Daily check-in: December why you started!
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I skipped Saturday, so I only did 2 workouts last week. I'm going to try to get all 3 in this week.
Today was Workout A:
Squats: 100 lbs 5x5. I repeated this weight this time but will try 105 next time. I kind of tweaked my knee so I need to work on form a bit.
Bench: 65 lbs 5x5 (barely). I almost couldn't finish the 25th rep, so I called it 4x5 and 1x4 in the app. Will repeat this weight next time.
Rows: 65 lbs 5x5. My hand started cramping up during my 3rd set, so I had to take a small break, but I did get the 5 reps. This weight was tough so I think I will repeat next time to make sure my form is good before moving up.
Accessories:
RDLs, 65 lbs 3x10
Calf raises, 3x25 (BW)
Finished up with 45 minutes on the elliptical, which is the perfect amount of time to watch an episode of Orphan Black.
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Just came back from traveling for almost a week and lifted for the first time since last Monday. The app suggested a 10% deload due to the week off which I went for so nothing too exciting as far as the numbers.
Squats 5x5 at 105. Legs felt really stiff for some reason.
Bench 5x5 at 75. A little shaky but got through it.
Rows 5x5 at 70. These actually felt easy-ish for once.
No cardio due to the phlegm still in my lungs from getting really sick while out of town. I'm hoping my lifts will be greatly improved after I'm 100% recovered from my illness since according to my guesstimated calorie tracking, I probably overate by over 7,000 calories last week. Will probably be going on a three day trip this weekend after Xmas celebrations are over with family so December has not and will not be kind to my weight loss goals.0 -
Managed workout B today. Things went pretty smooth. Went from one to the other and didn't have to wait for anything. Will be interesting Wednesday morning but we'll see how that goes then.
Squat - 5x5 @ 120
OHP - 4x5 & 1x4 @ 60
Deadlift - 2x5 @ 135
Not bad. I moved up on the squat this time and it felt fine. Heavy but still doing okay. Almost made all 5 sets on 60 for OHP but couldn't do that very last rep. Hopefully can get it next time. I didn't increase on deadlift but instead did an extra set. It didn't bother my hand as much this time but have a feeling this will be a common occurrence with the heavier weights. There is no chalk at the gym so need to figure out a strategy for them. hmmm
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SL had recommended a de-load on the OHP to 40 lbs., for I kept failing at 2 sets...but yester, I decided to go with the Oly Bar (45 lbs.), and I did not fail on all five!!! DD is now up to 95 lbs....still taking it slow with the Squat, learning the form, at 70 lbs.
Lift on, ladies!!0 -
After a week almost compeltely off (only did some BW stuff), I went back in and hey, actually did an SL workout today! Got all my reps in and while none were really easy, I feel like I might've shortchanged myself a bit and could've either gone heavier or faster... Ah well.
My back has also been iffy for the past few days though and the squats really irritated that, so I might need to scale back (again) and see if I can tweak my form while recovering some of that long lost mobility.
Squats 145x5x5
Bench 110x5x5
Row 105x5x5
Prowler sprints 20m x 0, 25, 50, 65, 80 and 105lbs interspaced with the rows
Gonna go in for some conditioning tomorrow since the gym is closed on the 25th. Complexes or a grindy WOD for good measure.
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SL had recommended a de-load on the OHP to 40 lbs., for I kept failing at 2 sets...but yester, I decided to go with the Oly Bar (45 lbs.), and I did not fail on all five!!! DD is now up to 95 lbs....still taking it slow with the Squat, learning the form, at 70 lbs.
really nice. honestly, i think form focus pays off so much because as the weight goes up it gets much more expensive to learn the hard way ;-)
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I worked out Sunday morning and again today...
Work has been SOOOO hectic I rarely check in these days, so I apologize for that. I know things will slow down mid January when my boats start fishing and I can breath again!
I was tired this morning and tried something new.
