It's still all about me

John, Iā€™m glad to hear your achilles issues seem to be clearing up. If you do decide youā€™re finished racing for this season though, Iā€™d like to make a suggestion.

I was looking in your old logs and in 2006 you power cleaned 75kg for a single and were doing multiple sets of 3 with 65kg. Itā€™s now four years later and Iā€™m not sure youā€™re able to replicate either feat. I donā€™t mean to sound like Iā€™m putting you down, I just think that you should put some time towards getting your strength up and building a little bit of extra muscle.

Rather than doing a low volume of singles and doubles, I would suggest you shoot for higher reps and at least moderate volume. Iā€™d put my focus on RDL variations and back squats. A little extra muscle in your glutes and hamstrings would really help you out when you start running again. Again, I donā€™t mean to sound like Iā€™m dogging you, but your strength levels are very low, and if you want to break 13, youā€™ll likely need to be stronger.

rj thanks for your interest and input it is much appreciated and not in any way taken as a put down especially as there is a lot of justification to what you put. Funny you mention the cleans as I was thinking (lamenting) just yesterday about how I was consistently cleaning 75kg (all my weights are in shown kg) x 3 a few years ago, probably not long before I started my journals here. And you are right where I am now is a hell of a way from that although I donā€™t recall squatting 3s x 5r x 110 before as I was pre Christmas. There are a few factors that have influenced things, I am now about 8.5kg (nearly 19lbs) lighter than ā€˜beforeā€™ @ a current weight of about 76.5kgs (168lbs) @ 5ā€™7.5" (171cm) tall, a heap ā€˜fitterā€™ and by extension a lot healthier which at 47 is an important consideration.

Below is an excerpt I sent a friend in an email yesterday

[i]Apart from training things are actually going pretty well and if I didnā€™t have races in the mix that wouldnā€™t be an issue either really.

My Achilles isnā€™t THAT bad just not right and I donā€™t want to make it a major. Iā€™m sure a few weeks focus and management will see it come right.

It is 99% certain I wonā€™t race again this season and Iā€™m thinking Iā€™ll change things a bit and do a 13 week ā€˜blockā€™ that will incorporate GPP & SPP over 12 weeks with week 13 being a recovery week as per CF recovery & rest DVD.

I think in the past I have got too far away from things over GPP and am playing catch up rather than adding to what is established. Iā€™ll probably do some longer SE sessions on hills for time rather than distance as hills seem to help with my leg issues. Iā€™ll probably do a few different things like 30 min (or longer runs) and Iā€™ll reintroduce squats but probably only once per week and keep all weights at a low volume.

Part of me actually wonders if my Achilles issues may have been influenced by me getting fixed by the Chiro. Apparently I have been out of whack for a long time so naturally I would have adapted to things and now it is closer to ā€˜normalā€™ I need to get used to that.[/i]

The last few years Iā€™ve used Joe Kennā€™s Tier as the basis of my weights (gee thatā€™s worked a treat :rolleyes: ) but the past few weeks was using Jim Wendlers 5/3/1

'http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/how_to_build_pure_strength

which was a nice change. I have a recovery week next week but was going to put a leg day back in from then on and thought of doing cleans singles as now, squats (as ME) then SLDL and lunges as accessory work. Not squatting for a while has highlighted just how tired my legs were from 3 or even 2 times pw so Iā€™ll give 1 time a go and see how that works.

Once again thanks for the effort you went to, it is appreciated. In closing Iā€™ll add the first line to that email I sent

I understand it is pretty hard to keep up with some of my thought processes, even I canā€™t !

:stuck_out_tongue:

Haha, so it seems you were already looking to restart. Still though, I wouldnā€™t use 5,3,1. Thereā€™s not enough volume for someone with low strength levels. Clean singles probably arenā€™t a good idea either. Honestly, neither is trying to build muscle mass or get stronger while doing long tempo and SE.

Like I said, your strength levels are probably in line with your sprint times. All the hill runs and tempo in the world arenā€™t going to make you faster if you donā€™t get more powerful through the hips. Similarly, youā€™re not going to get more powerful by doing clean singles and squatting once per week while heaping on lots of fitness work. This approach just isnā€™t working.

