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…I assume this is directed to angela?
words of wisdom angela. I’m sure I think too much, but that is the aspect of my athletics that I have seen the most improvement in over the last year or so. I didn’t understand the difference between how something “feels” versus what your body is actually doing; now I feel good cues and training in general, with an observant coach, are more valuable for an athlete than any amount of personal knowledge of mechanics or training. Many of the kids I’ve asked about their mechanics when I’ve noticed they looked exceptionally good (or very atypical, yet seemed to work well for them), seem to have super simple ideas of what they are doing, and everything seems to fall into place perfectly, even things they have no idea they do, or that are good, or have even thought about before.
and luckily, though my goal and what I strive for is athletic improvement, I like how training feels in general. Also, in the words of the friend who brought me to this site: “No matter what I’m not wasting my time because, in the least, I’m gonna look better on the beach”, haha. Even just being aware of adaptations makes training worthwhile because I don’t know how anyone could not be utterly fascinated by the changes a consistent lifestyle change can make
4/17/2013 (am)
5’ bike
depletion push-ups (43,19,14)
(pm)
pre-workout weight: 154
5’ elliptical
self-massage
jav (spear and band) stretches
night weight: 156
4/18/2013 (am)
500 reps core
stretch core
4/18/2013 (pm)
pre-workout weight: 153
thrower’s warm-up
oly lifts checks
5x6 pc (135,165,165,165,165)
5x6 squat (225,275,275,275,275)
2x10:
-hammy curl (1-leg negs, alt)
-calf raise
1x20:
-x-band, each
-ankle dorsi-flexion
15’ ice (r.shoulder)
night weight: 156
4/19/2013 (am)
morning weight: 153
500 reps core
Jav specific stretches
self-massage
notes:
-was able to find that good “bounce” in the squat again, stance widened out again
-realized dropping pc from the top and resetting so I can find the stretch reflex from my glutes in the first pull was adding much more vertical power. 165 flew up and hit my chin at triple ext for my last rep, whereas I was barely catching it in a 1/4 squat in earlier sets (keeping my stance tighter than Monday)
-heaviest morning weigh-in I’ve had yet. upper body is starting to fill out a bit, and bf is low. I’d like to see my bf get a little higher as if I’m not adding bodyfat along with muscle, I think it’s unlikely I’m consuming enough calories to see max muscular gains. Not planning on messing with success though, so unless I start seeing a slow in gains, I’ll keep similar to what I’ve been doing
-feeling limber as far as flexibility goes, shoulders starting to feel more relaxed while overhead. Finally felt my arms fall into place while warming up with some jerk width-grip overhead squats
4/19/2103 (pm)
thrower’s warm-up
5x6:
-bench (135,155(@7),165,165(@5),165)
-pull-ups (bw,bw(@8),bw+20(@5),bw+10,bw+10)
2x10 upperbody circuit (10 exercises)
oly lifts checks
1x20:
-shoulder complex
-band pulls
pullover stretch (on stability ball)
night weight: 156
4/20/2013 (am)
morning weight: 150
5’ elliptical
depletion push-ups (50,17,15)
self-massage
15’ ice (r. shoulder)
4/21/2013 (pm)
yoga (20 poses)
jav stretches
flexibility checks
stretch upper, core, lower
4/22/2013 (am)
morning weight: 149
500 reps core
stretch core
notes:
-disappointed weight can still dip into the 140’s. was short on sleep, not overeating and probably a little dehydrated this weekend, so I’m not particularly worried that I regressed at all, just still waiting until the day when I can know I will never weigh in less than 150
-got good amount of sleep last night, but felt sluggish in the morning til doing core. offdays seem to kill me 
I wonder if I would’ve been better off taking a couple days before a premeet off, but then doing a faily difficult upperbody day instead of just premeet and some core before races. Lack of muscularly demanding exercise really seems to dull my energy levels
4/22/2013 (pm)
thrower’s warm-up
acrobat checks
oly lift checks
5x4 pc (135,185,205,225(f@2),135)
5x4 squat (225,275,295,315,335)
2x10:
-hammy curl (1-leg negs, alt)
-calf raise
1x20:
-x-band, each
-ankle dorsi-flexion
self-massage
stretch lower
15’ ice (r. shoulder)
night weight: 154
notes:
