Last weekend, my good friend Jake from undergrad came to visit and spend the weekend with me up in Eastlake. Since we've been waiting to train together for a while, we both switched up our normal training schedule so we could hit some accessories together Friday and then do some pulling on Saturday. On Friday, we did our 5/3/1 work sets for OHP then just high volume shoulders after. We were originally going to hit upper back work as well but decided to keep it light since we were going to deadlift the next day. To say this weekend left me trashed on Sunday is an understatement, and it wasn't because of booze. We got some serious delt work in on Friday and then ended up working up to pretty heavy deadlifts on Saturday...and by pretty heavy I mean you probably could've left the gym, taken you're better half to a nice steak dinner with some fine wine and by the time you were done I still would've been locking out my deadlift. BUT! I didn't rush the lockout or hitch it. So it's all about those small victories. Post deadlifts, the hamstring destruction ensued...
A. Friday - OHP and Accessories OHP 3x3 145x3 165x3 185x3
B. Lateral Raises (100 reps in as little sets as possible. This is a nice way to get in some quick volume that I learned from Casey Williams with different accessory work. The end is pure torture.) 20lb DB x 50, x 25, x 25
C. Rear Delt Machine (Each rep had three second eccentrics.) 4x20
D1. Face Pulls 4x25 D2. Lat Pushdowns (While performing these, I focused on externally rotating my arms or "bending the bar" just like I would while benching for maximal lat engagement.) 4x20
Saturday - Deadlifts and Hamstrings Warm Up -BW Hyperextensions 3x15 -Rope Ab Pulldowns (When doing these for a warm up, I use lighter weight, tuck my chin to my chest and round over while going down as much as possible for spinal decompression.) 3x15
A. Deadlifts 135 x 5 225 x 5 315 x 3 405 x 1 455 x 1 495 x 1 545 x 1 585 x 1
B. Straight Bar Good Mornings 135 x 5 155 x 5 175 x 5 195 x 5
C. DB RDLs (Really slow eccentric, focusing on hamstring isolation.) 40lb x 20 50lb x 20 60lb x 20
D. Hyperextension Deadlifts (One of my favorite finishers showed to me by the Ladewski's for lower back health. This flushes a shit load of blood to my back while isolating my erectors.) 3x10-12 with 135lbs
Post Training Thoughts So I forgot to bring chalk for deadlifts and with being Italian, I sweat olive oil (seriously). I literally can't hold onto a deadlift around 500ish lbs without chalk or straps because it literally just slips out of my hands. I brought my straps to use because I had a feeling I was going to want to go heavy. I'm not a fan of straps because I can't get any momentum off the ground with my setup. After Jo Jordan recommended astroglide for me (and I applied it thoroughly), it made me realize that it was probably a good thing for me that I couldn't use my momentum for deadlifts. I had to rely on good positioning and technique rather than muscling the weight up and "ramping" it up my quads like I usually do under maximal loads. So yes, it was the longest deadlift in the world, but my technique was better than it's been over the last year. I have also been discussing trying sumo again with my coach once I get back into gear for my meet prep. To the super dark side? If it gets me past my sticking point, so be it!
