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Messages - entropy

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391
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / chasing athleticism -- 2014
« on: January 01, 2014, 03:11:42 am »
So i've decided this a good time as any to begin the inevitable cut down to an athletic bodyfat level. Perhaps i've already accumulated a good amount of muscle mass underneath all this adipose (and yet i remain pessimistic about this in reality). In the meantime, I expect my squats to continue climbing up towards the magic 180kg absolute mark while relative ratios approach and surpass 2xbw. I'm not going to get greedy while shedding bodyfat, i'll keep training very tightly controlled around the limited recovery.

I'm just aiming to get my bodyweight under 80kg/175lb @ 10-12% bodyfat from today's 96.5kg/212lb @ 25% bodyfat.

Here is the obligatory progress & goal graph



Happy new year all!

392
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: ADARQ's journal
« on: December 31, 2013, 03:38:28 am »
Ha, you're following my trajectory too :) Obsess with C before realising it's an awful way to get stuff done. Look for a more powerful language, fall in love with then out of Haskell, find lisp, love scheme, need something more practical, settle upon CL, love CL so hard. Then move on to Clojure, a pragmatic compromise between all those. It's my GOTO lang now.

393
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 30, 2013, 11:26:35 pm »
LBSS, Todday both i mean doing some sort of aerobic work daily. I can certainly work in basketball drill work in that context. I am actually thinking of devoting myself to a dedicated training block of say 3-4 weeks where I work very hard on bringing up my conditioning. Like a Smolov Jnr of fitness. How would you would program that? Afterwards i'd keep up 50-50% work to maintaining and building strength and fitness.

LBSS is right in that i need something measurable so i can steadily and regularly PR my way to better conditioning.

If you watch ray allen shoot 3s, he's getting up several feet in the air on every jumpshot. He's doing that day in day out, whether out of breathe from running around on an NBA court or just practising in the gym! A mediocre athlete like me might only get that high on a gym dunk attempt. I can't get that sort of hop in my normal play, not when pulling down a rebound or even a game time move like a layup or dunk. Or exploding quickly at 105% speed to blow by a defender. Yes i can do that when fresh. Not a couple of minutes into a game playing hard D. That's got to be related to conditioning. If you have good conditioning you can probably unlock a higher level of raw athletic performance game time. I don't get why i can put 2.5ft underneath me when jumping up near a rim in ideal conditions. But find that same jump become close to 1ft game time.

394
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 30, 2013, 10:21:42 am »
Also, and this is the most important thing I need to focus on -- get my fitness and conditioning up. That's the most athletic thing I can do for my game. I play good defense, or good offense, but i can't do both for more than a minute or two. Let me get my squat goals out of the way and i'll be a full time aerobic guy.

395
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 30, 2013, 10:19:15 am »
Solid points! I agree 100% with you now after reading that post. I also can't agree strongly enough that a 6'8" NBA athlete with crazy long arms and long feet has no problem soaring above a lowly 10ft rim. I used to play with a guy in university who was 6'7" and with long limbs and he could do any dunk so effortlessly. It's not the same thing when someone around ~6ft or less is dunking. The vertical leap requirements are completely different. It's an illiusion. I can't work up any enthusiasm when i see NBA highlight dunks from these guys on a 10'. This is partially why I will be way more impressed when I see LBSS throw down than anything i've done with a basketball

396
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / chasing athleticism -- RSR-W4D1
« on: December 30, 2013, 05:47:22 am »
Training
FS 1x137.5
BS 5x5x137.5

BS notes:
So friday's rx light day which become a heavy one cost me bigtime today. I did the first set sans belt and it was brutally hard. Sloppy form on the last coupla reps. I had no choice put on the velcro belt for sets 2-4. And the 5th i did with the leather belt. Absolutely destroyed. I am pissed off cause on a good day i prob would have have got more sets beltless :(

397
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 29, 2013, 08:00:59 am »
I didn't do an ideal job for week 4 in my last shot of RSR. I realise that now. It's actually a high volume week - 5x5 monday and 4x4 friday is a decent amount of volume. And the weight is a lot heavier than week 3 which had only one heavy workout in weds rx 6x6x120 last time with 2 light days monday and friday. The point of all of this is, it's probably one of the most important weeks because it's where you transition from volume to volume + intensity both, before tapering off volume and into higher intensity in weeks 5 and 6. So in effect you can say RSR volume phase lasts a month and intense is 2 weeks.

