44 min., 225 lbs.
Warm-up (9 min.) - shaking, stretching, OHS
FSQ: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 @ 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275 lbs.
CL: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 @ 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185 lbs.
Abs (3 min.) - V-sits, Lateral crunches, hip crunches, bird dog
+ + +
"How you feel is a lie."
I experienced this maxim today.
Today was the end of the third school quarter, so my stress levels were mildly higher than normal (I hate entering and verifying grades). Plus, it's tax season. I got home and felt pretty winded. Thought about taking a nap, but my wife's enthusiasm about some kb and core exercises I showed her, plus a little coffee, plus, really, the unblinking awareness that "I'm going to the gym," all gave me a second wind.
Or did it?
Even as I arrived at the gym, I felt a bit run down.
Meh.
"Gotta get it done."
Despite some aches and pains and the usual inertia, I ended up PR'ing on my FSQ, and felt satisfied for the first time that I'm doing the CL with basically correct form.
In other words, how I felt was a lie.
I'll be taking the weekend fairly easy; it's supposed to rain all weekend, so I might even get some reading done. Honestly, though, I feel a kb session in me, for Saturday, just to blow off some steam and grease the groove. "Healthy addiction," anyone?
Despite all this, I admit I felt a bit lost last night, pondering if I'm really grasping and following Perryman's ideas. I kept (and keep) wondering how to program AYCE better. I really like my... how should I say? Progress? No, it's more like putting on a nicely "broken in" pairs of shoes. I feel comfortable keeping up these daily sessions, don't feel dangerously run down, not at all--in fact, I feel very springy and vibrant. Yet, I still feel like I'm doing it wrong. My instincts have always been to do circuits of 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, but I know that if I don't keep a tight rein on my accessory exercises after DLing and (F)Sqing, I'll run myself into the ground. At the very least, as Perryman does warn, I need some time to get accustomed to such an increase in frequency; I need time to get, to recall my favorite expression in Perryman's book, "fatigue-hardened".
So, as I was trying to get the big picture of my goals, and not simply turn "Squat Every Day" into a random fetish (which Perryman would completely reject, of course), I tried seeing my year cut up into three phases:
power (low volume, high frequency - "AYCE" from, say, January to April);
bodybuilding (high volume, lower frequency - "Even Keel" from April to August);
and calisthenic/bodyweight/boxing/kettlebell conditioning (high intensity, high frequency - "Met-Con" from August to December)
Obviously, I'm off-track with this idea, as I have been doing bulking, Even Keel, and now AYCE, since January--and summer is looming. "They say that" summer is the time to cut and winter is the time to bulk, so.... Either way, for now, my primary goal is to hit a FSQ of 285 x 4, at which point I'll bring back back SQ (heheh).
Last night I also realized that the DL is too important a lift to marginalize. Be bold! Don't hide behind "overtraining" in order to gild your cravings for the cool shade of mediocrity. Thus, as I continue to explore AYCE, here's the forecast: squatty with a burst of deadlift.
Monday: DL, DBP, abs
Tuesday: HSQ, Guillotine
Wednesday: FSQ, PU, abs
Thursday: FSQ, Dips/MP
Friday: FSQ, CL, abs
weekend: rest, foam roll, stretch, kb, etc.
When I step back and look at my progress over the past 4 years, I realize I'm more interested in strength and power than in "getting ripped" or "looking huge." My goals are more like a powerlifter's than a bodybuilder's, so I need to filter the noise through those standards:
SQ of 405 lbs
DL of 485 lbs
BP of 315 lbs
Wish me luck! Meanwhile, I love being the antithesis of a weekend warrior!
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