Count Up to 16 Weeks of Strength Building - Take 2
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Iwhayes, I don't care how many times I read your lifts, I am stunned. Mainly because I can't fathom lifting that amount of weight. You OHP 70 lbs. Now that's a bad-$$.
Kerryatoon, love reading your progress as well. You sound like such a happy person.
Dcresider, you are starting to conquer the diet portion. I know it's not easy but you are starting to figure it out. Keep at it.
Sixpacklady, you are consistent as always.
I would love to see pictures and/or measurements of everyone when we are all done with our 16 weeks.0 -
Week:8 / Workout: B /Total Weeks: 24
Deadlifts: 106 lbs 4x6
Note: I was blown away at how I was able to just quickly do one rep after the next. It happened out of no where on the last set of all sets. I only increased by 1 lbs but I wondering if I should increase by 5 next time. We will see. But that felt amazing!
OHP: 46 lbs 6,6,5,5
Inverted Rows: 4x6
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Week 6 - Wednesday's SL workout + cardio
Squats: 5 x 6 @ 115 lbs. No problems with moving up,
Overhead Press: 5 x 5 @ 55 lbs. The last set/reps were hard but finished. I guess I'll be staying at this weight for a while.
Deadlifts: 1 x 5@ 155 lbs. WOW! These felt so heavy but I finished the reps. I may need gloves since I'm getting callouses.
Romanian deadlifts: 2x 6 @ 90 lbs.
Cardio: bicycling (6 miles) and 20 minutes on elliptical for a change.
A question on Macros: I compared the Scooby calculator (TDEE of 2072) vs. IIFYM calculator (TDEE of 1728) and the difference was off by 300 calories. This gets a bit confusing for me in terms of how much I should eat a day when I'm working out. I guess I can average them out and deduct 15% - 20%^ for fat loss which comes to 1520- 1615 calories a day. I think this is manageable. What do you all think?0 -
Thanks DDHFree! You guys are my inspiration to keep on keeping on! Know what I mean? I don't know that I would have started or been as consistent without this group!
Dcresider - I'm still searching for the answers to the right macros. My weight loss seems to be stalled. Maybe with the loss that I've had, it's time to readjust.
Congrats to everyone's progress. We're at the half-way point! Yeah Us!0 -
Dcreider, hopefully someone very knowledgeable about macros will chime in. I still don't put a lot of emphasis on it at this point in my journey other than protein. I probably need to though.0
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My weight loss also have slowed down to 1 lb/month. I am aiming to get to 110s, not sure how realistic that will be...
dcresider - heybales has spreadsheet which I really like, maybe you can give that a try:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/813720
Today's workout
Deadlift - 125 lbs 3 X 5
OHP - 47.5 lbs 3 X 5
Assisted pullups0 -
Day three of staying ON POINT on my macros accomplished!!! Target on calories. I am still quit smoking!!! Weight holding steady at 147-150 lb.
Went to the gym last night here's my work out:
SL:
Squat 5x5 100lb !!!
OH Press 5x5 (55,50,50,50,50lb) had to deload.. failed last rep, first set.
Deadlift 1x5 95lb
Accesory:
Upright rows: 4x12 35lb
Hanging Leg raises: 3x15
Run sprints/ brisk walk: about .7 mile
I have been stalled on weight for about 6 weeks but I have also been able to continue to lose inches consistently on my hips, waist and thighs. See impressive gains on my weight lifting. AND have been able to increase my cals from 1200 to 1600 daily (I felt I needed a break from the heavy deficit) All this while maintaining my current weight!
I would still like to get my weight down into the 135-140 range but I also am so enjoying the strength gains and being able to eat more right now I'm not pushing too much on the weight loss. I'll definitely be revisiting this topic later and will be watching to see how you all are doing it. So please let me know what's working for you!2 -
@sixpacklady - thanks for sending me the link. It seems like I get the same macro number when compared to Scooby and IIFYM. This three should give me a good guideline. Thanks.
