Not really. Making technique automatic is technique work. You do it so when shit gets heavy you will move correctly without thinking about it.
Straining is a skill by itself, part of which is maintaining technique, but the important part is being able to stay in control under maximal pressure. That’s where the thinking comes in.
I was looking for the quote about straining, it’s from a Louie article about Chuck.
‘Chuck would also do 1000lbs rack deadlifts and he said after thinking for a while it taught him how to strain. I thought if anyone knows how to strain its him. Later I thought about what he said and I guess that is how he found out how to strain. Deadlifting with lots of bands on the bar made it very hard and slow, I asked him what this did for him. He said something very important: it taught him how to think while straining’
30 seconds each side of
Couch stretch
Pigeon stretch
Supine twist
Hurdler stretch
10 bracing hip thrusts
3x5xbar DL
DL, DL bar
Worked up to
4x2x385 lbs
8x385 lbs - in the spirit of my working max being dropped to 75% I stopped as soon as I actually had to do some work. So yeah, hardcore sandbagged.
DL without touching the floor
2x6x335 lbs - probably the first time this hasn’t been disgusting
Weighted back raises
3x12x55 lbs
Goblet squats
3x10x53 lbs - I need to stop being a lazy fuck and start using the 88 lbs DB for these again, these were basically air squats with something to hold. The whole I’m carrying a lot of fatigue excuse can only be used so much before it’s just me coping out.
Pullups
3x4 wide overhand - which were harder than I expected
6 wide neutral - max reps set, probably could have pushed to seven but see above. I’ll get my fill of these fuckers soon enough anyway
For munchkin next time give him a cross fit wod, 5-6 different exercises don’t forget burpees and some wall ball slams. He’d love it, give him a time limit like 20 minutes how many rounds can you make.
Well I had to after what I said yesterday, didn’t I
Not sure he’d stay interested long enough to do it. One round, maybe. He did some agility work with Kieran who is more an S&C guy with a rugby background and he liked that. There was a funny moment where he goes up to me and says, I want to lift something heavy. I felt like saying, join the club. So he deadlifted the bar again. I put a couple of mats under the sleeves so he could get his fingers around easier.
Peak starts next week. I’m glad. The fatigue is definitely there, another five week block wouldn’t have been pleasant.
The hotel in Newcastle is booked, meet rego is paid, my GPC membership is good until May and I’ve arranged to take the Monday after the meet off work. We’ll drive up on Saturday, I’ll have the evening and a sleep to mitigate whatever irritation the drive might cause my back.
Greg has said it would be best to drop the conditioning during peak, which makes sense. I’ll walk for half an hour or so outside every Sunday instead. The deload after the meet I’ll hit the sled some to get things going again. The extra workouts with bands I’ll keep, as they will only help.
Just FYI, because I looked it up earlier, your last meet was 7.5kg/16lbs off Mark Rippetoes best ever total in competition. By reckoning that means you’ve got a decent shot at becoming the greatest living coach of the power lifts.
First off, it’s been at least a month since I last took my antidepressants and I feel the same as with them (ie fine). So major win, I’m fixed. Or as close to fixed as anyone gets. If I can get through the holiday period without the Lovan, I can handle pretty much anything. I’m crediting the CPAP with this, because that’s the one variable that changed. It sure is easier to deal with life when you don’t constantly feel exhausted.
Second thing, I took my CPAP off early this morning because I thought munchkin would be up soon. I was wrong, and I slept something like three or four hours CPAP-free. Woke up and I felt the worst I have since I started the CPAP: not just tried, but angry and with the really short fuse I used to have. Took me four or so hours to get back to something normal. So I’m taking that as some support for the whole CPAP fixed my depression idea.
Actually, those were the things. I’m cooking lasagne and listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd while Mrs KO is across the road with munchkin and his mate. They went not long after the Lynyrd Skynyrd started, but I will draw no conclusions.
Why? I squat 595 in week two, so that makes my third attempt around 612 to 624. Gym numbers are meaningless, so why would I risk an extra five pounds in the gym?
I’m a poor sleeper generally and also have taken a variety of mental health meds, if I can sleep I can do alright, I start losing it when sleep quality deteriorates. Think you’re probably spot on with the CPAP theory
For me to have decent sleep I would need to sell my three children !! I can count the nights of good sleep I have had in 10 years on my fingers. I also find that I am very grumpy and quick to temper if I have had a few bad nights on the trot.
