1x1 87.5kg

Failed the last rep of 87.5kg so thats my one rep max. It was the grip that gave out not my strength,couldnt stop the bar slipping out of my hands. still the most ive ever done before was 50kg. Will check my deadlift every month to see if it increases
Front Squats

• 2x5 20kg
• 2x5 40kg
• 1x5 50kg
• 1x5 55kg
• 1x5 60kg
• 1x5 65kg

These are really really tough, But i pulled through,the arms were wobbling and the leg were wobbling and there was a few times where i despaired about ever getting out of the hole but i managed it, previous best was 45kg for 5 reps so thats a massive pr. Hopefully these big gains will keep going for a while

EmcD123

Im so unbeliveably tired today, was at a party last night,didnt drink a drop but still shattered, it was a gaelgoir party and after 6 months of not speaking it properly it started off hard but after about a half hour i was as close to fluent as ever. ,most people there irish is their first language and have irish speaking at home,i was told my irish is actually really good for someone who doesnt have irish in the house and doesnt speak it often.:D
Anyway i couldnt train this morning because i was too tired, i actually fell asleep in the canteen and missed my first lecture i was so tired.
So this afternoon did a gentle running session to just get something in
The session
2km brisk walk warmup, few strideouts then
Followed by 4x120m sprints on grass.Break between each one.
I have a 21st to go to in cellbridge tomorrow so therell be no training this weekend so i felt i had to do something today
I'm really feeling the deadlifts in my back today

EmcD123

5th week of oly lifting tonight, am totally wrecked after the weekend,the party was insane!! got around 2 hours sleep on saturday and wasnt expecting a good session at all today but instead it was my best yet.

Workout was:
Drop snatch + Snatch from hip

• 3x3 20kg warmup
• 4x 2,2 @30kg
• 2x 2,2 @35kg

Was allowed do 35kg today as the 30kg ones felt easy,im getting much faster and stable under the bar and the technique is really coming along, have a lot of stuff to work on though like keeping the bar close and keeping the eyes looking forward and head up
Snatch pull + Snatch from below knee

• 2x 2,2 @30kg warmup
• 5x 2,2 @35kg

The same as with the previous excercise. Snatches are definitely my favorite gym lift ever at the moment
Power clean + Power jerk

• 2x5 1,1 @30kg warmup
• 5x 1,1 @40kg

Definitely getting a lot better at these,need work on the clean part for definite,i seem to be getting the rhythm of the power jerk pretty good at the moment, need to work on driving with the heels though,i keep pushing the bar a bit too far forward
back squats

• 1x5 @40kg warmup
• 1x5 60kg
• 1x5 70kg
• 1x5 75kg
• 1x5 80kg

The 80kg is a new PR and it didnt feel that hard except for the last rep. Bodyweight is still the same at 62.5kg so im just gaining strength ,still im doing well,getting close to my goal of 90kg for 5 reps

EmcD123

A friend was going to the gym and had a spare pair of pants so i was just like ya sure and went in.
Maxed out the leg press at 195 for 10 reps easy enough and then realised it didnt go any heavier....i cant understand why its so easy compared to squats
Then i met more friends who were in the gym doing arms so i joined them.
Benched 20kg,then 30kg,then 40kg for 5 reps
Then a few dips,few pullups neutral grip and overhand.
Tricep pulldowns at like 21.5kg or something ,just remember them being easy
Then close grip bench at 30kg for 8 reps
Folwed by 3 sets of:

• 10kg powerbag back squats,front squats 8 reps each

Then 3 sets with 20kg barbell

• back squats,front squats,military press,bent over row,split squats x10 reps on squats x5reps everything else

Last circuit piece was for a kind of active recovery

Aspiring

What's the story with the leg press? Is there any point doing it if you're already doing squats? Was thinking about starting them myself.

Alf Veedersane

Aspiring wrote: »

What's the story with the leg press? Is there any point doing it if you're already doing squats? Was thinking about starting them myself.

Good for hypertrophy. With squats, you're working more than just legs but on leg press, the stability of the set up means you can push more with your legs.

