Hey there Everyone, this is Dan from The Strength Coach Tutor. Today I’m going to give you an update on how my training progress is going during Phase 1 in my Return To Gym Post-COVID training program.
Today was the first day of Week 3. We obviously do legs to start off a training week. My two main lifts for lower body have been barbell front squats and barbell deadlifts. Both have progressing nicely. For this whole month, i have been following a linear periodization model. Every exercise is 4 sets, with the reps decreasing, and weight increasing each week. Last week I hit 185 lbs for 2 reps on the barbell front squat. Today, I was able to perform 3x3 @ 185 lbs. I’d call that a good start. Deadlifts were solid today too, with a top sets of 3 x 255 lbs. I still feel that my grip strength is the limiting factor in my deadlift performance. Yes, I use a double-overhand/supinate grip. An alternates grip just doesn’t suit me well. Plus, actually performing deadlifts will improve my grip strength....so I am not too concerned. It’ll improve.
The increase in grip strength will also improve my pull-up strength, arguably my most lagging area of strength currently. Flat and dumbbell bench pressing have been going well. I am debating a switch to barbell variations in my next phase. In my next phase, I do plan to increase the number of exercises for arms, and have a better exercise selection for my needs in regards to shoulders and upper back.
I am waiting until Phase 1 is complete to design Phase 2. At the moment, my current inclination for each workout is to have 1-2 heavy compound lifts, followed by 3-4 exercises that may be compound or single-joint, but performed with more volume and lower intensities. My new gym has a hack squat machine, and I would like to experiment with it.
An important lesson to take away when training is to have fun and not always take it so seriously. I have allowed myself to be patient, try some different things, and find out what I’m currently capable of. I’m in this for the long term, and I know the journey is worth it!
Thank you for reading,
Dan💪🏻