Something from (almost)nothing

Monday May 24

Walked in the morning (need new shoes)

Warmup
Benchpress work up to 4x4 w/ 235 S/S with
Inverted rows (bodyweight) 3x16, 14, 13
Push-ups 3x40, 30, 30 S/S with
Retract-row-rotate w/ mini-bands 3x max reps
DB curls 5x12 S/S with DB triceps extension 5x12-15
Overhead crunches(on lat pulldown) 4x15

I trained in a small key club I found about 3 miles from my house. It is spartan but has everything one needs. It has (literally) 10 pieces of equipment (including 3 flat benches) and some dumbbells. I had a great workout. I have decided to substitute some submaximal-effort work in place of the (usual) dynamic effort work. My bar speed is not an issue so I have decided to work this in. In the past I have learned that if I take a few weeks from DE work, my speed may slow a bit but after adding a cycle of it back to my training, I can return to where I was.

I have read an article by James Smith (aka "The Thinker" on www.elitefts.com) wherein he referenced some SE work in his own training. That is where the idea came from. He writes that DE work is very central nervous system (CNS) intensive and SE work is less so; allowing one to recover quicker before performing another CNS-intensive training later in the training cycle (week). Therefore one should be able to demonstrate greater strength on a second day (in this case, a ME day or in my case a 5-3-1 day). I used that percentage based on what he wrote. Smith's stuff is very thought-provoking and I would encourage others to read his stuff.

Stay strong,
Ed T.