Throwing a bit of iron around is one thing, writing it down for the world to see is quite another. Today's find:
Workout Journal for a guy in Iowa!
workingoutforheatlh.blogspot.com
Exactly what it says on the tin.
Throwing a bit of iron around is one thing, writing it down for the world to see is quite another. Today's find:
Workout Journal for a guy in Iowa!
workingoutforheatlh.blogspot.com
Exactly what it says on the tin.
Throwing a bit of iron around is one thing, writing it down for the world to see is quite another. Today's find:
Workout Journal for a guy in Iowa!
workingoutforheatlh.blogspot.com
Exactly what it says on the tin.
It's been just over a year since I first began to share my bedroom with weight plates. Over that time the act of lifting weights has gradually moved towards the status of 'healthy obsession' (although there are some who would dispute the 'healthy' part of that phrase), and shows no signs of becoming anything less.
The following is a quick look back at the major events that shaped my training :
March '04
The Marcy Pro weight bench arrived. Complete with attachments for hamstring and preacher curls, this promised to support far more weight than I'll be looking at for quite some time.
If starting again, I'd probably buy a simpler bench; however at the time I bought this, the power cage was yet to be even a consideration.
My initial routine was based on a 10 week plan from a Mens Fitness magazine (it's the only time I've ever been tempted to buy one), with a few changes to suit the lack of equipment. Still, with a barbell, two dumbbells and a bench, I certainly had the basics covered.
April '04
I increased my cardio with a daily dose of cycling. It was only 15 mins, but that was quite enough for me at the time.
This was the month when I first uttered 'time to buy some more weights'. Well, I only started with 50kg. I decided to switch to Olympic plates (for several reasons, the main one being the increased size of the bar) and grabbed a set - barbell and 145kg of weights.
My diet slowly improved.
The deadlift entered my routines.
Knocked up wrist roller and a chain for grip work.
May '04
Photos and video first made an appearance on this blog.
Switched from a 3 day/week beginner's routine to a 4 day/week westside powerlifting routine.
Acquired a couple of Captains of Crush grippers (Trainer and #1), and moved the grip training up a notch.
Introduced both dynamic and isometric stretching to the routines.
June '04
First sampled the delights of Zercher Squats.
Power cage arrived. This is a purchase I've never regretted - the extra safety allowed me to push harder with confidence; the cage's versatility enabled me to try out a greater range of exercises. Fantastic.
One of the new exercises the cage enabled me to explore is the chin-up - and I still love them. Quick, simple and highly effective.
The cage also marked the beginnings of my squat training. Prior to that I didn't have so much as a pair of squat stands; so my leg work up to that point consisted of the usual raises and curls.
New exercises: Bradford Press, Sweeping the Floor, Box squatting, Rack Pulls and the Floor press.
Began noting weights for each exercise on blog.
July '04
Spent a gym-free week in The Netherlands. Managed to lose 3kg in the process, but put it back on with a few weeks. Illness shortly afterward made sure this was a light training month.
Dipped a toe in the waters of Olympic lifting with a go at the Hang clean. Toe in, toe straight back out.
New exercises: Zottman Curl, Incline close-grip bench press, Hang clean, Seated good morning.
August '04
New exercises: Neider press, Floor press (close grip).
Departed for a month of sun in Australia.
It's been just over a year since I first began to share my bedroom with weight plates. Over that time the act of lifting weights has gradually moved towards the status of 'healthy obsession' (although there are some who would dispute the 'healthy' part of that phrase), and shows no signs of becoming anything less.
The following is a quick look back at the major events that shaped my training :
March '04
The Marcy Pro weight bench arrived. Complete with attachments for hamstring and preacher curls, this promised to support far more weight than I'll be looking at for quite some time.
If starting again, I'd probably buy a simpler bench; however at the time I bought this, the power cage was yet to be even a consideration.
My initial routine was based on a 10 week plan from a Mens Fitness magazine (it's the only time I've ever been tempted to buy one), with a few changes to suit the lack of equipment. Still, with a barbell, two dumbells and a bench, I certainly had the basics covered.
April '04
I increased my cardio with a daily dose of cycling. It was only 15 mins, but that was quite enough for me at the time.
This was the month when I first uttered 'time to buy some more weights'. Well, I only started with 50kg. I decided to switch to Olympic plates (for several reasons, the main one being the increased size of the bar) and grabbed a set - barbell and 145kg of weights.
My diet slowly improved.
The deadlift entered my routines.
