RC/BPA
2x15/15
Bench Press/Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x75kg
4x85kg/6x8.75
12x65kg/6x8.75 -- Then I realised that I was using a 5, 2.5 and 1.25, not the 10, 2.5 and 1.25 I thought I was using. Here I was thinking my pull up strength had suddenly increased over the weekend :(
11x65kg/6x13.75kg
10x65kg/6x13.75kg
OHP/Barbell Row
5x30kg/10x50kg
3x37.5kg/10x50kg
5x5x42kg/10x50kg -- First 2 sets of OHP felt super hard. Last 3 sets not so much. My theory is that because the first 2 sets were real grinders, I wasn't feeling confident, and so I rested extra long, which meant that in the later sets I was more physically prepared than I was before the first set.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Training -- Tue 28/01/2014
Front Squats
10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
1x70kg
5x82.5kg
2x4x82.5kg
Back Squats
3x90kg
6x102.5kg -- My knees didn't like this, so I decided to switch back to low bar for the next set and see what happened.
3x102.5kg -- Knees were happier, but general lack of practice with low bar squats over the last couple months meant nothing good was going to come of this.
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x102.5kg/9x360lb
Glute Bridge/Calf Raise
3x8x50kg/9x360lb
10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
1x70kg
5x82.5kg
2x4x82.5kg
Back Squats
3x90kg
6x102.5kg -- My knees didn't like this, so I decided to switch back to low bar for the next set and see what happened.
3x102.5kg -- Knees were happier, but general lack of practice with low bar squats over the last couple months meant nothing good was going to come of this.
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x102.5kg/9x360lb
Glute Bridge/Calf Raise
3x8x50kg/9x360lb
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Overview of Neon Genesis: Evangelion
95% of my posts here are about fitness. The other 5% are about my faith and worldview. Those figures are going to have to get a little bit skewed now, because today I'm going to post about the other key element of my being: my utter nerdiness. It may be baffling for someone as into fitness as me to also be a nerd, but hey, I'm also a Christian who studies science, and a creative type who's talented (although unskilled out of sheer laziness) at math. I like to be superficially contradictory things. Without further adieu, I'm going to start blabbing about one of my favourite TV shows of all time, the 1990's anime Neon Genesis: Evangelion. There are spoilers ahead. If you haven't watched the show and don't want me or the rest of the internet to ruin it for you, turn around now. Watch the series. Then come back here.
NGE straddles a few different genres. Broadly speaking it's a sci-fi drama. Narrowing it down, it's "giant robots vs monsters" and a "coming of age" story. The creator, Hideaki Anno, made a thing of giving conventions the finger, by subverting both these genres, giving audiences an ending they hated (and yet one which the entire series was carefully building up to), and then responding to their hatred with a movie that did its best to rape your face.
Subverting Giant Robots vs Monsters
The Evas first appear to be humanoid machines. They have pilots, a battery life and everything. But, by the end of the first battle, we learn that there's a lot more emphasis on the humanoid part of that equation, and that their machine parts are only on the outside.
The first thing we learn about the monsters is that they're angels. We're off to a good start here. We soon learn that the angels have an extremely close DNA match to humans (99.98% IIRC), that the Evas are made from one of the angels, and that the Evas have a human will inside them.
So, instead of big machines fight big monsters, we have mankind making slaves of giant humans-at-heart made from an angel in order to stop the angels. If any of that sounds like a recipe for disaster, good: now you're getting it.
Subverting the Coming of Age Story
The central character of Evangelion is Shinji Ikari, a deeply insecure, broken, psychologically frail, emotionally weak teenage boy. Everything in the story is about Shinji. Everything. All the stuff that's obviously, directly about him; all the issues of everyone around him; the battles which we all initially think are about cool action, explosions and thrashing Tokyo-3; even the superficially silly comic relief stuff: all of it is there for the purpose of taking the boy and making a man.
Doesn't sound very subversive yet. Actually,t hat sounds like the pinnacle of the coming of age genre. Here's where the subversion comes in: the series is essentially a massive 3-act play. The first act introduces Shinji and his fantasies. The second act uses every character and scenario to build him up to the point that he's ready to make the decision to be a man. Then in the final act, he will lose everything that's been holding him up enabling him to be a man. This is where the subversion comes in. We expect that the decision to man up means that he's going to conquer his fears and master his life from here on out. Nope. Everything that's brought him to the point of manning up is going to be ripped right out from underneath him. We're used to the hero turning down the help of his friends because "This is something I have to do myself." As for Shinji, he's desperately begging for anyone and everyone to help him, but against his will this is something he has to do himself. If he's going to be a man, then he's going to do it all on his own. And remember his starting point: he's a deeply insecure, broken, psychologically frail, emotionally weak teenage boy. So this is serious make or break stuff. Sink or swim. Master yourself or lose yourself.
About Act 1
I'm going to draw the line and say that episodes 1-7 are Act 1. Here are some key features of the first act.
Shinji's relationship with Rei: Rei Ayanami is one of the first people we meet, after Shinji. Her initial appearance is for a brief moment, standing calmly in the middle of the road, and then disappearing in a very Batman-esque style ("Oh, I see you're blinking. This seems like an appropriate moment for me to destroy all evidence that I was ever here."). This moment makes little sense until you see the movie, because it is actually inconsistent with what is revealed about her 5 minutes later: that she's severely injured, sleeping/unconscious (until woken up), covered in bandages and barely able to sit up without yelping in pain.
