Road to 2014: Wattbiking to the brink the highs and lows

Honesty is the best policy and during the last two weeks i've hit highs and lows, i've even managed to stay the same. I'll start with the obvious "staying the same". I've managed to keep my weight at 115.4kg despite increasing the aerobic exercise, surprising, I thought I would have dropped but considering the amount of carbohydrates i've had this week, I've managed to maintain it. This is a good thing - Which brings me nicely onto the highs. 

For the first time in about 4 years I actually enjoyed going for a run on the treadmill. Whilst it may be boring (even more so because Emma's ipod is missing), I got through it. I only had to do 2 miles, which I did with ease. The important thing for me is that the knees, which dont like treadmills held up fine. The highs continued as I am now a lot more flexible than I used to be, my stretching sessions have obviously been paying off. I can now surpass my toes in a stretch which is something I can't even remember the last time I was able to do that. 

I've found myself doing a lot of babysitting this week as Emma has started her new job, its exercise in itself. Cameron and I have been playing and running around the soft play, its hard work constantly squatting around and clambering round those places, I almost considered writing off a circuits session but thought better of it. 

The gym has been awesome, i'm in week 4 of 10 and the weights have increased and the reps have also gone up, its a good progression and Alex is happy. We are following Bompa (2005) who states that load and intensity should increase alternatively every 2 weeks. I've been dominating the programme - I love a TRX row (above) and have even found some good form on those bloody piston squats which is no longer my least favourite exercise. The gammy knees must be starting to strengthen up. Continuing on the highs my postural sway and proprioception is definitely better than last week, you can check out my stumble from last week below.

My Funky Shoes

My final high was wrestling! not surprisingly. We had an awesome session this week, I had my donated retro wresting shoes on, they were given the seal of approval by Michael Cavanagh as official wrestling shoes, if a little dated but they saved my feet from friction burn. The session was all about ankle take downs and I think i've picked it up quite well, think its a good move anyway that I will definitely be trying to master when I get to proper wrestling.

With all these good things going on I might come off as a little bit too positive, so allow me to bring myself down a peg or two and give you the lows of the last two weeks. Well, I've been scraping the financial barrel this month, I don't know if its just me or if its everyone, but there always seems to be something extra to pay for, its brutal and really takes its toll. You know your in a bad place when you are scrimping round trying to find money for butter! 

They say bad things come in threes and I managed to knock that out of the park this last two weeks. I broke the toilet flusher, strained my rotator cuff, dropped an piece of orange into a cup of tea, got a flat tire and got bent over by the Tax man. Seriously though, if there was actually an individual that was the tax man they would be getting a slap this month.

Ross, my repair man came in to try and fix me up on Sunday, that was great he fixed me right up and put me in good stead for the week. The massage was a high but I've got it down in the lows section because he abused me. I have had a lot of massages of him in the past but he went to town on the shoulder and the knee I jarred last week and I was some amount of pain (good pain, but still pain).

Finally, I hit a low today, I completely burst myself in the gym, I was super close to being sick. I had to do interval training on the wattbike which for those of you not familiar with that term, basically if you imagine getting onto a bike that is stuck in the mud, cycling for as hard as you can for 20 seconds resting at a reduced rate for 30 seconds and repeating that 10 times. It is Brutal! It is really good but wow it drains you.

In my wisdom I thought I could do a circuit straight after! I blitzed the first two sets (remember this was increased load and increased reps). Come the third set I cracked, hit the wall and almost threw up all over the gym floor. Luckily I gathered my thoughts and ventured out of the gym to find a seat. I could have quite easily passed out but I saved it.

So what now... it's hard training for the remainder of the week. Lots to do towards the end of the week and then into next week. I'm hoping i'll be able to get through the anaerobic exercises, increase the aerobic capacity and lift well to finish off what has been a good but tough couple of weeks. Even better though, I get to have a couple of social pints this weekend at Dave and Rea's wedding which I'm really looking forward to.

I feel its only fair to finish on a positive, every time my head drops I always have this to look at to pick me up again!

When your heads down - keep your eye on the prize

What's my final thought for the day - it's PAY DAY!

Back in the Groove and second hand shoes!

After my "recovery week" last week, I am firmly back in the groove, I have properly beasted myself this week and i've loved it! I can't seem to get through a session without looking like i've been for a swim and i'm down to 115.4kg (18st 3lb). Not that dropping weight is what this is about but I have shed some fat and that's beginning to tell. I'm got a slight niggle in the shoulder which could be overuse so trying to take it a little easier but its not causing any major issues with training.

