ifebruary workout was wonderful . . .

canadianlbs
canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
edited November 15 in Social Groups
oh, i give up. february is just too hard to make a pun with.

wanted to start the new thread though because i'm feeling high on myself. woke up before six, did not get to the closer rec centre by six, spent some time stretching and left sometime before 7. i was 10 minutes from work by 7:15 on my watch . . . and there's another rec centre right there.

well, i mean. what else can a girl do, right? i went in and it was empty. quiet. lovely views too. i think everyone in the surrounding condo towers must be doing private-gym crossfit or something, idk. anyway, i lay down and did my 1's week bench press right there in my bike gear and everything. the safeties on this bench are right for my dimensions too \o/

and then it was till only 7:30 on the real clock so i took my shoes off and did rows :tongue:. back on the bike by 7:40, and looking innocent at my desk by just a bit after 8. i like this. i like it a lot. the place opens at 6:30, actually. so i think this is a genuine way i might be able to hit consistent workouts three times a week without making my life very complicated.

bench press 1's week. i didn't know what my numbers should be, but mr t marked my 1rm at 80 last week when we tested it, so i ballparked off that. actually means that i did 65, 70 and 75, and on the last set i got 4 and still felt like i'd stopped in good time. all this because i got serious about not being sloppy and actually keeping myself super-tight. so there's hope after all about bench, as 75 is higher than i expected to go.
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Replies

  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    Went to gym after work but a different location as I am helping out another store two days a week. Didn't have as much time as planned so might do accessories tomorrow.

    band pull apart - 3x10
    one arm db row - 3x10 @ 37.5
    bench press - 2x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 65 and 3x5 @ 85
  • jowaring
    jowaring Posts: 145 Member
    Today's workout
    Squats 1x5@45lbs.1x5@90lbs 4x5 @106lbs.first time at this weight.was meant to do 3x5 but didn't feel like I'd done enough lol.
    Ohp still on 45lbs.firms ok at this weight but soon as I try 47 my backs arching.
    Deadlift 1x5@90 1x5@120lbs 1x5@131lbs.
  • quiarga
    quiarga Posts: 408 Member
    Today's Workout: B

    Squats: 2x5 - 65, 2x5 - 70, 1x5 - 75, 5x5 - 80
    OHP: 4x5 - 10, 2x5 - 16, 5x5 - 20
    Deadlift: 2x5 - 45, 2x5 - 50, 1x5 - 55

    Was supposed to do 25 on OHP, but I only have 10 lb dumbbells (so 20lb) or 15 lb dumbbells (30 lb). I tried with the 15s and couldn't do one set. I'm going to have to pick up some 12 pounders to fill this gap. The deadlift was almost too easy, but I started completely over and just going with the weight the app suggested. It's good to work on form again though with these lower weights.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    still no bar in my gym. i may have to buy one myself and put it in there and hope nobody breaks or steals it. monday did more barbell and machine exercises. wednesday lost my car key and left my car at the train station with all my gym stuff locked inside so i went home and did my first ever kettle bell workout with an 8 lb that someone gave me ages ago. it felt a lot like cardio at that weight, but i'm happy i did more than just sulk. then i had the most wonderful foam rolller session. anyone know how often i can do these? since my glutes and hamstrings are literally sore ALL THE TIME i would like to take care of them as best as possible. i think it's as much from running on my off days as it is from the lifting. i should have more than 1 rest day, but i'm not good at it.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    wednesday lost my car key and left my car at the train station with all my gym stuff locked inside

    oh my, worst-nightmares time. hope you had a spare key and it all worked out.

    i walked home from t-day. uphill ALL ways, no bleeding knees but very literal snow. which was why i did it; i sort of knew when i set out this morning that i was likely to get to my destinations but getting home might be a no-buses situation.

    for some insane reason i stopped at the foot of the serious hill and bought 5 kilos of flour as well, to put in the backpack with the wretched laptop and my gym shoes. horrible, seriously slippery six-inch-deep snow. the walk took me two hours, and then i ocd'd with the judgey neighbour woman's snow shovel, aka shovelled the sidewalk for the entire block. i'll probably be the only person not to get the benefit, because tomorrow i plan to be sore as, excuse-my-words, *kitten*.

    oh yeah, and it was 1's day. kinda tired and not really feeling it, so disappointed a bit. but not too bad otherwise.

    press 50/55/60. three for the last set. deadlift 125/145/160 and we threw on another pound and a half just to nail that big number in place. the last weight took me three tries, and i would have given up if mr t hadn't been watching me drop the second try three inches up, and said 'i think you can get that.' normally he just lets me be, and i appreciate that because i'm uncomfortable with people trying to get all up in my feels with Motivational Speak. but this was a nice little gesture from him, because in fact i did get it. so shoutout to him.

