The Weather Gods were out in force this morning (view from the flat), causing the usual array of wet-weather mischief. Definitely a good time to enjoy the comforts of lifting at home.
It's been a while since I last did flat, common-or-garden variety bench presses, and I decided to find out my current max. Worked up to a respectable 65kg, which makes the short-term goal of pressing bodyweight (74kg) a lot closer than it seemed a month ago.
These were closely followed by several gruelling sets of close-grip benches, which seemed far more tiring than usual; the combination of additional weight and effects of the max attempts taking their toll. Will be interesting to see how these are when I'm a little fresher.
The chinning bar was calling to me again, and I decided to have a go at one of Charles Poliquin's gymnastic training routines. This is nothing more than an extended set of pull-ups and chin-ups, using gradually decreasing grip widths; which I followed immediately with some heavy shrugs. Note : if you do these, make sure to have a towel and bottle of water nearby. I suspect that if I ever convinced myself to take up running, this is how I'd feel after a race.
The routine :Dynamic stretching
Flat bench press 2×5@40kg,
3@50kg,
2@60kg,
1@65kg
Close-grip bench press 8×5@45kg
CHIN-UP/PULL-UP
Wide grip pull-up 5
Medium grip pull-up 10
Medium grip chin-up 4
Narrow grip chin-up 5
Wide grip pull-up 2
Medium grip pull-up 3
Medium grip chin-up 3
Narrow grip chin-up 3
Shrug 4×10@80kg
Isometric stretching
Total time : 64 mins