Saturday Night Edition: 2/18/12
Was planning to do an early afternoon lift. Was up WAY earlier than usual today (8am instead of the usual 11), did laundry and grocery shopping. My body had rejected my early wakeup by the time I got to my planned 1:30ish workout time, and I napped. So ended up lifting this evening. What’s better than Saturday night @ rthe gym?!
Foam roll/movement prep/etc
Squat
45x5
95x5
145x5
195x3
235x2
280x1
320x5x3
The bad news: knees were still coming forward on several reps. 1-2 each on sets 1 and 3, and 4/5 on set 2. I don't know why I have such trouble with this! Well, I do - it's probably due to HB Squatting my entire life till a few months ago, but still.
The good news - still got all 15 reps.
BB Bench Press
135x5
175x3
215x2
255x1
295x5x3
Rep #5 on set 2 was a grinder. Rep #5 on set 3 was an epic battle. But I got it up with no spotting help.
The bars and benches at this gym sucked, so I'm using that as an excuse. Not sure whether to microload the bench yet or not, but definitely getting close.
Weighted Pullups
BW +25 x 5 x 3
First weighted pullups in a long time.
1/4 milers: 5 @ 8.0-9.0mph
2/20/12 - First Belted Lift
I got my brand new lifting belt in the mail today, from Best Belts. Suffice it to say lifting with the belt was amazing - Dean Best at Best Belts has amazing customer service and makes a great product as well.
This is “Part 1” because I decided to split in 2 and do my conditioning later. I was training at the Tribeca Equinox, where I’m currently teaching a course to the trainers in barbell lifting. A couple of the trainers came and asked some Q’s mid-workout, so took longer than planned just to finish my lifting. I had time to do conditioning but just wanted to get out of the gym by that point (2hrs), so will do my sprints later.
Foam Roll/movement prep/etc
Squat
45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3 - loose belt, 235x2 - firm belt, 285x1 - tight belt, 325x5x3 - tight belt
Felt more solid and secure than without belt. I previously felt like my squat LP was 10-20lbs away from halting (330-340 range). With the belt, I feel like I should be able to go into the upper 300's on steady linear progress of 3x5.
Press
95x5, 120x3, 145x2 - loose belt, 165x1 - tight belt, 192.5x5,5,4 - tight belt. Again, waited ~2 mins then did the 1 make-up rep.
Missed 5th rep on 3rd set for the 2nd straight time. Might have to concede that linear progress is done on the Press, and switch to weekly progressions. Re: belt - felt more solid and secure through my torso, but had a harder time filling up my lungs for full inhales between reps. Might need to start paused pressing if I’m to use the belt.
I haven't read much on Belted Pressing (focused mostly on DL and Squat), so any suggestions would be welcome. I felt like I might've gotten that rep if I had full inhalation as usual.
Power Cleans (Unbelted)
does anyone belt in on these? I doubt it.
135x2, 165x2, 195x2, 215x2x3, 185x1x2
Easy but felt a bit off on a couple of the 215 reps so did 2 sets of 1 rep back-offs at 185 to solidify full extension.