Daily check-in: December why you started!
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@crabada - Definitely take the time off if you're sick. There have been times in the past that I decided to "power through" a cold or the flu and still workout and I paid for it by being sicker longer! Rest is totally worth it.
@canadianlbs - You're absolutely right! This simple cold kicked my butt. I think this is one of the few times that I really gave myself adequate rest from work and working out. I'm not going to touch the barbell until Saturday, too, just to make sure I'm ok and over today's DOMS from those paused squats. WOW.
@psych101 - Your abs are looking ahhhhhhhmazing in your avatar!0 -
Today was my first workout at home with my new (to me) power cage. It was nice to not feel rushed or self conscious. I had a more prolonged rest between workouts because I was getting the cage and trying to put it together. Went 5 days between workouts and I felt weak today. At the gym I never could check my form because the mirror was straight ahead of me. Today I made some videos and saw that my squats are not low enough.
Squat-5@45 (warm up), 5x5@125 (kind of sloppy and hard to get very low, felt heavy), 10@65 (went low with those)
OHP-3x5@45, 2x5@50
Deadlift-150 (was supposed to do 160 but it felt waaaay too heavy. 150 felt heavy, too and my form suffered.
Abs on the bench
Kettlebell triceps-10@12lbs
I'm thinking of redoing the whole dang program now to concentrate on form. Working in the cage seems more difficult. Or perhaps it's because I realize I wasn't doing the lifts correctly before.0 -
I think many of us have had to do this - don't get discouraged! You may not need to start COMPLETELY over, but maybe deload 20 or 30 pounds (or more if you want to) and work on form from there. Are you hitting parallel on your squats? I'm of the school of thought that you don't NEED to go *kitten*-to-grass every time on squats. There was an article floating around here months ago about anatomy and how depending on the shape of your hip sockets and the position/shape of the femur head you may not even be able to go that low... Moral of the story: don't beat yourself up about it.
I'm thinking of redoing the whole dang program now to concentrate on form. Working in the cage seems more difficult. Or perhaps it's because I realize I wasn't doing the lifts correctly before.
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Thanks, Katro111. I think I was getting to parallel before I got to 100+ lbs. Today I was doing what looked like quarter squats. I did some reading on them and saw that people can generally lift more weight doing quarter squats. I thought I was progressing through squats rather quickly. I have not failed any and only have repeated a weight a couple of times. I do not feel it in the glutes, really. I think you are right. I don't need to go back to the beginning but I will start over at a lower weight. Looking at one's form with video is really helpful if you don't have a spotter/trainer!0
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i was supposed to lift today but my shoulder has been acting up, so another rest day for me, hopefully ill be able to lift tomorrow0
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Workout B today:
I think I discovered the consequences of doing my whole run (4.8 miles today) before lifting. Strangely enough, the squats felt ok, but that's probably because I had to deload.
Squats 5x5@95 lbs, had to deload after having trouble getting past 105 :-(
OHP: I was supposed to go up to 60 lbs today, but I thought I would try 55 again since even though I completed all 5x5 last time, it was a struggle. Today I couldn't even get close to 5x5 @55. So frustrating!. so I did 3/2/3@55lbs and then 8/8@45 and even that was hard toward the end!
DL: 5@135 1@165, epic fail. Oh well.
This was one of those workouts that I was just happy to be done with by the end of it.0 -
Workout A - done
Went to coworkers small gym so even at noon, barely anyone there. 2 guys came in the lifting area during the hour we were there, that is all. It's crazy how small and how few people are there but far less equipment and such. I feel weird taking the bar from the cage and using the floor space in front for deadlifts but do it anyways when there.
