may 27 2009

Strongman Comp

Lightweight Division:

1st place - James Grahame

2nd place - Tristan Woods

Random Photos's

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May 23 2009

Saturday morning sleep in... mmmm Poached eggs on muffins and a latte to wash down a multitude of pills.

I didn't bench Tuesday night (speed stuff). Monday night Dad was rushed into hospital by ambulance with breathing difficulties and heart problems, he has emphysema so Tuesday night we're all at the hospital making sure he was ok, and thankfully later in the week he was allowed home. So, anyways, I'm itching to get under the bar today.



No squatting tomorrow but still no sleep in, Madii and Mojo have an early start at pony club.

Then we're off at lunchtime to watch a strongman comp at D's in Dandenong. Should be fun, Tristan is competing and I'm sure he'll do well. I'll be there to cheer him on! Should shape up to be a great day I'll be sure to take loads of photo's





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May 19, 2009

Who says lightning doesn't strike twice?

The black agents swooped again on Saturday morning at training. Just 18 days since the last raid, this time wanting urine AND blood. SMS'd Leigh... who responded jovially with "Chuckle. R they only "taking the piss out of u?" :-p :-p" Bahaha

3 Black agents blending into the background

Once again chaperoned around the gym while we train and because a blood sample is required we must wait around for 20mins after training before they can take blood. So I trained as usual, and waited until the end to provide the urine sample. Arghhh... could only squeeze out 75ml... Fail! When a blood sample is requested you have to provide a 'supersized' sample - 30ml more wee than a regular wee sample of 90ml... So I am granted a 2nd attempt... which is good 'cos powerlifters always get 3 attempts :-) At least the DCO has a sense of humor.

The blood sample wasn't as bad as I had expected, they did bring in a registered nurse to do it and I have to admit she was good, didn't hurt (yes, I am a wimp) but it was over with quickly. But guys, seriously, come around too often and the novelty will wear off fast....












After being traumatized again Madii, Leah and I went out for some retail therapy and stopped into Koko black for a hot chocolate...mmmmm

Yummmmmm

And... As I haven't been out to the movies in ages... Saturday night I treated myself and Madii adn saw Star Trek , which I *really* enjoyed - not a mad trekki but the movie was entertaining and trying to see recognize Eric Bana as the baddy, Whoa, hard to see it was him. Arrived home around 11, neighbors having a very loud party, and set the alarm for 5.45 am... Ughh early morning squats.... Music got turned down at midnight thankfully but still not enough sleep time!

A little over cautious squatting with the quad strain, but it felt pretty good and I managed some slow and possibly slightly shallow squats at 105 with knee wraps and at 110kg I added my belt!Very little accessory work again and then off home to an ice-bath to head off any swelling in the quad as suggested by the physio. The worst thing... the ice bath hurt my feet and you cant raise your feet out of the ice without raising the quad out too..... Arghhh pain!!!

Why are men's jammies so much more fun....
Ba-ha.. Grumpy! Yep that's me!

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May 14 2009

Despite having reservations about seeing a new physio I was quite impressed with Gemma. She was able to describe exactly what I was doing including details aboaut stance and toe position.... hmmm wonder if she reviewed the gym security tapes? LOL. Some massage and ultrasound treatment, stretching exercises and and compression tube. Follow up appointment today.

Got an email / survey thing from ASADA. Fine, filled out the responses till I get near the end and this is this rather odd question:
Finish this sentence:
Getting tested by ASADA makes me feel.....

Ummm? Special?
Violated?
A 'wee' bit intimidated?
Paranoid?

Chuckle........

Deadlift training tonight - no actual deadlifting involved.... Assistance work only followed by a latte with Jojo and Loretta.
On the topic of deadlifting, here are some pics of my 150 deadlift from the Melb Championships taken by Yoji from SPLC and below that a clip of my technically challenged 165kg deadlift also many thanks to Yoji.








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May 11 2009

Mothers day - two new sets of jamies for winter.... of course this lead to tears as I had to pick one set to wear.... but ended up wearing both.... :-)










Spoke too soon about not having any injuries too. Ho-hum...

Injury 1. Right shoulder -this is an recurring injury - shoulder out, not dislocated as such but gets inflamed and doesn't sit well in the joint. A couple of visits with Andrea usually fixes this - under treatment.....

Injury 2. Stupid, stupid girl. Not sufficiently warmed up last Thursday before doing box squats using the spastic bar (which I don't like at the best of times) and strained my right quad vastus medialis (refer to diagram).

Stopped immediately - Rest, ice, yada yada. Andrea took a look on Saturday morning, bit of massage there and thru the ankle and it felt better. Heavy training Sunday re-aggravated it. Felt fine for the warmups and 40kg. 60kg could feel a twinge, wrapped early at 80kg - could still feel it. 95kg mmm getting sore... triples on 105kg - did 3 sets and called it quits. Rest, ice, yada yada. Made an appointment this afternoon with atGemma Melbourne Sports Medical centre. Haven't seen her before but neither Roger, Gordon or Jesse were available. Most annoyingly was that the 105kg actually felt quite good if it wasn't for the stabbing pain.


