Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

3 May

Hex Bar DL – 2 x 3 x 130kg
Swiss Ball HS Curl – 2 x 10
Hip Thrusts – 3 x 10 x 90kg
Sprinter Sit ups – 3 x 20
Conditioning: Jump Squats 150 in 7:36 (cramp)

I needed 3 sets of HS curls to “complete” the next level but I was clearly capable of that so moved on to hip thrusts. I got calf cramp during jump squats so they took a lot longer. This session is two days early as I have a super busy day on the 5th.

6 May

Pushups – 23,22,21
A1 Chin Ups – 3 x 10
A2 Face Pulls – 3 x 10
Lat Raises – 4 x 12 x 3.5kg
B1 BB Shrug – 3 x 10 x 80kg
B2 DB Tri Ext – 3 x 10 x 15kg
Swiss Ball Situps – 3 x 12 x 20kg

Good session, flying up for chin ups and shrugs were strong too.

7 May

Running warm up – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJdU4GhdQf0
Grass Shuttle Runs: 4 x 4 mins (3 mins rest)

Similar pace to last week but with a minute less rest. When I do something like this I think back to a book on habits where there’s three zones: comfort, stretch and stress. You panic yourself in the stress zone by trying too much and you don’t change at all in your comfort zone. I was trying to keep a pace that meant my breathing was uncomfortable but not extreme and not letting up for the whole 4 minutes. I can tell from the pace I go through the first rep in that my fitness is in a better place than week 1.

[Fraser Young]

30 Apr

Running warm up – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJdU4GhdQf0
Grass Shuttle Runs: 4 x 4 mins (4 mins rest)

Completed this with no concern at all that it might damage my hamstring, I was able to run relaxed and whatever pace I wanted. I check my watch at the point I was completing my 3 minute runs in week 1 and recently it’s been ~2:50 but the first rep I went through in 2:33 then the rest back at 2:50 pace. I pushed myself quite hard and was briefly on the floor after a few reps before getting up and walking it off.

2 May

Bench Press – 2 x 3 x 95kg
Incline DB Bench Press – 16, 13 x 25kg
A1 DB Rows – 3 x 9 x 35kg
A2 Rear Delt Flyes – 3 x 8 x 3.5kg
EZ Bar Curls – 3 x 12 x 31kg

Start of week 5. The upper body is very manageable, this session was no more than 45 minutes thanks to the superset. Bench press is maintenance, meaning the goal is to maintain my current strength rather than progress it and that seems to be effective.

[Fraser Young]

25 Apr

Stretches – Hamstring spectrum, Holding Large Globe, General Quad, Calf, Shin, Sole of Foot

Bench Press – 2 x 3 x 95kg
Incline DB Bench Press – 17, 13 x 25kg
A1 DB Rows – 3 x 8 x 35kg
A2 Rear Delt Flyes – 3 x 8 x 3.5kg
EZ Bar Curls – 12,11,11 x 31kg

26 Apr

Swiss Ball HS Curl (assisted) – 1 x 10
Hamstring Bridge Walkouts – 2 x 10

Swiss ball curl was causing discomfort in the injured hamstring and I completed one set of 10 with my arms holding a squat rack to reduce the effort the legs put in before switching to walkouts. The walkouts were much better than last week and I consider that Phase 2 completed from this recovery protocol https://thebarbellphysio.com/ultimate-guide-hamstring-strain-rehabilitation/ maybe 5-7 days before I want to try the swiss ball though.

28 Apr

Hex Bar DL – 2 x 3 x 130kg
Hip Thrusts – 10 x 60kg, 2 x 10 x 70kg
Sprinter Sit ups – 3 x 20

I skipped the conditioning as it was KB swings and my leg had done enough. Hex bar was back to what I lifted in week 1 while hip thrusts were at 70kg vs 100kg in week 1. This time next week I’ll do conditioning meaning I’m almost doing all of WS4SB 3 except for the sprint session.

