Strength Friday 12/7/12 (w/ Bonus Becherovka)

photo – flickr.com/photos/undergroundbastard/

In my quest for lean superhero-ness, I’m following the Wendler 5/3/1 strength training program. Twice a week, Dave and I are hitting the craptastic gym in our Converse to lift heavy and crank through a mini-metcon.

Just a sip…

Last night, we had a little dinner party with Hilah and Chris from Hilah Cooking. I mean, why not? We’re in that short-lived, no-man’s-land between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that quiet trough before the festivities really take off… Hilah’s new book Learn to Cook deserved a celebration… and I had a handful of recipes I’m testing for Well Fed 2 that needed taste buds other than mine and Dave’s to weigh in.

It only seemed proper that some kind of fermented spirits should be consumed in the name of holidays and celebrations. Am I right?!

In the spirit of behaving appropriately for the season, we might have polished off the better part of a bottle of Becherovka (my favorite sipping liqueur from the Czech Republic; tastes like Christmas!). But don’t worry — it was the dusty bottle we bought from the super discount table at the liquor store down the street, so it’s not like we mindlessly demolished the new bottle. We’re saving that one for Christmas Eve; we’re not heathens, for heaven’s sake.

Between storytelling and imbibing and making a case for the value of Blade 2 as a landmark film and arguing the merits of Hellboy as the definitive superhero movie, our dinner party didn’t break up until almost midnight — two hours past my usual bedtime! So our approach to the gym this morning was a little, um… let’s call it “half-hearted.” But the barbell didn’t give a damn about the Becherovka. It just sat there and challenged me pick it up and put it down, over and over.

Yes, I skipped my cashout.

Whatever.

And cheers!

WARMUP
5:00 treadmill

11 PVC squats
11 PVC rotations
5 OH squats + 5 front squats + 5 back squats
static squat hold/ankle stretch
hip & shoulder mobility

STRENGTH
Back Squat:
3 @ 70% of max =105#
3@ 80% of max = 120#
max reps @ 90% of max = 135# – I did 7.

Bench Press:
3 @ 70% of max =80#
5 @ 80% of max = 90#
max reps @ 90% of max = 100# – I did 7.

Plus: 10 reps @ 85#, for fun

CASHOUT
My cashout was thinking about breakfast, then going home and eating it.