The SWOLE Life of a not-so-average Student-Athlete

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

The good old flu. Nothing like a nice strain of influenza to knock you on your ass for a while. In my case, that meant about a week off of work (after delivering mail with it for 2-3 days) and 11 days out of the gym. Not complaining though. Just like with injuries, illness is part of life and this game, so I'm grateful to be feeling better and having been able to get back in the gym in the last 2 days.

Mon. 2/11/13. Sumo Deficit Deadlift

1. Sumo def. DL - new shoes have 3/4" sole, standing on iron 45 lb plates
135/8
225/4
275/3
325/3
375/2
415/1
added belt and VersaGripps
450/10 in 5:09

Tinkering with some new programming, and this was my first time deadlifting with it. I've been doing my work sets for DL's as singles for a long time, so in this case, I knew I wanted at least 8 reps at my top weight. But for DL, that would mean 8 singles with 60-90 seconds between each. So I just used a stopwatch to make sure I wasn't resting too long, and got 10 in the time that normally would have taken to do 4 or 5 at most.

2. Front squat
135/6
185/6
225/5
255/3
285/3 x 4 sets - added belt for sets 2-4

3. Kneeling single leg curl - plate loaded device
90/10 left + 10 right
rest-pause-drop set: 140/7 left + 7 right + 4 left + 4 right + 90/10 left + 10 right

4. Calf press - on Cybex leg press machine
200/15, 15


Tue. 2/12/13. Bench Press

1. Bench press
95/8
135/5
175/4
215/3
240/8
added Titan RAM
260/5
275/6
290/5

Absolutely a max effort @240 on rep 8. I'm glad I got it because it basically matched my last bench effort before the flu, where I went for 9 reps @240 but got 8 and needed a spot on the 9th. I'm 7-8 lbs lighter now, so that's not too bad.

2. Seated cable row - shoulder-width neutral grip
100/10
130/8
160/8
added VersaGripps
rest-pause-drop set: 180/10 + 6 + 150/11

3. Dumbbell raises
15's/15 left + 15 right - side
20's/15 left + 15 right - front
25's/20 left + 20 right - rear

[SophieM]

The flu has been horrible this year. So far, so good on my end. That flu shot must be magic considering the amount of people coming in to the ER with the flu.

Glad you're feeling better.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

The flu has been horrible this year. So far, so good on my end. That flu shot must be magic considering the amount of people coming in to the ER with the flu.

Glad you're feeling better.

Thank you! And my wife says hi.

Didn't mean to go MIA as I'm really enjoying this forum again. The last 2 weeks have been a little hectic. I'm applying for another job at work, and the process is literally more tedious than filing to run for President. I'm now in weeks 7, 4 and 1 (out of 8 weeks) for 3 of my 4 classes this semester. Wife has had some health problems, work is still 50+ hours a week, and I just got back from a 5 day trip to Chicago for our annual Saviours' Day celebration. 48 hours from now, my wife and I will be in our hotel in Columbus, OH, plotting how we're going to get enough free supplement samples at the Arnold Expo to open our own store.

My bodyweight hit a recent low last week. When I left for Chicago on Thursday morning, I weighed 207.6 lbs. Eating at the hotel buffet for a few days had me back to 210.2 lbs at home this morning. This is still 8 lbs under where I was walking around 1-2 months ago.

I should be able to settle down to a more normal routine a week from today when we return from the Arnold. I'm committed to a programming concept I got from someone on another forum, and it looks like I'll be able to go through 5 waves (20 sessions) of it before then. I think I'll stick with waves of 5, 7, 5, 7, 3 or 7, 5, 7, 5, 3 for target reps on the core lifts. That will put my last real session on Mon. 4/15 or Tue. 4/16 with the meet on Sun. 4/21.

Based on recent training sessions, here are the maxes I'm settled on starting with. I'm a little disappointed that 3 of them are well below my PR's, but they're probably fairly accurate considering how the last few weeks have gone with illness, training, my bodyweight, and stress from other factors.

OHP: 175 lbs x 5 reps (2/26) --> 203.875. Rounding to 205 lbs.
Squat: 435 lbs x 3 reps (2/26) --> 478.065. Rounding to 480 lbs.
Bench: 245 lbs x 6 reps (2/23) --> 293.51. Rounding to 295 lbs.
Deadlift: 505 lbs x 4 "reps" (2/17) --> 571.66. Rounding to 570 lbs.

