Workout check-in thread: You October-y Lifting Heavy!
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Hey ladies...Bench day for me on deload week
warm ups 5x52.5 and 67.5 and 3x80
Working weights 5x52.5 and 67.5 and last set to fail....20x80....really pushed that last one out...making my 1RM 133lbs...
chinups 2 then 4x1...almost got 3 in the first set...it's coming along
and push ups just gonna do 5x10 as I am feeling lazy.
per my jawbone I did get just over 5k steps today at work (desk jockey) but put on over 3k in 2hours when I got home cooking dinner and tidying up....0 -
Friendly soccer game tonight (I'll be switching my order around so I don't deadlift on mondays anymore after this week xD), one more day in program on wednesday and then I'll have a deload week which is going to be ah-maze-ing! Not one to enjoy rest, usually, but I'm pretty beat up.
Apologies if you've recently said, but what programme is it you're doing?
I'm running Wendler 5/3/1 alongside a program called Garage Built Body. It's somewhat of a hybrid circuit training/ crossfit medley, all short workouts but not meant to be easy.
http://www.trainaggressive.com/garagebuiltbody/
(Not trying to sell anything. I got the program when it was on huge sale a while back. The guy is a huge inspiration and I've actually spoken to him on Skype and he's answered a lot of my questions. Really cool guy, and in crazy shape, too! Those crazy challenges I post from time to time? Usually come from him! lol)0 -
Tonight's lifts:
Squats: 5x5 @ 90 lbs. Third time at 90 lbs, but I went camping over the weekend and wasn't able to lift Saturday. Think I'll try 95 next time.
OHP: 4,4,4,3,3 @ 55 lbs. First time at 55 lbs. I'm sure I'll be here for a while trying to keep the dang back from arching!
Deadlift: 5x5 @ 130 lbs. Felt heavy but good!!
Have a great week, lifting ladies!0 -
StrongLifts 5x5 / Workout B
Another awesome 5x5 day, with some fails and some successes!
Squats: 5x5 @ 55 lbs.
- Decided to up the weight, but it's still light enough that I can really concentrate on my lower body form. Have reached the conclusion that I absolutely need to do some stretches beforehand to loosen up my hips -- they are extremely tight.
- While it doesn't seem like a huge deal, the fact that I was more concerned with my lower body than my shoulders and arms is a big win for me. That's not to say I didn't feel these in my arms -- since I have a tiny little t-rex grip, it's just not going to be comfortable -- but it's a massive difference from how I felt even a handful of workouts ago. And I've only been doing real squats for less than two weeks, so I'm thrilled with the progress.
OHP: 1x5, 1x3 @ 40 lbs, 3x5 @ 30 lbs. (Thought of you here, KROK!)
- 30 lbs. is too easy and 40 lbs. is too hard, so I figure I'll struggle along here for a little while, building up the number of sets I can do with the 40 lb. barbell, and finishing off with 30 lbs.
- Form is definitely better -- no arch at all with the 30 lbs., and I'm lifting the bar evenly. Also an indication of how far I've come with my left shoulder. No complaints here, but looking forward to getting to the full bar so I can start working and progressing in smaller increments.
- And yes, still my least favorite lift.
DEADLIFTS!: 1x5 @ 135 lbs.
- Man, I love those big girl plates! They make me feel sexy.
- So, this is day 2 at 135 lbs. I'll probably stay here one or two more days before adding 5 lbs.
- Form felt pretty good -- still reminding myself to push not pull, but it wasn't as smooth today as I would have liked. Had a couple panicky nano-seconds where my brain went straight into my lower back (which is a bad thing). Had to force it back into my legs. Also need to concentrate on my upper body form at the top of the lift -- clenching those shoulders back and pushing out the chest. Right now it's kind of an awkward afterthought rather than a fluid part of the motion.
- Maybe I should start doing a few warm up sets to get my head into my form?
Which reminds me -- what are folks' thoughts about doing a few sets of bodyweight squats on off days, just to stretch and concentrate on form?
