Apart from a three-day holiday last weekend, I've been much better about exercise consistency as of late, even if it's just for a short time. For the first time in many months, I had a "perfect week" on my Apple Watch, and trying for it forced me to exercise when I mightn't have. Cardio is now a staple of every workout.

My back is still recovering, but I managed a 195lb squat tonight and last night, as well as a 125lb bench. The squat felt like it hit depth (hip below knee), but it did not, which means that for any competition, I would probably have to switch to lifting shoes (shoes with a heel). Pic #1 is high bar, pic # 2 is low bar; #1 would definitely be red carded in a competition, #2 might, but you don't want to leave any room for chance. People with long femurs generally wear lifting shoes, as it allows them to squat deeper.

To answer a question from the last thread: I did a single competition two years ago, but haven't done any since. Part of the issue is that the local ones have been held on Saturdays, which is the only day I can't make. For the previous competition, the organizers made an exception and allowed me to compete on Sunday instead of Saturday, but since my weight class had competed on Saturday, I wasn't eligible for placing. Regardless, due to my back troubles, I had nearly talked myself out of doing one again, until a woman in one of my FB groups posted her recent competition results. She was in the same weight class as me, and set the Texas state record, but my bench press used to be stronger than hers, and my deadlift roughly the same. Although I didn't enjoy competing itself, I am very drawn to the challenge of setting a new state record.

Anyway, enough rambling. How was your week?