Lord Foxington Smellybottom's Training Log

[SkitsyKitsy]

Hi guys, welcome to my training log. I've never done anything like this before, so here's hoping I can keep at it - maintaining the log, that is. I'm not always near computers nowadays!

Oh, and don't ask about the name: a friend called me Lord Foxington (my nickname is "Fox") once and it just made me smile, so I took it and ran! Isn't that what we all do?

 

I know these don't get read too much, but I think it helps to lay out what I'm doing and give myself some accountability! Even if only to myself.

 

NOTE AS OF 23/05/2015: I ceased being active on this site for a time, and during that time I had to quit lifting heavy. THIS SECTION will remain as it is for posterity and future reference, however a more recent update on stats will be down below. Will link it here. http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/45349-lord-foxington-smellybottoms-training-log/page-2#entry1498736

 

THIS SECTION IS NO LONGER ACCURATE IN TERMS OF STATS (obviously, it's, like, over a year old) BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF MY GOALS OR WORKOUTS. So, yeah. Uh. Ahem.

 

 

Battle Stats!

 

Height: 177cm (5ft 10)

 

Weight: 79.5kg (174.9 lbs)

 

Age: 25

 

Goal Weight: ~74kg (162 lbs)

 

Piccy to come later~! :3

 

 

 

Mid-Term Performance Goals!

 

Only listing "concrete" goals here. Measurable athletic performance. None of these are intended to be jaw-droppingly amazing, but they're far enough away from where I am now that I suspect it'll take me a year or more to get to this point. Not concerned with looks at the moment; looks should come with performance. Besides, I'm an Adonis anyway, right? Right? :c

 

• Run a 5K, running the entire duration. If I can get my swimming up to scratch, maybe also complete a triathlon.
• Squat 150kg (330 lbs).
• Deadlift 200kg (440 lbs)
• Bench 100kg (220 lbs)
• Clean and Jerk 80kg (176 lbs)
• Snatch 70kg (154.5 lbs)
• Hold a straddle planche for 10 seconds!
• Hold a front lever for 10 seconds!
• Win a match in either wrestling, BJJ or MMA.

 

 

 

Training Rundown!

 

Basic template for my training. Shizzle happens and things get disrupted, but I want to stick to this as much as I can. Basically, I tend to do workouts only loosely based on what I should be doing - I instead do things I "feel like" or target areas I'm unhappy with, or work around injuries/DOMS. Laying it out here should stop that.

 

Most of my training is based on C25K and Stronglifts 5x5, with some other stuff as I go. If anyone reads this, feedback is very appreciated because I have a habit of overloading myself.

 

NOTE: as of March 2, 2014 my workouts have been modified to target my back hard, as it's been a source of trouble while training as well as causing poor posture.

Workouts A and B alternate on non-consecutive days. Considering dropping this to only one of each workout per week until all ancillary crap is no longer necessary (ie, my back feels strong and stable).

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

Workout A:

• Squat 5x5
• Bench 5x5
• Barbell Row 5x5
• Low intensity Clean and Jerk 1x10
• Good Mornings 3x5
• Frog tuck (planche progression).

 

Workout B:

• Squat 5x5
• Overhead Press 5x5
• Deadlift 1x5
• Low intensity Snatch/power cleans 1x10
• Cable Rows 3x8
• Lat Pulldown/Chinups 3x10/5x3
• Frog tuck (planche progression).

-----------------------------------------------

 

Monday:

• Workout A or B

 

Tuesday:

• Active Rest Day
• C25K Programmed Run

 

Wednesday:

• Grappling/sport training. Trying to not have this coincide with a training day. Recipe for exhaustion.
• I try to make use of mats and stuff to get some tumbling and fun, active stuff done too. Tumbles/rolls, cartwheels, round-offs, flips, bridge-flips, etc, etc. I do this whenever I can.

 

Thursday:

• Workout A or B

 

Friday:

• Active Rest Day
• C25K Programmed Run

 

Saturday:

• Workout A or B

 

Sunday:

• Active Rest Day.
• C25K run
• Planche progression.
• Front lever progression.
• Pushups 3x10

Generally just trying to treat this day as a "playful training" day and stay away from the weights. If I can get my running and training done outside or with friends, all the better!

