Individual Pre-season Thread

[mypaddock]

Started doin weights start of last season inconsistantly, but have been smashing the gym 4 times a week with a good routine for bout 12 weeks now. Put on about 5kg to put me up to 80kg, lookin at getting to 85kg before rd 1.

Good luck shobtop1, but im assuming your also smashing HJ's cause putting on 10kgs of muscle over 5-6months is extremely difficult! Unless you have ridiculous genes or a really good chemist...

[BurraBoys]

I think the best i ever did in terms of weight gain was when i was about 16. Went from 67kg - 75 kg in the space of 9 months.

Then took me another 12 to get to 85kg. Still 85 just a touch more body fat. I blame beer.

[shobtop1]

Started doin weights start of last season inconsistantly, but have been smashing the gym 4 times a week with a good routine for bout 12 weeks now. Put on about 5kg to put me up to 80kg, lookin at getting to 85kg before rd 1.

Good luck shobtop1, but im assuming your also smashing HJ's cause putting on 10kgs of muscle over 5-6months is extremely difficult! Unless you have ridiculous genes or a really good chemist...

From now till round 1 i aim to put on 5kg not 10kg....Just a goal i set for myself, not fussed if i fall short. The best gains you can make are the ones make when you first start anyway.

[test]

Now dropped 9 kg's. Trying to do 3km 3 times a week at the moment at a relatively slow pace (surprise surprise).

The cigarettes will be no more as of the conclusion of this weekend.

Does doing bicep curls with my 4 month old daughter count as training??

Lifting kids can be hard work. Probably not at 4 months but when they are heavier and wriggle more they can be used to add resistance to lots of exercises, especially if you hold them in different positions(e.g. overhead) I've used my daughter for one legged and ab exercises.

ok. this thread has gone on long enough. you know your fitness shrek, but this is a footy forum, and does any of this help you get a kick? me thinks not. being fit is fine but football is where we're at.

Sorry if the thread doesn't provide you with any interesting reading when you're pissed on a Saturday night. Maybe I should quit running and just drop down a couple of divisions to get a kick?

lol i couldnt wait to see the reply to that, your a harsh man shreky!

[test]

ok. this thread has gone on long enough. you know your fitness shrek, but this is a footy forum, and does any of this help you get a kick? me thinks not. being fit is fine but football is where we're at.

I think the thread has been very interesting for those of us who like to keep in good knick all year round. Some of the best exercise ideas often come from others. Often its a case of 'I never thought to try that' so having a medium that lets us fitness folk chat is a good idea.

In terms of getting a kick. I think i play my very best football when im at my fittest and strongest. Every little bit of training towards being better than your opponent counts. If it wasnt so important and didnt help your improvment, AFL clubs wouldnt have gyms, michael jordan would have never lifted weights, and roger federer wouldnt bother with plyometric activities.

couldnt agree more was just stirring my old mate shrek, it is definately good for ideas dont take anything i said as anything then a dig at shrekky, he got a good one back anyway!

[The Big Shrek]

Test is a running machine too. I can only imagine what his times would be if the Italian shaved down.

[The Big Shrek]

Today last exam ever, then

Front squats
60x6
70x6
80x3 not sure about the depth on the last rep.

single leg stiff legged deadlift BWx6
BW+10x6
BW=15x6

Some random running and pallof presses.

Really need to structure my running I just do random workouts with no set progression other than what I get by being ble to run faster but I don't even measure that. Anyone got any good running programs and ways to fit it into a weights program?

[mypaddock]

Today last exam ever, then

Front squats
60x6
70x6
80x3 not sure about the depth on the last rep.

single leg stiff legged deadlift BWx6
BW+10x6
BW=15x6

Some random running and pallof presses.

Really need to structure my running I just do random workouts with no set progression other than what I get by being ble to run faster but I don't even measure that. Anyone got any good running programs and ways to fit it into a weights program?

