July 7th, 2012

Did some testing on a friend that came into town, and then followed that up with:

Sumo DL - heavy single - 335lb
RDL - 205lb - 6x4, 4131 tempo
Trap 3 - 12lb, 3010 tempo, 8x3/hand
Pendlay row - 135lb, 8x3

First workout in the new space, so there were some limitations on possible exercises.  Post. chain work is still something I could continually use more of, and overall its still curious that my pulling ability is still nowhere close to where it used to be, even though squatting is more or less back in place.  Currently have a pretty confident BS with at least 90% of all time 1RM, whereas DL is probably 80% at best, on a good day.  Not sure if this is maybe just an indication of where my "natural" tendencies lie as I'm still basically coming back from the long layoff in OZ, or if for some reason lower body hinging mechanics have suffered tremendously and are returning independently of squatting mechanics.  Based on hang clean 1RM a couple days ago this could alternatively just be more proof that I'm more "grooved" into the Speed end of the SS continuum, rather than Absolute, slow strength.  In any case its clear that its something that will need to be addressed (albeit slowly) in the next few months.  Mats have arrived at the new space, and hopefully within the next few days the rig can go up, mats can go down, and we can have a (basically) functioning gym space.

As well, started out first tester of olive loaf - 15% evoo, 1.4% black pepper.  Feels very loose, and pretty difficult to handle.  Oil stays pretty well distributed within the loaf (no seepage), but it seems that the fat's keeping the dough pretty "short," and its not developing the same tension as normal.  Had a difficult time shaping the dough tightly, maybe drop the hydration next time (this one is at 76% hyrdation).  First proof was about 4 hours (was slightly overproofed), and during shaping because dough was extremely loose much of the aeration was lost.  May need to figure out a different shaping method in future.  Second proof is estimated at 5 hours or so.  Hoping to get my hands on some nice fish later on this week....

Had a friend from back east come in and visit the gym - volunteered to help with assessment practices and do a CP tester for us.  Overall assessment went well - lots of balance, although some interesting notes:

 - Body composition overall very even, and pretty low.
 - Showed some imbalances during movement screen - ruptured right Achilles several years ago, and right heels is actually MORE flexible now...was opposite of what I expected but apparently was simply how ROM returned in that heel during PT.  Pretty interesting given that a tight Achilles was the initial cause for the rupture, along with the fact that the left heel hasn't been injured but (I would assume) remains as tight as the right was.
 - going along with the more flexible right heel saw imbalances in hip flexion/extension (though abduction/adduction were pretty much equal)....moving forward would be interested to see if there are shoulder imbalances during overhead movements, along with squat mechanics changes during OHS positions...wonder if the usual suspects are all present there, and if there are possible flags down the road that could come up because of it.
 - Air squat mechanics were good, though during lunge movements the right knee showed more forward travel (flexible heel again), although perhaps posterior chain/quad activation might have been affected during rehab?  Hard to say without further observation.
 - Spine was locked in two places, just above and below t-spine/l-spine "joint"....has ramifications for high rep pulling off the floor, small changes moving forward, but nothing huge.
 - Overall very strong individual, but strength-speed numbers (and most likely speed-strength and speed) were a little lower than expected...more on this later.
 - Assessment was followed with CP test, 1RM PC in 10min, along with 90% AMRAP 8 afterwards.  AMRAP total was 21 reps.  PC came out to a lower number than expected relative to BS and DL, which jives with what we saw during that AMRAP of someone who was very strong but didn't move very fast....is an indication towards his natural makeup ("essence," or whatever).  Makes some strong indications as far as a possible direction for training both for balance and success in CF as competition.  Overall good structure, just some work capacity items to train at, should such a situation come about....

Almost....