Training Log 7/1/13

7/1/13; 9000-1200hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Oh no here we go again. Still felt fluish in the morning. But I was going to squat and the only thing that would stop me was me passing out in the rack. Life happens.

During: Felt great. Must have been one of my best training sessions by far.

After: Looking forward to 531 OHP tomorrow and finishing smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up as usual before moving onto warm up squat sets. No shoulder pain or forearm pain. Managed to get flexible enough for the bar to get in place pretty quick.  

Work sets: Took a much longer rest for the first 3 sets, 15 minutes thereabouts. My goal was to finish the training session safely and properly, and I’m proud to say that my goal was accomplished. The weight felt surprisingly light and the bar was sitting right in place. Hit depth, was explosive out of the hole. Focused on staying tight throughout. This has been my easiest 4 sets of 9 reps. The best part was no forearm pain and the flu somehow went away.

Assistance: 4 sets of 10 reps for the hanging leg raise using bodyweight. 4 sets of 20 reps for the 45 degree side bends and back extensions on the back extension machine using bodyweight only. Got a really good pump in my lower back and hams. Didn’t brisk walk today. Will make it up tomorrow especially if I’m feeling sore.  

Miscellaneous

The attitude you carry is important. Starting this morning when I woke up, I just knew I had to train no matter what. Going into the gym, I got myself focused, started warming up and things just went great from there. It’s amazing what having the right attitude does. Looking ahead, this is the last training week and I want to make the most out of it. To train the hardest, to grind and strain each and every day.  

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs and 2 slices of white bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, Indian buffet. Lots of chicken, curry, briyani rice, naan and papaya. Fantastic bloat going on.

Dinner: Some rice, stewed pig trotters and intestines. Didn’t feel too hungry. 1 big and 1 small orange. Don’t see the significance of listing that but there it is.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 5/1/13

5/1/13; 1030-1230hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Great. Smolov again.

During: F this shit. Seriously. The intensity was high. Doable but I had to dig really, really deep. Gonna need to up my game to get through next week.

After: Relieved. I never felt so happy after a training session before. Then again I don’t think I’ve been this depressed during training before. Smolov took me to places I’ve never been to and I don’t think I had ever wanted to. And it’s still not over. F this shit.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. After squatting the day before I had a bit more experience approaching my warm up squat sets. I knew what to expect – the stiffness, soreness in the upper body, so I tackled them before they surfaced. Did more stretching with the broom stick to get the bar into position and I didn’t get too worried when the first few warm up squat sets didn’t go too smooth. It helps me to keep my mental game on track else I would go nuts before the work sets.

Work sets: First 2 sets were done unbelted and felt great. Tight, good form, and explosiveness out of the hole. But after the 2^nd set, the flu came in. And the forearm pain showed up too. The timing couldn’t have been better. Mentally I was done. Yes, throwing in the towel and calling it a day did cross my mind but somehow smolov was and still is so alluring that I couldn’t quit. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t and wouldn’t quit. And so it went on. 8 more sets with the belt on. I wore the belt more to get my head back in the game. The ritual of belting, getting into the zone, focusing. It all helped.

Assistance: Nothing done. I was totally smoked and just wanted to do nothing; which was precisely what I did.

Miscellaneous

Training partners are important. You may not like them, you may not talk to them outside of training but they are important during training. This point was driven into me on Friday and again today. If not for my training partners I might have just walked away, called it a day and quitted on smolov.

They will call you out, push you over the edge, talk shit with you, make you rage, spot you, belt you up, load the plates and you will do the same for them.

This is one of the wonderful things about training. You meet all sorts of people from all walks of life, everyone with a story to tell, some happy, some sad, some out of this world. But everyone is brought together with a common passion for training. And you just know who they are. Many people go to the gym but not all of them train.

Training partners come and go, and sadly I’ve had quite a number with whom I no longer train with already. Some became friends, some started as friends and the rest, well, remained as training partners. Bottom line is you need them and when you find them, treasure them. Treat them with respect; offer them the same level of help and dedication that they offer to you if not more. No man is an island.

