April Presses bring May Dresses
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Workout B yesterday.
squat 5x5 @ 65lbs
ohp 5x5 @ 55
deadlift 1x5 @ 105
assisted pull ups - 3x5 @ -135
barbell curls 2x8 @ 15
20 minutes fast walk on the curve non-electric treadmill
Very happy with yesterday. Everything is getting a little more challenging as the weight goes up. My legs are a little sore today and my back and shoulders have been sore non stop. I'm ok with that because I WILL be doing an unassisted pull up by the end of the year.1 -
so happy. happyhappyhappy. i did my squat workout on this last chance day of my wendler week 1, and IT WORKED.
oh yeah, and there was bench press there too. bench max set was 75 and i didn't love it but i did get it respectably done. 6 on amrap plus quite a lot of warmup.
squat max was also 75, but i started with three warmup sets with the bar and then began doing 5 pound jumps for another 5 reps each time. it all felt fine, and i feel like i stopped at exactly the right point too - heavy enough that i could feel the work, but still light enough that even the tiny struggle to finish the final rep felt fine too.
and when i was leaving, the attendant chatted to me for a while and she told me without any prompting that my form had looked 'really good'. so that part was huge, because i know how it was all feeling, and hearing that it actually was good form means that i know i can safely keep looking for those same sensations and following the same pattern next time. i mentioned i'm happy, right?
accessory was mostly lower-trap stuff. actually mostly the same olds, but with far more attention to getting my lower traps right. it really seems to be paying off in the t4 region where i have so much trouble so much of the time. i did band pulls, external rotation and y's with 2.5 and 5lb plates, and also some very careful, good-feeling pulldowns with very light weight. stayed off the lower body accessories because i want to monitor how my hamstrings and glutes feel tomorrow to see how much work they got while i was doing the squats.
spoilered for possible boringness
the squats, idek what happened although i do have ideas.
- y and t raises and pulls, with fanatical attention to organizing myself so the pinch doesn't happen at all. tiny-subtle recruitment changes, but big difference.
- wider grip on the bar, and 100% priority on just not having that pinch happen at all. i set up more carefully, settled myself more carefully and actually tested that zone to find an engagement where i wasn't feeling it at all, before i unracked. then during the reps, also total focus on not letting it happen even for just a small part of the rep.
- total focus once out of the rack on consciously checking my upper back and getting the weight pulled in over mid-foot and my neck neutral before i started the set. check on obliques for engagement, check on rhomboids and traps for comfort.
- eyes on the crossbar in front of the rack for each set, instead of up and on my own face.
- re-check in between sets to see if i'd re-activated the problem or not.
- sets of 8 goblet squats with 30lb kettlebell between sets. basically doing box squats from the ground up - pick up the bell from the ground, actually mentally check each zone like hamstrings/glutes/lower abs to ensure they're engaged, engage them more to pull the hips in a little more under the bell, check mid/upper back for engagement AND feeling comfortable with being engaged; hold for 3 - 5 seconds; drive through glutes and upper hams to stand up. these rocked, to be honest. they felt great, and light weight really let me pay full attention to the whole thing. it felt great.
tomorrow, trainer! press and deadlift and i'll be done with week 1.0 -
@DawnEmbers - really impressive lifts! You've progressed well. When did you start using the belt? Does it help you lift more weight?
@ninenines - what did you use to learn how to hip thrust? I was just reading about them in Strong Curves. I may add them, too. First, I'm going to incorporate my cardio. And, I'd like to add pull-ups, too. Definitely, not ready for those0 -
@Deena_Bean - congrats on that Hour Earlier Dedicated Workout0
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@lwhayes820 I mostly learnt from Bret Contreras (Strong Curves) and this http://www.girlsgonestrong.com/hip-thrust/. I do 5x5 but hold the last rep of each set for 10 seconds for an isometric burn.
I'm taking a rest day today. I didn't get enough sleep last night and I noticed my body (especially legs) were feeling quite tanked during netball training last night. Hopefully will feel fresh for the game tomorrow.0 -
4/23's workout:
Squat 5x5 @ 105 lb
OHP 4x5 @ 52.5 lb and 1x4 @ 52.5 (failed to be repeated)
DL 1x5 @ 145 lb
I am scheduled to workout today but I'm not sure if I should. I rolled my ankle yesterday and it's a little tender today, but significantly improved. It's completely painless if I don't roll it in that exact direction (meaning it's fine in squat direction). But maybe it's still not smart to squat.
