Friday, March 2, 2012

A couple powerlift PRs

My shoulder has been sore all week from a fall I took while skiing last weekend. Last night, I woke up due to the pain and I had to take some Alleve to fall asleep again.

Needless to say, this has affected my workouts in the gym this week. I took Monday as a rest day, and went to CF at our new gym location on Tuesday. The strength portion of the workout was back squats, and I took a shot at 325# - 5 pounds more than my PR. I got a little bit forward as I came up from the squat position, but I held it together and completed the lift. After that, I did a modified WOD that didn't require me to use the sore shoulder for strength.

On Wednesday, I was feeling a bit tired from the squats on Tuesday, but I went to CF again. That night, we were doing a 553311 rep scheme for deadlifts. I've been shooting for 405# for quite a while. I've lifted 395# recently, but I'd failed on my only attempt at 405. The number is somewhat significant for lifters because of the way the plates work for barbells. The bar weighs 45 pounds and the "big" wheels also weight that amount. Well, there are 100 pound plates, but we don't have any at our CF gym. So, 135 is the bar plus two big plates, 225 is the bar plus 4, and then 405 is the bar plus 8. So, the numbers 135, 225, 315 and 405 are significant goals as you progress. I've cleared 315 for my squat, but really wanted the 405 for my deadlift.

I modified the rep scheme a bit to put me in position to try the 405 while warmed up but not too tired. I did 5 reps at 135, 5 at 225, 3 at 315, and one at 365. I then took a break of about 10 minutes before trying the 405. I made sure I got into a good position and started to pull. Everybody in the gym was watching my attempt. Partway up, someone yelled at me to "Breathe!", which I apparently wasn't doing. Inch by inch, the bar kept moving and I finally got myself fully erect. I held onto the bar for a few seconds, so there'd be no doubt that I'd finished the lift. And then, I dropped it to applause from the others in the gym. I really love the camaraderie of CF - how we all want everyone else to do well.

After that lift, I did the main WOD, but my mind was elsewhere. I was pleased with the lift, and found myself wondering how long, if ever, it will take me to get to 495#.

1 comment:

Harriet said...

Bravo. I haven't seen 400+ since 1981 or so.