TriDude's Quest for Strength, Speed and Fat Loss - Page 2 - JP Fitness Forums

tridude · 10-05-2006, 06:36 PM

Yes, those do hurt. I'm looking forward to NROL Strength when I can only do 1! I will probably regret saying that ...

BamaDave · 10-05-2006, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tridude

Yes, those do hurt. I'm looking forward to NROL Strength when I can only do 1! I will probably regret saying that ...

Yeah, you get to do the low rep stuff, but then there's those high rep sets that follow just to make you feel like you need to puke!

tridude · 10-09-2006, 02:08 PM

Had a pretty good race this Saturday in Pinehurst, NC. I finished in sixth place in my division (Clydesdale), which wasn't too bad. This race was a world qualifier for Clydesdales, so there was some stiff competiton in the house.

Interesting note: The top Clyde finished at 2:32 total time. My time for sixth place was 2:39. Pretty tight race, although I only saw a few guys with big C's on their calves a couple of times.

The day was really cold and dreary, which definitely factored in to make me suffer. I had a great swim (25 minutes) and a pretty good run on a hilly course (49:37, 10K), but the bike was a suffer fest. It was so cold and my back was tight the whole ride, making staying in aero position pretty difficult. Then, the wind seemed to be hitting us in the face the whole way, as it usually does.

On the run, my back was still really tensed up, and I couldn't feel my feet for the first couple of miles, so my time could have been better here, too.

My problem is the bike. I finished the 25 miles in 1:20, which is OK for me, but still weak relative to the field. For example, in overall men in this race, my swim ranked 50 out of 454 (11%), my run was 197 out of 454 (43%), while my bike was 290 out of 454 (64%). My overall finish among all men was 172 of 454 (38%). Obviously, cycling strength needs to improve, and this is what I hope to work on with the NROL Strength workouts which I will start this week. I really think the program's lower body focus is going to pay off early next year when I start pumping up the cycling volume.

Anyway, the race did give me enough points for the season to finish in fifth place in the North Carolina Triathlon Series for Clydesdales. Thus, I get to compete in an invitation-only race in two weeks (another Olympic distance tri), and I get to go to the end-of-season awards banquet and get some sort of award (top 5 in each category wins awards), so I'm pretty stoked about that.

Back to reality today in the weight room. I did my final NROL Break In Workout, giving me four times for the A and four for the B workouts. Time to move on to Strength! Here is how it broke down:

I. Deadlift
Warm up sets
135 (1x10)

Work sets
185 (1x15)
185 (1x15)
Note: Took it a bit easier on the weight to make sure I was able to do the full 15 reps.

Superset w/full rest
Step ups
Warm Up Set
BW (1x10) each leg

Work Sets
30 (2x15)

One Arm Dumbbell Press
Work Sets
30 (2x15)

Superset w. Full Rest
Close grip lat pulldown
Work Sets
137.5 (2x15)

Reverse Crunch
Work Sets
BW (2x20)

GG300 · 10-09-2006, 02:48 PM

Nice race Tri and Congrats on placing for the season. How many races does the season include?

BamaDave · 10-09-2006, 03:37 PM

Congrats on the race and the strong placement... as well as getting to go to the invitational. That's a great payoff for all of your hard training!

Get ready to watch your strength explode during NROL Strength!!

tridude · 10-09-2006, 05:26 PM

Thanks guys.

GG300, you have to do five races to qualify for the awards, invite race, etc. I did seven races triathlons this season, five of which were in the NCTS (two 1/2 Ironmans, two Olympics and one Sprint). I did two races in the NC Endurance Tri Series (one Sprint and one Olympic), which is geared more toward beginners. So, it's been a long season! Good result though. Maybe next year I can crack the top 3.

Mahler · 10-09-2006, 06:26 PM

Have to agree with Dave. You have trained hard and the results are great. I want to see those NROL numbers soar, now. LOL

GG300 · 10-10-2006, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tridude

Thanks guys.

GG300, you have to do five races to qualify for the awards, invite race, etc. I did seven races triathlons this season, five of which were in the NCTS (two 1/2 Ironmans, two Olympics and one Sprint). I did two races in the NC Endurance Tri Series (one Sprint and one Olympic), which is geared more toward beginners. So, it's been a long season! Good result though. Maybe next year I can crack the top 3.