29 Apr

Push ups – 30, 22, 18
A1 Chin up – 10,9,9
A2 Face Pull – 10,10,10
Lat Raises – 4 x 12 x 3.5kg
B1 BB Shrug – 3 x 10 x 75kg
B2 DB Tricep Ext – 3 x 15 x 13.5kg
Swiss Ball Situps – 3 x 12 x 20kg

Good session, felt strong. Upped the shrugs, completed all reps of tricep extension and brought back the ab exercise. This is Week 4 Day 5 and even with my injury I am probably going to end up fitter by the end of week 5.

[Fraser Young]

18 Apr

Bench Press – 2 x 3 x 95kg
Incline DB Bench Press – 15, 13 x 25kg
A1 DB Rows – 3 x 8 x 35kg
A2 Rear Delt Flyes – 3 x 8 x 3.5kg
EZ Bar Curls – 13,11,9 x 31kg

19 Apr

Single Leg Bridge – 4 x 10

Part of the hamstring progression, these didn’t even feel like they were activating my hamstring.

21 Apr

Hamstring Bridge Walkouts – 3 x 5
Hamstring Stretch – 1 minute

Wow, now these are definitely working the hamstring. I walked out until my knees were almost straight and I could tell I was very close to tweaking it again so I reduced the range of my steps. I like these enough to put them in as a more advanced warm up once my leg is healed, and the plan is to do some two leg work with a swiss ball in a few days time.

22 Apr

Stretches – Hamstring spectrum, Holding Large Globe, Long Quad, Human Pinwheel
Push ups – 26, 21, 20
A1 Chin up – 9,9,9
A2 Face Pull – 10,10,10
Lat Raises – 4 x 12 x 3.5kg
B1 BB Shrug – 3 x 10 x 70kg
B2 DB Tricep Ext – 3 x 12 x 13.5kg

I’m having to pay less attention to my leg in the gym when doing upper body, and I can walk without a limp at an average pace. The stretches are from The Permanent Pain Cure, which I still fall back on to this day for some of my stretches https://9to5strength.com/permanent-pain-cure-book-review/. Days of inactivity and perhaps the use of crutches has meant I feel a lot of tightness in my lower and mid back, as well as calves. I read some research that stretching 4x day means faster recovery than 1x day but I haven’t found the time yet.

23 Apr

Running warm up – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJdU4GhdQf0
Grass Shuttle Runs: 3 x 4 mins (4 mins rest)

I am so pleased I could complete this session. The first run was a little tentative but the other two were done at the same pace as my runs two weeks ago and the fact I can’t jog very fast meant I paced myself much better. I completed one full shuttle and got to the far 18 yard box on the second run (shuttles are 18 yd, halfway, other 18 yd, full pitch). I stayed away from any discomfort and going from crutches to jogging in 11 days is faster than I expected to progress.

[Fraser Young]

15 Apr

Push ups – 22,19,18
A1 Chin up – 3 x 9
A2 Res. Band Face Pulls – 3 x 10
Lateral Raises – 12,12,10,12 x 3.5kg
B1 BB Shrugs – 3 x 10 x 70kg
B2 DB Tricep Ext – 15,12,11 x 13.5kg
Weighted Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 15kg

I switched from shoulder press to lateral raise and did the barbell shrugs with my injured leg kneeling on a bench, making sure my torso is still perpendicular to the floor. Pleased to get through that.

16 Apr

Indoor Rowing (Upper body only) – 4 x 3 mins (4 mins) in 2:20-2:25/500m pace

So pleased I can do a fitness session, and a tiring one at that. I put my good leg in the straps and kept it straight, leaving my injured leg free and bent at 90 degrees so there’s no strain when I lean forward for each stroke. Really surprised by the pace I can hold with only my upper body, biceps were tired but I got my heart rate up to 160 so it’s a great alternative to the shuttle runs. I was going to switch running for rowing if the weather was terrible but this injury has given me another reason to include it.

I will do some lower body rehab on Friday and probably repeat the rowing machine session instead of the speed session. I’m off crutches but I can’t walk very fast and have a small limp. I tried a two leg lying bridge with no pain and plan to follow these exercises to measure my progress https://thebarbellphysio.com/ultimate-guide-hamstring-strain-rehabilitation/

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