Lifting to Live

[David Hooper]

Glad to have you back under the bar!

[Bill Anders]

Thanks Hooper.

It was good to get back at it. Surprisingly minor DOMS today.

[Bill Anders]

8/17/21 - Tuesday

SQ - L
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
205x1
235x5x3

OP
45x5
75x3
100x1
115x5x3

DL
135x4
185x2
225x1
275x1
300x5

Music - A bit of everything (not one specific show), but the top pick was - Guns n Roses vs UK Subs, Down on the Farm (not for the GnR portion, but I must always turn up a UK Subs tune; GnR did it just fine).

Notes
- It dawned a beautiful, cool, smoke-free day today, which has been a rarity these past couple of months. We had the house open all day as we took care of chores and business. I was really looking forward to a cool, smoke-free workout. Ha! By mid-afternoon, the low to our west shifted just a bit towards us and pulled down the smoke from the fire that's about 20 miles north of us. Blech! But that's not an excuse to not get under the bar.
- SQ - A light day. The DOMS had set in from Sunday's workout, but that's no excuse. I programmed squats for this week and next to be a standard Heavy/Light A/B cycle, which lets me focus on getting my deadlift numbers up without blasting my lower back, which would happen if I ran a straight +5lbs each workout in sync with my deadlifts.
- OP - For some odd reason, after the first press of the first set, I started taking a breath at the top and bouncing it at the bottom, which seems counterproductive, like bouncing the deadlift. But the tough part about doing that is once it starts, it continues throughout the set. Reset for sets 2 & 3, taking a breath at the bottom, and all went well.
- DL - Like I mentioned above, I'm trying to NLP this lift for this week and perhaps all of next, going up 5lbs each session, which would get me to 320lbs by the end of next week. That should give me a manageable 50lb spread between deadlifts and squats which should help me not stall once I get above 330lbs, as happened this past spring.

[David Hooper]

I've heard people talk about doing exactly what you did on the press, claiming the bounce at the bottom uses a stretch reflex much like the squat. I don't have much opinion either way.

[Bill Anders]

I think, for me, I feel a lot looser all around, even as I focus on staying tight. And since I don't do it often, I spend too much time with the bar at lockout, taking extra breaths and trying to get everything tight again for the next rep.

Come to think of it, I also do that starting at the bottom. Hmmmmmm...

[Bill Anders]

8/20/21 - Friday

SQ
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
245x1
265x5x3

BP
45x5
95x3
135x1
165x1
190x5x3

DL
135x4
185x2
225x1
275x1
305x5

Music — SiriusXM, Liquid Metal's Corridor of Covers, Corridor of Dimeday Covers, 8/19/21 — Willie Nelson, Whiskey River (not a cover, nor part of the show, but queued up right before I pressed play); Flatline vs Pantera, Rise; Kilgore vs Pantera, Walk.

Notes —
- SQ - I have been focusing on setting/locking the knees and keeping them stable (no slide) for a while now; today was more focus on getting the butt back towards the wall, which really helps with that tension and bounce out of the hole. It worked well enough that for most of the work set reps, my heels came off the platform at the top of the rep. Good drive.
- BP - The mind was wandering, so the tension wasn't always there. But I managed to finish each work set just fine. Typically, by the time I get to this weight, I'm dropping to 2.5lb jumps. I think I have another 1-2 5lb jumps in me, so that's what's programmed. We shall see.
- DL - Better than Tuesday's 300lb work set (#4 came up ahead of the knees, #5 was pretty darn grindy). Just a quick reset between each today, focusing on tight armpits to set the back and take the slack out, then pushing against the floor. In other words, back to basics that I apparently lost track of on Tuesday.

- The next week is going to be a screwy work schedule, rotating around the clock a bit (which gets harder in my 50s than it was in my 20s), but I've got the workouts programmed. So I will get them, even if I shift a day somewhere.

[Bill Anders]

8/23/21 - Monday

SQ - L
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
240x5x3

OP
45x5
75x3
100x1
117.5x5x3

DL
135x4
185x2
225x1
275x1
310x5

Notes
- Screwy schedule week, but I'll get it done.
- SQ - Light day, focus on form.
- OP - Steady, focus on form.
- DL - All good.

