The most frustrating part about workouts like the one I had prior to Labor Day weekend is the idea that there has to be a tradeoff. If I start getting better at something, then I start getting worse at something else. And a tradeoff doesn't feel like progress to me. If your boss called you into the office and told you that you were getting a raise, but that you were also losing a week of vacation time, you probably wouldn't go home and celebrate. That's what it feels like for me at the gym. The baseline triple take workout was one where cardio finally wasn't an issue for me, but I couldn't enjoy it because my pull-up form, which had been improving, suddenly fell apart. We've now reached September and there is very little that I can point to that feels like an improvement. In the meantime, all the folks I work out with keep getting better and better. It takes its toll.
But I'm hardwired to do things one way and that is to keep working, no matter what my mindset may be. With that in mind, I returned on Tuesday, September 8th and walked over to the annex to continue my back squat program. I had spoken with Jim C. a couple of weeks earlier and he had told me that he felt the 5x5 day was the toughest part of the program, so I knew I was in for a challenge. This was the first time in months that I'd be loading the bar with more than 235 pounds and I'd be doing a decent amount of volume with that weight. Throw in the fact that I was still working on feeling comfortable with the weightlifting belt and my form being a bit shaky and this had all of the makings of being a bad day. There was a silver lining though. I have a lot of faith in Jim's assessments when it comes to weightlifting. So if he believed this was the toughest part of the program and I was able to get through it, then I would be very confident about finishing the rest of it, including getting my first 300+ pound back squat on the final test day.
With the weight going up, I knew I would need to change up my warmup routine. I couldn't hop from 135 to 185 and then all the way up to 250. So I did warmup sets of 5 reps at 135, 185, and 225 to begin. A set of 5 reps at 225 pounds would be considerably tougher than the warmup sets I had gotten used to, but after doing 6x6 at 235 pounds, it also should have been something I could handle without struggling tremendously. And that ended up being the case as each of the warmup sets was about as I expected. It was time to load up the bar with 250 pounds and see how that felt.
The first set went alright. As was the case when I did larger sets at 235, I needed to make sure not to rush the reps. I ensured that my breathing was correct the whole time and I didn't get stuck in the bottom along the way. During the second set, I started to notice the extra 15 pounds on the bar. I didn't get stuck per se, but I didn't explode out of the bottom as quickly as I had while completing set #1. I was a little concerned since I still had three more sets to go, but I kept reminding myself to have a positive mindset. And then came set #3...
The third set started out fine with three solid reps, but then the fourth rep was noticeably slower. So when I stood back up, I took a couple extra seconds to re-group. When I was ready, I worked out my breathing and dropped down to finish out the set. As I rose from the bottom, I made it about halfway before stalling out. Oh no. I have never been good about getting through this particular sticking point. On the other hand, this was the last rep of the set and I wasn't keen on the idea of having to do the entire set over. Push, you weak bastard. Push!!!
It felt like I was rising, but I was moving really, really slowly and I wouldn't be able to stay in this position much longer. It was time to channel Mr. Intensity. I've never been a big screamer at the gym (unfortunately I've developed a grunting habit that won't seem to go away), but every now and then it helps to let out that primal rage that builds up in your core when you're struggling. And so I did. Was it likely excessive since I was working out with about 4 other people in the unlit annex? Possibly. But it was what I needed to get myself up out of that squat. I triumphantly placed the bar back on the rack before quickly realizing how much trouble I was in given that I needed to work that hard on only the third set out of five.
The good news was that something must have clicked in my body from that point forward. Sets four and five were more similar to the first set than they were to sets two and three. I stayed focused, exploded from the bottom of the squat, and stayed much quieter during those final 10 reps. I had gotten through 5x5 day. It was nice to get a small victory after what had felt like a long losing streak.
Rachel had been on my case the last few weeks for not coming to the 7:30 class that she coached, so even though I had to wait a while before it started, I hung around to take that class and was joined by Danielle and Jessie. The WOD was strength-related, with a small cash out afterwards:
Thruster:
5-5-3-3-1-1-1
Cash out:
400 meter run
40 thrusters (75/55)
None of that sounded bad, even though I was once again encountering leg work after a heavy squat session. The last time I had done a 1RM thruster, I managed to get 195 pounds. That was from the floor though and today we were working from the rack, so it made me think 205 pounds was a real possibility. For the 5 rep sets, I used 75 and 95 pounds. I moved very quickly with each of those weights, which I thought bode well for the cash out later on. For the 3 rep sets, I used 115 and 135 pounds. Once again, it felt like I had chosen the proper weight for the rep scheme. After that, it was time to get serious and work towards hitting 205. I did 155 without much problem. 175 was where it began feeling heavy, but I didn't struggle too much on that rep either. I could have went to 190 here and made equal 15 pound jumps to get to 205, but I decided to do 195 again. Plentus always told us there was no point in tying your PR, but it made no sense to do more than 195 on my next rep. And if there was no point in tying your PR, what was the point in doing less than that?
The thruster at 195 was not pretty. I dropped into my front squat and tried to get a good bounce out of the bottom, but I lost control as I bounced. As I stood up, I tried to pop the bar up off my shoulder and press it out, but because I had lost my control, the press out started going backwards. I began to hyperextend my back a bit, but I knew I had the weight. It took some adjusting, but I got the bar back in proper position, directly over my head. The 195 pound thruster was an ugly success, but they don't give any style points in these workouts.
After that attempt, I think I knew that 205 was not going to happen, but I gave it a couple of tries anyway. On both attempts, I could not get the pop off of my shoulder that I needed and I don't have enough strength to press that much weight out without the momentum from the thruster. So once again, my top thruster would be 195 pounds.
I had zipped through my initial 5 reps at 75 pounds in the thruster progression, so doing 40 reps at that weight after running 400 meters didn't sound like too much of an imposition to me. Except I had conveniently forgotten that all of the day's leg work would have an effect eventually. And this was where it kicked in. The run wasn't bad and I was pretty calm when I started on my 40 thrusters, but I only got to 12 reps before needing to drop the barbell. From there, I started doing sets of 6-8 reps the rest of the way. Final time: 5:25. Not great, but not awful. I was ready for some dinner and a good night's rest.
Wednesday preview: Tuesday's leg work haunts me a second time, but have I resolved my pull-up problem from last week?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.