Daily check-in: Something catchy that rhymes with January!
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I was feeling a little nervous about today's workout. Squats and Deads are at the highest weights I've ever done, and I wasn't sure I'd fueled myself well enough. But turned out pretty great.
StrongLifts 5x5 / Workout B
Squats -- Warmups: 1x10 @ 45, 1x5 @ 75; Working sets 5x5 @ 120 (!)
- These felt heavy but really good. I do find that if I keep my mind on the ascent (even as I descend) they feel a lot easier. That's a trick recommended by Rippetoe and it's kind of amazing how well it works.
OHP -- 5x5 @ 45 lbs.
- Still getting a little arch-y in the final sets, so may stay here for another session. This lift really is so slow for improvements. :P
- QUESTION -- I've been trying the "squeeze your glutes super tight" on these, but the only way I can do that is to also lock my knees and engage my quads. Does anyone see an issue with this?
Deadlifts -- Warmups: 1x8 @ 95, 1x5 @ 135; Working sets: 1x4 @ 175 (!!)
- I'm liking the low weight warmups, even though the bar is a pain to load and unload. At 95, I have to stack plates underneath, which is also a whole thing. But I do think it's worth it, just to lock in form and the mental aspects.
- The only reason I didn't get all five reps at 175 is because I got unbalanced in my fourth rep. The left side of the bar just lagged, and I started to twist a bit. I probably should have just re-set and gone for the last one, but didn't. Perhaps I was looking for an excuse to stay at 175 for another session -- and honestly, I'm OK with that.
- Afterwards, I deloaded back to to 135 and did a handful of reps playing with my breathing and engaging my core.
Accessories:
Bicep Curls / Seated Dips (alternating sets)
Bicep Curls: 3x8 @ 15
- Finally moved up from the 12.5 lbs. dumbbells, but took the reps down to 8 (from 10). Makes me feel like I'm progressing a bit. Will stay here until I can do 10, and then start trying for 17.5.
Seated Dips: 3x10 @ 95
- Feeling these in my shoulders quite a bit. It may just be that I need to adjust the seat, but if I sit too much higher, my feet won't be flat on the ground. Need to play with this a bit. But felt pretty good.
Plank - 40 seconds
1 hour, 36 minutes total0 -
@Daiva -- Great job with your first week of workouts! You're progressing really fast! I know how eager I was when I started, but don't be afraid to stay at the low weights and really lock down form. You won't regret it.
And in addition to failing as others described, I also practiced dropping the bar off my back from the bottom of the squat onto the safeties. It made me feel better to just know what that might feel like if I ever found myself in a position where I couldn't get out of the hole, but also couldn't comfortably sit down either. It is loud, but worth the confidence boost to at least give it a go a couple of times.
@Scientific -- Can't wait to hear all about the new "toy"
@MissHoliday -- Nice job on those lifts! And don't you just love that feeling of "when can I go again?"
@Sumi -- I hear you on that OHP. I feel like I'm going to be stuck at 45 / 47.5 forever. Sigh.
And are those bicep curls 45 per arm?! Because DAMN!
Keep killin' it out there, Gals. You're all my heroes.
xoxo
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not a good workout. i went to bed out of sorts and woke up that way too. back and shoulder all not-sorted out for whatever reason but i went and did it anyway because stubborn and retrain muscles while soft and yadayada. i did stretch parts of me i haven't stretched in a long time on my office floor before leaving work, but i've been neglecting trigger points and it showed.
workout a:
squats. 2x5@45, 5x5@75. not good. really should have stayed at 65 for the squats because i could not get my shoulders symmetrical, but i was just so disappointed to deload by so much so damned soon, and really i don't think less weight would have made that part of it any better. so i went ahead and did it. spent rest time just kind of jamming myself in in relation to the bar in various ways and then holding/stretching, trying to loosen stuff up. if this sets me back then it's all my own fault. on the plus side, my lockout is really kicking it now because all this other stuff being in question is making me remember not to be lazy with that. i don't think 75 was especially hard for my legs, but everything south of my waist is a bear.