  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,694 Member
    My workout sucked today. I waited too long after eating so I suddenly felt famished in the middle of my squats. After two warm-up sets I couldn't do more than 2 sets of 5 at 75. I did manage 5 x 5 dumbbell bench press with 30 lb each, but only 2 sets of 4 at 32.5. Barbell rows 5 x 5 at 65 lb. And the place was crawling with people so I had to wait for a squat rack. Forget barbell bench press.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,694 Member
    And as I left the gym, an ambulance and fire truck pulled up to the gym! No idea who and what happened.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited February 2017
    lkpducky wrote: »
    And the place was crawling with people so I had to wait for a squat rack. Forget barbell bench press.

    the sucky ones count too, but this really caught my eye.

    because i trekked over awful terrain to get to the gym at around 1pm, and i found it absolutely mobbed with people who SHOULD ALL HAVE BEEN AT HOME SHOVELLING SNOW #twitchtwitch #it'sokaythanksi'llbefine. i must have hit just the right time gap though, because it cleared out pretty fast while i was doing my full agile-8 to warm up for a change. so i got to do both of my Things. i missed my usual saturday hypetrophy thing due to snow and other things such as not-leaving-the-house, so i did it today; bench and squats.

    bench: 5x10 at 50. i actually did 2x10 with the bar first, and then thought i'd just put it up to 50 pounds for three final sets as kind of a transition phase to full-on 50. but it started to work at 50 so i just pretended the first two had been a warmup and did the whole thing.

    then squats. i am a ways from wanting to add weight for squats, but i did five sets of 10-front-then-10-back. you know, i honestly am going to close my eyes from now on when i lift. if for nothing else then for squats. eyes-closed is about the only time it feels like i can really feel what my body is doing and what's going on.

    i did so much squats because in the first couple of sets there was a specific little . . . like a 'catch' in my s.i. hard to explain but not a feeling that feels like something that should be happening. so once i realised it was really there, i started making that my one prime directive: you can not go so deep you feel that. i don't actually know what my depth was because eyesclosed, but making that rule and really holding to it sure got my hamstrings fired up. and then on the last couple of sets i suddenly 'got' a totally different idea of the breathe-into-your-belly thing too.

    i'm sort of obsessed with the fact that squats are just like the overhead press. there's this narrow channel, and if the bar stays in that channel it changes everything. truth is, idk where that channel is or how to find it consistently when i squat, but closing my eyes seems to make me a lot more aware of the times i find it. in any case i did a buttload of squats and mostly because i've been monitoring the weather forecast and i have no expectation of being able to bike anywhere during this week :smiley:


  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    canadianlbs- thanks for starting this thread! I was thinking of doing it but I also could not think of a good pun!

    Stronglift Workout B
    Squat-1X5X 55/65/75, 5X5X 80
    OHP- 1 X5X 45, 5X5X 50
    DL- 1 X5X 95/100

    Kettlebell Swing
    Goblet squat-3X5X 30
    Russian kettle bell swing-25X7X 30

    Keto 3 Week Challenge February 5th-25th
    Day 2! I hope everyone is doing well! The sharing of recipes is fantastic! Thanks for everybody's help! I am in ketosis and the fat is burning off of me!
  • quiarga
    quiarga Posts: 408 Member
    Today is my rest day, but here's yesterday's workout:

    Workout A
    Squat: 2x5-65, 2x5-75, 1x5-80, 5x5-85
    Bench: 2x5-45, 2x5-50, 5x5-55
    Row: 2x5-45, 2x5-50, 5x5-55

    The last two reps on my last set of bench press were ugly but I got them up. I'm going to repeat at this weight next time to make sure they're cleaner. Same with rows too. I've watched the form videos over and over, but I really need to get a mirror in our home gym so I can tell if my back is where it should be. I feel like I'm pulling up and not keeping it straight. I'm still so happy that I picked up the smaller plates last week, and I'm able to do more warmup sets with them!
  • amyinthetardis1231
    amyinthetardis1231 Posts: 571 Member
    Back in action! Still going a bit easy til the rib is fully healed, but it feels much much better! Squats actually felt great as well, I think the forced break was actually very helpful.