-talking to one of the trainers at the gym. big proponent of low rep lifting, and full ROM lifts. I think it’s come up earlier in this thread, but I think I was convinced that I should be looking at a lower rep range for a while. as far as weight gain goes, it’s really calories in versus calories out, so I’m not sure lifting in the hypertrophy range would even result in superior mass gains to low rep, heavy lifts. maybe I’d gain more fat versus muscle, but I do think some added body fat would be beneficial to my training. fitness can be covered by some circuit work and core, but as far as weights, I might as well train my cns stronger and move less, especially since I have no other activities that really burn my cns (like speedwork). probably looking at rep ranges in the 2-6 range and more variation in rest times and sets, and medball/plyo work (along with some supplementary shoulder work, and injury prevention stuff) for fitness and volume when I finish my last cycle for this season, which I think I will do 6,4,2,unload
-finally tried hook-grip for cleans. wayyy underestimated how good it would feel, though awkward seeming at first grasp. wasn’t even using very challenging weight, but I felt like I barely needed to put any effort into gripping the bar, and this really helped loosen up my wrists up through my shoulders and traps, making a much smoother lift. second pull coming along, but still improving. still feel like I need to rush the first pull to get big weights up because my second pull isn’t powerful enough. I think I may not be extending through my calves very well
4/23/2013 (am)
morning weight: 151
500 reps core
stretch core
(pm)
pre-workout weight: 152
thrower’s warm-up
oly lifts checks
5x4:
-bench (135,165,185,205(f@3),135)
-pull-ups (bw,bw+10,bw+25,bw+35,bw+35)
2x10 upperbody circuit (10 exercises)
1x20:
-shoulder complex
-band pulls
-pullover stretch
15’ ice (r. shoulder)
night weight:151
notes:
-some upper mid-back soreness
4/24/2013 (am)
morning weight: 151
depletion push-ups (46,19,16)
self-massage
notes:
-spent some of my workday outside in the sun. energy levels felt far superior outdoors, and immediately felt lower when I moved back in. I found this curious because generally my energy levels feel far superior at night, however this might just be due to that being the only part of my day really post-workout before having to go to bed and wake up again. Perhaps the fresh air and bright sun was simply just stimulating, like I find exercise, and my energy levels feeling good at night is just the result of being around other things I tend to find stimulating (socializing, television, exercise, music)
-watched some videos today, excited to oly lift tomorrow, plan to really concentrate on the first pull being smooth like i’m deadlifting it, and the second make sure the bar is “bouncing” off my upper quads as opposed to mid/lower
4/24/2013 (pm)
preworkout weight: 153
5’ elliptical
jav stretches
yoga (10 poses)
self-massage
flexibility checks
15’ ice (r. shoulder)
night weight: 153
4/25/2013 (am)
morning weight: 148
500 reps core
stretch core
notes:
-horrible night of sleep, very unusual for me. wonder if the lack of exercise caused it, because rarely have insomnia, maybe treatment is a bit too effective late at night if I don’t burn some energy
-feeling kinda weak and exhausted, exercise feels good though. will take weight session to really key on form because I seriously doubt I’ll be able to push the intensity
-weight loooowww. not sure why, ate a good amount last night and fell asleep at a typical weight
4/25/2013 (pm)
thrower’s warm-up
oly lifts checks
5x4 pc (135,185,205,225(f@2),225)
5x4 squat (225,275,315,365(f@1),315)
2x10:
-hammy curl (1-leg negs, alt)
-calf raise
1x20:
-x-band, each
-ankle dorsi flexion
night weight: 151
4/26/2013 (am)
morning weight: 148
500 reps core
self-massage
15’ ice (r. shoulder)
notes:
-noticed while stretching I had extreme flexibility compared to what is typical for me. not sure why this happened, but I went from decent flexibility to being able to hug my legs in the toe touch strength, I’ll be curious if it sticks or what caused it
-was overthinking on the 225s. just cleared my mind, mechanics Ive been practicing came thru for me, though legs still spraying out to approx. rack width, still want to always catch in a position that I could drop down into a full squat, won’t go above 225 til I can do that. pretty much got crushed by the 365, but I came through big on the pc and felt easy on the first 315. Probably couldve gotten at least 1 rep if I wasn’t concentrating on so much on catching the bounce (knew that was the only way I could possibly get 4 reps), but descent ended up being too quick, didn’t hit a good position at parallel and just kept going down til the spotting bars at about full squat depth (and no way I could make 365 from there anyways)