pulldowns/shoulder mobility: 20lbs and then 40lbs. set of 5 at each width.
rows: soemthing-something-at-some-weight to warm up, and then i went to 60 for my 5x5. up 10lbs but that's what you get when the barbells are fixed. i actually did two or three sets at this weight without setting the bar down every rep, so i'm counting that as warmup as well because i got low for real and did do my real rows after that. mirabile dictu, it's getting so rows are my workout high spots. i'm back to trying to do them real-pendlay style and with a properly tight back, and it's getting so i look forward to them just as tension relief for the way they seem to hit exactly the muscles i'm having so much trouble making any kind of impression on in other ways. multifidia muscles in particular are giving me hives. downsides were: a) level back with a 60lb fixed barbell was crazily low. i had to fold over on my own thighs like a cheap card table. and b) that puts me so low i'm below wehre the mirrors begin at this particular gym, so who knows what my form was. it felt good though, so pfeh.
bench: i had to wait so long for bench that when i got to it i kind of didn't because the centre was already closed. i think i did 4x5@45, and had no intentions of trying to get any higher today, under the circs. just did them to make sure i didn't not-do them because it's all about the balance right now.
crappy day, really, and i may pay for it later on. but on the good side: my bike sprinting and general ability to handle those effing ice-tires is really coming along. and i'm basically using every bike ride more as a 30-minute opportunity to stretch my spine straight, than for whatever my legs are doing.
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Played around with my squats and eventually settled on 79lb as my 5x5 working sets. I'm trying a much more narrow, parallel foot position and getting much lower than I was. I can really feel it working different muscles.
Bench 5x5 @ 60.5lb and put a note that I need to move up next time. Bit nervous and excited about that.
Rows 5x5 @ 61.5lb felt fine, so again, time to move up.
30 Russian twists holding 11lb.0 -
Workout B yesterday went well enough. I think I'm getting to the point where I need to stop eating at a deficit, but I'm in no way happy with my BF% at the moment. I'm able to get through my workouts, but I feel like I'm almost to the point of failure on some of my weights. I could bump my cals up a bit and do a slightly smaller deficit/recomp, but I know I'll be disappointed that the scale will stop moving. Decisions, decisions.
Squats: 5x5 at 150 pounds
OHP: 5x5 at 90 pounds
DL: 1x5 at 185 pounds (thinking about increasing by only 5 pounds next time instead of 10).
A little accessory work following: lunges and light ATG squats.
(Mainly doing this stuff because I'm a little bored with SL and wanting to change it up a bit. I just started adding extra stuff in this week, so I'll see how it goes (beneficial or hurts my progress), but so far I'm definitely feeling the extra work in my muscles. I hardly ever get sore anymore, so this is a nice change of pace.)
ETA: sorry this post seems kind of rambly. I was just typing my thoughts as they came to me and cataloging the internal monologue I've been having all morning with myself.0 -
One of those days I should've just gone back to sleep (I'm starting to know about those but still ignore it. Maybe I'll learn. Also, I probably wouldn't ever get to the gym if I listened to that little voice in my head all the time xD). Yesterday's crappy warm-up has bled over and I realized that my right groin/inner quad are still painful doing bulgarian split squats. I went too heavy on everything during my first set of intervals, too. Probably should've regressed. I still kept going and gave it my best effort.
3 rounds of 50/10
- KB ground 2 overhead @ 20kg 13 / 10 / 11
- Spidermand puish-ups -> push-ups only 4/9 - 2/10 - 14
- Bulgarian split squats (R then L) @15lbs x8 / BWx12 / BWx15
- suspended plank x 35/10 - 43 - 35 seconds (I wasn't far enough in the straps on that last set and my ankles gave in)
Then 6 rounds of 20/10 each
- bottom half burpees (30 total)
- sit-outs (57 total)
Decided to finish this off with bench and realized that it tends to hurt my lower back. Maybe it's the way I set up? Maybe it just aggravates it. Iunno. Not a fan. It makes me sad because I enjoy the bench press!
