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Training Recap Week 10 & Nutrition Ramblings

MONDAY- DEADLIFT ACCESSORY
Deadlift day went well. I still don't really feel very fast on speed deads, but I try! I have had virtually no back pain since starting this program, and I know that it has to be from not doing heavy deadlifts every week. I do a heavy single about once a month, and that's it! I still absolutely HATE good mornings! I know they're a great exercise though, so I just have to keep doing them and get more used to them. I kept my hip thrusts a little lighter this week to really focus on the extension at top and pause for a couple of seconds.Decided to do straight leg hanging leg raises today and just lower the reps, but they're still super hard...not fun at all! I wish I didn't have to train abs EVER, but I know a strong core is important for the lifts.

1)Deficit speed deadlift: 10x1 @60% (150lbs)
2)Good morning: 95x 4x5
3)BB Hip thrust: 205x3x8 (w/2 second pause at top and 10 second hold on last rep of last set)
4)Reverse hypers: 90x15/100x2x15
5a)Hanging leg raises: 4x10 (straight leg)
5b)Standing band abductions: 3x15

WEDNESDAY- BENCH DAY

It will be singles from here on out for bench and squats! Bench felt okay today. I just feel like I should be progressing faster...I still feel like I'm not getting much stronger, and there's only a few weeks left! But this is the first time I've ever trained bench with the pause, so I know I have to accept a drop in strength. Hopefully come meet day I'll be at my strongest physically and most importantly, have confidence in myself. Really gotta start getting in this mentally and start visualizing!

1)Bench press w/pause: 130x2x1
2)Pin Press: 135x1/145x1/145x1
3)Seated cable row: 3x6
4)Lat pulldown: 3x10
5)DB incline chest press: 30x10/35x2x10
6)DB bentover rear delt raise: 2x15

FRIDAY -SQUAT DAY
Met with my trainer for squats this week. The meet I'm competing in uses a monolift for squats, so I want to train with that as much as possible from here on out. We worked up to 3 heavy singles, and I was not feeling strong on squats at all. But...I didn't realize I was doing 225! It was good that I didn't know because 225 is a mental thing for me, so I would've probably psyched myself out! Then we did heavy "pickups"off the monolift, just to get used to the feel of a heavy weight on my back. So basically I just put the weight on my back and held it while keeping my upper back and core tight for about 10 seconds. Then he had me do safety squat bar squats with a pause about half way up, focusing on driving my knees out. They were really hard! After that he had me do good mornings with the safety bar also, which I freaking suck at and hate. But I guess that's why I need to do them! I could hardly use any weight on the bar-it was pitiful. I know they're a great exercise, so I definitely need to continue to include them in my workouts even after the meet. And maybe you should, too! ;) 

1)Squat(w/belt) 225x3x1
2)Pickups: 2x10 seconds
3)Safety bar squat w/pause: 140x3x5 
4)Safety bar good mornings: 90x8/70x8/80x8 
5a)Ab wheel:(negatives) 1x12/2x10
5b)Seated band abductions: 3x20

Saturday -Accessory Day
I felt a little nauseous during this workout since I went in a little earlier and I guess it was just too soon after eating breakfast. Everything went well except for hip thrusts because my legs were so sore from Friday's squats, so I just scrapped those after a couple of sets and did a couple of sets of bodyweight single leg hip thrusts. Then I finished up with some light sled drags combined with farmer's walks, overhead carries and L-sits in between sets.

1)Pullups: (wide grip, fat bar) 3x6
2)Speed press: 6x2 (60%) 85lbs
3a)BB hip thrust: 135x2x12/Single leg hip thrust with foot elevated: 2x12
3b)Incline bench press: 95x3x5
4a)Lateral raise: 3x10
4b)Face Pulls: 3x15
4c)Tricep pushdown:3x15
Conditioning:
Sled drag(one way=about 12-15 seconds) x 10 
In between sets: Farmer's walks x2, 1 arm overhead dumbbell carries x2(each arm), Lsit x2 + handstand practice

In other news, I'm having a hard time keeping my weight up with this heavy lifting! I even cut out a day of conditioning so that I'm doing just 4 days of lifting and one day of conditioning after one of my lifting sessions. Even last week I had a Reese cup one day, an oreo the next, and then my treat meal, and I ended up down a pound when I weighed on Monday. I know it could partly be because I've been walking more because of the nicer weather, just because I enjoy it.  But now that it's getting TOO cold, the frequency of my walks I'm sure will be decreasing!

Sooo anyway... I'm going to add more calories into my diet by adding some extra oats in the morning and more carbs post workout. That means a bigger bowl of cereal or an extra Skinny Cow! I don't want to go back to tracking, so keeping everything pretty much the same and just finding some places to add in more carbs will hopefully do the trick. I'm also going to add more calories to my rest days to make sure that I'm getting the same amount of calories every day consistently because I know that right now rest days are probably lower. 

 Someone commented that I looked like I lost weight the other day, which I was NOT too happy to hear. (But....I thought powerlifting makes you big and bulky???) Well, anyway, that's how I know it's time to step up my eating game. Good thing the holidays are right around the corner...bulk mode!!! (Haha, just kidding-I actually hate that term!) But seriously, looking smaller is nooo bueono! I just have to stay under 123 for my meet, and right now I'm around 119-120, so I don't think that going over that will be a problem.

But who cares what my weight is...as long as my biceps don't shrink, right? ;)

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