Note on deadlifts: I'm still not used to doing touch and go reps, and don't plan to start them. The 4 reps were done conventional (I pull sumo at meets), in a span of 2 minutes, 52 seconds.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

1st 2 days at the Arnold have been a blast! Project: Get Free Stuff is in full effect, and there were some monster lifts in the Raw Challenge today. Plus Arnold showed up, spoke some encouraging words, then damned near spotted a guy during his opening squat, cheered him on and shook his hand after the lift. Place was on fire! My iron brothers in gear get busy tomorrow, plus we get to see the real swole-lifers at the Classic tomorrow. Got to hold the TNA World Heavyweight title belt today, and there's a chance I might get to meet Mark Henry tomorrow - just a month before I go to Wrestlemania! I can't wait to get back in the gym when we return to Baltimore. I might not even drive home first.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Once again, the Arnold Sports Festival was exciting, fast-paced and left me and my wife ready to get back next year. Saw some huge lifts at the raw and geared powerlifting events, and the visit from Arnold at the Raw Challenge had the place going bananas. As for the expo... we've become pretty good at accumulating free stuff, but this year we even outdid ourselves. If anyone can tell me how to upload photos here, I'll post some pics.

Also, while I was in Ohio, I learned that the roster for the meet I planned to do on 4/21 is full. So here's my plan now: do a raw test day in the week before or after the 21st, so that will probably be Wed. 4/17 or 4/24, depending on work. If the numbers tell me I still have a realistic chance to qualify for the 2014 Arnold Raw Challenge, then I'll do Raw Nationals as planned in July. If that's not the case, then I'll save the money on the plane ticket and do the NJ States, raw, on August 10-11. I still plan on the American Open, geared, Dec. 7-8.

Bodyweight this morning is 208.6 lbs, down 10 lbs from my peak 2 months ago.

Tue. 3/5/13, Core lift: Overhead Press

1. OHP - Est. Max = 205. Goal = 180 x 5.
95/5
125/5
150/3
165/2
add belt & wrist wraps
180/5 - new est. max = 209.7. Almost lost my balance on rep 4, which hasn't happened before. Reset feet, took a deep breath, and got #5.
remove belt
135/10, 10, 10

2. Pulldowns - still have that nagging left lat/tricep/something going on. I still feel it on these, but pullups are worse.
neutral: 100/10
overhand: 120/10
neutral: 140/10; 160/8
v-grip, drop set: 140/5 + 120/5. I didn't expect a drop here. Thought I'd get more reps at 140.

3. Incline DB Press
65's/10
rest-pause set: 90's/8 + 1 + 3. I usually drop the weights after each round. I held them on my legs after the 8 reps, and must have tired myself out by balancing them there. I won't do that again.

4. Front raises: 20/15 L, 15 R.
5. Side raises: 20/15 L, 15 R. By this point, child care was closed and my wife and I were tagging in and out of the gym. I actually did all the raises while holding my 3 month old daughter in the opposite hand at the front by the desk. Note to single dads: the gym bunnies loved that.

6. Face pulls: 80/30. Used rope handle and cable.

[Torrtrefireto]

My friend, take a trip down to Savannah and compete with me on April 6.

Its worth it

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Can't buddy. I'll be in NYC/NJ for Wrestlemania 29. Wish it was another date, because I've been hearing good things about Savannah for a few years now from people who moved there from here. What meet is it?

[Torrtrefireto]

Can't buddy. I'll be in NYC/NJ for Wrestlemania 29. Wish it was another date, because I've been hearing good things about Savannah for a few years now from people who moved there from here. What meet is it?

I think its called Georgia Spring Meet.

Savannah is great man. Good food good culture good weather. I love where I live too about an hour west of Savannah.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Savannah is great man. Good food good culture good weather. I love where I live too about an hour west of Savannah.

This sounds like what I've been hearing. I'll have to see it for myself sometime, hopefully sooner than later.


A little pressed for time tonight. Wife and I have been lifting together again, which we both really enjoy. The only tricky part is coordinating between the time child watch ends, and the time our oldest daughter's karate class ends.

