Progress Video

Made another quick video, a compilation of all my progress pictures from 2 to 6 months of training. 

I haven't added any progress pictures lately because I've been injured, and not making many gains.

Do you think i progressed in those 6 months?

Video Progress

I thought it would be fun to start making videos to document my Training Progress.

Here's my introduction video :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckbcNfnt0-w

I'll be making more videos shortly, please feel free to comment subscribe and like my video, Thanks! 

Sorry!

I haven't posted in a number of months due to school work and generally being really lazy, sorry!

So here's an update:

Rugby

I've recently taken up Rugby for my school, meaning i'm training twice a week or once a week with a match. 

I really enjoy playing rugby, and the fitness training has really helped me lose fat, but it also means I've not been able to go to the gym as regularly, and i'm occasionally getting injured. 

On the subject of injury, during the last match i dislocated my left shoulder...

I managed to pop it back in after i rolled onto it, but since then (2 weeks ago) I've not been able to workout any of my upper body, and i feel that it'll be a few more weeks before i can get back to lifting some heavy weights =*(, i can only hope that it heals properly. 

Well until my shoulder heals i'll continue to exercise my legs hard, which will keep my occupied.

Current Stats

Squat - 150 kg, 3 reps (06/06/2011)

Dumbell Chest Press - 37.5 kg, 5 reps (07/06/2011)

Deadlift - 185 kg, 1 rep (24/08/2011)

Dumbell Shoulder Press - 30kg, 2 reps (01/09/2011)

Power Clean - 80 kg, 1 rep (25/09/2011)

Press - 60 kg, 1 rep (25/09/2011)

Bench Press - 87.5 kg, 4 reps (27/09/2011)

Life

Being a typical teenager I've been getting down to some partying :P

Gotta try and remember copious amounts of alcohol is bad for me :L... well life's short, so i'm gunna enjoy it while i can, with all my amazing friends!

I hope my shoulder heals soon :)

Progress...

After nearly a month off training due to a wrist injury, I've finally been back to the gym to train my upper body!

It's a horrible feeling not working out for so long, but it feels great to finally experience the soreness again.

I felt i haven't gained anything in the last month so I didn't post any progress pictures. Instead I'll just post some pictures of myself in clothes just so you can see what I look like normally haha.

I have lost about 2-3kg in the period I wasn't lifting, and I feel less lean... I'll try not to dwell on this period and get back into the shape where I can beat my personal records!

This is a pictures of me and my brothers, the eldest of which had just graduated from Cambridge with a firsts in Natural Sciences! Well in bro!

In other news it's my summer holidays soon and i plan on posting more often.

Injury!

So i injured myself...


Wrote a little story pf what happened for my friends, thought i'd share it on here :P.
Enjoy!


"

So after I got home from work I decided go out for my first jog ever. So I set off and ran for a few minutes before I started doing some sprinting along the river. After 2 sets of sprints I was pretty exhausted, so I walked for about 3 minutes to catch my breath before sprinting again. Once I was ready I set off at a blaring pace! Until about 80 metres, when I began to lose control of how long my strides were. My strides became longer and longer, before finally I lost my balance, which allowed momentum to overcome my body. This subsequently cause me to fall over onto my face, and carried on sliding across the incredibly rough cycle path for about 5 metre... After executing a perfect plank on the cold floor for about 5 minutes thinking, "I'm such a retard" and " I hope no one saw that" I got up, spat out a mouthful of stones and looked left across the river, only to see a group of drunk men laughing their heads off... at my epic plank obviously! I gave them a cheeky wave and walked off home to clean myself up, leaving a large amount of my skin from my knees, palms and face, and material from my shirt on the pavement.

In conclusion, I have some mad running skills! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the skin on my chest was intact :).

"

Yeah so after that retarded fail, i sprained my wrist, so i won't be able to lift any weights with my arms until it heals which should hopefully be about 2 or 3 weeks....

Well that sucks, but i'm not going to sit around and do nothing so i did legs twice this week, so i feel like i'm not wasting away :). Can't wait to recover and starting training again!

Leg workout routine

This is one of my few leg workout routines.

In brackets I have put the weights I did for this workout recently

Warming up:

It’s a good idea to get your blood flowing with a warm-up before performing any weight training, to reduce the risk of injury and help aid in gaining an efficient workout. I sometimes do 5 minutes of running or cycling, nothing too tenuous, but if I’m in a rush, I just stick with a few warm-up sets, in high reps.

1st Exercise: Weighted Squats

Introduction:

This is another one of my staple exercises which I perform most weeks, if done with good form and enough weight this is without a doubt one of the best exercise to build muscle in your legs. This exercise, similar to deadlifts, also recruits many other muscles in your body for stabilisations, which means it helps to increase your overall strength.

How to:

Basically with a bar positioned on your traps or along your shoulders, you go down into a seated position and push back up to standing.

Preparation:

Put the bar on a suitable level on the squat rack, and then load on the weights you require. While the bar is on the rack, position yourself under the bar with the bar lying comfortably across the length of your traps, making sure you don’t rest the bar on solid bone or on your spine. Grip the bar so that your traps pinch together a bit, for me this is just before the markings on an Olympic bar.

