Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 255

Day 255

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time working on opening up my hips with some soft tissue work and stretching. My hope was that my body would feel up for a good lower body workout. Last week I didn't do a lot of lower body push movements, so I decided to try getting into some nice deep squats. Nothing too heavy, but if I felt up to it, I wouldn't hesitate to load up the bar.

Today's Workout:

5 minutes of mobility work.

Exercise 1: Kettlebell Front Squat (used as a deep squat preparatory exercise)
2 sets / 10 reps / 60 sec rest (1 second pause in the bottom) - 14kg per side

Exercise 2: Back Squat
4 sets / 4 - 6 reps / 3 min rest (1 seconds pause in the bottom)
Set 1: 6 x 135 lbs
Set 2: 6 x 185 lbs
Set 3: 6 x 205 lbs
Set 4: 6 x 205 lbs

Exercise 3: Barbell Step-up
3 sets / 6 reps per side / 2 min rest
Set 1: 6 x 135 lbs
Set 2: 6 x 155 lbs
Set 3: 6 x 155 lbs

Superset
Exercise 4: Leg Press (Single Leg Eccentric)
3 sets / 5 reps per side / 60 seconds rest - 200 lbs all sets
Exercise 5: Prone Leg Curl
3 sets / 6 reps / 60 seconds rest - 135 lbs all sets

My body felt really good during the workout today. I think the regeneration and mobility work I did yesterday was very successful. I felt no pain during any of my exercises which I was really happy about. I had been kind of bummed lately. I felt like my body had taken a step backward with all of the little aches and pains but I felt really good about the quality of my squats today. I was able to get lower than I ever have and every rep felt really good and solid.

Earlier in the year I was squatting a lot more, but considering how I've been feeling lately, I think today was a success. I think next time I get under the bar for some squats I will feel pretty confident and able to load up the bar a lot more.