Not even comparable to last Tuesday, 1000 times better.
Today was the first hard workout of "medium" week and it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. I pretty much breezed through the circuits even though I did four instead of three. The only negative was my calf started to feel kind of sore, I was worried I wasn't going to be able to do tempos afterward but it refrained from getting any worst.
The length of the tempo runs increased today too, up to 45s. They were... Hard... But in a good way, when I finished I was exhausted but refreshed.
Weights were great, last week when I did hang snatch I was losing my balance and couldn't straighten my arms under the bar but today I felt like I found the sweet spot, where I felt like I locked my shoulders into place. If it was later in the season, where snatch is a relevant exercise, I probably would have upped the weight but where it was about learning the lift I left it at 115lb's. Romanian deadlifts felt good too, no lower back discomfort and a good pull in the glute-hamstring area.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
Warm-up
4 circuits--
15 burpees
20m bounding
15 pushup's/crunches
3 pop-up's
20 bicycles/15 wall touches
10m left hops
10 rotational pushups
10m right hops
15 tuck jumps
20m bounding
20 crunches
Tempos--
5 sets of: 45s on/90s off
6 hill runs (up only)
Weights--
Hang snatch 4x3@115lb's
Romanian deadlifts 4x10@179lb's
Bent over rows 4x10@40lb's
Pull-up's 1x6, 3x3

I also made a visual representation of training since last March, it seems to be fairly sporadic, but now that I have a better understanding of periodization this season should have a more noticeable pattern.

 Green is general prep, blue is specific prep, red is a competition week and orange is competition phase.

Wow I can't believe there are only two days left in August, after Juniors the summer seemed to pass unbelievably slowly but overly the last few weeks it has picked up again; August has flown by! Maybe it's because of the weather, most of July was overcast and rainy while pretty much all of August has been sunny and nice.
Anyways, I went for a 3km run this afternoon to try to loosen up. My legs are unbelievably sore for yesterdays workout and I know exactly what it is from, the single-legged squats I did yesterday. I didn't even put that much weight on for them but still my legs are destroyed. I'm hoping they feel better tomorrow and I'm definitely hoping they are fine for Wednesday's 60km walk haha.
Today was the first day I have done a weighted core circuit since I have started back up again and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I got through it.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Light 3km jog
Leg raises 4x10@15lb's
Side crunch 4x10@33lb's
135 degree pike 4x10
Standing twists 4x10@33lb's
Reverse crunch 4x10@33lb's
Ab pull downs 4x15@160lb's, 1x10@170
Front throws 1x5@8kg
Back throws 2x5@8kg
Side throws 2x5@8kg (each side)

Woww... I am not used to getting up this early, I woke up at 5:40am so I could get to Goorsebrook Field by 7:00am. It was pretty hard at first starting that early and being motivated but by the time I finish the circuits and tempo runs I started to get into it and by the time I made it to the weightroom I was feeling pretty good. I'm not going to lie though, I did dog it a bit in the circuits--I feel like I'm physically getting more fit but mentally they are getting tougher. This was the last workout of easy week, now the intensities and extensiveness will increase slightly.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Circuit (3 times through)--
15 burpees
20m bounding
15 pushups/crunches
3 pop-ups
10 rotational pushups
10m Left hops
20 bicycles
10m right hops
15 tuck jumps
20m bounding
20 crunches

Tempo: 5x(30 seconds on, 60 seconds off)
Hill runs 5 times up (grass was to slippery to go down)

Weights--
Squats 2x10@225lb's, 1x10@245lb's (65%, 70%)
Bulgarian Split Squats 3x8@135lb's
Back Extensions 3x10@60lb's

