Reactive Training Systems

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

RE: Mark's Training Log

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Tuesday GPP:

Chins- 2X5
Ab Wheel- 2X10
Scap Pushups- 3x20,
Side Lying External Rotation- 3x10,
infraspinatus activation

Cross Country Running: 15:30

First time in a long time I've done any jogging type activity. I don't know exactly how far I ran but I'm guessing 1.5-2 miles. I enjoyed it thoroughly, even if it did tire me out more than a little.

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Another storming session:

Bench

60X5@5
70X4@6
70X4@6
80X2@7
80X2@7
90X2@8
95X2@9
97.5X2@9
92.5X2@8
92.5X2@8
92.5X2@8
92.5X2@9

Good benching, got a fair amount of volume in there in the 8-9 range (but not stupidly high)which is always nice. I think its my bench that has boosted the most in the last 2 months, the fact that my last comp press was 100k and I'm now hitting 97.5kX2@9 is very reassuring. (thats only 5lbs difference for the Americans!) Same weight as last week but again, more solid.

Wide Squat

80kX5@5
100kX4@6
120kX4@7
130kX4@8
140kX4@9
132.5kX4@8
132.5kX4@9

1rm prediction has shot right up from last week and is right on par with my regular squat, I think this style would be good for me (wide stance with heeled shoes) but I may have to bring it in to make IPF depth safely. Still, will experiment with the regular squat. I think my body is adapting to the heavier loads anyway.

2 Board Close Grip

80X5@6
90X5@8
100X3@9
100X4@10
90X5@8
90X5@9

What a mission! I couldn't keep the bar stable enough when pressing back up at 100k+. Hence the lower number of reps, I was spending all my energy stabalising the bar. Still, absolutely nailed my shoulders/tris so probably all good!

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Thursday GPP:

Chins- 2X5
Ab Wheel- 2X10
Scap Pushups- 3x20,
Side Lying External Rotation- 3x10,
infraspinatus activation

Cross Country Running: 14:10

Same route but shaved 1:20 off my time somehow. Really enjoy these session despite being in pain from a stich most of the way round.

Friday: DBDB

A mixed session this one:

Deadlift

100X5@5
120X4@5
120X4@5
140X2@7
140X2@7
160X2@8

Up until this point, I felt great weights had never been so light.

180X2@9

Was really hard but I thought it could be a bad setup or something so went for last weeks 185 anyway:

185X2@9.5
175X2@8.5
175X2@9

So the 185 was def harder than last weeks. It was a grinder to the point that other lifters were shouting at me to get it through the lift....on the first rep! The second wasn't that different. I put it as a 9.5 rather than a 10 because to be honest, I probably could have done the same with 190....I can grind anything I can get off the floor. However, it does show a dip in strength this week which needs investigating.

Bench

60X5@5
70X4@7
80X4@8
85X4@8
87.5X4@8
90X4@9 (PR)
87.5X4@8
87.5X4@9
85X4@9

Cool.....a PR here. I think I'm without doubt better at 4's on most things than the 1 rep max chart expects me to be...but nevertheless, a PR is a PR.

GM

100X5@8
110X5@8
120X5@9
115X5@9

Stronger on these this week too which is good.

Close Grip Incline

50X7@6
60X7@8
62.5X7@10
60X7@10

What a cruel exercise that is! So anyway, summary of today: Deadlift not so great, bench very good, everything else good.

My deadlift can't seem to make its mind up!

Mike Tuchscherer · Guru

I'm curious as to what your HR is during the run.

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Heart rate 30-60 secs or so after the run was 120. I don't have a heart rate monitor but can look into getting one if you think it'll be helpful.

Mike Tuchscherer · Guru

If it was really 120, then a) you are in really good shape, b) you aren't running very hard (which is fine, I'm just saying...), or c) you have some kind of wacked out HR profile. I tend to doubt it was 120, though -- no offense. ;)

Anyway, getting a HR monitor might be helpful, but not essential at this point.

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

a) certainly isn't true by any stretch of the imagination although Eric kept said this when I'd complete his Sheiko sessions in an hour b) I probably wasn't by a runner's standards but it was as hard as I could manage. c) could be true, my brother has an enlarged heart which "appears" to beat irregularly and incredibly slowly. ...he's an international level athlete and has had it all checked out and apparently its not a health issue. It wouldn't therefore be completely unreasonable for me to have the same "defect".

I used the method of counting my pulse for 20 seconds and multiplied it by three. Not the most scientific of methods but should give us a ballpark. I just tested my resting rate now and it was 51...thats counting a full minutes worth.

Maybe I should get a heart rate monitor, I'm curious now...

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Great session today training with the British Development Squad. We did 3 session, squat, deadlift then bench,

Squat: Hit 150kX4@9 raw which is +10 (22lbs) on last time I did 4's...That boosts my estimated 1 rep max right up. Then put a suit on, didn't have mine with me and all they had was an old Inzer Z about 2 sizes to big (I got it seated by doing squats without even a bar haha!)... but I got 182.5 (400lbs)@9 for a single in it with some wraps which is promising.