I'm not only active inside the gym - sometimes I have to be moderately active in other ways. Need to be wary of this, because these situations are usually fun but not give much benefit, while detracting from rest.

 

Rest days: I'm considering lightening my training load and, more drastically, considering taking one week off per month. This will actually take a lot of willpower; I enjoy training now.

IF I'm going to wuss out on anything at this stage, it will be the running. Aerobic cardio is something I want to build up to a decent level, but it isn't actually the same kind of cardio I really need, and it's 30 minutes of repetitive boredom. If anything is cut to make rest days more restful, it'll be this until I'm happy with my back strength.

 

 

 

 

Anything else!

 

Diet is pretty bad right now, having extreme difficulty in getting enough calories without resorting to junk-food. Going to try and fix this, as well as stop eating crap like ice-cream and biscuits just because I know I "can."

 

Need to focus on the food intake. In spite of it all, I still fall short of a caloric excess more often than not, and when I don't it's because I threw my hands up and bought a whole pizza or something. Looking into ideas for liquid calories. Steve's ridiculous shake, for instance!

 

I quit drinking 6 weeks ago; so far, no problems on that point. I do miss my microbrews and craft beers though. But not letting myself have any until I've made some progress on my goals. >:C

 

 

 

 

"Starting" Weights

 

As of March 2, 2014. NOT looking at 1RM yet.

 

• Squats 5x5 --- 87.5kg
• Deadlift 1x5 --- 140kg
• Bench 5x5 --- 60kg
• Clean & Jerk 5x1 --- 60kg

 

 

 

Previous Training History!

 

Prior to coming here, aside from this program I've got listed above, I trained to surpass the defence force's physical fitness tests in preparation for applying. I was doing pretty well, but I've lost a lot of the cardio fitness and endurance.

 

• Bodyweight and endurance training for the military for 3 months.
• Bodybuilding exercises for 11 months recently.

I achieved:

 

• 42 pushups consecutively
• 6.6 shuttle run (beep test) score

I hope to surpass both records by the end of this year, regardless of training program.

 

 

 

 

And here's to many woots in the coming weeks, folks!

Cheers for reading.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Righto. First battle report.

 

Sunday, 02/03/2014.

 

Was just a quiet day.

 

3 minutes on elliptical trainer to warm up.

Stretching and mobility drills. Foam rolled my hammies, back and quads.

 

• Couch-2-5-K run, Day 3 of Week 1.
  I alternate between running at 13 kph and walking at 5.5 kph.
• 45 seconds of frog tuck in total.
  Didn't go well, too sweaty to rest legs on elbows. Might do some more later today, was pretty wiped and wet after running.
• 45 seconds of tucked front lever total.
  Found a neat way to make it easier to get in position. This position is definitely harder than it was when I was a kid...
• 3x10 Pushups.
  Easy as pie. I think I need to go a little harder than this.

Weighed in at 78.6kg on the scales at the gym. Huh...

 

Snarfed a 6 inch sub from Subway afterwards; so far that's all I've eaten, so pretty much only taken in about 400 calories today. And it's evening already. Geez.

In the future, doing gymnastic stuff BEFORE running.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Whew, 10 hours late to the report. Bad rebel. :c

 

Monday, 03/03/2014.

 

Had a few things happen that made me reconsider my workout structure. Despite feeling good, I just couldn't bring myself to do the 30 minute treadmill run; didn't have the time AND my legs weren't happy. So there's that.

 

• Squat 5x5 - 82.5kg
• Bench Press 5x5 - 52.5kg
• Barbell Row 5x5 - 42.5kg
• Clean and Jerk 10x1 - 42.5kg
• Good Mornings 3x5 - 30kg
• Frog Tuck 
  60 second total, 24 second max.
• Front Tuck Lever 
  20 seconds total, 11 second max. Wasn't meant to do this, just decided to when I saw the bar.
• Didn't perform the run
  Rescheduling the runs for "rest days."

