Planet Rugby Forum

Bullettyme wrote:

Mog The Almighty wrote:Yeah, that's it & thanks for the encouraging words.

I'm a bit embarassed to put my runs on Strava, particularly when I see my ex-team-mates posting sub-5/km pace 10km runs regularly. They must look at my shit and be like, "damn, I knew he was unfit, but...". Anyway, safely "retired" now so I don't care. There's no way I could have run 5km without stopping to walk at any stage just six months ago. The improvement is quick. FWIW, I'm also doing it fasted (I don't eat until 12 at the earliest as of the past month) and with a ~3kg pack on my back (work clothes), which makes it a bit harder. I should have oats for breakfast and do it with nothing but shorts and a singlet one day and see if it makes any difference...

Don't be embarrassed about putting stuff on Strava, everyone needs to start somewhere. It will also be nice to look back on when you inevitably get faster and it's quite a nice feeling to note your progress. I've some cycling segments on Strava where I've improved week on week timewise and it's very satisfying to see that chart. Saying that though, people really take strava way too seriously sometimes, there's some good articles online about people arguing over KOMs or accusing others of using motors, well worth a read for the general insanity! http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/lates ... ing-354014

Anyway, for me the big day is coming. 200km cycle with 2,600m climbing next Sunday Dreading it because I think my training has fallen a bit due to a crash and bike being out of action, and then a weekend away with the missus. Will give it a bash though, I have 13 hours to complete it, and there are two food stops at 75km and 150km. Pace myself and it might be ok.

Having just done 373km in 17 hours can I suggest that when you do the food stops that you take time to stretch your upper back, shoulders and chest, also stretch your calves and quads (can do those whilst on bike)?

Also good quality gloves are a godsend. If you wear any rings remove them or you'll get terrible white finger numbness for weeks. I still have it three weeks later without wearing my wedding ring - one of the guys still has no feeling at all in his finger due to it

Thanks Nolanator - Will try dumb bells if the gym has light enough ones available

blindcider wrote:

Nolanator wrote:

blindcider wrote: 5*10 Bench Dumbell press with 16kg dumbells
5*10 Row @ 40kg
3*10 Shoulder press @15kg Failed on set 3 of 5
5*10 Leg Press @ 60kg - Can lift a lot more but starting conservatively
5*10 Leg Extension @ 35kg
5*10 Leg Curl @ 30kg

Well like, if the appropriate weight for your bench press is 16kg, then it's not hugely surprising that you'll fail much earlier at 15kg for shoulder press!

Bench press weight is 32kg total rather than 16 though - so didn't think 15kg on a machine would be unachievable.

the 16kg dumbell press was pretty easy so could up the weight to 20kg fairly quickly - aim for me is not to get big as carrying unnecessary muscle around is self-defeating in endurance sport.

Happy to take on any advice though. I find being in the gym so boring that I can't motivate myself.

I would go as far as saying machines are actually counter-productive for somebody in your position.

At your level of endurance it becomes all about a balance of mobility and stability, which builds into a solid posture and repeatable movement patterns. You should really be looking at exercises that challenge your strength and mobility across the whole body and then aiming to perform them with perfect form. Something like overhead split squats is a good example.

Also, it is easy to obsess about doing x number of y rep, particularly coming from a structured endurance programme. What you really need to focus on is doing as much as you can, with the correct form, with the correct load for your overall training volume at the time.

A couple of sessions with the right trainer should be able to give you an insight into where the niggles are coming from after so many kilometres. If the gym work is about understanding those niggles and ironing them out it will become much more rewarding and interesting.

Nolanator wrote:

Bullettyme wrote:

Nolanator wrote:What's the route, Bullet?

Your reduced training workload might actually work in your favour as an enforced taper, provided it hasn't been weeks without a decent session.

