Strength CHeck-In

Split stance - 360 still works
Hatfield rock bottom pause - 550 still works; 660 NOPE
clips here: https://www.instagram.com/p/COcul5knvba/​

Whittling down has downsides to absolute force production. Last week a virtual coaching client lamented her shoulder press decrease (she just lost 15lbs of body mass).

Tread lightly. When “cutting down” is the focus, your athletic performance WILL suffer to some degree.

Part of the reason I work so many metabolic experiments is to have the visceral understanding of the journey. Last year I aimed to hover close to 280lbs. Now, I’m going to discover the floor (down around 240 so far). It would be totally unrealistic to match most performances from last year through the remainder of this one.

This reality is so stark that a lot of pop fad nutrition programs will discourage intense exercise. For good or for bad, they want you focused on the scale, not on your accelerated aging and deteriorating capabilities.

It’s one part wise and one part foolish. You should do a high level strength checkin from time to time. If nothing else, it can give you a palpable confirmation that INDEED the scale really isn’t everything, protein sufficiency is a real thing, and gradual consistency beats undulating fluctuations.

And that’s ok. Learning MORE is never bad. Know your performance trends with precision; and you’ll know what asks are realistic.