Yesterday I finally found a pair of jeans that fit my growing legs. I wanted to cry when I put them on. Actually, I first found them a week ago but took an entire 7 days to convince myself to go ahead and buy them. My tendency to be Sir Cheapo is a tale for another time though.
Training is going very, very well. Today I finished day 2 of week 5. I'm just coming off a deload week so everything feels extra sharp and dialed in. I upped my RDLs to 40lb DBs as opposed to the usual 35's. Also added some weight to my sets of good mornings--I'll add another 5 to that total next week I think. I'm having fun testing my limits with side-things and accessory work. I also benched today and gave myself a new 7 rep max. I'm still fine tuning my form and technique on bench. I'm successful with my current one, and I'm comfortable with it which is important. However, I want to add in more yoga specific to my back flexibility. I can arch but it isn't super pronounced. Furthermore, comparing first rep to last of a set, I tend to lower out of it. That is to say the arch starts out super strong but weakens by the last rep. Is this due to losing tightness, or not driving totally with my legs? Don't know. I'm tempted to strip it all down after this training block and try some different things from scratch. Maybe I'll start with a couple backbends and wall-walks per day. Range of motion is so important for powerlifters--it's easy to forget.
Two other small additions to my training: cardio. I'm doing a steady amount on my rest days, and a little bit at the end on training days. Not a lot, but more than before. There is also playing soccer on my work league once a week, so there's more sweating. In tandem with this I've been cutting back on my caloric intake a bit. Not a big cut, but just a slight one to see if strength is maintained.
Lately I've been feeling really thankful for my own self-motivating habits and drive. I've talked to a few people in passing and found that it isn't as common as I thought, to be your own strongest driving force. I'm thankful that I've never been one to rely on others to get me to the gym, to keep me there. I do not need an audience or approval. If I want to learn how to do something, I do the research and give it a shot. Some people seem so hesitant to try, and/or so easily pushed off their consistency game. I think a lot of it is fear. Some of it is laziness, not wanting it bad enough, and/or wanting instant results. Lifting and strength is a long game, a progression. Some people don't like that or understand it.
All this to say that sometimes I get caught up in exactly how strong I am vs how strong I would like to be(or can be because, y'know, genetics). In doing that I end up overlooking my strengths outside of just simply being strong. I'm determined. I'm driven. I'm self-motivated, consistent, and I work my ass off. Feeling very fortunate and grateful for those traits these days.
