McQue's Training

Really nackered tonight. Lots of long hours at work but i did manage to get my compound lifts in yesterday so just a quick update

• Bench Press 62.5 kg 5x5
• Squat 65kg 5x5
• Dead Lift 80kg 5x5 
• Chin Ups Weighted 12.5kg 5X5

Im really sticking to these 3 lifts and the chin ups once a week and increasing just 2-2.5kg a week. Keeping reps and sets the same. I felt i could have lifted more but i am being strict with myself and building up slowly! 

I also did a load of high rep ab work , skipping and shadow boxing. Not been able to train this evening due to work but boxing tomorrow hopefully so will pick up my normal training tuesday! 

Adios

Quick update of what i did before my shift started today! Just got in from work very tired so no fluff tonight! Remember im including the Olympic bar weight of 20kg now in my recordings

• Bench Press 5x5 65 Kg (increase of 2.5kg from last week)
• Squat 5x5 65kg (increase of 2.5kg from last week)
• DeadLift 5x5 100kg 
• Dumbbell Shoulder 5x5 press 20kg
• Weighted Chin ups 5x5 15kg  

The strength section felt really good today can really feel progress, Im not going to increase the deadlift weight for now as i really want to work on the technique to be honest its probably ever so slightly on the heavy side for me as it is. The Shoulder press and weighted chin iv just got to be careful due to my left shoulder injury but should be able to start increasing them slowly.

Core Circuit

completed as circuit 4 time

• The Flag
• V -ups 8kg x 10
• Twists 8kg x 15
• Chinnies x 20

And that was it. I tried to work on some flexibility too again today so going to be looking to get that more consistent. 

Other things on my mind at the moment to think of is setting up some sort of test my progress thing. So after a 4 week cycle ill have a test week with test exercises, ie how fast, 1 rep maximums , cardio, anaerobic tests ect ect.

Also looking into possible using a protein shake, not something i believe is always needed by the fast majority but my workload is getting greater and greater. Im thinking more along the lines of recovery than mass building as im happy with my size and only interested in performance

Anyway so much for no fluff

Any opinions on protein supplements? 

Today was a brilliant session. I had my plan but for various reasons had to adapt it. It was far harder than what i had planned and more interesting! All In all pleased with the session. 

Something to note however was in the core section doing turkish get ups i really felt very unflexible. I have some great flexibility workouts but have been neglecting them due to time restrictions! Which is stupid and i need to find time for them! So tomorrow is a rest day but after iv finished my shift it will be a a case of getting in the gym and just doing foam roller and stretching exercises! Then ill go for a swim! 

Anyway this was the workout!

• Skipping 10 mins
• Row 10 mins (2492, resistance level 5)
• Punch bag 15 mins (working on technique and drills)
• Sprint and Carry Bag 3mins work, 1 min rest, 2mins work, 30 seconds rest, 1min work . (using the heavy bag, sprint to one end of the room and back then carry bag to one end of room and back!)
• Heavy bag shouldering 3 mins x 1 (exactly what it sounds lift the bag to shoulder put back down repeat constantly for 3mins)
• Sprints x 20 ( roughly 50m jog quickly back to the start)
• Chin Ups 12 x 4
• Decline Push Ups 25 x 2 , 20 x 1 , 15 x 1 (feet raised wanted 25 x 4 but couldn’t manage it!)

Core

 The Core workout went a bit wrong really, i had to stop the turkish get ups as i felt my hip wasnt right.  Like i said flexibility needs working on a again! But i got a bit in and just made it up there after

• Plank Hold 1 minute (completed 3 times)
• Turkish Get Ups 10kg ( completed 5 reps per side twice)
• Chinnies 20 x 3 

Played around after that and did some side bends 20 kg just did a couple sets of 12 each side. And also tried a new exercise called saxon side bends basically holding 2 dumbbells above your head and leaning laterally to one side then the other. Liked it need to work on it more!

I went out today with the family for a roast carvery for my sisters birthday. It was really nice and made a change. It meant i was going to get to the gym a bit later on my day off but thats ok! Im trying to have a life these days too! 

