Martin roy training log

[Martin Roy]

The Best Workout in several months, without a doubt.

Focus was leg press and I was looking to push the weight higher than previous sessions. After warming up on the bike, I started with 2 sets of 10 with 2 45lb plates on each side, put on a third plate and did 2 more sets of 10; added a 4th plate and did 3 sets of 5. This matched the high point in the first three intro leg press sessions. Moved to 5 plates and 3 sets of 5, then 6 plates, 3 sets of 5. I had more in the tank but shut it down for this round.

The last set was 540 pounds, being pushed up at a 45 degree angle. Obviously you're going to get move more weight at that angle, but it was fun to load it up nonetheless. Moreover, the quad specific movement performed quickly should help the push for wob and caber in particular.

Followed the leg press with some deads from the floor to get some moderate work for the hips and back to complement the leg work. Several sets finishing with 3 sets of 3 at 225. Then, abs, more bike and elliptical.

Left the gym and headed to the high school to run stairs. When that was done I was definitely walking slowly but very satisfied with the session. Got home and hit the hot tub to cap it off.

[o1d_dude]

Great to see you back in the saddle, Marty.

[Martin Roy]

Thanks, Kit, it is great to be back on track.

Last night was for pulls and I was hoping to feel like I was closer to form than my last pull session. Prior to the rack opening up I did traps, triceps, light leg press to loosen up and then moved to the rack. Happy to find that I'm feeling stronger. All sets were easier and my grip felt better than last time. Finished with a set of 3 at 275 that was smooth and easy. Next time I should be able to hit 300 for at least a single.

[Martin Roy]

I'm infatuated with leg presses these days. And I'm really getting curious to see just what sort of effect, if any, the quad work will have on squats and wob.

Last night was leg presses: a couple sets of 10 with 3 plates on a side to warm up; a couple more warm up sets on 10 with 4 plates; then three sets of 5 with 5, 6, and 7 plates; finished with a set of 20 with 4 plates. The sets with 7 plates went up smoothly but it was a good load; I will probably keep it at the level for at least one more session before moving up.

I did a few other moves but I was short on time. Nonetheless, very happy with the presses.

Ardenwood tomorrow, Alan's Big Show. I'll be judging. Weather should be nice and I'm looking forward to having a great time.

[Martin Roy]

Ardenwood was a great day and, after a day of judging the Men's A, B, and C classes, I can state without reservation that a day of judging is more exhausting than a day of throwing. It was fun though and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Yesterday was physical therapy and I'm starting the transition to throwing again. The PT used a rubber band for resistance and had me go through the movements of each event. No issues from pain or impingement so I'll continue using the rubber bands for the next couple of weeks and then I should be clear to really resume training. Interesting to me was the emphasis on the serratus muscle. Apparently it stabilizes the shoulder and the keeps the scapula in the right place. Thus, I'll be focusing on engaging and strengthening this muscle for the time being.

[Martin Roy]

When it rains it pours. The past couple of weeks I've had a strained muscle in my left ankle which is nagging along and won't go away. It's enough of an annoyance that I'm refraining from heavy pulling, running stairs, and other similar movement. Leg press doesn't seem to bother it. Plus, I slept on my left wrist in a odd position and it's been bothering me also. I can't hold any real weight in that hand so I'm rather limited right now. Meanwhile my shoulder is getting closer to being ready for throwing.

Garrett and I went out to Shaffer Park yesterday afternoon; he needs work prior to Woodland and I wanted to test several basic movements to see how close I am to really training. I did about a half dozen three turn line drills with a 14 wfd and a few easy toe board tosses with an 8 shot put. The take-away is that I'm close but not there yet. But I also realized that when I do start again, I'm going to have to take baby steps at first. Surprisingly enough, the other event that I tried, wob, went well. 10 feet going easy with no discomfort.

[Martin Roy]

This past weekend I feel like I turned the corner. Friday evening I hit the bench for the first time since surgery and tried the bar for sets of 20+, added 10#plates - still okay, then put on 25s and did a couple of sets of 5 - no problem. I also did overhead press with the bar without issue. Went home with the intent to have a real upper body session on Sunday.


