Deadlift Fun

Today was going to be a challenge. I needed to get my training out of the way early as I had a barbecue in the country to get to and needed to be on the road by 10:00. For context I hate rushing and really dont like early morning training.


Two weeks out from Nationals and I was programmed for a 97% 1RM deadlift today followed by working sets.


Given it was 7:30am I made sure to hit plenty of light reps to warm up the back. The early timing also ensured there was only a handful of lifters around.


Warms ups done I started laddering my way to a top set. Form felt a little off as the weight went up until I gather my breath and gripped and ripped my top set.


Overall it moved pretty quick but video review afterwards revealed I had let it get way too far in front as it hit my knees. I really had to work that much harder to get it to lock out.


It just illustrates that when your form is off even a little, the weight is proportionately that much harder. On my work sets I realised I had neglected to focus on keeping my lats tight thus the drift forward.


Refocusing on lats for my work sets resulted in a much quicker pull and an overall feeling of being tighted and more fluid. I will need to focus on this queue right up to comp day.


Depsite the time pressures I felt pretty good about this week and overall relaxed about Masters Nationals.


Thomo

Lift more...switch off the brain

I wish I had a switch that would allow me to turn off my brain. One of the problems of being naturally inquisitive and an analyst by background is that I can sometimes overthink things in a desire to achieve an outcome. This becomes particularly problematic in regards to training. 

For the last couple of months, I have been running a 10-week contest peak which was going perfectly fine until I ran into a challenging period at work. You know the usual, long hours missed meals and travel. This translate to two weeks in a row of 4 day breaks from training following by 2-3 consecutive days of training in a frantic effort to maintain momentum.

Friday night I found myself in this situation and with meet day looming I needed to get my squat back on track. In the previous week, it felt like I had completely lost the fundamental ability to squat. Annoyingly I just couldn't get consistent good depth and when I did it felt like I was completely out of position. 

With this context, I wasn't particularly confident to hit the number I needed. However, in a rare moment of clarity I remembered the words of a coach of mine from a few years back. While I'm loosely paraphrasing he would say, Thomo don't overcomplicate the squat.Put the bar on your back and sit down, don't think don't worry about failing just sit down and stand up....simple turn my brain of and keep it simple.

Net result with a single spotter, no wraps, and no fanfare I hit an unwrapped PB squat. Mentally it was a morale boost and proved I am stronger this year. The number unwrapped was my previous wrapped 1st or 2nd in comp and is 89% of my best wrapped competition squat.

Tomorrow is deadlift day and will likely be 95-97% of 1RM. Sitting here tapping away I have at least 3 steaks in me along with enough carbs to get a good bloat happening.

Bring on the pain.

Thomo

Masters 2016

It has started which is to say the 'it' is my preparation and the 'what' is the 2016 GPC Masters Nationals.


Previously GPC in Australia ran an 5 day extravaganza with pretty much everyone and their dog flying in for what I think is the best National Championships in this Country. However given the resurgensce of powerlifting in this country the chanpionships became a logistical nightmare hundreds of competitors.


In response it was decided to ensure the Open event was on a qualification basis and the Juniors, Masters and Equipped have been spun out into a standalone event.  While personally I wasnt a fan of the change it does mean I will be heading to the Gold Coast in October to represent my gym in the Masters Nationals.


Currently I am on 4 weeks leave and this afforded me a level of breathing space; a disruption to my mormal frenetic corporate existence. Practically this translates to not having to rush into the gym after a 16 hour work day to jam my workout in so I can get home and see the family.


Being less rushed is a nice switch-up from my normal routine and I have enjoyed training in a less frenetic environment.


At the moment I am 14 weeks out and have 3 weeks of a mass/volume phase to finish before kicking off my 11 week prep to the platform. Given how busy Ive been professionally I have been running this month Mass program as a break-in to hard training.


Peaking will be a pretty basic linear progression but I am pretty keen to pull well so may switch in the Coan phillip deadlift progression into my peak. Ill see how my numbers look coming out of this phase.


Consistency is what I need, just the basics but lots of it. Game on!


Thomo

Cross Fit Bumpers

Why is it whenever I view an image on social media featuring crossfit they appear to be using ridiculously thick plates that are not proportionate to the actual weight. It's just the oddest look and anecdotally woman appear to to be the worst offenders.


