Gods. Tonight was meant to look like this. Instead, it was windout after MAC after MAC after MAC after powerjump after powerjump after powerjump with about 10 minutes between each. Madness! And I suspect it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks...
But it went okay. I started off feeling fairly tired and stiff after yesterday, but the numbers held up - 43.9 in the 1/4 lap powerjumps, 52 in the half lap on 99". The first couple of pedal strokes felt pretty glacial though.
2x250m MACs and 1x375m MAC... tough. Still feeling tired, and I got quite a bit of slipping on the first MAC, but recorded 62.7km/hr, which I was happy with. Well, until I discovered that Neil hit over 71km/hr. So I've... got a ways to go. But we knows this. I was still accelerating throughout and hitting top speed around about the line in the first two, and in the final MAC added another couple of km/hr after coming out from behind the bike for the last 100m, accelerating to the line, so there's definite improvement noticeable. I'm just not going to win A-Grade next month! But that's okay. No, really.
Finished off the evening with a nice lazy (!) windout back on 86", up to 57.8/143 for what was essentially a warmdown, drafting the whole way. I was even able to pedal back in - after the MACs, I coasted (not free-wheeling, obviously, but you get the idea...), taking two or three laps to slow down because I didn't have the energy required to put backward pressure on the pedals, and considered running in to a foam-covered pole so that I could just fall off rather than having to unclip and step over the bars!
04 September 2011
03 September 2011
Steve Vai
Because the Audience is Listening.
115kg squat. Can I do it? Yes I can! My second bodyweight lift after the deadlift - well, within a percent or so, anyway! My form wasn't quite as graceful - I was going down too straight, not pushing my hips back enough. As a result I was too far forward coming back up, which robbed a little power. But I got them all done, and it's a relatively simple thing to work on since the thing I need to pay attention to is the thing that starts the lift!
Then... shameful bench press. Actually, I was feeling quite good and strong, which is what undid me. I was planning on repeating 70kgs, which is what I should have done in the first place rather than going up to 75kg. But because I was feeling strong, and confident, I decided to give 72.5kg a try. And the first set felt fine. I gave myself 10 minutes rest. But I couldn't get the 4th rep up. So I deloaded back to 70, which is what I should have been doing, and did 2 reps to 'complete' the set. Rested 10 minutes. After 3 good reps, the fourth rep I lost my focus and tension - but still got it done. 5th rep, going fine, halfway back up, and I lose tension again. And the lift stops. And comes back down again. Bugger. 70kg all the way and I probably would have done 3x5. It's mostly mental rather than strength, but I'm tempted to reset back to 60kg and work my way back up anyway. I know I can do it though, so I'll give myself one more attempt at 70kg. If no beans, then reset!
Powercleans... up to 65kg, and I felt like I was still pulling some of them, the jump/shrug wasn't quite working. Third set, I changed my grip slightly to get it more in the fingers and really focussed on the jump - and bang! Up went the bar over my head again. What a difference! The third set went up very (relatively) easily and felt much more fluid. Excellent!
115kg squat. Can I do it? Yes I can! My second bodyweight lift after the deadlift - well, within a percent or so, anyway! My form wasn't quite as graceful - I was going down too straight, not pushing my hips back enough. As a result I was too far forward coming back up, which robbed a little power. But I got them all done, and it's a relatively simple thing to work on since the thing I need to pay attention to is the thing that starts the lift!
Then... shameful bench press. Actually, I was feeling quite good and strong, which is what undid me. I was planning on repeating 70kgs, which is what I should have done in the first place rather than going up to 75kg. But because I was feeling strong, and confident, I decided to give 72.5kg a try. And the first set felt fine. I gave myself 10 minutes rest. But I couldn't get the 4th rep up. So I deloaded back to 70, which is what I should have been doing, and did 2 reps to 'complete' the set. Rested 10 minutes. After 3 good reps, the fourth rep I lost my focus and tension - but still got it done. 5th rep, going fine, halfway back up, and I lose tension again. And the lift stops. And comes back down again. Bugger. 70kg all the way and I probably would have done 3x5. It's mostly mental rather than strength, but I'm tempted to reset back to 60kg and work my way back up anyway. I know I can do it though, so I'll give myself one more attempt at 70kg. If no beans, then reset!
