Drizzt Lifts Things

[drizzt]

13/01/11 - Posterior Chain

94 flat today, meh.

• Box squats (box height = mid-shin) (sets, reps, weights)
  1 x 10 @ 60kg
  1 x 8 @ 80kg
  1 x 5 @ 90kg
  1 x 8 @ 80kg
  1 x 10 @ 60kg
  
• Front Squats
  3 x 10 @ 60kg
  
• Good Mornings (standing)
  4 x 8 @ 60kg
  
• GHR (ghetto'd on the smith machine)
  3 x 6
  
• Deads
  1 x 6 @ 100kg
  2 x 6 @ 140kg
  
• Russian Twists
  1 x 15 @ +3kg
  2 x 15 @ +10kg
  

Comments

• Box squats weren't as tough as I thought they might be. Tried not to rock at all but it kinda crept in on the last rep or two in the middle set. Felt these hitting the hips hard :nod:
  
• Front squats were tough! Been about a year since doing these. Went hams to calves/clean grip/roughly shoulder-width stance. Forearm flex needs to get back up for the clean grip, so only used two fingers on the bar. Probably didn't help that there were some DOMS there from Tuesday's bi session.
  
• For GHRs, Lat Pulldown station was taken, so put about 100kg worth of weight on the ends of the smith machine, stuck a bench under it, locked it in place and voila, GHR station :grin: Also put some tiles out in front of the bench to fall on to and push myself back up off. Concentrated on the "falling" part of the exercise and holding that for as long as possible. Still seems like a pretty weak bodypart for me, need to improve here.
  
• Deads were snappy at the end, thought they might have been tough at the end of the workout which is why I started at 100kg, but weren't too bad so upped it a bit. The template calls for "speed" deads, 6 reps total with 30secs break between each. Might try those next week so as not to overload the back too much.
  
• Russian twists were also a bit easier than I anticipated, started with 3kg because that was the only medicine ball I could find, so upped to a 10kg plate the next set and that got some burn happening. Next session I might give the landmines a go...
  

Good session all in all, will top it off with a walk/jog and some beach this arvo. Had (have) some pretty nice DOMS in the arms and upper back which made things interesting today (forearms were cramping holding the bar for squats, bis cramping when putting weights away), can tell they'll be joined by leg DOMS over the next couple of days

Got an email yesterday about a possible 4-month contract for rugby in the states starting in a couple of months. Bit sooner than I had hoped for, and probably a little shorter period-wise too, but if the perks are good (flights, accom, job) then I might just take it We'll see what comes through... Will need to up the explosive/sprint-type training just in case (and errr, the savings!), but pretty excited about the possibility.

And also looks like I've gotten rid of the Cityfitness membership (touch wood). The deal is to go down next Friday (when the person who is buying it is back in town), so I'll hold off celebrations until then :pfft: So next week could be the last week working out in Thorndon, bitter sweet as it's been my domain for the past couple of years, but will be really good to get a fresh start and move across to the House :nod:

[PeterDolan]

So next week could be the last week working out in Thorndon, bitter sweet as it's been my domain for the past couple of years, but will be really good to get a fresh start and move across to the House :nod:

I liked working out in Thorndon, had good equipment coming from Kapiti but after my day at the 'House I can tell you'll just do so much better there!

[drizzt]

I liked working out in Thorndon, had good equipment coming from Kapiti but after my day at the 'House I can tell you'll just do so much better there!

Have you been there since the renovations PD?

I must admit, for all of my scepticism about what changes they were going to make, they haven't been too bad. Biggest complaint I can think of is they moved what was pretty much the only real power rack into a corner by the stretching area :cry: This has been my main station since I've been at bodyworks, as the only other "power rack" has odd height spacings for me (have to tip-toe, or crouch lower to unrack a squat), and the 4 or so squat racks are the same.

They've also shrunk the stretching area, but I'm hoping that its a temporary thing...

Last complaint is that the DBs are a bit close to the working-out area now, as in you'll be doing incline press 1/2 a metre in front of them so it's hard for others to access.

