Ja-new-ary(ou) in the making: Workout Check-in

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  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Strong lifts workout

    Squats-1X5X 65/75/85/95/105/115, 5X5X 120
    Sumo squats-5X5X105
    BP-1X5X 65/70/75, 5X5X 80
    BR-5X5X 85

    I feel really strong doing the squats at 120 pounds. My form is almost perfect all the way through. I will probably start adding pounds next week. For the BP my arm strength is still weak. Especially my right arm. I may do a deload next week. The BR is fair, I would not say that it is easy yet. I am not sure if I will increase weight on this or deload next week.
  • awkwardsoul
    awkwardsoul Posts: 222 Member
    Untamed strength week 1.

    OHP - worked up to 70lbs x 8 reps. Decided against trying 72.5lbs, though that was my 8 rep max before when I started this program originally before I got injured. That last rep just barely squeaked out too.
    accessory work skipped.

    Happy with my form, odd how a break does a reset button. I get into a weird habit of looking up on OHP but I stared at a mark on the wall instead the whole time and didn't fight it.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    Upper Hypertrophy day:

    50lb flat & incline bench
    Bro curls up the wazzoo @15 lbs
    Ez bar curls 21@20lbs
    Tricep extensions @15lbs
    Arnold presses @15 lbs
    Chin ups 5,4,3,3@ BW
    Tricep cable extensions-heavy band
    3 planks at 1 minute
    Russian twists 3x12@25 lbs
  • ninenines
    ninenines Posts: 197 Member
    Sigh. Thursday I was really focussing on making sure my squat form was right, videoing every set and I thought I was doing really well. My back had been a bit sore last week after water skiing, but wasn't giving me any trouble, but 3rd rep of last work set something was not right at all, my whole lower back/butt said nope. Packed up and basically went to bed. Friday my back was so seized up that I could barely move. Sitting was awful. I think it's a pulled muscle (erector maybe) but then sometime I think it may be an SI joint issue. It's feeling much better today, I can actually sit for a while, but I have to be very careful with my movements. I've been looking at my sets and my form is looking pretty good, so I'm thinking maybe it was an endurance issue rather than a form one. So looks like an extended break from Stronglifts anyway.
  • ninenines
    ninenines Posts: 197 Member
    kimiuzzell wrote: »
    A rare day out of the office for me so experienced the quietness of the gym at 10am for a change.

    SQ 5X5 @ 60kgs back to where I was before I hurt my back so pleased with this.
    OHP 5X5 @25KGS am trying to persevere within Olympic bar
    DL 1X5@67.5kgs concentrated on keeping my hips level and no back pain today. Yay!..

    Well done on getting your squats back up! How did you hurt your back? How long did you have off and how did you get back into lifting?

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    feeling bleh. went to trainer day and told him i want to go back to square one, work up and find a new baseline, so that's what we did. wasn't a fun day at all, but then too i had the blehs beforehand and dragged them in there with me, so there's that.

    bench was do-able at 70 but i'm not in the mood for grindily do-able things. backed off to 65 so i could do more volume . . . think i'm going to widen my grip by a thumb-knuckle's worth. when i did that late in the session my front delts and biceps attachments finally caught a small break.

    squats were a wreck. i'm not even calling what happened a workout . . . it wasn't; it was just flailing around and then throwing my toys out of the cot.

    internally. sometimes when i'm at trainer day i get this aural flashback to my old music teacher. saying 'okay, you can vat jou goed en trek nou. i understand that you're upset, but you're banging my piano and that's not allowed.' and then she'd blame my red hair and tell me it was the irish in me and i'd be banned till the following week.
  • kimiuzzell
    kimiuzzell Posts: 611 Member
    edited January 2016
    Thank you!

    Well done on getting your squats back up! How did you hurt your back? How long did you have off and how did you get back into lifting?

    Thanks! I hurt it the weekend before Christmas. I Park my car out of town to avoid parking fees and I enjoy the walk (between 20 and 30 mins each way depending where I Park). I walked into town but the insole of my boot slipped and I got a massive blister on the pad of my left heel.

