Tuesday: Lower A, Week 4. in Exerbabble III

Tuesday, 12-23-14
Cycle I, Week 4: Lower A

Yesterday's nutrition: More carbs than usual, but otherwise sufficient.
Last night's sleep: 10+ hours

GYM STUFF:

LOTS of foam rolling

Squats:
5 @ 45, 95, 135 lbs; 3 @ 185 lbs
3x5 @ 205 lbs (+5 lbs)

Deadlifts:
3 @ 135, 185, 225 lbs, 1 @ 275 lbs
3x3 @ 295 lbs (+5 lbs)

Farmer's Walks: 3x @ 35 lbs

45-degree Back Extension: 3x8 @ 35 lbs (+10 lbs)

One-Leg Bridge: 3x15sec
Plank: 3x45sec (+5 seconds)

lower stretching

Crux of workout: 65 minutes

Night workouts are so weird.

I remember when I used to feel like I needed to “conserve” energy before squatting. It was to my detriment, of course. I was afraid of too many warm-up sets, afraid any exertion would somehow mean not hitting a rep. Now I’m completely okay putzing on the treadmill at an easy pace if the squat rack isn’t open. If easy walking on the treadmill hurts your squat, man, you’ve got bigger problems than your squat.

With the most recent leg day being last Wednesday, it’s been almost a week. As well, sleeping on an air mattress had me waking up with an achy back. I made a point to liberally foam roll. As well, I did two quick sets of leg curls (2x8 @ 80 lbs) to warm up my knees.

I don’t really time my rest periods for heavy shit like this. Instead, I give myself a maximum window of five minutes. I’m usually ready at around three minutes, which psychologically gives me a boost. Somehow, setting a time limit makes me slightly anxious over the clock, whereas “feeling” like I can take my time lets me just focus on the lifts.

My lower back felt pretty tired through my deadlift warm-ups. I nailed the 275 lb single, which gave me confidence that the top sets would go well. Again, I had to readjust my grip on the second set, between the second and third rep. Still getting the pulls, but I’m contemplating getting wrist straps. I’ve had an ego about using no gloves or gear. Kind of silly to avoid using it on principle if it’s the only thing holding me back. In the mean time, I’ll hit my farmer’s walks and my gripper.