Minh from Titan brought a couple of F6's to training on Saturday. Tried getting my arm into the size 36 first - with help from Steve Giffin, but while he could get it up close tot he elbow he didn't think it would pull up too well at the top of my arm where my tricep is thickest. Settled for the 38 on his advice and may be able to get the chest plate taken in.

Which reminds me, I need to take my squat suit back to the tailor and have the shoulders altered down another 5cm. Tight!

My old runners finally bit the dust. So a trip to Active Feet in Prarahn on Thursday saw me come away with a new pair of Asics (and a free T-shirt!). Maybe I'll even be able to get bit of a jog up at lunchtimes to keep my weight in check. Wen suggested I might even aim for 5k run in Corporate games in November as well as the poker! :-)

My number plate???

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May 5 2009

I am well impressed with 'House of Pain' . I placed an order last week for 2 pair of Inzer black knee wraps, 1 pair of Inzer black wrist wraps, 2 HOP beanies and a $1 cooler pack (gift thing) and it arrived today! The site quoted 2 -6 weeks delivery for international orders and a week later its on my desk! AND in the box was this months Powerlifting USA mag - bonus!

My new Titan shirt should also be available this Saturday, all going well for the new Australian Titan distributor. Minh will be bringing both a 36 and 38 for me to take a look at. I'll bring some silks and see if I can get my arm into the 36. I've also asked him to add a couple of boxes of ammonia caps to my order. Leigh assures me they're good so we'll see!

Comp details for this years Nationals are up on the Powerlifting Australia website. I am considering doing both the 3 lift comp and the bench press comp. Since I'm putting in all this effort, I might just as well do both!


Spoke to soon about the black agents - LOL. They fronted at the gym that night and nabbed almost everyone in the club for testing. I discovered that despite much practice peeing all my life, I could not pee with someone watching.... I know some people pay good money for this kind of thing, but this is not going to be a money spinner for me!

Anyway the whole process was quite interesting and amusing, being that I have a warped sense of humour. Choosing the container for the sample was like a lucky dip - but not so lucky. The lid for the sample container looked like a sipper lid, I will never have a drink with a sipper lid again and then the embarrassment of carrying the damn sample thru the gym to the testing station Ughhh!. Then the fun starts, pouring the sample into separate container, the ASADA dude checking the quality of the sample - I do good quality pee! and then sealing it all up and bidding it farewell... I sms'ed Leigh and he met me after for a debrief and welfare check - such a traumatizing experience... :-)

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April 28, 2009

Whats on my ipod?..... Lyrics are becoming ridiculous and its almost embarassing to be caught singing along....

Black dress, with the tights underneath.
I've got the breath of a last cigarette on my teeth.
And she's an actress, actress, but she ain't got no need.
She's got money from her parents in a trust fund back east.

T-t-t-tongues, always pressed to your cheeks.
While my tongue is on the inside of some other girl's teeth.
T-tell your boyfriend, if he says he's got beef,
That I'm a vegetarian, and I ain't fucking scared of him.

>>what the F* is that about?

She wants to touch me whoa-oh.
She wants to love me whoa-oh.
She'll never leave me whoa-oh, whoa-oh, oh, oh.
Don't trust a ho.
Never trust a ho.
Won't trust `cause a ho
won't trust me.

She wants to touch me whoa-oh.
She wants to love me whoa-oh.
She'll never leave me whoa-oh, woah-oh, oh, oh.
Don't trust a ho.
Never trust a ho.
Won't trust
`cause a ho won't trust me.

.
.
.
.
.

Shush girl, shut your lips.
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said shush girl, shut your lips.
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said shush girl, shut your lips.
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.

>> Seriously, I almost find this offensive
>>How many kids actually know who Helen Keller even is?
>>I asked my girls... no idea.
>>Dammit, I'm gonna get the black and white movie, The miracle worker,
>>and force them to watch it.


And this.. well I just want change it just a little and aim it at my......
I really enjoy singing this at the top of my voice :-)

I wake up every evening, with a big smile on my face
And it never feels out of place

And your still probably working at a 9 to 5 pace
I wonder how bad that tastes

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell

Now wheres you picket fence love
And wheres that shiny car,
And did it ever get you far

You've never seem so tense love
I've never seen you fall so hard,
Do you know where you are

And truth be told I miss you
And truth be told I'm lying

News.
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Whoo-hoo! I have a PA ranking:

Powerlifting Australia Ltd.
Women's Rankings - 2009 - Top 20



Training is going really well at the moment, touch wood, no injuries and loads of energy. A touch sore after training, but only what is expected.

Saturday bench 5x5 @ 65kg felt easy although my right shoulder didn't enjoy the close grip lockouts
Sunday squats at 7.30am 6x3 @ 95kg with only knee wraps were more than comfortable.
Monday accessory workout, took the opportunity to really stretch front delts with an overhead pressing movement, but only with the bar and specifically targeting the stretch not the press.

Still no sign of the ASADA agents, perhaps the no standing sign that I've put up at the top of the driveway has kept them away. Anyway, keeping myself in constant state of 'Needs to pee' just in case - LOL.

Placed an order with House of Pain, my kinda place :-) for some new knee and wrist wraps, Inzer black. Gonna rotate the brand/style of wraps I use at each comp and may look for a different deadlift suit for 2010.

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April 24, 2009

The weekend looms, but no joy for me. On pager for the 3rd fortnight weekend in a row. It sucks to work 12 days straight so often, but this should be the last weekend until mid June. Something of a reprieve.

