There goes the year...

So last day of the year, and back in the gym. Started off with squats, as you do, but had to abandon during the warmups as my knee was restricting me from getting full depth, and didn't want to push it. Did deadlifts instead, more volume than usual, to get some work in for the posterior chain. Also did bench, with a little too much weight - still tweaking the TM program, just had too much on the bar for the volume. Finished up with cleans, which mostly felt pretty good, only looped a few, which is pleasing given how infrequently I've been doing them.

D: 5x5x100
B: 3x5x77.5, 2x5x60
PC: 5x3x70

So it's the end of the year and, frankly, I'm not much stronger than I was at the start. But it's been a difficult year, and I've got a good programme laid out ahead of me which I feel I can stick to pretty well. Just have to keep a balance with the rest of life!

TM Heavy

Whoops, forgot this one. So 'heavy' in this instance meant 150kg squats for a set, 160kg deads for a set, and 65kg press. Got them all, though deads were a real struggle. The whole setup felt wrong and floppy, almost like in a single week I'd completely forgotten how to deadlift. Weird.

And then I came down with a flu-y sort of thing, all headaches and achiness and dizziness. Not really conducive to lifting. And then, just getting over that, I strain my knee slinging my daughter on a flying fox. What a Christmas! Knee's still sore, but should be back in the gym in a couple of days.

TM Light

So I decided in the end to go with the Texas Method. For the moment, more or less 'straight', but that will probably change. The main reason was that the weights are getting too heavy for my inconsistency; having to reset or struggle through a couple of weeks if I miss a week is just too hard - and much, much slower than the starting strength linear progression is meant to be anyway.

Doing TM, it feels easier (over this period at least) to be more consistent and if I do miss a day here or there, there are more variables to manipulate (and, of course, potentially fuck up) to keep moving on. Obviously that's to be avoided as much as possible, but... well, it doesn't take much reading back through this log to note what my training can be like...

S: 2x5x105
B: 3x5x67.5
Back Extensions (Hypers): 3x10

Should've done chins too, but ran out of time. And the back extensions are unusual enough for my body that a more gentle introduction to 'accessory' work is probably not a bad idea... not meant to be sore or tired after the light day, after all...

Faulty Programming

So I missed SSS Round 3 on Sunday, which was disappointing. Particularly because the party that my daughter went to ended up going so long I could have dropped her off, gone to race, and then picked her up. Ah well. Plans are already set for the next round, so unless I'm sick or something, I won't miss that!

So off to the gym I went, and learned a lesson about programming. I'm reading PPST (kindle version) and there's a lot to absorb, and the first is - it takes time to recover properly from an intense session, especially where it's not a planned part of a cycle. I went back to my 'normal' 3x5s and it was horrible. I got through 2.4 sets of squats, but my form was awful. After 2 reps of the third set I figured I could just about make it through, but even on the first two sets I couldn't control my body well enough, and I decided that I'd reached the point where continuing would have no positive impact, and even if I'd made all 15 reps, there was no way I'd be progressing anyway.

I got through press with a small deload to 55kgs, but it was a struggle, and by the time I got through a warmup of powercleans where I basically just wrenched the bar on to my shoulders because I had no 'power', I called it a day. To rest, recover (better) and reread through PPST carefully! The main choice is around continuing 'SS"s-tyle programming, or to switch to something like the modified TM that Carl does (or did?) at the Powerhaus. Which would, funnily enough, actually require me to pick up some cycling training. What a thought!

S: 3x5x147.5, 1x2x147.5
P: 3x5x55
PC: 1x4x60

1RM

Today was the first time I've ever gone in to the gym with the specific intention of working up to 1RMs in the 'big three' lifts - squat, bench and deadlift. Partly this was because of the time out of the gym, and the lower weights on Monday, so as to feel heavier weights before returning to 3x5s next Monday. Partly it was because of racing on Sunday, to keep the volume lower. Though it now looks as though I might not be able to race anyway - family stuff, which is a bugger. And partly it was... well, just wanting to get some decent and specific PRs. Because sometimes, that's nice.

Squats I set my sights just above the 1RM of a few weeks ago. I thought about shooting for the 170 again, but decided to stick with 165 as the target, and to go for 170 if it felt really good. So I worked up to that, got the 165, but decided against attempting 170 - 165 had felt very heavy, but I didn't really grind or get stuck. Just a little bit. I thought though that 170 might take a bit too much out of me with deadlifts to follow, so I opted not to. If I was just doing squats, I would have done it, and I think I probably would have gotten it.

Bench I wasn't really sure - I figured probably 85, but I've not really done much benching lately, and mostly it's been 5x5 at lower weights. But I aimed for that, comfortable that it wouldn't be nearly so taxing to 'overextend' a little if I felt I could. And I did - 85 was fairly easy, and then 90 was slower, but still smooth. I was wondering whether or not to ask someone for a spot at 95, but there was noone around that I knew, and I wasn't too concerned about leaving one in the tank. Again, I think I could have got the 95, but not certain enough to try without a spotter.

So on to dead, and I was feeling pretty pleased with my efforts. After the last time I deadlifted, I wanted to make sure that I had better form and kept the back solid. I had the camera with me (which is also how I can be certain that my squats were deep!) and it told a disappointing story - back rounding, and not keeping the bar back against the legs. Obviously I knew this, but seeing it on video is not so pleasant! Just the same, I worked up to 180 and felt pretty good with it - I could have tried more, but my grip was failing on the last rep at 180, and I didn't think I'd lock it out. That, and my thumbs were feeling rather stripped and compressed! Going back to workset weights though, I'm really going to have to focus on keeping the bar back and the back tight, shoulders not too far forward. Hopefully I won't need to drop the weight back, but if I have to, I have to. Don't want to fuck around with that!

So a 'total' of 435kg, or 957 pounds - just a little shy of 1000 pounds. Nice to set a total, and something to aim for next time I give it a go - perhaps in the week before the February round of SSS. I reckon I'll get it that time!

Routine?

Yeah, well, anyway. You know me. Semester's finished now, and it's only minor distractions like Christmas coming up, should be plain sailing from here...

S: 5x5x122.5
P: 5x5x50
PC: 5x4x60
B: 5x5x65

Back to routine

Well, I hope.

S: 3x5x145
B: 5x5x65
DL: 1x5x157.5

Go hard and go home

Or something like that. After declaring that I wasn't going to rearrange training just because of pesky races, it's been nearly 2 weeks since I've been in the gym. Ah well. Week and a half until the effective end of semester...

Of course, being me, this meant a mix of sensible and silly. Sensible was 5x5 squats at 85% of the 'supposed to be' 3x5 squats for this session. So 5x5 at 125... no problem. And there wasn't. Which lead to a problem...

I thought I'd do a 1RM(ish) just to feel the weight on my back before going back to 'normal' training next time. So after 5x5 at 125 (that is, after over 4 tonnes of volume) I did a few singles. 150kg... no problem. 160kg... not many problems. 170kg (note the sensible jumps...) no problems... for my hips. Unfortunately on the way back up as it got to the point where I'd need to start grinding, I lost a little tension and started to rotate to the right... tried to bring that back, and lost my balance. I still tried to get it back and save the rep, but I'd been paused halfway back up for too long and I couldn't stop the over-correct. So I dumped the weight on the pins. But because I was trying to be controlled about it, I kept my hands on the bar, and squished my right ring finger a bit. Not badly, nothing broken, but enough to cause a reasonable amount of blood and swelling.

So that was it for the day, no press, no deadlifts. But it's a new squat 1RM, so that's something. And I'm also nicely warmed up for Thursday. That's how I'm thinking about it, at least!

SSS Round 2 2012-13

Well, I won't claim that it was quite as much fun as last round, but it was still a fun day. Qualified on 102" and actually managed a PB at Blackburn of 13.515 in favourable conditions featuring a Northerly pushing everyone down the back straight. Again, on the back of not much training, and not having been on the track bike since last round. Interesting. And I could have gone faster, but as usual my jump wasn't quite as hard as it can be, and my riding not as smooth. See: training.

