Updates too numerous to number

So the last ten days just melted into a flurry of work and crap and other stuff. Got my workouts in though, which is worthy of a pat on the back. Will try to sum up in this post.

Sunday Feb 22. Stronglifts #17

Did an hour-and-a-half of Taekwon-Do first (mostly teaching, so not too hard) then headed straight for the gym to get some lifting done. Was extremely short on time, so did the lifts only this time, no auxilliary stuff.

Squats: 1×10x20 – 2×5x40 – 1×5x50 – 5×5x60kg – YAY! Big Plates(tm)

Bench Press: 1×10x20 – 2×5x40 – 5×5x50kg – Ok

Went a bit short on the warmups so the first work sets felt heavier than the last. I hate having to hurry in the gym.

Tuesday Feb 24. Stronglifts #18

No stress today, so back to the regular warmup. 5 minutes elliptical, hip and glute exercises. A bit of power cleaning and overhead squatting. Once again I credit the overhead squat for my strong form and good depth on the regular squats. Recommended.

Squats: 1×10x20 – 2×5x40 – 1×5x50 – 1×3x60 – 5×5x62.5kg – Heavier and heavier. I’m looking at a stall here soon, although it could be down to my diet, this week wasn’t all that good eating-wise.

Overhead Press: 1×10x20 – 1×5x30 – 1×5x32.5kg – 3×5x37.5kg – Quit after three sets due to back pain.

Deadlift: 1×10x20 – 1×5x60 – 1×5x70 – 1×5x80kg – Strangely there was no back pain on the deadlift. Felt good and went up easy.

Chins: 1-1-1 1×5 neg.

Plank: 3×30seconds. Didn’t feel like doing more.

Wednesday Feb 25. Taekwon-Do

Did all my patterns and focused a bit extra on Joong-Gun and Toi-Gye. Worked up quite a sweat too. Also worked extra on getting the correct height on punches. I’m going for a grading at the end of march and this stuff needs to be down pat.

Oh, and I did the 360deg jump in Chong-Moo nearly perfect.

Thursday Feb 26. Stronglifts #19

Same warmup as last time, although I put in some of Brad’s infamous halos to work the shoulders a bit extra.

Squats: 1×5x20 – 1×5x40 -1×5x50 – 1×3x60 – 5×5x65kg - Good stuff

Bench Press: 1×10x20 – 1×5x30 – 1×5x40 – 1×3x50 – 5×5x52.5kg – Getting heavy

Inverted Rows: 9-6-2

Push ups: 11-4-3 – knuckles as always.

Reverse Crunches: 2×12/5kg counter – 1×8 no counter.

Friday Feb 27. Taekwon-Do

Did about 45 minutes of patterns going hard and working up a decent pool of sweat. Excellent dynamic even if I do say so myself. Need to keep focus though, when I go hard I have a tendency of starting one pattern and slipping into another without noticing until the end.

Sunday Mar 1.

Wifes birthday.

Monday Mar 2. Stronglifts #20

5 minutes on the rower, no hamstring pain, YAY! Regular stuff for the rest of the warmup.

Squats: 1×10x20 – 1×5x40 – 1×5x50 – 1×5x60 - 5×5x67.5kg – This felt really heavy. Wasn’t too happy with my form either.

Overhead Press: 1×10x20 – 1×5x30 – 2×3x35 – 5×5x37.5kg - Third time’s the charm. Never thought I would get this up, but it seems the glute activation stuff is working, because this time I actually felt I got some help from that  body part as well.

Deadlift: 1×10x20 – 1×5x60 – 1×5x70 – 1×3x80 – 1×5x85kg – Ok. I can go heavier on this, but forearms and grip will probably give in first.

Chins: 2-2-1-1-2-1 – Weeee…

Plank: Bah, didn’t feel like it, so I did  Ab wheel rollouts instead. Kneeling and fumbling and looking like a giraffe caught in syrup, but got through 5×5.

Tuesday Mar 3. Taekwon-Do

Patterns again. Full power no mercy and a bucket of sweat. Drew a bit of a crowd at the gym too, which always makes me go a bit harder

Since the hamstring is healing nicely I might start doing some kicking drills soon.

So that was a monster update. WordPress clocks me in at just over 600 words, but it feels more like 6000.