There's a lot of sexual humour in Act 1, including a certain scene in Rei's apartment which, when I was Rei and Shinji's age, was one of my all-time favourite scenes of the series. Alongside all the awkward sexualisation and sexual humour, Rei symbolically plays the role of Shinji's fantasy of femalekind. She's physically attractive in a strictly technical sense (ie she's structurally attractive), she's profoundly obedient, she's the only girl (that we know of at this time) going through what Shinji's going through, and she's frequently the damsel in distress (this last point is what initially motivates Shinji to pilot Eva). It all seems like they're meant to be together. But, as the fantasy rather than the reality (symbolically speaking), things don't get to play out that way. Rei is emotionally distant, and, from her end, emotional engagement with Shinji only happens when his knight-in-shining-armour-ness reminds her of Shinji's father. If that sounds creepy, don't worry. It gets worse. More on that later.
Shinji's relationship with Kensuke and Toji: Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara are two of Shinji's classmates, and the only people we'll really see become Shinji's friends throughout the bulk of the story. Kensuke, like Shinji, has no mother. Kensuke in some sort of idealised form of Shinji: we never see him showing any signs of insecurity or emotional weakness, and while Shinji's the frontman of a war he doesn't want to be a part of, Kensuke is a war-enthusiast, lamenting the fact that he doesn't get to be a part of the war.
Toji's first impressions of Shinji aren't all the flattering, unless you consider a heavy fist or two in the face a nice way to say hello. Shinji's first Eva battle has left Toji's sister severely wounded, so when Toji finds out that Shinji was piloting Eva Unit 01, Toji's not impressed. Later, after Toji and Kensuke's lives are directly saved by Shinji in the Eva, Toji insists that Shinji punch him back. Shinji does it, but immediately regrets it, insisting that he's the one who deserves to be punched, not Toji. Symbolically, this conflict and attitude has huge ramifications in Acts 2 and 3, playing out on a much larger scale.
Shinji's daddy issues: We don't learn much about Gendo Ikari in the first act, even though he's constantly around giving orders. We get to see that he's gruff and unfriendly right off the bat, that he has a cold employer/employee relationship with Shinji (which has been inactive for 3 years before the story starts), and that Shinji hates him. In episodes 5 and 6, we see Gendo caring about Rei, and Rei, who normally expresses very little of anything, lighting up when he speaks to her. Shinji freaks out a bit at the sight of this. It isn't clear to me whether he's jealous of Rei attaining his father's affection, or of his father attaining Rei's affection, so just to be safe I'm going to say it's both.
Shinji's mamma issues: We don't learn much about Shinji's mum at this point in the story. In fact, I'm not even sure if she's mentioned. But she has a great substitute in Misato Katsuragi. And by great, I mean Shinji's quick appraisal upon seeing the inside of her apartment is: "Ice....snacks....and fifty gallons of beer! What kind of life does she lead?!" Misato functions as Shinji's guardian throughout the series, which is made creepy by a whole lot of awkward sexual humour between the two early on, which reverberates later on. The sexual tension seems to be dismantled a lot through Shinji being unimpressed with Misato's sloppy housekeeping.
What's up with all this awkward sexual stuff, anyway? The short answer is: Shinji's a young teenage boy. No, really, that's it. Well, I guess the assumption that most of the audience are also teenagers (or creepy old people who are into awkward teenage sexuality issues?), and feeding the audience fan service is a factor, too (a factor that's played up really blatantly, mind you), but the more I watch this series, the more I think that everything being sexualised early on is about Shinji working through his sexual frustrations and identity more than anything else. Or maybe that's just a more comfortable way for me to think about it than to watch it now and awkwardly look away and shake my head when Shinji walks in on a naked Rei or gets flustered when Misato's boobs are in his face.
The sexual stuff goes deeper than awkward humour, though. The Third Angel (which is the first enemy of the series) is symbolic of Shinji's relationship with womankind. In particular, it's symbolic of when that relationship is damaged. Eva Unit 01 rips out one of the angel's ribs and uses that rib as a weapon, referencing woman being made of man's rib in the Bible. The angel, realising that it's going to die, decides that if it has to die, it may as well take down the Eva and everything else with it, indicating the messy crap that tends to happen during a break-up.
In turn, the Fourth Angel represents Shinji's estranged relationship with malekind. I almost don't want to write this, because I was able to go so long without seeing it, and once it's been seen, it can't be unseen. For years I was able to look at the Fourth Angel and just see a giant, buggy worm. And I like it that way. I want it to go back to that way. But again, what has been seen cannot be unseen. The Fourth Angel is a giant penis.
NGE straddles a few different genres. Broadly speaking it's a sci-fi drama. Narrowing it down, it's "giant robots vs monsters" and a "coming of age" story. The creator, Hideaki Anno, made a thing of giving conventions the finger, by subverting both these genres, giving audiences an ending they hated (and yet one which the entire series was carefully building up to), and then responding to their hatred with a movie that did its best to rape your face.
Oh, you thought I was just being figurative?
Subverting Giant Robots vs Monsters
The Evas first appear to be humanoid machines. They have pilots, a battery life and everything. But, by the end of the first battle, we learn that there's a lot more emphasis on the humanoid part of that equation, and that their machine parts are only on the outside.
The first thing we learn about the monsters is that they're angels. We're off to a good start here. We soon learn that the angels have an extremely close DNA match to humans (99.98% IIRC), that the Evas are made from one of the angels, and that the Evas have a human will inside them.
So, instead of big machines fight big monsters, we have mankind making slaves of giant humans-at-heart made from an angel in order to stop the angels. If any of that sounds like a recipe for disaster, good: now you're getting it.
Subverting the Coming of Age Story
The central character of Evangelion is Shinji Ikari, a deeply insecure, broken, psychologically frail, emotionally weak teenage boy. Everything in the story is about Shinji. Everything. All the stuff that's obviously, directly about him; all the issues of everyone around him; the battles which we all initially think are about cool action, explosions and thrashing Tokyo-3; even the superficially silly comic relief stuff: all of it is there for the purpose of taking the boy and making a man.
