Exerbabble for 12-26-6

Feels like spring again outside. Sigh. Today’s workout:

Power Clean and Press: 6 @ 65 lbs/29.5 kg

Complex A

BB High Pull:

DB Shoulder Press:

DB Piston B-o Row:

Funky Chicken:

Complex B

Dip:

BB Close-Grip Bench Press:

Close-Grip Chin Negatives:

Cable Curl:

current bodyweight: 158 lbs/71.8 kg (+.4 lbs; weekly average of 158.75 lbs)

I think I underestimate how cardiovascularly taxing this workout is. I honestly can’t hold the rest periods. And I’ve been getting periodically dizzy. Odd. I don’t know, it’s not like I let my heartrate fall or anything, it’s racing. Maybe my conditioning’s going. Or maybe those high pulls zap a lot of energy.

I noticed by the end of my high pulls that the end motion was looking more like the end of a bent-over row, than an upright row. Just given how my arms were pulling. I’d like to increase the weight, but I want my form to be okay. I’ll wait. I gave myself a mini-pause as I let the weight hit the ground, to make sure I was exploding upwards. I hit all my shoulder presses, but I’m wondering how badly I’ll do when I increase the weight. Only one way to find out. I also need to watch my standing posture, as I’m feeling it in my lower back. That can only mean I’m hyperextending my back to press upwards. I need to stand perfectly straight, knees bent slightly, and press upward. Those bent-over rows kill me. That shit’s heavy!

I also noticed how my shoulders were being hit during funky chickens. Hey, my deltoids DO pop out when I use them. I noticed that if I shifted my posture slightly, it would hit my anterior deltoids more, but if I stood slightly bent-over, it would hit my lateral and posterior deltoids more. I only noticed this because I was starting to cheat in favor of my anterior deltoids. I think. Something like that. It IS a really useful eccentric technique, because no way I can lateral raise 20 lbs. This also got me thinking about using a similar eccentric technique to hit my posterior deltoids.

Close-grip bench press felt better. I lowered the bar more to my belly, rather than my chest. That helped keep my elbows “in” more. I’ll knock out those reps next time, easily. My curls fell off specifically because I was using proper form. I made sure to keep my entire body rigid. And that’s all I could do. I’m sure I’ll pop out more reps next time, no problem.

Adjustments: Level up shoulder press to 40/35/30. I’m not expecting to hit all the reps, but that’s okay. Level up piston bent-over rows to 55/50/45. If I manage to hit all the reps here, 60 lbs will set a PR for DB rowing. I’m going to add weight to my first sets of dips and chin negatives. Just five pounds. Realistically, it’ll be as if I gained five pounds, so it shouldn’t be a big deal. We’ll see if it effects my second set at all. If I can’t do more dips on my third set, then it’s a problem. I’ll put some heart into it.