Daily check-in: December why you started!
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Happy birthday to you ladies (today and tomorrow!
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I was on Workout B today:
Squats 5x5 85 lbs. These felt pretty tough but I think I will try to move up to 90 lbs next time.
OHP 5x5 55 lbs. The last rep on the last two sets was rough, I arched my back way too much getting that last rep up, so will be repeating this weight. They felt pretty good other than that though.
Deadlift 1x5 95 lbs. This felt kind of tough but I think I will move up to 100 at least and maybe the full 10 lbs to 105 next time.0 -
Hi krokador: thanks for introducing me to squat cleans. I just watched a few videos and am going to give them a try. What would you recommend--1 x 5 @ 40 lbs to start?
I am at home--I have 2+ hour commute daily to work and back so going to a gym just doesn't seem to fit into my day. I'll take a look at the squat stands and see if it's something we can manage (money and space issues, mostly space). I would like to get a cage at some point. Would the stand also work for the bench press?
And, happy birthday MissHolidayGo....!0 -
ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »Hi krokador: thanks for introducing me to squat cleans. I just watched a few videos and am going to give them a try. What would you recommend--1 x 5 @ 40 lbs to start?
I am at home--I have 2+ hour commute daily to work and back so going to a gym just doesn't seem to fit into my day. I'll take a look at the squat stands and see if it's something we can manage (money and space issues, mostly space). I would like to get a cage at some point. Would the stand also work for the bench press?
And, happy birthday MissHolidayGo....!
I'm pretty sure you can adjust the height on those stands so yes, it would probably work for bench press. You don't have any safeties on these but it could be a good compromise seeing as they do take little space and can be moved out of the way when not needed.
If you don't have bumper plates you might want to do hang cleans. I would start with singles instead of a longer set. Cleans are an explosive lift, so you want to be 1) properly warmed up and 2) as fresh as possible doing them. If you have a broomstick or a pvc pipe or something really light you can practice with, see if you can get the form down first. Once you get the hang of the move, go for something like 8 singles, but only 45-60s rest between each. Every minute on the minute works really well with these:)
Happy Birthday/Anniversary to everyone who,s celebrating! It really seems to be birthday season! lol0 -
Squat 100 5x5 and was fine.
Bench 75 5x5 which was a struggle but I think it's because I haven't benched in a while. Going to try 80 next time. Every time I get to 80, something comes up and I can't lift for a while or I chicken out so I'm going to attempt it, dang it!
Row 55 5x5 and was fine. Usually start to struggle one I get to 65.
P.S. Freakum Dress is a great song to lift to :-D0 -
Happy birthday(s) Ladies.
@ Threnjen LOL @ "throwing yourself at it like a lost lover". My relationship with it is more of a stalker... All furtive glances and wistful stares...
I actually did get in there today though, but for OHP not squats.
Today was W1D2/B and is defintely my favorite.
Squats,5X B/W again while I work in form. And yeah, still in the back corner with the mirror and something to hang onto if I need it.
OHP, I claimed the cage for these since it was empty and while the weight is light enough to get up to my chest, I wanted to get use to the cage since I will need it later for squats and OHP. Take the mystery and fear out of it and all that. I think I did them right, though I think they felt a little soft/loose. I'll have to watch that.
Deadlifts, 5X45, 5X90 for warm ups, pulled from the bench. 5X135 from the floor. This was the first time I had pulled from the floor. My trainer had me pulling 135 from the bench. The interesting part was loading those big azz 45s onto the bar. A dude was walking towards me as I was fighting it onto the bar when I managed and he did an about face. LOL. I wouldn't have been offended since I was getting some "WTF is she doing?" side eye lols from the guys. It didn't bother me, but I was a little amused at myself. The lifts went well and I think my form was pretty good.
Day two - Definitely less intimidating than Day 1.
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Happy birthday MissHoliday!
All my lifts were relatively good today. A little shaky on the 5x5 105 squats so I'll probably stay there on Friday and chickened out on the last 5th rep for 77.5 bench presses because the 4th one felt really hard and I didn't want to have to attempt my first roll today.