Today's workout: 5 mile run outside. It was beautiful out and it's a nice change from the treadmill.0 -
That's an interesting link that I've not visited before Sixpacklady. Thanks for sharing.
What I love about this process is that when we get to point where losing is very slow, we can take a break, maintain, and resume when ready. But what I really love is that while I'm not at the point of looking amazing naked, I feel great in most of my clothes. This has given me a great sense of freedom in that I don't feel like I have to rush to lose anymore. Don't get me wrong, I really want to get to my goal but now I can just REALLY ENJOY the process since I don't have to hide behind big clothes anymore.
Kerryatoon, that's great that you've been able to go from 1200 to 1600 calories. I think I finally feel the need for a break as well. My deficit has not been on point these last few weeks so not sure if I will have a loss. But I am okay with that as I love that I know what to do now if I do not have a loss.0 -
Week 8/Day 17/Total Weeks 8
workout SL A
I know I posted in here for day 16, seems to have disappeared!
Squat: 45lbs 1x5, 65 1x5, 75, 5x5
BP: 45lbs 1x5, 55 1x5, 70 1x5
Row: 30lb DB's x2, 5x5 had to do incline bench rows as the rack & bar were being used
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Skullcrushers: 25lb BB 2x15
Shrugs: 25lb DB's 2x15
Also mowed grass for 6 hours so that had to count for something haha!
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Also mowed grass for 6 hours so that had to count for something haha!
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You're absolutely right - it counts! All activity - but, especially mowing in the hot sun!
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Week 8/Day23/Total Weeks 8
Workout A on Wednesday
Late posting, but here goes:
Squats 5x5 @ 150lbs - felt good, but waited the 3 minutes. Was challenging.
Bench Press 5x5 @ 100 lbs! Felt wobbly on the last reps of sets 4 and 5. Right near the end, didn't think I would make it, but pushed through.
Barbell Row 5x5 @ 95lbs. Deloaded. This is my tough exercise. Really wanted to work on form to be sure my back is really working.
Tried putting the barbell on the low j-hooks of my power rack to see if it was better to lift from this than from ground. I've seen people in You-tube videos do it both ways. In the end, I preferred lifting from the ground.
Thursday
30 min HIIT Elliptical. Seeing an improvement in this area.0 -
A fun tool to see our strength standards - http://strengthlevel.com/
I am in the novice category, what is yours ? 0 -
Week:8 / Workout: A /Total Weeks: 24
Squats - 78 lbs 4x6
Bench Press - 63 lbs 5,6,5,6 (No idea why but had to drop by 2 lbs. Just could not lift the 65 lbs this morning.)
Pendlay Rows - 65 lbs 4x60 -
sixpacklady wrote: »A fun tool to see our strength standards - http://strengthlevel.com/
I am in the novice category, what is yours ?
I'm right there with you. A complete novice. LOL!0 -
WEEK: 7 - I realized this was week 7 for me since you guys are at week 8. I added on a few more arm lift accessories because if I can't get any other part of my body to look tone, at least I can work on my arms.
Squats: 5 x 6 @ 115 lbs.
Bench Press: 5 x 6 @ 65 lbs.
Rows: 5 x 6 @ 70 lbs. I felt it was a little harder this week.
extra:
Assisted pull ups: 3x8 @ 13 - I wanted to get extras on my arms and shoulder.
Assisted dips: 3x8 @ 12 - Need to work on the triceps a bit more.
Extras: 2 planks at 1 minute each
Cardio: bicycling 6 miles
Macros: I've stayed within my macros this week and under my calories goal. I have not weighed myself and will do so on Monday.
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Week 8/ Workout B/ Total Weeks 8
Squats - 5x6@ 155lbs all sets felt very good.
OHP- 5x5 @ 75lbs felt better this time around
Deadlifts- 1x5 @ 200lbs This was a tough lift. I wasn't sure whether to count it because I had to pause between reps. But, now I know that as you lift heavier, it's okay to pause and set-up for the next lift.
