Gwynn's Training Log

[Gwyn Brookes]

Squat
45x5x2
70x5
95x3
115x2
135x5x3

The knee sleeves were just as incredible as the first time I used them.
I forgot about the belt though.

Bench
45x5x2
65x5
75x3
85x2
94x5x3

Deadlift
95x5
135x5
165x3
185x2
200x either 5 or 6. I lost count.

2 hrs. jujitsu, light
1 hr. sword, teaching

[Gwyn Brookes]

I've decided to keep a more complete log, since my main issue is recovery. I am attempting to include some. I will not go into a ton of detail yet; whenever I do a CF class I'll just call it conditioning (EDIT - I should include a little detail. You don't have to read it). MA training gets three levels: teaching, light and medium. Heavy would be continuous throwing and I'm not going to be doing that for a while. I will also try to include some mention of how thrashed/fresh I feel.

Today:
1 hr. sword, light
Strength training:
Squat 45x5x2, 75x5, 89x3, 109x2, 135x1, 140x5x3, belted.
Press 45x5, 50x5, 55x3, 65x2, 71x5x3
Deadlift 135x5, 155x5, 185x5, 205x3
Conditioning - DL 155x5, 135x10, 135x5, Pull up/Chin 5x2 red belt, 5x3 blue and then about 10 singles, alternating grips, run 400 M.

I was thoroughly thrashed yesterday after Monday's training so decided to take Tuesday completely off and lump Tuesday's conditioning into Wednesday (which is today). It was a great decision.

[applescruffette]

I think any training log that includes the word "sword" is automatically badass.

I'm sorry if I missed this if you wrote this before, but what kind of food did you eat to get to where you are? Did you/do you drink whole milk like the boys?

[Gwyn Brookes]

Friday April 9:
1 hr sword - light
Front Squat
45x3x2, 65x3, 57x3, 85x3, 95x3, 100x3
14 Handstand Pushups
47 burpees
1 hr sword - light
1 hr jujitsu - teaching
This was a very fucked up day in terms of hip and knee ligaments. I blame my office job - a long day on Thursday.
Saturday April 10
2 hrs jujitsu - light. Went to an all-day seminar but was just to f'd up to stay.
Today (Sunday) is my rest day but I'm teaching a six week self defense course so it's three hours of teaching. I share the load with two other teachers so I'm counting it as rest anyway.

@applescruffete - I'm going for my Nidan (2nd degree black belt) this summer in sword - the name of the art is Toyama Ryu Battodo. I love this art. We do a lot of blade work with a live blade, a lot of 2-person kata done with a wooden sword, plus at the higher levels we get to do randori (drills with elements of freestyle) with a shinai. Also we cut targets with a live blade. We roll mats made of straw, soak them in water overnight and then secure them to a target stand to cut the next day.

As far as eating is concerned, I just try to eat when I am hungry and eat as much as I want. When I'm training a lot this tends to be quite a bit of food compared to what other women eat but about the same as what my boyfriend eats. I also try to include a shit load of protein. I measured my intake for a while to see what a gram per lb of bodyweight would be and I doubt I hit that, but I get at least a gram per pound of lean bodyweight. All this is difficult enough for me that I don't try to get more fancy. I include whole milk but don't measure how much I drink and definitely not a gallon a day, as I'm not Skinny Guy.

I think I'm like a lot of women where it's hard enough to simply eat without attempting to restrict calories that to me, success in eating is to simply allow myself to do it. I gained 10 lbs doing SS last year, spent a couple weeks on a protein sparing modified fast diet and lost the 10lbs while keeping my strength. Since then have pretty much stayed the same weight. I think I'm around 20% BF. I'm not happy with that. However, during my dancing days I hovered around 13% BF, had very irregular periods, could see all the bones in my upper body and I still thought I was fat. Obviously being skinnier never made me any happier. :-)

[Kate]

First of all, the sword is definitely badass.

As far as eating is concerned, I just try to eat when I am hungry and eat as much as I want. ....All this is difficult enough for me that I don't try to get more fancy.

Makes sense to me. (I don't dare start counting calories or grams -- not with my obsessive streak and history of anorexia.)

I think I'm like a lot of women where it's hard enough to simply eat without attempting to restrict calories that to me, success in eating is to simply allow myself to do it.

Sounds familiar.

However, during my dancing days I hovered around 13% BF, had very irregular periods, could see all the bones in my upper body and I still thought I was fat. Obviously being skinnier never made me any happier. :-)

The body-image stuff is a real bitch, isn't it? When I had to buy bigger pants, I tried to tell myself that this was a good thing, that this is what I said I wanted (tired of being too skinny). Yah. Well. Theory & practice, they be different things. (Especially when the bigger pants are still tight in the ass. Not the look I was hoping for....)

Still think the martial arts stuff you're doing is very cool.

-Kate

[Gwyn Brookes]

Squat
45x5x2
75x5
95x3
115x2
135x1
145x5x3 felt great.

Bench
45x5x2
65x5
85x5 (oops meant to do 75x3 and 85x2)
96x5x3

Alternating pulls and chins on a red band: 3x5, 2x4 (sets x reps here)

The body image stuff is never ending. I gained weight after I quit dancing, like so many other ex-dancers, partly on a quest for better health, so when I started lifting I didn't get much bigger. My upper back and lats got bigger but since that made my waist look smaller I was ok with it.

What has really changed my attitude the most is training martial arts. Speaking of which, I have to get to class!

[Gwyn Brookes]

4/13 (Tues)
Press: sets of 5, ramping up to 80x5
Run: 4 rounds of 400M, 2 min rest in between

4/14 (Wed)
I was thrashed.

Squat
45x5x2
70x5
95x3
115x2
135x1
150x5x3 kicked my ass

Press (ok even after 80x5 yesterday, barring a little elbow inflammation)
45x5x2
50x5
55x5
65x3
73x5x3

no cleans. last week deadlifting and this week moving a shitload of heavy boxes fucked my tendonitis so I took a break.

[LiftingLiz]

Friday April 9:
I think I'm like a lot of women where it's hard enough to simply eat without attempting to restrict calories that to me, success in eating is to simply allow myself to do it.

Oh, I hear you on that. I've been on some sort of diet for as long as I can remember. I remember being 160 lbs once, but over the years I've bounced around and ended up at 250. Now, I just try to eat healthy: lots of veggies, lots of protein. It seems to be doing wonders for my psyche, now that I'm not trying to eat like a bird.

[Gwyn Brookes]

Friday April 16
1 hr sword, 1 1/2 hours jujitsu, medium

Saturday
1 hr aikido, 1 1/2 hours sword, medium

Monday (today) April 19

Squat
45x5x2
75x5
95x5
115x3
135x2
145x1
155x5x3

Bench
45x5x2
55x5
65x5
75x3
85x2
98x5x3

Deadlift
95x5
135x5
160x5
185x3
210x5 Wore a belt for the last set, didn't even feel my iliopsoas tendinitis - but - something fucked up is going on with my arm, weird tendinitis shit, had to wear a capsicum patch during the reminder of the day which was
2 hrs. jujitsu light
1 hr. sword/aikido light/teaching

[Mr.City]

I like how your log has "sword 1 hour." About your elbow inflammation though, is it inside or outside the elbow? I've been suffering from some weirdness with my elbow (it likes to crack and pop a lot and curls seem to hurt it, however chins are fine) and was wondering if you had something similar.