Squat - 5x5 @ 115
OHP - 1x4 @ 60, 4x5 @ 55
Deadlift - 1x5 @ 135
OHP blah again but almost increased, I can do the 55 okay at least it's just going to be tough getting it up to 60. I meant to do 110 on the squats but my brain had a math issue and wanted to put the 35's on the bar so I did 115 instead. One or two slightly rough but all manageable. Might do the same next time though. And finally, got to use the 45's for the deadlift. My hands hurt a little from trying to pull the bar up but I got the set done. No more struggling to get plates down on the floor to get the bar up higher. Woot!
Now to rest before I go to my gym for the body fat workshop thing they have that I decided to sign up for. Not sure on the accuracy but it'll be a good start, ballpark figure. Just hoping it's not in the 50's since I've lost almost 30 lbs since end of August. My own weight is going slow this month but I'm okay with that as people still keep noticing that I'm less fluffy. Maybe some day I'll post a picture on my profile of me, but no promises yet.
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DawnEmbers wrote: »OHP bleu again but almost increased, I can do the 55 okay at least it's just going to be tough getting it up to 60.
Maybe some day I'll post a picture on my profile of me, but no promises yet.
I love my set of 1.25 lb. plates for exactly this reason!
And yes for pics!
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Yeah, I looked for 1.25 plates at a store and they didn't have anything below 5. The only thing that light was tiny, pink 1 lb dumbbells that looked like they were for a little kid. I hope to find the 1.25 ones some day.0
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Roguefitness.com has a set that's under $20 including shipping.0
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We'll see what I get for Christmas. Finances are tight and I need food but it goes on the list.0
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Gym, visit number 2 for the day but at my own gym this time.
Went for a little workshop with a trainer on body fat percentage. Had to leave early cause traffic is bad around the time they scheduled these workshops so spent over 20 minutes walking on the treadmill as a warm up.
The workshop involved a little handheld thing to get an idea on body fat percentage. Then the rest of it was doing circuits with different things. We did steps, lunges, kettle bell swings, planks, crunches and a few other things. Then I walked for another 20 minutes on the treadmill when it was all over. After the circuits one of the girls asked me questions about weights cause I'd met the trainer running the thing before so he'd mentioned I was lifting. Not sure she'll try it as she hasn't done the lifts before but I told her about strong lifts, the site and mentioned she could get a trainer to show her the lifts and proper form.
Not much was said about the actual body fat percentage. I just went in hoping it would read at below 50%. Mine came up as 39.5%. I'll have to do the scan again after the 12 week mark or something with the lifting and see what it says. Only 4 of us took part in the little workshop overall.
I also ran into my boss at the gym. He'd said it was his gym but I'd never seen him cause I tend to close and go after work and well, he works store manager hours. So we talked a moment about the photo machines and the paper jams.
Overall, an odd day off work with lots of time in the gym. I earned a delicious gingerbread latte. mmm0 -
@DawnEmbers - Amazon has 1.25's and also fractional plate sets so that you can do even smaller increments. I just asked my husband for the fractional plates for Christmas.0
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ooo, thanks. I shall search away.
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@Llamapants86: so glad you sorted out your cramping problem so quickly! It took me several months to figure it out.
Lifts this morning:
Squats: 5 x 5 @ 55
Bench: 2 x 5 @ 50 then 5 x 5 @ 45
Barbell Rows 5 x 5 @ 45
Had to go down on the bench since I couldn't lift my left arm after rep 2 of 3rd set. I tried twice. I am using dumbbells so I guess this tells me that my left side is waaaay weaker than my right (no surprises). I've also been doing Fitness blender upper body workouts so this might have compromised my bench this morning.
I also decreased weight on my rows since I am starting to do bbell rows. I definitely feel this in my upper back a lot more than with the barbell.
Yesterday was my last day in to work so I am officially on holidays!0 -
Squats: 5@55,70,80,95, 3@110, 8@80
Bench: 5@45,50,55,65, 3@70, 8@60, 1@75
Row: 5@45,50,55,65, 3@80, 8@70
RDL: 12@65, 10@70, 8@75, 6@80
Bicep curls: 4x15@8lbs0 -
Oh my god I miss lifting. Finals and this cold are killing me.