My first night off training this week, although last night was just an 'accessory' session. Not so motivated without Leigh there. I had to ask Pepe to remind why I was there. "to pick up, love" he joked, so I picked him up, literally, baby style in my arms. Anyhoo, plan to spend the evening in the recliner and watch some shows I've recorded during the week. I think Lindt Bunny will meet his demise or at least lose his ears.



Have worked out my peaking cycle with Leigh, the next 12 weeks are going to be tuff, but I'm super enthused! I need to review my supplement supplies, Leigh is going to top me up with some creatine and glutamine that he has stashed, I've already begun loading creatine, although I'm not massive believer in the stuff. Glutamine I feel works for me. Beta-alanine - the good one, means I'll have to pay a little more for it :-( if for no other reason than I like the tingling feeling you get after taking it hehehe. And I have some leftover pre-workout protein powder that I'll incorporate somewhere/somehow - trying of course not to blow out my weight.

Caught up with Jojo last night for a latte, she's still on a high from her win at the weekend - and so she should be! I'm still wound up about it. She's stoked about her deadlift, I'm stoked about her squat.... She was off to get a massage today from Shaun Bostock (lucky her) and then she'll be back in training for the CAPO nationals in August being held in Canberra - about 3 weeks after my IPF/PA Nationals which are in Sydney. I'm thinking I might drive up to Canberra to see her compete, perhaps take my time, call in to a couple of wineries, perhaps stop overnight in Albury. Melbourne - Canberra is about 8 hours drive 670ks, but I think I'd rather take my time and have a bit of fun along the way.

Working from home again next Thursday, sheesh, making a habit of this.... Get this, put my car in for its 40,000k service on Monday and got it back with a cracked windscreen..... They're replacing it Thursday!

Still haven't booked in my dreaded leg massage, deciding whether to get Ruth (soft) or Kellie (extra hard) to do it. Need to get that in next week, the following week I'm back on pager (aka don't get away from the desk!)


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PS. while looking for the easter bunny pic I came across this oldie.... LOL












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April 21 2009

Post comp slackness has settled in, but at last an update....

My old federation CAPO held its state titles at the weekend. I went along to support my friend Jojo and was surprised to see Maria competing who, as she explained, was only doing this as a 'training' comp for bigger things later in the year. Unfortunately she'd been sick leading up to the comp and bombed her 195kg squats. Pity 'cos I would have like to seen her lifts in the bench and deadlift. That really just left Jojo in the open. It was a pretty small comp, 12 competitors I think, 4 of them female, but that's not to say that there wasn't some great lifting and I got to perve on Shaun Bostock in between lifts :-)

Guilia Mormile set a new Junior record in the Deadlift at 130kg and JoJo.... well, she just blitzed 'em in all 3 disciplines - so proud of her! Scoring herself a National squat record for the Senior Women/75kg division with a massive 175kg squat, followed by a 105kg bench press and 165 deadlift and another National record for her overall total of 435kg in the Senior Women/75kg division. I think I came away a little hoarse after screaming for the lifters that I knew! Gotta be stoked for Jojo tho'!! What a massive effort from her and such a big leap from her lifts at last year's nationals - she's one to watch!!

Other competitors that I knew at the comp: Steve Brown, unfortunately bombed in the squat but scored an easy 180kg in the bench press and Martyn Girvan, 230kg. Mind you for some reason Marty came out and did a token squat at 65kg - yep 65.... not quite sure what that was all about.... :-)



Jojo 175kg squat



Jojo 165 Deadlift (published WITH her permission....)










Guilia 130kg deadlift


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April 8 2009

Comp overview:

Competitors meeting at 7.30pm night before the comp, checked in all my gear. They're very thorough! Even asking what underwear I'd be wearing... Ummm Mossimo? I don't think CAPO ever once checked my lifting gear.

Arrived at 7am for the weigh in (after having been at the competitors meeting until 9.30pm the previous night) Weight 67.2kg whoo-hoo 300grams under.

Lifting started at 9. Very nervous!

SQUAT
Got my first squat in at 115kg with one red from the centre ref. Leigh thought I'd missed the lift as he saw it, I'd put the brakes on and not punched down at the bottom.
Attempt 2, clean 125kg.
Attempt 3 132.5kg. ughh totally messed up my setup, my left knee wrap was loose and I took the bar out WITHOUT locking my fingers on the bar, rushed the whole thing and failed at the bottom of the squat.

BENCH
75kg - easy lift
80kg - also very easy
85kg - A little work to get the bar up only to be red lighted for lifting my bum off the bench. So this is a setup issue that I need to work on, but I know I can get the lift.

DEADLIFT
Opened at 140kg - Easy way to impress the refs.
Attempt 2, Again, a nice clean 155kg with no problem what so ever.
Attempt 3 165kg - Shyte, this one felt like it stuck to the floor! Really slow pull, slow enough for me to think clearly 'Fuck its not coming up'. The bar finally came off the floor and I locked it out - not my best technically but got the white lights!

