April Progress
tameko2
Posts: 31,634 Member
Hi Ladies, I was thinking maybe:
Post your schedule (what days you are working out) and how you are doing, where you're at, questions, comments etc?
Post your schedule (what days you are working out) and how you are doing, where you're at, questions, comments etc?
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Replies
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Great idea! I'm starting tomorrow and plan on doing Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. I've been doing NROL4W so I'm not going in completely new. I'll come back tomorrow and post my starting stats.0
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Totally new at this and did the first workout tonight. I am going to plan on doing Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday and adjust as needed.0
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I started the program a little over a week ago. My schedule is Tue/Thu/Sun.0
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No schedule yet, was meant to go today but hungover. So tomorrow... so perhaps a wed/fri/sun? we shall see.
So what are everybodies goals for April?
I downloaded all the stuff from the website but I haven't read any of it yet, so I don't know if it is possible, but I'd like to see if I can make it through April without stalling.0 -
No schedule yet, was meant to go today but hungover. So tomorrow... so perhaps a wed/fri/sun? we shall see.
So what are everybodies goals for April?
I downloaded all the stuff from the website but I haven't read any of it yet, so I don't know if it is possible, but I'd like to see if I can make it through April without stalling.
I recommend you just set a schedule that will work for you long term and stick to it. It makes it easier on the days when you REALLY don't want to go - you just think "I really don't want to go but its XX and that is a lifting day so off to the gym"
That way you have no excuses - you don't plan to do stuff those days (unless you can fit in lifting before or after) etc etc. You just go because its your lifting day.
I'm on a Monday - Thurs - Sat schedule. I suggest you avoid monday's if you go to a gym, they're so busy. My goals for april are to ..... bah, I dunno. Bust through the 130 squat for sure. Everything else I don't know where I'm gonna end up.
by the way - unless you're too injured or too sick, never skip a workout.0 -
No schedule yet, was meant to go today but hungover. So tomorrow... so perhaps a wed/fri/sun? we shall see.
So what are everybodies goals for April?
I downloaded all the stuff from the website but I haven't read any of it yet, so I don't know if it is possible, but I'd like to see if I can make it through April without stalling.
I recommend you just set a schedule that will work for you long term and stick to it. It makes it easier on the days when you REALLY don't want to go - you just think "I really don't want to go but its XX and that is a lifting day so off to the gym"
That way you have no excuses - you don't plan to do stuff those days (unless you can fit in lifting before or after) etc etc. You just go because its your lifting day.
I'm on a Monday - Thurs - Sat schedule. I suggest you avoid monday's if you go to a gym, they're so busy. My goals for april are to ..... bah, I dunno. Bust through the 130 squat for sure. Everything else I don't know where I'm gonna end up.
by the way - unless you're too injured or too sick, never skip a workout.
It is rarely an issue of not wanting to go. I love lifting - and I get all depressed when I miss a gym day anyways, need the endorphins!
, more of a things have come up so I haven't set the schedule yet (and I would have lost my lunch if I tried to do anything today, lol!) ... Plus, I'll also probably cheat and just do every other day and not the two days off unless work comes up, so that'll interfere with a set/day schedule.
Anywho, I'm a rambler. Deadlifts and shoulderpress tomorrow!
Are you stuck at 130 now? What are you doing to try and work through it? I just had a glance through the pdf... too many big words for the night, 3x5 looks like the next step?
Good luck!0 -
I just started tonight! Enjoyed it very much. Hoping to do Tues/Thurs/Sun since I am also starting C25K and planning on doing that Mon/Wed/Fri. That leaves Saturday as my only rest day, but I think as long as I'm eating enough, I should do fine.
Pendlay rows seem pretty difficult unless you have a lot of weight on the bar to lift it off the ground a little more, but I guess I could have put a plate under each side this time to give it more lift. Just seemed awkward tonight. But my squat form is much better now that I've been practicing and reading Starting Strength. I have a feeling my bench press is going to increase more quickly than my squat though, which seems strange.0 -
I just started tonight! Enjoyed it very much. Hoping to do Tues/Thurs/Sun since I am also starting C25K and planning on doing that Mon/Wed/Fri. That leaves Saturday as my only rest day, but I think as long as I'm eating enough, I should do fine.
