Boon’s Training Notebook

[godjira1]

25 NOV TO 1 DEC 2019 (W48/2019)

Marathon Race week. So will stop training by Wed, and only a medium run before that.

MARATHON TRG (Week 11/11)

MON: BJJ + MOB + STR
BJJ <AM> Near side armbar from Side Control - very nice addition to my arsenal and I pulled it off a few times today too. Had a few challenging rolls but I got the better of my opponents (including a black belt) today.
MOB <AM> Bottom Up TGUs. I haven't really tried these before and they are really hard! Managed 4kg, 6kg, and failed on 8kg on the left side.
STR <EV> Bench Press. Double LP. 4x5 70kg. Failed rep 5 on set 4. This was disappointing as I have done 5x5 72.5kg just back in April19. I felt that I couldn't fully activate my right side, which wasn't a problem I detected during the lighter sessions. Oh well, guess the scapular injury did affect my bench press after all. On a positive note, far less serious than the last time, when I couldn't even do 1 pushup.
STR <EV> Deadlift. Reload v2 #3/17. 3x5 95kg. Nice and snappy.
ACC <EV> 25mins Freeletics Core, Legs, and Stretching as accessories for day. Didn’t overthink this.

TUE: ACC + E
ACC <EV> Freeletics. 10mins calisthenics, mainly core work. Warmup for run.
E <EV> Easy 10k road run. 1:09, 137bpm. Didn’t push hard at all, just making sure shoes, socks, headphones and other gear all ok. Now for the real thang.

WED: STR + ACC
STR <EV> Bench Press. Double LP 5x10 50kg.
STR <EV> Deadlift. Reload v2 #4/17. 3x10 72.5kg.
ACC <EV> Freeletics 25mins. Highlights: total of 150 squats, 150 situps.

THU: REST

FRI: SE (LIGHT DAY)
SE <EV> Pullups. FPP. 4/3/3/2/1. Followed by Chinups 4/3/3/2/1. That’s it for the day.

SAT: E
E <EV> Marathon! Didn’t go as well as I liked - everything was going to plan until 34k when I got a calf cramp. I compensated with a slow jogging gait but I got a hamstring cramp at 36k that finished the run for me. I limped to the finish line (taking 1.5hrs for the last 6k...). 5:41.
Lessons: 1) take the isotonic drink when it’s offered. 2) eat the damn banana when its offered. 3) don’t turn up late, I had to fight thru hordes because I started with the 5:30-6:00 crowd, caught up with the 5:15 pacer despite being a flight behind (I was on pace for 4:45 until 34k). 4) 16 week cycle is probably better. 5) Run more on asphalt in training, the track and treadmill don’t give the same stimulus for the actual race.

SUN: REST

=======
SUMMARY:
I managed to finish the marathon even the timing was quite a bit poorer than my expectation. Still, some learning experience in there in case I ever want to do this again.

Will take a few rest/light days to recover, because everything hurts, before diving into a 12 week strength focussed block. I will next do serious amounts of running again in 4-5 months.

[godjira1]

2 TO 8 DEC 2019 (W49/2019)

Rest/Light days to recover from the marathon before starting a 12 week strength block.

STRENGTH+ (Week 1/12)

MON: STR (EASY DAY)
Legs still fried.
STR <EV> Bench Press. Double Linear Prog. 5x3 70kg.

TUE: STR + ACC (MEDIUM DAY)
Relative intensity is probably about the same as the bench session yesterday but deadlifts are just a lot more taxing.
STR <EV> Deadlifts. Reload V2. #5/17 3x5 102.5kg (71pct target 1RM)
ACC <EV> Freeletics 25mins. Mainly core work.

WED: SE + STR (MEDIUM DAY)
SE <AM> Pullups 4/4/3/2/1. Followed by Chinups 4/4/3/2/1. Done before heading out of house for work.
STR <EV> Bench Press. Double LP. 5x10 52.5kg.

THU: REST DAY

FRI: ACC (LIGHT DAY)
ACC <AM> 30mins of freeletics. Highlights were 60 jump squats, 30 burpees, 150 crunches, 150 mountain climbers.

SAT: BJJ + STR (MEDIUM DAY)
Woke up with some DOMS from the crunches. Ouch.
BJJ <AM> Some escapes from footlocks (Slx version, 50/50 version). Had only 3 rolls today, did well in 1 and got shut down in the other 2. Not sharp.
STR <AM> 2h KB Swings 10x10 32kg. This is #6/17 for the deadlift reload v2 block.

