Neighborhood Ninja!

2/12/13

Back Squat

405 x 2 (belt)

415 x 1 (belt)

405 x 1, 1, 1, 1 (belt)

It was taxing to hit those 7 reps.  Doable, but it was tough.

Deadlift

225 x 5 (snatch grip)

275 x 2, 2

295 x 2

315 x 2, 2, 2

Deadlifts are very fast and solid.  Feeling good about them. 

DB Shrugs

95 x 100 in as few sets as possible.  45 seconds rest between sets.

100 situps.  Army standard.

TIME: 2:45

3 mile run in VFF.  No time.  Focus on form and soft landing. 

I know I've written about it before, but I want to touch on it briefly one more time.  I think something that people overlook a lot in training is the mental progression aspect of it.  So much of weight training is wrapped up in the numbers.  Did I add 5 more pounds today, did I get an extra rep, etc.  All that is of course important, but I think it is equally important to focus on how you feel mentally about what you're doing this session vs what you did last session, last week, last month, and so forth.  This is especially important for those of you following a bulgarian/broz/lift heavy every day approach.

Let's examine a hypothetical squat scenario.  Let's say I've recently worked up to 405lbs for a daily max.  Now let's assume I hit 405 every time I train over the next month.  At the beginning of the month putting that 4th plate on the bar is going to have quite an impact on me mentally.  I know it's close to my peak so I'm going to wonder every time if it's going to go up or if I'm going to get pinned in the hole.  My adrenaline will start to rise as I prepare for the set and maybe I have to not even look at the bar so that I can pretend it's just 315 (I have done this.)  As I progress and have hit 405 over and over again my mind will get used to the stimulus and I will begin to learn what 405 feels like and get used to the idea that "yes you are going to make this rep."  By the end of the month I have hit so many reps at that weight that, mentally, it has become just another set that causes no mental excitement at all.  I now own that weight and I know it's going to go up.

In this hypothetical scenario I didn't change the weight at all so maybe it looks like I didn't make progress.  However, mentally my progress was huge and if I can become that comfortable and confident then it is easy to move on from there.  This is what is happening in my training right now.  I have moved to the point where I will never put 405 on the bar again and wonder if it will be my last set.  I know that I will always have more in me than that because I own that weight now.  

I feel this can be applied to any aspect of fitness.  Take conditioning or running as another example.  If you want to improve your run time I do not feel it is necessary to kill yourself on every run trying to scratch out a few extra seconds to the point of collapsing in a pile of sweat on the floor.  Pick a pace that is difficult and pushes you at your target distance and then spend time owning that pace.  Hit that pace until you get to the point where your legs just move as fast as they're supposed to without getting sloppy or tired and your breathing is well timed, efficient, and easy.  Nail that pace so that before you set off on your run you no longer wonder if you can push hard enough to hit your desired time because you've done it so many times that you can do it in a relaxed state of mind.  If you do this then you will be able to move above and beyond what used to be a challenge for you with ease.

Numbers are important to progression.  But don't forget about the mental PRs.  They are just as important.  

Inspiring image of the day:

Don't even mention "raw squats" around Pisarenko.