Long Way To The Top...

Hi all,

I’ve been very slack with my training over the end of last year and the start of this year (no excuses even though I’ve been busy), so I thought I better start a training log to keep me on track and improve my consistency.

However it’s not all bad news. I’m down 5kg from last year (I think all that’s involved in moving house helped lose most of that weight, plus eating less). I no longer get shin splints from sprinting or tempo runs, something which has bothered me for the last 3-4 years and really limited my athletic development (I’m still flat footed though). And I’ve got a new home gym (power rack + weights + multigym), so I can now do squat variations.

I’m not really training for anything in particular this year, just trying to improve general athleticism. I’m looking to maybe start footy again next season (I missed this years pre-season) and possibly cricket (next season). I might do some recreational sports like indoor soccer, touch rugby, or whatever they offer at college for fun and to keep GPP up.

Current Stats

Age: 17 (turning 18 in May)
Height: 1.81m
Weight – 75kg (5kg down from last year)

Back Squat (deep) - 70kg x 3
Front Squat (deep) - 65kg x 3
Clean – 50kg x 3
Snatch - 35kg x 3
CG Chin-ups – BW+5kg x 4
MG Chin-ups - BW x 5
BB Rows - 75kg x 4
Military Press - 40kg x 3
Flat Bench - 70kg x 2

Vertical Jump - 50cm
Standing Long Jump - 2.10m

20m Accel - ?
20m Flying - ?
40m Accel - ?

End Of Year Goals

Weight – 75-80kg (body fat <10% - abs visible)

Front Squat 1RM - >105kg
Back Squat 1RM - >120kg
Deadlift 1RM - ?
5 Pistol Squats
Single Leg Squats - >60kg x 5
WG Pull-ups - >BW x 20
Pendlay Rows 1RM - >85kg
Bench Press 1RM - >85kg

Vertical Jump - >72cm
Standing Long Jump - 2.50m

20m Accel - <2.90
20m Flying - ?
40m Accel - <5.10

Training Plan

MON - Short Sprints and Weights

TUE - Tempo

WED - Hills and Weights

THU - Tempo

FRI - Short Sprints and Weights

SAT - Tempo

SUN - REST

NOTE: I do the same warm-up before all my workouts:

Foam Roller/Hockey Ball Rolling 1 x 15 rolls (Quads, HF, Hams, ITB/TFL, Adductors, Peroneals, Calves)
Static Stretching 2 x 10s (Quads, HF, Adductors, Piriformis, Calves)
Quadraped Hip Mobility x 10
Self Ankle Mobility x 10
Glute activation (bridges, side lying clams, bird-dogs) 1 x 10

Jog - 800m
Walking High Knees - 2 x 20m
Walking Lunges - 1 x 20m
High Knee Lunges - 1 x 20m
Walking Leg Kicks - 2 x 20m
Side lunges - 1 x 10
Buttkicks - 2 x 20m
Back pedal - 2 x 20m
Side Skips - 2 x 20m
Carioca - 2 x 20m
Running/Skipping As - 2 x 20m
Running/Skipping Bs - 2 x 20m
Arm Swings - 1 x 10
Side bends - 1 x 10

Sprint Build-ups (for sprint sessions only) - 3 x 10m (65%, 75%, 95%), 3 x 20m (65%, 75%, 95%)
Tempo Build ups (for tempo sessions only) - 2 x 25 (65%, 75%), 2 x 50m (65%, 75%), 2 x 75m (65%, 75%), 2 x 100m (65%, 75%)

Diet

No real goals here, I just try and eat a serve of protein (25g+) with each meal (5 or more meals per day) with low GI carbs and/or healthy fats (need to try and eat more of these). I also try to get a serve of veges and/or fruit with each meal. I don’t count calories or macros religiously (I think I’m generally somewhere around 2500-3000kcals/day on average). I’ll try and post my diet each day.

Supplementation

Multi Vitamin/Mineral - 2 x 1 tab
Fish Oil - 2 x 4 caps
Magnesium Complex - 2 x 1 tab
B Complex - 1 tab (morn)
Zinc Complex - 2 x 1 tab

Feel free to post away and give me suggestions on how I can improve my training, diet, supps, goals and other factors. I’m always willing to learn something new.