SUN: STR + SE (LIGHT DAY)
STR <AM> Bench Press. Double LP. 5x3 72.5kg.
SE <AM> Pullups 5/4/3/2/1. Chinups 5/4/3/2/1. Felt pretty rough out of bottom, but I got all the reps. The rehab is slow but it is coming along.

=======
SUMMARY: Got the work in. It is gonna be hard to do in December but I am going to aim for not putting on any weight this period.

[FortyPlusRunner]

I managed to finish the marathon...

Dude, congratulations! Finishing a marathon is a big deal no matter what. I got calf cramps when I ran my first marathon as well; it turns out I was wearing low-drop shoes that I hadn't sufficiently transitioned to. Took me three weeks to recover! And I was in my 20s at the time!

In any case, congratulations again.

[godjira1]

I managed to finish the marathon...

Dude, congratulations! Finishing a marathon is a big deal no matter what. I got calf cramps when I ran my first marathon as well; it turns out I was wearing low-drop shoes that I hadn't sufficiently transitioned to. Took me three weeks to recover! And I was in my 20s at the time!

In any case, congratulations again.

thanks. it was one of the more painful things I have done in recent times. training for it was a pretty big time-suck though, so I am not sure if I want to do it again. But that's me saying it now... someone will dare a marathon or a 21k spartan race next year and I will be like "yeah let's do it".

[godjira1]

9 TO 15 DEC 2019 (W50/2019)

Nothing fancy, just getting the work in.

STRENGTH+ (Week 2/12)

MON: STR + ACC (MEDIUM DAY)
STR <AM> Deadlifts. Reload V2 #7/17. 3x5 107.5kg. This is always hard to motivated for on a Monday morning! But it went up pretty snappily after I made sure I did a proper warmup.
STR <AM> Bench Press. Double LP. 5x5 57.5kg. Did most of the reps in a paused manner.
ACC <AM> Freeletics. 24mins of core and leg calisthenics.

TUE: BJJ + SE (MEDIUM DAY)
BJJ <AM> One quick technique on a variation of the helicopter choke vs turtlers. Then 6 rounds of intense sparring today - I gave as good as I got generally but had a super tough lineup and meant I got tapped a fair bit! Great training but can’t do this every session.
SE <AM> Pullups 3/3/3/2/1. Chinups 3/3/3/2/1.

WED: STR + ACC (LIGHT DAY)
STR <AM> 1hS 10x5 32kg. #8/17 for Deadlifts Reload v2 block.
STR <AM> Bench Press. Double LP. 5x3 77.5kg. Didn’t feel great today.
ACC <AM> Freeletics 15mins. Highlight was 4x3 Handstand Pushups. I only managed to do the first set unbroken. Use it or lose it I guess! It has been a while since I did this.

THU: SE + BJJ (MEDIUM DAY)
SE <AM> Pullups 4/3/3/2/1, Chinups 4/3/3/2/1. Did them pretty quickly today, about 10mins for the lot. Still a slight pull towards the left but overall much better.
BJJ <EV> Crucifix take. An standard kimura transition from crucifix position which I pulled off in a live roll today too! Had 4 rolls: 1 where i got schooled, 2 where I had the edge, and 1 kinda chill roll.

FRI: STR + ACC (MEDIUM DAY)
STR <AM> Bench Press. Double LP. 5x3 80kg, managed 3/2/2/2/2. Def lost some strength thru neglect and/or injury. Shall use 80kg as a TM (fairly conservative 3RM) and start an Advanced 5/3/1 block (which looks a lot like a TB block).
STR <AM> Deadlifts. #9/17. 3x5 115kg. Felt pretty good.
ACC <AM> Freeletics. 18mins. HL was 65 burpees in total, which surprisingly didn’t feel too hard.

SAT + SUN: REST

=======
SUMMARY: Just following the program, rest properly, eat smart, don’t get injured. Enjoying the cheat day too.

[godjira1]

16 TO 22 DEC 2019 (W51/2019)

Nothing fancy. Just get the stuff done.

