Drizzt Lifts Things

[Big john]

your workouts seem to be firing on all cylinders now bro, looking strong in the squat dept 8)

[drizzt]

Cheers man, yeah it's been a bit frustrating starting with the light stuff. Hitting the bidness end now though and I love the challenge. Keen to keep growing through Rugby season if possible 8)

[Peachy]

Hmmm..... :think:

I can't find the pics???? :-s

[drizzt]

Hmmm..... :think:

I can't find the pics???? :-s

You mean the tyre pics? Page 4

06/02/10 - Vanity Workout & Tyres

Today was AWESOME Even cityfitness Jville couldn't dampen my mood. Such a hot day, the gym session was good, immediately followed by tyres. Here's how it went:

Begun with some Rotator cuff warmups...

• Shrugs*
  8 x 130kg
  6 x 160kg
  5 x 180kg
  4 x 200kg*
  
• Rear Delts
  10 x 10kg
  10 x 10kg
  10 x 10kg
  
• Skullcrushers (E-Z bar, weight in plates only)
  10 x 30kg
  8 x 40kg
  6 x 50kg
  
• Chins
  5 x +20kg
  4(+1) x +20kg
  3(+1) x +20kg
  3 x +10kg (drop set)
  3 x Bodyweight (drop set)
  
• Smith Machine Hack Squats* (weight in plates only)
  bar warmups
  15 x 20kg
  12 x 40kg
  12 x 40kg
  
• Seated Calf Raises superset with Standing Calf Raises*
  12 x 40kg & 21 x full stack (unsure how much that was, wasn't much)
  12 x 50 & 18 x full stack
  

Comments

• Shrugs were very good, 200kg felt pretty good, only troubles were a) the weights at cityfitness were crap as usual, and b) I'd hesitate to call the final set full ROM - they weren't as bad as I've seen some people do (I call them "twitch" reps :pfft:) but not quite as high as I like to bring my shoulders up. Still, good to get this much in my hands, and only used chalk
  
• Decided to try hacks without the machine this session, good change I thought, may throw these in on Wednesdays when I'm scheduled to do fronts. Do them alongside or something, as I really like the way they hit the quads.
  
• Was gonna go for more sets on the final calves exercise but begun thinking of the tyres I was about to do and called it quits there
  

Then went home, grabbed my rope and headed off to the tyres with one brave mate. The sets went a little something like this:

• Set 1
  20 tyre flips with the lightest big tyre
  20 tyre flips with the medium sized big tyre
  Farmers walk with one of the smaller tyres in each hand - about 50meters
  Sprint the same distance back to the start
  
• Set 2
  20 tyre flips with the lightest big tyre
  20 tyre flips with the medium sized big tyre
  Farmers walk with one of the smaller tyres in each hand
  Sprint the same distance back to the start
  
• Set 3
  20 tyre flips with the lightest big tyre
  20 tyre flips with the medium sized big tyre
  Farmers walk with one of the smaller tyres in each hand
  Tyre drags with one of the smaller tyres 100 meters - i.e down one length and back again
  
• Set 4
  20 tyre flips with the lightest big tyre - jump in and out of the tyre after each flip
  Farmers walk with one of the smaller tyres in each hand, 100 meters
  Tyre drags with one of the smaller tyres 100 meters
  
• Set 5
  6 SHIIT sprints (much smaller than the lead leg highway, but a good way to finish nonetheless)
  

Rests between sets were just waiting for the other to finish.

So was a very tough - and long for me! - session, especially out there in the heat. My mate (who does Muay Thai - fighting next weekend) found it tough too, maybe slightly tougher than I found it but that's probably because it's a bit closer to what I've been doing with Rugby than what he's been doing with his Kickboxing, and he hasn't been weight training as much as I have lately. Good to gauge the difficulty though and we're already thinking of ways we can add more into it.

The drags were tough because the ground was very dry, which meant mucho friction. But not too tough that we couldn't sprint the lengths in one go, so it was actually probably just right.

[drizzt]

And here's a pic of our course, and my mate in action with the farmers walk:

To the left of shot you can see the tyre drag we had set up. To the near right there was the lighter tyre, and down the far right is the heavier one.

