July check in and chat: barbell-lovin' BAMFs in training
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No heavy lifting for me today. Did a 30 min HIIT plyo class. I love it when the sweat is dripping off as I am jumping around. My arms are sore today, well my biceps to be exact. I didn't do anything too out of the ordinary yesterday so I'm not sure why they are acting up today.
Today is a very sleepy day since my new feline pal didn't get the concept of bedtime last night. Every time we moved he thought it was time for some lovin. So hopefully as he continues to get used to having a full time family he settles into the whole bedtime sleeping protocol and doesn't feel so attention deprived.0 -
I have been experiencing some pain in my lower back with my squats though.
Almost like the weight is too heavy, but it is only 105-110 lbs.
It's probably a core issue, so focus on core work and stability, and deload as much as you need to, so your core muscles can get caught up. Last thing you want is a slipped disk on your hand in the name of "weight progression." Also, in what part of the universe does a triple-digit squat qualify as "only"???
Your numbers are amazing, and you should be proud of yourself!
I have to force myself to progress slowly and do regular resets, because I let my core slide for the last 45 years of my life, and it's taking some time to get things up to speed. But hey, enjoy the journey, and I'm just loving my butt lift courtesy of heavy squatting! My glutes have never been this solid and strong, ever in my life, evah!
Welcome Roxy, and yea it's 45 lbs, not 45 kg, no wonder you were having trouble! Start with the empty bar for everything, and if you have to, just use dumbbells. I had to start with dumbbells for the OHP because I couldn't even get the empty bar over my head. You start where you start though, eh? No shame in that!
Today was day 2 of my new 3x5/complex shenanigans.
The bench felt super light at 50, but I'm taking it up by 5 lbs each round so by the end of July (fingers crossed) that sucker will be at 80 which will be a new PR for me.
Squatting @60 again, taking those up by 5 every other time to let my core catch up. Goal is set at 90 by the end of July.
Power cleans were with the empty bar, but lemme tell ya, 5x3 is quite the workout and almost bordering on endurance when you do them back to back with just a small break in between.
One-arm dumbbell rows at 25 lbs because mama is taking a break on Pendlays for a while, but I still want to get rows in, so there you have it.
Added a barbell complex (Romanian deadlifts, bent over barbell rows, push presses and calf raises) with the bar, 2 rounds of 5 reps per set, and there you have it. Doing that after my Farmer's Walk was taxing my forearms, but at the end of all this, my grip strength should be rocking!
Happy lifting, ladies! Y'all are doing wonderfully! :flowerforyou:
I actually started working some core stuff in as accessory about a week ago. Any suggestions on some core work I can do that wont be too much on top of my 5 x 5? And I know I should be proud of the triple digits I just expected to be squatting more by this point. I have never really worked my core much which you could see just by looking at it lol. So I am going to take this advice and put it to use because it makes perfect sense.
Thank you Dani. 0 -
Any suggestions on some core work I can do that wont be too much on top of my 5 x 5?
I listed a bunch of core exercises in a thread last night. Look for "The Crazy Core Lady's Crazy Core Exercises" or something like that. I list them by skill level. I would say start with the beginner. Remember that core isn't just abs. So do abs, lower back, and obliques. I would probably start with standard crunches, Russian twists, Frog kicks (or flutter kicks), and either supermans or back extensions. That gives you upper abs, obliques, lower abs/hip flexors, and lower back. Proper form is important with core work as well so if you are unsure of a movement, look it up online or ask here.0 -
I have been experiencing some pain in my lower back with my squats though. Almost like the weight is too heavy, but it is only 105-110 lbs.
It's probably a core issue, so focus on core work and stability, and deload as much as you need to, so your core muscles can get caught up. Last thing you want is a slipped disk on your hand in the name of "weight progression." Also, in what part of the universe does a triple-digit squat qualify as "only"???
I actually started working some core stuff in as accessory about a week ago. Any suggestions on some core work I can do that wont be too much on top of my 5 x 5? And I know I should be proud of the triple digits I just expected to be squatting more by this point. I have never really worked my core much which you could see just by looking at it lol. So I am going to take this advice and put it to use because it makes perfect sense. Thank you Dani.
I'd be interested in the core work too, since I've hit this problem at 93lb squats. I've deloaded back to 83lb once but there's no discernible change now I'm back up to "problem weight" again.
On the plus side, my butt looks awesome at this point :smokin:0 -
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=516166508422340&set=a.399614153410910.85178.264489303590063&type=1&relevant_count=1
"What do you do for exercise?"
"I lift weights"
"What do you do for cardio?"
