Week14 - Day39B - Butterflies

Weight: 186.4 lbs

It's been more than a full year since I last lifted my near to my current poundages.  Coming into today's session, I had a bit of the butterflies and anxiousness that comes with squatting my 225 lbs.  Looking at my logs over the last 2-3 years, I'm definitely appreciative and happy with my current gains.  I endured very taxing and completely exhaustive sessions where I was pushing myself to the very end.  Those nights were ended pretty much in delirium.  This time around, I'm being a bit more proactive and listening to my body a lot more.  Some say that "overtraining" is a myth, some say to avoid it all costs.  I personally do agree that training too hard consecutively, even between rest days, had a strong impact on recovery and my overall well-being.  My motivation to go to the gym waned as I anticipated having to lift to complete exhaustion.  With my history in mind, I have been approaching my strength training with a primary focus on protecting my health.

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5x145 + 3x165 + 2x185 + 1x205 + 5x225 + 8x115

Did a single set of 5 at 225 lbs.  Performed a backoff set of 8 reps using close to 50% of the top work weight.

Seated Plate Raises:  3x10x25 Seated Lateral Raise: **3x6x15** Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  3x6x15

Increased the weight on the lateral raises as well as the shrug-clean-press from 12 to 15 lbs.  It was difficult, but not terrible.

Deadlift:  5x135 + 3x165 + 2x185 + 1x205 + 1x225 + 5x245

I'm not sure how I felt about these...  I narrowed my stance a bit and it felt a bit better.  Getting from the knee to the lockout seems to be a struggle.  I feel like my shoulders are rising at a faster rate than my lower body which is causing me to engage my lower back, round and do a good morning.

*Accessories: *DB Rows:  3x8x50 Chin-ups:  3/2/2

Didn't really have a plan on what accessories to do today.

*Core: *Elbow plank:  60secs + 30secs

I'm lasting much longer on these, so good news!