Monday, July 18th - Light workout, working on techiques

 18.07.2022

Nice day so far. Saturday was really crazy. I really exhausted myself.

My prime movers - legs and gluteus maximus (ass). And they're connected to the upper body by the back, specifically lumbar region. My legs and ass are really not too tired, but my back is. So, I wonder - is there a way to bring up this "medium" link of the chain to make it tougher?

Well, of course, there is! I reckon forgetting about deadlift - I think, at this point, my most developed movement - and just doing squats for a while will help me a plenty. Sure, the prime movers won't be loded too heavily, but it'll definitely feel heavier.

Not sure what I wanna do with DL moving forweard from now. I definitely feel like I could work up to an easy 220 for 10 in the next two weeks. And yeah, it will be easy. I'm convinced. As long as I stay disciplined enough.

Not sure what to do today. Thinking of bench. Pretty sure my bench would stay up semi-decent of better if I did it once a week regularly. Perhaps that is the answer. Just do sets of 5 or something. I wish to be fresh for wednesday. And squats would be a great idea too.

Appetite - moderate (low), nutrition - okay, sleep - pretty nice.

My back gets pretty tired from paying guitar. That's why SG is the best option. I should consider minimal layering on G310 when I finally get to it. It's not procrastination, it's fatigue. There's only one appropriate time to work on it, and that's after my workout. So, not always enough energy.

Having my second coffee. Feeling unusual pressure in my eyes. Especially left eye. Hmm.

Six o'clock. Having my third coffee. I think I've become more experienced at stopping the water extraction on time. It's tasty, and not too bitter. After this one I'm almost immediatelly going to start my warmup.

Workout

Warmup - various short range movements, emulating bench with a stick. I have really tight lats. Potentially good?

I remember the days when I would do pushups for bench warmup.
Funny, I forgot there's a variation of pushups that doesn't require youthful flexibility.

Pushups, narrow grip, dumbbells as handles - 2 sets of 10 - feels okay.

Bench press

Today I'm making sure I can lock out my arms parallel to the floor, rather than in front of me. It's time to end this bad technique.

20 - 40 for 8 - wrist is rather tight. I added a neck block so I don't have to hold my head up anymore. Sort of trying to mimic Julius Maddox's technique. It's supposed to be a good technique, right?

60 for 8 really stiff wrist stops me from locking out. I'm going to try wrist wraps as well as a narrower grip. Keep in mind - today's technique is different form my normal one.

80 - 2 sets of 8 - I don't like this "powerlifting" variation of bench. 80 is enough to make me feel pain my tight spots - shoulders, pecs, wrists. I wanna get back to a shortened range bench. Frankly, I'm not gonna care about this. Not until I'm.. I dunno. I'm confused. All I know is that I don't want pain. So I'm not gonna bench with pain.

I'll put the bar where needed for sufficient comfort, and lock out short enough to not strain my wrists.

80 - 2 sets of 8 - conventional (for me) shitty technique 😁

That's it. 80 is, eh, I dunno, perhaps 50% of my max? I don't have a max in bench. I just don't do it often enough. But I think I will. I think it'll get better, as long as I stay smart.

Squat

Various leg moves - standing leg curls, lying leg extensions, standing leg raises, calf and toe raises.

3 sets of 15 - bodyweight

20 and 60 for 10 - tension in my hip extenders

80 for 10, finally on belt - feels good

100 for 7 and I dropped the bar cause I did both low bar and leaned forward on my toes very much. That was silly. On top of that, I gripped my bent bar in a way to make it roll down even more ("horns" were pointing forward).

That's okay. I know that I'm going to improve the quality of my benches and squats. Rememeber this day when I achieve better technique in either one of them.

Some time later - pulls

Floor-supported ring pullups - 15 reps, massive cramp in the right radialis

One-armed rubber pulls (medium) - 2 sets of 15 reps

Vengeful Mothman