It's funny how every training week I look forward to having an off day on Saturday but then when it comes I just want to go out and start training again. Rest today was definitely needed though, my calves are still a little tight (I'm expecting them to be 100% by tomorrow) and my overall energy level is way down. I worked today (am still working I suppose) from 2:00pm-11:00pm so I wouldn't be able to do much today anyway even if I wanted to. I work tomorrow from 12:00pm-9:00pm but I don't want to disrupt this week's microcycle so that means a 6:00am workout it is! It's not ideal but I still think it's better than trying to move everything around.
I'm going to be having an interesting "workout" on Wednesday too, instead of running 5km as originally planned I am going to be walking 56-60km. It is the third time I have done such a walk, they are always a good time so it will be nice to mix things up. It's certainly not something I would want to do every week but once a year shouldn't hurt

Wheeew, I'm starting to feel the accumulative effect of this week's training. I am very glad that tomorrow is a rest day, I definitely need it. I went for a run this morning and I was laboring, it was only 3km but my lower legs are still tight from sand running on Wednesday. I just feel flat overall, which is to be expected. I am in a two week phase of pre-general prep right now and then the third week is a transitional phase into the season's main prep phase; a full weight program will be implemented during this block as well. The next three weeks are where most of the hypertrophic gains will be made and will lead into a fourth unloading week consisting of testing. That's everything until October 9th. Here's a graphical representation:

On a side note I will be doing a brief core circuit. I am not starting a weighted core program until the end of this two week phase.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

3km run
20 Crunches
40 Bicycles
20 Crunches
20 Bicycles
3x10 Seated twists
3x10 Pikes
3x10 Scissors
3x10 V-sits
2 two minute planks
1 minute plank left/right

This was a sloppy workout, in the weight room in particular. I had three exercises to complete, deadlifts, front squats and incline dumbbell press.
Front squats were... Well it was pretty obvious that it has almost been a year since I have last done them. The problem was the same problem everybody has with front squats, the grip. The bar was slowly slipping through all ten reps. I think that this will be easy to fix for next week but it was just pretty frustrating for today.
Deadlifts were a mess, I don't know why I can't get the hang of this lift. Every time I try doing them I end up straight legging them. I felt like I was starting to get the hang of them when I phased them out last season but today, with pretty much no weight on the bar, my form was terrible. I will definitely have to spend some more time studying.
Incline dumbbell press, well my arms with just dead from all the pushups in the circuits. I got ten reps for the first set, six for the second and five for the third. I was too off mentally from the deadlifts at this point I didn't care.
The circuits/running actually went pretty well, it felt easier than it did on Tuesday, I believe I'm getting more fit. My stride felt good too, nice and relaxed.
Tomorrow I am measuring my body weight, last week I was 161.4lb's so I'm guessing I'm slightly less this week from all the fitness work.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
3 times through circuit--
15 burpees
20m bounding
15 pushups/crunches
3 pop-ups
10 rotational pushups (5L/5R)
10m left hops
20 bicycles/ 20 wall touches
10m right hops
15 tuck jumps
20m bounding
20 crunches

Tempo runs--
Five sets of 30s on/60s off
3 Hill runs (up and down)

Weights--
Front Squats 1x10@168lb's, 2x10@177lb's
Deadlifts 3x10@179lb's
Incline dumbbell press 1x10@50lb's, 1x6@50lb's, 1x5@50lb's

Switching things up a bit, I went for a long run on a beach about 50 minutes out of the city. I ran for about 30 minutes at a light-moderate pace, I'm not sure the distance but if I had to guess I would say somewhere in the range of 4km. What I like about sand running is it works the stablizers in the lower legs, everything around the ankle and soleus. It doesn't do much for V02 maximum but that's not overly important, I am doing plenty of circuit work based around training capacity.
   I also did a quick core circuit in the evening

TODAY'S WORKOUT

30 minutes of sand running
20 crunches
40 bicycles
20 crunches
20 bicycles
3x10 pike
3x10 seated twisters
3x10 V-sits
3x10 scissors
2 two minute planks
Left plank/right plank a minute each

