No sparring Friday night. Was getting ready to lift in the morning when I got called into work after someone didn't show. Worked overtime and hit this

Mat pulls (3)
535 x 4
* Finally a good day for this depth. Really made a point to hold back on squat day and I came into the session feeling fresh.

SSB box squats
330 x 3 x 5

Great sparring session on Friday. Wish I had jotted notes down in the immediate aftermath so it's fresh. Will do that in the evening when I get home. Was told that I'm getting the better of the exchanges but then I back off and let the opponent get out of the pocket. To be frank, that's intentional. It's sparring so I want the other guy to be able to respond and get some work in. I recognize that this is kind of silly and they'll learn more if THEY have to figure out how to escape, so I need to stop being such a nice guy. 

Strict pressed 185x3 on Saturday, falling well short of 5. Might be my shoulders are getting too much work between Muay Thai and all the pressing I do. Will cut-back a little to favor direct tricep work and give my deltoids a little bit of a break.

Squatted 415x5 yesterday, came pretty easy.

Did a prolonged cardio circuit yesterday consisting of skipping rope in my living room and shadowboxing.

Deload mat pull workout today. 405x5 double-overhand touch-and-go, and 500x1, all off of 3 mats. 500 felt heavy without a belt, rep was slower than I'd expect it to be and back felt looser than it should have been. SSB box squats of 295x3x5 after.

Planning on hitting up sparring tonight. From now on I will jot down points of focus beforehand on things I want to improve. For this week:

> Chin down when striking.
> Pivot followed by a wind-up into a hook. Pivot and work angles in general.
> Rolling the shoulder and using full reach when throwing the right.
> Feints.
> Low leg kicks are cool but hit the thighs more, those aren't protected by shin guards.

Knocked out deload squat and bench press workouts. Have been sick from the weekend but feeling better yesterday and today. Cardio has been minimal as a result, just some form practicing at an aerobically-charged pace.

Had a big dinner last night for Persian New Year at my aunt's.

Had an excellent sparring session Friday. Threw the best kicks I've utilized in a livefire situation. They were dangerous enough that I could see my opponents being thrown off by them, which has almost never been the case before. Only glaring regret I have is I completely forgot to use feints and suddenly remembered as I got into my car to go home.

Did a deload press workout Saturday.

Went to Muay Thai on Wednesday with George. Worked on the clinch and kneeing the body. Also got a refresher in posting, which I definitely need to use in sparring more for distance control. Coach held the mitts for me while I fired off some super fast combos at his command, although my brain still gets mixed up if too many numbers are given too fast.

Mat pulled only 535x1 off of 3 today. Did that both attempts. Still sore from squats and simply could not explode up the way I wanted to. Going to switch deadlift and squat days to avoid this problem. New challenge is I will now be squatting on the same day I spar which might result in leg cramps, so I will go a little easier on the assistance work after my main sets.

Have been doing some reverse leg-raises on a Swiss ball in imitation of a reverse-hyper and my back feels great today. Used some bands in an attempt to add resistance but it didn't make much of a difference. I'd have to get creative with the set-up if I want to really feel some weight on my heels.

Bench press
230 x 5
260 x 3
295 x 4
230 x 12
* Felt heavy today but had a better showing than last cycle when my butt came off the bench. Thought I could get more than 12 for the 230 but my shoulders weren't having it. Just a reality of Muay Thai. Might do a little less pressing for assistance work and add in direct tricep exercises.

Strict press
135 x 8,10

Chins
8, 10
50 x 8, 9, 9

Tricep pressdowns, curls

Squats
360 x 5
410 x 3
460 x 1
360 x 7
315 x 8
295 x 10
* Very smooth single. Have quite a bit left in me. I really want 500 at my next meet, which would match my last competition number but at a lighter weight class. Going to do first set last for squats from now on.

Deadlifts
405 x 8

Swiss ball leg curls

Did 4 hill sprints last night and went on a jog afterwards.

Warming up this morning I noticed my left hand has pain, particularly on the middle knuckle. Was a little hard to grip the bar and typing kind of hurts. Will do some easy expansion exercises with rubber bands.

Strict press
160 x 5
180 x 3
202 x 1
160 x 7
* First-set-last is a 1-rep improvement. Hard-fought.

Chin-ups
10, 10

Axle bench
110x5+165x8
235 x 8, 8
Super-set with dumbbell rows of 115(L)/100(R) x 8-10

Curls

Swiss ball planks

Bought an air mattress so I sleep better at my friend's house on Saturdays when we go out. Previously I was sleeping on a wrestling mat and sleeping bag and I'd typically get an interrupted bout of 6 or so hours of sleep because of the discomfort, and have felt like crap on Sundays as a result.

