RSP

Training

After a few weeks of just general strength work on my legs, I commenced a back squat program last week on my front verandah - 'Russian Squat Program'. As the name suggests, it was formulated by a Russian native. People in that part of the world are renowned for their physical exploits & they have a healthy worldwide respect in the field of strength & conditioning. The 9 week program is designed to put around 5-10kg on your back squat and I would be happy with a gain of 5kg. The focus is strength gains in contrast to hypertrophy (muscle gain).

At a body weight of 76kg my current 1RM (one repetition max) is 130kg. Solid compared to most in the general population. Compared to those who I wish to compete against in CrossFit competitions, underdeveloped and weak. A common denominator with elite Crossfitter's is that they all have a very strong back squat. With the physical limitations I currently have with my upper body I am really determined to get a good strength gain in my legs. The next 9 weeks is a big opportunity. The long term goal for this movement is to get it up to double my body weight i.e 150kg+. That would be a respectable achievement.

Aside from my back squat program, I have completed a few high intensity conditioning sessions during the past week. Hill sprints, stair work & skipping have all got a go. None of these have exceed 10 minutes after a good warm up. I am really mindful of not destroying myself with excessive metabolic conditioning work. If you want to get strong, rest & nutrition are as equally as important as the lifting. In any event, I hold my condition fairly well, my shortcomings are all around the strength fields. As I say to you - you cannot say you are fit if you can't lift your body weight likewise you can't say you are fit if you can't run 5km without stopping. We should be looking at becoming a 'generalist'. Generally capable at everything. By working on our weaknesses, we avoid overuse injuries, develop new skills & improve our overall fitness/body composition 10 fold.

Below are some of the sessions I have completed during the past week:

105kg (80%) x 2 reps x 6 sets

105kg (80%) x 3 reps x 6 sets

105kg (80%) x 4 reps x 6 sets

If you might be wondering 105kg is 80% of my current 1RM which is 130kg


Nutrition

I hope you have enjoyed my recent postings on facebook. I have posted photos of what I consumed on a particular day last week. Granted, some of the plate presentation was a little ordinary but, I want the focus to be more on the quality of food consumed. It was all organic wholefood that I am sure your great grandmother would have recognised.

We are all busy, some more so than others and sometimes nutrition becomes a bit of an after thought. I can appreciate that getting quality food in consistently is a huge challenge. However, you cannot really develop your fitness and improve your health by eating low quality food on a consistent basis. Nutrition is one of the pillars of developing elite health so we have to give it great respect.

If you are being a slack ass with your nutrition or you are making poor choices on a regular basis - do not beat yourself up. Do not try and make big adjustments with your intake and for god sake do not 'diet'. Focus on each day and the effect the food you are consuming has on your performance at work and at training.

A simple adjustment we can attempt to make each day is to try and consume more wholefood V's processed food. Anything that is grown (fruit/veg) or can be killed (animal) should be consumed more than anything in a tin, box or packet.  If you haven't trained in a while you are not going to dive into a heavy conditioning session, the same applies with nutrition. Don't go too hard too soon. Make small but consistent steps in changing your attitude towards nutrition. You are going to go off the wagon from time to time. It is natural, it happens. Acknowledge it, get back on the wagon and try to make a better choice next time.


Enjoy the week!

Nicholas