"I lift weights faster"
Saw this and thought of you awesome ladies.0 -
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=516166508422340&set=a.399614153410910.85178.264489303590063&type=1&relevant_count=1
"What do you do for exercise?"
"I lift weights"
"What do you do for cardio?"
"I lift weights faster"
Saw this and thought of you awesome ladies.
OMG !!! YESSSS!!!!!! :laugh:0 -
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=516166508422340&set=a.399614153410910.85178.264489303590063&type=1&relevant_count=1
"What do you do for exercise?"
"I lift weights"
"What do you do for cardio?"
"I lift weights faster"
Saw this and thought of you awesome ladies.
Love it!0 -
I wanted to thank jstout "The Crazy Core Lady" again for posting the thread with ab/core exercises. :flowerforyou: If you haven't seen it, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I got some great ideas for some new stuff to throw into my workout.
Today was Workout A. Sort of...
SQUAT 135lbs (Yep, I deloaded even further from 185. I'm not too proud to deload to the dang bar if I have to, but the 135 feels light enough to work with. Back to 5x5 on squats for now)
BENCH 95lbs!!!! 3x5 A PR for me. :bigsmile:
I did not do Pendlay ROWS today, instead I did a superset of single arm dumbbell rows with a 55lb DB 3x10, glute bridges w/25lb plate, and crunches (both 3x15...or more, I can't recall, but I can say my heinie kinda hurts, so I think I did enough.). I won't stop the Pendlay Rows completely, but I just wasn't feeling it today. I was shocked at how much stronger I've gotten on the dumbbells. Yay for Stronglifts!
I did frog kicks, flutter kicks, alternate heel touchers, cross body crunches, Janda crunches, plain vanilla crunches, and planks in between all that other stuff. In sets of 15. Plus a ton of stretches. I had a much better workout today.
edit: typo0 -
Today is a very sleepy day since my new feline pal didn't get the concept of bedtime last night. Every time we moved he thought it was time for some lovin. So hopefully as he continues to get used to having a full time family he settles into the whole bedtime sleeping protocol and doesn't feel so attention deprived.
My cats have never learned this, so I put them in my teenager's room at night. She sleeps like a vampire. They could dance on her head and she wouldn't move a muscle.
:yawn: Hope you get some sleep tonight. 0 -
Today was day 2 of my new 3x5/complex shenanigans.
The bench felt super light at 50, but I'm taking it up by 5 lbs each round so by the end of July (fingers crossed) that sucker will be at 80 which will be a new PR for me.
Squatting @60 again, taking those up by 5 every other time to let my core catch up. Goal is set at 90 by the end of July.
Power cleans were with the empty bar, but lemme tell ya, 5x3 is quite the workout and almost bordering on endurance when you do them back to back with just a small break in between.
One-arm dumbbell rows at 25 lbs because mama is taking a break on Pendlays for a while, but I still want to get rows in, so there you have it.
Added a barbell complex (Romanian deadlifts, bent over barbell rows, push presses and calf raises) with the bar, 2 rounds of 5 reps per set, and there you have it. Doing that after my Farmer's Walk was taxing my forearms, but at the end of all this, my grip strength should be rocking!
Happy lifting, ladies! Y'all are doing wonderfully! :flowerforyou:
I like your kind of shenanigans. :bigsmile: That's a fantastic workout!0 -
Great advice on the squats - my lower back hurt today, and I kept thinking I was doing something wrong - going to do the crazy core workout later on and add this in on my lifting days!
week 5 workout A
squats 5x5 @ 42.5kg (93lbs) - but lower back a bit niggly
Bench press 5x5@ 22.5 (49lbs)
Pendlay row 5x 5 @ 25 (55lbs)
reverse crunch 3 x 13
chin ups 6
airsquats (waiting for coffee) 42
inverted rows 2x5 body weight and at quite a low angle (hard to explain but using my door suspension kit)
Also in a moment of eeek - just noticed deadlifts (which I didn't do today) are set of 1 x 5 - NOT as i've been doing 5 x 5 - ok i'm not near a heavy weight yet - but thank goodness I found this out today!!!
Because of slight back niggle going to add in more core work.
Happy lifting ladies x0 -
Any of you girls use an android phone? which app do you use? I'm using lifting buddy, which is fine as long as you are following the programme (5x5 or 3x5 or even 1x5!) to the letter, but you can only put in 0,1,2,3,4,or 5 for the reps, so when I'm doing 6 on my squats I can't show it, can't show additional progression on deadlifts, and there is no notes field (which would counter this).
