18JAN19
General
Slept fitfully; I think I'm getting dehydrated in the night. I finished my exams for the week today, so I had a burger in a pub instead of my usual meal and went to work out after I'd eaten.
Squat
Warm-ups then
1. 110kg x 5
2. 110kg x 5
3. 110kg x 5
5 or so minutes' rest between sets.
The first set felt savage, but I pushed myself into doing the following two sets. I think the grip issue is actually in my 'up' position -the bar is not over the midfoot at the top, because I'm standing up straight. This is shifting the weight onto the arms, and with the difference in flexibility the left is taking more of the strain in the arm. I'm going to go back tomorrow and do some technique work to establish the proper 'up' position. I did notice a swelling ache in my left arm, but it was a very tolerable ache.
Press
Warm-ups then
1. 42.5kg x 4
2. 42.5kg x 4
3. 42.5kg x 5
3-4 minutes' rest between sets.
The missed reps were due to fatigue from the warmups -the squats took forever and I was a little conscious of the time. I'll keep the weight static until I get all 5.
Today's focus was elbows forwards in the return -ensuring that I bring the bar back down to the start position, and avoiding the wasted effort of adjusting into the correct start position whilst holding the bar. This was mostly successful.
Deadlift
Warm-ups then
1. 122.5kg x 4
2. 122.5kg x 1
The missed rep here was picked up within 30 seconds. I had a thinner bar today than usual and I was keen to try and use double overhand as far as I could. I also used some liquid chalk to assist the grip. On Rep 4 of Set 1 I could feel the grip slipping in my left hand, and I fumbled the reset at the bottom, which left me loitering in the start position and killed my drive. I stepped away from the bar, took a second to refocus, and pulled the last one with a mixed grip to ensure that I got the rep. Initially I was planning to use hook grip throughout in order to learn it, but the bar was thin enough to make it feel like overkill.
Chin-ups
1. 12 reps
2. 4 reps
3. 2 reps
1 minute's rest between sets.
These felt extremely hard after the deadlifts.
Training takeaways
1. Rehearse the proper 'up' and 'down' positions with the barbell in anticipation of Monday's lifts.
2. Ensure consistency of form in the press. Elbows forward.
3. Learn and utiliise the hook grip for deadlifts.
Post gym
I went to the pub for a little while with some friends; I don't drink so hopefully it won't impact recovery too much...
Spotted in the gym
Not a lot to see today at all. Odd!
Jacket