Over the weekend, my friend asked me to sub in for his teammate for an OCVL (Ottawa Competitive Volleyball League) game in Orleans. I told him "sure", so I showed up to the game on Monday night to play. This was the first time stepping onto an indoor court since the beginning of summer (that's a lie, there was one tournament over the summer but let's just not count that :p).
It was apparent that I was still in summer mode, and my sets were completely off. It was frustrating for me, and probably for my team too. It's been two years since I played in the OCVL league, so I'm not used to the height of the net either, although I should be. It's unfortunate that we lost the match that night.
My poor performance may not have been just out the indoor mode, but probably my routine now that I've settled into a career, bought a home/living alone, and a workout regime that started at the gym with a friend. The lack of focus on the game really shows, and I need to turn that around quickly.
It's a little late now to be 'training for the season', but I think ongoing/consistent training and exercise will still help make improvements to your existing skills. Which leads me into the program at the gym... here's how it started...
I began going to Goodlife in November of 2010, and up until then, there hasn't really been a break (only the week that I was moving in and painting - gosh that was tiring!). I switched my membership at Goodlife from the Orleans location to the St. Laurent one. My friend David got me on a program after finding out I switched, which he is determined to get me to bench 205lbs in 6 weeks time... we'll see about that. While back at the old gym, I was benching max 135lbs flat (45lbs on each side), 135lbs already feels somewhat 'light' to me after 2 weeks of warm up. The program started this week and hopefully I can stick with it to the end.
Along with that, I've been trying to eat more and began tracking my eating habits. Like always, I turn to technology to help me out with anything 'tracking' wise :)... they are handy that way. One iPhone app I'd recommend is MyFitnessPal (it's free!). I haven't learned the complete ins and outs of this app yet, but it looks promising and I've tracked everything since Monday, so there's still much more to learn about this app and we'll see if it pushes me closer to my goal of gaining 5 lbs (150lbs total).
Here are some stats of where I started and where I'm at now:
- Started: weighed 130lbs, now 145lbs (15lbs in 9 months)
- Started: curling 20lbs dumbbells, now 35-40lbs
- Started: benching flat 95lbs, now max 175lbs
- Gym 3-4 times a week (usually Monday-Friday, and have weekends off for fun)
- Protein shake after every workout (usually two shakes per day for faster healing)
- Tried to eat high protein meals (chicken, beef, pork, etc.)
- Tried to get as much rest as I could every night for faster healing
I don't follow the labels as closely as I should, maybe it will give me faster results if I do but I think 4 scoops (250g) per serving is just too much for me. If you measure that, you will know what I mean, so I usually do 1/2 of that, and drink another shake later in the day. If you like chocolate, you will like this one too, it's quite tasty :) Oh, and this is weight gainer powder, very high on protein and mixed in with a bit of creatine also - it does the trick!
My friend made a comment on my wall on Facebook one day when I uploaded a photos I took of all the powder drinks I bought, and simply said "just eat more". I would advise also, take a shake when you absolutely need to, but usually you'd want one after a workout. They don't call it 'supplement' for nothing :) Supplement is your last resort to a deliciously cooked chicken ;)
Alright... 6 weeks, here I come!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete