Week 12 Day 1: 12/12/11

Unfortunately had around 5-6 hours of not so good sleep.
Think this was my downfall as I didn’t have the proper rest and I did not have full capacity in my energy level today.
Because of that I believe my form was crap and I ended up hurting my lower back.
So after my bench press I decided to call it quits and just go home.

I think I may have strained my lower back during squats so decided to end Mad Cow 2 sessions early and just relax and recover for a couple of weeks then start 5/3/1 on January 2nd. (I was planning to end Mad Cow after my 12th week anyways.)
Going to find my starting max for 5/3/1 most likely on December 28th and hopefully I am fully recovered by then and gives me a couple of days of rest before 5/3/1 start.
Had a good run setting some nice personal records for myself so happy with the outcome in the long run.

Pre-workout Warm-ups:

Foam Rolling + Mobility Drills
Standing Ab Pulldown: none
Glute-Ham Raise: none
Seated Good Morning: none

Lifting:

Squats:

Warm-up Sets:
Bar x (2×5)
115 x 5

Work Sets:
157.5 x 5
197.5 x 5
236.25 x 5
276.25 x 5
315 – Hurt Lower Back

Realized that it would be a rough session when I was struggling a bit on the lighter sets.
Form is noted to be not so good and I blame it on fatigue caused by poor rest and sleep.
When I was trying to unrack the top set I noticed a weird feeling on my lower back, like it just gave in then a sudden sore/weakness feeling. This is what made me rerack it.
Tried to unrack a 2nd time and I actually got pissed off because I can certainly feel a weakness on my lower back that time and racked the bar again.
On the 3rd try I repositioned my belt and was able to do a 1/2 squat, lower back felt much stable, but struggled badly so decided to call it quits at that point to be safe.

Just disappointed in myself considering last session I did 3 reps easy on the same weight and looked like I could have done a couple more!

Bench Press:

Warm-up Sets:
Bar x (2×5)

Work Sets:
116.25 x 5
145 x 5
173.75 x 5
202.5 x 5
231.25 x 2

Experience with the squat just ruined the bench for me.
Fatigued with a sore back and surprised I was even get 2 reps on the top set until I just ended up giving up due to my back.
So close to reach a goal. Next time!

Bent-over Rows:

Skipped

Assistance Exercises:

Weighted Hyperextensions:
none

Weighted Incline Sit-ups:
none