Phase 3 Day 58

Strength

Bench
275x1; 290x1; 305x2; 275x3; 275x3; 275x3; 275x3; 275x3; 135x28

DB Row
75x8; 75x8; 75x8

Overhead Barbell Shrugs
Barx8; 95x8; 95x8

Facepulls
3 sets at 20 reps

YTI's
2 sets at 5/5/5

Curls
95x8; 95x6

Conditioning

Stadium Runs
-24 mins
-179 peak HR
-157 avg HR
-428 calories

Notes
Solid day overall.  A little disappointed with the speed of 305x2 , but I kept it smooth and left a rep in the tank.  I'm basically just training bench by instinct right now.  My time is likely running out lol.

Stadium runs were inside the basketball arena since it was raining outside.  I've had enough with mid-40s conditioning in the rain. Anyways, the steps were really steep and relatively high.  It took me a while to get comfortable.  I pushed it the last 25% just to see where I was at performance wise (hence the 179 peak).  I'm pretty pleased with how far the aerobics/conditioning has come the past few months.  I've been diligent and its paid off.

Lately, I've been thinking about how "Phase 3" really means nothing at this point.  Originally, it meant that I was returning to some of the basic barbell lifts.   I've done that and made great progress.  When this all begin my hip was in excruciating pain.  I had terrible tissue quality, I stabilized everything completely wrong, and I generally just moved in a fucked up fashion.

I've learned so much in the past 7-8 months its unreal.  I can finally say that my core is "reset." My default is to fall into neutral positions.  I still have a long way to go, and I've created some issues along the way, but I'm generally happy with where I've come to. (With very good guidance and advice from friends).  But there is still much work to be done. See my last post about squats/knees.

I feel ready to take this all to the next level.  I want to truly fix my thoracic spine and get my shoulders working correctly.  I can't really do that while I'm in St. Louis.  I'm training with people that are my good friends and I want to ride this out.  I have one month left then I'm back in NH to study for the bar.  And honestly, at this point, I'm more into the conditioning than the lifting.

So I'm going to keep conditioning hard, keep improving my core strength, and enjoy my last month here in STL.  Then I'll go back home and train with more friends, but I think its the type of environment that will be much more conducive to my goals.