Blew through this workout today -- done in almost exactly 30 minutes, which is super fast for me. Good though -- my heart rate was nice and high and it felt amazing.
Finally...
It also occurred to me today that if I keep this up -- if I just continue to lift and progress and fail and deload and work my way back up -- the amazing, rockin', killer body that I want is an INEVITABLE FACT. It's no longer a maybe, or an "if I do this and this and this." It's attainable and there for the taking. It's so empowering to finally have that locked in I can hardly explain what it feels like.
xo,
C.0 -
Overhead press was fine -27.5 at 5x5. One of the staff checked my form - said it was fine but suggested doing it seated. Any point to that or shall I continue to stand?
I'd continue standing. When you sit, you take some of the core out of the exercise, especially if you use a seat with a back bench. It gives you a backrest to push against that you don't get when you do them as standing OHP, makes you use all those stomach and back muscles. Did the staff member tell you *why* they suggested seated?
Just my two cents and I'm a relative newbie, so if others would chime in, that would be great.
C.0 -
Row 5x5 @ 115lbs - I feel like I am really doing these wrong... bleh.
Can you tell us more about why you feel like you're doing these wrong?0 -
Overhead press was fine -27.5 at 5x5. One of the staff checked my form - said it was fine but suggested doing it seated. Any point to that or shall I continue to stand?
I'd continue standing. When you sit, you take some of the core out of the exercise, especially if you use a seat with a back bench. It gives you a backrest to push against that you don't get when you do them as standing OHP, makes you use all those stomach and back muscles. Did the staff member tell you *why* they suggested seated?
Just my two cents and I'm a relative newbie, so if others would chime in, that would be great.
C.
Seated overhead press will also take the momentum you would get from dipping the knees out of the equation entirely. You can still brace your core and drive your legs to get the most out of it - heck, it's not worth doing it otherwise! It's a slightly different lift, but not a bad one.
I would suggest not using a back rest for that particular reason. Not quite as compound a lift anymore if you're just hanging out and leaning back!
Glad I can be a source of... inspiration? When you guys are failing lol. Dat OHP... *shakes head*OHP: 1x5, 1x3 @ 40 lbs, 3x5 @ 30 lbs. (Thought of you here, KROK!)0 -
So my.every first set with my new weight bench was workout B so I did squats 55 lbs OHP 45lbs and deadlift 95lbs!!!0
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Tonight's workout felt really good...powered completely by too much beer over the weekend I'm sure!!! Have to burn it all off now.
Workout B:
squats - 7,7,5 @ 135 pounds...again. Going to stay here one more time. They're feeling better but for some reason I get pretty light headed on those last two reps. Doesn't happen on any other lifts so I don't know what it is about these that get to me. Squats are becoming my least favorite lift, meh.
OHP - 3x6 @ 70 pounds. Another deload. The plan now is to keep adding reps and add weight in 2.5 pound increments to see if I can make it past the 80 pound mark this time.
DL - 1x5 @ 180 pounds. Yeah buddy!
Then 2 miles of HIIT sprints afterwards.
Have a great week of lifting everybody!0 -
So I haven't really been posting too much. Kind of tuned out of the whole MFP thing (still tracking food for the most part just not interacting).
Deload week this week so nothing major.
OHP warm up and then 30lbs x 5 35lbsx5 and 45 lbs x 11
Rows, inclined push ups and dips for accessories. Then I went on the elliptical for 30 minutes for no reason other than to be able to eat more...
And (warning shameless plug) because I organized the workout room enough to get to the elliptical I figured I would do a little "tour" of my workout room and use it as a video to try to bring my vlog back to life. It's here in case any one wanted to take a look. PS I don't stand still well so it's kind of bumpy and strange.0 -
OHP: 1x5, 1x3 @ 40 lbs, 3x5 @ 30 lbs. (Thought of you here, KROK!)Glad I can be a source of... inspiration? When you guys are failing lol. Dat OHP... *shakes head*
I posted on Krok's page, but just to clarify for everyone else, I thought of her because of her hilarious post about failing OHP, not because there's anything remotely fail-like about her! KROK ROCKS! xo
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i laughed at your jumping jacks under that roof. you're a lot braver than me. also laughing at psych's little personal hategram towards ohp.