Powercleans... up to 65kg, and I felt like I was still pulling some of them, the jump/shrug wasn't quite working. Third set, I changed my grip slightly to get it more in the fingers and really focussed on the jump - and bang! Up went the bar over my head again. What a difference! The third set went up very (relatively) easily and felt much more fluid. Excellent!
01 September 2011
Joe Satriani
Because there's nothing like a guitar master to signal where I'm at right now with my lifting. That's right, I'm pyrotechnic but I can't sing for shit. Erm. Wait.
Squat up to 110kg today, and it still feels solid. Getting harder and harder, and I had to really work to keep my back straight, chest forward - without succeeding on every rep. At the same time, I didn't fold, didn't fail, and wasn't doing good mornings. 115kg on Saturday? I can do it!
Press at 55kg... well, 14 out of 15 ain't bad! Just couldn't quite get the 15th up - got it above my head, but didn't maintain momentum through the moment of parallel, and couldn't get it restarted. The 5th rep of each set was tough, but the previous two I got up. Rest seemed okay, about 7 minutes, but maybe I should extend that to 10 minutes for the next attempt.
Deadlift... oooh boy! 130kgs is damnably heavy. Still went up using a double overhand grip, but it didn't really feel secure until I hooked the thumbs under on the third rep - it was still heavy, but didn't feel so much in danger of slipping. Only 5 reps, only 650kg total versus the 1650kgs of the squat, but I can tell you that the deadlift depletes the entire body like nothing else!
Squat up to 110kg today, and it still feels solid. Getting harder and harder, and I had to really work to keep my back straight, chest forward - without succeeding on every rep. At the same time, I didn't fold, didn't fail, and wasn't doing good mornings. 115kg on Saturday? I can do it!
Press at 55kg... well, 14 out of 15 ain't bad! Just couldn't quite get the 15th up - got it above my head, but didn't maintain momentum through the moment of parallel, and couldn't get it restarted. The 5th rep of each set was tough, but the previous two I got up. Rest seemed okay, about 7 minutes, but maybe I should extend that to 10 minutes for the next attempt.
Deadlift... oooh boy! 130kgs is damnably heavy. Still went up using a double overhand grip, but it didn't really feel secure until I hooked the thumbs under on the third rep - it was still heavy, but didn't feel so much in danger of slipping. Only 5 reps, only 650kg total versus the 1650kgs of the squat, but I can tell you that the deadlift depletes the entire body like nothing else!
30 August 2011
Exterminate, Extermi... I mean, Recalibrate!
Yes, that's right, time for some PG recalibration fun!
This was the plan:
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 6s PG+12 SS L,R:3
:18 8s PG-4 RS(80)
:21 8s PG RS (80)
:24 8s PG+4 RS (80)
:29 8s PG+6 RS(80)
:32 8s PG+8 RS(80)
:37 16s new PG SS
:42 30s HCLR r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
Which I, in my infinite wisdom (zero is infinite, right?) converted to:
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 6s 53x15 (93") SS L,R:3
:16 8s 39x13 (79") RS(80)
:19 8s 53x17 (82") RS (80)
:22 8s 39x12 (85") RS (80)
:27 8s 53x16 (87") RS(80)
:32 8s 53x15 (93") RS(80)
:37 16s new PG SS
:42 30s HCLR r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
So I was making an effort at PG+3", 5", and 11". Meh. What can you do about gears? It's all the trainer's fault, making my PG so high up the range. Anyway, I felt a bit lacklustre early on, and my 53x15 SSes only got up to 155/70km/hr, 3.6km/hr lower than my best of a couple of weeks ago! I accordingly suffered a bit of a shock when my PG+3" effort only got me up to 158 - I just couldn't get it any higher.
