Full Body Day 5

Squat
315x5 @ 8
365x5 @ 9
405x1 @ 9

Chins
BWx9
BWx8
BWx8
BWx6
BWx6

Bench
225x5
225x8
205x8

Notes
Its been a very long couple of weeks.  Strength was down across the board.  Usually I leave chins for last, but all the benches were taken so we just did those first.  It absolutely destroyed my bench strength.  So, I just got some clean reps in and called it a night.  I haven't been getting nearly enough sleep.  That will sap strength quick.  Diet on the other hand has remained clean.  Finals end on Friday, then I drive back to NH next Wednesday.  I just need to get through this week and finish strong with school.  After that, I'll have another couple of weeks of driving, etc before I'm finally settled in to DC.  At this point I just want to start the summer in a decent state so I can start hitting the gym hard again.

Full Body Day 4

Deadlift
365x3 @ 7 (belt)
405x3 @ 8
455x3 @ 8

Press
155x3 @ 8
155x3 @ 8
160x3 @ 8.5

Chins
BWx8
45x3
45x3
45x3
75x5

Notes
In and out in 40 minutes.  Deadllifts felt very light.

Stadium Sprints, Energy Systems and Conditioning

5 Rounds

5 Stadium sprints

~20 yards up.

(25 total sprints)

Supersetted w/

44lb kb x 20 swings

(80 total swings)

I switched it up a bit with a new style of stadium runs.  Normally we do these at a brisk jog up and down the stairs, jog to the kettlebell, immediately start swing, then jog back and start up another round.  Instead of doing continuous rounds with no breaks, I opted to sprint each run up the stadium at near max effort.  Then I would walk down the stairs, walk to the next set of stairs, and restart  a sprint.  After 5 sprints and the kettlebell swings, I rested for 90-120 seconds allowing my heartrate to drop.  I noticed two things tonight when doing the sprints as compared to the more sustained runs.  First, my legs didn't burn as much.  Second, I was surprised at the speed I maintained for 25 short sprints.

Each 20 yard sprint up the stairs took around 4-5 seconds, putting it squarely in the alactic anaerobic/ATP Creatine energy system realm.  But, I've often wondered why "alactic anaerobic" conditioning work still leaves me gasping for air. (Sprints, prowler runs).  If its anaerobic, why the fuck am I breathing so hard?  If its alactic, why the fuck are my legs burning?  Well, I came across a nifty chart tonight showing the mix of energy systems used during different track and field events.  Even a short sprint isn't really "anaerobic," its just mostly anaerobic (click to enlarge):

Recovery

According to this site it takes 1.5-3 minutes for the ATP/Phosphate system to recover fully after being depleted in 10 seconds.  This makes sense.  1.5-3 minutes is the standard rest time for shit like squats and true speed work.  (as an aside, I now realize I'm mostly being a pussy if I feel I need to rest more than 3 minutes during normal everyday sets... yes, there is some lactic acid buildup occurring, but not a ton. Also, max work or near limit sets across is different).

The same site notes that it takes up to an hour for the lactic aerobic energy system to fully recovery.  The lactic anaerobic energy system (as opposed to alactic) is also glycolytic - ie, it uses glucose for fuel instead of ATP/Phosphate.  Knowing this, I now understand why going heavy/maxing in the 1-3 rep range when carb depleted is totally fine for me, but 5x5 sets become very difficult and exhausting.  The former uses little glycogen for fuel, the latter becomes heavily glyocgen dependent after 10 seconds.

Training ATP/Creatine Phosphate through Alactic Anaerobic Work

Why does any of this matter?  I now know how to intelligently incorporate "conditioning" into training based on specific objectives.  People often recommend sprints/hill runs for fat loss.  You will also see guys like Jim Wendler saying run hills to condition claiming it makes your legs strong.  I've run hills for two years now and never felt they made my legs any stronger.  Really, I always just felt like all the squatting/deadllifting made me pretty good at running hills.  Now I understand where Jim is coming from.  I don't think that running hills makes you "stronger" as in builds huge legs (though it probably induces hypertrophy in newer trainees), it just develops the ATP/Creatine Phosphate system, enhancing the energy system used during squats.  For me, this energy system is already pretty well developed.  Obfuscation of the term "conditioning" has led guys like Anthony Mychal to write articles reminding people that training  the aerobic energy system is still important for sports.

