Daily check-in: Something catchy that rhymes with January!
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Oh man, today was a density day. those are kind of the worst because you don't rest. You just keep going and do as many rounds as possible and I feel like a creaky old woman today. My lower back is super stiff thanks to the walmart trip (waiting in line at the cash register for almost 30 minutes did not do me any favors) and the hour of dishes. I didn't even beat my last scores on this one that were like 2 months back
8 min AMRAP
- burpee x3
- pull-ups x 5 (assisted, obv)
- DB thrusters @25lbs
I managed 5 rounds and 1 thruster (opposed to 6 rounds and 3 burpees). However I did note that I used less assistance on my pull-ups for the first 3 sets, and I AM 6-7 lbs heavier than when I did these, so maybe that's where the 4 thrusters and 3 burpees disappeared
Another 8 min AMRAP
- KB Sumo deadlift high pull @ 24kg (51 lbs?) x 4, 6, 8 ... 16
- HR push-ups x 2, 4, 6, ... 12, 5
From a 16/14 + 11 dl. But I did use a 4kg heavier KB here, so that's 8.5lbs more.
4x40yd sprints with 60s rest in-between which I managed to keep below 14.5 seconds (10yd shuttles) even though the xfit area was pretty crowded so I had to circle people and equipment a bit lol.
finished off with OHP
65x5
70x3x5
70x4 + 3 push press + 3 push jerks -> I wanted to milk this set for all it was worth.
I can safely say there WILL be a foam rolling and stretching session later today. I also wanna go ice skating but I'm not sure. I only had like 5 hours of sleep so maybe I'll just nap this afternoon xD0 -
DawnEmbers wrote: »DawnEmbers wrote: »Deadlift - 4x5, 5x5 @ 145 - Decided to go down and do 145 after my miscalculation last time and oops. I almost fell back on that first set somehow. Ended up unsteady on my heels while holding up the weight longer than usual to get together. So, I put it down and moved the bar back to a good spot again, took a breather and did a do-over.
I'm *pretty* sure you're only supposed to do 1 set of 5 on the deadlifts. Or was that just ICF? You must get really hungry on the days you do these O_o
I usually only do one but I messed up and almost fell backwards. So, I repositioned it and tried again. Wasn't going to let 145 lbs defeat me when I'd already lifted 155 before. Though I've done 2 sets before cause all that effort of getting set up seems like a lot for 1 set. And mine is nothing compared to all the stuff you do.
Oh, the way you wrote it I thought you'd done 4 sets of 5 at 145 and then 5 more at 150!
I think Ima do a video of how I setup for deadlifts for you guys. It really isn't that much of a struggle IMO! Lol
D'oh. Yeah, that does look like it. My bad. I meant 1x4 and 1x5 both at 145. Silly me. Just been tired lately. This is what happens when the closer has morning shifts. lol
I struggle with the 45's for some reason, getting them on and off the bar.0 -
@DawnEmbers I still hate trying to move the 45 plates around. To the point where I won't use them on squats and I will leave my barbell for deadlifts loaded on the floor for a couple hours before cleaning them up (I workout at home so the only gym etiquette that I worry about is... well none
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Workout A
Squat 180 lbs 5x5
Bench 5/5/5/4/5 90 lbs chickened out on the last rep of the 4th set. I really didn't want to wake my daughter up by dropping a bunch of weight on the floor.
Row 5/5/5/4/5 85 lbs again the form was pretty sloppy for the last reps of most of the sets, I foresee a deload on these pretty soon.
I can't seem to get my eating in check. I do well during the day and then I turn into a monster. I have tried eating more in the day so I am not so hungry, doesn't work. I try eating less in the day so that I have spare calories and that just makes my evening binge worse. Le sigh, I think I might give up on the deficit for a while just so I can get myself back in control.
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I can handle the 45's if it's the squat rack or power cage, which is probably weird. In fact, it was pretty fun to do squat at 135 and use the 45's. It's just when the bar is on the ground that I can't maneuver them on and off. Such a struggle and the one time I had to get 4 of them off just to get the bar to where there were only 2 on it.
Workout A - done but kinda meh
Been off lately at work and such, something just is a bit unsettled so things happen like forgetting alphabet (photo orders are put in boxes based on last name) and just other things. I did all the lifts with a slight de-load on them all but it just wasn't strong even with the lighter ones. Even squats but I tried working a little more on depth, hence the lighter weight.
Squat - 5x5 @ 115 to try and get a bit lower but still was tough and slow
Bench - 5x5 @ 75 cause struggling to progress and it felt heavy this time
Row - 5x5 @ 75 I think... I may have done 6 sets. I played around with grip and stance, trying to get this figured out so did a slightly lighter weight than before
Extra:
DB Bench - 3x8 @ 25 Slow but felt okay. Though think the guy on a different bench had planned to use the 25's but I grabbed them for my set. Oh well.