At a guesstimate as I mentioned above, we were doing about 50m lengths for everything - worked out to be 20 flips each way.

[drizzt]

08/02/10 - Workout B

Weighed in at 92.5 today :grin:

• Squats*
  Bar/60kg warmups + stretches
  5 x 115kg
  5 x 115kg
  5 x 115kg
  5 x 115kg
  5 x 115kg
  
• OHP*
  3 x 60kg (warmup)
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 70kg
  
• Rack Pulls*
  5 x 100kg
  5 x 120kg
  5 x 140kg
  5 x 160kg
  5 x 160kg
  
• Wide Pullups*
  5 x +10kg
  5 x +10kg
  4(+1) x +15kg
  

Comments

• My golden run on squats continues Today was fantastic, only started feeling it on the last 1-2 reps of the final set, and even then I think it was because I cut my rest periods between sets down to 30secs-1min. All ATG too, nothing even started to creep up to parallel. Loving it.
  
• OHP was good, starting to get pretty heavy though. First few sets I used fairly tight form/technique, not involving the legs or chest, but the final couple of sets I started getting a bit aggressive and just knocking them up however I could. This basically meant I used a bit of leg drive to get 'em up there Again, don't mind doing this so much with the goals I have in mind being Rugby rather than anything to do with lifting.
  
• Rack pulls were good, 160 was pretty tough but no REAL struggle. I think I may have set the pins a bit too low, as they were almost mid shin which pretty much = deadlift, huh? Just that the next pin up was about knee level, so may need to stand on some mats to even it out next time.
  
• Pullups were due for +5, +5, +10 again, but wanted to push further so went +10, +10, +15. Final set I failed on the 4th rep, rested for 10 seconds, then knocked out the final one.
  

Felt pretty good before the workout, feeling a bit tired now but ah well. Straight off to boxing after work, won't have time to meet the famous Gym Rat in town unfortunately but thems the breaks!

[Big john]

Rack pulls were good, 160 was pretty tough but no REAL struggle. I think I may have set the pins a bit too low, as they were almost mid shin which pretty much = deadlift, huh? Just that the next pin up was about knee level, so may need to stand on some mats to even it out next time.

aye had the same prob, puting the guides to low. if anything bring em down just an inch below the knee cap. see how that feels :wink: or as u said slap on some mats for added height

again squats :clap: :clap: kutgw

[drizzt]

Cheers man, yeah one level is pretty much mid knee, and the one below it (which I used) is about mid shin which is a bit too low. I was aiming for an inch under knee, will have to set it at knee height next time and add a mat or two to stand on :nod:

[teamfatboy]

Nice work with the squats :clap:

I'm also envious of your OHP, I have to work on that some more... :nod:

[drizzt]

Nice work with the squats :clap:

I'm also envious of your OHP, I have to work on that some more... :nod:

Thanks mate, I'm happy with how the OHP is coming along too. What I'm mainly happy with is I'm not cheating a huge amount with them (which I'm not too fussed with, but I'll keep it clean where I can), and even then it's only in the latter sets. I thought I'd struggle with this weight considering how tough I found the 60s a couple weeks back - maybe the creatine/stack I'm taking is doing it's work? :think: Hope so!

Also have had comments about how wide my shoulders are looking which is pleasing - especially as I think an area of weakness for me before mid-last year was a bit of a slouch. I've managed to bring it back to pretty much normal which has given a bit of a "bigger" look to my frame. I think OHP has a lot to do with this, as well as the load up on shrugs :nod:

Another advantage with the OHP is it's very similar to a lineout lift - because I'm too short to be used as a jumper, I mainly lift in the lineouts (although have jumped before, it's only on certain moves e.g short lineouts) so anything that can help with my lifting is good. 70kg is a good weight to OHP for reps too because a lot of the weight is pushed up by the front person, which means I'll be finding lifting our skinny locks easy as

[steak]

looking stronger bro :clap: 8)

[drizzt]

Cheers Steak

08/02/10 - Cardio/Month in Review

Boxing went well, usual fare with extra sprints etc. I was actually finding it quite a bit easier than usual, so cut a few of my rest periods short by swapping with my partner a couple of times to put some extra work in. May join the extreme fitness class for more of a challenge.

