Virtualmeet deadlift meet

Came 5th in the Virtualmeet deadlift meet. Pulled 170kg (375lbs) at 80kg (176lbs) bodyweight.

More here.

Virtualmeet win!

I won my first Virtualmeet!

It was a bench press meet, and I won with a lift of 130kg, at 79kg bodyweight.

More here.

Spotting and singles

Great post on The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban from an original article from Bill Starr on spotting and singles.

Spring update

Have been feeling much more energetic over the last month or so. Training has been more consistent and I am enjoying the powerlifting focus.

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Powerlifting beckons...

I'm going to start gearing my training toward strength gains.

This is because I'm going to enter a Virtual Meet competition at some point this year. Not sure when yet, depends on how the training goes.

First ever session of multiple singles tonight (deadlift)...

Just realised that this kind of negates much of my first post of 2009... never mind... let's see if I can stick to it.

Box squats on the horizon...

Due to a combination of gym closure and the tiredness of returning to work after Christmas, I have still not begun training for 2009. Not good...

The good news, however, is that I have decided to try box squats. Today I purchased 3.6m (nearly 12 feet) of 2x4 wood and a bag of nails. I intend to construct my own box.

Watch this space...

2009

After suffering with a virus for most of November and December, I have been resting for the last couple of weeks, and am planning my return to the weights for Saturday 3 January with a series of break-in workouts.

I am going to continue with my classic full-body workout, every four days, but with the addition of a set of pull-ups.

I am also going to persevere with the double progression method, whereby weight is only increased once a set rep range is satisfactorily completed. For instance, if an exercise calls for 50kg to be used across a range of 5 to 10 reps, the first workout will be 50 x 5, increasing by a rep each time until 50 x 10 is achieved. The next workout will then be 52.5 x 5.

Two training goals for 2009:

1. Consistently maintain an element of cardiovascular exercise in my routine to improve conditioning and fitness, control fat buildup and assist general recovery. Run every four days.
2. Continue to prioritise the overhead press as the main upper body exercise in my routine.

Night time, garden, workout

Could not face going to the gym tonight, so went into my wet, grassy garden and did continuous deadlifts, power cleans, shrugs, rows and a few other exercises until I could not move.

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.

Exercise form - control

For me, proper form when performing difficult work sets is all about control. If you are not in control of the weight, how can you train with it in a productive manner? When I say control I mean not shaking to balance the weight, not lifting it unevenly or too speedily. Not letting it crash down in between reps. Lifting the weight smoothly and in a measured fashion. Lifting it strictly, respectfully, aesthetically. To the onlooker, movement should look precise and deliberate. Please do not take this to mean that the load must not be taxing: quite the opposite.

The challenge does not solely lie in lifting the weight. Not simply getting it from start to finish. It is the way that the weight is lifted. It must be dominated. Not in a reckless fashion, thrown up and down, but with the same care that a craftsman uses a tool. This is where the difficulty lies. It takes a great deal of focus and effort to lift a weight that is heavy in this way for a handful of work reps in the bench press, or complete a set of 20 rep squats. Just like the swan analogy: it may appear close to effortless, but actually the lifter is straining to ensure that the correct form is maintained in the lift.

This level of control requires total focus and enough proficiency in the correct performance of the exercise so that weight follows the correct path almost automatically. Stuart McRobert talks of the pause test, where a lifter should be able to stop at any point and hold the weight briefly and then continue. He advocates this as a test of form and control.

New training cycle

I have returned from my holiday (and a period of wisdom toothache), and this morning I performed an 85 per cent workout using the final figures of the last cycle as a basis.

Felt very rusty!

First ever intensity cycle

I completed my first ever training cycle yesterday.

I started with the following 100 per cent workout targets, although it was a little difficult since I had to estimate many of them, based on current form:

Squat 80kg x 20
Stiff legged deadlift 80 x 10
Barbell row 75 x 5
Bench press 105 x 5
Military press 60 x 5

I began on 3 July with an 85 per cent workout and then completed 90, 95 and 97.5 per cent efforts, before the 100 per cent on 18 July. I then made four workouts into new ground, and could have gone further if I did not have a holiday planned which will force a two week break.

In my final workout I completed the following:

Squat 87.5 x 17 (did 85 x 20 in previous workout)
Stiff legged deadlift 90 x 10
Barbell row 82.5 x 5
Bench press 112.5 x5
Military press 67.5 x 5

I feel that these numbers are more representative of my base level, than my first estimates, so I am eager to see how I can progress after my break.

When I return, I plan to insert a mini-cycle again and then may split up the squat and deadlift once I get into the 'new ground' workouts.

I think that cycling workout intensity is exactly what my training needed, and am quite excited about how it will help me achive my goals.

How to add 1kg to an olympic bar

Do it with small plates and string. This little setup worked a treat for me last night.

Microloading

Towards the end of a training cycle, when the work sets for each main exercise are getting very hard, it is generally impossible to jump up in 2.5kg/5lb leaps each workout. This means most people have to 'microload', or use smaller poundage increments to continue gaining.

How can you get around this? It is possible to purchase beautifully engineered fractional plates from specialist suppliers, but many frugal people (like me) prefer to engineer their own solutions. In the past I have used smaller (0.5 and 1kg) plates designed for regular barbells. I simply hooked them over the ends of spring clip collars.

I am at the stage of my current training cycle where it will be necessary to employ these tactics once more. This time I am going to use twine to attach the plates to the bar to help get the right combination. More ideas here.

With the weights I have, I should be able to add 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2kg to the bar.

Mental note

Remember to keep feet together and pointing straight when doing the stiff legged deadlift.

Mini-cycle update

I just completed the '100 per cent' workout in my mini-cycle.

All target reps completed.

Now to push on.

New shoes

I was recently in need of new shoes in which to train.

Does it matter, I hear you ask, what footwear you choose to lift in?

Short answer: yes. A lot.

After reading an article on weightlifting shoes on ExRx, I was inspired to go for a pair of Chuck Taylors for my training. They appealed to my love of old-fashioned simplicity and my natural frugality.

Two workouts in they are proving comfortable, stable and supportive. Perfect.

A change

Following a period of mild illness and a short holiday, I have had some time to re-think my training.

I feel that going 'full-bore' all the time is too much for my recuperative abilities, no matter how careful I am with rest and recovery.

Whilst I was on holiday, I took the time to re-read some of Stuart McRobert's excellent writings and have come to the conclusion that now is the time to begin cycling training intensity.

Watch this space...

Achy morning

Completed another 10 rep session last night.

Had to reduce my bench press weight to around 50% of my max to complete the three sets. At least now I have found my working poundages. Interestingly, I found that the final third of the lift (where the triceps come into play most) seemed to fatigue more quickly than my chest.

Perhaps I should do some board presses?


Overhead presses were very tough after the bench too.

Bench press personal best

Yesterday, after my 3 rep workout (which went well) I tried singles in the bench and squat.

I squatted 120kg fairly easily. I could do more, but this is the most weight I have used when going below parallel.

I benched 132.5kg, touch and go. This is a personal best. Video above: not the best angle, but you get the idea.