Good things are that the floor is now more open, and all of the cardio is downstairs/out of the way 8)

Still though, can't say anything bad about the House, just really enjoy working out there, so can't wait for the shift :nod:

[drizzt]

15/01/11 - Shoulders

94.5 today.

• Standing OHP (sets, reps, weights)
  1 x 10 @ 40kg
  1 x 8 @ 50kg
  1 x 5 @ 60kg
  1 x 8 @ 50kg
  1 x 10 @ 40kg
  
• Smith BNP
  4 x 10 @ 10kg/ps
  
• Side DB Raises
  1 x 10 @ 10kg (start from sides)
  2 x 10 @ 12kg (^^)
  1 x 10 @ 12kg (start from front)
  
• Rear DB Raises
  4 x 10 @ 8kg
  
• Landmines
  1 x 10 (per side) @ 20kg
  3 x 10 @ 30kg
  
• Treadmill HIIT
  5 x 18kph @ 30secs/rest @ 30secs
  5 x 19kph @ 30secs/rest @ 30secs
  

Comments

• Not much to say today, pretty light weights but still feeling my way into the program. HIIT was good, tough.
  

Then despite it being an incredibly windy day I hit Oriental with a mate (which was empty besides the two life guards) and braved a bit of surf :grin: Heck of a lot of fun and battling the waves was actually quite tiring, haha, so a little bit of extra cardio I guess. Funnily enough the water was probably warmer than standing outside was.

Also did probably 2hours worth of brisk walking. So good day all in all.

[drizzt]

17/01/2011

94.3 today.

• Incline DB Press (sets, reps, weights)
  1 x 10 @ 30kg
  1 x 8 @ 35kg
  1 x 5 @ 42kg
  1 x 8 @ 35kg
  1 x 10 @ 30kg
  
• Dips
  2 x 10 @ +20kg
  2 x 8 @ +20kg
  
• Decline DB Press
  4 x 10 @ 25kg
  
• Overhead DB Tri Press
  4 x 10 @ 35kg
  
• Rope Puhsdowns
  4 x 15 @ 50kg
  
• DB Side Bends
  3 x 10 @ 30kg (per side)
  

Comments

• Decline bench was out of order to get reupholstered :roll: Which scuttled my plans at doing a 3 week build up on it, so was forced to make the incline DB press the main exercise for this cycle. Top set of 42 felt pretty easy, confident of 50 x 5 at least here. Only thing is that it blasts my tris for the rest of the workout... good or a bad thing depending on which school of thought you look at it from I guess.
  
• Dips were tough after the incline press as the tris were pretty burned, failed to get to the target of 10 for the last two sets. I think these have gone downhill, will push the weight up and drop the reps a little from next week on, I find my dips have responded to that method better in the past, and could be a good way to push the strength up on 'em.
  
• Of the rest of the exercises, side bends were pretty difficult (showing the weakness in my core again, getting better though).
  Decline DB Press was barely decline because the (set) bench didn't have a very big angle on it, still, found it kinda hard due to tris again
  OH Tri press again was kinda difficult due to tris being burnt out early, elbows started to hurt a little on both sides which is a first for me...
  Rope pushdowns were a killer at the end of the workout
  

All in all loving the move back to the tri isolation exercises. I believe I've always had pretty strong tris, probably to the point where they get in the way on chest movements (as was probably evidenced today) as they take over a bit and I don't engage my chest as much as I probably should. However in the past when I've had strong tris, it's always translated to a strong bench for me, I just need to learn when to seperate the two goals I suppose.

[drizzt]

18/01/11 - Upper Back/Bis

93.5 today, shoes, iPod etc and all, even been having pre-workout meals (supplement I'm on - P-slin - demands it) for the past couple of weeks which is roughly 20mins before weigh in.

Can't say for sure what's happening, but my body feels like a furnace at the moment! Not in a bad way, I don't feel nauseous or have headaches or anything like that, but I'm just hot all day. Really reminiscent of the old thermos I used to take (Hot-rox/Hydroxycut before I couldn't get them in).

Body is leaning up a bit too (unintentionally!). This could all have something to do with being back at work, which for me means back into a set routine, food is prepared (=more consistent), and a change in the workouts which is causing the body temp to rise. Anyway, on with it...

