Today’s workout was kinda fun because it was comprised solely of “the big 3 lifts”: squat, bench press, deadlift.

Squats

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x55
• 1x3x85
• 1x2x115
• 3x5x145 (work)

The bar felt heavy today. Not in a bad way, just in a “wow, never squatted this much weight before” way. I’ll discuss this more at the end.

Form continues to improve, and that stands to reason given I squat every workout so it just gets more reps, more time to condition that muscle memory. I did also play around with stepping back from the rack. The gym doesn’t have a full power rack, it’s one of those “half rack” sort of incline peg things. It’s certainly sufficient for the task, but because of the incline and that I have to start with the bar pretty high I have to step back a little further to ensure when I’m in the hole I don’t bang the bar into the rack. But I found I don’t need to step back as far as I thought I did, which is good, especially as the weight gets bigger. Plus, I’m trying to work on minimizing my steps, just step one foot back and plant it, then step the other back and plant it and that’s that… no step back, another couple steps, shuffle, etc. because that’s a waste of energy and only gets more difficult as the weight gets heavier.

Bench Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x60
• 1x3x85
• 1x2x120 (should have been 110# but sometimes I suck at “plate math”)
• 3x5x125 (work)

Remember how I mentioned that I was having a rough time with waiting for 4-5 minutes between sets? Well, that’s getting easier to manage with the squats. Here on the bench I didn’t wait so long, maybe 3 minutes at most between my work sets. Basically tells me that I have a lot of strength still to go, a lot of room to improve. So that’s all good.

Gripped the bar  hard, but my right wrist still feels the pressure. We’ll see how this pans out for my wrist. A little discomfort is one thing, but sheer pain is another. I can’t afford hand injury due to my line of work.

Deadlift

• 2x5x95 (supposed to be 60#)
• 1x3x95 (supposed to be 90#)
• 1x2x125
• 1x5x150

The initial warmup sets are supposed to be at a calculated low weight, but it’s just not practical to do since I lack the bumper plates or very high blocks on which to stack things. So, 95# (i.e. a 25# plate on each side) is going to be my minimum until I of course improve beyond that weight.

I really felt like I could do more here, but I’m going to be patient. Rip talks about how 1 set is enough since deadlifts take a lot out of you so better to get some work then rest rest rest. Furthermore, I do the math and if I progress on the route I’m on…. well, back up. In theory, your weights should be deadlift > squat > bench press > press in terms of weight you can move. Presently that’s the case for me, however at my rate of progression that’s going to change with my squat overtaking. But, that’s only based upon simple math predictions, not reality. I know that eventually I won’t be going up 10# per squat session but I betcha I’ll continue to do 15# deadlift jumps for a little while longer. I figure the stats will be all wonky while my body comes to terms with everything, but it’ll all even out at the end. What matters more isn’t what I have now, but what things will be like when I’m done with this SS/PP-based program months from now.

Commentary

This was the first workout where I started to feel like gosh, everything feels heavier. So I know I’m getting closer to what I can actually lift. It’s all pretty cool, but it’s creating an interesting internal dialogue.

I’ve never done this before. I’ve never lifted heavy like this. Oh sure, it’s not heavy compared to the big boys, but for me it’s heavy and heavier than I ever did. And what’s more, the nature of the program makes me always lift heavier. I am constantly having to push myself. This starts to create massive internal “fear” dialogue. From the fears of overprotective mother not wanting me to get hurt, to Wife not wanting me to get hurt, to me just growing older and getting more conservative and not wanting to get hurt… all that sort of “holy shit that’s heavy! what the hell are you doing!” that enters my head. So there’s that whole thing… and I reckon it’ll still come. But what’s cool is that it’s starting to change, or at least to give way to another dialogue. One that says “holy shit, that’s heavy! but damn, that’s awesome!” because I know I’m going to move it, because I know I’m going to set another Personal Record (PR) this workout. That’s a neat thing about this sort of program because you get tangible results constantly. You get constant feedback (and ego gratification, let’s be honest) that you are better than you were just 2 days ago… you are stronger, you are more capable, you are able to break through barriers, you are tougher, you are more disciplined, whatever and everything. It really feeds and makes for a positive experience. I swear, I want to go to the gym more! Of course I know that’s NOT useful, nor is it useful to stick around and fiddlefart in the gym — get in, do your work, get out, eat and rest. But geez if it isn’t an interesting mental and internal change of mindset.

I was telling Wife about this and she thought it was pretty cool. She asked me how long I’m going to be doing this and I said that I don’t know… but I’ll deal with it when I get there. Yes, part of me thinks joining the 1000# club would be cool, but I’m not sure how much I care. I’m not doing this to be a lifter, I’m doing this to be healthy, strong, and useful. So where I end up? We’ll see. It’s just a fun journey and it’s starting to wander a path that I didn’t expect but am quite enjoying.