This week of training was one of the biggest ego checks I've ever gone through in my strength training career. I'm glad it happened though, and I'll be better for it. Here's the details.
8/2 - Deadlifts
Deadlifts
Warmups: 135, 225, 315, 405, 495, 585, 635
680 X 1
700 X 1
720 X 0
Tough pill to swallow...you don't want to be missing 2 top sets of deadlifts in 2 consecutive training weeks when you're 2 weeks out from a meet, let me tell you! My deadlift has always been a struggle for me, and until today, I just thought it was because I just "sucked" at it. Like I wasn't built for it or something. But after all these years of struggling with it, I finally connected that my issue is a complete and total lack of glute activation on the deadlift. I fire the bar off the ground quickly with my quads, but once it gets to knee level, my glutes should be engaging and they're just not. The load transfers entirely to my low back, my erectors begins to round, and I end up dumping the pull. I've got a solid plan of attack to get these glutes working - from glute activation drills during warmups, to sumo block pulls, single leg RDL's, barbell RDL's against band resistance around my hips, and the like. Although I made this connection and followed it up with a good plan, I definitely was still discouraged by the miss.
Reverse Band Deadlift (short EliteFTS average bands suspended from chains)
725x1
765x1
No issues on reverse band deadlifts though...
Duffalo Bar Back Squats
Worked up to 605 for 3 sets of 2
Duffalo Bar Paused Back Squats
Dropped down to 515 for 3 sets of 2
It was certainly a tough task to try and compartmentalize the stress from this session, but that's what you've gotta do in this sport. It's all about how you respond to adversity in this sport, rather than trying to be a perfectionist.
No comments:
Post a Comment