Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - entropy

Pages: 1 ... 66 67 [68] 69 70 ... 104
1006
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: January 02, 2013, 01:00:47 am »
Training
FS 3x103

OHP 5x58, 4x58 (repeat next time), 5x52.5

FS 4Fx103, 4x98.5

FS notes (I):
the triple was a RM. I should know better not to front squat fasted but erred once again. The other thing was - the dips from monday destroyed my middle back so much so that I was struggling to stay upright. This is wild - how does an upper body exercise hit my back so hard? That's sick. I get that dips are a great compound exercise now - I just need to schedule better so it doesn't affect front squats.

OH and this explains why monday's 2nd front squat set looked so good - it's because I did dips on friday so maybe that helped strengthen my back so much so that it helped avoid upper back rounding? Promising signs. Dips might just be that magic exercise I needed the most in training. Now just need to juggle everything else to make them fit in nicely.

Will try FS later tonight once again when not fasted.

FS notes (II):
I think the 2nd session was easier but still I failed the 4th rep. So dunno, it wasn't a huge difference either. My back is toast So much so that i'm skipping weighted chins, backsquats and bss because I don't wanna get injured trying to train thru this.

At some point I want to switch focus away from front squats. Yes I love them but there can be such a thing as too much of a good thing. Would like to get to 5x105 and 1x120 before putting FS on maintenance.

1007
Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion / Re: 2 problems with vertical jump
« on: January 01, 2013, 10:39:09 pm »
RVJ == SVJ has a very simple explanation, to wit da physiks says

Quote
The mass of a body determines the momentum p of the body at given velocity v ; it is a proportionality factor in the formula:

p=mv

The factor m is referred to as inertial mass.

But mass, as related to 'inertia' of a body, can be defined also by the formula:

F=ma

Here, F is force, m is mass, and a is acceleration.

By this formula, the greater its mass, the less a body accelerates under given force. Masses  defined by formula (1) and (2) are equal because formula (2) is a consequence of formula (1) if mass does not depend on time and velocity. Thus, "mass is the quantitative or numerical measure of body’s inertia, that is of its resistance to being accelerated".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia#Mass_and_inertia

So if your svj = rvj, chances are you're not getting any benefit from the rvj since your inertia is so great it doesn't lead to any significant additional acceleration in the rvj case compared to the svj case.  Or put another way, as inertia goes up (compared to your athletic inertial mass), rvj approaches svj. That'd be my best guess. The closer you are to your athletic mass, the more acceleration you can get out of a running jump.

1008
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: January 01, 2013, 09:59:36 pm »
Quote from: Raptor on January 01, 2013, 08:44:57 am
Why the heck it bothers you? :D

Just that I didn't know any better initially. Could have been luckier and found better sources for advice. I know everyone gets burned by poor training & nutrition advice but it set me waaaaaay back. I'm not even out of the hole I dug for myself yet, still have 6-8 weeks of cutting to go.

Quote
It's good you got rid of that. Sure it's kind of annoying not to know why but keep up the good work.

Oh for sure, best thing i've done in a long time. Will do.

Looking forward - I think I will take a page out of Mutombo's log and implement a no sugar-no-sweets regime for this year. I know that sounds a bit too extreme, but cutting out fast food which I did the latter half of 2012 really paid off big, and I think the binges of icecream/chocolate I have once every 2-3 months need to go. I don't have the stuff usually. But then I'll start eating icecream and just have it every night til the freezer is emptied.

Oh shit I forgot to mention something that has been on mind. I'm obviously very light for my height right now. And people keep telling me how sickly thin i have become ("you are anorexic bro .. gross i can see your veins"). And there is a real temptation there to go "fuck it man, i'm gonna gain some weight now, enough cutting". But i'm going to resist that trap. Because suppose I do gain some weight, so I get a bit fatter than I am now. Then what? Eventually i'll have to say ok time to cut, and then i'll hate to lose the new fat I gained in the bulk as well as dealing with the old fat I didn't remove in the first place. It's nothing more than spinning ones wheels. So I will stay the course now, get rid of ALL the bodyfat and THEN bulk. No matter how skeletal I become, i'll keep going. Like Lance said, the trip isn't the same as the stay, it's a temporary inconvenience for the cost of doing things the right way for the long term.

