Had the pleasure of hosting the (in)famous Mr. Walter Palmer at my gym for training today. Great catching up in person.
Bench Press
275x2, 295x2, 305x2, 315x2, 325x2
Notes: All fast. Focus was improving - and grooving the improved - bar path off my chest to lockout, which I've been struggling with since starting to bench again a few weeks ago. I wanted to use weights heavy enough that I could feel "heavy" but light enough that I could focus on technique and not worry about making the reps. Seemed like I got it right, and bar path felt good. Didn't film any, but Walter said they looked good as well. He did notice that on my last rep, I touched higher on my chest than the previous rep, and the bar path was almost vertical. Might be I need to pay more attention to my touch point consistency, which will help me stay consistent in what I do with the bar after I touch as well.
I'm considering narrowing my grip a bit and touching lower, because not only will my shoulders probably appreciate that, but it will also make it easier to feel the horizontal distance between touch and lockout, and be an automatic cue to drive the bar back. Still thinking about it, we'll see. Lowering the weight is always a hard decision to make.
Press
195x5x5 @ 8,8,8.5,9,9
145x12 @ 9
Notes: Not much to report here. Weight is 93% of my best 5x5, felt heavy by the end but got it done. Did the back-off because my benching was very unstressful today.
Chins
BWx10x5
Notes: 4 sets right after pressing; 1 more set at the end after the handstands.
Handstand Fun
A bunch of wall holds, including a few seconds here and there where I kicked off the wall a bit and held a freestanding handstand. I remember this happened for sure in the first one I did, but the vid perspective wasn't good for seeing it.
I also did 2 strict HSPUs. Not only was this the first time I ever tried them, but (as I indicated in the past few upper body focused sessions), I have zero gymnastics or inversion background whatsoever, and the first time I ever attempted anything upside down was less than two weeks ago. Today was the first today I didn't feel totally disoriented upon getting upside down, so I tried them. After all the pressing and chinning. And got two solid singles with no trouble. So I guess strength makes other things easier or something (did I already say that?!).
Here's a vid of a few of the holds and the two HSPUs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=p8ThLsYebi0