Last Sunday and Monday were max effort days. Both went exceptionally well, if for different reasons.
Sunday was a max effort good morning, because my training partners clearly hate me.
Full range max effort GMs are the one exercise I have not done since getting back after my 6 month layoff (due to my back being f-ed up). I can't say I was looking forward to them, but I knew it would be a really big step if I was able to do them at all.
We used a cambered squat bar with 200lbs of chain, and worked up for sets of 5 with no belt.
Went up like this:
bar (55, I think) x a bunch
105 x 5
150 x 5
added chain
150 x 5
200 x 5
235 x 5
235 isn't all that much, but with the chain it was way more than I expected to be able to do. My back hurt like hell, during the last set, but I grit my teeth through it and made the set. Fortunately, my back was fine, and I was glad I did it. It's time to start pushing out of my comfort zone and separating the normal pain of heavy weights from injury pain.
Next up were reverse hypers, hip adduction and cable standing abs.
Really happy with this, Being able to do tougher exercises means I may finally have a deadlift in November.
Monday was a shirted board press day.
Last time I did a board press I worked up on a 2 and a half board and made 705. This time my goal was to match it on a 2.
Warmed up raw to 315, then shirted up and went:
405 - 3 board
495 - 2 board
Stayed on the 2 board from here on in.
585 x 1
635 x 1
675 x 1
715 x 1
10 lbs better on a lower board. Great day! The weight didn't even feel all that heavy.
My new Ace shirt has slightly different material than my old one. It's a little stretchier, So I wore it differently, having my training partner Anthony crease the sleeves behind my triceps. HOLY CRAP that worked! In 2 weeks, I'll try this new setup full range and see if it's something I will be able to touch weights with.
Finished with lat pulldowns for 5 sets of 12 and cable triceps extensions for 4 sets of 15
Feeling good!