workout b.
squat: 1x5@45, 1x5@60, 5x7@70. i worked really fast because i was working in with someone else, and i stuck the ego in the back pocket as far as the volume this time. i can't re-find that 'feels like nothing' moment i had at this weight a while back, but i feel like my upper body has gotten much better and tighter at holding the bar. i think my actual back is stronger too compared with before i took two whole days off. who knows, maybe all of this will translate over to my (vervloekde bleddie) rows. 3.5 stars for squats.
ohp: 5x5@45. i know there was a day several weeks back when i could do at least 50 with good form on this one, but that day has gone. so back at the first square on the drawing board and oh well. i kind of made myself finish the full 5 sets instead of just dropping into a sulk at the third set and going 'oh well, guess that tweak isn't quite better yet' and abandoning it. also think that with ohp i've been doing that little j-loop outwards first to get it out in front of my face, and then i 'stick' when it's time to start pushing it up from that position in front of my body. so this time i stopped looking in the mirror. i just picked this little 4-inch slice of air IMMEDIATELY in front of my nose and concentrated on watching that so as to actually *see* the bar zipping through that little zone on its way up. don't know if i'm just kidding myself and i was probably lifting with my eyes crossed, but it sure felt like it helped in some way. 3 stars for ohp because i did them all and i think my form was okay, but only 3 because i used to be stronger at this.
deadlift: whoo hooo. this was the good one today. i have really really been slacking off as far as getting my shoulderblades set before starting to pull, and i've been getting the results i deserve. so this time i did 3 warmups at 50 with big trainer plates to get my form set, then 2 more at 100 with a 1-inch boost, just to see how that felt. and that was okay, so i went on back up to 120 for my working set and worked a lot harder on pushing down through the heels with the hips as a hinge. WAY more work on the core, i'll tell ya. but it definitely felt stronger and cleaner and like i had much better form, so i'm happy.
assisted pullup progress: this isn't part of stronglifts but it's sort of a personal 'assignment' with a local group that i see once a month, so i decided today i'll do a bit of shoulder work on the lat-pulldown machine as part of warmup, and finish out every workout with a set of 5 using at least two different grips, just to see where i'm at. so today the scale said i weighed 130 pounds and my assist weight for 5 working reps was 55 . . . so (can't resist the math) i guess my functional pullup weight for 5 reps today was 75 pounds. that's pretty nice progress too; i'm happy.0 -
Squat 115 5x5 for third time. Either going to up to 120 or do 115 again with more reps tomorrow. Still getting tired and a little sloppy towards the end (but not as sloppy, so progress).
Deadlift 195 x2 so yeah, it was pretty heavy. I put on 5 more and did a rep at 200 so I could meet my October goal. First fail on deadlift but counteracted that by meeting a goal. Hoping next week when I do deads at 195, it'll feel easier
Going to rest and recover this weekend on a trip to the beach. Yay!0 -
Man, it took me way too long just to get here O_o Not a fan of these new forums...
Anyways, today was complex day. I added in some pendlay rows because I felt like I haven't been rowing enough.
managed 5x4 @ 115lbs. The last reps were ugly. Technically shouldn't've jumped, but I've been stuck on this lift for so long I just wanted to move forward a bit. Next time I'll do 5x3 @ 120lbs and we'll see where I go next! lol
Then EMOTM x6 of strict KB press 3-5 reps per side. The 30lbs KB was not my friend. I still have mighty bruises on my arms so this was somewhat painful. Did manage to stay over 4 reps for all the sets even though my left arm was lagging behind. A LOT.
Then 3 rounds (per side) of
- KB power snatch x 5
- front rack squat x 5
- one-arm swing x 10
- OH drop lunge x5 per side
with that same 30lbs KB.
