Mat pulls off a stack of 7 mats

500 x 1, 1 (mixed grip)

500 x 5 (straps)

Romanian deadlifts

225 x 2 x 10 + 10, 15 shrugs at the end

Belt squats

6 plates x 10

6 plates + friend sitting on the plates x 10

Russian twists

25 x 20 each direction

Ab wheel

5 from floor + 5 standing

Figured out a positioning issue that's been tripping me up. I've been standing too close to the bar with the bar pressed against my shins and it's been causing my shoulders to start well in front of it, causing me to pitch forward. This is what injured me last month. This time I lined up the bar to my toe knuckles and was able to lean back with the bar as it broke off the ground. I remember learning this exact pointer and working to get it right after watching a Google Video Diesel Crew tutorial vid in the 2000s.

Despite that, I was extremely gunshy moving the weight at first. Went ahead and donned straps after 2 singles so I could get my head game focused on moving the weight, but I'm liking this recent trend of using grip power as much as possible.

Walked to the gym later. Did a 1-minute dead hang and then 10 minutes on the elliptical at max resistance (level 25 on this particular machine). Afterwards, I sat in the steam room but it didn't seem to be working, checked-out the cold plunges and both were occupied, squeezed into the crowded outdoor sauna for about 5 minutes, and then sat in the infrared sauna for another 5. Too crowded for my liking but I'm still learning what peak hours are on the weekend. Earlier in the day or close to closing might be better.