Racing I dropped back to... 94" I think. Put a 14t on instead of the 13t, anyway. I'd actually qualified second fastest in B grade, to my surprise, so everyone I raced had actually qualified slower than me! I can't remember when that last happened, and it hadn't happened in B.

Doesn't mean I beat everyone though. Or, to put a slightly finer point on it, anyone! First race against Chris Dann - never beaten him. Still hadn't! I had the lead, but somewhat invited him to take it through turn 3 on the first lap - I took height, and with him down on the blue, wasn't too concerned that he'd jump from there. He didn't, but did take the lead, and we rolled around slowly increasing the pace. I looked for an opportunity to dive underneath him through turn one, and probably could have done, but didn't quite have the nerve/training. So we actually jumped with me a bike length behind out of turn 2, 200m to go, me with the advantage of height. I really should have beaten him from there, even though he has a better kick. But I didn't, and wasn't even close.

Second race, up against Kallum Parlivliet, I was following and after half a lap, decided to force the pace, not wanting to let him jump from a crawl. So I rolled up outside him, and he let me, climbing up behind me and then jumping out of turn 4. It wasn't a super hard jump, and I came down easily into his draft and flowed him around. I then did the dinkiest little break and run you've ever seen, just as he was accelerating in to the back straight (as he always does) which gained me virtually nothing. And then I just sat in his draft the rest of the way, like a... hmm.

Third race, Nick Abels, under 17 but big and strong. I'd considered going more or less from the gun, but figured I'd never be able to outlast him, even if it didn't suit him either. Instead he started accelerating around the pursuit line on the back straight in the first lap, and I sat beside him through to turn one, where I dropped back in to the draft. I stayed there, popping out momentarily (and not really entirely intentionally) in to turn 3, just because I stuffed the entry up, and rolled in behind. We didn't even really properly sprint. I was getting the distinct impression by this point that I'd already decided going in to the day that it was another practice run of sorts (which it was) and that I wasn't even trying to win (which is what ended up happening, even though I hadn't deliberately intended it that way.)

But that didn't matter, because in a field of 6, you don't go around losing all of your races and get in to the finals, do you? I was already getting changed when they announced I was racing the 3v4 final against Chris. Turns out that three people had won all of their races, and three had lost them all - and as the second-fastest qualifier, that meant that I was in (because Jarrod, the fastest qualifier, had injured his knee.)

So out I went, wondering what on Earth I was doing, and what I should do. Chris had the lead, and we did a bit of weaving and so on back and forth before we jumped, side by side, out of turn 4. As has happened before, Chris made it to turn 1 first, and I slotted in behind. And then I got the weirdest target-fixation ever. I was staring at his back wheel, not even glancing up, and when we got to turn 3, I wasn't at all prepared. I slammed in to the turn, flew up to the blue and it was over. Mind you, had I taken the turn flawlessly, I probably would have ended up finishing in exactly the same spot as I'd been at the entry to the turn - a foot from Chris' rear tyre. It was bizarre, I've never had that happen before, though I do get rather tunnel-visioned during a flying 200 - but, if I say so myself, I ride turn 3/4 at Blackburn near flawlessly. Generally speaking I barely get above the black, never mind the red. Okay, perhaps flawlessly is stretching things a bit. But I certainly don't let it throw me up in a F200.

So tactically and so on, obviously my racing was poor. My endurance was also non-existent, which was a problem not because of long drag races, but because I didn't feel that I could accelerate down the back straight. And mentally I wasn't well race-tuned. But I still had an enjoyable day, and clearly the strength/speed is still pretty good - though I can go faster. I wonder what the solution could be. Track training? Spin? Nah, don't be silly, how would those help?

Sensible

Two days out from racing (though my pre-entry hasn't been recorded yet... perhaps I shouldn't have said anything about not 'targeting' the SSS this year?) is an excellent time to go to the gym, no? Especially after not having been for just over a week (after having said that I wasn't 'tapering' because it'd mean I wouldn't get to the gym. But still, had I not gone today, it'd have ended up being 2 weeks...)

So squats were a bit tough. Especially the first workset, because my technique just wasn't dialled in well. I got them all up, but they weren't pretty, and no two reps were the same! Next 2 sets were much better, but endurance wasn't so good - 5th rep in the 2nd set I lost my hamstring tension, knees slid forward, and I really had to battle it back up. But it got there, and the third set was pretty good - still really tough though.

Because I'm sensible, and because I was so rooted, I did powercleans instead of deadlifts. They actually felt pretty good, timing on the jump was on, and I was brushing my thigh on the way up. Good-o!

S: 3x5x142.5
B: 3x5x72.5
PC: 3x4x67.5

When in doubt...

... go up 5. At least, that was my theory when I discovered that I'd left my 1.25kg plates at home, and so wouldn't be able to do 137.5 in squats. So I did 140 instead. Came up just fine.

S: 3x5x140
P: 5x5x55
D: 1x5x155

You know, I think I'm going to target next Summer for racing. Not that that means I'm not going to race this year, or that I'm just going to whizz around having fun like in Round 1 (though I'm still aiming for the fun bit).

No, just that with how disrupted and, frankly, non-existent my training was over winter, I'm obviously way behind in fitness and weight. So why disrupt the (generally) good flow I have in the gym so as to taper and recover once a month? What will it actually gain me? In any given month I might be faster by a tenth or two tapering and so on, but cumulatively, I'll be stronger, lighter and faster come the end of the season if I just train through, making minor adjustments for the races.

The other thing, obviously, is that I still need to find a way to get to track training. But I don't think I'll be trying very hard over the next 6 weeks or so, with most of my spare time going to study and 'domestic' issues. Balancing priorities is not just for the fleet of foot.

What's a roadie?

Apparently they ride road bikes. I have no idea why.

Heidelberg Heights to Whittelsea to Carlton, then St. Kilda to Brunswick West to Heidelberg Heights to Kew to Heidelberg Heights. Only 117km spread over nearly 14 hours, no mountains, and an average of a bit over 23km/hr. So not exactly epic. But it's been a long time since I've ridden anything like that. I might be tired tomorrow.

Benzine

S: 3x5x135
B: 5x5x65
PC: 3x4x65
P: 1x1x65

Prrrrrrrrrrrr

First PR for a while - in the press this time! 3x5 at 60kg. The 15th rep was a shut-my-eyes-and-refuse-to-give-up grind, but by gods it got there. It's not even that impressive - just over half my bodyweight. But there's more progress possible there, and I'm going to keep alternating more volume, see if that helps push it up.

Relevance to track sprint? Almost nothing. But one needs balance. And PRs.

S: 3x5x132.5
P: 3x5x60
D: 1x5x152.5

Circus McGurkus

So it turns out that doing a 'circus' at your daughter's school at drop-off time, which essentially means 20 minutes of hang-cleaning and pressing 25-35kg children is not, in fact, a good warmup for going to the gym. Squats at 130 felt like 230, and by the time I got to the deadlift, I was done. Perhaps not surprising, considering that my deltoids were still burning by the time I'd travelled the hour between school and gym. Oddly enough, benchpress was the easiest thing I did all day...

S: 3x5x130
B: 3x5x70
DL: 1x1x152.5

Pressssssssssssssssssss

5x5 press at 55kgs. Bit harder than bench, but got them all up. It's amazing how important the lower back is in the press. Squats just 3x5 at 127.5, just on schedule, nothing exciting. Was very rushed so just did 1x5 cleans at 65, no problems, though no idea how the form was.

I've been alternating between feeling good, enthused, inspired by Neil, that sort of thing, and just being quite flat. Not sure why, precisely, though it's not really related to training - can make it more difficult to feel sufficiently motivated to train though. But I'm still getting out there and doing it...

Five by

Back in the gym - it's amazing how quickly missing one session and then a taper turns in to two weeks off!

Anyway, decided to do 5x5 for the first time, at 80% of what would have been my squat workset, so I was lifting 105kg. And, I must say, it was easy. Okay, 105kgs is not heavy, but despite only taking 3-4 minutes at most between sets, I didn't experience much in the way of cumulative fatigue, which was nice. I suspect I might feel it a bit more tomorrow!