It's not entirely useless but it depends on what you want out of an exercise. There are probably better options.

EmcD123

A friend just wanted to see how much i could push on it considering my squat is pretty good ,I wouldnt really add it to my sessions ,didnt really feel like it was all that beneficial. Im just going to stick to my original goals of getting my squat to 90 for 5 reps

EmcD123

Forgot to log last nights running session.
Did 3 sets of 6 uphill sprints and 1 set of 6 downhill sprints.
Only about 60m but steep enough and the pitch dark didnt help.
Felt really powerful going up,never felt this kind of power before ,i was tearing up the hill big long strides and everything,the oly lifting and strength training must be kicking in.
I can run uphills all day though and not get tired so it wasnt a particularly strenuous session.
I think friday is going to be short sprints,coach seems to be constantly switching from longer sprints to short sprints and back,its making it hard to plan

EmcD123

track trianing session last night, wasnt impressed with the coaching program, flogging everyone on the track was all it was, people pulling muscles trying to hard in the cold and throwing up in the bushes,one girl nearly had an ashtma attack.
We should be doing pure short speed training at this stage
3x110m sprints flat out,walk back break
3 minutes break then 4x220m flat out walk back break,

I wasnt feeling good anyway ,my combination of the weekend i had and training on monday has seriously stopped me from training this week ,i havent recovered properly at all. Hit the lactate barrier aswell last night and literally couldnt move my legs with any speed at all,felt like getting sick

EmcD123

Wanted to go for a cycle this morning but it was much too foggy and it would have been unsafe so went to the track instead.
Did 3x3 jog,stride,sprint
the jog was 20m,stride was 40m, sprint was 40m
felt good this morning running, my speed is coming back slowly but surely .
It'll be a long time before im back at my fastest again due to the years ive been out of racing for but i have a list of fixtures for this year and im determined to at least not run embarassing times this year

EmcD123

Quick cardio type weights session with dad:cool:
Front squats 3x5 @40kg
Cleans 6x3 @35kg,45kg
first 3 reps power clean last 2 reps full clean
2x5 power jerk @35kg
Then deadlifts @45kg
around 5x8 ,more like clean pulls. fast reps for cardio....(is that actually a thing:rolleyes:)
Dads deadlifts are also getting much better lately

P.s i now have a state of the art(Lidl;)) pullup bar hanging in the doorway of my room

EmcD123

So weightlifting session again tonight.
very happy with my progress, the bar is following a more coordinated path now, theres a bit of speed developing, getting the pull from the floor a bit easier not bumping the bar off my knees on the way
So this was a deload session so it was low volume and not pushing for weight, i liked it ,i want to try get a few good sprinting sessions in this week because of that
So heres the session
Snatch from floor
4 sets of 2 reps @35kg
wasnt too hard,failed a few of them mostly because i wasnt getting the timing right and going under the bar too early when it wasnt in the proper position yet leaving it too far forward, when i miss a snatch i always miss it to the front.
Coach says my snatch is actually looking pretty good and we'll start tuning it up technically soon
Front squats
Was looking forward to doing back squats but alas we had to do front ones,havent done them in about 3 weeks
4 sets of 2 reps @70kg
the 70kg is more than ive ever front squatted but it felt comfortable so i wouldnt think its my max
Jerk from rack
4 sets of 2 reps @40kg
Tried 45kg but it was just to heavy to get the form right so dropped to 40kg.
I did power jerks for these as i cant do the split jerk yet.
Nothing much to say about them really,they were grand
Snatch groove ??
5 sets of 5 reps @35kg
Not really sure what they were ,nobody seemed to be sure. Did the first 2 sets as snatch pulls, did the last 3 sets as kind of a snatch pull without the pop at the top where you extend your hips.
Cant wait for next week!

EmcD123

I thought id add that my weight has now gone up to 64.5kg, was aiming to stop gaining at 65kg and just work on strength from that point on but the lads are telling me to at least push for 70 so i'll do that ,65kg is the heaviest i've ever been though.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Also my favorite pair of pants have gotten really tight in the last week or so ,i think the majority of the weight gain was in my legs...