Less weak than last week

[David Hooper]

23 July 2021
Weight - 209
Squat - 235 (light)
Bench - 175
Deadlift - 355

Bench was tough but went well. I again tried only taking one, maybe two breaths during a set (first breath after the 3rd or 4th rep) and it seemed to help with rhythm. Driving the bar with the elbows also seems to help, so I should keep that cued for a while.

Deadlift also went well. I don't yet have a delay at the bottom, and it's brutal but not yet grindy, so I hope I have 10 lb jumps for a while yet.

As of today, the press is at an all-time high, the bench and deadflift are back to previous high marks, and the squat joins them on the next workout. Just in time for another work trip to take me out of town all week! Fortunately, I found a gym on location that will let me train in the evenings. Unfortunately, I'll be doing field work all day so I may not be in good position to keep weights moving upward. I'll play it by ear, but at least I'll be able to maintain and not have a long break. I have doubts that they'll have microplates, though, so the bench may have to stay at 175 for a week.

[rkjohns1]

Hi Hooper, you should purchase your own set(s) of microplates and throw them in your travel bag! The 1.25 lbs plates I ordered awhile back came in a nice compact, re-closeable cardboard box that would be easy to travel with.

[David Hooper]

I should! I didn't find out if I had a gym to go to until yesterday; now it's too late to get them in time. But in the Before Times, I used to travel for work about 8-10 times a year. It may be ramping back up a bit, which would justify the purchase. Fortunately, it's only one bench day that's affected if they don't have micros.

[David Hooper]

27 July 2021
Weight - ???
Squat - 295*
Press - 125 (3,3,3,3,2,1)
Clean - 125*

On travel for field work, and Monday was long enough that there was no chance of hitting a gym in the evening. I managed to make Tuesday work, but took things down a notch because (a) I was already tired, (b) food was less than optimal, and (c) the gym equipment left a bit to be desired. I had done a couple sets of squats before even finding the safety rails (they were tucked off to one side of the room). Press was really grindy but I didn't mind working at 125. I may repeat 125 again once I'm home, just to start back up. Cleans were dialed back a bit due to the above reasons.

Earlier, I was fearing the lack of microplates. Turns out I should have also feared the lack of 2.5-lb plates too. I'm not sure how people make progress with 10-lb minimum jumps, but hey, it's not my gym. (I now miss my gym.)

This week's going to be a write-off, but I should be able to get two workouts in and resume normal progress at home next week. At least I'm staying used to the stress.

[rkjohns1]

Hi Hooper, did you ever try using the alternate grip on your deadlift?

[David Hooper]

I did once, but it's not a grip I'm willing to use. I have one elbow that is missing a lot of extension and rotation due to a misformed joint (the radial bone does not line up with the humerus like it should). I can't supine that arm at all for a deadlift, and supining the other makes me very asymmetrical. (I'm asymmetrical enough with double overrhand, but nothing to be done about that.)

[Bill Anders]

Great work, Hooper. Doing anything on the road while holding down long hours at the office or in the field is definitely tough.

I'll second the microplates. I have a full set ranging from 1/4 to 1 1/4, so I can go down to as low as 1/2lb increases if need be. Lately I've only been using the 1 1/4's for that 2.5lb jump, which has been fine. But the full set was handy last autumn when we didn't have a full set of weights in, so they gave me ~9lbs to play with to reacquaint myself with the lifts. It sounds like a full set might be handy in situations like the one you're in now.

ETA: here's a link to the plates that I have - Microplates for sale. Well worth having them in the bag. Before I had my garage gym, I carried the full set with me to the globo gym and used most of them in various situations.

[David Hooper]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm going to get a set. I likely won't get much work travel for a while, but no sense getting caught empty handed again. (Upside: no work travel means fewer gym interruptions.)

I'll probably do a maintenance session again on Saturday, repeat my last true sessions on Monday and Wednesday, and be back to gainzzzzzz on Friday. Hoping I'll have done enough to make that work.

[David Hooper]

31 July 2021
Weight - 211
Bench - 175
Squat - 315 (5,3), 325 (3)
Press - 115 (5,4,4,3)
Clean - 125 (3,3)
Deadlift - 345 (3)

I didn't lift on Thursday while on travel since I flew out at 5:30 AM on Friday. I got back to my home gym today and had plenty of time, so I went through everything to check where I was and to prepare for return to NLP next week.

I did bench first to fit in pressing after squats. 175 went well, so I can move up next time I bench.

Squatting was about feeling the weight and knowing where to resume. It was moving well, but I kept the reps down to hopefully avoid DOMS. I upped the last triple just to feel 325 again. Depending on recovery, I'll either repeat 320 or move to 325 next heavy squat day.

Dropped a few pounds on the press since I had benched. I still plan on repeating 125 once and moving up according to Nick's protocol.

Did the clean as something of a deadlift warmup. I focused really hard on moving my feet (something I've always kind of been putting off) and it seemed to help. Two sets at 125 were very crisp but I stopped there to get to deadlifts.

Deadlifting was just about getting a couple heavy pulls in and prepping for return to NLP. 345 was a bit easier to load than 355 so I went with that. I just did a triple to make sure I was doing everything correctly. I'll repeat 355 next time and be back on NLP.

All in all, I think I'm in a much better position coming back from travel than I was before. We'll see how it plays out.

Lastly, an update table that bridges two months.

Lift	Start	Now	June/July Gain	Comment
Squat	105	320	0	Vacation plus bad re-entry meant no gains here.
Press	46	125	10	Gains thanks to Nick's protocol.
Bench	75	175	2.5	See squat.
Deadlift	155	355	20	See squat.
Clean	65	130	-5	Technique retrograde after vacation.

Honestly, not bad given the circumstances. I am looking forward to being back on NLP with no real distractions in sight.

[David Hooper]

2 August 2021
Weight - 210
Squat - 320
Press - 125 (4,4,3,3,2)
Clean - 135

Last week's work did the trick. I wasn't sore on Sunday so I was able to resume today. The squat went well. I would have had 325, but I'm happy with repeating the pre-break weight and resuming from here.

Press went well. I almost had the 4th rep on the two 3-rep sets. I lost it on the first one to impatience, and the second to fatigue. The 2-rep AMRAP was very grindy, which oddly pleases me that I can now grind out a few like that. The cue "tight and drive" is really helping me.

Cleans went really well! Focusing on my feet and getting them to move seems to be a bit of a breakthrough. I had a couple misses to start the 4th set, so I stepped back, cleared my head, and got all three just fine. I think I was back on my heels a bit, which I do when I start anticipating things. I'll keep working on my feet. My back is still a little too vertical on the catch, but that can wait until the feet are consistent.