Route in the link below. Out by your old stomping ground. It's quite a nice route with a lot of the good stuff in Wicklow, Enniskerry-Long Hill-Wicklow Gap-Slievemaan-Meeting of the Waters and back via Greystones:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20453699

Yeah I was thinking I've been feeling fresh, I still think we could have done more but life has a habit of getting in the way at times. Had a good session this past weekend and will get a 30-40km in tonight or tomorrow night, so I think that will put me in good stead. No doubt it will be tough on the day, but it would be tough with the training too. Myself and my mate would be fairly able for 150km with very few stops, if any, so maybe we should be more confident. We've also talked it up too much so there's no alternative

You'll be cycling within a few metres of my parents' house (and Diego's, for that matter) at the start.
Some tasty looking peaks in there.
If the weather's good, you'll get some ridiculous scenery.

Will look out for those houses Hoping for some good weather, very little wind would be nice. The scenery will indeed be amazing, even with some clouds but you can't really beat a good day in the Wicklow Mountains.

BS, I don't usually wear gloves on the bike, although I had been thinking of it as the palm of my hand has been a little tender from the fall. Also having something to wipe my nose with rather than my jersey is appealing. Might be too close to the time to start messing about with new kit though.

Bullettyme wrote:

Nolanator wrote:

Bullettyme wrote:

Nolanator wrote:What's the route, Bullet?

Your reduced training workload might actually work in your favour as an enforced taper, provided it hasn't been weeks without a decent session.

Route in the link below. Out by your old stomping ground. It's quite a nice route with a lot of the good stuff in Wicklow, Enniskerry-Long Hill-Wicklow Gap-Slievemaan-Meeting of the Waters and back via Greystones:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20453699

Yeah I was thinking I've been feeling fresh, I still think we could have done more but life has a habit of getting in the way at times. Had a good session this past weekend and will get a 30-40km in tonight or tomorrow night, so I think that will put me in good stead. No doubt it will be tough on the day, but it would be tough with the training too. Myself and my mate would be fairly able for 150km with very few stops, if any, so maybe we should be more confident. We've also talked it up too much so there's no alternative

You'll be cycling within a few metres of my parents' house (and Diego's, for that matter) at the start.
Some tasty looking peaks in there.
If the weather's good, you'll get some ridiculous scenery.

Will look out for those houses Hoping for some good weather, very little wind would be nice. The scenery will indeed be amazing, even with some clouds but you can't really beat a good day in the Wicklow Mountains.

BS, I don't usually wear gloves on the bike, although I had been thinking of it as the palm of my hand has been a little tender from the fall. Also having something to wipe my nose with rather than my jersey is appealing. Might be too close to the time to start messing about with new kit though.

Are the little grit roads up in the mountains not a pain in the arse to cycle on? Actually never mind, I misread where you were going at one spot altogether!

Enjoy though, looks a class route. I'd absolutely love to be home now after looking at it.

During my last period of being very fit I used to have a protein shake as my first “meal” at about 11am, and then would have a decent meal in the evening. I found it good for weight management, which I definitely need these days.

The problem I have at the moment is I can’t stomach the sweetness of all the shakes. Any recommendations of what else I can use?

SFBB wrote:During my last period of being very fit I used to have a protein shake as my first “meal” at about 11am, and then would have a decent meal in the evening. I found it good for weight management, which I definitely need these days.

The problem I have at the moment is I can’t stomach the sweetness of all the shakes. Any recommendations of what else I can use?

Unflavoured whey. Solves the sweetness problem and replaces it with a "tastes like utter shit" problem.

Seriously, though, make it concentrated and knock it back. They can taste a bit sickly sweet at times, but just welly it into you and get it over with.

Where do you buy them from? Lots of online retailers will sell sample sachets, so you could get a few and see what ones you like best.

Local supplement store. You know yourself, they all have “salted caramel” or “cookies and cream” or whatever. Not into sweet stuff in my old age.

Just get the plain chocolate one. It's hard to make it so bad that you can't drink it.