I can only assume a supplier started producing this style of plate to appeal to woman in the sport and particularly social media posts. You know, these hot athletic looking woman can post images of snatches and jerks with what at first blush appears to be a tonne of weight over head.


Were it not for social media I think there would be very little of any demand for these plates.


Just a really minor nuance that annoys the shit out of me.


Thomo

IFBB PRO...a cast of thousands

There seemed to be a proliferation of body building posts on my social media feed today. On the back of the annual Arnold it struck me just how damn common the term IFBB pro is bandied around. I mean literally it feels like every second person is  bikini,boardshort,physique first time, novice masters winner.


Broadening a sports appeal by increasing participation is absolutely desirable but it certainly feels like it has been at the qualitative aspect of the sport. Literally every second post on facebook has someone either posting an 'inspirationl' meme regarding their next show or worse still a photo of 3 rows of tupperware containers with the caption 'meal prep done'.


The proliferation of PEDS amongst the masses has definately changed the sport. A decent local show winner today would easily have been hyper competitive 30 years ago at National level.


Frankly I am uneasy about just how much the gear has also changed societies perception of what a  'normal' physique should look like. Life is a marathon not a sprint, and there is a certainly a whole generation of lifters who arent showing care or consideration to long term health. There is always a tradeoff and I supect in the future many will be surprised by the price to be paid.


Thomo

Day 1...simple

Today was a simple session in the gym; one hour duration and the sole focus was to stay within myself. I like simple, not much in my life is simple.




My expectations are set low deliberately. I am running  a 10 week meso cycle aimed at putting on size and demonstrating consistency. The consistency piece really is the key for progress.




I want to compete at Masters nationals this year. Thankfully its scheduled for November so I still have time to accumulate size and strength but I need to get it happening.




Today's menu was uncomplicated, front squats, push press, pulldowns and some shoulder work.  ACDC on ITunes, chalk on the platform and a balmy summers day. Simple training, I like simple.


Thomo

Common Sense

I dont supplement on the dark side and I honestly dont care either way if others do. I will say though I have no interest in peoples cycles and or progress in this regard.


I'm not normally ambivalent on this topic as physiology interests me. However I've observed so many instances in the last few years where individuals I would otherwise characterise as reasonably intelligent exhibit abject stupidity when it comes to the management of exogenous hormones they inject into their body.


Recently my daughter of 4 was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. In a whirlwind week interned in the hospital with this gorgeous little princess I came to appreciate the complexity of the human condition.
 These initial weeks afforded me the opportunity to spend time picking the brain of some amazingly smart Endocrinologists. Their insights along with the daily regime of managing my daughters blood readings and injections has provided clarity on just how variable physiological response can be day to day in regard to hormone treatment.


This clarity now means I dont really put too much credence on the opinions anyone who injects a hormone and a) fails to regularly measure its impact through bloodwork and b) sources said hormone from less than reputable sources.


In dont want there to be any equivocation. I have no issue with hormone treatment I simply dont respect the complete lack accountabilty the average joe has when they commence a regime of sticking needles in their ass.


There are plenty out there that measure manage and thrive from hormonal intervention and do it well. It;s just that I havent met many recently.


Thomo

Return of the.....

Friday night perched on the couch after a tough day at work. Its been a year since I've posted here and with no real thought process I simply opened my laptop and started typing.

Why did I stop posting; definitely professional pressure. For the last 5 years I've worked my ass off and taken increasingly more senior roles. While this has delivered a raft of personal benefits I really have been pushed to my limit.


See I tend to obsess better than most people I know. If I find a song I like I tend to buy everything that the group has produced. If I take up a hobby I want to be a damn subject matter expert. Professionally this manifests as someone who finds it really really difficult to switch off. Thankfully I am finally in a work environment where my boss recognises my propensity for doing too much and drives me to get balance.


Why did I start posting again? I'ts not as if my work pressures have disappeared. In fact if anything I'm busier then ever.  I think I simply missed writing for fun rather than in a work context. Ive been fortunate that this small little piece of cyberspace generated me lots of traffic. It's also provided some great training contacts that I would never have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.


Hopefully writing again will also put a fire in my training. Given work challenges I've found I have been missing workouts or worse when I do go I simply dial in the effort. This has been going on consistently for a good nine weeks now and quite simply this shit needs to stop.


Thats enough for one night.


Thomo