• Chins (sets, reps, weights)
  2 x 8 @ +5kg
  1 x 6 @ +5kg
  1 x 4 @ +5kg
  
• Lat Pulldowns
  1 x 10 @ 22.5kg/ps
  1 x 8 @ 27.5kg/ps
  1 x 5 @ 37.5kg/ps
  1 x 8 @ 27.5kg/ps
  1 x 10 @ 22.5kg/ps
  
• DB Rows
  4 x 8 @ 35kg
  
• DB Hammer Curls
  4 x 8 @ 17kg
  
• Face Pulls superset with Standing Cable Crunches
  4 x 10 @ 45kg & 3 x 10 @ 55kg
  
• Standing Pulley Rows
  4 x 8 @ 25kg/ps

Comments

• Chins were pretty much the same as last week. First set I had a few more reps in the tank after doing 8, second set 8 felt about right, third set I struggled on the 5th/6th rep, and the final set 4 reps was a struggle! I don't mind it working out like this, just as long as the top set is all good then anything after I just need to empty the tank :nod:
  
• Pulldowns were ok, the top set is probably too heavy. I can get the weight down easy enough, it's just when it gets heavier my shouulders & bis start to take over the weight, and I can feel my back being left out of it no matter how hard I try to shift the emphasis. That was the case for the last 2-3 reps at 37.5 per side - came down easy, but the wrong muscles were pulling it. Might back off a bit on this next week, or at least keep it the same. Otherwise the leadup sets were fairly easy, the jump between set 2 to 3 is probably too big though.
  
• Of the other exercises, hammer curls were good, paused at the top to squeeze the bis (hey, if I'm gonna do bis, I'm gonna do them right :pfft:)
  
• Supersetted face pulls/SCC to save time, and because they were using the same station/rope it felt silly not to do it that way
  
• DB Rows were good, deloaded the weight on the ground after each rep, loving these right now.
  
• Pulley rows I did standing because the seated station was taken, not as good due to the way I had to stand but got the job done I feel.

First rugby training tonight. Arrrgggh.

[startinfromscratch]

P-slin? aware me :?

[drizzt]

P-slin? aware me :?

USP Labs P-Slin

I basically grabbed it because it was dirt cheap on Wheycheapdeals one time. Thought I'd give it a go, and maybe this is what's causing the heatedness :shrug:

[startinfromscratch]

ah, thought it might be this. a mate of mine who has/had dabbled with the real stuff tried this stuff, really rated it, and it has the added bonus of no-risk-of-a-diabetic-coma

not sure if it was this exact stuff, but was same supp. be interesting to see bro. :nod:

[drizzt]

ah, thought it might be this. a mate of mine who has/had dabbled with the real stuff tried this stuff, really rated it, and it has the added bonus of no-risk-of-a-diabetic-coma

not sure if it was this exact stuff, but was same supp. be interesting to see bro. :nod:

Oh true, I actually had heard nothing of it before I bought it, just trust in the USP supps I've taken so far, and the price was good so thought it was worth a gamble.

I am starting to think the increased body temp has been due to the P-slin. Using the pills effects the diet a little bit, just because I have to take them daily with 60-100g complex carbs which interferes with my low-carb (non-training) days. I think the pills seem to have picked up the slack though, and I have been doing pretty well on my non-training days with eating a decent amount of fat/keeping carbs to a minimum (less than 150g is my target).

Anyway I think I'll be better able to tell how it's gone in a couple of weeks :nod:

[drizzt]

20/01/11 - Posterior Chain

94.2 today.

Body temp is still high (in that good way), diet was a tad off yesterday though - got a half day off for the cricket/beach, only food available there was hot dog + chips. SO had that (chips for the carbs with my p-slin) and 2 beers... and that was pretty much me for the day! Salmon steak for dinner much later with some sludge (meant to be a high fat day) and done. All good though.

Anyway...

