Dog Days

Bigger Stronger Leaner
406

15.07.14 PM#1

For the sake of training later in the week I squeezed my DL strength session into my lunch break.
Yes, it was probably a bit much after the earlier session (and there will be boxing later.)
But sometimes working hard is great.

Plyometrics;
Jumping Overhead med ball throw 3 3 3 @10kg.

Strength

Deadlift
60, 80, 100, 110, 120, 130kg. (overhand pronanted grip.)
140, 150, 160, 170kg. (alternated grip.)

Pullups
8. 7. 6. 5. 4, 3. 2. 1.

Dips
4 x 6s

Cooldown.

A bit disappointed with my DL. I can ramp that a lot higher.

407

Fallen behind on the log because of a busy period.
I competed in a strength/athletic competition…
I hit a 180kg Deadlift, 20 strict pullups and 120 reps of KB Snatches @ 24kg in 5.00 Mins.
It was a pretty ok showing, enough to win my category, as the snatch was a mgood showing.
Disappointed with the DL, but will try work on it. Pullups can be worked on too :slight_smile:

408

[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:
Fallen behind on the log because of a busy period.
I competed in a strength/athletic competition…
I hit a 180kg Deadlift, 20 strict pullups and 120 reps of KB Snatches @ 24kg in 5.00 Mins.
It was a pretty ok showing, enough to win my category, as the snatch was a mgood showing.
Disappointed with the DL, but will try work on it. Pullups can be worked on too :)[/quote]

Congratulations are in order.

After a certain point I think DL numbers lose their carry over to fighting the quickest. Being able to pull 1.5 X BW is important. Pulling 2 X is probably good. I am not at all sure any more than that isn’t just chasing numbers.

I personally think 20 strict pullups and the KB snatches are both way, WAY better indicators.

Any news about a fight?

Regards,

Robert A

409

[quote]Robert A wrote:
Congratulations are in order.

After a certain point I think DL numbers lose their carry over to fighting the quickest. Being able to pull 1.5 X BW is important. Pulling 2 X is probably good. I am not at all sure any more than that isn’t just chasing numbers.

I personally think 20 strict pullups and the KB snatches are both way, WAY better indicators.

Any news about a fight?

Regards,

Robert A[/quote]
Tyhank you sir!
I’m just happy that I remain mobile and healthy as my numbers increase!

Ironically, my old S&C coach just moved to my home city… There are interesting times ahead!

I opened facebook this morning and was tagged in a post announcing a show for October 4th.
This is a longer wait than I would like, as I had anticipated shows in September and November. However, with this lead time I have no excuse not to come in the best shape of my life!

410

23.07.14

AM CONDITIONING

I had a terrific sleep Monday night and woke sharp at 5.00am. I got out of bed and had a casein shake with coconut milk.
When I arrived at the gym there were a couple of guys there that Gerry had organised to train along with me.

Warmup

(4x) 10 Station Circuit. 30 on/10 off
Tough Circuit with great mix of resisted exercises for the entire body. Pouring sweat to finish.

KB Complex
Gerry set the 3 of us up to attack this complex. 3 stations; 2 working, 1 rest. The goal was 5 rotations.
Whatever it is about these exercises it just clicks me into another gear.
The two guys broke after two rotations. I just wouldnt quit and was told to stop after my sixth.
Condition is there.

PM1 STRENGTH

Dynamic/Plyometrics
Overhead Med. Ball Throw 10kg; 3, 3, 3, 3.

Deadlift
5’s @ 60kg, 70kg, 80kg, 100kg, 115kg, 130kg (7)
Military Press
5’s @ 30kg, 35kg, 40kg, 45kg, 50kg (6)

Pullups 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2

DB Rows 8’s @ 20kg, 20kg, 20kg (s/s)
EZ Curls 6’s @ 35kg, 35kg, 35kg (s/s)

Good session considering the short duration of timne available. Can definitely polish this session of in the mornings.

PM 2 BOXING
This session was a huge variety of everything… Less structured than I like training, but its worth travelling here for the nuggets of technique that can be picked up.

Warmup
Jogging the floor, dynamic stretching
Strict bear crawls co-ordinating hands and feet, spiderman crawls, squat walks

Technique
Linear Shadowboxing
(i) two steps forward -head move- 4 punches - switch lateral
(ii) three reverse steps - counter - evade attack (reverse with jab only)
(iii)

Footwork - Shadow Drills
(i) Medium Range 30/30
(ii) Long Range 30/30
(iii)Close Range 30/30

Sparring Drills
About 30 mins of Specific sparring working on various defences / attacks and movements.
This new guy in his thirties ticked me off and I was an asshole after that.
Yes, he was wrong, but I was a douche thereafter.