1. Squat - Est. max = 480. Goal = 415 x 5.
135/5
185/5
225/3 - meant to do 235. Oh well.
275/3
315/3
355/2
add wrist wraps
385/2
add belt
415/6 - new est. max = 497.17, but will use the the max from 5 reps, 483.48 as a training max for the next session.

Had a really hard time catching my breath between sets, and since these two guys had been waiting for the rack for about half an hour, I let them have it. Had I known they were only going to do 2 sets each, I would have either let them work in, or just waited 5 minutes or so to recover. Instead, I just did some assistance stuff and called it a night.

2a. Leg extension - plate-loaded
135/10
rest-pause: 180/10 + 6 + 4

2b. Single leg curl - kneeling, plate-loaded
65/10 left + 10 right
rest-pause: 120/10 left + 10 right + 6 left + 6 right + 4 left + 4 right

3. Calf press - on leg press machine
125/10
150/10
drop set: 175/12 + 150/8

4. Walking lunge
7 year old daughter on my back x 40 reps (20 each leg)

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Not much sleep last night, and don't see much coming in the next 2-3 days. But I had an easier-than-normal day at work, so that helped a lot.

1. Bench Press - Est. max = 295. Goal = 255 x 5.
95/5
135/5
175/3
205/3
225/2
240/2
add wrist wraps, spotter
255/5 + 1 spotted - new est. max = 297.08. Didn't have a lot of faith in that 6th rep, but I'm tired of having a pathetic bench, so I'm trying to push myself.
add Titan Ram, and started alternating with seated rows here
255/10
back to raw
225/8, 7, 5 + 1 spotted

2. Seated row - on the Cybex machine, the one w/the chest plate. It was the only seated row device open. Ended up liking it, and may use it again.
90/15
130/10
160/10
190/10
210/10
225/15

3. DB Shrugs
100's/15
80's/20 - did this set after the push-ups

4. Ladder push-ups - met Matt Kroc at the Arnold and had just seen a vid of him doing these. Figured I'd try it out. Done w/Smith machine bar.
Bar just off floor/25 + bar hooked on 3rd rung/15 + bar hooked on 5th rung/15

I'm happy & grateful to have hit a bench goal 24 hours after hitting a squat goal. That doesn't always happen for me.

Trained solo tonight. Will probably do abs and neck harness while spotting wife w/her BP on Sunday. Then DL for both of us on Monday.

[/JV/]

Were you referring to the Equinox meet on the 21st that is full? I'll be doing that one.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Were you referring to the Equinox meet on the 21st that is full? I'll be doing that one.

Yes sir. I'll be a referee that day. Squat deep & wait for that "press" command!


I walked in the YMCA with less than an hour before they closed. I figured it would be enough time to deadlift and not much else. I was right.

1. Deadlift - Sumo. Deficit - wearing shoes & standing on 45's. Est. max = 570. Goal = 5-10 singles w/495.

135/6
225/4
275/4
325/3
375/2
425/1
Added belt. Forgot my newer 13mm single prong, so I had to use the 10mm double prong that I've had since '08.
465/1
495/1 x 10 - Used chalk & over/under grip for 1st 5. Versa Gripps & double overhand for last 5. Time from rep #1 leaving the floor to rep #10 hitting the floor was 19:18.

2. SLDL - Conventional. Still standing on 45's.

225/20 - I don't know if I've ever done a 20-rep set of these. I was trying to get something extra in before the security guard came through, so I did this after I'd stripped 3 plates off each side. Never put the bar down, but stopped for a deep breath after reps 10 and 15.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Before the training recaps, here is the video of the main sets from the last 4-session wave of training. For these top sets, I was shooting for 5 reps at my working weight. YouTube blocked the video due to the song I put in it, so there are two versions.

If you ARE NOT using a mobile device, watch this one (with music):



If you ARE using a mobile device, watch this one (no music):



Thank you for watching and for your feedback!

I started another wave on Tuesday, with a target of 7 reps on each core lift's top set.

Tue. 3/12/13, Core Lift: Overhead Press

1. OHP - Est. max = 209.7. Goal = 7 reps @ 172.

65/7, 7
95/7
125/5
145/3
added wrist wraps
160/3
added belt
172/7 - New est. max = 211.73. 2nd press session in a row where the last rep was a real max effort. Will continue to microload for these.

