Core Work

One of my weakest areas is my core. I know I haven't been posting my core work outs but I have been more diligent and doing them. I usually work my core muscles separately from my powerlifting training. Twice a week I do a variety of core strengthening exercises. Tonight went like this.

High Crunches - 3 sets/20 reps.
Lying Leg Raises - 3 sets/20 reps.
Lying Leg Twists - 3 sets/20 reps.

After this my abs and obliques feel quite tight. Keeping up the core work will do nothing but help my lifts.

Snowdaddy

Heavy Bench

Damn it's hot and sticky today. 28 degC with a 35 humidex. It was so humid in the Sanctum that I had to work out with out my glasses on. They kept fogging up. Great calorie burner.

Bench Press - bar/12 reps, 135lbs/12 reps (WG), 135lbs/12 reps (CG), 225lbs/6 reps, 275lbs/4 reps.
2 Board Press - 275lbs/6 reps, 315lbs/4 reps, 315lbs/4 reps, 335lbs/2 reps, 335lbs/2 reps.
OH Triceps Extensions - 3 sets/12 reps/95lbs.
Alt Dumbbell Hammer Curls - 3 sets/12 reps/50lbs.

At the end of the work out I was soaked. I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life, even when I was over-seas. 315lbs on the two board felt almost light. 335lbs, on the other hand felt quite heavy and I almost missed the last rep. With a bit of struggle it went up. Next week three boards.

Snowdaddy

Speed Squats

The squats are feeling more comfortable. I do however have a small pain in my right inner knee area. I don't think it's anything to worry about at the moment but I'll monitor it.

Speed Squats (1-1.5min rest) - warm ups, 10 sets/2 reps/225lbs. Put on knee wraps 2 sets/2 reps/315lbs.

I did the last two sets, "just because". My knee bit me on the first warm up sets but felt much better when it was warmed up. Next week I'll be increasing the weight to 235lbs.

Snowdaddy

Deadlifts

Deadlifts went very well today. Once again the heat/humidity is insane so I kept training time to a reasonable amount.

Deadlifts - 135lbs/12 reps, 225lbs/6 reps, 315lbs/6 reps, 6 sets/1 rep/405lbs (alt sumo and conv).

They all felt very strong. I noticed that I'm also doing more working sets which will pay off later. Tomorrow is speed squats. Hopefully it's not too warm.

Snowdaddy

Speed Bench

This time I did it right. Plus, I added some barbell curls.

Speed Bench Press - warm ups, 13 sets/3 reps/225lbs.

Barbell Curls - 6 sets/12 reps/80lbs

With the bench press I kept rest to 1-1.5 minutes and the rep cadence at "down 1, 2. up 1." The barbell curls felt great! With 6 sets I got one heck of a pump. Very hot today, humidex is at 38degC. Great weight loss program in the Sanctum.

Snowdaddy

Heavy Squats

I'm still working on speed with heavier weights. I need to trust my gear more and just drop right into it.

Z-Suit = I'm wearing an Inzer Z-Suit, why, for shits and giggles.
Wraps = I'm wearing APT Convict knee wraps.
Belt = I'm wearing my belt, duh.

Squats - bar/6 reps, 135lbs/6 reps, 225lbs/3 reps, 315lbs/2 reps (belt), 315/3 reps (belt/wraps), 365lbs/2 reps (belt/wraps), 405lbs/1 rep (belt/wraps), 405/1 rep (z-suit/belt), 405lbs/1 rep (z-suit/belt), 405lbs/2 reps (z-suit/belt), 405lbs/1 rep (belt/wraps).

Heavy Squats

I'm pleased with the 405lbs/2 reps. I dropped into the suit and rebounded up. With knee wraps and a decent suit I should be way up with this technique. I'll keep at it. I'll also try a different suit next time.

Snowdaddy

Training Video

Here's a video of my latest training sessions.

Training

Snowdaddy

Heavy Bench

I'm still trying out new things in the SANCTUM. Last night I had a great bench work out.

Bench Press - Bar/12 reps, 135lbs/12 reps, 225lbs/6 reps, 275lbs/3 reps.
1 Board Press - 275lbs/4 reps, 295lbs/3 reps, 3 sets/2 reps/315lbs.
Overhead Triceps Extensions - 4 sets/12 reps/85lbs.
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flys - 2 sets/12 reps/50lbs.

This week is 1 board, next week will be 2 boards, the week after that 3 boards then back down to 1 board and complete the cycle again. I now have a parallel grip bar that I really like for hitting triceps. It kinda looks like this -[]-
I took some video that I haven't up loaded yet. Stay tuned for that.

Snowdaddy

Speed Squats (Sorta)

Short on time once again. Only 30 minutes and squats to do.

Squats - Warm Ups, 10 sets/2 reps/225lbs.

I was fooling around with lots of technique issues. It didn't help that I was on parade this morning for 2.5 hrs. My legs felt like bags of sawdust. Now they feel much better. Next work out should be as per normal.

Snowdaddy

2 Work Outs

This is weird for me. I'm sending more time lifting and less time blogging about it.

