Good day. Ripped through my workout cause I was on a time limit. Went really well.
Started with speed squats. I was NOT perfect today. Something was a little wonky with my squats. I think I'm just a little bit tight, and because of that I was having trouble keeping my positions perfect. My feet kept sneaking closer during my sets, and I was having a little bit of "butt shoots back, chest dip" at times. But I tried to fight it, to keep my bar path straight, and to really focus on speed and precision. Working up in sets of 5, hit the bar, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, then went up to 315, belted up, and hit it for a really nice single - again form was a tiny bit off, but it was really fast and easy. Then, went back down with really little rest - 275 x 5, 225, 185, 135, 95, and the bar. So 60 squats plus a nice rep at 315. Felt good, although my legs were really tired from moving so fast, both rep speed and speed through the sets haha.
Next, front squats. Plan was to do some heavy singles today, anywhere between 275 and 315, and it went well! Not perfect, but really well especially considering how many squats I had already done and how fast I was moving. Hit 135 x 3, 185 x 2, 225 x 1, then belted up and hit 275 x 1, 285 x 1, and finally 295 x 1. That last one was hard, but considering how much I had done, and how shitty they were feeling I'll take it haha.
Finally, made a small deficit (maybe and inch and a half) and did some touch n go deads. hit a set of 12 at 135, then a set of 12 at 225, then back down to 135 for 15, all double overhand, all easy, all with a focus on squeezing my butt.
So, good day! Hopefully my body will get healing, and next monday I will be moving fast AND be able to keep better technique. I want to do some serious damage to whatever weight I pick that day. Lets keep at it.
Felt good going into the gym. Did a nice long warmup, including lots of shoulder stuff that felt great and had my shoulders feeling nice while I was benching. In retrospect, however, I think I could have warmed up my chest and my lats more. Anyways, hit the bar, then 95, then 135, then, all of which felt light and easy. Jumped straight to 225 and went after it. Form was good, reps were fast and whatnot, but I think I could have been a little tighter and smoother. However, I think perhaps that wasn't really my fault - I am REALLY sore and tight from yesterdays workout for some reason, and my lower back was CRAMPING after a set at 225. Anyways, got it for a nice set of 5, then failed the 6th. Maybe I needed to be a little tighter, maybe I just needed an extra second of rest, but whatever. I failed it, I was angry, but it was still a PR tie, and it was easier than last time.
Next, backed off to 185, and hit it for a PR set of 15. It was really solid, might have had a 16th rep in there. Then, dropped to 135 and hit it for a PR set of 32. Definitely had 2-3 more reps in me, plus my breathing was a little weird on the set, which definitely hurt me a little. So, 2/3 Pr's isn't bad, but not perfect.
Finally, did 4 x 25 t-bar rows with a 45 lb plate, blew my back up, and then a couple sets of bar starz, although it was a little halfhearted it still felt good and worked my grip.
So, alright day. Hopefully, even though I didn't PR today, I got some quality building work done, and after some recovery and speed/technique stuff friday, I will hit a nice lil PR next tuesday. Lets keep at it.
Good day today! I wasn't sure what to expect, for a few reasons. 1) It's been 2 weeks since I squatted anything over 275, 2) I didn't eat right, sleep right, or stretch at all this weekend. However, went really well.
