Today was a testing day, the first one in six weeks. I was pleased to see that all of my numbers were up since October, I didn't feel overly great so I was happy with that. I pb'd in three out of four events and was only 1cm of my long jump pb (on a gym floor). My legs felt pretty rubbery through the whole workout and especially in the weight room, I didn't have much left. I think for the next two weeks I'm going to stick at 315lb's for squats and if I fail I fail. I cheated at the bottom on my second and third sets some instead of trying to put on more weight I'm going to stay here and just try to get deeper.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

16lb shot-put overhead throw (11.52, 9.50m, 11.55m*#)
Standing vertical jump (33.3"*#, 32.7", 33.2")
Standing long jump (3.07m#, 3.07m, 3.05m)
Standing three jumps (8.99m, 9.35m*#, 8.70m)
Weights--
Squats 3x5@315lb's
Glute-hamstring raises 3x5

* Personal best
# Season best

I mixed things up slightly today but it still wasn't too far from the usual. My ankle was kind of sore so I shortened hurdles. I'm definitely feeling better than last week but still not great.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

25 minutes hurdle mobility
135 degree pike 4x10
Leg raises 4x10@20lb's
Oblique crunch 4x10@60lb's
Incline twists 4x10@22lb's
Abdominal pull-downs 4x10@170lb's, 4x10@180lb's

Wow I can't believe this month is almost over, it seems like the school year has just begun and it's already pretty much December. I felt better today than I have over the past week which is probably do to taking yesterday off. Things didn't go quite as well as I hoped though but at least I can take a few positives from what happened.
   I started off with runways, the first one was way off and hurt my hamstring a little but they got better. I tried driving through 10 strides instead of 8 and I felt like I had a lot more speed at the board, I had to move my first mark back to 32.70m which is the farthest it has ever been (At the beginning of last summer it was 30.50m!), I feel like I will have more momentum in Moncton it's just going to be a matter of controlling it.
   Actually jumping today felt terrible, I just felt incredibly tired I had absolutely no "pop". I spent time just working on the landing of the hop to little avail, maybe my time would be better spent trying to get my foot under me after the step phase.
   The weightroom went alright, I think I'm finally starting to get a feel for Hang snatch, I went up to 135lb's and it felt really easy. I definitely could have went up even more. Bench press however was a train wreck, it's by far my least favorite exercise in the gym, I tied my pb at 165lb's, failed at 170lb's and ended up going down to 155lb's.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Runways x5 (32.70m)
Five step bounds 3x3
Five step triple x2
Eight step triple jump x2
Ten step triple jump x2
Weights--
Hang snatch 3x3@120lb's, 1x3@125lb's, 1x3@130lb's, 1x3@135lb's
Bench press 1x5@165lb's, 1x5@170lb's*, 1x5@160lb's*, 2x5@155lb's

*failed


 

I took today off completely but now I'm feeling heavy and flat. I'm hoping to have a lot of energy for tomorrow's practice but for now I'm not feeling the best. My ankles are bothering me for some reason, I'm not entirely sure why. My lower back on the left side also hurts a tad.

Trying to get a decent workout in today was a bit of a struggle, the field house is torn up so I was confined to the track and a pretty small weight-room that doesn't have much for core. I ended up doing kind of a weird variety of exercises, I think I'll have to supplement today's workout with a little extra volume on Sunday

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Hanging leg raises 4x10@20lb's
Hanging straight leg raises 3x10@10lb's
Standing twists 3x10@33lb's
Cable twists 2x10

This is overwhelmingly frustrating, I just can't get back to 100%. Today was another waste of a workout, I just had nothing. Everything felt flat, from warming-up to weights. I am going to aim for 10 hours of sleep tonight and hopefully two light days in a row will be enough to regroup and refocus for Sunday. I failed 225lb's hang cleaning tonight, I haven't failed that little weight all season. I dropped 50lb's doing for jerks too...