115x1
120x1
125x1
125x1
125x2
and of course my hollow hang which went over 50s today. At least I'm getting somewhere. Glad tomorrow is a rest day tho!
Good job all of you for the progress! And to all the OHP-stuck ladies: I think it was Jaosn Balah that suggested, when you have deloaded a few times on a lift and are stuck, to actually just go for the higher weight. Even if you only get 2-3 reps. Might be worth a try!0 -
Good morning ladies!
yesterday was Workout B
Squats 5x5 @ bodyweight. My form is so much better since ditching the bar and my legs are so much stronger in the right places. I did get under the bar for 1x2 @ 45lb and they felt really good, still waiting till Feb to get under the bar for all sets though. Just a personal preference.
Pull ups 4x5 @ 94 lbs assisted weight. I wanted 5 sets but my arms were on fire from the burpees and I was afraid if I pushed too far I wouldn't make my OHP sets. So I settled for 4
OHP 5x5 @ 45 lbs. Jeez these are so hard, but I waited the suggest 3 mins and made all the sets, so that's good
Deadlift 1x5 @ 65 lbs. I knew I needed to deload on these and work on form and 65 felt too light. That's okay because I got to figure out my form and I think I know have got it just right
100 burpees. I'm in 100 burpee a day challenge all year long and I'm trying to time myself each week. Yesterday was my 2 week mark and so I got out the stop watch and was aiming to do them in 15 mins. About halfway through I thought this was never gonna happen, at 60 I decided that I was going to make it no matter what. At 70 my arms were dying and I turned into a numb machine lol. I was going to make it no matter what. Boom! New Burpee PR, all 100 in 14:23!!
Felt like a BEAST and then ate pizza and painted my toes as reward for my victories 0 -
Workout B this morning. I am really starting to look forward to dead lifts
Squats - 2x5 at 45 lbs, 5x5 at 70 lbs.
These were fine. I noticed my grip is improving. I do thumbless, and I was able to keep my wrists straight today. After my 3rd set, a woman asked if she could give me advice. I said for sure. She told me I was holding the bar too low on my back and it should be up on my shoulders, and I was leaning too far forward and it will strain my back, and I need to be almost upright, looking straight ahead. So basically she was telling me I should be doing high bar when I was doing low bar. So in my mind I am thinking "low bar activates more of the posterior chain, you need to lean forward more to keep the weight over your mid foot in low bar, etc, etc," but in my awkward reality I mumbled something about low bar vs high bar squats, and she pursed her lips and shook her head at me like "stupid newbie doesn't know what she is talking about" and said "just try it and see". So I did my last 2 sets high bar so she wouldn't talk to me again :P It would have been fine advice if 1) I wasn't trying to do low bar, and 2) she wasn't so damn condescending to me.
OHP - 5x5 at 45 lbs
Did it! I rested more between sets and got them all. I am staying at this weight again though as I feel I arched my back a bit on the 5th rep of the 4th set, and the 4th and 5th of the 5th set. I don't want to move up until I am sure my form is good at this weight, plus, I don't have fractional plates yet, so I know 50lbs will be too much right now.
Deadlift - 1x5 at 105 lbs
Felt good. I need to fix my grip. I found it pinched my skin a bit, so I am holding the bar too close to the heel of my hand. I was a gymnast in high school, I know what blisters and ripped hands feel like, and I don't want to experience that again :P
Anyways, my gym has a deal on right now for 2 sessions with a personal trainer, so I am going to meet with someone next week to set that up for form checks and advice and stuff.0 -
So I wrote out a whole post then I had an experience of Idle Hands (underrated movie, by the way) and closed this tab. So here goes again.
Many of us struggle with OHP. It's helped me to increase the number of sets and decrease the number of reps per set. It's not a strict 5x5 but you can tweak it so you're putting up the same number of reps overall and, hopefull, bust through some plateaus.
@Sumiblue do you deadlift five working sets of five? If so, that's an awful lot. The program recommends one set because the lift is exhausting. Also, if you have your own cage, is it still a faux pas to curl in the squat rack ?
