Daily Check-in : It's the Fitness Fever-ary
Replies
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Squat-10@45, 5@95,5@115, 5x5@140
OHP (failed) 5@55, 3@55, 3x5@50
Deadlift-5@1550 -
MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »What's your diet like (deficit, surplus, maintenance)?
I've heard of people who eventually stall out, then they end up going to a bulk/cut cycle to be able to get pass the stall.
If you're on a deficit, there is only so much gains you can make. So you may have to change up your diet to maintenance or bulk/cut to make further gains.
You could also look into changing up the program (to something like MadCow) just for deadlifts. It's supposed to have you pulling PRs in 4 (or was it 5) weeks.
Diet is cut most days, but random others. I should check out the MadCow post.
It may be due to stress in my life too. My mother has been in the hospital for the last couple of weeks and I've been running back and forth and trying to keep my own life balls in the air. Sleep hasn't been good either.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I'm having the same problem with squats so maybe it is the deficit thing (I am on a small one most days). I guess this question is for anyone but if you do a bulk/cut cycle and up your lifting abilities on the bulk, do you generally lose them on the cut or only just a little bit?
I'm sorry about your mother and hope she gets well :-( That's really hard emotionally and mentally which absolutely affects athletic performance like anything else.
I am currently on a small deficit. I did a bulk over the spring/summer of 2014. I wasn't really lifting correctly then, so my bulk was less than stellar. (Basically, i was tired of eating to lose and kept tracking, but I wasn't super concerned with my numbers. I did put on some muscle mass, but I wasn't lifting PRs or anything.)
The main thing I experienced transitioning from my bulk to cut was that I was hungrier and seemed kind of sluggish the first week or two (a result of less food).
You don't really lose your gains because you are building muscle mass AND strength while on a bulk. You get more muscle mass which means you'll have more muscle to move the weight plus you're stronger. When you cut, you'll see a slight decrease (usually), but it's more from having fewer calories to run on than losing actual gains. One of my friends recently transitioned from a bulk to a cut. In the first or second week of her cut, she put up new PRs.0 -
Thanks @xcalygirl for sharing your experience. That makes sense that you wouldn't undo everything since you just built muscle and strength. It's cool you hit PRs while cutting, too.0
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MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »I'm having the same problem with squats so maybe it is the deficit thing (I am on a small one most days). I guess this question is for anyone but if you do a bulk/cut cycle and up your lifting abilities on the bulk, do you generally lose them on the cut or only just a little bit?
When you time your meals/macros properly, it's definitely possible to be in a cut and still make progress. It's going to be a little slower than on a clean bulk, but it's probably actually even better than if you were just eating whatever junk you feel like because you're tracking what you eat.
If the cut is too aggressive then yes you'll definitely lose some muscle mass (maybe not strength, but muscle does tend to go. Especially if you do lots of long boring endurance cardio).
Personally, I've done bits and pieces of those cycles and have had mixed results. I've had a a GREAT 2 weeks at a mild deficit last april where I felt like I was invincible, then kinda fell off the wagon so can't say what it woulda been like long term. I've done some dirty bulking over nov-dec and didn't make crazy gains. And I've done the eat 1200 cals a day type of cut (in my case that's like -1000 a day from my TDEE and -450 on my BMR) and I was crushed and struggled to make any progress whatsoever (and it seriously burned me out).
So, to anyone not trying to get ready for a show, a wedding or, well, any special bikini event where they have to lose a LOT of weight fast, I'd definitely recommend a mild deficit only.
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I need to de load on dead lifts. I have now failed at 245 three times. So, taking it down 10 and working my way back up.
I have a newbie question about this. I thought when you failed three times and deload, you were supposed to deload 10% not 10lbs? Or is that what you meant by 10? Because 10% would be 24lbs, and a 10lbs deload seems like much less of a deload. I'm not judging, I'm genuinely curious about this.
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Autumnfilly2005 wrote: »I need to de load on dead lifts. I have now failed at 245 three times. So, taking it down 10 and working my way back up.
I have a newbie question about this. I thought when you failed three times and deload, you were supposed to deload 10% not 10lbs? Or is that what you meant by 10? Because 10% would be 24lbs, and a 10lbs deload seems like much less of a deload. I'm not judging, I'm genuinely curious about this.
