First off, I hope everyone has had a very happy holiday season!
Arnold prep is starting to build some steam after a few months of relative inactivity, and I'm starting to feel some strength building again. I knew that the smart move following my September meet was to take a break and heal, but the strength loss is always tough to deal with mentally, even when expected/necessary.
Last Monday was a 2-board press in my shirt. I had previously gone up to a shaky 585 full range a couple of weeks prior, So I was looking to get a bit more weight in my hands. I wound up working up to 635 off the 2 board, which isn't even close to my best, but was enough of an increase to start addressing my top-end strength.
I've been noticing that my upper back is a little weak, so for my first assistance, I'm picking a compound upper back movement and doing 10 sets of 10 at a moderate weight. I've had success building muscle with this set/rep scheme before, so I'm confident that it will bring my back up to speed.
Overall, things are looking good, and my biggest challenge is staying patient while I get the ball rolling again. The Arnold is in 2 months, which means I have enough time to get ready as long as there's zero fucking around from this point on.