Buggered off for a latte down Carlton with Leigh and then I went back to watch the rest of the comp which didn't finish until around 10.30pm. Leigh had pointed out some familiar faces in the crowd earlier when I was squatting, that brought a smile to my face, so I went and sat with 'Fire n Ice' and her Mum. (Thank you, it was great to see you both and catch up!!) And a flying visit from Jojo too, who had another friend competing in the men's section.

As Fire n Ice mentioned in her comment, ASADA were present at the comp in the afternoon, all men, so no women being tested... And eoowww, not one of them cute enough to take into the toilets ;-)

At the end of the comp we were asked (told) to move all the equipment back into the gym... It was around 11.30 when finally the trophy's were handed out. Only the trophy's. No ceremony, even the podium was packed away. I know it was late but for all the competitors who hung around all day, not to receive their participation medal was pretty poor. So funny tho', I didn't expect to win, I really thought Rikki had it over me, I thought the trophy was an 'encouragement award', a really nice one so I had to ask twice what it was for! Robert must have thought I was so dimwitted. The best part tho' was earlier, when Rikki presented me with the club T-shirt - I've earned my place, I belong :-)

Thank you.
I want to thank Webby, James and Tristan who all came along to the comp, quite unexpectedly I might add, although they missed my lifting :-) It was great to see everyone and have so much support! I also want to thank all my new friends at Southern Powerlifting Club with a special mention to Deb and Travis who kept us all in order. And Leigh - who once again got me over the line. MWAH!

Madii's zombie party (her 17th) was in full swing when I finally got home. Thankfully Leah and Andrew were there to supervise. I think I fit in well with the zombies tho.... At least by the time time I unwound and had a shower the zombies were mostly either gone or quietly watching family guy.... I went to bed but it was still hard to sleep.


Back at work Monday. OMG where does it all come from.... so much in the queue. Booked in a much needed massage on Tuesday, upper back, erectors and glutes.... but don't touch the legs... They're so bruised!

Training clips from the last session before the comp at Doherty's Gym in Brunswick - 115kg, 125kg and ill-fated 132.5kg (which I should have got at the comp!) Just to show that I CAN do it.



115kg


125kg


132.5kg


These are the frames taken from those clips at the bottom of the squat which I then used to check depth. 125 on the left and 132 on the right.









Well, I have this week off training and then it starts all over again next week. Back to 80kg raw squats - Yumm!

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April 5 2009

I'm just in the door from today's powerlifting comp, tired and sore...

and...

I WON !

Squat: 115kg, 125, 132.5 (failed - messed up my setup - rushed it)
Bench: 75kg, 80, 85 (failed - got the bar up but my bum came up too)
Deadlift: 140kg, 155, 165 - all successful
Total: 370kg

So now I have my done my qualifier - BRING ON NATIONALS!!

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Before n After....

Left: Feb 18, 2009 - 70kg

Right: April 2,2009 - 67kg

Equipment check

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March 31 2009

Thanks to Nigel for sending me this link!






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March 30 2009

Training clips as mentioned earlier. The first one is 110kg, half suit, wraps and belt, 110kg for 5 reps. My body weight 68.5kg. Mostly falling short on depth or just hitting parallel as you'll hear from Steve, Mary and Tim. Suit was pulling me up short, with only 110kg on my back I need to push down harder into the hole but overall nice, comfortable lifts at that weight.




Next clip was taken on speed bench night - we were comparing our back arch after I commented on Jen's amazing high arch - like a frikin tunnel :-) Mine not so huge... 55kg raw for 3 reps.




Last heavy squat yesterday which I also have on video and I'll upload later in the week. Singles of my first 2 attempts for the comp and 3rd single just below what I want on Saturday. Depth looks ok. Current body weight 67.2kg. I don't expect to place high for this comp, not with my planned lifts anyway but as I keep telling myself this is just about getting a total and lifting well in my first comp with a new federation.

Have to admit that despite all this I'm still a little nervous and I'm sure I'm developing some kind of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Over the weekend I got bee in my bonnet about having new laces for my squat boots and thick socks for the comp - red ones. Do you know how ard it is to find colored laces? I searched high and low until I finally got what I wanted, then on the trail for socks. Womens socks are all thin, I could find red ones but not thick ones... Mens explorer socks come in black, blue or brown.... How boring for the boys! At last, at one of those dodgy stands in the middle of the shopping centre... Thick Red Socks. You'd think that would be it then.... but no... now I want my belt buckle engraved with some rather dubious quote that I have picked up from a DVD.... Oh dear.... OCD...

Anyhoo, everything else is set in place now. Cardio tonight, speed bench tomorrow, Light squats Wednesday and then rest until comp day. Friday night is the competitors meeting.

The count down is underway!

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March 28 2009

Good news!

The dishwasher is fixed!!

And bonus points.... it only cost $121. After the initial quote of $500, when the repairman finally came (after two cancellations...) it still needed another $180 worth of parts. I could have bought a new dishwasher!! Anyhoo the serviceman suggested I call customer care.... and yes they do! Care! Because the repair cost was so high they agreed to cover the cost of the parts. ALL the parts. So I only had to pay for the service call!!! Way to go FISHER & PAYKEL.

Heavy bench today - last one before the comp. My shirt is so big I can get it on and off totally unassisted !!