What do you think? If not squat, could I still bench and row?
Luckily my restless leg seems to be pretty much gone now that I've taken iron a few days in a row haha.
Also a question about deadlifts. The program says to switch from 10 lb increments to 5 lb increments once you hit 220 lb. I imagine that's for men. What weight did you switch from 10 to 5 lb increments on deadlift?
Took some days off to let my ankle heal from a minor sprain after all. I'm glad I did but today's workout was hard!
Squat 5x5@110 lb - it was so hard. I felt like I was so close to not being able to get up in the first two sets.
Bench 2x5, 1x4, 2x5 at 62.5 lb. Failed on the 3rd set so I increased the rest time to 5 minutes for the remainder.
Row 1x2 @ 75 lb, then 5x5 at 70 lb. Been a bit stuck at 70 here... but I know I've been inconsistent lately due to ordering my bench much later than the rest of the equipment and avoiding the gym. No more excuses!
In general, I thought it was curious that I found some of the earlier lifts the hardest. Maybe time to improve my warmups. I did the empty bar about 10 times, then 10lb each side x 5, then 25 lb each side x 4, then up to 32.5 each side for the actual workout. Maybe a more gradual warm up?
Also thinking of adding assisted pull ups or let downs? to the mix. Probably to workout B. To workout A I'm considering good mornings or hip thrusts. It was for sure going to be HT but I tested my bench today and it may not be heavy enough to stay put. Good mornings are an option too, I just worry about my neck. If anyone has any good form videos, I'd love to see them
I love reading everyone's updates and seeing their numbers climb It's so motivating.
ETA: There must be a better way than the roll of shame! But I didn't have a spotter around. *sigh*0 -
@VeryKatie I set up my bench in front of my power rack to keep it in place for hip thrusts, might work for you.1
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Treadmill today - just incline walking. My neck through my shoulders are killing me - I may have to skip lifts tomorrow if its not better when I wake up. I was better this morning when I got up, but it's tightening up again today. Sucks.0
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SL's A
Squat: 70lbs 5x5
Bench: 60lbs 5x5
Row: 60lbs (2 x30lb DB's) 5x5
My accessories :-)
Skullcrushers: 30lbs 2x8
Shrugs: 50lbs (2x25lb DB's) 2x10
Calf Raises: 45lb 3x15
@Deena_Bean hope your shoulder & neck feel better!0 -
@lwhayes820 - I started using a belt part way in my attempt at a pre-meet peak cycle. Recently competed in my first powerlifting meet and even in the raw division, most tend to use belts and even knee sleeves or wraps. I just went with the belt for this first one. I have used it for almost a couple of months now. It's hard to tell so far how much it helps because I need to break it in more as it's still rather stiff. The 4 inches is a little big at my height and it causes a small ache on the spot at the top of my hip bone. But overall, I do like using it for the heavy sets on squats and deadlift.
Had struggles with internet browser, so here was what I posted from yesterday's workout over in the other group too. Just a day late in posting it on here.
Rough day rough day as I didn't sleep at all. No reason, just couldn't fall asleep. Ended up going to the gym at 8 am, which is way early for me but knew I'd be too tired later in the day.
No Sleep Mess Around
10 minutes elliptical warm up
chin ups - rep counts of 3, 2 and 3
cable bicep curls 3x8 @ 60
power cleans - worked on each part of the move with just the bar for a little bit then did 3x5 roughly with a couple struggled reps on different sets with 65 total weight. Oddly, felt it more in my quads but they have been getting worked the past couple of days. We don't have an area with mats or the bumper plates, anything like that, so I have to be careful in how I put the weights down. Started with stacks of 2 25 plates per side cause the 10 plates are small but ended up adding another plate per side to get the bar up a little higher on start. Kinda interesting though.
pendlay rows - with straps did 3x5 @ 95. Tried 115 but no good. Hadn't done them in few weeks so need to be consistent if want any progress but 95 was pretty good.
20 minutes elliptical then some random walking around stores before getting cold brew at Starbucks.
Considering Texas Method. While I like the 4 days a week, upper/lower splits but full body would be three days a week, which might work better with the running. Not sure yet but we'll see. It's near the top of the list of potential options.
