Road to novice

[adm]

Squat: 126kg (277lb) light
Bench press: 80kg (176lb)
Deadlift: 111kg (244lb)

Decided to go with light squat this time and it was clearly heavier than I expected. I hope that it will help me recover till Friday. I need to somehow get used to those light day. When I go heavy, the next workout after that is okay to be a bit heavier. If I go light and it is not really easy I don't feel confidence to go heavy again. Anyhow just talking for now. Bench press was just fine, I think it was neither easy nor difficult. Actually unracking the bar was the biggest issue especially in case of the first set. This weight is still silly considering my weight but I had failed 70kg and now I completed 80kg - clearly 10kg progress. I know that is is nothing impressive but for me it matters. Deadlift was still not good enough, felt heavy like hell, the form was not great but it used to be worse. My back/ribs still hurt but fortunately it does not get worse. The real issue is awful pain in the sacrum bone which manifest sometimes when I deadlift. Overall good session, nothing crazy but work has been done.

[adm]

Squat: 141kg (310lb) 1,2,2 failed
Press: 49kg (107lb) 2,3 failed
Deadlift: 0 failed

This was a no-way day. I tried to squat but the second rep of the first rep landed on pins. In case of the 2nd set I just knew that 2 was all I could do and in case of the 3rd set after a bit of rest maybe 3rd rep was possible but I had no energy to continue this torture. It was too heavy and I had no fuel at all. I did 3x5 with 131kg which was not easy either, I had feeling that my muscles are fatigued. In case of press the warm up was uncomfortable, my arms were stiff but 39kg as the last warmup set felt lighter than ever. Working sets felt super heavy, even the first rep. I tried 2nd and decided to finish there. Not sure what was wrong one option could be weather more than 80F and my hart was beating like crazy as it was difficult to breathe. Maybe this was general fatigue, I noticed that I generally feel more fatigue each day of a work week and cannot organize time well enough to sleep enough (I catch up during weekends). I will try same workout on Monday.

[adm]

Squat: 141kg (310lb)
Press: 49kg (107lb)
Deadlift: 121kg (266lb)

It was around 90F when I started this session but I was in much better shape this time. Squats were ridiculously heavy so real respect to the weight. Depth should be a bit better but it was not too bad either. I must say that it was really uncomfortable 3 sets. I will repeat the same weight on Friday to see how this feels. Press was absolutely challenging and my strategy was to complete reps in each set quickly before lactic acid kills my shoulders/arms. It worked but I feel it will be rather difficult to go further this way. Deadlift goal was 111kg which I did and it was not perfect but good enough to try 121 which worked but clearly the form was getting worse with each rep being quite poor in case of the last rep.

[adm]

Squat: 127kg (279lb) light
Bench press: 81kg (178lb)
Deadlift: 113kg (248lb)

It was around 70F this time so not bad at all. Light squat was even enjoyable and I have been really satisfied with the depth. Bench was heaver than I expected but I managed to complete all the sets and reps. Anyhow this is where 90kg becomes a target and next months will show how it goes. Deadlift was really heavy and the last rep was barely completed.

[adm]

Squat: 143kg (314lb) 5,2,3,3,2 failed
Press: 50kg (107lb) 4,3,3,3,3 failed
Deadlift: 115kg (253lb)

In case of squat I somehow managed to finish the first set but I knew I was not ready for the weight. Next 3 sets ended on pins and in case of the last one I was not even dreaming about the 3rd rep. Generally I don't feel like 15 reps in case of squat no matter what is a good idea but this was the last session before a break so I decided my body will have time to recover. Press like expected didn't go. Deadlift like usually was a crap, heavy like hell. Form of the last rep was really bad and the only thought in my head was to complete it and finish that session. Like I mentioned there is going to be a break a week at lest and later I will need to miss some sessions as well. I know it will be really difficult to get back to the routine but it is what it is. At least my body will have a moment to heal up. Here a lat hurt, here a shoulder and there a hamstring... yeah a break may be good.

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Body composition

	current	previous diff.	total diff.
Total:	102.2kg (224.6lb)	+0.1kg (+0.2lb)	+6.4kg (+14.1lb)
Fat:	18.6% 19.0kg (41.8lb)	-1.3kg (-2.9lb)	+0.2kg (+0.4lb)
Lean:	81.4% 83.2kg (183.0lb)	+1.4kg (+3.1lb)	+6.2kg (+13.6lb)

[adm]

Squat: 131kg (288lb) 5,5,4 failed
Press: 49kg (107lb) 4,3,3,3,1,1 failed
Deadlift: 117kg (257lb)

Returned after a break at least 3kg heavier (oops!). The workout was poor, hard to believe how much strength can be lost in a week. In case of squat I tried 139kg but after two reps I felt no strength at all in my hamstrings. Reduced weight to 131 but it was still very heavy, form was not best either and eventually the 5th rep of the 3rd set ended up on the pins. Press was even worse I barely completed 15 reps with 49kg. Deadlift was not too bad comparing to the other lifts. I started with lower hip position witch seems to have positive impact on my back position. Exactly following 5 steps I'm simply not able to set my back this was. Form of the first two reps was decent but the last one was really poor. I seems that some work is needed to get back to where I ended previously.

[adm]

Squat: 133kg (292lb)
Bench press: 82kg (180lb)
Deadlift: 119kg (261lb)

[adm]

Squat: 135kg (297lb)
Press: 50kg (107lb) 3,2,3,2,2,2,1 failed

[adm]

Squat: 137kg (292lb)
Bench press: 84kg (184lb)
Sumo deadlift: 2x107kg (235lb)

Squat was heavy and the form was poor in case of a couple of reps. Bench press was significantly more challenging than previously but I made it and I'm happy with that. The annoying part is that my right shoulder pain got worse again. I'm going to do some mobility work for a while and hope this will solve the problem. I decided to try with sumo, my PT advised against deadlift in case of my spine. Sumo seems to let me set a better form and with light weight I can at least exercise. Wednesday session didn't happen due to a medical procedure. My recovery is going to be most likely affected on Friday as well but we will see.

[adm]

Squat: 139kg (305lb)
Press: 51kg (112lb) 2,2,3,2,1,2,2,2 failed
Sumo deadlift: 2x109kg (239lb)

Squat was very heavy, form was good in case of some reps and not so much in case of other reps. Clearly the second set was the best, in case of the first one depth was probably not good enough. The day was clearly sultry which obviously didn't help. Press was annoyingly heavy, no fun at all. Deadlift was clearly worse than the last time.