    Didn't think anything of it, bought new insoles when I got into town and put a plaster on the blister
    But walking back to the car is all uphill and without thinking about it, i was trying to avoid putting extra pressure on the blister, so walked slightly off balance.

    By the time I got back to the car, the damage was done. I thought a hot bath and some ibuprofen would sort it out but it wasn't to be. Just goes to show how finely balanced our bodies are! By the end of the following day, I could barely move and turning over in bed was agony.

    I only had a few days out of the gym as I knew it wasn't an injury as such. I made sure I was very careful and square on with my hips adjusting weights accordingly. The SL app suggested an appropriate deload, which I followed and have worked up carefully for the last couple of weeks.

    So, it's not taken long. I can still feel my back is sore but not enough to take anything... It's just reminding me to be careful!
  • Ariadnula
    Ariadnula Posts: 435 Member
    Squats: 5x5 @ 72kg
    Bench: 5x5 @ 31kg
    Row: 5x5 @ 20kg dumbbells

    3.5 chin ups, unassisted
    2x10 chin ups assisted
    2x10 pull ups assisted
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Ariadnula wrote: »
    Squats: 5x5 @ 72kg
    Bench: 5x5 @ 31kg
    Row: 5x5 @ 20kg dumbbells

    3.5 chin ups, unassisted
    2x10 chin ups assisted
    2x10 pull ups assisted

    I am super jealous of your unassisted chin-ups! My goal/resolution this year is one unassisted chin-up!
  • kimiuzzell
    kimiuzzell Posts: 611 Member
    Mine too!
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
    Whew! I'm so pumped about today's workout!

    Some of you might remember I tweaked my back just before I was supposed to test deadlifts just before the new years and then shied away from doing so.

    Well I got a new PR on it today doing a challenge workout! =D 272.5lbs! It's not a *huge* improvement over the 270 I got... last summer, I think? But that was pre shoulder injury. So this makes me so, so, so happy =D

    I have all the details on my blog here so I'll just leave a link if anyone wants to take a look at it. I just don,t feel like copying the wall of text over haha.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/krokador/view/the-super-hero-challenge-week-1-zeus-789718

    @Laultimacocacola sorry to hear about your back :( Sounds to me like a cramp of sort. Do you drink water during your workouts? You might want to try throwing in some electrolytes in there too, make sure you're well hydrated. Once a muscle cramps it can do really lame things to everything else. :/
  • kimiuzzell
    kimiuzzell Posts: 611 Member
    @krokador that's superb work. And cut the nonsense of " not a huge improvement " as any increase at that weight is mahoosive and deserving of celebration!!
  • Ariadnula
    Ariadnula Posts: 435 Member
    Ariadnula wrote: »
    Squats: 5x5 @ 72kg
    Bench: 5x5 @ 31kg
    Row: 5x5 @ 20kg dumbbells

    3.5 chin ups, unassisted
    2x10 chin ups assisted
    2x10 pull ups assisted

    I am super jealous of your unassisted chin-ups! My goal/resolution this year is one unassisted chin-up!

    Ha, my first one took me by surprise. My husband said 'surely you can do one by yourself by now?' I was sceptical ... And then I did it! And if I can, anyone can!
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    I'm no where near pull ups or chin ups, if that makes anyone feel better. :wink: Still attempting negatives using the smith machine on the rare occasion, though I should work on it more since have a few months before the 10k obstacle run.

    Anyways, lifted after work tonight.


    54 - Upper Power

    bench 3x4 @ 105 - Did okay. Depending on how I feel next time will either try 110 (my last 1 rep max, eek) or keep to 105.
    db incline bench 3x10 @ 35 - still challenging by the ends of the sets
    bent row 3x4 @ 110 - did okay. Considered pendlay but the area I do those in was taken.
    lat pull 3x10 @ 80 - not much different than last time
    OHP 3x8 @ 65 - looked back at original set up of program and it had this is 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps, and I've been doing 2-3 sets of 3-5 reps. So, tried it this way, but think I'm going to move it up after db incline bench and go with the less rep range.
    overhead tricep 3x9 @ 40 - struggled at the ends

    Then 10 minute combined walk for warm up and cool down with 30 minute run in the middle on treadmill. Also, a little disgruntled. Gym got new treadmills that are nice and take up a little less space but the back row ones no longer have their own tv, so no more food network on my short runs.