You are correct in that you are supposed to deload 10%. If you are using the SL app, it does the math for you.0 -
Autumnfilly2005 wrote: »I have a newbie question about this. I thought when you failed three times and deload, you were supposed to deload 10% not 10lbs? Or is that what you meant by 10? Because 10% would be 24lbs, and a 10lbs deload seems like much less of a deload. I'm not judging, I'm genuinely curious about this.
Technically, you are correct. It's 10 percent according to the web site. Though to how much of an extent the program is followed will vary. When I did de-load from 90, I went down 10 lbs, same with the one from 80. With OHP, it varied at first but recent will be from 70 so also, 10 lbs.
However, like how some don't add weight every session until failure (some will stay at a weight for an extra session or two depending how they feel) some might pick to do different amounts for de-load. I know I don't follow his program exact as I don't always progress the recommended way and I do accessory lifts. So, there are some personal variances that will lead to different decisions.
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I'm getting so tired of all this snow. Hurry up Spring!
This morning's workout:
Squat 5x5 85
Bench 5x6 65
Row 5x5 82.5
Everything is up!! I had oatmeal and dates for pre-lifting meal. Heavy carbs seemed to have helped. I am going to try the same on Friday to see it it helps my OHP!!
third world squat 5x8
Standing Calf Raises 3x5 50
Convict Conditioning Pullups Step 3: Jackknife Pullups 3x8
Finally to Step 3!!!
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ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »I'm getting so tired of all this snow. Hurry up Spring!
Send some snow my way, and I will gladly share the warmth with you! (California)
Workout B today.
I took my time with the squats today, since I had such a horrible time last time. I did 1x5 bodyweight, and held the last one about 10 seconds just to stretch and get a little more comfortable in the bottom position, then 1x5 with the broom handle, held the last one again, and 3x5 with the bar, the first set I held the last one, the rest I just did them quickly. I had an easier time of it today. My shoulders didn't hurt as much, and I didn't get dizzy and lightheaded like I tend to do with the squats. I've noticed recently because of my weight (240lbs, 5'5") I tend to stop breathing when I bend over, and then I hyperventilate when I stand, which causes the dizziness. I also mosey through the squats like I have all the time in the world. Today was about teaching myself to breathe, and taking a single, deep breath between reps instead many fast, shallow ones. I felt a lot better today about the squats, though I know I still have a lot of issues to work through.
OHP was weird. The weight felt good with the empty bar, easy to move but not so light I felt I was going to throw it in the air like I did with the bench and rows last time. But I know my bar path was not at all vertical, and I could feel my back arching too much, so I will definitely have to work on that. I also clipped my chin on the way down once, so that was not fun. If I need to speed up my squats, I also need to slow down my ohp so I can get the form down on that one.
Deadlift with empty bar was ridiculously easy. I followed some advice I read on here to do 5x1 instead of 1x5. I'm sure my form was crap. DL and OHP are two exercises I've never done before, while I was at least marginally familiar with bp and rows (with dumbbells).
Tomorrow is a rest day, as well as my uncle's funeral, Friday is a cardio day, and Saturday and Sunday are partial rest days (no formal exercise, but I still tend to walk about 5-6 miles each day).
See you guys next time!
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@Autumnfilly2005 So sorry about your uncle. My condolences to you and your family.
I've been lifting since November and it definitely take a bit of time to develop a rhythm as it were and to become confident of one's form. When I first started I watched all of the videos I could (and continue to do so). If you are able, taping yourself during lifts is an invaluable tool to gauge form. I've done it for all of my lifts and have even posted one (squats) to the ETP Group here on MFP in the form check thread. Lots of very useful feedback.
You can definitely have all the cold and snow you can handle (I am in Ontario, near Ottawa).0 -
Finally failed my bench yesterday on the fifth rep of my fifth set, not a happy camper but not super upset... didn't eat a ton so that could have contributed.