STRENGTH+ (Week 3/12)

MON: BJJ + STR + ACC (HEAVY DAY)
Starting with a heavy day as Tues looks heavy life-wise, so early rise and getting all the stuff done first thing in morning.
BJJ <AM> Half Guard Old Schoole and Plan B sweep, some new details: where to face, and also the "arm pendulum" when doing plan B. Some really hard rolls, got 2 black belts this morning sigh.
STR <AM> Bench Press. 531 Adv C1D1. 5x5 57.5kg. Easy, as it should be.
STR <AM> Deadlift. #10/17 of Reload V2 block. 3x5 80kg DL, 3x5 80kg Sumo. Taking very little rest between sets.
ACC <AM> 30mins Calisthenics/KB/stretching stuff. Highlights: total of 24 ring pullups, KB Push Press up to 32kg on both sides.
Clearly tomorrow will need to be a really light day.

TUE: REST
Neck a lil’ jacked from yesterday’s bjj. Some OS resets in the morning and that’s it. Also, got a 28kg and 36kg kettlebell preloved... now I have a collection of 12-16-20-24-28-32-36. I am guessing that is all I am ever going to need!

WED: STR + ACC (MEDIUM DAY)
STR <PM> Bench Press. 531 Adv C1D2. 5x3 65kg. Easy.
STR <PM> Deadlift. Reload v2. #11/17. 3x5 122.5kg (85pct target 1RM). Managed 2x5. First set was pretty good, in rep 4+5 of set 2 felt my lower back twinge a little (might be piriformis?). Decided to call it then. 5x122.5kg is a new 5RM for me so I am pretty happy to have done it for 2 sets.
ACC <PM> 10mins Freeletics (Highlights: total of 10 HS pushups, 20 pistol squats). 10mins bent press practice with 10kg DB - my left shoulder mobility is pretty bad.

THU: BJJ (HEAVY DAY)
BJJ <PM> Some details on the Sao Paolo Pass. This is not my thing I gotta admit, I tried using this earlier in my BJJ career and I just kept getting omoplata-ed, triangled, etc. But there are some interesting details that might work - shall try them against white/blue belts when I get fed those. ROLLS: 4 really f**king hard ones and I am completely shattered. Did well in 2, so-so in 1, and got trashed by a brown belt that is just my nemesis.
Comments: I meant to do do some pullups/chinups today but I am too beat up to even try. On a worrying note, I think I have some carpal tunnel syndrome developing in my right hand, I need a new mouse for the work computer perhaps.

FRI: REST

SAT: STR (LIGHT DAY)
I injured my left glute/piriformis and it is quite sore. It wasn’t some max deadlift or whatever, but I kinda slipped while doing jump squats for a party forfeit (yeah, I know). Feels like I will be off lower body stuff for at least a few days. This is why men die younger.
STR <AM> Bench Press. C1D3. 5x2 70kg, 2@72.5kg. Felt pretty easy.

SUN: REHAB (LIGHT DAY)
I am pretty irritated with the perennial bulls)$t with my shoulder, groin, piriformis and I am going to fix it. I am definitely doing something wrong with my training.
REHAB <AM> 1 solid hour of OS Resets. Crawls etc included. My joints feel MUCH better after this session.

=======
SUMMARY: Got thru the week of training. Managed a PR 5RM on the conv DL (at RPE 8+ too): I need to learn to train like that long term. A max 1RM attempt usually screws me up for a while, especially on squats/deadlifts. Shoulders and groin are all sore again, maybe BJJ, perhap weights, but probably just being lazy with prehab/rehab work. Make it a priority please and stop the whining.

[godjira1]

23 TO 29 DEC 2019 (W52/2019)

Strength and Rehab work. Taking the week off BJJ as nagging shoulder issue and left glute injury = bad risk/reward.

STRENGTH+ (Week 4/12)

MON: STR + REHAB (LIGHT DAY)
STR <EV> Bench Press. 531 Adv C2D1. 5x5 60kg. Easy.
REHAB <EV> OS Resets + Shoulder Rehab 30mins. Did 3x10 Inclined Rows as well.

TUE: REHAB (REST DAY)
REHAB <EV> OS Resets + Shoulder + Hip (?) Rehab 45mins.

WED: STR + REHAB (LIGHT DAY)
Christmas! But still putting in a quick session at the home setup.
STR <AM> Bench Press. 531 Adv C2D2. 5x3 67.5kg. Singles up to 82.5kg (TM). Easy.
REHAB <AM> OS Resets, Shoulder and Hip work.

THU: REHAB + OTHER (LIGHT DAY)
REHAB <EV> OS Resets 15mins. Shoulder rehab work as well.
OTHER <EV> Actually this is kinda rehab too, for the weird butt/piriformis issue I sustained last week. Farmer walks (1 sided, 2 sided) + Single Leg DL with ALL the kettlebells in my collection (2x12, 1x16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36kg).

