Two Week Catchup: Ups & Downs

FOR the second time in two months, I've caught a fucking cold. This one hit just in time for last weekend, causing me to miss the WASM qualifier and fucking with my breathing during training to the point I scrapped the session. I lost four kilograms over the following week (I was 136 Monday; I'm barely 132 this morning), which had a significant impact on my strength levels. Last fortnight I squatted 190 kilograms for four strong sets of four. Today, walking out 200 felt weak and uncomfortable. I did a couple of doubles and was pretty unhappy with them, so moved on. The video shows they were far from my best work at this weight.

The past two weeks have been very up and down. My sleeping stats and resting heart rate have continued to improve, and while some weight loss was expected thanks to a more rigid diet I've been following (and total removal of all alcohol, again), the amount I have lost and the speed with which I lost it was an unwelcome surprise, as was the impact it and the illness had on my training.

My resting heart rate has never been this low

Not a great result

I'm going to reset my squats and yoke (again) and attack them again next fortnight. And it's also high time I cranked up the deadlifts. Legendary Lifting has a new set of Wagon Wheels, courtesy Navarre, and I'm keen to pull heavy again.

EVENTS (+PULL) Week 16, Template 2 - Saturday August 10th
Axle squats:
50 kg x 10
90 kg x 5
130 kg x 3
160 kg x 2
180 kg x 1
200 kg x 2 x 2 FAIL - programmed 3 x 4
Zercher carry w/yoke:
125 kg x 4 x 2 x 10 meters
Hamstring curls (p/l):
20 kg x 15, 12, 10
Axe swings (l&r):
36 kg x 3 x 10
Seated rows l&r / underhand grip)
75 kg x 2 x 10
Lateral pulldowns:
60 kg x 3 x 10
DB side raises (p/h):
12.5 kg x 3 x 10

PRESS Week 16, Template 2 - Thursday August 8th
Axle OHP (strict):
20 kg x 10
50 kg x 5
70 kg x 4
80 kg x 2 x 9 + ME 7
Incline barbell press:
50 kg x 5
75 kg x 4
95 kg x 3 x 5
Cardio:
assault bike 5 mins @ +55 rpm

EVENTS Week 15, Template 1 - Saturday August 3rd
Yoke walk:
130 kg x 2 x 15 meters
210 kg x 2 x 15 meters
260 kg x 15 meters
300 kg x 4 x 15 meters - FAIL, programmed 6

PRESS Week 15, Template 1 - Tuesday July 30th
Axle press (strict):
20 kg x 10
50 kg x 5
75 kg x 12, 10, 7
Bench press (paused):
20 kg x 5
60 kg x 5
90 kg x 10, 7, 3
Triceps pushdowns w/rope:
49.5 kg x 10
54 kg x 3 x 10
DB curls (l&r):
15 kg x 3 x 10
DB side raises (p/h):
10 kg x 3 x 10
Cardio:
assault bike 5 mins @ +55 rpm