Started alternating w/pulldowns after that set.
135/8, 10, 10, 10

2. Pulldowns

neutral, medium-width handle
80/15
110/10
140/10, 10, 10
V handle
140/10

3. Incline DB Press
65's/10
rest-pause: 90's/7 + 3 + 2

Thu. 3/14/13, Core Lift: Squat

1. Squat - Est. max = 483.48. Goal = 7 reps @ 395.

135/7
225/5
275/4
325/3
365/2
added belt
395/9 - New est. max = 512.32, but will use the est. max from 7 reps (486.25) for the next wave.

That top set felt like a major victory. I've been working a lot, sleeping a little, busy with school work and family stuff, and didn't consume nearly enough calories or nutrients on Thursday before training. Almost didn't go to the gym. After the 225 set, I was convinced it was a bad idea because I was somewhere between dizzy and light-headed. A buddy at the gym gave me a 6-pack of those orange crackers w/peanut butter, and I ate them between sets because I felt like I was on fumes. I even hit ammonia before the main set, and that's something I do only for very heavy singles, and maybe double or triples. To make things better, a young man stood right in front of my camera during my 5th rep on the main set, pissing me off and making me lose count. Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't quit on it. I'm grateful to have hit my goal without hurting or killing myself. And I thought it best not to push my luck, so I stripped the bar, put the plates back, and went home.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Weighed in this morning. Scale read 208.8. Down 0.8 lb from last Sunday morning. In spite of working 7 of the last 8 days at 10+ hours per day, I didn't expect to lose any weight. Less than a pound isn't much, but if I don't nip weight loss in the bud, it can go downhill really fast for me. I'm going to have to start paying as much attention to nutrition as I do to training and programming. I know, I should have been doing it for years now anyway. Better late than never I guess.

School doesn't normally kick my backside, but it is right now. Classes aren't hard. Problems are time and focus. Hopefully, I'll still get 3 good sessions in this week: bench, deadlift, and overhead press.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

I wanted to do this on Monday, but I was still delivering mail at 8pm, and didn't get home until 5 minutes to 9:00. So it waited until last night, after I only worked a 10 hour day.

1. Bench Press - Est. max = 297.08. Goal = 7 @ 245.
105/7
145/7
170/5
195/3
220/3
245/6.9 - 7 - Well that last rep cleared the rack, but my right arm wasn't completely locked out. So I guess that counts as a true max effort at 7 reps. What the hell - I'm counting it. New est. max = 301.60. To keep my bench going up, I'll need to 1)start microloading already because my bench is still pathetic, and 2) gain some more weight.

245/5
added Titan Ram
270/5
295/3
315/2
back to raw
225/7

2. Seated row - with cable, neutral/medium width grip
100/12
125/10
150/6
ridiculous restart set: 170/10 + 7 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 4 w/long negative on last one. Each "+" was 30 seconds on the stopwatch.

3a. Hanging leg raises - elbows propped on dip station
BW/10, 10, 10, 10, 10

3b. Shoulder raises & stuff
side raises:20 lb kettlebell/15 left + 15 right
side raises: 20 lb kettlebell/10 left + 10 right
front raises: 20 lb kettlebell/20 left + 20 right
face pulls (cable w/rope attachment): 100/25

4. Wrist roller - dusted this thing off
20/once up & down
15/once up & down

5. Dips
BW/23

Did not train today. Didn't have to work, so I took a complete day off to rest. While in the gym with my wife, I did a couple of sets of 20 with the neck harness with 20 lbs, and did about a 60 yard farmer's walk with 100 lb dumbbells. That's not enough to count. God willing, deficit deadlifts tomorrow.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

God willing, deficit deadlifts tomorrow.

Got the deadlifts done, as well as the rest of my training. But other than that and work, not much else lately. Overtime has been the best ($$$) and worst (no time) I've seen in a long time for the past week or so, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down much any time soon. Here's the recap:

Thu., 3/21/13, Core lift: Deadlift

1. Deadlift - Sumo. Deficit from wearing shoes & standing on 45's. Est. max = 576.68. Goal = 7-14 singles @ 470.
135/7
225/5
275/3
325/3
365/2
405/1
445/1
added belt
470/1 x 14 singles The singles took 18:29 from start of rep 1 to rep 14 hitting the floor.