Well today could have been worst, it started off great but it started to get a bit frustrating when I went back to Dal for weights.
I started off with circuits, long tempo, hill runs, medballs, just general conditioning stuff but I probably should have split the workout up so I could have put in a better effort in the weightroom.
I started off with snatch, doing an explosive exercise such as this during general prep isn't going to do me much good but I want to put in an effort learning the movement for later in the year. Then I went to Romanian deadlifts, they didn't feel too bad but I found my lower back was getting tired which means I wasn't there technically. I did feel them in the glute-hamstring area too which is a good sign.
Pull-up's and rows didn't go well at all, I just had nothing left. I hate doing upper body work, I know it has its place but ahhhh it's just so monotonous.
I weighed in at 161lb's on the scale in the Dalplex which is about where I want to be. I would like to compete at around 157lb's so if I could keep my body weight under 165lb's and still get "strong" that would be great.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
3 times through circuit--
15 burpees
15m bounding
15 pushups/crunches
3 pop-up's
20 bicycles
15 wall touches
10m hopping (left)
10 rotational pushups
10m hopping (right)
15 tuck jumps
20m bounding
20 crunches
Tempo runs--
30s of running with 60s breaks
5 hill runs (walk down)
3x10 9kg back throws
3x10 9kg front throws
Weights--
Hang snatch 3x3@115lb's
Romanian deadlifts 2x10@156lb's, 1x10@167lb's
Pull-ups 2x6
Rows 2x10@45lb's

Today went well, a nice light mobility package and core circuit. I really want to spend more time this season working on my flexibility. I am naturally flexible through the hips and hamstrings so last season I didn't spend much time stretching which after two hamstring injuries I regret. I am going to start following a set routine from now on instead of just stretching what feels like it needs to be stretched, my pattern up to now has been:upper back, lower back, groin, hamstrings, quads, hips, IT band, ankle, core, shoulder.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Mobility package
Core circuit (190 movements)
2x2 minute plank
1 minute right/left planks

Well today was supposed to be a pretty light day, and on paper it is. Pretty much all I did today was run 3.5km and do 20 minutes of mobility afterwards which sounds easy enough but I guess running yesterday then doing squats in the evening took more out of me than I thought because I felt like I wasn't applying any force to the ground, my stride length must of halved. My legs are still a little rubbery and it's twelve hours later!

When I woke up on Friday I was feeling pretty much healed up from my surgery but I played it safe and waited until today to do any real work. I still have some unpleasantness in my mouth, mostly where the stitches are in my cheeks, but besides being an annoyance I am physically back to 100%.
   I was in for a rude awakening today, after being pretty lazy for the past two and a half days, relaxing at home and eating A LOT of sugar. I had a lot of symptoms of Hypoglycemia which often seem to plague me, as they probably do for many people, when I eat too much sugar and not enough protein. My hands where shaking out of control, especially after doing a core circuit. It felt kind of good in a way though, sort of a cleanse.
   I started today off by going for a 3km run and doing a 30 minutes of yoga style mobility afterwards. Later in the day I did squats at home and a core circuit after.
   Today is hopefully going to be the only time I do weights at home (off a 20lb bar), the only reason I didn't go to the gym today was because it was a last minute decision. Squatting off a 20lb is terrible, the weight feels significantly heavier, it's hard to get into a full range of motion and it puts the knee and ankle joints at weird angles. I went bare foot which probably wasn't a great idea but I don't plan on making a habit of it, besides it wasn't a lot of weight.
   Here's a look at the equipment I was dealing with:


I was happy with the depth I was getting though, that was the only positive. My right knee felt under pressure when I completely straitened it but I didn't have any pain.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

3km run
30 minutes mobility
Squats 1x10@200lb's, 1x10@220lb's, 1x10@230lb's
Core circuit--
Plate twists 3x20
Pushups 3x25
Crunches 3x20
2 minute plank x2
10 minutes of mobility

Well this is about the quickest recovery I could have hoped for, it is 24 hours after getting all four wisdom teeth cut out and I am almost back to 100%. I haven't had any pain yet, and I'm not expecting I will unless I have a late infection which is unlikely, the holes are almost completely covered up and the wounds look pretty clean.
   I have been on a pretty much all liquid diet for the past 24 hours except for scrambled eggs for lunch.  I probably shouldn't be pushing things too soon, I don't want to get my blood pressure too high but I did fool around with some weights in my basement, I attempted to do a couple sets of hang snatch. Considering it was my first time ever doing them, I was using a 20lb bar and my ceiling is incredibly low they felt pretty good, very similar to cleans. That being said, I only used something like 110lb's, when I do them in the gym for the first time on Tuesday I'm hoping to use at least a plate, 135lb's.


