Archives for workouts (page 15)

I’m spending each evening out on the balcony nowadays. Not for the view, in fact the façade of the house that blocks our view of the sea is being redone, but for the cool evening breeze that makes the hot weather a little more tolerable. Southern Finland clocked in at 29.4°C/84.9°F today, making this the hottest day of the year so far. I now believe all this balcony sitting is the root cause of the stiff back I’ve been having for the past few days. With seats that tilt backward, our classically cheap balcony chairs aren’t precisely ergonomical, especially if you sit five hours straight in them. Seems like I was too quick to blame the swimming and too slow to bring my office chair out here.

To offset all this sitting, I felt like doing some serious work as I hit the gym. After a rapid 5x15 of hyperextensions, the mother of all pumps had descended on my low back and life was suddenly a lot more brighter. Then came up with the idea of doing the muscle activation by doing small trunk twists with a stick while kneeling on a stability ball; easy, yet rewardingly effective. Besides the usual (don’t have a stability board at the gym yet so none of that), I also resurrected the standing cable crunch in the lat pulley. This introspective entry has a picture of this exercise plus a video clip, with the difference that I did them leaning against the lat pulley frame with a rope handle today (I’d like to believe that looked a little prettier). Among the need to’s is definitively a bigger focus on the midsection again now that I, back permitting, am getting ready to slowly reintroduce squats and deadlifts into my routine.

Progress seems to be just speeding up on this Blakley program. Again gained three strategic reps on the Bradford press over the previous accessory workout. I use absolutely zero leg thrust, so rest assured that that’s not where the extra reps are coming from. Since I got 4x6 @ 45 kg/99 lbs last week on the JM press, this was my first go at 47.5 kg/105 lbs. Guess what? Got 4x6 again, so next week the weight goes up to 50 kg/111 lbs. Makes me wonder what has happened since 21 June, when that was the very weight I maxed out with…

I’m keeping assistance work fairly stable on this program, so it should come as no fly in the pie that I did much the same thing as last week. Did replace the barbell curls with the lying cable version as I had a somewhat stiff back, possible caused by extensive swimming with Sanna at the Helsinki Swimming Stadium yesterday. The one thing that is not constant is grip training, where I torture my paws with whatever I feel like. I proudly admit to having become a bona fide grip maniac and, as such, am also eagerly awaiting the arrival of a Rolling Thunder complete with loading pin from Ironmind. I could also make good use of a No.2 Captains of Crush Gripper for negatives, but since I have various reasons for keeping a tight budget I’m not getting one just yet.

In the pile of mail that greeted us as we returned back to Helsinki on Sunday were the long-awaited mini bands. To my delight, the package also contained the EliteFTS Dynamic Squat manual, containing 29 squatting cycles ranging from the novice Rookie cycle to Paul Childress’s highly advanced squat progression cycle, and the EliteFTS Training with Bands leaflet that over thirteen pages touches on the theory behind bands, how to attach bands and a little something on basic band training. Training with Bands is rather general, but has some valuable info on how to clamp a 2x4 to the base of the rack to ensure that there is enough tension off the bottom. Dynamic Squat manual is a gold mine; never before have I seen so many cycles in one place. Will be consulting this one as soon as I get back to box squatting.

As I ordered these bands to provide some assist to the makeshift glute ham raise (GHR) this was the day to become bandwise. I tested different setups by looping the band in different ways and finally came to the conclusion that simply doubling a single band provided a suitable degree of assist for my weak hamstrings. Although the video clip (1.4MB) might give the illusion that the band is doing all the work, nothing could be further from the truth… Unlike doing these in the lat pulley, this setup is not dependent on a spotter. I learned this when I got stuck at the bottom on the third set when, after a moment’s hesitation, I simply let go of the band. Snap! Free!

Overall, this was one of the laziest workouts in ages. Between sets, I talked to a guy who recently started on Westside to improve some already impressive numbers, but who also got a bad start by popping something in his back when deadlifting off a low box. It was also some 26°C/79°F outside, so perhaps I can be excused for the lazy tempo and the big pool of sweat I left behind.

