Huge chest, here I come.
Started with Bench. Hit the bar for a couple sets, warmed up, then started at 95 lbs. I did warmups a little differently in that I didn't do EVERY rep paused. I did the first few paused, then just moved the weight touch and go so that I could hit more reps with less effort and just get the blood flowing to my muscles. I liked that blend a lot better. hit 135, then 185, then went up to 210. The 10 x 1 was pretty much no problem. My chest was a little tight and ropey at times, but overall the weight moved really nicely and I did most of the sets with maybe 2 minutes rest. I rested a bunch for the tenth set, and hit it for a set of 3 which is pretty solid. The second rep was tough, and the third rep was REALLY tough, but I still got it, which makes me very happy. I think my bench is back on track, and I'm excited to push ahead and make some gains.
Next, strict press went really well. Hit 95 for warmups (I like doing 95 instead of doing just the bar, or going straight to a work weight). Then hit 130 x 5, 145 x 3, and finally 160 x 6. That is a nice PR. My old max at that weight was 5, and that was touch and go, not paused like today. That makes me happy. Doing all this lighter work and not hitting PR's consistently makes it easy to doubt myself and my programming, but that weight moved really nicely today. It helps to remind me that I'm laying the foundation to smash some PR's later down the line. So it makes me happy to hit this PR. I'm going to keep at the light rep work, and hopefully more and more PR's will come. After the top set, I dropped back to 145 and hit it for 8, then 130 and hit it for 10. I left maybe a rep in the tank on each set, which I'm happy about - I kept the reps moving fast and nice, without letting myself grind too hard or miss anything. I think that's smart.
Next, did some bent over rows. Instead of doing heavier pendelay rows, I did some lighter yates rows, which I liked a lot actually. I hit 95 for a warmup set, and then did 125 for 3 sets of 16. It felt pretty good. Not insanely hard and I didn't get like a CRAZY pump, but I definitely felt my back working and I think it is a good way to mix things up. I might switch between the two types of row based on how I feel that day.
I chose Klokov presses for my extra pressing movement today. They went well, only I should have kept them a little lighter. I was planning to do a few sets of 8 at around 95, but then that felt light so I went to 115 x 6, then 125 x 5, and then 135 which I wanted to hit for 4 but only got for 2. I shouldn't have gone up so heavy. I messed up my shoulder Klokov pressing, and I think if I keep it light and do a lot of reps they will do me a lot of good. After that 135, I dropped to 95 and hit it for one more big set.
Finally, did 25 kipped pullups - 5, 10, and 10. I think I'm going to start trying to do these in 2 sets, to work on pushing myself and building muscle.
Overall, nice day. The steps back and changes to form made my first few weeks of upper body training a little frustrating, but I am starting to see some strength increases finally. I need to stay on track and work my ass off, and I think I am going to blow old PR's away. Lets keep at it.
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