Birthday PR: new squat 1 RM

So, I’m 43 years old now. Friday AM at the gym I was encouraged by Matt Smith to get a new PR. So I set out after a new 1 RM in the squat. It’s been a long time since I did a day of heavy singles for maximum effort.

Warm-Up: about 200 meters on the C2.

Mobility: Quickly ran through the usual.

Squat: 5 x 45 / 5 x 45 / 5 x 155 / 3 x 225 / 1 x 245 (PR) / 1 x 250 (PR) / 1 x 255 (PR) / 1 x 260 (PR) / 1 x 265 (PR) / 1 x 270 (PR) / f x 275. These felt good. I had to GRIND out the reps on 260, 265, and 270. Slow going through the middle, and, yes, I lost a little bit of extension in the bottom. The failed rep at the end, and the worse reps (255 and 260 were the worst of the successful reps) were too deep. Too deep has always been my problem! Smith helped me check depth on each rep.

To get a sense of my squat progress since my last birthday, as of Jan 6th, 2011, I had a 1 RM of less than 210; it must have been about 205, but I’m not sure when I set that number; probably near the end of 2010.

I then set a squat 1 RM PR on Feb. 18, 2011: 225 lbs.

Two years ago, around the time of my birthday, my back squat 1 RM was 185, and I tried to best it but ended up in a tie, on Jan 5th, 2010. So, I’ve improved my back squat an average of 42.5 lbs per year over the past two years. But technically, birthday to birthday, my squat went from 205 to 270, for an increase of 65 lbs Jan 2011—Jan 2012. If I can continue that rate of improvement, I will likely see my 300 lb back squat this year. And then some.

Power Clean: 1 x 35 kg / 1 x 40 / 1 x 45 / 1 x 50 / 1 x 55 / 1 x 60 / 1 x 65 / f x 70 / 3 x 3 x 70 kg (154 lbs). These were hard. But doable. My form needs work. It’s time to stop increasing by 5 kg per session!

That’s all.