Sara's Meet Prep.
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Oh, and CHO is up to 170g - 180g this week with protein and fats staying the same.0
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Hey Sara..just wondering if you've watched this..
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems/
It's about low-bar technique. I actually haven't tried it. It seems really awkward for me since I started squatting high-bar. I think I might start HEAVY lifting again. We shall see.
How much cardio are you currently doing--if any?0 -
I squat high bar. Low bar seemed awkward to me also when I tried it - but that was over a year ago. I am going to try low bar after the comp though as my body position is more low bar.
I am doing no cardio - apart from going for walks I did not do any on my cut either.0 -
awesome! I find it amazing that you're able to have that body with NO CARDIO. I am mega jealous! I might be able to as well but I just cannot cut my calories low enough to be able to do that.0
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10/17
Weight: 149.1 (ooop). Also...kinda ate a lot today. My work had unexpected cupcakes delivered...
Week 2: Upper volume
This went much better than last week - added weight and did more reps/sets for bench. I think I am finally getting at least my set up down. Back arch is decent and I start well on my shoulders, but I seem to flatten out during the set. Bar path is a little better but still travels back a lot on some sets (I am a bit inconsistent). On watching the video's bar looks wobbly also. Keeping pretty tight but I could improve that also. All in all, very happy though as I felt much stronger than I have been doing. Cupcakes must have helped.
Bench (no belt):
45 x 10
75 x 5
95 x 3 (paused)
125 x 2 (paused)
110 x 4 for 6 sets (paused)
At the end of the bench session however, my lack of sleep caught up with me. I finished my bench sets at 11pm so decided to call it a day. We have a transit strike tomorrow so I will be working from home which means I can lift at home in the morning and in the evening so I can get the workout complete and do the lower power day (well, that's the plan anyway).0 -
10/18
Weight: 149.3 hmmmm....keeping an eye on that!
Pheeeyoo...finally a decent couple of lifting sessions.
Feeling much more confident which I think is also translating itself into my lifts (plus the extra cho)
Week 2: Lower Power
Squats:
Warm up with bar
135 x 5
165 x 3
215 x 1
235 x 1 (snuck this in - was not supposed to go that high)
Squat walk outs: 275 & 285
Main Lift:
215 x 2
200 x 2 x 8
I really felt a lot more confident with my squats. My form was decent and the bar path looked better. Depth was a bit iffy for a couple of reps, but no-where near as many as my last sessions.
I then had to get some work done so did deads and OHP (carry over from yesterday) in the evening (late).
Deads:
165 x 5
215 x 3
255 x 1
285 x 1 - I have no idea why I went up this high (possibly as I am a idiot sometimes) - I was supposed to do 85% of my working max. I estimate my current max to be 300lb (mid bulk max = 315lb). So, that was 95% of my current estimated max and 90% of my prior max.
275 x 1 (yep..still being an idiot)
255 x 1 for 3 sets. This is less than the 275 for 5 singles I did but the 285 took it out of me. I also have a bit of a niggle in my upper hammie and down the side of my thigh. I think it is just due to the fact that I am not good at mobility work (as in, I do not do it) and probably should spend more time warming up.
Side note: my callouses are getting pretty fugly with deadlifting this often.
OHP:
45 x 10
65 x 3
85 x 3
85 x 8
85 x 6 for 4 sets
85 x 5
Really happy with this as I have been struggling a lot with my OHP. I think that the 85 x 8 is a PR for reps and looking at the amount of reps at that weight as a whole, I think it is one of the better sessions I have had. My OHP was so bad a couple of weeks ago, I only managed a single at 85lb (it gets impacted the most for me by low cals and tiredness). The weights are not completely comparable to last week however as last week's were after bench so I was more fatigued.
Rest day tomorrow then Test prep day.0 -
Tag0
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10/19
Weight: 149.2 (looks like it's official...up a few pounds. My weight is really swingy)
Rest day
10/20
Weight: 150.2..dafuq!
I think I pulled a muscle my last workout. I was getting a pain in my butt...on the side that radiated up my back a little plus around my groin. Also, my frigging knees are aching. I really really need to warm up better.
10/21
Weight: 150.4lb *sigh*
Totally stoked about my workout today. I lifted in the evening, which is usually not a good time for me, but I had a really good session. I had to stop before deads as I was lifting at home (in my back garden) and by the time I got to them in the routine, it was 9pm and I do not think the neighbors would appreciate it - especially as I was supposed to be doing sets of 5.