Not flawless technique by any means but it will come. The bar is being swung a little bit too forward causing my upper body to swing back. This could lead to a lose of balance at higher weights. I think this problem will be resolved when I don't have to worry about hitting the ceiling.

Forced rest at is best--I'm about an hour away from getting my wisdom teeth out. Today was also the last day of "cheating" on my diet, I celebrated with two brownies and they were DELICOUS. I am taking the rest of the day off as well as tomorrow off. If I'm feeling up to it on Friday I'm planning on going for a light run. I'm hoping I don't need any longer than that to recover!

Today was the last workout of the summer 2011 season. I did some testing, with disappointing results. I honestly thought I would pb in everything but I wasn't even close in anything. It's not overly surprising I suppose, I haven't been on a regular weight schedule since June and my body weight is up to 166lb's (it was 159lb's at Juniors and under 162lb's for every meet.)
I was especially surprised with the standing long jump results, 3.08m and it took two tries to even get over 3.00m! I felt really flat today, it was probably just not a great day anyway but when combined with my dwindling fitness... Oh well, if I can still flirt with 14m with my strength levels as low as they are now this winter should be a great one.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
3x30m
3 standing long jump (3.08m)
3 standing triple jump (8.92m)
3 three step triple jump (10.72m)

Well now what? With no competitions for 3+ months it seems like it is time to go back to the start, base training--ground zero. I feel like I have slowly been losing strength, which is understandable considering I haven't been on a regular weight schedule for quite some time. I don't know how many more competitions my hamstring could hold up for either, it was a little sore today. And now I am forced to rest, I've come to learn it's importance but still I loathe it--I would jump 1000 times a day if I could.
   I just finished writing up my training plans for the next four weeks, it's a lot of circuit work, general strength and fitness, as well as long tempo/hill runs. Also I am going to take the week after next, and the the week after that, as an opportunity to re-learn the major lifts focusing on form as well as taking a crack at learning how to hang clean--which is a lift I'm hoping I will be able to use to fade out back squats late next season.
   Tomorrow is another off day (blahh) and the day after that is just a core day. Tuesday however should be fun, I am going to do some testing to see where I am at--standing long jump, triple jump and 3-8 step triple. I will be comparing these numbers to last years to see where I am at.
   Wednesday is really where everything gets striped back down to bare bones--I have images of literally tearing myself down to a skeleton and completely rebuilding. I get my wisdom teeth out on Wednesday afternoon and I suppose I should take Thursday to recover. After that I'm slowly fading into circuit work.
   I am unbelievably excited for next season, I don't want to break 14.00m, I want to destroy it and set my sights beyond it.

Not the worst meet ever. It was only an exhibition meet anyway so the results don't count but it was still a good opportunity to jump for a pb. I didn't quite make it over the 13.84m mark, I ended with 13.72m. It was a decent series of jumps though, I had a couple in the 60's that would have been in the 80's if I touched the board and I lost 20-40cm on all my landings. On one jump my elbow came way back and I lost close to half a meter, it would have been over 14.00m otherwise. Oh well.
   I was happy with the result given the conditions, it was 48 hours after long jumping in Moncton, I jumped off a tape board, there were only four jumpers, my heel was still sore. 


Jump 1: 13.29m- My elbow went back on the landing, also about 5cm behind the the board.

Jump 2: 13.58m- Felt a little better, I was surprised that it was as low as it was. I did lose probably close to 30cm on the landing though.

