Review my plan, give your opinions
lavachickie
Posts: 18 Member
Yeah, I know I'm asking for it here. Just please be gentle. 
Just want to do the best I can!
Background
There's a long emotional backstory, which I'll shorten to this: In June 2017 I was driven to the gym to self-treat for depression brought on by grief. A coworker who has been lifting for a few years gave it to me straight: "Want to burn more fat? Build muscle." I was hating going to the gym and getting on a treadmill, and thought that lifting heavy was something I'd do "after I got a little healthier." He talked me into it and showed me the basics...
And I finally found something at the gym that I LOVED. Holy *kitten* do I love picking up heavy *kitten* and putting it down. LOL.
The workout suits me very well. I'm a 45-year-old woman, highest weight 340. Started this at 305, now 265. Over the summer I lost 40 lbs and saw my core strength and overall health bloom. And under the fat that's left (still lots of it), I've got some muscle. Rawr!
And I loved every minute of it.
I entered the gym honestly not sure I could do an air squat. (I can. Now I back squat 100 lbs) I feel like I've just barely broken out of the "deconditioned cube veal" category, and in 2018 I want to make some real gains. Right now I cannot afford a trainer, and I try to not bother my Coach too much because he's got his own thing to do.
In short, I want to get serious. I just took delivery of a Rogue squat rack and all the goodies for home, so there will never be an excuse to miss a lift. I told myself I would do this if I was still wild about lifting after six months. And here I am! There are accessories and other fun stuff I want to do that I can't/won't do in the gym. I will still do the lunchtime lifting with my crew at least twice a week for form tips, accountability, and overall fun, too.
My goal is body recomposition. Yes, I want to lose fat, but that happens naturally as I pursue strength.
To make matters interesting, I just returned to the gym after being out for almost two months due to bronchitis that went into pneumonia. I'm still not 100%, but I'm doing it anyway. LOL.
The program
Essentially I went straight into a 5/3/1 routine on overhead, bench, deadlift, and squat. (I'm sure there will be lots of opinions on that, there always is. It was what I was guided to when I knew nothing.) First few weeks were all on form [it's always about form, really], and it was easy and accessible for me... let's not argue about it.
Do a good warm-up: a bit of treadmill or rowing, some planks, then stretches and light rep movements to warm things up.
Do the core lift: three sets of warm-up, three sets of working, all guided by a spreadsheet.
BAM pat me on the back.
Weights were really really low. Still are, really, but... they are higher than when I started. I haven't usually done deload weeks because I'm not really to that point where I'm really pushing myself and need that much time to recover. I understand at some point that time will come.
Do the three-week cycle, increase 5 lb and start over. I had one or two times where things developed well and my AMRAPS were high, so I went up 10 lb.
(Like once I did a few cycles of goblet squats such that I didn't fall over under the 45 lb bar--yes, it happened--I kinda took off. When I hit an AMRAP of 31 I thought I should jump up. LOL.)
After feeling comfortable with the form, I felt like I wanted to do MORE, so with each lift I added Boring But Big, five sets of 10 at 60% of my training weight. Loved the results -- lots of sweat and more time with good target heart rate.
A solid week looks like this:
Monday: Deadlift w/ BBB - 1RM is 190
Tuesday: Bench w/ BBB - 1RM is 105
Wednesday: Overhead press w/ BBB - 1RM is 85
Thursday: Back squat w/ BBB - 1RM is 100
Friday: Front rack static hold (three warm-ups, then 235 x 20 sec for five reps, misc accessory futzing around. This lift was recommended to me for core strength and it rocks!
Saturday and Sunday are ideally "backup" days where if I have to miss something during the week, I would just push the plan back a day and continue. Won't be an issue with the tools at home, though! But for now, I want to work 5 days/wk, rest two, however they fall.
The Foodz
When I started, I slowly made changes to dial diet in for lifting. I keep to a calorie ceiling of 1700 cals/day (using My Fitness Pal) and trying to hit 160g protein/day. 160 lb is a long-term goal weight, probably a low estimate actually. Prefer fat to carbs but aside from the protein, I don't care much.
I have gone back and forth on "eating my exercise," and by that, I mean allowing My Fitness Pal to ADD calories to my daily goal as measured by my Apple Watch. That usually puts me more into the 2100 cal range, and I honestly think I lose more body fat in that range, as backward as that still seems to me.
I learned already that eating less does not get me more of what I want (EITHER more weight loss or more strength), and that gains are often totally independent of the scale. I've gone down a pants size and lifted more while the scale stayed firm. Whatever.
Post workout drink is Chain'd Reaction BCAAs/Ammos/Recovery from APS or Intra Blast from NutraBio. I found through experimentation that these DO help me avoid soreness. I was skeptical at first.
I've started using Rule 1 Lean 5 (thermogenic non-stimulant weight loss) at the recommendation of the guy behind the counter where I buy the rest of my stuff. Not sure it's doing much for me.
Truetein protein powders for shakes because I finally gave in to the fact that you just can't eat that much protein no matter how hard you try. LOL. A cup of whole milk with a scoop of one of these is delish.
Clff Lifter Bars when I want something tasty but haven't meal prepped (I know, they are more like candy bars).
The Goals
Overall, continue to build strength, and continue to lose fat. Pretty simple.
Using LiftCalcuator.com for my sex and weight, my numbers put me mid Novice for most lifts, except for squat which is really low. I could probably push this more than I am.
I would like to develop each of these lifts over the next 12 months so that I reach into the Intermediate-range on each. Is that reasonable?
And what's the best way to do that? Just the slow-and-steady of the linear progression I'm still enjoying as a beginner, doing this simple approach?
I know there will be lots of opinions out there. I'm happy to hear them. Especially those with experience from women who have traveled a similar road as I!
