Yesterday's work:
Volume Day today, and back to pulling some reasonable #s again.
Squat
Warm-ups to 405x5, 425x5, 430x5, 415x5, 405x5
Notes: Still playing with these pyramids. Avg rep weight was 416, so only 2lbs per rep / 50 total lbs more than last week. Experimenting to see if this is a viable way to microload, without doing sets across. We shall see. Rest was 5,7,8,9 minutes and another 8-10 after the last set before pressing.
Last set was the worst, distracted by a PT-Assistant from the clinic in the gym who kept coming in and out of my sight picture. Got onto my toes on the last rep of set 5, fortunately 405 is light enough for me that I could save it. Not happy about my form and focus lapse, but glad I've gotten to that point of strength - I was not there back in the fall when the same thing happened to me @ 405 and I could not save it.
Press
Warm-ups to 197x5x5
Notes: Not much to report here. About 4 mins rest between all sets. Hard but do-able and reasonably fast. 2lb up from last time.
Deadlift
Warm-ups to 475x1, 545x1, 485x5
Notes: Back has been feeling good so I was fairly aggressive in adding weight to my pulling, which has been light for the past 3 weeks. 475 was fast and felt great, so went to 545 for a single. It was pretty good, video below. So decided to go to 485, 30lbs more than last week, for my set of 5. I once again did not do a good job of keeping the bar on my shins after the first couple reps, but got all 5 reps, reasonably fast and no pain recurrence at all. So things are looking good. Should be back on the path to 650 again soon.
Yesterday's work:
Thanks for the info. Good to tuck away for possible future use.
It's heartening to read this - it's good to know that the ups and downs of training never go away and that pushing through a tough set or day isn't confined to novices.Thanks - I know I can handle more than this, and will get my squat groove back soon.
Thanks for keeping such a detailed log; I find it a source of motivation and interesting stuff to chew on.
Glad it was useful.
Oh, absolutely. There are weeks when it feels like I forgot how to squat - kind of going through one of those now, in fact. But we still must go train. It's about fighting the battle, whether or not we win or lose. And you know, if we fight long enough and hard enough, we will eventually win. So at first those hard sets or days or weeks happen at 265, then 315, then 375. Years later you look back and they happen at weights that surpass what were probably your lifetime goals when you started. And that's the journey and fighting the battle.
I forget who it was I heard this from, Rip or one of the other coaches, or someone else altogether, but the quote is something to the effect of "It never gets easier. You just get stronger."
You are most certainly welcome. I'm glad the ramblings I keep here for my own records can help other lifters as well.
Almost skipped recovery today because I came down with some bug yesterday and felt awful. Ate only one meal ALL DAY yesterday, at 6pm, which is how you know I really felt like shit. Was 80% better by this morning, but planned to skip today to recover. Felt better and better as the day went on, so went to train at 8-ish. Didn't push anything hard at all (that's what she said), and only did it because it was recovery day anyway. Hopefully lack of food and general under-the-weather-ness won't mess much with Friday's heavy work.
Squat
45x5x2, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5
Notes: Stopped at 255 even though legs and back didn't feel as fatigued as usual on Weds, just because I didn't even want to come close to pushing it given I'm recovering from this bug. Would have gone to 315 under normal circumstances.
Chins - done between squat sets
10,10,10
Notes: Filmed chins and recovery bench for the first time today just for the hell of it. So you can see my chubby-man kipping (but not crossfit style kipping) chin-ups on my youtube channel. Huzzah!
Bench Press
45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5, 275x5
Notes: 255 and 275 on film. Easy, fast.
C2 Erg
20s Row / 90s rest x 7; took it easy on RPE today, due to bug recovery.
RPEs: 5,6,7,8,8,8,6
Don't remember exact paces, fastest was 1:30.
Vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8WcSX_mmZM
Last edited by Michael Wolf; 07-03-2013 at 09:29 PM.
Well of course I'd have to see your squat if you want my version of public opinion, but in general, that's often a pretty accurate statement. And you are certainly not the only one who struggles to get stronger. I struggled like a small child today, for example, as I am about to post about.
In Pittsburgh for a good friend's wedding, lifted at Celli's Gym today. Small, but equipped well for those with a powerlifting bent. Looks like a lot of Westside influence. It did seem that no one ever presses there, though, judging by the way so many things hung from the ceiling, but I found a spot where I could press. Weak though it was.
Though the bug only hit me hard Tuesday, I've not recovered well since. From Wednesday to now, I feel I've barely gotten any better, floating around 80-85% with occasional stomach discomfort and a suppressed appetite. Lack of sleep and spending all day on the road Thursday couldn't have helped either.
Intended to lift yesterday before the wedding but just wasn't up for it. So planned on a pseudo-intensity day today, going by feel more than planned numbers. I didn't have high expectations, but I didn't even meet those. Also only had an hour to lift before they closed, so had to hurry some.
Squat
45x5x2, 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 365x1, 405x1, 425x1
Notes: Felt heavy, couldn't control knees, and was slow. 425 is a weight I can do for 5x5, and a single felt heavy today. Shit.
Press
45x5, 95x5, 135x3, 175x2, 205x1 - all felt easy so went to 235x1x2, 225x1
Notes: 233x2x3 was what I planned. No micro-plates, would have tried doubles but just didn't have it in me today. First one was a grind; second was better so tried a double and didn't get it. 225 was ok too, but missed the double again. Just didn't have it.
Lunch afterwards at Kelly-O's diner, since no free parking anywhere near Primanti Bros. Our waitress looked like she lifted, and was cute too, but wasn't especially friendly so didn't really have a chance to make conversation.