But I wasn't going to sit there and take that nonsense, no sir! So I whacked it in to 53x16, waited 5 minutes, and then blasted it up to 161 - success! The next effort was a bit of a jump, an extra 6" or so. I was trying to remember what I'd done before from an 80RPM start, but thought I might be in with a shot. 'Twasn't to be however, as I clocked in at 150/68.2 - which is actually a good 5RPM higher than I'd previously managed, so I can't be too disappointed with that. And, when one thinks about it, the smaller the new PG is, the easier the next couple of weeks are going to be! I'm already looking forward to 40s rampups in 53x16... not to mention now only having PG, PG+5.8, PG+12.4, PG+20 and PG+29 to go before I run out of cassette.
So for the 16s SS on 87", I treated it like a standing lap at DISC - though in all reality it's probably more like 19s. But anyway. I hit 149RPM and just held it around that level for the remainder of the interval - I could have gone higher, but I doubt I'd have lasted the 16s! HCLR rampup to finish, I didn't quite make it all the way to 30s - about 28s before my front wheel fell off the block and I almost fell off the bike - but not before managing a top of 191RPM! Maybe I should start wearing my helmet for spin sessions...
Brief stats here.
Edit 15/09/2011: I've just realised that I'm a numby. No, really. PG is the gear that you can't quite get to 160RPM in 8 seconds from 80RPM, isn't it? Not, in fact, the gear that you can get to 160RPM on. So my PG is now 53x15, 93", not 53x16, 87". Whoops. So I in fact have 93" PG, 99" PG+6, 107" PG+14, and 116" PG+23. Erm.
This was the plan:
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 6s PG+12 SS L,R:3
:18 8s PG-4 RS(80)
:21 8s PG RS (80)
:24 8s PG+4 RS (80)
:29 8s PG+6 RS(80)
:32 8s PG+8 RS(80)
:37 16s new PG SS
:42 30s HCLR r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
Which I, in my infinite wisdom (zero is infinite, right?) converted to:
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 6s 53x15 (93") SS L,R:3
:16 8s 39x13 (79") RS(80)
:19 8s 53x17 (82") RS (80)
:22 8s 39x12 (85") RS (80)
:27 8s 53x16 (87") RS(80)
:32 8s 53x15 (93") RS(80)
:37 16s new PG SS
:42 30s HCLR r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
So I was making an effort at PG+3", 5", and 11". Meh. What can you do about gears? It's all the trainer's fault, making my PG so high up the range. Anyway, I felt a bit lacklustre early on, and my 53x15 SSes only got up to 155/70km/hr, 3.6km/hr lower than my best of a couple of weeks ago! I accordingly suffered a bit of a shock when my PG+3" effort only got me up to 158 - I just couldn't get it any higher.
But I wasn't going to sit there and take that nonsense, no sir! So I whacked it in to 53x16, waited 5 minutes, and then blasted it up to 161 - success! The next effort was a bit of a jump, an extra 6" or so. I was trying to remember what I'd done before from an 80RPM start, but thought I might be in with a shot. 'Twasn't to be however, as I clocked in at 150/68.2 - which is actually a good 5RPM higher than I'd previously managed, so I can't be too disappointed with that. And, when one thinks about it, the smaller the new PG is, the easier the next couple of weeks are going to be! I'm already looking forward to 40s rampups in 53x16... not to mention now only having PG, PG+5.8, PG+12.4, PG+20 and PG+29 to go before I run out of cassette.
So for the 16s SS on 87", I treated it like a standing lap at DISC - though in all reality it's probably more like 19s. But anyway. I hit 149RPM and just held it around that level for the remainder of the interval - I could have gone higher, but I doubt I'd have lasted the 16s! HCLR rampup to finish, I didn't quite make it all the way to 30s - about 28s before my front wheel fell off the block and I almost fell off the bike - but not before managing a top of 191RPM! Maybe I should start wearing my helmet for spin sessions...
Brief stats here.
