Week11 - Day28A - Light Head

Weight:  182.5 lbs
Duration:  ~1 hour

Did a pretty condensed and short warm-up again.  Need to do some more shoulder mobility exercises during warm-up.  I've only been doing lower body dynamic stretching.  Today's session was pretty exhausting.  I can clearly remember when I last did StrongLifts 5x5 with Squats going upwards of 225+ lbs and it was just absolutely brutal.  The linear progression that can be achieved doing 5x5 can only be sustained for so long, but I definitely feel like my linear progression is at the start of the plateauing phase.  

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5x120 + 3x140 + 1x160 + 5x5x180

Right shoulder was pretty tight in the first few sets.  Loosened up a lot afterwards.  What helped me was assuming a very wide grip to start and then narrowing as I got under the bar.  Starting from a narrow grip then getting under the bar doesn't seem to play nicely with my right shoulder.  Again, I'll have to start doing some serious shoulder mobility exercises.  Last thing I want is to develop some chronic shoulder impingement issue.  I used kinesio tape on my left knee- it was given to me from the mum when I started talking about my left knee and its instability.  I can't tell whether or not it's helped- I do feel more confident with them on.  But, then again, this may just be a placebo effect.  I also wore a knee wrap over this which kept the entire area pretty tight, especially during squatting.  Not much lower back, so I'm happy about that.  Last 2 sets were definitely pretty rough.

Bench:  3x5xBar + 5x55 + 3x75 + 1x95 + 5x5x110

Used Dave Tate's setup on the bench, keeping the feet back and using a powerlifter arch.  I made a point not to full extend my right arm to avoid losing my scapular contraction aka squeezed shoulder blades.  I felt some load being transferred to my shoulders a bit.  Driving through with my feet was a bit weird since they were underneath me and my feet weren't planted on the ground, just the balls of my feet.  The lift did feel significantly lighter using this form.

Rows:  5x65 + **3x85 + **1x105 + 5x5x125

Pretty heavy.  Made the mistake of using 4, 10lb plates instead of using a bigger 25 or 35lb plate to get the barbell higher off the ground.  I was going upright and jerking a bit more on the last set, so strict Pendalay style was out the window.  

Accessories:**
**Preacher BB Curls:  10x50
Incline DB Press:  10x40
Standing EZ-Bar Curls:  10x40
Dips:  7/4/3
Seated DB Curls:  10x25
Pushups:  12/12/10

10 rep preacher curls were very taxing, especially the last 2 reps.  Incline db pressing was a bit wobbly, but still pretty light.  I'm thinking of going up on these.  Dips were a bit easier today, less shakiness.  Pushups were also easier.  Forgot to do my planks!  The mat area was pretty packed.