Circuit;
Just brief bodyweight stuff.
Cooldown

411

I hadn’t realised that I had let the log fall behind this far. I will be more regimental in coming weeks.
I guess the major news is that I will box on October 4th, there have been few confirmed details, but I’d like to put the best 168lbs I can in the ring.
October 4th; that was 10 weeks from last Saturday.
Obviously I’ve been training.

Saturday Morning I had a conditioning session which went really well. 1 hour in duration, I did some “bonus” rounds after with some heavy KB’s.
Sunday I am involved with a charity run being promoted here for Console - suicide awarness.
We did some running, some boxing; just an active day and I did a 531 session in the evening time.
I’ll try add that in my next post.

412


27.07.14 PM

First strength Session of official camp, but onto 3’s as had the foundation built last week.

Before the persribed session I performed the following and was very happy with it;

Plyometric Superset
Bound into Box Jump 3, 3, 3.
One arm rotational Throw 3, 3, 3.

My elevation on the jumps was better than ever previously.
Very satisfied with that.

413

07.08.14

Training’s going really well.
It’s been a tough week; nutrition is becoming crucial- my body is screaming at me for more food and more rest.
Sparring has been light; restricted to amateurs and less experienced boxers. This has been by design- movement and evasive defense have been enhanced as a result.

Speed has definitely improved; though my strength may be a little less of an advantage as the pounds come off.
Tomorrow is 8 weeks from weigh-in, so I will maintain a strict log for that period.

414

11.08.14

Apologies for the inconsistency; I’ve been training every day and its been going well.
I’ll spare the highlights and just begin on the first Monday of “fight camp.”

AM; STRENGTH

This is why I box. I could never be part of a team. Team mates, like training partners are unreliable.
I waited from 6.00am to 6.30am in the gym for a guy who never showed at all.

PLYOMETRICS
Bound into Box Jumps 3 x 3’s
Single Arm Rot. Throw 3 x 3’s

Jerks 4 x 3’s (light-ish weights.)

STRENGTH
Military Press
5’s @ 30kg, 35kg, 40kg, 45kg
6 @ 50kg
8 @ 40kg

Pendlay Rows
8’s @ 40kg, 42.5kg, 45kg, 47.5kg, 50kg.

EZ Curls
15’s @ 25kg, 25kg, 25kg.

PM BOXING

Warmup
Joints & Muscles
5 Mins Skipping

Sparring;
4 x 3’s with another professional 168lb boxer
3 x 2’s with an amateur. (This should have been better rounds, but he didn’t have the neck to go for it.)

Shadowboxing 3 x 3’s
(i) Offense
(ii) Defense
(iii) Counters

Padwork
5 x 3’s Volume, Combinations, Changing Ranges.

Cooldown
5 Mins Skipping

Nutrition was relatively good until evening time when I clearly did not have enough calories.
Got some carbs in given conditioning in the morning.

Recovery consisted of an epsom salts bath.

415

[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:
This is why I box. I could never be part of a team. Team mates, like training partners are unreliable.
I waited from 6.00am to 6.30am in the gym for a guy who never showed at all.
[/quote]

I have found that reliability scales fairly well with “skin in the game” for most folks.

You are lifting/training to support fighing/your livelihood and the consequences of doing poorly have elements of both immediate pain/injury and long term penalties.

If your would be partner’s goals are not as concrete or his time line isn’t as real as “On October 4th I will be facing a trained man. A man who is my size. A man who has been tested and proven against other trained, skilled men in order to meet me. He knows how to hurt men. He knows how to lay men low with his hands. He knows I am coming and will have had 10 weeks to prepare to for me. And none of that is going to do him any fucking good.” than I wouldn’t expect him to be your kind of reliable.

Good work none the less.

Regards,

Robert A

416

[quote]Robert A wrote:
I have found that reliability scales fairly well with “skin in the game” for most folks.

You are lifting/training to support fighing/your livelihood and the consequences of doing poorly have elements of both immediate pain/injury and long term penalties.

If your would be partner’s goals are not as concrete or his time line isn’t as real as “On October 4th I will be facing a trained man. A man who is my size. A man who has been tested and proven against other trained, skilled men in order to meet me. He knows how to hurt men. He knows how to lay men low with his hands. He knows I am coming and will have had 10 weeks to prepare to for me. And none of that is going to do him any fucking good.” than I wouldn’t expect him to be your kind of reliable.

Good work none the less.

Regards,

Robert A[/quote]
I definitely share this ethos.
It’s disappointing, but at the end of the day my priority is steeling myself, next time I wont even wait the extra minutes.

417

12.08.14

AM Conditioning

Ok, attempt No.5 to update RE: Tuyesday
I woke at 5.00am relatively easily, I had a whey shake with some blueberries.

