Max Speed Day

My lower back is was at 95% which is great considering I couldn't squat with it on Monday. The hamstring still feels so-so, but held up. I think it was the chair I was sitting in at home. It had bad ergonomics and sometimes my hamstrings would get so sore sitting in it that I would end up kneeling. I've switched to sitting on the couch and everything is already feeling better

I took off from work early to go lift with the guys. They usually do banded box squats before I get there and I wanted to learn what I could while I was still around.

An old trick I learned from Bull is that if you have a sprained hamstring, you can put on your suit with the straps down (and no belt on the torso), and the tension of the suit legs will keep it fine. Keeping the straps down and unbelted doesn't add too much if anything since it's mostly just tension on the hips and hamstrings. I did this today and it held up well.

Box squats:
I did these off a 14" box with a 1" foam pad. It was probably right at parallel. I wanted to go lower, but I didn't want to stress the hamstrings too much just in case.

We used blue and green bands, which was a little intimidating. Steve (main guy) wouldn't say what it was. But after I talked to Dan and he thinks it was around 350 in tension at the top. I am glad I didn't know this when I stared.

(warm up)
45 (bar) + bands x 3
135 + bands x 3
225 + bands x 3 (I was informed after this that we were supposed to be doing doubles)
315 + bands x 3

315 was ok, but not fast enough for the work sets.
(work sets)
275 + bands x 3, four sets
315 + bands x 3

We only did 5 work sets total. I talked to Steve and he said that once the bands get really heavy, you have to drop the work sets low, otherwise it turns into too much of a max effort movement and the recovery takes too long. Tom did just the blue bands and he did 8 sets, so that gives me some reference.


Super banded deadlifts:
This is a tough exercise. First, we use the banded deadlift platform with quadded minis. Then we put that inside a squat rack and loop purples around the sides of the rack like a barrier for when the bar comes up. The bar hits them just as you just as you get to the knees, which makes it bruuutal.

135 x 2 (I underestimated the top part and nearly lost it on the first rep)
225 x 2

At this point Steve starts calling out Dan on the fact that I'm keeping up with him. Something like "are you going to let some young punk who's 50lbs lighter than you deadlift more than you?" So now we have a competition.

315 x 2
315 x 2
315 x 2

I up the ante:

365 x 0 after which I immediate get super pissed off, yell "FUCK THAT" and go
365 x 2

Dan then ups it one further and gets 405, so I go
405 x 1
405 x 1

This shit is heavy. We both try 425 but fail. I am somewhat amazed that I didn't destroy my back or blow out my hamstring during this.

I then took the suit bottoms off and immediately my hamstring starts pulsating with awesomeness or pain. I guess Bull was right about it protecting, haha.

Reverse Hypers:
hamstring is in too much pain to load up, so I stretch out with
2 plates x failure, 4 sets

Hanging leg raises:
2 sets x failure
2 sets where I go til failure, rest for 3 seconds then go again.

It was an exhausting workout.