Cheers.

1.30PM Weights (Full Body DE)

Warm-up (see first post)

Jump Squats - 25kg x 3 (reps) x 5 (sets)
Vertical Jump - BW x 5 x 3
DE Flat Bench 45kg x 3 x 4
DE BB Rows - 45kg x 3 x 4
BB Forward Lunges - 65kg x 3, 60kg x 8
Face Pulls - 25kg x 8, 20kg x 19, 20kg x 14
Scap Push Ups - BW x 20 x 3
DB Cuban Press - 6kgDB x 9, 6kgDB x 7, 5kgDB x 12

5.00PM Sprints

Warm-up (see first post)

5 x 20m (3 with various start positions i.e. push up, 3 pt stance, jump back, 2 with flying start)
5 x 30m (same as above)

6.30PM Foam Roller

As per “Feel Better For 10 Bucks” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832

Diet

7.30
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
1 cup of sustage w/ milk

11.30
3/4 chicken breast + some leg meat
1/2 plate of basmati rice
Mixed salad (lettuce, tomato, capsicum)

3.00
1 can of tuna w/ salsa
4 tbsp of yoghurt + 1/2 cup of oats + honey

6.00
MRP shake

8.30
Mixed Beans w/ salad + corn chips + grated cheese + salsa

10.00
1/2 cup of cottage cheese
1/2 scoop of protein blend
handful of almonds and walnuts

8.50AM Tempo Runs

Warm-up (see first post)

100m x 8 @ 70-75% (50m walk b/w reps)
200m walk b/w sets
100m x 6 @ 70-75% (50m walk b/w reps)

9.30PM Static Stretching

As per “Hardcore Stretching” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=640906

Diet

7.30
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
3 tbsp baked beans
1 cup of sustage w/ milk

10.00
1 Cytogainer MRP shake
1 small tub of ski low fat yoghurt
1 apple

1.15
1 Musashi P30 Vanilla Creme Drink

4.45
1 small can of tuna
100g cottage cheese
1 glass 100% orange juice
handful of almonds

7.45
Homemade Lamb Curry w/ potatoes + basmati rice
Plate of mixed salad w/ olive oil dressing

10.00
150g cottage cheese
handful of walnuts

m8 do u drink? (alcohol)

Very rarely and if I do, I never drink enough to get pissed or pass out. Last time I had a drink was November last year. I hate the taste of beer (don’t mind Vodka though).

Why do you ask?

good your actually as committed (and smart) as u think u r. Lots of guys talk bout how they measure everything in grams and every bit of their diet is exact and hardcore and then they drink ‘uncounted’ amounts of alcohol once or twice a week - if not more - and it completely wrecks every bit of effort they put in besides. Even 1 or 2 drinks a night is a no-no for fully committed athletes coz the alcohol in the blood dosen’t allow for the muscles to recover from trainings/competiton. I’m sure u probally kno this but i was just interested 2 c wetha u were one of those dweebs or not (no offence) coz ur not neways.

Yeh, I know what you mean. It’s disappointing that so many young, talented athletes get caught up in drugs and alcohol at such a critical stage of their development as an athlete. I know most the guys I used to play cricket and football with used to go out and get pissed into the late hours of Friday/Sat night and then turn up and play the next morning. Mind you some of them didn’t play too badly, but you can only imagine how much better there performances would have been if they got a good alcohol-free night of sleep. If I had half some of these guys talent at sport (I have absolutely zilch athletic talent when it comes to strength, speed, power, endurance etc.) I’d definitely make the most of it and wouldn’t even dream of touching booze during the season.

9.20AM Weights (Full Body ME)

Snatch - 35kg x 3, 35kg x 1 (got 2 more overhead, but couldn’t OH squat them up), 35kg x 0 (couldn’t OH squat it up)
Flat Bench - 70kg x 2, 65kg x 1
CG Pull-ups - BW+2.5kg x 4, BW+2.5kg x 2
Kneeling Squat - 55kg x 15 x 2

Not too pleased with the snatch (legs felt like lead after the warm-up sets. :confused: Bench hasn’t really progressed as much as I would like nor have pull-ups, but at least it gives my lower body a chance to get further ahead of my upper body, so my strength levels are more balanced.

