"The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself." @FreakTheory
If you know me, you know I'm not big into "motivational" quotes. I think it's easy to see one, raise your fist and say "hell yeah!" and then wake up tomorrow as if the quote never entered your brain.
I'll be the first to admit that I know exactly when my brain is telling me b.s. stories... I'll even say out loud... "Julia, you know this isn't true. You know why these thoughts are creeping into your head"... and some days I can shake it off, believe in myself and move on... and some days that voice just keeps drilling itself in.
I don't think it's because I'm weak-minded. I think it's because I'm human. Because we all have moments and if you pretend like you don't have moments or you keep pushing them under the rug, then you can never learn from those moments. Because I believe it is then that we learn our most valuable lessons and change and grow from them.
So when I do see something that resonates with me, I write it down. Most of them end up on a sticky note on the fridge where I still see them every day. And I read them every day as I wait for my coffee to finish brewing. The constant reminder helps me to keep my brain focused.
July 17-22 Training
Monday
My main bench day, being that it's the off-season, oftentime consists of a "partial" range movement as the main movement (board press, pin press, floor press), and then contains a second movement that is full range, but sub max weights (DB presses, close/wide grip bench, cambered bar, etc). It varies and is waved, but that's what's been going down the past few weeks.
A. 3 board press
4x5 @185, 185, 200, 205
B1. Wiggle bar 3x10 (PVC bench w/ fat bells and weights hanging from bands)
B2. Wide BB pull-ups 3x8
C1. Fatbells shoulder press 3x12
C2. Pull-ups 3x8
D1. Decline skullcrusher 4x10
D2. Decline close grip press 4x10
E1. Cable laterals 3x10
E2. Plate front raise 3x15
F. Laterals 6x10 w/ 10 seconds rest between each set.
Tuesday
A. SSB box squats w/ chains 8x2 @ 175
B. SSB narrow stance piston squats 3x12 @ 135, 135, 155
C1. Chest supported rows 4x10
C2. Shrugs 4x12
D. Single leg RDL 3x10 each
E. Banded swings 4x10
F. Decline sit-ups 3x12
As I mentioned on Instagram, I tried these out and really like them. It allowed me to actually "hold" the glute contraction at the top for just a split second longer. I've been using this with some of my high school athletes to work on hip hinging. It's been helping them use their hips and not rely on their lower back. Sometimes with new athletes/lifters, I see swings (and even other hinging movements) done with some low back compensation. This can really be a great cue to correct that.
Thursday
A. Tempo speed bench 7x3 @ 115
B. Floor press 4x5 @ 150
C1. Seated cleans 4x12
C2. Rear cable flyes 4x15
C3. Thumbs down laterals 4x12
D. Rope pushdowns 4x12 drop set last
E1. Lat pulldown 3x12
E2. DB curls 3x10
Friday
Today was a crazy day so it got adjusted... which I won't lie was nice.
A. Leg press 5x20, minimal rest
B. Leg curls 3x20
C. TKE's 100 reps each