WEEK 5 Action Packed Recap

THIS WEEK has been really up and really down. I started with a solid new personal squat record. I was pretty happy about this. However the diminished ability of my right lower half was made apparent during the second set; under load it was exhibiting the same pain as it had prior to my fractured ankle. I had hoped the several weeks spent doing no lower body training with my right foot in a boot would be enough time for it to heal. Apparently I was wrong.

So the following evening I drove to Kelmscott to get needled by Dominique. While I doubt I could have gotten an appointment with Dan at such short notice in the first place, when I inquired he was quite sick and unable to treat anyone. So lucky for me that Dom made herself available for an extra hour and change to puncture my right lower quarter. Needles in my shins were sending spasms up to my thighs and vice versa. The whole fascia was taut and knotted. She stuck them in my glute minor, TFL, quad, VMO, and possibly a few other abbreviations and acronyms I have only a layman's knowledge of. By the time she was done I felt crippled and the next day I was still recovering from it, so thought better of pulling that night.

There's been no benching (actually, no pressing in general) for two weeks now while I try and rest my left shoulder. I am now virtually pain-free while squatting... but the next day I feel it. More post-WO stretching is required I think. Right now all I can do is manage the injury up to comp day. I want to bench at least 150-160 in September. That is, unfortunately, the most I believe I can right now. And while Perth Cup now offers bench and deadlift only events, I would feel pretty slack not to at least do the three lifts. I don't know how many attempts I'll get out of each - as in the past I may have to bow out of squatting once I hit what I want to hit and save my knees. But so far these last few months my knees have actually been feeling great, so that may not be a consideration anymore.

And then all of a sudden it was Friday night and I had forgotten about a dinner party that I myself had arranged around the start of the year which I could not miss. So my deadlifts had to wait till the clinic on Saturday. Ryan and Alex made it in, the others either waylaid by the depressing nature of the voting process and/or currently nursing injuries (not caused by me), so I had plenty of time to focus on my own training, something I don't do as often as I should.

Which isn't to say I left the boys to their own devices. I was incredibly pleased to see Alex clean-press a 90 kilogram log for a set of five! And Ryan also hit a new personal record for reps on the log which he followed with another on the deadlift! While Ryan is currently running his own program after his post-WASM qualifier deload, Alex has been diligently following my instruction and his efforts are really paying off now. A 100 kilo log clean-press is pretty much assured in the next two or three weeks... along with a 250 deadlift.

And here's what I did. Not exactly the programmed 10 reps. I was so mad.

Squat Tuesday June 28th

Stretch!
DB super-set 4 kgs x 2s x 10r

Squats:
25 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 5
130 kgs x 3
180 kgs x 1 - mis-load; programmed 170
200 kgs x 3s x 4r PR

Pinwheels:
20 kgs x 4s x 10r TPR

DB front raises:
10 kgs x 3s x 10r

Tri-pushdowns:
Full stack x 30 TPR
Full stack x 25

Face-pulls:
Plate 6 x 20
Plate 7 x 20

Pull Saturday July 2nd

Stretch!
DB super-set 4 kgs x 2s x 10r

Deadlifts:

75 kgs x 8

125 kgs x 5

175 kgs x 3

225 kgs x 1

250 kgs x 9.75 PR

Seated rows:

120 kgs x 4s x 10r TPR