No assistance.

Fri., 3/22/13, Core lift: Overhead Press

1. OHP - Est. max = 211.73. Goal = 5 @ 182.
95/5
115/5
135/5
155/3
170/2
182/5 - New est. max = 212.03. Absolute max effort on rep 5. May be the ugliest OHP I have ever completed. Microloading will continue.

started alternating sets w/pulldowns at this point

140/10 x 4 sets

2. Pulldowns - V-handle
70/15
100/10
130/10
drop-restart set: 150/10 + 5 + 4 + 125/7 + 110/7

Mon. 3/25/13, Core lift: Squat

1. Squat - Est. max = 486.25. Goal = 5 @ 420.
135/5
225/5
275/3
325/3
365/2
395/2
added belt
420/6 - New est. max = 503.16, but will use the lower calculation from 420 x 5 for the next squat. Pretty sure a 7th rep was there.
450/2 - Thought of doing this with knee wraps, but since I chickened out on another rep on the last set, I did these raw (belt/sleeves).

2a. RDL
135/10
185/10
225/10
265/10

2b. Leg Extension - plate loaded apparatus
90/10
135/10
restart set: 180/11 + 6 + 4. 30 seconds between rounds.

3. Calf press - on Cybex leg press.
100/10
mostly non-stop ladder set: 120/5 + 140/4 + 160/5 + 180/5 + 200/5 + 150/10

Tue. 3/26, Core lift: Bench Press

1. BP - Est. max = 301.60
140/5
170/5
200/3
230/3
245/2
260/5 - spotter slapped the bar at the sticking point on rep 5. Bar dipped slightly on right, so if it was a comp rep, it wouldn't have counted. But I would have preferred a chance to fight through the whole thing. Anyway, based on what followed, I'll take the new est. max = 302.90 and continue to microload the BP.

A group of guys kept wanting to try what I had on the bar, and I'm sure the new energy from that helped me hit:
275/2, 3(!), 3(!!)
225/8

I think my 3 rep PR was 270, which I hit 10 times on the last day of my 2nd Smolov run (finished last Aug.). I've failed quite a few times to triple this weight before. To hit it for a double, then triple it twice felt nothing short of awesome for me & my pathetic bench press. I really think the camaraderie and built-in competition in that spontaneous group made a big difference. Lesson: training environment can matter.

2. Seated cable row - V handle
100/15
130/10
150/10
170/10
restart set: 185/10 + 6 + 4 + 3 + 3. 30 seconds timed between each round.

3. DB OHP - standing. DB's cleaned from floor at start of each set & round on restart.
45's/10
restart set: 65's/9 + 4 + 3 + 1

4. Pullups - trying to work through that left lat/shoulder problem I've been having
assisted/10
BW/10 underhand

If you stayed through all of that, thank you for your time and for catching up with me. More overtime tomorrow, followed by deadlifts tomorrow.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

I'm going conventional from the floor (in shoes) for the next 2 DL sessions. Since my competition stance is sumo (in DL slippers), there's a built-in deficit to conventional pulls for me.

1. Deadlift - goal = 5-10 singles at 500. Est. max = 578.57
135/6
225/4
275/4
325/3
375/2
425/1
465/1
added belt
500/1 x 10 singles. Used Versa Gripps on reps 6-9. The singles took 16:16 from the start of rep 1 to rep 10 hitting the floor. That's 3:02 better than 3/11 when I did 495/1 x 10 sumo deficit pulls in 19:18. Weird: they were clearly getting harder (and probably uglier) as I did more at the top weight, but once I finished, I think I could have done more of them.

2. Front squat - hadn't done these in a while.
135/5
185/3
225/3
250/3
275/3
added belt
300/2
315/2 - glad I could hit this after those pulls.
225/12 - rep PR at this weight, and I don't know why I did it. I hate high rep squats.

3. Single leg curl - kneeling, plate loaded
50/10 left + 10 right
non-stop set: 100/10 left & right + 8 left & right + 5 left & right

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

The last week has been the wildest week I've ever had at my job. If you can imagine your mailman/woman coming onto your porch and making your steps creak, ringing your doorbell for certified letters, dropping off parcels, or doing anything else the mailman/woman does at 8, 9 or even 10 pm, that's been happening at my station. Several factors conspired to create a situation where we went several days with about half our normal staff of carriers. Suffice it to say, overtime has been off the chain, but gym/school/everything else time has been way down. I've done exactly 3 exercises in the last 7 days, and have not walked in the weight room before 9pm (it closes at 9:45).

