Heading towards the Gates of Hell!

Hey all,

I was back to training today after the Oxford and North Bucks Chamionships. I did well, but no where near how well i wanted to perform. What does this mean? It means that i am only human and there is always room for improvements! So my journey now continues.

There is 34 days untill the Oxford and North Bucks MASTERS County Championships; and if i get accepted into it i will be a completely different swimmer. What can you do in 34 days? A hell of a lot, and you will understand why below.

I am now going to be swimming 5 hours 30 minutes a week with Bletchey & District Swim Club. A lot of people think that it will not be enough pool time, i will prove them wrong. My land training and conditioning has taken a HUGE turn now.

My land training is based on the teachings and information provided from Ross Enimait, using his books - Infinite Intensity, Never Gymless, and Full Throttle Conditioning. How long will i train for per day? As long as it takes to get the job done.

I will be using and adapting the 50 day plan set out in Infinite Intensity, this is my first class ticket to the gates of Hell! It all started today...

...Today, oh today - What can i say? One minute you think you are fit, then next minute you are gasping for air on the verge on collapsing. Well, thats how it was for me anyway. I did what Ross calls the 'Magic 50'.

The Magic 50 is this:
5 Reps Dumbell Snatch (5 each arm, starting with your non dominant side)
5 Reps Dumbell Swing (5 each arm, starting with your non dominant side)
10 Burpees (Thats right the ones with the push-up and jump)

Overall 50 reps. Easy?

Not exactly, you have to do it 5 times continuously. I was shaking so much after i could hardly stand in the shower, and eating dinner was a workout in itself!

I used a 15kg dumbell throughout the training session, i think i may have been able to go heavier, but i doubt i would have made all 5 sets.

So that was Day 1 of 34. What do the other 33 days contain? More pain, more hell, more sweat, more shaking, and more improvements!

All i know is i will dread every workout, but once i have finished it i will feel like a GOD!

Work hard guys, whatever your goals, one step at a time you will achieve greatness!

Medley Relay Result

After waiting round for hours the relay finally came. Our team was in the final heat of the 4x50m Medley Relay.

This was an amazingly hard heat to swim in, a lot of clubs entered teams full of national level swimmers, one club even entered a GBR swimmer. Our club, well, we entered all County Swimmers so they really were is a completely different league.

Here are the splits:

50m Backstroke (Luke) 32 seconds
50m Breaststroke (Me) 34.93 seconds
50m Butterfly (Daz) 32 seconds
50m Frontcrawl (Liam) 26 Seconds

Overall time was about 2:05.40. We finished 6th in our heat and i estimate - although haven't seen the results - we would have been 10th overall. I caught a glimpse of the winners time, i think it said 1:44.00.

I am pleased with my swim, this is the first time i have swum a 34 in breast so it is a big step. :-)

County Update

So far not so bad, had three races so far and here are the results.



50m Breaststroke:
Entry Time: 35.99
Time Swum: 35.81

50m Freestyle:
Entry Time: 29.19
Time Swum: 28.73

100m Individual Medely:
Entry Time: 1:14.85
Time Swum: 1:13.xx

Got the 4x50m Medley relay this afternoon so will post back later.

Just round the corner...

It's finally here, well at the weekend anyway. The Oxford and North Bucks County Championships 2008. This is the fastest competition i qualify for so this is a huge event for me to attend, and this is also the one i have been training hard for all year.

These Championships are held over 2 weekends, this weekend (8th and 9th March) and next weekend (15th and 16th March) - which means for the next 2 weeks i have no life. I have only entered 6 events this year (past years i have entered over 10) and these are skattered nicely across all 4 days. Below you will find the races entered and my entry time for them:

50m Breaststroke: 35.99
100m Breaststroke: 1:19.98
50m Freestyle: 29.19
100m Freestyle: 1:03.92
100m Individual Medely: 1:14.85
4x50m Medley Relay (Breaststroke Leg): 35.99

The main event i will be going for is the 50m Breaststroke. I need to swim a 33.10 to qualify for the South East Regional Championships, so fingers crossed i have worked hard enough to achieve it. I know i can swim a low 35 as i have done a 35.26 (unfortunatly it was not at a licenced meet so does not count as a qualifying time for the County Championships) so hopefully i will reduce it further and get a 33.10.

For the next 2 weeks i will not be continuing with Arnel's program, i need to rest and recover before the championships start. Once they are over i think i will be following the 50-day plan written in 'Never Gymless'. This is a monster conditioning program which i know will push me into and past my limits.

All i know is once i start training like a champion i know i have more chance of being one. That is my aim. I plan to monitor every training session between the 2008 County Championships and the 2009 County Championships and see what a monster conditioning program has done for my fitness, strength, and most importantly my times.