Training the Glycolytic System through lactic Anaerobic work

People that recommend sprints (alactic anaerobic work) for fat loss are wrong, at least if they mean true sprints where you recover completely in between sets.  True sustained interval work (lactic anaerobic) has to be much better for fat loss.  It is more likely to deplete glycogen because it initially relies on the glycolytic energy system for fuel.  Once glycogen is depleted, fat has to be burned.  Further, as the chart above shows, lactic anaerobic work uses a higher percentage of the aerobic system.  Depending on heartrate, the aerobic system system uses high percentages of fat for fuel.  The muscle mag guys recommend interval type training because it taxes the aerobic system (hence burns fat), but is limited in duration by lactic buildup, thus minimizing muscle loss that can occur during sustained aerobic activity.  Going back to hill sprints.  They can be good for fat loss, but you need longer hills and shorter rest periods.

Non-Exercise Physical Activity

One of the best takeaways from the V-Diet was the non-exercise physical activity walks ("NEPA walks.").  Slow walking is glycogen sparing.   Further, walking slow keeps the heartrate low enough to remain out of the aerobic exercise zone, greatly minimizing the chance of losing muscle.  Thus, slow walking burns calories through increased activity, but doesn't waste glycogen stores and doesn't waste muscle.  The downside to NEPA walks is it takes a shitload of slow walking to burn an appreciable amount of calories.  But in general, non-exercise physical activity (taking the stairs) is a good mindset when weightloss is the goal.

The takeaway from all of this is that very deliberate conditioning styles should be used and implemented based on training objectives.  Just like weightlifting, where certain rep ranges emphasize either hypertrophy or strength (but even 1 rep builds some muscle, and 20 reps builds some strength), forms of conditioning emphasize different energy systems.  Energy systems can be trained to maximize high intensity performance, or to emphasize body recomposition.  To some degree, any form of conditioning still develops all of the energy systems.  The point is, "conditioning" doesn't need to be just running around doing random shit to make sure you are working hard.  That is crossfit.  They have no plan, no structure, and don't know what qualities they are trying to develop.  Thus, they end being completely average in everything they do.

In Sum:

• Walk slowly to burn fat and improve body composition.
• Perform sustained alactic anaerobic work (high intensity interval training) to improve aerobic capacity, burn some fat, and improve body composition while holding on to muscle.
• Run pure sprints and rest completely in between sets to develop speed and improve the ATP/Creatine Phosphate energy system for heavy lifting.
• Regular aerobics are still completely gay, unless your goal is to look like a feeble marathon runner.

Full Body Day 3

Bench
275x3 @ 8
295x3 @ 9
275x3 @ 8.5
275x3 @ 8.5
275x4 @ 9

Chins
BWx8
BWx7
BWx5
BWx5
BWx5

Squat
275x3 @ 8
315x3 @ 8
365x3 @ 8.5 (belt)
385x3 @ 9

Notes
Solid 80% session.  Made sure all reps were crisp and emphasized tight form.  I went to the gym directly after a 3 hour ethics exam that left me mentally drained.  So, I decided to just get in some solid triples and left 1-2 reps in the tank on every set.

Diet Update
Briefly hit 229 over the weekend, but today I was back up to 232.  I keep expecting a massive strength drop due to rapid weight loss, but its just not happening.  I don't track calories on a regular basiss, however I'm switching to red meat for all meals for a little calorie boost.   But really, I just like the fact that I'm eating beef all day everyday.

Carb-up tonight post workout:  double protein shake, small milkshake from sam's club, small bag of chips, 4 pieces of pizza, some sort of bomb ass vanilla strawberry cake, raspberry sorbet, 3 sam summer ales.

This sort of carb-up is standard fare for me now.  How do I know its working? (besides the weight loss).  I get hot as fuck.  Right now I have the air conditioning full blast, and I'm on fire.  My ears are bright red.  A couple of months ago, this sort of reaction did not happen with anything near the intensity I now experience.

Brownies and Donuts Post Workout: Backloading

Been pounding those brownies and cupcakes post workout.  I plan to add in fudge and ice cream for a boost so I don't start losing any size. 

110 days.  -29 pounds lost (1.86 per lbs per week). Should this signal a career change for Matt Johnson?  Physique coach perhaps?

