My Strength Journey: July 2012

Tuesday 31 July 2012

Video that has changed my world!

Video by Kelly Starett (@mobilitywod on Twitter) that totally flips Rehab/Prehab on its head

Forget everything you have ever heard about:

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UmJVgEWZu4&list=UUnnB4zDBqZHhQ4uLTAX8eYA&index=1&feature=plcp

Jimmy

Monday 30 July 2012

Speeeeedy Workout

Geeeeez I am tired! Got back home from the airport tonight at 8.30 (Typical - plane was delayed over an hour) and drove straight to the gym, had 50 minutes before it closed :)

Weight 167.2lbs - Macros 80F/440C/210P

DE Upper

Speed DB Bench

20KG 8x3

DB Floor Press

28KG 4x7

Weighted Chin Ups

BW +14KG 5x5 - Weight PR

Military Press

45KG 3x6

DB Rows

30KG 3x10

BB Curls

25KG 3x10

Farmers Walks

I DID - 30KG DB's 75M - 4x

Cross Trainer Intervals

30s ON / 45s OFF - 10x

I have started to do Interval training again after reading Mike Boyle's book whereby he explains that in terms of conditioning / metabolic / muscular benefits HIIT wins hands down over steady state cardio + walking on an incline is boring! The reason I stopped doing it was because I was to sore for workouts, but now with extra Kcals am thinking this shouldn't be an issue.

I stopped drinking for the last few days of my holiday to get rid of any alcohol bloat and am now focused solely on growing.

Weight - I feel that because I used to weigh 18+ stone I have found the last few months mentally difficult as although I know I need to put on mass in order to get stronger I spend far to much time worrying about putting on excess body fat which is incredibly counter productive. At the end of the day in order to reach the numbers I want to hit in the gym (for myself but also in terms of a future career in S&C I need a respectable level of strength to be taken seriously) I am going to have to go up to at least 185-190lbs and yes some of that will be fat but I just need to deal with it.

Although walking around in everyday life I may look like I lift compared to others I am reminded every time I step in the gym just how much stronger I can be if I want...

Inspiration

Below are some websites I recommend following:

tonygentilcore.com - My favourite S&C writer / mixes humour with knowledge

http://www.liftbigeatbig.com/ - Need I say more

http://www.t-nation.com/ - Amazing set of authors on the roster

http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/ - Unreal knowledge regarding powerlifting & bodybuilding

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/ - NOT the main BB website but the FORUM!!!!!

Music

Kontraband - Fame

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz6-1XczIIE

Sunday 29 July 2012

Holiday Update

Holiday Snaps

Pretty restaurant we ate at

Above are some photos of a town near where I am staying

Delicious

Easy way to get 1 of your 5 a day with Marzipan Vegetables :)

Playground Today

Workout

Interval Training - 30sec Sprints / 45sec Walking X 5

Pull Up / Clapping Press Up Superset - 1x1 then change until 10 reps of each preformed

Jump Squats - 15-20 Reps

Ab Crunches - 15-20 Reps

Completed 6x

Weight - 169lbs

Not worried about weight at all, to busy enjoying the food and wine :) / if I am sub 170 when I get home I will bump macros to 80F / 440C / 210P

Jimmy

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Time to get creative.....

Creative Upper Body Workout

Pull-Ups

5-15 Reps

Press-Ups

20-30 Reps

BW Inverted Rows

5-10 Reps

BW Dips

15-20 Reps

Chin-Ups

5-10 Reps

Finisher - Clapping Press Ups / BW Tri dips on bench / Negatives on Chin Up Bar

Really great workout (apart from I have a pec twinge from the Pull-Ups, did at appr 2 weeks ago and it hasn't gona away so gonna leave them out for a while). Doing the Press Ups on the park benches allows you to dip down very low and really get a good stretch in the chest, haha I got some very funny looks doing chin-ups in a nursery playground but oh well.... when needs must.

Just got back from Sarlat (below)

this is a very pretty French town well known for its Foie Gras :)

Tomorrow will be sprints + Abs

Jimmy

Monday 23 July 2012

Good weather

World's easiest maze!

Tomorrow I am going to do an Upper Body Circuit, by the end of this holiday I want to be able to walk on my hands!!!

Training in France

Lower Body Focus Circuit

BW Squats

1x 15-20

Jumping Lunges

1x 10-15

Hanging Leg Raises

1x 8-13

20m Sprints

5

Jumps over Bench

1x 10-15

Circuit was Completed 6x (40 mins)

Wow I am sooooo unfit, first workout in ages where the focus was getting my heart rate going and I really thought I was going to die halfway through. A year ago this would have been easy but after focussing so much attention on increasing strength my cardiovascular fitness has really suffered. Gona have to start adding in more GPP (General Physical Preparedness) to my current routine me thinks.

Kcals were very high yesterday but tbh thats not really going to change all week so just gonna have to deal with some weight gain when I get back, I am on holiday after all :)

Will post some pics later

Jimmy

Saturday 21 July 2012

Some Quick Highlights

DB Press 44KG 1x1

Chin-Ups BW + 28KG (103KG Total - Video Below)

gl all

Friday 20 July 2012

Recently...