They were VERY critical of my start and finnish position and basically said I'd probably get red lighted or no squat command due to not being fully locked. Even after several attempts I couldn't get used to it. They also said I was wasting a lot of energy in my slightly collapsed position as I was shaking/not stabilising the weight.

Deadlift: Apparently my technique could explain a few of the troubles I've been having... I'm basically doing it all wrong. Starting with my hips way too high and far back and my no where near upright enough with my shoulders the wrong side of the bar! They said it resembled a wide stance conventional more than anything else so we dropped the weight and worked on getting my hips under/back more upright. Did various singled around 160k@8.

I'm also shaking too much at the top apparently even with 80% weights. Not quite sure how to handle this one...

Bench Press: Asked for some help with raw technique, was planning on going up to 100k (my previous 1 rep max) for a single which I suspected to now be @9. The coaches had widened my grip on previous sets (I usually have little finger on smooth, we moved it out to index finger) and taught me the drifting over the face technique if it stalls. Well, 100k was stupidly easy, so they called 105k (PR), again, it was very easy so called 110k (PR). Again, got it with confidence, no grinding, I just let it drift when it slowed up and locked it out. It was a 10 but I reckon I could have grinded another 5lbs. So on my bench, I hit a 10k (22lb) PR today, lets just say we must have been doing something right! My bench has never taken a leap like that since I started lifting...

We then put a very loose shirt on and worked 100k down to the chest on various boards just to learn technique. The coach reckoned I'll have 160k in a shirt (352lbs) before too long and the other one said we're probably going to see some big jumps in numbers now my technique has been adjusted. About time!

So, I've got a fair bit out of today... I've got to be a lot stricter with my setup on squats, work on deadlift technique and now bench with a wider grip.

Oh, I also got not sleep and had a seven mile run/walk each way to get there across London! GPP is always fun. :D

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Monday: GPP

Chins- 2X5
Ab Wheel- 2X10
Scap Pushups- 3x20,
Side Lying External Rotation- 3x10,

Tuesday: BSB

Bench (with new wider grip)

60X5@5
70X4@6
70X4@6
80X4@8
90X4@9
85X4@8
85X4@8
85X4@9

Squat

80X5@5
100X4@6
120X4@7
140X4@8
150X4@9
142.5@4@8
142.5X4@9

2 Board Close Grip

80X6@6
90X6@8
92.5X6@9
87.5X6@8
87.5X6@9

Thought at the time this was an average session but if I look at the numbers, its actually pretty good. Estimated 1 rep maxes are at the highest they've been on all three exercises...

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Great GPP Session today:

Chins- 2X5
Ab Wheel- 2X10
Scap Pushups- 3x20,
Side Lying External Rotation- 3x10,

Cross Country Run: 13:25

Thats another 45 seconds cut down off the time... thats 2:05 minutes off the time in two sessions, seems you can improve quickly at new things!

Took my heart rate for you again Mike, 142bpm precisely 30 seconds after but bear in mind this time I sprinted the last 50 metres or so.

Mike Tuchscherer · Guru

that's a little more what I was expecting.

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Thursday: DBSB

Deadlift:

100kX5@5
120kX4@6
120kX4@6
140kX4@6
160kX4@8
170kX4@8
175kX4@9 (10k pr, we're back in business)
165kX4@8
165kX4@9

Looks like the coaching Sunday helped massively, dropping the hips and getting them directly underneath me made a massive difference to the speed and hence ease of the lift.

Bench

60X5@5
70X4@7
80X4@8
90X4@9
92.5X4@9 (2.5k PR)
87.5kX4@8
87.5kX4@9

Zercher Pulls

80kX8@9
75kX8@8
75kX8@8
75kX8@9

Cls Grip Incline

50kX8@7
60kX8@9
57.5kX8@9

So....been hitting some pretty major PR's on all lifts this week. Brilliant.

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Back from skiing today after a week off. Its an odd sport, you need to be insanely fit to do it at a high level but as an activity itself, it doesn't build fitness at all...just a healthy dose of lactic acid to the quads. :D

GPP today:

Monday: GPP

Chins- 2X5, 1X4@9 (I don't want to do any 10's on these)
Ab Wheel- 2X10
Scap Pushups- 2X30,
Side Lying External Rotation- 3x10

Ran 1 mile on a track: 8:54, I'm quite appalled by how slow that is. Hopefuly it'll pick up soon.

Mark Robinson · Senior Member

Ok, so 10 days off can cause some problems (temporary I hope)

Squat

80kX5@5
100k 2X4@6
120k 2X2@6 (hamstrings feel pulled/tight, can't stabalise weights by this point)
140kX3@8
150kX3@10
140kX3@9

Don't know how I got through the work sets other than extreme determination as my hamstrings were basically useless after the first few sets.

4 Pin Rack Lockout

60X5@5
70X4@7
80X3@8
90X3@9
85X3@9

Still don't enjoy these and appreciably weak after the time off.

Deadlift to Knees

100X4@5
120X4@6
140X4@8
160X4@8
170X4@9
162.5X4@8
162.5X4@9

This is more like it... not perfect as hamstrings were locked up altogether by this point (on my last set I had to take a couple of attempts to get them to fire at all....couldn't break the floor on the first rep!) but not too bad.