Yukon squats 

395 x 5, 5, 5

Bench press

277.5 x 5, 5, 5

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

115s x 8, 8, 8

Close-grip bench press

225 x 10, 6 then immediately do 10 Close-grip push-ups 

Keg curls, facepulls

Back was feeling better and then started hurting after squats. Have been doing band reverse hypers the last two nights. I need to enforce doing some kind of rehab exercise in the middle of the day too, not just at night. Spread the healing throughout the day.

Spent a lot this month but I'm still eyeing that reverse hyper. Soooon... 

Belt squats

8 plates x 10, 10

9 plates x 8

-

First two sets giant set with SSB lunges and good mornings, last set super-set with good mornings 

10/10, 10/10

10

Incline Swiss bar bench with Fat Gripz

165 x 8, 10, 8

-

Super-set with Meadows rows

115 x 8, 10, 10

* Cut the rests to 2 minutes.

Dips

12, 20

-

Dumbbell preacher curls

35s x 10, 10

Standing ab wheel rollouts

5

Sit-ups

13

Axle clean and press

150 x 5, 5, 8 (clean each rep for 5s, last set clean first 5 and press away the rest)

-

Super-set with wide pull-ups

3 x 10

Iron Woody band pressdowns x 2 sets (uncounted, just went for a pump)

Deadlifts

465 x 5

* Weight gets 10 lbs heavier and feels 10 lbs lighter each week. Am really getting my confidence back in the deadlift. No missed reps is the way to train this lift.

Landmine SLDLs

One side of 465 x 10, 10

Leg raises 

Woke-up at 6:30 today and did 8 minutes of the exercise bike, 40 burpees, and some shadow kickboxing, then took a contrast shower (I never shower before work). It started off freezing and after a minute or two of controlled breathing I was fiddling with the control valve trying to make the shower colder, but it was already as low as it could go. Good way to start the day.

Back has been feeling better overall. Supple Leopard gave me some good tips for posture to counter APT syndrome, and I'll be diving into Bach Mechanic by Stuart McGill again this week.

Yukon squats
390 x 5, 5, 5

Bench press
270 x 5, 5, 5
-
Super-set with bilateral dumbbell rows
115s x 8, 8, 8

Band-resisted incline dumbbell press

50s x 12, 9
-
Super-set with keg curls
10, 8

5 minutes exercise bike

Yukon squats

385 x 5, 5, 5

Bent-over dumbbell rows

100 x 8

Bench press 

267.5 x 5, 5, 5

-

Super-set with bilateral dumbbell rows

115s x 8, 8, 8

Iron Woody band pressdowns 

15, 15

-

Super-set with bilateral dumbbell curls

50s x 10

35s x 10

5 minutes exercise bike

Belt squats

Work up to 8 plates x 10, 10, 10

Incline Swiss bar bench with Fat Gripz

165 x 8, 9, 8

-

Super-set with Meadows rows

115 x 8, 9, 8

Dips

11, 10

-

Super-set with dumbbell preacher curls

35s x 9, 8

Finished in an hour. 

My back is feeling much better. I'm pretty much without pain now. The only niggling factor is that weird disjointed sensation when I bend backwards. I wish I had an exact time when that started but it might have been from pushing my body at the deadlift part of my meet. It's definitely preventing me from maxing out on deadlift singles for awhile.

That's fine, there are so many more ways I can progress and let my body heal in the meantime. And while I won't be surprised if it's something serious down the road, I've also had gnarly sensations before that heal on their own, like that intense nerve pain on my shoulder blades from high bar squatting. That lasted about a year before going away thanks to discovering low bar squats. 

Axle press 

Work up to 150 x 5 (clean first 3 reps), 5 (clean all reps), 5 (clean all reps)

Super-set with wide-grip pull-ups (unincluded work-up sets paired with first 2 sets)

8, 10, 10, 10, 10

* Had the idea to just combine the clean and pressing instead of keeping them as separated lifts. This is a good way to keep this press day fairly light without feeling like I'm doing nothing with low weight and reps. 

Clean and press away

135 x 10

Super-set with wide pull-ups

10

* Saw the deadlift bar I was setting up and just couldn't resist.

Deadlifts

405 x 5

435 x 5

* At first I couldn't break 405 because of how gunshy I was from feeling the pebble sensation in my spine. Took a short walk and came back to it, then hit 435 and my back felt much better. 

Iron Woody leg curls

30 each leg

Another good feeling day.

Foe my back, I'm researching firmer mattresses and due to how I've been feeling the past few days I'm going to either bring in the cheap spring mattress again or flip my memory foam upside down for its firmer side. Neither of those seem to make a big difference, at least immediately, but they didn't feel any worse and my current level of bed softness made my back feel worse last night. 

I'm also looking to get health insurance for the first time in forever to get my back checked out (not the first time I've written that in here, lol) and I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on the reverse hyper scout. I figure if I ever upgrade to the heavy duty model I could definitely use the foldable one in my living room.

I'm also reading the book Supple Leopard, and I pulled out my old copy of Low Back Disorders by Dr Stewart McGill.

But wait, there's more. I ordered McGill's newer books, Back Mechanic (which arrived today), and the one I'm really looking forward to that pertains specifically to powerlifters, Gift of Injury.