8.00PM Sprints

40m x 3 @ MAX EFFORT (2 with various starting positions, 1 flying start, 4 mins rest per rep)
50m x 3 @ MAX EFFORT (3 with various starting positions, 5 min rest per set, 5 mins rest per rep)

Reasonably good session, but kind of eerie training in the dark with the last few reps (floodlights weren’t on for some reason).

9.20PM Foam Roller

As per “Feel Better For 10 Bucks” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832

Diet

8.30
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
3 tbsp baked beans
1 cup of sustage w/ milk

11.10
1 MRP Shake

12.15
125g of Cottage Cheese
1 apple
1 glass of V8 vegetable juice

4.40
1 can of tuna w/ salsa
handful of walnuts
1 glass of 100% OJ

7.00
2 filets of cod (fried in light olive oil, marinated in Indian spices)
3 chapatis
1/3 plate of rice
1/2 plate of mixed salad

9.20
125g cottage cheese
1 cup of sustagen (w/milk)
handful of almonds

6.45PM Tempo Runs

Warm-up (see first post)

100m x 10 @ 70-75% (50m walk b/w reps)
200m walk b/w sets
100m x 10 @ 70-75% (50m walk b/w reps)

Very good session, but had to train at a non-preferred field with a dodgy surface.

11.15PM Ab Strength Training

Saxon side bends - 7.5kg x 6 x 4
Prone bridge - 1 x 60s
Side bridge - 1 x 30s
Bar Roll outs - 6 x 10 (not sure if weight matters with these?..I was using 2.5kg plates on each side)

I have to admit, Saxon side bends and bar rollouts are much tougher than they look…

11.45PM Static Stretching

As per “Hardcore Stretching” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=640906

Diet

9.00
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
3 tbsp baked beans
1 cup of sustage w/ milk

1.30
2 tuna, salad, mayo and swiss cheese toasted sandwiches

5.00
1 MRP shake
1 apple

8.30
4 crumbed chicken tenderloins (shallow fried in olive oil)
1/2 plate of mixed salad w/ new potatoes

11.30
1 small tub of 97% fat free yoghurt
50g cottage cheese (my brother used most of the tub up today :mad:)
handful of mixed almonds and walnuts

No tempo runs today (I thought it would be best if I took the day off, studied and relaxed, as this is my first full week of training for a while).

10.00PM Foam Roller

As per “Feel Better For 10 Bucks” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832

10.45PM Static Stretching

As per “Hardcore Stretching” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=640906

Diet

10.00
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
3 tbsp baked beans
1 cup of sustagen w/ milk

2.00
1 chicken breast
3/4 plate of vegetables (carrots, broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower)
1 glass of OJ

7.15
1 can of tuna w/ salsa
1 glass of V8 Vegetable Juice
handful of almonds

9.00
2 crumbed chicken tenderloins (left overs from last night)
1/2 plate of vegetables (left overs from lunch)

11.45
1 cup of milk
1 small tub of yoghurt
handful of walnuts

Foam rollers are good :smiley:

exactly my perspective 2

12.00PM, Weights (Full Body ME)

Warm-up (see first post)

Front Squat (deep) - 70kg x 0 (couldn’t get out of the hole), 65kg x 1, 60kg x 4, 55kg x 4 (I’m stuck at a bloody plateau at 65kg :mad: )
BB Bent Over Rows - 75kg x 4, 70kg x 5
Bent Leg Good Mornings - 60kg x 5 (+10kg), 55kg x 10
Military Press - 40kg x 5 (+2 reps), 40kg x 3

7.00PM Sprints

Warm-up (see first post)

10 x 10m (6 with various starts, 4 flying - 25-30m run up, 1 min rest b/w reps)
10 x 15m (same as above, 1.5 min rest b/w reps)

Some good starts some poor starts. Flying sprints were very good.