DB Row - 3x8 @ 22.5 since gym has different increment dumbbells and thought I'd try and get the row feeling right but even with DB just, I dunno. Maybe research time on day off when I get one of those (got to work 9 days in a row but have day off Tuesday)
Back bugged me a bit but it was annoying me before work from sitting at the computer and not having heating pad at desk but I got one that works now. mmm heat...
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Hey everyone, great starts to 2015! I haven't been in the group in awhile, but I was doing modified SL for 3x5 for awhile then December was "do whatever I wanted" month while I figured out what I liked doing the most. I've been lifting since August 2013 so I've decided to switch to a Push/pull/legs split this month. I was getting bored with the same SL routines. Also need to drop some weight...
Tested my 1RM yesterday for the first time and got Squat-155lbs, bench-90lbs, and deadlift 175. I've been sick this week and that definitely didn't help, but I've also never failed reps before so it was a good learning experience. I'm going to try and be more active in this group again, I like sharing lifting tips and tricks with everyone!0 -
Llamapants86 wrote: »I can't seem to get my eating in check. I do well during the day and then I turn into a monster. I have tried eating more in the day so I am not so hungry, doesn't work. I try eating less in the day so that I have spare calories and that just makes my evening binge worse. Le sigh, I think I might give up on the deficit for a while just so I can get myself back in control.
Have you tried intermittent fasting? Not that it's a catch-all, but limiting the amount of time I have to eat has been helping me with my PM eat everything in the house problem. I don't eat anything before 10am and stop at 7pm with the exception of a casein protein shake at 8pm (since I usually go to bed around 9).0 -
Fasted lifting this morning
Squat 5x5 @ 160lbs
OHP 5,5,5,4,3 @ 66lbs
Deadlift 1x5 @ 200lbs - finally got all 5 and feeling badass!!
I've been playing around with my deficit, I want to get leaner but not lose out on making gains with my lifts. Feeling quite lean, but want to get rid of some of this wobble - I know that after losing 120lbs it's inevitable that I'll have some left, but I'm gonna try as hard as I can!
Off to buy a new car today!! It's so hot, I'm going to just drive around town all day checking myself out in shop windows lol
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Still increasing...one day at a time.
Workout A (Sun)
Bench press - 5 x 5 - 70
Barbell Row, Bent Over - 5 x 5 - 70
Curls - underhand - 5 x 5 - 55
Squats 5 x 1 - 85
Squats 5 x 5 - 95
Reverse curls - 5 x 5 - 550 -
First workout B today. They gym was super busy and 2 guys who were together were using 2 of the 3 power cages for the whole 45 minutes I was there, and were still going when I left. I couldn't get in to do squats, so I ended up using a hack squat machine with 50 lbs on it. (I had to google to figure out what it was called :P) Not ideal, but I still have pretty back DOMS in my quads, so I don't know how well I would have done with any squats today. I will do them with 50 lbs again in the rack on Tuesday.
Machine hack squats - 5x5 at 50 lbs
OHP - 5x5 at 40 lbs. Used a preloaded bar for this. It was hard to complete and I leaned back too far on the 4th rep of the last set. Now I know what that feels like :P
Dead Lift - 5x5 at 65 lbs. This was much easier than I was expecting.0 -
I went and got a 30 minute back massage and a 30 minute facial/scalp/neck massage this morning. It was soooooo relaxing! I took a nap when I got home from it lol.
Squat Night! I keep calling them "squaks" when I'm talking to myself haha, I'm having one of those loopy nights. I feel slap happy!
3@150, 3@160, 9@170lbs
Sumo DL - 3x10 @ 135lbs
Straight Leg DL - 3x10 @ 100lbs
Planks 3x45 seconds
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Completed Workout A yesterday, but kinda had to adjust it due to lack of equipment.
Squats - 1x5 @85lbs, 1x5 @ 95lbs, 5x5 @ 115lbs
There was a class instructor getting a personal training session in the squat rack next to me, I could tell she was eyeing my squats. She came over 2x to give me advise. The first one was to put my butt out more so my knees would not go over my toes (which they only do slightly). The problem I have with this is the more I stick my butt out the harder it is on my lower back. The other thing she advised was to use the smith machine if I wanted to go up in weight. I kinda thought the smith machine was frowned upon, but may give it a shot to see what it feels like
Rows - 5x5 @ 75lbs
DL - 1x10 @ 75lbs, 2x10 @ 95lbs
Bench was busy so I did chest press and the next day it hurt!!! 3x8 @ 55lbs. If I had done BP I should have done 70lbs so it was weird to be sore. I think I used some different muscles using the machine over free weights.