Ate some brown rice and quinoa + some fried chicken burgers, nothing too healthy.

Experimenting with shakes -

 

Rocky Road!

2 Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey scoops (strawberry), 1 serving of Sustagen Sport (chocolate), 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping creme (chocolate) and coconut oil.

 

Notes/Issues -

 

Hip flexors still bothering me.

Squats were nice and easy. This weight shouldn't be that challenging to me, and I'm glad to say it wasn't. Had a lot of energy and was motivated as hell at first, but this died down when it came time to do the runs. It was just too much, too late in the evening.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Tuesday, 04/03/2014.

 

Did something different today. Tried out the Zombies, Run! app for my run instead.

 

I ended up running at 12kmh, far more often than the app expected. I finished 3km in 23:45 minutes, so while this wasn't following a program specifically, it did serve to let me know that I'm getting somewhere with this running business. I think I can do better in fact. I got a stitch, but I spent the first 10 minutes walking quite slowly. Might try to see what time I can get for 3km next time!

 

Might just keep using the Zombies, Run! app; it's fun and worked out okay. I can always run harder or longer than it expects me to for the first few runs, to make up for the fact that I've done 1 week of C25K already.

 

• 3KM in 23:45 minutes

[SkitsyKitsy]

Just an observation: seeing in the battle reports here a lot of people with much lower squats and/or deadlifts than I, but equal or easily surpass my bench and OHP.

No denying it now, my upper body strength is now pretty far behind my lower body/posterior chain strength, relatively speaking. Opposite of how it was when I was doing bodybuilding split routines.

Gonna try to stop skipping chest workouts and bring back some focus to my upper body, esp my arms.

[Guzzi]

Looking good SkitsyKitsy! Like the workout plan, and the goals. I'll definitely sub and keep you going.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Looking good SkitsyKitsy! Like the workout plan, and the goals. I'll definitely sub and keep you going.

 

Thanks!

 

Today I'm trying to decide if I want to get off my ass and go to wrestling practice. To be really honest, I find it the most physically demanding of my hobbies and it exposes a LOT of my weaknesses. Ugh, I hate this feeling.

[Guzzi]

Embrace the suck man. 'Tis the only way to get past it

[SkitsyKitsy]

Wednesday, 05/03/2014.

 

Okay, long story short, I decided not to go to rasslin' today. Just didn't feel up to it. Pretty upset at myself for making that decision, but I did make it.

Still made myself hit the gym. Squat cage was being monopolized so just did what I could.

 

• Foam roller and some mobility.
• Lat Pulldown: 60kg, 3x10
• Cable Row: 29kg, 3x10
• 1 Arm Dumbbell Rows: 15kg, 3x10
• Deadlift:
  70kg x 5
  70kg x 5
  90kg x 5
  110kg x5
  140kg (308lbs) x6

Yep, that's right! Hit a new PR on deadlift for reps! WOOOO!!

 

I ended it there, and am focusing on eating and resting up tonight. Today was never meant to be a rest day, but still. When I resume normal training, I'll be deloading the deadlift back to 130kg. 140 was fine tonight but I only did some machine work - a full SL5x5 workout will shatter me a lot more, I don't want to round off a full workout with such a heavy deadlift yet, or risk bad form/injury.

 

140kg (308lbs) deadlift 1x5!! WOO!

[Guzzi]

Woot woot woot!!!!! Amazing!

I am in awe of your mighty dead lift master. Ha! Makes my front squat PR of 35kg look very puny indeed. Darn!

[SkitsyKitsy]

Whoops, been a little quiet here. Not been able to get to a computer, but basically:

 

I took a good look at myself and my training, and what I needed to work on, and decided to take a brief break from the weights - the fact is, I shouldn't be living with perpetual DOMS and muscle stiffness in my legs, and my life/hobbies in general were just in desperate need of a break.