Pendlay rows seem pretty difficult unless you have a lot of weight on the bar to lift it off the ground a little more, but I guess I could have put a plate under each side this time to give it more lift. Just seemed awkward tonight. But my squat form is much better now that I've been practicing and reading Starting Strength. I have a feeling my bench press is going to increase more quickly than my squat though, which seems strange.
Kicking *kitten* and taking names! You'll be doing push ups like a mad lady soon
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Are you stuck at 130 now? What are you doing to try and work through it? I just had a glance through the pdf... too many big words for the night, 3x5 looks like the next step?
Nope, that was only my first de-load. The way the program works (I couldn't get through the damn pdf the first time either, its like having someone rub their gigantic sweaty bicep all over your face) for deloads is:
If you fail on a weight (can't complete all 5 sets with full ROM) then you do that SAMe weight the next workout instead of adding weight.
If you fail the next time, you do the same weight again.
If you fail the THIRD time, you deload 10% and start the next workout from that number.
So I failed at 130, then deloaded to 115. So it should go Thurs - 120, Sat - 125, Mon - 130 and then if I do it monday, I'll do 135 on Thursday. If I *don't* get it monday, I follow the above again.
After 2 deloads its time to change the program, ALTHOUGH there is some leverage for fractional plates there that I haven't tried out yet. I probably need to get some -- he does very little advice for women because 99.99% of SL people are guys, but there is a blog post mentioning fractional plates for smaller guys and ladies particularly on stuff like Bench press and overhead press.
Actually I probably need to get them NOW, I'm getting to the point where all my weights are heavy on that stuff. I barely pushed through the 65lb overhead press and the 75lb bench.
hmm - oh and my other tip is, don't assume you're going to fail. Don't stop a set because you "know" you're going to fail. Just squeeze out that last rep as best you can - sometimes you have one more rep left in you even when you don't know you do.
PS: Glados, yeah, **** pendlay rows.
They are awesome as an exercise but you have you put SO many freaking plates under them to put them at a reasonable level (IMO).
PPS: Take a ton of videos of the pendlay rows because I am incapable of telling how well I am doing on those, luckly I have a workout buddy telling me my butt's too high/too low/back isnt' arched enough, whatever. (I can't arch it any more dammit, my belly hits my thighs, its not MY fault I'm fat ..no wait, it is)0 -
Ha! Glad someone else thinks pendlay rows are weird.
So another thing - I feel like I'm not laying on the bench correctly. Either my feet are dangling (do they HAVE to be completely flat and on the ground?) or my lower back seems really arched. Or both! My glutes are stuck to it, so that is good, just seems strange. Like my bench is meant for really tall people even though I'm 5'10"! Maybe it's just something to get used to but I want to make sure I'm not going to hurt myself as I go heavier.0 -
Ha! Glad someone else thinks pendlay rows are weird.
So another thing - I feel like I'm not laying on the bench correctly. Either my feet are dangling (do they HAVE to be completely flat and on the ground?) or my lower back seems really arched. Or both! My glutes are stuck to it, so that is good, just seems strange. Like my bench is meant for really tall people even though I'm 5'10"! Maybe it's just something to get used to but I want to make sure I'm not going to hurt myself as I go heavier.
Proper bench form is actually for your back to be arched. Yup. also feet should be fairly widely set, not at the END of the bench but on either side of the bench. and shoulders are down, squeezed together and nailed to the bench.
The reason your back arches is you are basically pushing your chest as close to the bar as possible, thus shortening the distance between the bar and your chest. These illustrations are awesome.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/bench-press-technique.html (scroll down)0 -
I will confess now that I did regular barbell rows for a few weeks. Because I tried the pendlay's once and was like "WTF is this ****, this is WEIRD" -- but Ive switched now. and I had to deload to switch.