Squats:
Warm up with bar for a couple sets of 10
Warm up with very light weights for a few sets
135 x 5
155 x 3
185 x 2
205 x 2
225 x 1
205 x 5
195 x 5 for 8 sets
My form was really solid and I got depth on just about every single rep. I could have gone on for longer but it was getting late and lol...8 sets. To put this into perspective, my squats were so bad only about a month ago I failed at getting 5 reps at 195lb as my top 5s week 5/3/1 set weight - I could only manage 3 reps. I really feel that I have my mojo back. I felt confident and I think it came out in the results.
Bench:
45 x 10
65 x 5
95 x 3 (paused)
115 x 4 (paused)
110 x 5 for 4 sets (all paused)
Also happy with this - my bar path is much better and I am using a trick suggested by SideSteel to get my arch without ending up 3 feet down the bench like I was before. I set my shoulders and then put my feet up on the bench to push my shoulders into the bench. I then lower my legs and donk and compact myself my pushing forward with my hands and backwards with my feet. I felt ,much stronger this week. Its hard to compare progress as I was not doing paused bench before this week, but last week I did fewer reps at a lighter weight and felt more solid this week.
All in all, while I did not get in all the lifts, I am really happy with the workout. I am much more confident and looking forward to my sessions. I was starting to dread them tbh.
Also, no twinges in my hip (although my knees were cracking like a mofo during squats - it was a little distracting)
I am also really looking forward to test day this week as it will be singles. Should be interesting.
10/22
Weight: 149.7 (phew)
Rest day.0 -
10/23
Weight: 149.2
Just managed to squeeze a short bench session in. My routine is messed up due to crazy busy work and lack of sleep.
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 3 (paused)
125 x 2 (paused) - my plate was hitting a box that was too close to my cage so I did not do the min of 4 reps I was supposed to.
115 x 5 for 7 sets
Very happy with my bench form. Bar path was much better and I managed to do 5lb more than last time and for more sets. Form is still not perfect but it is so much better than it was before.
10/24
Weight: 150.5 (oop)
Week 3 lower power day
Squats:
Warm ups:
45 x 10 for 2 sets
75 x 10 (I was good and warmed up a bit more than usual with really light weights after last weeks hip pain)
135 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 2
205 x 1
225 x 1
245 x 1 (this is the most I have done at sub 150lbs - it equals my post bulk max which was done only 2 weeks into a cut and about 4 - 5lbs heavier)
Walk out:
275 x 1
285 x 1
Main:
220 x 2
210 x 2 for 8 sets
These felt really good and were 10lb more than last time. Depth was good and I felt confident - bounce out of the hole was pretty good. I actually could have gone on for longer but was only scheduled to do 8 sets.
Deadlift:
75 x 10 (being good about warm ups again after I was 'eye rolled' by SS about my 165lb starting warm up weight)
125 x 10
165 x 5
195 x 3
215 x 2
245 x 1 - beltless to this point. This felt really really good. Went up fast and super easy.
265 x 1 - belted. Bar kept rolling on me, which threw me off, but that should not have made the bar feel so much heavier. It was pretty ridiculous how much heavier than 245 this felt - and I had a belt on this time.
255 x 1 for 4 sets. This felt pretty ****ty.
I am pretty resigned to not getting up to my maxes on deadlifts for a while. They are just so 'depends on the day' and while I have had some solid sessions, I am just not able to pull that heavy at the moment for some reason. After this meet I am going to really focus on getting my dead back to par. I may play around with adding conventionals again for a while. That being said, the state record for my age group for the APA is only 240lb - so at least I can feel happy for an oldie!
Front squats
45 x 10
75 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 8
I swapped to cross grip at this point to try it out - it felt really good and I was keeping much more upright with far less grinding on my shoulders. Then I tried 165.....lollolollblolly...what comedy of errors.
I went to unrack it, realized that my fingers were between the bar and my collar bone...adjusted...went to lift....still under...adjusted...unracked...walked out...still pinched...walked back, reracked...adjusted..unracked...hit the pins...then hit the side of the cage with the plate....went to squat...dumped it. .... gave up!
10/25
Weight: 150.5
Rest Day
My schedule has been really hard to keep due to working 16+hour days some days and lack of sleep, so I am not feeling very good about my prep in that regard. I am very happy with my squats though. Meet is 2 weeks away - so one more week of the full schedule (after today's "Test" day routine) and then a lower volume week prior to the meet. Definitely getting nervous about it now.
I got my onesie delivered - and I was horrified when I took it our of the packaging as it looked teeny. I tried it on and amazingly it fit and the thigh elastic does not dig in at all which is a relief.
