you were saying you did not make a early transition to speed properly last time you did a gpp/spp phase, what do you mean? Did you not progress steadily?
Sigh. 
Almost predictably, just when I was getting serious, work and weather has made it impossible to train. Have barely done upper body weights in shortened weights sessions. The only day I was about to go to the hill last week it rained, and yesterday I was also about to go and got rained out again.
Things should be better towards the end of next week and I hope to get back on track then. We have two exports going out at the same time in our company… it’s just absolute chaos, I can’t dedicate much time to anything else until that is completed.
Tuesday and today I did the exact same session :
1x6
1x9
1x12 back squat with the bar only, just to at least move my legs and get some blood flowing.
1x12 bicep curls 20kg.
1x12 bicep curls 24.6kg.
2x12 bicep curls 29kg.
1x12 bench press 33.6kg.
1x12 bench press 38kg.
1x12 bench press 42.6kg.
1x12 bench press 42.6kg.
3x8 pullups
3x12 dips
1x25 pushups
Stuck at 42.6kg. in bench press. I can’t jump to 51.8kg. no way in hell I can do 12 @ that weight. I guess when I move to 10 or 8 rep sets I’ll be able to move to 51.8kg. Upper body is now gaining significant hypertrophy, it’s noticeable, my arms might never have been bigger then right now. So at least I’m solving one of my weak spots up to now. Next step will be getting with the program with my core … weirdly I’m feeling real strong in my abs, and to the touch they feel rock hard, despite the fact I haven’t been doing anything specific for that. Maybe the pullups though, I feel the abs working a lot during the pullups.
Weights :
4x3 hang snatch 29kg.
1x12 front squat 29kg.
1x12 front squat 33.6kg.
1x12 front squat 38kg.
1x12 back squat 29kg.
1x12 back squat 33.6kg.
1x12 back squat 38kg.
Took it easy in leg weights, haven’t done any in over a week, don’t want to get too sore. Slowly getting back on track. Separating upper and lower body I think will really work well. I was getting wary of those long marathon sessions cramming both upper and lower body into one workout. I really don’t have time in my day to do more then one hour of weights, including the warmup. Introduced hang snatch, felt good.
1x12 bicep curls 20kg.
2x12 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x12 bicep curls 29kg.
1x12 bench press 33.6kg.
1x12 bench press 38kg.
1x12 bench press 42.6kg.
1x12 bench press 42.6kg.
3x8 pullups
3x12 dips
1x35 pushups
Tough session. Couldn’t warm up. The temperature dropped off the scale, from mid-high 20º C it had been for weeks to low 10 in a couple of hours.
November 5, 7 and 10
Upper body, unloading week, dropped a set. Every day did the same thing.
1x12 bicep curls 20kg.
1x12 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x12 bicep curls 29kg.
1x12 bench press 33.6kg.
1x12 bench press 38kg.
1x12 bench press 42.6kg.
2x8 pullups
2x12 dips
1x35 pushups
November 8
Lower body weights, only lower body weights session of the week. Kind of the same situation as last week, was “waiting” to have a hills session which never came to do lower body weights afterwards and then ended up doing nothing on those days.
6x4 hang snatch 29kg.
1x12 front squat 33.6kg.
1x12 front squat 38kg.
1x12 front squat 42.6kg.
1x12 back squat 33.6kg.
1x12 back squat 38kg.
1x12 back squat 42.6kg.
Overall struggled all week with work again, things are still complicated, I predict until mid to late this next week. Then I think I’ll finally be able to get back to thinking about doing something running related. At least I’m hanging on and progressing with weights, which is a lot to say. As long as I’m still doing something coming back is that much easier.
6x4 hang snatch 29kg.
1x12 front squat 33.6kg.
1x12 front squat 38kg.
1x12 front squat 42.6kg.
1x12 back squat 33.6kg.
1x12 back squat 38kg.
1x12 back squat 42.6kg.
Felt solid. Upper body is feeling a little burnt out thought. I’m leaning towards doing a circuit tomorrow and then starting off with 3x8 sets the last two sessions of the week. I need a bit of change of stimulus I think.
Upper body weight circuit.
Took it easy :
6xbodyweight squat
6xpullup
12xpushup
12xsitup
Ended up being a little too easy. Should have used 8 reps for first two exercises and 15 or 18 reps for the last two. Anyway I think I need an easy session. Should feel recharged for the next session.
1x8 bicep curls 20kg.
1x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 29kg.
1x8 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x8 bench press 29kg.
1x8 bench press 33.6kg.
1x8 bench press 38kg.
1x8 bench press 42.6kg.
