July check in and chat: barbell-lovin' BAMFs in training
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I feel ya on the squat deload. My pride took a nice one in the jaw this week after I filmed myself squatting and realized I needed to deload even more than I thought. :grumble:
Well, honestly I have no idea what I expected to happen. I basically put twice the workload on myself by adding complexes in with full lifting sessions, and somehow magically expected my body to say "But of course we can do all these things AND 95-pound squats too! Cause we're Superwoman!" :drinker:
Really???!!?
Silly wabbit. :huh:
Learning my lesson, making adjustments, biting the dust and making it an almost full reset, and moving on ...0 -
Belated happy birthday!0
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Happy Saturday everyone!
Well, I decided to go ahead and lift today despite getting the tingle in my thumb from some nerve being pinched. It was either lift or be driven insane by an almost 5 year old who enjoys doing whatever he wants to do even if I say not to. So lifting won out if for nothing more than an hour or so of not having to say "No."
It was the traditional B day for me. Of course it was apparently barbell day in my gym and both the power rack and squat rack were taken when I got into the room. I asked how many more sets the guys had and decided that squats could wait and I would knock out some deadlifts first. It was also deadlift day at the gym because 3 of us were deadlifting at the same time! Since I knew I had some time to kill before a squat rack could open up I decided to push through the deads and see where I could get to.
It all broke down to this: 1x5 @ 135, 155, 175 then did 1x1 @ 195 and pushed the weight and got 1x2 @ 200 and 205. New PR on the 205! I am having trouble with form on the first pull at the heavier weights, but after I get going my form is much better. I'm guessing it has to do with engaging the proper muscles to start. I am missing something during the first pull, but it gets activated during the pull and stays that way for the next one. I guess I have some work to do with single pulls now.
After my deadlift fun I did squats 1x5 @ 110, 120, 130 and OHP 3x5 @ 80.
So a good day of lifting even with a pinched nerve. I can't tell yet if I'm going to be eating all the things later or just passing out.0 -
Oh man.... I had deadlifts yesterday and bench today, and normally those are separated by a rest day but my week turned out weird, and for some reason yesterday I thought "I'll do extra back work!" and then I got to the bench otday and was like "wait.... waaaaaaiiiiit...... "
*and* I forgot to wear a sports bra to the gym (yeah, I don't even.....) so I was wearing my regular bra. That is NOT a comfortable thing to bench press in. Not even a little bit.0 -
Hi everyone!
This hasn't been my most focused week ever :ohwell: I worked 12 hour days at work Mon-Wed, Wednesday was my 50th birthday (yeah, I survived it!
)
Happy belated 50th birthday! :flowerforyou:0 -
Workout B today + extra core work
Squat 5x5 @ 45kg (99.2lbs)
-so close to 100lbs - bring on Tuesday - watching the squatting video really, really helped - lower back felt much more conformable - when I shelf the bar on my back
OHP 5x5 @20kg (44lbs)
- again really focusing on my for had a wobble in the middle but when I re gripped it sorted me out
Deadlift 1x5 @ 50kg (110lbs)
- as I have been stupidly doing 5x5 on the dead lifts for the past 5 weeks - I thought I would jump up a wee bit more today as I was only doing 1 set - felt ok.... but nearly took the skin off my skins on the first lift!
3x planks 1min, 45 secs, 45 secs
20x frog kicks
20 x full sit ups
10 x jackknives on my suspension kit
2x 10 inverted rows
6x chin ups
50 air squats
felt good this morning reckon it was the strawberries, cream, meringues & magnum I nommed down last night - powered by pure sugar!
Happy lifting ladies0 -
Trying to use jefit but it doesn't like saving my workouts. Irritated.
Anyway a lift day, and a new squat or! 57.5kg (125.5lbs) 3x5. Jolly hard and will repeat as form was starting to break down. I can see my future being new weight, deload, work up, new weight, deload etc etc..
bench hit 37.5kg again after a big deload but probably should be working up with fractionals (but I don't wanna!). Managed 5,5 (just!) And 4 (knew I wouldn't hit 5).
rows 45kg (99lbs) new pr finally! Again worth repeating for form, felt heavy!
Now for curry for lunch then Wimbledon :-)0 -
Workout B today + extra core work
Squat 5x5 @ 45kg (99.2lbs)
-so close to 100lbs - bring on Tuesday - watching the squatting video really, really helped - lower back felt much more conformable - when I shelf the bar on my back
OHP 5x5 @20kg (44lbs)
- again really focusing on my for had a wobble in the middle but when I re gripped it sorted me out
Deadlift 1x5 @ 50kg (110lbs)
- as I have been stupidly doing 5x5 on the dead lifts for the past 5 weeks - I thought I would jump up a wee bit more today as I was only doing 1 set - felt ok.... but nearly took the skin off my skins on the first lift!
