Strength III, Workout D-3
Warm-up - CP2:
--hip crossover, 5 reps each side
--scorpion twist, 5 reps each side
--lateral lunge, 5 reps each leg
--crossover lunge, 5 reps each leg
--sumo squat-to-stand, 5 reps
Work:
--pull-up (3/2/1/3/2/1, 201, 240RI) - 3 @ BW+15, 2 @ BW+20, 1 @ BW+25, 3 @ BW+20, 2 @ BW+30, 1 @ BW+40
SUPERSET (full rest)
--BB Pendlay row (4/4/8, 201, 60RI) - 4 @ 155, 4 @ 155, 8 @ 115
--BB shoulder press (4/4/8, 201, 60RI) - 4 @ 135, 4 @ 135, 8 @ 95
--cable reverse woodchoppers* (8/8/8, 10X, 90RI) - 8 @ 80, 8 @ 100, 8 @ 120
* denotes double-pulley cable setup
Notes:
--Okay, so maybe there IS some plateauing after all. I talked about this with the girl today. With lower-body work, the gains are noticeable both on paper and in performance. That 315lb deadlift yesterday was a mental hurdle as well as a physical one, but I kept looking at the climbing numbers from previous workouts, and it was right in step with the progress I've been making. Same goes for squats. However, when it comes to upper-body work, namely pull-ups, I seem to get stuck a lot more often. My bench press is an exception this time only because I've said to hell with imbalance issues (which really aren't issues right now so long as I lift correctly) and pushed as hard as I can, but even that seems to have reached a speed bump the last week or two. When it comes to pull-ups, I can either do the weight or I can't--there just doesn't seem to be any half-reps, which leads me to think that the bottom position is my weakest position in the full ROM (similarly, the sticking point in my bench press is 4-6" off my chest on the concentric phase). Sounds like I need to work on some partial range stuff, which is included in the lower-body work in this program, but not the upper body. Sounds like a good reason to try Westside for my next strength cycle.
--The Pendlay rows progressed quickly up to this point and will do so more slowly now that I think I've caught up to where my strength can come into play following a familiarization period. I do like these rows a lot.
--These two shirts came in the mail yesterday:
I'm looking forward to wearing them next week, especially the second one on Monday since that's National Curl in the Squat Rack Day (every week, ya know).