Back from the gym. Good day. Gym was a bit busier than usual, but it was no problem for me. Most people there were using machines or cardio stuff. Squat rack and bench were all mine. Works for me!

Here’s the breakdown:

Squat

• 2x5x45 (bar only warmup)
• 1x5x50 (warmup)
• 1x3x75 (warmup)
• 1x2x100 (warmup
• 3x5x125 (work)

Set felt good. I remember on the previous workout that I put the bar on my back and felt “whoa! that’s heavy”. This time, yes I felt weight up there, but it just didn’t feel “heavy”… no dialogue in my brain going “oh shit! what are you doing!”. 🙂

Form is feeling good. I’m getting more comfortable with the form and style, especially the low-bar squat. I still have a way to go on form, but I’m getting there. Will watch the DVD again to pick up on things I missed the first time around, refine, etc..

Bench Press

• 2x5x45 (bar only warmup)
• 1x5x75 (warmup – I screwed up, should have been 60 but my “plate math” wasn’t working)
• 1x3x75 (warmup – Should have been 80, but I couldn’t get to the 2.5# plates and at just 5# of difference and this was a warmup set? Meh… just went with it)
• 1x2x100 (warmup)
• 3x5x125 (work)

My first work set wasn’t kind to my right wrist. I’ve banged up that wrist pretty bad over the years (martial arts), but I know what the problem was: I wasn’t setting the bar correctly in my hand. I corrected and was just fine on the last 2 sets.

Another habit to break? You’re supposed to hold your shoulders back, like the shoulder blades touching as if trying to hold something between them. Well, I used to try to push my pecs forward, like doing a shrug, in an effort to really work the pectoral muscle. That’s not desired here, and while I wasn’t working on doing that, certainly my arms and body are used to pushing further out (there’s range of motion still in there, technically). Of course, with heavier weights this will stop on its own. 😉 Still, it’s a form issue that I am aware of and will just have to work to break the habit.

So: mind bar position in the hands, squeeze the bar with the hands, keep shoulders back.

Pull-ups

• 1x9xbodyweight
• 1x6xbodyweight
• 1x5xbodyweight

Note: Monday was chin-ups (palms towards you) and today is pull-ups (palms away). This is intentional.

These actually felt a lot easier than Monday’s chin-ups, not sure what that says. One thing I noticed was how fast I was moving. I need to slow down… at least, going down. When I pull/chin up, sure, explode up there. But on the way back down, I need to go slower than I did going up. If I focus a little more on the negative motion, that’s going to help build the strength. I’m not dropping down (my shoulders and elbows would hate me), but I should slow down more.

And again here, squeeze the bar with my hands.

So that’s really the big thing from this workout: form is becoming more comfortable, but still a long ways to go. I’ll watch the DVD again and re-read the relevant pages from the Starting Strength book to mind my form details. I’m aware of my grip, but not aware enough… squeeze the dickens out of the bar, leave fingerprints in it. And don’t forget the negatives on the chin-/pull-ups.

Feel good!