    Overall, not bad considering had trouble sleeping last night. Tomorrow will be interesting as meeting with coworkers for lunch at a french bakery place for "brunch" before going to work. Then I'll gym with lower power. Fun times ahead.
  • ninenines
    ninenines Posts: 197 Member
    edited January 2016
    @krokador, thanks, I hadn't considered that. I generally sip on water during my workouts, and am pretty well hydrated, but electrolytes might help. Today I've been able to move around freely which feels completely amazing after the agony of Friday. Congrats on your PR.

    I spent 2013 doing bodyweight training and it took about 9 months for me to get a full unassisted pull up. It was awesome. Took about 9 days of no training to no longer be able to do one. I am hopeful that building my overall strength with SL will help me get back there again.
  • kimiuzzell
    kimiuzzell Posts: 611 Member
    After 13 weeks of SL along with the first two stages of NRol4w I have decided to focus on SL adding in extras only if I have time....as stage 3 of NR seems to be quite lengthy to run alongside something else.

    So....ICF seems a logical thing to do next. I can do the basic 3 SL exercises if I am short on time (before work for example) and add in the additional bits when I'm not so rushed.

    So...today was my first ICF day: (worked up to all weights, but not logging those here)

    SQ 5X5 @60KG ready to try 62.5kg next time.
    BP 5X5 @37.5KG tempted to try 40 kg if I can get a Spotter.
    Row 5X5 @37.5kg one weaker shoulder hampering progress here...need to work on that.
    Barbell shrugs 3x8 @40kgs
    Bicep curls (barbell) 2x8@20kgs final set had to do 3@20kg,5@15Kg.
    Triceps Pulldown 3x8 @18.75kg
    Hyperextension 2x10 with 10kg plate
    Cable crunches....Did a couple of variations

    Also aiming for the elusive pull up....Did 2 rubbish negatives today....but even that is a slight improvement so I shall keep working on it and will one day get there!!!

    Feeling stronger :smiley:
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
    Emotionally drained workout (+ CNS fatigue from yesterday's deadlift. Although I'm surprised that I'm not sore ANYWHERE today. Had a bit of shoulder discomfort (my trap is still not 100%. It's almost there, barely bothers me anymore, but I did ask quite a lot of it yesterday)

    Today was a delayed squat 3. I'll basically be pushing all exercises over 1 slot (which might work better with the GBB set-up, anyway) and I'll squeeze OHP with the deads to make it all work.

    140x3 (was supposed to do 130 but my plate math was OFF xD)
    147.5x3
    167.5x8

    I wanted 10 when I went into it, but I just wasn't all there. By the 7th rep I was shaking. I dogged it through 8 and that was all I had. Plus, had to use a bar with a rather rough center knurling. Am not used to that. I can usually slide the bar a bit when I'm not quite centered. That was a no go.

    Then moved on to a 10 min AMRAP of
    - Assisted power pull-up x4 (~85lbs assist)
    - Feet elevated (aerobic step) pike press x3
    - Cossack goblet squat with 20lbs x5/leg

    Got 6 rounds and 4 pull-ups. Weak link remains the pull-ups, but I wanted more reps than last week. I could have handled 4, if not 5 pike presses, in retrospect.

    And the burpees of hell. for time (10 min cap)
    - burpee with lateral hop x30, 20, 10
    - double KB clean & press x 5, 10, 9 (2x20lbs)

    I got a little further than last week at the cap, with adding the hop and doing double KB instead of a single. Next week I'll ignore the cap and get through the whole thing!