Biggest win is that I finally figured out what is likely causing my neck to stiff up and hurt sometimes when I sleep after lifting. I realized I've been overextending my neck while doing rows and deadlifts to look at the mirror which is pretty far away. Hopefully focusing on keeping my neck neutral and not worrying about looking at my form in the mirror will make the neck issue go away. Plus the rows felt great without seeing myself in the mirror.0 -
You're all kicking so much *kitten* already this month! Great job!
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Today was Deadlift day:
Standard Deadlifts- 3X5@200lbs
Straight Leg Deadlifts- 3X5@145lbs
Romanian Deadlifts (Pause Reps on all)- 3X5@135lbs
Glute Bridges- 3X8@145lbs
Glute and Leg machine work- (went light with the accessories)- Glute- 3X8@105lbs
- Calf Extension- 3X8@205lbs
- Leg Curl- 3X8@90lbs
- Hip Abduction- 3X8@205lbs
Finished with foam rolling and yoga stretches
Total workout time: 2 hours 15 minutes0 -
Workout B-Wednesday
Squat-warmup w/bar, 5x5@105
OHP 5x5@45
Deadlift5@140 (10 lbs over body weight), 5@115
Lunges w/30lb bar
Romanian split lunges w/30 lb bar
Bicep curls 20@30 lbs
10 push-ups
Walking for warm up & cool down, stretching0 -
I warmed up with Power Core class.
Squats: 5x5 @ 95
Bench: 5,5,4,5,5 @ 90 ( 3rd fail so I de-load to 80 next time )
Rows: 5x5 @ 65 (These are starting to get hard.)
And because I had time today...
Leg Press: 5x5 @180
Assisted Pullups: 5x5 -50 pounds
Dips: 3x5 -50 pounds
Alternating Bicep Curls 3x10 @ 15lb
I notice a lot of people doing warm up sets. I did 1x5 clean lifts with an empty olympic bar today to warm up before my stronglifts. I am wondering if I should devote more time to warm up sets. The basic exercises are starting to take a while to get through, especially with fails and hard sets that require more recovery time between sets.0 -
Squats: 5x5 @ 95
Bench: 5,5,4,5,5 @ 90 ( 3rd fail so I de-load to 80 next time )
Rows: 5x5 @ 65 (These are starting to get hard.)
I notice a lot of people doing warm up sets. I did 1x5 clean lifts with an empty olympic bar today to warm up before my stronglifts. I am wondering if I should devote more time to warm up sets. The basic exercises are starting to take a while to get through, especially with fails and hard sets that require more recovery time between sets.
Awesome workout!
My vote (because, you know, I get one ) is for you to try 90 on BP again. You failed ONE rep, and since you finished sets 4 and 5, it seems like it was a fluke. Don't sell yourself short --
And I have found that the warmups actually help me a lot. Get me focused and lock in my form. I don't do a ton of them (I follow what the app says or just do a set if I'm at a "too low for warmups" weight), but actually think my lifting has gotten better since I started. And they don't add as much time as you might think because ideally you're not doing a full rest in between warmup sets.
C.0 -
HELL YEAH! FREAKING AWESOME WORKOUT TONIGHT!
5x5 / Workout B
Squats - 5x5 @ 110 lbs.
- New, narrower stance is really working for me. Other new tricks also helping. Super pleased with these.
Motherf*cking Overhead Press - 5x5 @ 45 lbs.
- These have been a LONG time coming, as many of you know. But I finally, FINALLY got a full 5x5 with the empty bar. A few reps got a little arch-y, and the last couple reps were totally all heart, but it doesn't matter. I freaking got 'em done!
Deadlifts -- 1x5 @ 150 lbs. (!)
- I remembered after I'd loaded the bar that I thought I'd do 140 or 145 lbs. again because I didn't like my form last time. Figured what the hell, and kicked them out like a BOSS. These were SO RAD. I wanted to whoop it up, but settled for a big *kitten* smile instead.
- Did a 1x5 set of warmups at 90 lbs.
