Dec 19, 2009

The year is quickly drawing to a close, what a great one its been  - next year promises to be the best yet!

The 2010 competition calendar has finally been published on the  PA Website. Time to start planning next years assault on an Elite 1 total and devise a training plan for World Masters in September. First up tho' is the Melbourne Championships in April, followed closely by the Australian Masters in May (in Adelaide) then Open Nationals in July here in Melbourne.  Its gonna be a packed year!

Training:

Wednesday            
         %    reps   sets  weight

1    Deadlift up to knees   
          50%    3    1    77.5
          60%    3    1    92.5
          70%    3    2    110
          75%    2    4    115
2    Bench press   
          50%    6    1    37.5
          60%    6    2    45
          65%    6    4    50
3    Dbell fly  10    5    20lb
4    Deadlift from boxes   
          55%    4    1    85
          65%    4    1    100
          75%    4    2    115
          80%    4    4    125
5    Lunge      5    5                  

Thursday - swim for 45 mins a Aquarena - or what I call swimming aka splashing around / keeping from sinking to the bottom of the pool....

Friday  
          %    reps   sets  weight

1    Squat  
          50%    5    1    52.5
          60%    4    1    62.5
          70%    3    2    75
          80%    2    5    85
2    Bench press   
          50%    5    1    37.5
          60%    4    1    45
          70%    3    2    52.5
          80%    2    2    60
          75%    3    1    55
          65%    5    1    50
          55%    7    1    40
3    Dbell fly  10    5    40lb
4    Squat  
          50%    5    1    52.5
          60%    5    2    62.5
          70%    4    2    75

=====

Dec 15, 2009

Into the 2nd week of Sheiko #29

Monday

        %    reps  sets weight              
1    Squat 
        50%    5    1    52.5              
        60%    4    1    62.5              
        70%    3    2    75              
        80%    2    5    85              
2    Bench press 
        50%    5    1    37.5              
        60%    4    1    45              
        70%    3    2    52.5              
        80%    3    5    60              
3    Dumbbell fly     
                 10    5    35lb              
4    Push up     
                 10    5                  
5    Front squat 
        45%    3    2    47.5              
        55%    3    2    57.5              
        60%    2    4    62.5              
6    Good morning (standing)     
                  5    5    60         

Southern PLC Christmas lunch at "Little Creatures" bistro in Brunswick st on Saturday and a quick zip into Atomica to grab some beans - yay fresh beans!

Tim, Lauren, Rikki, Deb, Simon, Yoji, Me, Steve, Mary, Jen, Christian, Travis and JBear somewhere down the end hidden in her pram

Sunday - Christmas lunch with my ex's family  - they prefer me to him..... :-)  and its always nice to catch up with them and kids  - who've grown so much!


Yesterday, Madii and I drove out to St Arnaud - nearly 4 hours to have a look at a puppy......

Paris

Yep, it's a "Mexican barking rat"  :-)  Very affectionate and just like Madii, likes to sleep...  She will be coming to live with us early in the new year.  What ever will the cats think?

We also go Madii VCE enter score, she did well although not in her eyes, she'll get into either of her 2nd or 3rd choice Uni courses, just fell a little short of the numbers for the B. Bio & Vet Science so she'll apply for a change of course after 6 months of the B. Science or B. Bio Science.

=====

Dec 9 2009

Despite the lack of response from ASADA regarding some questions about how to enter particulars for regular whereabouts in the recently upgraded AWOS system and that PA haven't got the 2010 competition calender published yet, I have managed to bullshizen through my whereabouts filing for the next quarter.  I think they will have a hard time finding me next quarter - I am going to be a busy little lifter in the coming months.

Compliance Status

Compliance Status quarter 1/10/2009 - 31/12/2009

You are compliant from 1/10/2009 to 31/12/2009. Receipt Number is: ASADA015195

Compliance Status quarter 1/01/2010 - 31/03/2010

You are compliant for the coming quarter. Receipt Number is: ASADA015196

Some happy snaps from the comp courtesy of my friend and fellow SPLC lifter Yoji.  Thank you  Yoji  :-)

 Yak yak yak.....  blah blah blah....

Wrap wrap wrap....

 

 waiting, waiting....

 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

 

 setup...

 

SQUAT!

Does this shirt make my arms look skinny?

 =====

Dec 7 2009

Its ME !!!

Well kinda...   My middle name is Ann.... and look at those quads, bet she doesn't have a problem squatting :-)  

Found her at Toy Kingdom while Christmas shopping for the nieces and nephews and just had to buy her. And the box contains Monkeymans right leg...  WTF??

Monekyman and O'Brien... 

The series follows the story of Ann O'Brien, the daughter of a missing scientist, who at the time of his disappearance was working on experiments in interdimensional travel. When one of her father's experimental machines was accidentally activated by Ann, it teleported from another dimension Axewell Tiberius (a.k.a "Monkeyman"), a 10 foot tall super-intelligent gorilla-like being. The same accident also bathed Ann in a mysterious radiation which caused her grow to seven feet tall and endowed her with superhuman strength, endurance and speed.

She's generally gregarious but obviously doesn't suffer fools; when a reporter asks if she has a sexual relationship with Tiberius, O'Brien needs to be restrained from beating the guy up. While obviously beautiful (both President Bill Clinton and the evil Shrewmanoid have expressed a longing for her), she's a bit awkward in dealing with her massive size. In a dream where she gets blasted by a growth ray and accidentally knocks over half of San Francisco, O'Brien cries that she'll "never have a boyfriend."

