Monday Deadlifts
Still working in opposite stance, I had 5x5 for deads today. My back was pretty sore from the weekend (that bootcamp, man), so I didn't go very heavy. My deadlifts were:
Opposite Stance Deadlift (conventional)
145x5, 155x5, 155x5, 145x5, 135x5
Still working on form here, my hips shoot up a lot when I start to pull. John has been on my case about my set-up as well-he hates it! He says I need to be more aggressive, and that I sit too long at the bottom before I pull. Definitely something I'm trying to work on, but bad habits are hard to break. I also don't tend to be an aggressive lifter in general, so that's hard for me to channel. Also working on keeping my lats tight throughout the lift, he says they loosen upright before I pull. A lot of people set their lats before they drop down to lift by opening their arms out to the side-I've never found that this helps me. I do this weird thing where I almost wring the bar like you would wring out a wet towel right before I pull, and that helps me engage my lats. Whatever works, right?
Thursday Squats
I was working speed squats today. I did 8x2 at lighter weights, then 2 heavy singles for speed. My progression was as follows:
Speed Squats
4 sets 115x2, 4 sets 125x2, 145x1, 155x1
Speed squats are fun for me. I know I was way below depth, that's my biggest issue with squats. Since I'm so flexible from all those years of ballet, I sometimes feel like I have no control over my body! I just drop all the way down, and stand back up. Boom, like it's nothing. Obviously this isn't good when I start getting heavier, because if I go too low, I sometimes can't get back up. Working on being more controlled and staying tight in my squats. I'm really happy with my 155x1 for speed, though. Less than I year I was struggling to get over the 155 bump, and now I'm doing it for speed. Feels so good!
Friday Bench
I feel like this was my best workout of the week. I really did work today! I was doing floor press and board bench. I had a 3RM floor press followed by an AMAP floor press, followed by 3x5 on board bench. Here's my workout:
Floor Press
3RM-80 lbs
AMAP- 75x16
2 board bench
75x5, 85x5, 90x5
So just one month ago, I did this same weight for floor press AMAP, and got 12 reps. This week I got 16, and that was after I was struggling with 75 last week! I have to be honest I have no idea where that came from. I did my 3RM set at 80, and the last one was a grinder. I wasn't feeling great. I actually almost did 70 instead of 75 for my AMAP set, but I did 75 a month ago and I wanted to stay consistent. Then I repped out 16! I was pumped! That fueled me for board bench. I'm really happy with 90x5, considering I missed 95 on the platform twice. I think I probably could have gone for 95, but at this point my arms/triceps/pecs were shot. But I'm still super happy about what I did!
So that completes week 2 of the second month. 6 weeks down, 6 to go! Today marks the start of my second half! Pretty pumped with what I've accomplished so far, and I also think this is the longest I've ever gone without missing a workout, so proud of myself for that. Having to report back to someone really keeps you accountable! Things start to change up a little this week, so can't wait to get started. Fully plan on attacking these next 6 weeks hard! Excited to see where I'll be at the end of it!
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