    I finished up the workout with some straight arm rope pulldowns 45x12, 50x12, 50x12

    And some ez bar curls, 40x10/9/10

    I know I'll have to put my day off in a random slot this week due to work wanting me to come in early but not knowing which day yet. So tomorrow will be bench press funsies! (Hence why I didn't touch the triceps at the end there)
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    difficult day, joints tuning me all kinds of grief. just could not locate my glutes, so i spent most of it doing one-legged step-ups with a hard stomp and a drive through the heel to try turn them on. it did help, but by then most of my muscles were pretty tired and not talking to me. did a ton of volume at various things, but no actual weight to speak of. rows @60 were about the only lift that got a standard 5x5 treatment today.

    scored some fragments of chicken 'bones' at the store - actually these skinny little strips of tenderloin left over from when they cut out the breastbones. they look like scrap meat and they do make good stock, but i got all projecty on it instead and decided do make our very own personal chicken-and-veggie turnovers with them. just have to persuade myself to get out of this chair and go make the pastry, sigh.
  • andylllI
    andylllI Posts: 379 Member
    Upper power all pounds

    Bench 90 3x3
    Pull ups BW 5-4-4-4

    Incline DB bench 35 3 too heavy so 30 2x8
    Bicep hammer curls 20, 3x8

    Bent over row 70, 3x8
    Skull crushers 35, 3x8

    OHP 35 dumbells 5-4-6

    I dunno this was pretty poor for a work out with lower poundage moved than last week. Am I getting sick? Was it the bad food (carb heavy pro light) this weekend? Was it the fact that I went to climbing gym class with my four year old this AM and he was bored waiting for it to start so we did an AMRAP of 4-yr-old-as-medicine-ball-overhead-toss (I got 26)? Or was it playing zombie-koala-walk where I hold my arms out in front like a zombie and he clings with arms and legs like a koala and we count how many steps I go before he falls off (he got 21)?
  • andylllI
    andylllI Posts: 379 Member
    Also it's time for me to bite the bullet and start loading my pull ups again. :o:s
  • christch
    christch Posts: 238 Member
    Upper power
    Bench 1x5 30,2x5 32.5,5x5 35,2x3 37.5kg
    Incline db (machine) 1x5 10,4x5 12.5kg
    Bent over row 1x5 25,3x5 30kg
    Lat pulldown 3x5 40kg struggled
    OH press 1x10 17.5,4x5 20kg
    Preacher curl 4x5 20kg
    Tricep pulldown 3x5 15kg

    @andyIIII might have been just one of those nights. Here's hoping that you're not coming down with something.
  • kimiuzzell
    kimiuzzell Posts: 611 Member
    I can feel yesterday's accessories in my shoulders - a good sign!!

    No lifting for me today - did a spin class before work, which I thoroughly enjoyed instead. Not done one for a couple of months, but could quite happily go back to it once a week or so.

  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    kim - I tried spinning once, years ago with my mom. Not a fan. I do like zumba though or grit strength but classes are hard to catch plus now where I gym it's way busier compared to small town wyoming (when I first tried zumba).

    Long interesting day. May need to post in random chat spot along with that guy in the gym at some point, maybe tomorrow after sleeps. Brunch with coworkers was nice mid day except it took over 45 minutes to get a table so I had to order my meal to go. But I had a chocolate croissant and chai latte while at the table. It was delicious but need to remember to ask for soy next time cause regular dairy latte means I'm nauseated for over an hour afterwards. Got to eat my food at 7 pm at work, so it gave me stuff for all day, plus ate a couple of macaroons before lifting. Tonight was lower power and it was a long one because I rested more, did extra set and added a thing that involved some set up time. Not bad overall but looking forward to sleep cause tomorrow is day off from work and rest day at the same time.

