SS Novice 6 Months In - Rugby Season Starting in 3 Weeks

[Beerspitnight]

Dutch - you are right that below parallel on squats is a bitch, but very much needed.

I felt overly tired today as I drove in to the gym this morning. I had a rough weekend that was marked with a 6 hour stay in the ER on Saturday morning when my wife's gall bladder attacked her. I think I need another good night's sleep to recover from that failed night's sleep.

I prepped up 4 days of meals yesterday (Sunday) which includes 1.5kg of pork shoulder meatloaf with onions, tomatoes, and spinach. A 26 egg, cheese, and spinach omelet, and 4 x 6 eggs over easy (for pre-workout meal). I decided not to take pictures this week as my wife kept giving me funny looks last weekend.

Back Squat
bar x5
50 x5
70 x 5
90 x2
130 x5 x3 Squats felt ok (taking into account how tired I felt) I will put on 132.2 on Friday

Chin-ups
7
6
6

Press
bar x5
30 x5
40 x5
67.2 x5
67.2 x3
67.2 x4
I have been stuck at 67.2 for 3 weeks now and haven't put up 5 full reps for each set as of yet. I am thinking I might need to drop down a bit and then re-attack the weight. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[Beerspitnight]

Sprint training today...if you can call my fat ass running as fast as possible "sprints". 8 x100 with 50m walking rest. The pitch is still frozen - combined with random holes and dips it made for an interesting training session. I think I will be on the track from now on as I don't want to do my ankle in while running on the grass.
Also hit 22 x5 GHD situps.

[Beerspitnight]

Felt good today, at least at first. We decided to switch up our routine a bit as we used to get after front squat, bench, and dead lift on Wed mornings - today we did bench first.

Bench
bar x10x2
40 x7
60 x5
92.2 x5
92.2 x5
92.2 x5 - spot on 5 bar path came forward a bit on 4 and I think the readjustment took some power out of rep 5 - still happy with the progress

Front Squat
bar x5
40 x5
60 x5
80x5x3
I dropped the weight by 5kg today to focus on form - I am still struggling with this lift and staying tight all the way through for 3 sets of 5. It is a bit frustrating.

Deadlift
70 x5
100 x5
180 x2 - failed on 3??!!
170 x5
Not sure what is happening here at 180 as I hit 4 reps last week, reset a hit my 5th - today I struggled with my 1st rep and 2 almost didn't make it up. I'm thinking I will hit 172.2 next week, the week after is an off week as we are on Spring Break - then I will go after 175 the week after and up by 2.2kg the week after until I can solidly hit 180 again. Frustrating.

[Beerspitnight]

Felt good this morning as I got a good amount of sleep last night and have been eating my face off. Weight today was 106.6 (with chucks on, which is what I weigh in with each morning)

Back Squats - still not getting as low as I would like - thinking it is a bit more mental than anything else. Will back down to 130 next Monday and hit it solid.
Bar x10
50 x7
70 x5
90 x2
132.2 x 5 x3
120 x1 for depth analysis

Split Jerk
bar x 5
30 x5
40 x5
72.2 x 5 x 3
Felt really strong on these this week (second time doing them).

Power Cleans
bar x5
40 x5
60 x 5
70 x5 x3 I hit a couple of these spot on and they felt good, but I also pulled a couple too low and they felt like shit. Need to get the muscle memory sorted so I can start to pull the weight that I am capable of.

[Beerspitnight]

Had a great weekend full of sleep, food, and beer. Was looking forward to getting into the gym this morning.

Back Squat
bar x10
50 x 7
70 x5
100 x 2
130 x5 x 3
120 x 3
Depth was really good today as I backed off last Friday's weight to focus on hitting it deep and clean. Added in the final 3 reps at 120 to keep the volume up.

Pullups
8 (last 3 were a bit cheeky)
6
5

Press
bar x5
30 x5
40 x5
67.2 x5 - strong
67.2 x 4
67.2 x 3
I have officially stalled on my press weight.

I have off next week and I am looking forward to the break. I need to decide if I am going to drop my press weight down for the week when I come back, or if I am going to stay at 67.2 and hope that the week off helps get me over that hump.

[Beerspitnight]

Had my first training session for rugby last night. Did a bit of contact (tackling drills) and fitness. Got home and to bed a bit late by my standards, but it wasn't too bad. Woke up this morning to a sore lower back and a couple of knocks and bruises.
Made a relatively big jump in my bench today, but I didn't pull it off as strong as I would have liked.
Bench
Bar x10x2
40 x7
60 x5
95 x5 - spot on 5
95 x 5 - spot on 4 and 5
95 x5 - spot on 3, 4 and 5

Front Squat
bar x5
40 x5
60 x5
82.2 x 5 x3 - good depth and form

Deadlift
70x5
100 x5
170 x5 - 170 felt heavy today.
150 x 5 - focused on form.

1 more session to go on Friday before I have a week off.

[Beerspitnight]

Today was a tough day - actually, last night was a late night, which made today a rough day.
I had practice again last night - a bit of contact and a bit of running. Got home at 10 and gave the wife a break by sending her off to bed while I waited up to feed the little man his sleeping bottle at 10:45. Last night I got a bit less than 6 hours of sleep and I was feeling the effects today. I also have a week off for Spring Break, so mentally I was ready for the end.

Back Squat
130 x5 x3 really good depth on these, save for the 4 and 5 on the 3rd ws where I was just hitting parallel.

Push Press
82.2 x4
82.2 x3
80 x3 my form was suffering today as was my energy - I was hoping to hit 82.2 all the way through, but I was too knackered for that.

A week off should do me good.
I'll also start taking some creatine the first week back from break and I am interested to see how my progression goes.