My BodyBlog

Last night I did workout #3 of the seven week bench press program.  I went into this workout with very low energy after a heavy squat workout two days earlier, and a weekend spent doing a lot of physical work around the house.  After my first set at 175×6, I didn’t think I had it in me to push through the rest of the workout.  There was no one else in the gym, so I started talking to myself!  I said things like ‘just focus and you can do this!’ ‘come on, you’ve done a lot more than this before, just do it!’  I went to another place mentally, I became totally focused on accomplishing what I needed to do.  I completed the bench workout with 2 sets at 185×5 and 2 sets at 195×4.  My energy level seemed to increase as I went along and amazingly the last set was the easiest of them all!  I was wishing there were more sets to do but that’s all the program called for in that workout.  So I turned my attention to barbell curls, some forearm work, and also did several sets of pullups for back (only 4 or 5 reps each set, but I did more sets and reps than I ever have before).

This workout experience reinforces how important the mental aspect of bodybuilding can be.  You can do amazing things if you have the right attitude, focus and determination.  Never underestimate the power of positive thinking!

Since I was alone at the gym it’s a good thing the bench workout didn’t call for any negatives or failure sets.  I really want to follow this program exactly as written to give myself the best chance of making some real strength gains.  The next workout calls for a negative lift so I hope I can find a spotter!

Yesterday I decided to do squats but more than that I wanted to try what I’d been reading that some others do.  Ten sets of ten reps each.  I did a warm-up with the bar only, then I started at 115 for my first set.  With rest in between I then did 9 more sets, increasing in weight every time, until I did my last set at 210.  It was a great workout, but let me tell you the last two sets I had to push myself to get them out, and they weren’t deep squats like the other sets were.  The 100 squats were about 50 more than I’d ever done in one workout.  If I had stuck with a lower weight, I may have been able to do a lot more reps.  Maybe I’ll try that next time!  Today is off from the gym but I’ve been doing a lot of gardening.  We’re moving plants and flower beds since we’re adding a piece on the house.  My legs are starting to get very sore!  After supper we’re going to mow the lawns, which takes about an hour.  I think that tomorrow I may not be able to walk!

I was in the mood to do deadlifts after my benchpress workout the other night.  It would be a few days earlier than I had planned, but since I was in the mood I figured, why not go for it?  I was hoping to at least match the 380 lift I’d done 10 days before.  I didn’t even come close!  Looking back on what happened now I can see all the factors that came into play that prevented me from lifting as heavy as last time.

• I expended a lot of energy doing benchpress.  All my previous workouts I did deadlifts first.
• The gym was hot and stuffy, I started my workout later than usual, and it had been over 4 hours since I’d eaten, all things that took away from my energy and strength.
• I did too many sets and reps with lighter weights before going heavy.  I did 24 lifts before going over 300, and I was tired by then.  Looking back at my log, my best deadlifts happen when I max out at around 20 lifts, including warmups.

I should have known better.  I ignored advice and my own experience.  I thought I could lift just as well or better than last time even though the workout was very different for the reasons stated above.  My last lift was 345 and I found it tough.  I tried 365 but bailed out early, I just had no gas left in the tank.

When something doesn’t go as well as I expected at the gym, I don’t dwell on the disappointment, rather I look at it as I learning experience and focus on the positive aspects of it.  That deadlift workout was a really good one in terms of reps and I’m sure it was great for my lower back strength.  The workout reinforced for me how I need to approach my deadlift workout if my goal is to achieve a new maximum lift.  I am still very optomisitic about my chances to reach my goal of a 400 deadlift by the end of August.  The last time a deadlift workout didn’t go as well as I hoped, I came back the next time with a new personal best.  I know I can do it again!