Squats - 5 @ 75, 85, 95, 105, 110
Bench - 5x5 @ 60lbs
Rows - Nada
LOTS OF CRUNCHES!
And then I came to work and had a lovely slice of apple cake with my coffee
I love the holidays and all the goodies, but feels like my workouts are just to keep my head above water at this point. I may be skipping the weights and enjoying a nice jog tomorrow if the weather cooperates!0 -
Workout B This morning.
Squats 135lbs 5x5 sticking with the low weight on workout b.
Ohp 65lbs 5/5/5/5/4 second fail but I have high hopes of getting it next time
DL 195 only got 3 so a little disappointed.
Pretty hohum but I got it done.0 -
Two weeks later, and I finally got back to the gym. Oh how I've missed it!!!
Workout B
Not my normal gym since I'm out of town. It was a little crowded (with equipment and people) and had old racks and plates. But who cares? 45 lbs is 45 lbs, after all.
Squats - 5x5 @ 100 lbs.
- Deloaded a bit since it has been a while. These felt really good. I was able to concentrate on getting as low as I could. Got a little harder towards the last reps, but all in all, really strong.
OHP - 1x5 @ 45 lbs., 3x5 @ 47.5, 1x4 @ 47.5
- The first set felt so good I decided to throw my little 1.25 plates on the bar and give it a go. You wouldn't think 2.5 lbs. would make a difference, but it did. Form suffered a tiny bit in the sets 4 and 5, but overall still really good. Failed the very last rep.
- Considering I only did the bar for the first time on my last OHP workout, I'm over the moon at being able to move up here!
Deadlifts - Warmups 1x5 @ 89 (10 kg plates), 1x5 @ 135 / Working set 1x5 @ 155 (!!!)
- I freaking love deadlifts. These felt awesome. I had that fantastic "used my whole body for those" feeling that left me panting and smiling.
Accessories:
Bicep curls - 5x10 @ 10 lbs.
- They didn't have 12.5 lbs. dumbbells, so I did more reps with slightly lower weights.
I had a bit of a walk home, so I cut accessories short and hit the path along the beach. It was about two miles. All in all, I feel pretty great about what I did today -- and it was SO GREAT to be back at it.
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I've been MIA/sick for a few week or so, so deloaded yesterday... felt ok, still not feeling 100%.
5x5 Squats - 170lbs
5x5 OHP - 70 lbs
1x5 DL - 185 lbs
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Good to see so many people lifting and to have crabada back.
Afternoon lift for me, not my usual 6:30 start.
Squats 5,5,5 @ 79lb (for form)
Squats 5,6,5 @ 134lb (for ego)
OHP 5,4,4,3,3 @ 51.5lb (not sure where these are going)
DL 5 @ 150.5lb (bit of a rush as 3 boys let me jump in, they can't have been much over 14 years old).
Still steadily losing weight, calories up to 2000 a day now.0 -
I'm well under the weather right now. Blaming the junk I've been (over)eating and the lack of proper sleep which also led to abusing caffeine. This holiday break will do me a lot of good, and I feel I've finally hit the bottom where I can spring myself forward again. Put on about 20lbs total this year - most of it is fat. I'm stronger but in a worse shape than I was at the end of the last year (obviously). Time to get serious about this stuff again. Tired of feeling like i lost my way.
So I went for a throwdown that I really enjoyed last year: Day 12 of the 12 days of badassness http://www.travisstoetzel.com/day12badassness/
a) 12 x OH Squats @ 75
b) 11 x DB Manmakers @ 20
c) 10 x Muscle Ups (broken down into recline rows and jump dips on rings)
d) 9 x Pistol Squats per Leg (holding on to TRX, broken into sets of 5 and 4)
e) 8 x EROM Handstand Push Ups (regressed to pike presses w/ feet on 12' box and hands on DBs)
f) 7 x Strict Chest To Bar Pull Ups (with ~70-80lbs of assist)
g) 6 x Hang Squat Cleans @ 75
h) 5 x Thrusters @ 75
i) 4 x 20 secs on / 10 secs off Tabata rounds of KB American Swings @ 24kg (12 per round)
j) 3 x Snatch @ 75
k) 2 x TGU’s / side @ 20 DB
l) 1 x 25 Burpees (2:56)
the challenge suggested to rest a bit and go back up the ladder but I definitely did not have it in me to do that.
