Rational fear of heavy weights

[J-Mo]

11/1/2016
Press and PC

Press
110 lb x 5,4,5
I was definitely still feeling the effects of my weekend sickness—it took me >30 minutes to warm up to the point where I felt flexible enough to get started, and I felt very fatiguable. I would get so tired from things like changing the plates on the bar that I would have to sit down for a second. So, I went light and just focused on trying to get in some high-quality movements.

Power clean
177 lb x 2,2,2,2,2
Again, I just kept it light and focused on quality. I did a good job of using my lats to keep the bar dragging up my thighs all the way through the pull—good leverage, felt powerful.

curls & back extensions
Just trying to develop that mind-muscle connection with my erector spinae and multifidus

[J-Mo]

IMG_1805.MOV - Google Drive

I'm not sure if this will work. Here is my 198 lb power clean from 10/21

[Roger Lorenzo]

J-Mo,
Been coaching college to middle aged trainees over 15 yrs. Read your log and have a few tweaks for you. Intermediate programming is all about cycling volume correctly.

-First, mark your heaviest volume day on the calendar. Don’t try for a max a week before or after this.

-Your volume cycles to a max about once per month.

-Take your basal body temperature just after waking. A max in basal body temperature should occur two weeks after the heavy phase of your cycle.

-Wear a proper belt while lifting. You are probably prone to lordosis behavior.

-Food cravings during the heavy volume phase are normal, as the body needs to rebuild tissue; try to resist them and stick to a strict diet to keep a steady metabolism.

-Before squatting heavy, put on an outfit that gets your confidence up. This is especially important durning the heavy phase of your cycle.

-Examine your cervical mucous weekly. Thin mucous precedes the heavy volume flow. Trainees are generally more anxious about squatting heavy weights just after a thinning of the mucosal membrane.

-Look in the mirror before a heavy set and say, “you are a strong, independent woman, and sometimes you just can’t finish a rep. That’s why you squat over pins, and practice bailing out of reps of increasing weight, until the idea of collapsing mid-rep is no longer worrisome, and you are training to legitimate failure.”

RL

[J-Mo]

Hahahaha!!!!

Is this Josh?

This has gotta be Josh trying to fuck with me

[J-Mo]

11/2/2016

PS and squat

Power snatch
125 lb x 1,1,1,1,1,1
130 lb x 1
Kept knees out, used lats to pull torso upright (i.e. hips deeper into squat)—felt like a tight and solid starting position, dragged bar up thighs through entire pull—excellent leverage. Warmups were super fast. Even as the bar speed slowed with heavier weights, movement felt powerful.

Squat
255 lb x 5,5,3
Fire alarm went off right after my last warmup set, so I had to evacuate for about 15'. I kept with the theme of taking it light and stuck with 255. First set felt really heavy. Second better. Third felt like a feather. I have found this to be a motif after skipping a weekend workout—my nervous system doesn't like going many days without squatting.

Pullups & back extensions
bdwt 5,5,5
Kept my forearms perpendicular to the floor and used the same grip width as for my press. Leverage was much better—probably could have done more

skipped dips. fuck it

[J-Mo]

11/4/2016
bdwt ~210 lb

Intensity press and PC

Press
133 lb x 2, 1
Warmups felt good. I was surprised that I only got 2. I was a little too casual on the clean and ended up with a grip wider than usual—didn't feel as strong. I put it down and did an extra one with normal grip.

Power clean
187 lb x 0, 0
182 lb x 1,1,1,1,1,1
I had expected this to be a good day for power cleans—maybe even PR territory. It wasn't. My hips weren't firing or something. God damnit

Pullups & back extensions
bdwt x 5,5,5
Pullups on wed felt so good that I decided to do them again.

[J-Mo]

11/6/2016

Light squats & weighted dips

Squat
223 lb x 5
245 lb x 5
Blah. I think the place where I do these is slanted. Squats at home always feel weird.

Dips
Bdwt + 44 lb x 5,4,4

Pull-ups
Bdwt x 5,5,5

[J-Mo]

11/7/2016

Zone 2 cardio

30' on elliptical w/ HR at 130 bpm.

Excited for presses and power cleans tomorrow!

[J-Mo]

11/8/2016
Election day
bdwt ~210 lb

Press and PC

Press
120 lb x 5, 4, 3
Stopping at bottom before each rep. First set felt strong, later sets were ok. I think I will lower the weight and switch to 5x5, then go for PR sets on Fridays.

Power clean
182 lb x 2,2, 1,1,1,1,1,1
I have an infection on the ring finger of my right hand, and it was really bothering me both in gripping and in catching the bar. I realized that I have been too much of a perfectionist and am analyzing these lifts too much during my set. I can analyze my warmups to make sure everything is moving correctly, but I need to loosen the reigns a little on my working sets and just try to be explosive.


Ugh. I don't know why I keep lifting weights—I never make any progress. I looked back at some videos of my last few years of squats and deadlifts, and I don't believe that I have gotten stronger after starting strength. I think that intermediate programming taught me how to grind, but I don't think that it has made me stronger. My squats of 285 lb x 5 nearing the end of starting strength were much faster than a set of 275 lb x 5 squats that I filmed while I was doing madcow (right before my set of 5 at 315 lb—which was painfully slow).

[J-Mo]

11/9/2016

I skipped the gym this morning--too depressed after last night.