4x5, 1x4 @ 120 lbs bench
5x5 @ 185 lb squat
5x5 @ 100 lb row
Will try to be better at posting workouts in February! Started a new job and January was a bit nuts.0 -
Squat day. Not too thrilled with them. My right knee gets super snap-crackle-pop sounding after squats still with a little bit of pain (it's worse when I walk up the stairs from the basement when I'm done lifting). I'm happy with my depth, but I feel like I'm bouncing off my knees on the way up (instead of the hamstring twang pulling me up) but only when I'm squatting at or above 170lbs. Next week is the deload week of Wendler's so that won't be a problem but after that, for the next cycle, I'm definitely going to drop my working squat weight down and focus on getting that hammy twang. Lol.
Squats: 5@165, 3@175, 4@185lbs then 3x10 @ 135lbs
Planks: 3x30sec with 25lb plate on my back0 -
Workout A today!
Squats 5x5 at 165#. THese felt pretty solid.
Bench press 4/5/5/5/4 at 110#. Thanks @krokador for telling me to just buck up and try 110. I did phenomenally better than I expected. The first set was a mental barrier, while the last set was definitely a physical failure. But I got 3 full sets of my normal fail weight!!
Rows 5x5 at 100#. I haven't moved up in weight here, and I have zero desire to do so. I really don't enjoy barbell rows.
Accessory work:
3x24 at 50# walking lunges (12 lunges each leg basically)
5x5 at 110# lat pull downs0 -
Today was bootcamp day. Lots of sprints with some mountain climbers, jumping jacks, and jump squats mixed in.
Parent conferences tomorrow so if I go to the gym it will be late.
I really need to drink more water.
From the little I know, it seems like everyone is doing a great job. Keep it up.0 -
What is accessory work?0
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What is accessory work?
For me, it's stuff I do that isn't part of Stronglifts. Stronglifts focuses primarily on full body "big" lifts. The program is great as is, but I like to add on some extras at the end for a bit more work that hit the muscles differently or hit different muscles all together.0 -
Accessory work is a blanket term for lifts done outside of whatever regularly scheduled program one is doing. For example, after I finish my three main lifts, I do bicep curls, dips, sometimes some machine work, planks, etc. All of that falls under the header of "accessories."What is accessory work?
If you are successfully hitting 125 lbs., the chances that you will actually, physically fail at 130 lbs. are slim to none. I think you should just go for it. I think we ladies often sell ourselves a little short, are more cautious than is absolutely necessary, and generally don't push ourselves as hard as we might. Tell your mind you have to do your sets at 130 lbs. and just see what happens. I think you'll surprise yourself! xoMissHolidayGolightly wrote: »@crabada my warm up is similar to yours. I stretch, do a few reps with the bar, a few at 95 and a few at 115 then I do my working weight. If I get tired out warming up, I'll wait a few minutes before my working set. For some reason, the difference between 125 and 130 might as well be 50 pounds rather than 5. I might try half at 125 then the rest at 130 and ease into it or de-load to 115 and work my way up again.
On a random side note, I'm seeing lots of "Newbie here!" or "I'm just starting" threads being posted. Which I think is GREAT. But I'm wondering if would make sense for us to start some kind of general "Newbie FAQ" thread so that we're not answering the same questions over and over. We could all just post our favorite pieces of advice, and new folks could post questions there. Thoughts?0 -
My workout was less than stellar today.
I'm getting the feeling that I may not be 100% recovered from the flu. I also didn't sleep well, ate pretty much right before I went to the gym, and was still sore from Monday's workout. I may also have overdone it on Monday, a bit. All of which equals Suck-*kitten* Wednesday.
Workout B
Squats - 5x5 @ 135 lbs.
- Egads were these heavy today. I felt my form go on a couple of reps -- nothing serious, but I usually feel a little more solid, you know? Legs were shaky after each set and I was *breathing*! I never felt like I was going to fail, but I was acutely aware of just how tired I was as I was doing these. Just glad to have made it through.
OHP - 7/7/7/5/7 @ 40 lbs.
- Failure at 45 lbs. last time means I deloaded to 40 lbs. this time. As many of you have suggested, I upped the reps at this lower weight. These felt relatively easy. I think general fatigue just got the best of me in the fourth set. Since I don't have a way to add 2.5 lbs. on this one (the 40 lbs. is a permanent weight barbell), I'll probably stay here for the next few sessions, maybe try to work these sets up to 5x10 before attempting 45 lbs. again. Effing OHP.
