HSPU and Rehab Squats

Workout 7 April 2009:

Complete five sets of five reps of:
Back squat, 135lb
Handstand push-ups on parallettes

Results: all reps completed
Previous best: none

Today's workout is again a mix of legitimate strength work and some light work to get my back used to its previous strength and flexibility.

I wanted to do some heavy shoulder work, but a strict shoulder press puts a little more stress on the lower back than I'd like at this point. Handstand push-ups essentially work the same muscles through a similar range of motion at body weight. I did the push-ups on parallettes in order to add a few extra inches (my parallettes are about a foot off the floor) to the range of motion beyond that available if I were to just keep my hands on the floor.

The back squats were at "rehab" weight. To add at least a little extra stress, I did the squats very slowly and paused at the bottom to engage the hamstrings and glutes more.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
During a barbell training seminar, while Rip is pressing the sacrum of a trainee before the back squat, a participant asks "Why does this tactile cue work so well?"

Rip's reply:
"Because I'm assuming Colin is not used to having a 53-year-old man slap him on the ass."