All posts tagged "strength"
Got a chance to head to the gym for a rare treat today so I thought I’d lift something heavy and make it count:
I sure didn’t expect to walk in and hit a PR after all my time away but it felt pretty easy.
Down in my makeshift basement gym:
The focus was on getting a quality set for each exercise and using minimal rest (45-60 sec), not going to complete failure.
Very quick warmup to make sure my hands aren’t too sweaty to hold the bar:
Injured myself bringing that last rep down to the rack. Same thing that I tweaked last week, but a bit worse. I’m gonna cool off on the weights for about a week and see how it feels.
This is how I feel:
Really quick warmup of pullups, pushups, air squats, and samson stretches, then into the work:
Well, I got 110 up with my right hand ok, couldn’t hit it on the left despite a few attempts. I was sure I had it in me too.
Warmed up with some light squats and worked up to 2 x 5x 225lb to keep my form tight.
Smooth sailing until the last rep on the last set. I almost stalled, but pushed through it (sort of lopsided) and tweaked my neck a little. Nothing serious, but I opted out of the last set for the day.
Started with the official TWBS warmup, then got to work:
I feel like I’m getting more solid with these, but I could probably be more ambitious with the weight if my gym had bumper plates. Knowing that I need to control whatever weight I get overhead, even if I need to bail, gets a little intimidating. I was also sweating like a child, so my hands were slipping on the later rounds. Note: don’t do a crazy sweat-inducing warmup before OHS next time.
Three rounds of Cindy to get the blood pumping, then onto the good old snatch:
Dammit. I wanted to hit that last set, but I conked out on the second rep with my left hand. Too many reps before the set of 100s. Next week I’ll set a new 1RM.
Started things off with some light overhead squats and the standard joint rotations and stuff.
Since the dumbbells in my gym only go up to 150lbs, I had to get clever with my last set. We wrapped a 10lb plate to the triceps rope handle and looped it into the weight belt. It was ugly, but it worked. Unfortunately, my arms didn’t work so well at that point.
Started with the official TWBS warmup and some glute activation exercises.
I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be a strong day in the squat cage on the walk to the gym. I tried to take the same approach I used with TGUs and kept it relatively light for the first few sets so I could max out on the singles but I just didn’t have it. Ah well, we live to squat another day.
After the official TWBS warmup, I worked on some light back squats and front squats (3 x 5 x 135lb for each) to get the stagnant blood out of my legs.
Felt alright, didn’t really push to failure today but still got a good workout.
Warmed up with some burpees, pushups and samson stretching.
Bad day in the squat cage. I got one clean rep on the first set of 315, but knew there was no way I’d get 5, so I racked it. Then I couldn’t get 3 clean reps on my next attempt, so I knocked the weight down and did some nice, clean squats to reinforce my form. I hope this is just an off day and I didn’t actually lose all my squat strength.
Kicked things off with the official TWBS warmup and some light overhead squats.
I did these alternating sides and felt pretty good. TGUs wear me out, so I had to take a few minutes between each set to catch my breath and let the floor dry off. 90lbs isn’t a PR, but I’ve never hit it for 2 reps before.
Warmed up with some pushups and DB swings, then got on the bench:
Huge PR for me. I probably wouldn’t have even attempted 300+, but the guy who was spotting me convinced me I had it after he watched me press 285. It was slow and tough, but I got it and feel really good about it.
Since the heavy pistols I did last week weren’t so kind to my back, I opted for another single leg exercise today. Warmed up with some light back squats (3 x 5 x 225lb), which got me sweating pretty good, before grabbing the dumbbells.
Weight listed is the weight of the dumbbell I held in each hand. These are great because they keep your back in a healthy position even when loaded heavy. Failing ain’t no big thing either since the dumbbells stay pretty close to the ground.
