My Plan
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neandermagnon
Posts: 7,436 Member
okay my life's been a bit hectic over the last month or so and I've not managed to do regular workouts and need to give myself a kick up the rear end. Also, thinking about what's going to be best for progress, I've come up with a plan, which is basically stronglifts 5x5 still, just that I'm starting a new spreadsheet and drawing a line under the old (original) one and sort of starting again with a mini deload to focus on form and getting back into lifting consistently and regularly, as part of my new schedule.
Progress doing stronglifts 5x5 so far (i've made it to about week 11 but it's taken quite a bit more than 11 weeks):
Bodyweight: from 130lb to 140lb
(unfortunately the last 2-3lb were erratic eating and junk food gains while moving house, but the rest I was doing well in terms of my body fat percentage not going up by much)
Squat: starting PB: 85lb x7 .......... current PB: 140lb x5
Deadlift: starting PB: 88lb x12......... current PB: 180lb x4
OHP: had never done it before........... current PB: 57.5lb x5
Pendlay row: starting PB: 78.4lb x2.............. current PB: 81lb x5
Bench press: starting PB: 71.2 x3.............. current PB: 81lb x5
other comments:
- occasionally my husband spots for me on squats and bench. However the last time I asked him to spot for me on squats he said he couldn't lift the bar to my shoulders for me (i.e. because of my lack of squat rack and using two bedside tables instead), because it was too heavy. *happy dance*
- all my clothes still fit, including my skinny jeans, and the place where they fit the least well is the lower thighs/quads
- I can OHP my daughters
- I gained inches in my shoulder circumference, rib cage and calves
- my shoulder circumference is now equal to my husband's who's 10" taller than me, and I still have definition in my shoulders and arms (he lost weight while doing this so his shoulder circumference got a bit smaller and we met in the middle lol)
- I lost an inch around my hips... although my glutes look bigger and perkier (husband has definitely noticed and approves! and commented on it (in a rawr kind of a way) without me asking him about it)
- I have gained inches around my waist, some of this is from my ab muscles getting built up (I have a naturally thick waist) and some of it is from fat gain.
- I could have done a lot better in terms of consistency, staying organised and not letting schedule changes throw me off my training schedule!!!!!
my plan
- deload all round, to focus on form, plus with a focus on getting into the habit of regular workouts with my new work schedule, which is really tight. I've made a timetable for myself for when I can fit 3x a week workouts in.
- carry on with 5x5. focus on form and consistently doing the workouts. increase the weights at the following rates:
deadlift - 5lb per workout
squat - 2.5lb per workout
upper body lifts - 1lb per workout
I have based this on the fact that i've stalled quite frequently but not actually deloaded most of the time, some like bench I'll do maybe 2-3 reps per set first time of doing that weight, then 3-5 reps per set, then the 3rd attempt make 5x5 .... so it seems to me adding weight more slowly will help.
starting weights for each lift:
deadlift: 150lb
squat: probably around 120lb
OHP: 55lb
bench and row: 75lb
aiming for around 2-3 weeks to build back up to current personal best levels.
Also, I'm probably going to switch to cutting for a short while, to get my waist measurement down a bit. I'm concerned about visceral fat, plus I don't like the subcutaneous fat there much either. (Poor fat, everyone hating on you!!! I like the fat in my boobs and on the side of my hips "saddlebag" fat though! And the fat in my brain and in my cell membranes. I do appreciate you really, fat.) But anyway, seeing as visceral fat tends to be the first fat you lose when you start losing fat (according to one study I read) I figured it's probably a good idea to do a cut once in a while in case any has built up. I'm not going below 22% body fat. IMO that's my level of fat below which I don't like the changes I see in parts of me other than around my waist.
Is this a good plan? Any comments/suggestions/alterations?
