It's Max Week!

It's max week this week at the box. Instead of workouts, we stretch a little and then start to build up to our one rep max of the lift we're doing. We started the week with back squats. All of the guys love back squats; I like them too. I think they're a favorite because most people can back squat heavier than they can lift any of the other lifts. My previous PR (personal record) was 90 pounds. I squatted 120 and could have upped that another 10 pounds at least, but I was nervous about getting stuck at the bottom and having to bail which I've never done.

Lifting to a one rep max makes me really nervous. My coach says everyone gets nervous so I guess I'm not alone, but for some reason the thought of lifting to failure is scary. I feel a little about it like I
do about handstands, but not quite as panicky. When I told my coach I was hesitant about lifting to failure because I had never bailed on a lift before he said we would practice at the end of the class. There was another lady my age in the class who had never bailed either and was worried about it too. First the coach showed us how to let the bar go and jump forward. I practiced with a pvc pipe first and I'm glad I did because I dropped it on my lower back the first time I tried it. Then we practiced with 35 pounds and I think I got the hang of it--hopefully I won't be as nervous about it the next time we back squat. I do think it's an age thing though--none of 30 somethings in the box seemed to be worried about how to bail.

Wednesday we 1 rep maxed the clean and jerk. My max for the clean is probably about 80, and I just push jerked 75 last week, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to lift much more than that. I PR'd at 85 pounds and was pretty proud of that number--even though I didn't lift to failure. One thing I noticed was that I would get light-headed and see stars after every clean and I would have to stand there and
wait until my world stopped spinning before I could complete the jerk. My coach says this is common because the bar hits your windpipe when you clean properly--I think that's part of it, but I also think I have a tendency to hold my breath which probably contributes to the light-headedness.

Thursday was a ROM WOD--aahh, I love yoga days. ROM stands for range of motion wods and I'm lucky to be at a box where we have recovery days like these. They really help with mobility and soreness.

Friday was hang squat cleans. This is one of my favorite lifts.

Since you're not lifting from the ground there's not as much to mess up, and being able to receive the bar in the squat position makes it easier to lift more weight. I PR'd at 90 pounds fairly easily and only stopped because we ran out of time.

So that was max week. It was really fun to see the gains from all of the hard work I've put in this past year.