How did the deads go??
The “stretchers” i did after most of the rowing for back day was awesome, its right up your alley!!
Nice to see you logging again!!!
That looks like a lot of squats, damn fine work.
[quote]alexus wrote:
I used a belt for the first time ever for the 35kg. Useful. Felt more solid.
I am taking more of a breath in than I realized but the belt is very useful indeed for feedback.
I’ll have to get one…
[/quote]
Interesting. I’ve never worn a belt either, but am considering it.
You can be my guinea pig. Depending on how it goes with you, I might get one.
I think there’s something magical about 5 sets of 5.
Strong work in here!
SUMO DEADLIFT
20kg 1x5, 60kg 1x5, 65kg 1x5, 70kg 1x5
75kg 3x5
no worries. mostly increasing these so slowly because I want to be sure to use my legs properly and try and avoid lumbar overuse.
BARBELL HIP THRUSTS
25kg 1x10
30kg 1x10
35kg 5x10 (3 second pause)
good. increase them next time.
SWISS BALL LEG CURLS
okay. makes a difference how close i get my ankles to my butt. nowhere to do GHR’s since the lat pull down machines are too close to the wall and i can’t figure an alternative way.
HEAVY BAG
did some. I got gloves because I thought heavy bag would turn out to be good cardio. but now i’m fussing over standing / moving / hitting it properly so it isn’t so much cardio as technique work. oh wells.
BIKE
30 minutes varied intensity.
JUMP ROPE 7x100. trying to limit jumps to no more than 750 (advice given to beginning pylometric). i need to be careful with my feet (old injury)
BENCH
20kg 1x5, 1x10
25kg 1x5
30kg 1x5
35kg 5x5
20kg 5x10
angry at self that i wore sneakers and forgot to take lifting shoes. couldn’t drive properly through the legs at all. wrists sore from boxing. i don’t wrap hands under gloves just use cricket soft gloves to mop up sweat. should have used wrist wraps for bench. should be able to increase the weights next time
PUSHUPS
start on the ground then push up to plank then controlled lower for one rep. rest for as long as i want between reps but not allowed to move my hand placement (close and low).
(10x1) x5
FRONT RAISES
trying to be a bodybuilder. 4kg LMFAO!!!
15x4
LAT RAISES
only got 2 sets with 4kg… Needed to use the 2.5kg plates for the last 2 sets 
I suppose it is worth sucking it up and doing the movement and TUT properly…
attempted the swinging destroyers that up posted… will need to figure out the bench situation a bit better. need to check the vid again.
brute!! hey! how are your pull-ups coming along?
sen say - does this work to inspire?
check out the calves…
up - deads went okay. i might be being overly cautious with the weight increases… pretty sure i’m good for 100kg for a single but no idea what is appropriate for doing sets of 5. i’m more worried about how my back will feel the next day. did a lot (several hours) of soft tissue work after deads… and feeling heaps better today because of it. i’ll check out the ‘stretchers’
cyotegal - hey! looking fabulous in your avatar, girl!
joe - thanks. doing a curious blend of 5x5 for my work sets with 5x10 BBB assistance. will see how long that works out for me. heh.
brett - i was always skeptical about belts… until just this last time i tried it. i think that what it is doing for me is reminding me to really take my time to inflate my chest properly since i get a better sense of when it is inflated properly when i’ve got the belt to fill up against. usually i’m too impatient with that part of my set up, i think.
the best thing about it for me… was that i was better able to focus on working my legs on my squats instead of needing to focus on holding my chest up / my core stable. and… that is how it is supposed to be, i guess. i was very impressed indeed.
jjackkrash - thanks! i work hard but i’m really (really really) far from strong. i used to feel pretty demoralized about that. but what the hey, i got a good work ethic and so maybe that counts for something 
…
Saw your post about arching for bench. Cressey has written about this -(over?) arching your lower back for everything can lead to anterior pelvic tilt issues; this apparently is pretty common amongst athletes who lift, and can lead to back issues. The lower back should have a natural arch (unless you have flat ass/weak abs syndrome!), and unless you’re trying to powerlift as much as possible there is no need to arch beyond that. Imo, staying tight in your lower back is a more important cue.
[quote]alexus wrote:
deads went okay. pretty sure i’m good for 100kg for a single [/quote]
That’s great! Seems like you weren’t there when you were logging a year or so ago?
You can use a 1 RM calculator in reverse to figure out how many 5s (or any number of reps) might be appropriate.
[quote]FarmerBrett wrote:
[quote]alexus wrote:
I used a belt for the first time ever for the 35kg. Useful. Felt more solid.
I am taking more of a breath in than I realized but the belt is very useful indeed for feedback.
I’ll have to get one…
[/quote]
Interesting. I’ve never worn a belt either, but am considering it.
You can be my guinea pig. Depending on how it goes with you, I might get one.