Of course, being me, I then got a bit carried away - did 5x5 on bench as well, except this time at 100% of the scheduled workset. Oh well, I actually think it mightn't be a bad idea to do a bit more volume work for bench and press anyway, see how my body reacts to it.

And then I did a full deadlift workset, which was nice. Actually, my form wasn't great - back kept rounding. Not a lot, but enough. Still, got 5 up at 150kg without many problems. Probably should just have stayed at 125, but oh well, can't be helped!

Oh, and Tuesday, got two PBs on the biggest hills on my commute (one each way) so that was nice. May have had something to do with not wearing a 5kg backpack.

SSS Round 1 2012-13

Well, that was the most fun I've had on a track bike yet. Not because I won anything - I didn't. Not even one race. But I was relaxed, I was happy, and it all just flowed really well. And that's precisely what I wanted from the day.

So, the day started off, incredibly enough, with Flying 200s. As usual I was a bit late, and missed out on warming up on the track. Nic and Neil both offered me rollers, but I ended up deciding not to bother - it felt a bit much like that would be taking it all a bit too seriously. And if I'm taking it seriously, what the hell am I doing on 86"??

So I just went out and put on an effort - and despite trying to be more relaxed and have fun, it was a genuine effort. 86" is way too small for me, of course, and it's actually hard to jump with because there's not enough resistance. And at the end I was rooted - partly because of the lack of a warmup, and partly because I spent so much time spinning. But I recorded a 14.113 to be 6th (of 8) in B - not a terribly impressive time, but given that I've not trained at all, and I was spinning madly on 86", to record a faster time than the first round last year, and only a couple of tenths slower than my 'normal' times at BBN (best was 13.5 on a perfect day for Round 2 last year, warm, no wind, etc.) is... interesting. It should also be interesting to see what I record next round, given a month of decent training!

My races... well, I won't bother with dissecting them particularly. Each round I was following, and each round I tried something slightly different, without doing any of them very well. My favourite was the last one against Kallum, where as expected he jumped straight from crossing the line, I caught up to him, had a few high(ish)-speed feints and swerves (not actually very dramatic) before jumping with him in turn 1. Unfortunately as I jumped my back wheel skipped quite a way (or it felt like it, will be interesting to see if it's on the video) and it felt like it was running rough - perhaps rubbing a little, though it turned out it wasn't. I'd already sat up though, wasn't much point chasing back by that stage.

So overall it was a great day, and I'm really feeling that excitement for racing and, yes, training again! Training on the track is difficult - I almost always either have my daughter, or I don't have the car, but hopefully I'll work a way around that.

Blackburn velo... yeah, I remember that place!

So I finally got out on to the velo for a refamiliarisation session - hardly call it a training session as such. Took everything, including spare tyres, but somehow managed to forget the chain whip, so did it all on 86". Probably not a bad idea anyway, perhaps I should restrict myself to that for the first round, too.

Nothing too exciting - a lot of rolling around, two powerjumps from... 23km/hr, apparently, a flying 200 from the chute, and a practice match sprint against Dave Thomas, just for the fun of it all.

Powerjumps were okay, hit 46 on the 1/4ish lap jump, and 53 on the 1/2ish lap jump, not too bad. Flying 200 was marred slightly by slipping out of the pedal, just held in by the strap - need to get new cleats, clearly. Still managed some decent power, though it wasn't a strong jump, and hit a top of 58km/hr for, at a wild and random guess, something like a 13.5. But man, the error bars on that one go right off the graph...

The track needs a bit of a clean up - I'll try to get down there again on Thursday with a whippersnipper - but otherwise it felt great, nice and smooth and somehow grippier than I remember. All the work that's been put in has clearly paid off! It was good to be back out there, and I'm looking forward to Sunday. I'm not expecting much, particularly, but if I manage to enjoy myself I'll be content, and it'll give me a good baseline for the rest of the season.

So, where am I at then?

Well, two weeks and one day out from the first round of the sprint series, how am I sitting?

Interestingly enough, in the gym, very similarly to last year - which, as well as being interesting is rather sad. What a waste. 122.5 squat versus 130 last year, 62.5 bench versus 65 last year, 140 deadlift versus 155 last year, press 55 versus 55 last year, and powercleans 60 versus 75 last year. The main other difference is that this year those are all going up from having restarted low, whereas last year, most of those were reset, or just about to be.

Spin? Well, haven't been doing much of that. The only one I've done recently produced superior numbers to a similar session last year, but... not much to go on.

And I've still not been on the track, though I'll get out there this week. Maybe I might even have enough money to go to DISC if it's running next weekend, though I'm not sure what the point of that would be.

So I'll get out to Blackburn or Brunswick some time this coming week, do a few efforts, and try to get out at least one more time before the first round. And then, of course, however my strength/speed is, my tactical ability will have reduced from level 3 (out of 20) to level 1.

All I'm really hoping to get out of it is a reignition of the spark!

Some training

Right, internet has returned to my new life. Huzzah!

So I've been doing some training, in the gym and on the road bike. Not on the track. I still haven't ridden my track bike since February. But that will change shortly, with luck even before the 7th of October.

And the truth is I'm feeling okay. No, I'm not going to set the track sprinting world on fire, but when have I ever? It would have been good to be able to train, but life just hasn't been that way lately. I have a bit of time leading in to Round 1, then all Summer and then... onwards, I guess.

And you know what? I'm going to have fun doing it.

That is all.

No training

I know, you're shocked. And you have every right to be. But no, no training.

Okay, I've ridden my bike, and spun twice, but that's all. C-grade here I come! No. 6 weeks of training should get me back up to the bum-end of B-Grade, I'm sure. Yay.

Ah well. I've moved house and restarted my life, at least.

Spin #1... again

Well, what better place to get back on the spin than the start, huh? I'm not going to record them in detail here, because they're kinda boring. But, for this one, I'll give a baseline, 2 months from the first race...

Effort                                                      Max RPM
:00 E1                   
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1                                  186/190
:10 8s 61" (80)                                        174
:12 8s 66" RS(80)                                   176
:14 8s 68" RS(80)                                   175
:16 8s 73" RS(80)                                   164
:18 8s 82" RS(80)                                   167
:20 8s 87" RS(80)                                   163
:22 8s 93" RS(80)                                   160
:24 8s 100" RS(80)                                 151
:26 6s BGSS (53x13, 107" L)                 154
:28 6s BGSS (53x12, 116" R)                   -
:30 8s PG+8 (116")RS(40, seat)            139
:32 8s PG+8 (116")RS (40, seat)           131
:36 18s PG r/up (6:100, 6:130, 6:max)      -

 Which is a modified-according-to--my-gears-and-trainer version of this programme.

So my PG is 53x14, 100 (or 99.5) inches. Interestingly enough, last time I was actually doing spin properly, my PG was 53x15, 93". Significance? NFI, none probably.

BGSSes were meant to be seated but I forgot, so did them standing. First went fine, but when I put it up in to 53x12 for the second, my chain popped off again. Not surprising, really, since I've done no maintenance since it last happened! Will have to do it if I'm to continue spinning though... anyway, 154RPM, 79.7, also compares favourably to my results last year.

116"RSes, top of 139RPM... compared to a top of 135RPM in a 99" RS 10 months ago.

Curious. But all meaningless. Point is to spin, and see how my fitness improves. You'll notice that I didn't record a result for the final rampup - too busy hovering in the bathroom, waiting for something to happen.

Didn't though. Next step - back on the track.

Comment

This is ridiculous! Blogger won't even allow me to comment anonymously (and no, it's not waiting to be approved...) and yet it'll allow me to log in to post. Bizarre.

Anyway, as far as coming back to the track is concerned, if it were possible to run the sessions for free, I'd be there already, but it's not, so I'm not! Lots of life stuff going on, but I'm moving house in a couple of weeks, so once that's done (and I've recovered from paying the bond!) I should be able to start back. Just in time to remember what a track bike is for Round 1 of the SSS...

23 July

File this one under interesting interaction, unsolicited advice. A guy who I think is the owner or manager of the gym came up to me today, talking about my squat form - after my first warmup set with just the bar. This set I do super-slow and often hold at the bottom for a few seconds, just for general warming/stretching/balancing purposes. So anyway he comes up, starts chatting a little, and tells me that I need to be looking up - not at the ceiling, but at the far (~50m away) intersection of the wall and warehouse roofline. So we have a discussion about keeping a neutral neck, he suggests that my balance is too much on my toes and that that's because of looking forward/down as I do. So I take that on board, and because I'm a nice chap (and it's still an unloaded bar) I do my next warmup set looking more upwards. And the balance does actually feel slightly better, and I can feel it more in my quads than my hamstrings.

But of course that's not where I want to feel it, and a loaded bar (even at my current workset weights) balances vastly differently than an empty one. So I don't change for my worksets, and though he's wandering around still, he only briefly comes up a little later to ask if I tried it, and almost ruefully (but genuinely) comments "Still want to do it your way, that's fine!"

And it is.

S: 102.5 (Starting with the belt already for worksets, helps me to remember to do my valsalva properly more than anything else at this weight)
B: 57.5
D: 125

Plus an extra powerclean (I do these, by the way, partly to shake my legs out slightly, partly to remember how to do them, and mainly so as to get the bar back up on the rack to take off the last plates, as it's easier that way.)

Proper PC worksets start back again on Thursday.

19 July

Whoops! We'll just backdate this one, shall we?

S: 100
P: 50 (Plus a single at 60)
D: 120 (Plus a single PC at 60)

16 July

Back to school tomorrow, back to riding up silly little hills. Hopefully it won't get in the way of training too much.

S: 95
B: 55
D:115

5-star

Look, it's a cheap gym. $3.30/session, no contracts or any of that sort of thing and not many people use the rack, so I can usually walk in, work out and walk out without much delay. But it's not the most tempting place to go. Mirrors everywhere, cold or hot but rarely comfortable, and acres of machines. But it's got heavy things, and there's still a place to lift them (though I'm constantly slightly worried that any given time I arrive there my rack will be gone) so it'll do. And I think I mentioned that it only costs $3.30.

S: 90
P: 45
D: 110

Oh, and thanks for the comment Kev - for some reason blogger is happy for me to sign in to write posts, but won't let me comment. I suspect that that says something about their relative importance.

Still going

Highlight of the day was someone asking to work in with me, saying they remembered me from a couple of months ago and how he couldn't believe how strong I was. I helped him with his squat form, which was a weird combination of high and low bar techniques. Nice feeling for the day.

S: 85
B: 50
D: 105

All right then

Back to serious training. Not everything is out of the way - major one being moving house (hopefully!) or finding someone to come share in the next month. But... enough crap is out of the way that I can committ to consistency again. Imagine if I'd stayed consistent and not stopped almost everything back around Easter? Ah well.

S: 80kg
P: 40kg
D: 100kg

Yeah, paltry. But it's a start. And it should get me back to a 150kg squat in time for the first round of SSS...

Yawn

You may have noticed that I'm currently not terribly motivated to update the blog. What can I say, nothing interesting is really happening at the moment. I'm lifting, and have generally dropped back the weight a little because my form has been... not necessarily crappy, but inconsistent, and my back in particular has been fatiguing. But I'm lifting. I'm spinning occasionally too, though I'm hoping to be more consistent with that, too. And one day I'll even get back on my track bike and ride in circles. Might be more interesting then, though it'll probably take me a couple of months to get speed back up again. Otherwise... the most exciting thing is that on my commute this morning, I came across my second cyclist - last time I provided a wheel for someone, and recorded my best time between Eltham and Research. This time I sucked wheel, and recorded my new best time between Eltham and Research. And still I'm in 210/535th place on strava. Mind you, I'm 33/865 in the other direction. And 509/538 for the Main Road hill out of Research. Thrilling, no?

Nothing interesting

Lifted. Didn't manage anything exciting, no PRs, still just getting back to my former level, too many inconsistencieses.

Grundle

So back to... well, not heavy singles (not that they're actually that heavy anyway) but doubles by and large. 147.5 squat, 60 press, 60 clean (yes, I agree it's kinda ridiculous that I'm cleaning the same as my press, but that's technique and lack of practice for you) for 4, double at 75 on the bench and a full set of 5 at 160 on the deadlift - I did a double at 150, felt good, so decided to do a full set of them, just to get full value from the day! As you do.

Why would you ride a bike indoors

when it's so warm and sunny outside? Well, for a start, limited time. And otherwise? Well, we'll get to that in a second...

So I've started on spin for the season - hoorah! Or something. I skipped the PG Calibration and decided to just go with last year's setting - I'd soon find out if that was ridiculous or not.

Started out all well and good - couple of HCLRs, then the first BGSS. One or two 'clicks' during that, but no problems. Second BGSS - second stroke on the right leg, and bang - off comes the chain on the outside of the big ring. Set it back up, spin it around a few times under moderate pressure to make sure it's sitting snugly, and try again. Same result. Go through it again and switch back to the left leg leading - same result. Front der appears to be aligned, and unlike last time, I can't detect any wobble in the chainring. This is why I didn't want to go out and do hill sprints - in case this happened. It's not an uncommon occurrence, whether doing uphill sprints or maximum power downhill or flat sprints in 53x12 (once even in 53x14, if my memory serves me correctly) and I've skidded along the road, sitting on the top tube with cleats skidding along the ground at ~60km/hr once too often.

I'm stumped as to the cause - I doubt it's because I'm putting out 2500W. Possibly I'm putting out 1500W at 114kg, but that surely shouldn't be too much if the bike's set up correctly. So presumably it's something in my setup. Might have to book a 'fit' session with Carl when I have some dosh, see if we can work it out.

Anyway, I continued on, doing the PGRSes and the rampup, finishing with HCLRs. Well, one MCLR, anyway. Clearly once again I've lost endurance, but my experience is that that should be back as I progress along with spinning, so I'm not fussed with that.

Stats? I have none. I'd noticed, and then forgotten because I've been doing all of my riding outside and not bothering with cadence, that the battery in my cadence/speed sensor has died. Obviously GPS speed isn't much help indoors on the trainer! I'll get that sorted sooner or later.

Remember me?

I used to lift things and ride things. Well, after a bit of time off for life readjustment, I'm back. And bugger me, it hurts a bit right now!

Back in the gym, and just doing warmups basically - so worked up to a double at 115kg in the squats, a single at 60kg for the press (was just going to be a double at 50, but that felt easy, so I decided to chuck in the single since DOMS was unlikely to be a factor there) followed by a double at 140kg on the dead and a single at 65kg for bench.

Nothing too serious or exciting, but enough to make me sore in the best possible way. I'll do some heavy singles next time (at my previous 3x5RM weights) if all feels good, then get back in to normal gym work. Spin and a bit of track work is next on the agenda...

Bitte

Bitte this, bitte that. 3x5 squats, 1x5 everything else - bench, deads, press. Just as a way to get back in to it - repeated 145kg on the squats because I forgot my damn 1.25kg plates. Bugger. 75kg on the bench, 50kg (was meant to be to failure, which turned out to be... 5. Whoops. That's what happens when you don't do them for three weeks!) on the press, then worked up to 155 on deads - a 10% reset. And I still didn't get them. Definitely mental (read in to that what you will!)

Just in case you were wondering...

... what I'm doing now in between these infrequent posts - today was at a client site in Research, spending the day breaking rocks (okay, clay) with a pick to build a path. In between riding there and back along Mount Pleasant and then Reynolds Road (if you've never been, think only this: 17%. For a couple of hundred metres. Twice, because the site was damn near in the middle.)

So I'm not being slack - though, admittedly, that wasn't a typical day. But I'm having to broaden my sprint-specialised training a bit. Swinging a pick once is easy. Swinging it (properly) a few hundred times - less so.

