Better With Age

[fnet]

Feeling tight this morning from the glute/ham raises. What's surprising is how my calf muscles feel. I know Rip mentions the calf muscle against the foot plate in Starting Strength. Feels like I spent the night doing calf raises.

[fnet]

Not the best sleep but here goes.

Today's working sets:

Squat: 305 LBS x 5 x 3

OHP: 140 LBS x 5 x 3

Everything was going along fine until I got to....
THE CLEANS
Started at 142.5 LBS x 3,3 Awful form. Took some weight off 135 x3. Still bad, like I've never done them before. Went down to 105 LBS for 2 sets of 3. WTF? How did they fall apart. Maybe, I never had good form and I could compensate when the load was lighter.

[isis]

Maybe you aren't fully recovered from the GHR's?

[fnet]

You could be right, Isis, I felt a little sore in the hammies. I thought it would effect my squats since I struggled with 300# earlier in the week. I didn't have any trouble yesterday. I was pretty gassed by the time I got to the cleans. I think I was being hard on myself. I've been rereading the deadlift section in SS. I plan on rereading the entire clean section as well.

On a side note, I weighed in at 190# before I went to bed last night. I had a hunch I might have picked up a few pounds after squeezing myself into an old pair of jeans yesterday. I had to undo the top button so I could breath after lunch. I've said too much.

[fnet]

My usual "gear": Chucks, wrist wraps, neoprene elbow sleeves, knee sleeves and a generic 4" double prong leather belt on heavy warm-ups and work sets. I smeared a bunch of Flex-A-Gesic on my left elbow. I have two cheapo barbells, I use the bent one for squats and deadlifts. I use the "straight" one for bench, presses, and power cleans. I have searched all over the Chicago area for a good bar (I prefer a dimly lit one with a good juke box). Actually, I've yet to find a good barbell that suits my needs. Enough with the bullshit. I took a few Advil and put up the following numbers:

Squats - 310 LBS 5x3. Elbow started to get cranky but everything else felt good.

Bench Press - 215 LBS x 5, 5, 4. Failed on the last attempt. Thank you power rack!

Deadlifts - 385 LBS x 4. One rep better than last week. I hope to get all five next time.

[Mr.City]

Cleans can fuck you up good as your form gets sloppier. I know from experience.

[gzt]

Oh, what I wouldn't give to be 22 again....and 6'3", 240'ish, for that matter. None of which is happening for me any time soon. As I mentioned in my intro, I wish I had discovered this program years earlier instead of wasting all those years dicking around the gym. The sky's the limit for you, City. I'll be tracking your progress, fellow Chicagoan.

FYI, I'm 6'3, 250ish, and in Chicago. But I'm like 26, not 22.

[fnet]

Yard work. Yeah, I know its not lifting weights but I have an old fashioned reel lawnmower. I have a typical city lot so its not too big but its quite a workout pushing that thing. Its the only cardio I'll do.

[fnet]

Tired and beat-up. Typical early week stuff. Oh, and I'm stiff from pulling weeds. Rounded back, should have used my deadlift technique.

Enough with the excuses already. Here are today's work-set numbers:

Front Squat: 175 LBS 5x3. I have a long standing love/hate relationship with front squats. I wasn't loving them too much today. Bastards nearly killed me.

Overhead Press: 142.5 LBS. Managed only 3 on first set, then 4 and 4. My arms actually burned.

Glute/Ham raises: 12, 10, 8. Still messing around with my new glute/ham bench. The first set was more like back extensions. The second two more closely resembled glute/ham raises.

Pull ups: 7, Chin ups: 7, Pull ups: 3. Three? Bite me, I'm tired!

[PVC]

Tired and beat-up. Typical early week stuff. Oh, and I'm stiff from pulling weeds. Rounded back, should have used my deadlift technique.

This will only work if the weeds are >9" tall.