Deadlifts -- SIGH. 1x5 @ 135 lbs., 1x3 @ 165 lbs., 0x0 @ 180 lbs., 1x3 @ 135 lbs.
- These were just brutal today. Warmups at 135 and 165 like usual. Except 165 lbs. felt IMMENSE. I did two, form felt off, so I reset. Did one more and knew I was done. When I finished and stood up, I saw stars. Had to lean against the wall for a bit to let the blackness in my vision dissipate. Not good. Decided to deload and try for one more set of 5 at 135 lbs., but it just wasn't happening. Boo.
Skipped all accessories, stretched, and headed home. Going to shower and will likely be in bed before 9 PM. Just feeling OFF -- physically, mentally, generally. Wish I could find the reset button on this semester.
Love you all to bits.
xoxo,
C.0 -
<snip>What is accessory work?
On a random side note, I'm seeing lots of "Newbie here!" or "I'm just starting" threads being posted. Which I think is GREAT. But I'm wondering if would make sense for us to start some kind of general "Newbie FAQ" thread so that we're not answering the same questions over and over. We could all just post our favorite pieces of advice, and new folks could post questions there. Thoughts?
I think that's a good idea, but I think it could end up being a mess with a lot of information lost in the conversation.
In my head (which could be way off base), we could do a "New To SL FAQ" pinned post that is locked, then in the regular board discuss what we should include there. As important info comes up, we could edit the locked post to add that info in there as a FAQ. I would hate to see a great post (like a FAQ) get jumbled and confusing to anyone trying to answer their questions. (Hope this all makes sense. I'm tired and feel like I'm making zero sense.)0 -
@Xcalygirl -- I totally know what you mean, but that would entail us figuring out the questions we need to "ask" and answer. And someone writing it. If it's just a thread, even if it does get jumbled, we can still at least point the newbies to it and say "Read this! What you want to know is in there!" (With the sweet-and-kind implication that they do need to some homework before just posting questions. ) But I'm open to whatever the group thinks will work best. 0
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I wonder if there is a way to get the current stickied threads up date a bit. I think that has to be done by a moderator though and I haven't seen one of those peeps around for a while.
Anyway work out today
Recovery run of 3.5k really slow at lunch
Workout A this evening
Squat 180 lbs 5/4/5/4/5 I was pretty confident that I was hitting below parallel on these and I think my running is impacting this negatively as well
Bench 90 lbs 5/5/5/5/4 I think I could have gotten the last rep but I really didn't feel like doing the roll of shame
Row 85lbs 5x5 these felt pretty solid. I just deloaded from 95 lbs so this really wasn't an unknown
Food wise today I saved 600 kcals for my after workout "snack" I had been craving nachos so badly but I think that left me unfueled for my workout. Probably won't be doing that again any time soon
I was also planning on doing a tempo run of 3.5k tomorrow at lunch but I think I will just have an active rest day tomorrow. My shins hurt and my knees are quite stiff so I don't want to push too hard and hurt myself badly.0 -
Sorry if I spewed questions0
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^^ NOT AT ALL
Poor phrasing on my part. My apologies. I edited my post to fix that.
@Llama - I've been thinking that same thing. Maybe the owner can add a group moderator that's actually active in the group?
And I just re-peeked at the current FAQ, and it covers some things but not all of the stuff that's been coming up lately. It's one of the reasons I like the idea of people posting their favorite pieces of advice -- which will include stuff that new folks might not think to ask about.0 -
I agree that it would be nice to see the stickies updated a bit. I could imagine threads just on form, accessory work ideas, probably a whole host of stuff.
Workout A today...I'm coming down with a stupid cold so I told myself I could just do my main lifts, not add weight and then go home. The negotiating with myself worked and I did a little extra and felt decent the whole time.
Squats - 85lbs 5x5
Bench - 70lbs 5x5
Barbell Row - 60lbs.
And then I did hip thrusts in the smith machine and IDGAF what anyone at the gym thinks!! Lol. I stared at the ceiling the whole time hoping nobody was watching.