Doesn't sound very subversive yet. Actually,t hat sounds like the pinnacle of the coming of age genre. Here's where the subversion comes in: the series is essentially a massive 3-act play. The first act introduces Shinji and his fantasies. The second act uses every character and scenario to build him up to the point that he's ready to make the decision to be a man. Then in the final act, he will lose everything that's been holding him up enabling him to be a man. This is where the subversion comes in. We expect that the decision to man up means that he's going to conquer his fears and master his life from here on out. Nope. Everything that's brought him to the point of manning up is going to be ripped right out from underneath him. We're used to the hero turning down the help of his friends because "This is something I have to do myself." As for Shinji, he's desperately begging for anyone and everyone to help him, but against his will this is something he has to do himself. If he's going to be a man, then he's going to do it all on his own. And remember his starting point: he's a deeply insecure, broken, psychologically frail, emotionally weak teenage boy. So this is serious make or break stuff. Sink or swim. Master yourself or lose yourself.
Make or break? Break it is!
About Act 1
I'm going to draw the line and say that episodes 1-7 are Act 1. Here are some key features of the first act.
Shinji's relationship with Rei: Rei Ayanami is one of the first people we meet, after Shinji. Her initial appearance is for a brief moment, standing calmly in the middle of the road, and then disappearing in a very Batman-esque style ("Oh, I see you're blinking. This seems like an appropriate moment for me to destroy all evidence that I was ever here."). This moment makes little sense until you see the movie, because it is actually inconsistent with what is revealed about her 5 minutes later: that she's severely injured, sleeping/unconscious (until woken up), covered in bandages and barely able to sit up without yelping in pain.
There's a lot of sexual humour in Act 1, including a certain scene in Rei's apartment which, when I was Rei and Shinji's age, was one of my all-time favourite scenes of the series. Alongside all the awkward sexualisation and sexual humour, Rei symbolically plays the role of Shinji's fantasy of femalekind. She's physically attractive in a strictly technical sense (ie she's structurally attractive), she's profoundly obedient, she's the only girl (that we know of at this time) going through what Shinji's going through, and she's frequently the damsel in distress (this last point is what initially motivates Shinji to pilot Eva). It all seems like they're meant to be together. But, as the fantasy rather than the reality (symbolically speaking), things don't get to play out that way. Rei is emotionally distant, and, from her end, emotional engagement with Shinji only happens when his knight-in-shining-armour-ness reminds her of Shinji's father. If that sounds creepy, don't worry. It gets worse. More on that later.
Gendo Ikari saves Rei from being boiled in her entry plug
Shinji Ikari saves Rei from being boiled in her entry plug
Shinji's relationship with Kensuke and Toji: Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara are two of Shinji's classmates, and the only people we'll really see become Shinji's friends throughout the bulk of the story. Kensuke, like Shinji, has no mother. Kensuke in some sort of idealised form of Shinji: we never see him showing any signs of insecurity or emotional weakness, and while Shinji's the frontman of a war he doesn't want to be a part of, Kensuke is a war-enthusiast, lamenting the fact that he doesn't get to be a part of the war.
Toji's first impressions of Shinji aren't all the flattering, unless you consider a heavy fist or two in the face a nice way to say hello. Shinji's first Eva battle has left Toji's sister severely wounded, so when Toji finds out that Shinji was piloting Eva Unit 01, Toji's not impressed. Later, after Toji and Kensuke's lives are directly saved by Shinji in the Eva, Toji insists that Shinji punch him back. Shinji does it, but immediately regrets it, insisting that he's the one who deserves to be punched, not Toji. Symbolically, this conflict and attitude has huge ramifications in Acts 2 and 3, playing out on a much larger scale.
Shinji's daddy issues: We don't learn much about Gendo Ikari in the first act, even though he's constantly around giving orders. We get to see that he's gruff and unfriendly right off the bat, that he has a cold employer/employee relationship with Shinji (which has been inactive for 3 years before the story starts), and that Shinji hates him. In episodes 5 and 6, we see Gendo caring about Rei, and Rei, who normally expresses very little of anything, lighting up when he speaks to her. Shinji freaks out a bit at the sight of this. It isn't clear to me whether he's jealous of Rei attaining his father's affection, or of his father attaining Rei's affection, so just to be safe I'm going to say it's both.
Shinji's mamma issues: We don't learn much about Shinji's mum at this point in the story. In fact, I'm not even sure if she's mentioned. But she has a great substitute in Misato Katsuragi. And by great, I mean Shinji's quick appraisal upon seeing the inside of her apartment is: "Ice....snacks....and fifty gallons of beer! What kind of life does she lead?!" Misato functions as Shinji's guardian throughout the series, which is made creepy by a whole lot of awkward sexual humour between the two early on, which reverberates later on. The sexual tension seems to be dismantled a lot through Shinji being unimpressed with Misato's sloppy housekeeping.
Subtle.
The sexual stuff goes deeper than awkward humour, though. The Third Angel (which is the first enemy of the series) is symbolic of Shinji's relationship with womankind. In particular, it's symbolic of when that relationship is damaged. Eva Unit 01 rips out one of the angel's ribs and uses that rib as a weapon, referencing woman being made of man's rib in the Bible. The angel, realising that it's going to die, decides that if it has to die, it may as well take down the Eva and everything else with it, indicating the messy crap that tends to happen during a break-up.