Stronglifts #16

Took an extra rest day, as I went to a Taekwondo class on tuesday night that was rather more taxing than I expected. I really felt it wednesday, and thursday was only slightly better. Did an easy session of TKD forms and light stretching thursday which felt good. Hamstring is behaving itself well, so it’s clean clear to Flag Town.

Today was a cold day, so I spent plenty time warming up. Beginning to enjoy the elliptical, at least it’s a lot better than the treadmill. I still want to go back to the C2 though.

WU: 5 min elliptical, hip/glute/squat stretches. Romanina deadlifts and hang cleans w bar. Overhead squats – I love these, fantastic stretch.

Squat: 1×10x20 – 2×5x40 – 1×5x50 – 1×3x52.5 – 5×5x57.5kg – Lousy form on the first work set improved for the next ones, but sort of collapsed again at the end. This was a workout! And woah, big plates next time!

Overhead Press: 1×10x20 – 1×5x30 – 1×5x35 – 37.5kg 5-5-4-4-5 - Sheesh, this was heavy! Second set every rep was a pain. Third set the first four rep were rather easy but the last one refused to go up. Same thing on the fourth. Fifth went well. Looking at some serious DOMS around the shoulder area tomorrow… This weight is going up next time.

Deadlift: 1×10x20 – 1×5x60 – 1×3x70 -  1×5x75kg – Ok. Good form as well. Had somebody watch me on the 70kg warmup set and everything looked as good as it felt. Really happy about this.

Chin ups: 5×1 – No negatives, and the ohp probably interfered. No chance of a second rep on any of the attempts.

Plank: Miserable failure. Finished one set of 40 seconds then collapsed halfway through the second. Thought f**k it and hit the showers.

Stronglifts #15

Tried the elliptical for the first time ever in my warmup today. Obviously a quad-dominant exercise. Better than the treadmill, not quite as good as the rower. Followed with the usual hip and glute stuff, then a few overhead squats with the bar. These are really good for flexibility, and have improved my back squat technique no end.

Squats: 1×10x20 – 2×5x40 – 1×5x50 – 5×5x55kg – This is starting to feel like work! Did low bar again and was satisfied with form, but it felt a lot heavier than sundays 52.5.

Bench Press: 1×10x20 – 2×5x30 – 1×5x40 – 5×5x47.5kg – This was actually rather hard. Last week 45kg was easy, so this was obviously not an optimal day.

Inverted Rows 7-5-3 – Mmmhmm…

Push ups: 11-5-3 knuckles – Regressing here too, but might have to do with bench improving.

Reverse Crunch 3×12 / 5kg counter – Tried without counterweight at first. No chance.  Even with the same five kgs as last time this was a struggle.

Didn`t seem to have as much gas in the tank today, but still was happy with my performance. Felt like I managed to push myself harder through the last reps of all exercises, and the entire workout was a mind over matter thing. I win.

Stronglifts #14

All alone in the gym this afternoon, the luxury….

Messed up my hamstring again on friday  when I went skiing and… well let’s just say I’m not as good as I used to be. Still a little sore this morning but decided to go lift some weights anyway, and now it feels a lot better.

Regular warmup of treadmill then hip/glute-stuff and a few overhead squats, air squats and something that looks slightly like power cleans.

Squats: 1×5x20 – 2×5x30 – 2×5x40 – 1×3x50 – 5×5x52.5kg – Some extra warm up sets to make sure the hamstring was ok, then a good work set of 52.5 which is my best lift so far on SL. It feels a little heavier now, but there’s still some room for improvement.

Overhead Press: 1×10x20 – 2×5x30 – 1×3x34 – 5×5x35kg – Nailed it! Heavy, but forced it through. looking forward to next time.

Deadlift: 1×10x20 – 1×5x40 – 1×3x70 – 1×5x80kg – Can’t read, can’t count… Workweight was supposed to be 70 tonight, but put on the 25kg plates instead of the 20s on the last warm up set. I thought it felt rather much heavier than last weeks 65, but figured the ohp had drained me. The weight is typed on the plate and they’re different colours too! Oh well. Will count this as 70 then go back to 75 next time.

Chin ups: 2-1-f 3×5 negs – Was rather shot after the deadlifting but forced through it. Still seems to be the forearms that’s the weak spot.

