Daily check in - NoVEmbeR give up!
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I've been thinking since I posted my workout, and I'm leaning towards taking next week as a rest week from 5x5. Between my angry adductor, random appointments, a conference in San Diego, and Thanksgiving, I think the timing makes sense.
But it won't be a "turn off my brain" rest week -- I want to spend some of my time off figuring out an actual accessories routine, learning how to foam roll, and putting together a stretching schedule. I'll also take nice long walks with Huck and maybe rock climb once or twice.
Thoughts?
C.
Nothing wrong with time off to work on things.0 -
Crabada what is your foot placement like? Feet to wide apart or turned out a bit to much? Try different foot placement. For accessories what are you wanting? More lower body or upper?0
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Workout A today:
Squat 5x5@95 -- these felt hard but I got a compliment about my form from a guy at the gym. He also helped with my row form -- really nice, actually. He seemed to know a lot.
BP: 3x4@70lbs -- really failed on these. Hoping for a birthday gift of fractional plates!
Rows: 5x5@85.
Also did 50 min of kickboxing and 50 min of Pilates/yoga combo. And... Today's a refeed day! Yay!
Have a great weekend, everyone!0 -
@crabada: Sounds to me like a week to breath a little is not a bad idea. Re: the abductor - how far out are your toes pointed out? I've had issues with mine in the past and it easily gets sore from running with multiple direction changes. Keeping my feet almost parallel on the squat has made it a lot easier to squat while sore. Also try to control your speed down to the bottom a bit. Everyone is all about stretch reflex and stuff, but that can put some crazy stress on places that may not be okay to handle it. Try doing your warmups with pause squats and see if it bothers you when you actually stop yourself at the bottom?
Speaking of dem Skwaits. Entering the week of 3!
125x3
145x3
162.5x9
125x15
I was sooo out of breath at the end of the last 2 sets! lol. Rep PR, too! 1RM calculator says I could lift 210 now! lol (we'll find out how accurate this is in 2 weeks :P)
3 rounds of 40/20
- 1 arm KB clean @ 25lbs (x17-16-16)
- 1 arm push-up progression: offset on KB (12-9-10)
- repeat on other side for both exercises
- 1 arm switch swing @ 25 (26, 24, 26)
12 rounds 20/10
- KB sumo deadlift high pull @40lbs x10 per round or so
- bear crawl 10ft and back, about 2 per round
Twas a good day ^^0 -
Bench day!
5 @ 47.5, 60, 72.5, 82.5, 97.5, then 10 x 72.5
3x15 @ 60
Bent over DB rows: 3x10 @ 30lbs0 -
@ Massage and Krok -- I do have a fairly wide stance -- definitely more than a little beyond shoulder width, but not nearly as far as sumo-type stance. I have been playing with my foot positioning too. It feels most natural to have them turned out slightly, but the last few sessions I've been careful about keeping them straight. I felt really good on Wednesday (120 lbs), so I thought it was helping, but yesterday (125 lbs) was painful even with my feet straight. I actually probably should have deloaded, but I powered through since I knew I wasn't going to do any of my accessory work. Pain is usually on the push up, and while I feel it down the inner thigh, it's mostly concentrated in the groin region.
What exactly is a pause squat?
And as for accessories -- I'm mostly interested in different working my back (lower back is a weak spot, plus I want it to look rad), and my arms (biceps, triceps). But really, I feel like I don't know what I don't know, so I need to just do some general research.
@ Canadian -- Sorry to hear the new job is overwhelming and different than you expected.
@ Padzster -- I think accessories are the kind of thing that really depend on your personal goals. One of the things I'm looking into is what I feel I'm not working (enough) with 5x5, and the areas I want to improve. I'm going to do some reading and put together my own program.
@ Owl -- Excellent! I wish someone would compliment my form. My trainer friend always said it was fine, but sometimes I'd like an outside perspective.
@ Logg1e -- Great job with the workout. I'll let you know what I find out re: stretching.
@ Katro -- 97.5 Bench! WOWOWOWOWOWOW!! Awesome!
@ Spirit -- Congrats on the PR! And BIG GIRL PLATES! That's great!
