Chaos and LOTS of pain

Today was one of the more difficult workout I can remember. It was my first time doing a 15 x 2 and it was HARD. But I made it through.

Me, in between sets of my 15 x 2

Warmed up, then hit the bar for a couple sets. then, 135 for 10, and 225 for 5. Then went up to 270 and got started. I was stiff at first, but got through the first few sets okay. However, I rushed set 5, and ended up having a tough first rep and then getting out of position and missing rep 2. So I re-racked, took set 5 again, and from that point I didn't miss a single rep. Overall, they were fairly good. Some were not as fast and smooth down as I would have liked, and on some of the really hard later ones my chest dropped a bit (the final rep was horrible hahaha). But overall, form was solid. Here are some things I learned that I will need to remember to survive future 15 x 2's. First of all, forget about time. Rushing the rest or worrying about how long it's taking you is not gonna help. Instead, just try and keep your mind on the set right in front of you. Hit a double. Rest till you feel ready, then rest a little more. Hit the next double. Don't panic, no matter how much you have left, and don't rush, no matter how LITTLE you have left. Rest enough so that you are supremely confident you won't miss, and then go again. It takes a TON of focus and self control to get through, but I think this sort of workout is going to be GREAT for my squat.

Next was front squatting. Honestly, after Chaos & Pain squats, everything else is gonna be treated as assistance work, which is fine. I still am doing good solid work, and EVERYTHING feels easy after those squats hahaha. Front squats felt good. I was a little less tight than I could have been, because I was tired, and I was sitting back a little too much and letting my knees scoop in, instead of jacking them out as hard as I could have and keeping my chest up. Still, I got a nice 5 reps at 190, and then did 4 solid singles without much problem. Like I said, chest was a bit forward, but not bad, just need to fight that next thurs.

Next, had a good time with deadlifting. I did 225 for 3 singles, then 275 for 2 singles, and finally 315 for 2 singles. My back felt much stronger and flatter this week than last week - still maybe a little curve, but not bad at all, almost completely flat, and the reps were smoother than last week. I almost wanted to hit a 3rd single, but I backed off instead. There is plenty of time to do more deads, no sense in pushing past good form.

Finally, ended with hanging leg raises and back extensions. These were rough cause I was completely exhausted hahaha, but gotta do my core work.

Overall, incredibly tough workout, but really solid technique and hard hard work to get through. Hopefully 15 x 2 bench will be a little easier, but who knows hahaha. Either way, going heavier for a 10 x 1 next week will hopefully be MUCH nicer. Can't wait.