Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

WEEK 4

7 Apr

Warm up
Push ups – 15,19,15,15,24

I tried “palmer cooling” but if anything felt worse. I may have made my hands too cold, and on top of that I had to hold them still for the 90 seconds rest whereas getting the blood flowing and shaking the arms out tends to help recovery between sets.

9 Apr

Warm up
Push ups – 21,23,16,16,22+4

I moved the tempo from 50bpm to 52bpm, though the former was still training time under tension so has still been helpful up to this point. I should note that I was tired before I started. Again palmer cooling and feeling worse than I otherwise would, only able to hit 22 of the required 26 pushups before taking a 15 second rest and finishing the set.

11 Apr

Warm up
Push ups – 23,27,21,21,26+4
Cool down

I pushed my rest out to 2 mins between sets and 3 mins before the final set and scrapped the palmer cooling (for now). I felt better here and in sets 1-4 I could have gone on to 30 reps, but the cumulative fatigue meant I struggled in the final set. I could potentially keep increasing the rest periods but I feel some of the training effect comes from submaximal recovery if the goal is 100 consecutive reps.

The next two weeks includes an extension to 7 sets on some days, but otherwise (excluding the final set) the max reps I’ll be asked to do is 28 so it’s not hugely intimidating. When following the pull up version of this program I found the final set to also be unachievable, as those numbers are ramping up by 2-4 reps every session which would be crazy progress.

[Fraser Young]

GPP / SPP 2

31 Mar

Drills – AABB x 2
Bike Tempo – 111,212,212,111 lvl 6, 150W
MB Throws – 3 x 7
DB Rows – 3 x 9 x 35kg
DB Incline Press – 3 x 6 x 30kg
Skull Crushers – 3 x 6 x 36kg
OHP – 7,6,6 x 45kg

Time constrained so skipped med ball circuits

1 Apr

Box Jumps – 3 x 5
Broad Jump 233cm
Accels – 5 x 10m pushup, 3 x (20m pushup, 20m 3 point)
Accels – 5 x 30m in 4.47, 4.48, 4.50, 4.52, 4.42
RLESS – 3 x 8 x 25kg
SL Swiss Ball Curls – 3 x 11
RDL – 3 x 6 x 80kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 6 x 110kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Prone Cobra – 3 x 25 secs

The cue for the final 30m run was to be moving as fast as possible by 30 metres, as if there’s a speed camera I’m trying to set off.

2 Apr

Drills – AABB x 2
MB Throws – 3 x 7
Bike Tempo – 111,212,212,111 lvl 6, 150W
MB Circuit – 1 x 15 in 5:00
MB Circuit – 2 x 15 in 2:30, 2:18
DB Rows – 3 x 6 x 37.5kg
DB Incline Press – 3 x 6 x 30kg
Skull Crushers – 3 x 6 x 36kg
OHP – 6,6,5 x 45kg

3 Apr

Box Jumps -3 x 5
CMJ 58cm, Broad Jump 234cm
Accels – 3 x (20m pushup, 20m 3 point)
4 x EFE 60m, last 20m in 2.33, 2.32
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 27.5kg
SL Swiss Ball Curls – 3 x 12
RDL – 3 x 6 x 80kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 6 x 110kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
L-Sit ISO – 3 x 18 secs

5 Apr

Plyo Series – 3 x 20m
Broad Jump 247cm (at the track)
Accels – 3 x 10m pushup
Accels – 3 x 20m 3 point, 3 x 30m 3 point, 30m in 4.44, 4.46, 4.48
Hard Tempo – 3 x 4 x 100m avg 15.8 secs, 15.6 secs, 15.4 secs
RLESS – 2 x 6 x 27.5kg
SL Swiss Ball Curls – 2 x 12
RDL – 2 x 6 x 80kg
BB Hip Thrust – 2 x 6 x 110kg
DB Rows – 2 x 6 x 37.5kg
OHP – 2 x 6 x 45kg
Stomach Vacuums – 6 x 10 secs

My hamstring troubled me slightly in the hard tempo, though it felt more like cramp. I was in spikes and paced myself so I didn’t burn out, was able to do the last set quite quickly considering. I had to skip a few upper body exercises as this was a really long session. Also skipped the Nordic curls due to hamstring problems.

Really pleased to get through this week as it’s been pretty high volume and I could do with some respite.

[Fraser Young]

WEEK 3

31 Mar

Warm up
Push ups – 12,15,10,10,27
Cool down

Having spent the first two weeks at 75 seconds rest and 90 seconds before the final set, I’m now using 90 seconds rest and 2 minutes for the final set. That was probably the main factor in my final setting extending out to 27.

2 Apr

Warm up
Push ups – 14,17,12,12,28

Rather than feeling less fatigued at e.g. rep number 12, I just seem to be able to extend the number of reps I can do with tired arms. It’s nice to get higher numbers but it doesn’t help with confidence to still feel shaky by the 15th rep – especially with a lofty goal of 100 pushups. This workout immediately preceded a longer conditioning session so there was no specific cool down straight after.