Some PR's set in the past 15 weeks (Numbers in parenthesis denote all time 1RM):

Squat: 455x3 (512.5)

Bench: 300x5 (340)

Deadlift: 515x2, 455x8, 315x20 (570)

Chins: 100x3, 90x4, 75x5

Dips: 90x5

Bent Row: 305x3 (straps/belt), 275x6 (raw)

Press: 185x5

Front Squat:  225x5

Close Grip Incline: 275x1

1.01.12 - 259

4.21.12 - 231

Full Body Day 2

4/19/12


Deadlift
315x5 @ 7
365x5 @ 7.5
365x5 @ 8
365x5 @ 8

Press
135x5 @ 7
145x5 @ 8
150x5 @ 8.5

Chins
BWx7
45x5
75x5
90x3
BWx6
BWx6

Farmers walks
75/75 x 60yds
75/75 x 80yds
75/75 x 80yds

Notes
Bodyweight was 231 this morning.  This freaked me out a little bit.  I started to worry I'm losing weight too fast, i.e. that I'm losing muscle.  I stuck with my plan and just did a very controlled 80% session.

I decided to push it a little bit with weighted chins to test my strength levels.  I needed to test this to see if I'm preserving muscle mass.  90x3 and 75x5 are basically right where I was at 2 weeks ago, maybe 1 rep off.  No big deal since I haven't done weighted chins in a while.

I decided to use the chins as the "strength barometer" for number of reasons.  First, they are a good indicator of relative strength.  I think relative strength keeps things in perspective during a weightloss phase.  The goal is to not lose any absolute strength (or increase it) during diet, but sometimes the huge changes in leverage are tough to overcome in stuff like squats.  Second, I certainly wasn't going to "test" my strength with a deadlift or press on a light week right after a deload.  I'm supposed to be coasting right now.  Finally, weighted chins just aren't a big deal in terms of recovery.  I might get a little sore, but they don't fatigue my lower back.  Lower back fatigue is the bane of barbell strength training.

So, chins went well.  My self-verdict is that I'm not losing significant muscle mass at this point.  I'm sure I've lost some... but honestly I really don't care.  I look better every week.  When the time comes to turn my training back on, I'll go hard and heavy.  Gaining strength (and adding muscle) is something that ususally comes relatively easy to me.  I know what works for me to get stronger.  Once I've dieted all the way down, the challenge is to surpass my old absolute strength levels without adding on significant bodyfat.

Update:  After a huge 500g carbup last night, the scale nudged up not even a full pound to 232.4. As I continue to lose fat, the carbups affect my scale weight less and less.  It's almost negligable at this point.  I've also noticed I'm getting really hot at night as my carbups become more extreme.  Basically, I think my nutrient partitioning is massively impoving.  I now feel awesome carb depleted and using FFA's for fuel most of the time.  When I eat carbs, there is an obvious metabolic effect taking place in my body.  I  get hot, and wake up looking full, hard and jaaacked. Haha.  As I continue to to lean out, my body is doing the "right things" with macronutrients.

Full Body Day 1 and Conditioning

4/16/12 - Full Body Lift

Squat
275x5 @ 8
295x5 @ 8
315x5 @ 8.5

Bench
255x5 @ 7
275x5 @ 9
205x10

Chins
BWx8
BWx6
BWx6

Notes
Keeping lifting sessions at 80% intensity.  I need to be able to leave the gym, get dinner, and then get back to work.  That means no maxing or doing anything crazy that will leave me destroyed the rest of the night.  Chins tanked after not doing them for 2 weeks.

4/17/12 - Conditioning

4 Continuous Rounds of:
Stadium Runs, Waiter Walks, 20kg x 20 swings

Time: approximately 23 minutes.

Notes
Nice little session out by the track this afternoon.  Got a little tan, got the heartrate way up, and got a sweat going.  Conditioning sessions will be get to 15-25 minutes max.  That is plenty of time to get some effective work in without killing myself.  Back to work.

Life, Lifting and the Coming Weeks

I'm officially one week out from my first final.  I'm prioritizing school 100% at this point.  I've had an awesome semester.  Been working hard with school (mind), been lifting my balls off, conditioning, dropping fat (body), and been going to church and didn't have a drop of alcohol for 40 days straight during lent (spirit).

The next few weeks will be busy to say the least.  Very long ass days and nights at school studying, driving cross country to NH to stay with the family for a week, and then moving to DC for the summer and fall.  The following are my priorities for the coming weeks:
1) Top performance in finals
2) Continue dropping fat
3) Maintain strength.

