Today was probably the worst bench day I had in a while. Could even finish my reps for my first set, and it was even just 5 pounds more than last week!
But the strange thing is that it didn't effect me as much as I thought it would be. I wasn't worried or frustrated at all. All I thought about was "next week is a new week".
Frankly, my weakness is "barbell" benching and I don't even like benching at all. I like dumbell benching but in my gym, it only goes up to 100 pounds (each hand).
Never give up! Never lay off!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Squat day and tip of the day
Want to grow muscular big? Then you must eat more than you burn per day. Want to be lean? They you must eat less than you burn per day.
Want to grow big and lean? Unfortunately, that is pretty hard to achieve especially if you do not have a strict diet planned out day after day after day.
Its must easier to first grow big than trim the fat, but its up to you...
Anyway, today is squat day...made a few mistake today. While doing my max of the week, my knees bow in while ascending. I did it a few times but quickly corrected my form. Then I did something to my left knee, but I don't know how to describe it...least to say that its pretty sore now.
Practice, practice, practice. Form and technique is more important than what you can lift. Why? Safety, injury prevention, injury reduction, better recovery...a few I can think of. Overtraining is just not worth it...
Want to grow big and lean? Unfortunately, that is pretty hard to achieve especially if you do not have a strict diet planned out day after day after day.
Its must easier to first grow big than trim the fat, but its up to you...
Anyway, today is squat day...made a few mistake today. While doing my max of the week, my knees bow in while ascending. I did it a few times but quickly corrected my form. Then I did something to my left knee, but I don't know how to describe it...least to say that its pretty sore now.
Practice, practice, practice. Form and technique is more important than what you can lift. Why? Safety, injury prevention, injury reduction, better recovery...a few I can think of. Overtraining is just not worth it...
Monday, January 7, 2008
Training smart and training hard
A repeated theme from people who has trained for more than a few years, and that is you got to train smart. I was told that when you are young, you can shrug off pain, but as you get older you have to be careful. The older you get, the longer it will take to recover. Therefore, you must train smarter as you get older. Ask Ed Coan, a world leading powerlifter. After training for 20 years, his training philosophy is to not push his body past the limit.
A few key points when you train:
Listen to your body.
Recovery and nutrition is essential.
The older you are, the longer it will take to recover.
Stick to a routine, don't jump weights because of ego. Train for yourself and not for others!
If an injury do occur, treat it immediately: RICE, Heat, Massage Therapy, Physiotherapy, etc.
Get enough sleep, 7-8 hours is optimal but as you get older, you can push it to 9 or 10...
A few key points when you train:
Listen to your body.
Recovery and nutrition is essential.
The older you are, the longer it will take to recover.
Stick to a routine, don't jump weights because of ego. Train for yourself and not for others!
If an injury do occur, treat it immediately: RICE, Heat, Massage Therapy, Physiotherapy, etc.
Get enough sleep, 7-8 hours is optimal but as you get older, you can push it to 9 or 10...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Another Bench day
I took too long of a break but with the winter storm that came in yesterday, there was nothing to be done except for the push ups/sit ups I did.
Today, was bench day and it was shakey at best. Oh well, there is next week.
Never give up, and never lay off!
Oh yeah, I was invited to a strong man meet that is suppose to occur in March. I guess the group is looking for new people and they are just inviting people to have some fun. I am going to go and I am going to train for it. This might be my opportunity to get into real competition but we shall see.
3 months to go, and I really need to work on my cardio/endurance.
Today, was bench day and it was shakey at best. Oh well, there is next week.
Never give up, and never lay off!
Oh yeah, I was invited to a strong man meet that is suppose to occur in March. I guess the group is looking for new people and they are just inviting people to have some fun. I am going to go and I am going to train for it. This might be my opportunity to get into real competition but we shall see.
3 months to go, and I really need to work on my cardio/endurance.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Another snow storm
Well, another snow storm and this will be the fourth one in a week.
It is starting to affect my lifting schedule, but oh well, Mr. Crain always said "Never Lay off!"
Today is suppose to be bench day, but I did push up and sit ups instead. I don't have any free weights at home due to space and financial constraint.
Anyway, the next few days is suppose to be clear but who knows...
It is starting to affect my lifting schedule, but oh well, Mr. Crain always said "Never Lay off!"
Today is suppose to be bench day, but I did push up and sit ups instead. I don't have any free weights at home due to space and financial constraint.
Anyway, the next few days is suppose to be clear but who knows...
Monday, December 31, 2007
Squat, New Year's eve, snow storm
Went to the gym today and it wasn't pack at all. I only had 2 hours before the gym closed, so I decided to just do my squat routine and leg curls.
It was productive, the best I can remember so far.
I am on a sixteen week Rickey Dale Crain's Pure Power Squat routine. It is the most basic one and according to him, he uses it for beginning powerlifters and/or athletes that chooses to use powerlifting style squats.
