Week 19 - SL5x5.55B / FL.6
I ate an hour earlier and the pre-seasoned chicken I ate was extremely salty. To top that off, I forgot to bring my nalgene water bottle. I was pretty thirsty the entire time. I don't think the extra salt I ate helped me much, but my diet has been pretty crappy lately to begin with.
*Squats: *5 x 45 5 x 135 3 x 155 2 x 175 1 x 195 5/4/3 x 220
Pointed my toes outwards at roughly 30 degrees. My left knee felt weird. I think my wide stance combined with deteriorating lifting form is causing my knees to buckle inwards while my toes are pointed outwards causing a twisting effect on my knees. I'll have to make sure to shove my knees out and keep them shoved out to avoid this problem and to really improve upon my squat form.
Press: 5 x 45 3 x 55 2 x 65 3 x 5 x 77.5
Presses were pretty good. I definitely know that when I hit my sticking point, it becomes extremely difficult for me to get past it if I'm fatigued. If anything, I'd say that the two most developed muscle areas I have are my shoulders and legs, both from heavy squatting. While I may not be pressing much, I know I'm doing a good amount of work on my shoulders when squatting. I noticed that the reps were much easier when bouncing from the bottom. If all I wanted to do was to lift my more weight I think I would continue utilizing this technique, but I think it would behoove me (Rippetoe's word) to control my press from the bottom to allow for more muscle recruitment from the lats.
Deadlifts:
5 x 175 3 x 205 2 x 235 5 x 260 ** **I forced a deload on myself today. My deadlift is pretty solid, but I've been feeling pretty crappy lately and I didn't want to risk injuring myself going for 290 again. Looking back on this in the future, I'll probably think it was a silly mistake, but I have to listen to my body. I was approached today by a personal trainer complimenting on seeing others doing deadlifts in the gym (the gym is a casual family gym; there aren't too many heavy lifters around). He suggested I try the sumo style deadlift. I tried it for one rep on my top set and it was remarkably easier, but I already knew it would be easier. For powerlifting it's nice, but there's definitely less involvement of the back.
*Accessories: *HIIT - 7/4/8/4/7, 1 min. sprint, 1.5min. rest
Food Log
*Meal #1a - 9:15 AM *16 oz. 2% milk + 1 scoop whey protein
*Meal #1b - 10:30 AM *1/2 cup thick rolled oats
*Meal #2 - 1:08 PM *Plate rice + 4 oz. beef + 6 oz. whole milk
*Meal #3 - 7:30 PM *Half plate rice + 2 chicken drum sticks (salty) + 3 whole egg
*Meal #4 - 11:30 PM *Half plate rice + 1 chicken drum stick