Sunday was a squat day at Apollon, and my first time working up to a one rep max (kind of).
I decided on a raw box squat with a straight bar, because it fit well with what the rest of the group was doing. Honestly the exercises i choose won't matter all that much right now since I'm basically just getting back into shape to train hard again.
I worked up to 440, which didn't feel heavy, but I thought was enough for the day. Switching back to raw work following a meet can really fuck you up if you don't ease back into it. While I knew I had more in the tank, I also knew that continuing could start to take more than it gives, and actually delay my progress.
Finished with a few sets of reverse hypers, back extensions, standing abs and dumbbell side bends.
Tonight was a bench day, and to say I was not optimistic would be a understatement. The previous week I worked up to a shockingly hard 185 for 10 in the bench so I knew that I had a long road ahead to rebuild my bench. The first week back following a meet typically sucks, but damn.
I chose a plain, old raw bench for my movement, and to my surprise, I actually did quite a bit better than last week, finishing with an easy 335. I felt like I had a bit more in me, but just as with the squat, the risk of going heavier outweighed the reward at this point.
Next, I did some reps on the 5 board, finishing with a set of 5 at 385, then did a ton of chest supported rows. Finished with some higher rep sets on the shrug machine, dips, triceps extensions and some dumbbell curls, all with unimpressive weights.
Tonight was the first time I actually felt somewhat strong since the meet, so it was a pretty good start. Still trying to pare down my weight a bit, so this will be the focus for the next few months.