Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

GPP Week 1 of 3

26 Sept

Exercise Bike Tempo – 2 x 9 x 45 on/15off, 100rpm, 120W

This is less challenging than grass runs but a really good option when the weather is poor, which it will be for a lot of autumn & winter.

27 Sept

Box Jumps – 3 x 5
Hills – 2 x 5 x 20m [walk back recovery]
DB RLESS – 3 x 8 x 20kg
SL Swiss Ball Curl – 3 x 8
RDL – 3 x 8 x 80kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 90kg
A1 Banded Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs lower)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs

Bumping all three lower body weights was a mistake and this was quite tough.

28 Sept

Hip Mobility (AH)
Exercise Bike Tempo – 2 x 5 x 45 on/15 off 100rpm, 120W (level 4 of 32)
General Strength Circuit – 15 reps

I tried level 5 and my thighs said no so it seems like my first choice was spot on. This is probably the session I’ll do on the bike going forward as it’s the easier of the two and otherwise I’m using up every spare moment of free time to gym.

1 Oct

BB Rows – 3 x 8 x 45kg
BB OHP – 8,8,7 x 40kg
DB Incline Press – 8,8,6 x 20kg
Plate Raises – 3 x 8 x 7.5kg

This was right after a maximum pullup attempt (25 reps) and my upper body was toast. I didn’t do hill reps as I have a session the next day but I wanted to do upper body with a more respectable weight.

2 Oct

Plyometrics – 3 x 20m
3 Point Starts – 2 x 5 x 10m [60 secs]
Tempo Runs – 5,4 x 100m, 250m [30 secs / 2.5 mins] avg 15.5, 15.2, 250m in 38.2
DB RLESS – 3 x 8 x 20kg
SL Swiss Ball Curl – 3 x 8
SLRDL – 3 x 8 x 40kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 90kg
A1 Banded Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs lower)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs

I was much happier with my tempo runs and not even as out of breath as usual. I was aiming for 40 seconds in the 250m which is 16 secs per 100m but I held my speed really well. RDL tires my back so I switched to single leg with a barbell.

I’m shifting my sessions as of next week because I have a compulsory office day which will fall on Thursdays.

[Fraser Young]

Disrupted Week

19 Sept

Drills (8) – 2 x 20m
Build Ups – 2 x 40m
MB Throws – 3 x 6 x 5kg
Tempo Runs – 2 x 9 x 100m [50 jog/50 walk] avg 16.0, 15.9 secs

20 Sept

Box Jumps – 3 x 5
Hills – 2 x 5 x 20m [walk back recovery]
DB RLESS – 3 x 8 x 17.5kg
SL Swiss Ball Curl – 3 x 8
RDL – 3 x 8 x 75kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 85kg
A1 Banded Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs lower)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs

22 Sept

DB Bent Over Row – 3 x 8 x 15kg
DB OHP – 3 x 8 x 15kg
Plate Raise – 3 x 8 x 5kg
DB Incline Press – 3 x 8 x 20kg

This was in a hotel gym and not going full out, though incline press was tough.

23 Sept

Climbed Snowdon – 3 hours

This was for a work offsite and while I wasn’t that sore over the weekend I was busy so couldn’t squeeze in a session.

[Fraser Young]

Break In Training Week 2 of 2

12 Sept

Drills (8) – 2 x 20m
Build Ups – 2 x 40m
MB Throws – 3 x 6 x 5kg
Tempo Runs – 2 x 8 x 100m [50 jog/50 walk] avg 16.0, 16.0 secs

I ditched one of the throws and added a rep to each set. The tempo runs were faster and if I’m honest I wasn’t trying that hard.

13 Sept

Box Jumps – 3 x 5
Hills – 2 x 5 x 15m [walk back recovery]
DB RLESS – 3 x 8 x 17.5kg
SL Swiss Ball Curl – 3 x 8
RDL – 3 x 8 x 70kg
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 80kg
A1 Banded Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs lower)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs

Bumping the numbers in a few exercises but not going all out (yet!).

