After a week off, it was back to the gym today. I’ve managed to get back into the driver’s seat of my life, so taking a week off seems like it was the right call. But I don’t generally take time off from lifting, so I have no idea how my body responds.
One thing that surprised me is how stiff I’ve been feeling all week. My glutes are insanely tight, and that is not a comment on how frigid I am. It’s just funny to me that people tell me not to hurt myself lifting, but even a few days away from the bar leaves me wildly unfunctional and feeling old. As the saying goes: Seven days without lifting makes one weak.
Anyway, apprehensive and creaky, I headed for the gym. On the menu tonight: Texas Method volume day squats, OHP and a lot of big ol’ booty:
Apparently a precession* also occurred in there. I don’t even know what to think. Warming up, my 235lb warm-up turned into a pause squat and I knew I was in trouble. But the more sets I did, the more solid I felt – until I peaked somewhere in my 6th set. I can see that by the 8th set, I’m not sinking these like I was initially.
One thing about filming myself is that it is awesome to be able to see what I’m doing wrong. But it’s also agonizing for me to see that my feet are uneven on the last set. If I set up like that consistently, no wonder my hip gets angry when I squat. And while I was worried that I was coming down unevenly, it seems I have a bigger problem coming out of the hole evenly. Oh, and maybe I should consider keeping my ankles down from now on.
If I’m bummed about how these went, I’m glad I didn’t film any of my OHP. Months ago, I managed to lift 90lbs over my head. Last week I banged out 75x5x5 with ease. This week? I struggled to get 80 off my chest. Disheartened, I did some lateral lunges and tricep pushdowns and got out.
At least my weight is back under 72kg? Which is not surprising since I’m totally Paleo now.
Do you like green eggs and ham?
(Breakfast: Eggs with homemade pesto, bacon and blueberries)
Sunday, March 3rd (Day 1): 10
Monday, March 4th (Day 2): 10
Total points: 20
*Precession: The Milankovitch Cycle whereby the Earth wobbles as it spins on its axis. Occurs approximately every 23 000 years.
GIRLS CAN LIFT 
March 6, 2013 at 3:22 am
I swear, you are my doppelganger. I mean, except that I’m fucking fat. But yo, we’ve got the same exact issues on squat–I sense that you have issues breaking parallel and have a tendency to lean your upper body forward on the way up. Gurrrrl, me too. I think the trick is abs. Like, all the time. Also, Anderson squats.
Nice ass : )