Phase 3 - Day 17

Squat
245x5;
245x5;
245x5;
245x5; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQZyGVOWBR0
245x5

RDL's
205x10
205x8
205x8

Ab Wheel
4; 2; 2

Calves
100x14; 100x14

Notes
Pleased with squats.  Pain free and form improved over last week.  This week, I moved my hands out a bit and kept the wrists neutral.  This seems creates stability at my back, rather than at the joint of my wrists.  I'm going to experiment with bringing the hands in a bit and pointing the elbows down.  That sort of position is more conducive to the traditional olympic squat.  But, I'll see how it goes.  The point here is not to just do shit that other people say is right.  The point is to squat full and deep with a neutral spine and minimal stress on the joints.

I also elevated my gaze so that I'm just slightly looking down.  This also is more conducive to a more upright, oly style squat.

Gabe gave his seal of approval on the squats, but I need a better angle next week.

Ab wheels were hard as fuuuuck.  I'm extremely aware of the most common problem with these: lumbar extension.  So, I'm keeping the reps low and grinding them out.  I didn't go all the way down on the last couple.  The good thing is, my glutes naturally contracted pretty hard at the bottom.  My body is really starting to "make the switch" back to neutrality with some of these movements.  I still think about it all the time, but I've noticed shit has started to turn on by itself lately.

Things are starting to come together.