First off, a big thanks to JP for letting me post my training journal here.
The goal of my training is basically to be in great shape. For me that means strong, lean, and fit enough to play a sport like rugby. Right now my training is structured basically off of the Westside template. I had been doing a Starr / Pendlay type thing for a while with great results in the squat, but I felt my upper body strength wasn't progressing as quickly as I'd like.
Here is how it works: I train monday, wednesday, friday, so one week will have two upper body days and the next will have two lower body days.
I use this rotation: Max Effort Squat, Max Effort Bench, Dynamic Effort Squat, Repetition Effort Bench, repeat.
Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll do HIIT, treadmill walking, complexes, high rep olys or nothing, depending on how I feel.
My stats:
27 y.o.
6' 2"
~220lbs, fairly lean, but its winter so who cares.
I've been training seriously since Summer 2004.
I haven't played since university, but I was a lock then. I played some inside center when I was skinnier and a little eight man as needed by the club. I've been dying to play again and have been looking into men's clubs here. One thing that may hold me back is my neck health (I was in a car accident a few years ago). We'll see.
My instruction in the olys consisted of about an hour and a half at an oly gym in St. Paul. It was very beneficial though, especially for the snatch. For the most part I'm going by what I read, see, and feel. I've only been doing these lifts since last September, so I still have a ton of room for technique improvements. I'm not doing any sort of oly competition so I'll stick to the power varients... mainly cleans for strength and snatches for conditioning.
Keep checking in... I'm going to be strong one of these days!
A 100Kg power clean doesn't sound weak to me, and I am guessing that your max effort days won't be weak eaither? The two workouts you have logged so far look cool. We are glad that you have a log up and running here, we will keep you motivated.
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I use this rotation: Max Effort Squat, Max Effort Bench, Dynamic Effort Squat, Repetition Effort Bench, repeat.
[/ QUOTE ] I know this is a westside template, but have you considered having a Dynamic Effort Bench either instead of or in addition to the Repetition Effort Bench? No real reason for the suggestion, but if you continue to have more squat success than bench, you may want to evaluate if dynamic effort is what is missing from your bench.
I'll say this... I'm stronger than I used to be but weaker than I want to be. Its all relative. I work out at a gym with a lot of strong people and see the way they move massive weights and think that I should be able to do it as well.
From the Dan John school of thought, I'll be pleased when my strength levels hit 3-4-5 bench, squat, pull. This is a very attainable goal and something I hope to accomplish this year. I do suck at benching, however, so it will be a challenge. Another Dan Johnism... I want my bench, front squat, and power clean to remain about equal as an indicator of developmental balance.
I'm heavily focusing on strength for the next few months, after which I'll start to do more running and conditioning. I can't stand treadmills or running outside in the extreme cold and snow...
My Training "Theory"
Buk noticed that I have deviated from the standard Westside template by replacing the DE bench day with an RE bench day. The rationale is that I am a relatively untrained lifter, certainly compared to the WS guys. Tons of discussion has centered around this topic at elite and other boards, but my feeling is that I could just use more "normal" bench practice. My technique isn't really dialed in where I would be able to get a lot out of the DE bench. My training partner is following this same program with a couple of variations, one being the inclusion of a DE bench session. His bench max is 325, though, and he has many years more training experience.
To me, Westside is simply a way of managing my training. I found this site, Men's Health, and T-Nation in the summer of 2004 and have put on 40 pounds of, for the most part, muscle. I feel like I have a good idea of what types of things make me stronger and how to listen to my body. My training "style" may change but one thing never will: I bust my ass in the gym and pay attention to recovery outside of it. Lift, eat, sleep, repeat.
Training your body is an experiment. Formulate a hypothesis, test it, keep what works, ditch what doesn't. This is my second go around with Westside and I'm trying an undulating periodization method with supplemental and accessory exercises (an idea I jacked from Alwyn Cosgrove). Rest periods are short (< 1 min)on everything but max effort lifts and, to a lesser extent, dynamic work. Tuesday and thursday workouts are designed to maintain conditioning, increase work capacity, and aid recovery.
I hope this makes sense to whoever reads it. It is my way of attempting to organize my thoughts.
Made sense to me [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img].
I read that comment by Dan Johns, he said a good initial aim is 2-3-4 so you've obviously hit his 'strong enough to get fancy' mark. I love that train of thought. You need to have a good base before you start trying anything advanced. Good luck on the goals!
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Is that BP kg's??????? thought you said you were weak on them! holy moly!
