Wednesday, February 23, 2022

February 22, 2022 – Week 20, Day 2

Mobility Prep

Suited 15” Axle Jack Stand Pulls (straps)
No Suit
140x3
140x3
230x2
320x2
Added Suit 
410x2
500x1
570x1
630x1
700x1
Cluster Sets (15 seconds between singles)
610x1+1
610x1+1
610x1+1

Dimel Deadlifts w/bands (straps, +39lbs bottom/+122lbs top)
97x3
149x3
194x3
234x10
234x10
234x15

Paused Front Foot Elevated Split Squats (4”, 3 seconds)
bwx3/3
65x3/3
85x12/12
85x12/12

Paused Single Leg Hip Thrusts (2 seconds)
40x3/3
70x12/12
70x12/12

Single Leg Calf Raises (5-2-0-0 tempo)
bwx15/15
bwx15/15

Stretching
  
Comments: Warmer weather still. Unseasonably for February. Like we already in March or April at this point. Raining off and on so luckily all training was in the garage for today. Right knee still a bit sore so a little anxious about that. But it was feeling better compared to the past 2-3 days. I’d know if I could go on with things after doing mobility stuff. My knee has been like this off and on for over a year now (and had been why I took a brief break and thought about quitting this activity at the beginning of last year). Mobility stuff was good. Definitely needed. Just doing exercises requiring balance on one leg and motion seemed to wake up stuff in the lower leg. Sometimes the point of the pain isn’t the origin. Not saying it is all that but I know that tightness or stuff in the lower leg can put additional stress on the knees. Above and below is sometimes the accomplice. Axle pulls with the suit to start things off. Last heavy pull session for the training cycle. As written, the plan was to work up to 5lbs more than my last workout (failed double) for a smooth top single that moved well and then do 600lbs for 3 sets of cluster doubles (doing a single, rest 15 seconds and then do another). This was the main meat of the session as accessory stuff tends to be reduced in volume and load but reps increase for the rest of the workout as competition is just around the corner. Unlike the last several deadlift workouts as far as warming up, I wasn’t left to my own devices. Suggested working up was provided. I had every intention of following this to the letter (especially after misreading the stuff on log the day before oof). The point where I knew I was deviating from that was the very first set with the suit on. That double was the easiest double I’ve ever done. It felt like nothing. I got such good pop from the suit. I didn’t feel like just adding 80lbs to the bar for the first single so I went with 90lbs so a plate each side. Already 10lbs more than what was posted. Next jump was to be 65lbs (and to be that all the way up to top single) but again, I just added 70lbs as that was easier and less dealing with small plates. I knew very well that this could bite me in the ass. I saw what happened two weeks prior with going big on deadlift as it isn’t always there. And I still had how my training prep for Clash of the Tridents had ended with a missed 650lbs pull when I should’ve just done 635lbs. But I felt strong and that a little bump would be in the workout parameters. I also wanted to hit 700lbs in training. Depending on the starting weight at the contest, I might not have the option to do 700lbs and it could be something where I might end up lower than that as a final attempt potentially. I had wanted 700lbs at Clash of the Tridents with how I was feeling after the first training cycle and with how I was looking strong in training. But it wasn’t to be then. Last single was ok. I felt like 700lbs was there. Tried to just go for 690lbs but the pressure of my own ego egging me on. Only 10lbs away from it. Why waste this lift on sub 700lbs? Know for certain you are stronger than you were. I gave in to that. Noticing that as we get closer to peak that I’m doing that with things. Sandbag shouldering with doing “sneaky” warm-ups with 25-31lbs more than prescribed. Going a little above suggested weights on the log for the heavier weeks and paused incline. And deadlift. There is risk as I will look very foolish if I miss a lift and ruin the momentum of 20 weeks of buildup. For when it matters. But there is a little high from exceeding the suggested. Like beating the time to your destination with the GPS route tracker. I got set and went. Little struggle to get started but it went up pretty darn well. Hard to say if it went up better than 680lbs did last time or not. It was close. I think knowing it was just a single this time made it feel like not as hard since I felt that it was heavy last time and that I was to do another with it. Down sets were a bit different this time. Now this was to be 600lbs but since I did 15lbs more than planned, I went with 610lbs for these clusters. Do a rep and then rest 15 seconds before doing another for two reps total each set. That resting between singles is rough with a suit. Hard to get that tightness back. I think it is a good idea for training in the event something does go wrong or I get too exhausted repping things out and have to take a breather to regroup on suited pulls. This has been the heaviest deadlift training of any cycle so far. Low to 700’s is there for sure and depending on how I feel and how much I can get someone to crank the straps it could be higher end of the low 7’s. Next was dimel deadlifts with 20% band tension at 40% of my floor max estimated. Fairly big jump as these continue to move fast and easy for me. Plan here was to do 2x10 and then AMRAP on the last set with 3RIR. The end point of that being when I didn’t feel snappy or reached 15 reps. Whichever came first. So it was kind of a forgone conclusion that it would be a set of 15 reps. Knee was a little sore with getting these setup that first working set with how hard and fast I move with these. Slow first rep to feel things out and then bam. These do get a little exhausting doing that many reps as fast as possible. But still feel good for a ton more. As I mentioned, the rest of the accessory work was backed off. FFE split squats again. 15lbs less weight and for 2x12. I went right into these rather than the mobility things I’ve done. Knees were holding up fine thankfully. On the working sets, I might have done an extra rep on a set or two as I may have lost count of the reps. This was pretty easy stuff. Always hard to gauge with these as that set with the bar empty to warm up felt harder than with weight. Next thing was single leg hip thrusts with pauses. 2 sets with the 70lbs. It said 10-12 with 2RIR. So that was also one where I figured I’d be doing 12 since I did this weight for 3x10 last week with 3ct as opposed to 2ct. So that should be doable. Felt about how they should. Trying to take rests between legs but not so much like I do with the FFE split squats. Single leg calf stuff with tempo after that. 2x15 this week. I figured that it was best to switch back to bw for that many reps as those extra reps are a lot more time under tension. This was good decision. This might also have had an extra rep or two done like the FFE split squats. Not that these were easy, just there is a lot of counting sequences and I didn’t want to do less reps if I was off. Finished up cooking dinner and put stuff away. Ate and then stretched before icing my knees.


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