This was a flippin’ sweet low volume, but effective workout. I haven’t pulled from the floor in briefs since March so I decided I would do them this 3-5-1 cycle. Naturally, the starting weight targets are very low. I killed the target weights and couldn’t resist seeing if I could still do at least 600. Ended up with a solid triple with 5 second pauses between each rep. Had I went touch and go I probably could have hit 8-10 reps, but pulling with long pauses between the reps really kills the stretch reflex – and of course no bounce to help. I am very pleased with this effort, as I have some lingering soreness and fatigue from all the kettlebell swings I have been doing, plus the nice squatting last Wednesday.
After pulls I went to super strict good mornings. These are great in that you don’t have to use a lot of weight (well, you can’t really anyways – at least safely), and they still rip your lower back and hams apart. Strict GM’s are done with a shoulder-width stance, and knees almost locked. Focus on pushing your hips way back as you lower your upper back to slightly below parallel, in relation to the floor. You should be able to lift your toes off the floor at this point; all the weight is on your heels. Keep your lower back straight at all times, of course. I worked up to 145, but have no need to really go any heavier. My hams were on fire more-so than doing SLDLS with much greater weight (which is also harder on the CNS).
Normally, I would do some ab work to finish out the session, but tonight I did a full power yoga class afterwards so I skipped ab-work. One of my favorite things about Monday night workouts is that the YMCA director buys pizza for the workers pretty frequently on these nights. He always buys way too much, leaving an opening for me to swoop in and hoover up whatever is left. Excellent!
Deadlift (briefs, 3-5s pauses between reps):
245x10x1
335x3x1
410x3x1
470x3x1
530x3x1
600x3x1
Strict Good Mornings:
95x15x1
115x15x1
135x15x1
145x15x2 (PR)
+ stretching + power yoga (60min)
Duration: 120 minutes
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