All your posts about climbing really make me think of how much I miss it.
Before I moved to China, I was on an indoor rock climbing team and actually did pretty well despite being a heavy for my size midget with horrible hand eye coordination and weak upper back.
The combo of physical and mental engagement is seriously the best
I’m afraid of heights too, which is why coming down or going downhill on steep hikes is the “hardest” part for me
Thanks for the share dude! No worries on unsolicited advice, I dig watching climbing videos most of the time anyway so always good to see if there’s a new tidbit to pick up.
This is a great idea, I’ll try something like this the next time we go out. My GF, as amazing as she is, is her own worst enemy when it comes to progressing haha. She’s hyper critical of herself, and extremely stubborn, so when she struggles at something rather than “I have an area to improve” it’s “I suck at that why would I do it?”. Fortunately, I’ve been blessed with immeasurable patience for people so I don’t really get frustrated at that.
The climbers elbow isn’t a big deal to me since I know pretty well how to manage it. Earlier this year I had something pop in my forearm that took away my right arm for a while, think it was something related to a pulley but further up the chain. It seems to be healed up now, but I don’t totally trust it yet.
We have a new YouTuber in here! You have a soothing voice ahah, nice hearing you and your tips
Thank you my friend, I’ve always been very self-conscious about my voice but that actually ended up sounding like a YouTuber I quite enjoy.
Committed Week 2, Day 9, committed2020
Weight: 75.7kg
For reference, last workout on this was sets of 5. Today I was going for sets of 6.
There was a lot of things that went “wrong” this workout. For starters, I have continued to sleep poorly. I’ve tried moving from my bed to my couch but sleep continues to elude me (I get some hours, just… not enough). I’ll be sleeping somewhere else tonight to see if that breaks the trend.
Further, even earlier today I could tell I was really under-recovered. Biking, for transporation, had me on gears I normally reserve for really steep inclines so I could tell that I was in for a challenge.
Lastly, I tried figuring some shit out intra-session which is always dumb. And, rather than have any of you would be readers scroll back I’d like to highlight this,
This might have been a fluke, a proverbial 10%+ day. Or, a normal day, and today was a -10% day. Or both. Either way, I have repeatedly in the past made the problem of going too heavy. I could wait it out til next week and see if this workout was a really uncustomarily poor one or I could actually do my planned weights. I’m considering doing the latter for once and maybe spare myself an injury. As you’ll read from the logged session, my deadlift form was shoddyyyy.
A. Squat, 6 reps pause 1/3rd of the way down and at parallel
50
55
60
65
80 (old squat form because mind wasn’t right and misloaded)
70
So, the 80 with the old squat form was indeed a challenging load. My goal for the work-sets are RPE 8-9 and I’d say that it was just that. However challenging it was though, I just do not engage my quads when squatting like that as much as I do squatting the way I do now. Still am on the fence about what’s better. Just… squat the way that allows me to squat the heaviest, work quads extra, and hope it catches up so it doesn’t become a limiting factor or change my squat form to get more balanced leg development.
Just how tired was I today? Warming up with the bar felt like a murder scene. So I was sincerely beat up. So, happy I could progress and get my prescribed reps.
B. Bench, 6 reps pause 1/3rd of the way down and just above chest
Bar
40
50
60 (4 reps + 2)
Here I almost got all my prescribed reps. I think I did more honest pauses this time. I felt my shoulder thing flare up, despite engaging my triceps and so I’ll go down to the target loads here definitely while I remain undecided on squats/deadlifts.
C. Deadlift, 6 reps. two three second pauses, one below knee, one slightly above
70
90
100
110
Baaaad form, I don’t use a belt if it’s not concentric day (hm, @aldebaran, what do you think CT thinks about belts and Athlete 31 - use it on all work sets even if they’re paused/slow eccentric?). But this was the kind of form that could blow a disc out, not just a using body english to deadlift bad form.
D1. Hack squat 8-10
50
80
100
120 (10F) Hey, 2 more reps, that’s amazing
D2. Headstand pike work
Last session I did back raises but I did not like not being able to super-set my final two exercises as this saves time. While the back raise may arguably be better for the lower back I tend to involve my glutes a ton when doing them and I’d have to carry a barbell upstairs (weird gym layout) to actually progressively overload them at this point. Therefore, I opted for an exercise substitution that has carry-over to some skills I’m acquiring and really hits my core. 
Quite proud I got through this. As said, bar alone was taxing to warm-up with. Maybe that’s what I get for a PR performance climbing yesterday 
Looking good mate!
Surely the answer is as simple as “why are you squatting in the first place”?
Cuz it’s hawt to have a big squat. But a 160 upright squat is about as hawt as a 200 posterior dominant squat so
Thanks dude! I just tried that and my fingers all seem to match up pretty well. I should’ve recorded my first go at it to send to you, because it was very unnatural looking haha.
Haha, it was so bad for me in the beginning. Couldn’t open up the finger at all beyond 90 degreees. Had to use my other hand repeatedly for days before I got access to additional ROM and I still had to do the first reps assisted as my brain figured out how to move the finger. This is not a bad warmup either: grab a decent hold and stay on the ground. Lift each digit individually. This’ll activate your coantagonists and should keep your pulleys safer. And, for those rare times you need to piano match your hands you have the finger dexterity to lift them one by one.
I agree. But your log title does say a 205kg squat, so I guess whatever moves you towards that?
All roads lead to Rome
But I guess 205 hip dominant squat first and then 205 upright squat 
I have real problems advising you on goals without a clear understanding of your “big picture” goals.
When I get my goals figured I’ll get back to you ^^
With you there man. I “know” what I want from the gym and why I’m there, but summing it up in a si.ple, concise way is proving difficult.
I’m certainly less greedy ahah my lifetime achievement that I want to reach in a few years: 3 plate bench, 4 squat, 5 dead
Me too, but there are also physique goals, mental health goals, longevity goals, set good example goals, etc. Etc. Hard to tie it all up in a neat “this is why I’m
here” package
