Welcome to my Website!

The name roadto44x is in reference to a 4.40-4.49 40yd dash time. A 40yd dash below 4.50 seconds would place you above average in the NFL, which would mean you have above average speed in any field sport. My current best time is 4.8 seconds and I made this webpage to track my progress towards taking .31s off my time, alongside other training goals. The graph is made with data from nflcombineresults.com

Journey to 140kg benchpress

Why 140? I want to build my upper body size/strength and I think three plates on each side looks cool

Training Methodology: When I have access to a gym I bench three times per week and mostly stay under 6 reps for my working sets. A typical workout for me might look like 5x5, 3x5, or working up to a single or triple. I also do 3x3s when I'm fatigued. My accessories are just whatever I feel like doing after my working sets. This might look like a set close to failure (2+ rir) on a machine press or some incline dumbbell stuff but I often won't do anything. I have used step loading as a means of overloading in the past (from 5x5 to 5x10) and found success but I often lack the patience to see it through because I want to lift heavier weights. Volume is never something I'm looking to increase but it increases as a side effect of strength gain anyway. I don't periodize my training I just have a light week when needed

• Week 1: I don't have access to a gym at the moment so I've been using a machine at my house. My monday workout was lat pulldown 5x20 and chest press 1x5,6,7,8,9 at the same weight. On Saturday I did 3x12 latpulldown at a heavier weight and 3x5 chest press also at a heavier weight. My max is currently 100kg and my bodyweight is 86.7kg
• Week 2: I trained upper body three times this week; Monday Wednesday Saturday. Each workout consisted of flat benching (5x5), a lever lateral pulldown (5x5), close-grip incline bench (3x6+), and chest supported machine row (3x8+). My working weight on bench went from 80kg to 85kg. My shoulders agree with the incline bench set up at my current gym much more than at my old gym which has been nice; I can get a deep stretch and my front delts get pumped in a way which I don't get from flat benching. I also progressed on the lever lat pulldown from 100kg to 120kg
• Week 3: This week was a bit of a mishmash because I was back and forth a lot between my towm and the city. Structure-wise it looked like upper,rest,pull,push,pull. My bench progressed from 85kg to 87.5kg for the 5x5. My back workouts consisted of as many sets of pullups x 5reps I could manage while making chest-to-bar contact for the first 2-3 reps of each set. This lead to 45 and 50 total across each respective session this week
• Week 4: Three sessiosns this week. I got to 90kg for my 5 rep working weigh for my first session, and the other session I tried 92.5kg (and got 5 reps) but I could tell I wasn't gonna get 5x5 so I just dropped back down to 90kg for the rest of the workout. The last session I wanted to try for a new pr and ended up getting 112.5kg. It moved pretty decent, but I think my stability under maximal loads is lacking due to my knee injury. I'm looking forward to when its fully recovered because I'll finally start using leg drive.
• Week 5: I managed to get three sessions in this week. The first of the week I almost got a 95kg 5x5 but failed the very last rep of the last set and needed assitance, so I won't count it yet. The second session was on wednesday and I was feeling good so I usde 100kg as my working weight. I managed 4 triples and got 4 reps on my last set, so: 4x3 100kg, 1x4 100kg (AMRAP). The last workout was 100kg 5 sets of 4, which felt good.
• Week 6: Three sessions this week. On Thursday I felt ready for another pr, so I went for it. At the time I thought 115kg was a very safe target, 117.5kg was a good challenge, and 120kg was 50/50 but I decided to go for 120 anyway because I had a spotter and whats the worst that could happen. I worked up with 10xbar, 8x60, 5x80, 1x100, 1x110 and then tried 120 and got it, though it was very close. I don't know if it was because the relative weight is getting higher, or because I was extra sweaty but when I unracked the weight I could feel my hands slowly slipping outward so I rushed the rep a bit. This lead to me being unstable off my chest and I leant heavily on my right side (need chalk). My wrists were sore but I was pretty happy with my new pr. Later in the week I (which was also new year's day) built up to some heavy singles, which moved fine but I was still dealing with wrist discomfort. The workout was 1x5,4,3,1 100kg followed by a 112.5kg single. My last session was 90kg 5x5 with a 1 second pause at the bottom. I want to start pausing all my sets so any future PRs are officially offical. Now, I must've messed up the timelines a bit because I'm benching tonight which will equal four sessions, but I definitely haven't benched 4x this week. Anyway I'm gonna go for 92.5kg 5x5 paused, which should be manageable, wrists permitting.