Frenzal Rhomb

That is to say, short, sharp and furious! I've never been that quick in the gym - 30 minutes from walking in to leaving! Just squats, otherwise I would have had to wait until Monday anyway since I had no time. 145kg workset, rather abbreviated rest, staring in to a mirror robbing me of a stable reference point for my eyes because the powercage was being used. But they did all get up, and that's the main thing. It was a little harder to keep the chest up in a good line, but otherwise the lack of rest and the mirror affected me surprisingly little. Stats just for the giggles: including warmups, that was 3330kg squatted in half an hour.

On other matters, I've been thinking about how I'm approaching my training and what I'm doing in life. With Round 5 of the SSS cancelled, and no other track stuff on the radar for a few months, where do I go from here? Life is rather full otherwise - work, study, commuting is a different focus (even if it's exercise rather than training), kung fu for a couple of months? It's all crowding in rather.

So in amongst all of this complexity, I've elected to stop the personal coaching with Carl. As it happens, I made that decision before he announced that his charges were going up, but that would have given pause as it was - not because it's unreasonable, but because, well, I have no money. Such is as it is. But the reason for the decision was that I have no time to fit in 'extra' training/exercise, little flexibility for rearranging other elements of my life, and Carl has little time for working with people who can't commit to training.

I'll still be doing most of the same stuff, and I'll still train with the aboc crew at DISC and so on (though I probably still won't be able to do spin. One never knows though!) I'm still aiming to work on my sprinting and my strength, and to do so in a structured way. How well will that work? Well, I guess you know where to find out if you're interested!

Deadly

142.5kg. Always looks a bit funny when you've got these massive plates on the bar, and in order to keep progressing, you put these tiny little things on the end. It'll look even funnier when I'm down to 1kg or less...

So 142.5 went up well on the squats, better overall form, chest up better, narrower grip - though I don't know if that did anything specifically useful or not. Probably 2 reps out of the 15 were off - the first one, which felt high (or parallel) and the third in the last set, where I went down too vertical and so came up too far forward.

Then bench, and I actually got them all at 75, so happy with that. 1kg increments will be the go here methinks...

Deadlifts, couldn't get 'em. I'm disappointed of course, but upon reflection, not too much so. My deadlifts have been well out of proportion to my squats for a while now, as they continued going up (after a bit of a sticking point) while I reset my squat by 30kgs. Now, as my squat continues to improve, well past the point where I reset, the demands it places on me in a given session have significantly increased. At the same time, my overall fitness is being tested by the commuting that I'm doing, particularly the (for me) enormous hill that I'm climbing up of a morning.

The combination of those two, I think, is what is getting in the way of increasing the deadlift. I'm not failing on the 4th rep, by and large, I'm not moving it in the first place - my back won't stay solid. I got one rep up tonight, but couldn't manage a second. I reset to 160kg, but couldn't get that off the ground, either! So the question is whether or not to reset by 5%, or 10%. The second option would take me back down to 155 or so - which is a big drop. But, proportionate to my squat numbers, it might not be such a bad place to be for now. In isolation, 5% would probably be enough, but I think 10% is right for the overall context of my life at the moment.

And more thoughts arise with respect to the broader picture of training, but more about that next time...

Three Wheels

Well, it's a milestone, no? Three wheels - that's 3x20kg plates on each side of the bar, for 140kg, 308lbs. Still 3x5, still progressing okay, though not always pretty:

I think I need to bring my hands closer together, elbows not up so high! That was a pretty bad rep, but it wasn't quite as bad as it appears from that photo. Interesting left/right imbalance, too.

Press at 58kg was just a little too much on the third set, so I deloaded to 50kg and did a set of 8.

And then I banged myself in the groin with the bar on the first powerclean workset. I wasn't terribly keen to do more than that at that point. Finished off with some chinups. Well, 2.

I pick things up, I put them down...

I forgot the camera. Oh well. 137.5kg squats, felt good. I'm looking forward to cracking the 140kg mark on Thursday.

Otherwise, ran out of steam. I still benched and deaded, but didn't get them. Poor nutrition the last few days, really bad sleep Sunday night, adapting to the commute, DOMS (weirdly) from kung fu on Saturday... yeah, I had all the excuses, baby!

Um.

I'm not going to rabbit on about commuting riding, because it's not really training. Just exercising. Going up a hill at 9km/hr cannot, in any sense, be considered to be sprint or strength training. Nor can holding 50km/hr for 5 minutes (~-2%).

Anyway, gym. 135kg squats went up fairly well, form felt fairly good and depth felt fine. Will take the camera next time just to check though.

Press was hard, back up to 57kg. I wore the belt, just to see if it would make much, or any, difference. I'm not sure it did. It may have done, but it's hard to feel it. All 15 went up though, might switch just to 1kg jumps now though!

Deadlifts didn't get up. My back was just uninterested in setting strong for some reason. That tends to be the way they fail - either not at all, or absolutely. I'm going to switch the schedule up, do bench on deadlift day and press on powerclean day, see what (if any) difference that makes to lower-back fatigue.

I'm considering doing a 10-week course of kung-fu on Saturday afternoons. So that would round out the schedule nicely.

Rammstein

Which is not to say that I murdered today in the gym. I did set a new squat PR though, so that's good, though I shan't get too excited - I reckon I've got at least another 20kgs in me, though losing weight may impinge upon that.

No, it's more because I came out of it feeling really quite good. Sore, but in the best possible way. And I've got a solid setup going forward. Essentially, for the next little bit my training will look like this:

Monday: Gym.
Tuesday: 2x10km rides, with a beast of a climb in the morning (~2kms @ 6%, ~500m of it @ ~11%) and a 5min 45-50km/hr threshold effort on the way back. No, it's not sprint training, but it's what I've got, so might as well make the most of it!
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: Gym.
Friday: See Tuesday.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Spin or track training.

I don't always like structure, but sometimes, particularly for training purposes, it's good.

Today's actual session (yes, it was out of 'sync', but that will change) wasn't that exciting - 3x5x132.5 squats, couldn't quite grind out 3x5 @ 75 for bench, and reset powercleans (again!) to 70kg to improve form.

But you know, I only care about squats and deadlift. Everything else is accessory work as far as I'm concerned.

Bob Dylan

Back in the gym this afternoon, and since I'd been away for a couple of weeks, I thought I'd take a different approach back in to it. Rather than doing a typical 3x5 3-lift programme, I went for a 1x5 5-lift programme, just to get all of the lifts nice and greased again.

So squats went to 132.5kg and on just the one set, they felt quite solid, I felt comfortable with the weight on my back and controlled it quite well, no plummeting towards the bottom. Nice start.

Bench was next, one set at 75kg, and that was a bit more of a strain - certainly noticed the gap since I'd last done them much more. Still, they all went up.

Powercleans weren't quite so nice - I focussed much more on form through the warmups, and the difference between getting it right (or even okay!) and pulling them up is huge. I went to 82.5kg, but I was looping them out too much and didn't have the pattern down, so I dropped the weight back to 60kgs to get more in with a better pattern. I've been completely missing the thigh-touch on the way up, and I may need to reset down a bit again to get it. It's important that I get it right, so I'll probably go back to 70kgs as my workset weight next time.

Then it was press, and 55kg for 5. These were a little more difficult following the powercleans, but I got them up okay, still working on the 'new' technique for them.

Lastly it was time for deadlifts, and well, they're only one set anyway, right? So rather than just throwing in a double or something, I went for the full set at 172.5kg, for my third attempt. The warmups all went up quite solidly, and so did the first two of the workset. The third though swung out on the way up, and I got it just above my knees before having to drop it. But I wasn't going to stop there, no sir! I reset and pulled it again, and this time made it - but my back had rounded a bit too much, so I quickly ran and put my belt on. Does that make it not a single set? Perhaps, but I say unto you - bite me! It was still no more than 30 seconds between reps. Anyway, I got it in to a comfortable position, set myself and pulled. The belt didn't provide the same sort of valsalva-assistance that it does in the squat - I couldn't feel it to breathe against, as it were. But it did provide enough of a tactile cue on my back to help me keep it solid, and the last two went up really very nicely. PR! Awesome.