Accessories:
Bicep curls - 3x10 @ 12.5 lbs. dumbbells
Skullcrushers - 3x10 @ 30 lbs. barbell
Plank - 1x30 seconds
YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
xoxo,
C.0 -
Great job everyone.
I didn't lift today, though I worked on freight day so that's almost close. I had to carry a few cases of water and tea to the cooler, which involved getting through a passkey protected door, so that's always fun. I handled most of the freight for a department before taking over cashier and I stayed an extra hour and a half because someone called in. Tired now but looking forward to tomorrow's lifting session. Will be interesting trying to do deadlifts in the small gym my coworker has a membership with as they don't have a spot for such.0 -
- New, narrower stance is really working for me. Other new tricks also helping. Super pleased with these.
ain't that just great? i'm feeling like i have a whole new attitude towards 'hurting' myself recently, because every time something started to hurt i went back and made another improvement to my form.
i get to tell my workout twice, since i hit the wrong thread the first time. workout a.
rode my bike to work in lifting shoes this morning . . . my feet weren't very happy about it with the kind of cold snap we've had. not a lot between them and the ground, which was frozen solid. but it was worth it, since at the end of the day i got to go straight to the rec centre and lift. i went in a little chilled and stiff thanks to that, and the shoes are probably an adjustment i'll need to make in its own right. but overall it was a worthwhile workout.
squats 2x45, 2x65 trying to settle my form, and then i did working sets at @95 again. so looks like this new weight is here to stay and so is the whole posterior-chain/hip-drivey thing. i think i did 5x6, but definitely 5x5 and i think they were a little more solid than the sunday workout, so that's some progress. i was working in with someone else, and whenever i do that i hit a nice rhythm with whoever it is, where each of us takes a side and we load up that side of the bar for whoever's turn it is. he was lifting a plate and a 10, so i got some warmup from that part as well. after he was finished and i had the rack to myself for my last working sets, i went back down to 65 for another set of 10 or so just to keep the form idea strong. i'm going to need a little more core as i keep moving weights up, from the ways this time felt. i've been trying to put a lot more core into my biking, for at least parts of the ride.
rows: did the rows before benching and i think i like that better. i did 2x5@50 with big bumper plates to start with, and then i went up to 70 for 5x5. still don't like rows, still don't know what's actually happening while i do them, but i found a core trick that i need to be doing in order to keep my spine straight, so for the next little while i'm just going to make my rows be about that instead of worrying about things like lats. i think i've been curving my back forwards while i bring the bar up . . . or the other hting that i think i do is let my spine collapse a little and form a small dip. either way, probably not good for me. tried to concentrate on lowering the bar under control this time too, instead of just basically dropping it.
bench: 5x5x65. again. i'm not getting anywhere much with bench press. did try 70 for one set but only got through four reps, so after that i went back to the weight that's less likely to damage my left shoulder for me. i may start doing little light bench sets even on workout b days, just to try and get something to start happening here. it always seems like i bench, i get doms, nothing changes, and by the time i bench again all that is old history.
no accessory work this time, really. but i have been riding all week and throwing in micro/mini sprints on most days, so i'm okay to just go with that. i did do i think 3 sets of 10 or 12 with the lat pulldown, but at light weights and more to just try and loosen up my left collarbone area than for any actual strength. threw in a few deadlifts while i was in between sets on the rows, again just for form and not really for weight. left shoulder/neck have been bothering me for a week or so, but i'm trying to stay on top of it with stretches and the little bounce-ball massage. i have one at work and i get up every so often and roll out my muscles against one wall of hte office they've given me. seems to be helping but i think there's a ways to go yet.
i'm really tired now today is over at last.
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Canadianlbs, good job working through all that. I feel you on the shoulder pain. Literally.
Workout B yesterday. I was working on two days of about 4 or 5 hours of sleep, so not doing well. It showed. I had de-loaded on everything due to my rest week, so should have been easy, but it was all freaking hard. Sleep matters. A lot.
Squats: Warmups 1x5@45 lbs, 1x5@95 lbs, then 5x5@130 lbs (still on the de-load).
OHP: Warmups 1x5@45 lbs, then 5x5@ 65 lbs. Also de-loaded.