So after last week and feeling horrible, this week has been Cameron's turn to feel crap and unfortunately for Emma and I, that means restless nights! I finally got my first good nights sleep in about 5 days, it was very much needed. To business though...   


Ray's Saturday night wrestling
Shoes - LEGEND!

Within hours of me posting my last post to the blog about shoes and singlets, I had a facebook message from my mate Ray Fetorazzi. Ray of all people had some size 11 wrestling shoes that he was prepared to donate to a good cause. I haven't seen the bad boys properly yet but Ray assures me they are wrestling shoes. I was a little sceptical but after an explanation that the red shoes were bought cheap in TKmaxx in the 90's because they and I quote "looked cool under jeans on a saturday night" I was convinced. I'm looking forward to trying them on.

Monday heralded the new week of training at ENGAGE and its fair to say that I managed to get into it quite well. I had my first proper wrestling session with Michael Cavanagh, in all honesty - it was awesome, I loved it, I think i'm quite "nimbly pimbly" around the mat at the moment (for a big lad) and had a good session wrestling with Dave Foggo. Dave weighs in at about 104kg I think but it a strong lad, so it was good to have him along and wrestling, I think we probably ended up evens in the wrestle in the end. My defence needs work but we were throwing each other around which was pretty painful, probably more so for Dave given that I have Atlas 10kg on him. It's not too dissimilar to rugby really in the techniques to use and certainly the rugby league work i've done in the past transfers nicely across to wrestling. I've got a horrific friction burn on my leg and a cracking bruise on my knee after sliding to leg grab but other than that, I came out pretty well.

Circuits this week have been great, I've really enjoyed them. i'm not sure if its that i'm getting more familiar with the exercises but I am loving a dead lift at the moment and my squats, particularly overhead have improved a massive amount. Altogether a positive week! I've got to do a bit more running, I have done one 2 mile run this week combined with flexibility work which i've needed given the amount of leg work that i've been doing. My take on it all is below.

I Even managed to get a few clips of my training today, which shows you a few of the things i've been up to including my arch nemesis of an exercise, the piston squat. I haven't put all the videos on the blog but if you are interested in seeing the others you can hop across to my youtube channel and that should keep you entertained for a minute or two. My coordination has never been great to be honest so if you want a small snigger check out the single leg hop take 1. I almost wipe out. Below are Piston squats (nemesis) and Swiss Ball hamstring curl (awful things).

For me Piston Squats really take a toll on the knees, I've not had any issues yet, in fact they are getting stronger and able to support but you can probably see me struggle.

  

These are really good, but a nasty exercise for the hamstrings, I've only been doing them for a couple of weeks, so you will have to excuse the form.

This weekend brings with it 4 training sessions for me, one run, 2 circuits and a flexibility session. The good thing is that i've had KCR today which has chilled me out, relaxed me and I feel a whole lot better and my leg length is back to even once more. Just need to get my masseuse on the case for the shoulder and loosen the hammy's and i'll be grand.

The agenda for next week is more of the same really, no wrestling for me unfortunately but I might look at trying to get through to Glasvegas for a session to see how the full time Scottish boys do it and what Vladamirs (Scottish Head Coach) thoughts are on training etc...

As always thanks for reading and sharing the journey. I can official relax knowing that I enjoy wrestling and can confirm that #mission2014 is well underway!

until next time!

@shocksjr



Scottish Wrestling Championships and Man Flu!

Has anyone else had Man Flu this week?

When I started this blog I did tell myself I was going to be 100% honest with how things were going and what I wrote that meant, when things didn't go to plan I would still mention them...and on that note i'm going to probably write this week off as a training week and start fresh next week. 

As i've said from the start i'm a collectively average bloke and it's been really tough to maintain a healthy balance between work, family and training. I now know why its so difficult to make the transition from amateur to professional sport and why people would struggle to make that change. I'm not attempting it by any stretch of the imagination but can see where the problems lie with people who are sitting below the fulltime athlete.

I'm probably exaggerating a little on how bad its been this week, but it certainly feels a little like i've fallen off the training wagon a bit. I've been struggling to sleep, had a horrifically sore throat and had a blocked nose all week. Man Flu has struck. Although not hard enough for me to miss a trip to Alton Towers.

