The comeback trail?

[Day 55]

Lol I love how I have basically made a saga of my trainer struggles at this point. Well today is the first high point in the adventure, so I guess I don't mind too much. Taking steps in the right direction! But let's start with where the day started.

Today's AM Workout: Gym sesh! (~1:25)
Summary:

• Back squats: WU 12 @ 75#, 8 @ 105#, 2 x 6 @ 115#, 2 x 8 @ 105#
• Flat bench: WU 12 @ 55#, 4 x 8/8/6/6 @ 85#
• Deadlifts: 3 x 8 @ 135# (I only did this weight because it was already on the bar and I was too lazy to change it)
• Pulldowns: 4 x 12 @ 7 plates, alternating wide/narrow grip
• Superset: 4 rounds of
• Lunge hops: 20 total alternating 5/side, focusing on HEIGHT (and stability on the landing, which still needs some amount of work)
• Band squats (bodyweight): 15 (20 on the last round)
• Superset: 3 x 
• Seated DB shoulder press: 7 @ 30#/side, 12 @ 25#/side, 10 @ 25#/side
• Single arm DB row: 12/side @ 40#
• Incline bench: 3 x 12 @ 55#

Hit Rate: 59/64 (92.1%)

Notes/thoughts:

• Squats: I wanted to play with the big weight because now that I'm above 100 lbs I'm constantly like, AHHH IF I GET A BIT STRONGER I'LL BE WORKING WITH BODYWEIGHT, which strictly speaking is not even that true because 25 lbs is a long ways to go, but you know. Psychological heuristics don't always speak reason. Anyways, in reality, I need to get back to sets of 12 instead of sets of 8. I was doing the 8 getting back into the gym to try and protect my back. I've done a good job of it, I'm stronger now, I need to get back to doing sets of 12. That having been said, 8 is so much easier than 12 so I've been real lazy about trying to do this. No 115 next time, just straight 105 sets and the goal is more reps!
• Bench: Didn't feel as strong as I did last time I was at the gym. Probably because this was thing number 2 instead of thing number 1? I know some people think it doesn't make a difference because thing number 1 was a leg thing and there are no shared muscles but uh, you would be wrong. I'm always strongest at what I do first. In any case, went for an extra set today because why not. I kind of like doing more than 3 sets of things, maybe this will be something I do more often.
• Deads: Weight wasn't that bad, definitely came down with less control but the reps were mostly pretty solid. Last two-ish on each set tended to be a bit sketchy. No pain though so I think we're all clear. Also, BIG PLATES. 
• Pulldowns: Took probs more rest than I needed to between sets but I hit them all today without having to let go which was new. I was counting in sets of four, so I was trying to trick my mind into thinking it was doing 3 reps instead of 12, and weirdly enough I think it kinda worked. 
• Leg superset: Didn't want to blow my legs out too much before the ride today so did some more accessory work. Lunge hops are surprisingly hard to do right. Especially towards the end. 
• Push/pull superset: Lol um so tried the 30s for shoulder press, it was okay but not great, probably better off doing straight sets of 12s @ 25 for now until I get a bit stronger (in place of the 8/8 drop sets) so I can work up to being able to hit entire sets of 8 @ 30. Single arm rows felt great today, didn't have any of the issues I had last time I went for the 40 so I'm real happy about that. 
• Incline bench: Opted for less weight and more reps on this compared to last week because I didn't take any time after the other arm things so I didn't know where my shoulders were gonna be. Felt strong, would be happy going back up to 65 next time. 
• Wow I had a lot of thoughts today. Weird.

Today's PM Workout: Trainer ride, 115 mins (yeah, I know, I opted not to go for the 5 bs minutes to get me to 2 hours, whatever)

Summary:

• WU: 
• 10 mins easy 
• 8 x :30/:30 spin ups 
• 2 mins easy 
• Main Set: 
• 5/5/5 @ 80-85/85-90/90-95 rpm 
• 2 mins easy 
• 3/3/3 same pattern 
• 2 mins easy 
• 2/2/2 same pattern 
• 2 mins easy 
• 1/1/1 same pattern 
• 4 mins easy 
• 3 x 5/2 @ 80-85/85-90/90-95 rpm by set 
• 2 extra minutes easy 
• Sprints: 2 x (6 x :45/:45 MAX sprints at base +1 over 100 rpm, 2 mins recovery) 
• WD: ~10 mins easy for a total of 115 mins 
• Totals: 27.63 mi, 1:56:47, 14.2 mph average

Hit Rate: 60/65 (92.3%)

Notes/thoughts:

• I was actually super freaked out about doing this but it went great. The 5/5/5 was tough towards the end but nowhere near as hard as it felt last week (I think I'm more rested) and neither was the split 3 x 5/2 at the end so either progress is being made or I'm feeling more rested. 
• I really liked getting to work with the pattern but in shorter intervals, I think I got a good workout and a confidence boost with regards to handling the workout intensity. I'm still trying to work through being really intimidated by this particular set and I think every time I take a step in the right direction it gives me a little more confidence in myself. 
• I killed the sprints today. The pace was so on point (see the Garmin file if you care), I was really happy with that. 
• It's worth noting I took about an hour nap before I did this workout, so maybe that played a role too? Idk. 
• I haven't decided what the progression is going to look like for next week...I will figure it out eventually lol.

AM swim tomorrow and that's it! It snowed today so I'm a little bit worried about ice on the trip out to the pool, but hopefully things will be okay (I have to bike out there tomorrow). Gotta study for that microbiology quiz now. Happy Wednesday! (:

Much love,

Jess