ACLR recovery

I tore my acl and both menisci and I am now on the long road to recovery after surgery (aclr quad graft

• Week 1: Very painful. Not much in the way of flexion or extension. Exercises consist of trying to flex my quad (with a focus of driving my knee into the ground), ankle pumps, and attempting to bring my heal to my glute while supine
• Week 2: More of the same but with slightly less pain. Had my wounds examined and cleaned. Some stitches which hadn't dissolved were also removed at this stage. Passive knee flexion was approximately 60 degrees. Also first 'heel pop' achieved
• Week 3: More of the same exercises but with less pain. Close to full extension while supine. Active flexion approaching 90 degrees while supine. 90 degrees flexion was achievable later in the week with assistance. Swelling is still significant
• Week 4: Full extension in supine achieved
• Week 5: Flexion to 90 degrees is becoming easier; the pressure inside the knee at this angle has reduced
• Week 6: Can lock out the brace now in both flexion and extension. Took my first steps this week. It was very weird and I felt like I was sinking into my leg during the very first steps
• Week 7: First time performing leg extensions (with only the weight of my leg) from a 90 degree flexed position. I couldn't lock out fully while doing this. Walking is becoming easier though I still walk with an obvious limp. Full lockout while standing is close, maybe 1 or 2 degrees away. At times, my walking gait is approaching normal. Went for a swim at the beach this week also: walking through the water I could feel my leg struggling to maintain its position against the water
• Week 8: Another swim this week, 0kg leg extensions are becoming easier, flexion still limited to 105-110 degrees. At the beginning of this week I would perform 3x15 leg extensions with 0kg but only the concentric part of the movement because the eccentric was too painful, now I can do the full movement for 3x15 at the same weight. My lockout in this movement has also seen improvement throughout the week; I'm able to hyperextend at the top of the extension now. I think theres been minor improvements in knee flexion, and my walking gait has improved significantly. I no longer experience a pins-and-needles sensation when I first begin walking in the morning. The frequency of clicking in my knee has also significantly decreased, however there have been a few occasions where I could feel the clicking in my knee as well as hear it. These weren't painful necessarily but I will mention this to my physio and see what they think
• Week 9: I did a lot more walking this week which resulted in doms (delayed onset muscle soreness) in hamstrings. On Sunday especially I walked a lot and my knee was sore/swollen on sunday and monday, but nothing to worry about. My physio isn't yet worried about the clicking I've been hearing/feeling in my knee because the frequency is decreasing and there is still a lot of swelling and fluid in my knee. Sunday aside, I felt my knee was improving well this week. I'm able to walk up and down stairs now without assistance from a rail or leading each step with my good knee. I've started doing my heel slides without a plastic slider on the carpet to get more reasistance and quad stimulus in deep joint angles. Without the slider, I feel significantly more pain at my graft site. The pain lessened, but did not disappear, through the week. My terminal extension while standing/weight-bearing has also improved but is not quite at 100%.
• Week 10: No major improvements this week in comparison to week 9. Across the board however I'm experiencing less pain and am able to walk for much longer without swelling or pain. The clicking I was feeling is still present however they are much less frequent. I'm able to walk up any sort of stairs now with little to no pain, and I can walk down stairs with more cofidence as left leg is able to support more weight when I step down leading with my right leg. I've noticed I can also walk in tighter arcs now; in earlier weeks I would have to stop and pivot on my right leg if I wanted to turn a corner, but now I am able to pivot ever so slighty. At one point I almost felt as if I could jog again. I didn't try, but I'm getting closer and closer.
• Week 11: Great start to the week, felt no popping/clicking in my knee. On thursday I went on a trip with my mates and the fishing/short walks we did left my knee sore (at the graft site) and swollen. Had to take a couple days off the exercises while the swelling went down
• Week 12: I was still feeling the aftermath of last week's adventures this week. My knee was also the worst it had been for a while. I couldn't even get through my range of motion exercises due to pain at my graft site. Frustrating. I'm unsure what is causing this trouble. The clicking and popping has also come back, though I suspect this is due to swelling
• Week 13: I believe I have solved what was causing me pain at the graft site: It was sitting at my desk with my leg/hip and 90 degrees for extended periods while I was gaming or playing my guitar. I recently built a PC and had been using it for maybe 2-3 hours per day. However long, it was enough to stop me from being able to do my exercises properly. I stopped sitting at my desk (entirely) on tuesday and by Thursday I was able to complete a decent set of knee extensions, still not quite locking out with max intensity. By saturday I was close to fully lockout strength again. My physio's cleared me to start using a stationary bike which is nice, because I've been missing a bit of cardio.