Gettin' Arms

Arm day today was fast and fun. Went in, did a quick warmup, then started benching - 95 x 5, 135 x 5. Then, I decided to hit 155 for a max set, and ended up banging out 11 reps - which ties my PR at that weight. Considering I benched a ton yesterday, I didn't warm up nearly as well as I normally do, I wasn't pushing especially hard, and to top it all off I clipped the hooks a few times during the set, I'd say that's pretty good. It's so nice that my bench is finally improving. After that I did a max set at 135 (10), then switched to close grip and banged out a max set at 115, 95, and 65 lbs, till I had a nice little tricep/chest pump.

Triceps look weird. 

Next, I did a couple warmup sets of preacher curls, then grabbed the 30's and did 3 max sets with them - 8, 5, and 3 reps. 8 reps at that weight is pretty damn good: it appears that i continue to get better at this stupid, stupid lift. Without really resting, I then banged out a max set with the 20's and a final set with the 10's, then hit the road. I'm trying to keep these workouts as short and sweet as I can. Altogether, I was in and out of the gym in about 30 minutes, with a nice pump. Not bad.

I may hate preacher curls, but i have to admit this is a pretty cool picture

In addition, I'm dieting real hardcore keto today. In that first week back, I noticed a very immediate drop in body fat, but since then my fat loss seems to have slowed down - I'd say I've been floating in between 14 and 15% for the last two weeks, with my bodyweight staying at 200. SO, I'm just going to really lock in the diet, and make sure I'm going HARDCORE keto on Wed, Sat and Sunday to make sure I'm making the most of the diet. I'm going to probably have a big cheat meal this weekend to give my metabolism a kick, and then diet hard for the next three weeks, until my next "de load." If, after those three weeks, I still feel like my body fat % hasn't changed, I might start to think about tweaking the diet. BUT, my goal is SLOW weight loss, so even if I notice the slightest change that would be fine with me. I only want to change the diet if I plateau completely.

Mmmmmmm Ketogenic.....

One last thing worth noting: this is my third straight workout without any elbow pain whatsoever. Maybe it's a product of my new attitude in the gym - my better form, combined with not pushing myself to my limit every single workout is taking a lot of strain off of them. Or maybe it's just a nice random coincidence. Either way, lets hope elbow pain stays far away.

Benchy lifty strongy strong

Good day today. After yesterday's success, it was a little harder to keep myself from having expectations today - I found my mind wandering to how many reps I wanted to get at 185, and had to work to squish those hopes. In the end, though, I did a pretty good job of approaching today with a similar mindset to how I approached it yesterday, and had a very successful workout.

First up was 5/3/1 bench. I warmed up, then hit work sets of 145 x 5 and 165 x 3. Both were really easy, but I had a small balance issue, and after the fact realized what the problem was - in recent workouts, I have hit the J-hooks while benching, because I was pressing the weight too far back. In working to fix that, I think I was OVER-compensating today. I was trying to press in a straight line, but what I thought was "straight" was actually pressing out towards my waist a little too much, which was causing the balance problems. This shouldn't be very hard to fix; I just have to press straight up. It will take a little more feeling out, but I don't think it should give me much trouble in the future.

I need a fuckin Bamboo bar to fix my problem. But I don't have one, so I'll just have to try sucking less instead. 

ANYWAYS, for whatever reason I didn't have this problem during my heaviest set (which is very nice). I put on the belt (my first time benching heavy with the belt), got a lift, and hit it for 4 very solid reps - a new PR. I stopped myself from going for 5, which was definitely a good decision, but I know I had a little more in me, which is very cool. After resting a minute, I hit the 185 for another single, and THIS is where I realized my pressing issue, as the weight came way out and almost dumped on my stomach before I got it back in the groove and locked it out. However, as I said this seems like a problem that should be easily fixed, and I made sure that in my benching for the rest of the day I focused on not making that mistake again.

