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WEEK 42
22 Jul
Planche Lean Hold – 28cm x 5,14,14,10 secs
A1 EZ Front Raise – 4 x 10 x 16kg
A2 Pull ups – 11,8,7,7Good session, I’m looking to progress a little each time and edge closer to a straddle planche. My groin is tight at the moment so I’m avoiding any of the dynamic straddle exercises in favour of isometric holds.
25 Jul
Advanced Tuck Planche – 6,8,7,9,6,4,7,6 secs (53 total)
Sphinx Push ups – 28This was quite scrappy, it was my abs that let me down as I couldn’t hold my legs off the ground. I’ve got my lean to the point where my weight shifts to the front half of my hands and I’m probably not far from progressing to a straddle. If you look at centre of mass with an advanced tuck compared to a nice wide straddle there’s probably not much between them
Here are my EZ bar front raises, I’ve felt much more positive about my overall upper body strength since I’ve got back in the gym.
WEEK 40-41
8 Jul
DB Front Faises – 15 x 5kg, 12 x 6kg
DB Front Raise w 3 sec ISO – 8 x 6kg
Pull ups – 4 x 6
Banded Front Raise – 20
EZ Bar Front Raise – 12 x 6kg, 15 x 6kg, 2 x 12 x 8.5kg
Wrist Roller – 2 mins w 5kgI wanted to find a front deltoid exercise that could mimic the planche and after a few failed experiments I settled on the EZ bar. The zigzag bar allows me to turn my hands enough to have inner elbows facing up and a correct distance apart. I plan to load up on that because I want to add some volume back in.
15 Jul
Planche Lean Hold – 28cm x 6,9,12,6 secs
A1 EZ Bar Front Raise – 4 x 12 x 11kg
A2 Pull ups – 7,7,6,6I had laser tattoo removal on the 11th and there’s a few days where my torso is swollen and bandaged, so no exercise. Instead of a brief touch I wanted to accumulate some seconds at a specific lean, which I chose to be 28cm (lean measuring device on my Instagram). Great to bring pull ups back, I watched a YT video where he said full planche required back and not just relentless ab training.
18 Jul
Advanced Tuck – 10,11,8,7,7,5,3 secs (51 total)
Sphinx Push ups – 2 x 20I was a little disappointed to not hold longer here. I’m behaving in the kitchen and holding ~2400kcal/day which should bring my weight down. I’ve been a slightly doughy 72.5kg and knowing how much difference dropping to 70kg would make to other body-weight exercises like pull ups I believe it will help me a lot in planche.
9 Jul
Vert Test – 20+ jumps with a best of 71cm/28″
I shouldn’t take it for granted that I can consistently jump 70cm+ each week, I didn’t feel amazing or springy today so it was a solid effort.
PHASE 6
WEEK 21
12 Jul
Single Step Accel – 2 sets
Diagonal Step/Bound – 3 sets
Skip Bounds – 4 sets
Practice Jumps – 6 per side, LR = 70cm, RL = below 68cm
Triple CC – 4 sets, 120kg Hex DL
Deficit RLESS – 3 sets
Agility Drill – 2 setsI know my jumps are weaker going right-left, so I measured each separately. I couldn’t even touch 68cm which in hindsight was a high starting point considering there’s a clear difference between each side (i.e. certainly 2cm+). I had to do some hex DL and my adductors on both sides felt very weak, and they continued to feel weak during RLESS.
14 Jul
Ankle Stiffness – 4 sets
Hamstring ISO – 3 sets
Resistance Band Adductor – 15 x 3 sec ISO
Back Squat – 8 x 60kg, 8 x 70kg, 8 x 80kg, 8 x 85kgMy adductors were having none of it in the warm up and they were so tender I wouldn’t trust myself to jump on the spot, let alone do sprints and bounds. I did the final two exercises of what should be Day 3, then I did some adductor work to warm them up before trying some squats.
WEEK 21 (take 2)
16 Jul
Single Step Accel – 2 sets
Diagonal Step/Bound – 3 sets
Skip Bounds – 4 sets
Practice Jumps – 18 mins working on block foot
Triple CC – 4 sets, 125kg Hex DL
Deficit RLESS – 3 sets
Agility Drill – 2 setsI reviewed the practice jumps when I got home and was annoyed that there were clear improvements I could have made at the time if I’d known. While I was angling my block foot well, it was planted too far from my penultimate. I also wasn’t sure which arm to reach with depending on the approach but watching the vid one was clearly far more natural than the other. Work to be done.
17 Jul
Hip/Hamstring Superset
Ab/Hip Superset
Lower Abs – 3 sets
Lower Back – 2 sets
Rowing Machine – 3km in 2:10/500m paceGreat session this, my hips are a mess and need this sort of strengthening and mobility. I finished with a 3km row instead of a jog, it was meant to be a chilled pace but I took it out a bit fast and felt obligated to maintain it.
19 Jul
Sprint – 6 x 54m in 8.85, 9.06, 8.15, 8.38, 8.21, 8.49
Speed Hops – 4 x 20m per leg. Left: best of 4.30, Right: best of 4.61
Broad Jump to Bound – 3 sets
Speed Skater Variation – 2 sets
Hurdle Jumps – 6 sets
Ankle Stiffness – 4 sets
Hamstring ISO – 3 setsThe sprints were in phase 2 (?) and my fastest was 8.26 so I was taken aback at my 8.15 given the ground was wet and I was holding back. I sprinted at Uni and I could tell I was really covering ground in my acceleration so I believe it was a legit time. To be fair the times are still slow, I’ll go to a track either next week or the one after and see what I can really do. Speed hops were also at 90% and I was ecstatic to get through the session feeling so good. The broad jumps and hurdle jumps were also from previous phases, so far less new content.