Monday 20 July 2009

Buffalo Bar Squats - Bar/6 reps, 135lbs/6 reps, 205lbs/6 reps, 275lbs/3 reps, 345lbs/3 reps.

I only had a short time to work out. On the last set I tweeked something in my inner hamstring on my right leg. Nothing to worry about just a good time to stop. The Buffalo bar is really neat. I like the different angle it gives.

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Speed Bench - Warm Ups, 10 sets/3 reps/225lbs.
*super set with*
Dumbbell Curls - 5 sets/12 reps/45lbs.

Another quick one. For both work outs I only had about 30 minutes per day. At least I'm being consistant. That's what counts.

Snowdaddy

Bench at the Sanctum

My first bench work out in the Sanctum went very well. I wanted to use every bar and every plate the first time out. Here's what I did.

Flat Bench Press - bar/12 reps, 135lbs/12 reps, 135lbs/12 reps (CG), 225lbs/10 reps, 3 sets/4 reps/275lbs, 3 sets/6 reps/225lbs.
Over Head Triceps Bar Ext - 4 sets/12 reps/65lbs.

Sit Ups - 3 sets/20, 15, 10 reps.
Trunk Twists - 3 sets/30 reps.

Now it's time to relax and watch the Vicar of Dibly on PBS.

Snowdaddy

THE SANCTUM

After beating all sorts of names to death I (with my wife's help) have come up with the name of my home gym.

THE SANCTUM

def; n., pl. -tums or -ta (-tə).
A sacred or holy place.
A private place where one is free from intrusion.

"This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts".

God is a DJ; Faithless

I'm really pleased with how everything has turned out. I even bought a kick-ass stereo off of kijiji this week. Now its time for some results.

Almost Finished

Today I moved the equipment into the garage and began construction. I managed to build the platform and put up the power rack. It's actually starting to look like something impressive. I've only got the bench and plate tree to make.

My Garage Gym

Tomorrow I start building my garage gym. It's been a while in the making but the day is finally here. I'll post some pictures tomorrow to show the progess.

Snowdaddy

Garage Deadlifts

Deadlifts in the garage tonight were a solo effort this time. My son went to bed and I went out to the garage for some deadlifts.

Light Stretching.
Deadlift Warm Ups - 4 sets/6 reps/135lbs Focus on speed. Also a couple of clean and jerks for fun.
Deadlift Working Sets - 3 sets/1 rep/225lbs, 3 sets/1 rep/275lbs, 3 sets/1 rep/325lbs, 3 sets/1 rep/375lbs.
Bent Over Dumbbell Rows - 3 sets/12 reps/2 x 50lbs.

The focus for all the singles was "Grab and Go". I really want to work on exploding my deadlifts. Speed is the key. All the sets were done sumo style and I only put on my belt for the last set of three singles at 375lbs. Everything feels pretty good.

Snowdaddy

Bench Work

With only 30 minutes I managed a not to bad work out.

Bench Press - bar/12, 135lbs/12 reps, 6 sets/6 reps/205lbs.

Various other exercises in between bench sets.

This week I'm on call at work and have the days/evenings to myself. My plan is to finally set up my garage gym. On Tuesday I'll be picking up my toys. I can hardly wait. I'll post picks and a video when it's complete.

Snowdaddy

Garage Deadlifts

Lifting in the garage with my son. Is that not every father's dream. He is really open to advice and learns quickly. He will make an awesome athlete one day.

Here's a link to the video

Snowdaddy

Speed Squats Again

After some much appreiciated input from my long distance coach I decided to give it one more try. 50-60% of 1RM raw, 10-12 sets, 2 reps, 1 minute rest between sets.

Speed Squats - warm up and stretching, 6 sets/2 reps/225lbs, 2 sets/2 reps/245lbs, 2 sets/2 reps/265lbs.
Knee wraps and belt squats - 285lbs/2 reps, 315lbs/2 reps.

Core Work - Sit Ups 25 reps, lying Leg Raises 20 reps, Trunk Twists 40 reps.

I only had an hour after work today so it was quick. The knee wraps felt great. 315lbs felt almost effortless. I am making sure to start all my sets as if I'm squatting in competition. I got picked up for that in the last competition.

Speed Squats

Another great work out. There are several things I need to work on and squat speed is definitely one of them. Here's how it went.

Squats - bar/6 reps, 135lbs/6 reps.
Lots of stretching
Squats - 2 sets/2 reps/185lbs, 2 sets/2 reps/225lbs, 2 sets/2 reps/275lbs, 2 sets/2 reps/315lbs, knee wraps 2 sets/2 reps/315lbs.

Barbell Curls - 65lbs/10 reps, 85lbs/10 reps, 105lbs/10 reps.
Machine Triceps Extensions - 90lbs/10 reps, 110lbs/10 reps, 130lbs/10 reps, 150lbs/5 reps failure.

I found the speed work difficult to do at 315lbs with out the knee wraps. With the knee wraps I could have gone up to 365lbs for 2 sets of 2 reps. The knee wraps are feeling more comfortable and really help the lift. Next speed squat day I'll bring my video camera so I can see any mistakes. They do feel good though.

Snowdaddy