health4ni wrote:Agree with Coop's notion of quality reps, esp for you track athletes. It makes sense to perform low reps (<=5, although 2 or 3 is ideal imo) on squats with weights that are explosive. NO GRINDERS; that will make you s l o w.

That is of course if you are in the right phase to do such training. For example, if it's off-season and you want to get stronger then there are better progs to follow with regards to squatting. Same for if you want to add some muscle mass. Both of the aforementioned goals would be the main goal; there's always a trade off.

How would you go about finding the best trade off? Would you increase the volume of reps of 3s or perhaps take it to 5-6s? Considering Ash is a pretty fast twitch guy anyway would he not see hypertrophy even in the lower reps such as 3-6?

Good question. Given what I know from this forum on Ash, I'd say for the most part just increase the volume of 3's. Variety is good, as always now and again. Still, the most important thing is to perform the reps fast & explosive with great form. If that means a lower weight then so be it. That is for running speed improvements.

The best trade-off question is tricky as I'd have to work with him. But some will say, including myself (lol) that you need to go after one goal. You can't ride two horses with one ass... aka Chinese proverb: a man who chases two rabbits catches none.

Hypertrophy: umm, yes he would cos his legs are more fast twitch as you say. There's always carry over of course. I bet if he did one set of 20 rep squats once a week his legs would blow up massive! But that's for a hypertrophy cycle.

Thanks for messages and advice guys, I may orignally set the idea of some of this programme due to frustration really, thats why i cut out the planned typical set range of 5... I've come to my senses again now and actually had an alright session today lol. Its still very basic typically something liek 5 sets of 3, but at this stage i generally think i will improve onsomething as simple as this due to being so far off, i will gradually taper down the sets and try out some max 2's and 3's later.. Then I most likely will do a waveloading based cycle..

Health- As things have been a bit patchy and i have missed training for illnesses etc, i'm still treating this and partly next month as off season, i may do like 2 indoor races but i'm only treating them as training sessions really.

The overall weights based part of plan is something like this:

Phases
1 Max strength
2 Waveloading (changing some choice of exercises) + Standing long jump + Weighted and unweighted vert jumps + low intensity plyos
3 More emphasis on speed based weights (may consist one slighlty more HI set) + Jumps + plyometrics
4 Maintanence weights (cut back volume) + Jumps + plyometrics

I would then be in and out of being in phase 4 and being only concentrating on track sessions (which will be 3 times a week)

I of course might change this somewhere along the line, but this is initial plan..


Thursday 20/01/11
Original track session got cancelled as the track was pretty dodgy due to weather so we did the following session across a footy pitch

Sprint diagnal-jog side- Sprint diagnal-Jog side x 3
6 minute rest
Performed for 3 sets


Friday 21/01/11
Weights

Mobility work

Behind neck push press (no negs)
50 x 5
60 x 3
70 x 3
80 x 3
80 x 3
80 x 3
80 x 3
80 x 3

Sketcha Raises fuck knows name of this one, is like a continoius bounce into a calf raise but powering with quads
100 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 5

Gym ring dips
bw x 8
bw x 15
bw x 10

Upside down dips
Can't remeber what i did, it was very rushed coz of closing time, won't lie, my form wasnt too good on ym return to these today hahah

1 Max strength
2 Waveloading (changing some choice of exercises) + Standing long jump + Weighted and unweighted vert jumps + low intensity plyos
3 More emphasis on speed based weights (may consist one slighlty more HI set) + Jumps + plyometrics
4 Maintanence weights (cut back volume) + Jumps + plyometrics

Nice layout, I think you are right to keep a strength maintenance session within phase 3 as I have found after 3-4 weeks without a high intensity lifting session my times start to drop off.

Sketcha raises, lol.

SOLID session today, fucking hell LOL

I think this was what we did, can't remeber what all the recovery times were though, they were reasonably long in between sets (maybe 5-6 mins or so)

Could have got some of this wrong coz struggling to remember but was something like this, will change it later if i've got it wrong

12.5kg chain 60m sprint
12.5kg chain 60m sprint
12.5kg chain 60m sprint

10m high knees - 50m sprint with 12.5kg chain
10m high knees - 50m sprint with 12.5kg chain
10m high knees - 50m sprint with 12.5kg chain

12.5kg chain 60m sprint
12.5kg chain 60m sprint
60m sprint
60m sprint

7kg chain 60m jog into 340m 80% sprint

25kg chain 60m stride out drives (Power, not going for speed)
25kg chain 60m stride out drives with some one adding extra resistance with theraband

60m lunges
60m stride outs back

25kg chain 60m stride out drives (Power, not going for speed)

So were these more of a weighted bound type movement?

Coop_de_Ville wrote:

25kg chain 60m stride out drives (Power, not going for speed)

So were these more of a weighted bound type movement?

Hmm maybe.... maybe stride out was wrong word, is what more like a controlled drive, is like only way i can explain it, your not moving very fast when you do it. The theraband version was an even slower version, really extending powerfully through ground

lol i realised rilla, was having a right beast when wrote that haha

felt knackered today after yesterdays session! got back home from work and fell asleep for 4 hours before having to wake myself up for this session. Whole body fekked!