What happened last time was after the 5x5 my lower back was so thrashed i couldn't even get thru weds light day, and friday's 4x4 wasn't in the cards either. I did train on saturday feeling recovered and did ok but it wasn't the rx 4x4.

This time around though, i have better expectations for week 4. My lower back strength has gone up considerably as has its recovery ability. I know that because I don't get crazy lower back doms anymore. Why that happened, i don't know. It could be the inclusion of squat mornings in regular or just a gradual acclimatising to the back strength requirements of squatting. I can't say for sure.

Tomorrow i plan to do the rx RSR of 5x5x137.5 but depending on how I feel after the 4th set, i may or may not do the 5th. I just need to do enough work to recover for and get thru fridays 4x4. Less is more in this case. Have decided not to use a belt for monday. I haven't decided whether or not to do any heavier singles before the worksets. I have always done them for workouts til now though.

398
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / chasing athleticism -- RSR-W3D3
« on: December 27, 2013, 07:11:37 am »
Training
FS 1x135
BS 1x155 (PR), 6x2x130
SqM 1x165 (PR)
BP 3x96 (PR)
CU 3x4x98 (PR)
CND ~30 mins

FS notes:
Was really tempted to PR but chose to save it for backsquats. It was because i was thinking of a PR that i went with a lighter warmup of 135kg instead of 137.5kg i would have taken otherwise. Even if i got a PR today, it probably would have been a meaningless one like 142.5kg or soemthing. Would rather save for a proper attempt at a milestone like 145kg in the coming weeks.

BS notes:
Happy with the beltless PR. I have been thinking 160kg beltless clean is a good goal for this cycle of RSR. I'm on track for that, halfway thru the program. The rx RSR (light) worksets were piece of cake, i was going deep and even pseudo-pausing them just for fun.

SqM notes:
After failing a 157.5kg squat morning with the velcro belt in disgust with myself, i said fuck this bullshit -- it's time for a proper belt -- so i dusted off the good old unused titan leather badboy, spend half an hour configuring the lever for my current waist circumeference, the majority of which involved finding a screwdriver lol -- and then got under the bar with 140kg which was pretty easy even though i'd gone cold. After that 150kg went up real easy and i felt solid, even on the descent the bar felt weightless - the belt makes you feel strong throughout the set.

Then put 157.5kg which i had failed with velcro, got it ok, not challenging! Now it was time for 160+kg -- my PR with the velcro is 160kg, i thought 162.5kg was too conservative. Yet 165kg struck me as formidable. Fuck it, last second i swapped out the 1.25kgs for 2.5kgs and went for 165kg! It went up ok. So that means my belted SqM is around 10kg more than my beltless! Probably a bit more too cause of all the fucking around between those two PR attempts.

Conditioning notes:
Got a quick session in. Shot around first then practiced jumps and layups. I threw down some strong dunks off 1 and 2 steps even at my gym bodyweight of 98kg. Pretty sure this is the heaviest i've been and i can still dunk hard off a step or two. Not bad, i can't do that in games though so it's close to worthless :( Felt pretty powerful. I can't wait to get lean and see what I can do then against other ppl and not just this shadow dunking stuff. I do my 1 leg layups of my right leg which is my weaker leg. I think if i keep this up it will actually improve my strength across the board cause my R leg can def do with some catching up to my dextrous one.

Was scheduled to be a light day. I didn't like that the heaviest i'd squatted this week was 150kg and no squatmornings either, especially with next weeks brutal RX schedule ! I needed confidence that comes from getting heavy PRs going into the intense phase monday. Last time i got a PR was 7 days ago. I didn't feel super sore or anything so i threw caution to the wind, popped some synephrine to shake off the sleepless fog and went for it. My plan was to do 3 heavy reps, a beltless BS PR, and 2 squat mornings, one a PR. But i ended up 9 heavy (+1 failed) thanks to my body not sticking to the plan.

