It was a great THT 3.1 HIT workout last night! I learned that I can easily plateau with my shoulders if I don't train them frequently, but the rest of my body doesn't seem to care!
On that note, I've set some goals for myself. I'll add more for other relevant exercises as I get closer to starting my first THT 4.0 cycle. I plan on obtaining these goals by the end of this calendar year.
Goals thus far: 260lb smith machine bench press (all goals are for reps, not 1RM), 300lb 90 degree smith machine squats, 320lb smith machine trap shrugs, 220lb seated plated calf raises, 140lb single dumbell bent-over row, 70lb dumbell delt lat raises, 180lb machine cabled overhead press, 230lb + bar deadlift, 95lb dumbell wrist "fingertip" curls, 220lb cabled kneeling ab crunches, 95lb cabled machine curls (single-handed), 200+lb proper tricep extensions (also 105lb overhead dumbell extensions).
Current status in the order as shown above: 220lbs, 260lbs (just starting), 270lbs, 200lbs (just starting), 110lbs, 60lbs (slow to gain!), 160lbs (also slow to gain), 190lbs + bar, 80lbs, 205lbs, reset to 80lbs for proper form, reset to 180lbs for proper form (90lbs currently).
It's going to be a LOT of work, but when I'm done I know I'll be much stronger, and even more built, than I already am. I've found over the last weeks that while my drive to progress hadn't dimished, my longer-term goals had fallen by the wayside and I had no direction. Where will I go from here? I'm not sure. I'll re-evaluate as I get closer to December.
I may indeed find myself surpassing more than a few of these goals, but that works for me. It indicates two things: that I can still successfully plan and lay out future achievements for myself, and that I can exceed my own expectations. I can live with myself if that comes to pass.
Have a great Tuesday everyone! Train hard but safely!
Adam
Do you use any wrist bands or anything for trap shrugs? I just had a full set of 300 lbs just using a barbell + weight, dunno how much higher I can go keeping a grip lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually shrugging on the Smith machine - it allows me to shrug evenly without having to do an opposing grip on the bar (and having to alternate hands halfway thru the set). So far, no straps or other grip aids.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, ymca doesn't have a smith machine so I'm looking at aids soon since I maxed their cable machine and had to switch to barbell.
ReplyDeleteYou can shrug if you oppose your grip - i.e. left hand underhand and right hand overhand. The bar can't twist that way and roll out off of your fingers. You can lift way more that way, but you'll have to reverse your grip halfway thru as the mechanics of a shrug with each grip are a bit different. This way you'll normalize your development by splitting your sets in half. At least, that's my theory and as I was applying it for the few weeks I did barbell shrugs raw.
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