For my 5 x 10, I decided to push the weight up as last week at 105 was just too easy. I put 115 on the bar, and hit it for 4 sets of 10 and a set of 13 no problem. Then, I did exactly the same thing with my bent over rows, which also felt very solid. For my last two movements, I was a little distracted, so I took them a little slower than I normally would (more than 90 seconds rest on the presses). I overhead pressed the 40 lb dumbbells for 15, 10, and 9 reps. Then, I did a 5 x 10 of lat pulldowns with 150 without much trouble; by the last few reps I was working really hard, but I made it through.

All in all, it was a great day. I want to make sure that bench balance issue gets fixed, but aside from that I got a rep PR at 185, killed my volume sets WHILE bringing the weight up, and my vertical pulling strength is on it's way up. And again, trying to go into the gym with 0 expectations - aside from doing the best I can based on how I'm feeling that day - is helping me enjoy my workout more and leave the gym happier and excited for the next workout. I can't wait for tomorrow.

ARMS DAY!

Return to Power

My back was a little stiff today, but I decided to go to the gym anyways, and I couldn't be happier about that decision. Over the course of the morning, my back loosened up considerably, and it didn't bother me at all throughout the workout - not even during deadlifts, which I figured would definitely be painful.

Back-Snaps, remember?

Most importantly however, I went into today trying to keep the new attitude I am working to adopt - instead of thinking only about the number of reps I HAD to hit at my heavy squat weight, or dreading that last, all-out set of squats at 155, I went into today with the goal of listening to my body - I'd only go as hard as I could, nothing more. And that adjustment in the way I approached today's workout made a huge difference.

After warming up, I worked my way up to my 5/3/1 squats for today. I hit 205 for 5, then 235 for 3, then it was time for 260, with the belt. I went into the set with very little emotion and no expectations - I just wanted to do whatever felt good. And I ended up hitting it for 9 reps. And not just 9 reps, but 9 very nice reps - reps 1 through 6 especially were very nice. 7 and 8 I had to fight to keep the bar in proper position, and on the 9th rep I dipped my chest little and had to fight to get the weight up. But even so, compare that to last week - yes I got 12 reps, but they were 12 rushed and sloppy reps. At best, I could have tried to hit 12 this week with the belt, but they probably would have been a lot worse than the reps I did today and, more importantly, forcing myself to push out more reps after that tough 9th one would have left me exhausted, mentally and physically.

I would have felt like this baby. Where's Lugo when you need him? 

INSTEAD, I felt very happy about the quality and quantity of reps I hit, AND I had a great rest of my workout. Speed deads were not incredibly fast, but that's to be expected seeing as how this is my first week doing them at 245 (a full 15 pounds heavier than I've ever done them). And then, the 5 x 10 squats felt great as well. I used these lighter reps as a way to feel out a higher bar position - as I've mentioned before, I think I need to start squatting with a higher bar in order to keep my chest from dropping. For example, the later reps at 260 today were only hard because I let the bar start to slip. However, around set 3 of my 5 x 10 I found a "Sweet spot" for the bar, by moving my hands in and setting it just under the tops of my traps. Normally, I would avoid putting my hands this close as it tends to set off my elbows, but they weren't bothered at all today, so I think I'm going to keep using it unless they really start to hurt. The last few sets of squats were hard, but with this better position they felt like they were perfect form, something that has generally been lacking in my 5 x 10 squats. I pushed a little on the 5th set, hitting 12 reps, and then picked the bar up again a minute later to do another 3, just to help cement in my mind the new position. Then, I finished out the day with a quick set of 50 decline sit-ups, as i didn't feel like doing weighted sets today.

So when I look back at today, I see a very small difference between THIS workout, and how I would NORMALLY do this workout. The difference basically amounts to 2 - 3 reps of the heavier squat weight (260) and about 5 reps of the lighter weight (155). The difference these few reps would make on my strength gains are probably negligible, but the difference they made in my mind was amazing. Instead of going into the day nervous about hitting that 260, rushing the set, and maybe being very angry and disappointed if I didn't get my goal, I hit the weight for some great reps and was happy with the number I got. And instead of spending the rest of my workout DREADING that final all-out set of squats at 155, when I was already exhausted from the previous all-out set, I enjoyed moving the weight and worked to improve my form. The change in attitude made a huge difference, and I left the gym feeling happy, optimistic, and STILL like I worked my ass off.

