Strength, week 2 part 1

Spent a lot of time warming up today, with plenty of active stretches and assistance exercises, trying to open up the hips and loosen the hamstrings.

Back Squat x 5: 115 - 135 - 155
Back Squat x 21: 115
Bench Press x 5: 95 - 115 - 135
Bench Press x 21: 100
False grip static hang: 4 x 15 sec.

The 155 started to feel heavy. I wasn't pitching forward, but I do use my left leg more than my right in coming up. Need to watch that, and figure out how to come up more symmetrically. The bench press was fine - I knocked out the 21 unbroken, though it did burn somewhat.

The static hangs hurt like a sonuvabitch. HOW do people maintain false grip? It's inhuman!

Horrible

So I went down to the gym today after work...

Back Squat x 5: 95-135-170-170-170
False grip pullup practice (10 x 1)

The squats were horrible. My form felt atrocious - at the bottom of the squat, my torso pitches forward and I put far too much strain on my back when I stand up. These got so heavy that I felt like I might burst a blood vessel from the pressure in my neck and jaw, so I gave up after three rounds. I'm going to switch to deadlifts for 5x5's (I feel confident about my DL form) and drop the weight down on the squats so I can focus on form. I'll try to get video with Rebecca one of these days, so I can put it out there for review. I'm fairly certain if I kept it up as it is, I would injure myself.

The pullup practice was just that - deadhang pullups, chest to hands, in false grip. I need to get more comfortable with this grip if I'm ever going to get a muscle-up - right now it feels WAY harder than a normal pullup would be.