hrat's log

[hrat]

I think it's because of the log-curve growth to genetic potential- it takes a lot of time to reach it, and no matter how young you start, it's 18-21 before the potential even really exists.

Today: bench 47.5 1x4 Final rep was the slowest ever, it stopped and I managed to udge it up a tiny bit more, three times. But the line felt pretty good from the chest, and I'm kinda happy with it.
press 22.5 3x10, 1x9 Teeny 1.25kg plates on the 20kg bar. Looked stupid. Don't care.
squat: high bar, 1x20, 50kg On heavy sets of 5, I feel I can't breathe after 3 reps. Sets of 20 feel like they help mentally, because it's ~15 reps done feeling like I'm going to die.

1hour 4 aside football. Exhausting.

[hrat]

Saturday: hill walking. 2 munros, slow and steady. Sunday: bouldering, 2 solid hours, some techy stuff. Ate a whole pizza for lunch.

Today: SI joint/back is sore again, just annoying, but very much so.
squats 75 5x5 Finally getting some speed back. Last set slow. Belt on for 60 and above - twinge on a few reps, but generally feeling better as went on.
power clean 45 6x3 good, 47.5 1x3, 50 1x1, 2 fails, then 1x3 high pulls. My calves hurt to walk, but felt nothing on cleans. Is that odd?

[hrat]

Another crappy press day. Realised I completely screwed up the weights for the 5/3/1, so recalculated, but only after the session.
press: 30 1x4 bar felt lopsided, switched plates got 30x4 again.
bench 35 5x10 easy enough
chins (between bench sets) 3,3,2,2,1
30mins swimming

[hrat]

Tonight. My back/hip is still annoying, but gave no pain during workout, just twinges sometimes when sitting for a while. Not sure what to do, except lift, ice and wait.
Squat: 90 1x4. First rep was a travesty, left knee went way in, looked up, ground it out. Should've racked and retried. 3 more reps were OK, hardly pretty but that's nothing new. Then took a minute and did another single. Not sure what happened.
DL 117.5 1x5 hook grip. decent, hard.
squat 55 1x21. Easy to squat, hard to breathe.

Anyone have tips for training knees out on squat? I know how to do it, but it's the first thing to break right now, and my hip muscles feel all funky.

[hrat]

Heh, how's my bar position?

[yonkyogirl]

Glad I'm not the only one who ends up with lines across their back :-)

As for the knees out thing, I'm incorporating some pause squats into my training, I find that they really force me to keep tight and give me the time to make sure that everything is in the right place. Might be worth a try.

[hrat]

Ah yes. But they're so hard!
Reread my 5/3/1 ebook and decided to do as he says and start light. May have been too light. Meh.
Bench: 35,37.5 x3 40x12 (aim was 3+. See?)
few heavy-ish singles: aim 45 3x1 did 3x2 because I felt like a wimp. It's official, I cannot take advice.
press 22.5 10,9,8,7
cats-cradle pause squat at 40 w. blue band round knees: its a 40'' so has to be doubled, and ended up looking like a string puzzle. 3,5,5 interesting.
straight leg DL 40x10, 50x10
5-aside football, 1hr

The band-pause squat crap was an experiment on the knees out, but given that my hip muscles are still hurting, I think faffing is not the way to go. Plan to reset squat again, because it worked nicely last October. Feel out on Monday what I can get for 3x5 with solid knees, and go up linear for a few weeks, really focusing on knees out.

[yonkyogirl]

I actually really like them, could just be that I'm weird though ;-)

[hrat]

Saturday some great sailing, although it rained on and off. Sunday indoor rock climbing, Almost made a 6b. Have lost a little finger strength recently, but not bad.
Today:
squats went better than I expected. Did beltless 5s until the knees began to twitch. 40x2x5, 50x5, 60x5, 65x5, 70x5, 75x5 (hard), then 75x3, then 75x5 with loose belt. Not quite sitting back properly. Thursday will try 5s from 70ish
power cleans: 47.5 2x2, 50x1+miss, 52x1. high pulls at 60 for triple then P.C 52.5 (equal PR ish). 52 and 52.5 both racked on chest a bit. Need to get under more.
RDL 70 3x5

Mystery back/hip pain has got more mysterious. There's an odd sharp/twangy pain every so often, but it's not associated with any movement or position I can work out, I can't make it hurt, and it lasts less than a second so I can't locate it. Didn't hurt during lifting, once or twice did while standing between sets etc. Current though is ice and foam rolling/stretching external rotators, which are tight and nasty. Annoying.

[hrat]

And now the twangy pain is gone, replaced by familiar sciatica-type twanging. I guess tight hips were the main issue. Will keep rolling.

Today:
press 22.5x2x5, 25x12 might have got a few more, but started a whole-body shake. Weird.
bench 35 5x10 with chins, parallel, wideish grip 3,3,3,1(wtf?),2
30mins swimming. Got a length in one breath (20m pool)

Last bench set was jamming my feet against the foot of the bench, felt really secure, feet planted, knees rotated out. Now just need to replicate that without the support. Chins coming back, and I'm very slowly dropping a kilo or two, back to 64-65 because I like it there.