    Squats: 5x5 @ 125ish (heavier bar, total weight somewhere between 52 and 55 lb)
    Benchpress: 2x5 @ empty bar, 3x5 @ 55. Bit of soreness in that rib muscle but not horrendous.
    Wretched rows: Skipped. Benchpress was pushing it for the ribs so I stopped at that.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,694 Member
    edited February 2017
    Workout B
    OHP
    warmup set 10 x 10 lb dumbbells, 10 x 12.5 lb dumbbells
    then 5 x 5 30 lb fixed barbell
    later, 1 x 4 with 17.5 dumbbells

    Squats
    1 x 5 @ 65 lb, 2 x 5 @ 75 lb, 2 x 5 @ 80 lb
    I struggle to make sure I'm pushing off my heels, fearing I will fall over backward
    There were two guys who were in the neighboring squat rack who stayed there a long time! squats, deadlifts, shrugs. stopping in between, trading off. Fortunately I only had to wait through two sets for the guy at the other rack.
    Then deadlift 1 x 65 lb
    It bothered my back even though I concentrated like crazy on my glutes and hamstrings. Next time I'll try 55 lb. Now there's a spot on the lower left quadrant of my back that's bothering me. That spot always tightens up. At least I've got a Thursday appointment for a sports massage. The guy was excellent and can help me. He was very pleased that I'm lifting weights.

    I felt a little weak. Eating some chocolate almonds just before the workout helped. My appetite's gone up and I've felt a bit weak. Maybe hormonal...? got taken off BC pills because of no period for a year. Been off them for a little over a week.

    And I cannot for the life of me do front squats. If I get my upper arms parallel with the ground, my wrists are flush with my neck so there's no room to hold the bar. Could be stiff wrists/lower arms. Crossed arms, the bar on my arms hurts like hell. No idea how people can do it. I must be a real wimp. Every time I look up a solution, it just says to "man up" "don't be such a p**sy"
  • amyinthetardis1231
    amyinthetardis1231 Posts: 571 Member
    lkpducky wrote: »

    And I cannot for the life of me do front squats. If I get my upper arms parallel with the ground, my wrists are flush with my neck so there's no room to hold the bar. Could be stiff wrists/lower arms. Crossed arms, the bar on my arms hurts like hell. No idea how people can do it. I must be a real wimp. Every time I look up a solution, it just says to "man up" "don't be such a p**sy"

    I tried front squats with crossed arms exactly once and had bruises on my biceps for two weeks. F that noise, I do back squats. Do what works for you and ignore the bros online.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,694 Member
    edited February 2017
    lkpducky wrote: »

    And I cannot for the life of me do front squats. If I get my upper arms parallel with the ground, my wrists are flush with my neck so there's no room to hold the bar. Could be stiff wrists/lower arms. Crossed arms, the bar on my arms hurts like hell. No idea how people can do it. I must be a real wimp. Every time I look up a solution, it just says to "man up" "don't be such a p**sy"

    I tried front squats with crossed arms exactly once and had bruises on my biceps for two weeks. F that noise, I do back squats. Do what works for you and ignore the bros online.

    I like the way you put it.

    A variation my husband taught me, "F this for a game of soldiers"
    I love those UK expressions.

    Or he would say the bros online are "talking a load of old bollocks"
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    fanncy0626 wrote: »
    canadianlbs- thanks for starting this thread! I was thinking of doing it but I also could not think of a good pun!

    heh. you say that like i did . . .


    lkpducky wrote: »
    I must be a real wimp. Every time I look up a solution, it just says to "man up" "don't be such a p**sy"

    yeah, here's another one: up their kilt about that :tongue: crossed-arms on front squats isn't recommended because of the internal rotation of your arms. i can't do them that way. and some people are just anatomically challenged for having the bar in the right position without the crossed arms.

    if you're not into them, don't have to do them. but if you are, i saw an alan thrall thing recently about alternatives that seemed reasonable and realistic, the way a lot of his stuff is. such as using straps, or going with a wider grip if it's hard to get your wrists to bend back.
    I think the forced break was actually very helpful.