Iā€™d have you doing something as simple as this:

Back Squat, 20-40 total reps (not including warm up)
RDL, 20-40 total reps (not including warm up)
Ab Work

Do that twice per week, maybe preceded by 200-300M of short sprints, and youā€™d be golden. Tempo too, if you want, but donā€™t go overboard.

You really need to slap some muscle on you if you intend to go any faster, and to do that, youā€™ll need more volume.

Sorry a couple of points I wasnā€™t clear on. The clean singles would only be on the leg day and on the other 2 days Iā€™ll do triples as I agree 100%, singles arenā€™t cutting the mustard and to some extent I wasnā€™t expecting them to. They were an experiment pre Christmas to try and see how they would work now which was when my season was really meant to crack into gear. :rolleyes:

On reflection I think I did far too many EFE & FEF and split SE reps this last 8 or so months. They have a place but I ended up doing lots of sub maximal reps.

What you suggest has merit and Iā€™ll definitely consider it (like I need more things going round in my brain right now :p) One of the advantages of stopping racing now is that it gives me about 9 months till the next season as we have no indoor. With 13 week blocks that is just over 3 blocks to try and get things right.

I hate it when I am awake from 2.30am ā€¦but at least I figured things out.

RJ you (we) are right re my strength and power being well down but perhaps we have it round the wrong way, certainly CF would argue that weights are an expression of speed / power / strength not necessarily vice versa. You certainly got me thinking though and as a result have significantly altered what I had planned and will now do something a lot closer to what you suggested.

Key points

  1. My Achilles is improved but still nowhere near right. Getting that sorted and staying injury free are my main priorities. For this reason I will not race again this season.

  2. I find hills help with my calf & Achilles so have retained those to a significant level. Weeks 1-4 there are 2 days pw with hills and Weeks 5-8 there is 1.

  3. The plan has 3 speed days, 2 conditioning (tempo @ approx 2200m, rowing or biking) and 2 recovery structured as High, Low, Recovery, High, Low, High, Recovery

  4. As stated earlier I feel I have often got too far away from where I need to be in GPP and as a result play catch up rather than adding to what is there. In this plan I will actually integrate both GPP and SPP over 12 weeks.

  5. Weeks 4, 8 & 12 are lower volume recovery weeks while Week 13 is a total rest and recovery week with no training.

  6. The weights still follow Joe Kennā€™s Tier template and are 3x pw with alternative lower, upper and total body emphasis. It will have plenty of strength and volume without being detrimental

  7. The speed portions cover all elements with the accel and max V day being a constant non hill day for all 12 weeks as I see this being the most critical element to rectify.

Iā€™ve uploaded the spreadsheet to Google Documents at

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlOXrvTXMLp1dDFyZkRUY3liV0xnaHRQS1ZhT25oblE&hl=en

Auto Reg rating
+2

Conditioning
Bike 62 mins

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/new-zealand/-dunedin/104125762541019953

abs & stretch

Rating
8

a stunning warm evening :cool: This was my first ride in about 8 weeks since I fell on my head so was pleasantly surprised how good it was although i was pretty apprehensive on the downhills :o

Auto Reg rating
+2

Med Ball Throws
Backwards x 10

Hills
6 x 40m rec 2 / 4 min
5 x 40m rec 2 / 4min
4 x 40m rec 2 min

Squats
3 min rec
warmup 5r x 80

work 90 x 5s x 5r

SLDL
3 min rec
65 x 12r, 15r
70 x 10r

stretch & abs

Rating
7

Pre and post workout Achilles was great with absolutely no pain it was good for most of warmup but sore doing drills and really sore on strideouts. No issue at all on hills :cool:
Was conscious (and it showed) I hadnā€™t squatted in about 5 weeks!

well well well how things can change. After considerable discussion with RJ and after much thought I have changed things a fair bit ā€¦actually a lot. I hear a collective OMG he actually does listen after all :stuck_out_tongue:

The new plan can be seen at
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlOXrvTXMLp1dFlPVm1HVGFIYURMbUx5bm11Znlpa2c&hl=en

as you can see the volume is way down and the weights (at the bottom of the sheet) are significantly different and are based on RJs article

http://www.singularitysportstraining.com/2040%20Method.htm

It will be interesting to see how it goes. Regardless of what happens I want to acknowledge the input and time of RJ. Thanks a lot, it is really appreciated.

