Daily Check-in : It's the Fitness Fever-ary
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Having a *kitten* day today, but forced myself to not wallow in bed and made it to the gym for the first time since last Wednesday. Glad I went, but still feeling sad. I think it's just going to take some time.
Workout A
Squats - 5x5 @ 140 lbs.
- This was my weight for last week too, but since I missed a day, I'm going to go ahead and stay here this week.
- These actually weren't too bad, but my right hip / gluteus minimus has been bothering me since yoga last Sunday (a week ago yesterday), so I was definitely aware of that twinge the whole time.
Bench Press - 5x5 @ 82.5 lbs.
- Struggled on the final reps of just about every set, but got these done! Widened my grip in the last set, just a little bit, and definitely felt a difference. Had to pause after the 4th rep and go back to slightly narrower. (We're talking a finger's width here -- amazing what that small difference can make!)
Rows - 5x5 @ 85 lbs.
- Form feels pretty good and I get the bar to just below the chest until I hit the 4th or 5th reps, and I end up hitting my belly instead. Need to work on these more.
Accessories
Good Mornings -- 3 (or 4?)x10 @ 45 lbs.
- Watched a quick video beforehand to see what's what, and then just tried them. Felt pretty good, even though I was self-conscious about sticking my *kitten* out to the gym the whole time. Will do more research on form and will keep these in the regular rotation. Not concerned about upping weight on these any time soon.
Bicep Curls -- 2x10, 1x8 @ 15 lbs. dumbbells
- I was reading in the "Progressive Overload" article Tara posted that Bret C. keeps his clients at the same weight until they can do 2x20, then moves them up. I kind of like this idea, but I also like doing three sets. Should I just aim for 3x20? I feel like that will take forever!
Seated Dips (Machine) - 3x10 @ 100 lbs.
- Just realized I should have done these at 105 lbs. Oops.
Stretches
- I can already see a difference in my range of motion in some of these stretches, which is nice.
All in all, about two hours at the gym. I just finished eating all the chicken, am going to have some ice cream and watch some TV and then take a nice, long, hot, much-needed shower.
xo,
C.0 -
I was excited to hit the gym today with my new Inov-8 fast lifts. I was totally skeptical that special shoes were even necessary...but I can see how much more stable they feel.
Squats- warmed up with the bar x 10, 55lbs x 8 , 65 lbs x 8. And then worked at 75lbs 5x5. This is quite a bit of a deload from 95 of last week, but I think I'm trying to add weight too soon and stuff hurts (and not in a good, "I'm working hard" way).
OHP - Stayed with the bar 3 sets of 8, and 2 sets of 5. I tried to also reduce rest time just to make it a little harder.
Deadlift - 95lbs 1x5. I really need to watch some form stuff. There is just SOOO much to learn.
Lat Pulldowns - 3 sets of 8 at 55lbs. Wasn't sure where to start, this was pretty easy.
Back Extensions - 2 bodyweight sets of 15.
Total weight lifted = 10,795 lbs. << Thank you new app for this.0 -
(And by "some" ice cream, I actually meant the whole damn pint. Oof.)0
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mmm ice cream... Too bad it makes me sick cause of my dairy allergy (and all substitutes are not as good as real ice cream).
Long day. Between coughing at work, not quite enough calories and upset stomach, today was a struggle. But made it to the gym after work anyways. Must have been deadlift day because there were people doing them in 3 different spots in the gym. The main spot was free when I finished warming up though, so nabbed it. This 15 reps per set is definitely taking me a little time to adjust. The warm up felt fine but I'm used to doing a set of 5 reps and that is it. My hands ached on the little callus spots by middle of the first set and I'll admit I had to pause to adjust and I took a long break in between the two sets. Next time I'll do a little lighter weight.
Day 2, B1
Deadlift 2x15 @ 145 - okay but rough with the 15 reps, my hands ache and I had to do the mixed grip part way through, which I didn't have to do in SL until over 150.
DB Shoulder Press 2x5 @ 12.5 - went light and i need to look up a video to make sure do them right.
Lat Pulldown 2x15 @ 50 - this one wasn't bad.
Lunge - 2x15 @ 20 - Not bad but felt heavy at the end.
Swiss Ball Crunch - Did them but not a fan. I don't like the ball or crunches.
