Squat 205 x 20

Interesting day today. Had a bit of an attitude shift, trained in a commercial gym... it was fun.

Commercial gym. Full of upper bodies

So, to start, let me say that training has been a little rough lately. I am in an in-between phase in my diet, where it is harsh enough that I don't feel particularly strong, my workouts are very tiresome and don't feel exciting or powerful - and at the same time I don't look particularly lean. So I have just been feeling very sluggish and unmotivated lately. To remedy this, I think I need to simply improve my attitude. I downloaded a couple new albums to keep me focused and training hard, and I really just need to stick to my program and keep positive and working hard. Yes, strength gains are hard to come by when you are dieting - everyone knows this. Yes, there is a period where I just look deflated from lack of carbs, but not lean enough to look ripped so I just feel like I look like shit. It happens. But I need to just keep my chin up, lift hard, have fun, and know that this is a SMART thing to do.

Anyways, in addition to the attitude change, I also trained in a commercial gym today... really for the first time ever. It was pretty interesting. Not too bad, except for the lack of squat racks and the prevalence of mirrors lol. But it was a nice change, good way to kick-start my attitude shift.

Anyways, started with high rep squats. These were HARD today. Hit the bar for a set of 10 or so, then 135 for like 5 and 5. Then, went straight to 205 and got at it. Definitely felt different from previous weeks. I did not get as much of a leg pump. HOWEVER, weight was heavy enough that the mental game came into play a lot earlier. With weights like 165, it was cake until about 15, then exhaustion made it hard. With 205 I was at like rep 5 and I was like "oh shit this was a bad idea." Furthermore, the weight just is a BITCH to have on your back for the whole set. That was worse than the squats, and a big part of the reason that I wanted to stop haha. However, from a purely physical standpoint, reps were  pretty clean and not too hard. It's really tough mentally, though. 225 might be a very painful set. I will make it though, that's for sure.

Next, front squats. These simply do not feel good lately. Not sure exactly why, but probably largely it has to do with the fact that I am a) doing them after very high-rep squats, and b) I am doing them on the 2 minutes lol. So I can't be too hard on myself. Anyways, hit 190, 215 x 2 easy, then 245 x 3 sets of 2. First set was pretty ugly, cleaned the others up. My major issue is just rounding over as I hit a sticking point, but that's not abnormal. Still, I need to fight it best I can.

Finally, romanian deads went really well. Haven't done these in forever, but they are part of my new plan to get my back to superhuman levels of strength. on the 2 mins, hit 135 x 8, 155 x 8, 185 x 8, 205 x 8, then 225 x 8. Then, switched to on the 3 mins and hit 245 x 5, 255 x 5, and finally 265 x 8. These feel good - really trying to focus on loading up my back, even more than my hamstrings and glutes (which are also getting a good workout for sure). Lots of volume and hard work is going to make my weakness my strength.

So, good day! Squats are quite difficult, but I think pushing through I will be able to start making some strength gains, despite the diet. Front squats are a bitch, but I just have to keep working hard and know that even if I don't feel strong, I am working them REALLY hard under less than ideal conditions, that is for sure. And I think the romanian dead/snatch grip dead combo is really gonna work on my back. OH! And did I mention that I weighed myself this morning and I'm 217.4? That's about 8 lbs weight loss since the diet started, and a whopping 4 lbs since last thursday. So I need to know that my plan is working. Just gotta keep at it.