Wow, I really let my log lag this time. Apologies for those still trying to follow it. Here's a recap on both my training and state of mind over the last few weeks.
When we last left off, I was in pretty rough shape. I was definitely feeling some CNS burnout, and my lifts were starting to go down, rather than up. This happens sometimes during an intense meet prep, and I knew that a reload would let me recover, but when you're going through it, it sucks, especially before a big meet.
This is part of the reason it's been a while since I've posted. I was mentally drained and found it tough to write about it. I realize this defeats the purpose of my having a training log in the first place, but like most powerlifters, I'm a little nuts when it comes to this kind of thing.
Fortunately, I'm back on the mend.
My first two main workouts following the last post were intentionally easy. The first was a moderately heavy belt squat session, where I worked up to a set of 5 with 5 plates on each side. This was hard, but since my back was unloaded, I knew it would have a restorative effect, as well as give me some strength work.
The next day was a bench day, where I wore my slingshot. My raw strength is still in the crapper, but this is typical when I'm doing a lot of shirt work. This session, I managed to work up to 470, which is a slingshot pr.
In the broader picture, I'm feeling better than a few weeks ago. I'm sleeping better, and the hip and shoulder pain that was kicking my ass is subsiding, as I had hoped it would. Sometimes the biggest challenge in training is knowing that programing is cyclical, and just because you're a mess right now, doesn't mean you still will be when it counts.
At least I hope it doesn't.