@crabada I dig the new profile pic I get nervous when the weight gets high as well on those lifts. It helps me to play mind games with myself and concentrate on my warm ups.
@canadianlbs I'm sorry you had a bad workout. De-loading can be a confidence killer, even if you rationally understand why it's necessary. Your next one will be better!
@krokador your bench is amazing. I'm in awe.
@mirrim52 it's best to let the bar hang more in the fingers than the palm. Also consider a mixed grip once the weight gets up there and your grip is inhibiting your ability to lift. I do a mixed for my working sets then I'll try a double overhand after just to see if I can do it. I've seen improvement.
@mrmrsvoelkel I can't believe you did nearly 15 minutes of burpees. That's amazing and crazy! Would you like some ibuprofen?
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@MissHolidayGolightly, oops, that was a typo. It should have said 5@135. That was plenty! Yup, now that I work out at home I can indulge in every gym faux pas0
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MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »then I had an experience of Idle Hands (underrated movie, by the way)
Devon Sawa
(*)
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@MissHolidayGolightly That is a great idea for breaking the OHP plateau! I'm going to give this a try for sure. And naw I'm good on the Ibuprofen, I feel pretty good But thank you 0
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DaivaSimone wrote: »MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »then I had an experience of Idle Hands (underrated movie, by the way)
Devon Sawa (*)
My girlfriends and I watched that movie 1000 times in college lol
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Today was a little odd because I took half the day off so I was lifting in the afternoon instead of later in the evening. Between issues with wedding cake (baker called us and said she wasn't going to do it randomly) and misplacing my engagement ring, I wasn't getting a whole lot done anyway. Stopped off at another bakery on my way home, got cake all ordered there, found my ring within 30 seconds of being home and then off to the races.
Squat 160 lbs 5x5 I checked for depth again because I will always be paranoid about that now. Still going good, I should be back up to my old weights in no time.
Bench 95 lbs 3/3/3/3/2 Yeah that was some different kinds of awful lol
Row 90 lbs 5x5 these felt great and I finally get to move on to using the 25 lbs plates.
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Workout B (Thurs) - still working my way back up, but also working on that left side.
Dumbbell Skis - 5 x 10 - 40
Overhead Press, Barbell - 5 x 5 - 60
squats 5 x 7 - 125
Deadlifts 2 x 5 - 125
Dumbbell Curls (left side omly) 5 x 10 - 20
Overhand Curls - seated 5 x 5 - 70
Reverse Curls 5 x 5 - 70
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I'm on workout #7 total...so don't laugh!
Squat - 75lbs, 5x5. My form isn't good. I can feel it. I know I could progress up from here, but I feel like I need to figure out my form issue. I get a pull in one abductor, weird hip pops (that was new tonight), my knees occasionally want to dive in. Not all at once...but they don't feel right yet.
OHP - 45lbs, 5x5. These can suck it! Last week I couldn't finish all 5 with the bar. Tonight I did. But they're hard and yeah, my back starts to arch.
Deadlift - 80lbs 5x1. Okay challenge. IDK. It's only one set. *shrug*
And tonight I was in company of a major grunter, weight dropper/banger. why?!0 -
We'd never laugh and have all been there.
I'll report back after workout session. Was going to go earlier but coworker cancelled as she had something come up. Well, she said maybe later then hasn't texted so we'll call it a cancel and I'll go work out at my gym on my own.0 -
@AbsoluteTara -- You won't find anyone laughing here. You're doing great! I had major abductor issues for a long time with squats -- it took two weeks of no working out at all before it stopped yelling at me every time I got under the bar. Look at your stance, particularly the how far apart your feet are. For me, the wider my stance, the more my abductor gets involved. Narrowing my stance to just outside shoulder width has helped me a lot.
And yes, the bangers are anoooooying. If it gets really bad, I usually say something.
Rest day for me, so I took Huck for a long walk (~75 min) and did a quick plank (ughh!).0