Thats impressive and I am sure with your dedication you will hit 3rd or better next year.

tridude · 10-11-2006, 08:56 AM

Yesterday's workouts:

Tuesday, October 10
Lunch: Swim, 2000 yards, 45 minutes.
PM: Run, 4 miles, 38 minutes.

tridude · 10-12-2006, 02:35 PM

Well, so far so good. I started the NROL Strength I Program today at lunch, and I didn't die -- even after a seven mile run last night.

Now, I have to run four miles tonight, which very well might be the end of me as we know me!

The workout was hard, as I figured it would be, and I was sweating profusely after the last step ups. Good stuff!

Here is the breakdown of Strength I(A):

Thursday, Oct. 12
NROL Strength I(A)

I. Squat
Warm up sets
8 x 135
5 x 135

Work sets
6 x 185
1 x 225
6 x 205
1 x 265
10 x 185
15 x 155

II. Superset w/180 rest
Bulgarian Split Squats
Work sets
15 x 20
15 x 20
15 x 20

Step-Ups
Work sets
15 x 20
15 x 20
15 x 20

III. Straight Sets w/90 rest
Back Extensions
1 x 10 x BW
1 x 10 x BW

Swiss ball crunch
1 x 10 x +5 med ball
1 x 15 x +5 med ball

BamaDave · 10-13-2006, 05:26 AM

The good news is that those supersetted 15-rep Bulg. Split Squats and Step Ups may be the most agonizing thing in NROL Strength, and they are over in Phase I.

I had a feeling you were going to jump right in with heavy loads on a lot of exercises!

tridude · 10-13-2006, 06:52 AM

What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment!

UpNorth · 10-13-2006, 05:32 PM

Did you do the 4 mile run after that crazy workout which followed a 7 mile run the night before? You and BamaDave are pretty damn inspirational with the volume of your workouts! Definately something to aspire to.

tridude · 10-13-2006, 05:40 PM

Well, to be honest, I skipped it as I knew I have to run 15 tomorrow. I figured I would be major sore today after my first NROL Strength workout with squats, split squats and step ups, and sure enough, I'm hurting! Hopefully, it will be gone by tomorrow a.m. I did swim 1500 yards today to hopefully work some of the kinks out.

Thanks for checking in!

tridude · 10-15-2006, 12:51 PM

Saturday, October 14

Ran 15 miles, 2:17. Felt pretty good. I friend of mine ran the first 10 with me, so that wa nice to pass the time. Pretty cool in the morning but warmed up nicely. Felt good the whole way, except for the last two miles when my feet started killing me. I need to look into some insoles. Anybody got any recommendations for good running insoles?

Sunday, October 15
NROL Strength I(B)

I. Superset w/full rest
Barbell bench press
Warm up sets
6 x 135

Work sets
6 x 185
1 x 205
6 x 195
1 x 225
12 x 145

Barbell bent-over rows
Work sets
6 X 50
1 X 90
6 X 80
1 X 135
10 X 110
Note: Pretty unsure of what loads to use here. These felt pretty easy. Need to jack it up a bit next time.

II. Superset w/ full rest
Close-grip lat pulldowns (done as pullups)
Work sets
5 X BW
-35 X 6 X BW

Dumbbell press
8 x 42.5 (85 total)
7 x 45 (90 total)

III. Lower body Russian twists
1 x 10
1 x 7

tridude · 10-17-2006, 06:50 AM

Monday, October 14
Ran 4 miles, 35:37

ODB · 10-17-2006, 07:30 AM

Interesting stuff dude. I'm doing kind of the same thing but with HGM. I'm in the middle of week three. I need to up my riding and running some. Thinking about a half-mary next year plus improving times on my tris and adventure races. I would really like to get into the mountain bike series. Well see what happens.

tridude · 10-17-2006, 07:57 AM

Sounds good ODB. Keep me posted on your progress. Olympic tri this weekend. Hopefully, it won't be too cold at 8 a.m. Saturday!