DL Warmups 1x5@ 45, 1x5@100, then 5x5@140 lbs. Ditto de-load.
Think I'm going to have to go to the doctor for my shoulder, which has been hurting consistently for 2 weeks. I'm managing to lift through it, but it's not getting better. A rest week did no good at all. Hope I don't have a tear or something like that.
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My vote (because, you know, I get one ) is for you to try 90 on BP again. You failed ONE rep, and since you finished sets 4 and 5, it seems like it was a fluke. Don't sell yourself short
C.
I am going to throw my pennies in with Crabata. It sounds like a one off. Maybe you just needed more rest. I wouldn't deload.
Again, my experience is limited to what my trainer has had me do for the time I worked with him and THE whopping two sessions of SL that I have under my belt, buuuut the trainer had me lift the empty bar as a muscle memory exercise and warm up. He watched my firm for a few, then loaded the bar and had me do between 12 -20 depending on the lift, then loaded it again and I did 8-12, then loaded the bar done more and those were usually the working set for 6-8 for one or two sets. He tended toward higher reps because he was a bodybuilder, but I just rolled with it.
With SL, if the bar is empty. I just count it as the workout, but if it's something with a weight on it, I will work up to it like I have been doing.
I don't do any cardio before and don't plan on adding that. Squats work pretty well to warm me up in general, then the individual warm up sets seem fine for now.0 -
HELL YEAH! FREAKING AWESOME WORKOUT TONIGHT!
5x5 / Workout B
Motherf*cking Overhead Press - 5x5 @ 45 lbs.
- These have been a LONG time coming, as many of you know. But I finally, FINALLY got a full 5x5 with the empty bar. A few reps got a little arch-y, and the last couple reps were totally all heart, but it doesn't matter. I freaking got 'em done!
YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
C.
Congrats on the OHP achievement!0 -
That was @ Sing - I tried to quote C with the suggestion that you don't deload. I am not sure what happened with that quote.0
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Congrats Crabata on that OHP! Nice workout and rock on with the 150 DL!0
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@crabada congratulations on all your achievements! You definitely pulled a hat trick with your workout :-)
@canadianlbs I hover around bench as well. Some days I feel strong and 70-75 is easy, other days, I can barely get 60 up. I've been too chicken to attempt 80 yet so hopefully next week.0 -
Deadlift 5/3/1 (and then some) happened and it was AWESOME!
172.5x5
195x3
217.5x1
235x1
250x1 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2AhVtSv97LOQmFUaURFTkRuZlE/view?usp=sharing
Felt like that rep @ 250 took a lot longer than it actually did (most of that video is just me getting focused xD)
Moved on to assisted TRX pistols 3-5 reps EMOTM x6
Then 6 min AMRAP
- Double KB 1LRDL x6/leg
- Double KB strict press
@20lbs for 5 sets + 4 reps of the rdls
Then for time (10 min cap)
- KB Ground to Overhead 10, 20, 30, 20, 10
- front and back shuttle sprints x20ft x2, 4, 6, 4, 2
stopped at 7 reps I think of the last set of g2oh. Almost made it through but I was zapped!
So happy though 0 -
Workout B-Wednesday
Squat-warmup w/bar, 5x5@105
OHP 5x5@45
Deadlift5@140 (10 lbs over body weight), 5@115
Lunges w/30lb bar
Romanian split lunges w/30 lb bar
Bicep curls 20@30 lbs
10 push-ups
Walking for warm up & cool down, stretching
*i forgot, I also did a 1 minute plank. I feel pretty good today but a slight ache in my lower back, some neck pain. I think I have to pay more attention to what I am doing with my neck while deadlifting.
@Crabada-great job!!! Those OHP really blow, don't they?! I feel like I finally got a good 5x5 OHP yesterday, too. I finally took all of my rest periods and that really helped. Usually, I just rest a short time and go right into the next lift. With the lifts I struggle with full rests in between are crucial.0 -
Hi all, just joined the group today! I just started SL last week.
Day 4 workout B this morning.