Overall a good workout, especially given my limited sleep this week. Looking forward to sleeping in!
Have a good weekend!
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Hello beautiful ladies!
I have good news and not-so-good news. Which do you want first? Okay, not-so-good news first. It appears I have inadvertently (as in unplanned) eaten over maintenance calories (on average) for 2 weeks now. I logged some days and didn't log others. I guess I just really needed a break but not happy about the way I did it. I probably gained 1 to 1.5 lbs but won't know for sure until things level out over the next few days. I should have listened to my body and mind but wanted to resist until I reach a 120 lbs. Oh well.
Now, for the good news. I don't know if it's due to the extra calories or not but I increase my deadlifts from 106 last week to 110 lbs this week. My highest yet--even higher than pre-injury deadlift weight. In addition, I was able to lift ALL the reps for each set so DARN quickly and efficiently that it blew me away. I simply put the way down and stood right back up with the quickest half sec paused that I've ever experienced. I felt like super woman. I can't wait to deadlift again. I really hope I keep this strength as I return to a deficit.
Week: 9/ Workout: B/ Total Weeks: 25
Deadlifts - 4x6@ 110 lbs.
This has been the best feeling since starting this program.
OHP- 4x6 @ 46 lbs.
Finally able to do all reps for all sets once again. I have concluded that I will not get any stronger on this lift without some accessory exercises which I may incorporate at the end of this 2nd 16 week round.
Inverted Rows- 4X6
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Hi all. I'm heading out for my SL workout although I'm having shoulder pain again. I did some research and looks like I have shoulder tendonitis (not necessarily rotator cuff).
I found a youtube video on how to self treat this problem and the pains seems to have eased quite a bit. Thought you guys might be intested for those that are suffering shoulder pains. See 1:20 which are my symptoms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNmIvTglBnQ . 0 -
Week 8 - SL workout + cardio
Squats: 5 x 6 @ 115 lbs.
Overhead Press: 1 x 5 @ 55 lbs. My shoulder tendonitis is back. I could barely lift one at 55 lbs. let alone the bar itself.
Deadlifts: 1 x 6 @ 155 lbs. Stayed here.
Romanian deadlifts: 4x 6 @ 80 lbs.
Cardio: bicycling (6 miles) and 30 minutes easy run.
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omg @lwhayes820, you are deadlifting 200lbs?! You are awesome!!
@DDHfree, superwoman, yes!
@dcresider, I am going to watch this video, though I have to say the cortisone shot has worked miracles, it is such a great feeling to just be able to move my arm/shoulder without pain!
All you ladies are doing so well and we are at or just past the halfway point for the 16 weeks of strength building!
Week 9/Day 18/Total Weeks 9
workout SL B
Squat: 45lbs 1x5, 75lbs 5x5
OHP: 45lbs 4x5, 50lbs, 1x5
DL: 45lbs 1x5, 65lbs 1x5, 135lbs 1x5
BB curl: 30lbs 3x10
Still hanging out at these same weights, I want to stay until I am happy with my form and feel ready to move on and up!0 -
Hey loving seeing all the progress here!!! So inspiring!
Week 5/ Day 14/total weeks 5
Went for my workout yesterday about noon, and boy it was a tough time.. the only thing I can think of is that I hadn't really eaten much in the morning and I was probably dehydrated. Definitely could feel a difference in my workout!
Workout A
Bike 1.0 miles, warmup
Squats: Warm-up 1x5 45, 1x5 95, 5x5 105lb
Bench : Warm-up 1x5 45, (failed at 75lb 5th rep, first set.. actually ended up with bar on my chest and had to roll it down to my lap. After that I could stand up and put bar back on rack. Glad it was only 75lbs!) deloaded and did 5x5 70lb
Barbell row: 0 I didn't have the confidence after that to even try this. Went home and drank loads of water.
