Whenever I train at WFAC, and am not injured, I have an awesome workout. Despite having some minor dings, I don't have any major injuries right now and had an awesome last workout before deload week. Training with Reynolds and Austin - who have both squatted 600 - and Coach Nikolai Delgadillo was awesome motivation as well.
Squat
545x2 @ 8.5 -PR
585x1 @ 9.25 - PR
495x2 @8
Notes: Sticking to "the plan" would have been a work-up double at 515 or 525, the 545x2 PR double, then another back off double or two in the 485-515 range. But fuckit. I've been waiting 13.5 months to do this. The 545 double moved fast so I went straight to 585 and hit a really solid single there for a new lifetime best in the squat. The lifts might look faster than my RPEs indicate but 1) I tend to go from fast to miss quickly and 2) The bar rolled up my back just a hair on the 585 rep (where you see me get out of my hips a little halfway up) and if that happened again on the second rep, it might well have caused a miss.
So I hit 2 squat PRs in about a 10 minute period today. Super happy and stoked about this.
585x1 Squat with the crew on Instagram
Press - belt + wraps
255x1 @9.5
265x1 @10 - ties PR
230x5 @10 - PR
Notes: Intended to stop at 255, but it surprisingly moved well enough that it wasn't a total grind, so said hell, maybe there's a press PR in me today too, and went for 265. I made it, slow but far from the slowest I've ever done. Then backed-off and hit a PR fahve at 230. Given that I've recently done 225x5 in the midst of my volume work, and not as a standalone 5RM, I'm not surprised that I'm strong enough to do either of these. I just didn't think they'd be there today. So really happy with this too.
265x1 and 230x5 Press PR on IG
Deadlift - belt
455x5 - alt grip
Notes: The extra day off, no squatting since Monday, and no pulling at all since last Friday, have helped my back. But I could still feel these a little; 4 hours in coach on a full flight on the plane + 2.5 hour drive to The Falls yesterday didn't help. So did one set of five at 455 and called it there. I'll probably only pull again next Friday, light for deload week, and hope by the following Tuesday, 12/20, I'm ready to ramp it back up again.
An excellent cap to this last training cycle before 2 weeks off low bar squatting to let my elbows/brachialis heal, and a deload week before ramping back up again. Additionally, it must be admitted that gaining back a bunch of weight I lost has helped. I was down to 258. I'm back up to 270. Could I have done this eventually at 250ish? Sure. But what can I say, I got impatient and regaining that weight and eating those calories has helped me do it now instead of Summer 2017 or so. Oh whale. At least I'm still down 1 belt hole from my heaviest.