Day 17 - better day

Workout A:

• Squat 270 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 205 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 175 pounds 3x5

No problem with any of the weights today. 

For my squats, I've gone back to something I used to do to make sure I hit proper depth. I put a rolled-up sleeping bag under me that is at the right height that allows me to go right below parallel when my glutes touch it. 

I've realized that I need to set some goals for myself. On my first post, I wrote some predictions of where I would be in two months, but I need to set goals that will stretch me beyond the novice phase and into my intermediate training:

• Squat 450 pounds
• Deadlift 450 pounds
• Press 185 puonds
• Bench Press 305 pounds

We'll see how this goes. 

Day 16 - trouble introduces itself

Workout B:

• Squat 265 pounds 3x5
• Press 125 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 275 pounds 1x4

My left Achilles’ tendon was stiff going into my last workout session, but it really stiffened up yesterday. I really worried that I wouldn’t be able to squat much today because of the pain and stiffness. I’ve had previous issues with that Achilles and had to have a steroid injection in the past few years. However, I put up the weight on the squat without any issues. The press also moved well. On the deadlift, grip pain was an issues again and I only got 4 reps because of it. I may try an alternating grip next time. 

Day 15

Workout A:

• Squat 265 pounds x2,3,3
• Bench Press 200 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 170 pounds 3x5

My legs were jelly today. I’ve had a long stretch of shifts at work and haven’t been eating or sleeping as well as I needed to. I did make a bigger jump on the weight from last session, but 260 would have been a struggle, too. I still have long shifts the next 2 days, so I may struggle this next session, too.

No struggle with the bench press or barbell row.

Day 14

B workout:

• Squat 255 pounds 3x5
• Press 120 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 265 pounds 1x5

My squat form didn’t feel right. I felt off balance on the first set, but it felt great on the last. I’m not sure how to explain it other than it felt weird. Both the press and deadlift felt good.

Day 13

Today was another A workout:

• Squat 250 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 195 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 165 pounds 3x5
• Hang Jump Shrugs 45 pounds 3x3

All the weight moved pretty easily today.

Day 12

Another Workout B:

• Squat 245 pounds 3x5
• Press 115 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 255 pounds x5 

I’m getting closer to being able to do a low-bar squat. Because of poor shoulder mobility, I’move had to high-bar squat. I perform these shoulder stretches between each set of squats, including warmup sets, and I’be seen improvement over the past few weeks.

Day 11

Another Workout A:

• Squat 240 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 190 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 160 pounds 3x5

All of the reps moved easily today.