Thank you
Progress doing stronglifts 5x5 so far (i've made it to about week 11 but it's taken quite a bit more than 11 weeks):
Bodyweight: from 130lb to 140lb
(unfortunately the last 2-3lb were erratic eating and junk food gains while moving house, but the rest I was doing well in terms of my body fat percentage not going up by much)
Squat: starting PB: 85lb x7 .......... current PB: 140lb x5
Deadlift: starting PB: 88lb x12......... current PB: 180lb x4
OHP: had never done it before........... current PB: 57.5lb x5
Pendlay row: starting PB: 78.4lb x2.............. current PB: 81lb x5
Bench press: starting PB: 71.2 x3.............. current PB: 81lb x5
other comments:
- occasionally my husband spots for me on squats and bench. However the last time I asked him to spot for me on squats he said he couldn't lift the bar to my shoulders for me (i.e. because of my lack of squat rack and using two bedside tables instead), because it was too heavy. *happy dance*
- all my clothes still fit, including my skinny jeans, and the place where they fit the least well is the lower thighs/quads
- I can OHP my daughters
- I gained inches in my shoulder circumference, rib cage and calves
- my shoulder circumference is now equal to my husband's who's 10" taller than me, and I still have definition in my shoulders and arms (he lost weight while doing this so his shoulder circumference got a bit smaller and we met in the middle lol)
- I lost an inch around my hips... although my glutes look bigger and perkier (husband has definitely noticed and approves! and commented on it (in a rawr kind of a way) without me asking him about it)
- I have gained inches around my waist, some of this is from my ab muscles getting built up (I have a naturally thick waist) and some of it is from fat gain.
- I could have done a lot better in terms of consistency, staying organised and not letting schedule changes throw me off my training schedule!!!!!
my plan
- deload all round, to focus on form, plus with a focus on getting into the habit of regular workouts with my new work schedule, which is really tight. I've made a timetable for myself for when I can fit 3x a week workouts in.
- carry on with 5x5. focus on form and consistently doing the workouts. increase the weights at the following rates:
deadlift - 5lb per workout
squat - 2.5lb per workout
upper body lifts - 1lb per workout
I have based this on the fact that i've stalled quite frequently but not actually deloaded most of the time, some like bench I'll do maybe 2-3 reps per set first time of doing that weight, then 3-5 reps per set, then the 3rd attempt make 5x5 .... so it seems to me adding weight more slowly will help.
starting weights for each lift:
deadlift: 150lb
squat: probably around 120lb
OHP: 55lb
bench and row: 75lb
aiming for around 2-3 weeks to build back up to current personal best levels.
Also, I'm probably going to switch to cutting for a short while, to get my waist measurement down a bit. I'm concerned about visceral fat, plus I don't like the subcutaneous fat there much either. (Poor fat, everyone hating on you!!! I like the fat in my boobs and on the side of my hips "saddlebag" fat though! And the fat in my brain and in my cell membranes. I do appreciate you really, fat.) But anyway, seeing as visceral fat tends to be the first fat you lose when you start losing fat (according to one study I read) I figured it's probably a good idea to do a cut once in a while in case any has built up. I'm not going below 22% body fat. IMO that's my level of fat below which I don't like the changes I see in parts of me other than around my waist.
Is this a good plan? Any comments/suggestions/alterations?
Thank you
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Replies
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I have no idea if it's a good plan but it sounds like you've really thought it out, which makes me guess that it IS good, LOL. And congrats on all those accomplishments!0
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Thanks
I start my plan today. So I hope it's a good one!0 -
hope it goes well!0
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thanks
if anyone has any suggestions about how to be consistent, i.e. do all my planned workouts and if something comes up then actually do the workout later not say "I'll do this workout later" and the forget *facepalm* please suggest them!!
which reminds me...... *time to workout now!!!*0 -
well I've changed my Plan already.... I deloaded all the way to 100lb for squats, because I want to really nail the form and get it right, including finding the exact best foot position. I think I have found it i will have to draw footprints on the floor now lol0