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
5x5 Bounds
3x5 Hops (Each side)
Standing stair jumps x5
Running stair jumps x5
Triple stair jumps x2
Depth jumps 3x5
Hurdle jumps 5x5
Weights--
Hang cleans 6x3@225lb's (fail on the last)
Jerks 3x3@135lb's

Things haven't got any better, I still feel terrible. I don't know if I have ever felt this bad for so long. I feel like I have wasted this whole week. I could barely move, mentally I feel cloudy. I haven't been sleeping overly well either which may be contributing. I just want to get back to 100% so I can start training for real again

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
2x250m
2x200m
2x150m
Pool cool-down

I can't remember the last time I felt this badly, I could barely move. Speed was out of the question, I tried to run two flying 35m but they were so slow I shut it down before I did anything else. It felt like a waste of a day, I dropped loads in the weightroom down too.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Squats 1x5@275lb's, 1x5@285lb's, 1x5@295lb's
Glute-Ham raises 4x5

I am very sore from the meet yesterday, it hurts to do anything. Somehow I managed to do hurdles and core but it was definitely a struggle. Hopefully I Feel better tomorrow.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
45 minutes of hurdle mobility
Leg raises 4x10@20lb's
Oblique crunch 4x10@65lb's
135 degree pike 4x10
Abdominal pull-down's 4x10@170lb's
Standing med-ball twists 1x10@6kg
Lunge position med-ball twists 1x10@6kg
Sitting med-ball twists 2x10@6kg
Russian twisters 3x10@6kg

Well coming into today's meet I really didn't know what to expect, I thought that I definitely had the potential to pb right now and I guess I was right. I can't complain too much I suppose, a new provincial record and a 30cm indoor pb. I felt like I could have jumped a lot farther than I did too, I felt like I was very springy but wasn't making the most out of my potential speed. I definitely need to start doing more runways in practice, I need to work on driving out of the back and getting my foot under me after the step phase. I feel like this was a basal meet for this season and that each meet will only get better. I definitely think that the CIS auto-qualifying standard of 14.22m should be well attainable.
   My next competition is in Moncton on December 17 2011. I always love jumping there so hopefully a large personal best is immanent.

Jump 1-Fault: I toe faulted but when the measuring tape was pulled it was somewhere in the 13.80's

Jump 2-13.78m: Felt good but not as good as the last jump. I felt like I carried a lot more momentum on the first jump. I over extended the last couple strides.

Jump 3-13.65m: I barely touched the board so it would have been about the same as the last jump, I felt fatigue setting in a little bit.

Jump 4-13.78m: I started to get a little frustrated that I wasn't getting over the 13.80m but I think I started to try too hard and broke down technically.

Jump 5-13.78m: This jump felt pretty much exactly the same as the last one, I guess the distance reflects that..

Jump 6-13.88m: Felt like I had more speed but biomechanically it didn't feel any better.

I was happy with the consistency because it's all about increasing the average jump distance. There are always a few outliers and if I'm jumping 13.80m consistently even by random chance there should be some way up in the 14.00m range.

Physically I feel great, I weighted in at 163lb's which is the lowest I have been since early September. I cut my sodium levels even lower today so hopefully I will be in the mid 162lb range tomorrow. I should be well rested, I took today off and yesterday very light. The only thing that may stand in my way tomorrow is my mind. I am shadowed in a lot of doubt. I want to open with a 13.60m+ and if it's under 13.50m I will probably really get thrown off (assuming I'm on the board and all the rest). Time to open the season with a big pb.

I think I jump at 6:45pm tomorrow, so it will be hard to stay light and focused through the day. I'm going to try to wake up around 9 and make a plan for the rest of the day at that point.

I took today pretty much off again, the only thing that I did was jog a couple laps and do a very abbreviated core circuit. I believe that I have the potential to jump very well on Sunday. I had a few lower body aches and pains while jumping but nothing debilitating. Now it's a mental battle.

 TODAY'S WORKOUT

Light jog
135 degree plank 3x10
Leg raises 3x10@15lb's
Oblique crunches 3x10@50lb's
Abdominal pull-down's 4x15@160lb's
Light stretching

Alright, I felt really good today. When I was doing bounds I felt like I was spending a lot more time in the air than usual. I felt strong in the weight-room too even though my body weight has dropped slightly. I am up a little more than yesterday but I am still at 164.0lb's. I pb'd while doing hang-cleans but the catches were pretty messy. For the first rep at 230.5lb's I caught the bar off my shoulders and had to bring it in. The second rep was actually pretty much perfect but the third one was sloppy again.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Stair jumps x3
Running stair jumps x3
Triple running stair jumps x3
Bounds 4x6
Depth jumps 2x6
Hurdle hops 3x5
Weights--
Hang cleans 2x3@185lb's, 1x3@205lb's, 1x3@225lb's, 1x3@225lb's, 1x3@230lb's
Jerks 3x3@155lb's