In turn, the Fourth Angel represents Shinji's estranged relationship with malekind. I almost don't want to write this, because I was able to go so long without seeing it, and once it's been seen, it can't be unseen. For years I was able to look at the Fourth Angel and just see a giant, buggy worm. And I like it that way. I want it to go back to that way. But again, what has been seen cannot be unseen. The Fourth Angel is a giant penis.
It's even got the...and the....and the way it...
Well, I'm overdue for sleep now. I'll continue this with Acts 2 and 3 once I've had some more sleep, and actually have the time to write. I'd say goodnight, but after seeing a penis like that...
Friday, January 24, 2014
Training -- Fri 24/01/2014
Rotator Cuff/BPA
2x15/15
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
5x5x77.5kg
Pull Ups
11xBW
10xBW
3x9xBW
OHP/Barbell Row
5x35kg -- It would have been entertaining to film this. I decided to start with the bar on the floor and power clean into position. So, with 35kg on the floor, I decided the only appropriate thing to do was to pretend that this was a 1RM deadlift, take a deep whiff of nose torque, scream a lot, charge at the bar, and spend 8 seconds shaking and groaning as I very slowly dragged it up my legs.
3x5x45kg/10x45kg
--/10x45kg
2x15/15
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
5x5x77.5kg
Pull Ups
11xBW
10xBW
3x9xBW
OHP/Barbell Row
5x35kg -- It would have been entertaining to film this. I decided to start with the bar on the floor and power clean into position. So, with 35kg on the floor, I decided the only appropriate thing to do was to pretend that this was a 1RM deadlift, take a deep whiff of nose torque, scream a lot, charge at the bar, and spend 8 seconds shaking and groaning as I very slowly dragged it up my legs.
3x5x45kg/10x45kg
--/10x45kg
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Training -- Thur 23/01/2014
I forgot my squat shoes. And thus follows one of the least hardcore workouts I've done in quite the while.
Deadlift
10x70kg
5x100kg
2x120kg
4x150kg
5x150kg
4x150kg
Barbell Step Ups
8x20kg
3x10x20kg
Deadlift
10x70kg
5x100kg
2x120kg
4x150kg
5x150kg
4x150kg
Barbell Step Ups
8x20kg
3x10x20kg
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Training -- Wed 22/01/2014
RC/BPA
2x15/15
Bench Press/Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x75kg
4x85kg/5x12.5kg
12x65kg/5x12.5kg
10x65kg/5x12.5kg
9x65kg/5x12.5kg
OHP/Barbell Row
5x30kg/10x47.5kg
5x5x41kg/10x47.5kg
2x15/15
Bench Press/Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x75kg
4x85kg/5x12.5kg
12x65kg/5x12.5kg
10x65kg/5x12.5kg
9x65kg/5x12.5kg
OHP/Barbell Row
5x30kg/10x47.5kg
5x5x41kg/10x47.5kg
Monday, January 20, 2014
Training -- Mon 20/01/2014
Front Squats
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x65kg
3x5x80kg
Back Squats
3x5x100kg -- Something was just off.
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x100kg/8x360lb
I was due to do some GHRs and more calf raises after that, but my enthusiasm wasn't there, so I did some snatch drills instead, because it's hard to be unenthusiastic while jumping around in complex patterns.
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x65kg
3x5x80kg
Back Squats
3x5x100kg -- Something was just off.
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x100kg/8x360lb
I was due to do some GHRs and more calf raises after that, but my enthusiasm wasn't there, so I did some snatch drills instead, because it's hard to be unenthusiastic while jumping around in complex patterns.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Training -- Fri 17/01/2014 and Sat 18/01/2014
FRIDAY
Front Squat
10xBW
5x40kg
3x65kg
3x3x85kg -- No belt
Back Squat
5x100kg
3x5x105kg -- No belt
Deadlift
3x110kg
3x4x150kg
SATURDAY
RC/BPA
2x15/15
Bench Press/Pull Up
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x75kg/10xBW
2x5x75kg/8xBW
OHP/Cable Row
10x20kg
5x30kg
5x40kg
4x45kg/12x60kg
3x45kg/12x60kg
Front Squat
10xBW
5x40kg
3x65kg
3x3x85kg -- No belt
Back Squat
5x100kg
3x5x105kg -- No belt
Deadlift
3x110kg
3x4x150kg
SATURDAY
RC/BPA
2x15/15
Bench Press/Pull Up
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x75kg/10xBW
2x5x75kg/8xBW
OHP/Cable Row
10x20kg
5x30kg
5x40kg
4x45kg/12x60kg
3x45kg/12x60kg
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Training -- Thur 16/01/2014
Rotator Cuff/Band Pull Apart
2x15/15
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x72.5kg
5x82.5kg
CGBP
3x8x65kg
Pull Ups
4x5x12.5kg
Incline DBBP
3x12x20kg
Barbell Row
5x10x45kg
2x15/15
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x72.5kg
5x82.5kg
CGBP
3x8x65kg
Pull Ups
4x5x12.5kg
Incline DBBP
3x12x20kg
Barbell Row
5x10x45kg
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Training -- Wed 15/01/2014
Paused Front Squats
10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
3x65kg
3x3x77.5kg
Paused Back Squats
5x80kg
5x85kg
5x90kg
2x5x95kg
Goodmorning/Calf Raise
3x10x45kg/16x300lb -- Getting more comfortable with the GM's. Over the last few weeks I've been experimenting with the type of bar used, where I set my hands on the bar, where I set the bar on my back (high or low bar position) and breathing. I think I've finally settled with Texas bar, low-bar squat setup, and breathing throughout the movement. The low bar position seems to be giving me much clearer proprioceptive feedback, which in turn is giving me better awareness about whether I'm keeping my chest up or not as I move, which in turn is allowing me to move at greater than snail pace. I liketh.
