It has been, perhaps, 6 or 7 weeks since my last H.I.T. report. I have done a workout a week except in one occasion when I did two. The recovery window remains appropriate and I don't think I should exercise more frequently than weekly.
One of my goals has been to find out my true limits poundage-wise in the "big 5" exercises. This should have taken me about a month but it ended up taking twice as long because the gym went through a complete reform recently. I was somewhat shocked to find out that the new machines, while seemingly identical, threw my numbers out of whack. For instance, I was forced to reduce my leg press weight to 60% and build back from there. All other exercises required tuning although not as much.
As an aside, I have a nagging feeling that the manufacturer of this equipment has cut corners and that the new machines are of inferior quality (comparatively speaking). I am not pleased with the change.
A second goal has been to work on injury-preventing form. I believe that this is coming along well. I am more self-aware and quicker to correct my posture. The intensity of the effort required still blinds me somewhat. I am learning, though, and that is progress.
My intention now is to do a small cycle. I plan on dropping a plate or two on each exercise and work from injure-preventing form to productive form. This means that I want to learn how to deliver more strength. In the process, I also want to further my practical understanding of biomechanics. Lowering the amount of weight will result in an increase in TUL's across the board. I am now doing 6-8 reps per exercise except the leg press where I can go +10 before positive failure. I am expecting to increase these numbers to the 14-20 rep range. Again, the objective is to free effort in order to concentrate on posture, motion, speed, extension, turn around, etc.
Actively engaging the torso while working out has yielded fantastic results in terms of overall strength. Visually, my appearance shows musculature that just two months ago was not there.