Thanks in advance!
Just want to do the best I can!Background
There's a long emotional backstory, which I'll shorten to this: In June 2017 I was driven to the gym to self-treat for depression brought on by grief. A coworker who has been lifting for a few years gave it to me straight: "Want to burn more fat? Build muscle." I was hating going to the gym and getting on a treadmill, and thought that lifting heavy was something I'd do "after I got a little healthier." He talked me into it and showed me the basics...
And I finally found something at the gym that I LOVED. Holy *kitten* do I love picking up heavy *kitten* and putting it down. LOL.
The workout suits me very well. I'm a 45-year-old woman, highest weight 340. Started this at 305, now 265. Over the summer I lost 40 lbs and saw my core strength and overall health bloom. And under the fat that's left (still lots of it), I've got some muscle. Rawr!
And I loved every minute of it.
I entered the gym honestly not sure I could do an air squat. (I can. Now I back squat 100 lbs) I feel like I've just barely broken out of the "deconditioned cube veal" category, and in 2018 I want to make some real gains. Right now I cannot afford a trainer, and I try to not bother my Coach too much because he's got his own thing to do.
In short, I want to get serious. I just took delivery of a Rogue squat rack and all the goodies for home, so there will never be an excuse to miss a lift. I told myself I would do this if I was still wild about lifting after six months. And here I am! There are accessories and other fun stuff I want to do that I can't/won't do in the gym. I will still do the lunchtime lifting with my crew at least twice a week for form tips, accountability, and overall fun, too.
My goal is body recomposition. Yes, I want to lose fat, but that happens naturally as I pursue strength.
To make matters interesting, I just returned to the gym after being out for almost two months due to bronchitis that went into pneumonia. I'm still not 100%, but I'm doing it anyway. LOL.
The program
Essentially I went straight into a 5/3/1 routine on overhead, bench, deadlift, and squat. (I'm sure there will be lots of opinions on that, there always is. It was what I was guided to when I knew nothing.) First few weeks were all on form [it's always about form, really], and it was easy and accessible for me... let's not argue about it.
Do a good warm-up: a bit of treadmill or rowing, some planks, then stretches and light rep movements to warm things up.
Do the core lift: three sets of warm-up, three sets of working, all guided by a spreadsheet.
BAM pat me on the back.
Weights were really really low. Still are, really, but... they are higher than when I started. I haven't usually done deload weeks because I'm not really to that point where I'm really pushing myself and need that much time to recover. I understand at some point that time will come.
Do the three-week cycle, increase 5 lb and start over. I had one or two times where things developed well and my AMRAPS were high, so I went up 10 lb.
(Like once I did a few cycles of goblet squats such that I didn't fall over under the 45 lb bar--yes, it happened--I kinda took off. When I hit an AMRAP of 31 I thought I should jump up. LOL.)
After feeling comfortable with the form, I felt like I wanted to do MORE, so with each lift I added Boring But Big, five sets of 10 at 60% of my training weight. Loved the results -- lots of sweat and more time with good target heart rate.
A solid week looks like this:
Monday: Deadlift w/ BBB - 1RM is 190
Tuesday: Bench w/ BBB - 1RM is 105
Wednesday: Overhead press w/ BBB - 1RM is 85
Thursday: Back squat w/ BBB - 1RM is 100
Friday: Front rack static hold (three warm-ups, then 235 x 20 sec for five reps, misc accessory futzing around. This lift was recommended to me for core strength and it rocks!
Saturday and Sunday are ideally "backup" days where if I have to miss something during the week, I would just push the plan back a day and continue. Won't be an issue with the tools at home, though! But for now, I want to work 5 days/wk, rest two, however they fall.
The Foodz
When I started, I slowly made changes to dial diet in for lifting. I keep to a calorie ceiling of 1700 cals/day (using My Fitness Pal) and trying to hit 160g protein/day. 160 lb is a long-term goal weight, probably a low estimate actually. Prefer fat to carbs but aside from the protein, I don't care much.
I have gone back and forth on "eating my exercise," and by that, I mean allowing My Fitness Pal to ADD calories to my daily goal as measured by my Apple Watch. That usually puts me more into the 2100 cal range, and I honestly think I lose more body fat in that range, as backward as that still seems to me.
I learned already that eating less does not get me more of what I want (EITHER more weight loss or more strength), and that gains are often totally independent of the scale. I've gone down a pants size and lifted more while the scale stayed firm. Whatever.
Post workout drink is Chain'd Reaction BCAAs/Ammos/Recovery from APS or Intra Blast from NutraBio. I found through experimentation that these DO help me avoid soreness. I was skeptical at first.
I've started using Rule 1 Lean 5 (thermogenic non-stimulant weight loss) at the recommendation of the guy behind the counter where I buy the rest of my stuff. Not sure it's doing much for me.
Truetein protein powders for shakes because I finally gave in to the fact that you just can't eat that much protein no matter how hard you try. LOL. A cup of whole milk with a scoop of one of these is delish.
Clff Lifter Bars when I want something tasty but haven't meal prepped (I know, they are more like candy bars).
The Goals
Overall, continue to build strength, and continue to lose fat. Pretty simple.
Using LiftCalcuator.com for my sex and weight, my numbers put me mid Novice for most lifts, except for squat which is really low. I could probably push this more than I am.
I would like to develop each of these lifts over the next 12 months so that I reach into the Intermediate-range on each. Is that reasonable?
And what's the best way to do that? Just the slow-and-steady of the linear progression I'm still enjoying as a beginner, doing this simple approach?
I know there will be lots of opinions out there. I'm happy to hear them.
Especially those with experience from women who have traveled a similar road as I!Thanks in advance!
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