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LOL! I get to start my day with a laugh! No those weights are not in kilograms. I'll start to list everything in pounds to keep consistent. Kgs, I wish! 451 lbs x 2 would be nice... I'm not quite there yet!
was gonna say are you planning on being the whole of the pack at Rugby??? ya switched weights again grrrrrrr (this 2ndrow will land a haymaker on ya!) :-P
Pulldown abs with 5 second hold on last rep of each set
3x8x100lbs
Done. Everything felt great today. 375 was a grinder but I got it up. I got to see an old bodybuilder and a couple of powerlifters going at it over dropped weights... very funny.
lots x bar
5x95lbs
3x135lbs
3x155lbs
3x185lbs
1x205lbs
1x225lbs
0+1x240lbs 5lb PR... my second attempt had much better speed
1x225lbs Getting better at this...
Incline DB press (pamls in, 1 sec pause on chest)
3x12x50s big improvement here
Pendlay Rows
4x8x155lbs
Hang cleans
5x5x155lbs The last three sets I did a power clean for the first rep.
EZ Curls (Cuz big arms are cool...)
10+7+4x95lbs
Done. Great workout today. I really like using undulating periodization for supplemental and accessory moves. This is the third week I've used these movements and I think I'll stick with them for another three week cycle and then change things up a bit.
Nice work! 240 is a lot to be pushing around. Your accessory work looks strong too. 5x5 for cleans is a tough workout in itself, are you catching them in a full squat or shallow? It seems like you were quite fatigued by the end: 10 then 7 then 4. Even still it is hard not to suggest chin-ups instead of curls, at least they are not preacher curls?
Pressing 240 and high boxing 375, this opperation might not take too long. Are you going to test deadlifts occasionaly?
The hang cleans are the "power" version. I use these as an upper back accessory movement... so I try to use my legs as little as possible. The curls are just extra fun. There was a loaded ez-bar on the ground so I asked my partner how many times he thought he could lift it. We just did max reps trading off back and forth so rest periods were very short.
My next ME lower day will be deads and I'll work up to a heavy single after DE work this week just to get a feel for it before I go big the following ME day.
I would love for this to be a short operation! I'm very pleased with the way things are progressing right now. My nutrition has been good for the most part, and I've been sleeping well. I love strength training!
Last night I had class (and a test at that) so I wasn't able to go out with my girlfriend for V Day until 10... which means I was pretty tired for today's "dynamic effort" workout. I pounded a cup of coffee right before training but it can't replace a good nights sleep.
Wednesday 2/15 DE Squat
Warmup Complex, hip mobility, glute activation (everything was tight today)
Low Box Squat
2x135lbs
2x185lbs
8x2x205lbs Had a hard time finding the groove today. Decent speed, though.
Speed Deadlifts
2x135lbs
2x225lbs
5x2x245lbs I destroyed these...
Deadlifts
1x315lbs
1x365lbs
1x405lbs This felt really easy considering all the work I just did. Next ME day is deads.
Single leg press
2x8x250lbs e.l., 1x8x260lbs e.l. My right leg is weaker than my left FWIW...
Pullthroughs
2x20x60lbs
Abs/Obliques
random stuff
Done. I had to workout alone today because my partner was getting his taxes done. That is just about the worst excuse I could imagine to miss training. It is much harder for me to keep up the intensity without a training partner. All things considered, though, this was a good session.
Hammer curls
16+10x27.5s My arms were fried from the chins...
Done. Didn't really go at a frenetic pace today, just went by feel. My bench numbers are moving along nicely, which is good since that was really the whole point of me doing this program. Moving away from Bill Starr was not easy.
Deadlifts
3x135lbs
2x225lbs
1x275lbs
1x315lbs
1x365lbs
1x405lbs
1x425lbs
1x455lbs 20lb PR
0+0x465lbs felt glued to the floor
1x405lbs
Leg Press
10x300lbs
10x500lbs
10x590lbs
6x680lbs
Pulldown Abs
Done.
Big-time PR!!! 455 was not easy, but who said a max effort lift should be easy? An older powerlifter was in the gym today and was encouraging my partner and I on our lifts. We were having trouble with 465 and he wanted to demonstrate some technique, so he just walks up and pulls it easy without warming up. Then he says, "See, you just need to lift it." Yeah, that's my problem... I'm not trying to lift it! The guy had tree trunks for legs...
I kept supplemental and accessory stuff easy today because heavy pulls drain my CNS like no other.
Awesome work man! 455 is a nice lift. Those big strong guys can be very motivating, and also very frustrating at the same time; there are lots of them around my gym. But he did give you some good advice for next time [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
Buk- the really strong guys do keep me motivated, as I realize just what is possible with lots of hard work and patience. Now, I just need to remember to lift the weight! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
BFG- I've been lifting seriously since summer 2004. The crazy thing is that this time last year I couldn't even deadlift 315. The Bill Starr / Pendlay training style did wonders for my strength (and size). Keep up with the training and eating and 455 will be yours!
Operation Stop Being Weak
Linear Mode