65 X5, 75X3, 82.5 X3 / 1 / 3 / 3
No assistance work today.

The single rep was a failed triple, brought the bar down too low on the 2nd rep, more like a belly bench and couldn't get it up. Never mind, 85 will do on the day. Cant wait to see what I can do in a tight shirt - LOL

Tomorrow is my last heavy squat - of course my biggest concern here is depth, the more I think about it the lower my first attempt seems to be. I was going to open with 125kg currently I'm hedging towards 115kg. I've made an appointment to see a sports psychologist at Olympic Park Sports Centre on Friday - not to help with this comp, but perhaps she can help get my head around squatting heavy AND deep from the mental perspective with the focus on Nationals in July.

Almost time to take that 'after' photo. I'm back on track with my weight, 67.4kg just need to get in a holding pattern now...

ASADA Hour starts next week - April 1st... Anyone see the irony in that? Chuckle...

Your Compliance Status

Current quarter 1/01/2009 - 31/03/2009

You are not required to submit your whereabouts this quarter -

Upcoming quarter 1/04/2009 - 30/06/2009

Compliant

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March 25 2009

Caught up with Jojo for a latte last week, the 2nd in two weeks - we're on a roll. :-) So much to catch up on since her debut at Nationals last year - so much has happened !!

Anyhoo, she's preparing for the CAPO Vic titles which is two weeks after my PA comp. A small bit of advice from me the other week saw her bust thru her previous PB by a whopping 10kg and pull up 150kg - way to go!!! So proud AND equally impressed that she manged to rip a callous off in the process! I think I need a powerlifting damage gallery to showcase all the rips and bruises. :-)


I'm really looking forward to seeing what she can do at the Vic's. Go Jojo!!


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March 21 2009

Grosse and disgusting.... The only way I can describe my deadlift session the other night. As I pulled up the bar, so came the contents of my stomach. A massive projectile vomit - chicken and rice everywhere! I took off the the toilets and purged anything that was still there... and then went back and continued to deadlift. Successfully pulling singles at 160kg.

That really is off tho' isnt it!?! My last meal, chicken and rice, was at 12.30. Deadlifting was at 4, so that should not have been a problem. I will have to be careful not to have anything in my tummy on comp day. How would that be, puking all over the referee - chuckle....

Two weeks out from the comp and I'm hovering aroud 68kg. The diet hasnt troubled me much, I've been chocolate free for a month now - cold turkey - and havent had any cravings until the other day in the supermarket. OMG, easter eggs, a sudden, massive caving for easter eggs. I practically ran from the store.

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March 17 2009

After the fall in the squat rack the other night I discovered a nice bruise at the base of my neck.

Assistance work was done on Thursday night. Good mornings, hypers, shrugs and roman chair situps.

Sat - Heavy bench with SPLC. With Steve giving me comp calls for practice. Benching under PA rules you have to wait for a start call which is not the case for CAPO. Triples on 80kg - happy with that given that the shirt is large and not giving me a great deal of kick out off the chest.

Sunday: joined in with SPLC again for another squat session at Tim's suggestion - to check my depth before I compete. Kitted up, suit belt and wraps - 110kg. As they suspected I'm shallow, not by much but I'll really need to push down into suit and wraps. It was a good exercise to do and my 110's were confident and comfortable. I will probably squat light for this comp and concentrate on getting good technical lifts in. Jen video'd my set so I could see how high I was. I'll see if she still has it and post it up here.

Skip back to Sat night.... Here's some photo's from the Pro show.

Kai Green

I was disappointed to have missed the King of the Bench but here are the results:

1st. Shaun Bostock 325 KGs @ 144.2kgs (All Time New Austraila Record)
2nd. Nemo Strimic 280KGs @ 120.2kgs (New Austraila Record)
3rd. Marty Girvan 230KGs
4th. Daniel Portelli 220KGs
5th. Daniel Di Piscalli 210KGs
6th. Clint Gregan 200KGs
7th Steve Brown 200KGs

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March 13 2009

Friday afternoon and I’ve just come back from lunch down st Kilda. OMG rolly polly….

Phone had gone mad, first up fisher & paykel have got the parts for my dishwasher – yay, they can come and do the repairs on Tuesday – No more dish pan hands! Then a courier, who informs me that he is standing outside… outside where? My office? No at home and can he leave a parcel for me at the letterbox – hmmmm perhaps up the driveway at the front door would be better. In hind sight I should have told him to leave it in the horse float… never mind. Of course my mind goes into overtime wondering what it could be, I haven’t ordered anything… Perhaps it some beakers and containers for my first urine test – how exciting. Hmmmm Actually I think it will be my regular monthly delivery of beans from the coffee club I’m in – but the postie always just jams them into the letter box…

Called into Evelyn Faye’s yesterday to pick up some more supplements and after having a discussion with the sales rep, we’ve come to the conclusion that the reason I am puking in my deadlifting is due to the l-arginine in a pre-workout drink I’m having. I’m going to try cutting the dose and see how that goes.

Squats went well last night until the last single on 130. I took too long going down and couldn’t muscle it up, wanted to throw it back but as I had a spotter there I had to be careful and ended falling back with the bar, hitting the cross rails and uprights and whacking my shoulder into the bar – winded me something bad. Of course no sympathy from Leigh who proceeded to set up the bar for some box squat triples. Little sore still today but not as bad as I thought it would be and I’ll still be able to bench heavy tomorrow at MBS (she says hopefully).