Another thing to touch on is sickness. Today the dreaded flu bug came. Goodness knows from where but I’m hit. I used to think that flu meant that I had reached the state of overtraining such that my immune system was weakened and recovery compromised hence the flu. I also hypothesized that this occurs concurrently with a lack of calories. I still don’t know if these theories are valid but given my current training program and diet, it does seem plausible. So to counteract this flu, recovery has been made a priority since I squat on Monday, like it or not. Getting more rest and more calories is underway for the weekend.

Diet

Breakfast/preworkout: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices wholemeal bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Lunch/postworkout: 1 scoop protein, 1L Magnolia chocolate fresh milk, some glutinous rice. Drinking so much milk lends itself to much flatulence. Best not to be consumed 6 hours before training.  

Teabreak: Was super hungry after waking up from my nap. Didn't feel like eating eggs or protein or anything that’ll remind me of training so I had glutinous rice, fried rice and guava.

Dinner: Indian food. The works. Can’t see the point in listing it here but here goes. 1 cup teh tarik, mee goreng, kambeng soup, roti prata, mutton murthabuk, some mutton briyani. Yup that’s about all. Had a great bloat going on after that.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder. Makes for great dreams but I keep waking up to piss.

Training Log 4/1/13

4/1/13; 1230-1430hrs; SRC gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to squatting. Did think about the weight quite a bit and was feeling apprehensive.

During: Damn this shit is crazy. Forearms were hurting. Shoulders were hurting. The weight wasn’t helping. Dug deep and finished it. Again more mental than anything else.

After: Tired. Relieved. Tomorrow’s gonna be a blast!

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. Right delt still hurting. Left delt seems ok now. Warm up squat sets were where things got murky. Couldn’t get the bar placement right initially. Also I wasn’t flexible enough to set my hands on the inside of the smooth rings while getting the bar to where it was supposed to be on my back. So the warm up squat sets were shitty and I got worried. Really had to pull myself together and focus. Finally hit my last warm up set smoothly and was good to go for the work sets. Warm up sets went like this:

1 x 10, 5 @ bar (Way too stiff, set up was shit.)

1 x 5 @ 60kg (Still too stiff plus now right delt started hurting.)

1 x 5 @ 80kg (Bad. Set hands out wide to at least get the bar in place.)

1 x 3 @ 100kg (Worse. Tried to bring hands in and bar went out of place.)

1 x 2 @ 110kg (Worst. Did some mash up of the above 2 and ended up muscling up the weight twice.)

1 x 3 @ 120kg (Finally got it right.)

Work sets: Depth was ok, speed was ok, form was ok. Lower back tightness needs to be emphasized. Don’t get complacent about it. Arch lower back, draw big air into belly and force it out. Around the 3^rd set forearms started hurting. Goodness knows why. Was it because of benching yesterday or that I’m tensing up my forearms too much?

Assistance: Nothing done. Was totally smoked by the time the last set was done.

Miscellaneous

Smolov is one badass routine. It will break you if you’re weak, ill disciplined or unprepared. I’m getting better at all 3 aspects as a result of smolov.

Diet

Breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine and 4 eggs.

Teabreak/preworkout: Can 1 kaya toast set. 2 eggs, 1 slice kaya toast and 1 cup yuan yang kosong.

Lunch/postworkout: 1 scoop protein and 1L Greenfields chocolate fresh milk.

Dinner: Glutinous rice, short beans, egg plant, pork and 1 orange.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 3/1/13

3/1/13; 1030-1300hrs; SRC gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to 531 bench.

During: Maybe benching was a bad idea.

After: Looking forward to smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. Right delt still hurt. Warm up bench sets went ok.

Work sets: After last warm up bench set, forearms started hurting. Terminated bench training after 1^st work set. I think the forearm pain is a direct result of benching. Grip used for benching needs to have bar set on the fleshiest part of the palm. Cannot just grip and squeeze the bar as tight as possible. This may have led to improper weight distribution on the wrists and hence the forearm pain.

Assistance: Did some OHP and straight arm lat pulldowns. Basically took things very easy. The aim of this program is squats and not upper body strength after all.

Miscellaneous

Need to fix the forearm pain.

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices wholemeal bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein and lots of mixed vegetable rice.