So then I went to celebrate with chinups - just one again (plus 4 jumping chins) but two sets this time! So kinda another PR. Good good.

SSS Round 4

For once this is going to be a fairly short post I think. Not too much to say! The day was blustery and southerly, so times were slow - I took up my traditional post at the rear of B-Grade - seriously, I was the slowest of the 'fast' riders, with over a second between me and the next fastest rider. The only point of note about my flying 200 was that I was weirdly aware of the fence - perhaps a bodily cue as the wind was pushing up towards the fence at the point which I jumped? I'm not sure, but I must admit I shied away from it a little.

B-Grade was an aboc affair - Me, Carl, Nic and Dino. I knew it was going to be tough, and probably carried too much of that attitude with me - not that I couldn't win, but that it was going to be difficult to do so, and I raced too conservatively as a result, coupled with wanting to keep out of the wind down the back straight and so not being keen on the break and run idea.

And that's how the first two races went, firstly against Nic and then against Carl. Against Nic, I did it fairly well, kinda similar to my last race against him at Blackburn, jumping behind him and trying to come around. He's quicker now than he was then though, and I finished a bike length or so back. I needed to keep closer on the jump (or, you know, take the initiative!) and then break and run, using the bank for the extra speed.

Carl, again I was too timid, and didn't draw quite far enough forward of him. He gave me a mini-hook coming in to turn one, and rather than continuing up the bank I came straight down, hard on his wheel. I should have taken a break through turn two, but I was too afraid of losing any speed I gained in the wind, and so stayed behind him. I took a bit of a run, but Carl just kicked again and kept me off his hip, and again, I finished... a bit more than a bike length back.

So to Dino, who is that much faster again. I took the advice and played this one much more aggressively from behind, ducking and diving, making him watch me, knowing that he doesn't like that. Coming out of turn 4, I got him looking the wrong way and got the jump on him, diving for the lane and getting it. I knew though that he'd just grab my wheel, and then either break and run or (more likely) just steam past, so I backed off a little through turn 1/2, hoping to kick again in to the back straight. And I kinda did, but I didn't have much in me, and Dino rolled past and took the win by a few lengths. Still, it was a better race.

After Nic had a mechanical in his final race against Carl, I ended up facing him in the 3v4 final, rather than the rematch with Carl I had expected. I drew the lead and just tried to wind the pace up and up, but didn't quite commit enough and again I was looking to react rather than dictating the race and again he jumped past me. This time I had no legs left for a second dig so sat up by turn three.

So goals for this season are not looking too shiny at the minute. But there's one round to go, and 6 weeks or so to prepare - so long as I can get there. I've got an activity scheduled for my course that day, but SSS round 5 is now an afternoon start again, so I just might be able to get there. And hopefully I'll be able to have one last shot at glory... or at least decency!

See, told you it'd be a short post!

Analytical redux

I don't know that this really deserves its own post, but:

Pic of the finish of the first race against Craig is here. About a wheel rim. Important thing to note though - Craig has straight arms, and is back on the saddle. My arms are still a bit bent, and I'm over the bike. Which means? I lost it on the throw. Either incomplete, or slightly late.

Second race: And again. Though in this instance it was more like half a wheel it turns out, so not so relevant. Something that I need to practice more though, obviously!

Vic Masters 2011

A Numby's tale, or a discourse on the peregrinations of Jonas Tuck, Esquire (or is that eSquire? Or iSquire?) on the first day of Holy rest in the second month of the year 2012 after the passing of our Lord, the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Skipeth thee to the end if ye be of impatient temperament or if ye be on yonder Eastlink tollway and unable to pause for an hour.

I arrived at DISC feeling relatively confident despite how little time I've had on the track lately. My training hasn't been great, but I've still been working and hoped that I would at least be a chance at a bronze, or maybe even a silver if everything went really really well - that is, I qualified non-dead-last so I didn't have to race Neil, and managed to beat whoever else qualified 2-3. But my goal was basically simply to post a satisfactory time in the flying 200, and race as well as I could against whoever I ended up against.

After a bit of a roll around and a jump, I decided on 102" for the 200. Neil kindly offered to lend me his spare rear wheel, but I declined because, well, how much difference would it really make? And, again well, I don't really feel like I can justify using anything performance-enhancing, as it were. I'm just too far off my capacity. So anyway, I rolled off just after Nic Marc had set a 12.119 and thought: Hmm. He's gotten a lot faster! But maybe that's an indication that I can set a good time, too? So I wound it up, trying to keep the speed high without wearing myself out, and keeping focussed on what I needed to do. My jump was solid if not quite explosive, but I felt like I was carrying okay speed. I slipped low coming through turn 4 and very nearly went on to the duckboards. That may have cost me a tenth, perhaps, but generally my line felt fairly smooth. I crossed the finish, looked up... 13.04. Fuck. Okay, it's a PB, but Fuck. The rest of the times come through and in a field of four, I'm the slowest by 7 tenths of a second. 1.4 seconds slower than the Neil I'm going to have to race in the first round. Fuck.

So I was a bit despondent. I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to beat Neil, but at least since there were only 4 riders, I'd be in the bronze medal final. Still, I decided to be aggressive in my races against Neil, knowing that he wouldn't have to (and I'd be beaten by half a lap if he were) and my only chance to finish on the same straight was to catch him in the middle of a giggling fit. So the first race, he led, I sat behind by a few lengths, figuring I'd try the old accelerate in the saddle in to space and then get out of the saddle to pass trick. And, for a given definition of 'work', it worked - I got past him with 1.5 to go and stayed there for 3/4 of a lap. Then he passed me, probably still giggling, and won by 20 metres or so. Second race, I led, he took height, I let him have it while keeping the pace up-ish (but not really enough) then gave him a mini-hook coming in to turn three and dove for the lane. Second verse, same as the first, except this time I sat up more and he won by about 30 metres.

Nothing surprising in all that, but I was still feeling kinda low. But Nic put in an awesome effort to beat Craig Arnel (who qualified in 12.327) in three and I figured - well, this is where my race day restarts, effectively. So while trying to keep cool, I thought about how to race Craig, got some tips from Nic, and basically tried to get myself in a headspace to be able to win/come out of the day with some jewellery.

I drew the high spot for the first race in the best-of-three, and asked Carl to give me a hold. I'm not very used to starting held, and every time it's happened, each person has done it slightly differently. I was a bit nervy, focussed on what I was doing, and in the process managed to kick Carl in the knee while setting my pedals. He didn't come back to hold me for the next race, believe it or not. Anyway, I rolled off, deciding to stay on the bank while Craig went down on to the boards. We rolled around, pace not too fast, Craig trying to keep me on his hip and pushing me up. I saw a chance for an opening though, because he was too far forward, and coming around to turn three with just over a lap to go as we started up the incline through the turn, I let my speed wash ever so slightly, enough to open the gap behind him and allow me to dive for the lane. I pushed, then pushed again, then pushed again, and coming through turn 4 just before the final straight I pushed so far forward I came off the front of the saddle, losing a bit of power and momentum. I had no idea where Craig was - until about 20 metres from the line I felt/heard him on my outside, and 10 metres to go I could see him. I pushed again, threw for the line... but he came over the top of me, by about a wheel rim. Bugger.

So if I was going to come away with a bronze, it was going to be three races, and I was feeling pretty shattered, but in a way which almost made me feel more energetic, and I knew he was feeling much the same. So I tried to cool myself down, and thought about how I could ride the race from the front this time. I considered going up and down the bank, keep him guessing, but decided that that was a bit too risky. In the end I went with the plan of winding the pace up and up, keeping a close eye on him, not letting him jump off the bank (or at least not with height) and trying to hold him out of the lane. Which is how it went - except that down the front straight with a lap to go, he just managed to get far enough in front of me to drop in to the lane. I hesitated a moment - or, crucially, two moments - before running up the bank and down again to take a run at him. But because I'd left it slightly late, I didn't take enough height - mainly because it was the exit of turn 2 and there wasn't enough of it left. But I got the run, came round him in turn three, and tried to chase him down as he'd done me. And I pushed and I pushed and I huffed and I puffed... but I missed him. By about a wheel rim. Damn.