• Box Squats (sets, reps, weights)
  1 x 10 @ 65kg
  1 x 8 @ 75kg
  1 x 5 @ 90kg
  1 x 8 @ 75kg
  1 x 10 @ 65kg
  
• Front Squats
  4 x 8 @ 65kg
  
• GM
  4 x 8 @ 70kg
  
• GHR
  4 x 6 @ bw
  
• Speed Deads
  6reps @ 160kg/30secs rest between reps
  
• Russian Twists
  3 x 10 @ +20kg
  

Comments

• Box squats were ok, leadups were tough towards the end of the sets, but the top set was pretty easy - this is probably due to being used to the lower rep range from Sheiko. Tried my best not to sit forward, and instead to stand straight up, which seemed to put a lot of pressure on the front of the hips/quads. All good though, as the hips in particular are something I'm wanting to target. Box was mid-shin, weight was deloaded when on box etc etc.
  
• Front squats got easier as the hips began to warm into it, and the form got more comfortable. Grip is still average as though so still on 2 fingers for the clean.
  
• GHRs are actually getting notcieably better... for the first 2-3 reps of each set, I was able to very slowly lower myself to almost parallel with the ground until I had to drop to the floor, and the last few reps I was just concentrating on softening the landing (using ham strength of course), but the descent was a bit quicker as the hams had fatigued. The Lat pulldown station sucks for these, as my legs are almost too wide to kneel on it length-ways :doh:
  
• Speed deads were sweet, lifted with as much power as I could off the floor, slowly lowered it down and as soon as the weight hit the floor I'd count to 30secs, and then repeat. Speed obviously slowed down in the latter reps but not terribly. All reps were DOH or Hook grip, will up to 180 next week.
  
• For the remaining exes, nothing to report on GMs except there is a lot more in the tank here so might make a fair jump next week for 6 rep sets. As for the russian twists, the 20kg plate I used was a bit awkward to hold which threw my balance off a tad, and was tough to touch the ground on either side with due to its bulk. Got through it in the end, and the core definitely felt it, but will probably use a DB next time on this exercise.

So that was likely my last session at Cityfitness all going well! I'm meeting the person who is buying my membership tomorrow down at the gym to sign things over, confirmed with them today that's it's still going ahead so I'm pretty excited! And if all goes to plan I'll be in the House on Saturday to sign up :nod:

[PeterDolan]

Good to hear about your change of scenery!

You been working on your core strengthening much?

[drizzt]

Good to hear about your change of scenery!

You been working on your core strengthening much?

Yeah it's going to be a bit of an adjustment with the House a little further away (30-40mins walk from work), but most definitely worth it, and really looking forward to it :grin:

Yeah I've been throwing in one weighted ab exercise per session (which is 1 more per session that I was previously doing :pfft:) and I can already feel it engaging more on lifts. Good mornings in particular today I felt the core working which I haven't felt in the past, so things are looking up for it hopefully :nod:

I'm also finding the one per session approach easy to implement as it doesn't add too much time to my workouts, and I'd honestly probably not get in for an "ab only" day anyway, so it's the best way for me to do them at the moment.

[PeterDolan]

I hear you on the 1 exercise thing. I still probably wouldn't train abs off season still anyway but I just can't justify the time at the end of a hour workout

Great to hear that it is really helping though

[drizzt]

I hear you on the 1 exercise thing. I still probably wouldn't train abs off season still anyway but I just can't justify the time at the end of a hour workout

Great to hear that it is really helping though

It is a tad tough to squeeze into a 1-hour workout, eh. I workout at lunchtimes so sometimes run a little overtime :shifty: Now that I'm with the House though I'll be looking to leave earlier without a lunchbreak, and workout after work so I can take my time :nod:

And yeah, despite the first and second buyers falling through for my membership (chicks :roll:), I've got a mate keen that I trust to come through tomorrow. I signed up to the house this arvo anyway, so all going well the association with Cityfitness will end tomorrow afternoon (after a massage :grin:)

[drizzt]

This'll be my last entry in this log, I'll start a new one following the next train to reflect the fresh start with the house :nod:

21/01/11 - Shoulders

94 flat today. Had a day off, and tomorrow is a bit full with various things so decided to bring Saturday's workout forward a day.