With no soreness in the way, I finally had a first go at the main bench day of the Blakley bench program that I embarked on two weeks ago. After the pattern warm-up - a fancy way of saying that you always warm-up with the same weight pattern to prepare both mind and body - I did the required singles. Although 90 kg is doable in perfect form, I should probably drop back a little to keep me under 90% of max to avoid overtraining of the central nervous system. Then came the actual work sets, i.e. aiming for 4x6 with the same weight. I setup too close on the first set, with the result that I kept banging into the uprights. Otherwise the sets went well, but it is clear that I still have some work to do with 77.5 kg/171 lbs before I get a clean hand. Note that the bar is paused on the chest on every rep.

As the squat rack has been replaced by a construction site, I had to use my soon to be demolished Weider bench as my Bradford press den. Despite this less than ideal setup that had me straddling the bench, I added a good 3 reps over to the previous Blakley accessory day. The JMs went even better; added six reps over three sets and got the magic 4x6 - next week I get to up the weight! Hopefully my muscles knew what to expect this time around so that soreness does not foil Monday’s JM Bench day like it did last week.

I should be really grateful for being able to do this outdoor workout at all; pretty much the rest of Finland has been drowned in heavy rain, almost literally. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the amount of rain that has fallen over the last few days amounts to roughly twice the long-term average for the whole month of July! Needless to say, things are really a floatin’. More rain has been predicted for the weekend… but not here. This means a raspberry picking excursion into the woods tomorrow in the morning and some more power rack preparation in the afternoon. It is a good thing that Toffe’s Gym is located in the archipelago outside of Vaasa, commonly known as the “sunniest town in Finland”. That being said, rain has been a common bedfellow this summer even here.

With some mighty glute and ham soreness still lingering from the Sunday workout, I did a slightly abbreviated rehab routine today. Added ab holds, this time with only one leg on the floor, to reinject some static work into the routine. These were hard, but not as hard as the arm and leg extensions kneeling on the stability ball. With these, the ball is prone to make a run for it when you least expect it.

In my quest for spinal stability and grip strength my calves have disappeared in the shadows. From here on I pledge to remedy that. After some lunges and the standard rehab work, I thus removed the plastic that has protected my homemade wooden donkey calf machine from the last two winters. It looked as solid as the day it was built. Quite a lot of weight can be moved on this one, so worked up to four sets at 226.8 kg/501 lbs, which is about as much as I can load on it unless I get more big plates. Back in my bodybuilding days, when there were less plates at Toffe’s Gym, I used to have the nearest person jump on my back for extra resistance. But with only a few workouts left here this summer I don’t think that will be an option.

And now for something completely different… NOT! A clip (1.29MB).

Decided to do a 180 degree and switch to JM Blakley’s 4x6 program for the bench as I threatened before. Not an easy decision as I love the singles oriented Westside system, but as I have been unable to increase my 1RM in months on most exercises it is time I tried something else. Even though my max is stuck, I think I stand a good chance of adding some weight for reps. As it is now, I think my 6RM for the bench is around 77.5 kg/171 lbs-80 kg/177 lbs. Now if I could get that up in the 85 kg/188 lbs-90 kg/199 lbs range over the next few months it should give me a solid base to finally tip my 97.5 kg/216 lbs single over the 100 kg/221 lbs hill. Only time will tell if this was a good move. The worst thing that can happen is nothing, which is pretty much what is happening now.

This also means that I say goodbye to the chains for a while before they really got a chance to prove their worth. With only one speed workout remaining here at Toffe’s Gym before I begin working again, this is probably a sound decision for now as using chains in the gym in Helsinki is out of the question. I’ve played with the idea of moving to a gym with chains, but quite frankly, I would love to put some more weight on my bench without resorting to using them as much as I like rattling them around.

Began with the accessory day, which requires that I do two accessory exercises for the bench in the 4x6 fashion, i.e. begin with a weight I can handle for six reps on the first set and then work with this weight until I can do four sets of six after which the weight is bumped up one notch. The JM press was a natural choice, but had a tormented time trying to decide whether to pick floor presses or bradford presses for the second exercise. Finally decided in favor of the bradfords, but as soon as they go stale I hit the floor. My weight choices were right on the money for both exercises with the first set of six being an all-out effort. Next week I return to these and simply try to add at least one rep somewhere in the three sets that clocked in below the magic 6 rep mark. Structure”R”Us. In that spirit I close with a few quotes from the man himself with the hope that they will instill the proper spirit among the troops before they change their mind and run back to camp Westside prematurely.