I tried to take it easy today, I did some strides and tried to stretch out some knots but that was about it. I'm feeling good for this weekend. I'm tapering a bit more than usual for a meet of little meaning but to be honest I think as far as my mental health goes I will feel a lot better not having to worry about going to CIS's in March, If I can just get one jump around 14.00m then I'll probably be pretty safe for the rest of the year. I'm down to 163.8lb's which is pretty much right where I want to be. By cutting my sodium and the mass of the food in my stomach I'm hoping to drop under 162lb's for the meet.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Strides 2x2x120m
Myofascial release
Static stretching

Today was kind of frustrating in the weightroom, I was losing tension while squatting and kept forward rotating too much. I went up to three plated but I sacrificed some major depth. My warm-up sets up to 225lb's were feeling really good and I was getting nice and low but as soon as I went to 300lb's I was rotating at the bottom and things got kind of messy. I find squats one of the most frustrating exercises, they never seem to go up because as soon as they do I don't go to parallel.
   Speedwise I felt really good today, I'm much quicker than I have been in the past, I'm as strong if not stronger and I'm technically... well... no worst than I was before.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Flying 30m 2x3
Weights--
Sqauts 1x5@300lb's, 1x5@305lb's, 1x5@315lb's (Lacking depth)
Glute-ham raises 3x5

I was feeling a little flat today, not overly surprising. I have a few issues in my lower extremities that I would like worked out before Sunday's meet but nothing serious--shin splints ect. I'm expecting my energy levels to increase through the week too.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
45 minutes of hurdle-mobility
Core circuit--
135 degree pike 4x10
Oblique crunch 4x10@65lb's
Leg raises 4x10@20lb's
Abdominal pull-down's 4x15@170lb's, 1x10@180lb's, 1x10@190lb's, 1x5@200lb's
Standing med-ball twists 1x10@6kg (Each side)
Lunge-position med-ball twists 1x10@6kg (Each side)
Sitting med-ball twists 2x10@6kg (Each side)


 

I felt pretty springy today opposed to how I have felt over the last couple of weeks. I kept the volume pretty low bus felt good on the few jumps I took. I'm excited to compete next Sunday and to see where I'm at.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Runways x3
Three step LRL x3
Five step triple jump x2
Eight step triple jump x4
Weights--
Hang snatch 3x3@115lb's, 1x3@120lb's
Incline press 2x5@135lb's, 1x5@140lb's

I stumbled across a website today hosting a list of motivational quotes and most of them were along the lines of "perseverance is more important than talent". Then I started to digest it and found that's really the moto our whole society is built upon. The more I think about it the clearer it becomes: that is complete bullshit. There is a very large, overwhelming majority, of the population who could never compete in the Olympics no matter how hard they trained. Sure, if you don't have the motivation it is easy to squander natural talent and somebody who works like a dog can work their way up the ladder but what is talent if not our maximum potential? As somebody who works hard(ish) and lacks talent I can definitively say I would much rather have talent to squander.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
20 Minutes of static stretching
10 minutes of myofascial release

I didn't seem to have a lot of energy when I was in the gym today, I guess that's not to be unexpected after a long week. Tomorrow is a rest day which I will gladly take.
There are a few minor things I need to ice tonight, a little bit of a shin splint, my low right hamstring, right knee and right ankle. It's better to be overcautious than ignorant especially where the season opener is in a week. I'm really excited to jump again although I must admit I don't know what to expect. Not to go number-chasing but if I can tie my outdoor pb I will set a new junior indoor record so I guess that's my goal, 13.84m. And if it just so happens to be over 14.00m then so be it.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
45 minute hurdle mobility
135 degree plank 4x10
Leg raises 4x10@20lb's
Oblique crunches 4x10@65lb's (Each side)
Abdominal pull-down's 4x15@170lb's
Pull-up's 3x10@25lb's

I felt really good physically tonight, I took a nice long warm-up to loosen up all the little things that have been bothering me and it seemed to work. I felt like I was able to apply a lot of force to the ground while bounding today and I set two new pb's in the weight-room, hang cleans and Clean and Jerk.
   I keep forgetting that I am a triple jumper and that no matter how much more weight I lift it's not going to help me if I can't apply force more efficiently to the ground. My limiting factor right now is definitely technical.




TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Hurdle hops 6x6
Bounds 5x6
Left hops 3x3
bounds from 3 inch box 2x5 (Each side)
Depth jumps 2x5
Weights--
Hang cleans 4x3@225lb's
Clean and Jerk 1x3@165lb's, 1x3@175lb's, 1x3@179lb's

Wednesday's definitely aren't my favorite days of the week. The volume was low luckily but still I find running 200m is a little farther than I would like. My right knee, or the area behind, hurt a little bit but not as bad as it has in the past. I hope that's a sign it is getting better.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
2x2 200m
Static stretching

Today was pretty quikc but CNS taxing, I know I'm really going to feel it tomorrow although when I look at it on paper it really doesn't seem like much work at all. I feel bad for the sprinters in our training group running 100m-300m repeats. I guess I shouldn't complain too much about 150m of total work!

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Flying 20m x3
Flying 30m x3
WEIGHTS--
Squats 1x5@295lb's, 1x5@300lb's, 1x5@305lb's
Glute-Ham raises 3x5

Today was a quick one--a little longer than last week but still not too bad. The intensity this week is a little higher than it was last week, kind of a lower medium intensity.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
45 minutes hurdle mobility
135 degree plank 4x10
Leg raises 4x10@20lb's
Oblique crunch 4x10@75lb's (Each side)
Abdominal crunch 4x10@170lb's, 1x10@180lb's, 1x10@190lb's
Sitting med-ball twists 4x10@6kg (Each side)
Lunge-position med-ball twists 4x10@6kg (Each side)
Standing med-ball twists 4x10@6kg (Each side)

Today was... alright I suppose. I was hoping to be able to work on cycling during the hop phase but as soon as I moved passed five steps I seemed to lose all kinetic awareness. This has been an ongoing issue and I'm not completely sure how to fix it. Repetition may only bring technical flaws into the forefronts of my brain, encoding them even deeper into my muscle memory...

I feel well rested and am excited to jump tomorrow. My hamstring that has been a nuisance seems to been almost healed. I have come to accept that it will be a lingering issue but I just want to keep it under control. I took today off completely minus some light stretching this morning.

Today was another quick one, in and out in about an hour and a half. Tomorrow is a rest day then Sunday is a technical day--I'm really excited to jump fully rested!

TODAY'S WORKOUT

45 minute hurdle mobility
135 degree 3x10
Leg raises 3x10@20lb's
Oblique pull-up's 3x10@60lb's
Abdominal pull-down's 4x170lb's
Standing med-ball twists 1x10@fkg (Each side)
Lunge position med-ball twists 1x10@6kg (Each side)
Sitting med-ball twists 1x10@6kg

Today went really well, I felt re-energized and definitely had more power than I had last Thursday. I put 7 more pounds on my clean and all the plyos felt great! My hamstring is still a little sore but it's not too bad.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Triple stair jumps x6
Shock jumps 2x5
Bounds 3x6
LLRLR x3
Hurdle hops 3x8
Weights--
Power cleans 1x3@227lb's, 1x3@232lb's, 1x3@237lb's
Pull-up's 3x5@30lb's
Rows 3x5@60lb's
Back extensions 3x5@100lb's

Today was another recovery day, the workout was just 2x2x200m. Although the volume was significantly less today I think I went out a little faster than I normally would so it felt just as hard as always. Besides the pain in my right hamstring that has been bothering me (slightly) since September I feel pretty good overall.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
2x2x200m, 90s rest, 4 min between sets
Static stretching

Today was a VERY QUICK workout, probably the quickest all year. All it was, was a couple acels and weights. My hamstrings felt a little sore but they started to get better as I went. My energy level is still don't so I dropped the weight while squatting and focused on depth.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm-up
Accelerations 5x30m
Weights--
Squats 3x5@290lb's
Glute-ham raises 3x5

I'm definitely sore but I'm not really sure where. My hamstrings feel tight and I feel like they may hurt a little bit during tomorrow's speed workout. Besides that my lower back is stiff from yesterday's reverse hyper's and my energy level is down low.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
Warm-up
45 minute hurdle mobility
Core circuit--
135 degree pike 3x10
Oblique pull's 3x10@60lb's
Leg raises 3x10@20lb's
Abdominal pull-downs 4x15@170lb's
Standing med-ball twists 1x10@6kg (Each side)
Lunge med-ball twists 1x10@6kg (Each side)
Sitting med-ball twists 1x10@6kg (Each side)