patrickmeniru Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 13/05/2015 Front Squats: 1 x 10 w/60kg 1 x 10 w/80kg Back Squats: 1 x 10 w/60kg 1 x 10 w/80kg 1 x 10 w/100kg 2 x 10 w/110kg (found reps these really tough) 1 x 10 w/100kg Quarter squats with jump as high as possible: 2 x 10 w/80kg Chin ups: 1 x 3 1 x 3 w/25kg 1 x 3 w/40kg 1 x 3 w/50kg 1 x 1 w/60kg (PR) 0 x 1 w/65kg (bar was level with my eyes, couldn't quite finish the rep) 1 x 5 top half reps w/40kg 1 x 3 w/25kg (each rep included an additional half rep) 1 x 3 explosive Finished by doing some plyometrics (jump horizontal and vertical jumps from one and two legs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Wanted to work on form today so did a lot of sub-max sets at relatively low effort and took video of a lot of them so I could check my form, which is why the weights are all over the place. I've realised that I don't pull with my back as flat as I'd hoped. Going to watch some videos of my favourite lifters to see if my form is acceptable, or whether I need to take off a lot of weight and work on it. Deadlifts: 1 x 6 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 1 x 5 w/170kg 1 x 5 w/190kg 1 x 5 w/170kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 1 x 5 w/140kg 1 x 5 w/170kg 1 x 3 w/170kg 2 x 5 w/120kg Stiff legged deadlift: 1 x 10 w/70kg 2 x 6 w/90kg 3 x 10 GHR - done with my thighs on the pad, not my knees. Not strong enough for the latter yet, did a few eccentrics with knees on pad in addition. Bench: 1 x 10 w/50kg - 2 second pause 1 x 5 w/70kg - 2 second pause 1 x 5 w/100kg - 2 second pause 1 x 4 w/100kg - 2 second pause 4 x 3 w/100kg - 2 second pause, plus 1 rep touch and go. Abs: 3 rounds of: 1 x 10 hanging leg raises 1 x 20 leg raises from support 1 x 10 cable twists w/~20kg (not sure what these are 'officially' called - woodchoppers perhaps). Finished up with some frontlever and backlever work, pull-ups and some bicep/tricep isolation. My right tricep is significantly weaker than the left, so hoping to bring it up and help me get to +100kg on dips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 16/05/2015 Jogged 5km - 25mins (morning jog in anticipation of a day of drinking/eating at the Twickenham rugby 7s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grind Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) Just watched your deadlift and have some comments if you don't mind. - You can gain a lot if your setup would be better, rounded lower back and almost stiff legs. - Pull the slack out of the bar, tense your lats when you do this. Lower your hips more and pull your chest up. - Put the bar down after the rep and make sure you have the same setup as in the first lift. Only the first rep was a real deadlift the rest was touch and go. The deadlift is to pull a dead weight off the ground. Touch and go makes it a lot easier. You have a good hip thrust, nice explosive. If your setup improves your deads will gain a lot. Very nice gym, all those platforms are great! Edited May 17, 2015 by Grind 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Just watched your deadlift and have some comments if you don't mind. - You can gain a lot if your setup would be better, rounded lower back and almost stiff legs. - Pull the slack out of the bar, tense your lats when you do this. Lower your hips more and pull your chest up. - Put the bar down after the rep and make sure you have the same setup as in the first lift. Only the first rep was a real deadlift the rest was touch and go. The deadlift is to pull a dead weight off the ground. Touch and go makes it a lot easier. You have a good hip thrust, nice explosive. If your setup improves your deads will gain a lot. Very nice gym, all those platforms are great! Thanks very much for the feedback! I really appreciate you taking the time to post, and of course I don't mind! Constructive criticism is the best/only way for me to improve really. I completely agree that my set-up wasn't ideal, and I'm currently working on improving my start position. I definitely think my back is too rounded, and from the research I've been doing, this is often related to weak hamstrings and glutes, so I'm trying to strengthen these areas. I also have now stopped doing touch and go reps after being told that these were a lot easier. One thing I tend to find is that I personally find it difficult to really feel my lats engage with a mixed grip. Any tips for lat activation in the set up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 