 

I know it looks real bad on this training log, but I'd actually been doing this "program" for a few months before I started logging here, and lack of food/rest was dogging me all the way. I kept adding things to the program, such as Olympic lifts, supplemental back exercises and finally c25K, and I admit I overdid it. Wasn't seeing workout-workout improvements, hit lots of early plateaus and deloads because I just wasn't recovering right - BEFORE I started with the Oly lifts! I'm also not a trained athlete with multi-year training history, I can do really well in one thing, not everything at once.

 

So for now I'm focusing on aerobic fitness. If I'm happy with my strength, my endurance and aerobic capacity is NOT good and has to come up. As such, I've taken some days off, and will now spend the next few days on cardio training (maybe some bodyweight stuff too; muscular endurance and maintenance) while my muscles rest and loosen up. Not trying to be a cardio bunny, but the way I see it is that if you can deadlift 140kg (yay!) but can't run consistently for 3km then you have holes in your fitness and I'm gonna shift my focus to bringing everything up to the same level!

This is gonna mean rejiggering my program so my untrained body can adapt comfortably as I target weaknesses one by one. 

 

I was gonna make this a 6 Week Challenge but we're bang on the end of one, so I'll wait for next time: once more, my short-term goal is to run a 5km park run, running the entire duration and finishing in under 40 minutes. Being able to do that should be a decent starting point for my aerobic and anaerobic endurance and it seems pretty believable for me.

 

Monday, 10/03/2014.

 

• Ran 4km in interval training.
  Time unrecorded because Zombies, Run! 5K program threw me off and I ended up doing unstructured free-running. Took me approximately 30 minutes.. Pretty happy with my pace and endurance, feel like it's better than last time!

 

Will be returning to weights on Thursday and seeing how it goes. Honestly, strength-wise I'm nothing special but if I had to pick a weakness my cardio is definitely it.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Woot woot woot!!!!! Amazing!

I am in awe of your mighty dead lift master. Ha! Makes my front squat PR of 35kg look very puny indeed. Darn!

 

Haha! Thanks! I'm pretty impressed, myself. Was pretty scary, loading up those plates, but it turned out to be very much possible!

 

And don't knock yerself. Front squats are tough, period! I've seen huge athletic guys fail at front squats of about that weight, and it's the "part" of clean/clean-and-jerk that stuffs me up the most.

35kg is nothing to sneeze at, and I'm pretty sure you're going to do nothing but improve!

[SkitsyKitsy]

Derp, double post! Argh!

[Guzzi]

Wow, cheers!

Don't kick yourself too hard either for giving the strength training a rest, or for overdoing it. It's really tempting to push hard and go all out, I know, but sometimes it's just as important to realise our boundaries. It's far better to have a realistic routine that you can stick to, and more importantly, gives you results.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Okay, so, back on the horse! Kinda!

 

Did workout A a few days ago - it was on the wrong day, because the next day I had to do something - but with some modification. I jumped in using my regular weight but instead of 5x5 I did 3x5 on free weights and then did equivalent exercises on a machine just to because I was a little lazy.

 

Friday 14/03/2014.

 

• Squat 3x5 - 87.5kg
• Incline Leg Press 3x5 - 175kg
• Benchpress 3x5 - 57.5kg
• Stupid Benchpress Machine 3x5 - 65kg
• Barbell Row 3x5 - 40kg
• Cable Row 5x5 - 40kg

 

Reaaaally shouldn't have substituted free weight reps for machines.

 

That was roughly 36 hours ago and I didn't get proper rest or nutrition. My legs are surprisingly sore and I find myself wondering if I should knock the squatting back to 2 days a week - which is a cardinal sin for almost every strength program!

 

But I've gotta figure out what's up here. I can't keep myself in perpetual DOMS, and I need to address the flexibility issues making squatting much less pleasant than it should be.. I kinda use these legs for things other than squatting.  Guess I'll ask around here!

[SkitsyKitsy]

Welp, I'm late!

 

Dang it, this is exactly what I was supposed to NOT do. I've gone and forgotten my second last workout - it wasn't impressive, all I remember is I couldn't squat due to serious muscle pain and hip locking. Everything else was okay, just no leg-work. But that was okay, because my legs feel much better now. Switched to 3x5 as per the advice of people here on NF and punched up to 90kg on squats, with much more manageable stiffness the next day. Feeling good!