Started with heavy stuff. Took a really long time warming up, as I was super stiff. However, I actually was feeling quite good. Lower back and right knee were especially stiff, but they loosened up. Started in on my squats. Felt a little awkward - I was trying to keep them really fast and smooth, and it was a little tough to keep them as fast as I wanted and as precise as I wanted. Hit the bar x 10, 135 x 5, both of which felt a little awkward. Hit 225 x 3 and the first rep was really slow and weird, but the others were okay. Went straight to 315 and it felt really strong, a little slow but pretty easy and solid. So, I jumped up to 345. Threw on the belt. I was a little scared of the weight today because it had been a while since I squatted heavy, but I tried to keep calm and focus. Hit it for an easy first rep. Second rep was solid, but I knew I needed to be faster so I sped the third rep up and it felt great, really easy. The 4th and 5th reps were a little weird, form wasn't ideal, and I did some weird stuff like jump my hand out on the 5th rep for no reason. Took a long rest before re 6 though, and hit it - it was really hard and slow, but I made it. Overall, really happy with that performance! 6 reps is good, period, but I also feel confident that, although it was a very hard 6, it could have been a LOT easier if form was more on point. So if I really tighten up my technique, I think I am going to be VERY strong these next couple weeks.
After the squats, just did some romanian deadlifts with 165 - hit 12, 12, 12, and 15. Feel these really well in my glutes and my forarms (all reps double overhand) but not so much my back. So I think I am going to try and do these significant;y lower, perhaps just touch n go deadlifts from now on. I think that will better hit my back and butt and grip all together.
Overall really solid day. Some quality hard work, and a really nice little squat PR. Gonna ger really strong with some focus, food and sleep these next few days. Lets keep at it.
Started with a nice long warmup, then hit up some speed squats. Decided to do some true speed work today, working up to 275 and hitting it for 8 doubles. Kept the rest really limited, and tried to focus best I could on form and speed. Hit the bar x 2, 95 x 2, 135, 185, 225 x 2, then went to 275. Did the 8 doubles in just about 8 total minutes, so I moved through them fast. Overall, they were good. A couple were a little slow, a couple were a little soft, and a couple were a little forward but overall they were solid, and towards the end when I focused on keeping the chest up, keeping tight and fast, they were feeling really good.
Next, dropped to 135 and hit it for some front squats. I haven't front squatted in what feels like weeks. 135 felt great, but I noticed as I went up the form was a little off - no real surprise, and the reason I wanted to get some front squats in in the first place. Hit 135, 185, 225 x 2, then jumped to 275. Decided not to belt up - partly cause I didn't want the temptation to go any heavier, partly because I want to be building my core and back, and partly cause I don;t think I have ever hit 275 beltless - and hit it for 3 singles. First was very solid, second was hard, and third was REALLY hard. Still, pretty happy with 3 singles at that weight, after not front squatting for quite some time. Especially beltless.
Finally, romanian deadlifts. I am committed to doing these this time around, to build the back and the glutes like never before. Today, kept it lighter - double overhand, 135 for 3 sets of 15. Felt good, pretty easy. I think I should keep these easy, and for higher reps. Definitely goign to be adding some weight though. Sets of 10-20, for like 50-100 total reps, with a w eight from like 135-225 should make a HUGE difference.
Anyways, good day. A little un-exciting, but I'm re-building the mentality I need for monday. Soon, I will be physically and mentally on track, and smashing some rep PR's (and then real Pr's) before I know it. Lets keep at it.
Basically, to summarize the past two days - I have a little bit of post-macing out depression lol. I did great, and I am proud of myself for improving, but there's always this "now what?" feeling after you reach some goals. I want to get back to fighting to be strongER, but I also need a few days to regroup mentally and physically. So I am a little lame.
Anyways, strict pressed heavy yesterday. Warmed up, hit the bar for a few, then 95 x 5, 135 x 2, 165 x 1, belted up and hit 185 x 1 easy, a little bit of trouble on the lockout. I didn't think I was gonna get 200, but there wasn't really much point in attempting anything else, so I tried it and failed it. Not too bummed. My strict press hasn't improved, but it also hasn't gone down at all. It's just as strong, and my bench is getting stronger so I'm going to keep my concern there.
After that, did some seated dumbell pressing. Actually went very well. I hit 15, 25, 35, 42.5, and 52.5 all for sets of 15.
Next, cable rows were a little rough. Tried to do 4 sets of 20 with 120 lbs, but my lats started cramping HARD on the 3rd set, probably due to the max deadlift, so I called it early.