Glute Bridge/Calf Raise
3x10x45kg/12x300lb -- I've also been experimenting with foot position on glute bridges. I've always done them with my feet about hip-to-shoulder width apart, but am finding that the wider I set my feet (and thus the more I amplify the stripperness of this exercise), the easier it is for me to get a consistent glute contraction.
10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
3x65kg
3x3x77.5kg
Paused Back Squats
5x80kg
5x85kg
5x90kg
2x5x95kg
Goodmorning/Calf Raise
3x10x45kg/16x300lb -- Getting more comfortable with the GM's. Over the last few weeks I've been experimenting with the type of bar used, where I set my hands on the bar, where I set the bar on my back (high or low bar position) and breathing. I think I've finally settled with Texas bar, low-bar squat setup, and breathing throughout the movement. The low bar position seems to be giving me much clearer proprioceptive feedback, which in turn is giving me better awareness about whether I'm keeping my chest up or not as I move, which in turn is allowing me to move at greater than snail pace. I liketh.
Glute Bridge/Calf Raise
3x10x45kg/12x300lb -- I've also been experimenting with foot position on glute bridges. I've always done them with my feet about hip-to-shoulder width apart, but am finding that the wider I set my feet (and thus the more I amplify the stripperness of this exercise), the easier it is for me to get a consistent glute contraction.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Training -- Tue 14/01/2014
Bench Press/Ring L-Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
15x62.5kg/6xBW
12x62.5kg/6xBW
13x62.5kg/6xBW -- Went for a 14th rep, spotter kept me alive.
OHP/Barbell Row
5x30kg/10x40kg
5x5x40kg/10x40kg
10x20kg
5x40kg
15x62.5kg/6xBW
12x62.5kg/6xBW
13x62.5kg/6xBW -- Went for a 14th rep, spotter kept me alive.
OHP/Barbell Row
5x30kg/10x40kg
5x5x40kg/10x40kg
Monday, January 13, 2014
An Introduction to Working Out: Part 7 -- Stretching
Having been running this blog for a year, I'm going to go right back to basics. This is going to be a brief series on general principles and methods of exercising, and as new year resolutions are right around the corner, this should be a helpful go-to guide. In it I'll cover:
Part 1 -- Goal Setting
Part 2 -- Resistance Training Focus
Part 3 -- Cardiovascular Training Focus
Part 4 -- Selecting Starting Loads
Part 5 -- Selecting Starting Exercises
Part 6 -- Warming Up
Part 7 -- Stretching
Part 1 -- Goal Setting
Part 2 -- Resistance Training Focus
Part 3 -- Cardiovascular Training Focus
Part 4 -- Selecting Starting Loads
Part 5 -- Selecting Starting Exercises
Part 6 -- Warming Up
Part 7 -- Stretching
Stretching
If you've noticed how imbalanced a lot of resistance training programs are, then it might not be a surprise to you that stretching is typically just as bad. The problem likely originates in a poor understanding of why your should stretch in the first place.
A general understanding that was common amongst personal trainers back when I first became one was: if it's too loose, stop stretching it and start strengthening it; if it's too strong, stop strengthening it and start stretching it. Now, this concept has problems (for example, tight muscles are often still weak, and strong does not imply immobility), but the basic idea and priorities set here are still worth thinking about when it comes to a stretching program.
Many people don't stretch at all, leaving tight muscles tight. Many people stretch everything equally, including muscles that are tight and muscles that are loose to the point of dangerous joint instability. Many people stretch only a certain group of muscles, because those are the only stretches they know, or because that's what feels good to them, even though they have other muscles that need stretching.
I should note that stretching because it feels good is, well, good. Go ahead and do it. But in order to stretch productively, be conscious of what muscle imbalances you have and how your stretching impacts these imbalances.
Let's get into some of the different purposes for stretching, and how you would do it in that circumstance.
Warming Up
This has been touched in Part 6, but warm up stretches should generally be dynamic, not static (unless static stretching is needed to get you safely and comfortably into the right positions for training).
>> Dynamic stretching means getting into the position for a stretch, and then exiting that position again with little to no hold. For example, a dynamic hip flexor stretch could be getting into position for a lunge stretch, and then dropping your hips back a couple inches a second later to take the tension off the hip flexor. Pulse in and out of the stretch for 10 or so reps, and do the same on the other side. Alternatively, swinging your legs from front to back is a great dynamic stretch for your hip flexors and hamstrings (depending on the intensity with which you do this, you could call this ballistic stretching which, in 5 years, I have not been able to find a clear, consistent definition for).
Improving Muscle Flexibility
This is a fairly obvious reason to stretch, just as getting stronger is an obvious reason to lift. The primary method here is classic static stretching, but we'll also look at a more advanced method.
>> Static stretching means to get into a position that puts a muscle on stretch and hold it. As you hold a stretch, especially in the first 10 seconds or so, your muscles will start to relax, which in turn will allow you to move deeper in to the stretch. For a purely muscular stretch, a good static stretch duration is about 30 seconds in most cases, however you may need to hold it for longer than that in some circumstances.
>> PNF stretching is short for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching (if it helps, even I had to look that up to make sure I got it right). There are various PNF protocols, but the way I generally do it is to take a static stretch and wait until the initial muscular resistance has dissipated (so 10ish seconds) and then, once in a fairly deep stretch, have the client push back against the stretch (typically with me opposing them, holding them in position). The goal is not to actually move out of the stretch, it's simply to push back against the stretch. I'll typically have the client keep pushing back for a count of 6, and then relax. As you relax, you'll ease into an even deeper stretch than before. The theory goes something like this: by contracting in what feels like a stretched position, and then relaxing, your proprioceptive system resets the neural mapping on what a tight stretch is, so neural inhibition against a deeper stretch is reduced. There are, of course, certain risks here, as you're neural mapping is there for a reason, but often in beginners we are more inhibited than we need to be, which is where PNF stretching has its place.
