Running

Couldn't get to a track to run 400's today, so I did something a little different. It was good though

Started out with a light jog and then a full warmup. Then, I picked some hilly/grassy trail to run that is about a half mile, and ran it at a comfortable pace. It was definitely a slower and more controlled run than a 400, but the last 100 meters or so were a tough uphill, and I sprinted that, so I still ended up getting an ass/hamstring pump out of it and was breathing really heavy. HOWEVER, unlike last week I recovered much quicker from this run.

It wasn't exactly what I planned to do, but I think I'm gonna just keep running on sundays; nothing too much, just enough to facilitate recovery, to get comfortable with running again, and to slowly up my cardio. Just gonna keep the times/distances to less than ten minutes/one mile in total, and keep at it. We will see how it goes.

Heavy Squats + Lockouts

Yesterday was very busy, so I didn't have time to write up my workout. However, the workout went pretty well.

Started with heavy singles for squat. I decided to work up quickly. Instead of warming up the way I normally do (bar, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, 295, 315), I jumped to heavier weights much faster, skipping some of the middle weights. I hit the bar, then 135, then 225, then 275. After 275, I jumped straight to 315 and hit it (the fourth heavy squat day in a row that I've hit 315). It went up easy enough that I went for 325 and sorttttt of got it - The sticking point was really hard, and I was really fighting to lock the weight out. My spotter had to help, but so little that I had to ask if he even did anything, because I couldn't tell. Even without "making" that rep, however, I'm pretty happy about getting 315 again, and this time making the jump straight from 275. Not too bad.

HOWEVER, that sticking point I have is really bad, and Is the reason why I've just barely missed 335 twice in the past week. So, after the heavy single, I dropped my weight back and did some squat lockouts from where I normally feel myself get stuck. These were great to do - only problem was that for whatever reason, my elbows and even my shoulders started aching REALLY badly from pulling under the weight in that bottom position. It sucked terribly. However, I really feel like these lockouts will help me get those squats that I've just barely been missing, and I'm going to try and do them every saturday that I workout for a while. But ANYWAY, I did 135 for a few sets to try and get the feel for the movement, then 185 for 5, 225 for 5, 255 for 2 sets of 5, and then 275 for 5. At first, I had trouble finding my balance and doing these right, but by the time I got to the 275, I was doing them very well and they were REALLY hard. That last rep at 275 was insanely slow and hard. BUT I locked it out. Which again, is gonna be the difference between making and missing 335.

Anyways, good day. I'm feeling a little beat up this morning, but I might still run. We will see.

I JUST WANNA GET THAT 335 ALREADY!

Getting Heavy

Today was a good day. I realized today how freakin heavy all of my upper body lifts are getting on the regular - 140 and 185 on press and bench used to be pretty damn near all I could do, and now those weights are becoming pretty standard. It's exciting and scary and very hard.

Well this picture is fucking great

Started with Chaos and Pain bench at 185 - 9 sets of 2 on the minute. I fucked this up, which is really nice considering 1) it was really hard last week and 2) 185 was a little hard/sloppy on tues. But I got through all my sets without too much trouble , and even considered (after hitting my 9th set) going up to 205 for a heavy single, but then I thought about that article I read, and realized doing that would be more of a "testing" rather than "training" the lift, and I don't have anything to prove to myself, so I skipped it.

Next was overhead press. Worked up to 140, which I hit for a solid 4. I went for a 5th, but It wasn't really there. 4 is nice though - last time I repped this weight, I got 4 as well, but that was after 9 singles at 185 - today was after 9 DOUBLES at 185. So definitely stronger. After the heavy 4, I dropped back to 125 and 110 again, hitting them for max paused reps. I think this IS helping my strength right off my chest - but I need more time to tell.

Next was pendelay rows at 185 (20 lbs heavier than last week). Did 12, 10, and 12(?) reps on these. Form was pretty rough hahaha, but I think it's mostly because the weight is pretty heavy. Hopefully next week I'll be able to do them a LITTLE stricter, although they still feel like they're blowing my back up with shitty form.

Again, nothing to do with my workout.... but this is just an awesome picture

Next was dumbell benching, which felt not great today hahaha. Hit 12 at 60, then 9 at 50 and 8(?) at 40. Got a bit of a chest pump, though, and that's all that really matters with these.

Finished off with kroc rows. Used the 110 again, and got 25 reps. I wish I did more though. Doing these tired is tricky - it's hard to take it to failure because you're wiped already, but they just don't feel as good if you don't go all out. Next week I'm gonna try and push it a little more, force myself to push to the limit no matter how tired I am. I think that will feel a lot better.

Anyways, very good day. Upper body strength grows. 

