13 October 2008

Training rejig

Have rearranged my training a bit. After trying to repeat the same cycle as detailed below, but not really making good gains (mainly down to poor diet and stress), I decided to change things up.

Three main changes. For a start I am going to give 20 rep squats a rest. Secondly, I am going to prioritse gains in the regular deadlift for this cycle. Thirdly, I am going to prioritise the overhead press over the bench press.

Stuart McRobert writes that your overhead press should be around 66 per cent of your bench (for the same cadence and rep range). With that in mind, my overhead press is currently around 59 per cent of my bench. I'm hoping that this will impact my bench positively.

Further changes: I am going to use the EZ bar for bentover rows, instead of a straight bar, and not use a fixed rep target each time but a range. Some refer to this as double progression. I am introducing this to add a further level of conservatism to my training, hopefully aiding regular incremental gains.

I did the first workout yesterday and it went well. I was particularly pleased with how much better the EZ bar seemed for bentover rows. I got a much better grip on the bar and a fuller range of motion at the top of the movement.

In other news, I have begun using chalk and am already pleased with its advantages.