Finished up with 20 minutes on the elliptical. And now it is Nyquil and BED! Nice work today everyone!0 -
I considered staying home today and making it a lazy day off since didn't have work. Instead, I went to the gym and tried out the 6:30 pm grit strength class, which requires dealing with traffic and more people in the gym in general. I know they change the class but guess I didn't quite know how often because it's already different than when I took it two weeks ago, which had been only the second time from the last change. We needed steps and did burpees and jumps with those along with the usual variety of row, clean & press, lunges, etc. I'm still slow, can do far less but I did sort of regular push-ups with the burpees along with trying to jump on one set of jump things, since I don't usually do the jumping. She fixed my form on row, reminding me to pull higher cause I can't quite get the move when going to my stomach. Also, one of the few times I'll be told not to squat so deep, lol.
Did 30 minute walk treadmill after. Now it's time for food and to try and get decent protein today.0 -
I didn't take it personally. I've been on both sides of the coin and sincerely don't want to be annoying. Thanks for letting me be a part of your tribe.0
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Newbie, no questions. I just downloaded 5x5 app. Will start tomorrow. Cardio day today. Been doing too much cardio, need to mix it up.0
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@Xcalygirl -- I totally know what you mean, but that would entail us figuring out the questions we need to "ask" and answer. And someone writing it. If it's just a thread, even if it does get jumbled, we can still at least point the newbies to it and say "Read this! What you want to know is in there!" (With the sweet-and-kind implication that they do need to some homework before just posting questions. ) But I'm open to whatever the group thinks will work best.
I had started a wiki for exactly that purpose, actually.... Then never got around to fixing it up because I'm actually somewhat of a busy gal but I tend to forget that and think I'm still in high school with all the free time in the world, lol.
We could have the link to the FAQ in the first post of a thread (since I don't think the MFP forums lets you edit ANY post after 1 hour) and a conversation below for new questions that would ultimately be added to the wiki.
And possibly lift-specific sections where we can compile the tips and tricks of everyone and whenever someone comes up with that question again we could just whip out the link to the wiki and woilà! Err, Voilà!
If anyone has more free time than I do and wants to help... xD And I can always contact lwoodroff or jstout if anything needs stickied or un-stickied, btw.
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Having a "so you want to start SL" section would be helpful, I think. There are some questions I thought silly, but ended up saving my form for example.
Yester I carried on with plates on the Oly Bar for OHP - 50 lbs. I managed 4 reps for 4 sets and 5 for the first!! Will keep this going until I get stronger.
The Squat felt a bit odd. I do not know if it is because of a long time injury that I have on my hip.
Has anyone ever experienced pain/discomfort in the hips when squatting? Right on the pelvic bone? Am researching on stretches...0 -
Here, I found the link to the wiki: http://stronglifts-mfp.wikia.com/wiki/StrongLifts_5x5_Summary
Not 100% sure how wikia works for collaborators and whatnot, but I'll gladly give any of you editor rights if that's a thing and you're willing to contribute )
And if you're not too good with the whoel formatting shebang, you could also just create the content, let me know and I'll go fix it up when I have a chance)
Today was GREAT! Day 24 of 25 of Garage Built Body! I reduced my warm-up and tried to speed it along. Which worked out well, I think
Every 30s for 5 minutes -> Rapid fire squat jumps (and I did a tuck jump on the last rep of each)
4 sets of submax (so NOT to failure) of decline push-ups (12' box)
10/8/8/8 for a total of 34. Back in december when I did this i got 26 total!
And for time 10,8,6,4,2 of
- Knees to bows
- bent over KB rows
- front rack drop lunge (total, so half per leg)
- double kb swing
My previous time was along the lines of 9:30 with 2x25#
Today i did 7:13 with 2x30#
All the hanging knee raise work has paid off!
Then, since I want to keep fresh for Saturday since it is TEST day, I decided not to do any accessory aside from some REALLY SLOW negative chin-up singles (6 of 'em), spaced out by hip mobility drills and a little bit of core work specific to that.
I feeeeeel gewd! =D0
This discussion has been closed.