April workout check in thread - aprilliant workouts here!

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  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Today's workout was a fun circuit constisting of:
    - OHP x5
    - KB Swings x15
    - Jump lunges x10
    - Push press x10
    - American KB Swings x15
    - Forward lunges x10
    - Push jerk x15
    - American KB Swings x15
    - Drop lunges x10

    For time. Loaded the bar with 60lbs, KB was 40lbs, managed it in like 8:30 or so :) Previous attempt I had 55lbs on the bar and I think ran like 12 minutes so big improvement (I had also squatted and deadlifted beforehand then, tho)

    Felt like I needed to add some work, so worked up to 3x3 @ 110lbs on the bench press
    Tried to do some EZ bar skullcrushers but my right shoulder hated me while my triceps didn't work that much.

    Then did 10 mins on the rower. wee!

    I had a glance at the XFit formation board while I was in there. Didn't look like too bad a workout. I'm a little worried about being the pudgiest one in there and I can't do unassisted pull-up yet. Even though I keep trying. So hard. Hopefully this program'll get me there!
  • KaterinaTerese
    KaterinaTerese Posts: 345 Member
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    I've been off this week from the gym (Easter stuff; I sing at churches for holy week/am helping to host family this year), but all of you are posting some really sweet numbers! Keep at it, and don't forget to eat some extra chocolate to fuel up on carbs :wink:
  • Neonbeige
    Neonbeige Posts: 271 Member
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    had to cut my workout today. I felt like I should do something yesterday, so I did the 30 days shred level 1. But I hurt my butt doing the lunges excercise somehow. Today I couldn´t finish my squats, had to stop during the warmups already, due to pain in my left buttside. Tried the OHP then but had to throw the towel :-(

    Maybe it´s good, that I am away for four days now so my poschi can heal properly. But man was I dissapointed and pissed...

    I pulled a butt muscle doing either squats or lunges in body pump class before. Painful and not fun. Take the time to recover and you will be back to the squats in no time.

    yeah, will do! Thank you for the encouragement :flowerforyou:

    @all have nice easter days if you also have easter this weekend....do we all have easter at the same time? If not, have a nice weekend anyway :-)
  • lizafava2
    lizafava2 Posts: 185
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    Got to see some crazy stuff today.....First was a kid who was totally trying too hard for big numbers on tricep pulldowns and was twisting his back all around to get it down. Thankfully a big buff guy was doing stuff next to him and told him he was going to hurt himself doing that. Then there was a kid (yes, about 80% of the gym is college kids) doing bicep curls while laying down on the bench for cable rows.

    Basically, doing what Bro dude does in this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzxRhtZLItY
    (props to Krok for the link)

    This video - and all this dudes videos made my night last night. So funny.

    Last nights workout after my break was great. Maybe a week off now and then is a good thing to recover completely.

    Warmup 20 min run
    Squat warmups, not sure what exactly, but about 5 sets.

    Squats 170 5x5 - failed set 4 at 4
    OHP 77.5 (LOVE fractionals!) 5x5
    Deadlift 220 5x1

    For you all: when your DL started to feel heavy did you still bang out a set of 5 or did you rest a bit in between reps? I find that I am setting the bar down, standing up, taking a breath (sometimes two) and then grabbing the bar again. Is that cool? Should I be working out at a weight I can do faster? Seems like my form breaks down if I don't stand and take a breath first.

    Thanks! I appreciate all the info and support here so much!
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
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    Got to see some crazy stuff today.....First was a kid who was totally trying too hard for big numbers on tricep pulldowns and was twisting his back all around to get it down. Thankfully a big buff guy was doing stuff next to him and told him he was going to hurt himself doing that. Then there was a kid (yes, about 80% of the gym is college kids) doing bicep curls while laying down on the bench for cable rows.

    Basically, doing what Bro dude does in this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzxRhtZLItY
    (props to Krok for the link)

    This video - and all this dudes videos made my night last night. So funny.

    Last nights workout after my break was great. Maybe a week off now and then is a good thing to recover completely.

    Warmup 20 min run
    Squat warmups, not sure what exactly, but about 5 sets.

    Squats 170 5x5 - failed set 4 at 4
    OHP 77.5 (LOVE fractionals!) 5x5
    Deadlift 220 5x1

    For you all: when your DL started to feel heavy did you still bang out a set of 5 or did you rest a bit in between reps? I find that I am setting the bar down, standing up, taking a breath (sometimes two) and then grabbing the bar again. Is that cool? Should I be working out at a weight I can do faster? Seems like my form breaks down if I don't stand and take a breath first.

