Grymm

Phew, that was a busy week. I basically abandoned the entirety of this challenge for the week, but there were some productive points. Didn't lift, but did play (4) softball games. Got plague, got over said plague. Went to the Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, NY. That place is crazy. I loved it, and every bar has Guinness. Completed my (3) fantasy football drafts - pretty happy with the results. In my last softball of the season last night, pulled a hamstring beating out a two-out infield single for 2 rbi in the first inning. Played out the rest of the game hobbled, but it was workable as I play first. Speed around the bases quite reduced. The result, though, is I ate crap and drank Guinness all week and surprisingly didn't gain a pound. I did a little planning, and while I did eat crap, I didn't really eat that much over plan. Tonight is a lifting night, and I actually have time. We'll see what's possible with the bad hamstring. I might have to baby it a little, but I don't think it's too bad.

So far this week, contracted plague and played (3) softball games. It was 93 degrees for all of them. Recovering from plague. No meaningful workouts aside from softball and diet is rubbish, but I'm hoping this is the last plague-like day. That is all.

Didn't feel great today - non-specific back pain probably from too many hours in bed being unproductive, shoulders meh, knees meh. But, needed to get a workout in so I started up with the expectation that I might have to trim some weight off. First off, weighed in down another pound since Wednesday. Friday was not good diet-wise, but I guess compliance otherwise has been pretty solid. S: 5x45, 95, 135, 3x185, 235, 3x5x270 - The 235s were heavy, but I said what the hell and went for the next 5#. And then the 270s weren't bad at all. P: 5x45k, 95, 115, 3x5x135 - Finally got that one plate press. These were definitely high effort, but whenever the ball stalled a bit, I was able to grind it out. Might need some 1.25# plates. D: 5x225, 5x295. These were awful. My form was just bad. I'm not sure if the bar was off my shins or my hips were too low to start, but I felt like I pulled these all back. 285 was super easy. Double overhead grip was still fine. I can't really say in hindsight. (3) softball games in (2) days this week - Tues/Wed. Should be fun.

I would definitely get farther over the bar. If your back was set/straight, moving over the bar farther would actually make the lift easier. You would need to work more with your lats, but less with your hips/back because the distance from your hip to the bar would be less. In this instance, you would work your lats more and probably keep the hip work the same. If you were to drop down to a easier weight, like 135, could you do a hips high, flat back deadlift? Depending you your leg length, your hips might be shoulder height.

That's no bueno. I've been to China where half of everyone wears a dust mask all the time. It's very post-apocalyptic.

Bringing back this screenshot from CM a while back, you'll see the shoulders further forward and higher hips.

Hmmm.... HMMMMM.... Hmmmm... My thoughts - your lower back is definitely rounded. The plates spin just a touch at the top of the lift so maybe the bar is a little forward. This could cause you to bring your knees too far forward to touch the shin to the bar and cause your hips to drop. However, I can't see your feet so that's just a maybe. From this angle, it's not blatantly clear, but I think your shoulders are not far enough over and in front of the bar. This would increase your hips to shoulder distance if the legs don't move and maybe make setting your back easier. The bar should be under your armpits so that it requires you to use your lats to keep it against your legs. The bar should want to swing out from your legs a little, but you keep it pulled in. So maybe the bar goes back 1/2" in your stance and your shoulders go 1-2" further forward. That might require you to lift your hips a little. Your hips are fairly low anyway. They don't rise when you start the lift, but you would use more posterior with higher hips, straighter legs.

Indeed it is.

That's awesome!

Obviously, if your road to success runs through the burpee dungeon, good luck and Godspeed to you.

Solo workout went pretty well. S: 5x45, 95, 135, 3x185, 235, 3x5x265 B: 5x45, 95, 135, 175, 3x5x190 R: 3x5x190 Skipped the RLDs as I really only added them to help my lifting partner with his grip.

There's always a valid reason for avoiding Burpees.

While I have no meaningful experience here, how much experience do you have with heavy singles? I'd probably recommend mixing a couple heavy singles of each competition lift in over the course of the program to gain experience. Maybe not RPE10 bone grinders, but if you are going to open with something you can maybe do a triple at, maybe try for a single that might be your second attempt or something similarly heavy depending on how you feel that day.

It's a good year. Also, I have a thing for highly factorable numbers. 2²*3²

Solid life lessons at any age. Might I add: 1. Don't catastrophize. Sometimes things hurt (knees, lower back, etc) that aren't injured. Give it a little time, feel it out. 2. Prioritize sleep. Getting solid regular sleep is a vast life improvement people don't know they are missing out on. 3. Don't parking space hunt. Save your time. Someone probably needs that prime spot more than you do, and a few extra steps are probably good for you. I had a lot of fun at 36. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.