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@ Massage and Krok -- I do have a fairly wide stance -- definitely more than a little beyond shoulder width, but not nearly as far as sumo-type stance. I have been playing with my foot positioning too. It feels most natural to have them turned out slightly, but the last few sessions I've been careful about keeping them straight. I felt really good on Wednesday (120 lbs), so I thought it was helping, but yesterday (125 lbs) was painful even with my feet straight. I actually probably should have deloaded, but I powered through since I knew I wasn't going to do any of my accessory work. Pain is usually on the push up, and while I feel it down the inner thigh, it's mostly concentrated in the groin region.
What exactly is a pause squat?
And as for accessories -- I'm mostly interested in different working my back (lower back is a weak spot, plus I want it to look rad), and my arms (biceps, triceps). But really, I feel like I don't know what I don't know, so I need to just do some general research.
@ Canadian -- Sorry to hear the new job is overwhelming and different than you expected.
@ Padzster -- I think accessories are the kind of thing that really depend on your personal goals. One of the things I'm looking into is what I feel I'm not working (enough) with 5x5, and the areas I want to improve. I'm going to do some reading and put together my own program.
@ Owl -- Excellent! I wish someone would compliment my form. My trainer friend always said it was fine, but sometimes I'd like an outside perspective.
@ Logg1e -- Great job with the workout. I'll let you know what I find out re: stretching.
@ Katro -- 97.5 Bench! WOWOWOWOWOWOW!! Awesome!
@ Spirit -- Congrats on the PR! And BIG GIRL PLATES! That's great!
Maybe have you feet turned out a little bit but bring your feet closer together. Do you have anterior pelvic tilt? That would cause you to have feet wider and turned out more. If you do have that work in your core and have you massage therapist work your psoas. It's a nasty muscle in your back but they have to go through your stomach to get to it.0 -
Week 1 - Day 3 = Done.
I went to coworkers gym, which is much smaller but also way less people. Tops there were maybe 5-6 of us in there at one time. By the end, it was just me and one other person. Did cardio warm up on treadmill but more because it's a no work day so I needed steps as I don't get many on my day off as I'm working on a novel. Then got down to the lifting. This time I did some warm ups before on both squat and bench. And I'll just guess the bar is 45 lbs, they all feel around the same at both gyms so I will just do my numbers with that as the baseline.
Squat - 5x5 at 60
Bench - 5x5 at 60
Row - 5x5 at 50 lb bar with no floor touch *slight sigh*
Leg press - 3x8 at 70 (did these while waiting for bench to be free)
The small gym doesn't have an area for things like deadlift or the barbell row. I considered trying in the squat cage with the empty bar to practice the move for the row but the one other person in the gym at the time was using it and they only have. It had already been almost an hour and a half so I did the non-touch row with the other barbell instead. I almost tried the 60 but it was a tad too heavy at that point. Hopefully I'll be doing the recommended start weight for the row soon when I can do the full motion with putting on the ground.
Not bad overall. Monday I meet with trainer to work on deadlift and learn foam rolling, which I'm not sure how I feel about just yet.0 -
DawnEmbers wrote: »Bench - 5x5 at 60
Row - 5x5 at 50 lb bar with no floor touch *slight sigh*
...Monday I meet with trainer to work on deadlift and learn foam rolling, which I'm not sure how I feel about just yet.
Don't feel bad about not touching the floor with rows yet. You could try stacking up some extra weight plates or a box underneath the bar.
Foam rolling is awesome. It looks weird if you're watching someone else roll themselves out, but trust me, it feels FANTASTIC!0 -
@crabada aside from stance width, the other thing I can think of that would put stress on your groin is bending forward too much. That could be why it didn't bother you too much at a slightly lighter weight.
As for accessories, maybe good mornings could help you out (they do work the lower back). I like using them with just bodyweight as a warm-up, but building up a bit of strength there will definitely carry over to a lot of things
And if you wanna build arms without thinking too much about it, I suggest trx or ring rows, and push-up variations. Simple and to the point!
Uh, a 2 seconds hold is more than enough on a pause squat. I think you mixed it up with an isometric squat hold. There's a pretty good stretch that goes like that though: grab a 20lbs DB or KB (enough to counter balance you a bit), hold it goblet style, squat down and stay there working on opening up the hips (push your knees out with your elbows. but try to keep the feet from turning out), keeping your back straight and your heels on the ground. I love doing that one when I don't take the time to do the big lunges.
