Smooth like butter, my man! Seems to me you’ve got way more than 400 in there when you want it.
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congrats. well done.
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I had 425+ in me if I wanted it.
ftfy
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Thanks! It felt really good, too.
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Haha thanks for the confidence! This felt harder than it looked; I was quite surprised how quickly it moved after reviewing the videotape. The intent was to stay far from failure, so it’s nice to get a 10 lb PR out of it. I’ve never actually tested my max. I guess maybe this winter I’ll give it a shot. I keep getting stronger when I train further from failure, though. I suppose there’s a lesson in there somewhere that I should learn…
4 Likes
22Sep22
Bench Press (1 ct pause)
230x1
205x3
205x3
205x3
180x5
180x5
Front Squat
200x8
200x8
185x8
Pendlay Rows
190x12
160x12
160x12
160x12
Lateral Raises
30x14
25x12
20x12
15x14
What a week. I’ve been struggling to get my training in this week, but I’ll get there. Just may not be optimal scheduling.
3 Likes
23Sep22
Deadlift
445x1 (PR)
405x3
390x3
390x3
390x3
Bench Press (2 ct pause)
200x5
190x5
190x5
Weighted Dips
BW+35x10
+30x10
+25x10
Calf raises
Given that I’ve set new PRs in both squat and deadlift this week and tied my PR on the bench, essentially PRing all 3 big lifts this week, all very far from a max attempt, I may have to redact my previous statements to @TrainForPain about my Surge use…
Seriously though, while Surge and many other factors may be helping me out here, I think the biggest factor to the big summer/fall I’m having has been my commitment to staying further away from max lifts, and let the PRs come, rather than force them by just forcing more weight on the bar. (Slighlty) suppressing my ego and just committing to a bunch of weeks at submaximal volume has been paying off when I then pivot to a block of lower volume. Then the PRs just happen, even when I’m not trying.
In all honesty, I had it in my head during this session that I wasn’t going to go for any PRs. I had just done a heavy (for me) session 18 hours prior because of my crazy schedule this week. I’m also still dealing with a painful open wound on the inside of my thumb from last week. So I was just going to use straps for everything. Since I don’t count PRs if I use straps, I had ruled it out for the day. But I couldn’t deny it after my warmups were moving so easily. So I just toughed out the thumb thing and set an easy deadlift training PR with a hook grip. It’s fun continuing to set PRs without the fatigue of maxing out.
There are still a lot of people waaay stronger than, me, but I’m Better Than Yesterday…
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445x1 (thanks to my lovely wife for the video footage)
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Hell yeah, dude! Amazing work. And that pull was so, so smooth.
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Thanks man. And I really appreciate all of the encouragement!
Yeah most times with the deadlift they feel really hard, then I watch the tape back and realize how easy it actually looked/was. This one actually felt easy haha
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Great work and great week!
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Thank you, sir! Appreciate the encouragement.
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I feel faint before I feel like I’ll break down musculoskeletal-wise on the DL. I’m sure that would make it look easier than it felt. Maybe I just don’t record so I don’t end up one of those internet fail videos!
Anyway - thanks for the tag. There’s so many logs I can’t keep up. Awesome to see PR after PR falling before your wrath!
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That flew up! Plenty to add in coming months and years I’m sure!
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Crushed it dude!! Awesome deadlift!
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Thanks for the encouragement @raven78 @boilerman! I’m in a very crazy groove right now!
2 Likes
25Sep22
Squat (low bar)
385x1 (PR)
350x3 (PR)
325x3
325x3
325x3
Seated Press
120x6
115x6
110x6
Stiff-legged DL
250x8
250x8
I really think I’ve finally pinpointed a type of programming that really works for me. For increasing my top-end strength anyway. I’ve figured something out, because I am just in a groove right now. I know it won’t last forever, so I’m just enjoying it while it’s happening. I actually went into the weight room feeling like garbage today, but the squats were moving so well it’s like I’ve just raised my floor that much, and this area is my new “normal.”
I did make sure I wore blue shorts today so I could verify my depth, and I think it’s pretty clear the crease of my hip is below the level of my patella. If anyone sees anything different, please let me know. Being that these are low-bar squats, I’m looking for legal depth, not ATG. I save that for my high-bar supplemental squats.
Either way the fact that these PRs are all happening during the course of training, and not max efforts, is enticing me more and more to do a peaking phase followed by some max efforts to see what I could really do.
I’ll throw up the videos in a minute.
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385x1
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350x3
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27Sep22
Bench Press (1 ct pause)
230x1
205x3
205x3
205x3
180x5
180x5
Front Squat
205x8 (Probably a rep PR? I don’t really track this, so…)
195x8
195x8
Pendlay Row
190x12
160x12
160x12
160x12
Lateral Raises
30x14
25x13
20x13
15x13
Meh. Just a session of doing work. Front squats are definitely feeling stronger. I think my form sucks on them, to be honest. I have a hard time keeping my elbows up. I may try them without my heeled squat shoes next week. Also, it’s probably ingrained in me at this point to lean forward because I’ve done so much low-bar squatting, so I’m having a hard time not doing that when I front squat. But they are feeling stronger.
I have a weird pain in my left delt. It doesn’t feel like actual shoulder pain; like your typical joint stuff. It feels like a sharp muscle pain. Like someone is stabbing me straight into my delt from the side. It’s weird. Hopefully it’ll just work itself out; I’ll just keep working through it for now.
7 Likes