Squats felt lovely, what can I say. Just hit that groove and went back up smooth as you like. Press... well, couldn't manage the second at 65kg. Not really doing the whole hip wiggle thingy that Rip reckons you should do, more just a straight military press with a bit of layback. Maybe I should give it more of a go. Deads... well, I got them up. One at a time. If this were still SS, that would count as a 'fail', but perhaps that's the way I'm headed for intensity day now, 5 singles rather than a set of 5. I'll aim still for 5 next time, but better to keep increasing the weight so long as I can get them than insisting upon sub-30 second breaks between each rep...
S: 1x5x155
P: 1x1x65
D: 5x1x167.5
28 January 2013
25 January 2013
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Nothing very exciting today. Just a 'light' session, but it was good to actually get to the gym to do such a thing. It's easy for these to feel pointless, but it's a good way of working out any stiffness after volume day, and it's imperative for actually progressing my presses I suspect.
S: 2x5x115
B: 3x5x60
PC: 5x3x60
P: 1x1x60
BE: 3x10
CU: 1x2
S: 2x5x115
B: 3x5x60
PC: 5x3x60
P: 1x1x60
BE: 3x10
CU: 1x2
23 January 2013
Widdowed
I'd say I'll start wearing black to commemorate the occasion, but I pretty much always do anyway...
So after a lazy ride with my daughter to a friend's house (and a not-so-lazy ride back) it was off to the gym for some volume - rearranging days in anticipation of the change in schedule required for school.
This time I managed 5 sets at 135kg, so I was happy with that. I really noticed today the difference in good form, and in just dropping down. When I didn't make enough of an effort to really push my hips back, I'd end up in basically a high-bar position, with no hip-drive. When I did... well, it was much easier and smoother. Something to really keep in mind, because when it gets heavy on intensity day, the temptation is to just go straight down...
So I was so excited about that I decided to give a 'widowmaker' a go - 20 reps at, in this case, a bit over half bodyweight (60kgs). I'm... glad, in a way, that I did it straight after my 5th set, only resting long enough to reset the weight. Form felt good, and I only paused for 5-10sec in between reps... 3 times. But I could hardly feel my legs, which made it easier to do. Not that they would have hurt that much, I don't think - it's only 60kg after all. But because I started off not being able to feel my legs, I didn't get the mental hit of starting to not be able to feel my legs come rep 12 or so.
Anyway, done. Was kinda fun. Even if it meant that when I got to cleans, my legs said: No. You want to do cleans, you're going to have to reverse-curl those suckers up. So... I didn't.
S: 5x5x135, 1x20x60
P: 5x5x50
PC: 1x3x70 (Last warmup)
So after a lazy ride with my daughter to a friend's house (and a not-so-lazy ride back) it was off to the gym for some volume - rearranging days in anticipation of the change in schedule required for school.
This time I managed 5 sets at 135kg, so I was happy with that. I really noticed today the difference in good form, and in just dropping down. When I didn't make enough of an effort to really push my hips back, I'd end up in basically a high-bar position, with no hip-drive. When I did... well, it was much easier and smoother. Something to really keep in mind, because when it gets heavy on intensity day, the temptation is to just go straight down...
So I was so excited about that I decided to give a 'widowmaker' a go - 20 reps at, in this case, a bit over half bodyweight (60kgs). I'm... glad, in a way, that I did it straight after my 5th set, only resting long enough to reset the weight. Form felt good, and I only paused for 5-10sec in between reps... 3 times. But I could hardly feel my legs, which made it easier to do. Not that they would have hurt that much, I don't think - it's only 60kg after all. But because I started off not being able to feel my legs, I didn't get the mental hit of starting to not be able to feel my legs come rep 12 or so.
Anyway, done. Was kinda fun. Even if it meant that when I got to cleans, my legs said: No. You want to do cleans, you're going to have to reverse-curl those suckers up. So... I didn't.
S: 5x5x135, 1x20x60
P: 5x5x50
PC: 1x3x70 (Last warmup)
20 January 2013
Kinglake
Wait, what? What was I thinking?? Or not thinking. Anyway, I rode up Kinglake. I know, for the average cyclist, nothing special. Perhaps something you'd do on a lark to wile away a lazy 15 minutes. But I've not ridden up any sort of mountain for... oh, a couple of years, probably. Steep hills, yes, but not kilometres-long constant climbs. And... well, I'm 114kg of non-slow-twitch fibres. My time fell in the 4th Strava percentile. I'm sure it's good for me, or something. Except perhaps my right quad, just above the knee - the vastus medialis, to be more precise. Bit sore, needed ice. But I'll live.
