Martin roy training log

[Martin Roy]

Wed and Thursday were off days; last night I went to the gym but felt exhausted from the outset and could not get rolling. After a half hour of easy cardio and stretching, I called it a day.

This morning was rack pull and I went in determined to get three plates after setting the stage with the foundation work over the past few weeks. Warmed up with bike and rowing, then grabbed the rack. 5x185, 5x225, 3x255, 2x275 to get to the starting point for the ascent. Then, 1x185, 1x195, 1x305, matching my previous PR. 305 went up without difficulty, confirming in my mind the benefit of the recent 5 set work. 310 went up smoothly, new PR. Put on the third 45 plate for 315 and got it. No pain, no strain. To put a stamp on it I did it a second time. Finished with two sets of 5 with 225 focused on speed and explosion, while visualizing 12 feet wob.

For me, three plates is a milestone I've been aiming at for a long time. To finally get it is both satisfying and a relief. I was very encouraged that I didn't experience any sense of over reaching or straining; the lift was within myself, I was prepared for it, and I know I could have gone higher. However, the point to all of this is to throw better, not to risk injury on vanity lifting numbers.

Because pulls lead squats, I have no doubt that I'm on the verge of a 300 squat. If I have time for a session on Tuesday I'll go for it, but more likely it will be the day after Christmas. Happy Holidays, indeed.

[o1d_dude]

Strictly speaking, the squat is not particularly similar to the WOB toss. The body position in the squat has the weight on your back while in the WOB it's in your hand and it's moving.

Specificity is king. Do movements that are similar to the WOB: Kettlebell swings, core blaster swings, barbell high pulls, power cleans if they don't bother your wrists. My best WOB tosses came when I used the core blaster regularly. It turns out that for me 75 pound swings struck the right balance between speed and strength. Just make sure you don't "squat" the swings. Yes, you will bend your knees a bit but your power comes from driving your hips forward to drive the weight. "Hip drive" is what I call it.

In the actual throw you should strive for the triple extension: Extended ankles, knees, and hips. This is also good advice for the caber as the finish position is almost identical.

Merry Christmas, Marty.

[Martin Roy]

Merry Christmas, Kit, and thanks for the comments. I agree with you completely regarding the hip drive. When I finally figured out last year that the key to wob was hip drive and, then, started working on engaging that drive, I began to see improvement at long last. I went from hoping to clear 10 to expecting to clear 11; this next season I aim to hit 12. Last season I did swings every time I practiced wob, with kbells of various weights but especially with the implement itself. In my lifting program I've found that the best hip drive work comes from rack pulls, in particular the finishing sets after the work sets. The two sets of I did at the end in my last session were what I think of as my drive sets. My hips are fatigued somewhat after the work sets, but by dropping the weight so that the lift is not an issue, I can generate a fast, explosive hip drive as the primary focus.

Season's Greetings and Merry Christmas to all.

[Martin Roy]

I'm not happy at all. And, I'm kicking myself, too, just for good measure. After several days completely off (read: sitting around at family gatherings eating, talking, and more eating) I went in last night intending to go for a 300 squat thinking I would be rested and fresh. Long story short, it was not to be. I felt like a rusty old gate hinge from the outset and shut everything down after 275 just didn't feel right at all. In retrospect, I should have remembered Kit's oft repeated mantra: motion is lotion. Next time I'll make sure to have one or two light sessions before going for a max effort. So, next week sometime I'll go for it again. In the meantime, this afternoon and tomorrow I'll be guarding a door at the California Coast Classic Wrestling Tournament at Aptos High School. Sunday is set for some throwing at Shaffer Park.

[Alan H]

You'll get it, and if it just happens in front of everybody at the SHA powerlifting meet on the 11th, all the sweeter.

[o1d_dude]

Alan, please post the details for the SHA Informal Powerlifting meet. Last I heard it was in Fairfield but time, date and location have fled my memory banks.

[RogerWS76]

Saturday, January 11, 2014


08:30

• Laid-back, see-what-you-can-do, off-season Powerlifting Meet for throwers ONLY! Bring your own BBQ afterwards. $15 to play

Crossfit Vacaville North
3777 Vaca Valley Parkway, Vacaville, California 95688

[o1d_dude]

Thanks, Roger.

Didn't realize it was being held in a Crossfit facility. I will have to wear a disguise...

Happy Hogmanay, all!

[Martin Roy]

So, I had my annual physical this morning and confirmed with my doc, who is also a competitive cyclist, that I'm in excellent shape, subject to additional data from a few standard blood tests, etc. Then, I told her about my right shoulder discomfort and we went through various movements to demo the problem area, the front delt - especially a cross body motion like touching my left shoulder with my right hand. I told her that I wanted this fixed by the end of January because the season starts in April and I wasn't planning on missing it. She said it didn't appear to be anything major and referred me to the best ortho docs in town. I know both of them - one is an assistant basketball coach at Aptos High and the other did Garrett's knee surgery several years ago. She also told who not to see. And, she's happy to make a call to get me in for an appt as soon as possible; she gets the urgency on my part.

I went for an xray immediately after our appt and I got the results this afternoon: mild degeneration of the AC joint. Tomorrow I'll call the doc who did Garrett's knee for an appt. He was a good guy and I really liked his PA, who went the extra mile for Garrett's rehab.

Meanwhile, I'm going home to ice this evening. But tomorrow I'm either pulling or squatting - I'll decide when I get to the gym. I'm frustrated and generally pi$$ed.

[Alan H]

"MILD" degeneration. Fixable. The beeeotch is that it might need fixing soon, and that would mean probably 6 weeks plus of doing nuthin'.....Well, better now than, say May. But it's still a beeeotch.