Edit 15/09/2011: I've just realised that I'm a numby. No, really. PG is the gear that you can't quite get to 160RPM in 8 seconds from 80RPM, isn't it? Not, in fact, the gear that you can get to 160RPM on. So my PG is now 53x15, 93", not 53x16, 87". Whoops. So I in fact have 93" PG, 99" PG+6, 107" PG+14, and 116" PG+23. Erm.
28 August 2011
DISC Session #19 with ABOC
Enjoyable session tonight at DISC with the ABOC crew - another decent turnout of sprinters, into the double-figures I think.
More powerjumps on 99" to begin with - 6 of them in fact, 1 of those seated, and another 1/2 lap instead of a 1/4. Slightly higher max speeds for this week, up to 45km/hr on the 1/4s and 49 on the 1/2s, so happy with that. After a bit of residual stiffness following yesterdays weights session, it was reassuring to feel some snap in the legs!
We then did a motorcycle entry with a flying 150 to follow, which saw me break 60km/hr for the first time in a flying+distance, and not because of the draft - once the motorbike jumped I was nowhere near it, as it took a lower line in to the bend while I stayed up near the fence until near the finish line. It was probably a combination of this line and potentially a higher entry speed of 45km/hr at the jump which contributed to that. Not a dependable guide, but my Garmin records 9s for the 150m, which should indicate at least sub-13s for the 200 - will be interesting to see how that time has progressed by the time we get back in to Summer racing.
Finished off with some more skills work, this time with a form of hooking and diving practice - second rider on the wheel, going up the bank coming in to turn three, being held up there by the lead rider who then dives for the lane. In the final go around the sequence was reversed, with the following rider being the one to dive for the lane (and it's a long way down at DISC!) Fun stuff.
More powerjumps on 99" to begin with - 6 of them in fact, 1 of those seated, and another 1/2 lap instead of a 1/4. Slightly higher max speeds for this week, up to 45km/hr on the 1/4s and 49 on the 1/2s, so happy with that. After a bit of residual stiffness following yesterdays weights session, it was reassuring to feel some snap in the legs!
We then did a motorcycle entry with a flying 150 to follow, which saw me break 60km/hr for the first time in a flying+distance, and not because of the draft - once the motorbike jumped I was nowhere near it, as it took a lower line in to the bend while I stayed up near the fence until near the finish line. It was probably a combination of this line and potentially a higher entry speed of 45km/hr at the jump which contributed to that. Not a dependable guide, but my Garmin records 9s for the 150m, which should indicate at least sub-13s for the 200 - will be interesting to see how that time has progressed by the time we get back in to Summer racing.
Finished off with some more skills work, this time with a form of hooking and diving practice - second rider on the wheel, going up the bank coming in to turn three, being held up there by the lead rider who then dives for the lane. In the final go around the sequence was reversed, with the following rider being the one to dive for the lane (and it's a long way down at DISC!) Fun stuff.
27 August 2011
Whitesnake!
I'm not entirely sure why Whitesnake! require an exclamation point, it just feels right somehow.
Good solid morning in the gym today - 105kg squats felt good. Again, a couple of minor technical problems on a couple of reps, including losing tension in one side with my left knee sliding forward a little and a loss of balance. Still made the rep though - but by Blind Io, does the weight ever magnify such mistakes! There's no question I'm pushing the weight up, but as I commented at the end, the 15th rep doesn't feel harder than the first - I'm just more fatigued by then. So we'll keep pushing up by 5kgs a session until the bar starts slowing markedly.
Press was up next, and for this I did drop down to a 2.5kg jump. Interestingly at least 10 out of the 15 went up more easily than 50kg the last time - whether it's got more to do with the rest, or the small jump, is hard to determine. Still, it felt good to be able to push them up without as much struggle.
Deadlift time! I still love the deadlift, and even more so today - my first supra-bodyweight set! The warmup at 60kg I was probably rushing a bit - Carl noted that I was jerking the bar up off the floor, rather than squeezing. So at the work weight of 120kg, I added squeezing to my list of back straight, chest forward, big breath! It felt really heavy, and for the first time I could really solidly feel activation absolutely everywhere. No wonder it takes a good while to recover from at higher weights! Bar speed felt good, form was solid, grip was secure and the last rep was as difficult as the first. So you know what? I'm sticking with the 10kg progression for now. I suspect that this might be the last jump before I cut back to 5kg jumps - maybe squeeze one more out after that to 140kg, depending upon how it feels. Or perhaps just change to a hook grip.