Oh, and I picked up a chin-up bar - the kind that hangs on your doorway. Seems okay so far. And, well, so long as it breaks in preference to breaking the house, however long it lasts will be good - only cost me $2.25!
Oh, and I picked up a chin-up bar - the kind that hangs on your doorway. Seems okay so far. And, well, so long as it breaks in preference to breaking the house, however long it lasts will be good - only cost me $2.25!
18 January 2013
Almost...
A day of... not quite. But in a good way.
TM Intensity, trying to get back just to expressing the strength that I have, in preparation for actually increasing it. Couldn't find my 1.25kg plates, so squat and deadlift were 2.5kg higher than planned. Got 4 reps on the squat, but the 4th was so ugly it didn't feel safe to do a 5th, so reracked. On to bench, worked up to 90, hoping for a double, but could just manage the one - and that, rather ugly and uneven. So forward to deads, and made it through, though it was a set of 3 and two singles, rather than a set of 5. No problems. In a run of good workouts, this would be disappointing; as a culmination of working back to where I should have been if I'd not been sick/injured/overly Christmassed, I'm happy with that, sets the stage for a good week.
S: 1x5x155
B: 1x1x90
DL: 1x3x165, 2x1x165
TM Intensity, trying to get back just to expressing the strength that I have, in preparation for actually increasing it. Couldn't find my 1.25kg plates, so squat and deadlift were 2.5kg higher than planned. Got 4 reps on the squat, but the 4th was so ugly it didn't feel safe to do a 5th, so reracked. On to bench, worked up to 90, hoping for a double, but could just manage the one - and that, rather ugly and uneven. So forward to deads, and made it through, though it was a set of 3 and two singles, rather than a set of 5. No problems. In a run of good workouts, this would be disappointing; as a culmination of working back to where I should have been if I'd not been sick/injured/overly Christmassed, I'm happy with that, sets the stage for a good week.
S: 1x5x155
B: 1x1x90
DL: 1x3x165, 2x1x165
14 January 2013
Back in the gym. Regularly. No, really. Stop laughing!
Was determined to get in a good workout today, without going too far given how ratty my lifting was over Christmas/New Years. Felt pretty good in the end.
S: 1x2x150, 3x5x135, 2x6x120
B: 5x5x70
DL: 1x5x120
Double felt fairly good - a bit of a struggle, but not excessively so, and form, while not perfect of course, was fairly solid. Aimed to do 5x5x135, but after the first 3 sets I'd run out of endurance in the sets, and the last couple of reps were not so good. So decided to drop back to 120 to preserve the form, upping the reps slightly to preserve the volume. Bench felt okay, though bar path was a bit wonky. Not surprising, and strength-wise it was okay.
Deadlift I was planning on doing 3x5 at whatever weight I could manage, but the volume got to me in the end. Even at just 120, with a hook grip, I couldn't hold on to the bar solidly. It was slipping as I got up past the knees, so I locked out each rep with the bar in my fingertips. Which wasn't a problem, but it was a clear sign that I'd had enough for the day. Which is probably good really, in giving me something to grease the groove without wearing me out, leaving something for Friday.
S: 1x2x150, 3x5x135, 2x6x120
B: 5x5x70
DL: 1x5x120
Double felt fairly good - a bit of a struggle, but not excessively so, and form, while not perfect of course, was fairly solid. Aimed to do 5x5x135, but after the first 3 sets I'd run out of endurance in the sets, and the last couple of reps were not so good. So decided to drop back to 120 to preserve the form, upping the reps slightly to preserve the volume. Bench felt okay, though bar path was a bit wonky. Not surprising, and strength-wise it was okay.
Deadlift I was planning on doing 3x5 at whatever weight I could manage, but the volume got to me in the end. Even at just 120, with a hook grip, I couldn't hold on to the bar solidly. It was slipping as I got up past the knees, so I locked out each rep with the bar in my fingertips. Which wasn't a problem, but it was a clear sign that I'd had enough for the day. Which is probably good really, in giving me something to grease the groove without wearing me out, leaving something for Friday.