3x8 pullups
3x12 dips
Still stuck in a scrappy routine. I anticipate things will keep on being very complicated in work till mid-next week. After that things should be very clear till at least 2008. Looking forward to getting back on “track” sometime next week. Till then I’ll keep up the scrappy weights work to keep some type of form and progress on at least one front.
November 18
4x3 hang snatch 29kg.
1x8 front squat 33.6kg.
1x8 front squat 38kg.
1x8 front squat 42.6kg.
1x8 front squat 51.8kg.
1x8 back squat 33.6kg.
1x8 back squat 38kg.
1x8 back squat 42.6kg.
1x8 back squat 51.8kg.
November 19
1x8 bicep curls 20kg.
1x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 29kg.
1x8 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x8 bench press 33.6kg.
1x8 bench press 38kg.
1x8 bench press 42.6kg.
1x8 bench press 51.8kg.
3x8 pullups
3x12 dips
November 21
1x8 bicep curls 20kg.
1x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 29kg.
1x8 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x8 bench press 38kg.
1x8 bench press 42.6kg.
1x8 bench press 51.8kg.
1x8 bench press 56.4kg.
2x8 pullups
2x12 dips
November 22
4x3 hang snatch 29kg.
1x8 front squat 33.6kg.
1x8 front squat 38kg.
1x8 front squat 42.6kg.
1x8 front squat 51.8kg.
1x8 back squat 33.6kg.
1x8 back squat 38kg.
1x8 back squat 42.6kg.
1x8 back squat 51.8kg.
Not much to comment. Things keep being VERY complicated in work. I think every day about finally beginning my track comeback. Before the end of the year I’ll finally be on the way back. Until then I just try to advance at least in one area - strength. Beginning to ratchet weights up. Will move up aggresively in the coming weeks. I want to get into the 90-100kg. squat range during my late december max strength phase. 
Hoping for a bench press PB too, in the mid 80’s kilos. So far looks good, I think the last week of the 8 rep sets I’ll be somewhere in the 60’s kilo range.
Will fill in the other days later, pretty tired today to try and remember back what I’ve done.
Today :
November 28
1x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 29kg.
1x8 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 38kg.
1x8 bench press 42.6kg.
1x8 bench press 51.8kg.
1x8 bench press 56.4kg.
1x8 bench press 60.8kg.
3x8 pullups
3x8 dips with 2.3kg.
Introduced dips with weights. Will probably do the same with pullups shortly. Have started to push it with biceps curls and bench press. 60.8kg. might be a PB for 8 rep sets, or very close at least. So the progress is good regarding upper body strength. Breaking 80kg. before the end of the year shouldn’t be a problem.
Tomorrow we conclude a big project at work. FINALLY will have some quality time off every day. Surely will be doing something track related this Saturday or next Tuesday at the latest.
1x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 29kg.
1x8 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 38kg.
1x8 bench press 42.6kg.
1x8 bench press 51.8kg.
1x8 bench press 56.4kg.
1x8 bench press 60.8kg.
3x8 pullups
3x8 dips with 2.3kg.
Whew!!! Finally things look up for the athletics side. Finally got out of the jam in work and things look reasonably clear for now. Really feeling good about the prospects of starting something!!! 
And happy. Yeah this makes me happy, that I’m about to start doing something on the track. It doesn’t depress me visibly, but I know I hide it, when I can’t do anything track related I feel like a part of me is missing. Been really feeling that “I’m not whole” feeling the past few weeks, specially when I had even started with hills and then got cut off by work. Now I felt it even more since I was so close to getting back “on track”.
Didn’t get to the best of starts though, I wanted to go today to a hill and meet my old athletics buddies but couldn’t find the damn place! Oh well. I guess next week I’ll get the directions right. Quite probably doing hills or track on Tuesday. I think it’s decision time. If I can’t get myself to the hill I WILL go to the track and do something alternate and start a program without hills, but start SOMETHING. I’m just itching for STARTING SOMETHING. 
1x3 hang snatch 24.6kg.
1x3 hang snatch 29kg.
1x3 hang snatch 33.6kg.
1x8 front squat 33.6kg.
1x8 front squat 38kg.
1x8 front squat 42.6kg.
1x8 back squat 33.6kg.
1x8 back squat 38kg.
1x8 back squat 42.6kg.
Very conservative day. Kept legs weights to a minimum, was very fatigued from all I walked yesterday, with sore ligaments outside of my knee and sh-- like that. And also I hadn’t done leg weights in a few days and last time I did leg weights had some discomfort under a kneecap. Probably will begin to push it in legs weights this week once I reestablish regularity. Introduced jumps after each squat set last week, I forgot to mention that. I felt I was missing something in my legs workouts, I think it was that, now I feel more activated and less stiff during squats.