3x planks 1min, 45 secs, 45 secs
20x frog kicks
20 x full sit ups
10 x jackknives on my suspension kit
2x 10 inverted rows
6x chin ups
50 air squats
felt good this morning reckon it was the strawberries, cream, meringues & magnum I nommed down last night - powered by pure sugar!
Happy lifting ladies
Great workout! Lots of people end up doing 5x5 deadlifts until they realize it's supposed to be 1x5. It happens, so no worries. :flowerforyou:0 -
Say what? We are only supposed to do 1x5 on deadlifts? I have been doing 5x5 all this time!0
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Say what? We are only supposed to do 1x5 on deadlifts? I have been doing 5x5 all this time!
For a while I thought it was 1 rep for 5 sets.......I got the sets x reps backwards :laugh: Now I just take care of that by doing a ton of DL.0 -
It was deadlift day for me today!
95x8
115x6
135x6
167 (PR!!!) x 3
Then I got to do my most favorite exercise....glute bridge 2x10 @ 115#, 2x14 @ 95# superset with reverse crunches and then 3x10 GHR! Love deadlift day!!!!
ETA: Finally got around to reading this blog post....I think it's a nice refresher
Enjoy!
http://mollygalbraith.com/2013/07/is-being-really-lean-really-worth-it/0 -
Cute pic, Vegas!0
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Cute pic, Vegas!
Thanks I guess that the 5km race wasn't enough yesterday morning....got bored last night and decided to go for another 3km :laugh: Then I got bored at the end of that so decided to have a little photo shoot! Ha! 0 -
Say what? We are only supposed to do 1x5 on deadlifts? I have been doing 5x5 all this time!Lots of people end up doing 5x5 deadlifts until they realize it's supposed to be 1x5. It happens, so no worries.
See? What did I tell you? Happens all the time!
Deadlifts are very taxing on the body, so most training programs limit the number of reps you're doing so that you a) don't wear yourself out and b) give your body time to rest and adapt.
Romanian or stiff-legged deadlifts work differently since they're not "technically" deadlifts since you start with the weights below your knees rather than off the floor with every single rep. So a workout with Romanian deadlifts will usually have a higher volume than classic deadlifts or sumo deadlifts where you reset the weight to the floor every time, and obviously the effort and range of motion is much greater.0 -
ETA: Finally got around to reading this blog post....I think it's a nice refresher Enjoy!
http://mollygalbraith.com/2013/07/is-being-really-lean-really-worth-it/
Great article
I totally get where she's coming from, because I recently decided not to go below 22% body fat, even though I feel I still have too much belly flab, for a whole bunch of reasons that are pretty similar to what she's written about in the article.
The main thing is that I value what I can do and being strong far more than I value aesthetics. Originally, I had Camille crossfit-champion-with-a-difficult-to-spell surname as my "inspiration" i.e. who I wanted to look like... then one day I realised that if I was given a choice between looking like I do now while being able to do all of what she can do, or looking like her but only having my (then) strength and fitness.... I'd go for being able to do what she can do over looking like her every time. So losing strength for the sake of aesthetics is just not what I want at all.
I wasn't liking some of the changes I was seeing in my body when I was losing fat. My calves and forearms were getting too small, and I was losing fat from my hips, but I have very little non-boob fat around my ribs and I have definition in my shoulders when flexed, so my very broad shoulders and mahoosive rib cage are unlikely to get noticeably smaller but my hips were getting smaller, but I wanted to keep them in proportion. Yes I can build up my glutes (which I'm doing), but it's not going to happen if I'm also eating at a deficit to get rid of belly flab.
Also, cutting = being hangry sometimes and I have mental health issues that seem to be made worse by low blood sugar............. plus the fact that being strong is a huge boost to my mental health............I really don't want to risk my mental health going down even a little tiny bit for something that's purely aesthetics and won't give any physical health benefit.
So all in all it is totally not worth it for me to pedantically press on until I have 6 pack abs. Yes if somebody's fairy godmother bippity boppity boo'd me some 6 pack abs, I'd be happy with them, but the cost of getting them the real world say is too much. And on that note I wouldn't even have surgery to get them, because of the risks and possible complications (already had problems with that from c-sections) so it really would have to be a bippity boppity boo for them to be worthwhile. And there's no such thing as a fairy godmother.
So I've decided to live with the belly flab. :drinker: What she said about being in the place where health, performance, lifestyle and aesthetics meet, well I think I've either found that already or it's somewhere closer to 140lb rather than 130lb (and believe me when typing that I'm wondering where the happy medium is for wilks scores, i.e. whether the additional weight would lead to enough of a strength increase to offset the lowering of the score due to being heavier... I'm sure everyone has a wilks score ideal weight...).