18/05/2015 Front squats: 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/60kg (2 second pause) 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg (2 second pause) 1 x 5 w/80kg 1 x 4(1) w/100kg 1 x 5 w/80kg (2 second pause) 3 x 5 w/90kg Back squats (all with 2 second pause unless otherwise stated): 2 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 5 w/110kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 2 x 5 w/120kg (no pause) 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 8 w/60kg (no pause) Barbell hip thrusts (first time doing these, so wasn't sure what to expect, did a 2 second hold at the top of each rep): 1 x 8 w/60kg 1 x 8 w/100kg 1 x 8 w/120kg Calf raises (used leg press): 3 x 10 w/195kg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grind Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Just watched your deadlift and have some comments if you don't mind. - You can gain a lot if your setup would be better, rounded lower back and almost stiff legs. - Pull the slack out of the bar, tense your lats when you do this. Lower your hips more and pull your chest up. - Put the bar down after the rep and make sure you have the same setup as in the first lift. Only the first rep was a real deadlift the rest was touch and go. The deadlift is to pull a dead weight off the ground. Touch and go makes it a lot easier. You have a good hip thrust, nice explosive. If your setup improves your deads will gain a lot. Very nice gym, all those platforms are great! Thanks very much for the feedback! I really appreciate you taking the time to post, and of course I don't mind! Constructive criticism is the best/only way for me to improve really. I completely agree that my set-up wasn't ideal, and I'm currently working on improving my start position. I definitely think my back is too rounded, and from the research I've been doing, this is often related to weak hamstrings and glutes, so I'm trying to strengthen these areas. I also have now stopped doing touch and go reps after being told that these were a lot easier. One thing I tend to find is that I personally find it difficult to really feel my lats engage with a mixed grip. Any tips for lat activation in the set up? One thing is for sure and that is that your hams and gluteus aren't weak. Like I said you have an explosive lock (hip thrust). This is an indication that theses muscles aren't weak. The liftoff is demands more effort from your quads. If the hips shoot up or start in a high position it's because your body shifts itself in the position where it's the most strong. Hips high means you lenghten your hamstrings so you can generate power from these muscles. These posterior chains muscles need to wait a little to be activated and a more ideal position to do this is when the bar meets the knees. So not at the liftoff but at the knee position. If your liftoff is more quad dominated you keep the posterior muscle as an reserve for extra power in the lift. At the knee the hams and gluteus come in to play and give the bar an extra acceleration toward the lockout. If you start with these muscles max involved @liftoff you can not generate extra power at the knee position. Hips down and chest up isn't restricted by muscle weakness but can be due to flexibility restrictions. I think for you it must possible to get into this position prior to the pull. And by pulling the slack out of the bar I mean you have to pull yourself into the bar (hips down, lats thight and chest up) without lifting the bar. If you feel you're thight then you pull the bar. I stopped lifting with a mixed grip and only lift hook grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 Just watched your deadlift and have some comments if you don't mind. - You can gain a lot if your setup would be better, rounded lower back and almost stiff legs. - Pull the slack out of the bar, tense your lats when you do this. Lower your hips more and pull your chest up. - Put the bar down after the rep and make sure you have the same setup as in the first lift. Only the first rep was a real deadlift the rest was touch and go. The deadlift is to pull a dead weight off the ground. Touch and go makes it a lot easier. You have a good hip thrust, nice explosive. If your setup improves your deads will gain a lot. Very nice gym, all those platforms are great! Thanks very much for the feedback! I really appreciate you taking the time to post, and of course I don't mind! Constructive criticism is the best/only way for me to