Fuck Yeah, says Rich Froning

SO, the take away message: It's really hard not to over-think lifting. I put pressure on myself to hit certain numbers for certain reps, and put pressure on myself to ALWAYS push myself as hard as I can. But the truth is, although pushing myself really hard and hitting big weights for big reps is important, what's more important is that I am in the gym every day working - whether I get a PR or not. What's really important is that I push myself, but realize that every day my limits are different - and pushing myself past those limits is only going to hurt me mentally and physically, with very little gain. And what's really important is that I ENJOY lifting, because otherwise why am I doing it? So I am going to try to have MANY more days like today  - days where I focus on the big picture, where I listen to my body, and where I leave the gym tired, happy, and excited for the next training session.

Mariusz doesn't over think lifting, because he's too busy lifting shit. 

If I can do that, if I keep going to the gym EVERY day with the same attitude I had today, my only obstacle is time. It's going to take a while, and a lot of hard work, but the PR's will all be shattered in time.

Attitude Change

My back is pretty snapped up, but I'm thinking it's going to be okay to lift tomorrow - I probably won't be able to go all out, but I can still have a good, solid workout. Which brings me to an idea that I've been rolling around in my head the past few days.

After having a bad couple gym sessions, and then hurting myself saturday, I've been feeling not only physically tired, but mentally burnt out and frustrated. I've been making great progress lately, and because of that, I have come to expect PR's and progress on all my assistance work every single workout - and in reality, this is just unrealistic. One can only make that sort of progress for a little while, before you either slow down or burn out mentally. I have been pushing myself really hard in the gym lately, and that hard work has definitely paid off - but I can't keep pushing myself to my limits every single workout. It's starting to take it's toll. My body is tired and achey, and my desire to go workout is starting to lack a little too.

Basically, I have a great program, but it's linear nature requires me to work harder and harder every workout, week after week, cycle after cycle, and I'm starting to hit the point where I can't handle that anymore.

FUCK LINES!

SO what is the solution? To fuckin chill out that's what. I need to not worry so much about following the programming religiously. Instead, I need to focus on the one or two important movements/weights of the day, and then base my assistance work/intensity of my workout on how I'm feeling day by day.

For example: Monday, I have my 5/3/1 sets for squats, speed deadlifts, and 5 x 10 squats. So on a good day, I should push my last set of heavy squats to a max, and do the 5 x 10 with a max set on the final set of squats. HOWEVER, say I'm not feeling my best (aka, what tomorrow's workout is going to be like). Maybe I will just hit the prescribed reps on the final heavy set of squats, and just do the 5 x 10 with no extra reps. Or, if it's a really rough day, skip the 5 x 10 all together? Take friday as another example: Chaos and pain Benching, and 5/3/1 overhead pressing are most important, so I should work hard on those. But if I'm feeling off that day, what's wrong with going lighter on my assistance work, or skipping some of it all together? AND, the inverse it true too - why not push myself EXTRA hard on days when I'm feeling awesome, rather than limiting myself by sticking exactly to my programming?

Lugo understands and agrees. And adds that I should consume more baby flesh as well. 

As I've talked about in earlier posts, it's a fine line to walk - I can't let myself make excuses, and be lazy, or I won't be progressing nearly as well as I should. HOWEVER, I also have to remember to focus on the big things, not the small things. What's most important is that I'm in the gym every day, moving heavy weight. Some days, I'll be moving that heavy weight for max reps, and then do assistance work until my whole body is near failure before I go home. Others, I'll move the heavy weight for a few reps, and decide that it's time to call it a day right then and there. But either way, just the fact that hitting the weight at all is going to mean I'm going to get stronger - and focusing on THAT, rather than on every rep of every assistance movement, is what's most important.