Planks: 4×40 + 25secs/15 second breaks. – Couldn’t finish the last set, just collapsed. Try again.

Stronglifts #13

Busy in the gym this morning so I had to shuffle the exercises a bit.

5 minutes treadmill, hip/glute/shoulder then overhead squats and a set of bar ohp’s for practice. Much better, and funny how light the bar seems compared with only a month ago.

Bench Press: 1×10x20 – 2×5x30 – 1×5x40 – 5×5x45kg – Squat rack was busy so I went and did the bench first. No problem, but bar movement is slower now, so this is actually strength work.

Squats: 1×10x20 – 2×5x30 – 1s5×40 – 5×5x50 – Back to 50kg and no problem. Form felt good too.

Push ups: 14-7-3 – Inv. row machine (also known as a smith) was busy with a couple of kids doing quarter squats with 50kg (same guys using the squat rack earlier for…something not related to squatting…)  so did the push ups first. Improved numbers but might be due to the changed order of things.

Reverse Crunches: 3×12 5kg counterweight. -  A little harder this time, but no problem. Might try without weight next time. I’m actually quite impressed with myself on this one. Before starting SL i tried reverse crunches using a heavy chair for counter and couldn’t do one rep proper…

Inverse rows: 5-3-3 – Finally got to these as the boys left, worse numbers than last time, but I’m willing to accept that as a side effect of the changed order. Will attempt to follow normal protocol next time. Hopefully the gym quiets down towards the end of february.

Stronglifts #12

Skipped the third SL day last week as I had a full weekend of Taekwon-Do events. Did it this morning instead, even though I was still tired both mentally and physically.

5 minutes treadmill  followed by hip mobility and glute activation excercises. Practiced power cleans and overhead squats for a bit.

Squats: 1×10x20 – 2×5x30 – 1×5x40 – 5×5x47.5kg – Last set was low bar, am getting there. Can still put some more weight on anyway.

Overhead press: 1×5x20 – 1×5x25 – 2×5x30 – 35kg: 5-5-4-5-5 – F*n. Poor form ruined the third set. Too wide grip and messed up the breathing as well. Last two sets were ok. I’ve done 5×5x35 before, so I was fairly sure I could do this. Oh well, one more time with 35 and proper form.

Deadlift: 1×10x20 – 1×5x40 – 1×5x60 – 1×5x65kg – Felt much better than last week. No hamstring pain and excellent form.

Chin ups: 2-1-1, 3×5 negatives – Coming along ok. No elbow pain either.

Plank: 4×40 seconds/15 sec break – Man that fourth set was hard. I dread 5×40 at the end of the week…

Late again, Stronglifts #10 and 11

Forgot to blog mondays workout. Felt like crap too, so no wonder. Here’s a roundup of the week so far.

Monday 2009-02-02

Had to rush this workout as I had a doctors appointment.

5 minutes on the rower, not too clever as I agitated the hamstring again. Some light air squats and overhead squats to start off.

Squats: 1×10x20 – 2×5x30 – 5×5x42,5kg – First workout with miniplates. Light and easy, but felt good technically.

OHP: 1×10x20 – 1×5x30 – 5×5x32,5kg – This was heavy, but I hope that was mostly due to me cutting short the rest periods. I still need to work on grip and arm placement on this one.

Deadlift: 1×10x20kg – Hamstring didn’t feel like deadlifting today so I stopped after the first set.

Chin ups: 2-1-1-1 – 2×5 negatives

Plank: 3×40 seconds/15 sec break – Harder than last time…

Wednesday 2002-02-04

5 mins treadmill. Squats/ohs/shoulder dislocations

Squats: 1×10x20 – 2×5x40 – 5×5x45kg  – Focus on breathing this time.. Still easy

Bench: 1×10x20 – 2×5x34 – 5×5x42,4kg – Still fairly easy.

Inverted Rows: 8-5-4 – Slight improvement!

Push ups: 10-7-5 – Knuckles again.

Reverse Crunch: 3×12 with 10kg counter. Think I might go for 5kg next time as this was surprisingly easy.

Stronglifts #9

Same warmup as the previous day + practicing power cleans with the bar.

Squats: 1×10×20 – 1×5×30 – 5×5×40 -Decided to drop a bit of weight as I was getting too far ahead of the program. Worked on low bar  during the work sets, but I still don’t like it.

