Close Grip Dead Floor Presses
85x5
135x5
185x5
235x5
285x5
Stretching
Comments:
It was good that it was a three day weekend for me. Cold made it
miserable but at least I got to sleep a lot to fight it off. Biceps is
not healing fast enough so USS Nats isn’t happening for me this year.
Too biceps intensive so training won’t allow any rest and feeling it on
light arm-over-arm and attempting to pick up a 100lbs sandbag like I
would a stone kind of solidified that for me. So just Beast of the
Bluegrass for now. Working on recover as best I can with daily
massaging, stretching and wrapping with ACE bandage. Hopefully it gets
to the point where I can train stones this cycle. Other stressors being
medical expenses from the MRI. It was covered but I had to pay a
significant amount toward it due to changes in how the insurance for my
employer works now. Not fun. Lower back was sore, mostly o n the right
side. Not sure if I sleep funny or if it’s just from doing arm-over-arm
with my non-dominant side and I just haven’t done the movement in like
four years. Enough griping. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at
154bpm. Right knee felt like dog crap at the start but it got better.
Calf raise work after that. Easy. Box touches with a wide stance after
that. No aches in the right knee or issues with the lower back. Box
squats felt ok but knees were achy. Then regular stance box touches. Not
as good as the wide stance but good. Band rows after that. No issues,
easy. Push-ups were also good. No achy shoulder. Hopefully that trend
continues. Hip airplanes were pretty easy. Probably helped the lower
back issue. Added back in the biceps stretch to the warm-ups. I had done
several sets Sunday and Monday throughout the day. Need to test these a
bit at the gym as I can’t duplicate the setup in the garage with my
yoke at the gym that gets it just right. Then lifting things up and
down. First up log push press out of the rack. First time doing these
since my injury so it was going to be a little interesting as I worked
up. Plan was a single up to 90% of what I felt I could do for the day,
taking 20lbs jumps with no grinding reps. I decided to start with the
empty log so that I could get in a lot of sets and get my form down over
the sets to really get the technique down. Didn’t want to overstress
the biceps getting the log on to my shoulders from the rack. Knee felt
like crap at the start but got better. I was expecting 270lbs for the
single for today. But depended on how I felt as 250lbs could be it if I
felt like crap. I watched the video on every single to see how my form
changed with the increasing weight and adding on stuff like rehband
belt, hard belt and wrist wraps. I was pleasantly surprised with how
easy 270lbs went up to lockout that I went for 290lbs. That also went up
smooth. So finally some good news this week haha. On to pulldowns after
that. Warm-up and five sets of ten reps working up each set. Not
maximum effort as to keep my back ready for heavy deadlifts and rack
pulls later this week. I tried my best to mimic the reverse of my
overhead press with the motion. Last time, I had just sat back and
pulled. I think I was trying to protect my biceps more and keep my upper
back tight. I kept the weight relatively light and controlled it. No
pain in the biceps but I felt it. Like I was teasing a spider by tapping
on its web. Felt tight. I will have to stay light on these I think but
they feel great on my upper back. Last thing for the day being dead
floor presses with a close grip. Been a bit since I did these. Working
up in sets of five to a decent set of five reps. Goal being 90%-95% of
what I felt I could do. I figured that 10lbs over my best with a close
grip and pauses on this style would do so I took 50lbs jumps. First two
sets felt light and easy but got tougher, especially with the close
grip. I didn’t take as long of rest as normal since this wasn’t going to
be a maximal effort. Just more pressing to keep the press frequency up.
Moved a bit slower than I would’ve liked but I also was trying to make
sure that it rested on the pins every rep. Finished earlier than
expected and home to stretch and eat. Also put Icy Hot on my back to
hopefully calm it down a little. Will continue to monitor the biceps
daily.
I’m a little taller than 6′6″ and I really like to lift weights. I’m a competitor in amateur strongman contests. My hope is to become a competitive professional strongman. Currently I'm training for Northeast Regionals in Monaca, PA on 6/1/2024. I’m not a major competitor yet and I have a long way to go but I’m having fun.
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