Training
I'm following the most basic strength template I could think of:
Monday: Squat, Bench, Chins
Thursday: Deadlift, Press, Chins

This is all I need to stay strong for a while.  I'm just sticking around 3x5 for everything.  Conditioning will be random shit when I need to get outside and clear my mind.  I know I will find time because I'm 100% committed to fat loss, and I just feel better when I do something.  On days I don't lift/condition, I find myself instinctively going out for walks.  Usually just 30-45 minutes, but I go briskly enough to elevate my heartrate a bit and get warm.

Diet/Progress
Not much to update with regards to actual diet.  I'm on autopilot.  Coffee w/ coconut oil in the morning, eat light and low carb somewhere between 12-3pm, maybe have a shake/almonds for snack, then a big dinner.  Backloads are twice a week as usual.  Once a week I'll count calories/carbs to make sure I'm in the ballpark. Calories are usually 2400-3000, carbs 35 or below on low days, then 200-300g carbs on backloads.  I rarely count calories on backload days, but I have no doubt I'm well above "maintenance" on those days.  It just doesn't seem to matter.  After all of this I believe calories are relevant, but they are not dispositive. Through nutrient timing, its pretty clear I'm manipulating the hormonal state of my body to speed the fat loss process up.

I hit 234 a couple of days ago in a semi depleted state.  235 this morning.  Thats 25 total pounds lost since 1/01/12, or 105 days.  That comes out to approximately 1.66lbs per week.  I've pretty much maintained that rate of loss throughout the whole process.  Diet will be the biggest challenge in the next few weeks, but I know I will keep it up.  I've put too much effort into things to stop now.  From here on out I'll update w/ pics every month.  The next update will be around May 19th, when I start in DC... which has been the driving force behind all of this diet/lifestyle adjustments.

Click on the 241 and 234 to really see the difference.  My love handles are essential gone at this point.  I'm starting to get anxious about seeing abs.  I feel like its starting to get close.  That 259 picture is really starting to embarrass me.

1/01/12 - 259

3/21/12 - 241

4/16/12 - 234

Deload Week: Kettlebell Conditioning

Swings
20kg x 25
20kg x 25
20kg x 25

Windmills
20kg x 10/10
20kg x 10/10

Clean & Press
20kg x 10/10
20kg x 10/10

Side Press
20kg x 3/3

1 Armed Swings
Lost count

Notes
Originally went to the gym to do some light conditioning.  My traps were so sore from the cleans, I was unable to do anything. My traps seized up and it was too painful to do any movements.  I believe I was severely potassium depleted.  I usually eat avacado like almost everyday so it hasn't been an issue.

Went home, ate a banana and took a shitload of potassium tabs.  Then I went out on my balcony while it was still light out and did a KB session w/ a bunch of vids.  My back is looking pretty jacked.  Happy to see some definition coming out.

This session was followed by a 600g carb-up Saturday night.  I got hot as hell, and just kept going.  It was fun.

Deload Week: Sprints and Light Squats

Sprints
Sprint straights, walk curves
100m sprint x 8

Overhead Squats
Lots of work with the bar

Back Squat
135x5
185x5
225x5

Hang Cleans
135x3
135x3
135x3
185x3

Power Cleans
135x3
185x3
205x1
225x1 (PR)

Notes
Great sprint session.  My work capacity and overall speed has greatly improved the past 6 weeks.

I did very light squatting tonight to stay loose and mobile.  A big issue I have with 1x a week movement frequency and deloads is I don't squat for almost 2 weeks.  This usually means I'm stiff and guaranteed to get sore no matter what I do after my first session.  Hopefully this mini session 4 days before my next heavy squat session will stave off some of the soreness

We did some cleans for fun just to work on form.  I haven't done power cleans since college, when I specifically remember missing 225.  Felt pretty good tonight. We are going to start doing cleans before deadlift day.  With some form work, I'd like to hit a 275-300 pound power clean in the next couple months.

Deaload Week: Kettlebell Conditioning and Core Work

Warmup: 25 swings, 20 clean & press

Windmills supersetted w/ Wobbly bar chins
16kg x 8/8
16kg x 8/8
20kg x 8/8
5
5
5

Waiter Walks
20kg x 80 yards left
20kg x 80 yards right
20kg x 80 yards left
20kg x 80 yards right
20kg x 80 yards left
20kg x 80 yards right

Notes
Keeping it light and easy.  Just trying to stay fresh and mobile.

Deload Week: Speed and Conditioning Work

4/10/12

Sprints
100m x 5 @ 85%

Conditioning
3 continuous rounds
Football bleachers runs +
16kg KB x 25.