These next two reasons for stretching, and the practical applications thereof, are issues that you hopefully don't need to deal with. Don't assume that because they're different (and thus have a mild cool factor to them) that you should be doing them.
Improving Joint Mobility
Often muscle flexibility and joint mobility are interchangeable issues, because often muscle flexibility is the limiting factor to joint mobility. However, this isn't always the case.
>> Joint stretches often put joints in uncomfortable positions. You might feel like you're about to enjoy a solid dislocation. You might find that muscles that clearly aren't being stretched feel like they are. Joint stretches are a whole lot of fun which should be avoided unless they're genuinely necessary. Joint stretches are often held for 2min or longer. Sometimes they're even locked in with a brace (as is the case when having braces glued to your teeth) for a very extended stretch. I strongly advice against self-prescribing these as they deform tissues such as ligaments and the joint capsule, and unlike muscle (which is, you know, elastic and stretchy), these tissues don't necessarily shorten again afterwards. This is something you should probably only do if your physio prescribes it.
Mobilising Nerves
When I was a child, the popular thing to do on hamstring stretches was to get your leg straight, bend at the hip until you get a stretch in the hamstrings, and then point your toes back at you to stretch your sciatic nerve. To this date, I haven't found a single good reason to do this, although admittedly I haven't looked very far for one. Something that is practiced by physiotherapists, however, is nerve gliding.
>> Nerve gliding does not aim to stretch a nerve, really. Instead, it aims to get a nerve moving healthily through its sheath. An example of nerve gliding that I did for a while last year you rehab my shoulders leading up to my first powerlifitng competition was to start with my arm reaching out to one side, my palm facing up, my fingers pointing down, and my head tilted towards my arm. In one fluid movement I'd then curl my hand and flex my elbow bringing my fingers to my shoulder while tilting my head away from my arm. Again, the goal here is not to stretch the nerve, but to mobilise it. If your nerves are moving normally, then there probably isn't a need for these. If there is a need for it, you'll probably know about it, because you'll be sitting in your physio's office.
Well, that's a wrap.
Training -- Mon 13/01/2014
Front Squats
10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
5x65kg
3x5x77.5kg
Back Squats
3x10x97.5kg -- I can tell I'm having some success with fat loss, because the belt was on but it wasn't very tight. I wonder how much I weight these days...
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x97.5kg/12x340lb -- SLDLs were all done with straps, due to me slicing my finger open while preparing breakfast this morning. Figured using my fingers to hold almost 100kg wasn't the best idea, given the circumstances.
GHR/Calf Raise
3x4xBW/12x340lb -- Rep PB for glute ham raise.
10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
5x65kg
3x5x77.5kg
Back Squats
3x10x97.5kg -- I can tell I'm having some success with fat loss, because the belt was on but it wasn't very tight. I wonder how much I weight these days...
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x97.5kg/12x340lb -- SLDLs were all done with straps, due to me slicing my finger open while preparing breakfast this morning. Figured using my fingers to hold almost 100kg wasn't the best idea, given the circumstances.
GHR/Calf Raise
3x4xBW/12x340lb -- Rep PB for glute ham raise.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Training -- Sat 11/01/2014
Rotator Cuff/Band Pull Apart
2x15/15
Bench Press/Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x72.5kg/10xBW
2x5x72.5kg/8xBW
OHP/Cable Row
10x20kg/12x50kg
5x30kg/12x50kg
1x37.5kg/12x50kg
5x42.5kg/12x50kg
5x42.5kg/5x60kg
5x42.5kg/1x70kg
--/1x80kg
2x15/15
Bench Press/Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x72.5kg/10xBW
2x5x72.5kg/8xBW
OHP/Cable Row
10x20kg/12x50kg
5x30kg/12x50kg
1x37.5kg/12x50kg
5x42.5kg/12x50kg
5x42.5kg/5x60kg
5x42.5kg/1x70kg
--/1x80kg
Friday, January 10, 2014
Training -- Fri 10/1/2014
Front Squat
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x72.5kg
3x1x85kg -- I physically could have done more reps, but mentally wasn't feeling it.
Back Squat
1x95kg
1x105kg
1x110kg
1x115kg
1x120kg -- Not so pretty on the way up. This was a beltless PB for high bar squats.
Deadlift
10x60kg
5x100kg
2x140kg
2x160kg
2x170kg
7x140kg -- Tim was talking up the 2xBW 10-rep deadlift I did back in my last training phase, and I felt like I had to live up to some expectations, but the 7th rep felt a bit wonky, so I decided to be sensible and end the set there rather than going on and breaking my back.
Glute Bridge
3x10x40kg
One-Legged Calf Raise
3x8x20kg
And I did 5 ring pull ups, just to test out the rings, as in a couple weeks time they'll become my main source of pull ups, as my time at Strength Sports Gym is coming to an end to usher in my time at Masterpiece Strength Academy, where I look forward to training a lot of people and continuing my own development.
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x72.5kg
3x1x85kg -- I physically could have done more reps, but mentally wasn't feeling it.
Back Squat
1x95kg
1x105kg
1x110kg
1x115kg
1x120kg -- Not so pretty on the way up. This was a beltless PB for high bar squats.
Deadlift
10x60kg
5x100kg
2x140kg
2x160kg
2x170kg
7x140kg -- Tim was talking up the 2xBW 10-rep deadlift I did back in my last training phase, and I felt like I had to live up to some expectations, but the 7th rep felt a bit wonky, so I decided to be sensible and end the set there rather than going on and breaking my back.
