Week 1 - 5/3/1 - Day 2

Cycle #1

Today's workout was grueling.  I decided that since I just started a new routine and the weights are relatively light to what I've been working on that I would forgo using supplements until the lifts get a bit heavier.  I felt pretty exhausted by the end of the Boring But Big 5x10x135 squats.  I got lightheaded for the first time in a very very long time.  The squats themselves were easy, but I definitely don't think my body was acclimated

Agile 8  I was curious to see what type of dynamic stretching and/or warm-up I should be performing seeing as how I no longer squat at the beginning of every workout session.  Going straight into lifting deadlifts without proper warm-up or stretching, in my opinion, would be a very poor choice and prone to getting one injured.  I managed to find the "Agile 8" warm-up/stretch routine.  I was quite happy about performing the stretches- it's always fun to learn and do something new.  Managed to work up a good sweat doing the stretches.  The glute/piriformis myofacial release didn't seem to do much for me even though it's probably one of the more painful stretches of the eight.  The groiners were a pretty good way of gauging my flexibliity.

Deadlift:  5x190, 5x215, 5x245

Used alternating grip on the last set.  Weight is still relatively light, but it was a bit challenging.  Lower back was hurting a bit afterwards.

Assistance:

Squat: 5x10x135 - These were pretty brutal.  The actual lifting action wasn't bad at all.  I had good depth and squatted somewhat explosively from the hole.  However, after each set, I was very fatigued and out of breath.  These sets felt more like high intensity cardio if anything.  One thing I noticed that bothered me quite a bit was my low-bar bar positioning.  I had never noticed it before, but I think this may be why I'm having slight muscle imbalances in my upper back and arms.  After thinking about it for a while, I came to the realization that my left side wasn't being fully engaged in a low bar position.  It seems as though I continually shift the bar ever so slightly until the bar ends up resting on my left trap while my right side is still somewhat engaged in the low bar position.  This, of course, can also attribute to why I feel like my torso is twisting when I go down.  I think what I'm going to do for the next squat workout is to lower the bar's starting pin height so I can really dig the bar low on my upper back.  I need to make sure I focus on keeping the upper back tight to avoid having the bar shift up.

Ab Wheel:  10/6/5/5/5 - These are hard as hell.  In addition to having to keep a tight core, my arms ended up being worked pretty hard as well.