I'm feeling like my cardiovascular fitness is really coming along incredibly well. In fact, it's probably at one of the highest points I've ever had it. Along with the level reached in the fitness test at Rugby on Thursday, the Boxing was easier, and even the strongman/tyres session (in the heat, after a gym session) I found easier than I thought - and a little easier than my mate who, being a fighter, is pretty damned fit.

Recovery after I've done something is another thing that stands out to me, I'll be gasping for air after a set on the heavy bag or a circuit at Rugby, but give me 20-30 seconds and I'm recovered, calm, and good to go again. I put this down to the boxing and the stop/start nature of our sessions :nod:

So I've been doing this log for about a month, and everything has come along superbly. I've (tentatively) gained a couple kilo, cardio is up, speed is up, and weights are heading up. I've also managed to maintain some semblance of the physique I had from the cut, just a little extra size and not quite as defined (I'd probably call it "athletic" at this point ) Injuries have disappeared too (touch wood).

So here's hoping the upward trend in everything continues :nod:

[drizzt]

09/02/10 - Rugby

Was fairly tough today, intensity ramped up again. Even did some clean & presses with 30kg bags, which wasn't too tough but cool to get some weight lifting kinda movement in.

Also discovered that a new South African guy that has been coming to our trainings is a former Strongman competitor! Told him about the setup I've been putting together, and hopefully I can get him to come along and show us a few things. He apparently was weighing in at 175kg when he was competing :shock: :shock: And he's about 6'6 (optimistically) - I'm 6'0 and the top of my head comes up to about his armpit. Very cool to have not only a man of his size on our side, but someone with Strongman training to get ideas from is awesome! He was also telling me the tyres he used to flip were 450kg, so I'm not sure the ones we have will cut it for him :pfft:

[drizzt]

10/02/10 - Workout A

Weighed in at 93.4 today, woohoo! \:D/ Best thing about it is I've kept my abs, gotten fitter, and I believe I'm getting stronger and adding mainly lean mass. I'm not delusional though, I know there has been a bit of fat gain out of the weight that I've put on since the beginning of the year. However, I do think that I've managed to do it cleanly with a pretty well controlled diet (as I intended) and have achieved the weight and size gain whilst minimizing fat gain. Very happy with current progress, and right on track to be a lean 95kg-ish by the time Rugby season kicks off :grin:

• Bench
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 95kg
  2 x 105kg
  5 x 110kg
  3 x 115kg
  
• Front Squats
  Bar/60kg warmups and stretching
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 90kg
  
• Power Cleans
  5 x 60kg
  5 x 60kg
  5 x 65kg
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 70kg
  
• Dips
  5 x +20kg
  5 x +30kg
  5 x +45kg
  

Comments

• Bench was great, cut back on the leadup sets so I could nail that 110, and it went up pretty easily. All reps touching chest. It did pretty much empty the tank for the final set and I knew I couldn't get another 5 x 110, so I decided to see what I could get on 115. Two of the reps were clean touches, the 3rd was dubious (close but didn't touch). All in all happy with it, and happy to get the 110 that I failed on last week
  
• Front Squats felt great, grip is still improving, the wrist stretches I'm doing are helping a lot here. Thought about pushing the final set up to 100, but I'm glad I didn't as 90 was fairly tough - not so much on the legs, but more creeping forward a bit in the grip and putting pressure on my forearms/wrists.
  
• Clean and press after Front Squats were hard due to being in the clean hold for so long. Used Hook grip which I've been trialling lately and I'm liking it. Thumbs are progressively getting used to it. Target was 3 x 70 on the final set, but felt great and managed to get 5 x 70 on the final 2 sets. In hindsight I probably should've stuck to the plan because I have a heavy pulling exercise (deads) in a couple of days... but ah well.
  
• Dips, great again! +45 went up for 5 very easily, I'm really confident I could get +60 up for at least a few clean reps. May try next time... we'll see how the exercises prior to it goes.
  

Was keen for boxing tonight for cardio, but looks like my two potential partners have piked out again Dammit! So may do some tyres instead What's that saying? "With every dark cloud there's a silver lining" haha - in other words, no boxing, but tyres are probably better anyway!