I think there’s something magical about 5 sets of 5.
[/quote]
I never wore one until about 6 months ago and now can’t believe I never wore one.
[quote]FarmerBrett wrote
You can be my guinea pig.
[/quote]
HAWT !
Had philosophy conference last week. Aaaaaa(rgh) philosophy, how I’ve missed you.
It is time for me to finish writing my dissertation. Which means it is time for me to prioritize that. Training will be a break between writing sessions and the aim will be to mobilize myself since writing involves my getting stuck in weird postures for extended periods of time.
I’ll need to figure out how hard I can push the training. If I need to nap rather than write afterwards… I’ve pushed myself too hard.
I expect I’ll adapt to this and be able to train harder than I think I can… But I’ve used training as an excuse not to work for a while now… And probably exhausted myself more than was good for me (including my strength) as part of a procrastination strategy, anyway.
I’m starting to be able to do a bit of weight shifting with my skipping. Almost able to do a light jog. That is significant progress for me since I’m not strong enough to jump / bear my full weight landing on my right leg (old injury).
I’m obsessed with… Stuff. I’ll get a video up this week. Seeing is believing, really…
My stepson is in a Program to get his Masters and then Doctorate in philosophy.
My job is in its busy season right now, So just like you with your dissertation I have to make it my priority, but honestly training always rears its ugly head lol and says IM YOUR TOP PRIORITY!
There’s a good article on here about looking at your training as red, green or yellow lights depending on what else you got going on. Can’t remember who wrote it, but think it was this year.
[quote]alexus wrote:
It is time for me to finish writing my dissertation.
[/quote]
Topic?
Good luck with your dissertation! I wish you speedy typing hands and tons of writing creativity! Take care of business!
Yep concentrate on the dissertation, the lifting can wait.
And good news about the weight shifting on the skipping.
Thanks for the support people.
It will take some negotiation and special pleading for me to be allowed to submit my dissertation at this point. It is possible, but I need my supervisor to support this and he will only support it if he is happy with work that I give him… And I need to give him work in about a week, so I’m fairly focused on that right now. Haven’t been to the gym for a few days, now. I can’t remember the last time I took a few days off… I don’t think I’ve done that since I first joined the gym about 3 years back…
My thesis is on the philosophy of medicine / psychiatry. I’m fairly ambivalent about it… But I’ve learned that it is just about making an honest effort to contribute to a field rather than having much of anything of any particular value to say, really. It is just about putting the work in. I’ve got everything there… It is just about organizing it and linking bits up etc etc. Silly not to finish now… Around 3 hours per day of focused writing… And then of course extra time for all the extra bits and pieces of things that one has got to do… But 2-3 hours per day of focused writing… Can get you a happy, healthy, productive career, apparently. It is just about finding a way to make that work.
My life has fairly centered around the gym since I discovered it. I focused everything around the 2-3 hours I’d spend at the gym (I had a lot of soft tissue and rehab work to do post-injury). Most of the rest of my life was reading about what I could be doing in the gym… And of course the ongoing battle with smoking and then I had hospitality work which wasn’t helping my feet, particularly…
Anyway…
That really isn’t a feasible life strategy.
I don’t like writing (sitting in front of the computer) because it makes my back ache worse than deadlifts. And I suppose I could move my position around like you are supposed to for good health but the problem is that I can’t focus on my writing when I’m focusing on that. It is like I have to choose… Whether to think / write or whether to listen to my body / move. Priorities. And then the gym becomes about rehabbing my posture from my writing.
Nobody is going to pay me to just hang out at the gym doing whatever I feel like doing, though… Personal training isn’t doing that - it is something else entirely. And working as a personal trainer might be likely to undermine the gym being my own thing where I can zone everything and everyone else out and just move the way my body needs / wants to. Or follow my program. Or whatever. And I’m certainly not pro athlete potential lolz.
Anyway… A big fucking rant.
This year: I seem to have come through the other side on the quitting smoking thing. I am working / writing. Without cigarettes. I didn’t think that would ever be possible for me.
I need to cut back the gym, though. But it was a necessary feature of my transition, I think.
My aim… Really… My aim is to not lose that. It (and all you guys) are really very important friends to me. Very important parts of my self image. My health. What I want to see myself as being. What I want to be. My aim is not to lose that come what may this year…
And of course…
To be Dr Dr eventually. Not entirely sure why… But that is what it is about, really
I need balance.
sitting on my butt messing up my body (aka: writing).
rehabbing my body so i can move without pain (aka: dorky rehabby stuff).
lifting heavy (for me) shit so i don’t feel like too much of a dork.
and the odd bit of conditioning till i feel like puking to help the last bits of smoking crud work its way out of my lungs.
i’ve never been very balanced… lets hope i get a better blend in the new year.
3 hours focused writing…
for 3 focused hours in the gym.
making it a habit.
for life.