Reverse-band deadlifts with a brake.
The reverse band makes the weight lighter at the bottom. We also add a magnet brake on the bar. The brake almost cancels out the bands.
What this does is make the weight at the very start the same as though there were no bands. Once you break the brake, you get the band benefit.
We do it to train speed off the floor. It’s a hassle to set up but it’s effective.
Reddit-stumbled across this cool photo of a giant Dwight Gooden mural, by matt Weber, in NYC from the 80’s.
This was the last day of the 5RM cycle. By the book, this was 94% (about 315 lbs.) of my 5RM but it moved way easier than it should have. I’m finally starting to get some strength back after taking the pandemic off from the gym. I’m finding some of the old grooves, too, so the movements are getting more efficient.
These are the squats where I’m setting my 2-3RM for the next few weeks of training. I’ve been battling some hip tightness so I’m super-slow going down and I’m not getting very deep. There’s plenty of strength coming up, though, so I’m not worried. I’m happy with the weight for now (365 lbs.) but I need to stretch and stretch and stretch.
This felt a lot heavier than it looks. I’m happy again with the weight (235 lbs.) and it should be a challenging 2-3RM base for the next couple of training weeks. Maddie is obviously a dancing machine.
I’m shooting for a 1000 lb. total at the meet in late February. It is a conservative goal and I think I can get there if I stick to the training.
Farewell, Corey Webster jersey. I’ll always remember that you caught Brett Favre‘s last pass as a Packer.
Go Big Blue.
Also a fond farewell to you, too, Karim Abdul-Jabbar jersey. You were a fantasy monster for a season and a half so **of course** I bought a Dolphins jersey.
I thought I’d be able to wrangle a lesson before our weekly game.
I was mistaken. I was a zombie the last half-hour. It was too much.
The plan is to keep it up until Thanksgiving.
It got chilly last night but not unbearable. We’ve had a nice just-above-average-temperature run so I’m making the most of it.
Last night was the cardio clinic finale. The coach ran us more than any other class this summer or fall. Laps, suicides, het touches during drills, all of it. It was cold out and it was brutal.
The lesson afterward was limited to some ground strokes and a ton of serves. It’s really starting to come together. I do like a lesson.
We got to talking, in the lesson, about the things we’re working on and what I’m working toward. The gist was that I’m “learning tennis” not just getting better at how I do it.
This is exactly what I wanted from these lessons. I come with some built-in limitations (old, fat, slow) but I compound those when I’m not serving or hitting the ball the right way. Now, by learning proper technique, I should only be limited by the built-in stuff. If i can keep it going through the winter I should be set up well when play starts in the Spring.
A little more cardio in the mix tonight, and then I stuck around and hit balls for a little bit after.
I broke out my new shoes, too. I need to adjust the lacing, I caught some hotspots, but otherwise they were solid.
I couldn’t resist the Japan 2020 Olympic edition, even though goddamn COVID postponed the Olympics.
It’s an hour-long “cardio tennis” clinic that I’ve been taking. It’s a lot of running around and some light tennis instruction.
I really need more on the teaching end of that scale, but I like the folks there so I keep at it.
Had a fun doubles tennis session with some of the guys. The calorie counts are a lot lower now that it isn’t 96 degrees outside, and I am a-ok with that. Turns out I feel a lot better afterward, too.
And then it was podcast recording. I rolled with a Pink Jimmy in a pint glass. It’s all about efficiency. (A Pink Jimmy is just vodka & cranberry, but the story about why I like them is why I call it that.)