Week 20 - 5/3/1 - Day 71

Cycle #5 Week 3 Day 2

Deadlift:  5x135, 3x150, 1x190 + 5x225, 3x250, 10x275 Rep PR

Deadlifts were significantly better today.  Extremely minimal lower back stress.  One thing I did differently was starting with a slightly more upright torso, but not dropping my butt too much.  Some reps almost looked like a straight legged deadlift.  Top set, I used chalk, belt and alternating (left palm down, right palm up).  Last 5 reps were grinders, but I cranked them out.  Looking back at the previous cycle and this one, I really think I've made some great gains on the lift.  Every top set, I've been shooting for at least 10 reps and I think this has made a vast improvement on my performance.  I said it before and I'll say it again.  Coming into a lift with a prescribed goal in mind really helps you mentally prepare for that lift and to achieve that goal, however daunting it may be.

BB Assistance:

4x10x24lb - Good Mornings:  Used a fairly light weight and used the foam wrapped bars to make it a bit more comfortable behind the neck.  I went lighter because I had to press the bar up and bring it behind my neck.  I've injured my shoulder before when I've done this so I wanted to avoid injuring it again. 6/4/2/2xBW - Chin-ups:  Did chin-ups the day before so my biceps may have been a bit more fatigued.  I wasn't pulling straight up either so I was exerting more energy than needed to pull myself up. 4x10x80 - Bent Over Rows:  Used the preset bars.  Haven't done these in a while and I do miss doing them a bit.  Form looked pretty good from glancing at a side mirror during a rep. 3x10xBW - Hanging Knee Raise:  Not bad at all.  A few grinders on the latter reps of the last set.

Conditioning:

1.5min. x 2.5spd warm-up 10% incline 3 x 1min. 5.0 spd sprints, 1min. 2.5spd rest 1 x 1min. 7.0 spd sprint, 1 min. rest, no incline 1 x 1min. 8.0 spd sprint, 1 min. rest, no incline 2.5spd remainder until 1.0 mile