And if that wasn't enough, the "finisher" was a 5 min AMRAP of turkish get-ups. I dropped the weight to 20 and did 8 per side. Whew
Time for a deload. Running tomorrow morning (please don't rain -_-'). BW test on friday. More running on Sat. Full body DB work on Sunday. Soccer on Monday. Off on Tuesday. Back to the program next wednesday. Insert Yoga in there wherever I see fit. It will be nice ^^0 -
Wow, gonna take some time to get used to the new forum! Here's last night's workout:
Squats - 5x85, 107.5, 127.5, 127.5
OHP - 5x47.5, 57.5, 65, 75
DL - 5x107.5, 127.5, 150, 170
Upright rows - 5x47.5, 52.5, 57.5, 62.5
DL's were awesome; OHP was a struggle (weird, as these were repeats of last week's weights AND I've already done more than 5 reps at higher than 75lbs - it's these pyramids I tell ya).0 -
Hello everyone, long time no post for me!
There's some great lifting happening in this thread!
I'm happy to report my boyfriend (who fell off of a mountain) is making great progress in his recovery, and as a result, is not only supportive of me taking some time to myself, he's harassing me to get back to the lifting (he knows I miss it terribly).
I've been doing warrior cardio, which is mainly circuit training with heavy(ish) kettlebells, mainly because he can sit there with me and by my "coach" while I do it, but I haven't made time to go to the actual gym and get under a barbell.
I FINALLY did my first strength training workout last night in over a month, so I took things slow.
Squats:
10 x 95 pounds
10 x 95 pounds
10 x 95 pounds
Assisted Pullups:
8 x 50 pounds
8 x 50 pounds
7 x 50 pounds
Pushups (superset with Pullups):
5 reps
5 reps
4 reps
Stiff Legged Deadlifts:
10 x 65 pounds
10 x 65 pounds
10 x 65 pounds
Back Extensions (superset with DLs):
8 x 25 pounds
8 x 25 pounds
8 x 25 pounds
Rotator cuff work and a hell of a lot of foam rolling completed my night
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Last night was a quick one but I got it in! Warm-up lifts are really making a huge difference for me. When I heard you have to warm up I thought that meant overall warm-up, as in cardio- which I was doing. But I was still having a lot of knee pain issues. Never would have thought to do warm-up lifts without this forum, despite doing a decent amount of research. Last night, not including warm-ups, was
Squat 125
Bench 55
BR: 50
Minimal knee pain
Happy humpday.0 -
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Today was SL Bench/Row day
Squats: After being satisfied with my form work last time, I went ahead with my new weight (60lb, was mistaken on my last report not that it matters). So did warm up with bar and then full sets 5x5 with 60lb. Was really happy with form, getting nice and low. Still struggling a bit to keep proper form on the way up after a few sets.
Did some hip bridges between sets. Probably should have rested, but a weight loss stall is making me a bit irrational =/ (I can't believe I have to eat less, I get so hungry on lifting day)
Will go ahead and move up next time to 65lb. Hooray, get to put on 2 10's!
Bench: Warm up with bar then 5x5 with new weight of 55lb. It was pretty hard though. Did some lazy stuff between sets like crunches and leg lifts, things that didn't require me to get off the bench lol.
Rows: OMG I just hate these. Really, really hate these. I stuck at my same weight of 65lb because my form was so bad last time. Form was much improved today. Will go ahead and move up next time.
Then I did Deadlifts because I do rows in the same area. Why? I don't know. The irrational thing. Did 1x5 at my same weight of 95lb.
Despite kicking my own *kitten* I still wanted to push myself so I did some work on the assisted pullup machine, worked on doing sets of 5 pullups and 5 dips at gradually reduced support weight to find my 1 rep max. Started at 66lb which is where I worked last time and got to 42 before I could only 1 rep! Honestly I was pretty pleased about it!
Sandwiched all between a 1 mile run to the gym and a 1 mile slogggg home
Been paying attention to every single post in this thread (not sure why but it is really interesting to read everyone's workouts). Have seen a few others of us low weight folks considering form over weight increases too. I really don't want to injure myself so I'm definitely going to stop at a weight any time I feel like my form is suffering. I'm in no hurry to go up quickly, I'm just trying to maintain my LBM while I lose fat.0
