Feels Great to Pull Heavy Again

...HEAVY-ISH, at least. This week just gone has been a solid attack on my lower posterior. My squat & press upper-lower split routine on Sunday instead of Saturday, barbell deadlifts - including high volume deficits - on Thursday, and then wagon wheel axle deads on Saturday... with a bunch of other stuff thrown in. That was my bad for assuming I could do everything Navarre had programmed that day. Still, I kept up with him for most of it, and I pulled a triple of 300 on the axle, from a regulation 40 cm pull height. It's something to build from, certainly.

Add to this, I'm actually pretty happy with my axle overhead and squat progress also, and it's been a while since I've been able to say that last part. Squats have historically been my weakest movement. I'm not hitting properly heavy numbers yet and wont be for another couple of months. Focus has been on form and depth, and clearly the regular good mornings are assisting with my squat (and pull), so I won't be changing anything about that aspect of my programming any time soon. But I do need to start focusing on Static Monsters prep, hence the wagon wheel pulls. Next week I've roped Navarre into a log press session too, where no doubt he will show me how it's done, just as he did today with the axle.

For comparison. This was my 350 kilogram axle deadlift, from 2014:

And this is Navarre's from today (and sorry it's sideways!):

STATIC MONSTERS PREP Saturday August 1st

Deadlifts w/wagon wheels:

80 kg x 8

120 kg x 5

180 kg x 5

230 kg x 3

280 kg x 3

300 kg x 3 TPR

Reverse bands deadlifts w/axle:

135 kg x 6

210 kg x 3 x 6

Front squats:

60 kg x 8, 4

super-set w/kettle bell swings:

28 kg x 2 x 10

PULL Thursday July 30th

Deadlifts w/barbell:

60 kg x 10

100 kg x 5

140 kg x 3

170 kg x 1

190 kg x 12 - no belt but swapped from double overhand to mixed grip half way through

Deficit deadlifts w/barbell:

105 kg x 3 x 10

Seated rows:

full stack, 1 pulley x 3 x 20

Face-pulls:

49.5 kg x 3 x 20

DB side raises (p/h):

12.5 kg x 3 x 10

Cardio:

assault bike 5 mins @ +55 rpm

SQUAT & PRESS Saturday July 26th

Axle squats:

35 kg x 10

80 kg x 5

120 kg x 3

140 kg x 4 x 7 - all no belt, no sleeves. Zero knee issues

Axle OHP (strict):

35 kg x 5

50 kg x 5

65 kg x 3

80 kg x 3

95 kg x ME 5 - not bad!

Good mornings w/cambered bar:

15 kg x 10

40 kg x 5

60 kg x 5

80 kg x 3

105 kg x 4 x 8

Cambered bar OHP:

60 kg x ME 9 TPR

Cardio:

assault bike 5 mins @ +55 rpm