JByrum Today I got back into the gym after a month off. I've been working on my house in Iowa and taking a dynamic pause. I've had a desire to be able to do a pull up to the chest with thumbless grip. When I started out a couple years ago not really setting a goal but kind of half assing it I weighed 240 and needed 200 pounds of assistance. I improved my form, made a commitment a couple months ago, and worked on my back and forearms. Today I only needed 70 pounds of assistance and I weigh 270. So, basically, I went from only being able to do 40 pounds of work to now doing 200 pounds of work. I'm not quite there, but I'm feeling good about my progress. On the deadlift I chose a thinner bar and did a set of 3 reps of 325. The cool part of that is with the thicker bar I could only get a set of 3 reps at 300 pounds, and my grip strength and finger length meant I had to do mixed grip. Today I did more weight (accounting for the lighter bar) with overhand grip, standard stance instead of sumo, and I could feel more power flowing up from the bar since I was able to use a hook grip instead of straps. Unfortunately, I had an EMG test done a few hours later and have carpal tunnel syndrome, so I'll be taking a couple weeks off the lifting soon. I guess it's a good time to focus more on the legs and glutes. All in all, I feel pretty good about the way things are going. So far, no injuries since I've been taking it slow, reduced the number of lifts, and incorporated more bodyweight exercise. I've been following athleanx on YouTube and I like a lot of what they have to say. Take care.
