A. Back Squat; 8,8,6,6; rest 3 minutes (8's moderate, 6's heavy/build)
Done @ 155-160-170-180. Failed 6th rep @ 180. Blargh. Warmup and 1st 2 sets felt heavy today, I don't know why because otherwise my legs felt good and fresh. Then 6 @ 170 felt really good - strong reps, good speed. But then back around 180 was tough, 5th rep was a fight and then just couldn't get past the sticky spot on the 6th rep. I think I'm in my head to much, don't have enough flow. When I rack the bar with force and confidence, the reps are better; on that last set, when it started to get tough I think I took too much time at the top and wasn't strong and tight starting those last couple reps.
B1. Good mornings @20x1; 8 reps; rest 30s
B2. BB Front rack reverse lunges; 8-10 alternating reps - protect knee on eccentric!; rest 2:30 x 3 sets
Both done @ 105, 10 reps on lunges. Tried 115 for the lunges warming them up but it felt very, very hard on the left side so backed it off to 105. Left side is def still a bit weaker.
Q: on the good mornings, how low should I get? I've been told different things by coaches as far as how close to parallel I should get. Want to make sure I'm hitting these the way you want.
C1. Feet in ring hamstring curls; 10-12 reps; rest 30s
C2. Hollow body hold w/2.5 plates in hands and feet; 30s; rest 30s
C3. Single leg sorensen hold; 20s each leg; 10s ret btw legs; rest 3 minutes x 3 sets
Done, 12 reps on curls. SL sorenson was challenging, again more so on the left side, but making the 20s wasn't an issue.
D. 50m Sled Sprint - moderate/heavy
100m Sprint FAST
Rest 3 minutes x 3 sets
Sled = 160lb total (about 20lbs heavier than when I was doing the 50m sprints back in Cycle 1). Time = 0:38, 0:35, 0:37. First 10m off the sled legs felt tight and slow but then stride opened up and hit full speed (my top end sprint is not great, never has been). But these were super fun!!
OVERALL: I really think I am (pardon the language) mindfucked with squats. Overthinking or just setting myself up for them to feel hard. Or thinking they shouldn't be hard at X weight, then feeling the weight on the first rep and getting worried that it's heavier than I expected and then it goes downhill. I mean, I KNOW my legs (esp glutes) are getting stronger but at some point last year I did a 20 rep BS program and finished at 150 for 20 reps with no gear (no lifters, sleeves, or belt). And today the first 8 @155 just did not feel as good as I wanted them to. Meh. My old coach used to tell me, whenever I got like this, "Too many minds...you have too many minds." I just need to rack that bar with confidence, stay tight, and go.
20 rep squat is a different animal then 8 or less reps. It's much more muscle endurance and heavily favors more enduring athletes (which you are). If we put you on a good 20 rep squat program i'd honestly guess you could get as high as 85-90% of your 1RM with how enduring you are. That's not our goal though, our goal is absolute strength and relative strength. So, in line with your comments, don't think too much on it. I'm also sure it was many weeks before you hit the 155 not something you did without doing much squat volume.
ReplyDeleteFor good mornings we are just looking to target the hamstrings and glutes, the ROM is going to be different for everyone depending on how tight/mobile their hamstrings are. As long as you're feeling a good stretch back there, i'm fine with whatever distance you can get to.
Another thought when it comes to the 20 rep squat vs todays squats etc. As we've said you're a very enduring athlete, your body WANTS to make endurance type adaptations, not power/strength adaptations - which is 100% why your program looks like it does (no long aerobic/enduring type work and all short/anaerobic type work). Even on days off we should really try to limit long aerobic work, including hiking, cause it is possible that it will blunt the adaptations we are looking for. Just something to keep in mind :).
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