Auto Reg rating
+2

S/set with 2 mins between reps
Chins BW x 8, 8, 6, 5, 5 = 32
Dips BW + 5kg x 8, 9, 8, 7, 7 = 39

abs

Conditioning
Bike 62 mins

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/new-zealand/-dunedin/104125762541019953

Rating
9 :cool:

a bit sore from yesterday but not as bad as I thought it may have been. The other nights when I was down at our beach I spied a great swimming area so went and had a dip straight after ride :cool:

Haha, thanks John. This new setup will work just fine, I promise (gee, I hope that doesnā€™t come back and bite me in the ass :wink: )

Keep up the good work, buddy.

Its a pretty safe bet that things will improve and regardless I really appreciate it and wonā€™t hold you accountable. Ultimately it was me who decided to give it a go.

Here is a vid of L with his Welsh Pony at ā€˜our beachā€™ This is under 5minutes walk from sitting upstairs at home.

//youtu.be/R-XfDUVAk6Q

The Welsh Pony seems to enjoy that! :slight_smile:

I could be best friends with your kids :smiley:

Yes indeed that is part of why I posted it. The pony (Sam) got out and was cavorting and frolicking like a dog. In fact he follows L around like a dog when he is in the paddock.

Stef,
all in all they are pretty good and we have HEAPS of laughs and fun. For some reason though they get upset, L in particular, when I have them on by saying say things like

Iā€™m down with the kids yo!
donā€™t be a hater Dude

but the classic was last week when my wife was at work and was talking to a group of young teens and she said

oh, oh, Iā€™m coolā€¦I know what to sayā€¦'sup my g?*ā€¦the teens literally LOLā€¦and one said ā€¦wassup Lady

  • this was a phrase neither C or I had heard till we were on holiday and the first time both thought it was suck my g :eek: whatever g stands for ā€¦I dread to think :stuck_out_tongue:

Auto Reg rating
+4

Med Ball Throws
Backwards x 10

Hills
1 x 10m walkback rec
1 x 20m 2 min rec
1 x 30m 3 min rec
5s x 15 sec 5 min rec

Squats
3 min rec
warmup 5r x 70

work 90 x 6s x 6r

SLDL
3 min rec
75 x 10, 10, 8, 8

stretch & abs

Rating
9.5 :cool:

Achilles progressing really well. Did warmup and drills barefoot and at most there was an awareness, stride outs there was some discomfort no real issues on hills. :slight_smile:

Beautiful hot evening so after weights went for a quick swim and then stood in the cold sea for approx 5 mins.

RJ, you wanted some more volume in the weight room, how about that? :stuck_out_tongue:

Haha, thatā€™s a ton of volume. Itā€™s good for you though. A little while of that and your strength levels will jump. I went through a phase of RDLs and step ups for 50 reps a piece per session a while back and it did wonders to kick off my squat strength.

Auto Reg rating
+2

S/set with 2 min between reps
1 arm db row 34db x 3s x 12r
Incline DB press 24db x 11, 11, 9

Conditioning
Bike 62 mins

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/new-zealand/-dunedin/104125762541019953

Rating
8

another beaut night, would have biked longer but back to work to finish off a funding proposal :frowning:

EDIT
wasnā€™t overly late home so did

foam roller

abs & stretch

Here are a couple of pics from where I did my hills the other day.

My house is down to just the right of teh R hand trees dn the view from our lounge is along that coast to the outcrop about 2/3 towards the left.

Looking back towards Dunedin

Auto Reg rating
+2

Med Ball Throws
Backwards x 10

Hills
4 x 4 x 40m rec 3 / 6 min

Squats
3 min rec
warmup 5r x 70

work 90 x 5s x 7r
95 x 1s x 3r

SLDL
3 min rec
80 x 6s x 6r

stretch & abs

Rating
9

another awesome hot day :cool: Today is C & my 22nd wedding anniversary :slight_smile:

below is vid from today at 1/2 speed

//youtu.be/yJnJDeKigsQ

Happy anniversary! You guys have been married longer than Iā€™ve been alive. :slight_smile:

And good work last session, John. Higher reps on the squat are tough, especially over so many sets. How is the higher volume treating you?

Ha, thanks.

Volume ok so far but it is early days and Iā€™m going at the higher end while I can hopefully it carries on. Iā€™m also aware that Iā€™m just getting back into squats again after over a month off so thngs should be ramping up quite quickly.