Thread: Salty's Pre- Pre-season

So the footy season finished a couple of months ago and my team lost the grand final, which was devastating, but it was my first season of football (AFL for those of you not from australia) so I still have a long time left. I was one if not the fittest at the start of last season and want to get that way again. However I also want to get bigger and stronger while maintaining/improving my speed which is my main asset. So I got my gym membership and started going for the past 2 weeks, so i'm going to use this to keep myself accountable and to track my progress.

Current stats
Height- 181cm
Weight- 80kg
Fat %- unknown

Supplements
Protein Shakes
Glutamine
Creatine

I'm using the workouts from this 12 week program found here.

First 2 weeks...

Week 1

Day 1 (Monday): Chest, Triceps & Abs
Sets Reps Weight
Bench Press 3 x 8 x 55kg + bar
Incline Bench Press 2 x 8 (forgot
Decline Bench Press 2 x 8 (forgot)
Cable Pushdowns 3 x 8 x 3 (weights on machine)
Skull Crushers 2 x 8 x 20kg

Day 2: Back, Biceps & Calves
Sets Reps Weight
Lateral Pulldown 3 x 8 x 11 (weights on machine)
Cable Rows 2 x 8 x 11 (weights on machine)
Hyperextensions 2 x 8
Barbell Curls 3 x 8 x 25kg
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 2 x 8 x 12.5-15kg
Seated Calf Raises 3 x 8

Day 3: Legs, Shoulders & Abs
Sets Reps Weight
Leg Extension 2 x 8 x 80kg
Hamstring Curl 2 x 8 x 40kg
Leg Press (45 degree) 2 x 8 x 160kg
Shoulder Press 2 x 8 x 17.5kg
Side Lateral Raises 3 x 8 x 12.5kg
Rear Lateral Raises 3 x 8 x 10kg

Week 2

Day 1 (Monday): Chest, Triceps & Abs
Sets Reps Weight
Bench Press 3 x 8 x 60kg + bar +5kg
Incline Bench Press 2 x 8 20kg
Decline Bench Press 2 x 8 22.5
Cable Pushdowns 3 x 8 x 4(weights on machine) +1 weight
Skull Crushers 2 x 8 x 20kg

Day 2: Back, Biceps & Calves
Sets Reps Weight
Lateral Pulldown 3 x 8 x 12 (weights on machine) +1
Cable Rows 2 x 9 x 11 (weights on machine)+1 Rep
Hyperextensions 2 x 8
Barbell Curls 3 x 8 x 30/25kg +5kg
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 2 x 8 x 15kg +2.5kg
Seated Calf Raises 3 x 8 x 90kg

Day 3: Legs, Shoulders & Abs
Sets Reps Weight
Leg Extension 2 x 8 x 85kg +5kg
Hamstring Curl 2 x 8 x 45kg +5kg
Leg Press (45 degree) 2 x 8 x 170kg +10kg
Shoulder Press 2 x 8 x 20kg +2.5kg
Side Lateral Raises 3 x 8 x 15kg +2.5kg
Rear Lateral Raises 3 x 8 x 11.5kg +1.5kg

Next week I'm going to start interval training twice a week to start the fitness work

Week 3

Day 1 (Monday): Chest, Triceps & Abs
Sets Reps Weight
Bench Press 3 x 8 x 65kg + bar +5kg
Incline Flyes 3 x 8 17.5kg
Flat Flyes 3 x 8 15kg
Cable Pushdowns 3 x 8 x 5(weights on machine) +1 weight
Skull Crushers 3 x 8 x 20kg
Dips 3 x 10

Day 2: Back, Biceps & Calves
Sets Reps Weight
Lateral Pulldown 3 x 10 x 12 (weights on machine) +2 reps
Reverse grip pulldowns 3 x 8 x 12 (weights on machine)
Bent over rows 3 x 8 x 45kg
Hyperextensions 3 x 8
Barbell Curls 3 x 8 x 30kg +5kg
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 2 x 8 x 15kg
Standing Calf Raises 3 x 8 x 95kg +5kg

Day 3: Legs, Shoulders & Abs
Sets Reps Weight
Hamstring Curl 3 x 10 x 45kg
one leg RDL 2 x 8 x 22.5kg
Shoulder Press BB 3 x 8 x 40kg+ Bar
Arnold Press 3 x 8 x 22.5kg +5kg
Rear Lateral Raises 3 x 8 x 12.5kg +1kg
One arm clean & press 3 x 5 (per arm) x 30kg

Started mixing the schedule up a bit, especially legs. I'm definitely getting strongr quickly which is nice, can bench press over 1x my weight now. Biceps/chest are probably my weakest areas while my legs/shoulders are my strongest.

