Started with back squats. Got nice and warm, paying a little special attention to my ankles - my right ankle is still unreasonably tight and painful, so I am working hard on fixing that. Anyways, after getting super warm I made some big jumps today, which felt great. Hit the bar for 10, then 135 x 8 or so, and 225 x 5, mixing in some pause reps, trying to keep my "power stance" and my body upright, really moving the weight fast and confidently. Then, jumped straight to 315 and that jump felt great today. I unracked and squatted the weight with confidence, absolutely destroying the first rep and hitting a really solid second rep to boot. SO, I did something I have never done, and jumped straight to 365. It was a really big jump, so when I unracked I felt a little less confident, and the weight felt heavy. But I belted up, tried to imagine 135, and ended up smashing it for a single. The best 365 I have squatted in quite a while, that's for sure. I thought about loading up 385, but then I figured hell, why not go for the PR? I already made that huge jump, and I smashed 365, so I decided to just give it a go. Loaded up 395. It felt heavy as fuck with the unrack, however, and I was just a little off. It wasn't a TOTAL fail, but something was just not right - I went down and didn't really have much of a chance. I don't know if I got a little scared, moved a little too slow, was out of position, or maybe it was just too heavy today - but I think it was definitely a combination of a few of those things, because I FELT like I could have squatted that today. So anyways, no PR but I am definitely in PR territory. 405 is coming soon, I can almost taste it.
Next up, I decided to front squat up to a heavy single as well. I knew I had a PR in me today, and I promised myself I would make a statement in the gym today, so I said why not. hit 135 for a few, then 185 to just get my groove back. Then hit 225 x 2. Felt good, a little slow and I was a bit tired, but it felt good. Jumped straight to 275 with the belt and hit it for a really nice single, with just the slightest stick before lockout. So, once again I said "fuck it" and loaded up 315. First rep was SO close. A few weeks ago, I attempted 315, got like 2/3 of the way up, then failed. Today, I got the 2/3, pushed through that sticking point... then failed. But I KNEW I had it today. So, I loaded the weight back up, got really psyched, and just focused the best I could on speed into and out of the hole. I hit a nasty stick, but despite my elbows dropping and a little back rounding, I managed to push through and lock it out this time! really psyched, 315 is a huge number for me. It feels really good to finally get it, and kind of makes up for the fast I missed the back squat PR haha.
Next, deficit deads. Used a huge deficit today, stacked 3 yellow plates, which I would say is about 4.5-5 inches. Kept the deads brief - I pulled 25 x 5, touch n go, then 285, and finally, 365 with the straps. Kept the focus on keeping my back flat on the reps, trying to build of those erectors. It wasn't an easy set by any means, took some grit and some yelling to finish all those reps. But that is pretty fucking cool, to do a set of 5 from such a huge deficit at that weight. Feeling really good about that.
Finally, banged out some quick back extensions. Hit a set of 10 with no weight, then sets of 10 with 10, 25, and 45 lb plates behind my head. Nothing crazy, but every little extra bit of erector work and core training I do is gonna help.
So, overall, awesome day! Smashed a squat at... 93.5 % haha, took a crack at a PR, PR'd on my front squat, and deadlifted some heavy ass weight for reps from a huge deficit. I would say today is exactly what I wanted it to be. Tomorrow I am so pumped to bench. It's gonna be my first day training later in the afternoon, after a ton of classes, so we will see how that goes. Overall, I am very excited however If it goes nearly as well as today did, I will be happy. Lets keep at it.
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