FRI: STR (LIGHT DAY)
STR <EV> Bench Press. 531 Adv C2D3. 5x2 72.5kg, 1@82.5kg. Felt good.

SAT: REST

SUN: REHAB (LIGHT DAY)
REHAB <AM> 1hr of OS Resets with crawls, etc. Did a few light KB Presses and Swings at the end. Injury status: left shoulder is still unhappy and left hip is better but not in fight shape.

=======
SUMMARY: That’s the last week of the training year. Started the week feeling pretty broken but felt better by Sunday.

For the year itself: I would sum it up as spinning the wheels, where I worked a fair bit but injuries and other bad decisions saw me make little progress or even regress in some aspects. Still, it wasn’t all negative. I will do a little 2019 reflection/2020 goal setting.

[godjira1]

2019 GOALS+AIMS <THE YEAR IN REVIEW>

Goals/Aims:
1) BIG ONE - work up to challenge for World Masters BJJ in Vegas Sep19 in Purple M3 u70kg division. So I need to get to 68kg, maintain strength, add some aerobic fitness and improve my technique/competition repertoire & strategy, not necessarily in that order.
<Did not cut to feather, was a light lightweight instead and it showed. My competition game was OK-ish, enough to win Asian Masters but when I tried some local comps at Adult level and also at World Masters, just couldn’t cut it. I would give myself a barely pass grade here, only because I did well in Tokyo.>

2) STR: Not chasing any big increments in my lifts, 2.5kg or 1 rep more in BP, PP, FSQ, SQ will be good. 10x10 36kg 2h Swings, 32kgx3 strict press each side will be nice too.
<I was foolish with my overall training, notably in BJJ causing a few injuries and well, nothing sets you as far back as an injury. I regressed on virtually all my lifts except the deadlift, which ironically didn’t get that much attention! I did set a new PR with the Push Press, but probably a technically improvement than any power/strength gain. For best set of the year, OHP + Front Squat saw a minor step back vs all time PRs, while Bench Press, Squat, Pullups/Chinups saw fairly drastic step backs. They are ok, but not great, and I have some new nagging injury issues around my neck/shoulder complex to work through 2020>

3) E: Skipping & Cycling takes a lot less out of my joints at the moment vs running, could be the few extra kgs I am packing. But any modality will do... any RHR under 50 is the target.
<Cooper test saw a deterioration – 10:46 this year vs 10:22 last year. I don’t want to be over 10:30 if I can help it. Marathon training took a lot of out of me, and didn’t seem to improve my overall E very much, and definitely took quite a bit out of my strength. Most importantly it was a massive time-suck for me: I have limited training hours available to me and the sad fact is that I probably need quite a lot miles if I want to get even half decent at this. So it is a doubt if I will be doing it again. OCRs are ok though, plus training for them is pretty fun.>

4) SE: Pullups 15, Chinups 15. Otherwise no specific SE work outside of BJJ.
<See No.2. Basically I didn’t do well.>

5) Skill/Technique: Sharpen my guard to sweep/drag game, and revisit taking the back! Mount needs some work. Submissions: no need to get fancy, loopchoke/triangle+omoplata from guard, then b&a+armbar from back, and low risk finishes from side control. It is competition strategy so discard all low risk/reward moves.
<For a BJJ focussed year, I would say it has been generally a year of plateaus. I might have gotten slightly better at guard passing, and a few submission chains, but my guard game (was my strongest part) has stagnated somewhat and my gym mates are finding ways to cope with this now. I want to continue to work on my guard passing, but also repair my guard game.>

6) Stay healthy and injury free, so mobility and recovery work is always worked in. Volume will need to be managed.
<No good, downright pretty crap really. I want to fix my neck/shoulder complex for 2020, and will be working on them in every warmup or cooldown session>