    55 - Lower Power

    squat 3x4 @ 180 - Felt better than last week, slow but all decent reps.
    deadlift 1x4 @ 185, 3x4 @ 195 and 1x4 with straps @ 220 - going well so far
    leg press 3x8 @ 230 - eh, right hip near back got cranky so not as great
    leg curl 2x8 @ 80 and 1x8 @ 70 - hamstrings have been sore for a few days so struggled again with these
    standing calf 3x10 @ 105 - eh, calves
    hip thrust 3x10 @ 115 - okay though struggled a tad with balance of the bar
    jump squats on aerobic step 2 x 10 - trying to get a jump thing in to work on that

    Not bad overall. The hip thrust I tried over in the deadlift spot, which worked decent. I used an aerobic step and some risers to get it tall enough. Had hoped to do the jump squats between sets but height wise doesn't work out because it would be challenging for me to straddle the step at where I need it to get enough range of motion for hip thrust. So, guess they will be separate. Was interesting to try out and may keep at this set for a while, though with extra set up it makes the overall time frame longer than before, but that's okay cause often I get Monday off from work so being a bit later at the gym isn't a problem.

    Now, sleep.
  • kimiuzzell
    kimiuzzell Posts: 611 Member
    The timing of the spin classes at my gym works well for me. There is often a 30 min or 45 min class first thing which I can squeeze in before work if I'm not on a lifting day. I quite like it and have dipped in and out if it for 5 years or so. Certainly good for getting a sweat on!

    Feeling it in my legs already!

  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
    edited January 2016
    Ugh spin classes... I wouldn,t last. My legs (esp. my knees) hate me after 5 minutes on one of those stationary bikes. The recumbent ones are worse, but neither is fun. I admire anyone who can pedal through more than 10 minutes of that! I'd also get bored out of my mind xD

    Today was Bench 3

    95x3
    107.5x3
    122.5x6
    The 6th rep was downright touch and go. Which is silly in a way because whenever I do that and kind of bounce off my chest a bit, I also flatten myself to the bench thus reducing my leverage. But I wanted the rep and was too afraid I'd get stuck. My spreadsheet said the rep count to beat last week's 9 was 8... But my bench has always been iffy on higher reps because I tend to lose tightness and power output quickly and I'm not too good at muscleing it up. Hey, my previous PR at that weigth was a grindy 5. I'll take the progress!

    GBB 18 funsies

    EMOTM x8
    1-legged KB deadlift (not RDL, thankfully) x6/leg @35lbs
    By the end my lower back was shot!

    6 min AMRAP
    - bent-over piston rows (2x35 DB) x4/arm
    - half TGU (15lbs) x4/side

    Managed 6 rounds exactly. I think that was less than last week, but I was doing bw TGUs then, so it hardly compares.

    Last 6 min AMRAP
    - Double KB Clean @25lbs x3, 6, 9, 12, 7
    - Lateral Hand walks x6 steps left and right x 1, 2, 3, 4

    Phew, not that I got much further than last week :)

    I chose to finish by trying to work on my left arm pressing weakness
    DB Incline Press 35x10, 35x10, 35x7
    and did 1 set of 1-arm incline DB press 30x8 (left arm first, had to "spot" myself on the last rep)

    Hoping adding this in will help bridge the gap and increase both my bench and OHP!

    Oh and I added a burnout set of overhead triceps extensions with that 30lbs Db. Think I got 13.

    Whew!
  • BethAnnieT
    BethAnnieT Posts: 263 Member
    kimiuzzell wrote: »
    The timing of the spin classes at my gym works well for me. There is often a 30 min or 45 min class first thing which I can squeeze in before work if I'm not on a lifting day. I quite like it and have dipped in and out if it for 5 years or so. Certainly good for getting a sweat on!

    Feeling it in my legs already!

    I love spin class when it's a good instructor. Which I can't find. The gym I go to has a great instructor but she teaches during the work day. The guy that teaches Saturdays does like 10 minute warmup and 10 minute cool down which is way too much just spinning wheels pointlessly.

    Looked at one near where I work, but it says "SPIN WITH LIVE DJ!!!" on the website so I'm 99% sure that one isn't for me.