Exhausted

Today I am completely exhausted. But I had a pretty good day at the gym, which is the reason why I'm exhausted. So that's not so bad.

Started with heavy squats. I felt really good today, and knew from the beginning that I was going to squat right up to a near max, if not a new PR. Hit 275 for a double, the second rep of which was a little tough, so I went to 295 instead of 315. Nailed 295, then 315 went up pretty well too - well enough that I knew I would get 325. So, instead of trying for 325, I decided to jump the weight up to 335. I missed it, but it was a much better miss than last saturday. I was really close to getting it, but then needed help right at the very end of the lift. Gonna start doing some squat lockouts on saturdays after my heavy single to try and work through those high sticking points I have.

How 335 felt. SO FUCKING CLOSE.

Next, I dropped the weight back to 225 and started working up to a heavy three. I don't know why, but these always feel incredibly hard and bad after a heavy single. I hit 225, 245, 265, and then went for 285 - the second rep was crazy slow, so I just called it then instead of going for a third. I would have liked to get the triple, but 2 at 285 is better than barely getting the three at 265 last week.

Finally, dropped the weight back to 185 and did 3 sets of 10 good mornings. After the hard day squatting I felt pretty beat, and these were really hard, but I was happy to get through them. That's a lot of reps, and pretty heavy. Then, I finished up with 3 sets of 20 ghd situps.

Overall, It wasn't a bad day, though a little frustrating because I both missed the 335 and couldn't finish the triple at 285. Gotta remember though that this kind of hard work is really going to help me grow. That 335 is going to come very soon. But for now, I need to fucking eat and sleep a lot. I'm exhausted.

Arms

Today was a cool day. Went in, decided to do some close grip benching - did a drop set with 15 lb plates, so I hit 165 for 5 (I think that's a 2 rep pr), then 135 for 5, 105 for 10 and 75 for 20. After that, did some band pushdowns to finish off my triceps. Then, moved on to band curls for my biceps. did 2 hard sets, then a third "drop set" to get a serious pump. Then, did one set to failure of precher curls with the 15 lb dumbells to finish them off and keep my elbows healthy. After that, my friend Jerome and I did a short workout with battling ropes, trying to move through three sets of 20 reps as fast as we could with different types of movements. It was very fun, and a good arms day.

I'm pretty tired and sore today, but I'm hoping to fuck shit up tomorrow, I miss my heavy squats. Lets get ready to lift cities.

Hate

Today was a pretty good gym day, with some small setbacks. Overall, however, it was a very fun and powerful day.

Started with 5/3/1 benching. All my sets leading up to 185 felt really great, including 145 and 165 x 3. However, when I got under 185, thinking I would be able to hit it for an easy 5, maybe 6, I had a tough time. My setup was off, and cut off some bloodflow to my brain I think, because those first three reps were really fuzzy and difficult. After that, I tightened and focused up, but I remember thinking to myself "well, if you miss any of these next reps try not to worry about it, because you're a little fucked." I got rep 4, but missed rep 5. Honestly, I can't be too mad about it because I really think it was just a rough set, rather than a strength issue, but still it kinda sucks that my most important set of the day was also my worst set of the day.

Worked to make up for it with the rest of my workout however. 5 x 10 at 125 was much better than last week: my 5th set I got 13 reps, as compared to 8 last week. Next up, I FUCKED kroc rows up. I did them with a little worse form than usual, but I hit that 110 dumbbell for 30 reps each side, and my back was EXPLODING. Next was overhead press: I did 14 reps at 95, then 10 at 85 and 8 at 75. Doing them as a drop set was SO hard, and it fucked my shoulders AND my upper chest up. Finally, ended with kipped pullups, using the straps. The straps definitely reduced the elbow pain, they barely bothered me at all, and I did more volume than last week: 3 sets of ten and then a fourth set of 13 to finish my back off.

I don't think this is real. But I pray it is. 

So overall, I had a great workout - it's just sad that the set that I want to be the best turned out to be my worst.  But it's okay, I still tied my pr at that weight (4). And hopefully, I'll fuck 185 up with Chaos and Pain friday and then fuck 195 up tuesday.

Great Article

A few weeks/months ago I was having a hard time with accepting that I wasn't getting PR's every workout. I kept working myself right up to my limit, and often beyond my limit, and then being really angry and upset when I would fail reps, not be able to lift as much as I wanted, etc etc. Lately, I've been doing a lot better with this. And Elite FTS just posted a great article that talks about similar difficulties. It really helps reinforce what I've learned from changing the way I approach every training session.

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/kecks-column-strength-are-you-building-it-or-just-testing-it-needs-formatted/

Enjoy