Week 5 – Madcow5x5 – Day 12A

07 Feb 2012

Squats:

5 x 125 5 x 155 5 x 190 5 x 210 5 x 250

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWS9Tga0L38]

These weren't bad, definitely heavy though. Decided to use the belt. My grip width was a bit narrower today, really had a very tight upper back. Instead of hyperextending my back into a lordotic position, I instead, adjusted my torso posture so that it was leaning forward a bit while keeping the weight centered over my feet. I felt this engaged my core much more. Despite the fact I'm doing a semi good morning, I think I'm going to perform squats in this manner from now on. Putting my lower back into a hyperlordotic arch isn't doing wonders on my back. I just have to make sure that I don't lean too far forward and end up rounding my back. Weight on heels, lift toes up and chest up should be good enough preventative measures to keep me balance and squatting with decent form.

Bench:

5 x 65 5 x 85 5 x 100 5 x 115 5 x 130

These felt great today. Shrugging and engaging my traps and lats helped create a very stable and firm platform to press from. Didn't feel wobbly like my previous bench sessions. I think I realized the problem with my right arm doing too much work. I noticed that when I press, sometimes my right trap relaxes causing my right shoulder to drop more than I want to. Keeping a tight upper back prevents this from happening.

Rows:

5 x 65 5 x 85 5 x 100 5 x 115 5 x 130

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2XTdkjFwbw]

Not too bad. Felt a bit heavier. Noticed I was lifting the bar a bit faster on the left side on a few reps. Grip width felt a bit more awkward than usual.

Accessories:

Weighted back hyperextensions - 10xBW, 10x10lbs, 8x15lbs: Put the weight behind my head. Made this feel a bit more difficult than usual. And as always, these were killing my knees.

Weighted sit-ups - 10xBW, 10x5lbs, 8x10lbs: Used the decline bench and set it to the lowest decline angle (I wanted it to be flat, but it wouldn't it unfortunately didn't go down all the way). I think I'm going to stick with situps from the floor. Noticed I was arching my back when doing these on the decline.