For the second time in a row I planned a meet WAY to close to due dates for school work. I felt the post-meet slump HARD last week, which made studying for finals harder than it should have been. I had planned on jumping right back into training on the Tuesday after the meet, but decided to push it until Friday. I should note, my body felt FINE, not a single injury or strain. It was my brain that felt like a giant pile of runny mashed potatoes. Thankfully both Seth and I are finished our finals (he's writing his last one now). It's time to PARTY! By party, I mean take the Precision Nutrition course over the break... Maybe we'll go to Disney.
Training this past week went really well. I'm working with Brian Schwab to address some glaring weak points, mostly my hamstrings and low back. Will I ever get a third pull in a meet?
Something clicked in me this week. I'm roughly six months out from the best meet of my life. I know it.
Squats My first time putting wraps on the week after a meet, wore them loose.
Barx10 135x8 185x8 225x5 Wraps 270x5 280x5 290x5
Belt Squat I finally think I figured out how to use the belt squat. I was trying to squat with my normal technique and was being thrown around before. I took my squat shoes off so I could be flat-footed, and adjusted my stance a bit wider. It blew my hips up a very good way. 90x12 110x2x12
Good mornings Another thing that I suck at... Like REALLY suck at. "Push back until you feel your hamstrings stretch" is the biggest advice I hear for GM. Me pushing back until I feel my hamstrings stretch means that my torso is almost below parallel to my hips. In other words, I was going WAY too low and it never felt good. Well it still didn't feel great today, but I'm starting to figure it out I think. I used the SSB which made it a little more comfortable on my upper back and could focus more on my hips. These were programmed to go up to 165lbs, but nooo thank you. Barx10 95x5 135x3x5
Cable crunches 3x25
Bench Nothing too exciting here, weight was pretty light. Seth and I are starting to match our training up so we can share equipment. The gym we're at is very well equipped, but for whatever reason people 'claim' equipment and don't seem to want to work in together despite it being a 'powerlifting' gym. It's not what I'm used to seeing in a lifting gym. It was nice to go back and forth with someone again, and we'll try to share equipment as often as we can.
Barx10 95x8 135x6 155x5 165x5 175x5
DB bench 45x10 50x10 55x10
Lateral raises SS w/ Cable press downs 12x4 each
Did some hanging knee raises while waiting for Seth to finish.
Deadlift I was feeling fried after my final, tried resting up with little success, then decided to have some caffeine before training for the first time in months. WOWEE was I pumped! I had a bit of an epiphany during this session. I am not training with the intensity that I used to. I had the gym to myself, and I was able to go after it harder than I have in a long time. I decided that if I want to break a world record, I NEED to bring that intensity back. I think this may stem from letting my environment affect me for too long. Why else would I work harder alone with nobody watching than in a gym full of people? Deadlifts were 'light' but the fastest I've pulled 275 ever.
135x5 225x5 255x5 265x5 275x5
Wide grip pulldowns w/ prime rot8 handles 3x12
GHR 3x8
Close grip rows w/ prime rot8 handles 3x12
Squat pro machine good morning 3x12 Not programmed, kept weight light and tried to focus on the GM pattern and feeling my hammies.