Also, considering going to gym in morning instead of at night but not sure yet. hmmm0 -
last day of week 1. starting tomorrow it'll be 3's but this week it was 5s for deadlift and press.
press 55, deadlift 125. 6 reps for amrap on both. and dimel deadlifts 3x8x75/95, 2x15x105.
that's all there was time for today. i was more tired than i expected to be so a bit disappointing. but i did it all went there and back by bike too and i think i'm feeling the thursday squats more than i know. looking forward to 'restarting' at 70% of training weights for the initial sets in week 2.
i'm going to a 'trigger point stretch and release' workshop tomorrow in the afternoon. how exciting is that???0 -
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Started laundry and headed to the basement. Lift day! Still haven't been doing my extra warm ups, but may try to pick it back up again this coming week.
Squat: 2x5x45, 1x3x75, 5x5x115
Bench: 2x5x45, 5x5x80
Rows: 5x5x80
Have a good weekend...rainy here, kids games are gonna be miserably wet and cold0 -
Week one is officially done! I increased my bench press and rows but keeping squats the same for a bit longer until Im more comfortable with my form. I videoed myself doing squats and need to keep working on it. I may post a video next week in the form check for help... Going to try and do body weight squats to get the feel down first. Loving this program so far!0
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i did a lot a lot a lot of cycling today. two separate municipalities' worth, and there was some heartbreaking hill in the middle of it for a couple of miles.
no lifting, but i did take advantage of chipotle being in the neighbourhood of one of my destination points. ate an entire chicken burrito all the way down to the silver paper and even drank half a coke before i felt ready to finish the job of getting back home.
i basically spent most of the day on my bike.0 -
Sounds like a great day @canadianlbs
Great work on getting through the first week @klala042 !
Stronglifts A this morning for me.
SQ: 3x5 @ 37.5kg
BP: 5,4,3,3,3 at 35kg. Third fail at this weight so time to deload back to 30kg. Managed to increase 4kg on from last deload.
BR: 5x5 at 36kg0 -
Yesterday went to the gym after work. Tried out doing the main compounds all in one night, so squat, bench and deadlift. It did take me a while and I did 20 minutes cardio at the end since trying to increase my cardio a little right now. Tried out to guess what would be my 5 rep weight range.
Squat 2x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 95, 1x5 @ 135, 3x5 @ 165 (with belt and felt heavy)
Bench 2x10 @ 45 and 3x5 @ 95
Deadlift 1x6 @ 135, 1x5 @ 185 and 225 with belt for 4, 3, 3 reps.
Tried to see if I could get 5 on 225 as it used to be my one rep max but couldn't get there yet. Squats are feeling heavy but it was also a little challenging because my shoulders were sore where I place the bar.
Then went home and tried maple bacon poptarts. They were pretty good. The scent was mostly maple based with hints of the bacon. I did one toasted and one cold but I liked them both. I mostly go with brown sugar poptarts but once a year or less as I'm not that into poptarts in general, but it was fun to try this one.
Today, I went on a grocery quest. Aside from veggies as I'm doing more volume through veggies instead of IF for right now, I found Ben & Jerry non-dairy ice cream. Yep, non-dairy. They used almond milk. I almost got the pb cookie one but it was 290 calories per serving and brownie was only 200. Will try the pb one next time. Looking forward to some ice cream one of these nights. mmmm
Edit: I forgot to add. I also am starting a youtube channel in relation to my blog, which is about fiction writing and fitness. I put up an quick introduction but will have the meet video up in the near future on my channel, once I film a small introduction to it. So weird to hear my recorded voice... Anyways, this is me and what I sound like(ish) along with a small introduction though I will have to do more information later.
https://youtu.be/bmeBBsTFmME 1 -
Okay, didn't mean to embed the actual video but oh well. Future I'll figure out how to just link the overall channel.0
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I woke up so cranky this morning, I slept fine but just must have got out on the wrong side! Decided to do my workout early to hopefully improve my mood.
SQ: 3x5 at 37.5kg
OHP: 5,5,5,5,3 at 25kg. Maybe could have got 4 on the last set. One more chance to get this weight.
DL: 1x5 at 60kg, 70kg and 80kg. Still working on form after feedback from last week. I think the set up is better now. Will get more feedback and review some more videos.
HT: 5x5 at 45kg.1
