Okay press day: Bench 215 x 4

Today was an okay day. Not bad, but it also wasn't great, and I made some small mistakes. However, I was also experimenting with a couple things: first of all, moving my grip in a little bit. I had a theory - basically, I realized that pretty much everyone I know grips the bar closer than I, and a good number of them are far stronger than me. Furthermore, the fact that my strict press is so good compared to my bench made me think that maybe gripping the bar a little closer on bench to the width that I strict press with could help. In the end, however, it didn't feel significantly stronger or weaker. I think I WILL move it in a little bit, but only maybe an inch on each side. Secondly, this was my first day pressing without eating breakfast - again, just a cup of coffee. I don't feel that either of these experiments really hurt me today, but they might have held me back a tiny bit. Either way, it wasn't a BAD day, just not particularly great.

Started with 5/3/1 bench. Gripped the bar maybe two fingers closer on each side. Hit the bar, then 95, then 135 for warmups. 170 x 3 moved well, as did 190 x 3, although it maybe felt a little heavier than normal. Went to 215 and hit it for a very solid 4 - easy enough that I went for a 5th. It wasn't a bad decision to go for 5, because I was able to get it maybe 6-8 inches off my chest, but then I failed. And failing reps always makes me disgruntled, especially since a) I was kind of planning on sticking to just a triple, as I did yesterday and felt great about, and b) 4 was already a PR, so going for a 5th was just kind of greedy. I wish I hadn't failed that, it shakes my confidence and makes me annoyed with myself. But over all, 4 is pretty solid - it's a PR, and it was a pretty easy PR at that. Hopefully 230 will go well next week.

Next, dropped back to 190 and moved my grip out to only about 1 finger closer on each side than normal. Again, didn't feel much different, but I think I will try and keep training like this - partly in emulation of people who are better than I, partly because I still think my logic about my good press meaning I should move my grip in makes sense, and partly because it's generally healthier for your shoulders to grip a little closer, so why not. Anyways, hit 3 x 3 at this weight with a couple longer pauses. No problems.

Next, did 3 x 16 rear delt flyes with 10 lb dumbells.

Next, strict press 155. This went significantly better than last week, but still not great. Hit the bar, 115, and then 155 x 8 with a failure on the 9th, 155 x 8, and finally 155 x 7. Then, I did a final set of 3 to make up for the extra reps I didn't get. This is just a little frustrating, for a few reasons. 1) I have definitely hit a bit of a wall. I was making awesome linear progress for a while, and now I've kind of come to a standstill, regressed a little, which isn't fun. 2) I feel like my form is a little shitty. I try to keep strict, but it's so many reps at a heavy weight that I definitely feel like I utilize the "body tremor" to keep the weight moving (not quite leg drive, but not quite as strict as I would like it to be), and sometimes the bar gets kind of whacky and out of position, AND I feel like I am not always moving reps as fast and smoothly as I would like to. But here is the thing: first of all, it's normal to hit a wall, and I think if I keep persevering eventually I will start to see progress again. Even though I only got 7 on the last set, the 8 on the first set was good enough that I tried for a 9th, which is a good sign. Plus, if I focus better on speed and explosiveness, I might be able to sneak out that 9th rep next time. And secondly, although my form might not be as perfect as I would like, the little bit of body language I use is probably WAY less than I feel it is, AND I need to cut myself some slack - it is a ton of reps with a lot of weight, and expecting them all to be perfect and strict when I am pushing to my limit is asking a lot. As long as I keep fighting to keep my form good, I'm still going to get a lot out of this movement, and when I go up a little heavier and don't have to do as many reps I think I will still be able to move really heavy weight with really good form. So basically, I need to just keep doing what I'm doing and don;t get discouraged or frustrated.

Finally, did some pullups. Hit a set of 20 kipped, then a set of 10.

Overall, a little bit of a frustrating day. A couple missed reps didn't feel so great, mentally or physically. But all in all, I am still as strong or stronger than I have ever been. The skipping breakfast experiment is going very well. And I am fast approaching the time of the mock meet, where I believe wholeheartedly I will smash my goals. Lets keep at it.