No sports supplement tastes great if you try to savour the flavour. Just get it into ya Cynthia.I will concede that as part of your breakfast in the late morning, you'll be a bit more concerned about how it tastes than other times of the day.

That’s what I feared.

Do they have protein milk or milk with added protein in Australia? I stopped buying protein powders and now just use that for my post-workout feed, no difference a taste to normal milk, definitely less sugars too although maybe more fat. Here the likes of Tesco, Aldi and Lidl have their own brand which is about half the price too.

EDIT: Otherwise just order hemp protein or pea protein or whatever, mix it into some sort of smoothie.

Bullettyme wrote:Do they have protein milk or milk with added protein in Australia? I stopped buying protein powders and now just use that for my post-workout feed, no difference a taste to normal milk, definitely less sugars too although maybe more fat. Here the likes of Tesco, Aldi and Lidl have their own brand which is about half the price too.

So expensive though.

Aye, but it’s not filling enough. It’s supposed to keep me mostly full until about 5/6pm.

A liquid meal at 11 to keep you full until 6??

u mad bro?

Nolanator wrote:

Bullettyme wrote:Do they have protein milk or milk with added protein in Australia? I stopped buying protein powders and now just use that for my post-workout feed, no difference a taste to normal milk, definitely less sugars too although maybe more fat. Here the likes of Tesco, Aldi and Lidl have their own brand which is about half the price too.

So expensive though.

The Avonmore one certain, like €2 a litre which is a rip. €1.08 or 99c a litre from Tesco and Lidl respectively though, which isn't terrible. It's about 24g of protein in a 500ml serving, so that works out about 50c, I don't think that works out as too much steeper than the higher end Optimum Nutrition protein, unless I've got my sums completely wrong.

Nolanator wrote:A liquid meal at 11 to keep you full until 6??

u mad bro?

I’ve got shocking self control with food.

Enjoyable session earlier, much muh better than the equivalent one last week. Must have got my recovery in better in the early part of this week.

Squat: 105 x8, 5sets
RDL: 100 x8, 3 sets
Bench glute bridge: 100 x12, 3 sets
Seated calf raises: 50 x15, 3 sets

Threw in some banded neck twists between sets, too. Been meaning to try these for a while. Was only the red band and not too much tension, so nothing too strenuous, but it felt good. Think it helped ease the neck spasm/pain a bit too.

Going back to the discussion on knee pain from a few days ago.
I did a bit of BB quad rolling prior to and between squat sets this morning. Rolled myself to either side to focus on the VMO and IT band too. For the IT band it was more comfortable if I supported the inside of my knee with my other foot.

Just have to relax and let the bar sink into tender spots and then slowly roll it with your fingertips an inch or two to the next knot. It's sore, but I've found it really helps free things up if tightness is affecting your form.


Must be said that stuff like this only lasts a short while. It's good to help your form during a session, but you'd definitely need a heap of stretching etc to get longer term benefits.

Nolanator wrote:Just get the plain chocolate one. It's hard to make it so bad that you can't drink it.

No sports supplement tastes great if you try to savour the flavour. Just get it into ya Cynthia.I will concede that as part of your breakfast in the late morning, you'll be a bit more concerned about how it tastes than other times of the day.

I find the Optimum Nutrition double chocolate flavour whey quite nice as a shake or I add it to plain oats for a chocolate porridge.

I injured my groin yesterday squatting- serves me right for trying to fit Legs into my lunch hour. Has anyone here done the same or have any fixes?

Rest and Ice for 24 hours. After that you can alternate heat and ice. If it is still sore after a week or sore, seek professional help.

Crap session today. First time any of my weights have regressed since I got back training at the start of April after being pretty ill.

Have you had breather weeks since April?
Even dropping a couple of sessions in a week (not forgoing the gym entirely) makes a huge difference if you're on a months long blitz.

Bad aids.

Go to physio you daft bugger, without a slow mo GIF we cant tell.

