UB: Strong Week 5. Deadlift

Defranco Mobility

Standing Calf Raises (slow-eccentric; paused at bottom) - 305X15X3

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
225X5
255X5
275X5

Power Shrugs - 365X12, 7

Chin-ups - Gym BW 212X10, 5

Cable Crunch - 100X11, 12 (kneeling); 100X8 (standing)

Treadmill - 10 minutes jogging

I started reading some Lyle McDonald stuff, and his post about calf-training really jumped out as relevant to what I'm doing right now.  I was bouncing out of the bottom, so I tried it today exploding up, squeezing at the top, taking a slow eccentric and pausing at the bottom.  Much, much harder.  I don't have the promised "can't walk the next day" thing going on, but I guess I didn't do the full routine.  The one thing I don't like is that I pretty much have to take a breath at every pause, and I don't like the way it feels losing tightness with my spine loaded like that.  It's a machine though, so I'm not too worried.

I was a little nervous coming in to set a 10 lb. PR on the deads today.  Similar to my last squat session, I scrapped the programmed weight increases for the initial sets in favor of lowering overall volume and saving everything for the top set.  Also this knotting I have in my mid-back started acting up for the first time doing deadlifts.  Not during the lift thankfully, but really angry after each set.  I gave myself plenty of rest between the top sets, and everything went pretty well.  Every successive set left me feeling more and more confident for the following set.  After I got the 275 I was grinning like crazy, and I don't think I've ever done that after a lift before.  Maybe the first time I got 10 chin-ups last fall.  I almost wanted to throw some more weight on and go again, but I'm trying to show some restraint as I'm scheduled to add another 10lbs. next week to complete the cycle.

I have to confess, I don't know if I'm doing the shrugs "correctly."  But I'm contracting my shoulders, and the weight is moving up and down, so I'm not too worried about it.  It's been all PR's on this movement btw, but I don't really worry about it since I didn't do them before this cycle.  Obviously, you always set lots of PR's when you first pick up a movement.

Digital scale said I was 211.6 at the gym.  So 212X10 is a PR for me in chins.  On the spreadsheet that I use to track all my lifts, I may have mentioned I also track the "balance" between the lifts based on certain benchmarks.  For example, one of the things I use that is very common is looking for a 1/1.5/2/2.5 ratio for Press/Bench/Squat/Dead.  That's very simple, and I actually have a lot more feeding into my numbers.  I have to recognize that at this point Chins are way out ahead of everything else, followed closely by Dips.  I really have a hard-on for improving those two lifts so it shouldn't come as a surprise.  The thing I'm struggling with is the concept of backing-off working on them in favor of something else, but I think that's what I need to do.  So I think for the upcoming conditioning block, I will only do one set each of chins and dips a week, just to make sure and keep the mechanics fresh.  It's time I started focusing more on rows anyway (they weren't even on my sheet!). 

Cable-crunches are damn awkward.  I think what I need to find is the machine that allows me to do them standing with a rope attachement, and that is hard.  Multiple-pulley machines seem pretty easy, but I'm going to try one of the lat pull-down stations next time.  It's clear that if my knees get in front of my hips, my hamstrings start doing some of the work.  That's why I need to find a way to do them standing, stiff-legged.

I jogged on a treadmill.  Look upon my works ye mighty and despair.