You all are kicking serious *kitten*! Keep up the good work!0 -
I think I might have a sinus infection (going to go to doctor tomorrow), but I decided to lift today anyway (I'm rolling my eyes at myself because that probably wasn't the best idea). Went with Wendler's for bench and added OHP & tri work for accessories. Pushups were also on the list, but didn't make it in.
Bench: 5 @ 77.5, 5 @ 87.5, 7 @ 97.5lbs
OHP: 3x10 @ 60lbs
Tricep kickbacks: 4x10 @ 20lbs0 -
Squat 120 5x5. Did better with less rest in between sets (about a min). Plus there were a bunch of arm-day-every-day bros doing preacher curls and being lewd next to me so that might have helped motivate.
OHP 55 5,5,4,4,4. I did the EMOTM method @Krokador suggested and it really helped! I went all out and got it over with. Going for 5x5 at 55 next.
Deadlift 175 1x5 plus 2 other grip. Didn't go for double overhand because my hands hurt.
Also did chest flies 10 3x8, skull crushers 30 3x8, and leg raise thing while laying on a mat holding up a 40-lb barbell.
Trying to get worked out before my week off away from a gym starting tomorrow. Will probably do walking, skiing, and yoga next week. And lots of eating.0 -
I had one of those rest days yesterday when you're just dying to get to the gym and lift.
Squats 5,5,6,5,5 @ 129.5lb (body weight!!) plus in my warm-ups I focused on form.
OHP 4,3,3,3,3 @ 51.5lb Grrrrrrrrrrind.
Deadlift 5 @ 150.5lb These weren't good. Might need to deload for form.
Came home starving and ate 300g of Greek Yoghurt. Don't know if it's end of term or what, but I'm absolutely exhausted at the moment. Going to get Christmas out of the way and then really think about what my fitness goals should be.0 -
Yesterday was workout B
Squats 135 lbs 5x5 it was my first shot at deloading them for workout b. Felt good, and helped out with deadlifts. I hope that it will let me hit the squats hard tomorrow for workout a.
Ohp 65lbs 5/5/5/3?/5 the 4th set was weird, I set up wrong and when I got all reset I didn't have the oomph to get through the set.
Dl 185 lbs 1x5 felt great
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No sinus infection after all, just residual congestion. I woke up today feeling fantastic so I did deadlifts today. Gonna stick with 5/3/1 format until I feel 100% then I'll go back to something with more volume.
Deadlifts: warm-up + 5 @ 130, 5 @ 150, 8 @ 170lbs
3-sec paused squats - 3x10 @ 125lbs
1-arm dumbbell rows: 3x10 @ 35lbs0 -
Those are some nice deadlifts.
I made it through Workout A and the end of week 5. Yay! I did a shorter warm up this time because the area where I usually foam roll and such had several people in it and the cage was empty, so I jumped at that chance. Had a guy ask if I was done when I was changing weights after warm up, then another ask me to let him know when I was done so he could switch to the cage on my last set. It was a hot commodity. lol
Squat - 5x5 @ 115
Bench - 5x5 @ 80
Row - 5x5 @ 27.5 dumbbells
I stayed at 115 this time just to be sure on it. Felt pretty good and the one guy commented that it looked easy for me. Gonna try 120 next time. The big one of the day was bench. I failed twice with 80 so if I couldn't do it today then it would be deload, but I managed all 5 sets. Not sure on making it to 85, but we'll see how I feel wednesday. Switched to dumbbells for row this time. I might on occasion do barbell and other times do the dumbbells to work on the form as it always feels odd.
Followed with 30 minutes on treadmill and home to try and scrounge some food together before work.
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Work out A
Squat 165 lbs 5x5 the deloading on workout B seemed to help, these felt hard but solid if you know what I mean.
Bench 85 lbs 5/5/5/5/4 again. I have one more shot then it is time for a deload.