Squat - 5x5 @ 50lb
OHP - 5x5 @ 35lb
Deadlift 1x5 @ 75lb
I started on Day 1 with 35lb squats so I was super happy I could do 50 today. I didn't think I would be able to!0 -
@ Kroc -I am having tech difficulties with the video. I see the first frame, then it it says it is loading... Then NADA!0
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But 250! WHOAH! Awesome!
@Semiblue I bow to your squat weight and nice job on the BW + 10! Rock on!
Welcome Haley! I am pretty new too.i love SL and this is an great group. I hope you enjoy it here too. 0 -
Fantastic Job Everyone!
And welcome, Haley -- glad to have you!
And thanks for all your nice comments and encouragement. I
this group SO HARD. 0 -
Day B - Done
Did a shorter cardio warm up, just 15 minutes, and a couple other things, then focused on the lifting. Also did warm up sets with the Squats (starting with bar and working up) and the OHP (starting with a 20 lb bar then a 40 lb one) before getting to the main focus.
Squat - 5x5 @ 85
OHP - 4x5 @ 45(the bar) and 1x5 @ 50
Deadlift - 1x5 @ 105
Leg Press - 3x8 @ 90
The squats are starting to feel heavy so wonder if a stall might be in the near future. On the OHP the 40 lb warm up was fine and the bar felt pretty heavy but on set 4, the bar felt pretty good so I decided to try one set with a tiny bit of weight added. It was hard and I had to focus to get my head to follow form but I made it through. Still going to stick to bar for a couple times more I'm guessing though. Deadlift also felt pretty heavy but I'm going to try and up it next time and see if how the distance is with the 35 plates as it should be a little better than the 25's. I felt a bit odd setting up stuff on the floor as there isn't a matted spot for that kind of lift at coworker's gym. But there was like 3 of us and one person working at the gym, that is all, so it worked out well enough.
Look forward to next lifting session already. And maybe I should eat before lifting next time. hmmm0 -
I was sure I was going to have the most awesome session ever today! I ate a lot yesterday, on purpose, so I would be ultra fueled. And the extra 3lbs on the scale this morning told me I had indulged yesterday and should have plenty extra for lifts!
Buuuuuut it was not really A+ even with that
Maybe a B+
Elliptical warmup 8min
Squats - Warmup 5x5@85lbs. This was a new weight. It was BRUTAL. I could really barely manage and my form was pretty bad especially toward the end. I powered through but... eeeek.
Accessories - planks 3x60sec between sets, except not between sets 4 and 5 cause I was gonna die.
I had to take really long rest breaks between these sets, the longest I have ever taken.
OHP - Warmup, 1x5@50, 4x4@50lbs. OHP is my nemesis and I can't ever seem to 5x5 with 50. There were a few times I got a fifth rep but it was sooooo sloppy it can't count. I was not totally disappointed to manage 4 reps per set though.
Accessories - Good Mornings 5x6@50lbs. I realized I can use the bar after I OHP to do these for accessory glute/hamstring work instead of glute bridges which requires getting a bench, mat etc. So that was a nice realization.
Again I took really long breaks between sets.
Deadlifts - 1x7@135lbs. This is a repeat weight, and I was sad. I was feeling really wiped by the time I got over here. Now to be fair, with various absences, illnesses etc I think I have not deadlifted in over two weeks. So it was really appropriate to do this weight again anyway. also I have lost more weight myself, so this is not 10lbs over my body weight
I can usually manage at least 10 deadlifts but my grip was failing.
15 minutes row machine
I won't be back in for lifting for a week and a half. Off on vacation, with no weights. I will have to deload and lose my new squats progress, so that sucks. But what can ya do.0 -
@ Threnjen -nice job - I see no reason to be sad!
So.. If the DL @ a certain weight doesnt wipe you out it's " OK" to do more? I would have liked to do more on my B day but was unsure of varying from the program. Is it better to add reps or do another set or is it 6's?
I am intrigued by "Good Mornings" I haven't seen these. I would be very interested in adding a little sum-sum for the hammies. Mine are weak.
Enjoy your vacation!0
This discussion has been closed.