In answer to Louise’s question… Back in the day when I was competing in bodybuilding, the lightest I competed was about 56kg and in that comp picture below I was around 60-61kg – off season back then was about 65kg a far cry from my now offseason of 71kg. Currently at 68.4kg with 3 weeks to comp day.

Off to the Pro show tomorrow afternoon and the King of the Bench comp – whoo-hoo.

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Sunday March 8

Right-oh, another week slides by.

Late in the week I called ASADA to ask for a password to logon to their whereabouts system, they were supposed to send one in the mail but with the deadline looming I thought I'd better get this out of the way sooner rather than later. So now I can report that I am 'ASADA compliant'. Although it was a surprise to me to find that I am MALE according my online profile. A quick call to the hotline and a chuckle with the helpdesk girl had that sorted out quickly.

When I say that I am compliant, well I have nominated one hour every day for the months of April, May and June where I will be 'anchored' for the hour. However, how does one nominate where one will be on a given day? particularly on weekend, a month or three in advance? Best effort I guess. The 'calendar' will have to be updated as necessary - at least its an online system...

I've also gone to the trouble of setting up appointments in my organizer with alarms to remind me when and where I have to be. I'm not risking any 'missed test'! Three misses in an 18 month period constitutes a minimum one year sanction. Knowing my dumb luck I'd be tripping down to Haighs or Toby's Estate to score a hit (haha chocolate or coffee) and forget my about 'ASADA hour' as I've called it in my organizer... chuckle.

Training has been a bit crap this week, I haven't been feeling 100%, just not my usual self and its shown in some poor performances. I've dropped weight at long last, down to 69kg and tonight squeezed myself into the red Inzer squat suit - 20 mins to get it on, 20mins, a broken nail and tortured finger tips to get it off.

I've almost finished the 2nd in the vampire series by Stephenie Meyer: Twilight and New Moon. I enjoyed the movie and both Madii and Leah said the book was even better, so here I am reading the series.... Not that romance or supernatural are really my kind of thing, but I am enjoying the escape. Although to be honest its left me feeling a little lonely, wishing I were not alone so much at night, but then again I don't want someone there all the time either, never again down that path. Just a big warm body to snuggle into sometimes. But I am so picky.... Someone bigger than me, at least by 15-20kg, there is no comfort in cuddling up to someone scrawny. I want to feel protected, from what I don't know... its not like I cant look after myself. Enuf dreaming.... back to reality... Perhaps I should just stick to reading crime novels :-)

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Tuesday March 3 - The Parcel

Ooops. A week has escaped me. A rather eventful week too. Where to start?

Wednesday, very obviously, from the dug up stones and tyre marks on the driveway, a courier attempted to deliver a parcel to my home, but it required a signature so my front door was carded. Was this the new iron I had ordered by redeeming my flybuys which were about to expire? I rang TNT and arranged re-delivery to the office the following week as I was not in any hurry and wasn't about to drive out to Hallam to pick it up!

Friday, an email message from reception alerting me to a parcel which had been delivered - how exciting, was this the iron being re-delivered early - LOL. But what I retrieved from reception was DOCUMENTS. WTF??? Sigh... a poison parcel! Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) Athlete Whereabouts Information Pack. Happy Happy Joy Joy.

Well, After being read the riot act when I first muted the idea of switching camps, I cant say it wasn't expected. Random, my arse!




From ASADA website:

What whereabouts filing information is required?

Athletes included in ASADA's Registered Testing Pool (RTP) are required to provide quarterly whereabouts filing directly to ASADA. The required whereabouts filing includes:

1. Address and contact details

Such as

• primary residential address
• primary mailing address
• primary contact phone numbers
• email address (if available)
• alternate contact name and phone number
• coach's name

2. Locations and times

Athletes are required to nominate one (1) location per day where they will be available for sample collection and provide the start time of the one (1) hour period that they will be at that location.
This one hour time slot must be between 6am and 11pm.
Locations nominated by athletes must be accessible to ASADA Doping Control Officials.

1. Regular schedule of routine locations

Athletes must provide a completed hardcopy of the ASADA Whereabouts Filing – Regular Schedule Form. This form requires confirmation of personal details, addresses of residences to be used in the following quarter, regular training addresses and usual time available, other regular locations such as work or school and the usual times available at those locations and a schedule of the locations and dates of upcoming competitions the athlete intends to compete in during the upcoming quarter.

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Saturday I had planned to attend the Geelong Powerlifting comp. Steve, Bill, Yogi and Travis from Southern were all competing. Deb unfortunately had to pull out due to injury :-( I made a deal with Madii that if she drove (on her L's in the truck, that I would buy dinner at the pancake parlour. Reluctantly she agreed.

Half way into the trip, the truck boiled, the radiator cap had not been put on properly and blew off. Fortunately it landed, and stayed, on the battery! Limped to nearest servo and refilled with coolant, but not enough and the instructions said don't add water.... SMS'd Leigh as we were in his territory and he came by and took us off for a latte while the truck cooled.

We set off again and had not gone far when the car boiled again and wouldn't start. A couple of good Samaritan's stopped and helped, I was so grateful, the gas converter had frozen as a result of no hot water from the radiator and They poured more water into the radiator and over the gas converter but still the car wouldn't go as the gas was totally frozen. So they guys suggested running on petrol until the gas converter thawed, there in lies the next problem - there was no fuel in the petrol tank - despite the fact that I put a full tank in a year ago - ok, so I don't drive it on petrol that often, but to have it evaporate!?!