But this IS the kind of workouts I really enjoy. Whereas the 5x5 yesterday made me feel kind of empty. So there is that, haha. I know what I need to do!
Hopefully you guys all have happy holidays!0 -
Busy day today! I got my lift in this morning but almost forgot to post here.
Hope you are feeling better soon Krokador.
You all are doing awesome! Happy holidays to everyone :-)
Squats 5 x 6 @ 55
Bench 5 x 5 @ 45
Row 5 x 5 @45
Bicep Curl 5 x 5 @ 30
Tricep Extension 5 x 5 @ 15
Tricep Kickback 5 x 5 @ 10
I am looking forward to increasing weights on squat with my new rack!!0 -
Today was okay but also kind of meh. Not to mention busy. The gym was very busy since they are only open till 2 pm today and closed tomorrow. Cardio machines full. I wanted to walk after lifting but every single treadmill was in use (with one exception as it was being fixed). They have over 20 of them, so that's a lot of people. I tried using something else but didn't want to do steps when I have to be on my feet from 3:30 to after midnight and the other thing, elliptical, I couldn't get whatever the quick start does to make either machine do anything. So I gave up. It's super busy at work and freight day, so I'll do okay since I have a nice long shift today. I'll do extra cardio on Friday and maybe I won't leave my iPod in the car then.
Lifts:
3x8 dumbbell bench @ 20 lbs
5x5 bench @ 80 (barely)
5x5 squat @ 125
5x5 row @ 75
Out of order so I did my extra lift before the main lifts cause... yeah. Anyways, also forgot my notebook in the locker so had to go off memory. 80 is still barely manageable and I didn't feel like failing this time so I stuck with that for bench. I did use the bar this time for rows instead of dumbbells and used the stand place so I got to pretend I was tall during those sets. I could have tried 80 with them but 75 was pretty tough. Maybe next time.
I chose 5x5 strong lifts as the very start cause of the beginner programs I looked over, it had the simplest layout, the least extra, at least a couple lifts I knew even though I'd always avoided squats, and it didn't have pull ups. I'd rather climb a rope to the ceiling once a week than do any pull ups, lol. After 12 weeks, though, I might look at venturing out into other things and learn more lifts. Clean seems kinda fun from the light weights we did in the les mills grit strength class I tried.
oh..
Merry Christmas and such.
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Canadian - I agree!
Krokador - hope you feel better soon! That workout regimen looks like A WORKOUT!!
Lifting was great today! Perhaps it had something to do with that we were let out early ( I love federal decrees lol)...I have found that I will not fail if I always start with OHPs, or BB Rows on the respective days. Were I to do them as arranged on SL, I usually do fail. After my workout, I usually get on the stairclimber for about 15 minutes, but this week, I changed it up to interval training on the treadmill...0 -
Perhaps it had something to do with that we were let out early.
heh. i'm a freelance so not subject to the usual rules either way, but even so there was no way i was staying in the office today after they turned out all the lights and sent everyone home. i did leave a little later than most people, but i was in the gym by 2:30 or 3. yay.
and it was mobbed. i'm not exactly doing either workout specifically since this neck/shoulder thing made me lose my bearings a week or two back. i did a kind of survey workout, everything except rows. the big preoccupation and project is beating my left shoulder into submission any way that i can.
