This one was a fairly light training sesh overall. Went into it with one goal in mind - work on getting my shit together.
Quite simply, here is what occurred:
- Front squat - 2x5xbar, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 5x185lbs, 2x3x225lbs
- Sumo deadlift - 3x135lbs, 3x185lbs, 3x225lbs, 3x2x275lbs with some random singles @ each weight to play with technique
First, the front skwatz. I've been noticing that I have been carrying the load in my hands and wrists lately for whatever reason. As in a lot of my front squat sessions, except for my sesh previous to this, it seems that I end up front squatting with one of the gym bros, Scott. Scott noticed pretty quickly that I was squatting really narrow, like feet not more than about 6-8" apart narrow, which is something I apparently was not picking up on. This was causing me to not be able to push my knees out, causing issues getting to parallel and making me pitch forward- well indicated by the weight sitting in my hands more. On my last set I got my feet out a little more, made sure my toes were pitched out a little better, and hit the set immediately noticing the lack of pain through the fingers and wrists.
Good stuffs. Now I just have to remember that and apply wider stance going forward.
Problem solved for the time being, moved on to deathlifts. Per previous seshes, I have been eager to get into and start working on sumo deadlifts. They were feeling better than normal during the Saturday bro man love sesh, so I was ready to get to them during this sesh.
By and large- here is the result of the sesh- last set @ 275. Purposely working without a belt to feel the lift a little better:
I wouldn't say that the weight is even really challenging there, it's just moving slow as shit. I can still lift more conventional (for now), but on the plus side my back feels better positioned- the lift overall feels fairly decent- and I think with my shorter legs and arms and longer torso, this is probably the better leveraged way for me to pull. On the negative side, still a few things to work on there, but that is to be expected. (1) need to work on the external rotation of the knees to get the hips more involved. I know that part of the issue here is (2) getting my feet positioned so that I can torque the knees out, but not lift on the edges of my feet. Another benefit of working the feet into proper position is so that I can (3) really work on "spreading the floor". With a little better (4) thoracic mobility/arch, this will help me be able to really rip the bar from the floor and hit that lock out better.
Once the technique locked down and everything is firing correctly, plus some strength added into my lagging hips, these should be fast as lightning.
Isn't that right, Mr Travolta?
Yup. Went there.
As an interesting aside, I threw in a few reps conventional between some of those 275lb sumo sets, and even those felt better than some previous seshes. During the deadlift sesh, I was lifting along side the Kunkle brothers (my apologies if I butchered the name), and they noted that my conventional set looked fine (for reals?) and it was about twice as fast as my sumo pull.
It should be noted that watching the Kunkel brothers lift is one of the more enriching experiences at the jamesnasium. These guys are very technical lifters and they work like machines. Good illustration of the benefits of establishing proper patterns and reinforcing these patterns through repetition. They take their time, do proper work, and are able to analyze and learn from their lifts. Everything they do in their routine seems to make sense. And they're decent guys, to boot.
Metal.
Anyhoo, I thought this observation on conventional vs. sumo to be very interesting, and then recalled that when I was doing the team thing a ring a ding, we pulled "opposite stance" in training when we worked them in before our first meet. Entirely possible that pulling sumo in training is helping to reinforce the proper positioning for conventional, which is fine. I plan to continue with sumo going forward, working the technique, and seeing how it progresses.
Oh, and Jim Sadler. Always with the Jim Sadler.
AND you should know that I purposely listened to classic rock on the way home from the jamesnasium last night and on the way to work this morning.
Go forth and destroy.
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