Accessory lifts:
None
Lesson learned, Hydrate before gym, don't go to gym hungry. Should probably get spotter from here on out. Will most likely repeat this workout tomorrow, don't want to move on without successfully completing.0 -
Week 9 / Day 25 / Total Weeks 15
Workout A
Squats- 5x5 @ 160lbs - agree with @DDHFree - felt really good today. Felt strong!
OHP/5x5 @102.5lbs - was hard, but made it. Deloaded from 105lbs.
Barbell Row-5x5 @ 100lbs - deloaded last week and building back up. Felt my back muscles working.
On a positive, took my measurements and losses in waist, arms, thighs, shoulders. Either I saw gains in bust and chest or I didn't measure consistently.
I saw a small difference in my photos. A long way to go, but progress.
Thanks to you guys for being inspirational!0 -
Iwahyes, congrats on your progress. Great that you are using different methods. Pictures are worth a thousands words-- as they say.
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Week: 9 / Workout: A / Total Weeks: 25
Squats 4x6 @ 79 lbs
Bench Press 4x6 @ 64 lbs. Was able to hit all reps this time.
Barbell Row 4x6 @ 64 lbs0 -
Week: 8
Squats: 5 x 5 @ 120 lbs. I moved up 5 lbs. Sometimes the bar hits my shoulder at that tender spot but I shifted the bar so it didn't bother me too much.
Bench Presses: 4 x 8 @ 55 lbs. So I wanted to test my shoulder by bench pressing the bar alone and I had no major problem pushing up. I decided to deload by 10 lbs. from my original weight of 65 lbs. and ended up doing more reps than the usual 5 x 5. It's funny how I have no problems doing these lifts but when I get home, the shoulder starts bothering me.
Bentover Rows: 4 x 8 @ 55 lbs. No problems here but decided to use the same weighted bar above and do more reps.
Scull Crushers: 4 x 8@ 30 lb. bar. I Just wanted to try something new and whenever I've done these, my triceps are always sore. I miss being sore.
Extras: 2 planks @ 1 minute each.
Cardio: bike to and from work = 6 miles. I didn't feel like running today since I ran yesterday and my hamstrings are sore due to hill work.
Macros: I'm good so far with protein intake today and within my calories so far. Let's see what happens when I get home tonight. I always plan what to eat but then mess it up later.
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So my triceps are so sore from yesterday's scull crushers. I expected that. My shoulder feels okay and after tomorrow, I'll have a couple of days of rest.
Another plus: I stuck with my macros last night and was slightly under my calories. Yay me!!
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Week: 9/ Workout: B/ Total Weeks: 25
Deadlifts - 4x6@ 112 lbs.
OHP- 4x6 @ 46 lbs.
Inverted Rows- 4X61 -
Week 6/ Day 15/total weeks 6
So I decided to re-do the last set that I failed on so miserably last week. Definitely do better when I've eaten and well hydrated!
Incline treadmill, brisk walk w/ sprints: 15 minutes (warmup)
Squat: 5x5 105lbs
Barbell Row: 5x5 50lbs
Bench: 5x5 75lbs!!!
Accessories:
Cable Crunch: 5x10 100lbs
Six Inch Leg Raises during rest for crunches: 5x10
Assisted Pull ups: 1x5 80lbs
Assisted Dips: 1x8 90lbs
Calf Raises Machine: 2x15 30lbs
Looking forward to this weekend.. going to a friend's party Saturday night and it's going to be so fun. Can't wait to show off my muscly, lean, legs in some high heels!1 -
You'd better work it girl.Kerryatoon wrote: »Looking forward to this weekend.. going to a friend's party Saturday night and it's going to be so fun. Can't wait to show off my muscly, lean, legs in some high heels! I'm hanging out with some girlfriends that I haven't seen since last October. I would love to show off muscly, lean legs but it's gonna have to be the arms for me. LOL.
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