**in between sets on squats now, i just use the rack as a stretch tool. if i back up to the bar it's right across the tops of my shoulderblades. so i can set my upper arms along it, and then hook my hands behind the uprights of the rack, elbows pretty much at right angles like that. it's a demon stretch for exactly whatever is stiff at the bottom of my left shoulder that's preventing me from getting that side fully rotated or whatever it's called. it has the advantage of telling me when i'm symmetrical, it's got some force in it - which i need. and i found out if i drop my chest/round my back a little, it's a demon pec/traps/levator scapulae stretcher too. so i'm doin' it from now on, and my fingers are crossed. **
squats: 2x5@45, 1x5@65, 5x5@95, 1x3@100. the last one was just to see if i could, and i could - for 3 reps, then i quit. not as bad as i'd thought it would be considering how derailed i feel i've gotten. my bum wasn't really in the game today for some reason, could be the bike switching or who knows what else. i think i had my shoulders more square than i usually managed before though, so there's that.
ohp: hee. i did 1x12 with 30lbs right when i walked in, but that was warmup. actual ohp i did 1x5@45, then i said heck and just went for it with 5x5@50. again, fighting like a demon against the mobility thing on the left. i feel like my left shoulder is *strong*, it's just restricted/gunked up in some way. so anyway, i feel pretty good about 50lbs with the form that i gave it, under those circs.
bench: i'm being conservative here. i did 5x5@45 and called it a session. the thing with bench is i've been doing a pretty wide grip up till now since that's most comfortable for whatever the original problem was, with me. but the more i read the more confused i get, and last night's explorations gave me the idea i'd be better off coming in as close as i can and starting again. i'm just groping carefully around for a safe-feeling form with bench atm - something i can put in the bank because it doesn't feel dangerous. close grip actually seemed to stress the same back-of-shoulder/bottom-of-shoulderblade area on the left, but that improves if i do a certain kind of setting up first that would be hard to describe.
some pulldown sets, close and mid-width, at 20lb. again, just trying to find a workable form, not really working out.
deadlift: well, i know that i did 5 or 6 of them at 115, so might as well call that my working set. i also probably another 4 or 5 at 130 after that, but that was experimentation so i'm not counting it. my hamstrings are crazy with doms this week, although i don't know why.0 -
@Canadian -- With you on the DOMS. I've *never* been sore after a lifting workout -- until today. My quads are screaming at me every time I move. I guess that's what two weeks off, a strong workout, and a long walk home will do to a girl. Holy cow!0
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@Canadian -- With you on the DOMS. I've *never* been sore after a lifting workout -- until today. My quads are screaming at me every time I move. I guess that's what two weeks off, a strong workout, and a long walk home will do to a girl. Holy cow!
I just started adding in some bicep/tricep work. DOMs big time on the triceps. For such a small muscle it can be remarkably painful...0 -
Merry Christmas everyone!
I had to get my workout in before we headed up to the inlaws for Christmas dinner.
I had really long rest sets (honestly because I had toys to play with yay for Christmas) and it was chocolate fueled awesomeness.
Squat 170 lbs 5x5 felt good and strong
Bench 85 lbs 5x5 it was a fail and deload or get it and up the weights deal, got them all!
Row 80 lbs 5x5, I previously struggled a lot with these but they have been feeling really good lately, not sure why but I will take it.
Now to spend 4 hours in the car with the tiny human and the not so tiny human. I can't wait until the tiny human likes to play handheld games, here have a tablet and be quietly entertained.0 -
My first workout using my new Squat stands. Awesome fun!!!
Squats: 5 x 5 @ 60---I'm going to start to fly increasing my weights with my squats now!!!!
Press: 5 x 5 @ 50
Deadlift: 1 x 5 @ 100
Bicep Curls: 5 x 5 @ 30
Tricep Kickbacks: 5 x 7 @ 16
Tricep Extension: 5 x 7 @ 15
Chinup Walk the Plank: 5 x 8
On my way to doing my first pullup!
Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas
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your squat stand is beautiful. i always think it must be such a party knowing you could go down there and bust a few reps any time that you feel like it 0
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Workout A. Had been away from it for a week so I deloaded...