For fun:
DB bench 3x8 @ 22.5
Straight Bar Curl 3x8 @ 20
Bench 3x8 @ 65
I looked at the ez bar or whatever those weird curl bars are called and had no idea how to even hold it. I actually will have to look up how to curl cause I'm curious. Now to get ready for bed and hopefully eat enough food tomorrow.0 -
AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »I was excited to hit the gym today with my new Inov-8 fast lifts. I was totally skeptical that special shoes were even necessary...but I can see how much more stable they feel.
[...]
Total weight lifted = 10,795 lbs. << Thank you new app for this.
Had the same feel when I first bought my Nike free's (transitioned from my running shoes, ha!) and just a few weeks ago here with my crossfit Nanos. The right shoes certainly make a world of difference. Innov-8 are minimalist shoes, right? I considered looking into those or vibrams or skeletoes for a while.
Also, what is that new app you speak of? I know fitocracy gives me a weekly total, but I can't recall being able to see a total for specific workouts! haha
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AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »I was excited to hit the gym today with my new Inov-8 fast lifts. I was totally skeptical that special shoes were even necessary...but I can see how much more stable they feel.
[...]
Total weight lifted = 10,795 lbs. << Thank you new app for this.
Had the same feel when I first bought my Nike free's (transitioned from my running shoes, ha!) and just a few weeks ago here with my crossfit Nanos. The right shoes certainly make a world of difference. Innov-8 are minimalist shoes, right? I considered looking into those or vibrams or skeletoes for a while.
Also, what is that new app you speak of? I know fitocracy gives me a weekly total, but I can't recall being able to see a total for specific workouts! haha
@krokador I can't speak for AbsoluteTara, but I use the bodybuilding.com BodySpace app. It gives you a per workout total and a lifetime total. For example, yesterday I lifted 18,620 pounds, which brought my lifetime weight to 506,000 pounds.0 -
I'm back to the gym after taking a full week off to make sure an ankle injury fully healed. The injury recovery was really more related to my running, but I had been thinking about taking a week off for some time to give my body a break. I am glad to be back at it!
Workout B today, deloaded due to the break I took.
Squats: 5x5@90 lbs. These were a little tough, but felt pretty good.
OHP: 5x5@45 lbs. These were easy and I probably could have done 50 lbs, but decided to stay at 45 to ease back into things.
Deadlift: 2x5@115 lbs. These felt almost as tough as 135 lbs felt last time I did this workout, so I'm glad these were deloaded.
Accessories:
Calf raises (BW), Lunges (BW), Good mornings (45 lbs)
Cardio:
45 minutes on the treadmill0 -
AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »I was excited to hit the gym today with my new Inov-8 fast lifts. I was totally skeptical that special shoes were even necessary...but I can see how much more stable they feel.
[...]
Total weight lifted = 10,795 lbs. << Thank you new app for this.
Had the same feel when I first bought my Nike free's (transitioned from my running shoes, ha!) and just a few weeks ago here with my crossfit Nanos. The right shoes certainly make a world of difference. Innov-8 are minimalist shoes, right? I considered looking into those or vibrams or skeletoes for a while.
Also, what is that new app you speak of? I know fitocracy gives me a weekly total, but I can't recall being able to see a total for specific workouts! haha
Inov-8's have a line of minimalist, crossfit, and squat shoes. I got the squat shoes that are totally flat/hard-soled with a bit of a lift.
http://www.zappos.com/inov-8-fastlift-335-pink-purple-blue
The app I'm using is called "Strong" - it was probably the 3rd or 4th app I test drove. I'm pretty happy with it!0 -
Sprint day! 30 Seconds sprints 60 seconds walking total distance of 3.42. That's 0.11KM more than last week. So I am happy with that. It did however totally gas me. It took me almost 10 minutes to walk back to the office and I dawdled hardcore getting showered and changed. I don't wanna work this afternoon!0
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Thank you all for the kind words. Made it to the doc yesterday and he prescribed some meds + massage (yeah!). He also said not to stay down for too long, get in lots of walking to keep things moving. I will be taking his advise tonight and walking while my 5yo is at dance. The weather here is amazing today, cold BUT sunny. Cant wait to get out there and enjoy it.
