Squats too

Vanilla.

That's all I have to say about today's squat workout.

I worked up to 215, did 5 reps (Wendler says 3+, so I did 3+2). Not bad. Will get better. I slipped in a couple more sets along the way because a) I know that I need more of a warm-up than most people (old, poor circulation, etc.) and b) because I didn't like the big jump from 145 to 190. I firmly believe that weight acclimation sets are needed before you go to your heaviest set, even when that isn't your 1RM or your 5RM. And the acclimation set doesn't have to be any more than one rep, just to tell your body the heavier stuff is coming. But that's just me. And I always, always do the first set with just the bar to loosen up a bit and to lubricate the ol' knee and hip joints.

Most "gurus" will tell you to do two or three warm-ups and then hit the working sets. I actually like to do four or even five. You just have to know your body and know what feels right, but the important thing to remember is not to fatigue your muscles on warm-ups because that's all they're for—to warm up the muscles and get the blood circulating.

Instead of 365 on the leg press, I dropped down to 345 for some rep work and supersetted with standing leg curl. Increased the weight on the leg curl incrementally to 25. Can probably do more, but I'm taking my time. And what the—? My left hamstring is stronger than my right. Or maybe just less fatigued.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, my leg presses are performed on the Yukon Fitness Vertical Leg Press.

Will do some lunges and step-ups next week. I didn't want to overdo it this week because I'm heading to Red River Gorge for a Zipline tour tomorrow morning. The last thing I wanted was to be hobbling around stiff and sore the whole day.

And, yes, I overdid it last week. I was sore for at least three days afterwards. A bit too much volume, and the one set of lunges and step-ups I did after the leg presses and standing leg curl (not to mention the extra several sets of squats) really killed my hamstrings.

Since I'm off to the Gorge tomorrow, it also means no farmer's walks, which is just as well since I haven't purchased any handles yet, and I won't try the dumbbell handles with collars ever again. It was fine with the 65-lb. hexheads, so if that's all I have, that's what I'll use. I'll just have to go for lots of volume.

You can check out the vanilla squat details on Fitocracy.