Exerbabble for 9-15-6

My lower back was sore. Now my butt hurts. I’ll eat after class.

It’s not easy to get a buttrub, right?

Woke up before my alarm this morning. And I was in bed (asleep) before midnight. Excellent. Don’t know many people who would voluntarily get up at 7 AM when they didn’t have to (assuming they’re a night person), but I prefer lifting in the morning.

My lower back was a little sore from yoga yesterday. I know exactly what stance did it, “Cobra.” Pretty much a back hyperextension from the floor, and keeping your hands off the ground. Gotta love translating one form of movement into something I already know. Given that it wasn’t from lifting, I figured I’d be fine. I’ve only had a sore lower back once before, and that was from doing one too many reps doing back extensions. On that occasion, I backed off next workout. Today, I charged forth. Today’s workout:

HGM Phase II “Superset for Super Gains”, Workout VI (Lower)

Superset A
BB Squat: 5 @ 95 lbs; 12, 11, 11 @ 145 lbs (+0, +0, +2 reps)
Air Hump: 3×12 @ 25 lbs (+15 lbs)

Superset B
Good Morning: 12, 10, 9 @ 95 lbs (+10 lbs)
Leg Press: 3×12 @ 300 lbs (+0, +1, +1 reps)

Superset C
Standing Calf Raise: 12, 10, 9 @ 360 lbs (+0, +0, +1 reps)
Reverse Crunch: 3×12 @ BW

current bodyweight: 156.8 lbs (+.2 lbs; weekly average of 155.15 lbs)

I probably would have nailed these squats if it weren’t for the second set. I had to use the other squat rack today because there was a girl squatting in the one I normally use. She was using the pad, her depth could have been better, but shit, most chicks would be afraid of 95 lbs on their back. Though, I almost wanted to say the bar would feel better if it was a little lower on her back, the pad was almost on her neck. *shrugs* I figured I’d just leave her alone, as I didn’t recognize her.

Anyway. The rack I was using has a ton of studs to put the bar on, and the safety bars are a little lower. Just saying I was probably more forward than I needed to be, out of fear of being too far back and losing the bar out in no-man’s-land. What happened was I hit one of the studs on the way back up. Didn’t sprain anything, just slowed me down as my body stabilized. Slowed down, but kept going back up. Realized it was probably caused by a forward lean, so I finished the set at 11.

Chick had moved on to leg press by the time I got to good mornings, so I switched racks. Good Mornings felt.. *smiles* Honestly, my arch was tight, so I don’t even recall feeling it in my lower back. Did take a bit to trust my depth. Ah, but that second set, for whatever reason, my ass hurt. Ditto third set.

Figured out what was causing my right knee to click: My knee was drifting out. Well, didn’t look that way, but when I consciously brought my knees in slightly, the motion was much more fluid. Also, I think my quads have adapted to the volume, I should be able to make some good progress now. There’s a lot less lactic acid burning.

Doing my reverse crunches, I was thinking about how to make them harder without adding weight, as I’m not strong enough to add weight. I realized I was firing my lats down into the ground for support, so I took my arms off the ground. Better.

I’ll assume bent-over rows tomorrow will be “active recovery” for my mid/lower posterior chain. Dude. My ass hurts. *flexes ass* Okay, maybe not now, but it was sore for at least three hours after lifting. Lower back is still sore. Should be more than fine by Tuesday.

Adjustments: I know I can nail down 3×12 for squats, as I’m antsy to increase weight. I’ll grab two 20 lb dumbbells for air humps. I still had more good mornings in the tank, but I didn’t want to overdue it today. Bump leg press to 330 lbs. It’s currently 4×45 and 2×10 plates (with the apparatus being 100 by itself). Don’t feel like loading a ton of plates, so I’ll just load 4×45 and 2×25. Yes, it’s thirty pounds, but it’s also freaking leg press. I’ll be fine. I just know how long it takes to unload those goddamn plates when my legs and lower back are fried. The fewer, the better. If I want GPP, I’ll do it outside the gym, thank you very much.

(GPP = General Physical Preparedness, for those that aren’t aware.)