My diet has been pretty cr@ppy the last few days. I have been tired and I eat more when I am, especially carbs, and it is showing up on the scale (holy fluffiness batman - 151.5 this morning). Normally I would not be bothered by it but I am worried about meeting weight (148.75 is the max) so will be tightening up my diet and will probably have a lowish day here and there just to drop a lb or two. Weigh ins are either early evening the day before or morning of. I think I will do the evening one even though its a bit of drive. That way I can eat all teh foodz that evening and the next morning (I am actually more worried about getting my lattes in the morning than eating tbh). I will also hopefully get a better nights sleep if I have that out of the way. I am fine with fasting during the day so that would not be a big deal.
I am a little nervous/irritated about my registration. I registered weeks ago, paid the fees and the APA dues and have had nothing back. I emailed the contact to confirm my registration a week ago and have not heard a thing. At least you can register the day of in case anything got lost along the way (my payment cleared though).
Yes....I am nerding out about everything, which I know is silly as it is a small meet. But there ya have it!
Looking forward to my test day today. It's singles :bigsmile:0 -
I'm getting so excited for you! It is all coming together. I'm looking forward to maybe seeing a onesie pic:blushing: and I have to admit, I may have done the jaw drop, eyes wide stare when I read about your dead lifts. I just can't imagine!:)0
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I'm getting so excited for you! It is all coming together. I'm looking forward to maybe seeing a onesie pic:blushing: and I have to admit, I may have done the jaw drop, eyes wide stare when I read about your dead lifts. I just can't imagine!:)
I have a pic in my pic gallery....it looks like a guy's 1920's bathing suit. :happy:0 -
It's soooooooo cute! Love it
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:drinker:0
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10/26
Weight...ummm....151.3. The 4 hyooooooge pastries I had the day before could have had something to do with it. I have been really tired and my adherence gets a bit sucky when I am - plus I have this subconscious push to eat all teh foodz when I want my lifts to improve. Which is all well and good, but is not exactly a good idea when I need to be at 148.75 or below.
There are 2 weigh-in opportunities. One in the early evening the day before and one the morning of. Even though it is a bit of a drive, especially on a Friday during rush hour, I am going to try for the evening one. I can fast the day of, weigh in, then go out for a carby Italian, which will be nice as I have not been out for a big IDGAF meal for ages. This way I will have the next morning as a 'just in case' to weigh in again if I do not make the weight, and I will be able to sleep better knowing I have made the weight (assuming I do). Plus I can then eat all teh foodz.
Week 3 Test day:
Squats:
45 x 10 for 2 sets
75 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5 (being better at warming up)
165 x 3
185 x 2
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1 (belted at this point)
Squats felt really good. Depth was good. A little less assertive out of the hole at 235 which showed itself in a slower ascent - but not too much of a struggle.
Bench:
45 x 10
65 x 5
95 x 1 (close grip)
105 x 1 (close grip)
125 x 1 (close grip) - I thought this was 115 but when stripping the weight realized it was 125.
I am not a huge fan of close grip as I do not feel as stable, but they went well and 125 was pretty easy. I then tried 135 standard grip - this did not go so well - not sure why.
I then was very English and instead of a pop-tart mid workout like SS does when not on poverty macros, I had crumpets and cranberry butter!
Deads:
75 x 10
125 x 10
165 x 5 (being good again warming up)
215 x 3
235 x 1
255 x 1 - (belted at this point) - this went up really really easily
275 x 1 - this also went up really easily.
My form was really good on these and I felt really good. I was very tempted to try 295 but I was good and stuck with the program as it was supposed to be an 8.5 RPE (2 reps in the bag). I may have had more in the bag at the 275lb weight but I did not want to push it.
So....I kinda went off the program and threw in a short OHP session. I had missed the upper day and this was already a full body, so I thought it wouldn't be that bad of an idea (that's my story and I am sticking to it).
OHP:
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 1 - this went up ridiculously easy, which is a change from recently.
105....nope.
It is odd as 95 felt so easy. Not too disappointed, even though 100lbs seems to be eluding me for the last few months.
All in all, I am happy with the session. Squats are staying solid, bench is hard to figure as it was mainly close grip (next week is standard grip) and I was really really happy with my deads.
One more week of the cycle and then it's a week of lower volume before the meet. Other than the usual 'what if I's' that are going through my head (miss depth, miss commands, get weak when nervous etc etc), my biggest worry is my weight. I am not really worried about getting the 'real' weight down (down to 150.8 this morning after a day of adhering properly) by a few pounds - but I am a little worried as my weight is swingy due to water retention. I tend to retain water at random times. I can deplete the day or so before - but my body does not react as most people's do and occasionally I gain weight (I iz a special snowflake). I am going to try to restrict a little more than my usual macros would require on rest days to try to drop a little without it impacting my workouts (I hope) - it will depend on whether I expect to workout the following morning or evening however.
