MR Training Week 2 2011

Week 2 is in the books.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t my best week of training, but I guess that happens from time-to-time.

Did you miss my recap of Week 1? If so, you can find it here.

Anyway, here’s how it went down.  Enjoy!

Monday – Squat/Lower Body

Back Squats, 225x3, 265×3, 300×5

I could beat around this bush here, but these pretty much sucked.  I’m playing around with my stance width and trying to figure out what feels best, and right now, nothing feels great.

I’m unstable in the hole, and every rep feels a bit different.  Hopefully time and more reps will make a difference.  We’ll also see how next week goes when I throw a belt on.

RDL’s, 185×5, 2×5@225

Still working on shifting into (versus off of) my left hip on these.  Didn’t feel too bad, though.

Blocked 90/90 Split-Squats, 3×8@35#

Split-squats are the bane of my existence.  I know I need them, though, and I feel like they are definitely improving.

Glute-Ham Raise, 3×8 with 4 holes showing

Kept volume about the same this week, will go up next week.

Ab Wheel, 3×10

Tuesday – Bench/Upper Body

Bench Press, 4×3@225

Technique continues to improve.  My bench has always lagged, so I’m hoping that I’m finally at a point where I can drive these numbers up.  Video below is of my fourth set – second rep is my best for sure.

I did get a comment on Twitter that I could set-up tighter through my lower body, and while I agree, I also don’t want to get competition-style arch and leg drive all the time.  I want to dial in my upper body set-up/position/groove and then I’ll bring the leg drive back.

One thing at a time 🙂

Chest Supported Row vs. Mini-band, 4×8@35#

These are still horrible.

I superset those with:

DB Bench, 3×8@75, 8@80

Tried to get a bit more volume on these and the CSR’s this week.  Feeling good.

Face Pulls, 3×8@80

Offset Waiters Walks, 3 trips w/20 kg kettlebell

Thursday – Deadlift/Lower Body

Deadlift with Greens Bands, 1×405, 3×455, 3×495, 3×545 (belt)

Strange day on these.  I dabbled with keeping my neck more neutral, which I definitely think helped keep my hips down/underneath me a bit. So that was good.

Unfortunately, I had the most minor tweak around L2/L3 on the 495 set. After reviewing my set-up, I can see a pretty definite hinge there, so I need to address this.

Again it wasn’t major, but I don’t want that to continue going forward!

And one last thought – no more triples after this.  They do nothing for more and my technique always gets sloppy.

Paused Safety Bar Box Squats, 5×175, 195, 215

Again, focused on neck in neutral, knees out, and staying stable coming off the box.  These felt pretty good and looked pretty symmetrical.

Goblet KB Lateral Lunges, 3×8@12kg

Didn’t want to do too much here so I kept things the same. Ditto for the ball leg curl and jackknifes.

Ball Leg Curl, 3×8

Prone Jackknife on Ball, 3×8

Saturday – Bench Assistance/Upper Body

Got to hit this workout on Saturday as planned with Little Stevie. Made a HUGE difference compared to last week.

BB Floor Press, 5×185, 205, 225

These still suck, but were definitely better with a training partner and a solid hand-off.  I might’ve overshot my RPE of 8 on the last set, but that happens!

Chins, 4×5

Scaptions, 2×8 w/10#’s

Prone Row to External Rotations, 2×8 w/2.5#’s

Tall Kneeling Pallof Press ISO, 3×20 s. w/30#

Couldn’t figure out why these were so much harder this week – but I didn’t realize I bumped the weight AND time up.  /FAIL

Overall it was a decent week.  Hopefully I’ll recover well and be ready for my heavy workouts next week.

Best

MR


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