I ran 5km after the Wallabies win. To the pub, to watch the South Africa game. 29 minutes.

Posted on the cycling thread but feel like posting here too

Sorry to post this JL

Did the Wicklow 200 earlier, I am absolutely dead. Thanks BS for the tips re: stretching, completely vital and really didn't have too much discomfort. Bit disappointed that I didn't make sub 8 hours, I blew up in the last 20km. Energy gels did a number on my stomach though. Still, come a long way over the last year and one month to the day since I crashed

Where do you Londoners train? I live in Hackney and work in the City so would want it to be somewhere accessible from either of those areas. Am currently a local leisure centre style gym (better gym chain) which I have tolerated for a while but am now finding a bit run down and only has one squat rack. Had a look around a place called FitThis by Hackney town hall but seemed very cramped. Any suggestions? Am happy to spend a bit more for the right place.

YOYO wrote:Nice calorie burn.

Yeah, ate a huge amount the day before and on the day. Got the shits from the energy gels too

SirBurger wrote:Where do you Londoners train? I live in Hackney and work in the City so would want it to be somewhere accessible from either of those areas. Am currently a local leisure centre style gym (better gym chain) which I have tolerated for a while but am now finding a bit run down and only has one squat rack. Had a look around a place called FitThis by Hackney town hall but seemed very cramped. Any suggestions? Am happy to spend a bit more for the right place.

The Foundry Shirley?

Did Zercher Squats for the first time today. Only did 60kgs but found it challenging enough. Might start doing them a bit more often as they were actually quite fun.

SirBurger wrote:Where do you Londoners train? I live in Hackney and work in the City so would want it to be somewhere accessible from either of those areas. Am currently a local leisure centre style gym (better gym chain) which I have tolerated for a while but am now finding a bit run down and only has one squat rack. Had a look around a place called FitThis by Hackney town hall but seemed very cramped. Any suggestions? Am happy to spend a bit more for the right place.

Muscle works : for pure lifting

http://muscleworksgym.com/gym/bethnal-green/


Or as said the foundry for all round (if technique not known, go here and get basics RIGHT).

Opened up a second dojo space recently and after a gap of 9 years (Due to prohibitive costs) am back at training twice a week.

Let's just say imagine DOMS x 10

Not nearly as sore as I expected though!

Good hypertrophy session this morning.

DB paused bench: 30 x8, 4 sets
DB incline: 25 x8, 4 sets
Seal row: 60x8, 4 sets
Pull ups: BW x8, 4 sets
OHP: 42.5 x10, 3 sets
Cable pullover: 17.5 x15, 3 sets
Bicep work

Sholders banjaxed tired afterwards.


Moved the paused bench to DBs instead of the BB. While it's definitely more difficult than the equivalent weight on the BB and it's harder to control form (bracing scaps etc), I found it seemed to hit the pecs more.
Also threw in light-ish standing cable pullovers/pulldowns. Concentrating of form they're handy for really working on lat contraction and learning the feel of a movement.

Also bought a cheap HR monitor watch recently. The HR measurement isn't very accurate. I went on an elliptical last weekend and the watch told me that my HR got up to like 135bpm, while the elliptical machine said about 180. It certainly felt quite high.
One thing the watch (and the associated app) does which I like is it monitors your sleep quality. Not sure how it does this, probably a combo of HR and movement, but it's really noticeable that the nights I get a greater amount of deep sleep, I'm much quicker getting up and have much better gym sessions. Now I'm almost in competition with myself to get better quality sleep each night, turning off the TV and going to bed earlier etc.

Can only be a good thing.

Today I have learned what a seal row is

Also learned that Overhead squats with just the bar and Zercher squats will give me DOMS in my glutes and hamstrings

Just a quick update on the ticker...

... as some may remember I was a little concerned with some strange sensations and thumping, rapid heart-rate I was getting after JuJitsu training.

