I Can't Drive 55, But I can Press It

     I was definitely feeling last night's work on my back, but that didn't stop me from hitting the bench tonight. Again, just like yesterday, we were keeping things relatively easy, just to get us back in the swing. Keep reading to find out what what down.

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DB BENCH:

30lb x12

35lb x10

40lb x8

50lb x5

50lb x7

55lb x5

INCLINE BENCH:

65lb x10

75lb x8

(95lb x3) 3x

DECLINE BENCH:

95lb x10

(115lb x5) 2x

115lb x4

STANDING CABLE FLY:

High:

40lb x12

(45lb x8) 2x

Mid:

(35lb x6) 3x

Low:

(25lb x6) 3x

SEATED CHEST FLY:

90lb x7

90lb x5, 70lb x5

70lb x10

MACHINE CRUNCH:

(70lb x20) 3x

••••••••••

     Another good night of solid training. I have to say, being able to press the 55's makes me happy. And as much as they make me happy, the friggin' standing flys make me sad. They have got to be one of the most difficult things for me to progress on! On the mid and low positions, the weight stayed the same as last week and I was only able to add one rep. Progress is progress.

     The seated chest flys made my shoulder hurt. I don't know what he hell is going on with this shoulder, but it's really beginning to annoy me. 

     I'm not sure if I've talked about this before, but I've noticed something about myself that I don't like. I mean, there's a bunch of things I don't like, but one thing in particular is something I want to talk about here. I don't push myself as hard as I could, or should. I find myself stopping the sets as soon as I start to struggle. Let's take those first 5 reps of DB presses at 50lbs. The last rep was getting a little shaky; so I stopped. Obviously, I could've done more, and in the next set I did - I got 7 reps. Now those last couple of reps were a true struggle and I couldn't have safely gotten number eight. Why the hell did I stop at 5 on the first go 'round? 

     I don't know why I do it, but at least I've identified it. I'm trying to make a concerted effort to truly mentally push myself like I would push someone that I was helping. It's so easy to give yourself an excuse to stop and to take it easy, but that's not how I want to be. Obviously, if there's pain (like my shoulder), then stop and assess the situation, but discomfort is not the same as pain. Push through discomfort.

     All that aside, it was a solid, fun, productive night. Tomorrow is rest day so we'll see you back here on Thursday.

Back In The Routine

     Tonight was our first day back to the gym in a week. We planned to ease back in and that's exactly what we did. Nothing crazy went down, but it was a good effort and felt great to be back. Here's what we got done tonight:

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DEADLIFTS:

89lb x10

2" Deficit:

133lb x10

(199lb x3) 3x

133lb x10

89lb x10

RDL:

BARBELL:

111lb x10

156lb x5

KB SINGLE LEG:

50lb x5 ea.

50lb x10 ea.

RACK PULL UPS:

(Feet on a tire)

x8, x5, x8

BARBELL ROWS:

Bar x12

89lb x6

89lb x7

SEATED OPEN CABLE ROW:

(70lb x12) 3x

SINGLE ARM LAT PULL DOWN:

35lb x12 ea.

40lb x10 ea.

45lb x8 ea.

DOUBLE LAT PULL DOWN:

(Done on the isolateral cable machine)

35lb x7

(35lb x10) 2x

MACHINE CRUNCH:

(60lb x20) 3x

••••••••••

     It was a good night, nothing crazy but it was a good night back into the routine. I'm not very good at those rack pullups, but I'm sticking with them. I also saw a a sign on the wall that they're actually getting a safety squat bar! I'm excited! I liked doing squats with that bar. It's good for adding some variety into our training. They also got an axle bar, and a Swiss bar and a Texas bar. Oh, and they also have 2 new stand fans so there's some friggin air flow in there. It helps to clear out some of he swampiness that can linger in there. IYKYK.

     I guess that's all for tonight. Kind of a boring night, but sometimes boring is good. I mean, I can't always be a firecracker.