Knocked up wrist roller and a chain for grip work.
May '04
Photos and video first made an appearance on this blog.
Switched from a 3 day/week beginner's routine to a 4 day/week westside powerlifting routine.
Acquired a couple of Captains of Crush grippers (Trainer and #1), and moved the grip training up a notch.
Introduced both dynamic and isometric stretching to the routines.
June '04
First sampled the delights of Zercher squats.
Power cage arrived. This is a purchase I've never regretted - the extra safety allowed me to push harder with confidence; the cage's versatility enabled me to try out a greater range of exercises. Fantastic.
One of the new exercises the cage enabled me to explore is the chin-up - and I still love them. Quick, simple and highly effective.
The cage also marked the beginnings of my squat training. Prior to that I didn't have so much as a pair of squat stands; so my leg work up to that point consisted of the usual raises and curls.
New exercises: Bradford press, Sweeping the Floor, Box squatting, Rack Pulls and the Floor press.
Began noting weights for each exercise on blog.
July '04
Spent a gym-free week in The Netherlands. Managed to lose 3kg in the process, but put it back on with a few weeks. Illness shortly afterward made sure this was a light training month.
Dipped a toe in the waters of Olympic lifting with a go at the Hang clean. Toe in, toe straight back out.
New exercises: Zottman curl, Incline close-grip bench press, Hang clean, Seated good morning.
August '04
New exercises: Neider press, Floor press (close grip).
Departed for a month of sun in Australia.
Currently the unwilling victim of a respiratory infection, I've had plenty of time (between Bruce Lee DVDs and failed attempts to sleep) to reconsider my training strategies for this year.
Up until a few months ago my feeder workouts were based around bodyweight exercises, and these workouts seem to have either changed into quick weight-based routines or been forgotten entirely. A recent comment from Kris - noting Louie Simmons' penchant for a modified Hindu squat - was enough to changed that.
Whilst I'm not quite ready to take the Mike Mahler approach and ditch the weights altogether in favour of bodyweight exercises, using them as a basis of additional workouts seems reasonable; extra GPP is always a good thing.
For now, it's a combination of Bruce Lee and attempted sleep. Modified Hindu squats to appear in the near future.
Currently the unwilling victim of a respiratory infection, I've had plenty of time (between Bruce Lee DVDs and failed attempts to sleep) to reconsider my training strategies for this year.
Up until a few months ago my feeder workouts were based around bodyweight exercises, and these workouts seem to have either changed into quick weight-based routines or been forgotten entirely. A recent comment from Kris - noting Louie Simmons' penchant for a modified Hindu squat - was enough to changed that.
Whilst I'm not quite ready to take the Mike Mahler approach and ditch the weights altogether in favour of bodyweight exercises, using them as a basis of additional workouts seems reasonable; extra GPP is always a good thing.
For now, it's a combination of Bruce Lee and attempted sleep. Modified Hindu squats to appear in the near future.
Still feeling a little less than 100%, I opted to enjoy a workout in the form of a little squat teaching. My squat form certainly isn't perfect, but it was quite enough to pass on the basics to my flatmate and newly recruited training partner.
His training blog is currently being put together and should be online soon. Raw powerlifting from the ground up.
Still feeling a little less than 100%, I opted to enjoy a workout in the form of a little squat teaching. My squat form certainly isn't perfect, but it was quite enough to pass on the basics to my flatmate and newly recruited training partner.
His training blog is currently being put together and should be online soon. Raw powerlifting from the ground up.
I've been using an RSS reader/news aggregator (RSSReader is my current favourite) for some time now to keep track of most of my regular reads. As the number of weight-training weblogs seems to be increasing exponentially of late, this certainly streamlines things.
Links to several of these sites are in the sidebar, as well as a link to 'sites of interest' which has a far more comprehensive list. RSS feeds for these blogs may be found as links beside each blog link, or as an xml file which contains all of them.
The RSS feeds for this blog are also in the sidebar, currently comprising the following formats :
I’ve been using an RSS reader/news aggregator (RSSReader is my current favourite) for some time now to keep track of most of my regular reads. As the number of weight-training weblogs seems to be increasing exponentially of late, this certainly streamlines things.
Links to several of these sites are in the sidebar, as well as a link to ‘sites of interest’ which has a far more comprehensive list. RSS feeds for these blogs may be found as links beside each blog link, or as an xml file which contains all of them.
The RSS feeds for this blog are also in the sidebar, currently comprising the following formats :