Glute Bridge
3x10x40kg
One-Legged Calf Raise
3x8x20kg
And I did 5 ring pull ups, just to test out the rings, as in a couple weeks time they'll become my main source of pull ups, as my time at Strength Sports Gym is coming to an end to usher in my time at Masterpiece Strength Academy, where I look forward to training a lot of people and continuing my own development.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Training -- Thur 9/1/2014
Rotator Cuff/BPA
15xOrange/15xOrange
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x72.5kg
4x82.5kg -- Attempted a 5th rep, failed to lockout (same as last rep on Tuesday)
Pull Ups
4x6x11.25kg
CGBP
3x8x62.5kg
Incline DBBP/Barbell Row
3x11x20kg/10x40kg
15xOrange/15xOrange
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x72.5kg
4x82.5kg -- Attempted a 5th rep, failed to lockout (same as last rep on Tuesday)
Pull Ups
4x6x11.25kg
CGBP
3x8x62.5kg
Incline DBBP/Barbell Row
3x11x20kg/10x40kg
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Training -- Wed 8/1/2014
Pause Front Squats
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x3x75kg
Pause Squats
5x75kg
5x85kg
2x5x90kg
Goodmorning/Calf Raise
3x8x40kg/15x300lb
Glute Ham Raise
1+1neg xBW -- Knee pad set too far back for proper leverage
2x3xBW -- Knee pad fixed up
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x3x75kg
Pause Squats
5x75kg
5x85kg
2x5x90kg
Goodmorning/Calf Raise
3x8x40kg/15x300lb
Glute Ham Raise
1+1neg xBW -- Knee pad set too far back for proper leverage
2x3xBW -- Knee pad fixed up
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Training -- Tue 07/01/2014
Rotator Cuff/BPA
2x15xOrange/15xOrange
Bench Press/L-Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
14x62.5kg/7xBW
12x62.5kg/7xBW
8x62.5kg/7xBW -- Attempted a 9th rep and spent a lot of time trying to lock it out. A lot. Unsuccessfully.
OHP/Fat Gripz Row
5x30kg/12x55kg
4x5x37.5kg/12x55kg
5x37.5kg/11x55kg
2x15xOrange/15xOrange
Bench Press/L-Pull Ups
10x20kg
5x40kg
14x62.5kg/7xBW
12x62.5kg/7xBW
8x62.5kg/7xBW -- Attempted a 9th rep and spent a lot of time trying to lock it out. A lot. Unsuccessfully.
OHP/Fat Gripz Row
5x30kg/12x55kg
4x5x37.5kg/12x55kg
5x37.5kg/11x55kg
Monday, January 6, 2014
An Introduction to Working Out: Part 6 -- Warming Up
Having been running this blog for a year, I'm going to go right back to basics. This is going to be a brief series on general principles and methods of exercising, and as new year resolutions are right around the corner, this should be a helpful go-to guide. In it I'll cover:
Part 1 -- Goal Setting
Part 2 -- Resistance Training Focus
Part 3 -- Cardiovascular Training Focus
Part 4 -- Selecting Starting Loads
Part 5 -- Selecting Starting Exercises
Part 6 -- Warming Up
Part 7 -- Stretching
Part 1 -- Goal Setting
Part 2 -- Resistance Training Focus
Part 3 -- Cardiovascular Training Focus
Part 4 -- Selecting Starting Loads
Part 5 -- Selecting Starting Exercises
Part 6 -- Warming Up
Part 7 -- Stretching
Warming Up
Warming up isn't something I normally write about, although if you follow my training logs, you can usually see it going on in my first exercise of the day, and occasionally on other exercises that need it. Warming up is honestly bad terminology to use, because physically being warm is only one element of a successful warm up. The primary goal of warming up is preparation for work.
Because everyone's different, you and the person next to you shouldn't necessarily warm up the same way for the same workout. And, because different workouts have different aims, you really shouldn't warm up the same way for two different workouts. Why? Because, once again, the goal of warming up is not to be warm, but to be ready for work. What it takes to get you ready won't be the same as what it takes for someone else, and as an individual, different tasks require different methods of preparation.
Light Cardiovascular Warm Up (General Warm Up)
This is right up there in the most common ways people warm up. And in some instances, they even should warm up this way. But it's not always necessary, and often people turn it into a cardiovascular workout in and of itself, which can have a negative impact on your workout if the aim of your workout was not low-to-moderate intensity cardio.
The general goal of a light cardiovascular warm up is simply to get the blood flowing, the body moving, and the temperature rising. When it's appropriate to do so, most people only need a 5min light cardiovascular warm up, unless the environment is cold, in which case longer may be necessary. People with conditions such as asthma, however, often need a longer, slower warm up, so that their breathing and body temperature increases steadily and doesn't cause their condition to play up.
Mobility Warm Up
You gotta stretch while warming up, right? Well, depends. If you need to stretch in order to safely get into the positions you'll be working in, then yes. If not, then it's not so important. If you are going to stretch during a warm up, it's normally preferred that you perform dynamic stretching, as holding a stretch relaxes the muscles, and most of the time relaxing your muscles is not conducive to work. Of course, this does depend on the work you're doing and how much range of motion you can get out of dynamic stretching.
Specific Warm Up
This is the part of the warm up that you'll typically see in my training journal. Whatever your activity, specific warm ups directly prepare you for work. A specific warm up might come after a general warm up and mobility warm up, but that isn't always the case. For example, while I generally do a little bit of stretching to prepare for squats, and would do general, mobility and specific warm ups for sprinting, my bench press warm up is simply to bench press, starting with an unloaded bar, and to increase the weight set after set until I'm ready for work.