Apart from Man Flu, I think there are a two reasons why I feel like i've fallen off the wagon. The first of those is that i've been on annual leave and being away from work means being away from the training environment, meaning i've had to do stuff at home. Normally that isn't a problem but the reason I've been on annual leave is because we were celebrating Emma's grandparents Diamond Wedding Anniversary down near Blackpool and of course it was my lovely wife's birthday. We had a great weekend with my in-laws and The grandparents even got a hand signed card from Her Majesty The Queen.

The second reason is simply because I've not had time to train, work has been extremely busy and i've not not had time to take a break and get to the gym for a 45 minute session. It's been pretty hectic, I guess I could have got up earlier and got to the gym earlier but I have parental responsibilities in the mornings as well that I enjoy doing and it is always going to be family first.

Scottish Wrestling Championships 2012

So what have I done this week, I hear you ask? Well, I guess It's not been a complete waste of a training week. Yes the diet flayed a fair bit and I was overfed as what tends to happen as family events and I did have to have a chicken Legend at McDonalds on the way home from Alton Towers... but it did give me a chance to recover a little bit. I was having a few little niggles in the knee and shoulder towards the end of last week and they have all but gone and surprisingly, I feel pretty good and am raring to get back into things this weekend.

I did manage to get a few flexibility sessions in which were definitely needed and I managed to get two body weight sessions in as well, not too easy when you are weighing in at 116kg. The sessions were pretty gruelling at times, although its only bodyweight, its all about getting your muscles comfortable to deal with your own bodyweight, i'm getting there but work is still to be done.

Alex prescribed the next phase of my training last week which looked a little bit like my worst nightmare at first glance but as you get into the nitty gritty its actually really good and well structured and there is rationale behind everything. I will be properly wrecked afterwards but I think that's the point. For those who are interested its pretty full on but without giving too much away... it looks like this

#mission2014 Training programme for next week. (Times Subject to Change)

C1 and C2 are circuits, and they aren't easy. Lots to get done next week, throw in wrestling session on Monday and a throws session on Tuesday and you have a pretty busy schedule. 

Eyes on the prize - Singlet I'm going to buy

This weekend,  After cleaning uo some sick from an ill toddler I delved into the world of Scottish Wrestling properly, met a couple of people at the Scottish Wrestling Open Championships which was great. I got a clear answer about what I need to do to qualify and have been invited to train with the national squad with the national coach in Glasgow whenever I can make it. Pretty cool stuff.

I said in my blog that I wasn't planning on competing and I didn't... although, if someone had given me a singlet and a pair of wrestling shoes, then I would have got in there for a fight. Would have been a little raw considering i've never even had a sparring match but it would have been great, I think I would have done alright too. Looking into things that I need to be allowed to compete, I'm hoping to pick up a sponsor who can help me with the cost of all the equipment I need to get. It's not cheap, those shoes below rock in at about £115 - £150 and the singlet is £40.00 and I think I could do with a blue and a red one. It all adds up plus I have to get some lifting shoes for training.

The Ultimate Warrior in a terrible singlet

The singlet is sexy huh? can't wait to get into that bad boy. Actually I don't think they are that bad, at least its not got luminous yellow bits with tassels hanging off everywhere. Not that i'm against that but its not that type of wrestling! but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. The shoes and the singlet are the two essential items I need to get before I can fight properly - maybe for Christmas, Emma? I wasn't planning on fighting until 2013 anyway, although it would have been nice to try to become Scottish Wrestling 120kg Champion this weekend.

The wrestling shoes I want

For those of you who didn't know, for wrestling, you need wrestling shoes. These are a pair of wrestling shoes, I'm not 100% what the difference is but I think they are similar to boxing boots.  Not that I know what they really do for you.

So what now... I need to find a sponsor if I can, if not I will have to start saving but more importantly, i'm hitting the training hard next week. Back on the band wagon and back fully into #mission2014, I've got a clean run till Christmas.

I apologise in advance that this video is a little crap, I had to take a video of the video because I cant find my adaptor to transfer stuff over. The guys below were the only two in the 120kg category today. I assume the red won the gold! 

My Final thought for this week is this...I know there are a good few people, even some of my good friends who don't think or don't believe that I can do this... we shall see... but I saw a great quote today that I think sums up where I am with it and what I want my mantra to be over the next two years:


"We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes
an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort."


- Jesse Owens 



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If you haven't been on the other page of this blog, you check out the team who are helping me out with various bits and bobs. Thanks to them click here to see them - THE TEAM BEHIND #MISSION2014


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