Bench Press: 1×10×20 – 2×5x30 – 5×5×40 – Ahead here as well, so stayed on the same weight. Don’t know if I’ll go up next time, still feels rather easy but is somewhat ahead of the curve.

Inverted Rows: 3xf 7-4-4 -Finally some improvement!

Push ups: 3xf 10-5-2 – Knuckle pushups again, only slightly better than last time.

Reverse Crunches: 3×12 12kg – Got through all sets with a 12kg dumbbell, but only barely. Going down to 10 next time.

The small plates arrived today, didn’t need them for this workout, but nice to have them ready for monday morning.

Stronglifts #6

Yesterdays magic 50 brought me sore quads, glutes and obliques, but a fairly fresh and pain free hamstring. Throat is all cleared up as well, so it’s dawn in paradise at last.

Dropped the rower today and went five minutes on the stationary bike, which was useless, and then five minutes on the treadmill. Put up a steep incline and moderate pace so I had to stretch the glutes properly. Felt good. Then went on to the regular preparation stuff with ohs, shoulder dislocations and et cetera. No halos anywhere.

Squat: 1×10x20 – 1×5x40 – 5×5x45 – The ten reps with bar only were vital to get deep enough today. Quads screamed for the first three then were slowly silenced. 45kg was more of a challenge but still easily doable. 50 kg next time.

OHP: 1×10x20 – 5×5x30 – For some reason the first set on 30 was the hardest, it got easier after that. I’ll soon need to drop to smaller increments here. Have ordered up some 1.25 kg plates, but no idea when they arrive. Might have to be a bit clever in the meantime.

Deadlift: 1×5x20 – 1×5x30 – 1×5x60 – Ok, that might not have been so clever. Last time 40 kg for 3×5 was easy, and the 30kg set tonight flew up, so I figured what the hey lets put on the big plates. I got them up well enough but there’s no way I’d want to do 3×5 of those, at least not tonight. I think I’ll repeat same weight next time.

Chinups: 1-1-f, 3×5 negatives – I think the deads and ohps took a bit out of me, and I wasn’t quite in it for the chins. Oh well.

Plank: 5×30 seconds, 15 seconds rest – EASY. Didn’t really feel it until the last few seconds on the last set. Moving up to 40 seconds next time.

Gym was crowded tonight, and a few people had brought their kids along. Didn’t bother me, I just put in the earplugs and zoned out. It’ll be quieter tomorrow and monday.

Tonights soundtrack: Sonata Arctica – Collection

Blank File – also known as stronglifts #5

Early start again this morning, in the gym and ready at 08:15. Throat is still sore, and hamstring is still there, but soldier on we must. I’ve cooled off on the TKD while the hamstring heals, focusing on relaxed stretching instead.

Warmup was the usual 5 minutes on the rower, then a few minutes with the aerobics bar doing squats, ohs and shoulder dislocations.

Squats: 1×5x20 low bar – 1×5x20 – 1×9x30 – 5×5x40 – Tried low bar squats, but rounded the back a bit too much on the bottom. I think more work on the Ohs might help. The rest of the sets were high bar and felt a lot better, chest up, eyes forward, power from the hips. Weight was good, but there’s room for improvement still.

Bench Press: 1×15x20 – 1×5x30 – 5×5x35 – Easy. Used the first set to make sure eyes were locked to the ceiling, the remaining reps just flowed. Much more to go on here.

Inverted rows: 5-4-2-4 – Still not much improvement. The third set was stupid, I didn’t have a proper grip at the start. It’s weird how much harder this is with feet elevated and only counting chest-to-bar. I could probably do twenty chest-almost-to-bar.

Push ups: 21-9-4 – Improvement still. I should be adding some resistance work here pretty soon, but I have a goal of doing fifty straight up, so I think I’ll add volume first, probably another set, while keeping the first set locked at fifteen or twenty.

Reverse Crunches: 12-12-5 15kg counterweight – Woah! So much easier than last time. Must’ve had a real bad core day on sunday, because this was a huge difference. Will stay with the 15kg next time too, to try to get to 3×12

Met a guy I used to work out with, and had a chat with one of the gym owners, so again I spent more time talking than working out, and more than two hours in the gym. Doesn’t matter though, I’ve got the time available right now.