Halting conventional deadlifts. Set of 8 up to RPE10. That was quite possibly the worst deadlift workout ever in the history of ever.
I had these the week before but apparently, I did them incorrectly. All I did last week was bring the bar to my knees, pause, then go back down. I didn’t come back for a full ROM lift after the halt. That changed the whole game up with a quickness and it only took two reps out of eight to realize this would be entirely different than I expected.
Juggernaut App
Just recently, Juggernaut launched their app for those following their powerbuilder program. Prior to this, I had been emailed a spreadsheet every 4 weeks where I would enter information into a dashboard as well as each day. Looking back, it feels so cumbersome now, but at the time it really wasn’t that bad at all. The app simplifies the process and allows me to make changes on the fly that I could not make before.
There was a piece of me that did not want to reset everything. I was on week 12, if I recall, and had built a decent base. To get started on the app, it felt like I had to start all over again. I can go into the dashboard and enter data if I want, but I opted not to. As much as I didn’t want to start over, I felt like “what could it hurt” type of thing. It isn’t like I am on track to compete. I am just trying to be less old and broken and maintain some level of strength.
What I like is being able to select an exercise and keep that movement throughout the duration of the current block, or change it each week to keep things fresh. The split is still 60% powerlifting and 40% bodybuilding and I think that has been a good mix for me. It is just enough of the big three lifts with a mixture of other movements to keep me from getting bored or pushing too hard. Mentally, I need that and as much as it sucks feeling like I am stuck in permanent hypertrophy, the reality is that I don’t need to be pushing the heavy lifts anymore. My body just won’t be able to handle it.
The hardest part about not having a meet to prepare for is the feeling of just going through the motions without an end goal in sight. I have thought about changing the app to set a fake meet date just to see what it does and then max out at the gym. That might be something worth trying and allow me to focus more at the gym than I am right now.
However, I have the bike and the 5K that I am currently training for to keep my mind occupied.