    \o/ and yeah, eff the bench press :P
    quiarga wrote: »
    Same with rows too. I've watched the form videos over and over, but I really need to get a mirror in our home gym so I can tell if my back is where it should be.

    rows just feel awkward no matter what. even when you do them 'right' they feel weird. but good going still doing them, because they really are a good way to counter all the push-based strength of bench press.

    **********

    and now me. INSANE snow kicked in at about 4 pm, and i was 'late' aka didn't get in until a bit after nine because of the previous batch. i made a kind of tactical mistake by taking up the gym in the building on their 'open house' instead of committing myself to lifting at a rec centre and then walking home.

    i literally just did overhead press, 5x10, in their weight room, and got gone. it really isn't a lifter's weight room. there's no realistic way to deadlift in there, even supposing i was gutsy enough to do it on their pretty polished-hardwood floor. academic since they don't have trainer plates, either #meh.

    transit badlysnarled up, waited over an hour for a bus to get home, so now it's really a little too late to embark on cooking a serious meal. feeling a little bit bleh, but i can say in passing that taking tons of real food and eating all day long while at work hasn't seemed to interfere with me trying to keep my weight under control.

    but i'm eating gummies for dinner tonight.
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Stronglift Rest Day

    Kettlebell Swing
    Morning Workout
    Goblet squat-3X5X 30
    Russian kettle bell swing-25X7X 30
    Evening Workout with Husband he decided he has more time in the evening!
    Goblet squat-3X5X 30
    Russian kettle bell swing 25X7X 30

    Keto 3 Week Challenge February 5th-25th
    This type of eating really melts the fat off of my body! Since Sunday I have lost 2.6 pounds! Without any effort except the menu planning! My diary is open for those that want to get ideas.
  • jowaring
    jowaring Posts: 145 Member
    Today's workout
    Squats didn't go well today,after a few warm up sets I decided to move up to 110lbs from 106. Did the first 5 reps then on the 2nd set,sat down and couldn't get up lol. That happened on the 3rd set so I deloaded a few lbs but had a mental block and it was like I'd forgot how to squat.it felt like I was using my back muscles more even at a lower weight.so gave up and moved onto bench. Did 5x5@61lbs and felt quite easy.
    Rows 5x5@66lbs.
    Glute bridge 4x10@67lbs.
    Then went for an hours walk with the dog.

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    skipped deadlifting today, because circs. good thing too, as things are still a bit bogged with the snow. it's going to do it again tomorrow and then rain like *kitten* for 24 hours or something, apparently.

    so i elected to come home, do my three or four days' worth of dishes, sleep my face off and if-it-happens i'll do my 5x10 deadlifts tomorrow morning. and if not, then eh. it's deload week right now anyway.
  • quiarga
    quiarga Posts: 408 Member
    jowaring wrote: »
    Glute bridge 4x10@67lbs.

    Didn't know what those were so YouTube'd some videos. Very entertaining while eating my breakfast this morning. ;)
  • quiarga
    quiarga Posts: 408 Member
    Yesterday's workout:

    Workout B:

    Squat: 2x5-65, 1x5-75/80/85, 5x5-90
    OHP: 2x5-10, 1x5-16/20, 5x5-30
    Deadlift: 2x5-45, 1x5-55/60, 1x5-65

    I did fewer warmup sets of the OHP so my arms weren't so tired this time and I was able to actually use the 15lb dumbbells this time. Deadlift was still pretty easy, but squats are definitely getting hard now. Also did a 30 min bike ride with my kids and my legs were jello. Today I'll probably just walk on the treadmill since it went from 60 degrees yesterday to 30 degress today. =\
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Stronglift Workout A
    Squats-1X5X 55/65/75, 5X5X 85
    BP-1X5X 45/55/65, 5X5X 75
    BR-1X5X 75

    Kettlebell Swing
    Goblet squats-3X5X 30
    Russian kettle bell swing-25X7X 30

    Keto 3 Week Challenge February 5th-25th
    Day 4-the keto sticks shows I am definitely in ketosis. I lost another .2 pounds today. Bringing the total since Sunday to –2.8 pounds. Thanks for all the sharing of recipes! And all the information from the people that have been on this type of eating plan for a while.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,694 Member
    yeah, here's another one: up their kilt about that :tongue:
    Didn't Scotty say that in Star Trek III?