    Thanks! I appreciate all the info and support here so much!

    I may be wrong in my thinking, but I feel that if I have to stand up between reps, I've failed the weight. I only count a full set if I do every rep in succession without interruption.
  • lizafava2
    lizafava2 Posts: 185
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    I may be wrong in my thinking, but I feel that if I have to stand up between reps, I've failed the weight. I only count a full set if I do every rep in succession without interruption.

    Huh. Maybe I will deload a bit.
  • katro111
    katro111 Posts: 632 Member
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    Squat - 5x5 @ 135lbs
    BP - 5x5 @ 80lbs
    Rows - 5x5 @ 75lbs

    Upright rows - 5x5 @ 45lbs
    Single leg lunges on bench - 3x10 @ body weight
    Hip thrusts - 3x10 @ body weight
  • KaterinaTerese
    KaterinaTerese Posts: 345 Member
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    I may be wrong in my thinking, but I feel that if I have to stand up between reps, I've failed the weight. I only count a full set if I do every rep in succession without interruption.
    Huh. Maybe I will deload a bit.

    Maybe I misunderstood, but I literally just stumbled across this: http://www.liftbigeatbig.com/2014/04/bouncing-is-for-lowriders-not-deadlifts.html

    He mentions that a "dead stop" is fine. I know he means just setting the bar down, resetting and lifting. The ultimate goal should be to do five lifts in succession, but if you feel the need a moment to reset your back by straightening? I can lift all five reps, but sometimes I need to just stop after #4 and just breathe. I'm curious to hear more about this, too!

    EDIT: included the link because of the dead stop and also because I had a habit of bouncing because I thought I had to go as smoothly as I could. I stopped doing quick succession DL when I read Rip's thing about bounce, and now I take a few seconds between each one.
  • jcdoerr
    jcdoerr Posts: 172 Member
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    I'm taking a break. I had a really bad lifting session on Monday and it really messed with my head. I had planned on taking the rest of this week off from lifting to get mentally right. I may go back tomorrow and try again instead of waiting until Monday. I'd planned on doing the C25K on my non lifting days.

    Sounds like a great idea wolfsbayne, I'm right there with you! Was supposed to lift tonight but I find myself feeling very physically exhausted this week. Had to fight and claw my way through an easy jog yesterday, but I'm just DONE today. I think I may skip any workouts the rest of this week and hopefully will be ready for a restart on Monday. Maybe nibbling some ears off of a chocolate rabbit will help! Have a happy Easter everybody! :flowerforyou:
  • jcdoerr
    jcdoerr Posts: 172 Member
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    I'm taking a break. I had a really bad lifting session on Monday and it really messed with my head. I had planned on taking the rest of this week off from lifting to get mentally right. I may go back tomorrow and try again instead of waiting until Monday. I'd planned on doing the C25K on my non lifting days.
    [/quote]

    Sounds like a great idea wolfsbayne, I'm right there with you! Was supposed to lift tonight but I find myself feeling very physically exhausted this week. Had to fight and claw my way through an easy jog yesterday, but I'm just DONE today. I think I may skip any workouts the rest of this week and hopefully will be ready for a restart on Monday. Maybe nibbling some ears off of a chocolate rabbit will help! Have a happy Easter everybody! :flowerforyou:
    [/quote]
  • lizafava2
    lizafava2 Posts: 185
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    I may be wrong in my thinking, but I feel that if I have to stand up between reps, I've failed the weight. I only count a full set if I do every rep in succession without interruption.
    Huh. Maybe I will deload a bit.

    Maybe I misunderstood, but I literally just stumbled across this: http://www.liftbigeatbig.com/2014/04/bouncing-is-for-lowriders-not-deadlifts.html

    He mentions that a "dead stop" is fine. I know he means just setting the bar down, resetting and lifting. The ultimate goal should be to do five lifts in succession, but if you feel the need a moment to reset your back by straightening? I can lift all five reps, but sometimes I need to just stop after #4 and just breathe. I'm curious to hear more about this, too!

    EDIT: included the link because of the dead stop and also because I had a habit of bouncing because I thought I had to go as smoothly as I could. I stopped doing quick succession DL when I read Rip's thing about bounce, and now I take a few seconds between each one.

