... 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.
31 October 2012
27 October 2012
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.
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.
25 October 2012
22 October 2012
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
Relevance to track sprint? Almost nothing. But one needs balance. And PRs.
S: 3x5x132.5
P: 3x5x60
D: 1x5x152.5
18 October 2012
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
S: 3x5x130
B: 3x5x70
DL: 1x1x152.5
16 October 2012
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...
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...
11 October 2012
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.
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.
07 October 2012
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.
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.
02 October 2012
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.
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.
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