And yes, foam rolling looks like you're doing the nasty with the roller. And it may very well sound like it, too >_>0 -
Pain is usually on the push up, and while I feel it down the inner thigh, it's mostly concentrated in the groin region.
if your feet are parallel, you might find it helps to do the 'shove the ground apart with your feet' thing. for me, this turned out to be what protects my knees best, and the effort comes from the gluteus medius and also the muscles down the outside of my thighs. - but i'm not squeezing my glutes, i'm sort of pushing outwards from them. you would think that your knees would collapse inwards that way, but mine don't. you make a kind of cradle of rigid muscle all down the outsides of your legs, and let the weight of the lift travel through that instead of letting it go through your joints.
i'd try it cautiously with just bodyweight for a while until you get the hang of it and then see how it helps. for me, squeezing my glutes for any part of a squat except the lockout at the top is a bad thing. it torques my whole thigh inside the socket; my hip joints hate it.
@crabada re: job. i wish they would just let me test, but it will get better once i do that. or if not test, then get started on writing test cases for them. they hired me but they don't trust me
but meh. qa ain't really a conflict-free gig at any time, and nobody really knows what we do enough to know who to micromanage and who to just leave alone and let them do it.
****anyway, i am back. workout (mostly) a. and a strong argument for rest weeks*****
squats: 1x5@45, 1x5@65, 5x5@85. i tried 90 but it was too much for me to hold to good form. i can really feel now how much stronger my back is than it was before i took my break. i can just get underneath that bar now and stand up, and i had no trouble with keeping myself nice and tall even underneath 85. compared with a week ago - i was folding over like a bad paperclip.
i spent the morning letting mark rippetoe inspire me again with the idea of hip drive, and i found a video where he actually explains the role hamstrings play in the squat. whenever i remember all that, my squats get stronger. i might still make my end-of-nov goal of 90 lb by next week.
ohp: 1x5@45, 1x5@50, 1x5@45, 1x8@30, then later on 2x10@30. the stronglifts approach of 'heavy as you can' just doesn't work for ohp in my case. as soon as i bring the weights up, my form goes to hell. my left shoulder in particular wants to roll forward and then shrug with my whole shoulderblade and clavicle too, to get away from doing its share of the work. so low weight means i can actually put that side into the joint socket properly and make it stay there throughout the whole lift. and high reps means i can rewrite muscle memory (hopefully). i feel like i'm doing the right thing, because after 3 honest sets of 10 the left side was at failure but the right was nowhere near that.
deadlifts deadlifts. oy vey. still with the knee fear, but i put in a lot of time on my deads. i didnt' really count reps because the whole thing was more of a long form exploration/workshop for me. i started out at 100 and lifted there until i felt like i had it locked at that weight, then i did a few more like that, then i added 10 and did it all over again, added 10 . . . i THINK i did my working set at 130 but it may have been 120 or 125. at the higher weights the bar felt like it kept getting out in front of me and i still don't know why. but i did a working set at one of those numbers, and then i deloaded progressively back to 100 again. i can't remember where, but i do know i strung together two separate sets of 5 at either 100 or 110 at the end. i'll tell ya something, on the really good feeling reps, i could FEEL my lower abs taking part in it all. i did my two 60 sec planks with side planks as well, b ut i think if wake up sore i'll be blaming the deads
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Squat down, and hold it there for a bit (15, 30 seconds), then push back up. They are pretty brutal.
wait . . . what? i've been doing like that all along!
well, not 15 secs, but yeah, more like krok days. i'd say 2 or 3. or 5 if i'm feeling like no-one is watching me down there . . . slacking off
you're telling me i've been PAUSE squatting my stronglifts worksets, and i didn't know it?
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@ Massage -- sent you a PM so as to not clog up the thread with things that others might think are irrelevant (i.e. psoas stuff).
@ Katro and Krok -- Yeah, 15-30 seconds probably wouldn't happen for me even at bodyweight! I'll definitely try the shorter pause though and see when my angry adductor starts to engage. Even though it's going to be a rest week, maybe I'll hit the gym once and just do a squat experimenting day. I'll also pay attention to my bending -- I don't feel like I'm too far forward, but that may be because I'm really only thinking about sticking my *kitten* out far enough, so who knows?