Some starting stats (as of 1 JAN 2019):
Body Measurements - Weight 74.5kg, Neck 41cm, Chest 98cm, Waist 84cm, Hips 94cm.
Lifts best E1RM equivalent set within last 2 years. <Best set for 2019>
Squat 127.5kg x 3 (1x130kg JAN19 pre-injury, 2x120kg AUG19 post injury)
Front Squat 102.5kg x 3 (1x105kg OCT19)
Deadlift 135kg x 2 (1x140kg APR19 all time PR)
Sumo Deadlift 150kg x 1 (1x152.5kg APR19 all time PR)
Bench Press 102.5kg x 2 (3x87.5kg AUG19)
OHP 65kg x 2 (1x65kg OCT19)
Push Press 72.5kg x 1 (2x72.5kg AUG19 all time PR)
Pullups max reps 15 <12x OCT19>
Chinups max reps 15 <12x OCT19>
1h KBP Left 32kg x 1 <Didn’t do strict KB press this year, only Push Presses>
1h KBP Right 32kg x 3. <Didn’t do strict KB press this year, only Push Presses>
Endurance (best within last year) - 2.4km 10:22 <10:46 NOV19>
Endurance 2k C2 Rower 8:07. <not tested>

OVERALL: <I did put in the hours this year, but some bad luck, and lots of bad planning and emphasis, led to a few injuries that set me back. Spent almost 11 weeks on marathon training which wasn’t all that enjoyable, and I didn’t do well there either. Might be the chicken or the egg that led to this conclusion. Learn from the mistakes and do better>

SOME LESSONS FROM MINING THE NOTEBOOK:
E in the mornings > evening.
STR in the evening > morning.
Skipping rope always helps with my aerobic fitness.
Cluster Sets, doubles or triples for around 30 reps at relatively high intensity, work to build STR for me.
Fighter Pullup type programs beat EMOM (SE approach) for max reps training.
I tend to get injured when I do >3 BJJ sessions per week.
Doing stupid shit at BJJ gets me injured.
Do TGU/Bent Press for shoulders, I need this.
Don’t get injured.
Bodyweight work makes me feel supple and strong. Find a way to keep it in the program, perhaps as accessory work.
KB Overheads > BB overheads for shoulder health.

[godjira1]

FITNESS GOALS 2020

Goals/Aims:

(1) NUMERO UNO: Stay healthy and injury free, so mobility and recovery work is always worked in. Volume will need to be managed. 2019 was crap in this aspect, 2020 will be better.
(2) BODY COMP: Sub 70kg, 31.5” waist.
(3) STR: Beat 2019 lifts in BP, Sumo, KB Press, KB PP.
(4) E: Skipping & Running. Aim is to beat 2019 Cooper’s test and get RHR sub 50.
(5) BJJ Skill/Technique: Be consistent, 2-3x a week, don’t do stupid stuff.
.
Starting stats (as of 1 JAN 2020):

Body Measurements - Weight 73.7kg, Waist 84cm. Same waistline but lighter than 1 Jan 2019... so all I managed was to lose some muscle. Let's see what 1 Jan 2021 looks like.

Lifts (2019 best/2020 best)
Squat (1x130/-)
Sumo Deadlift (1x150/-)
Bench Press (3x87.5/-)
Pullups max (12x/-)
Chinups max (12x/-)
1h KBP L (-/-)
1h KBP R (-/-)
1h KBPP L (1x32/-)
1h KBPP R (1x36/-)
Timeless Simple (-/-)
Timeless Challenge (-/-)

Endurance 2.4km (10:46/-)

[godjira1]

30th DEC 2019 TO 5TH JAN 2020 (W1/2020)

No BJJ this week as I have some lingering issues with my left glute but should be ok by the end of the week. There is some carpal tunnel nonsense going on as well but clearly more to do with mobile phone and mouse usage. I am aiming to do some mobility circuit consisting of a few OS resets and bodyweight exercises each day. These sessions might include some 1h Pushup, Pistols, Cartwheels practice.

===STR W5/12===
MON: Mobility. Bench Press C3D1 5x5 60kg. Easy.

TUE: REST/Mobility.

WED: Mobility. STR: Bench Press C3D2 5x3 70, 2x77.5. Easy. REHAB: Inc Row 5x8.

THU: Mobility. REHAB: 6x10 KB Front Sqt 12kg.

FRI: Mobility. REHAB: 8x10 KB SL Deadlft 12kg.

SAT: REST/Mobility x2 AM and EV.

SUN: Mobility. STR: Bench Press C3D3 5x2 72.5, 1x85. Easy. ACC: 5x10 Inc Row. E: Jump Rope. 7x3W/2R, Av HR 117, Max HR 150.

===SUMMARY===
Good week of training, can't wait to get back on mats! Deadlifts and Squats will need to be rebuilt as I am pretty sure I lost some strength from the freak injury to my butt.