It's going to be a rough transition, and probably will take a lot of time to change my current attitude towards my work in the gym. However, due to my back pain and exhaustion, I'll be sort of FORCED to take it easy the next few days, so maybe that will help. But anyways, the take away message is this: no matter how good your programming might be, not matter how hard you're willing to work, you can never entirely account for how you're going to feel on a day to day basis. In the end, I need to focus on the Big movements, the Big weights, and the Big picture, rather than focusing on the little details or on pushing myself to my absolute max every single training session. If do that, I will be able to stay physically and mentally healthy, while ALWAYS making progress.

Jim Wendler agrees. As do most of the greats. It's just easier said than done. 

SO, here's to tomorrow: It's a new day. Lets hope the back will hold up through a workout - and lets get started on changing the way I approach my training. and most importantly, LETS GET STRONGER.

ALSO, my blog posts have been lacking lately, due to my shitty attitude and body pain, SO, here's some inspiring and awesome shit to get us all going again.

HUGE 

HUGEEEE

HYOOOOOOOOOOOOOGEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Happy lifting powerland.

Powercleaning

Sucked pretty bad. I started really light, working on form, then started working up... but by the time I got to 165, my elbows were killing me, and I felt like I had snapped some shit up in my back. It's a few hours later now, and I still feel some serious tightness in my middle back when I breathe in deep.

MY FUCKIN SPINEEEEE

It's been a rough few days, and mentally Im feeling pissed and tired. I'm gonna try to rest up the rest of tonight and tomorrow, and come at it fresh on monday. Hopefully, my back won't be buggin me, and I can start anew with some good squats. Here's to healing.

Tired benching.

Today started good - I benched the 175 x 9 sets of 2 on the minute, which I was able to do, and then overhead pressed up to 130 by 5, which was also good. However, I was really exhausted today - my heart, my mind, and my body wasn't really in the rest of the workout, and I decided to take off early. I hate to do that generally, but theres a line - how mad I will be to leave my workout early, VS. how much of a waste of time it will be. And although part of me felt like pushing through today, more of me knew it was a waste of time. I had already done my heavy important sets for the day, so I called it early, and I don't regret it. Hopefully it'll help me recover, and I'll kick extra ass in the coming days.

Squats and RAGEHATE

Today was fucked. It SHOULD have been an awesome day, but I was a stupid asshole and didn't listen to my own advice. Here's what happened:

Speed squats at 185 were solid. My body was a little tweaky today; my back took a long time to warm up completely, and for the first time ever, my left shoulder was bothering me from squatting? it was a little weird, but overall my 10 sets of 2 were good and fast.

THEN, it was time to work up heavy. Because 275 (my working 1 rep) doesn't provide much of a challenge for a single or a double (last week I hit it for a set of 4 and a set of 5), I decided to squat up to 315 today. I hit 185 for 2, 225 for 2, belted up and hit 275 for a fast single, then went straight to 315 with the belt and hit that. It wasn't fast, but it wasn't super slow - a very solid rep. Which is pretty fuckin awesome. Essentially, I tied my PR after doing a bunch of shit before it that tired me out. That basically guarantees that I can top that 315 next saturday when I do my mock meet and I'm squatting fresh. So I could walk away from the bar today with a solid heavy squat and the knowledge that I can break that PR in the very near future.

HOWEVER, this is where the "stupid asshole" kicked in, and instead of just being happy with an awesome day and finishing up in a great ass-kicking mood, I decided that I was going to hit the 315 for another single. I almost got it too, but after about 3 seconds at the top of my sticking point I dumped it. It would have been awesome to hit it for 2 singles, and to give myself a break, I WAS really close. But I should have been fucking content with the great day I had already had, instead of getting greedy and failing a rep. Because, after that fail, I was completely done. Mentally, I was pissed, and physically I was totally burned out. My 5 x 8 good mornings at 155 were some of the most horrible reps I've ever done in my life. And then I finished the whole shitshow off with a shitty plank.

So to summarize, today really wasn't a bad day, but I should not have gotten greedy with that 315, because missing that second rep turned an amazing workout into an exhausting and frustrating workout. I really need to work on taking my own advice; Push myself, but don't be afraid to leave a little in the tank for next time. It's a fine line to walk. Hopefully I'll get better and better at it every workout.

Until that day though, a song to represent my complex emotions.