No matter what workout regime you are on shrek DO NOT include cardio and weights in the same workout session. You will not get the results you desire. If you include both in the same workout you won't be able to push yourself as hard- as I said previously don't try and kill two birds with one stone. If you must do cardio everday or on the same days as your weights session ensure you do the cardio first thing in the morning and weights in the arvo. This will keep your metabolism running high all day and in turn reduce your bodyfat.

[The Big Shrek]

Interesting thoughts mypaddock. First of all my main goal at the moment is to increase leg strength, so as long as I do my leg weights first I can't see how running afterwards would affect this. In fact running tomorrow would affect my recovery and have detrimental effects on strength. I realise running on leg day isn't the greatest idea to improve both running ability and strength but today was more about getting some work capacity into the legs. I just need to organise the structure better on other days.

I don't really subscribe to this morning cardio idea. I run noticeably slower in the morning and can't be arsed warming up for ages. The whole fasted cardio is silly too. You may not be using glycogen as a fuel but anything you eat later that would have been used for energy will just be stored as fat energy in v energy out is my philosophy. I've never seen anything to say you increase your metabolism for longer by exercising in the morning. I haven't looked either. Quite frankly I don't give a shit about my metabolism at the moment, it would be nice not to have to eat so much. I'm not saying it's not true, I just don't believe it without seeing some evidence.

[The Big Shrek]

Bench

102.5x5
107.5x5
112.5x3

One arm Arnold press
30x9
32.5x6
32.5x6

T-bar row
60x6
65x5
67.5x4

db pullovers
40x10
50x5

facepulls

Hamstrins tight as **** after yesterday

[BurraBoys]

Shrek...
How do you find arnold presses compared to a standard military press? Have you found one work's better for you in terms of development? Ive been using arnold's for a long time now and like them but recently have been playing with my program to try some new things.

I include bloth but on seperate days.

Military press i keep on my shoulder/back focus day along with other shoulder exercises (reverse flys, front raises and lateral raises)
I use arnold's as a secondary hit on another day. That is the only shoulder exercise on that day

Do your read T-nation much??? If not have a look. I think you will find it interesting. Especially the article about the power of leucine.

[The Big Shrek]

Shrek...
How do you find arnold presses compared to a standard military press? Have you found one work's better for you in terms of development? Ive been using arnold's for a long time now and like them but recently have been playing with my program to try some new things.

I include bloth but on seperate days.

Military press i keep on my shoulder/back focus day along with other shoulder exercises (reverse flys, front raises and lateral raises)
I use arnold's as a secondary hit on another day. That is the only shoulder exercise on that day

Do your read T-nation much??? If not have a look. I think you will find it interesting. Especially the article about the power of leucine.

Yeah, T-Nation is good. I don't use any supplements besides a protein powder. Don't get sucked in by the supplement bullshit, you do realise that's how T-Nation makes their money. Are you signed up on there?

I use barbell military presses too, I just like the Arnolds for the one arm press because it makes every rep the same. If I don't twist at the bottom I find my ROM might vary and it's a bit harder to balance it right, hard to explain. But with the twist I lower it to the clavicle each time. If I am doing a normal shoulder press with db's I don't do Arnolds though. I wouldn't have a clue whether one is better than the other. I change up the primary exercise every three weeks or so so I try and improve over the three weeks then switch it up.

So do you do a body part split? When you say back/shoulder focus it makes it sound like you are doing an upper/lower split or total body training with a focus on one area. I used to do body part splits with each body part done targeted once a week. Now I'm doing an upper/lower split with less volume per part per session and more frequency. I'm finding it good for strength and easier to fit around footy training.

[BurraBoys]

Yeah, T-Nation is good. I don't use any supplements besides a protein powder. Don't get sucked in by the supplement bullshit, you do realise that's how T-Nation makes their money. Are you signed up on there?

I use barbell military presses too, I just like the Arnolds for the one arm press because it makes every rep the same. If I don't twist at the bottom I find my ROM might vary and it's a bit harder to balance it right, hard to explain. But with the twist I lower it to the clavicle each time. If I am doing a normal shoulder press with db's I don't do Arnolds though. I wouldn't have a clue whether one is better than the other. I change up the primary exercise every three weeks or so so I try and improve over the three weeks then switch it up.

