Martin roy training log

[Martin Roy]

Water Polo report: her team lost the match 5-4 but it was a great game. Aptos put the tying goal in the net with about 10 seconds to go but it was nullified due to a penalty called just as the shot was released. The first game in the sectionals is Wednesday against a team they beat a couple weeks ago.

As for me, yesterday and today were recovery days. It was clear to me Sunday morning that throwing would not have been a good idea. Felt much better today but decided to give it an extra day. Back to the bench tomorrow.

[Martin Roy]

Bench press, the sequence:

lbs/sets/reps

115x1x5
135x1x5
155x2x3
165x1x2
170x1x1
175x1x1
180x1x1
185x1x1

Starting out everything felt really heavy and I didn't expect much. However, I picked up some steam and exceeded last week's session. I want to solidify 185 for a couple of weeks before pushing much higher.

Water Polo update: I was mistaken on the day. First sectional game was today, not Wednesday. Unfortunately, my daughter's team lost 10-9; season is over. Silver lining for my daughter is that she can get started with basketball tomorrow.

[RogerWS76]

OK, so I have a question when you say 115x1x5, what is the 1x5?

[Martin Roy]

One set of five reps

[Alan H]

115 x 1 x 5

same thing as 1 x 5 x 115

The bar plus the weights on the bar = 115 pounds
Marty pushed that combination five times more or less without stopping, one time.

3 x 10 x 255 or 255 x 3 x 10

means that the bar (on Ollympic bar weighs 45 pounds) plus the weights on it = 255 pounds.

Marty pushed that weight 10x, then rested a bit and pushed it 10x then rested a bit and pushed it 10 more times.

Compare to 10 x 3 x 255
That would mean that the bar + weight = 255 pounds
and Marty pushed the weight up 3x, then rested...pushed it 3x, then rested...pushed it 3x then rested, repeat until he's done a total of ten sets of 3 repetitions.

[Martin Roy]

Squat day, after warm ups, the sequence:

lbs/sets/reps

155x1x5
185x1x5
205x2x3
225x1x3
245x3x2
225x2x3

Continued with reverse extensions, traps, ab work, and finished with 12 minutes on the bike.

[o1d_dude]

You're a regular machine, Marty.

That's still over 30 reps.

[Martin Roy]

Yes, but compared to the last couple of weeks, the total reps are down by a third. In particular, I cut back on the preliminary reps at the lower weights and moved up more quickly. And, the last couple of sets, in my mind at least, don't really count because they are more of a winding down, finishing touch at a lower weight following the high point. It's probably a mental thing, but 225 going up feels heavier than 225 on the way down.

[Martin Roy]

A further observation on the lower rep approach, I've now gone through all of my main lifts - bench, squat, overhead, and pulls - with a reduced number of reps. The main difference I've noticed is that I'm less fatigued afterwards and my recovery time feels considerably faster. Not really surprising when I think about it. Nonetheless, I'll be curious to see if this translates to a more rapid increase in strengh levels over the weeks to come.

[Martin Roy]

Yesterday I had light day of accessory lifts. Started with my shoulder warm up series, lats, curls, seated bench rows, ab work, and bike.

Today was overhead press day:

lbs/sets/reps

75x1x5
95x2x3
105x1x2
110x2x1
115x2x1
105x1x2
95x2x5

Last week I missed 115 and this week it wasn't a problem; very cool to see real progress in this lift. Also, my two finishing sets at 95 felt good and fast.

Tomorrow would normally be rack pull day, but instead we are headed to SF to see the stage production of The Lion King. So, I'll plan to throw and pull on Sunday.