Tea break: 1 roti boy and 1 small jcocinno.

Dinner: Lots of salmon, some curry meats, some rice, some deserts and some fruits.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 2/1/13

2/1/13; 1030-1300hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to smashing weight.

During: A little apprehensive approaching the work sets. But again it was all mental. Form today was shit to say the least. Had tonnes of issues with bar placement and that led to poor technique but I muscled the weight up mostly. Fought to stay in control even with the bar all over the place. Tried to correct the technique and sit back further, spread the knees, etc. Ok, form didn’t really go to shit but it could have been better for sure.

After: Felt great. Had a sense of accomplishment that I finished the session as well as relief that it was over. Looking forward to 531 bench and more smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up but today something went wrong. During the db external rotations I somehow strained my right delt. Plain stupid really. It was only 2.5kg. But it affected my squat form nonetheless. Lesson learnt here. Treat warm up with respect. The minute I begin my warm up it’s time to get serious. Stupid things like this are simply not worth it.

Work sets: As addressed earlier, form was bad. But somehow I still managed to handle the weights. I’m really quite amazed with myself. Previously I think I would have dumped the set long ago but today or actually since beginning smolov, the fear of the bar seems to have disappeared. Now it’s just plain determination. If I unracked the weight, I’m definitely going to finish the set before racking it. No excuses, nothing. If the bar placement was wrong, the descent was wrong, screw it. Just correct it as much as possible on the way up. This was how things went today. Not the best way to squat but there were important lessons learnt.

Assistance: Did the usual core routine which I’m finding to be effective now that it’s being performed with due diligence. 4 sets 10 reps of hanging leg raises using bodyweight followed by 3 sets 20 reps of 45 degree side bends and back extensions using bodyweight. Brisk walk wasn’t done today due to poor discipline. I’ll have to get it done tomorrow if I’m feeling sore in the morning.

Miscellaneous

Pay attention to details. The little things matter. Don’t let something as minor and as trivial as warm up screw your training session up. Focus, focus, focus. At the same time, even if things are going south, ask yourself how you’re feeling. You’re f-ing awesome man so get out there and fix things.

Diet

Didn’t really have much time to eat today but when I could eat I made the most out of it.

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices wholemeal bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, carls jr low carb thick burger, beef chilli cheese criss cut fries and coke light. Felt really swole after that.

Dinner: 4 eggs, 1 chicken thigh, lots of spaghetti with beef bolognaise sauce.

Supper: 2 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 1/1/13

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.

Training Log 31/12/12

31/12/12; 1030-1300hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to smolov. Well rested and ready to dominate.

During: First set was daunting. More mental than physical. Forearms didn’t hurt with new arm placement. But slight change in technique. Made some adaptations along the way. New technique is improving.

After: Happy. Looking forward to 531 OHP and rest of smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did shoulder savers warm up. Tried squat warm up sets with new hand placement. Took awhile to find a comfortable position but no delt or forearm pain after that. Just need to get used to the new groove and grease it.

Work sets: As aforementioned, 4 sets 9 reps were more mental than physical. Sets went well. Technique must be further worked on. Bar speed was ok. Felt very much in control of the bar weight. Confidence was good.

Assistance: 4 sets of 10 reps for hanging leg raises using bodyweight. 3 sets of 20 reps for 45 degree side bends and back extensions using bodyweight. 20 minutes brisk walk.

Miscellaneous

New hand placement for squat has no forearm pain but there is a need to work on the new techniques. With the elbows up, upper body tends to lean forward more. Thus need to sit back further and longer. Lower back needs to work harder to fight the forward lean. Quads and lower back felt sorer today as compared to last week.

Diet

Appetite was good. Need to eat more to get through this week. Again this bears repeating, recovery is the name of the game.

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices white bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, fish soup and 4 eggs.

Tea break 1: Hans dory fish, soup, bread, coffee, papaya, fries, salad. Tastes like crap.

Tea break 2: Gloria Jeans choc macadamia ice blend. Tastes like crap too.

Dinner: Pork belly, 2 eggs, green vegetable, cabbage soup, fake Buddha jumps over the wall, white rice.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.