Lifting for 12-31-10

It’s been ungodly busy at work since the snowstorm. We lost some business because of the snow. But Tuesday, we got SLAMMED. And Wednesday, we got SLAMMED. And yesterday, somehow, we were even BUSIER. Nothing like being six orders off the screen and noticing, “Hey, a whole bunch of people just walked in the door! Labor’s going to be awesome today!” It’s been oddly fun, between making sure we don’t run out of food and making sure customers aren’t too ornery, as they tend to be this time of year.

Also, randomly have a head cold. Moved out of the sore throat phase and into the nose congestion phase. Then it’ll turn into a dry cough, then a congestive cough. I know the deal.

Squat:
5 @ 45 lbs, 4 @ 95 lbs, 3 @ 135 lbs
3×5 @ 155 lbs (+10 lbs)

Bench Press:
5 @ 115 lbs
3×5 @ 130 lbs (+5 lbs)

Deadlift
5 @ 135 lbs, 4 @ 185 lbs, 2 @ 225 lbs
5 @ 245 lbs (+20 lbs)

Barbell Row
5 @ 95 lbs
3×5 @ 130 lbs (+5 lbs)

difficulty: easy

Gym always makes me feel better, cleared my head right up. I really didn’t want to get out of bed, I just felt so sluggish. But moving helped a lot.

Cue today for squats was focusing on a spot on the floor, rather than looking at myself in the mirror. I did find myself “feeling” myself in space far more than usual. In regards to holding my breath through each rep, definitely feel stronger out of the hole. Though, the weight is still pretty light for me. We’ll see how I feel next week.

Bar was loaded by another guy, and I didn’t feel like stripping it. I find myself needing to exhale JUST SLIGHTLY as I lock out. This felt better. After rereading the breathing portion of bench, I practiced doing a more superficial breath at the top. That is, an incomplete breath to just “top off” the lungs. That worked well, and sure beats the hypoxia from holding my breath an entire set. Seems like a little much to me.

It’s occurred to me that I may want to do something else with my hair eventually. I typically bun it in the back to keep it out of the way when I lift. However, during bench, there’s that ball of hair right under my neck. The weight’s still on the back of my head, and my upper back, but it’s just something that’s occurred to me.

Warmed up too quickly for deads, so I waited until I was ready for my top set. Easy five. Again, I focused on a spot on the floor, rather than the mirror. I also had a brain fart regarding my breathing. I took my big breath at the bottom, then in successive repetitions I did superficial breaths at the top. Silly me. That’s not even how I normally breath! I typically let the bar hit the floor, then take another deep breath for the next rep. I was overthinking.

Never will use 25’s for rows again. Bent over a little too much. Next workout will be with 45’s, anyway.

This head cold should be mostly done with me by the end of week 2. I should be set up nicely for the challenging week that I expect week 3 to be.

Also, roman numerals are hardcore.