Training update

My squat is progressing, and couple of days ago I reached 70 kg. It's not much, but it is a nice psychological step, my bodyweight. I've been very disciplined in training so far. In retrospect I understand that the main cause of injury is progressing too fast and not backing off. It's good to talk about intuitive training, but not everyone is good at it. In fact, it's probably the minority of very experienced loifters who have good feeling of their bodies. For me,when things go well and I make new PR, the desire is to do better and better. Which I do and... get injured.

I am following ladders described by Shaf. One rep, short rest, two - rest, three - end of set. It manages the fatigue well and does not let the muscles of the lower back to get too tired. The goal is to make every rep crisp.

There are two ways to cycle the load: reduce it or skip the workout. So, training heavy, medium, light three times a week or heavy once a week is similar in a way, except for the weekly volume. I try squat once a week and do other exercises on other days, mostly military barbell press or weighted chinups. The main focus is on squat.

I like keeping track of things, so here is the chart of my progress. Left axis - the load, right - volume.

Until nex post.

A break from the blog

I am deviating from GS, so once again the name of my blog is not reflecting what I do. For the next couple of months I am going to log my training at Irongarm:

My IGx training log

8 June 2011

Recovering from very unpleasant flu, this workout is a light one.


BB squat:
20 kg x 5
30 kg x 5
40 kg x 3

55 kg: 1/2/3 x 3

16 kg KB press ladders:
1/2/3 x 1

Straigh legs situps x 17

Squat ladders feel very nice actually.

New plan +

Forgot to mention. Besides dips and chinups I am also going to do presses. Again, with much less emphasis on progressing than squats.

I am having a bad bout of flu right now. So will start as soon as I get better.

New plan

Here is the new plan.
Main part of every workout - BB squat. The rest of exercises - weighted chinups, weighted dips, ab work and KBs, jerks and snatches.

I am planning to try increase weight by 2.5 kg every week. On "heavy" days I will follow Shaf's ladders, 3 x 1/2/3. On alternative sessions I will decrease the weight by 20 - 25% and will either do similar ladders or simple 3 x 5, just for the sake of variety.

After squatting - 2-3 sets of either dips or pullups, or both, depending on the mood, 6 - 10 rep range. No particular emphasis on progression in these exercises. Once a week GS jerks, longish sets. Squat first on heavy days, on light days GS first. Ab work every session.
 
Main goal is to to stay injury free and increase strength. Try and keep some conditioning with KB lifts.
 
Starting next week...

31 May 2011

No time to train. Bloody hell, I should probably sit down and reflect on my commitments in life...

BB squat:
20 kg x 5
30 kg x 5
40 kg x 5
50 kg x 3
55 kg x 5 x 3 sets

OAMP 24 kg KB:
9R/9L
7R/7L

A lesson with the coach

On the recommendation of one of the nurses in one of the hospitals - her husband is a lifter - I went to see a coach, Pete Upham, who runs Shire Speed and Strength gym in Sutherland in Sydney. The gym is really cool: not a single mirror on the wall, no machines, just free weights, about five pairs of stands for squatting, oly lifting platform and couple of large tyres.

Getting advise from a coach is useful, to say the least. He filmed my squatting and dissected my technique into little phases, and then corrected them. I worked up to the set of five with 57.5 kg and decided to call it quits. I highly recommend coach Upham and his gym.

I hope the lesson is useful, and I will be able to progress in squat. I really like it. Besides, I have a cool squatting cage in my little gym in the garage, it shouldn't just stand there! In two weeks I have an appontment for the deadlift.