1009
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: January 01, 2013, 06:51:13 am »
Quote from: Raptor on January 01, 2013, 06:44:46 am
Losing fat should have a pretty important effect on those aspects, especially if it altered your posture.

Speaking of posture. I don't have back problems anymore either. Wonder if that chronic sciatica I had for several years was partially due to being a huge fatfuck. This really bothers me.

1010
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: January 01, 2013, 06:42:08 am »
I'd heard the dip is the upper body equivalent of the backsquat. I didn't know then what to make of such a claim having never tried the exercise. But now the day after dips, I find a great deal of residual soreness in my shoulders, triceps, forearms and especially lats. There might just be something to the claim after all. I plan to work up to 12 reps of BW dips before adding weight. May eventually replace the bb bench press since I have so many issues with that exercise.

I spent the afternoon reading through my log. I didn't realise how much being injured earlier in the year affected my training - and even body recomp because I had to put dieting on hold while healing. Being injured sucks, obviously, but i've been lucky for a while now with no injury concerns. Will work to keep it that way. A big part of staying injury free, I must admit, was not playing basketball.

I remember how badly I'd get beaten up from playing basketball - not just injuries which were are obvious, but the beating my joints would take from playing the game. I didn't realise then but it might have been because I was overweight. Even attempting a dunk would hurt my ankle, say, from the impact of landing with a heavy bodyweight. I don't have that problem now - even on concrete, it's kind on on knees and ankles.

So this leads to the question, suppose I finish my cut and lose another 5kg of bodyfat - and then if I were to play basketball, would it be even more easier on my joints? Would it mean much better recovery following games so that I can train normally in the gym afterwards? Perhaps. Worth finding out.

1011
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 31, 2012, 06:15:49 am »
Training
FS 4x102.5 (PR), 5x97.5
BS 5x102.5, 6x97.5, 5x95, 6x90
BP 2x70, 1x75, 77.5x3, 72.5x6, 70x5
Single DBBP 6x20R, 5x22.5R, 3x25R
DIPZ 3x8xBW

FS notes:
I wanted 5x102.5 but my upper back rounded on the 4th and I knew if anything the 5th would be even uglier. Decided to rack it after all. Woulda been nice to get the 5x102.5 PR on teh last workout of the year - but you know what 4x102.5 is still a 4 rep PR so whatevers. Next time will get it fo sho.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7fj6-9alDU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7fj6-9alDU</a>
^was happier with my form on the 2nd set of front squats.

BS notes:
Shithouse backsquats. Only decent set was the last one.

Another day, another gym. The one i went to last time was closed which sucked or so I thought but turns out today's one was even better. Very neat, nice equipment, kickass air/conditioning, not very busy, not many bros. It was one of the best i've been to in this city. I'm so lucky it was open today and being under that icy cold a/c because it was 40° C at home and so ridiculously hot that there was no sense in trying to get thru it here. The squatting setup was almost perfect. The floor was solid (not squishy like the previous gym). The only defect was there was very little clearance between the barbell sleeves and the rack. You have to be super careful not to catch the pins with the bottom of plates.

Workout done under long time fasted conditions because i've got a party later tonight. Workout was much more difficult than it would be otherwise. So that's it, the last workout of the year.
2012 Summary
I did well this year, lost a whole load of body weight, was around 90kg at the start of 2012 and I ended up 75.5kg at my lightest a few days ago.  My best backsquat was 130 without a belt and my best front squat was 117.5kg. I'm due to FS 120kg any day now. Post cutting, I'll do a lot better on lifts in 2013. In the process I went from not being able to dunk, to landing my first dunks and finally in Dec, being able to dunk with ease.

My waist reached a PR milestone of 32.25" this morning - which means i'm not far from being under 32" now. That gives me motivation going into the new year - want bad to stop being a fatfuck and finally be lean and athletic. The main reason I didn't end up 8% bodyfat is because I started out a LOT fatter than I initially thought. I may well have started cutting from upper 20s.


End of year progress pic.

Will finish the job and get down to 8-10% by Mid-Feb.

Thanks for reading. Happy new year everyone. Hope you achieve your goals!. Til next year :) 

1012
Sports Discussion / Re: table tennis
« on: December 30, 2012, 10:25:44 am »
Sick ones.. one of my fav sports to play.