improve really. I completely agree that my set-up wasn't ideal, and I'm currently working on improving my start position. I definitely think my back is too rounded, and from the research I've been doing, this is often related to weak hamstrings and glutes, so I'm trying to strengthen these areas. I also have now stopped doing touch and go reps after being told that these were a lot easier. One thing I tend to find is that I personally find it difficult to really feel my lats engage with a mixed grip. Any tips for lat activation in the set up? One thing is for sure and that is that your hams and gluteus aren't weak. Like I said you have an explosive lock (hip thrust). This is an indication that theses muscles aren't weak. The liftoff is demands more effort from your quads. If the hips shoot up or start in a high position it's because your body shifts itself in the position where it's the most strong. Hips high means you lenghten your hamstrings so you can generate power from these muscles. These posterior chains muscles need to wait a little to be activated and a more ideal position to do this is when the bar meets the knees. So not at the liftoff but at the knee position. If your liftoff is more quad dominated you keep the posterior muscle as an reserve for extra power in the lift. At the knee the hams and gluteus come in to play and give the bar an extra acceleration toward the lockout. If you start with these muscles max involved @liftoff you can not generate extra power at the knee position. Hips down and chest up isn't restricted by muscle weakness but can be due to flexibility restrictions. I think for you it must possible to get into this position prior to the pull. And by pulling the slack out of the bar I mean you have to pull yourself into the bar (hips down, lats thight and chest up) without lifting the bar. If you feel you're thight then you pull the bar. I stopped lifting with a mixed grip and only lift hook grip. Hmmm. I see what you mean. It's not that I can't get into a position where my hips are lower and my chest is higher, it's just that as soon as I pull my hips will rise to the start position you see in the video, or thereabouts - unless the weight is very light. I can definitely believe that my quads are weak, my squat is appalling compared to deadlift - max out at around 160kg, although I'm working on improving it. I guess I'll keep working on my squatting and quad strength, and perhaps throw in some lighter deadlift work with more of an oly clean style set up as part of my warm-up sets. Thanks for the feedback again, really appreciate it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 19/05/2015 Neutral Grip Chin-Ups: 5 x 1 slow, various grips 1 x 10 chest to bar pull-ups 1 x 5 w/25kg (2 second pause at bottom) 1 x 5 w/40kg (2 second pause at bottom) 1 x 5 w/40kg (not quite full extension) 1 x 4 w/40kg (pause at bottom) 1 x 5 top half, half reps w/40kg 1 x 5 w/25kg 1 x 10 pull-ups Dips: 1 x 5 slow 1 x 10 explosive 1 x 5 w/25kg 1 x 5 w/50kg 2 x 5 w/65kg (rep PR) 1 x 4(1) w/65kg 1 x 5 w/40kg (4 second pause at bottom) Bent over rows: 3 x 8 w/90kg Dumbbell rows: 2 x 10 w/50kg Dumbell overhead press: 3 x 5 w/26kg Abs: 2 x 20 standing cable crunches w/stack 1 x 10 GHR crunches 1 x 10 GHR crunches w/5kg behind head 3 x 10 GHR crunches w/10kg behind head 1 x 10 GHR crunches Jogged 4km. Didn't time, but ran slowly, achilles not feeling great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 21/05/2015 Deadlift - focussing on trying to keep my hips slightly lower in the start position, 3 second eccentric pause between reps: 1 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 1 x 5 w/160kg 1 x 1 w/190kg DO then switched to mixed grip for 4 more reps (this felt really heavy) 4 x 5 w/180kg mixed grip 1 x 5 w/180kg w/straps - even stronger focus on keeping hips low 1 x 4 w/160kg Leg press: 1 x 10 w/110kg 1 x 10 w/165kg 1 x 10 w/195kg (stack) 3 x 10 single leg w/105kg (felt quite hard, but should be able to go to 115kg next time) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) 23/05/2015 Quick circuit in an (almost certainly vain) effort to combat the weekend of alcohol and empty calories that I'm about to embark on - this is becoming a worrying trend. 1 x 5 cleans w/50kg - technique absolutely horrible, been a very long time since I did these. 4 rounds of: 1 x 5 cleans and press w/70kg 1 x 5 muscle ups (1 minute recovery, NB press had a little leg drive on about half the reps) 4 rounds of: 1 x 8 overhead press w/50kg 1 x 10 pull ups chest to bar Edited May 23, 2015 by PatrickMeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 23/05/2015 Slightly hungover, ran 5km in 20:15 - set out quite steadily and then picked up the pace and pushed quite hard towards the end. I keep saying my runs are 5km, need to actually verify the distance at some point, should caveat the 5km with a 'roughly'. But it's the same loop every time, so at least the times are comparable to one another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 24/05/2015 Split Squats: 2 x 5 w/40kg (2 second pause) Front Squats: 1 x 5 w/40kg 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 3 w/80kg 1 x 1 w/100kg 1 x 1 w/120kg (PR) - really had to grind this one out, pleased to get it but wasn't pretty. 5 x 5 w/90kg Bench: 1 x 10 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/90kg 1 x 5 w/110kg 1 x 3 w/120kg Pulley Face pulls: 3 x 10 w/15kg Wrist push-ups (on back of wrist at bottom, on fists at top) 3 x 10 Handstand walks ~10m x 2 Did a few pull-ups and a couple of band assisted one arm chins with my left arm only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 25/05/2015 Deadlifts - did the first rep of each warm-up set slowly, focussing on keeping hips lower in the start position and using my legs to break the floor rather than relying on my back to hinge upwards.Decided to use straps on a few sets to help me focus just on that, not having to worrying about grip at all, and keeping the technique as simple as possible (i.e. DO). Was pretty pleased with form, definitely feel like I made a step forward. 1 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 1 x 3 w/150kg 1 x 3 w/170kg 1 x 3 w/190kg 1 x 1 w/210kg - with straps 1 x 2 w/220kg (rep PR) - with straps, second rep form broke down 2 x 3 w/200kg 2 x 3 w/180kg 2 x 5 w/120kg - as fast as possible with 'new' technique. 1 x 10 hanging leg raises 1 x 10 'bubkas' - hanging leg raises, where you finish the rep by pushing your feet vertically upwards until your hips are close to the bar, arms stay straight. Did some horizontal jumps to finish. Furthest I managed was ~273cm, a shade under 9 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grind Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 That's a explosive jump you got there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 That's a explosive jump you got there. Thanks! I used to be a long jumper, which I suspect accounts for that! I'd like to jump 3m at some point, I think I'll be able to get there if I can keep improving my deadlift and squat. 25/05/2015 (session 2) Ran my 5km route in 19:22 which is a PR by over 30 seconds. Went for the run at 00:30 so nobody was around, felt pretty good heading out and set a pretty fast pace but kept cadence high and stride length relatively short, kept pushing the pace throughout. Felt like my cardio and muscular endurance in legs (especially glutes) were both limiting factors at about the same level, which was nice because usually my legs feel okay but my heart/lungs feel like they're on fire if i push the pace, so making some progress there. Also verified the exact distance of the loop I run on MapMyRun, and it's 5.06km. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grind Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 My pr is 2m50. At this moment i'm coping with an pelvic injury. I can't generate good force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 My pr is 2m50. At this moment i'm coping with an pelvic injury. I can't generate good force. Nice, 2.50m is pretty good going! Sorry to hear about the injury, best of luck with the recovery, I'm definitely no stranger to that side of training so can empathise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 26/05/2015 Chin ups: Scapular hanging shrugs/swings to warm up 3 x 5 various grips 1 x 5 w/25kg 4 x 5 w/40kg (not sure I've managed to do 4 sets of this before) 1 x 5 half reps wide grip pull ups w/25kg - focus on not internally rotating 1 x 5 half reps wide grip - focus on not internally rotating 1 x 10 pull ups Dips: 1 x 10 1 x 5 w/25kg - 2 second pause 1 x 5 w/50kg - 2 second pause 1 x 5 w/60kg - 2 second pause, no pause on last rep (pause rep PR) 1 x 4 w/60kg - 2 second pause 1 x 5 w/50kg - 2 second pause 1 x 5 w/50kg Single arm seated cable rows: 2 x 10 w/42.5kg (stack) Abs: 1 x 10 bubkas 2 x 10 hanging leg raises - legs fairly bent, focus on no lat engagement, had bar behind back in rack 3 x 10 leg raises from support 2 x 10 standing cable