2019 GOALS+AIMS <THE YEAR IN REVIEW>
Goals/Aims:
1) BIG ONE - work up to challenge for World Masters BJJ in Vegas Sep19 in Purple M3 u70kg division. So I need to get to 68kg, maintain strength, add some aerobic fitness and improve my technique/competition repertoire & strategy, not necessarily in that order.
<Did not cut to feather, was a light lightweight instead and it showed. My competition game was OK-ish, enough to win Asian Masters but when I tried some local comps at Adult level and also at World Masters, just couldn’t cut it. I would give myself a barely pass grade here, only because I did well in Tokyo.>
2) STR: Not chasing any big increments in my lifts, 2.5kg or 1 rep more in BP, PP, FSQ, SQ will be good. 10x10 36kg 2h Swings, 32kgx3 strict press each side will be nice too.
<I was foolish with my overall training, notably in BJJ causing a few injuries and well, nothing sets you as far back as an injury. I regressed on virtually all my lifts except the deadlift, which ironically didn’t get that much attention! I did set a new PR with the Push Press, but probably a technically improvement than any power/strength gain. For best set of the year, OHP + Front Squat saw a minor step back vs all time PRs, while Bench Press, Squat, Pullups/Chinups saw fairly drastic step backs. They are ok, but not great, and I have some new nagging injury issues around my neck/shoulder complex to work through 2020>
3) E: Skipping & Cycling takes a lot less out of my joints at the moment vs running, could be the few extra kgs I am packing. But any modality will do... any RHR under 50 is the target.
<Cooper test saw a deterioration – 10:46 this year vs 10:22 last year. I don’t want to be over 10:30 if I can help it. Marathon training took a lot of out of me, and didn’t seem to improve my overall E very much, and definitely took quite a bit out of my strength. Most importantly it was a massive time-suck for me: I have limited training hours available to me and the sad fact is that I probably need quite a lot miles if I want to get even half decent at this. So it is a doubt if I will be doing it again. OCRs are ok though, plus training for them is pretty fun.>
4) SE: Pullups 15, Chinups 15. Otherwise no specific SE work outside of BJJ.
<See No.2. Basically I didn’t do well.>
5) Skill/Technique: Sharpen my guard to sweep/drag game, and revisit taking the back! Mount needs some work. Submissions: no need to get fancy, loopchoke/triangle+omoplata from guard, then b&a+armbar from back, and low risk finishes from side control. It is competition strategy so discard all low risk/reward moves.
<For a BJJ focussed year, I would say it has been generally a year of plateaus. I might have gotten slightly better at guard passing, and a few submission chains, but my guard game (was my strongest part) has stagnated somewhat and my gym mates are finding ways to cope with this now. I want to continue to work on my guard passing, but also repair my guard game.>
6) Stay healthy and injury free, so mobility and recovery work is always worked in. Volume will need to be managed.
<No good, downright pretty crap really. I want to fix my neck/shoulder complex for 2020, and will be working on them in every warmup or cooldown session>
Some starting stats (as of 1 JAN 2019):
Body Measurements - Weight 74.5kg, Neck 41cm, Chest 98cm, Waist 84cm, Hips 94cm.
Lifts best E1RM equivalent set within last 2 years. <Best set for 2019>
Squat 127.5kg x 3 (1x130kg JAN19 pre-injury, 2x120kg AUG19 post injury)
Front Squat 102.5kg x 3 (1x105kg OCT19)
Deadlift 135kg x 2 (1x140kg APR19 all time PR)
Sumo Deadlift 150kg x 1 (1x152.5kg APR19 all time PR)
Bench Press 102.5kg x 2 (3x87.5kg AUG19)
OHP 65kg x 2 (1x65kg OCT19)
Push Press 72.5kg x 1 (2x72.5kg AUG19 all time PR)
Pullups max reps 15 <12x OCT19>
Chinups max reps 15 <12x OCT19>
1h KBP Left 32kg x 1 <Didn’t do strict KB press this year, only Push Presses>
1h KBP Right 32kg x 3. <Didn’t do strict KB press this year, only Push Presses>
Endurance (best within last year) - 2.4km 10:22 <10:46 NOV19>
Endurance 2k C2 Rower 8:07. <not tested>
OVERALL: I did put in the hours this year, but some bad luck, and lots of bad planning and emphasis, led to a few injuries that set me back. Spent almost 11 weeks on marathon training which wasn’t all that enjoyable, and I didn’t do well there either. Might be the chicken or the egg that led to this conclusion. Learn from the mistakes and do better.
SOME LESSONS FROM MINING THE NOTEBOOK:
E in the mornings > evening.
STR in the evening > morning.
Skipping rope always helps with my aerobic fitness.
Cluster Sets, doubles or triples for around 30 reps at relatively high intensity, work to build STR for me.
Fighter Pullup type programs beat EMOM (SE approach) for max reps training.
I tend to get injured when I do >3 BJJ sessions per week.
Doing stupid s*** at BJJ gets me injured.
Do TGU/Bent Press for shoulders, I need this.
Don’t get injured.
Bodyweight work makes me feel supple and strong. Find a way to keep it in the program, perhaps as accessory work.
KB Overheads > BB overheads for shoulder health.