July 3rd, Thursday - Bench 143 for 5 sets of 3, Squat up to 183 for 6

 03.07.2025

Nice day. Energy moderate. Please keep praying for me.

Last night I made some real crazy soup. I thought we had no meat, but all the bones and random stuff my mom was saving in the freezer - apparently there's a lot of meat on those! And I also dumped a whole frozen chicken inside. Boiled it for over an hour while playing FO76. It's good, white, thick, brains and fat and chicken skin. Made my usual, a whole lot of caramelized onions, carrots, potatoes in larger chunks. It turned out great, really spicy. Later I took out the bones and scraped all the meat off of them, even though they were really hot. That soup is lifeblood, a great lot of amino acids, very little - but some, I admit - vegetable oil (during onion and carrot caramelizing). I've had it. Meanwhile, in FO76 it's the Meat Week, the grill week celebration, that makes me appreciate flesh even more. All the smaller bits, the brains, the organs, the connective tissues - if I was younger I wouldn't have liked it. Now I do. Flesh and the power it holds, hehe.

Had one large instant coffee - my mug and three tablespoons. Then I wanted to make a moka but discovered the pot covered in mold. I should have dried up better last time I used it. Spent some time cleaning it, but the inside of the boiler part seems strangely slimy, or just too smooth. Had a conventional, no sugar this time. It felt good.

Workout

Warmup - some, chest and elbow and stomach warmups

Bench

20 - 40 - 70 - 93 - 123 for 10

143 for 3 - quick warmup. The plan is to do a light (for a heavy) weight for 5 sets of 3, work on that effort and acceleration. It was heavier than I would have liked, but very well controlled, smooth.

You must not rotate your shoulders when unracking. Do not ever flare your shoulders out. Flaring shoulders out is very different from flaring just your elbows out. Shoulders need to be rotated inside. It's one of the cause of my left shoulder pain I've been having - and recovering from. Must remember...

143 for 3 about the same

143 for 3 much better, much easier. I had a grip that was about half an inch wider than my OHP grip. Made this one another half an inch wider.

143 for 3

143 for 3 - lovely, the best set. Energy high!

Unracked the bar down to 70, put it into squat rack. Already warmed up a little - hip and leg movements. Thinking of a way to make double bass drumming possible standing up. Standing on your toes. Using your heels. Cause you can be fast and heavy with those strikes. Thinking of trying to use a pulling band to connect bass drum to chair. It's all too unstable for me.

Sweating hard in my undershirt. Took it off. Don't need it for squat.

I have mentioned it before, I think, but - a good advice - put the rack high for high bar squat. Reduces the chances of it sliding down, given you have to be more used to powerlifting style squat like me. Although I haven't done powerlifting style squats in a few years. I think, realistically, I could do a low bar 250 kg squat. I mean, I have recently done 220 for 3 high bar.

Squat

70 and 123 for 3 - very smooth

173 for 2 - muscles feel great, but right hip is a little worn out. Needs more warmup. It works way better when it doesn't have to turn to the side. Should not have been folding legs in the chair when I was reading earlier today!

173 for 6 - much better, pretty smooth. I visualized a smarter movement. Dropping straight down, but also flexing back and rotating thighs very slightly. Somewhat tight belt. Knees go forward in the hole, but the movement starts with hips, not with knees. Wraps over and under knee.

183 for 6 - nice. I got whacked by this set though. Standing, holding the weight, breathing only between reps. Last rep was a proper Klokov squat. As in I squatted, sat there, in the hole; I panicked for quarter of a second, but I remembered it's sort of a light weight. I rose pretty easily, like a spring. Isn't that interesting? I'd like to improve my squat. But deadlift first. I need that round number. I know I can get it.