    Workout A
    Squats - Goblet squats 1 x 5 @ 35 lb, 1 x 5 @ 40 lb, 3 x 5 @ 42.5 lb deloaded because of concern about my back. Couldn't get a squat rack, anyway.

    Barbell rows 5 x 5 @ 70 lb still feels like my arms are doing most of the work.

    Bench press 1 x 10 @ 45 lb, 1 x 5 @ 65 lb, 4 x 5 @ 70 lb, 1 x 5 @ 75 lb. Was tempted to do another set but thought better of it.

    Going off BC has made me want to eat everything in sight. And feel tired. But hey, at least bench press improved with all that fuel :-P

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    lkpducky wrote: »
    yeah, here's another one: up their kilt about that :tongue:
    Didn't Scotty say that in Star Trek III?

    heh. idk, i learned it from some long-ago denis norden story when the first star trek was still just a thing on tv. to be pedantic about it, what the guy said in the story was 'up your kilt, squire'. which is probably why it still makes me happy 40 years later.

    what i did today: woke up at 5. put on all winter clothes. left home at 5:50 or so and walked to the gym. first workout where i seriously set out intending to lift before work, and did it. and then i put all the clothes back on again and iced my bum in a snowdrift while waiting for the bus to arrive.

    i did 5x10 deadlifts at 90 pounds. 'easing' back in, since i don't think i've done 50-rep deadlifts since the last week of december. i think i should really try to lose the habit of over-dropping my hips. probably overcompensating for the days when i thought i was level and then it turned out my shoulders were actually lower than my hips. thing is, i think now i behave almost as if i'm doing a trap-bar deadlift. so trying to lose that because i think i'm dropping enough to let my hamstrings right out of the lift.

    couple of times today i did remember, and it sure felt different \o/. but i was in a hurry so didn't use this workout to tinker and fiddle around about it very much.
  • jowaring
    jowaring Posts: 145 Member
    quiarga wrote: »
    jowaring wrote: »
    Glute bridge 4x10@67lbs.

    Didn't know what those were so YouTube'd some videos. Very entertaining while eating my breakfast this morning. ;)

    Haha I know what you mean
  • amyinthetardis1231
    amyinthetardis1231 Posts: 571 Member
    Squats: 3x5 @ 130, 1x4 @ 130. Form was getting sloppy in the 4th set so I stopped before I hurt myself.
    OHP: 5x5 @ empty bar. Felt ok, small twinge in the rib muscle but not bad.
    Deadlifts: 1x7 @ 135. Big girl plates! Did two extra because I was excited and bc I did less of the squats.
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    Stronglift Rest Day
    Oops I didn't realize what day it was and I started to do the squats! I guess I just love lifting heavy!
    Squat-1X5X 55/65/75/85

    Kettlebell Swing
    Morning workout
    Goblet squats-3X5X 30
    Russian kettle bell swing-25X7X 30

    Move more sit less every hour ten minute challenge 5hr
    Russian kettle bell swing-50×7×30

    Evening work out
    Goblet squats-3X5X 30
    Russian kettle bell swing 25X7X 30

    Keto 3 Week Challenge February 5th-25th
    A lot of good recipes, questions, and support!

    Calorie Goal
    Definitely way below calories!
  • jowaring
    jowaring Posts: 145 Member
    Decided to drop down on squats after Tuesdays fail .did 1x5 45lbs 1x5 60lb 5x5@90lbs.
    Ohp 1x5 @35lbs 1x5@40lbs 5x5@47lbs.
    Deadlift 1x5@90lbs 1x4@105 lbs.1x5@ 135lbs.
    Lost an inch around my waist and 2lbs so things moving in the right direction finally lol.
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    jowaring- fantastic measurement and scale loss!
    Great workout!
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member

    Went to gym and it wasn't as bad this week since I went after 5:30 instead of after 6, for some reason. Last week is was just busier.

    band pull apart - 3x10
    bench press - 2x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 65, 3x5 @ 90
    pause bench - 2x5 @ 60
    incline bench - 1x10 @ 45, 3x8 @ 65
    seated row - 3x10 @ 75
    cable bicep curl - 2x8 @ 60 and 1x7
    face pull 4x10 @ 60
    45 walk on treadmill at a 2 incline
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