I am winding towards the end of this 9 week raw training cycle. I have been getting myself into trouble because I set my weights to heavy at the beginning and now I am facing days that I am way to run down to hit the numbers I am supposed to. Today on deads was a prime example. The last time I did deads was 635lbs 4 sets of 4. This means I was supposed to go heavier than that for 4 sets of 4. From waking up, to warms ups, to 405 I knew it wasn't going to happen. Now what I should have done was hit a weight that was doable but still a struggle. But as usual I hit the same crossroad I always do. Do I grind or do I back off? My inner monologue is about a heated debate as whether or not raw is raw with wraps or without on the old interwebs. Do I grind? Hundreds of thousands of times I have wrestled with this question. 90% of the time I choose to grind, and it was the wrong decision. What if today was the day I needed to grind, what if I hit the break pedal and I lose what I "could have" gained, if I back down this time will I start to back down all the time? After all these years of powerlifting one would think I would be able to answer these questions in a logical fashion, ehhhhhhh! Not a chance. At 435lbs my lower back was straining very very hard. To any logical person that would have been all the red flags needed to back off. The fear of not grinding compelled me to continue even though it was stupid. My working sets were 575lbs 4 sets of 4. Did my choice to grind pay off? Fuck no it didn't. I ended up shifting my hips way to the left, something that happens from time to time. Its painful and annoying and it usually takes about five days before my hips can shift back into place. Shocker I ended up doing more harm than good. I'm not writing this to get sympathy for my stupidity, I am trying to relate with other people who struggle with the same tendencies to grind at the wrong time. You are not alone, trust me.

Deathlifts: raw conv
barx10x3
135x5
255x3x3
345x1
435x1
525x1
575x4 4 sets

Front Squat
barx5x2
135x6x2
185x6x2
225x6
275x6 4 sets

DB Flys
50's 4 sets of 8

CG Lat pulldown
4 sets of 15

Abs
4 sets of 15

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Von3JYmzd0g]