“Personal records,” or “personal bests” (also called PRs or PBs) are a hot commodity in training. They show progress, merit celebration, affirm the direction of your training. Generally these PRs are expressed as a bigger weight, a faster time, more work completed in a given time, or more reps at a given weight. Numbers are king here. It’s a mistake, though, to think that PRs are only a numbers game of bigger weights and faster times.

You have an opportunity every day to set a PR of sorts. It may not be more weight on the bar, and it may not be a faster time, but you have a practically infinite pool of variables which you can draw on to set an endless array of records. Some of these variables are hard to quantify in the context of self-observation: Was your overhead position better? Were you able to control your breathing more during an intense bout of work? Did you maintain a more consistent cadence in your running? Did you increase your range of motion? Other times, they’re easily quantifiable, but less glamorous as a back squat PR: Did you spend an extra 5 minutes on mobility? Did you complete three consecutive weeks of no missed training days? Did you spend less than half of your day sitting? Each of these is an opportunity to show progress, merit celebration, and affirm the direction of your training.

The opportunity to set PRs is limited primarily by your attention to what PRs are available to you. And while this may seem like a self-indulgent, feel-good distraction from the fact that performance gains aren’t always linear, consistent, or frequent, it’s really just a chance to recognize that you may not squat more today than you did two weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a hundred other chances to improve and be victorious today.

- PS

8/10/17

• DB Z press - 5,5,5

• “Josh”

• For time:

• 21 overhead squats (95/65)

• 42 pull-ups

• 15 overhead squats

• 30 pull-ups

• 9 overhead squats

• 18 pull-ups