1x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 29kg.
1x8 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x8 bicep curls 38kg.
1x8 bench press 51.8kg.
1x8 bench press 56.4kg.
1x8 bench press 60.8kg.
1x8 bench press 65.4kg.
3x8 pullups
3x8 dips with 2.3kg.
8 reps @ 65.4kg. is without a doubt a new PB for 8 reps, no need to even look back at my training journal. Looks like I’ll definitely power at least over 80kg. when I reach the 3 reps sets. So at least I’ve progressed in one field. Tomorrow definitely doing SOMETHING track related … bad news though … a storm is forecast. Sigh. I’ll see how things look tomorrow. Would be real frustrating for weather to force me to cancel my first session in more then a month.
Tempo
8x100m.
No time for leg weights afterwards. I see a real problem in doing weights and track at the same time, no way I can do both the same day. I’ll either have to to leg weights on the upper body days again … or drop track or leg weights.
Very weird. Didn’t feel very satisfied with the session or with getting back to doing something with the track. I’m suddenly starting to feel like I have no interest in track really, like it’s almost past me. Almost like now I’m just a fan and maybe not an athlete anymore. Weird feeling. I’ve been evaluating for weeks what I’d do with my free time and it seems like track is falling in the ranking. I seem to want to do some different things for a while. I guess we’ll see how things evolve. Probably going to the hill this week. But Thursday I’m going to … LMAO :o dance lessons. Yeah, it’s like I’ve suddenly gotten bitten by the bug to do what I used to do and really enjoyed in Venezuela … dance merengue and salsa. Well actually all I care about is meeting some people and getting to know the local movement to see if this stuff really interests me. I’m also thinking of getting into a French conversation group … I’ve been wanting to do that for years, before I forget my french which was very advanced … 7 years ago. It’s kind of like track has dropped in priority and other priorities or things I’ve wanted to do for years, but were way below track at that time and that’s why I never got around to doing them, are now close to or even level or higher priority then track. I guess I’ll explore for a while till I really refind what I’d really like to do in my free time. I guess I’ll do a mix of many things and not really do anything seriously. Except weights, I feel serious in weights, I really enjoy doing weights at the moment so that’s the only staple on my schedule (…apart from work… ).
1x6 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x6 bicep curls 29kg.
1x6 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x6 bicep curls 38kg.
1x6 bench press 56.4kg.
1x6 bench press 60.8kg.
1x6 bench press 65.4kg.
1x6 bench press 69.8kg.
3x8 pullups
3x8 dips with 4.5kg.
Being steady with upper body weights (3x a week), scrappy with lower body weights (2x a week), track is off the agenda for now. Might appear for some flash sessions though, maybe a sporadic tempo or hills session to see my track friends.
6 reps @ 69.8kg. is a new PB. Moving up another notch next session to 72.4kg., then moving next week to 4 rep sets. There I’ll see how things go. I need to get myself two more little 2.3kg. weights, without all the intermediate weights I need, things get complicated, for example here where I’m pushing my PB. From 72.4kg. I’d have to jump to 83.6kg. I don’t think that’s possible in bench, I might be barely able to do 2 reps @ 83.6 if at all.
1x3 hang clean 38kg.
1x3 hang clean 42.6kg.
1x3 hang clean 51.8kg.
1x3 push press 33.6kg.
1x3 push press 38kg.
1x3 push press 42.6kg.
1x6 front squat 42.6kg.
1x6 front squat 51.8kg.
1x6 front squat 56.4kg.
1x6 back squat 42.6kg.
1x6 back squat 51.8kg.
1x6 back squat 56.4kg.
Starting to move up in weights. Will begin moving up very aggressively in weights in the next few week and moving the reps way down. moving to 3x4 next week, then to 3x3 or 3x2 after two weeks and do a three week cycle there. Then I’ll begin with hypertrophy again.
Sunday December 16
1x6 bicep curls 24.6kg.
1x6 bicep curls 29kg.
1x6 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x6 bicep curls 38kg.
1x6 bench press 56.4kg.
1x6 bench press 60.8kg.
1x6 bench press 65.4kg.
1x6 bench press 69.8kg.
3x8 pullups
3x8 dips with 4.5kg.
Monday December 17
1x3 hang clean 42.6kg.
1x3 hang clean 51.8kg.
1x3 hang clean 56.4kg.
1x3 push press 42.6kg.
1x3 push press 51.8kg.
1x3 push press 56.4kg.
1x6 front squat 51.8kg.
