Stress

Too much stress. While the pizza was delicious, I could not enjoy it because it doesn't pair well with palpable tension.

I also couldn't sleep despite having a pretty good set of workouts, a decent meal, and half a bottle of vino.

1/23/08

Bike Time:

2x Work commute, 0:30 @ Easy Pace (HR < 144)
1x Rollers, 0:30 @ Aerobic Pace (144 < HR <155).

I did the roller session in a skinsuit for grins.

The roller session, I'd scheduled for one hour, but it was cut a little short because I was running late. The legs felt good despite just coming off of the box squats. With some good old freak out tunes from JSBX on the stereo, I found myself working a tad too hard and my heart rate kept creeping up a little to high. I had to pay close attention to working less hard in hopes that I'll be able to get through today's session. Must have been the used skin suit.

Strength Time:

0:45 at the SHELL

Warm Up

2x12 Leg Swings
2x30 sec Bridge Pose
1x10 Lateral Lunges
1x10 Diagonal Lunges

Ankle mobility drill
Hamstring stretches

1x6 Overhead Squat @ Body Weight
3x6 Overhead Squat @ Olympic Bar

Workout

1x6 Back Squat @ 115
5x6 Box Squats @ 115
1x5 Box Squats @ 135

3x6 Front squats @ Olympic Bar

1:30 on the bike, 0:40 minutes of weight training, totalling to 2:10 on the day.

I'm in the midst of an ongoing blog comment discussion with JBZero about hip mobility and the things one can do to improve it. Incidentally, if you want some fresh ideas and some perspective on what I'd consider is a very sound approach to training for well rounded strength and fitness, give his blog--and that of CES--a read. The inspiration for the above workout came from these guys.

JB, in particular, has been emphasizing squatting with a wider stance (specifically doing box squats with a wide stance). I like building up from scratch when incorporating a new technique or a new lift, so I dropped to a light weight and incorporated the wide stance a few weeks ago. I really liked being able to execute a deeper squat without losing form in my lower back, so they have stuck around.

Last night, I built a "box" using a stack of 45lb plates and a small platform so that I could give the box squat with a wide stance a whirl. Again, I am pleased.

With the platform underneath my bottom, I felt okay about going a little deeper than I normally would. I was able to squat confidently, at a fuller depth (probably just at, maybe a little below thighs parallell to the ground), with a tight and straight lower back, and work through a fuller range of motion in my hips. All the while, I kept my butt back, the weight off of my toes, and my knees about where they should be.

Score one for the box squats.

I'm not saying my form is perfect (yet), but I'm squatting with better technique than I ever thought I could possibly muster. For years I watched people who could squat well (and by well, I don't mean to imply "heavy," I mean to imply that they had very clean execution), said to myself "I wish I could do that, but I can't for some reason," and just kept going with sub par form without ever learning where I was hanging up in the first place.

Also, despite not having even tried overhead squats or front squats for a couple of years now, my form was better than it has been in the past. My heels even stayed on the floor during the overhead squats, which has been a problem for me in the past. And I got really good depth (and felt strong in my back) on the front squats. I'm going to attribute some credit to the hip mobility and ankle mobility work I've been adding of late and some to just learning how to squat properly in general.

The rest of the credit will go toward the charity of your choice.

Screw that "I'm too old" or "I started training to late in life" business. Sure, you might never be a world champion...but that's no reason to shrug your shoulders and give up. You can usually fix what's wrong with you, but you'll probably have to work at it.