We shall see. Track season looms ever closer - just 5 weeks now!
Good solid morning in the gym today - 105kg squats felt good. Again, a couple of minor technical problems on a couple of reps, including losing tension in one side with my left knee sliding forward a little and a loss of balance. Still made the rep though - but by Blind Io, does the weight ever magnify such mistakes! There's no question I'm pushing the weight up, but as I commented at the end, the 15th rep doesn't feel harder than the first - I'm just more fatigued by then. So we'll keep pushing up by 5kgs a session until the bar starts slowing markedly.
Press was up next, and for this I did drop down to a 2.5kg jump. Interestingly at least 10 out of the 15 went up more easily than 50kg the last time - whether it's got more to do with the rest, or the small jump, is hard to determine. Still, it felt good to be able to push them up without as much struggle.
Deadlift time! I still love the deadlift, and even more so today - my first supra-bodyweight set! The warmup at 60kg I was probably rushing a bit - Carl noted that I was jerking the bar up off the floor, rather than squeezing. So at the work weight of 120kg, I added squeezing to my list of back straight, chest forward, big breath! It felt really heavy, and for the first time I could really solidly feel activation absolutely everywhere. No wonder it takes a good while to recover from at higher weights! Bar speed felt good, form was solid, grip was secure and the last rep was as difficult as the first. So you know what? I'm sticking with the 10kg progression for now. I suspect that this might be the last jump before I cut back to 5kg jumps - maybe squeeze one more out after that to 140kg, depending upon how it feels. Or perhaps just change to a hook grip.
We shall see. Track season looms ever closer - just 5 weeks now!
23 August 2011
Rampups
I think there was a spin session in there somewhere, too. But all I remember is rampups.
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s 53x15 RS (20rpm):3
:17 25s 53x16 r/up 5:100, 10:120, 10:140+
:22 25s 53x15 SS
:28 30s 53x15 SS seated
:35 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
:40 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
Okay, the SSes weren't rampups, but they were killers just the same! I decided to go as all-out as possible rather than measuring my effort, and only managed 20s each time. Disappointing, but I've been feeling the lack of endurance this last few weeks so it might take me a week or two to get it back again!
Otherwise HCLRs were good, up to 190 at the start, and followed that up with 163/73.1 in the efforts from 20RPM. The next rampup was held above 140 for the last 10s, with a max of 145/61.7. The SS efforts, as advertised, didn't quite go the distance, showing a top of only 146/65.6 - so clearly I didn't go absolutely 6-second all-out! Ah well. HCLR ramups I did fine, sprinting the last 10s to get up to 181 to round out the session.
After 6 straight days of training, I'm looking forward to the rest tomorrow!
Brief stats here.
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s 53x15 RS (20rpm):3
:17 25s 53x16 r/up 5:100, 10:120, 10:140+
:22 25s 53x15 SS
:28 30s 53x15 SS seated
:35 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
:40 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
Okay, the SSes weren't rampups, but they were killers just the same! I decided to go as all-out as possible rather than measuring my effort, and only managed 20s each time. Disappointing, but I've been feeling the lack of endurance this last few weeks so it might take me a week or two to get it back again!
Otherwise HCLRs were good, up to 190 at the start, and followed that up with 163/73.1 in the efforts from 20RPM. The next rampup was held above 140 for the last 10s, with a max of 145/61.7. The SS efforts, as advertised, didn't quite go the distance, showing a top of only 146/65.6 - so clearly I didn't go absolutely 6-second all-out! Ah well. HCLR ramups I did fine, sprinting the last 10s to get up to 181 to round out the session.
After 6 straight days of training, I'm looking forward to the rest tomorrow!
Brief stats here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)