Think of doing plyo's/vertical jump/sprint training instead of intervals during the week, anyone know of any good programs?

Originally Posted by Salty

Think of doing plyo's/vertical jump/sprint training instead of intervals during the week, anyone know of any good programs?

jump squats w/ weighted vest, walking lunges w/ medicine ball side to side rotation, box jumps or stair steps, + w/e else you want (prob. core?) but just don't feel the need to do tabata protocol?..then do a sprint at the end of each set?

I do something similar at times but in tabata, and to be frank a lot of the exercises were from the plyo list you put together some time ago.

Originally Posted by Youngblood

Originally Posted by Salty

Think of doing plyo's/vertical jump/sprint training instead of intervals during the week, anyone know of any good programs?

jump squats w/ weighted vest, walking lunges w/ medicine ball side to side rotation, box jumps or stair steps, + w/e else you want (prob. core?) but just don't feel the need to do tabata protocol?..then do a sprint at the end of each set?

I do something similar at times but in tabata, and to be frank a lot of the exercises were from the plyo list you put together some time ago.

Thanks mate, it's good to know someone read's this haha. I played touch rugby last night and rolled my ankle pretty nicely so plyo's/cardio/legs are off this week.

I'm wondering if I'm eating enough to bulk up, so started taking a protein shake in the morning with my toast and taking 3 or 4 tuna sandwiches to uni. I might start up a food diary and try and see how many calories i'm actually eating, but i'll weigh myself at the end of the week and put up photos to help track my progress.

Originally Posted by Salty

Thanks mate, it's good to know someone read's this haha. I played touch rugby last night and rolled my ankle pretty nicely so plyo's/cardio/legs are off this week.

I'm wondering if I'm eating enough to bulk up, so started taking a protein shake in the morning with my toast and taking 3 or 4 tuna sandwiches to uni. I might start up a food diary and try and see how many calories i'm actually eating, but i'll weigh myself at the end of the week and put up photos to help track my progress.

Bummer about the foot. hopefully just a slight roll. If you are picking it up with the intensity you are...I think for sure you need to look at amping up your diet. I added 20 lbs in the last 6 months eating as I worked on building strength. Mostly in the legs, doing free weight squats, some DLs etc plus a variety of things, plyos too. Carried around more then normal fat levels (for me) but it was easy enough to burn off after. Was the first camp I haven't hurt myself in trying to build strength, and I attribute a lot of that to not running too lean when doing so.

I've never really thought about building size but i understand what you mean about being too lean while trying to gain size. I have found previously that training hard while making weight has left me prone to illness. The last serious chest infection i got was after a longer than usual run and it left me coughing for weeks - set me back to what feels like the very beginning.

Apart from that i wonder with the attempt at gaining strength if there are intermediate steps i miss out. For example when doing chin-ups I have found that I can do a certain number of reps but struggle to lift my chin above the bar - up to the bar is fine but to feel like i'm doing them properly I'd like to be able to clear it by a good 10 cm each rep.

I see people in the gym who do this with added weight (including small elite junior female swimmers) and i have to wonder what step I've missed that doesn't allow me to progress to that next stage. Surely it's not all nutrition - not enough protein - i think it could be related to the muscle group transition at that stage but what to do to train that i don't know.

Sorry if this is not related I guess I see some similarity between getting to build size and strength. Afterall there's no point in building size in a sport like boxing if you end up carrying non-functioning muscle mass is there - surely you're aiming for muscle that will be specific to the sports you'll be participating in?