What’s the fastest way to a big bench? I get asked that all the time. “What’s your rush?” I respond. Building a big bench (or any substantial amount of strength in any lift) requires time. But nobody wants to hear that and nobody wants to wait. […] Do less?better. Put all your energy into totally mastering a few things rather than making almost un-noticeable headway in many things. Keep it simple and show real, tangible progress in only one thing. This allows you to put all your energy in a concentrated area. Once you’ve seen substantial gains, move the focus to another aspect. One thing at a time you see growth. After a while you will have it covered! I know this sounds like the whole “it takes time thing” again but really, like a great wine or a fine cigar, some things will not be rushed!
J.M. Blakley’s Top Tips For The Bench Press

Those of you who read this closely will no doubt see some contrast with the Westside smorgasbord approach. In the final analysis, the philosophical differences are intimately tied to different approaches to loading. The central nervous system can’t handle loads above 90% of max for more than 2-3 weeks on any given exercise; Westside solves this by constantly rotating exercises thus allowing max weights to be used constantly, while Blakley tackles this by not going that heavy in the first place instead electing to let each exercise work its magic for as long as it works for reps of 3-6 before switching with some heavy bench singles every week in the 85% or so territory. I can’t deny that I feel more sympathy with the first approach, but when big steps don’t work taking baby steps might just be worth trying.

To get some space for today’s amateur acrobatics, I dragged my balance board, stability ball, a 3 kg/7 lbs dumbell and a 10 kg/22 lbs plate down to our large wooden platform originally built for my brother’s table tennis needs. He used to compete on the national level dragging home quite a few trophies at that, but now my dad uses it as a work platform to make wood chips out of branches for his gardening needs. After pushing some of the debris aside, setting up the camera and igniting Motörhead’s live album I Got Mine, bought today for a couple of euros on a sale, I was finally ready to have a virgin go at my new rehab program. It was 11.40pm, but saw none of the bats that sometime swirl around decimating the needlessly large mosquito population.

The one-legged balance board exercises were difficult, but, like yesterday, I managed to do a few reps even standing on the more shaky right leg. I did as many as I could in a row and kept going until I got the needed reps. When it was time for walk outs I changed pace with another metal umlaut band that I also bought cheap, Queensrÿche’s Rage for Order. This was also when dusk started setting in, which come low plate twists made for bad light conditions. At the height of summer you can’t really see any difference between night and day (midnight-2am is your average cloudy afternoon, further north the sun shines), but now the beautiful summer nights are slowly giving way for the pitch black nights of August here at latitude 63° 4′ 0N. Did the neural mobilization exercise out on the quay where the light was better. Had to wrap a plastic bag around my feet to get them to slide easily against the wooden boards.

Even if the nights are getting darker, the water is only getting warmer now that we finally got some summer temperatures here in Finland. It did not take much mental preparation to jump into the 20 degrees Celsius water. A gentle steam danced on the calm water as it met the chilly air.

The video (4.2MB) is here. If it gives you a good laugh, all the better. There is one mistake in the clip; it says the lunges are alternated, but obviously they are done single-legged. Since I’m on dial-up, I’m too lazy to fix it.

After seeing nothing but one Swedish buffet after another for three days, it was good to get back to the gym. Having massaged my left shoulder into submission, I decided to mess with my bench. Frequented the usual neighborhood, with a stiff single at 95 kg/210 lbs. Then jumped straight into three-board presses with a close grip. 100 kg/221 lbs was easy enough, but 105 kg/232 lbs jammed just after lift off. Same old story. Am seriously thinking about giving JM Blakley’s 4x6 program a go to reinject some structure into my benching. With my singles being stuck, perhaps I should focus on upping my 6RM for a while. JM’s program also has heavy singles built-in, so unlike the Prilepin bench program I did in March/April, I am hoping that this would allow me to retain the touch for heavy weight. After all, the program of the man who coined “If you think there are plateaus you’re wrong!” can’t be all wrong.