[Bill Anders]

8/26/21 - Thursday

SQ
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
245x1
270x5x3

BP
45x5
95x3
135x1
165x1
195x5x3 195x5x2 + 195x4

DL
135x4
185x2
225x1
275x1
315x5

Music — Bloody Roots of Liquid Metal, Bloody Roots of Metallica's Black Album, 8/21/21 - The Hu vs Metallica - Sad But True (Mongolian traditional instruments and throat singing); Alborosis/Raging Fyah vs Metallica - The Unforgiven (brilliant reggae interpretation).

Notes
- Just a blah day, looking for any slight distraction to put off getting started.
- SQ - I didn't have any concerns about this weight, but just wasn't excited to get under the bar for the sets. But I focused intently on form, getting that butt back towards the wall and enjoying the bounce up with enough force to get the heels off the floor at lockout. Third rep of second set, I started to lead up with my chest for some odd reason, but that was the only time.
- BP - I wrote down a 2.5lb jump in my log book, then saw that I had programmed a 5lb jump on my planning spreadsheet, so I went with the 5lb jump. I thought that I could probably get one more, but I could also start dropping them onto the safeties, which would gain me nothing other than knowing that I shouldn't have taken a 5lb jump. For a couple of reps today, I would lose tightness, which led to struggle and doubt. Gotta keep focused on the leg drive. Then the very last rep just wouldn't get far off the chest. The 2.5lb jump would have been prudent, so now I know, and I'll add 2.5lbs to this weight next time.
- DL - Back to three plates. With my headspace going into this workout and my bench performance, going into this I knew that I had to focus on each lift individually. Not singles, but a methodical setup and lift for each one; really, what I should be doing every time I lift, but you know, that doesn't always happen. The first went up easier than I was anticipating, as did the second, third, and fourth, although I could feel that the fifth would fight me. It didn't really, but I was gassed by the lockout and had to take a deep breath before tightening back up to lower it to the floor. Adding another 5lbs to the next workout, then transitioning to 2x/week (or maybe just HLM) for this lift.

[Bill Anders]

8/29/21 - Sunday

SQ - L
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
245x5x3

OP
45x5
75x3
100x1
120x5x3

DL
135x4
185x2
225x1
275x1
320x5

Music — SiriusXM, Liquid Metal's Corridor of Covers, Rob Halford's 70th Birthday, 8/26/21 — Byzantine vs Judas Priest - The Hellion/Electric Eye; Annihilator vs Judas Priest - Hell Bent for Leather; Mercyful Fate vs Juduas Priest - The Ripper.

Notes —
- This was to be day 3 of this calendar week, with scheduling this week making two-day breaks between each. Good for recovery, but unnecessary at this stage of this training cycle. After some scheduling talks with my bride, instead of this being day 3 of the past week, it's going to be day 1 of this training week, as Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday works pretty well for both of us. Well, until it doesn't, but that's nothing to worry about. Flexibility is key.
- SQ - Light day (90% of my last squat work sets). Nothing of note.
- OP - Slowly working back up, with no issues. I could get impatient and try a 5lb jump or two, but there's no need for that.
- DL - All good, but definitely starting to feel the stress on the lower back, especially right at the point that the bar impacts the ground at the end of the rep. If I had bumpers, I'd consider loosening the grip on the way down, but not with the steel plates. Even before this, I had already programmed power cleans back into the rotation, which will be the next workout.

[Bill Anders]

8/31/21 - Tuesday

SQ
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
245x1
275x5x3

BP
45x5
95x3
135x1
160x1
180x1
197.5x5x3

PC
65x5
85x3
115x1
125x1
140x3x5

Music — SiriusXM, Marky Ramone's 1st Wave Blitzkreig, 8/31/21 — Agent Orange - A Cry For Help in a World Gone Mad; Black Flag - My War; The Specials - Ghost Town.

Notes —
- SQ - No concerns, no issues, a very steady workman-like session.
- BP - Some minor concerns going into this, considering the last bench session (dropped very last rep). First set good, second set's last rep was a real grind, kicking off concerns about completing the third set, which actually went fine, although I suspect I was bouncing it off of my chest a bit too much.
- PC - Bringing back the power cleans, doing these on an A/B schedule with my deadlifts, keeping the lighter cleans on the heavy squat days. Plus, I just really like me some power cleans.