So these two helpful guys went off in search of a gerry can and went to the servo and got me some petrol. We got some hot water over the gas converter, enough to start the car and then switch to petrol just as the gas converter started to freeze over - literally you could see the frost forming! That sealed the end of the day for me, Madi and I headed home it was 4.30 and we'd missed the comp. The two good Samaritans followed us on the freeway until their exit to make sure we were ok. My faith in mankind is much renewed!

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Training

Sunday ME Squat

bar x 5, 40x5, 60x5 80x5 light knee wraps, 100x5 wraps&belt

112.5 1/2 suit, wraps and belt x3

118 as above 3 reps

120 as above 3 x 3reps

Front squats with light wraps

60kg 4x5reps

Tuesday

Reverse lat pulldown 100 x10 x4sets

Seated Row 120 x4 x4

Shrugs 65lb dbells 4x10reps

Rear delt flyes

Roman chair situps

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Found this old pic of my bodybuilding heydays... very serious stuff! :-)

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Monday Feb 24

The amount of junk mail coming into my inbox lately has quadrupled - so annoying! I need a better spam filter.

Spent a whole evening of what should have been 'relaxing time' applying the latest firmware update to my Topfield 7100. First up it wouldn't recognize my usb, in either the front or back port, I tried another usb stick, still no luck. Formatted the damn thing FAT32, which it already was - still nothing, switched off the toppy, on again... nup. Surfed the Topfield forum to find out if it was possible to FTP the update - YES! Rebooted Toppy with the update in the mount directory and off it went happily applying the update. Performed a factory reset when it completed then the arduous task of setting the whole thing up from scratch, re-scanning the services, setting up the wireless network... ughhh. Hours of misery as IceTV failed consistently. Ping to IceTV failed. EPG fetch failed- server busy - Bullshit! Check the network. Ping from laptop to Toppy - ok. FTP server working. So LAN working but Toppy cant get outside - the laptop can tho'?!. Ahh-ha found a typo in the DNS address - fixed that, so far so good, ping to IceTV - ok. EPG fetched! Phew.... But no, timers from Ice now not getting sent. Deleted the token, set up again - nope, rebooted Toppy, no avail. Went to bed to sleep on it - at least 90% setup........ No magic fix overnight - checked the network again, checked the router all looks ok. Rebooted EVERYTHING! Toppy, Router.... Success! Not in any hurry to do that again!


Can relate very much to this youtube clip...


Training:

Sat
ME bench - worked up to tripples on 75kg
Lockouts at 80kg 3x8reps
Closegrip press 50kg 4x8
Dumbbell Floor press 4x15 @20kg dumbbells

Sun
ME squat - Worked up to tripples, half suit, belt and wraps 105kg 2 sets, 112.5kg 2 sets
Front squats - raw. 40x5 45x5 50x5 55x5


Mon
Assistance
Good mornings 60kg x6 70kg x6 x3 sets
Hypers 25kg 12 x4 sets
Dumbbell Shrugs 55lbx8 65x8 x3 sets
Lying leg curl (light) 8 x4 sets

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Monday Feb 23

Well the diet is off to miserable start no thanks to the sticky date pudding I made last night. Very yum and sickly sweet. I was good all week tho, however the scales do not lie and I found myself up 100g grams this morning (having been down 100grams on Friday) Dropping 3 kegs in the next 5 weeks is not looking hopeful. BTW I did take a before photo but I wont be posting up until I have the after photo to go with it - just in case there is no change.


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Mon Feb 16

Thursday

Speed deads with green bands & 60kg 3reps x 8 sets
Rack pulls: (below knee) 120kg 5reps x 3 sets
................(above knee) 140kg 5reps x 3 sets
(Annoyed - forgot my wrist straps to overload bar.)
Good mornings: 40kg 8x4
Pull Thrus: 120 10 x 4

Friday rest

Saturday

ME Bench - new shirt (too big)
1 rep max at 85 kg - didnt get much kick out of the shirt and was able to touch with only 50kg - bit disappointing.
Dumbbell press: 40lb x10 50x8 60x8 x3sets
JM press: 30kg 8 x4
Rotator cuff/rehab work

Sunday
Squat: bar x8, 40kgx8 60x5 80x2 95x5x2 (knee wraps) 95x4 100x3 100x5 (belt and wraps)
front squats: 60kg x2 x2, 60kg 3x2 (belt no wraps)
Standing calf raise: 95 x10x4

Dropped the ball on the 3rd set of 95's went down for the 5th rep but was thinking too much and not doing enough and failed at the bottom. Unloaded the bar and set it backup again but went to 100, lower back was starting to feel the strain so belted up for the last set.

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Feb 12

Picked up my new bench shirt from Apollo - hope to give it a try on Saturday with SPLC. At the bench seminar, Marty Girvan invited me to do some shirt work with his guys to help break it in if needed. I tried to get my arms in it, whoooo this will be fun (not) could just get it to my elbows....

Training Report.

