Martin roy training log

**Martin Roy** · 21st November 13, 11:00 PM

Okay, catch up time.

Tuesday started out as overhead press night, but it didn't feel good. After warmups and 3 sets of 5 at 95 I shut it down. Decided to do a broader upper body approach; moved to bench and did 5 sets of 5 at 115 which felt good. Then went to incline press. I have never felt comfortable with this exercise but recent efforts with light weights in an attempt to find my groove seem to be paying off. I did three sets of 5 with 65 and then 3 more sets with 85. It seems that I'm finding the groove finally.

I'm rethinking my approach to upper body work and I'm going to change it up; I just haven't decided the details yet.

Yesterday was off day and this evening was rack pulls. I felt like I needed some volume work after recent pull sessions. Started with a couple sets of 5 with 185, then 8 sets of 3 with 225. Just what the doc ordered. Good solid quick sets with about a minute between sets. Also did bike, abs, traps.

**Martin Roy** · 24th November 13, 07:28 PM

I've got a new pair of Chuck Taylors specifically with squats and deads in mind. During the last few sessions with these lifts I've been aware that my shoes felt a little soft. Chucks are flatter and more stable; I wore them to the gym after picking them up this morning and they have a completely different feel than my other, more cushioned shoes. The last time I had a pair of these was in ninth grade - the Emerson Junior High basketball team had Chucks as our team shoe.

Today I went in for bench and upper body work. After rethinking my approach over the last few days, I'm going to do a 5x5x5 plan for a few weeks - for the work sets I'll do 5 exercises, 5 sets of 5, with enough weight to make the sets challenging. My thought is to do some work on strengthening my foundation. Today was sort of a test run to get a sense of how it would go. I started with sets on seated bench row, moved to traps. Then I did two rounds of my shoulder warmup routine with 15lb db. Went to the bench for 5 sets, followed by incline sets. Finished with hammer curls.

I liked the way this went, although next time I'll increase the weight on each lift to spice it up a little.

**o1d_dude** · 25th November 13, 01:04 AM

Chucks are pretty much de rigeur for deadlifts but I never cared for them in squats.

A few years back I invested in a pair of true lifting shoes and have never looked back. What a difference in stability when you have wooden or solid heels and crepe soles. No slipping, sliding, or flex in the shoes.

Lifting shoes aren't cheap but are a good investment for someone who's doing as much lifting as we do. I bought mine through VS Athletics online. My son uses the Reeboks and likes them a lot.

Here's a link to shoes similar to mine... http://www.vsathletics.com/store/VS-...ting-Shoe.html

**Martin Roy** · 25th November 13, 11:02 AM

Nice to hear from you, Kit. I'm familiar with the VS shoe site; Garrett bought a pair of throwing shoes for discus from VS online and really likes them. I've thought about weightlifting shoes and I go back and forth on the idea for some reason. There are several older guys at the gym who have lifted seriously for years and put up significantly more weight than I do and they tend to go with either Chucks or a skateboard-type shoe - thin, flat sole. One guy extols the benefit of lifting barefooted and a retired chiropracter who is in phenomenal shape highly touts the five-toed shoe that is virtually barefoot. I've decided on Chucks for the time being; I'm not excited about the whole barefoot idea. One thing that is clear is that my old running-style shoes are not appropriate for squats and deads at higher weight; they simply are not stable enough and, thus, invite injury. If the Chucks don't feel right there is a sporting goods store a half-block from my office that carries weightlifting gear, including several models of lifting shoes. So, we shall see how it goes.

**Alan H** · 25th November 13, 12:56 PM

I will be auditioning my Chucks today.

**Martin Roy** · 27th November 13, 10:09 PM

Yesterday everyone in town along with all their visiting relatives was in the gym for their pre-feast workout. So my plans were tossed and I made it a hodge-podge session based on availability of equipment. After a start on the bike and elliptical, I went for an intense bench row and trap session, followed by my shoulder routine and hammer curls. Finished with more bike, abs, and stretching.

Tonight, in contrast , the gym was nearly deserted. My primary focus was to squat for the first time with my Chucks. I went into the session curious to see if there would be a noticeable difference due to the change in footwear. The answer is a resounding affirmative. I felt more stable, more aware of the feel of pushing through my heels, and I seemed to get a deeper squat. In any event, I wanted to get some volume work in this evening, so warm up with a couple sets of 5 at 185, then 5 sets of 5 at 225, and final set of 5 at 135 with a 3-count pause at the bottom. Great session, a good change in routine. Finished with 5x5 on the bench and 5x5 incline bench, abs, bike and stretch.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

**Martin Roy** · 29th November 13, 06:58 PM

I survived T-Day without doing too much nutritional damage and headed back to the gym this afternoon. After some reflection, I decided that I needed to put more emphasis on upper back to better balance the pressing exercises. Thus, I started with heavy traps 5x10; seated bench row 5x10; shoulder warm routine with dbs followed by bent-over reverse flyes 5x10; curls 5x5; finished with bike and stretch. I really moved through all of these moves quickly to get some cardio benefit. Good session.

Semi-final Central Coast Section football play-off game tonight, no. 2 seeded Aptos High, everyone's favorite team, vs. the no. 6 seeded Willow Glen. Winner goes to the championship game next weekend against the winner of the Burlingame vs. St. Ignatius game. Burlingame is the no. 1 seed.

**Alan H** · 29th November 13, 07:02 PM

I've decided that I like my chucks as well...just not for walking over to the gym! They're great when I get there, though!

**Martin Roy** · 3rd December 13, 12:07 PM

Aptos High beat Willow Glen convincingly 42-24; they play St. Ignatius this Friday for the Championship. Meanwhile, back in the gym...

I went to SF with my daughter on Saturday; recovery day and I needed it because I really felt the Friday workout. Sunday morning off to the gym thinking about rack pulls but, fortunately, the rack was occupied. It was fortunate because I was still really feeling tired and not fully recovered from the very intense sessions squatting and the back work earlier in the week. So I went light and stretched. Sunday afternoon drove my daughter back to Sonoma State. Yesterday was a planned off day - I had to go to SF, again, for a seminar. My carbon footprint over the last three day was exceptionally high, but I'll be back to the gym tonight.

**Martin Roy** · 4th December 13, 03:39 PM

A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum, I mean gym, last night. When I arrived the on-site parking lot and the adjacent parking lot were both completely full, and nobody was coming out to leave. After 15 minutes driving around looking for a spot I bagged it out of frustration. However, this morning I noticed that a few nagging aches and pains were either gone or noticeably improved. Thus, I must have needed more recovery time that I thought, as I mentioned in the previous post. With that in mind I decided to take one additional day off - this will be the first time I've not had a solid workout in a five day stretch for quite awhile, but in an effort to follow the advice I routinely give to others, I'm listening to my body.