Squat 290 x 8

Today wasn't great. I took it a little easy, and was having a weaker day anyways. Having just moved back to school, I was dealing with a new environment, new equipment, the craziness of a move and time in the car and two nights in a row of staying out late and drinking. So it makes sense to have a less strong day - still, it never sits well with me.

Started with 5/3/1 squat. Warmups actually felt decent. Last week, both monday and thursday my technique was just a little off. It was choppy, not smooth, and squatting didn't feel good. Today It definitely felt a lot smoother and more natural, but I was also moving a little slower than normal/ideal. Hit 125 and 185 for warmups, then hit 225 and 255 x 5. Neither was hard, but they weren't easy either. Form was on point, but I just was feeling weak, which makes sense because of the late nights and the drinking. Went up to 290 and hit it for a set of 8. It was a very solid 8, and I may have had a rep or 2 left in the tank. It was moving pretty nicely, but the weight just felt heavy and I felt weak, so I decided it was better to get in a solid set of 8 and call it than to push and fail on rep 9 or 10. I wasn't going to get a PR today simply because it was a weak day, so pushing close to failure wouldn't have been smart. Still, I hate not pushing myself. I felt like I should have squatted that 290 for 11 or 12. And maybe on a better day I could have sacked up and done that, but that was not this day. Hopefully, however, I simply greased the groove and on thursday I can really push myself and smash my heavy 5 x 8.

This picture came up when I typed in "Snatch grip Deadlifts." WTF

Next, deadlifts went well. 275 x 12 x 1 on the minute from a 1 plate deficit. These felt pretty good, they were moving pretty fast. It was hard to focus because the gym was full of stupid fucks today, but for the most part the weight moved fast and form was nice. I think it was good that this was my lightest week for these, because as I said form felt nice, I was just weaker than normal. Hopefully next week I'll have a little more oomph and really be able to smash these.

Snatch grip deads were probably the most fun part of the workout. Sets of 5 are SO much better than 8 haha, they hurt my hands far less, and it's fun to go up heavy. I hit 125, 185, 225, 245, and finally 265 for a set of 5. These feel awesome. They hit my back and the heavier I go the more I feel my ass working. Doing 265 wasn't HARD per se. It hurt a lot, but the weight moved very nicely. I think I will shoot for 285 next week, I should be able to get that. The week after, i would LOVE to get 305, but I'm just going to base that off of how 285 feels. I'll definitely get 285, so we will just go from there.

Finally, did 3 sets of crunches. These hurt hahaha, which is kind of sad. But I'm hoping to grow my abs with the higher reps.

Overall, Not a bad day. Some quality reps at 290, some fast pulls at 275, and a solid heavy set of snatch deads. I wish squatting felt better and I could have pushed for 10 + reps, but I just need to accept that it was a smart move to take it a little easier today. I will heal up, and on thursday I'm gonna smash some weight. Then next week I can push my 5/3/1 set hard again. Lets keep at it.