Saturday I went in to loosen up and see if I could get my right hand on the bar comfortably in squat position. I couldn't do it last week - still some adhesions that made it quite painful. But few days make a big difference. Hands on bar without difficulty. I practically danced out of the rack. I'll aim for a squat session on Tuesday or Wednesday to give the shoulder a couple more days to loosen up.


So yesterday I did 3-4 sets each of seated bench row, lateral raises, front raises, bench, overhead press, and pec deck. Light weight, obviously, but it went well and it's the first step back on the path. With bench and overhead, I'm going with the 5x5 routine that's worked well in the past for foundation building; all other exercises were 3-4 sets of 10.

On the road again. Finally.
Next weekend I'm going to throw and wind a hammer.

[o1d_dude]

This is encouraging, Marty. Keep at it!

[Martin Roy]

I'm back and intend to revive my training log even if nobody else is hanging out in this forum; I'm finding I need to track what I'm doing. If anyone else is reading or logging I welcome comments from all comers.

When I last posted I was in the beginning phase of post-surgery rehab and lifting. Since then I got back to the point where I could compete in games - Monterey, Fresno, Dixon, and Ventura. I started using blades for hammer at Fresno and hit PRs in both light and heavy hammers. And, at Ventura I hit PRs in wob and sheaf. In addition, my distances in practice for wfd were PR levels but I couldn't put it all together in competition. Nonetheless, after a surprisingly good showing during the second half of this past season, I look forward to a strong start to next season. My shoulder feels better than it has since I started throwing.

After Ventura, I began off-season lifting with a couple weeks of ramp up. I didn't need a lay-off/recovery period because I've had to go slowly during the past six months. Based on past years and the recent shoulder surgery, I anticipated that it would take about a month at least to get back to levels I was hitting two years ago; last year was a complete loss as far as lifting goes. To my shock, I've found that I'm back to previous levels already and poised to go higher. Barring injury, this shapes up to be the most productive off-season lifting program ever. The difficult part will be maintaining discipline and avoiding doing too much, too soon.

I'll post more soon and fill in details of what I'm doing. But, for the moment I'll just affirm that I'm feeling stronger than ever with no lingering shoulder pain and I'm really excited about training and prepping for next season.

I'm most definitely back.

[Martin Roy]

My focus at this point is on the Big Four lifts once a week. Day one is bench, Day two rack pulls, Day three overhead press, and Day four squats. I have light days in between Days two and three, one or two days depending on how I feel, work, life, and availability of the power rack at the gym. And, I normally take one day off completely over the course of the week. This plan ensures that I have at least two rest days between the upper and lower body sessions, which seems to work well for me.

In addition to the major lifts, I'm doing a range of accessory lifts to avoid power imbalances. For example, yesterday was bench, but I also did pull-ups, seated bench rows, pec deck sets forward and back. The physical therapist who ran my shoulder rehab impressed upon me the serious need to "work the opposites"; as a result I'm spending much more time and effort on keeping sessions balanced. He strongly urged me to incorporate pull-ups. Now, I have always loathed pull-ups. Even thinking about pull-ups brought back memories of not being able to do even one pull-up in elementary school and struggling to do more than 3-4 in high school. I effing hate pull-ups. PT said do them anyway and stated that lat pulls are not the same as pull-ups; do pull-ups. Period. Suitably chastened, I climbed up on the assisted pull-up machine at the gym and loaded a 200lbs offset, figuring I had to start at absolute rock bottom, and did 5 sets of 5 reps. I've followed this regimen for about six months and my base offset is now 130lbs 3 sets of 5, then decrease the weight by 10 pounds for a couple more sets of 5; decrease by 10 again for a last set of 5 to push it. At this rate, sometime next year I may actually be able to do an unassisted pull-up and I'm starting, slowly, to look forward to the pull-up sessions. Somewhere the Gym Gods are laughing.