We're still messing around with them honestly. Just remember to pull EXPLOSIVELY up, and then put the weight all the way down. Its actually NOTHING like a barbell row.0 -
This is my 5th week of SL. I'm on a MWF schedule. I do think I'm going to deload and work on form for a couple of lifts. I've already started by deloading on the ohp. I hate that I have so little upper body strength.0
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Hi all,
I'm starting next week since my gym is being renovated and is closed this week. I'll be doing Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday.0 -
I'm starting on Monday and will do Mon/Wed/Friday. I'm going to post my starting stats on Monday as well...maybe I'll do that in a separate thread just in case anyone wants to post as well so we can keep track together. I'd say we should do a challenge, but I have no idea what the goal would be since I'm new to the program and I'm sure everyone will be different. Just going to try to stick to it!0
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Ha! Glad someone else thinks pendlay rows are weird.
So another thing - I feel like I'm not laying on the bench correctly. Either my feet are dangling (do they HAVE to be completely flat and on the ground?) or my lower back seems really arched. Or both! My glutes are stuck to it, so that is good, just seems strange. Like my bench is meant for really tall people even though I'm 5'10"! Maybe it's just something to get used to but I want to make sure I'm not going to hurt myself as I go heavier.
Proper bench form is actually for your back to be arched. Yup. also feet should be fairly widely set, not at the END of the bench but on either side of the bench. and shoulders are down, squeezed together and nailed to the bench.
The reason your back arches is you are basically pushing your chest as close to the bar as possible, thus shortening the distance between the bar and your chest. These illustrations are awesome.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/bench-press-technique.html (scroll down)
Oooh these are some good pictures and video. Thanks! I was doing it totally wrong. No wonder I wasn't feeling it in my pecs.0 -
Ha! Glad someone else thinks pendlay rows are weird.
So another thing - I feel like I'm not laying on the bench correctly. Either my feet are dangling (do they HAVE to be completely flat and on the ground?) or my lower back seems really arched. Or both! My glutes are stuck to it, so that is good, just seems strange. Like my bench is meant for really tall people even though I'm 5'10"! Maybe it's just something to get used to but I want to make sure I'm not going to hurt myself as I go heavier.
Proper bench form is actually for your back to be arched. Yup. also feet should be fairly widely set, not at the END of the bench but on either side of the bench. and shoulders are down, squeezed together and nailed to the bench.
The reason your back arches is you are basically pushing your chest as close to the bar as possible, thus shortening the distance between the bar and your chest. These illustrations are awesome.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/bench-press-technique.html (scroll down)
Oooh these are some good pictures and video. Thanks! I was doing it totally wrong. No wonder I wasn't feeling it in my pecs.
:ohwell: I was, too. AND I was doing stiff leg deadlifts... facepalm. I'm going to deload and work on getting them right. :sigh:0 -
@tameko - best description of the PDF!
. Thanks for the easy to read recap of it as well! 0 -
ahh it does my heart good to be in the company of funny women who are lifting Love it!
So my plan is to give myself two days or three between workouts for recovery. I've got some side medical issues blah blah blah- I need the time.
I'm currently working on building up strength in my hams to be able to squat my bodyweight. So not squatting well yet. Working on getting my CNS up to speed to handle the complex moves. Building muscle memory I suppose?
Today I'm going to do the chest presses and rows- I was going to do them a few days ago but my body put a stop to that pretty quick. Hoping to be up to ten pounds today! In a few days I'll work on my hams and deadlifts.
Oh an yeah- on the bench- anyone else have trouble with their rear not letting them lie down right? I've thought about getting a shorter bench and just letting my *kitten* hang off the end. Is that nuts? I have no idea. I feel like my back is TOO arched. Can we do an incline press or is that inferior in some way to the flat press?0 -
:ohwell: I was, too. AND I was doing stiff leg deadlifts... facepalm. I'm going to deload and work on getting them right. :sigh:
I did stiff leg deadlifts before SL - they're a nice foundation but the movement is quite different. watch a lot of videos and grab a light amount to work on the form.Oh an yeah- on the bench- anyone else have trouble with their rear not letting them lie down right? I've thought about getting a shorter bench and just letting my *kitten* hang off the end. Is that nuts? I have no idea. I feel like my back is TOO arched. Can we do an incline press or is that inferior in some way to the flat press?
Its totally different gemi. Not inferior, just a different movement. Did you look at the pictures on the site I linked? take a picture of yourself if you can and compare the form0 -
I do Mon, Wed, Fri. Been doing it for 5 weeks and am now at the point were I'm pretty much failing at everything.