ROFL...  Its so me....   I'll never have a boyfriend either.........  hahahaha

And look she even wears chucks!

=====

Dec 4 2009

Bureaucracy at its best....

An email to advise that I'm getting an email that will tell me how to open a confidential email.....

Email 1:

Dear Athlete
This email attachment explains how to open a secure email from ASADA.
ASADA will send a secure email following this regarding your athlete whereabouts.


Email 2:

Subject: Athlete Whereabouts important notice

with instructions to click and login to a secure email environment (which by the way now dont work...) and open the latest email.....

So I'm getting excited now, I've not had a 'secure' email I'm thinking this is it, they're notifying me that I'm off the RTP.........

LOL....   Notification that my whereabouts filing is due....

Then, the next day I get a notice in the post....  and again for some crazy reason I think its going to say I dont have to do this anymore but....

Here we go again, another 3 months of 'where's walley'  :-)

Well, its no big deal really, I still think its funny that I'm even on the RTP, I think of it for more professional athletes like footballers or olympic athletes...   Of course it will be a pain if I'm still on it at the end of next year when I go to Europe for 6 weeks!

Went into the gym last night, it hurt just being there!  Did some light hack squat, leg press, benching, triceps, biceps....  then home to collapse. Slept like a rock and incredibly my quads are sore!  Good grief how am I going to cope going back to full training next week?

=====

Dec 1 2009

'Tis the season to be jolly......
I need to fatten up, I feel like one of those stick insects I so despise....

So, the comp - huh?  What a disgrace....  Ok so I still got best lifter, but that wasn't really the point....   I had a great pre-comp season, everything went well, so how did it go so pear shaped on the day?

Weighed in at 67.1kg, 400grams to spare and then had something to eat, being local I was able to bring my own brekky, my usual porridge was still warm in the thermo cup inside the House of Pain thermo bag...

The squat:
The comp started a bit late at 11.30 and I had a rather lengthy wait between my last squat warmup at 125kg and actually hitting the platform for my opener at 135kg. It felt heavy and wrong...  and I was red carded on depth from all three refs.  The first blow.....   2nd attempt at 145kg and I was feeling the pressure.  Head ref, Robert Wilks, red carded me again but the two side refs were a little more generous and so I got the lift.  Tried to get my knee wraps a little tighter and in doing so lost valuable time trying to tie off the last wrap, I rushed out onto the platform for a 150kg final attempt with my wrist wraps undone....   fail!


The bench:
Easy opener on 85kg - flew up.  Next attempt at 90kg, I felt confident, tight, all the right things.  Long wait for the press call and it flew off my chest and stalled about 3/4 up, the bar came down just a fraction, and I saw it, then I locked it out.  No lift...   Confidence down....  attempt 3 90kg again.  Reviewed in my mind all the points for the lift, lats on, pull the bar apart, tuck the elbows....  have a nice conversation with myself waiting for the press call.....   PRESS!  The bar flys off the chest and stalls, finally lock it out but no lift. Double press apparently but this time I didn't see it happen...

The deadlift:
Dodgy as....  Already nearing 5pm - what a long day! The bars in the warmup area were thick  with no knarling....  warmups went ok until my last warmup at 160 and it just wasn't right.  Long wait after the last lift before going out on the platform for my 175kg opener and when I went down to the bar my chest caved, my hips went up and I had to pull with my back - bad, bad, bad.... Got the lift but wrecked myself in the process.  Next attempt 185kg wasn't going to move and I found myself in the same bad position to lift...  but this time I couldnt.  Bar got to mid shin and back down to the floor.  So with one final attempt left and sitting on a 230 total I was in need of a 190kg deadlift to hit elite 1. I had nothing to lose, 185 wasn't going to but it. It was do or die....   Out on the platform knowing this was it, I tried to setup properly, my back was screaming from the bad 175 pull but I gave it my all, the bar moved off the floor, my chest caved again but I kept pulling and got the bar close to my knees, but it was just such a bad leverage point and I couldn't bring my hips thru, so the bar went back down. I lost balance and ended up flat on my back - cant say it didnt give it my all! 

Oh well,  No fairy tale ending....  No elite 1.

But there were some positives that I took away from the comp,  I got a comp PR for my 145 squat.  I did actually get both the 90kg presses, albeit not technically, still better than my nationals attempts and my technique was better.  Even the 190 deadlift, came off the floor, which was better than nationals where it stayed firmly glued down...  so I know it will come soon.  Next comp - Elite 1.

For now - a bit of recovery time, maybe a full body workout on Thursday, just light stuff to get blood into the muscles again.  My back is still caining - despite the copius amounts of voltaren and hot radox baths etc...  I have a recovery massage booked for tomorrow and I might even take myself to the pool later in the week.

Next week I may embark on a  4 week shieko program, that will take me up to Christmas and by then the comp calendar for next year should be published.

Gonna be full on next year, I plan to make swimming part of my regular routine for recovery each week and outside of lifting I'm enrolling in french language classes in preparation for my European holiday in October.  Plus since I've let my Doherty's membership lapse, I'll be spending more time at Apollo, working on my bench technique via one-on-one sessions with Martyn. 

A big year ahead in 2010.

=====