ExRx.net

Hey Brook,

I'm not able to get to the Elliptical at the moment but I agree with the HIIT training! I used to do virtual hill climbs on it that would give 30 to 60 seconds of 'uphill' then plateau for 2 to 3 minutes, burned a lot of fat off doign that! At the moment I'm just doing makeshift things to burn calories and it's working, I've droped 3kg (6.5lbs) in the last fornight. My makeshift HIIT training at the moment is running stairs with 10kg on my back when I do the laundry!

As for strength and muscle gains, I slip into the 'previously trained athlete' category so hopefully for the first couple of months of intense training (starting in December) I will make reasonable gains in strength/muscle size and still lose fat.

Thanks for the input!

John

Quote John W
Anyway, enough silliness, my question is, do you have a good technique I can incorporate to limit the assistance from the rear leg? I'm finding that I am helping out a lot with the rear quad during the upward phase of the motion!

If you like I don't mind if you delete/move this post as it's not really a discussion of your journal!
End

John, the plit squat started as he catch position for cleaning and sntching. The idea was that the tunk stays "in place" while you shoot the rear leg back and the front leg forward, and the hips just sink, being stationary, i.e. not moving forward or back. . I do the split jump as described and ust sink into the hole, keeping the back leg as straight as possible and knees no where near the floor. You could always do it from a lungeing position, i.e. stepping either forward or backward, just try and keep the rear leg as straight as possible , using it for stability only.
Tim

John, are you asking about single-leg split squats aka Bulgarian split-squats, or about the two-legged kind?

Hey guys after yet another long, long time away from this site I'm back! This time it's not so much from laziness or no training it's from the extortionate price of broadband internet in Australia! Only just got the net on after finding a deal worth the dollars!

So an update...

I'm now working as a Registered Nurse on an Oncology (Cancer) and Haematology (Blood Disorders etc) ward in Hobart, Tasmania. I've been training a little but the shift work hours have been getting me all out of whack! So at this point I'm not lifting regularly but I'm riding, playing Basketball and Volleyball and if my pedometer is correct walking between 6 and 8 kilometres per shift depending if I ride or park and walk to work and I'm working on my flexibility using a stretching DVD from a "Beach Body" program called P90X which I borrowed from a friend, the program itself is a bit odd but the stretching is a 55 minute full body routine which feels pretty good! I've dropped from 122kg to 112kg since the start of March and my standing jump has improved by 5cm without weight training!

The good news is I have got some weights for home, a Barbell, DBs, 100kg of plates, a bench press bench and my dad and I are assembling my squat rack tomorrow, so Thursday I'm FINALLY going to start Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength (I know, there's no need for DBs, but my mate gave them to me for free with 20kg of plates so I can at least use them to keep my smaller plates tidy!!! lol) keep playing sports, increasing flexibility, riding my bike and do some running on my off days. I plan to use the ExRx forum properly this time to track my progress n weight loss and strength gains, maybe not at the same time but eventually one will take over from the other, I hope! My goals are to get below 100kg, be able to squat 100kg and bench 80kg for 3x5 and dead lift 100kg for 1x5, get my standing jump from its current 55cm to 60cm in 12 weeks and be able to jog the whole length (2.5km) of the route I walk my dogs without stopping to walk. If I succeed I'll set new targets, if I fail I'll keep these targets for another 6 - 12 weeks or until I achieve them! My long term goal is to get into a good rhythm and make it a stable life long exercise regime, something I haven't had since I was 18!

Oh and I've FINALLY got my diet under control, 4 to 5 meals a day, reasonably stable balance of carbs, proteins and fats and HEAPS more fruit and veg than I used to eat! Feeling heaps better for it too!

Anyway, thanks to anyone who read the entire post!

Cheers,

John

Squat rack is 90% finished and in a useable state for light work! At the moment I'll be doing squats out side of the 'cage' and using a squat box to get the right depth in my squats. As soon as I get some safety bars and a couple more small pieces of steel to finish off the bar racks it will have enough safety back ups to go heavy inside the cage and a paint job wll put it at 100%! Will get some pics up somewhere and link to them in the next few days! Oh and I will be adding a chin up/pull up bar to it for when I go from Starting Strength to either the Practical Programming or Wichita Falls Novice Program later on!

Cheers guys,

John

Good job! I'm very interested in seeing photos of the rack!

Thanks Doc, will have pics up on my next day off which is Sunday of this week!

One thing I left out is that it's currently only bolted together and anchored to the wall of my garage, the plan is for my father-in-law to come around and weld where it is bolted and dyna bolt the whole thing to the floor for even more safety!


Cheers,

John

I'll give you guys the hot tip: Apparently York Weight Plates and Gold's Gym bars are not a good match, the holes in 2 of my York plates are too small for my Gold's Gym Bar! :(

On the upside the crowd that sold them to me are willing to exchange them and let me take the bar in to find stock that fit!

Feeling good about 30 minutes after my first weights session in 6 or so months! Starting Strength is feeling good. I've been doing stretches in preparation so I think that has helped!

Well gotta go get more nutrients in!

Cheers,

John

Hey Gus,

Doc I've linked some pics ofthe squat rack in the Training Toys section!

John

I'm curious how your bench and press progress are going to be impacted by the 100 Pushups. Will it be active recovery, basically, or will the volume start to impact your ability to move heavy stuff for 3 x 5?

I'm following with much interest. :)

Hey Peter,

This one slipped by me! I didn't do the 100 push up for long as I felt it would eventually have a negative affect on the bench press and press and my overall motivation/energy levels! I'm much happier "lifting heavy things" then doing push ups anyway!

John

After yet another massively long lay off I'm back, hoping this time it will stick! I explained it all in my Journal, I'll be updating hopefully on a daily basis if time permits!

John, welcome back, and it's great that things are better for your family.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

My sentiments are the same as Stu, welcome back. You've made great progress already.

Thanks guys! It's been great to get some weight off, getting a few extra kgs off to have a bit of buffer for the comfort zone would be nice!