Also added in 3x8 seated row @ 70lbs and plank/crunches before the gym daycare found me. Baby was super crabby and teething :-(
Back at it again Tuesday!!0 -
the more I stick my butt out the harder it is on my lower back.
i think this is because the further back your butt goes, the more stretch you put on your hamstrings. so she'd be right in that sense. my own experience is: once i've stretched them as far as they'll go i'm on the edge of buttwink turf. so any further backwards from there pulls my pelvis under instead. that's not only bad for my back but it also tends to kind of spoil the whole rep for me because inevitably it takes a little bit of the stretch off my hamstrings, and then it's harder for me to get out of the hole.
for what that's worth. i've realised that i'd started to get sloppy with permitting buttwink again.0 -
@Symba -- Just like with the machine vs. free weights on your press, you'll use some different muscles on the Smith machine because it "forces" your body to move in a particular way. From what I understand, it's mostly frowned upon because 1) it can take the stabilizing muscles out of the lift, and 2) it may make your body to move in a way that's not natural for you.
I don't know if everyone at my gym just uses that machine wrong or what, but any time I see someone doing squats in it, I think to myself that they would *never* be able to squat with that form under a free standing barbell. They are either hunched way over or basically seem to be resting their back against the bar and grinding their way up. Maybe someone who started with the bar would be better in the Smith machine than someone going the other way, you know? Curious to hear what you think if you do try it.0 -
also, i always had the impression that you 'lift more weight' in the smith because the smith plus momentum are doing some of the work. it's like assisted pullups.0
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Had to deload a bit today. I am working on hip flexibility for proper form on squats and my hips and lower back are sore...
Todays workout:
Squats 5x5 @ 60 lbs (deload).
Press 5x5 @ 45 (deload)
Deadlift 1x5 @ 90 (deload)
Bicep curl 5x8 @ 30 lbs
Tricep kickback 5x8 @ 16 lbs
Tricep extension 5x8 @ 15 lbs
Third World Squat 5x8 (hip flexibility)
Chinup Walk the Plank 5x8
It is discouraging to have to deload but on the positive side I will be stronger, with better form, and able to lift even more when I break through.0 -
@symba1130 knees going over toes is not a bad thing. See below visual from Starting Strength. You can go up in weight more quickly on the Smith machine because it does a lot of work for you. I say disregard this unsolicited advice and keep doing what you're doing.
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First time lifting in 2015 yesterday. The gym was quiet but it was Sunday afternoon. I'm going to go on Tuesday after work, expecting it to be a madhouse.
Squat 120 5,5,5,4,5. I panicked on my fourth set. My form feels fine, I think I'm just struggling with the volume. Going to do 120 again next time. Maybe more reps and fewer sets or fewer reps and the same amount of sets.
Ugh, bench 80 5,4,3,3,4 (I think) they were a struggle. My husband got in my face on my last set which helped me crank out four reps when I wanted to stop at two. I want to move up from 80 because I hate using all three small plates, lol.
Row 65 5x5. Felt fine but this exercise is just awkward. Was nice using the bumper plates instead of stacking boxes under the bar. Felt more natural.
Tuesday I will Squat 120, keep OHP at 55 working towards a complete 5x5 with good form, and de-load deadlift to 165 to work on form.0 -
I don't know if everyone at my gym just uses that machine wrong or what, but any time I see someone doing squats in it, I think to myself that they would *never* be able to squat with that form under a free standing barbell. They are either hunched way over or basically seem to be resting their back against the bar and grinding their way up. Maybe someone who started with the bar would be better in the Smith machine than someone going the other way, you know? Curious to hear what you think if you do try it.
I've used it and was able to put up a lot of weight, what I could never squat on my own. Instead of balancing the bar, you end up pushing your back into the bar and leaning into it while pushing up. You don't have to lift the bar out of the holder, you don't have to stabilize the bar, you don't have to worry about keeping the movement over the middle of your foot, etc. So, the form doesn't translate to regular squats, in my opinion.
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Ok, so can someone clarify for me...if you are doing squats in a smith machine with an angled path, which way are you facing? I have seen youtube videos both ways...with the bar travelling slightly back and also travelling forward so that you are almost leaning back on the bar when you start. I thought if the cages are full again, it might be a ok option for squats in a pinch. I think my gym has one slightly angled, and it looked like the other one is completely vertical, but I haven't given them much attention yet.0
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Today has been tough particularly as I've just started a small deficit and I got next to no sleep last night.
Squats - 5x5 at 45kg
Bench Press - 5x5 at 25kg
Barbell Row - 5x5 at 32.5 kg (had to stay the same as last time)
Planks- 3x30 sec0
