1/1/13; 1030-1400hrs; Bishan Gym
Mood
Before: Excited. Looking forward to 531 OHP and getting a
good pump in the delts.
During: Work sets felt good. Probably because of the
extended rest times.
After: Happy. Looking forward to smolov tomorrow.
Training
Warm up: Did shoulder savers warm up. This is one amazing
warm up. After tweaking it a little, I think this warm up routine is a keeper.
It starts really easy and eases me into the flow of things which gets me warmed
up and limber at the same time. Plus the focus on target muscle groups also
helps me to focus and settle down on the training at hand.
Work sets: Finally cleared OHP 67.5kg for 5 reps. Technique
today was good. The upper back arch and overall tightness, the bar path felt
smooth today and leaning forward to lock out the press. Everything went
smoothly. As usual, all pressing sets were accompanied with a pulling set.
Today was 12 reps of neutral grip chins for the 531 segment and 15 reps of
overhand chins for the assistance work.
Assistance: Decided to reward my stellar performance with
5x5 at 62.5kg. Figured if doing 5x5 at 60kg last week played a part in today’s
performance then it should be done again. And so it was done in the exact same
fashion by cleaning the bar off the floor before pressing it overhead for 5
reps. All pressing sets today were doing with a full grip. I think the benefits
of taking a full grip beat those from a false grip. The only thing going for a
false grip is a smoother bar path but at heavier weights, I would rather have a
stronger grip on the bar with a full grip because that means more muscle
activation and that’s what’s going to get the bar moving. So it’ll most
probably be a full grip from now onwards.
Accessory: As usual, upper body days always wind up becoming
bodybuilding days. Today was 4 sets of dips superset with straight arm lat pull
downs for around 10 reps each. Followed by 4 sets of 10 reps of L lateral
raises using 10kg db superset with D handle rows on the lat pull down machine.
And finally 2 sets of 10 reps for front lateral raise to overhead extension
using the mini Swiss bar and 20 reps for face pulls. Sounds like a lot but I
think I got everything done within 30 minutes. Rest times were minimal and the
focus was on using the target muscles rather than the moving the weight. That
said the weights used were probably good for the desired rep ranges with maybe
one or two more reps in the tank.
Miscellaneous
Today was also spent coaching the squat for my cousins and
friend and I learnt a number of lessons. Technique and muscular strength are 2
different qualities and both should be considered when coaching someone.
Technique is required to execute the lift correctly and
safely and is also key to adding more weight to the bar. This involves coordinating
the various muscle groups to work in tandem and also to have muscle awareness
(mind muscle connection) to recruit the target muscle group to participate and
execute the lift. Technique needs to be reinforced with verbal cues, physical
demonstrations, theoretical explanations and variations of the lift.
These different styles will be applied to different extents
for different people depending mainly on what they respond better too.
For the squat, verbal cues such as sitting back, knees
apart, chest up.
Physical demonstrations such as executing the lift myself
and having them replicate it.
Theoretical explanations such as using the concept of
leverages and lever arms to explain the need to sit back, bar placement and
stance width. This is also useful to explain how spreading the knees have a
biomechanical advantage by recruiting the hip/groin muscles during the lift.
Variations of the lift such as box squat, goblet squats and
free bodyweight squats.
Muscular strength can or cannot be an issue with new lifters
depending on their background. Were they sportsmen previously or currently or
have they been sedentary all their lives? This also ties in with muscle
awareness. Bracing the abdominals, squeezing the glutes, arching the lower back
and upper back. All these require muscle awareness first and foremost before
muscular strength even becomes an issue.
That should be all for now. No injuries or pain experienced
during today’s training. Left delt is still a little sore as usual.
Diet
Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2
slices white bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong kau
before hitting the gym. The order was messed up hence no ti loh.
Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, ¾ small roast chicken
from cold storage.
Teabreak: ¼ small roast chicken.
Dinner: Chicken, pasta, salad and soup.
Supper: 2 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.