11 January 2013
Power Capacity?
No, sorry, don't have any of that! Something made me think that doing this might be a good idea. Getting only about halfway through... confirmed that. No surprises that I couldn't go any further in my third race last weekend, eh? Ah well. Onwards and upwards. Perhaps one spin a week will be enough for the moment until we get towards training for next season. We'll see!
Max RPM (39x23): 188
Max speed (39x12): 59.7km/hr
Oh, and thanks Kev - I've given up wondering why I can post blog entries, comment on the blogs of others, but not comment on my own, even anonymously!
Max RPM (39x23): 188
Max speed (39x12): 59.7km/hr
Oh, and thanks Kev - I've given up wondering why I can post blog entries, comment on the blogs of others, but not comment on my own, even anonymously!
06 January 2013
SSS Round 4
Well this was an odd day.
Tossing up what gear to ride in the morning, I ended up breaking my chain whip trying to take off the 14 to change up to a 13. Right you are then, I'll ride 95" then!
Got to the track slightly late and I think I assumed that I wouldn't have time for a warmup, and by the time I realised that I'd have plenty of time, I didn't anymore.
So I rolled out for the flying 200 not very ready, but still feeling okay - physically. Felt really uncomfortable on the bike though, and as soon as I went to jump it showed - really wobbly and was hardly transferring any power to the pedals. Rode a 14.087, slowest in B-grade - and I think there were some mutterings about putting me down in C, which would have been rather embarrassing. As it was I stayed at the tail of a 10-strong B-Grade.
I'm surmising that it's the absolute lack of training that left me not feeling comfortable on the bike. Of course, round 1 and 2 were the same, but round 1 I was riding 86" and spinning madly, whereas round 2 I was riding 102" for the flying 200, and able to just bludgeon the thing around the track. Trying to jump at 95", a nice middle gear, really showed me up. Of course that's what I raced on in round 2, but then, I didn't exactly race well then, either!
So anyway, not an auspicious start. But I'd already decided on my tactics - ride flying 200s. Okay, not quite precisely, but the general idea was to stuff all of this riding slowly and then jumping nonsense, because I'm really crap at that. And go from the front, whether I was drawn there or not, because if I get behind, I stay behind - at least, when I haven't been training, because I'm not comfortable enough on the bike to accelerate out of the saddle at speed. Anyone taking notes for the next round?
In my first race, against Paul Yeatman, I drew the lead and went for the aforementioned tactic, just winding it up and keeping him behind me. Coming out of turn 3 he came up to my hip a bit, which was good, let me keep a good eye on him and give me a chance to hook and drop in to 1. He managed to get back, but he stayed behind me and didn't jump underneath, so I just took the run through turn one and then very wobbily accelerated coming out of two. From there I just stayed ahead - watching the video Paul ran a bit wide out of 4 coming towards the line, but I had him by a good bike length. Excellent - my first 'sprint' victory in B.
Second race against Sam McCabe followed a similar script. I pushed the pace up a little higher though still not exactly TT pace, and kept Sam up towards the fence. He was sat beside me until turn three, when I pulled a little ahead and this time managed to keep him on my hip all the way back around to turn one. I gave a little hook, just enough to shy him off, but rather than dropping straight away I held him up a little to stop the natural drop in pursuit. My acceleration wasn't anything flashy, and he sat in my draft up the back straight before pulling around. This time it went right down to the line, but I managed to hold him off and won it on the throw. Two wins!
Third race up against Jarrod, who has changed so much in the last year he's (almost) unrecognisable. I had not much left for this one, but the plan was basically the same though I was nominally following. I knew he'd let me take the lead, and I did. Same idea, but not so good execution - I didn't keep a good enough eye on him, and I took too high a line in to turn 1. Too fatigued, not thinking so well. Watching the video is almost comical - took me a good couple of seconds to respond to his jump. I still managed to get down behind him just a couple of bike lengths back, but as soon as I went my quads were telling me that nothing was going to happen, and I abandoned the chase fairly early really. A win would have put me in to the 3v4 final... and to be honest, I don't think I wanted to be there. I had nothing left for the third race, the 4th would have been very embarrassing!
So that was the day - a couple of wins, and I had fun. Only one round left, and I'm going to do at least a couple of sessions to train for it, finish the season (in February??) on a high.