20 Jul
Hip/Hamstring Superset
Ab/Hip Superset
Lower Abs – 3 sets
Lower Back – 2 sets21 Jul
Single Step Accel – 2 sets
Diagonal Step/Bound – 3 sets
Skip Bounds – 4 sets
Practice Jumps – 15 total, RL = 67cm, LR = 73cm
Triple CC – 4 sets, 130kg Hex DL
Deficit RLESS – 3 sets
Agility Drill – 2 setsMy hip flexors are still knackered from the hopping on Day 3 but I could still move around. My jumps were better, I worked on “push”, “punch” cues as well as accelerating through the jump. Only 1cm off my PB with a left-right takeoff, I moved it to 75cm rather than try to match my PB but wasn’t able to touch it. Hex DL was better, my adductors are getting stronger each session and I’m adding 5kg every time.
WEEK 20
30 Jun
A1 Resistance Band Lateral – 3 sets
A2 Lateral Step w Jump – 3 sets
B1 Res. Band Block Step – 6 sets
B2 Bound to Jump – ground was too wet
C1 Hex Hang Pull – 4 sets
C2 Pogo Jumps – 1 set (stopped due to Achilles pain)
Split Stance 1/4 Squat – 3 sets
D1 Rhythm Squats – 3 sets
D2 Banded Pull Through – 3 sets
Sub Max Jumping – SKIPPEDI’m not having a good time with this Achilles tendinopathy, I know now that pogo jumps cause the most problem so I stopped as soon as I felt it getting worse. It doesn’t impede me in any of the other exercises which is nice.
1 Jul
Foam Roll, 3 Core Exercises
Really bare bones stuff, one of the exercises causes me to stress my hip flexor/groin which has also been bothering me if I do too big a range of motion, and I have no intention of soldiering on through Phase 6 with niggling injuries so I want to be 100% by then.
2 Jul
2x Resistance Band Drills – 2 sets
Cone Drill – 3 sets
Hurdle Jumps – 3 sets
A1 SL DB Jump – 4 sets
A2 SL takeoff – 4 sets (62cm, 63cm, 64cm)
B1 SLRDL variation – 4 sets
B2 SL Broad Jump to SL Vert – 4 sets
Weighted Reverse Plank – 3 sets
Sub Max Jumping – 120,150,150 secsI iced my Achilles an extra few times and also have some Gua Sha tools which my massage therapist recommended for Achilles problems. It felt much better and I barely noticed it in the session. There was a PJF podcast about barefoot training on softer surfaces and that’s what I did here, doubling up a towel to jump on instead of my rubber gym mat.
I had a lot more coordination for my single leg takeoffs and I added 4cm to my PB, taking it to 64cm/25.2″. Here’s how that looked
3 Jul
Foam Roll, 4 Core Exercises
I used my ab wheel in place of the one that bothers my hip.
5 Jul
A1 Resistance Band Lateral – 3 sets
A2 Lateral Step w Jump – 3 sets
B1 Res. Band Block Step – 3 sets
B2 Bound to Jump – 3 sets
C1 Hex Hang Pull – 4 sets
C2 Pogo Jumps – 4 sets
Split Stance 1/4 Squat – 3 sets
D1 Rhythm Squats – 3 sets
D2 Banded Pull Through – 3 sets
Sub Max Jumping (grass) – 2:30, 3:00, 2:30Great session! No pain, no real discomfort and a few of the exercises clicked for me a little more than usual. I completed the pogo jumps without a problem and I did the long jumping on grass for up to 3 minutes with no issues.
Tomorrow I will have an Epsom salt bath, Tuesday I’m giving plasma for a Covid trial and 48 hours after that I should be cleared to test my vertical (9th July). I have laser tattoo removal on the Saturday which requires a 24 hour bandage on my torso, meaning my first session of Phase 6 is likely to be Monday 13th.
WEEK 38
24 Jun
Straddle Planche Lean – 3 attempts
Advanced Tuck Planche – 10,8,13,7,7 secs (45 total)I had a whole week off due to tightness in my bicep, possibly overexerting myself. I’m not able to hold a straddle for even 1 second but at least I know that.
27 Jun
Bring Sally Up – 80 secs
PPPu – 8,6,8,6,5
TRX Tucks – 3 x 16WEEK 39
1 Jul
Advanced Tuck – 8,14,7,11,2 (42 total)
Rear Leg Lift (Bird Dog style) – 3 x 30 secsNice to get an extra second, I’m feeling good in this position and already looking to progressing. I wanted to make sure I have the strength to hold my leg out in a straddle so I did a single leg version from all fours and that was fine.
4 Jul
L-Sit to Straddle – 2,4,3
Tuck Planche Push up – 4,5,3,3
Pull ups – 10,8,6
A1 Sphinx Push ups – 31,20,24
A2 TRX Tucks – 15,12,10A few new exercises after watching more on YouTube. I had been doing L-Sit to tuck and back, the suggestion was to hold a split second in a straddle then recover and I was able to do a few reps. The idea behind that is your body gets familiar with being in that position. Then a tuck planche push up, sold as an alternative to PPPu. You have to keep the torso parallel and I found the first few reps easy then immediately struggled, I was trying not to rush and making sure I locked out at the elbows each time.
I wanted to add in more general strength because the volume hasn’t been that high, so pull ups came in. Sphinx push ups are for forearm conditioning and tucks were in my program already.
I still want to get to 20 seconds on the advanced tuck but I’m already incorporating straddle exercises.
