Sunday Ouch! Day 2 DOMS, walking downstairs is hard. Bench: 20kgx5, 40x5, 60x5, 70x5, 80x5. 90x1, AMRAP 92.5x5. Felt good throughout, might have managed another 1-2, but left it at that before form break down. Push ups 10,15,15,15,10. Monday Last big run of the year. Painful to walk, so I planned an 8 with a few "get outs" in case it got too much. 8.3 mile 85 mins, HR kept under 70% range (~150bpm) so no chest problems. I stopped a little early so I could walk out the last bit. Walking was harder than the running. A brief stretch and an ice bath quads still sore but useable at the moment.
Tuesday Started the day with quads still sore, but deadlifts usually balance it out. Deadlifts- last heavy one this year. Warm-up 60kgx5, 80x5, 90x5, 100x5, 110x5, 125x2, 140x2. Working 4 sets of 147.5 x5. Last set AMRAP 147.5kgx6. really struggled to lock out on the last rep, it looks like my form broke down too much on that set. Rows 60kg 3x5. Stretching 30 minutes focused on side splits. Shadow boxing working on footwork and guard for 3 minutes. 3 rounds of 2 minutes, 30 second break. First round hands only. Second and 3rd round punch to kick combinations. 3 minute rest then focus on a few punch spinning kick combo; Low cross high jab, spinning back kick. 8 times each side. Jab, hook rear turning kick, spinning hook kick. 8 times each side. Run out of time to practise a few more, but felt good. Might manage 2 more light sessions this week if my schedule permits.
In the past I sucked it up as it was on my schedule, and I always felt the quad soreness diminish quicker, so it's my go to strategy now Probably have sore ham's and lats for the next few days.
Friday Last proper workout this year. I planned a to not push near max so that I'm not vulnerable to all the illness going around. Bench warm-up 20kgx5, 40x8, 60x5, 70x5 working set: 82.5kgx3 for 7 sets. AMRAP on last set 82.5kgx6. I felt I could have squeezed another 3-5 out, so that was enough for bench. Added some High bar squat, not a full workout, just enough to keep stimulated. 20kgx5, 40kgx5, 60kgx5, 70x5 85kgx3x3. It felt enough to feel the quads wobble after, and kept my HR in the under 70% zone. Push-ups 10,10,10 Sit-ups 10,10,10 20 minutes stretching. 20 minutes shadow boxing. Now to spend the next few days doing no official exercise and watch my weight shoot up. Average weight this week: 89kg. Body fat has gone up to 16% (bye bye abs, see you next year ) I've upped calories/protien the last week or so, I expected an increase. I anticipate more weight increase over the next 8 weeks. I'll probably try and fit in one deload workout next week to keep things ticking over, and do I don't come back into it getting mega DOMS.
best part of the week doing no scheduled exercise. Travelling around to pick up things and visit family, I would consider it active rest except Christmas day. I made up for last year by not being ill, had 3 plates of roast dinner and 3 bowls of pudding- yummy! Wednesday I did 20 minutes off stretching spread out through the day in 4 minute sessions to get my body back into it. This was followed by 2minutes shadow boxing each time. Thursday possibly the only workout until Tuesday. Keeping it moderate intensity, and low volume. 1 minute shadow boxing Deadlift 60kgx5, 80kg,5, 90x5, 100x5 120kg 3x3 bench 20kgx5, 40x5, 50x5, 60x5, 70x5 80kg 3x3 pushups 3x10 2m30s shadow boxing. felt enough to keep my body going, I resisted the urge to lift more. another few days of very little, I'll do bits of stretching,shadow boxing and try to work on yang 24 step form. weight is up to 89Kg, jeans feel considerably tighter
I have not weighed myself since the 9th December, and I am refusing to do so again until the 5th January. I am however, trying (struggling?) to convince myself that the bitterly cold air is responsible for the lack of 'give' that I am currently experiencing, with the majority of my waistbands... Travess
I have a gym setup in my garage, so it's always there ready to fall in without excuses I spent a large part of yesterday's session moving boxes and wrapping paper out of the way.
I Wish I had space for a home gym. I used to have bench, squat rack and a power tower at one point. Makes life so much easier.
We're looking to move house, and I think it's probably up the top of the list, space for the gym above all else Annoyingly my house has small ceilings, so I cannot overhead press with 20kg plates on, which I realised for the first time when I knocked the light off and dented the ceiling.
The last few days I've done very little, eaten loads. I've been doing gentle stretching throughout the day, and shadow boxing for 5-10 minutes a day. Monday Almost forgot what day it was with the holiday blurring into one. 2x2min shadow boxing, very light, working foot work primarily. 1 hour trigger point roller. My calf's are really tight; I spent about 30 minutes on the lower leg muscles which was intense back to the routine tomorrow. Feeling physically and mentally fresh for it. Main targets for this year Deadlift over 190kg by March. Bench over 110kg by March. 10k race in May, working to get 45mins or less. Minor targets Increase high bar squat over 130kg 5k race in July on trail 22 mins or less General progress in Kickboxing Progress towards side splits. Method to achieve: Lifting plan is based on Juggernaut 531, modified to fit around Kickboxing and running. Whilst increased calories and protien intake. Run plan is focused on increased mileage at low intensity, minimal hills/HIIT sprints. Whilst decreasing calorie intake. Challenges Asthma in the season changes and under stress. Issues with lower legs on increased training. Being woken regularly at night, or in the morning early reducing recovery. Let's see how this all goes across the year. Get stuck in and get on it
Reading Green park. Royal Berkshire 10K | Berkshire's Premier Road Race It's a relatively flat run, so it works well for a personal best attempt I may do others throughout the year, but I base my plan around this race in mid May.
Ah, I see! The Wallingford Thames 10k is in May too, (which I am signed up on) so I wondered if it may have been that one. Travess
that looks like a good race - I like that time of year for racing, usually a bit on the warmer side, but dry enough for decent traction. I enjoyed the trail races I started more recently, so I intend to find more routes part off road to get better conditioning for it after the 10k.
They are increasing well I measure about 4inches from groin to the ground on side splits at best. I will log measurements this year on focused stretching that will help me stay on track. From December I worked on maintenance more that progression to keep the flexibility from fading. Generally speaking I feel a lot less tight in the hips when executing kicks with leg abduction, I can move to side splints 10inches from the ground with little stretching whereas when I re-started the plan in June/July it would take 10 minutes to get to that point. In condjunction I also worked on hip flexor exercises, kicking from chamber position which really helped make if feel easier to execute kicks in my flexible range. I have to add that I really hate the plan that you created - soley because of the pain involved I am definitely seeing the benefits of it. (no pain no gain!)