Mat pulls (4)
535 x 4
Not bad but I was aiming for 5. 4 mats is when it starts to actually feel like a deadlift to me. To remedy this I plan on nixing the RDLs on squat day as well as the squat drop-down sets and increasing the deficit deadlift weight to 405. Deadlifting 405 for reps on squat day has historically helped me with deeper mat pulls.

SSB box squats
335 x 3 x 5

I'm eating like a beast before and after training and keeping carbs low at other times of the day. The result is I've maintained my weight but my right arm has been growing, albeit slowly. Currently 195. Later this year I would like to gain weight to make my arms fully even, if possible.

Went to Muay Thai on Wednesday with George. Started out with more footwork and movement drills, which I really appreciate. Basically just went down the length of the gym while throwing a 1, then later a 1-2, and finally a 1-2-3. Simple, but getting a solid pivot while moving can sometimes be tricky.

Afterwards we separated into beginners and everyone else. And because class size is small, by this I mean George and a mom + daughter duo went to work with coach Anthony while me and this one other guy I know went with assistant coach Tyler to spar. We rotated in and out. Opted not to don headgear because Ty said to only go very light and I wanted to emphasize adhering to this. Got decked in the nose once which hurt but wasn't bad. Toward the end when sparring Tyler he kicked me pretty hard in the torso which knocked the wind out of me. I would say this session was just about perfect for intensity level, though. 99% of the time the shots were hard enough to punish but not enough to cause lasting damage, which is all I ask for if I'm still at the stage where I need to polish up some fundamentals (especially defensive).

Immediately at the start of the first round coach Ty tells me I'm too jumpy, which seems to happen when I try to be loose. Need to find a medium between being relaxed but not wasting energy with needless movement. Be mobile, but intelligently.

I covered distance better than before by not standing too wide and instead stepping in to throw. As usual, my jab was good. I really want to bring everything up to speed. Going to throw more uppercuts next time.

I've been feeling more confident about throwing kicks without eating shots. Now I need to pick them better. Need to quit landing on my opponent's backside and hit some vulnerable spots.

Gassed by the end although I forced through and kept it competitive. It really depends on the opponent, and these two are good enough to make me work compared to everyone else except one older guy who comes on Fridays. Jogging and some hill sprints aren't going to cut it, but I've also kept my cardio outside of Muay Thai fairly recoverable because of lifting. Ah, the conundrum they warn you about. I believe I can stand to add another really intense conditioning workout a week, and if I need to it won't be a problem to cut down on some reps under the iron.

Squats
340, 385, 435 x 3
330 x 2 x 8 -> drop-set to 225, 135, 45 x 10

RDLs
335 x 8

Deficit deadlifts
335 x 7

Having some good luck with the rain. It pours in the morning and at night but not in the afternoon when I train.

Failed to strict press 182x5 on Saturday, which I've done before. Got 4 instead. Seems like whatever I switch to the second week tends to suffer just a little bit.

Went to Muay Thai yesterday with George, who signed up. Did a lot of pad work and then kicked the shield. Got reminded to rotate more with my arm in the direction of the kick, which helps a lot with pivoting properly.

Raining today which sucks but squats must be done.

Bench pressed 265x8 on Wednesday.

Did 4 3-minute rounds of Muay Thai practice yesterday before going on a jog. Knees were hurting, both of them. Gained some good insights from a footwork video on YouTube. During sparring I am definitely standing too wide when chasing opponents. STEP into throwing the right hand instead of reaching super far with my rear leg planted. You can still pivot, just have to put your foot down. Also practiced pivoting into a left hook, wherein the pivot comes first and then the torso rotates to follow, like you're winding up. Really keen on honing my mobility and not getting stuck in a pocket.

This morning, mat pulled 535x2 off of 4 pavers before the bar rolled off. Reset and immediately went for more reps. Couldn't even break the bar off the mats this time. I woke up with my back sore, maybe from sleeping in a poor position. Also felt lethargic and sluggish, in general. I ate Costco pizza and coffee cake with coffee for breakfast and instead of feeling strong off all the calories I just felt like crap. It's okay to have a little more leeway with diet peri-workout but will try to be a little more reasonable with it, haha. I have actually had success eating like this at work before heavy squat workouts but something about it being first thing in the morning just nauseated me.