The last weights I finished on are:
Squats: 120lbs
Bench: 95lbs
Rows: 80lbs
Shoulder Press: 65lbs
Deads: 155lbs (with good form, I've had to deload to correct form, was at 185).0 -
I'm on my 3rd Redux, been using the prog for about a year and initally saw tremendous results, but slacked off too much during the holidays both on exercise and diet and my new and improved BMR didn't hold up to the pressure. The only weight I remember for my Best was 120 on squats but my form was off and I fell in the hole with the weight on c7 ish. I backed off a bit then to correct form because I should not have lost my balance while in the hole. If you ar going to the gym, use the power rack or chains for spotting in the squat. I have to admit I'm kinda nervous about hitting the 120 mark again in squats because of having fallen.
One thing I have found that helps is holding the bar below C7, it helps to counterbalance and make you feel the weight in your heels. Try not to let yourself collapse forward as you will then be lifting with your lower back and your quads rather than your hamstrings. Also try to keep the bar within the vertical plane that you started your descent from. In the hole (at the bottom) hips should be just below the knees and knees should not be canted in or out nor go past the toes.
Keep your abs taught, stick your butt out as you drop into the hole and try to keep yourself uprght, picking a focal point should help some with this. Squeese with your butt, hamstrings will follow along, as you push up out of the hole.
I'm pretty sure that if you do this correctly along with sore hams and glutes, your abs will be a little sore from counterbalancing and keeping you from collapsing forward. I feel like I still need a lot of seperate core work to help with this.
On Benches, your back is arched, if your feet don't touch the floor, or if they do, tuck them under so that your back is arched and you are pressing your shoulder blades into the bench. The bar will be slightly above your eyes. Place your hands shoulder width apart on the bar and as you lift the bar out of the rack, try to pull the bar apart and bring it parallel to your nips (you should feel this similar to a lat pull down. If very large chested you will probably want to touch your chest with the bar, if not stop about an inch above and make certain your elbows don't go lower than the bench.
Rows are similar, my big mistake was curling my wrist at the top of the lift. don't do that, instead get your ankles closer to the bar before you start. Everything I've described above is what I learned from the riptoe and so you think you can squat/bench videos on youtube. The next bit is what I came up with on my own for rows and OHP. My shoulders are generally not happy... so on rows I grip slightly wider than shoulder width and as I pull the weight I try to push the bar together.
I've dropped OHP altogether in favor of dumbell shoulder presses due to: over arching my back, and shoulder problems. If your are doing OHP then keep your pelvis tucked, chest lifted and DO NOT CHEAT the lift and stop part way down, doing this will cause elbow pain/injury. Bring the bar all the way to your chest before you push it back up. Riptoe suggests pushing from your shoulder blades at the top of the lift.
Weeeell that went on way longer than I thought so I'll post April goals next! :blushing:0 -
My current stats are squats 100lbs,
dumbbell presses ( shoulder injury so I'm doing these till the crunchies go away) 10lbs,
Rows 75,
Bench 80
Deads 110.
Tonight I shoot for 105 on squats, 15 on presses and 115 on deads though I may go for 120 instead.
Overarching goal for April is to not miss one workout, period. No excuses! grrrr!0 -
I do Mon, Wed, Fri. Been doing it for 5 weeks and am now at the point were I'm pretty much failing at everything.
The last weights I finished on are:
Squats: 120lbs
Bench: 95lbs
Rows: 80lbs
Shoulder Press: 65lbs
Deads: 155lbs (with good form, I've had to deload to correct form, was at 185).