Workout was

Warm Up

• Skipping 10 mins

Mini GPP Circuit

30 second drills on each no rest at all for 10 mins

• Burpees
• Dumbbell Punches 1kg
• Bosun Ball Alternative Push Ups
• Star Jumps

Main Circuit

1 min on each exercise no rest until designated rest period repeat 5 times

• Box Jumps
• Medball Slams 5kg
• Kettle Bell Clean and Snatch 16kg
• Squat walk/bunny hops 10kg
• Vipr Lateral Shuffles 20kg
• Rest 1 min

Finisher

I finished up with farmers walk basically 2 heavy dumbbells  (2x 28kg) 

I just walk up and down a set distance, i reckon its about 40m but its irrelevant really i did it 4 x, the 3,2,1 and it burns the forearms and shoulders like hell! Great exercise going to do it more often on the end of workouts i reckon!

Today i wanted to do the strength training and ab work i had planned and also the swim i have planned for tomorrow! It frees up my afternoon up tomorrow so i can get ready for a night at the boxing in liverpool!

But here was todays!

• Skipping 10 mins
• Squat 5x5 40kg
• Dumbbell Bench 5x5 26kgx2
• Barbell Rows 10x5 35kg
• Overhead Press 5x5 35kg
• Leg Raises 10x5 35kg

Ab work

• Sit Ups 50
• Leg raises 50
• Bicycle Crunches 50
• Trunk Curls 50
• Scissor Kicks 50
• Finished with plank hold 2 mins

• Swim 20 mins

Was a good session. The Barbell Rows and overhead press are new exercises to me so the weight was relatively light trying to get form correct and making sure it was comfortable to do the full 5x5. Will increase rapidly i would hope.

The swim felt good! I always start swimming again and forget how hard it is and great exercise. Everyone knows this its not a secret but man its good! Going to try and fit it in once a week at least! Downside is to it getting changed ect and making it worthwhile is time consuming but theres no reason why not to get it done. I think after a strength workout it will be a great thing to finish off with , doesnt have to be hell for leather just that little something extra .

Last few workouts have been good and im already feeling the difference with my “new” training and cleaning up my diet slightly. 

So far so good!

Iv labelled this as day one. Slightly misleading but in my head its day one of a new regime and really getting on top of training. Nothings changed majorly except Iv planned and written everything down and got 2 strength training sessions in per week instead of one. Its not my main focus but  i want to see improvements in my max strength. Im thinking of a 4 week cycle , a back off week and then going back to the drawing board and doing the next 4 weeks! Well thats the plan anyway! 

Im now doing warm up sets and then onto my “work sets” which  am completing for 5x5 with that main weight, rather than starting low and working up eg my squats were like set 1 30kg, set 2 and 3 35kg set 4 40kg and set 5 45kg. Now it would be some warm ups sets and just 5x5 40kg! Going to slowly add the weight. This way im doing full “work” sets of 5x5 rather than fluctuating weight up and down.

Rather boring but this is the way apparently to get a good strength foundation. Im not worrying weather my weight is lower than before as long as i am completing that full 5x5 (although my dead lift was 80kg today out of no where! Felt good!!)

Anyways this is what happened today!

• Skipping 10 mins
• Squats 40kg  5x5
• Bench Press 40kg 5x5
• Dead Lift 80kg 5x5 (NEW RECORD!!)
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press 18kg 5x5
• Weighted Chins 15kg 5x4 (* Cant seem to get a 5th set for these! Something to work on!)

Was really pleased about the deadlift but i have to chuckle and it just shows sometimes you can suprise yourself. I actually wasn’t concentrating and thought id only loaded up 60 kg…. then realised it was 80kg… and was too embarrassed to unload it !!!! So thought balls to it lets see what happens (not an attitude id recommend normally) and it actually felt really good!

Once id finished i just had to get through an hour of boxing!!!

All in a days work!

Adios

When i got out of work this afternoon i was (still am) knackered! But got my workout in and considering how tired i was im pretty pleased!

Warm Up 

• Skipping 10 Mins

GPP Workout 10 mins

30 seconds each exercise

• Burpees
• Star Jumps
• Skipping (max effort)
• Bodyweight Squats

repeat 5 times (10 Mins)

Main Circuit

• 1 Minute Sledge Hammer Med Ball Slams (medball slams using a sledge hammer movement)
• 1 Minute Kettle Bell Clean and Press 12.5kg (1 arm 30 seconds then swap)
• 1 Minute Squat Walk 12kg Vipr on back
• 1 Minute Box Jumps 
• 1 Minute Rest

repeated 4 times (20 Mins)

Chin Ups 12 x 3, 10 x 1 (46)

Bench Press 20 Kg 40,30,20,10 

Core Circuit

• The Flag x 5
• V-Ups 8kg x 10
• Side Bends 28kg x 6 each side
• Chinnies x 20

Repeat 3 times

Finish with 1 plank hold for 1 minute

Was really tired after work today and couldnt face a full on conditioning session but thats ok the explosive session fitted in nicely.

