Buk's Log: Let the Games Begin

[hard_rox]

Congrats on your v-ball tourney, Craig. Sounds like the fix was in based on your desciption. All in all, you should be happy with your results considering you haven't played in the sand that much or with your partner.

And congrats on your new PR. Five down, 95 more to go.

[Rev]

Nice squat my man!

[Mahler]

Damn, Craig, the PRs are flying right and left.
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Buk]

Thanks guys, it is awesome knowing that you are here watching me, pushing me! "95 more to go" - ugh, that sounds like a lot when you put it that way. For my squats I am going to switch to lighter speed squats for a while, so I won't see any new PRs soon, but hopefully it will help me blast through when I make the jump back to going heavy.

Other changes are setup for my rotine starting this week as well. I am going to keep deadlifts in the mix, but I haven't decided yet if I am going to stick with wave loading or switch to sets of 4 or 5 reps. My other primary lift is going to be the bench press assuming that it doesn't bother my shoulder too much. I haven't pressed in quite a while, but I think the weighted dips I have been doing will show some carry over. I hope so, because this is going to be my best shot for hitting new PRs for the next month. Even though my bench numbers aren't super impressive, new PRs are always encouraging, and I have gotten used to seeing them over the last month or so.

[Buk]

Wednesday, May 24, 2006
5:45 PM

Beach Volleyball:
2 hours
Doubles

Another day of playing on campus. Same four as yesterday: Scott, Dave, Heidi, and myself; and also another girl, Tila, who is an amazing indoor player that could become a great doubles player. I didn't play any games with Dave, but played a few with everyone else, and again claimed victory each game. My blocking has been getting better and better lately which is very encouraging. My sets were good when I was actively thinking about setting well, but got lazy here and there and made a few mistakes. I have to use these chances to stay in training mode and not slip into fun play around ball. I love being able to get on the sand at least a few times a week!

[BamaDave]

Does Heidi play volleyball competitively? Sounds like you guys are having a good time. It's amazing to see all of this volleyball effort (which you weren't even logging last year) on top of the weight training.

[kuri]

Buk, have you read Cressey's Shoulder Savers?

Seeing as how much you can put overhead and dip I'm expecting to see some monster BP numbers up here soon.

well........? We're waiting!:p

[Buk]

I am getting in lots of volleyball effort, but I am dropping my plyos this week because of it.

Heidi plays well, but does not enter any tournaments or even play with other girls that often. She holds her own against guys very well, playing great defense and ball control. Her offense isn't powerful, but she has some good shots that can earn some points. We have played a few co-ed tournaments in the past, but I really don't enjoy playing competitive co-ed ball.

Cressey's Shoulder Savers Part I
Cressey's Shoulder Savers Part II
Good call Kuri, I have read it before and know how to bench as he describes. Waterbury and JB went over this as an aside at JP 2005 retreat. But it is definitely worth going through again, and making sure that I incorporate some of the knowledge into my new program.

I'll try not to keep you waiting too long, but I'm not going to make any promises. Dips come a lot more naturally for me than bench press, and I can only put good numbers overhead in the push press and jerk - both having most of the power coming from my lower body.

[Buk]

Thursday, May 25, 2006
11:45 AM
Weight: 190

Gym Workout - Strength:

Clean
148(65Kg) x 3
192(85Kg) x 3
214(95Kg) x 2 + 3

Bench Press
135 x 6
185 x 6
215 x 1
195 x 5
225 x 1
135 x 16

Alternating Sets:

Reverse Hyper
70 x 10
120 x 8
120 x 8

Bulgarian Split Squats with 2 dumbbells
(dumbbell weight(each dumbbell))x(reps right)a(reps left)
40s x (10)a(10)
40s x (10)a(10)
40s x (10)a(10)

Straight Sets:

Single arm Cable Pull
(stack weight)x(reps right)a(reps left)
110 x (12)a(12)
110 x (12)a(12)


Comments: My cleans haven't feelt real strong lately, but I guess that weight isn't too bad. The hardest part is recovering from the catch, I catch in a full deep squat. Today I started using a full grip(my term, don't know what else to call it) rather than keeping my thumb on the same side as my fingers, which is a habbit I need to break, but use on almost all lifts. The stronger grip did seem to help my pull feel a little stronger. I might decide to test my max clean soon. 225 was slow going on the bench, a true max; but I think it ties my previous best. So with any strength improvements we will be seeing some PRs. My shoulder held up well. I like the reverse hyper, but I never know what weight to use: I can stay conservative and really control the weight or load it up and really accelerate against the load. Both ways feel good, but I think I like loading it up better. Bulgarian split squats were good, but I need to try to up the weight and really attack these. Cable pulls felt powerful.

