UB: Strong Week 4. Bench

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Machine Neck Extension - 25X20X2, 30X20

Bench -
BarX30
95X5
115X5
135X5
145X5
165X5

DB Incline - 60sX9, 4

Dips - Gym BW 207+25X8, 5

Hanging Leg Raise (Feet to Bar) - BWX5, 3, 4, 3

10 minutes on treadmill

5th week of neck work in the bag.  I've been growing a beard since October, and I'm shaving it off this weekend.  Wondering if my neck will look drastically different once it's exposed.  I originally started addidng in extensions here, because I thought it might help with upper back tightness in the deadlift.  Paul Carter poo-poo'd that idea, however looking at the deadlift on exrx it mentions the levator being a stabilizer along with the traps.  The levator gets worked in lateral neck flexion, so maybe it would be better to start doing those instead.  2 weeks to go, might as well mix it up a little.

So 165 is right around my projected 5RM.  I did a lot of reps with just the bar to make sure to get a lot of blood flowing into the muscles and get the mechanics locked in.  I took progressively longer rests between sets as I progressed through the 5X5.  On the top 2 sets, I let my focus come away from mechanics and move towards power, or "intent."  Top set felt pretty good.  Hard, but not a grinder.  Next week the weight on the lower sets come up, but the top set remains the same, so everything should be good, and setting the stage for a PR the following week.

I will definitely try to remember not to do Incline work the day after heavy shrugging in the future.  My traps were just pissed as hell through these DB presses.

I had to use the digital scale again, because the old-school counter-weight scale is still all over the place.  I wasted a lot of time trying to find a sweet spot on the plate before giving up and going out to the digital.  That said 207.  Last time I did Dips I was at 204 and shamefacedly strapped a 5 lb. plate on to keep the progression in line with what I had been doing.  Today I just said fuck it, and used a 25lb. plate.  I only got 8 reps, but I would rather build on that than tiny plates in the 10-12 rep range.  Also, Rep PR and tiny projected 1RM increase.

Committing to bringing my feet up level with the bar on leg raises going forward.  Much easier on my shoulder this day than when I tried it on shoulder day.  Many fewer reps than bringing feet up to face level.  Duh.

10 minute trot on treadmill was kind of nice today.  That whole zone out and run thing that just feels good sometimes.