1x6 front squat 56.4kg.
1x6 front squat 60.8kg.
1x4 back squat 51.8kg.
1x4 back squat 56.4kg.
1x4 back squat 60.8kg.
Tuesday December 18
1x4 bicep curls 29kg.
1x4 bicep curls 33.6kg.
1x4 bicep curls 38kg.
1x4 bicep curls 42.6kg.
1x4 bench press 60.8kg.
1x4 bench press 65.4kg.
1x4 bench press 69.8kg.
1x4 bench press 74.4kg.
3x8 pullups
3x8 dips with 4.5kg.
Steady, positive progress. I’m loving it. Was sick of doing lots of reps for hypertrophy, time to do what I really like - move some weight around. 74.4kg. bench is a new PB. Have to look back, I think my best was 70 or 72.5 like 4 years ago, and for 2 reps not 4 reps. I think I can reach mid to high 80’s by the end of this phase. In squat, no idea, what I’m doing is NOTHING. I’ll be moving up aggresively every session there. I guess in around two weeks I’ll know better where I am exactly in squat.
1x3 hang clean 42.6kg.
1x3 hang clean 51.8kg.
1x3 hang clean 56.4kg.
1x3 push press 38kg.
1x3 push press 42.6kg.
1x3 push press 51.8kg.
1x4 front squat 56.4kg.
1x4 front squat 60.8kg.
1x4 front squat 65.4kg.
1x4 back squat 56.4kg.
1x4 back squat 60.8kg.
1x4 back squat 65.4kg.
Felt really flat today. I guess tomorrow will be a better day. No problems with the weights, still doing nothing in squats, just felt out of energy.
September 01 2008
Pull ups with 12kg. on the weights belt
3x6
Dips with 17.5 kg. on the weights belt
3x6
Arm curls with olympic bar
8x30kg.
8x35kg.
8x40kg.
Bench press
6x65kg
6x70kg
6x75kg (PB)
Coincidentially, PBed in bench press today, at least for 6 reps sets. That’s one of the reasons I’m here in the journal, dug it up to see what I had done last year. I think I might have done 2x80kg. or something like that like 5 years ago. Next week when I move to 4 rep sets I’ll easily go for 85kg. maybe even 90kg. which would definitely be a PB. Could PB in arm curls too, but I’m sticking with more reps for less weight because my elbow tendons ache when I go too heavy in arm curls. In dips too, I could do more but my left shoulder begins to feel weird. Don’t need any injuries right now. I also have difficulties with adding more weight in dips, I’d have to use the big 15kg. discs which is complicated.
I’ve been doing weights steadily again, since early may. A lot of circuits for the first two months or so. I mean I was wrecked, in the worst physical state I can remember. Did nothing at all from like January to April. Been mostly dedicated to salsa, reggaeton and women for the past 6 months or so For the first time I’m pretty serious about upper body strength (and looks!) and totally lazy about lower body strength (I’m barely doing one or two lower body sessions a week). But I know how easily I can hypertrophy my lower body, and how hard it is for me to keep upper body mass. Been taking creatine for about three months and BCAA’s after each session. Multivit daily. I guess that’s a quick snapshot of my current situation.
Even after all this time I still think about athletics all the time. And no, I don’t have “olympicitis”, actually I barely watched any of the olympics, just the 100 and 200m mens finals. I keep thinking about coming back all the time. Well not all the time, but during every weights workout I have flashes. I’m way close to going to my club and checking things out and maybe even doing a session or two to see how I feel.
I have retrocalcaneal bursitis (not sure if the translation is right), don’t know how I got it since I haven’t done any sports. Kills me when I’m driving because it’s the heal I place on the floor all the time (right foot).
Big wow to Usain’s Beijing performance. I guess now it’s a question of what he has to do to officially become the greatest sprinter of all time. 400m WR? Repeat his olympic titles? Win the WC titles too?
Funny sheet. Day after I wrote in my journal, got intoxicated by some food. Was KO for like two days. Only trained again Saturday, did a circuit. I think these were the first days of lifting I have missed in more then three months.
Saturday :
3x2 sets of :
8 pullups
8 bodyweight squat
12 dips
20 situps
15 pushups
Was a challenging workout. Barely made it to 15 pushups on that last rep of the last set.
Sunday :
Easy legs sessions, reduced reps and weights.
2x3 hang clean 52.5kg.
2x3 push press 45kg
2x6 squat 45kg
Tomorrow I’m almost surely going to my old club to talk with the ol’ coach. Want to hear what he thinks, I’d like to start but only train for long jump … which is actually what I always wanted to do. Time to finally start? Pretty excited about this.