Tue. 4/2, Core lift: Overhead press

1. OHP - Est. max = 212.03. Goal = 7 @ 173.
bar/10
75/7
105/5
130/5
145/3
160/2
added belt
173/5 - MISERABLE FAILURE! New est. max = 201.55. The only consolation is that I've lost weight fast lately, down to 206.6 this morning (4/5). But to drop from 182/5 to 173/5 11 days later is bad.
removed belt
135/13

Thu. 4/4 - Core Lift: Bench Press
Squat day would normally follow OHP, but BP was what I had time for.

1. BP - Est. max = 302.9
bar/10
125/7
150/7
175/5
200/3
225/2
247/6 - 6th was tough enough that I knew 7 wasn't going anywhere but into my chest. New est. max = 295.91. Terrible. Should have rushed through squats anyway.

2. Seated cable rows - V handle
4 sets, didn't write down weight or reps but 10-15 reps per set sounds right.

At least the weekend I've been waiting for has arrived. My wife and our 3 children (even the newborn) went to our 1st Orioles Opening Day today, and we weren't disappointed when the #1 slugger in the game right now (1B Chris Davis) hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th to put the O's ahead 9-5 for good. 4 HR and 16 RBI in 4 games - he's on pace for 162/648!! Unlikely to keep up that pace all season, but for now it's a lot of fun.

I'm updating this log from a train headed to NYC (kudos to Amtrak for free wi-fi), where 2 of my 5 brothers and I will be at WrestleMania 29. This is a big bucket list item, as I can remember watching the 1st WM from a high school gym in Laurel, MD on a closed circuit broadcast because there was no pay-per-view back then. We're doing the whole thing: Fan Axxess expo, Hall of Fame ceremony at MSG, Mania at MetLife Stadium (wrestling outdoors in April?!), and Monday Night Raw the day after. Card doesn't excite me, but Mania is like the Super Bowl - if I have the chance to go in person, I don't care who's in it.

Maybe getting away, no urban hiking, and eating a lot will help me put some weight back on and hit it hard next week. Should be back in the gym on Tuesday.

[BodyBldgPwrLftr]

Wrestlemania 29 weekend was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my adult life. 2 of my 5 brothers and I got to meet and/or get up close to several of the WWE Superstars & Legends at the fan expo, hear some touching personal stories at the Hall of Fame ceremony, and get almost overwhelmed by being 3 of the 80,676 in attendance at MetLife Stadium for Mania. Then there was Monday Night Raw. That was the most raucous, entertaining, energetic, sheer fun crowds I've ever been in for anything. WWE even proclaimed us to be the best Raw crowd ever on their website's front page. It was so crazy, groups were still doing cheers and chants on the subway platforms and trains to Penn Station in Manhattan. Just unreal.

As fun as WM29 was, training has sucked lately. As I've logged, my bench and OHP have gone down the tube. I hit my back squat target on Tuesday (405 x 7), and I may have had an 8th rep, but that was it. That's bad since I've been crushing my squat numbers. So to shake things up, I decided to go in and test my incline press and front squat on Wednesday. It went like this:

Wed. 4/9

1. Incline Press
95/6, 5
135/3
160/2
185/1
205/1
225/1
245/missed about halfway up. Weakness confirmed.
235/1 - smooth, solid, but still weak.
240/interference. On further review, the spotter hopped in for the save while the bar was still moving. I think I would have finished this rep on my own. Better yet, I should have done this one after the 225 and probably would have nailed it.

2. Front Squat
135/6
185/3
235/2
275/1
added belt
300/1
320/1
340/1
360/1 - PR!
375/1 - PR!!

Here's video of the front squats:



Very happy with this session. I had no expectations going in, and was pleasantly surprised with the front squat. Starting to believe that 405 will happen. I may train today, but I had an unplanned root canal yesterday and clenching on a mouth guard like I normally do during training may not feel so good. We'll see.

[SophieM]

Hope everything is still going well with you with school and work. Hopefully life has been giving you time to hit the gym.