• Skipping 10 mins 
• 2 Dumbbell Split Snatch 18kg 3 reps x 5 sets
• 2 Dumbbell Push Press 20kg 3 reps x 5 sets

Complex pair

• 1 Armed Bench Press 5 reps per arm (set 1 and 2 24kg, 3 ,4 26kg and 5 28kg)
• Straight into 4kg medball slams 10 reps

Completed as circuit 4 times

Complex Pair

• Wall Sit 60 seconds
• Straight into Split jump lunges x 10

Finisher Kettle Bell Swings 16 kg 15 x 3 per arm

Core Work

• V-ups 6kg x 15
• Side Bends 20kg x 10
• Plank Hold 30 seconds
• Chinnies x 20

repeat as circuit 4 times 

Finished Ups with 5 mins skipping as fast as possible and ran home! 

Today after work i hit the weights for a bit of max strength. I increased my weights on a couple of things so am happy!

• 1 Arm Dumbbell Snatch 5 x 5 (sets 1-3 24kg sets 4-5 28kg)
• 2 Dumbbell Bench Press 5 x 5 ( sets 1-3 2x24kg 4-5 2x 26kg)
• Dead Lift 5 x 5 (Sets 1-3 60kg , sets 4-5 65kg)
• Squats 5x5 (set 1 30kg, set 2 35kg, sets 3 40kg, sets 4 and 5 45kg)
• Weighted Chin Ups 5x4 (15kg)
• 1 Leg Calf Raises (20kg)
• Farmers Walk For Distance* (2x 28kg)

*farmers walk set distance unknown but will use same distance each time. Completed 4 lengths, 3 lengths,2 and 1 with roughly 1 minute rest in-between. 

Ab Work

60 reps each of 

• Sit Ups with 6kg med ball
• Leg Raises 
• Trunk Curls
• twists 6kg med ball
• Scissor Kicks

Tonight was awesome. I went hell for leather straight away and started fading before the half way mark! It took alot of mental focus to come back and i eventually got my second wind after thinking i was going to throw up! Really good and still buzzing from it!

Unfortunately its the last bootcamp for the forseeable :-( i can do the same stuff and i train as hard as i can but theres nothing like having someone else pushing you to your limit, with the best intentions in the world you cant push yourself to breaking point! For me having someone pushing me and showing them they can’t break me gets me that extra % 1 and thats all the difference! 

Im going to roughly write up what bootcamp involved tonight as i dont normally but its the last one so id like people to know what it involves. Its nothing magical its just like i said the environment that pushes you that bit harder!

All OF IT IS NON-STOP NO BREAKS!!! 

• 15 mins skipping (just me personally i like to start warmed up)
• Running round the hall up to 10 mins , increasing speeds , changing direction, touching hands to floor, sideways backwards ect ect
• Body weight instructions tonight are shouted out randomly whilst running
• PUSH UPS 10,9,8,7,6,5, ect ect
• Squats 20,15,10,5,
• Squat Thrusts 20,15,10,5
• Sit Ups 15,10„9,8, ect ect
• More running changing directions , sprints
• Running and jumping over 3 gymnastic boxes of increasing heights ( several times)
• The Circuit Time everyone finds a stations and completes the usual and unusual exercises for unknown amount of time until trainer shouts change!
• Trainer calls you over randomly to complete even more intense exercises one on one (eg tuck jumps holding 8kg medball)
• Whatever else pops into the trainers head!
• More Running And sprints 
• Finish with cool down stretches

It changes week to week and its a great class i cant wait until its back and will endeavour to keep the same intensity in my workouts!

Im determined to get back to boxing tomorrow so its another time of the week ill be being pushed to my limits! I really want to use my training for a purpose and that means a fight! Its just work getting in the way. Im a strong believer in you can play football , rugby ect…. YOU CAN’T play at boxing. So if i cant train multiple times a week and give it my all then i wont step into the ring for the hell of it! 

Anyway sorry for the lengthy post 

Adios