399
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / chasing athleticism -- RSR-W3D2
« on: December 25, 2013, 06:18:32 am »
Training
FS 1x137.5
BS 1x150, 4x6x130 (PR)
CR 2x15x185 (PR)

FS notes:
It doesn't feel easy but it looks it on video. Bar speed is very good.

BS notes:
Really really hard. I slept poorly just when I needed to be most fresh. But got thru it nevertheless. My lower back was so pumped and fatigued by the last set. Damn!

CR notes:
There are a few glaring issues with heavy barbell calf raises. I found it very difficult to do these after volume squatting today from a stabilisation point of view. Fatigued core wrecks you for subsequent heavy barwork. Secondly, it's inherently precarious a position getting in place on the block of wood. Plus footwear is an issue. I didn't use my lifting shoes just cause I don't wanna ruin them (valid concern or not?). Used some other shoes but they felt really flimsy under load. The heel is rubber and it flexes easily. I think a hard firm sole would be better? I took a video. Wouldn't mind any pointers if you have them. Also, it's pretty daunting that you're holding so much weight -- one slip up forward and the whole rack will topple forward, very risky.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_6Kbs78lHc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_6Kbs78lHc</a>
^Damn, i can't get over how amazing Hema looks in this hindi music video from back in the 70s. Filmed in Afghanistan.

So RSR volume phase comes to an end with that squat sesh, well i have a light workout on friday but that's hardly worth mentioning.  Next week begins intense phase. SHUD be interestin. I haven't employed a belt yet for RSR worksets. My plan was to do without it for the entire volume phase - and then introduce it for intense -- which is still the plan -- although i am thinking i should do a set or two beltless first? Dunno we'll see how it goes.

400
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 25, 2013, 12:21:10 am »


beep test lol. they're not elite when it comes to defense are they? not that i've seen much of either player. also love's sub 30" vertical can be said to be unathletic!

401
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 24, 2013, 01:52:18 am »
^It's an ancient debate of Nature vs Nurture much older than this log. It depends on the person. If you start off as unathletic and unskilled as I did, then you'll get more out of gym than the court. But gym+court will deliver the best improvement. Gym only will not do it (i am proof). Court only won't do much either because you're capping yourself to your (strength) untrained potential. When something you do in the gym carries over to the court, that's a beautiful thing, and that's what makes this journey so interesting. The trial and error of trying to determine what you need in the gym is what i've described in my previous post.

If i were to rank my strengths and weaknesses id say i have high iq, mid skill, low athleticism. To close the gap i worked hard on the former and my skills haven't really declined or inclined - they remained more or less the same. My ability to express skill depends on my athleticism which is too low to really do much with it. Yes i know there are paradoxes like steve nashes and kevin loves of the world who somehow manage to make do without any athleticism. I guess if I had devoted my whole life to skill i could follow their path. But i really dont want to. I would get too bored practicising dribbling or shooting all day, every day, not to mention i don't have the motivation they have of being paid pros.

402
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 24, 2013, 01:23:39 am »
Quote from: Raptor on December 23, 2013, 03:00:41 pm
Whenever I see "entropy" posted something I think of this guy:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRmBChQjZPs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRmBChQjZPs</a>

^Cool.

The more I think about it, the more convinced I focused on the wrong weakness.  The athletic deficit in my SL was far greater than my DL one. Even say if I have a 2xBW FS - this might not do much if anything for my SL performance. My SVJ might go up several inches which is cool and all. But does that translate into the court? Not for a underweight C/PF. You don't get a chance to display that athleticism since jostling for position remains a function of body size and leverage on the ground at that position. And since my SL performance is so terrible, getting into position with an inferior SL athleticism remains a difficult even impossible task! It took my basketball ability no where! Not on defense or offense. Now if I had the same DL leg ability and athletic ability but at a much higher bodyweight, then I could use my size to bully for position even if I was as slow as i am. But since I lack the size and athleticism, there is a diminishing return on what I get out of DL leg strength training.

Instead I should have been bringing my SL performance way up. Overachieved the shit out of it thru training and hard work. That would allow me more quickness to get good position around bigger, stronger, slower opponents.

I also wanna make a point that if I had worked at developing my posterior chain to the extent I have recently and continue to do in pursuit of a 180kg squatmorning, I would have seen much better athletic carryover on the court.