@ Canadian -- I need to fly to wherever you are and have you sit on my shoulder like a conscience cricket and remind me of all these things while I workout. I have been really trying to concentrate on using the glutes and hamstrings and abductors on the push out of the squat, but for whatever reason, my adductor still engages. I remember you telling me about the "break the world" thing before, and I remember trying it and liking it at a lower weight, so I guess I'll just write that on my arm for next time. And nice job with your workout! And holy deadlifts! I pant after a set of five -- you're amazeballs!
Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll be googling and reading all week about form and accessories and stretching, and you've given me such great stuff to start with.
xox,
C.0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »
wait . . . what? i've been doing like that all along!
I'm sorry, that made me smile canadian I pause for a split second at the bottom, concentrating on my form and even with that I've had advice to speed up.
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Well damn, I guess I realize now why I think they're brutal - I don't need to hold for that long! lol, I've been treating them like planks! Oops...
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@Llamapants86 I guess there is no real "fountain of youth" but this probably comes the closest!
My first A workout was Friday:
Squats 5 x 5 @ 25 lb
BPress 5 x 5 @ 30 lb
BRow 5 x 5 @ 35 lb
I am starting with very low weights since I've never lifted barbells before (only dumbbells). This is a very new experience for me. I am totally surprised by the DOMs, especially in my quads. I guess it's a good thing :-)
I also don't have a power rack for squats but am considering purchasing one. How necessary do you think it is at lower weights, and what is the weight at which you would not do a back squat without the assistance of either a cage or a spotter? Thanks!!
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ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »
I also don't have a power rack for squats but am considering purchasing one. How necessary do you think it is at lower weights, and what is the weight at which you would not do a back squat without the assistance of either a cage or a spotter? Thanks!!
You won't need a cage or safeties until you can't clean and press the bar to your back, I guess? So you'll hit a wall rapidly enough. If you have a stand it's not as bad, and technically you may not ever need safeties to squat if you never decide to test your 1RM or go heavier than you can handle. If you practice bailing out, and keep doing 5x5, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to handle yoursel f(although I'm sure it gets scary to dump the weight).
You might wanna pad the ground with a few layer of rubber mats though!
Aaand what the eff I just woke up at 11am on a day I'm supposed to be busy! Letting the caffeine do its thing before I head to the gym, but ugh! lol. Also, holy leg DOMS! Hehe. More later when I'm back from Bench 3 day!0 -
Splitting headache and cutting the tip of my finger have tried to force me out of this one, but I have prevailed! Barely in time to get ready to go see Mockingjay with my family! ^^
Bench Press
92.5x3
105x3
120x5
95x12
Had food, liquids, went home, more foods, took a nap then attempted to go 12 min AMRAP on
- jump pull-ups (3 rounds) x5, band assisted power pull-ups for the rest (at home, with my door pull-up bar which is not quite high enough. Interesting times)
- Pike presses (which made my head throb...) x5
- DB goblet cossack squats x5 per leg (20lbs DB)
Managed 6 or 7 rounds and 5 pull-ups. Wasn't expecting to break records anyway so I'm okay with this considering
Then 10 min cap on:
- burpees x30,20,10,5
- ground to overhead (decided to do 1 arm snatches with my 20lbs DB) x 6, 10, 14, 20 reps total
finished with 8 reps of the last set of snatches. It's actually better than last week. But I was using a 30lbs KB and doing sumo high pulls push presses so it's hard to compare
We'll see if I have regrets tomorrow. lol. Headache seems to be going away now though. Finally. Moar foods! And a shower naw.0 -
@ Krok -- You are seriously a superhero! I don't think I would have powered through a headache and bleeding fingertip.0
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Workout A (Sun)
Dumbbell Side Bends - 5 x 10 - 40
Overhead Press, Barbell - 5 x 5 - 70
Barbel Row, Bent Over - 5 x 5 - 105
Flat dumbbell flys - 5 x 10 - 40
Leg Extension - 5 x 5 - 45
Reverse Curls - 5 x 5 - 105
underhand bicep curls 5 x 5 - 130
squats 5 X 5 - 200
Incline obliques - 5 x 40 (20 each side)0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »
wait . . . what? i've been doing like that all along!
I'm sorry, that made me smile canadian I pause for a split second at the bottom, concentrating on my form and even with that I've had advice to speed up.
oh wow. if pause squats are brutal and much harder than the regular kind . . . just think how much heavier we might be able to go if we can just figure out how to do that speed-it-up thing. we'll be superheroes!