Weighed myself just before started workout- 72kg, so probs like 71kg in morning. Weird though coz got way to much fat on me at moment i reckon, by time i sort myself out into shape i'm not gonna weigh anything!!

Mobility work

Oly squats-no belt
60 x 5
80 x 5
100 x 3
100 x 3
100 x 3
100 x 3
100 x 3
Felt so knackered so wasn't gonna do better than this, feel so weak on oly squats its horrible, I just don't feel comfortable at the bottom of the lift, must be flexibility issues still

Conventional deadlifts- no belt sacked off partial squats today and done first session of deadlifts from off floor that i've done in a seriously long time, has to be like 10 months or something i swear. First time without belt too
-Pretty short rests as was working in with someone else
70 x 5
120 x 3
150 x 3
170 x 3
182.5 x 3 felt horrible but did it just about on last rep lol

Bench press
60 x 6
70 x 5
80 x 3
90 x 3
95 x 3
97.5 x 3 straightforward

Running out of time so will prob do my chins tommorow

Track work

Walk back recoveries
50m- fast
150m 80%
100m 90 %

6 minutes

Walk back recoveries
50m fast
150m 80%
100m 90%

6 minutes

Walk back recoveries
50m fast
150m fast
Had to leave last 100, my hammies got soo soo pumped up i could no longer actually move my leg very well even walking, really weird as was such localised pump, just made it impossible to move. Had to lay down for 15minutes lol. Maybe a mix of my poor flexibility and just started taking the bsd reloaded once a day for few days now hmmmm. My legs did feel very very heavy even before the session so maybe one of those days.

I've had that playing Rugby before with a lot of long continuous sprinting if it's been an open game. I stayed away from anything that gives a muscle pump when cardio work is concerned for that reason.

Not a nice session for when you aren't feeling on top!

Alex- yeah think i will stop takin it. Might take instead 3.8 grams creatine a day, 1.5g BA x 4, and i'm sort of thiking of taurine but really not sure at the moment...

Workout was bit short today so cut out the sketcha raises, got news that uclan have fucked over my strength and conditioning gym hardcore so can't continue like normal. Lucky the guys who were running it are taking care of some of athletes so i will train in same place still but i will be part of a training team (mainly track and field athletes) where everything to do with training will be taken care of like lifting, conditioning, mobility and massage and all other stuff. Will be about 15 of us. Guess in some ways it will be nice not to worry about my training for once and just have other people sort it plus i get training partners boom.

Last session on my own..

Mobility work

Behind neck push press
50 x 5
60 x 3
70 x 2
85 x 3


Gymnastic ring dips
bw x 15
bw x 10
bw x 8
bw x 8

Upside down gymnastic ring dips
bw x 7
bw x 7
bw x 5
bw x 7

uclan have fucked over my strength and conditioning gym hardcore so can't continue like normal

What has happened?

they had been trying to make life difficult for the ppl running the place for ages then they told them the other day that unless they pay them 15 grand a year then their getting kicked out and will only be members, despite the fact they were only ones who brouight in decent kit and the uni only use it for 4 hours a week for half of year for their so called strength and conditioning degree...

So basically the guys are just hiring the place out now instead of running it and having there own group of athletes to train..

Hills
1 lap of park circuit (has loads of kit for exercising on believe it or not, wish i had place liek that when was younger!), press ups, chins, jumps, dips 1 hil sprint etc)

90 sec rests inbetween
50m hill + small tyre
50m hill
50m hill
50m hill

5minutes

50m hill + small tyre
50m hill
50m hill
50m hill

5minutes

40m sprints for 4 minutes alternating runs (4 of us, 2 on each side, waiting for return run)

Run and touch 50 different trees haha

1 circuit lap again but quicker

Flash Sketcha wrote:Mobility work

Behind neck push press
50 x 5
60 x 3
70 x 2
85 x 3

I don't get that. Mobility work is done with no or light weights.

Also, whilst I feel that someone with healthy shoulders can perform behind-the-neck pressing, I think long term it's not a good idea. Risk vs Reward and all that.

I think mobility work was before OH press, i dont think he was saying OH press was mobility work?

Ash, you say you've got terrible shoulder flex? can you lift your arms unweighted over head and see your ears from the side? your humorous' should run directly vertical up from your spine. Unless you can do this, behind neck presses are definitely a no go.

What lifting shoes have you got dude?

got the addidas powerperfect II.

Haven't bothered updating journal really as most of my weights have been technique work, starting alot of it all over. Gonna race this sunday indoors in 60m and 200m but not feeling good tbh. My mobility is so poor i just can't run anywhere near half good technique. Its proving so hard to make big enough changes quickly.

Nice! They look really sweet, the ironwork 3 upgrade apparently.

I know what you mean, I went through the same stage not too long ago and there were points when I was thinking the same as you but then its as if the progress is not linear but just appears out of nowhere! This happened one session when all previously had been pretty awful and stretching/mobility/ technique not seeming to make much difference and then out of nowhere a pb by a 10th!