JC 🌕

it requires a bit more effort to maintain that leg drive with the latter, but it feels like it’s much more effective than the former when i can get it firing properly.

still experimenting. unfortunately, due to some life circumstances, wasn’t able to finish days 3 and 4 of week 4.

while the leg drive feels strong, it’s almost as if the positioning makes it so that i still struggle to keep myself on top of my traps with said leg drive.

conversely, as shown on this backoff set, tucking my feet underneath me more allows that leg drive to keep me on top of my traps [95 kg x 6]

[W4 D2] solid paused double for this top set. still experimenting with foot placement for optimizing leg drive. [110 kg x 2 2-ct pause]

i found that having my legs further out from underneath my body helps me feel my quads driving a lot more, however…

friendship ended with “smack things” martials

now warlocks may be my new best friend

I'm sympathetic to people who "Don't want to hear about politics all the time" but unfortunately "politics" for the average person will probably get much less abstract in the near term. It's going to get harder to get through a day without going "Wait it's legal for them to do that?"

first day of my last semester!

just gotta hold out til may and that master’s degree is all mine

It is always darkest before the boys are back in town

this is my first time squatting 400+ and pulling 460+ lbs ever since i pulled my back last year. ecstatic doesn’t even begin to describe how i feel about it. we’re back baby

buuuuuut it was more than made up for with a SMASHING deadlift PR! last block i couldn’t even pull 210 kg for 1, so a +15 kg double at this speed was awesome. last time i pulled this weight was for a single, and it was UGLY [225 kg x 2]

bench was unfortunate sadly. goal was 127 - 135 kg for 1, but this 125 kg set was meant to be my last warm up and moved horribly, so it ended there. [125 kg x 1]

[W4 D1] absolutely elated that the trend of disappointing week 4’s has been broken! squat PR that felt strong (and on RPE) [185 kg x 2] #powerlifting

few slight adjustments/cues that REALLY helped today click:
1. keep arms completely locked/straight at the top before starting the rep (prevents over-retracting shoulder blades)
2. drop the elbows to the floor
3. push up and BACK

[W3D4] tertiary bench saved me today, this was the best bench i’ve had in a long while. let my shoulders retract ever so slightly to help myself stay on top of driving my upper traps into the bench [105 kg x 1 3-ct pause]

deads were a bit better, but still felt worse than my primary deads on day 1 [170 kg x 3 paused]

[W3D3] strange lift week with my primary feeling great but secondaries feeling terrible, hoping it’s just fatigue. my right hip was once again NOT happy with my squat, and a minor headache made it difficult to get a solid brace [137.5 kg x 3

[W3 D2] fell behind on lift posts but another abysmal secondary bench day. really just didn’t move right or feel good at all [105 kg x 2 2-ct pause]

honestly these past few months have taught me what it truly means to feel disgusted

this country makes me sick to my fucking stomach

a smashing SBD day does wonders for one’s self image

i stood no chance

deads are still progressing very nicely. setup feeling locked in and strong [200 kg x 2]

bench moved so much better than i was expecting. really trying to focus on driving my neck into the bench by really flattening my neck + tucking my chin has been working wonders [120 kg x 1]

WEEK 3
[W3 D1] so incredibly happy with how today’s SBD went. low expectations going into my squat just because it’s been feeling ugly, but the narrower stance actually resulted in it looking + feeling the best it’s ever felt [170 kg x 2]

[W2 D4] solid bench. really need to focus on staying up on top of my traps, driving them into the bench, instead of driving my shoulder blades into the bench. my shoulder feels SO much better with the former. [100 kg x 1 3-ct pause]

once again this is pretty light weight though, being <300 lbs, so i’d have to see how things hold up once heavier weight is loaded

i liked how this backoff set looked + felt a lot better though. looking up seems to help me keep my upper back in a better position for lockout. also really tried to focus on keeping my entire foot grounded, which meant being slightly heavier on my heels than i’m used to

deads were feeling fine. focused on really getting that quad drive and knee extension to stand up straight and fully lock out, viewing the lift as more of a pushing movement than a pull (push through quads + hip hinge instead of pulling the weight up basically) [155 kg x 3 paused]

this backoff set felt so much better, but was a notable departure from my normal form with a narrower stance and elbows raised a bit higher (thus the bar felt slightly higher on my back). it’s also only 105 kg. squats have definitely lost their touch.

pretty confident that i’ve isolated what the pain is—my right TFL. area and symptoms match up with what i’ve been seeing online, and it’s even tender to the touch

[W2 D3] squats were abysmal dogshit today. tried to spend extra time opening up my hips + glute activation with warm ups, but my right TFL was hurting so bad at the bottom of each rep. [130 kg x 3]