Jump 3: Fault- A fault is a fault...

Jump 4: 13.62m- Didn't touch the board and a terrible landing, my feet kind of hooked in so I had no extension and my butt hit back ~20cm.

Jump 5: 13.65m- Felt huge, great height and fluent phases.  I missed the board again unfortunately and took off from 13.80's. Also a brutal landing, got my feet in over 14.00m but didn't pull through.

Jump 6: 13.72m- Didn't feel like a great jump, the last two felt farther which they technically were from where I took off from. I didn't extend on the landing either, same as the fourth jump. It should have been a lot farther than it was...

I'm going to take tomorrow off, Monday is just going to be a core day. Tuesday is going to be a testing day, short approach/standing jumps. I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday so I am going to take a couple days off before easing into general prep. Summer is now over...

Well, what to think, what to think... On the one hand I did fault a jump that WOULD have been a pb but it was still a fault. My best legal jump was 6.38m, 9cm under my pb. The wind wasn't great however, it was between -0.1m/s and -2.0m/s for all six jumps. Oh well, looks like I won't be long jumping again until indoor, I feel like with just a little bit of long jump technical work after each triple jump practice this winter I can tweak myself over 6.70m.

Jump 1,6.19m, -0.6m/s: I felt pretty good but it was my first jump since June. Only 6.19m but I felt like they were only going to get better. Also the landing was sloppy.

Jump 2, Fault (6.29m), -1.6m/s: felt better but I reached at the board and a really strong headwind.

Jump 3, 6.14m, -2.0m/s: felt slow and technically poor off the board. Also my foot hit back about 20cm.

Jump 4, 6.38m, -0.1m/s: the wind was a little better but my foot was still out front at takeoff anf I went into my landing phase too early.

Jump 5, 6.23m, -0.9m/s: felt flat off the board, no height.

Jump 6, fault( 6.60m), -1.4m/s: felt by far the best, I had a lot more height and it was the only jump that had some sort of penultimate phase. Unfortunately I reached and so I might as well have jumped 1.00m.

I actually have been given the opportunity to do some exhibition triple jump on Saturday so I'll have one more meet type scenario after that I will be tearing everything down and rebuilding for next year. I really want to focus on the mental aspect of training, it will be something interesting to look into.

Well after taking yesterday off completely I'm feeling pretty good today. I feel like my heel is going to get sore so I'm going to take advil in advance to avoid unnecessary discomfort.
My only real goal for today is to not fault, at least not consistently. I have a tendency in long jump to attack the board out front (also with a heel plant) which causes everything to become out of position.
The last time I did long jump was in June (not counting the one half-jump I took at juniors) and that meet was also in Moncton. I faulted I believe 4/5 jumps, the farthest being about 6.40m with a strong negative wind. A pb would definitely be nice, anything over 6.50m. I won't be to disappointed with 6.40's either but anything less than that I probably won't be content with unless the wind is like -5.0m/s.
It is now 10:30 and I'm sitting on a bus about an hour away from Moncton. As soon as I get there I'm going to try to get inside somewhere since there Is a possibility of rain. I don't jump until 4:00pm so there is plenty of time to loosen up, hopefully the weather holds up!

Well, there has been a change of plans. Instead of triple jumping on Saturday I will be long jumping on Thursday. It's be a while since I've long jumped, it's going to feel foreign but at least it's a nice relaxed way to end the season, no pressure, just go out and see how far I can jump. This meet is in Moncton, which is probably my favorite place to jump in Atlantic Canada, it's a fast runway and the wind is (generally) pretty good.
I did a quick speed workout today with 185lb hang cleans, 40lb's down from Thursday--just for a little stimulus.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
3x30m
3 runways
Weights--
Hang-cleans 3x3@185lb's

I must say I was feeling quite lethargic today, a combination of lack of sleep, jumping yesterday and working today. But for the rest of the week I get to sleep in so I'm feeling good for this weekend. My workout today was a short one, I went for a quick run just to loosen up and then did pretty much the usual ab circuit.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

