Isis and the Barbell

[isis]

This workout was delayed two days. I tried to get it done yesterday, but during my squat warmups my right quadriceps tendon was giving me a nasty twinge. That's the healthy knee and it has never bugged me in that spot before. Since I couldn't warm up through it I decided not to continue with the workout and instead thoroughly foam rolled everything from my hips on down. That apparently solved the problem because I had no knee pain today.

Squat
20 x 5
50 x 5
70 x 3
81 x 1
88 x 5

Bench Press
15 x 5 x 2
20 x 5
26 x 5
30 x 5
32 x 5 x 3

Power Clean
15 x 3 x 3
25 x 3
35 x 3
40 x 1
45 x 1
46 x 3 x 5

Chinups with 0.75 kg
3 x 5

Nothing was really hard today...that's the wonderful thing about a few extra rest days. My original plan was to do 30 on the bench press, but it was so easy I added a couple more kilos. At this rate I'll be revisiting my previous 3x5 max from six months ago by the end of next week...I'm curious to see what will happen when I try.

[tennies]

Hi Isis,

Thank you for posting your log, I will be following! You are strong, I can't imagine doing the squat weight that you are lifting.

Heather

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Kudos to you Isis,

your squat numbers, back and front, are impressive. And so is your power clean.


IPB

[isis]

Thanks Heather and IPB. I never imagined lifting these weights either, but just kept on loading one more kilo on the bar, and it adds up after a while.

[isis]

Squat
20 x 5 x 2
50 x 5
75 x 3
81 x 5 x 5

Bench Press
15 x 5 x 2
20 x 5
25 x 5
30 x 3
34 x 5 x 3

Rack Pull
40 x 5
75 x 5
95 x 2
102 x 5

Pullups
BW x 5 x 2
BW x 4

+2 on the bench press felt perfect today...I don't think I would have gotten through 3 sets at 36. My rack pull increment is also 2 kg, but I felt my back position come unglued on the last rep. So maybe +1 next time. It's still exciting to have a set of 5 in the triple digits.

[isis]

Press
8 x 5 x 2
15 x 5
21 x 5
27 x 5 x 5

Overhead Squat
8 x 8
17 x 8
24 x 8

Power Clean
warmups then a lot of triples between 40-45 kg

Front Squat
20 x 5
40 x 3
55 x 3
60 x 3 x 3

The first half of the workout was at home in the morning and the second half at the gym in the afternoon where I got some coaching on my power clean. Getting my back really set before I pull and then not rushing it are the main things I need to work on. Front squats are always harder two days after rack pulls than they are when they follow halting deadlifts. 61 was easy last week and 60 this week was a grind. But two weeks ago I dropped 60 so I'm making progress.

[LiftingLiz]

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by my log, your advice has been great. I look forward to following your log.

[isis]

Squat
20 x 5 x 2
40 x 5
60 x 5
80 x 2
89 x 4

Bench Press
15 x 5 x 2
25 x 5
30 x 5
34 x 1
36 x 5 x 3

Power Clean
15 x 3 x 2
25 x 3
35 x 3
45 x 3
46.5 x 3 x 4

Chinups
BW + 1kg x 5 x 3

I was feeling tired and slow, far less recovered than usual before this workout. The squats felt heavy, I failed on the last rep, and I stopped after 4 sets of power cleans because my form was falling apart. But they were really crisp, like the bar path was right on target, until I got tired.

Maybe I overdid it on recovery day with the power clean practice. I didn't count the number of sets I did but it was probably closer to 10 than 5. Next week I'll avoid that mistake and do a light press workout instead of the 5x5 and see if it helps.

[isis]

Squat
20 x 5 x 2
50 x 5
70 x 3
82 x 5 x 5

Bench Press
15 x 5 x 2
25 x 5
35 x 5
38 x 5 x 3

Halting Deadlift
40 x 5
70 x 5
90 x 3
99 x 8

Pullups
BW x 3 x 3

TM volume day scares people but it's been growing on me lately. 5x5 is a lot of work but I'm feeling rested and strong and get right through it and really feel like I accomplished something. But the day after volume day is definitely my least favorite day of the Texas Method week.

Squats are getting a little harder but still easier than they were pre-creatine. Bar speed was very good for all reps of the bench press. The scale was telling me I'm up a couple pounds, and that definitely makes pullups harder.

[TonyaB]

Inspiring, isis.