Recent Highlights

Weighted Dips

BW + 18KG 4x7 - Weight PR

Weighted Chin Ups

BW + 12KG 2x6 / 1x5 / 2x4+1 - Weight PR

BW Inverted Rows

BW - 10/8/7/6 - Rep PR

Defecit Deadlifts

115KG 4x5 Weight PR

Recent News

My PT material has arrived

I am really enjoying studying these, I have started with the stuff I have no clue about E.g Biology lol. I cannot remember any of the stuff about the skeleton/muscular/respiratory systems etc so I figure if I start with the actual science this will make crossing it over to the exercises easier.

It is going to take more studying than I first thought but tbh it is perfectly doable and I just have to put my mind to it!!!!

Dog making revision hard :)

I currently feel like death (Man-Flu) and am off on holiday but am hoping the warm weather will help cure my serious ailment cough cough....

Will try to remember to take photos of the French food and just how badly it is going to affect my diet, although I have already packed 10+ bags of biltong haha

Music

Dream (This Isn't House) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl0FHZ8UzVc

I will leave you with this...

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Current Reading + Thoughts

Current Reading

Super Eating

This book goes into great detail of all the different types of vitamins and minerals humans need and the exact foods that contain them.

It goes into detail as to what negatively affects these vitamins and minerals in your body such as IBS or excessive caffeine consumption and how to counter this.

Obviousy my daily intake of pop tarts and ice cream isn't exactly what the book touches on but I make sure to get in 90% of my Kcals from micronutrient dense foods and was curious as to which fruits and veg offered the best bang for their buck.

From my point of view it seems I need to increase my:

Potassium/Manganese/Magnesium/Vitamin B2+C intake as these are affected by strenuous exercise

After reading this I will try to include more spinach and eggs in my diet

Mike Boyle's Advances in Functional Training

Recommended by one of my favourite S&C Professionals (the witty + informative www.tonygentilcore.com) and although I am not going to follow all of the advice the info on injury prevention and how to keep your body in A+ condition despite hard training is golden.

Recommendations such as getting rid of the back squat in favour of single leg work and front squats is not going to happen. BUT I will try to incorporate single leg work into my workouts instead of things such as the Leg Press.

Any person who trains for strength and wants to be in the game for the long haul could do a lot worse than reading this. At the end of the day no matter how strong/fast/explosive/dynamic your team is if they are all injured because of training they are no use to anyone!

Thoughts

I will be going away at the end of the week on holiday and will be unable to train (no weights/squat rack) until the 30th July. I will also be unable to track Kclas or Macros so will be winging it. Firstly I will still train out in France as I know I can run and do bodyweight stuff and then will just improvise e.g pull ups on climbing frames etc. Secondly I will not go to crazy on the food and binge.

HOWEVER - I have not had a deload workout in appr 6 months and have been relatively precise with my eating for the past year so am going to enjoy myself and have balance on holiday which means eating and drinking a bit too much :)

IMPORTANT NEWS!!!!

I have booked my beginner personal trainer course for September and my 1st Strength and Conditioning workshop for November - my thoughts are that I will do this part time intro to PT'ing and then see about doing the advanced course. I do not want to become a PT but would like to work in the S&C field so I figure I will likely need it and really it can only benefit me in the long run as I am not sure what I would like to do.

Weight 168.4lbs

Any questions plz email @ JimmysStrengthJourney@gmail.com

Max Effort Lower 16/7/12

Low Bar Squat

20KG 1x5

40KG 1x5

60KG 1x5

70KG 1x3

80KG 1x1

90KG 1x1

100KG 1x1

110KG 1x1

115KG 1x1

120KG 1x1

125KG 1x1 Weight PR

100KG 1x3

80KG 2x5

Good Mornings

45KG 4x10 Rep PR

Pull Throughs

30KG 4x15-20

Leg Extensions

85KG 4x12-15

Abs

4xHLR

Recovery Workout 17/7/12

5 Minutes Foam Rolling

10 Minutes Static Stretching

5 Minutes Dynamic Warm-Up

250 Kcals burnt

10 Minute Foam Roll + Stretch

Grilled Courgette + 375g Lamb Medallions

Music

Black Stone Cherry (Like I Roll)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jZbCnac83E

Saturday 14 July 2012

Eats

1. Spicy Turkey

2. Wrap + Avocado

1+2 = $$$

300g Pineapple

Wrap + 70g mashed banana + 30g Peanut Butter Co Dark Choc Dreams

The base = Almond Milk + Oats + Whey + Syrup Weetabix

Mid Layer = 100g banana + 50g Blueberries + Supreme Protein Peanut Crunch


Ta da = 10g maple syrup + 40g Weetos = pre-bed snack / Spider-Man Pop Tart :)

Music by Billy Talent

Viking Death March - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swAcNLxkrSE

Max Effort Upper 14/7/12

Max Effort Upper Workout 14/7/12

Barbell Floor Press

20KG 1x5

40KG 1x5

60KG 1x3

70KG 1x1

75KG 1x1

80KG 1x1

85KG 1x1

90KG 1x1

95KG 1x1 - Weight PR

80KG 1x3

70KG 2x6