Row 75 lbs 5x5 these felt really good which is surprising because it has always been one of my weaker lifts.
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Got stuck at work waiting for other people to do stuff so that I could get my work done, so I did a bodyweight workout:
Each circuit 5x with 45 sec rest in between, then start next circuit:
Circuit 1:
20 pushups
20 bench dips
45 sec wall sit
30 russian twists
Circuit 2:
60 sec plank
30 flutter kicks
10 diamond pushups
30 bodyweight squats
Circuit 3:
30 mountain climbers
30 single leg calf raises
30 uppercuts
30 single leg lunges
I feel much better now than when I started! Have a good day everyone! 0 -
don't think i'm going to make my 100lb squats by the end of the year, but eh, life happens. still fighting the neck/upper back/shoulder problem, but i'm not going to learn better form sitting around eating jellybeans, so.
workout a (i guess?)
squats: 3x5@45, 2x5@65, 5x5@85. left shoulder is really causing trouble for the lowbar squat. i put in some heavy trigger-point time on my infraspinatus muscle using a wall and a small bouncy-ball, but most of the time when i first start out, i can't get my elbow back far enough to settle the bar symmetrically on that side. i think it's torquing the whole of my body from neck/shoulders down. i did a lot of warmup with just the bar, and even tried high bar again for one set. but in the end 5x5@85 with a low bar was what i did. on the plus side: my legs weren't having much trouble with 85 pounds, so i've still gained a lot of ground since the summer.
bench: 3x5@45, (some sets)x5@65. i honestly can't remember. i might have done the full 5x5. in any case bench press was quite a surprise; you'd think it would be impossible with a shoulder acting so weird. for some reason though i got the form nice and solid and it didn't hurt . . . and again, 65 didn't feel all that hard. not saying i could have gone higher or anything, because i could not have. i tried and was happy as a clam to not even finish rep 2.
**dunno why they call it 'roll of shame'. it wouldn't even cross my mind to feel any shame if someone hadn't come up with the name . . . and even now that they have, i still don't.
rows: bad shoulder, bad bad shoulder on this. i did some body-weight only reps without even a bar, and my left elbow and right aren't even close to symmetrical. so i didn't do bent-over since you can't possibly keep any kind of an eye on your form in bent-over rows. and from inside my own skin i one-thousand-percent just don't know if i'm even close. i did 5x5@25 of *very* conservative seated rows with a cable machine, instead. with a few-seconds squeeze at the back of each rep.
deadlift: yeah, i deadlifted a bit. not a lot and not enough weight that i'm going to say that it counts.
and now . . . jellybeans.0 -
Squats 5x5 @ 134lb (more than body weight, form terrible).
Bench 6,5,5,5,5 @ 51lb (no more excuses, need to move up).
Rows 5x5 @ 68lb (finding these very unsatisfactory - what are they supposed to be working? I might swap these for another move.
My current plan is to try a (cautious bulk) for a few weeks, lift heavy, deload on some for form, reduce the cardio and see how I get on.0 -
Squats 5 x 6 @ 55
OHP 5 x 6 @ 50
Deadlift 1 x 5 @ 100 (yay!!!)
I am now over the 200 lb mark with my weights!! The deadlift felt heavy, but good form. I might slow down to 5 pound increases instead of 10. I also did two fitness blender workouts: cardio kickboxing and upper body workout. I always feel so stupid doing the kickboxing routines. I can feel that I do get a good workout but the motions are very awkward to me.
On another note, I am changing my diet for the next while. I think it's sort of like what is recommended for recomps. On lifting days I will eat TDEE + 100, on non-lifting days I will eat TDEE - 500. For me that will be 1900/1300. Overall deficit should be 1700 calories per week.I just started yesterday and will see how it goes over the next several weeks.
@logg1e: I subbed in dumbbell rows for the barbell rows. They are targeting my upper back much better now. I am also interested in how your bulk is going to work and progress you make.0
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