Did today's workout before work,made a big difference energy wise.
Squat 5x5@82 lb .no groin pain yay!
Bench press 5x5 @60 lb.finally did the full set.
Row 5x5 @55 lb.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.

jhmomofmany wrote: »

I wanted to ask if it is ok to post progress pics? I'm excited about my back development but don't want to be obnoxious.

I think it would be great!

i quit my job on friday, at least on paper. in practice i'll work through the coming week (unless i or they change our minds and don't feel like it).

so, feeling clearer in some ways. was in the gym this morning at 8:30 am and much more able to focus.

bench . . . i only got as high as 80 pounds. disappointing, because i think according to wendler i should be at 90 for top set right now. but i don't regret leaving it there. couldn't quite get my setup dialed in as well as last time, and i also had some weird dyslexic moments in the later sets where i couldn't work out how to unrack either.

did some extra volume at much lower weights to try and make up for it and to keep picking away at that sweet spot for form . . . plus a lot of upper-back work with bands and rows and pulldowns. so i didn't bench according to plan but i did do upper-body work for sure.


squats . . . i have done something to my right-side hip flexor. rectus femoris or whatever . . . something quite bad as far as pain goes. it's been brewing for months at one specific point in my squats but has felt like it was going redline all weekend. i squatted anyway though. i don't officially advocate hurting yourself just so you'll have a really clear chance to learn about what not to do from the physical feedback that gives. of course not. but with that said, i think i've figured out what this issue has been. boring alert . . .
so i did do squats, but not for weight. the mission was just 'do it and DON'T let those sore muscles fire. no other goals. and once you've done one set without calling on them, try for another like that. and then another like that, until you have three sets of five in a row.' i stopped every set as soon as i did one rep wrong, paused between sets long enough to get an honest feel for whether the bad point was irritated, and used the safety rails to do a bit of split-squatting in the meantime and stretch out my quads. and then i would do it again. i squatted a metric bunch and never went higher than 55 pounds, because i also want to let my whole body sleep on it and see how it feels tomorrow.

and i made another change too. or at least, i went back and actually worked through my setup and getting into position before i would start on a rep. i was in that rack for a while, i'll tell you sometimes it would take me a minute or two to get everything properly organized, but it really felt like it was paying off. aside from the one red zone in that hip, everything else felt really springy and elastic and strong. it got me excited and happy with the mere idea of doing back squats again.

plan from here is: keep squatting with just the bar or with very light weights, using this setup and this set of rules. that's to test whether i'm truly onto the fix, because if i am then this inflammation should start to fade as the area's not being stressed any more. essentially, i want it just to be 'active recovery' mode. and THEN when (if) the inflammation is way down or even gone . . . THEN i will start again adding weight.

Went to the gym last night after working until 11 pm, then had to be at work again at 7 am, which meant leaving home at 6 am. So, I got maybe 4 hours of sleep. Monthly cycle started yesterday too, so that's all kinds of fun. It's not too bad on the cramps so far but we'll see how the next couple of days go. Also, have a job interview tomorrow. It's retail but different than my current one. Gonna go and see what happens. On top of all that, my stepsister is at 40 weeks in her pregnancy and they might end up inducing labor, so might have a nephew very soon.


front squats 2x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 70, 3x6 @ 100
good morning 3x10 @ 100
deadlift 1x6 @ 135, 1x5 @ 185, belt 1x3 @ 205
belt & liquid chalk 2x4 @ 225 and 2x3 @ 235

The 235 were on the slow side but I did it.

drive-by visit to gym on way home, in which i had the shoes on but nothing else for doing squats. no bum, no legs, no motivation, no heart.

so i did bench. it's the other hting i can do in these shoes without destabilizing myself. still can't find 80 or whatever i'm meant to be pressing by now, but i worked carefully up to 3x5 at 75 and then called it a day. now i'm that guy who goes into the gym, does bench press and leaves.

Today was not very productive, thinking I might have to deload my squat.

3x3x175 squat. This was hard, I could not do 5. going to deload to 170 and push for 5x5
No bench. They were used up and I ran out of time.
10x10x65 rows
3x8x10 arm lift
3x8x20 butterfly

After doing those dumbell exercises I realized how really week my delts are, so my plan is to getting those suckers strong!!!

Nicely done @kandeye

Took everything down in weight today. Was not feeling up to lifting at all tbh. Warm up, then:
Squat: 5x5x95#
OHP: 3x5x70# 2x5x65#
DL: 3x1x195#

And that was IT.