3km run
Warm-up
Leg raises 5x5@15lb's
Leg throw downs 5x5
Seated twists 5x5@33lb's
Ab pull-downs 5x10@160lb's 1x10@170lb's 1x10@180lb's

I feel as though I have been on an extended break, I took Friday off completely (instead of Saturday) and only did I very light ab circuit Saturday morning. It felt good today to finally jump again, my heel was... Okay. No pain from standing jumps, very little from three step, very little from five and some but not a whole lot on my first eight stepper/a fair bit on my second.
Rome wasn't built in a day but I wish I could fix my plant off the hop once and for all. The only good thing is I can judge how I'm hitting the ground by how much pain there is. I felt as though to get a flat hop I had to hold back. It's frustrating, the overall jump felt better but wasn't as far.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
3 standing triple jump
3 three step triple jump
5 five step triple jump
2 eight step triple jump
Squats 3x3@185lb's
Stiff-legged dead lifts 3x5@135lb's

Ahhhh tonight was great, I feel like I did the perfect amount of work. I started off with a nice high-tempo warm-up, moved into dynamic plo's and finished off with some low rep cleans and clean/Jerk. I wish every workout could be this focused.
It looks like I will be jumping next weekend, just triple. I feel good physically the only unknown is my heel. It can't be any worst than it has been--even if it feels like it did at juniors, where I limp off after every jump but feel fine by the next jump, I can handle that. It's hard to get a feel for how bad it is right now without jumping on it. I may test it out on Sunday.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Drop jumps 1x10
Depth jumps 3x8
Bounds 6x5
Single legged drop jumps 1x5 (each side)
Single legged depth jumps 2x5 (each side)
Single legged depth jumps w/ bound 1x5
Weights--
Hang-cleans 1x2@205lb's, 2x2@216lb's, 1x2@225lb's
Clean and Jerk 1x2@155lb's 2x2@165lb's
20 minutes static stretching

I'm not a big fan of morning workouts but I work 12-9 so I didn't really have a choice. It wasn't as bad as some that I have had, it was short and dynamic. I cut the reps of all ab exercises as well as the weight, as part of my taper.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

1600m jog
Light skipping
Jump Squats 10x2@135lb's, 3x2@95lb's, 3x2@45lb's
Ab circuit--
Side ways crunch 5x5@22lb's
Leg throw downs- 5x5
Leg raises 5x5@15lb's
Ab pull-downs 5x10@160lb's, 2x5@170lb's
Seated crunch 4x5@22lb's
Seated twist 4x5@22lb's

I kept today pretty mild, it was by no means an intense workout. I did a short set of speed 10m-30m, they actually felt pretty quick, and then did a couple supplementary weight exercises. Overall it felt like a nice, quick, efficient practice.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
3x10m
3x20m
3x30m
Weights--
Explosive bench press 2x2@99lb's 3x3@99lb's
Explosive pull-up's 4x5@body weight
Hamstring curls-4x5@157lb's

Saturday July 30 2011

Today was an off day, a long overdue off day. It felt good to just relax for a day and mend some nagging injuries.

Sunday July 31 2011

   I mixed things up a little bit today, instead of doing the normal technical work that I usuallydo on a Sunday (and risk making my heel worst)  I brought it to the beach and did all my bounds and short approach jumps on sand. The sand absorbed a large amount of the impact and the imprints left were good for understanding my foot contacts. I tried to focus on getting my heel under me but it was hard to get enough air time from sand. Even if it was just a "mental" practice I think it put me in the right frame of mind.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Light jog
warm-up
3x10m
2x20m
1x10m
5x20m bounding (focus on contact)
5 three step triple jump
3 five step triple jump
2 seven step triple jump
Cool down

Monday August 1 2011

Today was another pretty easy day, I spent about an hour in the morning trying to stretch everything out and work through a full tight spots. In the evening I did a brief ab circuit just for a little stimulation.