Brian - Deeeeeloading

Deadlift;
133x6, 133x6, 183x6, 183x6, 183x6, 183x6

Squats;
45x6, 95x6, 135x6, 185x3, 183x3, 185x3

Stair jumps;
Standing: max 5-steps from the pole
Moving: max 6-steps

We have a deload/transition week, which means doing some volume without killing us on it. We will also replace the second exercise by some fun movement in order to reduce stress.

275x4 @8
275x4 @8
295x4 @9
295x4 @9
295x4 @9
295x4 @9

Stair jumps: numerous

Good mornings:
135x8
135x8
185x6
185x6
135x8

Some abs, then sauna.


There was a long debate tonight about squat depth.

Basically, strict voices from Gordon considered this one _at_ parallel; I see it as slightly below (note that the pic is shot from slightly above, which we should correct in the future):




In comparison, the IPF/USAPL rule:


or in words:

"Upon receiving the Chief Referees signal, the lifter must bend the knees and lower the body until the top surface of the legs at the hip joint are lower than the top of the knees."

I suggest to the interested among us to spent a few minutes here:

http://www.usapowerlifting.com/newsletter/06/novice/novice.html

This will be the standard that I want to use as a basis for my squats. Feel free to chime in with suggestion as to where to place the red lines, also feel encouraged to post your own pics.

Brian - Deload Squats

Week between intensity and volume training.

Squats w/ Gordon's Belt;
Warmup - 45x10, 135x5
Working - 185x3, 185x3, 205x3, 205x3, 205x3, 205x3, 205x3

These were all really really easy sets. I tried to work the bar down lower on my back now that I'm working on technique. Before I was squatting with it pretty high on my neck. Now I'm holding it in the same place as Kik. At first it felt like I was holding a lot of the weight with my arms but after a few sets I kind of settled in and it felt way better that way than in the normal high position.

Gordon's favorite thing to do is give red lights on squats, so when he started telling me I was going too low I realized I must be about to sit on the ground. I adjusted the last few sets so that they were parallel. In this new bar position it seems that I'm subconsciously back to squeezing my knees in a bit, but I recognized it and had to consciously stop it.

Stair jumps - Did everything Kik did, except better. Made it up to 5 steps with feet at the railing post, and then did 4 sets of 2 step hops per leg, without any breaks.

Good mornings - 45x10, 95x10, 95x10, 135x6

All of them felt easy. I stopped because I got stomach pains for some reason.

Also, Danny, tell me what's wrong with this picture? You see what the gym has degraded to after you left? It's a shame, really.

Oh, one last thing. Someone (presumably) stole Jon's longboard from behind the desk today. It's really bad timing as someone literally just stole his bike the day before. I can't imagine someone stealing a longboard from behind the desk and walking all the way through the gym with it. It would be *incredibly* ballsy, and in my experience people don't really steal things there to being with, let alone something like that. Hopefully it was just misplaced during closing, but we checked behind the desk and at the main desk lost and found. If anyone has seen it or knows where it is please let me know.