2 week trip to squat hell

[mdmaxtc]

some thoughts from this experiment, so far:
1) this has tested my ability to "fail" under the bar. I hadn't realized it before, but I have a real fear of having to dump the bar. I realize this mental stop is keeping me from getting my true number of reps. I can imagine that it is also holding me back in all my gains.
2) I honestly thought this wasn't going to be that difficult. i was very wrong.
3) training, like most things, can get stagnant and boring. the smallest effective dose of change, just to get the blood flowing again, can be incredibly important.

[LJ5.0]

If I may throw another two cents in, I'd say that you need to start these a bit lighter and then hope to get 20 with something in the neighborhood of your 10-12 RM after ~3 tries (and I mean three tries spread over the course of a couple weeks -- not multiple shots in one gym session).

A true 20-repper is death. Not something you want to work on for more than a week or two.

If the notion of dumping the bar is broached, it's prob too heavy. Again, just my experience/opinion.

[mdmaxtc]

thursday's workout
squat- 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x5, 365x5, 380x5, 380x4 (failed on 5)
OHP- 95x5, 135x5, 150x5x3
weighted pullups- 20lbsx5, 20lbsx4, 20lbsx3, BWx4
GHRx6x3
Squats felt better than they have in some time. I didn't caffeinate before working out. i don't know if that had any real effect, but i felt better. I think the monday high-rep set was still having an effect on my legs, hence the failure on my second set. . after next weeks final attempt at 20 reps, i am confident that 380 for a work set is within reach.