Something in my left hip went RIIIP as I pulled a mere 455 lbs. a couple of Fridays ago.
I was left in crippling back/hip pain, but managed to rehab it enough to do bench presses (the day after), squats (Monday), and some very cautious pulling two weeks later. Oddly, the hip/back issue didn't bother me much while squatting, front or back. The pain is almost completely gone now, but I still have a sensation of... instability, I guess?
Maybe it's just mental. But I'm not taking any chances. My attempts at deadlift singles were very conservative and are likely to stay that way going forward. Also, I will no longer be starting every rep from a dead stop. I've never seen any benefits from it, and I feel it increases the strain on the weakest areas in the hips and low back.
In spite of the injury, squats and front squats felt strong. I broke PRs in both and am now consistently front squatting 400 lbs. for sets of 5. Overhead pressing also went well. I'm still not where I need to be in the standing press, but getting stronger.
Bench presses have felt off all cycle. I've been plagued by persistent pain in my right triceps and elbow for quite some time now. I kept my heavy triples at 4 plates, but my form has been questionable. On singles day, I missed 445 lbs. twice and 435 lbs. once. Then I lowered the weight to 425 lbs. to at least save some face, but was completely fried at this point, so I failed that one too.
Failing at the bench press seemed to help me with incline presses, where I broke my previous PR by a whopping 15 lbs. Which made this a very good cycle overall.
Goals for next cycle: fix right elbow; fix left hip; get back into groove with bench presses. Maybe I need to drop the weight and do more controlled triples with 365-385 lbs.
Squat 505-550-595 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Front squat 440 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Bench press 405 lbs. x 1
Incline bench press 365-395 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Standing overhead press 205-230 lbs. x 1
Seated military press 250x2-280-305 lbs. x 1 (PR)
Deadlift 505x2-550 lbs. x 1
Bodyweight 210-215 lbs. this week.
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