In the specific warm up, you'll typically do one of two things:
1) Drills that work on specific parts of the exercise you'll be working with
2) The exact exercise you'll be working with, scaled down to a lower intensity
For the most part, if you have to do the first, it will be followed by the second.
When it comes to drills, they should work on specific skills or technique points that you'll be focusing on during the exercise. For example, a drill I'll tend to put myself through for sprint training is to walk, but drive my knee up high and at the same time drive my heel up to my butt with each step, preparing for the movement I'll be performing once the speed increases. Or, back when I was trying hard not to suck at the Olympic lifts, I did a lot of high pulls, high hang snatches, low hang snatches and snatch balances as drills in my warm up.
When it comes to scaled sets of the exercise you'll be performing, it's quite simple: you begin with a load that is very light, and, just like in the general warm up, you do enough volume (reps or distance) to get your limbs moving and some blood flowing. With each set, the intensity increases and the volume decreases.
The most common mistake made at this point int he warm up is to treat warm up sets as work sets. That would generally mean approaching failure with each set. Warming up is not work. It's just preparation for work. With that in mind, here's an example of how not to warm up for a 100kg squat (aiming for sets of 5 reps), and how to warm up for it.
How not to do it
50x20kg
30x40kg
20x60kg
10x80kg
Once you've done that, you'll be sufficiently stuffed. You may not even be able to do the work sets.
How to do it
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x80kg
If doing only 1 rep at 80% of your working weight looks too easy...good, you're getting it. Warming up isn't supposed to be any harder than it needs to be to get you ready for the real work. In fact, it should make you able to do the real work as best as you possibly can, which is going to be a lot better in this second scenario than in the first.
Training -- Mon 06/01/2014
Front Squat
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x75kg
Back Squat
3x10x95kg
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x95kg/11x340lb
Glute Bridge/Calf Raise
3x10x35kg/11x340lb
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x75kg
Back Squat
3x10x95kg
SLDL/Calf Raise
3x6x95kg/11x340lb
Glute Bridge/Calf Raise
3x10x35kg/11x340lb
Friday, January 3, 2014
Training -- Fri 03/01/2014
Front Squat
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x72.5kg
3x3x82.5kg
Back Squat
3x5x102.5kg -- 1st set beltless, 2nd and 3rd set with a belt.
Deadlift
10x70kg
5x100kg
2x120kg
3x3x150kg -- Don't know why this was so weak, considering I was doing this weight for 5 last time.
GHR/Calf Raise
1+2neg xBW/12x300lb
2x2xBW/12x300lb
Methinks I'll be skipping out on training tomorrow. Minimum temperature 26C + max temperature 41C tells me I'm going to spend the entire day sitting in air conditioning instead of venturing outside.
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x72.5kg
3x3x82.5kg
Back Squat
3x5x102.5kg -- 1st set beltless, 2nd and 3rd set with a belt.
Deadlift
10x70kg
5x100kg
2x120kg
3x3x150kg -- Don't know why this was so weak, considering I was doing this weight for 5 last time.
GHR/Calf Raise
1+2neg xBW/12x300lb
2x2xBW/12x300lb
Methinks I'll be skipping out on training tomorrow. Minimum temperature 26C + max temperature 41C tells me I'm going to spend the entire day sitting in air conditioning instead of venturing outside.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Training -- Thur 02/01/2014
Rotator Cuff/Band Pull Apart
2x15xOrange/15xOrange
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x70kg
5x80kg -- Last rep was not the grinder that this was 2 weeks ago. Small progress by technique/RPE.
Pull Ups/CGBP
2x6x11.25kg/8x60kg
5x11.25kg/8x60kg
4x11.25kg
Incline DBBP/Barbell Row
2x10x20kg/5x50kg
9x20kg/5x50kg
--/2x5x50kg
2x15xOrange/15xOrange
Bench Press
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x70kg
5x80kg -- Last rep was not the grinder that this was 2 weeks ago. Small progress by technique/RPE.
Pull Ups/CGBP
2x6x11.25kg/8x60kg
5x11.25kg/8x60kg
4x11.25kg
Incline DBBP/Barbell Row
2x10x20kg/5x50kg
9x20kg/5x50kg
--/2x5x50kg
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Training -- NYE/NYD 2013-2014
The last half hour of 2013 was spent doing what my unfit friends called "hiking" (I call it walking along the road) to get to a spot where we could see the New Year's fireworks. 12:15-12:45am was spent doing another "hike" to return home.
I'm doing an outdoor group training session this Saturday (not my normal repertoire), and decided this morning that I should really head on over to the park it'll be at and get a feel for the place, establishing a general idea of what I'll do on the day. This basically meant a 10min warm up, 20min of sprint training, 5min of stretching (all stretches used to prep participants to learn how to squat), and 2 rounds of a circuit of squats, push ups, child's pose, bird dog and bridges. That worked out to be 45min. On the day I'll do a 3rd round of the circuit, and maybe some extra ab work. Then close with another 5-10min of stretching. I would have done the full hour, but I didn't have a PT there to motivate me...or whatever.
I'm doing an outdoor group training session this Saturday (not my normal repertoire), and decided this morning that I should really head on over to the park it'll be at and get a feel for the place, establishing a general idea of what I'll do on the day. This basically meant a 10min warm up, 20min of sprint training, 5min of stretching (all stretches used to prep participants to learn how to squat), and 2 rounds of a circuit of squats, push ups, child's pose, bird dog and bridges. That worked out to be 45min. On the day I'll do a 3rd round of the circuit, and maybe some extra ab work. Then close with another 5-10min of stretching. I would have done the full hour, but I didn't have a PT there to motivate me...or whatever.
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