    Thats interesting. Part of why I stand up and re-set is that my form is still so fragile and it falls apart if I don't do the full set-up everytime. Even with lighter weights.
  • katro111
    katro111 Posts: 632 Member
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    I may be wrong in my thinking, but I feel that if I have to stand up between reps, I've failed the weight. I only count a full set if I do every rep in succession without interruption.
    Huh. Maybe I will deload a bit.

    Maybe I misunderstood, but I literally just stumbled across this: http://www.liftbigeatbig.com/2014/04/bouncing-is-for-lowriders-not-deadlifts.html

    He mentions that a "dead stop" is fine. I know he means just setting the bar down, resetting and lifting. The ultimate goal should be to do five lifts in succession, but if you feel the need a moment to reset your back by straightening? I can lift all five reps, but sometimes I need to just stop after #4 and just breathe. I'm curious to hear more about this, too!
    I usually need to "reset" after about 4 reps, too; mostly because my grip starts slipping (stupid finger/hand injury from last year has graciously given me diminished grip in my right hand) so I need to re-position my hands. My legs can definitely keep pumping them out, though.
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I may be wrong in my thinking, but I feel that if I have to stand up between reps, I've failed the weight. I only count a full set if I do every rep in succession without interruption.
    Huh. Maybe I will deload a bit.

    Maybe I misunderstood, but I literally just stumbled across this: http://www.liftbigeatbig.com/2014/04/bouncing-is-for-lowriders-not-deadlifts.html

    He mentions that a "dead stop" is fine. I know he means just setting the bar down, resetting and lifting. The ultimate goal should be to do five lifts in succession, but if you feel the need a moment to reset your back by straightening? I can lift all five reps, but sometimes I need to just stop after #4 and just breathe. I'm curious to hear more about this, too!
    I usually need to "reset" after about 4 reps, too; mostly because my grip starts slipping (stupid finger/hand injury from last year has graciously given me diminished grip in my right hand) so I need to re-position my hands. My legs can definitely keep pumping them out, though.

    Wall of quotes! But I'm of the opinion that if I have to fully stand up between deadlift reps, it technically breaks off the set. Letting go of the bar to reset is just fine (it's better than bouncing, even). Gettnig back up and taking a couple breaths i smore of a rest pause kind of a thing, and while I would not necessarily deload if you have to do it, I wouldn't go up in weight for the next workout.

    I just went on a run during lunchbreak. 8 intervals of 1 min steady, 30 seconds all out, 30 seconds walking. Runkeeper wanted me to name that thing so I called it Funtervals. Ha! I could get used to doing this 1-2 times a week!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Congrats sabrella on almost BW squats..nice

    @liza well I try not to actually take a rest...stand up etc...I may reposition my hands (@200lbs) but my lifting friend who is a physiotherapist told me not to "rest" between reps...but I might when it gets really heavy (ie 275lbs etc) but I have found my form suffers as well..will be interested to read what others have to say, thanks for the link as well I am going to take a look after this workout is done along with the video I need a good laugh

    @wolf yes a mental break is a good idea sometimes...I got mine on vacation...it was nice. Mind you this week is the first time ever I have thought "eh not sure if I want to do those lifts..." but I have done them and I feel great after, I think I just want to be outside atm since it is finally sunny etc...wonder how the neighbors would feel if I workout in my car port for the summer...:bigsmile:


    So Happy Easter Ladies, long weekend is great, sunny and I am getting my workout in early this afternoon as opposed to right before or after my dinner...so might have to head out for a walk this evening since it didn't happen last evening (had company come unexpectantly)

    So no weight loss for me this ...no worries as I had a dress on last night that didn't fit before vacation late Feb...that fits me now...only 3lbs later...and another that fits a lot better (which is good as my husband likes it). I couldn't zip the first one up over the girls...I could last night...still a little snug but at least it zipped.

    Since it is getting nice I am not liking the hoody I have to wear for my squats to protect my back...time for foam over the bar maybe...

    Read an interesting article on the forums today posted by sidesteel...made me laugh
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/another-look-at-metabolic-damage.html#more-9313

    Some crude language but all in all good article that made me laugh...I don't mind crude language at all.

    So workout A for me today...

    Squats last day at 120, and as long as my feet are in the "right" posistion no pain at all...now just to mark that position...
    5x5 on those no issues moving up to 125 on Monday....

