My old off-brand lifting belt finally gave up the ghost.
It was about time. I bought it in January 2011 and paid $20 for it (plus a pair of lifting straps thrown in for free). Fourteen and a half years is excellent useful life, especially one that has seen such heavy use in the lifting trenches. Amortizing the acquisition cost over this period, it turns out that the cost per workout would have been something like 0.7 cents. That's great ROI.
Its replacement - also bought via eBay, also made in Pakistan - arrived early this week. It's Valeo, and very high quality, but a little too large for me (lifting belt sizes are wildly inaccurate). So I'll have to punch a couple of extra holes before I can use it. The old belt will still make the occasional appearance.
RIP made-in-Pakistan off-brand belt. You will be missed.
The old belt went out in grand style. I set several new PRs this training cycle, two courtesy of my micro-loading plates. Could have done a little more on the incline bench press, but there's always next time.
On the deadlift, I went for 590 lbs. and didn't get it. I might be using too much weight for the singles before my top attempt. E.g. this time I went 455x2-525-555-590, but probably should have skipped either the 525 or 555 pull. Even a measly 525 lbs. is almost 90% of my all-time best of 600 lbs. Maybe next time it should be something like 465x2-555-590. Or maybe I should just stop chasing deadlift maxes because they're pointless?
Training went well, with almost all lifts done smoothly and under control. In addition to lifting, I now swim every weekday morning and have upped my step count for the day. I got another ugly 410x3 on the bench press. I'd like to get 405x5 eventually, but that feels light years away right now.
Squat 505-555-590 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Front squat 430 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Standing overhead press 215 lbs. x 2, 225 lbs. x 1
Seated overhead press 245x2-275-302.5 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Deadlift 525-555-575 lbs. x 1 (last set after I failed with 590 lbs.).
Bench press 365x2-405x1-442.5 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Incline bench press 335x2-355x2-380 lbs. x 1 (tied PR)
Bodyweight was under 212 lbs. this week.
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