 

Thursday 20/03/2013.

 

Workout A.

 

• Squats 3x5 - 90kg
• Bench Press 5x5 - 60kg
• Barbell Row 5x5 - 42.5kg
• Front Squats 3x5 - 30kg
• Clean and Jerk 1x5 - 35kg
• Pullups 2x5
  As well as a pathetic attempt at a front lever. Not getting too much progress with the lever, BUT I'm improving a lot on the pullups.
• Chinups 2x5, 1x4.
• Programmed Run.

 

OK! Things are going well, actually. The rest plus 3x5 for squats really made a difference, 90kg has never felt easy before and I'm sure I'll top it tomorrow. Expecting some PRs, I hope!

On that note, that's a PR for bench press since I started 5x5 lifting.

 

Pullups have actually been a bit difficult for me in the past, but it seems the work with lat pulldowns, front lever and other back stuff is really paying off. It's not super impressive yet but that's a big difference for me. To be honest, not long ago I couldn't do more than one or two pullups, now I might be able to manage a muscle-up; will test later.

 

What were those front squats doing in there? Good question. Just to get the practice in and test my flexibility - doing much better than usual, felt pretty good. Also, my squats do seem to be very posterior-focused, so just trying to balance it out and do more squats, really. Maybe I can stop the DOMS from settling in.

 

Not too bad, all in all. The rest and switching to 3x5 for squats has got me feeling good. Now I just need to stop relying on junk food for my calories! Oh my Gawwwwd!

[SkitsyKitsy]

Side note:

 

Strangely, I kind of can't wait to switch to focusing on running and cutting. Eating this much and the hunger pains are actually really uncomfortable - it's a real shock! Unfortunately, I've deloaded and screwed up so much on SL5x5 that I'm not sure what week I'm in.

 

I think I'll set a goal here though: when I hit 100kg freeweight squats, I'll shift my focus to running and cutting for a few months, and focus more on my martial art stuff. Then come back to strength training. This sounds pretty good to me, though I'm furious at myself for screwing up something as simple as SL5x5...

 

Worse I have to admit I can't promise myself to quit strength training like that - I modified and worked diligently on my strength BECAUSE I kept discovering weaknesses while doing wrestling/BJJ (especially). Such as my upper/mid back. I'll shoot for 100kg/220lbs squat then see if I can change my training to suit my needs then.

 

If anyone thinks ditching SL at 100kg squats (for a short period of time only) is a bad idea, please tell me. I'm new to this but I'm trying to balance my own physical issues and needs based on my sports with making sure I get the program done best as possible. That's a tall order for someone new to strength training philosophy.

 

SL 5x5 has been awesome so far. It's literally fixed a bad knee and a bad lower back. Crazy stuff.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Er, final bump. Just musing to myself: I should check out Greyskull LP in the future. It looks really good and it's not that similar to SL5x5.

Not letting myself screw around and jumping from program to program, but if I decide to switch things up from StrongLifts after I take that sabbatical to focus on my running, I might experiment with it then.

 

Main reason for this is that StrongLifts works really well, I'd recommend it to anyone, but it really takes a bite out of you and you can't really spare much energy for other activities. GSLP looks a little lighter and, believe it or not, the chins/pull-ups and curls aren't that useless to me.

A lot of grappling focused strength programs recommend them for the pulling/clinching strength. I wouldn't make curls a staple of my training diet, so to speak, but doing it for awhile doesn't look bad to me. Also, the neck work looks annoying but very useful -> neck strength is very damn important.

 

Might do nothing, might change nothing, but it's worth looking at in the future. Leaving this as a note to myself (also giving ppl a chance to call me an idiot and dissuade me if they want).

[Guzzi]

Yay! I'm really glad you seem to have sorted out the squat pain issue. I really love squats, like seriously, you have no idea... That's so funny, your work weight tonight is 5kg off my 1RM!