    Bench @ 113.5 today almost @ deload weight of 115...
    started with 3:45 rests last 2 sets did 4 mins rests...5x5 no issue

    Rows @ 118.5 today almost @ deload on those as well...
    5x5 on those but might stay for another one just cause last set was iffy...

    On a side note this week must be clutz week for me...sliced my thumb on monday...then today I was putting pots away on the pot rack leaned in to far and burned my belly on the griddle I was warming up for breakfast....*shakes head* I am not joking....I best not go hunting this weekend (not that I could but...)
  • jerilynconn
    jerilynconn Posts: 524 Member
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    Here was my workout today:
    Squats 5x5 120lbs
    Bench 5x5 80 lbs
    Rows 5x5 45 lbs (I NEED to relearn these however I get so annoyed with them and just want to be done!)

    1 mile run in 9:54

    I'm exhausted but have two days of rest yay!!
  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    Mine today was:
    squats 4x5 and then 4 at 140lbs, I thought about going for the last rep, but I chickened out.
    OHP 5x5 40 lbs (I just deloaded this one)
    Deadlift 1x5 150 lbs

    And my 20 minutes on the elliptical afterwards was slow and dragging. I am thinking I might stop it all together now that I am at higher weights but then it just doesn't feel complete.
  • beckty
    beckty Posts: 118 Member
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    I’ve missed getting to the gym for a week! Argh! Last night was my first night back. Too many things going on. I’ve gotten some cardio but no lifting.

    I proceeded with my program and did the increases from last workout and It. Was. Rough!

    Warmed up on the soccer field running around with kids (my husband is coach. It was practice) a little bit. Then about 10 min brisk walk on a treadmill while I eyeballed the couple sharing the squat rack. Pounced on it the second they were done. (I feel like a creeper, but that seems to be the only way to get the equipment you want)

    Workout B:
    Squats
    1x5 @ 45lbs
    2x5 @85
    5x5 @ 115
    I feel that my form was not so hot for the last set. Just didn’t feel solid. My app says to bump up to 120 but I am going to override that and stay where I am for another workout and see how I feel. They are starting to be very heavy for me.

    Overhead Press
    1x5@45
    1X5@55and I was feeling strong here. Thought I’d be good at 65
    2X5@65
    2X5@60
    1X4@60
    These kicked my ever loving butt this week. I need to do some accessory work and hang out at 60 for sure next week and see how it goes. I also think core strength might be important for me here and need to do some planks/crunches/etc on off days if I want to improve. I could be wrong though.

    Deadlift
    1X5@95
    1X5@135
    These are still relatively easy for me.

    Finished the workout with a mile of interval running and called it good. I was exhausted. I finally get why one might want to take 3 minutes between sets!
  • DianeinCA
    DianeinCA Posts: 307 Member
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    Squats
    2 x 5 - 45 #
    1 x 5 - 85#
    1 x 3 - 115#
    1 x 2 - 145#
    5 x 5 - 170#

    Seated OHP
    2 x 5 - 15#
    5 x 5 - 27.5#

    Deadlifts
    2 x 5 - 45#
    1 x 5 - 75#
    1 x 3 - 95#
    1 x 5 - 115#

    Chest dips (machine )
    3 x 10 x -78

    Hanging knee lift
    3 x 10
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
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    Was back in the weight room today and it felt good. Dropped to 150 lb squats and they felt good with a little bit of a challenge. Bench was 95 lbs and these were a little bit of a challenge also. Sticking with the challenge theme today was 95 lb rows, dropped from 115 lbs. I got all reps of all sets in all lifts, so it was a good lift day mentally and physically. Finished up with 15 minutes of walking and jogging intervals.

    Then I went and did my grocery shopping. I was more fatigued from that than my workout! Have a great weekend ladies!
  • Fittreelol
    Fittreelol Posts: 2,535 Member
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    I had my first bench day in over a month today to test out the ribs, and they are feeling GREAT! I think I'll be okay to use my belt again after next week. I could probably do it now, but I want to be absolutely sure everything is fine.

    Bench
    45 2x5, 65 2x5, 85 2x5, 95x5, 115x5, 125x5, 135x3

    Dumbell Bench
    20x10, 25x10, 30x10

    Pendlay Rows
    45x5, 95 3x10

    Band assisted pullups 3x3

    ETA: I have deadlift thoughts, but I'm too tired to express them.