Notes
This was a great session.  Got quality speed work in followed by a good 12-15 minutes of solid conditioning work.

We do pretty a bunch of warm-ups to start the sprints.  Lots of dynamic stretching, high knee variations, skips, butt kicks, lunges, crossovers and a little static stretching.  The quality of sprints are much better when I get a solid warm-up in.  I get really wary of sprint work sometimes.  I've got pretty powerful legs, so I'm careful with making sure I'm really ready to run before taking off.  I'm a prime candidate for tearing a hamstring while sprinting haha.

The  next 3-4 weeks will be more of these sessions mixed with lifting.  Probably a 50-50 mix.  This is just what I want to emphasize right now - speed and conditioning.  It doesn't leave me smoked for the rest of the night.  As I get lighter/leaner, this type of stuff gets really rewarding. Session took about 35 minutes from warm-ups to finish.

RTS Week 12 - Day 4

2nd Mesocycle

Week 6 of Mesocycle, Week 2 of Intensity Phase

OHP 

165x2 @ 7.5

185x2 @ 8

205x1 @ 9

220x0.... missed

205x3 (push press)

Chins

BWx6

45x3

90x4 (PR)

100x3 (PR)

45x5

35x5 (pullups)

Close Grip Incline

185x3

225x2

260x2 (PR)

Facepulls

2 sets high reps

Farmers Walks

120/120 x 60 yds

120/120 x 80 yds

120/120 x 60 yds

Notes

Chins.  I'll start with the positive - huge chin PR's.  My chinning strength the past 4 weeks has skyrocketed.  I'm loving it.  Weighted chins have become one of the most satisfying lifts for me.  It just feels bad-ass to slam my chest to the bar with a bunch of weight hanging off my waist. 

I'll admit that my progress on these has really surprised me.  The obvious factor contributing to the chin strength is the weight loss.  I'm down approximately 23 pounds.  Every week I can feel a little more pop.  Further, relative strength isn't linear.  Five pounds in weight loss doesn't equate to a straight 5 pound increase in chinning ability.  It's definitely more.  How much more, I'm not sure.  We see this sort of thing play out all the time in powerlifting.  Light lifters have higher relative strength as compared to the big guys, but big guys obviously have higher absolute strength.

The next big factor attributing to the chin strength is a strong back.   I've done one heavy back movement for years: bent barbell rows.  This is the penultimate back strength movement.  I'll talk about all the reasons I think they are awesome in another post.  

Finally, I've gained strength.  The weight loss obfuscates this somewhat in a discussion of chins. But, considering the PR's of late in all the other exercises, I'm confident a significant portion of chin progress can be attributed to good old fashioned strength gain.

Incline.  Technical PR on incline.  I didn't focus on these too much this mesocycle, so I'm fine with a solid double.  I like them more for development.

Overhead. Last but not least... I missed the PR attempt in overhead.  It didn't bother me at all.  I pulled 545 pounds last night.  My lower back is sore as fuck. Definitely not optimal to try to hit a new overhead max with a destroyed core.

-----------------

So, that wraps up the mesocycle.  A bunch of fat burned, a bunch of PR's set. I feel great.

RTS Week 12 - Day 3

2nd Mesocycle

Week 6 of Mesocycle, Week 2 of Intensity Phase

Deadlift
365x1 @ 7
405x1 @ 7.5 *belt)
455x1 @ 8
495x1 @ 9
515x2 @ 10 (PR)
545x1 @ 10

Front Squat
135x3
185x3
205x3
225x5 (PR)


Notes
Hit a technical PR on deadlift today. I've never pulled more than 1 rep over 500 pounds.  I've pulled 495x5 three or four times, but for whatever reason its always been singles after 500. Both 515x2 and 545x1 felt pretty heavy.  I probably  had another 10-15 pounds in me, but it was a clean solid pull to end on.

I'm pretty happy with where my deadlift strength ended this mesocycle.  My bodyweight was 236.8 this morning - 13 lbs less than where I was last October when I pulled 570 at the meet.  Also, before the meet I was pretty much just deadlifting and benching 5x a week.  It worked great, but this mesocyle I've been going heavy in everything and hitting PR's across the board consistently.  I feel stronger overall because 545 was after 6 weeks of heavy lifting.  No peaking or anything.  Just raw pull strength.

