Training Sesh 2/7/14 - The Beginnings of Greatness

First things first- you will notice that this post is titled "TrainingSesh", not "Bench Sesh" or " Squat Sesh". Long story short my last squat session (as detailed here), which was a dynamic squat session, sparked a little bit of debate on the ol' Facebooks on the importance and effectiveness of dynamic/speed work, Through 50 some odd comments and some side conversation, it was determined that I should change my programming.

Wisdom came down the mountain from David, the Yoda of NBS Fitness and EliteFTS contributor and athlete, flash forward a few days, and I am off of the conjugate method. The new program is simple and straightforward, similar to Starting Strength and utilizing linear progression. Ran the first session last night.

I won't detail it, per se, but here is what occurred:

• Front squat - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 5x185lbs, 5x205lbs, 4x225lbs
• Deathlift - 5x135lbs, 5x185lbs, 5x225lbs, 5x275lbs, 5x315lbs
• Standing barbell OHP (strict) - 5xbar, 5x65lbs, 5x85lbs, 5x95lbs, 5x115lbs
• Reverse hyper - 3x12x90lbs
• Wide handle lat pulldown - 3x10x110lbs

Some visual evidence for that derriere- thanks to Matt Livesay for recording:

5x205lbs

4x225lbs

So a couple of take aways from the sesh- 

1. My work capacity is way down from last year. This is a given  Lack of steady training for several months solid equals rapidly diminishing outputs. And me? Didn't train steadily for several months so there will be some adjustment. My deadlift sets should have continued for another weight jump or two, at least to 335/345lbs, but I was honestly just getting fried and form was breaking down, making more work than necessary..
2. Need to work on my front squat, obviously. Haven't done front squats in probably eight months. As David pointed out after watching the video of my 225 set, I need to work on presenting more with my chest up and keep my head more neutral as opposed to looking up as much. Can tell I am not supporting the bar quite right because my wrists started killing me- signs I am supporting and initiating movement more with my hands than my chest and shoulders as I should be.
3. Need to grow my "gym balls" back. There was no real reason for me to cut that set of front squats at four reps- should have gotten five on it. The weight was moving,  but a little forward movement (you'll see it on rep four) caused me to lose faith in the set, so I racked. 
4. Despite those few shortcomings and errors, I actually felt pretty decent about the work done. As mentioned, that was my first time front squatting in more than half a year and I managed to hit decent numbers from what I did last year. Also a little surprised at the numbers for the OHP- with my rehabbing shoulder/back I honestly didn't expect to get more than 85-95lbs for a set of five. I actually did one more set with 125lbs, but it ended up being more push press than strict OHP, and...

And now we recover. More food, more sleep, more foam rolling and stretching. 

LET'S DO THIS!

As an aside, as I was winding down the accessory work I started to notice the gym clearing out and pretty soon it was just me on my last few sets and Jon K, who is one of those guys that I share a past with even though we never really crossed paths. Similar circles, similar taste in music, and we both lift. We're both ex (and current) metal and punk kids that played music previously and we have several mutual friends. 

We also both like to bag on some of the music at the gym because as mentioned and despite his training knowledge and awesomeness and his status as a beardie, David insists on having things like Nickelback, Three Doors Down, and Trapt in heavy rotation on the gym playlist.

And that's okay. Because it unites us in hate. Typically if Jon and I are training anywhere near in the same vicinity and such offensive tunes hit the playlist, we reflexively look at each other and begin the chants of, "God damn it, what is this shit? Fucking hell" and all things similar.

Sometimes this results in PRs.

Jon and I got to talking about trying to find new, good music in an age of rampant bullshittery and all the shows that came through "back in the day" that we missed and wished we could have seen. There were lots of them, but we generally agree on some of the biggest ones being Helmet/Quicksand back in 94(ish?) and Snapcase right about the same time.

Bullshittery. You like that? I just made it up, but you can use it. After all, I did it for you.

You're welcome.

In honor of Jon and all 90s hardcore kids everywhere, I leave you with this.

Go forth and destroy.