    The very best ever class I have taken, non-spin, was Cardio Barre in southern California when I lived there 2 years ago. It was ballet-based, but after my first 2-3 classes there I almost barfed, it was that hard. A year in that class, 3x/week, gave me muscles where I didn't even know I had muscles. I tried to find a barre class here but it is a 50 minute drive from home and the instructor AND class space sucked. So yeah, no, don't put me down for that.
  • awkwardsoul
    awkwardsoul Posts: 222 Member
    I reattempted squats and it went better as long as I did the trick where I put plates under my heels. Dang, I'm going to need squat shoes now. Stupid ankle!

    Squats - worked up to 135lbs. Ankle got mad and it got really awkward and unstable with plates under my heels.
    Sumo Deadlifts - 145lbs 3x5 to get some more lower body work.
    Planks
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    i am bulletproof, guys. and it's all thanks to krok.

    step aside here while i describe to you what i did between 2 and 5 pm today - on NO food (for real) and almost a month of not being able to locate a groove. i'm blaming *cough* the whole thing on branched-chain amino acids, although *cough cough* there was creatine too.

    55 squats (it's part of a Plan), 55 ohp, 130 deadlift, 45 bench (also plan). 37.5 single-cable pulldown and 60lb rows. oh, and 30 one-legged step-ups per side plus about 130 air squats here at home for form correction and re-groove purposes. and i did bike micro-sprints on my way to the gym.

    eh, not that bionic, i guess. hopefully not bionic enough to make the fda interested, anyway. but honestly, it was a Thing. it's been almost a month since that rib first went wrong, and i've been getting by on pure grit and flailing around in the feels-all-wrong dark for a while. this was the first time my muscles felt normal enough for me to even know how 'form' feels, and it was just so nice to discover i actually do know a couple of things. and can do them as well.

    check that deadlift. that's the same deadlift i had when the rib went all wrong about a month ago, and it felt NORMAL and GOOD. i'm happy in ways i ought to be worried about, but i'm not.
  • christch
    christch Posts: 238 Member
    That's fantastic long may it continue :D
    Lower power
    Front squat 1x5 30,35 5x5 40,1x5 45,finished with 2x5 30kg working on depth
    DL didn't happen no space to do it weight room really busy tonight :s
    Leg press 3x5 20 kg single leg
    1x5 40, 3x5 50,60, 3x3 70kg both legs worked more sets to hopefully make up for no DL
    Leg curls 4x5 20 kg SL, 3x5 40kg both legs
    Leg extensions 4x5 20kg 2x10 15kg struggled tonight
    Finished with assisted pullup 3x5 35kg, 3x3 30kg close grip palm inwards

    Tomorrow rest day which I will be taking.
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
    i am bulletproof, guys. and it's all thanks to krok.

    i don't even remember why I suggested BCAAs in the first place. Think it had to do with muscle cramping or other? Haha, glad it's working out for you, even if it's a placebo effect! :)


    4th day at the gym in a row. I am so, so happy at the prospect of a rest day tomorrow! 5-days a week takes a toll on ya if you're not careful xD I also have backside DOMS of hell from yesterday's almost 50 deadlifts (per leg)

    Rows 3
    85x3
    95x3
    107.5x8 (I got a 9th rep with so much momentum and hike I just... no. So, yeah. Tried to correct my losing tightness on the way down and shrugging to tighten up thing. It's a work in progress)

    GBB 19

    - Every 20s x 4 min - burpee broad jump (~ 5ft each jump) x2
    Got me pretteh sweateh (done before row working sets)

    - 4 sets of double KB (2x20lbs) front rack squats x20 w/ 60s rest
    Ow. Dogged it through. The weight wasn't so bad but when the fatigue builds up... Oof.

    - For time [9:15] (That,s 45s faster than last week!)
    - Half burpees x 10/8/6/4/2
    - 1 arm KB snatch x 5/4/3/2/1 / arm
    - recline rows x 20/16/12/8/4

    And I finished off with 5 chin-up negatives (not very slow I'm afraid), a little rest then 3 pull-up negatives (I was just falling off by that point) and decided to test my max push-ups and got 16 :) Gonna work on making that number 20, if not 25, by the end of the month!