Tossing up what gear to ride in the morning, I ended up breaking my chain whip trying to take off the 14 to change up to a 13. Right you are then, I'll ride 95" then!
Got to the track slightly late and I think I assumed that I wouldn't have time for a warmup, and by the time I realised that I'd have plenty of time, I didn't anymore.
So I rolled out for the flying 200 not very ready, but still feeling okay - physically. Felt really uncomfortable on the bike though, and as soon as I went to jump it showed - really wobbly and was hardly transferring any power to the pedals. Rode a 14.087, slowest in B-grade - and I think there were some mutterings about putting me down in C, which would have been rather embarrassing. As it was I stayed at the tail of a 10-strong B-Grade.
I'm surmising that it's the absolute lack of training that left me not feeling comfortable on the bike. Of course, round 1 and 2 were the same, but round 1 I was riding 86" and spinning madly, whereas round 2 I was riding 102" for the flying 200, and able to just bludgeon the thing around the track. Trying to jump at 95", a nice middle gear, really showed me up. Of course that's what I raced on in round 2, but then, I didn't exactly race well then, either!
So anyway, not an auspicious start. But I'd already decided on my tactics - ride flying 200s. Okay, not quite precisely, but the general idea was to stuff all of this riding slowly and then jumping nonsense, because I'm really crap at that. And go from the front, whether I was drawn there or not, because if I get behind, I stay behind - at least, when I haven't been training, because I'm not comfortable enough on the bike to accelerate out of the saddle at speed. Anyone taking notes for the next round?
In my first race, against Paul Yeatman, I drew the lead and went for the aforementioned tactic, just winding it up and keeping him behind me. Coming out of turn 3 he came up to my hip a bit, which was good, let me keep a good eye on him and give me a chance to hook and drop in to 1. He managed to get back, but he stayed behind me and didn't jump underneath, so I just took the run through turn one and then very wobbily accelerated coming out of two. From there I just stayed ahead - watching the video Paul ran a bit wide out of 4 coming towards the line, but I had him by a good bike length. Excellent - my first 'sprint' victory in B.
Second race against Sam McCabe followed a similar script. I pushed the pace up a little higher though still not exactly TT pace, and kept Sam up towards the fence. He was sat beside me until turn three, when I pulled a little ahead and this time managed to keep him on my hip all the way back around to turn one. I gave a little hook, just enough to shy him off, but rather than dropping straight away I held him up a little to stop the natural drop in pursuit. My acceleration wasn't anything flashy, and he sat in my draft up the back straight before pulling around. This time it went right down to the line, but I managed to hold him off and won it on the throw. Two wins!
Third race up against Jarrod, who has changed so much in the last year he's (almost) unrecognisable. I had not much left for this one, but the plan was basically the same though I was nominally following. I knew he'd let me take the lead, and I did. Same idea, but not so good execution - I didn't keep a good enough eye on him, and I took too high a line in to turn 1. Too fatigued, not thinking so well. Watching the video is almost comical - took me a good couple of seconds to respond to his jump. I still managed to get down behind him just a couple of bike lengths back, but as soon as I went my quads were telling me that nothing was going to happen, and I abandoned the chase fairly early really. A win would have put me in to the 3v4 final... and to be honest, I don't think I wanted to be there. I had nothing left for the third race, the 4th would have been very embarrassing!
So that was the day - a couple of wins, and I had fun. Only one round left, and I'm going to do at least a couple of sessions to train for it, finish the season (in February??) on a high.
04 January 2013
Again with the kinda tapering...
...just the way it's worked out again with parenting and injuries. Back in the gym (where else? Though I did do some riding this week with my daughter. A total of 8.6km at 7km/hr. That's sprint training, right?) for a light session that felt decidedly non-light. Ah well. Racing Sunday...
S: 2x5x110
P: 3x5x50
BE: 3x10
Chins (negatives): 3x1
Yes, chins are rather sad. Haven't done them for months, which is bad. So now I'm back to doing controlled negatives. Sad. But they should only take a couple of weeks to come back, so that I can do actual chinups. Woo.
S: 2x5x110
P: 3x5x50
BE: 3x10
Chins (negatives): 3x1
Yes, chins are rather sad. Haven't done them for months, which is bad. So now I'm back to doing controlled negatives. Sad. But they should only take a couple of weeks to come back, so that I can do actual chinups. Woo.
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