8.50PM Foam Roller

As per “Feel Better For 10 Bucks” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832

Diet

8.45
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
1 cup of sustagen w/ milk

10.45
1 MRP shake
1 cup of coffee (taken with the l-tyrosine)

1.30
1.5 fillets of fried snapper (marinated in Indian spices)
1/2 plate of basmati rice
1/2 avocado
1 cup of V8 vegetable juice

4.30
3/4 breast of chicken strips (w/ peri peri, perinaise and tomato sauce)
1 glass of OJ
1 apple

8.15
2 salmon fillets
1/2 plate of mixed vegetables (sweetcorn, peas, spinach, carrots, potatoes)

10.00
1 glass of milk
1 small tub of yoghurt
handful of almonds

Unfortunately in many cases that is the sporting culture, certainly here alcohol and sport are inextricably linked with the booze up afterwards often being at least as important as the competition. :cool: Nothing wrong with having a good time but all in moderation.

Yours in parentalness

John :stuck_out_tongue:

Footy (Aussie rules) and rugby players seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to pre/post game binge drinking. Never seen athletes from other sports as bad in this area (in general).

Unfortunately, “moderation” and “alcohol” aren’t words that go hand in hand with teens (and young athletes), it’s either “go hard or go home”…

6.30PM Tempo Runs

Warm-up (see first post)

100m x 10 @ 65-70% (50m walk b/w reps) - a little less on one of the reps as a dog got in my way :mad:
200m walk b/w sets
100m x 8 @ 65-70% (50m walk b/w reps)

Posterior chain was SUPER tight, which really limited the pace of the runs (I went a little slower than I usually go). Not sure why, I did my same warm-up and didn’t feel any significant tightness to begin with

10.30PM Static Stretching

As per “Hardcore Stretching” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=640906

Diet

7.30
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
3 tbsp baked beans
1 cup of sustagen w/ milk

10.40
1 MRP shake
1 apple

1.00
1 footlong sweet onion chicken teriaki sub (w/ the works, swiss cheese)

4.50
1/2 breast of chicken strips
1 glass of V8 vegetable juice
handful of almonds
handful of dried apricots

8.00
Homemade chicken stir-fry w/ mixed vegetables
1/2 plate of Jasmine Rice

10.50
1 glass of milk
1 small tub of yoghurt
handful of almonds

11.40PM Weights (Full Body ME/DE)

Warm-up (see first post)

Back Squat (full, near ATG) - 75kg x 3 (+5kg), 60kg x 3, 50kg x 8
CG Flat Bench Press - 60kg x 6, 55kg x 7, 50kg x 9
Chin-ups - BW x 30 reps total, 8 sets total (3 w/ MG, 5w/ CG)
Single Leg Split Squats - 45kg x 4 (+5kg), 45kg x 3, 35kg x 10
Face Pulls - 25kg x 15 (+7 reps), 25kg x 13, 25kg x 11
Scap Push Ups - BW x 20 x 3
DB Cuban Press - 5kgDB x 15, 5kgDB x 14, 5kgDB x 11

6.40PM Sprints

Warm-up (see first post)

5 x 20m (3 with various start positions i.e. push up, 3 pt stance, jump back, 2 with flying start)
5 x 30m (same as above)

10.30PM Foam Roller

As per “Feel Better For 10 Bucks” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832

Diet

10.00
2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
1 cup of sustage w/ milk

11.00
1 cup of coffee (taken w/ l-tyrosine)

1.40
1 MRP shake
1 can of tuna w/ salsa
1 glass V8 vegetable juice
1 banana

4.40
1/2 chicken breast w/ tabasco and tomato sauce
1 apple

7.40
1/2 plate of goats cheese + SD tomatoes ravioli (w/ parmesan, olive oil, mushrooms and tomato sauce)
1/2 plate of fresh spaghetti (w/ parmesan, olive oil, mushrooms and tomato sauce)
2 pieces of bruschetta w/ garlic butter
1/2 plate of salad

10.50
1 cup of milk
1 small tub of ski yoghurt (97% FF)
handful of almonds

Good to see the site back up. Training last week was pretty poor (did all my 3 weight sessions missed 2 sprint sessions and 2 tempo sessions and only did static stretching and foam roller once in the week), was very busy though with college and other commitments (had an all day seminar on the weekend so I didn’t get to do any training on the weekend), but it should be improved this week.

