8-7-15 – Dynamic Lower Body (Day 4/90 on the Challenge)

It’s 4:30 am and I hear the alarm going off. I jumped out of bed and knew I had work to do this morning. Since we went to sleep earlier than usual last night, I woke up with a lot more energy. I got ready in a hurry, filled my shaker cup with coffee and 2 scoops of Vi Shape and hit the Dan Ryan blasted Jay-Z’s Blueprint the entire way to HPF.

Today’s goal was to make the bar move AS FAST AS POSSIBLE! The percentage of the weights I am basing my working sets off of are considerably less than I have used in the past. This has allowed me to work on my form more efficiently. I have learned from the past that you can not let your ego get the best of you. With that lesson learned, I was prepared to concentrate on technique and bar speed. I also did not wear a belt because: 1 -the weight was very light. 2 – it will help strengthen my abs and lower back.

With John C. Maxwell, leadership expert, on the stereo, I was ready to train. The bar speed felt great. My shoulder blades were squeezed and my elbows were directly under the bar. Overall body tightness is a key when wanting to lift a weight efficiently. I made sure I took a deep breath and braced my abs before each squat, even the VERY light warm ups. This helps me practice good technique with every rep.

After my 10 working sets of squat, I made my way to the deadlift platform. I can tell there is a great weakness in my hips and lower back. I will keep that in mind and make sure to do exercises to build those weaknesses. The accessories went pretty well. My back was fried towards the end, but it will get strong(er) in the long run. I was done a lot sooner than I thought I would be so I spent a good amount of time stretching. It was a great day of training. Now, time to eat some protein!!!