Squats: 6x5@85lbs
Bench: 5x5@65lbs
Rows: 5x5@80lbs
Accessories:
Bicep plate curls: 3x12@10lbs
Pull-up machine 3x5@8
Ran 3.1 miles.0 -
Transition week means I'm working on BW skills again
but I started with EMOTM x8 of strict OHP @ 80lbs x2 reps (and made them all!)
Then 3x30s hollow ring hang with false grip
3x15 ring baby makers (which are basically hip trusts but with your upper body hanging instead of helping the movement)
4 sets of
- 25 prisoner squats
- assisted dips x submax (80lbs assist, 7/ 7/ 5/ 7)
- hollow rocks x 15-25 (25 / 15 / 17 / 20, first set w/ arms crossed over chest, other 3 arms behind head)
30 burpees for time: 3:30
I got a mini exercise bike as a gift yesterday, so if I can manage to poke myself out of laziness to put it together I might do a lil bit of that later. I'm also gonna walk to the store because I want to buy myself a new notebook and pen 0 -
Workout B, end of week 6.
Did half of my warm up, the stuff with the trx and the pushups, but didn't foam roll as the area had too many people. Squat racks were hard to nab, so at first I did some random dumbbell things then did leg press and random leg machine before finally nabbing the rack.
Leg press - 3x8 @ 110
Squat - 125
- Kept the same weight from last week and it still felt really heavy and difficult to manage.
OHP - 3x5 and 1x4 @ 60 and 1x5 55
- Fail. 3rd time so got to drop down on the weight. 10 percent seems an odd amount cause that would be 54, so I might drop it down to 50 and work up from there as that's not very long to work back up to 60 again.
Deadlift - 155
- After the struggle of getting set up and taking off the one guy's weights, I had a math fail. I was trying to do 145. I forgot the 45's and 10's don't equal 145 with the bar. I barely made it through so next time I'm going to actually do 145 then after that try 155 again.
It was sort of an off day. Did 30 minutes walk on the treadmill afterwards for extra steps, but today just wasn't all it could have been. Oh well, hopefully next time will be better but I may try 85 on the bench press so we'll see how that goes.0 -
StrongLifts 5x5 / Workout A
My quads finally stopped screaming at me, so I hit the gym again today. 5x5 felt harder than expected today, but it was a good workout.
Squats - Warmups, 1x5 @ 95 lbs. (oops!), 5x5 @ 105 lbs.
- Feeling like I'm getting lower, but since I've been doing these without the benefit of a mirror to watch form these last couple sessions, I can't tell if my knees are caving on the push back out of the hole. I do know when I really concentrated on pushing my knees apart, they felt a lot harder, so I suspect they might me. I'll be paying attention to that when I get back home.
Bench Press - Warmups, then 5/5/5/4/~5 @ 82.5 lbs.
- I barely made my fourth rep in the fourth set and should have just let it be. But I racked, gave myself a few seconds, and tried for the fifth. Hello, roll of shame. :P Oh well - it happens. The guy that was waiting for the bench spotted me on my fourth and fifth reps in my last set, and I probably wouldn't have gotten that final rep without his help. It was minimal, but necessary. He was super nice about it, so I was appreciative.
- This is my third fail at this weight, so per the 5x5 app, I'll be deloading to 70 lbs. next time. I thought the deload was only supposed to be 10%, but I guess it's closer to 15%. Either way, it's fine. I'll do what I'm told and work my way back up.
Rows - 5x5 @ 82.5 lbs.
- These still feel super awkward, and I could feel a bit of a bounce on these today. May deload yet again and play with form and pace and blah blah blah. Now that I've hit 45 lbs. on the OHP, rows are becoming my least favorite lift.
