Dee 4/21 - Squat

Morning - training with BWRFC:

Running pyramid: 100m, 200, 300, 400, back down, 100m walk as rest.
Circuit: pushups/arms, plank/core, jump rope, 1min on, 10s between, 3 circuits

TPS Squat day:
2x5x45lbs, 5x95, 3x115, 3x135, 3x155, 3x3x135

A very good day for beginner squatters learning to lift, and a good environment to train in for experienced lifters. Got some advice on driving my elbows forward/up when coming out of the hole, hence the extra sets to work on that. It changes how the bar sits on my back so it will take some practice. Met a Mystic River (elite local rugby team) dude there who has a very deep squat but wobbly knees. Also talked to Jane Stabile a bit, who is a world champion equipped lifter in the 50+ age brackets, and very nice. I'm a big fan o' her. :)

Dee: 4/2

Monday:
Amped Warmup
Contrast sprints: HASDs@prowler+230lbsx15m, 1min rest, sprint 15m, rest 2min. x6
Military Press: 45lbsx5, 45x3, 55x3, 65x3, 75x5
Pull ups/chins and dips @BW, alternating: 5x5, 5x8
Time: 1h30m

5/3/1 had my presses starting at like, 31lbs, so I skipped ahead. One goal for this 5/3/1 cycle is for my press to not be as embarrassing as it is now.

The HASDs wore me out faster this time I think, and my workout was going long so I punted conditioning. 3 days of practice this week so I'm not that bothered.

Dee: 3/28

Wed:
Amped warmup
Kneeling jump medball throws: 6x3@12lbs
Bench: 45x5, 65x5, 75x3, 85x3, 95x3, 105x3
Prowler: 4x60m@+50lbs, 90s rest between trips, low grips down, high grips back
Time: 50 mins

Not enough time for my assistance, I need to get better about that. Prowler destroyed my quads. I wonder if that's related to the medball-jump-throws.

Dee: contrast sprints

Monday:
Amped Warmup
Contrast sprints - Heavy Ass Sled Drags with prowler+230lbx10m, 30s rest, sprint 10m, rest 3min. x6
These took over a half hour, good to know for future planning. Have to squeeze in deads etc on wed if possible. 

I'm liking the amped warmup so far. It elevates my heartrate enough and limbers me up enough and is more interesting that just treadmill/stretching. The contrast sprints were fun, I want to time myself in the future. They did involve 'active rest' just because it required non trivial effort to turn the prowler into position for each set. 

How to teach my team to train

Hey y'all. Most of my training logs have been going to my rugby team's new facebook group where people post their workouts. So far, it's obvious that few know what they are doing, and even the ones that do don't really have a plan, program, or goals. This also translates to coaching sometimes, where practices or drills aren't exactly designed with specific athletic objectives, other than 'fitness'. One example: sprints are never done with anything approaching full rest, so we never train speed, but 'sprint endurance'.

Anyway, I want to find some good articles to post about having goals for training, programming, workout structure, etc, to get the discussion going. Normally I cite Practical Programming or similar but no one will read that. Any favorite blog posts or articles the group would recommend?

Dee: 2/8 - Test Day

Thursday-Today: travelling to/from/around Caleefornya. Walking on beaches.

Wednesday - Test day:

Weight: 128lbs.

10-30 minutes of warmups before each set of attempts.

Squat:
170x1 Good
185x1 Good
200x1 Fail

Got stuck too deep in the hole. The jump felt too much, but Nathan basically described it correctly as me over-analyzing depth and form, when at that point I should just be fucking squatting and not thinking about it.

Bench:
115x1 Good
120x1 Good
125x1 Good
130x1 Good

Full pause, ass on the bench. Hell yes. My judges called those my best heavy benches ever, and they felt like it, with room to spare. I wanted to go for 135, but had already hit my goal of 130 on the fourth attempt and didn't want to jinx it.

Deadlift:
270x1 Good
285x1 Good
305x1 Fail

Basically what I expected. I didn't really concentrate on deads this cycle, but was still able to lock out 285 (my ADFPF record). Hopefully next year with a full 3 month mesocycle I will be able to make improvements here again.

Total: 600lbs. Ties me with my IPA meet in 2009, #87 all-time total in 132lb raw class.

These results definitely show that you get out of your training what you put in: I focused heavily on building a good stable bench with my ass glued to the bench, so that I would never be red lighted for that again, and I succeeded. I was fiddling with squat form and never quite found my groove there, thus missed tying my PR. Deadlift was the most neglected, but as my best lift it did not suffer too much.

Strength goals for the next 4-6 months:
5/3/1 (2 lifts / week) with power/speed before and conditioning after.
140 bench, maintaining progress made with form.
200 squat again, but more concerned with a solid, no-thinking-required squat with rebound.
300 DL again, but with a good back for the 90%+ lifts instead of letting it go to shit.

Dee 2/2,3

Wed - indoor practice:
omg sprints.

Thurs - Sheiko 37 wk 8:
Bench: 1x5@65lbs, 1x4@75, 2x3@90, 2x3@100, 3x2@105
Deadlift: 1x4@135lbs, 1x4@150, 1x4@180, 2x3@210, 2x3@240, 3x2@255
Bench: 1x5@70lbs, 1x5@85, 2x4@95

Rene said bench looked fresh. I hope this bodes well for wednesday.
Deadlift doubles had nice first reps, ugly seconds, but locked out everything.
Missed last two bench sets as the gym closed.
One more light workout tomorrow then test day.

Dee: sheiko and conditioing

Oh hi. I convinced the rugby team to start a training log - they started a facebook group. Eh. A blog is better suited to the formatting and notes of a training log, but oh well. If they use it, that's what matters.

Wed: punted due to work.

Tues - conditioning+recovery:
Ground-based mobility, 60m run warmup
Prowler+90lbs sprint with low grip 25ft, 20 sprinter situps, sprint 25ft, 20 pushups,
sprint 25ft, 10 burpees, rest 1min. X4
Rested 5min, prowler+90 sprint high horns 60ft
Stretching, foam rolling

I'm going to remember this for the future, but I have to add more weight on the prowler, two plates was too easy for just 25ft.

Mon - Sheiko 37, wk 4:
Squat: 1x5@95, 1X4@115, 2X3@135, 2X3@156, 3X2@165
Bench press: 1X5@65, 1x4@75, 2x3@87.5, 5x3@100
Squat: 1x5@95, 1X4@115, 2X3@135,4X2@156

Nathan said depth was good (even too low) even though the heavy sets felt a bit iffy to me.

I'm doing a test day on wednesday. I was planning to do the Mar 10 meet, but rugby starts tonight, instead of in a few weeks like I expected. I may ask people to come be my judges. :)

Dee (4/2) - Lower + Conditioning

@TPS. 
My combo of the DE Lower and ME Lower of the Speed template of WSFSB, which I try to adhere to during rugby season.

Warmup:  roll-overs into V-sits, fire hydrant circles, mountain climbers, groiners (eg)
Box Jumps: 5@30"?, 3x3@40"?
These were easier than last time. I may try the tallest box next time.

Back Squat: 45x5, 75x5, 95x5, 115x4, 135x3x4
Glute-Ham: 3x10@BW


Conditioning: Wheelbarrow+25lbs walk 30m, drag 30m, Prowler+20lbs sprint 30m, 1min rest. x6
I should have put more weight on the wheelbarrow, I could have run with that thing, and practically was on the back pedal. Nathan recommend somewhere near 200lbs for me. Now that I've been pushing the prowler more frequently I think next time it will be +50 again.