Awesome stats! I was up that far but had to deload for form on squats and then deload on deads because falling in the squat really stressed out my lower back, never made it past 155 though. I still have difficulty imagining 185.0 -
Its totally different gemi. Not inferior, just a different movement. Did you look at the pictures on the site I linked? take a picture of yourself if you can and compare the form
Yep! It really helped too. I feel like I was working the right muscles now. I had my hands/arms out too far so was minimizing motion. Weirdness though- my right hip started hurting a little ways through. And I forgot to tape it. >_<
Also- my weight bench is shiiiiiite. The supports for the BB are RIGHT where my hands need to be- so I'm lifting the BB and then moving my hands inward or outward. That's fine for the 30lbs I did today but it's not going to hold up much longer. Looks like it's time to find a powercage or something similar. Hubbs is not going to like hearing that. *grimace*0 -
Its totally different gemi. Not inferior, just a different movement. Did you look at the pictures on the site I linked? take a picture of yourself if you can and compare the form
Yep! It really helped too. I feel like I was working the right muscles now. I had my hands/arms out too far so was minimizing motion. Weirdness though- my right hip started hurting a little ways through. And I forgot to tape it. >_<
Also- my weight bench is shiiiiiite. The supports for the BB are RIGHT where my hands need to be- so I'm lifting the BB and then moving my hands inward or outward. That's fine for the 30lbs I did today but it's not going to hold up much longer. Looks like it's time to find a powercage or something similar. Hubbs is not going to like hearing that. *grimace*
Start stalking craigslist, sometimes you can find someone selling off their equipment for not-too-much.0 -
:ohwell: I was, too. AND I was doing stiff leg deadlifts... facepalm. I'm going to deload and work on getting them right. :sigh:
I did stiff leg deadlifts before SL - they're a nice foundation but the movement is quite different. watch a lot of videos and grab a light amount to work on the form.
I'm having to miss my workout today, so I think I'll do the youtube thing tonight. I started SL with someone else's notes and a quick read through of the download. I don't mind backing up and fixing things, I just wish I had gotten them right in the first place.Oh an yeah- on the bench- anyone else have trouble with their rear not letting them lie down right? I've thought about getting a shorter bench and just letting my *kitten* hang off the end. Is that nuts? I have no idea. I feel like my back is TOO arched. Can we do an incline press or is that inferior in some way to the flat press?
I'm having problems, too. I can't tell if it's my butt or if my legs are too short.0 -
I do Mon, Wed, Fri. Been doing it for 5 weeks and am now at the point were I'm pretty much failing at everything.
The last weights I finished on are:
Squats: 120lbs
Bench: 95lbs
Rows: 80lbs
Shoulder Press: 65lbs
Deads: 155lbs (with good form, I've had to deload to correct form, was at 185).
Awesome stats! I was up that far but had to deload for form on squats and then deload on deads because falling in the squat really stressed out my lower back, never made it past 155 though. I still have difficulty imagining 185.
Luckily I was showing off and had my friend take a video because I thought it was cool to have the 45lb plate and the 25lb plate then I watched the video and saw back arch. I tried to do it the next time without arching my back but only got one good rep. 155lb is my partner's weight and I was about to do all 5 with that (I was using his as a warm up).0 -
I do Mon, Wed, Fri. Been doing it for 5 weeks and am now at the point were I'm pretty much failing at everything.
The last weights I finished on are:
Squats: 120lbs
Bench: 95lbs
Rows: 80lbs
Shoulder Press: 65lbs
Deads: 155lbs (with good form, I've had to deload to correct form, was at 185).
Awesome stats! I was up that far but had to deload for form on squats and then deload on deads because falling in the squat really stressed out my lower back, never made it past 155 though. I still have difficulty imagining 185.
Luckily I was showing off and had my friend take a video because I thought it was cool to have the 45lb plate and the 25lb plate then I watched the video and saw back arch. I tried to do it the next time without arching my back but only got one good rep. 155lb is my partner's weight and I was about to do all 5 with that (I was using his as a warm up).
That really is lucky - at least now you know. I know I should probably take some video but its so embarrassing to take video in a public gym, and I *do* have my husband with me and while he's certainly not an expert, he can at least compare what I'm doing to all the videos and pictures we see and I figure that's pretty good.
I think we started at almost the exact same time and we are failing at almost the exact same places which is really interesting (except for bench, 95 lbs?! Dang lady).
Session 18 is Thursday for me so i guess I'm a week ahead of you but I already deloaded my squat, like I said (because I started it a bit higher - I had CONFIDENCE - which was apparently slightly misplaced!). I'm gonna make that 65lb overhead press happen tomorrow though. I will not be denied.0 -
We just used my cell phone for the video. I don't think it's that weird, but maybe it is.0