Have a good day,

Sean

Week 7.1

After spending an amazing weekend up in Carlisle with my girlfriend Hannah, i am now back in fighting shape.

Sadly i missed EVERY week 6 workout, but did complete the 300 workout 3 and a massive gym session with some old school friends. So i am not overly impressed with week 6, week 7 will have to make up for it.

Did Week 7.1 last night, awesome workout - pushed hard. I didn't stick to the 10 normal exercises - i did them all, but added a few more. In the end i did:

Jump Squat x 30 reps
Staggered Push-up x 30 reps
Alternating Split Jump x 30 reps
Explosive Push-ups x 30 reps
Prison Squat x 30 reps
Hindu Push-ups x 30 reps
Kneeling Band Row x 30 reps
Burpees x 30 reps
Pull-ups x 30 reps
Double Crunch x 30 reps
Weighted Russian Twist x 30 reps
Ab Rollouts x 30 reps
Leg Lifts x 30 reps

All in all a good solid workout.

Normally i would swim for 2 hours tonight however i am attending a full Council meeting on setting the Council Tax inflation...starts at 7.30pm....finishes (if we are lucky) at 11.30pm. So there will be no time today to workout.

Now looking forward to 7.2 and 7.3, also the 300 workout 4 as well this week. Going to be a tough week.

This weekend i will be taking new photos - which i haven't done properly since the start of the journey, and also be taking the Base Line Stats.

Another shattering workout

What can i say? I am so tired i'm suprised i can type! Went to the gym with Leigh, Kester, and Rob. Did a hell of a lot of weights followed by some cardio. To be honest what we did was not well structured but it was a session all in all.

Started off with 13 continuous close grip pull ups. This was brought up because Kester want to join the army and for that you need to be able to do 15 continuously (amongst other things) - so we all gave it a go. Kester managed 10, Rob did 12 i think, and Leigh did 3.

Leg Press:
Set 1: 70kg x 15 reps
Set 2: 97kg x 15 reps
Set 3: 160kg x 10 reps

Leg Curl:
Set 1: 42kg x 15 reps
Set 2: 56kg x 15 reps
Set 3: 77kg x 8 reps

Bench Press:
Set 1: 40kg x 10 reps
Set 2: Failed on 60kg. Wasn't impressed but i was still recovering from the pull-ups!?!

Seated Row:
Set 1: 70kg x 10 reps
Set 2: 79kg x 10 reps
Set 3: 88kg x 5 reps

Tricep Extension using Cables:
Set 1: 40kg x 15 reps
Set 2: 50kg x 12 reps
Set 3: 60kg x 12 reps

Bicep Curl using Cables:
Set 1: 30kg x 12 reps
Set 2: 35kg x 12 reps
Set 3: 40kg x 6 reps Maxed out on this.

Abs Machine:
Set 1: 30kg x 15 reps
Set 2: 50kg x 15 reps
Set 3: 85kg x 15 reps

To Finish the session we hit the Cardio. I did 10 minutes on the Stationary Bike (Top level - level 20) and then we had a small competition. 1000m row.

Both Leigh and Rob stopped after 600m, me and Kester kept going. In the end i won by about 100m but my god we were all shattered. Stood up and nearly fell over again. Ha!

I am hoping to have the strength to do the week 6 workout tonight, but i am also going to go for a leasurly swim with my lil bro - hopefully it will reduce the ache (Last time i went to the gym with Leigh i ached from Wednesday till Saturday.) .

Will keep you updated.

300 Workout #3

Today was the set date for the 3rd 300 workout (of 10 workouts each 10 days apart). This was the first one that involved weights so it put a lot more strain than normal on the body. You gotta love these workouts - 300 reps straight with little or no rest. What a pump up - im feeling great!

I finished this about 10 minutes ago, and i am still shaking. Todays workout was the following:

Bench Press @ 38.6kg
Dumbell Squat @ 20kg
Barbell Row @ 22.6kg
Barbell Deadlift @38.6kg
Military Press@ 22.6kg
Dumbell Swing @10kg
45 Degree Lat Pull-down @ Blue Band
1 Arm Dumbell Snatch (15 each side) @10kg
Elevated Push-ups

30 reps of each exercise, continuously. You may think 'pfffft those are light weights!' but my god, you lift it for 30 reps and smile then.

This is Week 6 of the 16 week challenge. I was planning to do the first workout today as well but it is my brothers birthday so i have only had time for the 300. I am being dragged to the gym tomorrow for another sort of 'male competition' with some old school friends.

Went last week with a guy called Leigh and it was a 'who can lift the most' competition. He won on the legs (but i did run to work that morning) and i won on all the upper body stuff. Tomorrow there will be me, Leigh, Kester (another school mate) and a guy called Rob. Should still win but its going to be tough after the workout today.

Well its 11pm here, i am hoping to run to work again tomorrow so im off to bed.

Night.