1013
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 29, 2012, 11:03:57 pm »
Waist under 32.5" now. I need to find the motivation to finish this neverending cut. How long will take me to lose the remaining 2.5"? Could I do it by mid Feb? Is that realistic. Am aiming for 9% bodyfat which should be a ~30" waist and perhaps the ridiculously low BW of 72kg/159lb.

So I think I need to man up and just go 100% laser focused strict mode and get this thing over and done with. Come January I will string together 2 instances of 15 days of solid uninterrupted compliance to diet, while adding in conditioning, then i'm sure I can get to 73kg by 1st Feb.

Conditioning newbie gains are still there to be taken advantage of - and they'll burn a fair bit of bodyfat once I do them regularly. I've not done conditioning regularly for ages. Maybe averaging 1-2 a month now. More recently i've been doing fasted TM on rest days which is working well not bothering knees, so that stays too. I've noticed that fasting on training days is a bad idea. But i've been doing it ok on rest days. So will keep doing that too.

I've got access to a gym now so I can train better with a variety of different exercises which weren't available to me before. DBs are gonna feature heavily in upper body training. As will machines for conditioning (think rowing and cycling). I will also explore dips which I have never been equipped to do at home. Various rowing movements like T-bar rows and machines will help with back strength. As far as corrective training goes - I am going to address L-R strength imbalances by employing unilateral training via BSS, single leg legpress and 1arm db work. Also more heavy weighted core work. More focus on lower back using GMs. Heavy DB rows for upper back as well.

Just for fun assistance exercises - calf raises, misc curls, adductor (bands & machine), neck work.

With new exercises you can progress them while cutting because of newbie gains so i will take advantage of those. Especially if they additionally help fix imbalances or bring up weak muscles and attack sticking points on the main lifts.

1014
News, Announcements, & Suggestions / Re: THE FORUM IS DIFFERENT
« on: December 29, 2012, 01:54:29 am »
http://iphonetester.com/

1015
Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion / Re: adidas Adi Power at 200$ vs. Powerlift Trainer at 90$
« on: December 29, 2012, 12:39:50 am »
Raptor are you using a coupon code? Try URLEBC52 for 15% off.

1016
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 29, 2012, 12:09:00 am »
Quote from: LBSS on December 28, 2012, 10:50:16 am
nice to go away and come back to find people have been killing shit. you're right about the BS depth, nice job.

bf% guess is tough without a back shot, but i'd say about 12-13%. abs wouldn't be coming in at 15% unless you carry all your fat on your back.

Thank you. I've had abs for a while now even when I was heavier than now. So I think it's the latter - my body has cleverly stored fat in places I can't easily see. This might also go some way in explaining why even at my heaviest I never looked "that fat" - like when people say they carry "it" well.

Doms in lats and upper back. I only did unweighted chinups (for lats) which should be really easy for me?? Shrug. Unless the dips & 1 hand db presses contributed too. No idea.

update. doms in lower back and abs also.

1017
Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion / Re: adidas Adi Power at 200$ vs. Powerlift Trainer at 90$
« on: December 28, 2012, 11:35:18 am »
Maybe not for you raptor but I just came across this shoe on ebay - BAF Weightlifting Shoes. Reasonably priced at $75 there.

There is a glowing review here. Looks like a great choice for those on a budget.

Quote
’m officially labeling the Wei-Rui Warrior Weightlifting Shoe the VS/Pendlay/Rogue KILLER. Seriously, this shoe is that good and cheaper than any of those other brands. Without doubt the Wei-Rui Warrior represents the BEST VALUE in a weightlifting shoe that currently exists on the market.

1018
Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion / Re: adidas Adi Power at 200$ vs. Powerlift Trainer at 90$
« on: December 28, 2012, 06:27:30 am »
i dunno about boots man.. they probably limit rom at the ankle.

Adi powers is the best choice out of the two options you've given though.

1019
Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion / Re: adidas Adi Power at 200$ vs. Powerlift Trainer at 90$
« on: December 28, 2012, 06:24:38 am »
btw have you tried using leather dress shoes with a hard heel....

1020
Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion / Re: adidas Adi Power at 200$ vs. Powerlift Trainer at 90$
« on: December 28, 2012, 06:13:08 am »
I know you've been asked before, but is that the only shoe you can get from there? There are tonnes of half decent budget oly shoes these days. I would try to find a pair of ristos, pretty cheap and well rated.

Pages: 1 ... 66 67 [68] 69 70 ... 104