Will still be "checking in" to see how everyone else is doing. This group is AMAZING!!!0 -
Feeling a little better today but still have a pretty major case of the sads. Took a 30 minute walk with my pup this afternoon and ma giving myself permission to veg out the rest of the night. Early bedtime too. Must be productive tomorrow!0
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It was one of THOSE days. You know those days. The ones where nothing seems to go right? Yeah, it was like that today. I had a lazy morning, so when I finally got up to exercise, I was running late. I decided to skip my usual stretches because I thought, "I'm lifting less than 20lbs, it won't make a difference." BIG MISTAKE. I was have trouble getting down into my squats, my groin muscles in particular seemed to reach a certain point and say, Nope! I did 14.5lbs on the squats, but I'm not sure I got deep enough on them. And I tried using my home built squat rack for the first time today. It was awful. The base wasn't steady enough, the uprights were falling over, I would have been better off without it.
Then it was bench time. Also awful. My squat rack was too high to use for the bench, and the supports are not adjustable. Then my bench was in the wrong place and I kept hitting my bar on the table next to me. I'm only doing 17lbs, but I had the worst time trying to stabilize the bar today. When I got it up, it was almost always off center to one side or the other, or it wobbled in the worst way on the way up. My elbow is also hurting me, so I must be doing something wrong. The weight didn't feel heavy to me, I don't feel any more tired after my fifth set than after my first.
I'm struggling with rows too. The back of my thighs are really tight, and even though I have the bar elevated about 6-9 inches, I have to keep my knees bent to reach it. And I can't seem to find a happy place for the bar to land on my chest when I pull it up, I always have to adjust it to get it into the right spot.
And then I hopped on my bike and took off. At the bottom of my first hill is a three way stop, and there were cars at all stops. I don't do corners well, so instead of turning I kept going, and ended up having to pull over into someone's driveway so I could turn around. In the meanwhile, I've lost all my momentum to go up the next hill, so I barely made it up. There was only one good thing about today. My hills are actually a 1 mile loop that I repeat 3x times, so when I came back to that same spot, I usually slow down a lot since I don't turn well, but I read advice somewhere to put your outside foot down and press on it while you lean into the turn, so I did and I didn't have to break at all, even though I was going 15-16mph on a 90 degree turn.0 -
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Autumnfilly2005 wrote: »I'm struggling with rows too. The back of my thighs are really tight, and even though I have the bar elevated about 6-9 inches, I have to keep my knees bent to reach it. And I can't seem to find a happy place for the bar to land on my chest when I pull it up, I always have to adjust it to get it into the right spot.
Sorry you had a crappy day
Just to clarify though, your knees should be bent when you row. You keep them bent and your back flat through the whole exercise.
I didn't really want to go to the gym today, I was feeling totally unmotivated, but I went anyhow. Glad I did, it turned out ok.
Squats - 5x5 at 125 lbs after a bunch of warm ups. I am still at 125 while I work out my form issues. I am getting much better though! I am definitely hitting parallel most of the time, and I can feel different muscles working. Definitely hitting that posterior chain. I am going to go one more session at 125 before moving up.
Bench 5,5,5,6,5 at 70 lbs. Getting much easier. My first two sets were meh, but by the third I was really working hard to remember my form. It is amazing how much easier it is when you remember to keep shoulders down and tight, core tight, feet planted, etc. I even threw and extra rep in on the 4th set just because, and then I did 3 reps at 75 lbs, just to see how it felt. I will be moving up next time, but I haven't decided if I want to go 72.5 or 75. Leaning towards 72.5.
Rows - 5x5ish at 80 lbs. First time at this weight. 2 sets felt right, the other 3 were crappy. I say 5x5ish because I know my form was bad. When I got them right, they felt good, but so awkward when I didn't. I will be at this weight for a while. I really wish my gym had bumper plates. I think the thing I hate the most about these are stacking the plates to raise the bar up. I slammed my fingers between two 35 lb plates when I was putting my stack away, which didn't help
Then I finished off with 3x5 assisted pull ups with 55 lb assist. I really want to work up to a pull up, so I was just playing around today. I will look in to what is the best way to work on these.
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@Mirrim -- Great job. Isn't it lovely when the "I don't wannas" end up in a great workout? And I know just what you mean with the rows -- they so rarely feel just right. I've kind of given up worrying about it a whole lot and just pay a lot more attention to keeping my back parallel to the ground and not bouncing. I figure the rest will just do what it's supposed to do (or not. Who knows?)
@AutFilly -- What Mirrim said. Your knees most definitely should be bent if you're doing Pendlay rows. Have you watched the form videos on the 5x5 website?