I really don't want to enter the testosterone den of Mehdi to get his version as I could do without the bro newsletters/inner circle gumf in my life, but would be nice to have a slightly more flexible solution..
ideas?
thanks!0 -
Any of you girls use an android phone? which app do you use? I'm using lifting buddy, which is fine as long as you are following the programme (5x5 or 3x5 or even 1x5!) to the letter, but you can only put in 0,1,2,3,4,or 5 for the reps, so when I'm doing 6 on my squats I can't show it, can't show additional progression on deadlifts, and there is no notes field (which would counter this).
I really don't want to enter the testosterone den of Mehdi to get his version as I could do without the bro newsletters/inner circle gumf in my life, but would be nice to have a slightly more flexible solution..
ideas?
thanks!
I use Strong Log by Driftwood Apps:
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.driftwood.workouts&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5kcmlmdHdvb2Qud29ya291dHMiXQ..)
Good grief, I need to learn how to insert a link! Copy and paste all of what is in between the parentheses... It has the basic lifts, It has the date, a drop down list of lifts, a blank to input the amount of weight, "check box" of whether or not the exercise was complete (a yes or no option), then an optional section for notes. The section for notes is where I list "5 x 5", '1 x 5", "it sucked", "great workout", etc. Whatever you want to type there is up to you. It's not so structured as anything else, it's super easy to set up and follow. And you can add exercises/lifts to the drop down list. Here's a link to a screenshot of the main page (it's a link to my dropbox):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/urs41qbuiw2x9ss/SC20130704-063622.png
I wasn't aware that Mehdi the Great (haha) had finally released an Android version anyhow.0 -
oh good, I don't have to go and find out lol..
does it automatically calculate the weight you should hit if you do your full 5x5 or 3x5/deload automatically if you miss 3x?0 -
I use the LiftBig app. It's pretty good, keeps track of A workout, B workout, and includes a timer, but there's no way to track your progression. If you ask it to chart your history, it gives you what you should have done if you had followed the progression to a tee, rather than what you actually did. You can pull up your old records though, there's just no graph for it. So I just ignore the graph and keep my own spreadsheet to track everything. There's no place for reps, just weight per set, but there's a notes section where I write in the reps if it's not 5.0
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oh good, I don't have to go and find out lol..
does it automatically calculate the weight you should hit if you do your full 5x5 or 3x5/deload automatically if you miss 3x?
No, it's pretty basic, but that's okay with me since I'm never going to be able to consistently do the +5 every time. I use the calculator on my phone for that if need be. :-)0 -
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Today is a very sleepy day since my new feline pal didn't get the concept of bedtime last night. Every time we moved he thought it was time for some lovin. So hopefully as he continues to get used to having a full time family he settles into the whole bedtime sleeping protocol and doesn't feel so attention deprived.
My cats have never learned this, so I put them in my teenager's room at night. She sleeps like a vampire. They could dance on her head and she wouldn't move a muscle.
:yawn: Hope you get some sleep tonight.
He was much better last night! He's getting used to things pretty well. Next big change is getting him introduced to the dog!0 -
Happy 4th of July to all the US ladies!
Rest day for me, although I might try to go kayaking for a bit later if the weather holds up. I finally downloaded and read the 5/3/1 book (took about 10 minutes, lol). I guess I'm OK with giving Jim Wendler a few cents for coming up with the plan, but I had actually found all the info in the book for free in the internet. I'm going to do my last official SL workout tomorrow and then switch over to 5/3/1 (start with Boring but big, and maybe switch to the one with more assistance variety).0 -
Taking the holiday as a rest day. Hubby is already gone for the weekend again. He's been into US Civil War Reenacting since he was in his teens so this being the 150th Anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg is a big reenactment weekend for him.
My biceps are still a little sore from Tuesday so the rest will do me well. No major plans for today. I finally got the kindle version of Starting Strength....yes, I know, I'm a bit behind the curve on reading it. So as I have a relaxing day ahead of me, I think catching up on that book is in my plans.0 -
Went really hard at the gym yesterday....maybe too hard lol. Was so tired I went to bed at 8 pm and woke up at 9 am <.<0
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Can't wait to lift tomorrow. That's all.0
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Hi everyone!
I've been mostly a lurker for the past couple of weeks, so I figured this is a good chance to introduce myself...
I began working out toward the end of this May because I realized I've been completely and utterly sedentary probably since high school gym class...and that I needed to change that this summer!
For about 4 weeks or so, I did kettlebell stuff a couple of times a week at home. Then I ventured over to the gym and began to study the barbell lift. This past Monday I completed my 4th workout with heavy lifts.