[kuri]

Nice going Buk - see, I knew you'd put up a good bench number. If you attack this like all other lifts you'll be blasting 250 in no time 'tall.

I can't wait to get back to some Oly lifts too. I'm counting on progress with squats & DLs to help out with those.

[kjcreigh]

Damn, I wish my cleans were 10lbs under my bench...
-Kevin

[Buk]

I would be happy with a 250 bench; but it will be lots of work, I am attacking it as I attack all my other lifts though, so we will see. I was hoping that my cleans would be feeling easier by now - I am at an all time max squat and have upped my deadlift 40 pounds in the last 6 weeks - but I don't feel especially powerful on the clean. I suggest doing some light cleans in your warm-up to keep the form in check when you aren't directly working them.

Kevin, specificity is the answer. This year I have probably cleaned 30 reps for every bench press rep I have done. Prioritize it; and, as in my case, ignore your bench press, and your clean will catch your bench for sure. Doing them in the same workout now, I am going to be having them compete against one another.

[Buk]

Friday, May 26, 2006
1:45 PM
Weight: 188

Gym Workout - Conditioning:

Crossfit North Skill Test(Level III - Work)
DB Snatch 10 minute test - max reps in 10 minutes, 55 pound dumbbell
(goal: 200 reps)
153 reps

Prone Cobra(with isometric hold)
(bw) x 5 + 5

Seated Row
80 x 12
100 x 12
120 x 12
140 x 10


Comments: I needed to do a conditioning workout, so I hit up my old friends at Crossfit for some ideas. I pulled the dumbbell snatch test from Crossfit North's "Athletic Skill Standards"(the last 2 pages has a nice table of all of the tests). The balance of strength, speed, skill, and work isn't exactly where I would place it; but regardless, it contains a good set of test to benchmark against. I picked a level III test even though I think the equivalent level II test(30 reps with each hand) would have pushed my limits. I scored 153 reps, but I think improvement will come quick because there is a significant skill component to high rep snatches, epically in the turnover. 200 reps may not sound like a whole lot in 10 minutes, but my rep turnover when I started was about 2 seconds. So 10 right, 10 left and a 20 second breather, put me exactly on pace for 200; but there is no way I can keep my first minute pace up for 10 minutes.

I finished off testing a few exercises from Cressey's Shoulder Savers, and I liked them both. The cobras are going straight into my warm-up and mobility routine. I don't know why I never do seated rows! I worked up from really light making sure I was keeping my form solid as per the article. These are definitely going to be incorporated into my new routine.

[Buk]

Saturday, May 27, 2006
12:15 PM
Weight: 187

Gym Workout - Strength:

Speed Squat
45 x 5 - 5.19 seconds
45 x 5 - 5.00 seconds
135 x 5 - 6.43 seconds
135 x 5 - 6.?? seconds - missed the button
185 x 5 - 7.44 seconds
185 x 5 - 7.66 seconds
185 x 5 - 7.25 seconds
185 x 5 - 7.96 seconds
185 x 5 - 7.53 seconds
185 x 5 - 7.72 seconds
185 x 5 - 7.81 seconds
185 x 5 - 8.16 seconds
135 x 5 - 6.37 seconds
45 x 5 - 5.06 seconds

Alternating Sets:

Pull-up(overhand grip)
(bw) x 16
(bw) x 12
(bw) x 10

1 leg RDL with 2 dumbbells
(barbell weight)x(reps right)a(reps left)
115 x (10)a(10)
125 x (10)a(10)
125 x (10)a(10)

Straight Sets:

YTWL
5 x 8
5 x 8


Comments: I did most of my speed squats at 185 pounds, 60% of my recent PR. Bill likes to see 60% move at a rate of 3 reps in 3 seconds . I am a little ways off from that; I don't think I was slowing down at all the last few reps. I couldn't even go faster than 1 rep per second with an unloaded bar. 185 kept moving fairly well, but I need to follow what Danny did and up my weight till I hit a time dropoff. I will be happy if I can see the improvements over the next few weeks that he obtained in the last month. Everything else went well. The overhand grip pull-ups were tough, and pairing them with the 1 legged RDLs really hammers my grip.

[Mahler]

So, Craig, what planet are you from?

[Bill2380]

[quote][So, Craig, what planet are you from? /QUOTE]

I'm not sure but I'm pretty sure he has a blue suit and a red cape in his closet.

[kuri]

Solid work Craig. 153 is a helluva lot of snatches! I'm gonna try that one next time thru a conditioning workout. Thanks for the link too.

[Buk]

I was born here locally, but I haven't completely traced my roots. There has always been som