Lifting for 2-3-11

Squat:
5 @ 45 lbs, 4 @ 95 lbs, 3 @ 135 lbs, 2 @ 165 lbs
3×5 @ 190 lbs (+5 lbs)

Overhead Press:
5 @ 45 lbs, 3 @ 75 lbs
5, 3, 3 @ 100 lbs (+5 lbs)

Power Clean
5 @ 45 lbs, 3 @ 95 lbs
5×3 @ 120 lbs (+5 lbs)

Chin-ups
9, 6, 5 @ BW

difficulty: medium

Gym closed yesterday due to the ice storm. Kind of annoyed, because the roads seriously weren’t that bad out. Unlike some parts the country, we have plows and salt trucks. Decided not to make up the lost workout. I find squeezing a workout on friday night or Saturday tends to make me feel fatigued towards the end of the following week. I’m also fighting off some chest congestion, so I figure the rest will do me some good. You grow when you rest, not when you train.

Felt the forward lean only once, don’t remember which rep. Otherwise, reps felt better than Monday’s.

An increase from 95 to 100 lbs may be only five lbs, but it’s a 5% increase, whereas a five pound increase beyond 200 lbs is less than 2.5%. It’ll take some time, but I’ll slowly but surely add reps to my overhead press.

Power cleans were pretty good today. An odd thing to notice, but I was getting better at lowering the weight. Lowering the weight while standing up straight yanks on my shoulders, so my natural reaction has been to brace shock of the weight drop with my hips. That is, as I lower the weight from my shoulders, I get into a deadlift stance and continue to lower the weight down.

I noticed a guy giving advice to another guy who was squatting. The recap of his advice was: ‘Add a second or two to your lift’ and ‘squeeze your glutes’. Tempo/Time Under Tension and mind-muscle connection are certainly useful tools. However, I mentally facepalmed because his depth was crap. Oh well. Do what he wants.

On an unrelated note, the weight area in my gym plays a lot of Def Leppard.