Gym regimen - February 2012

Thursday, 23 Feb 2012
Even Keel CIRCUIT A
~60 min., 97kg

Ski machine warmup: 5 min.

SQ 9, 6, 8 @ 85kg, 95kg, 110kg
[Perhaps it was the shoes, perhaps it was being rested, perhaps it was having some "real squat guys" in the gym with me, but, for whatever reason, I went for 5 extra reps on my last set––and could have done more. Good to know. Next time I do Even Keel A, I'll shoot for something like this: 9, 6, 3 @ 90kg, 100kg, 120kg.]

PU 9, 9, 6 @ bdw + 7kg, bdw + 7kg, bdw + 7kg

BP 9, 6, 4 @ 70kg, 82.5kg, 90kg

SDL 9, 6, 3 @ 100kg, 110kg, 130kg
[Back felt good, grip was the problem, of which more presently.]

Press 9, 6, 6* @ 38kg, 43kg, 48kg
[A dash of split-step body-cheating on the final rep, but closed with a nice negative.]

EZ-bar bench curl 9, 6, 7* @ 28kg, 33kg, 40kg
[Trainer guy spotted on the last 1 or 2 reps of set 3. Nice groans!]

BP: 6, 6, 5, 3 @ 50kg, 60kg, 70kg, 75kg
[I did this set on a whim, since I want to train my chest harder. Got a small spot on final two reps.]

+ + +

Good things: I went heavier on pretty much everything this time compared to my previous A workout.

Bad things: I might start going home first and then going to the gym later, since I'm pretty sure that now that the college semester has started, there will be a pack of serious college lifters in the gym probably every time I go. They are very welcoming about "working in", but it's a delay and a jam I might just prefer to avoid. My hunch is that, while the number of people in the gym might be greater at, say, 8pm, the number of people who will use what I want to use (esp. the SQ rack), so going later might shift the balance in my favor.

Another annoying thing is that it was muggy and rainy today, so gripping the bar for SDL was annoying. Fortunately, the college lifters let me use some of their chalk, though I felt restrained since it wasn't my own, and I'd rather have lots of chalk than just a little. I also had trouble "getting a grip on" the hook grip. I had it solidly "in hand" for 2 reps of my last set, but then things got slippery or just unwieldy.

Tonight I was reminded why weightlifting is truly a sport, not just a means to fitness. Real lifts (i.e. semi-/full-body resistance movements) require precision timing, full-body coordination, and total focus. Part of my problem is, I was focusing more on the moisture of the bar than on the placement of it in my fingers. NOTE: DL grip should be in the crux the finger joints, not in the palm.

I'm quite tired. Tomorrow, perhaps, I will train my grip. I'm of a mind to do so with heavy bar holds and heavy shrugs (ideally combined). I'm still not sure when I should incorporate my CoC grip training proper.

Stay tuned.