Modern Man

SQUAT DAY

Sunday. Ben had to work, James was out, and Riddle was doing Fathers Day crap. So it was just myself and Kevin.

Which was hilarious. On one end of Lexen was Chuck Vogelpohl and his crew, Matt Wenning and a couple guys, and JL Holdsworth. And on the other end were Kevin and I. We dropped the mean PL total of that room by a couple hundred pounds. It was hilarious.

Warm Up:

Static stretching

Dynamic stretching with bands

Cambered Bar Box Squat:

Bar x 8

Bar x 8

95 x 8

135 x 8

185 x 8

185 x 8

185 x 8

225 x 6

275 x 1

135 x 15 (for reps)

I was looking to get some more volume work in on my squat. Some time to work on my form, some time to really pause on the box, and to avoid going to heavy without a spotter (Kevin was running the monolift and I'm hesitant to ask 1000lb squatters for a spot on 3 plates).

Deadlift (Conventional):

135 x 8

215 x 8

315 x 8

405 x 1

At this point JL Holdsworth stopped and watched my 405 set. Afterwards he commented on the lift, saying that I looked "strong" but that I set up incorrectly. He said that I placed myself too close to the bar, with my shins about an inch from the bar, which pushed my shoulders too far in front of the bar. This basically forced me to use my back much more in the lift than necessary, and turned my lift into a de facto Straight Leg Deadlift. One of Matt Wennings workout partners told me the same thing later on in the day.

JL said that I should set up with the bar crossing at my mid foot, basically so that the end of my pinkie toe is even with the bar. I believe Mark Rippetoe preaches the same thing. JL was able to spot the end of his little toe so easily because he was wearing those goofy five finger shoes, which thoroughly skewed my worldview and marks the first time anyone with any muscle mass has ever worn them. I hadn't planned on doing another set, but the advice basically forced me to.

405 x 1

This set went a little poorly. I set up properly, but I lurched forward midway through the lift. JL said it was because I was trying to adjust the weight to get it where I'm most comfortable, basically trying to revert to old habits midway through the lift. It's going to take some time, I guess.

Wenning told me that I was lurching forward due to a muscle imbalance. Basically I came forward because I'm stronger in my quads and I was trying to recruit those muscles to get the weight up. If I had come back with the weight I would have been doing the same thing with the hamstrings. So, he told me, I've got weak hams. He said to focus on that in my accessory work, doing Glute Ham Raises, SLDLs, and sled drags. So guess what?

Glute Ham Raise:

3 sets of 8 (bodyweight, because of the weak hams!)

Sled Drags:

3 plates, up and down the parking lot 4 times.

Kevin pulling the sled. And a bike that Sean will deride online, but wouldn't in front of its owner.

Abs: 3 sets, no rest.

Cable Crunches: 90 x 10

Ab Wheel: 15