I don't follow Mehdi's protocols per se...I looked at the website once and was way too annoyed because he makes it sound like an infomercial...but anyway, I do, as we like to say, "lift heavy" -- after doing some research I started out with a 3x5 program for my work sets excluding warm-up sets (and I do 1x5 for the deadlift).
Currently, I'm 5 lbs away from deadlifting my bodyweight, and 20 lbs from squatting my bodyweight. I think I'm doing something right
For July, my goals are to actually meet these important benchmarks by the end of the month. I'm also working on other fitness goals, like running a 6 minute mile, doing a full pull-up, and completing 40 full pushups. I think it's gonna be an exciting month.
Looking forward to learning and progressing together! Best of luck to everyone with their own goals and happy 4th of July if you're celebrating it today! 0 -
session #21 (B) today.
added 44# to the empty bar to warm up. did fine, but thought "Dang that was difficult!"
totally didn't think about th bar bing 20#. so my squat warm ups were 64#!
last seesion I hit my max weight of 65#!
today's max was 69#. I am pleased. I went UP.
my OHP max went up as well. I have it set to increase 2.5 # each session, and it went very well this time! (47.5#)
my deadlifts I am not pushing. just aiming for between 130 - 140#. I did 135# today.
today was an all-round success. this makes my 2nd time in a row to hit all the weights I planned to achieve!0 -
3FoldChord - awesome work!
Bench day today...
6 supersets of 3@25kg/55# benchpresses and 6 push-ups (on a Reebok step because if I get all the way the floor I can't get back up again yet)
8/7/6 target for 25kg/55# assisted pull-ups - hit 7/5/4
3x6 dumbbell shoulder press @ 7.5kg/16.5kg
3x8 1@27.5kg, 2@25kg/55# Pendlay rows - should have been 3@27.5kg but my lower back still isn't up to it0 -
I really don't want to enter the testosterone den of Mehdi to get his version as I could do without the bro newsletters/inner circle gumf in my life, but would be nice to have a slightly more flexible solution..
thanks!
:laugh: I'm remaining on his mailing list because it's entertaining to see what he comes up with next.
and I'm going to buy rippetoe's books rather than pay to join his "inner circle" - I get the impression that he doesn't want women in there anyway. This group is like a free version, for women, without him lol. some of his advice is dodgy, like telling people to train when they're sick (and I mean below the neck sick like feverish) and berating those who pointed out that this was bad, possibly dangerous advice.0 -
Was 300% lazy yesterday. :-)
Today (won't list warmups, but I did them, honest).
Squats - holding steady at 95 lbs until I either blow through that and it becomes "easy", or until I'm satisfied with my form, or both. I did 5 x 5.
OHP - 45 lbs, 5 x 5. Oddly enough, the last two sets were easier than the first three - go figure.
Deadlift - TA DA - body weight!!! 130 lbs, 1 x 5. I *almost* only went up 5 lbs, but decided to give it a try. It.was.not.easy.
I really will pull out the fractionals on Monday. At least for rows. Might still try and go up 5 lbs on bench. We'll see.
Lift heavy, my friends.0 -
I really don't want to enter the testosterone den of Mehdi to get his version as I could do without the bro newsletters/inner circle gumf in my life, but would be nice to have a slightly more flexible solution..
thanks!
:laugh: I'm remaining on his mailing list because it's entertaining to see what he comes up with next.
^^yep. It's annoying that he completely ignores the fact that there are women lifting weights. I still get his emails but I haven't been reading them lately.
This morning -
Squats - 3x5@150
Bench 3x5@95
Rows 3x5@95
I'm looking forward to starting the 5/3/1 program on Monday.0 -
I'm not lifting ATM because I'm on holidays and I can't be bothered finding a gym to go (I'm a bit gym-phobic, so the fact I'm going to one in my work area is cause for celebration!) but I'm walking and cycling lots. Even today, on our lazy day, we walked for about 3 hours (slow pace, but it was still moving!). I miss the lifting and hope it's not too hard to get back in the swing when I return home. The hardest part will be getting put of bed in the freezing cold dark and driving off towards work, but I did it before, and will do it again. Please chase me down if I disappear... I really want to cement this gym / lifting habit, which is why I started before going on holidays. If I'd put it off, I would never have started... Anyway, I just wanted to pop in because I'm still reading you regularly! Ciao 0
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This morning -
Squats - 3x5@150
Bench 3x5@95
Rows 3x5@95
I'm looking forward to starting the 5/3/1 program on Monday.
Very nice numbers!! Impressive !0
