Adventures in 20-rep squatting

I'm cheating.

I admit it openly and with no shame.

Today was supposed to be a rest day. The training calendar shows a big blank spot for this day. But I just couldn't do it. I had to do something. The reasons are pretty simple, one defensible, the other? Well, you decide.

On the one hand, since I'm doing the whole 20-rep squat thing, I've decided that I need to squat more than once a week. Please do not scream at me like that. Even when I followed the hard-gainer plan I developed for myself after reading Brawn and Beyond Brawn, I felt that I needed more than one day a week of leg work, so on deadlift days I'd squeeze in some leg presses in addition to the squats I'd do on designated leg days. It worked well, so I see no reason not to continue sneaking in an additional set of squats here and there.

Once I made up my mind to give the 20-rep squats a try, I'd already planned on squatting more than once a week. Since Wednesday is nicely sandwiched between deadlift and bench press day, it seemed the perfect opportunity for at least one set of squats.

So that's one reason I cheated. The other is, well, more a matter of vanity or competitiveness, I suppose. You see, I signed on for a challenge on Fitocracy in the 5/3/1 Raw Strength group. Whoever earns the most points by May 21 wins. Wins what, you ask? Um ... nothing tangible, really. Just a bunch of people saying, "Way to go!" Because of this, I added several sets of barbell curls and dumbbell curls to the workout. My routine doesn't even call for biceps curls! I feel so cheap and dirty.

Sadly, I'm currently fourth out of six participants. Six!

And that's why I have to flipping cheat!

If I follow this Wendler 5/3/1 plan to the letter, then next week is actually supposed to be a deload week. Am I going to deload and risk embarrassing myself in the competition? Hell, no! I'm going to throw those barbells around with reckless abandon!

Tomorrow is bench press day with dumbbell bench press and Kroc rows thrown in for assistance work. No messing around in this workout. I'm going to go running in like Bruce Banner's pea-green alter ego and screaming like Sean Cassidy's Banshee.

Only problem is, the heaviest dumbbell I own is a 65-pounder, so I'm either going to have to do a lot of reps and a lot of sets or find some practical way to increase the amount of weight I'm lifting in each set. The bench press is no problem; I have well over 300 pounds of weight to throw on that bar. The question is how I can milk the most point-value out of the dumbbell bench presses and Kroc rows.

You see? It's crazy! I'm thinking like a crazy man just because I signed up for the "Brawl for it All" challenge.

Fitocracy makes me crazy.