[Big john]

Dip-dip-dip-a-ruuu! :grin: fark....nice 1 on the 45s dif could see you doing 60 for clean reps without a doubt

as for front squats there comming along nicely...what sort of wrist stretches u do atm? kinda why i ditched fronts for now poor clean grip

[drizzt]

Thanks man. I basically grab my fingers and just bend my hand so the back of my hand is going towards my forearm (feel the stretch in wrist/forearm) and hold that for about 10-15 secs then repeat on the other hand. Then push on the back of my hand so the palm of my hand is heading toward the underside of my wrist... if that all makes sense It basically loosens up the wrist all around and I find it makes the clean grip easier, can't remember where I read the techniques, may have been on stronglifts I think.

I've also found it helps if I just use two fingers on the bar for the grip (saw that tip on youtube), and sit back on my heels more than I would for a normal squat so the weight doesn't come forward. Haven't perfected that part yet but getting there.

[drizzt]

Tyres

Second tyres session, took my brother down for a blast, he found it hard. We were both tired (we both had gym sessions today, I was falling asleep on the train about 20mins before starting this session, and my brother starts work at 3.30am :roll: ) so that definitely affected our intensity. Still, was good to have a bit of a bash, and I tried to up the intensity where I could - got a good sweat up in the end.

• Set 1
  20 x flips with smallest "big" tyre
  20 x flips with medium "big" tyre
  Farmers walk with smaller tyre in each hand, up the course and back
  Tyre drag with smaller tyre, up the course and back
  
• Set 2
  20 x flips with smallest "big" tyre
  20 x flips with medium "big" tyre
  Farmers walk with smaller tyre in each hand, up the course and back
  Tyre drag with smaller tyre, up the course and back
  
• Set 3
  20 x flips with smallest "big" tyre
  20 x flips with medium "big" tyre
  Farmers walk with smaller tyre in each hand, up the course and back
  Tyre drag with smaller tyre, up the course and back
  
• Set 4
  20 x flips with smallest "big" tyre, jumping in and out (feet together) after each flip
  "Hug" a tyre that was used for the farmers walk, run it the length of the course
  Run back, grab the other farmers walk tyre, run it the length of the course
  Run back, tyre drag the length of the course and back
  

*"The Course" I mention above is the length it takes us to do 20 tyre flips, and I guesstimate that to be about 50meters. So up the course and back is around 100m.

My brother didn't complete the last set, he was feeling it a lot in his forearms! For the medium sized tyre, I'm gonna have to nail a board to the bottom of it as it's sometimes really difficult to get your fingers under to flip it - some of the flips are quite literally on the tips of your fingers which makes it incredibly hard.

Good session though, and probably just as tough if not tougher than boxing is/would've been.

[drizzt]

11/02/10 - Rugby

Final "circuit" training of pre-season, so we finished today with a fitness test to see how much we improved from the first week (four weeks on). I did ok, got level 15 on the shuttles/beep test again and probably could've (and would've) gone further if we didn't have to immediately do pushups and prone hold following it. I learnt last time that if you're stuffed from the run, it makes the final two tests incredibly hard. So I was happy to get 15 with fuel left in the tank. Two others got this with me.

Push ups were disappointing, but I guess putting it into perspective there was less than a minute's rest between the shuttles and push ups - which sucked because the people that scored low on shuttles got a longer rest - so I'm not being too hard on myself here. I got 65 (60 last time) which was in the top 3 guys - had a bit of DOMS from Tyre flips yesterday, especially in the forearms but that's no excuse.