12.00PM, Weights (Full Body ME)

Warm-up (see first post)

Back Squat (deep) - 80kg x 2 (+1 rep) , 70kg x 2, 60kg x 5
Cable Rows - 60kg x 3, 55kg x 9
Pull throughs - 35kg x 9, 30kg x 15
Military Press - 50kg x 2 (+5kg), 45kg x 3

I’ve got to stop squatting to failure, bad habit of mine, pushing myself too far. I also have to start using my glutes more (feet and knees pointing out, instead of in which they naturally tend to do). Overall, a solid workout.

6.00PM Sprints

Warm-up (see first post)

5 x 20m (3 with various starts, 2 flying - 25-30m run up, 2 min rest b/w reps)
10 x 30m (same as above, 3 min rest b/w reps)

Done under floodlights. Cold conditions (for Perth standards :smiley: - probably around 15C). Wind was very strong as well, grass was a little wet (started to rain on the last few reps), had to wear trackies and jumper, which probably contributed to me feeling slightly slower.

8.50PM Foam Roller

As per “Feel Better For 10 Bucks” - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832

Diet

7.30

2 poached eggs
1 W/W toast
3 tbsp baked beans
1 cup of sustagen w/ milk

10.30

1 MRP shake
1 banana
1 cup of coffee (taken w/ l-tyrosine)

1.15
1 can of tuna w/ salsa
1 small tub of ski yoghurt
1 apple

4.30
1 toasted chicken sandwich w/ lettuce, tomato, avocado, capsicum, cheddar cheese, blue vein cheese

7.30

2 filets of snapper (fried in light olive oil, marinated in Indian spices)
3 chapatis
1/3 plate of basmati rice
1/2 plate of mixed salad

11.30
1/2 tub of Cottage cheese
1 cup of milk
handful of almonds

Still been training, just lazy with logging it…though I did take a 5 day break over the long weekend to refresh and feeling very good right now as a result.

11.00AM - Sprints

Warm-up (see first post)

5 x 20m (push up start, mountain climber start, 4 pt stance start, 2 x flying start - 2 mins rest b/w reps)
5 x 30m (push up start, mountain climber start, 4 pt stance start, jump back start, flying start - 3 mins rest b/w reps)

All went pretty well :slight_smile: I don’t like doing the jump back start though…can’t seem to get it right.

12.00PM - Weights

Front Squat (full squats) - 70kg x 1, 70kg x 0, 60kg x 4, 55kg x 6
Military press - 45kg x 4 (PR +5kg, -1 rep), 40kg x 4
BB Rows - 75kg x 4 (bad form :o), 70kg x 5, 65kg x 9
Pull throughs - 40kg x 12, 45kg x 10

Not bad, would’ve preferred more on the squats, but I’m not complaining. Seems like I’ve hit a plateau on BB Rows (don’t have many other options because I don’t have access to heavy enough DBs).

8.00PM - Tempo Runs

Warm-up (see first post)

2 x 5 x 100m, 2 x 100m @ 75% (50m walk b/w reps, 100m walk b/w sets)

My aerobic fitness ain’t too flash at present :frowning:

9.00PM - Barbell Complex

“The Bear” - Clean, Front Squat, Push Press, Back Squat, Push Press (Coach Davies) - 4 x 5 x 30kg (1 min rest b/w sets)

Just started doing these recently. Can’t stand not doing any lifting for one day :smiley:

10.30PM - Foam Roller, Static Stretching + Activation work

Foam Roller - glutes, hamstrings, calves, anterior tibialis, quads, hip flexors, pironeals, ITB/TCL, abductors

Glute activation - single leg glute bridges - 2 x 10 per side and side lying clam - 2 x 20s

Static Stretching - quadricep and HF stretch - 2 x 20s and piriformis stretch - 2 x 20s