And, well, that was it. Back in the pits I could hardly walk properly; my quads were so sore/tired I couldn't lock my legs straight for a couple of minutes. Neil took out the gold over Nic, giving them a repeat Gold/Silver from the Kilo the day before. And I packed up and went home.

So what's left then? Well for the moment, Summer Sprint Series Round 4 next weekend. But otherwise? Well, a couple of things. Firstly, who am I? Not in a metaphysical sense, but simply - who am I riding with? I'm not really part of a team - I had to wear a plain black jersey yesterday, which at least (along with my bandana and generally piratish appearance) made me a favourite with Brendan, the commentator. But I don't have any aboc kit - partly because I didn't have any money when the order was done. I train (when I train) with them, I'm (nominally) coached by Carl, and generally I do the things they do (only slower.) But I don't really feel a part of the squad. And perhaps that's partly because I'm (nominally) a part of Team Splat! - at least, I wear the jersey. But I don't train with them. I don't get racing tips from them. Apart from the SSS rounds, when I normally sit with them (because I've been friends with them a while, they got me started and because I've usually got my daughter) I barely see them. I don't come down and race with them on Saturdays at Blackburn. So I'm kind of part of both teams/squads/groups/whatever, but not properly part of either.

Secondly, it's time to change my focus around again. For a period I was getting stronger, then I was losing weight, then I was getting stronger again. It's time to focus again on losing weight and just slowly increasing strength. In the gym, I'm as strong as (or stronger than) Neil. On the bike, I'm much slower. And I'm roughly 15-17kg heavier. Now, it's not exactly a direct correspondence, certainly, and you could argue that he's relatively stronger (because he's lighter, and a bit taller) but I'm not proposing a scientific study. Simply noting that the gains to be made, at least on the bike, by getting stronger at this point are vanishingly small compared to the gains to be made by losing weight, even if I happen to get a bit weaker (though I don't intend for that to happen.)

In summary, for those of you who have skipped down from the top: I very slowly sucked big fat donkey balls.

Last minute...

So back out on the track today for a very quick session - as in, 15 minutes! New DA wheel nuts on the rear, and a new chain, so wanted to check that they were nice and settled in as well as getting a couple of jumps in.

So I rolled around for a bit, slowly taking it up to about 35, before slowing for a 1/4 lap powerjump from ~15km/hr - no problems, all felt nice and solid. So I rolled around a little more, rested for a couple of minutes, and then did a Flying 200 windup and jump, see how things felt accelerating from about 40km/hr. Again, felt solid, though I didn't continue the acceleration past the 200 line. The new setup (with chain 1 link longer than the old chain) accommodates 82" to (at least) 102" so I've got a good range, with scope for going higher if I want.

Otherwise I'm just looking forward to Sunday - might do a couple of little HCLRs tomorrow, but nothing more than that. I've actually got quite a busy day, otherwise I'd get down to watch the TT and pursuits, but as it is I'll just have to wait until the sprints! Should be fun.

Circling...

After so much time in the gym, it felt funny to be having just my second session in 12 days! I could well feel the difference, too, as my back wasn't as solid as it has been - my first set of squats at 130kg had 2 reps where my back rounded - though not nearly as bad as the last time I got to this point. So I belted up for the last 2 sets, and felt more solid with something to push against, though each set had one slightly wonky rep. Otherwise they all felt quite good, and I was happy with the effort. Should be back to setting PRs next week!

Bench was 72.5 and no problems after a couple of reps with uneven drive in the first set.

Deadlifts though, just couldn't get 'em. 172.5 again, and this time my back let me down; mostly fatigue I think, and perhaps not quite enough mental commitment. Watching the video my back doesn't even start off solid - it goes from flat to rounded the moment I begin pulling up on the bar. I tried resetting, and got one rep up, but even that was ugly. These things happen, and technically I'm tapering, so no drama. I really want to make sure I get them next time though!

Well well well...

I wasn't going to bother posting, but decided that I might as well - just had a quick spin session today, nothing too exciting (it may be apparent that I'm far over posting about spin sessions) though I hit over 80km/hr twice, which is fun at least. No, really it's just a note that it's a smidgen over a week until the Vic Masters, and I've entered the sprint. So that should be fun. Neil and Nic, who are both Masters 1 also, have entered, so there are at least three of us there - there are another couple of 'elite' riders who I don't really know, and everyone else (so far) is in Masters 2 and above. Neil I know I can't beat in a straight-out race at least 99 times out of 100, so it would take a freak to beat him if we race, and Nic I haven't beaten outside of training as yet, though it's been close. Both are doing the Kilo the day before, though I doubt that will be enough to give me a sufficient edge in itself!

Hmm. Just looked up the other rider currently registered for the sprint who's not >MMAS2 - Brett Rollinson. Turns out he's a bit of a star! And a Masters 1 rider - or at least, he was last year. Rode a 12.224 qualifier at the Country Track champs in November, and went on to win Gold. He's also done all sorts of enduro stuff to great acclaim. So. Given that I'll be happy to break 13s for the 200 (though I'm aiming, perhaps wildly optimistically, for something closer to 12.5) perhaps I need to make sure that I approach this with the right attitude! Not, mind you, that I'm just there for the experience (though I am) let alone make up numbers, but that I'm going to have to race smart and push to my utmost to garner a result, 'cause wishin' and hopin' ain't gunna get me nowhere!

Oh, and I don't know what to wear - anyone know if my Team Splat! jersey would be okay? Given that CA couldn't confirm for me if a Masters licence (as opposed to an Elite licence) would even allow me to race in the Vic Masters, and their website info is confusing (and sometimes contradictory!) I feel like I should take three different jerseys, including a commuter yellow one, just in case...

Inspector Sardine

Gym. Gym gym gym. Maybe I should take up powerlifting instead. But I think I'll enter the Vic Masters. Why not, eh?

127.5kg squat, and after the first set was kinda wonky - no two reps were the same, it felt like - had a better groove for the last two sets and they went up no problems, back felt good.

Press at 55 and I underestimated it - almost didn't get through the first set. Second set I recovered but still struggled, but third set went up strong. I realised afterwards that although it's a reset, it's only 2.5kgs shy of my best so it's not exactly light. Pondering what increments I should take now - perhaps 1kg, down from 2.5kg. Press is a bit tricky that way.

Powercleans were set and going well, but got called away (literally) before the workset. Going to have to reset it to 75kgs I think.

With any luck I'll actually get on the track on Tuesday, just to remind myself what a bike is before next weekend.

Pomplamoose

About as hard as it gets, baby. I went in feeling a bit tired and a bit stiff, not quite feeling it, so after not using the belt at all on Monday I used it for two sets of squats, figuring it were better to provide the support (and the tactile cues) to keep the back solid than to risk not having the right energy to keep a good position. And it worked well enough - 125kgs felt much, much harder than 122.5, but I'm neither surprised nor concerned given how I was feeling. The next workout at 127.5 will be important to keep me feeling that I'm on track and that I've conquered my squat demons. I'm only 5kg away from getting back to where I was when I reset, and feeling much better about it this time around.

Bench, reset to 70kgs, no problems there. The only rep I really had to push was the 15th!

Again, I was intending to do powercleans and again ran out of time. Which is annoying. Set up deadlifts to 172.5, and couldn't get the 5th one past my knees despite trying twice - I just couldn't get set strong. I was very tired by that point, so I'm not fussed, I know I can do it.

And one chinup. Getting closer to a second, slowly. If I ever have time again in the gym, I should give myself 10 minutes after deadlift/powerclean to actually rest and then see what I can do!

Oh, and no track. I never realised how difficult it was going to be during the school holidays without sufficient selfishness. I didn't even know about aboc involvement in Junior Track champs, I'm so far out of the loop. Ah well. I hear they done good.