crunches w/42.5kg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 27/05/2015 Split Squats: 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg (These all felt quite heavy so was a bit worried) Front squats: 2 x 5 w/60kg (Left hip didn't feel good on first set hence second) Back squats - all with 2 second pause in hole: 2 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 5 x 5 w/120kg - have done this before I think, but form was much better here, torso pretty upright throughout, felt the load one my legs not my back. Jump quarter squats: 3 x 5 w/100kg Seated hamstring curls: 3 x 8 w/105kg Overall pretty happy with the session. Next time will look to reduce recovery between sets of the squats at 120kg - took around 7 minutes between sets this time, which is too long really, but wanted to focus on the quality of the reps and my form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 28/05/2015 Had planned to take a rest day today but for reasons unknown to myself I decided to stuff my face with an eclectic assortment of terrible foods so decided I had better do something - probably not ideal for recovery but I'm trying to balance strength gain with staying lean(ish). Circuit: 1 x 10 single arm lateral raises w/5kg 1 x 5 chins 1 x 10 pushups 1 x 10 crunches Ran a slow 5km (didn't time it but ~25 mins I suspect). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 29/05/2015 4 rounds of: 10 x wide grip pull ups 10 x external rotations w/3 plates rotator cuff 8 x overhead dumbell press w/26kg 3 rounds of: 10 chins 20 dips 8 barbell rows w/70kg 20 dips 3 rounds of: 8 x bicep curls w/22kg 10 x tricep extensions w/15kg 10 x single arm pull downs w/15kg 10 x shrugs w/ 110kg Abs: 2 x 10 hanging leg raises 2 x 10 leg raises from support 2 x 10 ab-wheel rollouts from kneeling 1 x 5 second flag each side (literally only did this because someone else was trying to show off in the gym doing flags with poor form, I decided to show them up... childish but immensely satisfying nonetheless...) Some handstand practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 02/06/2015 Light session to ease myself back into moving after spending most of the weekend in bed hungover or at a desk working. Started off with a fairly comprehensive session of rolling and stretching, which actually made a really significant difference to my squatting, so I'll have to make time to do this at least once a week. Split Squats - all 2 second pause: 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/40kg 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg Front Squats - 2 second pause: 1 x 5 w/60kg 2 x 5 w/80kg 3 x 5 w/90kg 1 x 5 w/95kg Deadlifts - focus on form, particularly keeping chest up hips down more, using legs and keeping lats engaged off the floor by taking slack out of the bar. Released bar and stood up between reps to practice setting up. Mix of slow reps to feel muscles engaging properly and think through the technique and faster reps. Nothing too explosive yet because form won't stand up to it yet. 5 x 1 w/70kg 5 x 1 w/100kg 10 x 1 w/120kg Jogged 5km, very steady pace, didn't time it - tried to keep on the balls of my feet, right calf got pretty fatigued but managed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 02/06/2015 Squats - 2 second pause: 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/90kg 1 x 5 w/110kg 1 x 5 w/130kg 1 x 3 w/140kg 4 x 3 w/130kg 1 x 5 w/130kg no pause 1 x 10 w/90kg no pause Standing jumps: 1 x 10 - furthest was exactly 273cm measured, evidently this is pretty much my max when fatigued. Did a little rotator cuff work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 03/06/2015 Right shoulder has been bugging me for a few days, not sure what triggered it but hopefully it eases off in the next couple of day. Makes pushups and any shoulder work very difficult. Workout today was a bit random, couldn't do what I wanted because of shoulder. Exercises below were not necessarily done in the order below, most of the sets were mixed in with one another. Pull ups: 5 x 5 chest to bar Chin ups: 1 x 5 1 x 5 w/25kg 3 x 5 w/35kg 2 x 5 L-sit Push-ups: 5 x 10 Dips: 5 x 10 Bicep curls: 2 x 10 w/18kg Wrist extensions: 4 x 10 w/12kg dumbbell Abs: 100 crunch variations 1 x 10 side bends w/48kg 3 x 10 leg raises from support 3 x 5 hanging leg raises to 90 degrees Quite a bit of rotator cuff work with very light weights (2kg-4kg). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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