Pittsburgh Update and Bench Day

Highlights/notes from my Pittsburgh trip:

• Being asked twice if I was in college. Perhaps because there are fewer college students in Pittsburgh to compare people to, I look younger there. Regardless, I liked it.
• Squatting without my Olympic lifting shoes. I was able to get 180#7, with most reps to comp depth. I definitely missed the stability of my lifting shoes, but I think it's good practice to squat sometimes without them, both to challenge my hip mobility and because becoming too dependent on any lifting aid (shoes, wraps, etc) seems like a bad idea to me.
• I definitely prefer training in the morning than in the afternoon. Over the past couple weeks I have been trying to shift my training from 8 or 9am to 3 or 4pm to help get me adjusted to my new schedule once I start clinic. That was my plan in Pittsburgh as well, but I ran out of time on Tuesday to squat and so went Wednesday morning instead. It was my first morning workout in a while and I forgot how much I like starting the day that way. Lifting before clinic would mean waking up at 4:30am though, so I think I am just going to have to get used to afternoon/evening training.
• Talking about physical therapy and the strength and conditioning stuff I have learned with my family and friends in Pittsburgh rather than with fellow students/meatheads (two somewhat overlapping groups of people) in Boston makes me realize how much knowledge and information I have actually picked up over the past couple of years. This is a really helpful realization as I have definitely been anxious about starting my full-time year-long clinical rotation next week.

Training today (back at my beloved Central Square Y):

Warmup: landmine presses and band pull-aparts

Bench: 6 sets working up to 120#x2,2,1, supersetted with seated cable rows.

Accessory: 3 sets of band pull-ups and triceps work (supposed to be 5 but I literally just ran out of steam)

Finisher: Overhead waiter carries.

I increased my working 1 rep max for bench to 140# because I want to challenge myself on my weights, even though my actual 1RM is more like 130-135#. So instead of getting 115#x5 (which would have been my final programmed lift if I were still using 135# as my I rep max), I went for 120# and got a couple good doubles and a single in. I also used my lifting shoes today for benching, I liked the stability they provided and I think they help me get more leg drive, but they also somehow have me put more strain through my lumbar spine while benching, so I think I'll stick with my minimalist Inov-8s going forward.