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FINALLY back to lifting after having some issues with my arm, and it felt great! I was on Workout B today, deloaded since I've been out for almost a month.
Squats 65 lbs 5x5
OHP 45 5x5: I was expecting these to be really difficult after so much time away, but they felt good.
Deadlift 75 lbs 1x50 -
Rows! Dem Rows!
82.5x3
92.5x3
105x9
85x14
EMOTM x8 1 legged double KB deadlift (20lbs in each hand) / leg
was getting pretty tough by the 7th minute!
6 min AMRAP
DB renegade rows x4 @15lbs
KB half turkish get-up @ 20lbs
I think i made 5 rounds. Not 100% sure lol
anothe r6 min AMRAP to finish off
- Double KB cleans @ 20lbs x 3, 6, 9, 12, 2
- lateral hand plank walks 10ft and back x 1, 2, 3, 4
My shoulders are toast! Looking forward to soccer tonight as I may not be the only girl for once! Yay lol0 -
First "B" Workout:
Squat 5 x 5 30 lb
OH Press 5 x 5 30 lb
Deadlift 1 x 5 50 lb
Feels good. My posture has improved already! DOMS not too bad today (we'll see if this holds true tomorrow :-))
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Hey guys, couldn't post last week due to crappy internet, so here's Friday's workout:
Squat: Warm-ups, then 5x5@135. lbs. These felt good but hard.
Deadlifts: Warmups then 1x5@150. So far so good.
Totally skipped OHPs as my right shoulder has been in serious pain for a week. Tried to do some hammer curls with 20 lb weights in each hand instead, with vague ideas of skullcrushers to follow, but my shoulder was just not having it.
So, with the shoulder injury and Thanksgiving and all, I'm making this a rest week. My head has not been in the game recently, and it's time to re-focus. This week I'm giving myself permission to perform mindless cardio for 30-40 minutes, stretch, shower, and go home. And hopefully by next Monday I'll feel ready to lift all the heavy things again.0 -
Workout B - take 2
Met with trainer. She definitely was nice and helped me with form. I struggled a bit in the warm up stuff when she changed the form on my push-up using a rail cause I can't do on the floor ones. The elbow tucked in just doesn't work well for me right now and I got a little flustered. Foam rolling was special in that I don't have enough ability to hold my body up long enough on some of them. I didn't feel much of anything in the hamstring one. Back ones were different though. I'll give it a try for a few weeks and see how it goes, though might do the trx first as that seemed to help my shoulders before squats. Also did a couple warm up sets on the squat and ohp.
Squat - 5x5 @ 65 (tad tough because of extra focus on form and a few corrections)
OHP - 2x5 then 2x4 and 1x3 @ 50 (form was off so fixing made it difficult, will go back to bar to work on form more)
Deadlift - 1x5 @ 65
Deadlift was low to the ground and we had a little disconnect over how to go about the form just because the lower weight bars are too low to the ground and she thought I was saying I wanted to lift heavier. I just wanted to make sure i would still do proper form once I got to the actual set up. Next time I'll add 20's instead of the 10's and do plates under them. I could had added plates when she left and I finished my set but I was almost done and we weren't even set up in the deadlift spot, so I just had to go lower to pick them up for this set, but I put them down on the ground each time. So, step forward. It was an easy weight so next time should be fine with a bit of an extra increase as I work my way up to the 45's.
Now to work on my eating and get some protein, which she discussed with me too. All about the protein, lol.0 -
I just started strong lift a couple of weeks ago after reading about it on MFP. I had already been doing other weights in the gym, but the only strong lift exercise I had done before was bench pressing.
My last 2 workouts:
Squat 5x5 @ 70
Bench Press 5x5 @85
Barbell Row 5x5 @55
Overhead Press 5x5 @55
Deadlift 1x5 @100
I am starting to feel a difference already now that I am incorporating these into my regular exercise routine. I love that I am already starting to feel stronger, but I am a little nervous about injuring myself. Is there a point where you decide that maybe it isn't a good idea to add another 5 pounds even if you are getting through all your reps?
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Squat day!
5 @ 87.5, 110, 132.5, 152.5, 180 then 10 @ 135
Reps 1 and 2 @ 180 were ok, rep 3 was ehhhhhh and 4 and 5 were crap. Going to repeat this string next week.
More squats!
13, 15, then 20 @ 117.5
Didn't have time for more accessories. Sad face.
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