Well, I’ve been on here for a while and keep reading and commenting on other posts so I figured I’d do the same and share a little of what I’m trying to do as an up and coming weightlifter.
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MuscleDog For Men > Journals > Kaleb's Log
Kaleb's Log
Well it’s my third day back from my Christmas vacation and I’m excited to go lift. The past two days have been good. I’ve maintained for the most part my lifts which was my biggest worry. I actually got a bike yesterday and have been riding it back and forth from class. Needless to say I’m a little sore. I hope I get used to it quickly and without and problems with my lifts.
Today’s workout wasn’t too bad. It was light and quick which was good. Got up to 102 then did 97 for a quick double. 137 c-j then 120 for a double. I finished off with a single at 207 and 197 squats. Tomorrow’s going to be quite a bit heavier which will be good. I’m still trying to figure out how to add in another session a few more times a week. I’m just not sure how to go about it. We’ll see what I can come up with.
Thanks Ilulko. I’ve been in this sport for almost 7 months now so I’m still seeing how far I can go. We have a local competition here in February and then I’m trying to get everything ready for the Arnold. That’s what I’m working on right now. I go to school here in Utah at BYU in Provo. I’ve been here for a couple years and I’m glad because it was just this past year that a professor invited me to compete with his team. Since then I’ve made some good gains and I’m trying to do the same and getting people into this sport as well.
I registered tonight for the Arnold. Now I really have something to shoot for. It’ll be the first meet where I don’t lift last. That will definitely be a great experience to lift with guys that are stronger than I am.
Well, today’s training was more intense. Snatch went well. Got up to 112 quick and easy. I adjusted my hip position a little and made it more smooth. C-J was a little harder. I made all of my cleans but missed a couple of my jerks, 5 singles at 152. Then squatted 210 for a single and two doubles at 200. I bought a biker earlier this week to cut back on gas. I still feel it in my legs so they’re sore but hopefully I’ll get used to it in the next couple weeks. I’m getting to bed early, taking ice baths after workouts, and eating good. Hopefully it all pays off. Tomorrow’s another 10 rep day for squats. We’ll see how my legs feel then.
Well, today’s training was more intense. Snatch went well. Got up to 112 quick and easy. I adjusted my hip position a little and made it more smooth. C-J was a little harder. I made all of my cleans but missed a couple of my jerks, 5 singles at 152. Then squatted 210 for a single and two doubles at 200. I bought a biker earlier this week to cut back on gas. I still feel it in my legs so they’re sore but hopefully I’ll get used to it in the next couple weeks. I’m getting to bed early, taking ice baths after workouts, and eating good. Hopefully it all pays off. Tomorrow’s another 10 rep day for squats. We’ll see how my legs feel then.
Today had to be quick because I had family coming over to visit. That actually turned out to be good because it pushed me even harder. Today was a quick, explosive session to prepare me for Monday when I’ll go for maxes again. Snatch was 102 and then 95 for a couple doubles. 137 c-j then 120 for a double. Then 207 for 2 singles and 187.5 for 10!!!! That was a PR in itself! I don’t know what it is about high rep squats with near max weight but they do something to me that really takes me over the threshold. From my own experience if I do this every 2 weeks the next Wednesday I have record numbers. So, I’m working to get some big numbers here in the next couple days.
Man today was hard. I felt good going into the workout. I took time to go to the pool to get loose and then the hot tub for little while. In turn I was able to get up to 120 on 1st tries in Snatch which I haven’t done yet. 125 wouldn’t go though. But, once I tried Clean and Jerking my legs just couldn’t work. They’re still sore from my Saturday workout which was good. I did do 150 but 160 was just a little too heavy. I couldn’t get the jerk. Then, just to get something heavy I did a couple at 200 for squat and that was it. I just felt drained today. There are definitely more rough days then good ones which is sad to say. I guess it just makes those good days really good.
Ya i’m not exact on how the arnold will be. But i kno they have the open division and then they have the pan am qualifier as well. Those are pretty impressive numbers for only training 7 months. Did you do any lifting or other sports before deciding to compete?
I was just one of those athletes that didn’t have any sports to play. I had played football and basketball all my life and I was good. When I got here to college all they had was intramural sports which held me over for the first year but they just didn’t cut it. So, I just went back to lifting like I always had. Squats, power cleans, and bench. I was approached when I was doing my cleans by a weightlifter who introduced me and I’ve been with it since. So, just an athlete now focussed on weightlifting.
I trained a little earlier today than I normally do. It’s cold here in Utah that’s all I have to say. I turned the “Mr. Heater” on full blast for 10 minutes just to get the bar warm and to get started. I was quicker and solid today. Snatch went well at 112 then 147 for c-j. Squats I was able to do 207 for 2 singles and then 202 for one rep. I thought it was much improved from yesterday. Now hopefully tomorrow follows the same progression. It’ll be a larger day since I’m looking to get at least 120 and try to match 167 and hopefully 220 on squat. We’ll see how the day plays out for me. I did order Podium Gold and I started it today. I finished my other creatine and was in need of a new one. I’ll give this one a try and see how I do with it. Laters.