Putting the bar on your spine can cause some damage, and is quite painful, try and avoid it.

Execution:

 1.)    Position yourself, with the bar comfortable on your traps.

 2.)    In a slip stance, lift the bar off the rack.

 3.)    Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, angled 5 degrees outwards.

 4.)    Descend slowly, with your ass out, try to go into a nice pelvic tilt.

 5.)    Once your thighs are at or below parallel, push straight up, keeping your knees square.

 6.)     Repeat

Form:

Performing a pelvic tilt generally constitutes to a good squat. You may also imagine that you’re trying to go into a seated position, but obviously without the physical seat.

Tips:

If you struggle to keep the bar steady, and on your traps, it may help to pick a spot high on the wall in front of you and stay fixated on it while you squat. A good squat requires you to keep your knees ‘square’ so keep your knees pointed in the same direction as your feet.

When going heavy with squats, you may want a spotter. Having a spotter may also help you get those last repetitions done, for a more effective workout.

Target Muscles:

This exercise targets the quadriceps, but it also exercises your gluteus effectively, along with a wide range of other muscles which are used for stabilisation.

Workout Routine:

Warm up set 1 - 12 reps, Light weight (60kg)

Warm up set 2 – 12 reps, Light weight (60kg)

Working set 1 - 10 reps, Medium to high weight (80kg)

Working set 2 - 8 reps, Heavier (90kg)

Working set 3 - 8-6 reps, Heavy weight (100kg)

Working set 4 – 4-6 reps, 90% of 1 rep max (120kg)

Working set 5 - 1 rep max (140kg)

2nd Exercise: Lying Hamstring Curls

Introduction:

This is my preferred exercise for hamstrings, because I feel I get the most activation and largest range of motion. It’s important to exercise all the muscles in the legs, so I always incorporate a hamstring exercise in my leg workouts, because squats don’t target the hamstrings very effectively.

I use the machine for this exercise.

How to:

Lie down on the machine, and curl it as far as you can.

Preparation:

Adjust the cross bar which you curl up to your ankles, and set the machine up so you can curl it with the largest range of motion.

Execution:

 1.)    Lie down with your ankles positions on the cross bar.

 2.)    Curl it as far as you can.

 3.)    Let it back down slowly

 4.)    Repeat

Target Muscles:

Hamstrings and gluteus

Tips:

Hold the contraction at the top for a second or two, and then lower the weight down slowly.

Workout Routine:

Warm up set 1 - 10-12 reps, (Light weight)

Working set 1 - 10-12 reps, (Light weight)

Working set 2 - 8-10 reps, (Medium weight)

Working set 3 - 6-8 reps (Heavy weight)

Working set 4 – 6 reps (Heavy weigh)

body weight +20, normal)

3rd Exercise: Calf Raises

Introduction:

There isn’t much variation when it comes to exercising your calves, I’d stick with calf raises. At my gym there is a standing calf raise machine, but you can also do this with a leg press machine, seated calf raise machine, or leant over something with a weight on your back (2 girls if you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger).

How to:

Basically stand on the ledge, with your heels hanging off, with the weight on your shoulders, push up onto your tip toes.

Preparation:

Adjust the height of the bars low enough to get a good deep stretch.

Execution:

 1.)    Grab the two handles of the machine, and position both feet on the platform with your shoulders under the bar.

 2.)    Lift the weight up until you are in a standing position (you may want to re-adjust your foot position)

 3.)    slowly descent down until you feel a nice stretch

 4.)    Push up and onto your tip toes

 5.)    Hold for 1 or 2 seconds

 6.)    Slowly descent down

 7.)    Repeat

Target muscles:

This exercise targets the calf (gastrocnemius) muscles.

Tips:

Try to keep your ankles square, so keep your heels on a fixed plane while they rise (raise them vertically).

Workout Routine:

Warm up set 1 - 12 reps, Light weight

Working set 2 - 10 reps, Medium

Working set 3 - 8 reps, Medium to Heavy weight

Working set 4 - 8 reps, Heavy weight

Working set 5 - 6 reps or till failure, heavier weight

4th Exercise: Burnout, Squats

Workout routine:

3-4 sets, reps till failure, medium weight (70kg)

Note:  

Try and do these at a nice medium to high intensity, while maintaining good form.

Finish

Get that protein, drink that water, eat that food and get some sleep. The workout isn't the sole factor in muscle growth or strength progression. You have to eat well, sleep lots and drink enough water or else your body won't get enough nutrients, to build muscle and sustain your internal systems, and enough rest for your body to fully recover before your next workout.

Stretch

Quadriceps

Bend your leg and bring your foot to your butt, grasp your ankle with one hand and stabilise yourself with the other. Pull your ankle towards your butt until you feel a good stretch, and hold it. Try to keep your knee level with your other knee, to get a better stretch pull your knee back or push your hip forwards.

