08.21.2016
Back Squat, no belt, paused first rep till 275, light wraps at 315
45 x 12
135 x 6
225 x 3
275 x 2
295 x 1
315 x 4
325 x 4
335 x 4
345 x 4

Deadlift, conventional, hook grip, no belt 2 x 405, 425, 435, 445, 455
Straight Bar Pull Up @194 x 8,8,8,6

Obviously a long-awaited huge bump in squat strength today. Knees and quads have been feeling better than they have in years. And I believe my numbers on the Big Three are as high as they were at the lifetime peak I attained by January right before my thyroid went hyper.

My best back squat session was fall last year with 325 x 6 x 6. Today I was able to get fours with 315, 325, 335, and 345. That is almost as good. Plus this is a huge jump from last week's very difficult triples with 275 that began this cycle after a layoff. So I feel like I'm primed for the best gains of my life.

The very last rep of the deadlift was bad. My back started to round because my legs were done. (This is an important point. The lower back doesn't give out on hard deadlifts; the lower back rounds for the same reason it does on the last rep of squats: the hip/knee extensors can't move the weight so the rounding back is the body's way of reducing the moment arm (absolute horizontal distance of the bar from the fulcrum)).

Also, since I had lots of time to kill, I made it a point to stretch my quads and hips pretty thouroughly as I rested for the pull ups. I'm hoping this will mean I don't have to roll much or at all.

I feel if I can get to a solid set of 365 x 5 on the squat without big pauses (like when my set of 355 x 5 was actually 355 x 3 + 1 + 1), then I'll be ready for that 405 x 1 with very loose wraps and no belt.

Also, I'm finding that even with my supplementation, I am better off training just ONCE per week for each lift. Day 1 = Bench and Row, Day 2 = Squat and Pull (Pull Up or Deadlift). I have been training way too frequently most of my life. I'm as strong as I was at my peak without all the quad and knee trouble this time around.