September 17, 2020 – Week 5, Day 2

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)

Mobility Prep

Goblet Squats to Box (15”)
40x15
40x15

3” Platform Deadlifts w/ bands
No Bands
45x10
135x5
225x1
Added Bands (+32lbs bottom/+162lbs top)
135x1
185x1
225x1
275x1
Added Straps
330x1
330x1
330x1
330x1
330x1

Ab Wheel
bwx15

Side Plank Raises
bwx20/20

Stretching

Comments: Well, a month of consistent deadlifting without an issue so far. That’s a plus. Haven’t had a session where I wanted to just stop and curl into a ball but I guess that is because I have to make sure I’m doing weights I won’t miss. I was feeling a little off today because I had food and fluids just kind of going through me like a ghost. Spent a part of lunch break setting up for the deadlift stuff. Warming up felt ok. Walking was good. The new warm-up changes I think will be good stuff but going to take several sessions to get used to it. Trying to get the knees good. I guess I’m fitting different as my shorts ripped in the back doing one of the newer warm-up drills. Oops. It was cool outside today. Not as much as Tuesday and slightly muggier. I could’ve probably done without the fans but my one neighbor (I’m not sure who it is that keeps doing it) smokes a cigar so I had to have some kind of air circulation. So finally a change to the goblet squats. Not to the weight, just number of reps. Still 2 sets but five extra reps. Enough of a change haha. Then it was back to the deadlift program. The four week cycle repeats except I’m to try and have 10lbs added to the straight weight from last time (the no bands week being a percentage day though). I was advised that if I felt good, I could do 15-20lbs increase over the previous time. Play it by ear. This was to be the highest platform and highest band tension session but trying to make it feel like the “lightest” as far as effort wise. So while I could definitely do a bit more weight, I need to keep this the fastest pulls since trying to make it feel like the weight I could do a 10rm with. I figured 10lbs added would be a given as first week was me doing these after not ideal deadlifting for weeks (months really, maybe a year) and I had to figure out what was actually feeling right. I know as I felt like my 3rd and 5th single last time with this setup felt the best. So same warm-ups as last time. Not sure what I was getting into as my lower back was feeling a little pumped and stiff at the start haha. Trying to pull and not have it kind of roll out and bang into my shins all herky jerky. First single with the bands, I held it for a count at the top as I wanted to make sure my rigging system was holding fast. Pulling felt like a single pull today. I may have fidgeted a little in the hole to get my self set and centered (I had move the setup out a bit to keep it from wobbling under my feet like last time I did this setup). Pulls felt easy today. Did 15lbs more than last time. Felt this was better than the last time. Stance moved in a bit and trying to not explode right off the floor as I tend to have form loose and the bar roll out and accelerate after I break the weight off the floor with the tension. Bar speed seems better even though I’ve slowed the start. Slow is steady, steady is fast, fast is strong. So refueled on liquids after the deadlifting and put everything away so it could rest in my stomach a bit before getting to the abdominal work. Same as last week, the increased reps on the ab wheel and side plank raises. Getting better at them and I think that the rep range has gotten to the point where there is enough time under tension to make even the side plank raises start to become challenging at the end. Had dinner and then finished up with stretching and icing my knees and shoulders.