• OHP (sets, reps, weights)
  1 x 10 @ 45kg
  1 x 8 @ 55kg
  1 x 5 @ 65kg
  1 x 8 @ 55kg
  1 x 10 @ 45kg
  
• Smith BNP
  1 x 8 @ 15kg/ps
  1 x 8 @ 10kg/ps
  1 x 8 @ 5kg/ps
  
• Side Lateral Raise
  4 x 10 @ 12kg
  
• Rear Delt Raise
  4 x 10 @ 8kg
  
• Landmines
  4 x 10(ps) @ 30kg
  
• Dislocations
  2 x 20 reps
  

Comments

• OHP was ok, again, I found the higher rep ranges a bit tough, but was really comfortable under the 65 for 5 reps. Little bit of cheat in it, but the first 3 sets were pretty strict.
  
• The smith machine at Jville cityfitness is a bit wierd, the bar by itself is a lot heavier than I'm used to with the Thorndon ones, so grossly overestimated myself on the first set, and even the second one - only got to the 8 reps with a decent rest following each rep. I don't want to risk going heavy too early on this exercise, so I backed right off until it felt comfortable - which was about 5kg per side on this one.
  
• Nothing to report on anything else.
  

So yeah, woke up to a fairly predictable text this morning from my buyer saying they couldn't come through this week :roll: Honestly, I've dealt with this person in the past, and it was kinda what I expected, but the excuse did seem legit.. just convenient is all. This is kinda why I was texting this person throughout the week to make sure all was still going ahead, and up until yesterday afternoon it was still a yes... so not sure how half a day changes things that much that you can't meet someone to sign some papers! But anyway, I digress...

Luckily for me I have a mate who seems genuinely keen. He was supposed to meet this afternoon but got stuck at work late, so we're doing the deal tomorrow. I trust him to come through so we'll see how it lands.

More importantly though, official member of the House now, so looking forward to getting stronger and more knowledgeable. Really excited about it, first session there will be on Monday :grin:

[OnlyHuman]

This'll be my last entry in this log, I'll start a new one following the next train to reflect the fresh start with the house :nod:

R.I.P. Drizzt lift things.

[Phedder]

This'll be my last entry in this log, I'll start a new one following the next train to reflect the fresh start with the house :nod:

R.I.P. Drizzt lift things.

I take it the main goal with the next journal is to lift heavier things?

[drizzt]

I take it the main goal with the next journal is to lift heavier things?

Yes and no... I'm likely going to aim for the March 12th Novice CD Powerlifting comp, and give rugby the backseat for a little bit.

In saying that though, with the facilities available at Powerhouse conditioning will probably improve too. May add in days of general conditiong with things like the sled, prowler, boxes and things to play around with :nod:

[Tygrrh]

Good to meet you

Stretch, stretch, stretch!!

[drizzt]

Nice to meetcha too, thanks for the awesome massage legs are feeling great

Recommend flicking Tygrrh a PM if anyone in Wellington is looking for a massage :nod:

[Chillicat]

so all going well the association with Cityfitness will end tomorrow afternoon

Was nice to almost meet you

[Growth]

so all going well the association with Cityfitness will end tomorrow afternoon

Man, i worked out at CFT 5-6 time a week for over a year and never saw you haha :grin:

[drizzt]

Sweet the sign-over went well with the 3rd buyer! So Cityfitness ties are cut

Was nice to almost meet you

:grin: Likewise!

Man, i worked out at CFT 5-6 time a week for over a year and never saw you haha :grin:

Haha well to be fair I have no idea what you look like, and didn't even know you worked out at Thorndon until that Cityfitness thread popped up :pfft:

Ah well, met NZMM and TFB, so at least recognize a couple of members 8)

[Old Bull]

Hope we do not have to wean you off Shiny Land withdrawl symptoms and all

(i)I can put 2 extra mirrors in and take one out a week

(ii)Play Lift music (ZM Breeze) for a half an hour each day reducing 10 minutes each week

(iii) Leave 3 banks of lights on and reduce 1 a week

I was going to say something about the changing rooms but then I remembered we just get changed where we stand mostly by the Squat Rack of course

Welcome "The House" D