TLDR: heavy squatmornings, heavy calf raises, 200m sprints, practice SL layups and dunks, low bodyfat will do much to improve my SL performance. It won't hurt to have a nice FS just because i've worked really hard at bringing up my FS over the last year or so either for DL performance.


403
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 23, 2013, 07:27:31 am »
Quote from: Raptor on December 23, 2013, 03:07:57 am
One of the main reasons some strong people suck at one leg jumping is because they let their calves "fall behind". The calves are less adaptable in terms of strength gains and if you gain weight, gain quad mass, gain glute mass, get hamstring mass, you name it, and get "strong" (while also getting heavier), you will have a higher relative squat to bodyweight ratio but you will collapse in a high speed one-leg jump plant because the calves are the ones that didn't grow at the same rate.

And since that happened, then you will experience ankle collapse that will feel like the quads are giving out or the knee itself gives out.

So it's a bit counter intuitive because you'll think the quads aren't doing their job, when in reality the quads are overloaded by the ankle collapse.

I have a feeling you might be onto something there. It actually explains a few things i've noticed over the years. When i got my first dunk it was off 1 leg as a weak skinny basketball player in my early 20s with zero gym experience. At the time I remember i used to play a lot of ball and i did a fair amount of long distance running  (< 5km) as well. This would have made my calves strong and elastic.

Fast forward 10 years and last summer I cut down to a similar bodyweight but this time i have a fair bit of squatting under my belt. Nothing earth shattering, i was maintaining a 120kg front squat max at a bodyweight of 75kg. This is 1.6xbw. I can jump pretty well off 2. But off one, i'm not dunking (not that i tried very hard but just saying it was so effortless to dunk off 2 in comparison). Perhaps if I had devoted myself to calf training then i would have seen a decent increase my in my 1 leg jump -- and -- general basketball ability which is very dependent on 1-leg ability.

I can't really do much about the past, except to learn from my mistakes. I will dedicate myself to calf training seriously and see where it takes me. Perhaps when my bodyweight converges on an athletically ideal 80kg or so - and my absolute leg and posterior strength on the magic ratios above 2xbw - and the milestone of 4 plates behind, my calves this time will also be stronger and bigger - will i see better performance in both single and double limb movements? It is something I look forward to testing come mid april.

404
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / chasing athleticism -- RSR-W3D1
« on: December 23, 2013, 05:53:58 am »
Training
FS 1x135
BS 2x6x130
CURLZ 2x12x30

FS notes:
Using 135kg for a light day is kinda cool, no?

BS notes:
My quads were singing today. Which means they were clean reps. So that's good. Hope quads are nice and fresh for weds!
I will call monday curl day from now on and calf raise on weds. Commiting to this for at least a year. Lets see if i can put some meat on my calves and biceps. Will help me a lot in basketball too.

405
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: December 22, 2013, 11:22:03 pm »
I really wish I had started doing standing barbell calf raises sooner. I can think of no better way to familiarise yourself with having a supramax weight on your back for a long set of calf raises where you are ballistically accelerating it on every rep. I  wonder if I had been doing them all along would I have got my 160kg PR on the last cycle of RSR? My lower legs are a lot weaker than my relatively massive quads and hams. Have since learnt from all the strong squatters on this site though. They're all heavy calf raisers.

 I used 10x180kg for the first time on calf raises last week, and this week i'll go for 2x15x190kg and so on. It may or may not build my calves just yet but it will get me used to having that weight on my back so when time comes to heavy squatting i'll be better prepared. A good goal i feel is 2x20x200+kg, where bw+bar-weight ≥ 300kg.

I just wanted to mention in passing, my abs have gotten stronger somehow very quickly. Even sitting at the desk i can contract them so forcefully now. Weird becuase I thought as a beltless front squatter i had already got decent abs. But belted squat mornings may to be blame for my new ab strength - parodoxically.

I am running out of time to get in shape for bball. Have just under 4 months left now. I can probably get down to 80kg bw if i start dieting asap. But i want to get thru the last volume workout (on weds) before cutting earnestly. I really really want a 170kg squat @ 98kg or so though.

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