Monday, 28 November 2011

Legs and Posterior chain: Heavy weight

Back squats - hamstring to calf:
100 x 10
125 x 10
135 x 10
145 x 10
155 x 10
165 x 5
165 x 3

I was disappointed not to complete a full set at 165lb, but my failure was due to feeling dizzy rather than inability to squat the weight. I rested nearly 2 minutes after the first set at 165lb to ensure I was as ready as possible. When the dizziness returned during the second 165lb set, I felt like I was going to drop the bar so I had to rack it. Still, 165 is pretty respectable.

I did this routine in my socks - not my usual running shoes - and I think it helped my posture and balance. I was able to keep my weight in my heels most of the time.

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Deadlifts:
135 x 10
165 x 6
185 x 5
205 x 3
215 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 1
275 x 1
285 x 1 (previous PR)
290 x 1 (new PR)
295 x 1 (newer PR!)

Holy crap! This felt great and nauseating at the same time! As you can see at the end of the video, I nearly passed out after the final lift. I was so lightheaded, which I've never felt before while doing deadlifts. As with the squats, I didn't wear shoes and that made a phenomenal difference. It felt much easier to keep my chest up and my hips down at the start of the lift, although my form did waver a bit towards the end. Also, I used a mixed grip - one palm facing towards me, the other away from me - and didn't have to resort to using wrist straps, which is a first with such heavy weights. I felt like I had the strength to go for 300lb, but my back was rounding enough that I knew it wasn't worth the risk of injury. Still, hitting such a significant PR - an increase of 10lb - feels fantastic!

4 comments:

Paul French said...

You did the back squats in your socks as well? Hmm, next time you do that take a video, I want to see your form on that.

Common Sense Design said...

Why? Does that encourage bad form? I felt it helped me to keep my weight in my heels for pushing up, whereas sometimes I start to lean forward. Do you only do deadlifts without shoes?

Paul French said...

I only deadlift barefoot....and you'll find arguments supporting both, but it can change the form. Sometimes for the better and sometimes not, I'm just curious mainly.

Common Sense Design said...

The only reason I didn't video my back squats is because I didn't think there was anything I'd need to check. I knew my hamstring was either touching my calf or it wasn't, so there wasn't the problem of judgement I had with my parallel squats last week. Certainly worth testing both ways and recording it, though.

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