4 Apr

Warm up
Push ups – 16,20,14,14,26
Cool down

Looking ahead, in particular to week 4 day 5 (23,27,21,21,30+) I don’t feel I can achieve that right now. I’m going to implement palmer cooling with a portable fan, as well as possibly extending the rest out further by 15-30 seconds. I want to try just the palmer cooling so I know how much of my improvements can be attributed to just that.

[Fraser Young]

GPP / SPP 1

24 Mar

Drills – AABB x 2
MB Throws – 3 x 7
Bike Tempo – 2 x 6 x 45 on 15 off, lvl 6, 150W
MB Circuit – 1 x 15 reps in 5:04
MB Circuit – 2 x 15 reps in 2:37, 2:42
DB Rows – 3 x 8 x 35kg
DB Incline Press – 3 x 8 x 27.5kg
Skull Crushers – 3 x 8 x 33.5kg
OHP – 6,5,4 x 45kg

I had pain in my neck/upper trap on the right side when pressing, it felt like an electric shock.

25 Mar

Box Jumps – 3 x 5
CMJ 56cm, Broad Jump 230cm
Accels – 2 x 3 x (20m push up, 20m 3 point) in 3.25 secs
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 25kg
SL Swiss Ball Curls – 3 x 10
RDL – 3 x 7 x 72.5kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 7 x 102.5kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Prone Cobra – 3 x 25 secs

Wrecked after this, I can barely move my head so the CMJ and broad jump was just to make sure I was capable enough to do the session.

26 Mar

Drills – AABB x 2
Bike Tempo – 3 x 6 x 45 on 15 off, lvl 6, 150W

Still in pain, decided to split this session and do most of it another day. Had a high fever since the previous day and also a sore throat.

27 Mar

Box Jumps -3 x 5
CMJ 56cm, Broad Jump 236cm
Accels – 3 x (20m pushup, 20m 3 point) in 3.35secs
3 x EFE 60m, last 20m in 2.30, 2.33, 2.33
RLESS – 3 x 7 x 25kg
SL Swiss Ball Curls – 3 x 10
RDL – 3 x 8 x 72.5kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 102.5kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
L-Sit ISO – 3 x 18 secs

Slight headwind for the runs, happy enough with 2.33 as a starting point.

28 Mar

MB Throws – 3 x 7
DB Rows – 3 x 8 x 35kg
DB Incline Press – 3 x 8 x 27.5kg
Skull Crushers – 3 x 8 x 33.5kg
Mobility – 3 exercises

29 Mar

Plyo Series – 2 x 20m
Accels – 3 x 10m pushup
Accels – 3 x 20m 3 point, 3 x 30m 3 point, 30m in 4.47, 4.55, 4.50
Hard Tempo – 3 x 4 x 100m avg 15.6 secs, 15.8 secs, 16.1 secs
RLESS – 2 x 7 x 25kg
SL Swiss Ball Curls – 2 x 12
RDL – 2 x 7 x 75kg
BB Hip Thrust – 2 x 8 x 105kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Stomach Vacuums – 6 x 10 secs

Comfortable tailwind this time, gusting but probably an illegal one, maybe 2.5-3.0 m/s. The hard tempo is basically a split 400m as you only get 30 secs rest, then 3 mins between sets. I didn’t have my second set of spikes so expected to be slower given it’s slippery and I was in trainers.

Happy to get back on the track, ready for some nicer weather and longer runs, highest was 12 degrees and that was already more pleasant than most of my winter season.

[Fraser Young]

WEEK 2

24 Mar

Warm up
Push ups – 12,15,12,12,22
Cool down

I had a poor night of sleep but physically was feeling quite fresh. I’m not concerned that my final set hasn’t progressed from 22 as I can tell that the first 4 sets produce quite a bit of fatigue.

26 Mar

Warm up
Push ups – 14,17,13,13,22
Cool down

I strained my neck on the evening of the 24th doing overhead press so this was very uncomfortable to complete.

28 Mar

Warm up
Push ups – 16,19,14,14,21
Cool down

I only just squeezed past the target 20 reps. I have two tricks up my sleeve, longer rest and palmer cooling.

For the first six sessions I’ve used 75 seconds rest between sets, with a slightly longer 90 seconds before the final set. Even extending this out by 15-30 seconds will make enough of a difference that I should get through week 3.

Palmer cooling is a concept I picked up from the Andrew Huberman podcast, and it’s ideal for muscular endurance. The main reason our bodies fail at high rep is due to local overheating of the specific muscles used for the exercise. A solution is to cool the body via the palms of the hands (or soles of the feet if you wish), which has been shown to make very significant improvements to fatigue management in repeat sets. I don’t want to deploy this until a) I really need to and b) I’m confident that I can gauge how many reps my body can do without the cooling, so I can assess the effectiveness of cooling my palms.

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