What I’ve been trying to do is rest. I get to bed early enough to get at least 8 hrs of sleep. Then, before my workout I’ll sit in a warm tub to get my legs going. It’s been really cold here in utah and I train in garage so I need to be as warm as possible to keep my workouts fluid. I’ll then take a cold bath afterwards. Food wise I try to eat a balanced diet to the best of my ability. Like I said earlier I just started on my creatine. That’s about what I do. Any suggestions?
Today’s training was good in a way. I had to look for the good things. My snatch felt good. I got up to 115 but then couldn’t make 120. Clean and Jerk I did 150 but couldn’t quite jerk 160, got light headed. Squats I did 210 and then came back for 192 for a double. It was frustrating while doing my snatches. I’m strong enough to lift the weight, I just can’t catch it right. The guy that I lift with says that here in a little while I’ll figure it out and I’ll really start gaining. I guess the trick is to just keep going. Goal is to get to 145 by july in snatch and then 185 c-j. Definitely doable!
Today sure felt better. I started over in the program that I’m doing so I ended up doing 4 singles at 110, then the same at 147 with some extra in between the 2. I then did front squat for 2 singles at 175 then a double at 170. I didn’t feel too motivated as I walked into a freezing gym with nobody there. After things got warm and a couple other people started showing up things got better. I thought today was a better day than yesterday and that’s what I’m going for. Tomorrow will be a little lighter in preparation for Saturday Max day. Wish me luck
This is so random but i was watching “Peoples obsessions” on TV… There was this one kid who is addicted to strong man competitions. He actually trains in his basement so it made me think of you.
DO you only squat, clean, jerk, and snatch or do you ever train like a body builder or strong man lifts??
Ever since I picked up weigtlifting I haven’t turned back. I do lifts that are going to help me with what I’m going after. As a personal trainer though I’ll help people in the gym with bodybuilding style lifts and nothing really strong man. I’m a farm boy so whenever I’m on break from school and I’m home I’m picking up whatever needs to be done. But specifically doing other lifts, no.
I’m a trainer at Gold’s Gym here in Provo. I’ve been there for about a year and a half now. My freshman year of college I tried out for the football team but didn’t make it. Of course I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was all state and had really good stats but it just didn’t work out. So, I just picked up a job on campus and ended up signing up at Gold’s as a member. I didn’t have football so I set up my own program and went after my own goals. I trained everyday and hard. Towards the end of the year I was looking into what it would take to be a trainer and I did a few job shadows at different places and in the end I enjoyed it a lot! After school finished that spring I spent 2 yrs in Brazil. When i got back from Brazil I bought the NASM book and took the test. In the fall I went to Gold’s and got hired. Since, then I’ve just been working and training myself as hard as I could. I guess the reason was that since I couldn’t train in a team setting like I had my whole life, I wanted to get as close as I could to that. Then again the pay and the flexibility in my schedule is great too. Now, last June I was approached by a professor while at Gold’s gym. I was doing Power cleans with 315 so he came and talked to me about possibly participating in the Utah Summer Games. I couldn’t since I had already bought a plane ticket home. So, instead, I just started practicing the lifts whenever I could. I found out about a meet in Sumner, Wa at John Thrush’s gym. So, I bought a ticket and went. That was in July a month after I started. I ended up lifting the most out of all of them with a 245 total. From then on I was hooked! I came back and started training out of this Professors one car garage everyday. I set my sights on our next competition at the end of August. There were a lot of days that I lifted by myself and was so sore I wanted to stop but I didn’t. At the meet in August I pulled out a 272 total, 27 kg more and killed everyone there. That’s when I saw my name in the Strength + magazine as being ranked. I think I was number 44 in the nation and that just made me want to keep going until I’m at the top. It’s been about 7 months but I plan to be in this for the rest of my life. If not lifting, then coaching. That was my start and I don’t see an end.
Well, these past couple days have been pretty busy. We’re moving from the gym we’re in to a smaller one which has been a lot of work. We’ve been doing that for that for the past couple days and I’ve been really tired. In fact today we worked till about 2:30 when I was planning on working out about 4:30. So I went home and ate and laid down for an hour. When I got up I was just not in the mood. Well, today I got up to 115 and Did my front squats. 180 and then 3 doubles at 165. Tomorrow will be a much appreciated rest day. Monday Will be one of our final moving days so it’ll be nice once it’s all done and we can get people in there to just train. There’s a local competition here in a month so I’m focussed on getting ready for that. It’ll give me a good idea on what I can do at the Arnold. Going for 300! 130/170!!