Prone hold was pretty disappointing too. I got 2mins 40secs, which was roughly a 30second increase over my first time and was still top 5 (out of about 40 guys), arms were feeling it at this stage and I really couldn't have gone any further - core was fine though which was good, mainly shoulders and tris that were feeling it. My mate got the top time with 7minutes :shock: This was a good 3 and a half minutes more than 2nd place, machine! He also got 15 with me on the shuttles :clap:

And the training finished with the usual circuit. I guess we're on to some contact next week, as our first pre-season game is a couple weeks away! \:D/

Workout B tomorrow with some heavy deads - will be interesting considering how much pulling exercises I've done through the week (Tyres on Sat, Rack Pulls Monday, Power Cleans Wednesday, Tyres Wednesday...). I'll have to manage this carefully methinks :nod:

[drizzt]

12/02/10 - Workout B

Weighed in at 93.5 today I don't think the weight gain coinciding with taking creatine is a coincidence, as nothing has changed enough in my exercises/eating to warrant a ~3kilo increase in bodyweight over the past week! If anything, I've been doing more intense exercise than usual, and probably eating at just below maintenance (not consciously, but in hindsight). Not that being heavier is a bad thing - as it is one of my goals - however, I'm a bit worried that if it is brought on by water retention it'll disappear once I've stopped the creatine :think: I guess time will tell!

• Deads
  5 x 100kg
  5 x 120kg
  5 x 140kg
  3 x 155kg
  5 x 165kg
  
• OHP
  5 x 60kg
  5 x 65kg
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 75kg PB
  
• Squats
  Bar/60kg warmups + stretching
  5 x 95kg
  5 x 105kg
  5 x 115kg
  3 x 120kg
  5 x 125kg
  3 x 130kg
  
• Wide Pullups
  5 x +15kg
  4(+1) x +20kg PB
  

Comments

• Deads were good, probably could've managed the leadup better again though. I'm still learning the best way to prepare for that end set. I think I'm down to 3 rep sets as of next week, and I reckon I'll be better at planning for those (more in line with what I was doing late last year). Happy with 165, and it went up without too much trouble. Still no sign of the back niggle (touch wood) and the volume of pulling exercises I've done this week didn't seem to negatively affect me today, although maybe I was fatigued a bit more than I usually would be. Was covered in sweat by the end of this exercise!
  
• OHP was good, ballsed up on the first set of 70 and chucked 20 + 2.5 plates on one end, and 20 + 5 on the other :doh: (so really it was 67.5) but spotted it quickly and swapped it out. 75 wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but again, I was using a bit of leg drive to get it up. In saying that though, the 70s were pretty clean and I used pretty good form for them. I've said 75 is a PB purely because I can't remember doing any more than that (Standing OHP has never really featured in my workouts) - I think I've hit more on seated SM press (most I can think of is 90 in plates), but it's hard to compare weights between the two as they are really different exercises.
  
• I was dead by the time I was setting up for squats! A lot of exertion in the first two exercises left me quite tired and drenched in sweat :oops: Still, trucked on and had a pretty damned good session, squats are going incredibly well at the moment. Intended to just do the 5 sets and stop at 125, but after the final set went up really easily I decided to try my hand at 130. This also went up quite easily (and could've struggled to 5 I reckon) but my lunch hour was beginning to look over ( :pfft:) so I was in a bit of a rush. Squats have improved a heck of a lot from last year :nod: As the weight got heavier last year, my form got worse, however I seem to be hitting ATG quite consistently as I'm going up with no sign of the depth creeping up, so I'm really happy with it :grin:
  
• Wide pullups were due for 3 sets finishing on 4-5 x +20, but I didn't have time to muck about so went straight for the 15s, knocked 5 out quite easily, then attacked the 20 - which is a PB (I've never tried 20 before). Got 4, rested for 10secs, then got the 5th. Flagged the final set because I had to get back to work :x
  

Great session! I've been really tired all week which is my fault - have been getting to bed a bit later than I should be, so have been getting around 6hours sleep each night. So I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend 8) May still slip in for a vanity session tomorrow, and some tyres on Sunday, but will make sure I get a good sleep in both days

May also load some pics up on my progress, but undecided on that. Feel I'm looking bigger without having lost too much definition, but then again my physique is secondary to my athletic performance, so how I look isn't important as long as I perform well In other words, we'll see how the pics turn out if I take some :pfft:

[teamfatboy]

Nice work there... :clap: :clap:

Seems today was squats-n-deads day at Bodyworks, it turned out that Chilli and I ended up doing squats side by side, there was a couple of other guys alternating deads off the power rack, with SM bench, big deads finishing at 170 or better.