6.00AM CONDITIONING

I got on the floor at Target Fitness for 6.00am, the warmup was basic; joints and Major Muscle Groups

3x Circuits
(i) Double KB Squat
(ii) Agility Ladder
(iii) Battling Ropes
(iv) Suspended Ab Pikes
(v) Hanging Leg Raises
(vi) Bulgarian Bag Get-Ups
(vii) Russian Twists
(ix) TRX Tricep Extension
(x) Gymnast Ring Inverted Rows
(xi) TRX Bicep Curls
(xii) TRX Squat Jumps

NOTE: First Circuit was challenging, but once I got the bloods up I was flying.

Kettlebell Finisher
Can’t really remember this, but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
My training partner quit at 3.30.
I completed the 10.00 and blacked out more or less.

418

Really looking forward to following your build up mate. You’re work level and consistency is a real example to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to follow what you do on here. You’re like an e-mentor for me!

419

[quote]Newboxer wrote:
Really looking forward to following your build up mate. You’re work level and consistency is a real example to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to follow what you do on here. You’re like an e-mentor for me!
[/quote]
I’m just me pal.
If anything we’ll be e-training partners :wink:

420

[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:

[quote]Newboxer wrote:
Really looking forward to following your build up mate. You’re work level and consistency is a real example to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to follow what you do on here. You’re like an e-mentor for me!
[/quote]
I’m just me pal.
If anything we’ll be e-training partners ;)[/quote]

Haha, E-sparring with you sounds like a nice safe option for now. I hope one day we’ll get the chance to train together for real!

421

[quote]Newboxer wrote:
Haha, E-sparring with you sounds like a nice safe option for now. I hope one day we’ll get the chance to train together for real![/quote]
It would be great mate;
I don’t get over to the UK as much as I’d like anymore (I was working there for 2011 - 2012,) but hopefully next year I’ll be free’d up!

422

[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:

[quote]Newboxer wrote:
Haha, E-sparring with you sounds like a nice safe option for now. I hope one day we’ll get the chance to train together for real![/quote]
It would be great mate;
I don’t get over to the UK as much as I’d like anymore (I was working there for 2011 - 2012,) but hopefully next year I’ll be free’d up![/quote]

That would be awesome. Hopefully by next year I’ll be good enough to get some rounds in with you!

423

[quote]Newboxer wrote:
That would be awesome. Hopefully by next year I’ll be good enough to get some rounds in with you![/quote]
You’d be better than some of the amateurs I had to carry last night, believe me.

Is it possible there is a limit on length of forum posts?
I tried 4x to post yesterdays workouts and it failed each time!

424

12.08.14 PM BOXING

Travelled out to Monivea BC again.
The training here is a little less structured than my ordinary routine, but is beneficial for a number of reasons.
The head coach technically is one of the best our country has to offer, the secondary coach is very knowledgable and open minded in S&C terms, the attitude is a little less bloodthirsty than my inner-city primary gym and my best buddy trains there too. Check this out for a free flowing “alternative” session.

Warmup - Primal Movements
Worked through a series of bodyweight manouevres to warmup.
Movements termed “the insect,” “the frog,” “the monkey,” the primate," “the infant,” and some squat mods all had me loosened up.

Sparring
A miscellany of rounds and opponents. These boxers were at a lower level than myself, so I could concentrate on my defence and set pieces.
More discipline is required. I have that ingrained arrogance that fighters have… dropping my hands and walking forward smiling is not cool in competition, so it shouldn’t be in sparring.

Bagwork
3 x 3s very light bagwork
Shadowboxing
2 x 3s very light Shadowboxing

Padwork
15 mins working through 3 set pieces.
These are items I will integrate in sparring in the coming weeks.

RPE; 8

I still felt the effects of the morning session and I knew I was in for an achey sleep

425

13.08.14

I elected to stay in bed until 7.00am. This was a wise choice and I still ate a good breakfast before heading to work for 8.00am.

1.00 PM STRENGTH

DYNAMIC
Box Jumps 3 x 3’s (High Box + Bumper Plate)
Step Side Throw 3 x 3’s

Power Snatch 3 x 3’s

STRENGTH
Deadlift
5’s @ 60kg, 80kg, 102.5kg, 120kg, 135kg (6)

Pullups
5, 5 (@16kg,) 5(@16kg,) 3(@20kg.)

Chest Supported Rows
10s @ 25kg, 25kg, 25kg
NOTE: Reduced the weight here so as to get a nice ROM. Just awesome.

RPE; 7

6.00 PM BOXING

Warmup
Joints and Major Muscle Groups
5 Mins Skipping

4 x 3s Bagwork
Sharp, Tidy Combinations.

4 x 3’s Shadowboxing
(i) Offense
(ii) Defense
(iii) Counter
(iv) Open

3 x 2’s Sparring
Sparred a tall awkward amateur.
He actually clipped me quite a few times in Round 1.
He just pissed me off loading up on everything and he shoved me trying to be the boss.
I bullied him round 2 and 3 to tire him out and just dogged him into fatigue in round 3.

It is good knowing I can do this in fights, but my time is much better served boxing neatly in the gym. Discipline.

RPE; 7