Lifting to Live

[Fred J]

Good effort despite being a world traveler. Hopefully things will settle down for you soon.

[Bill Anders]

8/24/24 - Saturday

SQ L @ 3' 255x5x3
OP L @ 3' 135x5x3
DL L @ 5' 345x5 345x3 m + 345x2 s

Notes — First actual workout in a month, save a single set of Intensity Rack Pulls back on 8/8/24, which was book-ended by a planned trip prior and an emergency trip since. So, a mixed-bag month of good and bad. I even had access to racks and weights for this last trip, but recovery was crap across the board, both emotionally and physically, so I didn't do a damn thing other than take a few long walks. For this return to programming, I decided to break tradition and actually start light, not being greedy for any of the lifts. We'll see how that goes, although there aren't any great expectations, since the next couple of months are going to be hectic.
SQ - Light sets across. Yes, it's a light set, but it didn't necessarily feel like it, which was no surprise. However, I could have done without the hamstring cramping on the right leg between sets 2 & 3, which continued through that last set and for a while after. All good.
OP - Light sets across. All good.
DL - Light set. Yet still heavy. Form started breaking down with the second rep and went to hell on the fourth, with significant twisting of the bar clockwise (typical on a mixed grip on the supinated side). With that twist accelerating on the fourth rep, I got the bar up to just under the knee and called it, knowing that if the twist continued with that momentum, I was really going to muck something up in my back. I reset, added straps, and focused on tight lats. The lats still weren't as tight as I needed them to be, with the bar drifting off the shins, but the last two, strapped, went fine.

[Bill Anders]

Note — I've started a one lift/day program for the time being. I have too much on my plate at the moment and even if I run my standard 4-day Heavy/Light Split, those 90+ minute workouts are a huge chunk out of the day when I need to be focused on other things. So I start dreading the workout. I then run out of time to complete, so I don't get it done (hence the 4-day "break" between last Saturday and these workouts). These one-lift/day means that I can keep it short and keep focused on the other things that need to be done.

8/29/24 - Thursday
BP M @ 3' 225x3x5

Notes —
BP - Triples across. I had this as sets of five, but the lack of consistency really showed in the bar path for the first three, enough that I was concerned about the safety of the next two reps. So I cut it at a triple and focused on that the rest of the workout. All good.

8/30/24 - Friday
RP I @ 8' 435x5 435x1 + 395x4

Notes —
RP - Heavy set. I was confident with this weight going in to the workout. It's been a few weeks since I had pulled 430x5, which went fine, but I haven't been doing much of anything else, certainly not the squats that would help progress this lift. In other words, this was a bit greedy based on actual training. First rep wasn't quick, but when are they? As soon as I tightened against the bar for the second rep, I knew that I had nothing for it. I pulled for a few more seconds, then called it. Reset to 90% and rounded out the five, which went fine.

8/31/24 - Saturday
OP M @ 4' 140x5x3

Notes —
OP Sets across. A 5lb jump from last Saturday, which went fine. All good.

9/1/24 - Sunday
SQ L @ 5' 275x5x3

Notes — Light sets across. A 20lb jump from last Saturday, after which I had some pretty horrible DOMS early this week. It was bad enough that I really didn't want to get back under the bar, even though I knew that getting under the bar was exactly what I needed to resolve that DOMS. Even at this weight, I'm 80-100lbs lighter than I was mid-July, so I'm not getting greedy with the jump. I just need to work out the DOMS that results from this. All good.

[Fred J]

Pushed for time and energy. I know how that feels. You got a good plan here just get a handle on those doms. I hope everyone in your clan is doing well.

[Bill Anders]

Thanks Fred. We're making it. I won't lie, at the end of life, a look back won't identify this year as a high point. But it likely won't be one of the worst, either. So for the time being, maintenance lifting it is.

No doubt that you've had similar experiences. Hopefully all's well with you and yours.

[Cole Gorton]

At least you are maintaining during this busy time. Before you know it you will have more time on your hands and you can jump right back into PR territory

[K.Diesel]

I haven’t done it in a while, but that one lift per day strategy can work really well.

[Bill Anders]

At least you are maintaining during this busy time. Before you know it you will have more time on your hands and you can jump right back into PR territory

That's always the goal, Cole. It may be a few months, but we'll get there.

I haven’t done it in a while, but that one lift per day strategy can work really well.

It does, Kaisheem. I typically do it during the winter months when I'm focused on snowboarding and it really does a great job of minimizing losses. One advantage of this run is that I started after a layoff and instead of being my normal self, I started pretty conservatively. No need to prolong things with a self-inflicted ouch.

[Bill Anders]

9/5/24 - Thursday
BP H @ 4' 230x3x5

Notes —
BP - Heavy Triples across. Since I re-started conservatively, I'm able to manage this 5lb jump just fine.

9/6/24 - Friday
HDL H @ 8' 335x8

Notes —
HDL - Heavy set. Overall, still manageable, although by the fifth rep my form was breaking down, so I took a few extra breaths before the last rep to get everything back in place. All good.

9/7/24 - Saturday
OP H @ 5' 145x5x3

Notes —
OP - Heavy sets across. All good.

9/8/24 - Sunday
SQ L @ 5' 295x5x3

Notes —
SQ - Light sets across. I started these quite conservatively, mainly because if I jump back in too aggressively, my adductors scream at me for days afterwards. This is 20lbs heavier than last week, but they're just now getting to the level of my light squat days in June before I took my layoff. All good.

[Mr. Bingley]

you're in the trenches every day, that's great