Started with 5/3/1 squats. Warmups felt shitty, but I did the bar x 2 x 10, then 135 x 2 x 10, 205 x 7. Then I hit my work sets: 250 x 5, then 280 x 3, then went up to 315. I ended up squatting it for 7 reps, and missing on the 8th. I was really angry, even though 7 reps is a pr. I think the reason I was mad is because I KNEW I could have performed better, so "good" wasn't good enough for me. Basically, reps 1-5 were solid. Rep 6 my chest dropped and it was hard, rep 7 my chest dropped AND I let the bar roll on me, so it was not only hard but sloppy as well. And then I failed attempting rep 8. Really, I feel like if I had stayed tighter and fought to keep my chest up better, I could have had that 8th rep, and 6 and 7 would have been far better. However, it WAS kind of an off day, and 7 is a pr so I need to chill a little. I just need to focus on keeping my chest up better. That will help me keep my back a little tighter, keep the bar from moving on me, and will be the difference between a "good" performance and my best performance. I am clearly stronger though, which is great. My video cut off halfway through the 6th rep, but here it is anyways. You can see how solid the first 4-5 reps are, but also you can see how my form starts to break down as I let my chest come down and get caught forward. I need to keep working on pushing my hips forward and keeping my chest upright.
Speed deadlifts were also good, not great. 315 x 8 x 1 on the minute from the floor. The weight moved fairly well, but I felt like It could have moved faster. I tried very hard to focus on each rep, imagining it was heavy ass weight and trying to rip it, and that helped. A few reps in particular definitely felt faster and nicer than the rest. Overall, it was simply a little slow and stiff. It was during these pulls, however, that I thought that maybe powercleaning on saturday messed me up a little. Normally, doing that sort of explosive lifting is good for overall athleticism, and doing it with regularity will make my squats and deadlifts more explosive. BUT, perhaps my body just isn't used to it, and my nervous system and muscles are just a little sleepy still from that different stimulus on saturday. I don't know. Either way, I definitely was having a bit of an off day. The speed deads were still fairly good however. It will be fun to work on ripping this weight from a deep deficit, and I can't wait to be up to 335 on these.
Finally, snatch grip deads went really well too. Man these fuckin HURT my hands, but today for the first time I really felt my lower body working. hit 135, 185, 205, 225, and finally 245. 245 for 8 still wasn't very hard, but it was tougher on my legs and butt than any other set of there I have done, AND I felt it in my back. Still, my hands are what hurst most. I'm excited to switch to sets of 5 next week, hopefully I will be able to start pushing my strength more, and my hands will be hurting less.
Ended with 3 sets of situps/crunches, working to really tire my abs out. I haven't had that exhausted, pumped feeling in my abs in a while. I really think this "dumbed down" ab training is going to be good for me.
So, overall it was a good heavy workout. A little slow, a little off, but still some quality heavy lifting in. I will keep working on my weak points in my squat on thursdays and mondays, and I think even slight improvements in my form, coupled with the SERIOUS gains in muscle strength and mass that are going to come from this programming will let me destroy many a squat workout to come. I'm excited, lets keep at it.
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