Aaaaannnnd, as today is a day that I am going to look to restrict a bit....SS just send me a pic of his brunch and which must be about 2,000 calories....:grumble:0 -
10/27
Weight: 150.8.
Rest day
10/28
Weight: 148.9 (phew_. Lower cal/carb day yesterday.
Rest day (die to work schedule)
10/29
Weight: 149.0
Week 4 - Lower Volume
Lifted in the morning after lowish cals the evening before. Yet again, I had limited time due to having to get into work.
Squats (all beltless)
45 x 10 for 2 sets
75 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 3
185 x 2
205 x 1
225 x 1
Paused from here
195 x 4
185 x 4 for 3 sets
Felt decent on the lead up, but 225lb felt a bit heavy.
Paused squats were a bit of a grind but I had added 5lb from last week's so not too disappointed.
Deadlifts
75 x 10
125 x 10 for 2 sets
135 x 5
165 x 3
185 x 2
205 x 1
215 x 1
235 x 1
255 x 1 (all beltless up through here)
275 x 1 for 2 sets
265 x 1 for 3 sets
Really happy with my deads. My for was good. Bar speed was also good - the 255 felt like it flew up and was really easy. Particularly happy as I was not belted at this stage. I really think I have got my set up much better now. My butt is no longer rising early. I could have pulled a decent amount more than 275lb but I realized that this was 87% of my fluffy max., so I dropped down to 265lb for the last 3 singles which is 84% of my fluffy max and 88% of what I think my max is now (300lb).
Ran out of time for fronts unfortunately as I was looking forward to them.
I am very happy with my progress, particularly with deads. Definitely looking forward to test day where I do singles at a 9.5 RPE.
I am starting to nerd out about my starting weights for the meet. I know I do not have to decide now and should wait, but I tend to nerd out. Bench is the one I am little clueless about as I have not got too much of a feel for my max there. Hopefully this weekend (final 'test day') will provide a better gauge.0 -
tagging
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openers should be something you can double or possible triple on a crap day, especially squat as it's first.
Looking good Sara. Nice progress. You certainly do a lot of singles!
I have been running 10-12 week linear progression that starts around 50% of target 1rm at 10 reps, then slowly increases intensity and goes to 8's, then 5's, the 3, 2 and finally 1 single. Still do some heavier stuff in the initial weeks on assistance lifts when I'm in the lower intensity ranges.0 -
Thanks Chris.
Days where I am doing 3 or less reps are my favorite as I am inherently lazy and higher reps are a grind
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10/30
Weight: 148.3
Rest Day (was running on about 3 hours sleep so was IDGAF with the food and decided it would be silly trying to lift)
10/31
Weight 148.3 (kind of surprising considering I scarfed down a bunch of candy and a pint of Haagen Dazs the night before!).
Week 4 Upper
So, I have come to the realization that I am not very good at sticking to a fixed routine. As my time has been really limited due to my work schedule I have not been able to do the assists I should have done. While that part may be a bit out of my control, I am also bad at sticking to a slightly higher rep range and/or slightly lower RPE.
Bench:
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
95 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 1
then paused
120 x 4
130 x 2
120 x 3 for 2 sets
120 x 4
120 x 3
Ate some chex mix in between sets..I think that helped that extra rep in the middle of the set.
Really happy with how my bench is progressing. My arch is so much better and I am able to get my shoulders into the bench a lot more. My bar path is also really good (in comparison). I just need to keep focused as I have a habit of flattening out a bit throughout the set.
As the next time I bench is 'test day' I am thinking of trying out 125 as my pretend opener and see how that goes. Obviously I can lift that as I did 130 x 2, but I want to see how I feel after squats and how much I can jump up from there.
OHP
I kinda didn't stick to the program here...at all!
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 1
100 x 1 (first time I have done 100lb while under 150lb so I am happy with this - especially as I benched first as my prior lifts at 100lb + were also the first lift)
I am looking forward to getting back to a bastardized version of 5/3/1 so I can OHP (and dead) first some days.
Neutral-grip pull ups
2 sets of 6. This is the most I have done so I am really happy with this. The pull ups were not from a dead hang but my arms were not too bent...well, until the last one or two of the second set if truth be told!
Then I had some BnJ...0 -
Just nerding out watching the vids of my form and realized I did 2 sets at the 120 x 4.....chex mix ftw!0