Post Title.

A bit of a funny session this one - despite being there for over two and a half hours, I didn't get a full workout in - I had to skip the Press workset because we had to go. My partner has started training, and Carl was helping her, and I'm not used to having to work in with people so wasn't doing it very efficiently. Still, half an hour between sets one and two of my squats is rather excessive!

But to backtrack slightly first, missed out on track training on Sunday due to disappearing wheel nuts. Still haven't found them, so will miss Tuesday, too. And next Sunday there's a(n extended) family birthday party. Is there, I wonder at this point, any reason to even enter the Vic Masters? Sure, a bit of a layoff can help one sharpen up, but by the time I get to them, I'll have done enough training in two months to count on the fingers of one hand...

Anyway, squats were 122.5kg and better, coach gave the green light. I did lose it slightly on a couple, but generally my back felt more solid. I'm very conscious of not giving in to the temptation to 'collapse' because it's at this point previously that I took the weights up too quickly and ended up doing 15 goodmornings. Well, perhaps not quite, but I really need to work hard on strengthening my back. I feel like I've got good form, I don't need to change anything there, I just need to make sure that my back stays solid every rep.

Press as mentioned I just did the warmup. I was tempted to try a 1RM, but that would have been silly when I'm resetting, and it's no great drama to miss it this once.

Deadlift... well, does 5 days between constitute a 'break'? Apparently it does! 170kg on the bar, a gym full of distraction, and they went up (what felt to me like) beautifully! Okay, the 4th rep I lost my grip and I couldn't really hold it solid at the top - but it got to the top! I reset carefully for the 5th rep, gripped harder and pulled it up nice and smooth, no hitching, not even slowing really. I love deadlifts!

Mike Patton

Yes, more weights! But don't worry, I'll be back on the bike tomorrow - new nuts and chain in hand.

Squats up to 120kg, and felt fairly good except - they were slightly high! Or, at least, some of them were roughly parallel, rather than below parallel. So perhaps an inch in it. A bit perplexing, because they didn't feel like they were being cut off high, and I'm generally pretty good at feeling it, when I check against the video. Not enough to warrant doing them again, but I'll have to be a little more careful next session to get all the way down.

Bench was oh so so close at 77.5, but couldn't get the 4th of the last set past the sticking point a few inches off the chest. Slightly annoying, because they did feel stronger than they have, but nevermind, I'll reset (again!) and work back up. They're only chesticles, after all...

Powercleans and, well, I repeated 80kg, just to be 'fair', and - to be 'fair' - I got them up. But not one of them didn't see me bending my arms as I passed my knees. Scrutinising the video, they stay that bent until they're supposed to bend, and then they whip around. So I'm not even, really, pulling the bar up - I'm just robbing myself of power! And screwing up my timing - my feet are hitting the floor again while the bar is still going up, about nipple-height. Maybe three out of the twelve I caught low, but the rest racked fine. So strength is not the issue, but technique certainly is. Not sure how best to fix it though.

Then one real chin plus a few jumping chins.

Ziggy Stardust

Now I'm just being completely random. Back in the gym again, back to moving metal. And rubber.

Squats 117.5, starting to feel heavier again. Lost my groove once or twice, but otherwise they felt fairly solid, and depth is still okay, so next session I get back to the 120kg mark, and for now it's feeling much more solid. Hopefully I'll be able to continue that back up past 130!

Press at 60kg, and it's just a bit too much - basically did sets of 3! I was feeling okay on the first set, but then let the bar get out in front of me on the 3rd rep, struggled it up, and had nothing left for a fourth. My setup at the bottom is bothersome, as I either have the bar on my delts and back on the fingertips, or in my hands and hovering. The first is seeing me having bent wrists as I roll the bar in to the hands, and the second is too tiring to hold there and reset at the bottom, rather than holding at the top and bouncing at the bottom. Anyway, I'll reset back to 55 and see what we can do!

Again I ran out of time for cleans and so did deadlifts - 3rd heavy set in a week! Not the best idea, and it was a bit too much - I got 167.5kg up 5 times, but the last two were hitched up. So I'll absolutely definitely do cleans next time, and take a bit of a rest from deads for a week, let me recover a bit!

Finished with a chinup - tried from a dead hang, but that was a bridge too far. Perhaps I should just aim to get a set of 5, feet on the floor, knees bent but not jumping, then try for dead hangs... probably a smoother progression.

BBN Tuesday too early

So I figured I might as well go - better to rock up late than not at all! In the end it meant that I only missed one motorpaced F150, and I was knackered after 3 anyway, so perhaps it was for the best!

After a month off the bike, it was good to be back out there, and while my endurance and recovery have suffered, the engine seems to still be there - speeds were all in the high 50s, with a top (supposedly. I'm not trusting my garmin much at the moment) of 59.2. This business of sitting behind a motorcycle makes it oh so easy! Mind you, the jump was only from about 45, so it still required a decent acceleration.

Anyway, good session, even if I did go on to lose to my daughter three times in a row. Oh, the ignominy! New nuts and so on should be arriving this week, so I'll finally be 'safe'. With any luck.

Procul Harum

Was I a whiter shade of pale? I guess you would have had to have been there! No, still not back on the track - an outing to the zoo had been planned before notice was given of training on Sunday, and though I attempted to drag people away in time, 'twas not to be. Ah well. Balance, and all that. Unfortunately it seems that Tuesday training is now at 7am, and I won't be able to get there for that. Perhaps I could try for the second half.

Anyway, Squats 115kg, all good, bench 77.5kg and failed again - muscles didn't quite click for it. Ran out of time for powercleans, so did deads again - 165kg, 5 times, and cut down on the time between reps. Felt solid, felt good, and celebrated with one more solitary chinup, this time from (very nearly almost) a dead hang. Woot!

Jeebus!

It's occurred to me that I've not been on my track bike since this, nearly 4 weeks ago! I think Tuesday mornings are happening, I'd better get down there... especially since the cycling victoria website would have me believe that the Vic Masters are coming up on 4-5 February, not March at all...

Anyway, gym. Metal. 60kg on the press, not quite. I suspect it's psychological, having the two larger plates on either side rather than a bunch of little ones, but perhaps I just need to microload. We'll see. If I miss again, I'll reset, then microload, no drama.

Squat, 112.5kg, back up to bodyweight again, nothing special. I tried using a belt on the last set, and wow did that make it easier. That might be a seriously worthwhile investment...

Deadlift, 162.5kg, 5 reps, felt okay. Video shows that I'm rounding my back, but before the plates leave the ground, it's solid (if a bit round) while the load is on. So should just be a matter of being more careful in the setup. I'm also taking too long between reps I reckon, nearly 30 seconds between 4 and 5, so should tighten that up without compromising getting properly set.

And most importantly - I did a chinup! Started with feet on the floor, not a dead hang, but no jump and chin over the bar. Couldn't do another one, and didn't have time to hang around to try 3 sets of 1, however ridiculous that might have been anyway. But there we go, an achievement for the new year.

Oh, and I remembered that a while ago I guesstimated progress in the gym by the end of the year. Based upon one session a week and 5kg jumps, which held for not very long at all, but interesting nevertheless:

Deadlift: Predicted: 130kg. Actual: 160kg
Squat: 185kg. Actual: 110kg (130kg 3x5RM, 140kg 1RM)
Bench: 120kg. Actual: 75kg.
Power Clean: 105kg. Actual: 80kg.
Press: 90kg. Actual: 57.5kg.


So, goals for 2012 in lifting? Well, according to my spreadsheet the current rate of increase should see me squatting 340kg, pressing 175kg, benching and cleaning just on 200kg, and deadlifting about 275kg. Somehow, call me a pessimist, but I suspect I shan't be seeing those numbers! So what will I be happy with? Hmm. Say dead 250kg, squat 200kg, Bench and clean 150kg, Press 100kg. What's realistic? Especially if I lose more weight, probably more like 200, 170, 110, 80. But we'll see how we go.

Cycling goals? Well, that can wait until I've got some track work to report on...