And a final note, I think there's a degree of peer pressure in fitness forums like these, whereby extreme leanness is seen as the be all and end all of why we eat right and exercise, and that not wanting to look like a fitness model is seen by some as selling youself short, making excuses, copping out, etc.... well IMO it's about YOU and what YOU want, not what someone else thinks you ought to want and strive to get.0 -
And a final note, I think there's a degree of peer pressure in fitness forums like these, whereby extreme leanness is seen as the be all and end all of why we eat right and exercise, and that not wanting to look like a fitness model is seen by some as selling youself short, making excuses, copping out, etc.... well IMO it's about YOU and what YOU want, not what someone else thinks you ought to want and strive to get.
Yes yes and yes, especially to that last bit. I am visiting family right now and my SIL asked me how much more weight I was going to lose. I said I didn't know, and I didn't really think about it much. I had one of Calliope's "ah-ha" moments where I realized I finally AM far more interested in the weight on the barbell. And being able to do some pullups, and a handstand. And eating ALL the food. Oh, strength training, how I love you.
ETA: Whenever I do get a little too "lean-focused", I try to remember this video by Gokaleo. 'Cause not a one of us can escape genetics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6x4DPRrulA 0 -
No "workout #3” for me this week due to a Chronic Fatigue Synd. flair up. Feeling mostly better today but resting, so I can get back in the swing of things tomorrow.0
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And a final note, I think there's a degree of peer pressure in fitness forums like these, whereby extreme leanness is seen as the be all and end all of why we eat right and exercise, and that not wanting to look like a fitness model is seen by some as selling youself short, making excuses, copping out, etc.... well IMO it's about YOU and what YOU want, not what someone else thinks you ought to want and strive to get.
Yes yes and yes, especially to that last bit. I am visiting family right now and my SIL asked me how much more weight I was going to lose. I said I didn't know, and I didn't really think about it much. I had one of Calliope's "ah-ha" moments where I realized I finally AM far more interested in the weight on the barbell. And being able to do some pullups, and a handstand. And eating ALL the food. Oh, strength training, how I love you.
Yes to all of the above!
The other part that I found interesting was the part about reaching your "set-point". As some of you know, I have gained approximately 10-12 lbs since I started lifting heavy in November 2012 (yes, I'm eating at a deficit). I also got the Mirena at the same time that I started SL so I'm sure that there is a portion that is hormonal and a portion that is LBM. Interestingly enough, my body is totally transforming. It is over the last 6 months that I really have come to reset the way I think and focus on being FIT and not what the scale says. sorry....got off track lol The set-point.....I can't help but wonder if that is what has happened to me. I'm the same weight now as I was pre-preg (9+years ago) and it made me start to wonder if maybe this is where my body is happy.
I don't know how much actual research there is on this, but I think when I get time I will be looking into it.0 -
Another yes yes yes here, with my lifestyle (work, mother, wife) I don't want to make such selfish sacrifices in pursuit of something which would be pretty fleeting, intangible and then pressured to maintain. I want to be strong, healthy, setting a great example to my girls, giving my husband a little eye candy... But not at the cost of being food and exercise obsessed. I love food. I have a jiggly tummy and it's going to get better. But not fitness model better, just a little less jiggly. I'd love to get my fat % down to mid 20s. But not less, my husband already complains my boobs are disappearing.. let me lift and let me eat :-)0
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Thanks for the birthday wishes!
3fold, sorry about your flareup, hope you are better fast! I've been kind of dragging this week, too.
The leanness discussion is very interesting. I'll let you know more of what I think when I start getting closer to my goal of 25% body fat.
[Neander, there is definitely a link between our food and our mental health, I've been eating to heal my mind for 9 years (and it's worked great BTW). Foods can play a big role in healing/maintaining our biochemistry.]
We were at the race track last night and I started looking for people who looked 'fit'. There were precious few, male or female. Some skinny people, LOTS of overweight and obese people, probably some who do cardio, but very few who looked to be strong and in shape. So yeah, next year I am going to really stand out when I am all trim and fit! :glasses:
Last chatty thing... while sitting in the stands last night I got terrific DOMS from deadlifts, OHP's and pullup practice. I haven't had such a bad case in a while.
So anyways...
Squats 110 3x5 all systems go
Bench 67 3x5 all systems go
Power Cleans sets of 3 @ 50 55 60 65 65
I did 65 pound power cleans!! I did 65 pound power cleans!! I did 65 pound power cleans!! I'm ecstatic because now I can use the standard bar with 10 pound bumper plates and be at the correct height. It was ugly, though. Several times, I gathered myself, jumped, and the bar just stayed at my thighs. :laugh: I had to do 5 attempts to get 3 cleans on each of those sets. But I did them!
Onward to next week now 0