Monday @ Definition
Yay George has bought a new bar and some more weights.
Ahhh new, fresh, prickling bar
Squat - warmups @ bar, 40,60 75, 85 then 6x3 @ 95 with knee wraps on (last 3 sets better than first 3..)
Front squats @50kg 5x5 (time to go up I think)
Hypers (variation with glute/ham raise) 7.5kg 4x8 (very wussey but the glute/ham part was tuff!)
Reverse cable squat 160, 180, 200,200 x 8 reps

Slept funny or pulled something doing squats - result stiff neck/trap affecting bench.

Tuesday @ MBS
Lockouts @75kg 4x8 very uncomfortable - even with a lift out.
Speed bench 55kg 8x3's
Cross body tricep press 10kg 4x8
JM press 30kg 4x8

No upper back assistance work

Wed - rest

Thurs - @ Definition
Plan.... Speed deads and heavy rack work.

Have started 'thinking' about dieting....
Thinking only...
Maybe start 'doing' Monday next week.
Currently weighing in at 69.999999kg
I should do one of those 'before' photo shoots this weekend - you know the type: slouched over, bloated tummy, no makeup, bad hair, granny style bog-catching undies and grouchy face.... snigger....

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Feb 9 2009

The devastating fires overshadow everything at the moment. The death toll currently stand at 128 and is still rising. My thoughts are with those who have lost all, the burn victims and with the almighty Fire crews, SES and Police that have been battling the bush fires on our hottest day ever recorded. We can only hope that the cool change is helping, although it has not brought forth the much needed rain and the forecast is for the heat to return at the weekend.

Training report

Tuesday - Speed bench.
Arrived late to training because Madii had to be dropped at work at 7, which is when I was meant to be at training. That's life.

Lockouts 75kg 8 reps 3 sets
Speed bench 55kg 3 reps 8 sets
Rolling tricep press 8kg 12 reps 4 sets (still nursing elbow soreness)
Close grip press 50kg 10 reps 4 sets
Chest supp row 8 reps 4 sets
Rotator cuff / rehab stuff

Wednesday Deadlift
(late again - trg cut short)
Sumo Deadlift 140kg 3 reps 4 sets (belt only / grip being an issue)
Good mornings 40kg 8 reps 4 sets (light-ish after heavy deads)
Reverse Hypers 30kg 15reps 4 sets


Thursday
Massage with Kellie at Melbourne sports medical centre
Last year I started having some massage with Ruth which was really convenient because she comes into the office each Thursday. But when I need a hard core massage, Kellie is the girl! Hamstrings, glutes, erectors, upper back and right shoulder (the niggley one) Kellie is tough, I was sore the next day but she really gets in and tackles the knots. Ouch... purr....

Saturday - ME Bench, just as the cool change came.
Worked up to a double on 75kg, 80kg just didn't happen.
Dumbbell Floor press 20kg 8 reps 4 sets
Chest supp row, 3 angles, 8 reps each (24reps) 4 sets
Rotator cuff/rehab work

Sunday - Pony club! Bought new tyres to replace the ones that were slashed on the float and got my truck back from my sister so we're back in the swing, although Madii wont be riding much this year, Year 12 VCE homework is full on, she's already cut her part time job to just 2 shifts per week. Mojo is going to have an easy year, I haven't ridden much either and right now cant afford the membership fees for adult riding club :-(


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Feb 2

Beach Dreaming....



For everyone that has complained that about not having a hot summer, I hope you are satisfied now! 45.1c on Friday. I was working from home and while I'm glad I didn't suffer through any power failures my evap. cooling wasn't coping too well, it was still 33+ inside the house. Later that night Leah, Andrew and I sat IN the Yarra river at Warrandyte along with a gazillion other people and their dogs.

Training Report

Well I'm not so stupid as to risk heat stroke.....

Wed Deadlift.

It was about 40c so I settled with doing speed work and got out fast

Speed deads 100kg 8x3 alternate sets conventional and sumo
pull thrus 100 4x12
reverse hypers 4x12
Thought about abs... went home

No training Thurs or Fri... Refer to river sitting instead....

Saturday Morning ME Bench @0700 (before the heat of the day - bullshit!)
Warmup with little little little dumbbells
front raise, side raise, bent raise, every raise.....
Raw bench - 40kgx6 50x6 60x5 70x4 75x2 80kg=fail x2 - such is a sticking point!
JM press 35 4x8
Floor press 20kg 4x10
Rear delts/ rotator cuff work

Sunday Squatting @0700 (again! - I must be mad)

warmed up to 75x 3 raw
90 x3 x3 with knee wraps then a double at 95.
Front squats 50kg 4x4
High pin squat 180kg 3x3 Pin 26 (FMR)

Around to Toby's Estate both mornings for post workout latte's and read of the paper.

Its that time again - rating's period starts this week and I note with much dismay that one evening there are 3 programs that I want to watch all on at the same time. Sheesh, Toppy 'only' has 2 tuners.... what to do, what to do? Ah-ha! Reconnect the old LG Set Top Box to component 1 of the TV and viola - third tuner. Yay, now I can record 2 shows on the Toppy and watch the third via component 1. Now all I have to deal with is IceTV interactive not sending down timers for channels 7, 9 or 10. SBS and ABC work fine! I guess I will have to resort to deleting the device and setting up all my timers again. Ughhh.




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