But wasn't it hot-n-sticky up there... :shock: just as well the rain's come.

[drizzt]

Cheers TFB. Yep have been seeing a few deadlifters lately, some decent squatting too - actually hate to say it, but I think the Jville gym has overall better technique :shock: Have seen a few random guys going ATG, and even the trainers showing people to go low with good technique :nod:

Been a bit busy/crook lately, won't bother posting up the vanity workout - just included some arms, calves, rear-delts and rows. Start to the week:

Workout A

• Bench
  5 x 60kg
  3 x 80kg
  3 x 100kg
  3 x 115kg
  3 x 120kg
  3 x 120kg
  
• Squats
  3 x 100kg
  3 x 110kg
  3 x 120kg
  3 x 125kg
  3 x 125kg
  
• Hang Cleans
  3 x 50kg
  3 x 60kg
  3 x 70kg
  3 x 70kg
  3 x 70kg
  
• Dips
  3 x 40kg
  3 x 50kg
  4 x 50kg
  

Comments

• Bench was good, was meant to do 3 sets of 3 x 115, but 115 went up like peanuts so decided to throw it up to 120 for the last two sets. Had a spotter so I felt really confident, touching on all reps with no assistance
  
• Felt a little lazy with squats, but in saying that, they still went up pretty easy.
  
• Hang cleans were tough at 70, sort of makes me think that I pick up a lot of momentum from the floor on power cleans, but they were ok for the most part.
  
• Dips were great again, and at the Jville gym you can get your body more horizontal with their dip station, so got to engage the chest more. 50 went up with ease, probably could've got 5 up on that last set but got a bit of a shoulder twinge on the 4th rep so pulled out.

And did tyres again, even flipped the behemoth Sorted the technique out better which made it really easy... well, not really easy, but much easier than the first time I tried to move it. Managed to get 3 sets where I flipped it 20 times in each set, so I've come a long way since the first tyres session. Everything else was pretty standard, can't be bothered typing it out though

[teamfatboy]

Cheers TFB. Yep have been seeing a few deadlifters lately, some decent squatting too - actually hate to say it, but I think the Jville gym has overall better technique :shock: Have seen a few random guys going ATG, and even the trainers showing people to go low with good technique :nod:

Comments

Bench was good, was meant to do 3 sets of 3 x 115, but 115 went up like peanuts so decided to throw it up to 120 for the last two sets. Had a spotter so I felt really confident, touching on all reps with no assistance

Nice work today - it's good to have a day where the weight flys up, eh :clap: As for flipping the behemoth, sounds like you might be going back to Beaurepaires soon :nod:

It's an interesting point about J'ville, but you're right, I've seen PT's at Thorndon let clients get away with 45-degree squats. Now, maybe they're on their free referred sessions (Bodyworks used to throw in the first couple of sessions for free), so the PTs don't want to hurt the newbies before they commit to fee-paying sessions, but... Conversely, I've had some of the PTs and Helpdesk folks like Philly and Supry give me a hand with checking form - guess it's a bit patchy.

[rimma]

Time to get bigger tires mate- didn't take long huh 8)

[drizzt]

Nice work today - it's good to have a day where the weight flys up, eh :clap: As for flipping the behemoth, sounds like you might be going back to Beaurepaires soon :nod:

Yeah, may look at having another trip out sometime in the near future. Don't want to push the storage space I've been given though, so might hold off for a bit :shifty:

Conversely, I've had some of the PTs and Helpdesk folks like Philly and Supry give me a hand with checking form - guess it's a bit patchy.

Yeah, I've been meaning to get someone like Philly over to check my form on squats, but haven't had an opportunity to grab anyone yet. Front squats today too so will have to try catch him on Friday. I think I'm tracking along pretty damn well for now (I'm thinking this because of the injury clearing up and weights steadily climbing), but it'd be great to get a view other than my own :nod:

[drizzt]

Time to get bigger tires mate- didn't take long huh 8)

Heh, yeah, I think it was maybe more of a mental hurdle than anything. The bugger is so damned intimidating! :? But cleaning up the technique certainly helped - however it did bring a couple of grazes to the front delts from leaning into the tyre, battle scars worn proudly 8)