Ended front squats with a decent PR.  I still have a long way to go on these.  I used straps today on the bar.  This made a huge difference.  I've had a big problem with wrist flexibility on these - I just can't get into a comfortable position.  I'm going to use straps from now on. It keeps my elbows much higher.  If I start oly lifting, I'll figure something else out.  I'm using front squats mostly just for development.  I like squatting 2x  a week, but its much easier to recover from lighter front squats than back squats.

Kettlebell Video Day

Sunday 4/01/12

20kg x 10/10 supersetted w/ 6 chins
20kg x 10/10 supersetted w/ 6 chins
20kg x 10/10 supersetted w/ 6 chins


Wednesday 4/04/12

Swings
16kg x 20
16kg x 20

Clean and Press and Chins
20kg x 10/10 supersetted w/ 6 chins
20kg x 10/10 supersetted w/ 6 chins  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvsUqW3y11c&feature=youtu.be


Windmills
20kg x 5/5
20kg x 5/5  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3u1VSz_sFA&feature=youtu.be

Notes
Wanted to checkout my form on some of the kettlebell stuff.  I look a little too loose with the C&P, but probably because 44lbs just isn't a ton of weight.  The chins on the old goal post are about 50% harder than normal chins.  You'll notice the entire thing sways back and forth... Its basically like trying to squat on a stability ball.  But its fun to be outside and do that sort of stuff, so I'll keep using the goal post for now.

Happy with the windmills - that is how they are supposed to look in my opinion.

I took the videos shirtless to "see my body in action."  Its one thing to have posed pictures, etc but I also want to know what I look like performing movements.  I'm very pleased with the weightloss.  I think the videos make it pretty clear I've built a physique capable of moving weight.  I obviously still have a gut going, but its way less than before.  The second half of the windmill video in particular you can start to see my abs and obliques pretty well.

RTS Week 12 - Day 2

2nd Mesocycle

Week 6 of Mesocycle, Week 2 Intensity Phase

Bench
275x1 @ 7
295x1 @ 7.5
315x1 @ 8
325x1 + 1 (missed double)
335x1 @ 9.5

Bent Row
225x3 @ 7.5
275x6 @ 10 (raw) (PR)
305x3 @ 9.5 (straps/belt) (PR)


Dips
BWx5
BWx5
35x3
55x3
70x5 (PR)
90x5 (PR)
BWx15


Curls supersetted w/ YTI's
40x12; 55x4; 55x6
3 sets

Notes
Last heavy bench day of the mesocycle.  Overall, I'm pleased with hitting 335, which is 5 pounds off my all time PR set at the meet last October.  I was around 249 at the time, but cut 11 lbs of water so I was 238 at the 24 hour weigh in.  Today I was basically just as strong, except 238 was my true bodyweight this morning. The missed 325 double - I just couldn't grind out the second rep..  I was pretty pissed because grinding was the entire point of this mesocycle, but I guess the end goal is to get stronger.  Generally, I think my chosen rep schemes accomplished that pretty well.

Rows felt great.  I like tracking both raw double overhand and straps/belt.  90% of my training on this lift is raw - it keeps me honest.  However, I think straps/belt are a better test of absolute strength.  People might disagree with me, but the point is to move maximal weight on plane.  Straps and a belt help this.  Much like laying down on a padded, secured flat bench helps you move more weight on a verticle plane.

Felt good dipping 2 plates.

RTS Week 12 - Day 1

2nd Mesocycle

Week 6 of Mesocycle, Week 2 of Intensity Phase

Squat
315x2 @ 8
365x1 @ 8 (belt)
405x1 @ 8.5
435x1 @ 9 (wraps)
455x2 @ 10

Romanian Deadlift
275x3 @ 7
315x3 @ 7
365x3 @ 9
385x4 @ 10 (PR)


Toes to Bar
5; 5; 3

Conditioning
100m @ 80%
100m @ 90%
100m @ 95%

Notes
I finished last mesocycle with a 455x3 squat. Considering my weightloss, I'll take 455x2 any day of the week. I had no expectations tonight other than "I hope I feel good enough to go over 405."  I'm down 21 pounds, so my leverages in squat have totally changed.  Felt pretty good at 405, so I decided to throw the knee wraps on  and move up.  455x2 was a true max. Just keeping my squat

Nice RDL PR for my last Monday night of the mesocycle.  I'm not entirely sure how much carry over I'm getting out of these.  I was a little wary going for a  heavy PR. At some point these must impact Thursday deadlifts, but my approach is just to take this stuff one day at a time while dieting.  I felt good, so I went for the PR.  It is both a rep and weight PR.