14 Sept

Missed session

I usually do this in my lunch break but I had to pick up my girls from nursery so missed the session. I should have done the hip mobility and in future I will try to squeeze in parts of the session even if I can’t do the whole thing.

15 Sept

Thighs measured 56cm
Around The Square – 3 x 4
CMJ – 5, best of 54cm
Broad Jumps – 5, best of 217cm
Hill Runs – 2 x 10 x 10m
BB Rows – 3 x 8 x 30kg
BB OHP – 3 x 8 x 30kg
Plate Raises – 3 x 8 x 5kg

Last week I missed the hills but I managed to do them here. I want to track certain metrics which I feel should trend upwards if I am in fact getting faster, and two of those are countermovement jumps (CMJ) and broad jumps (let’s not talk about their acronym). Broad jumps were 85-90%, I’m also well within myself for the upper body as it’s the final week of my pull up program.

17 Sept

Plyometrics – 3 x 20m
3 Point Starts – 2 x 5 x 10m [60 secs]
Tempo Runs – 3 x 4 x 100m [30 secs / 2.5 mins] avg 15.5, 16.0, 16.0
Bench Press – 3 x 8 x 50kg
Back Squats – 3 x 8 x 82.5kg
Rotator Cuff (2 directions) – 3 x 8
Rev Hyper Extension (Swiss ball) – 3 x 8

I went off too fast in the tempo, though I really need to stop considering 16 flat acceptable when I know I can get into the 15’s without much trouble. Again really fresh for this session and I’m getting the track work done in 60 mins and the weights in 20 mins, which is manageable most weeks.

Next week I’m away with work for a few days but I’ll fit in some of the exercises

[Fraser Young]

21 Sept

Indoor climbing wall – 45 mins
Sauna & cold immersion – 40 mins

The sauna was great but a late meal and early start completely ruined what I’d hoped was a hugely restorative sleep.

23 Sept

Climbed Mount Snowdon (1086m) in 3 hours

I’m putting this here because while it isn’t upper body, it was taxing on my body and required some additional rest.

25 Sept

Pullup Retest – 25 reps

I still had a sense that my arms weren’t fully fresh, so while I’d hoped for more reps I’d like to give it a few more days and try again.

1 Oct

Pullup Retest – 25 reps

It’s actually quite impressive that I fail on exactly the same rep each time. That must be 6 or 7 efforts that have stopped at 25 and no further. I’m going to write up a review and publish an article and YouTube video on the experience.

[Fraser Young]

WEEK 7

14 Sep

Pull / Stretch / Pull / Stretch / Pull – 25+5,22,18+4 (8 mins)

The final week is only three sets, with the others replaced by resting or stretching. I tried tricep and lat activations though most of the 8 minutes was rest. Surprised myself with the second and third sets, I expected to fade faster.

16 Sep

Pull / Stretch / Pull / Stretch / Pull – 25+5+4,20,21 (8 mins)

Seems like 25 reps is a sticking point. I don’t have DOMS as such, but I can tell when my arms need a rest and that’s been a case for a number of weeks. I remain optimistic that I can go beyond 30 reps but at this point 50 reps seems beyond me.

19 Sep

Pull / Stretch / Pull / Stretch / Pull – 24+7+4,24,18 (8 mins)

Third set was disappointing, I usually hit 18-20 in a row before dropping down to singles, but that set I did 18 reps then couldn’t do anything more. My grip definitely plays a part, some of the people doing 50 reps can hold for 7-8 minutes at once and my best was only ever 2 minutes.

The end. Of course I have testing, I’m away with work 21st-23rd so I’d tactically shifted my sessions by a day or two so that 3-4 days rest didn’t leave me testing when away. Honestly I could take a full week off given how overworked my arms feel. As I said, no real soreness but having done full time sprint training for several years I know when a muscle group is long overdue a rest.

I’m going to a spa on Wednesday evening which will hopefully lead to an enormous sleep that night. I will do some light stretching and prepare myself for a caffeinated max. reps attempt this weekend or soon after.

[Author]

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