Calves

A simple way is to step on a ledge with your heels hanging off and descent down into a nice deep stretch, but you may also take one leg and stride forwards, transfer your body weight to the leg you stepped forward with, keeping the heel of the trailing leg planted to the ground. You may step further if you don’t feel the stretch.

Hamstrings

You can basically just bend over and touch your toes to stretch your hamstrings, but if you want to isolate each hamstring, cross your feet and bend over to touch your toes.

Progress

To make strength progress I try to attempt higher weights each time I do squats, with the safety of a spotter I have no worries about trying new weights. 

Dumbbell Bench press personal record

Press from: 35kg - 6 reps

To: 37.5kg - 5 reps

@ 24/05/11, 72kg, 5+ months training.

Funny thing is, my friend picked the weights from the rack for me, and it turned out i was doing 1 40kg dumbbell and 1 37.5kg dumbbell... no wonder i was having trouble balancing xD.

I tried 40kg in the next set, but only managed 1 rep... =(

Squat Personal Record

Squat from: 140kg - 1 reps

To: 150kg - 3 reps

@ 24/05/11, 72kg, 5+ months training.

This session I started with 2 warm-up sets then went straight into my heaviest sets, after doing 7 reps of 140 kg, I went up to 150kg for 3 reps.

Unfortunately i failed epically trying 160kg, I didn't realise how much my muscles had fatigued from doing the previous 2 sets :P, it was so epic that I even got carpet burn on my knees !

June Progress

Obviously gotta include a little pose haha!! 

Statistics at the time: 

Measurements:

Age: 17

Height: 171 cm (5'6)

Weight: 71 kg (156.5 lbs)

Arm: 35 cm (13.8")

Leg (Quad): 55 cm (21.7")

Leg (Calf): 40 cm (15.7")

Chest: 98.5 cm (38.8")

Personal Best Lifts:

Flat Bench Press: 85kg (187.4 lbs) - 1 reps, 27/04/2011

Dumbbell Bench Press: 35 kg (77.2 lbs) - 6 reps, 27/04/2011

Squat: - 140 kg (308.6 lbs) - 1 reps, 24/05/2011

Dead lift: 180 kg (396.8 lbs) - 1 reps, 19/05/2011

Dumbbell Shoulder Press: - 25 kg (55.1 lbs) - 4 reps, 28/04/2011

Military Press: - (Not performed)

Progress:

This month hasn't been the most progressive, because i've had to dedicate some of my time on exams, and therefore missing a few days at the gym. I've not been eating very well lately either, next month this will hopefully change, because my exams will be ending... 

My chest seems to be the largest strength plateau for me at the moment. I haven't progressed in weight in the last 2 months, being stuck at 85kg bench and 35kg dumbells. It's quite discouraging to be honest, after my exams i'll be trying to change my chest routines jurastically to help make progress, i'll keep you posted on how it goes. 

I'm currently off creatine, mainly because i can't be bothered to take it. I'll just treat it as my 'rest phase' and go back on it after my exams have ended.

Supplements:

I've changed the protein i use, quad protein is good, but i fancied trying something new. So i forked out some cash to buy a tub syntha-6.

A 2kg tub cost me £37.00, they claim their protein mix gives your body maintained protein synthesis for about 8-9 hours which is nearly double what quad protein claims. I love the idea of protein matrix's, because i like to think my body is getting protein throughout the day. This protein tastes great in water and milk, the tub has only got about 50 ish servings so it's quite an expensive option, due to it's 44g serving size. Obviously since i've only been taking it for a week i haven't seen any noticable gains using this protein, but i'm hoping i will see some soon.

Bench press competition

So today I had a little bench pressing competition with 3 of my friends, 2 of which were originally from a different gym. 


Basically 3 months ago we were challenged to a benching competition, after an argument about strength, so we gave each other 3 months to prepare for a bench pressing competition!


The original argument was between Paul and my workout partner Danni, so they would be facing each other. Me and Jack just joined in for fun, to make it a team game :). 


Team Harpers:


Jack - Weight 74kg
Paul - Weight 85-90kg

Combined weight: 159-164kg

Team PRO:

Tak - Weight 70-71kg
Danni - Weight 56kg

Combined weight: 126-127kg

Results of Benching Competition:

Paul Vs Danni

Paul's best lift - 65kg

Danni's best lift - 55kg

Winner - Paul (Team Harpers)

Jack Vs Tak

Jack's best lift - 80kg
Tak's best lift - 80kg

Draw!

Result:

Team Harpers wins June's Benching Competition!

Well done lads! 

Next competition in 2 months!

My experience:

This wasn't a great lift for me, since i've benched a good 85kg before, i potentially started too low and began to fatigue my muscles too much, resulting in me getting weaker, but i'm not discouraged. I've got another 2 months to train before our next meeting, and i'm going for the win! :P

My training partner didn't lift as much as he has done before either, I've seen him do 3 reps of 60kg, perhaps he requires more of a warm up, we'll see. 

Solid effort from both sides, I was thinking we may do a full strength competition including squats and dead lifts to really show strength progress.