Looking really good!!!! Big woot! on the PR btw, that's fantastic.

Are you still using Zombies, Run! for your 5k practice?

[SkitsyKitsy]

Yay! I'm really glad you seem to have sorted out the squat pain issue. I really love squats, like seriously, you have no idea... That's so funny, your work weight tonight is 5kg off my 1RM!

Looking really good!!!! Big woot! on the PR btw, that's fantastic.

Are you still using Zombies, Run! for your 5k practice?

 

Thanks! And yeah, I'm getting pretty proud of what I'm doing in the gym. I know it's nothing earth-shattering, but my deadlift and squat are coming along and I'm making some slow and steady progress.

 

The pain seems mostly resolved! I'll see if I'm able to squat freely tomorrow, hopefully shouldn't be an issue but you never know. Sometimes DOMS takes a day or two to really remind you how much it hates you. :s

 

I'm using the Zombies, Run! 5K app, but I think I'm a bit ahead of the program. I don't want to be rushing things and then have to tone it back because I've hit a plateau so I'll be sticking to the program as written (just run harder during the run intervals). Thanks so much for the support!  

 

 

Gotta housesit for some friends of mine tonight and tomorrow, not sure how that'll impact my training. Blah.

[Jaymul]

Congratulations on making gainz! 

 

I'm a big fan of Greyskull LP for people starting out or further into their novice progression but in all honesty, the program you choose is less important than just sticking with it and putting in the work. One simple training mantra that has stuck with me came from my coach and it is simply "do more than last time". If you can accomplish this - whether it's doing a heavier weight or more reps with the same weight - you WILL get stronger

[matty_mcfly]

Hey Fox!  Really enjoyed reading through your log.  I gotta say I'm really surprised you didn't hit a wall earlier.  You were doing A LOT. You're rest days didn't involve any actual rest and your lifting days were pretty full.  I work out 5 days a week but that's only because I lack the time to do squats (with 3 minutes rest between sets), bench and OHP/row all in one session.

 

I'm trying to get in the mindset of training for a Triathlon Sprint myself, unlike you though, I don't have the same passion for running and don't really want to stop lifting.

 

Keep up the AMAZING work.  I definitely plan to follow along

[SkitsyKitsy]

OK, so! Once more I've been very late with logging here - that's a sign that I'm not happy with my training...

It's pretty clear that my training has been rocky the last week or so! House-sitting away from a gym didn't do me good. That said, it's not been all bad.

 

Late update, and it's not pretty:

 

Monday, 24/03/2014

 

• Squats 3x5 - 92.5kg
  Woo! Over 90!
• Pushups 3x15 - bodyweight
• 30 seconds of frog-tuck!

Unfortunately, because I had to pick someone up from somewhere (and couldn't be late!) all I could do was squats. I'm not noting down the warmup sets, which were from 60-90kg, up by 10 each, so this was a fair amount of squats and I felt really good.

 

Wednesday, 26/03/2014

 

• Swimming -
  Just practiced some freestyle and breaststroke. Had some fun and exercise. Swimming is really a damn good total body exercise, once you get good enough at it to work up some real effort. Hit the spa and steam-room afterwards, just to relax, then re-hydrated. Not trying to cut weight or anything, screw that. By the way, steam-rooms suck...
• Hit the mat for wrestling.
  Been a while since I got to practice. One of the kids was pretty pleased to see me, always makes your day, chatted to him about some stuff and got some swimming advice from him - eleven years old and he's the best swimmer I know!
  Did some drills and conditioning. Strength training has paid off overall, had no obvious weakness in my back, but other issues came up. Time to think about this.

 

It's been several months of StrongLifts 5x5 now and it's becoming painfully clear that I'm not in condition to be balancing SL and my sports. Specifically, I have ATROCIOUS an/aerobic conditioning and even though I feel stronger than ever, that strength evaporates really quickly - worse, those big leg muscles were strong at first but started to hurt FAST, not having recovered yet. Honestly, pure wrestling is the most demanding sport (and thus aspect of MMA, for the record), I've ever done, and I think I'd like to get my endurance at least twice as good in a hurry.

