Yesterday was our first day of workouts for this week as we get back into our first lifting cycle and regular track workouts. It's amazing how fast upper body strength can escape the female body, but it's also equally impressive as to how quickly that strength can be regained. Looking back now, I don't know how I managed to complete the 1,000 pull-up challenge for the month of May! I haven't done any pull-ups since then, so 2 max out sets yesterday plus a set of 10 was roooouuuuuughh! 34 total. I did cry a little bit on the last set, no lie. But according to Scott, that was not as rough as when I first came here two years ago and would tap like crazy on every rep to "cheat" over the bar. More reps do not mean better work! In fact, doing more reps poorly takes away from all the gains you can get from doing less with the right technique. Do it right - and if that means doing less reps, then do fewer GOOD reps.
To clear the air, I don't "cheat" anymore. Instead, my pull-ups are done more slowly and strict (with no swing). Needless to say, holding a bowl of oatmeal after that lift was another workout in itself and wow, my arms are SORE today.
Now let's not forget legs. We had a nice little intro back into snatch and squat, so my legs are also speaking to me. My form on both has improved a lot because that has been our focus for the past two years. Squats have always been a least favorite and a poor lift of mine. So bad, that last year I never did full squats with anything over 180 lbs. But this year, I'm tackling this weakness. Now that my form and mobility is much improved, I think I'm ready to pack on some more weight in good positions. My goal is to squat 250 lbs this year. That is a BIG jump for me. My previous best is from a few years ago, probably also with bad form, just over 200 lbs.
I'll list my best lifts from last year and goals for this year below and track progress on them.
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