So do you do a body part split? When you say back/shoulder focus it makes it sound like you are doing an upper/lower split or total body training with a focus on one area. I used to do body part splits with each body part done targeted once a week. Now I'm doing an upper/lower split with less volume per part per session and more frequency. I'm finding it good for strength and easier to fit around footy training.

I never used to do a body part split but im just trying to for the hell of it. Just got a bit sick of 10-12 exercises for total body 3 times a week.
Still work out three times a week but have a focus on two major body parts each session
I group Chest and Legs, Back and Shoulders, Bicep and Triceps.
Core work and abs is every session. I cant tell you if it works well for me yet as ive only just started it.

I pick four exercises each for the concentration groups. I also add an exercise each from another pair. This way each of the concentration areas gets hit at least twice per week

For exampe;
For chest and leg day i will do
Inclince Bench, Decline Bench, Dumbell Flys and Push ups on chairs (I like the pushups this way as it lets me get really deep), Squats (really deep, past parrallel), Leg Extensions, Hamstring Curls, and Lunges with one foot on a bench.
Then hit biceps with ezy curl bar and do bench dips for triceps same way i do pushups as it lets me get really deep.
I do chest and legs early in the week as they are largest and need most time to recover. I hit them again with Regular bench and Deadlifts later in the week.

Im not signed up for T-nation. Im not using a protein powder atm but am looking to get on some Pro-lean as my aerobic training for triathlons steps up. I have a collegue finishing of his PhD at the moment looking into effects of whey supplement (leucine). Claims have been made that it can almost double your anaebolic potential and from early signs it looking like it is true. Still waiting on a second lot of muscle biopsies but should be an interesting read when it comes out.

[The Big Shrek]

Last night did some running and cycling. Played rec footy and accidently cleaned up perhaps the most mentioned man on the div 7 thread, Wes Legrand. That should make go the bombers happy.

Today, rode the bike to uni, did some running and leg weights. I reckon I'm getting closer with the strength imbalance between legs. Had a 'eureka' moment. I figured out that ankle mobility(from a sprained right ankle this year) is affecting the depth on my right side for single leg exercises. Did some simple mobility work on it and it seemed to help.

[hearts on fire]

Well done Shrek, i have been following your progress over the last couple weeks and have been quite interested. I will probably use some of your training methods once i get a bit older to do weights and that.

All the best for the rest of your pre-season and your 2009 footy season.

[The Ash Man]

Last night did some running and cycling. Played rec footy and accidently cleaned up perhaps the most mentioned man on the div 7 thread, Wes Legrand. That should make go the bombers happy.

Today, rode the bike to uni, did some running and leg weights. I reckon I'm getting closer with the strength imbalance between legs. Had a 'eureka' moment. I figured out that ankle mobility(from a sprained right ankle this year) is affecting the depth on my right side for single leg exercises. Did some simple mobility work on it and it seemed to help.

He will probably still win the rec footy medal tho TBS!!

[boozehound]

Shrek with all this training you are doing you would want to look like arnie by the time the season starts.

been workin 12 hr days so struggle for time / energy to do too much. Lost 10 kilo now though. still on track to be 88kgs for the season start. haven't been that since i was playin ressies when I was 18/19.

[The Big Shrek]

Shrek with all this training you are doing you would want to look like arnie by the time the season starts.

been workin 12 hr days so struggle for time / energy to do too much. Lost 10 kilo now though. still on track to be 88kgs for the season start. haven't been that since i was playin ressies when I was 18/19.

Why's that? Is lifting weights 4 times a week that much?

[boozehound]

shit yeah...well for me anyway.

[NO-MERCY]

Bench

102.5x5
107.5x5
112.5x3

One arm Arnold press
30x9
32.5x6
32.5x6

T-bar row
60x6
65x5
67.5x4

db pullovers
40x10
50x5

facepulls

Hamstrins tight as f*** after yesterday

Thats some serious weight their Shrek.
By the sounds of it your going to be a hard man to contain next year!