Finally, hit bar starz. Trying to keep that grip work in, as it obviously is working. Didn;t really pull much, but worked on shifting my hands around more than normal, and did some 1-arm stuff too to really get the grip.
Next day (today) I decided to just go for a walk and stretch outside, because I needed that.
Anyways, a lame couple days but it's okay. Gonna try and get some quality speed/technique work in these next few days, try and get my body feeling good and ready to lift heavy, without beating myself up at all. Then, come monday and tuesday, hopefully I will mentally be rearing to go, and physically be able to start smashing some rep PR's right out of the gate. Lets keep at it.
Really good day today. Almost an INCREDIBLE day, but not quite haha.
Max deadlift day. Took some time in the morning to try and get warm, stretched a bit, took a warm shower, had some coffee, etc. When I got to the gym, I was feeling pretty good. Took my time warming up - began sipping on my pre-workout while I did my normal, general warmup, a minute or so of rowing to get some blood in my legs and back, a "ground warmup" to stretch my back, legs, hips, etc, a few box jumps to get my nerves firing, and finally some back extensions to really make sure my back was feeling good.
Then, I got right to work. No bullshit, barely any reps - the goal was to be completely warm, so I could do as few deads as possible. Loaded up 135 and ripped it for 3. Next was 225, ripped that for 2. Then, 315 x 1 was cake. Loaded up 405, belted up, and smashed it. Then, jumped straight to a PR - 465. Got psyched up, and ripped that too, it was fucking cake. I almost loaded 495, but then decided to just put on 500 and give it my all. My first attempt was terrible. I got really amped up, sniffed some ammonia, but didn't focus enough on my setup and started with my hips way too high. Barely broke it off the floor before giving up. But, I rested up, re-psyched, re-sniffed ammonia, but took the time to set up right. The weight moved pretty well, to right above the knee, and then I simply couldn't lock it out. I fought, it was so close, but I couldn't squeeze my hips through. Maybe it was just a little too heavy, maybe I burned energy on the first fail, maybe my back was a bit too round, maybe my butt wasn't strong enough. But I will have 500 next time, no question.
Finally, hit some leg press - 12 with 1 plate, 2, 3, and then 14 with 4 to make a total of 50 reps.
SO lets talk about the deadlift. I am not very disappointed, because I smashed a 10 lb PR and almost got a 45 lb PR. So that is a good day. And, I definitely learned some things. To start, things I need to improve in the future:
More stimulants. The pre workout wasn't enough, I felt crazy on my warmups and kind of burned through that crazy by the time I got to the heaviest lifts. Crazier = better, and I could have been crazier today.
More glute training: I think the focus on getting my back stronger was a great idea, and that it helped my deadlift for sure - lower back feels perfectly fine after pulling today. However, I think I need to focus more on romanian deadlifts and deficit deadlifts, and do less back extensions. I need to be training my back, in conjunction with my glutes and hips because lockout has gotten tough for me.
Keeping my head more neutral: I think better position in of my head/neck will help me with lockout in the future
HOWEVER, here are some things that I did right, and need to remember for the future:
Warmup/minimal actual deads was GREAT, felt awesome. Keep that the same next time
Clearly, I improved my grip strength a lot. Keeping doing the monkey bar/bar starz stuff, along with deadlift holds to make sure grip isn;t a problem
More focus on form/slower approach: although I was going crazy, I also took a little more time with my setup on nearly every set, whcih ensured technique was good. The one exception was the first attempt at 500, which was by far the worst thing of the day haha. So bottom line, go NUTS and use more stimulants, but still take time to set up properly.
SO, I need to keep getting my squat/front squat stronger, keep training my grip and my back, and add in some more glute/hip hinge stuff. I am on the right track, and with these small changes I think I am going to be DESTROYING some deadlift PR's in the near future. But first, I gotta get my squat to 435! Lets keep at it.