I was seriously bushed after this, and knowing I had a two-mile walk home, I skipped accessories. I think the alcohol, the lack of good sleep (pull out couches are the effing worst!), the humidity, and the rest-day three-mile walks all played a part in me feeling wiped out. All good things, so I'm not concerned, but I'm noticing it. Plus, given how freaking sore I was for the last two days, I figured taking it a tiny bit easy today wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Hope you all had a great Christmas if you celebrate, and are enjoying any time off you might have.
xoxo,
C.0 -
workout x:
squats: yay! (but not yet, so ssssh) 2x5@45, 1x5@65, 6x5@100. i did an extra set just for insurance because i kind of lost count. but if i go by my compulsive habit of putting a collar on the top peg after my first set and moving it down by one peg with every set after that, then it's 6. either way, i know for a fact that i did 5x5 reps at one hundred pounds. form felt pretty good, the trigger point work on my shoulder and other stretches etc seem to be paying off (touch wood) and i had better form from the waist down this time than last time. not going to say it was easy, but i don't think i've been destroyed by it either. if i can maintain this through to new year's, i'm definitely going to say that i made that milestone.
the rest of what i did was a mix, because i'm still sort of futzing around and letting my shoulder dictate most of whatever i do. and tbh i might have been thinking 'well, i've gotten my 100lb squats so i get to go home early now' too.
- kind of a mashup of ohp sets at different grip widths and rep counts, mixed between the 45lb bar and the 30lb one and scattered throughout my workout. i've been taking a very narrow grip with my pinkies more or less lined up with the outer edge of my shoulders, but now that i have more mobility i'm trying to widen that out so as to involve more of those lower-shoulderblade muscles that i've been trying to liberate with my lacrosse ball and wall. it feels different for sure and maybe stronger, but i'm not ready to comment just yet. i'm going to be interested in tomorrow's doms pattern, from this. altogether i'm pretty sure i ended up with whatever the volume of a regular 5x5 session would be, between those two weights and two grips.
- bench, a few 5x5 sets with the 45lb bar. i'm not even trying for weight, i just want mobility and a better form.
- rows for form with the 30lb bar, and i don't know if i'm ready to go back to them yet. what's been wrong with my shoulder is i just can't get my elbow to go back and up to the same degree as the right one does, or at the same angle. and i know i hate rows so i'll always take any excuse . . . but honestly, this in particular feels to me like it's bad for my spine when the weight is heavy because what i end up doing no matter how hard i try is torquing from there in order to get the left side up along with the right. it could be the reason why my chiropractor found some of my thoracix vertebrae were also out a few weeks ago, and i'm not anxious to put myself back into that.
- deadlifts for form, warmup at 50lbs and then two sets of 5 at 100. not sure about this but eh, i did them as a compensation for not doing rows. it always seems my brain has room to concentrate on the form for either squats or deadlifts, and the other one always falls a bit out of focus for me.
and then, since my shoulder does feel better and i'm definitely feeling like core is another place i've lost concentration about and it's showing, i went back to my neglected planks. BLEH. that obviously is going to need to be worked on again, as i only managed 30 seconds with a bit of a power-crunch 'pull' thrown in.0 -
Gym has been closed since Wednesday, so I was very ready for this morning.
Squats 3x5 @ 101lb (for form)
Squats 3x6 @ 134lb (for ego).
Bench 5,5,3,4,3 @ 61.5lb (follows a deload)
Rows 6,6,6,6,6 @ 57lb (deload for explosive action form).
All-in-all very enjoyable. Got a bit of "help" doing the bench from one of the men who seems to enjoy "helping" me. I didn't count any lifts when he was touching the bar, reassuring me, "that's all you, love, that's all you".0 -
lol. i like your separation of form and ego in every workout i did my real squats at 100 yesterday, and then later on i went and put two plates on the bar and unracked it, just to stand with it for a handful of seconds, and then put it back. i don't plan on trying to squat with it for some time still, but it's what i'm aiming for by mid-july. so i'm planning to keep doing this with every workout just to get my body and especially back used to the way that it feels. 0
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