 

I'm still weighing my options. I don't like the idea of shelving strength training, but I'm not just doing strength training for strength's sake: it's all about what fits better. What fits getting me better at my sports, as well as gets me to be a better, all round version of myself. Strength is absolutely meaningless if you tire so quickly you can't use any of it. Cardio's been my worst nightmare my whole life, due to asthma and lung scarring, but I think it's about time for me to slam the visor down, heft my axe and charge this problem! Fus ro daaah!

 

Powerlifting has cured seemingly incurable back and knee problems. I feel better than ever and I know I can go forward. I've tackled one problem after another, now I just need to make the step and challenge the big one. I'll aim for 95kg squats tomorrow, complete my last SL5x5 workout and then it's focus on cardio/medium-fast endurance.

 

I absolutely hate not sticking at a goal until it's over, I know it's the enemy of progress, but the longer I wait to tackle this, the more awful, spirit-crushing, toilet-puking training days I go through without being able to improve in technique or confidence. Any advice would be welcomed, but at this point I'm leaning towards switching to a heavily cardio-focused workout and periodize better. I can't balance 'em both, it's just not happening. Oh, and brief edit: just to be clear, endurance is cleeaaarly the number one most important thing in wrestling or MMA.

 

You can forget all about power and even technique when your cardio isn't capable of supporting them. No questions asked, cardio is more important than anything else. I won't make it anywhere gassing like that. :c But that's why I'm so concerned and think it's okay to let go of powerlifting briefly - that is how important endurance is. Everything else is secondary.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Congratulations on making gainz! 

 

I'm a big fan of Greyskull LP for people starting out or further into their novice progression but in all honesty, the program you choose is less important than just sticking with it and putting in the work. One simple training mantra that has stuck with me came from my coach and it is simply "do more than last time". If you can accomplish this - whether it's doing a heavier weight or more reps with the same weight - you WILL get stronger

 

Thanks! It's been a bit rough lately, but I'm still getting the occasional breakthrough here and there. It's awesome!

 

Greyskull looks pretty interesting, and I might give it a try just for curiosity's sake, but I know what you mean. I'm doing my best not to let myself get distracted with new routines and such - the "workouts of the week!" crap from the bodybuilding culture I (pretty happily) left behind not too long ago. Nothing against them, it just doesn't seem to work for someone like me.

 

Like I've said recently in my humble log here, I'm seriously concerned with my cardio endurance, and I might take some time to focus on that, and maybe try Greyskull afterwards. Otherwise, I'm going right back to SL until I'm happy with the results. Powerlifting is seriously the best discovery I've made in the last few years, if not last decade, but I need to acknowledge and target weaknesses.

[SkitsyKitsy]

Hey Fox!  Really enjoyed reading through your log.  I gotta say I'm really surprised you didn't hit a wall earlier.  You were doing A LOT. You're rest days didn't involve any actual rest and your lifting days were pretty full.  I work out 5 days a week but that's only because I lack the time to do squats (with 3 minutes rest between sets), bench and OHP/row all in one session.

 

I'm trying to get in the mindset of training for a Triathlon Sprint myself, unlike you though, I don't have the same passion for running and don't really want to stop lifting.

 

Keep up the AMAZING work.  I definitely plan to follow along

 

Thanks!

Yeah, I was getting some trouble and had my fair share of failure days. It wasn't until I stopped and looked closely that I realized how much I was doing (and how little I was eating). The stalls were getting more frequent, especially with squats. Last few sessions were a bit more streamlined, focusing more on the core lifts as my upper back is starting to feel much better, but like I said in an above entry here, I just had a bad day on the mat and my poor conditioning has come into real sharp focus. 

 

I'm still brainstorming here, but I think it's about time for me to take care of the cardio problem and switch to a more maintenance/endurance oriented lifting program until I'm comfortable working at a hard pace for a good amount of time. Ironically, most people are recommending I just do lots of running at first. So, hey, at least I'm already interested in that, I guess...