-a bit dehydrated, unsure if weight drop is due to this, or I noticed a tightening on my abdominal region, much flatter stomach, but I never really had much external fat. Now I literally cant pinch anywhere and feel fat, just skin. funny how I’ve been trying to add fat, pounding carbs and high calories, yet I’m lower than ever? shirts and pants fitting tighter than ever, too, so I definitely have seen muscle gains
4/26/2013 (pm)
thrower’s warm-up
oly lifts checks
5x4:
-bench (135(@5),165(@6),185,205(f@2),185)
-pull-ups(bw(@5),bw+10,bw+25,bw+35,bw+45(f@4))
2x10 upperbody circuit (10 exercises)
1x20:
-shoulder complex
-band pulls
-pullover stretch (on stability ball)
stretch upper,core
self-massage
15’ ice (r. shoulder)
night weight: 156
notes:
-made sure to eat a ton today and hydrate, back up to that 156, hopefully will see some retention of that with the HI week I’ve had
-significant doms in isolated areas, right where I’d like to see it if any. mid glutes, traps and lateral delts. usually see a pretty strict correlation of doms and hypertrophy so i’ll take it as a good sign so long as my next lower day I am no longer sore
-just didn’t have a good set at 205, first rep flew up, but second set I felt like I wasn’t able to put a full effort into it
-flexibility still way up for lower body. core too, upperbody seemed pretty typical, but it was postworkout. maybe I finally loosened up a hip muscle or something
-size looking better and better, starting to look decently built
4/27/2013 (am)
morning weight: 152
thrower’s warm-up
acrobat checks
oly lifts checks
3x5 pc@135
3x5 squat@225
1x10:
-hammy curl (1-leg negs, alt)
-calf raise
1x20:
-x-band, each
-ankle dorsi-flexion
self-massage
stretch lower
5’ bike
self-massage
jav stretches
flexibility checks
15’ ice (r.shoulder)
night weight: 154
notes:
-won’t be able to hit the gym for a full session on Thursday, so moved that to Sat. still will do am corework that day. will add in a couple days of MI medball throws for the unloading week
4/29/2013 (am)
morning weight: 152
notes:
-got caught up with some computer issues last night, resulted in a short night of sleep. should be fine for afternoon even if tired because I’m unloading, but I know I need rest to recover so I’ll be going to bed early tonight!
4/29/2013 (pm)
pre-workout weight: 152
5’ bike
oly lifts checks
250 reps core
3x5 pull-ups
1x20 pullover stretch (on stability ball)
yoga (10 poses)
self-massage
stretch core
night weight: 156
4/30/2013 (am)
morning weight: 152
thrower’s warm-up
125 reps core
15’ ice (r.shoulder)
notes:
-still felt exhausted in the afternoon, will be a big volume day today, but its all LI or MI and I won’t be able to access free weights next until Friday so I suppose that’s okay
4/30/2013 (pm)
pre-workout weight: 154
5’ bike
jump rope
oly lifts checks
leg swings and build ups
3x5 pc@135
3x5:
-bench@135
-squat@225
5x20 medball throws (variety)
1x10:
-hammy curl (1-leg negs, alt)
-upperbody circuit (10 exercises)
-calf raise
1x20:
-shoulder complex
-x-band, each
-ankle dorsi-flexion
-band pulls
125 reps core
stretch upper
self-massage
15’ ice (r.shoulder)
night weight: 157
notes:
-new heaviest for me. funny thing is, my bf looks the lowest its ever been. perhaps its just the same, or maybe even higher, but increased muscle mass is tightening up my skin/making muscle tone look higher. considering 157 is nearly overweight for a 5’7" person according to bmi, I’m surprised how thin I still look. I’m still looking at putting on another 10 lbs though, so still a long way to go
-lifts felt easy and explosive
BMI is not something you should be paying any attention to.
Agreed, haha. I just thought it was funny. I kind of assumed that, even its its lean mass, that anybody in the overweight section of BMI would look pretty thick, but I’m pretty close to it (and hopefully will be entering it!) and still don’t look like I have a “thick” build at all (a bit more built now than before, but still pretty skinny in general)
5/1/2013 (am)
morning weight: 153
5’ bike
depletion push-ups (31,18,15)
stretch core, lower
notes:
-didn’t do many reps because was keying on good form
-flexibility much improved