@Tara -- Thank you! Means a lot. xo
@KROK -- Holy Good Mornings! These babies have me feeling the whole posterior half of my body! Thanks for the recommendation and the explanation (given ages ago, but still). I guess I can't say "I'm never sore from lifting" anymore!0 -
guess I can't say "I'm never sore from lifting" anymore!
i had that one time i put something really light on the bar, like 60 or 80 pounds, and then i just stood there and strung deadlifts together for half an hour or something.
i keep meaning to do that again. it was (seriously) fun, but ho.ly.cow. the posterior chain.
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guess who went to the gym. really late, so not enough time to do everything, but
squats: 2x5@45, 2x5@55, 5x5@65 (probably). i kind of lost track of the sets a little. sad thing is how low my training-wheels weight is while i'm scared of my back, and tbh even my legs weren't all that perky about 65. BUT! but my shoulders came up and they felt better and more even than they have for a really long time. back kink is still back after squats, but i swear i do seem to have figured out a couple of ways of unkinking it, at least for a while. so instead of just waiting forever and doing nothing while it 'improves', i'm willing to do this paddling-pool squatting and concentrate instead on try to teach it to improve itself.
ohp:
<3 (*) (*) (*) fanfares please (*) (*) (*) <3 okay, well maybe not as exciting as that, but this is still a big deal. i did 5x6@45 pounds, shoulder and weird back and all. and i actually think, touching wood, that the various form things are starting to sink themselves into my mind a little. because the last time i did ohp, 30 felt like a bit of a fight. but this time, i'm not saying the 6th reps in the last two sets were easy, BUT there were plenty of reps where i kid not, the bar went up like it was nothing at all. i'll be taking the rset of my feedback on it to the starting strength bookclub thread, but i'm feeling so pleased about this wanted to post here as well.
deadlifts: didn't do 'm. out of time and also back kink and not taking chances today. i figured i'd take the ohp win and just run with that for this one. i'm very happy.0 -
Sorry to hear some are struggling lately! @symba hope you heal up fast!!
Tonight's workout was great!
Squat 5x5 @ 150lbs.
Bench 5x5 @ 85 lbs.
row 5x5 @ 90lbs.
Then some Bulgarian split squats with 20lb Dumbbells, some lat pulls downs At 90lbs and front squat push press things with a 50lb barbell
Tired and hungry and sweaty and shakey now
Night night xx0 -
Warmup
5 minute bike
1 minute arm swings
2 minute kettlebell swings
1 minute jumping jacks
Goblet Squat 2 5 40
Squat 5 5 102.5
Bench Press, Barbell 5 6 60
Barbell Row, Bent-over 5 5 70
Convict Conditioning Pullups Step 3: Jackknife Pullups 3 15
Very busy day today...carry on :-)0 -
LEG DAY, Take 2
Front squats
115x5
125x5
135x3
145x2 (My PR being 150, this is HUGE! The secon rep was TOUGH!)
Assisted pull-ups 4x submax (don't have teh reps nearby, don,t remember)
3x 5min AMRAP circuits that included push-ups, barbell rows, trx rows, bear crawls, walking lunges and KB swings. I overall got more reps on almost everything. Progress
And the FINISHER (yes, I'm using a lot of caps today). 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 for time:
- lateral hop burpee
- sitouts (per side)
- squat jumps
Last week I'd managed to get through the round of 6 sitouts before the time cap. Today I was 3 reps into the 4 burpees. And then I finished it. 7:17 total. Holy smokes. I feel great! Wobbly, but great! I'll have all the workout details in the blog later if that's something you're interested in.
Who says you can't gain strength on a cut? ^^
@crabada Glag you're liking them. They're going to conitnue being a staple in my warm-ups for sure. That movement pattern helps me stay tight at the bottom of the squats afterwards
@Autumnfilly2005 Sorry you had such an off day. One tip I can give you on the bench press is: usually when the bar is hard to stabilize, it's cuz you're upper body is not stable on the bench. Think about keeping your upper back tight, dig your shoulder blades into the bench and pull your shoulders down. No need to arch your back pwoerlifting style, but you should still have a space between your lower back and the bench, and your glutes should be on the bench but tight. That setup typically eliminate most of the stabilization issues
@ everyone else: You're all kicking *kitten*! Wish I had time to reply to all of yous!
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