Since then, I've had two electrocardiography examinations of my heart, one while resting, and another from rest to max-heart-rate and back to rest, with blood pressure being taken at the same time. Got the results yesterday: "good values measured across the board and no abnormalities detected".

So I guess I'm good to go. Better to be safe than sorry...

I always called it a bench row until a lad I knew in my old gym enlightened me!
My gym (and my old one) has a specific high bench for rowing movements. Only issue is that on the one I use now, there's quite a thick support bar underneath, which removes some of the range of movement in the exercise.

I do like it as it allows you to focus on pulling your shoulders back and not allowing yourself to hunch, while taking your lower back and legs out of the equation.





Good stuff, Ika.

Nolanator wrote:I always called it a bench row until a lad I knew in my old gym enlightened me!
My gym (and my old one) has a specific high bench for rowing movements. Only issue is that on the one I use now, there's quite a thick support bar underneath, which removes some of the range of movement in the exercise.

I do like it as it allows you to focus on pulling your shoulders back and not allowing yourself to hunch, while taking your lower back and legs out of the equation.

That is what I would have called it. One of the gyms I use occasionally has a dedicated bench as well but it has a special shaped bar that allows a full range of motion. I always clamp my feet onto the bench though when I do them.

Strange session this morning. Meant to be a Fullbody workout with a lowers emphasis but turned into a weird hybrid of power, superset, hypertrophy get out of the gym before the rugby starts session.

Hexbar Deadlifts
Work sets of +170x5, +180x5, +190x6... I really should weigh the bar but I think it is btween 16-18kgs, so would be 206-208 on my top set. Last time I used 190 as my top set was a month ago, so have added 3 reps in that time and am a bit lighter too.

Hexbar farmers walks with 120 + bar

Hex bar shrugs supetted with medicine ball chest throws

Behind the neck squat jerks supersetted with Kettlebell laterals

Seated Machine Rows (Palms Down)

Bottoms up Kettlebell Press and Walks

Dropped a days training for a while starting this week. Started a new sheiko cycle which is higher volume but only 3 days.

Last nights training was:
Deadlift
130x5
157x5 2 sets
182x4 2 sets
197x3 4sets

Incline bench
100x4 6 sets

Dips
Bw+30kg x5 5 sets

Deadlift of blocks
130x5
157x5 2 sets
182x4 2 sets
210x3 4 sets

Front squats
80x5
90x5 4 sets

Ab wheel
X10 3 sets

Questioning my choices now.

I've managed to up my training to 6 days a week in the last couple of weeks. Thankfully I'm away this weekend, so a chance for a bit of recovery mentally and physically.
Monday: heavy lower
Tuesday: heavy upper
Thursday: volume lower
Friday: volume upper
Saturday: 5km run
Sunday: Arms

Added in a pure vanity session on Sunday. Not too taxing in terms of fatigue and DOMS, so it doesn't have too much influence on the following two days. Also changed the Monday session a bit to reduce volume; fewer reps per set, slightly heavier. Think it helps stave off that accumulated fatigue. I have a few broken weeks scheduled in the coming months with travel etc, so I'll get some deload in.

Happy with results recently.

@newportblue I couldn't do that amount of volume. Nuts.

Today's session wasn't bad.

Hexbar Deadlifts - Sets of 3 with 206, 216 and 221kgs - the bar is at least 16kgs, so will just record it as that. Pretty sure 221 x 3 is a PB with a Hex/Trap Bar and getting very close to what I have pulled conventionally in the past, so pretty happy.

Followed the deadlifts with some Hexbar shrugs, leg extensions, Dips (mainly for triceps), Meadow's Rows, Dumbbell Laterals and Hammer Curls. Bit more uppers and less lowers than normal on a Saturday but I might miss some sessions next week or won't have much time to do my normal stuff.

Marathon training starts today. Looking forward to having something to train for instead of just running.

ElementFreak wrote:Marathon training starts today. Looking forward to having something to train for instead of just running.

What marathon have you entered?