I am currently on week 13, and the routine is pretty simple.
You have five warm up sets, progressively increasing weight (50 - 140 lbs depending on your max lift), two sets of max weight for the week, and two sets of three second pause reps.
My transition from doing Olympic style squat to powerlifting style squat has been an eye opener.
First of all, the bar placement is lower, more at the height of your rear deltoids.
Second, power comes mainly from your hips, hamstring, glutes, and lower back.
Flexibility of your shoulder, arms and wrist is crucial. The closer the distance between two wrist, the better it is for gripping.
Strain on the wrist and elbows is pretty big, so a good pair of wrist wraps is a must.
Strain on the upper back
Strain on the lower back due to poor form.
Strain on the hips because I have never really used it for squatting.
There are a few key points I have to remember and these are
Some swear by not wearing knee wraps unless squat 80-90% max, others say that there isn't any difference. Same goes for the belt.
Rickey Dale Crain said that he has done it both way (40 plus years of powerlifting experience) and safety reason, he advocates people to wear knee wraps and belts regardless of weight.
If you have the cash, you can buy shoes specifically for squatting but expect to shell out 100 plus dollars, or you can go with the economical way which are chuck taylor's.
There are two things I know that powerlifters (those have been doing it for years and years) will agree on are 1) Do not wear athletics shoes, air soles, gel soles etc, and 2) Do not wear combat boots.
Remember to lift for yourself, not for anyone else or for ego. Listen to your body and find out what works and what doesn't.
It was productive, the best I can remember so far.
I am on a sixteen week Rickey Dale Crain's Pure Power Squat routine. It is the most basic one and according to him, he uses it for beginning powerlifters and/or athletes that chooses to use powerlifting style squats.
I am currently on week 13, and the routine is pretty simple.
You have five warm up sets, progressively increasing weight (50 - 140 lbs depending on your max lift), two sets of max weight for the week, and two sets of three second pause reps.
My transition from doing Olympic style squat to powerlifting style squat has been an eye opener.
First of all, the bar placement is lower, more at the height of your rear deltoids.
Second, power comes mainly from your hips, hamstring, glutes, and lower back.
Flexibility of your shoulder, arms and wrist is crucial. The closer the distance between two wrist, the better it is for gripping.
Strain on the wrist and elbows is pretty big, so a good pair of wrist wraps is a must.
Strain on the upper back
Strain on the lower back due to poor form.
Strain on the hips because I have never really used it for squatting.
There are a few key points I have to remember and these are
- Keep my upper back arch by pushing my chest out, and pulling my shoulder closer together. This lower the strain on my lower back.
- Pull my elbow up to increase stability of the bar behind my bar.
- Always look straight ahead.
- Get my feet stance out wide due to flexibility issues.
- Flex everything, from curling your toes to flexing your neck.
- Breath deep and breath more into your stomach.
- Push my knees out while descending.
- When exploding up, lead with my head to prevent myself from rounding my back or doing good mornings...which mean less lower back pain.
- Hold your breath descending and ascending till you are almost standing back straight up. Grunting seems to help keep my body tight but I do make a lot of noise...
- Remember to squeeze and keep my hamstrings, and glutes tight.
- I wear knee sleeves or knee wraps when I am doing my max weight for the week.
- I wear a powerlifting (4mm thick) belt when I am doing my max weight and pause squat.
- I wear Converse Chuck Taylor type shoes. I find that flat soles and bear feet gives me more stability.
Some swear by not wearing knee wraps unless squat 80-90% max, others say that there isn't any difference. Same goes for the belt.
Rickey Dale Crain said that he has done it both way (40 plus years of powerlifting experience) and safety reason, he advocates people to wear knee wraps and belts regardless of weight.
If you have the cash, you can buy shoes specifically for squatting but expect to shell out 100 plus dollars, or you can go with the economical way which are chuck taylor's.
There are two things I know that powerlifters (those have been doing it for years and years) will agree on are 1) Do not wear athletics shoes, air soles, gel soles etc, and 2) Do not wear combat boots.
Remember to lift for yourself, not for anyone else or for ego. Listen to your body and find out what works and what doesn't.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
To squat or not to squat
I have been training for 4 days straight. It is not intentional but the holidays are effecting my schedule. I know I am overtrained because of the lack of motivation to go to the gym today. The problem now is if I should do my squat routine one day early, which means that I will be training five days straight, or take a break on sunday and squat monday.
Monday will be a rush because the gym will be packed and I have to go to work on New Year's eve. It was packed on Christmas eve and standing around waiting to use equipment is a big waste of time.
I guess I will sleep on it, and maybe figure something out by morning.
Monday will be a rush because the gym will be packed and I have to go to work on New Year's eve. It was packed on Christmas eve and standing around waiting to use equipment is a big waste of time.
I guess I will sleep on it, and maybe figure something out by morning.
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