May 31, 2023 – Week 12, Day 2

13” Axle Jack Stand Pulls w/ bands (straps, +26lbs/+79lbs)
110x1
160x1
200x1
250x1
290x1
340x1
380x1
430x1
470x1
520x1
582x1
Clusters (30 seconds)
524x1+1
524x1+1

Dimel Deadlifts w/ bands (straps, +51lbs/+102lbs)
135x3
225x3
315x6
315x6

Paused Safety Squat Bar Squats (2 seconds)
65x3
115x3
155x3
205x3
245x3
295x3
295x3
295x3

Paused Seated Band Hamstring Curls (band each leg, 5 seconds holds)
lb’sx12
lb’sx12

Roman Chair Sit-ups
bwx15
bwx15

Stretching
 
Comments: I was curious how this session would go. But there was a little damper on things. I had what I was thinking was the last “testing” for this liver “issue” with blood work Tuesday morning. A slight upward trend (98 to 102) has the doctor attempting to refer me to a gastroenterologist. For what I don’t know. The other stuff should’ve ruled out things like liver failure, cirrhosis and hepatitis (and honestly, should never have even been discussed with the levels) and I’ve been told it isn’t “concerning” but then why more tests? Reasonable explanations would be that I eat high protein diet with strenuous strength training and that I take a medication that is known to elevate these levels. I feel like I’ll need to fight this crap going forward. But for now, just waiting on responses back from my inquiry. So maybe that was weighing down on me a little. Did the weighted knee stuff for mobility before getting ready. This was to start off with the heavy day with the axle as has been the case but a little different. Rather than go for a moderate day, the thought was to go for a heavy single with band tension. Idea being the bar weight will be lower than what I end up pulling for the last heavy session (indication is work up to 1st or 2nd attempt) but will overload with the band tension at the top. Using the same setup I’ve done for the past two “speed” pull sessions. I decided I’d do singles all the way and do 40-50lbs jumps. Set myself up for anywhere between 560lbs and 600lbs for the top single depending on how I feel. But truly, 570lbs was the bare minimum I think I’d have been slightly ok with. But I also knew that pulling against bands is hard. Like, the band pulls that are for speed don’t feel like it. I also don’t feel fast with pulls even if they look like it relatively. Anything over 406lbs with this setup would technically be a PR for this setup. Stuff was feeling heavy. 470lbs though didn’t feel that bad and I felt like I could pull what I was expecting (up to this point I was worried 520lbs would be it). 520lbs I could tell that 600lbs was probably not a wise decision. This was to be a top pull but it was to be with 1-2RIR. So I calculated what I would need to have about 520lbs for the down set and that minimum was 577lbs. So then I was thinking that but figured why not just do 580lbs? That would be just shy of 300kgs at the top. So I added 2lbs more to it so that it would be. Goal had been to have the tension and bar weight be over 635lbs at lockout. So this was the added bonus of being over 600lbs off the floor and over the projected max in training at the top. This did feel slow and I think another rep would be a fight to lockout. Can’t say confidently that I’d get a triple here. It actually doesn’t look that bad with the bar speed once it breaks off the floor until below the knees. Then it slows a bit for lockout. But good sign that the about the weight I did for a double without bands that I can do with against band tension of like 50lbs on it through the lift. The work to get the goal jumps at Regionals has been put in. But still need to work. Down sets were the cluster doubles. Pull, rest 30 seconds and pull again. So drop down 10% here. These did move ok but they felt like death. Especially the second rep of each set. Felt like not much was left but the camera says I was good for more with enough rest between the sets. I knew I was going to be beat. Took a little break to get some fluids down while tearing down the band platform setup and getting another banded exercise setup; dimels. These have been getting some big potential jumps in weight each time they pop up. These feel like nothing without bands added. This is definitely the most I’ve attempted on these. Big jumps to just get a short ramp up. I’m sticking to no hard belt on these. At this weight, the reversal is difficult. Like on lighter stuff, I can do a fast descent and quickly turn it around. At this weight, I kind of have to control the lowering and the reversal isn’t as quick. But the lifting is still violent and explosive. And the second set feels better than the first. A little break here getting things ready for squats. Paused squats. Not exactly easy even though indicated as such. Pauses tend to stress my knees a lot more than normal reps. I was given a few numbers such as RPE and percentage. 65%x3x3 here but RPE 4-5. Knees were feeling rough but did feel better as I added a belt. The sets did get better as I went but I’d probably need to be doing closer to 50% for the RPE to safely be in this range. I was definitely pushing it for RPE 5 (probably above). I know things are ramping down for squats. The Nordics were removed for something less harsh. Banded leg curls with long holds were the replacement and I was glad they were there. They do seem to make the hamstrings sore but also the knees happy. Plan was 2x10-12 with 3-5ct holds. Of course going the higher end of the spectrum. Last thing was roman chair sit-ups. Just 2x15 this time. I tried to anchor the bench a bit more this time as I was scooting it along last time. Despite those efforts, still had it moving. But these did feel good on my back and hips after all the other stuff. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching. Iced knees before bed.