Flowers from one of my girlfriends - felt so loved! |
Well, I do.
I try to take one every month, especially since I've noticed that if I miss a month...it shows, and everyone kinda suffers for it.
This Tuesday was November's day off to enjoy life and rejuvenate myself.
Little things in life (like hippie playdough and monster dish-scrubbies) go a long way |
It was my day to retest my deadlift and overhead press one rep maxes. After a month of Wendler training, I was so ready to see if my dedication had paid off.
Technically I probably should have retested at the gym instead of at CrossFit, since the bars and plates are different, but I knew I'd have the box to myself and so I caved to my introvert criteria.
The overhead press seemed a little harder at the box than at the gym, because the bar itself is heavier (45 pounds instead of 40) and so I think the weight distribution at the ends makes balancing a little more difficult? (I welcome your opinions...I honestly don't know much about lifting yet and don't know what role the bar can play.)
I warmed up really well, then started progessing up in weight until I hit my previous one rep max of #70.
It went up alright, and so after a few minutes of rest, I went on to try #75.
My first attempt failed, so I took a little break, and then did a few reps with the #15 bar, just to remind my body that I do know how to do this.
I went up to try again with good focus on form, and well...here's what happened:
After getting a new PR of #75 I was debating whether to try for more, since the lift was a struggle. I figured I could at least try #80, and if it didn't work...oh, well.
I could hardly get the bar off my shoulders...so we'll say #75 is an improvement over #70, and so I'm content.
My deadlift was another story - the plates in the fitness center have a much smaller diameter, so the range of motion for a deadlift from the floor is a lot greater. The bar is also kinda slippery, even with the hook grip, which makes the lifts more challenging. At the box, I knew it would be much easier and I could definitely nail my goal of breaking #175 and hitting at least #180.
I warmed up sufficiently, and worked up in weight to my previous max of #175. I felt great and decided to jump to #185 instead of #180. I made #185 with no trouble, hit #195, and then decided to try for #205! This would be the first time I'd ever lifted anything so heavy...but I knew some of the gals at my box had recently done #205 and it really motivated me.
After sufficient rest, I went for the lift:
Not the prettiest form, but I got my hips fully extended at the top and was SUPER proud (as you can tell from me skipping and applauding myself). I thought about trying for #210, but didn't want to hurt myself and decided to just be proud and call it a day.
This was my first experience videoing myself while lifting, and I must say, it was really eye-opening. I was able to see where I was weak and where my form slipped on things - I bet you aren't surprised to hear that my back was sore and my hamstrings were not...oops. I decided to set up my own YouTube channel and am excited to have realized this (free) resource for improving.
The rest of the day was delightful! I got to catch up with my dear friend Beth and her adorable son, Charlie. We had coffee and then ended up walking and talking for hours.
Charlie's a total lightweight, though. He crashed about 30 seconds into the walk.
Afterwards I ran a few errands and then went home to enjoy snacks, my latest murder mystery (a Lord Wimsey), and the company of my space heater.
I went out later to take my husband some dinner before his basketball games, and then went to visit my buddy Meghan on her break between teaching (she's a kempo karate instructor).
Meghan and Meghan |
I peeked in for the end of her class and then we got to chat a little while consuming frozen produce and protein powder through straws. She's a champ.
Then I finished up the evening with my sweet mother-in-law watching Jared play basketball and win.
Such a good day.
You tell me: Do you ever take vacation days just because? What's your favorite smoothie joint? Any tricks you've learned to improve your lifting techniques?
Taking a vacation day just b/c is a good idea. I can be type A and that may help me! As for lifting, I have found that liftng slowly and focusing on eccentric movements has helped me gain strength. Eccentric movements are often overlooked but provide balance to our lifting.
ReplyDeleteStefanie - I am SO type A sometimes it's scary. I haven't heard much about eccentric movements...do you have any good resources to recommend?
ReplyDelete