February Check-n-chat: Bada$$ B!tches do it with barbells
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OK, I overanalyze EVERYTHING... sometimes to a detriment...
the thing with the 15 lbs Smith Machine bar has really messed with my brain all weekend.... but until I can find a gym time conducive to both mine & the hubby's work schedule, I dont have a spotter so the SM is all I got...
I feel so DUMB... no wonder I wasnt struggling...
anyway, Im going in this morning and will add 30 ( 15 each side) and see how I feel...I may have to add 5 pounds each session afterall.... ughh..
OCD is a real sickness huh? at this rate by next week I will be back to "A" day then "B" day routines.....
I have formal swimming lessons on Saturdays and Sunday is my 100% rest day....Im hoping after lifting I have a lil energy to practice some strokes in the pool... I dont care about laps right now, my stroke sucks....0 -
Vegas, re using a lift for rows - I think pretty much everyone has said that they adjust the height of the floor (well you know :laugh: ) for their rows. I read people using three 25lbers, so that's what I do.
This is what I've been using. I've been stacking 3 plates on each side (once I go up to a 25lb plate on the bar I'd only need two; gotten there with DL, no way in hell with rows). The only problem seems to be you have to make sure they are stacked very much in line, and be careful when setting the bar down, when I do it the bar always seems to want to roll off.0 -
Vegas, re using a lift for rows - I think pretty much everyone has said that they adjust the height of the floor (well you know :laugh: ) for their rows. I read people using three 25lbers, so that's what I do.
This is what I've been using. I've been stacking 3 plates on each side (once I go up to a 25lb plate on the bar I'd only need two; gotten there with DL, no way in hell with rows). The only problem seems to be you have to make sure they are stacked very much in line, and be careful when setting the bar down, when I do it the bar always seems to want to roll off.
And woohoo for a 5lb water gain from yesterday. But the food and beer was so gooood!!0 -
Did workout A on Friday and seemed to have found my squat form. I was able to get parallel without feeling like I was leaning too far forward. Hopefully, I'll remember what I did when I do workout B this evening.
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Whoa! That thread grew suddenly...you all look great and to all who are injured, I hope you recover soon. Gym down time sucks, I can recall itching to get back in there a few times last year....but wait I did...
Okay...I am still lifting heavy (been doing 3 full body workouts per week the last few weeks), about 5 - 10 kg (10 - 20 lbs) less than my maxes I hit at the end of Wendler's after stronglifts....but know I can hit them no problem for a few hits. So by the end of this year I guess my aims are to try my darndest to improve my lifts by quite a way (cannot wait to bench my bodyweight wheee!), which I know I can if I eat, rest and lift right. Am defo going to change gyms come April, so there is less waiting and can do proper boxing or even mma sessions if I want to. This means the gym cost plus the open water cost (instead of all inclusive swimming pool) will be a little less than the total at current gym. My new bicycle is hopefully on the way this week (got stolen last month from the gym, dunno if I mentioned it in here) and cannot wait to get triathlon training again. Am doing a sprint tri in June, the tough mudder in September and a 9 mile country mud run (Sodbury Slog) in November.
Am aiming for less fat this year. Hopefully I will hit 20% or just below in a few months' time. Cannot wait to wear my board shorts on their own (without my running tights underneath) to run in and to the gym yeehaw!
Food and training are okay, resting and getting enough sleep seem to be eluding me at the moment...er...0 -
Just catching up folks...
Audii - You look great!!! You can really see a difference in your belly - great job!!!!0 -
Mixed bag for me this morning....on the one hand I'm super pumped that I blasted through 5x5 @ 59# on my BP. I usually stall when I go up to a new weight, but this time I didn't, so that was AWESOME!
Bad news is that I went back down to 75 on my row. No problem repping it out but I feel like my form is wrong. I used the bottom setting on my rack this morning to set it on, focused on pulling to my chest (reverse bench type of thing) but I feel like my elbows flare doing it that way. Plus I just realized that I actually didn't set the bar down for each rep *sigh* Oh well, I'll just keep working at it!0 -
i stack up plates on the floor too - otherwise its not at the right height.
I just BARELY made my 80lb overhead press. Barely. So I may just stick with the same weights for next month. And then my husband said "wait is that your 1rm?" and I said "yes...why? Do you think its low or high?" and he was like "low." and then proceeded to push it a couple times just to be a jerk. *grumbles* i guess he forgot how far behind my OHP is to my bench. Even before, when we were doing SL till it was 20lbs off. Now its about 25-30 lbs off. Not totally unreasonable.
Oh well, whatever makes him feel strong and manly enough to want to go to the gym.
Actually my last COUPLE sessions (3-4?) were a little weak. I dunno what to attribute it to. And good lord, for someone that went 300 over last night I am shockingly hungry.0 -
First time back to the weights in almost 2 weeks - and I only had to drop on my OHP, which I think is pretty awesome. It was definitely hard - but it felt good to get back to weights after a busy couple of weeks!
Squat 4x5 - 95 1x5 -115
OHP - 5x5 - 50
DL - 5x5 - 140
weighted side bends - 30
had a hard time with my grip on the DL, but I still held. If anything, it shows me how much of a difference just a couple times a week can make for grip strength!0 -
Boys are so dumb, Tameko! My husband won't even go to the rec center with me because he thinks he'd be "too weak" to lift in public.
What.
Ev.
Er.
I updated my blog with some pics if any of you are bored. There's a sweet pic of my nekkid back (and my granny panties) that you don't want to miss. lol
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/extraordinary_machine/view/checking-in-february-2013-4850930 -
Boys are so dumb, Tameko! My husband won't even go to the rec center with me because he thinks he'd be "too weak" to lift in public.
What.
Ev.
Er.
OH MY GOD THAT IS HOW MINE IS! Sometimes he won't even run on the treadmill because he is embarrassed by how 'fat' he is and he still struggles with looking 'weak' in the gym compared to the other guys. He's doing better there because I've convinced him most of the other guys are doing stupid shit (and they are - seriously next time I see a guy put his lifting belt and straps on to curl I'm going to rip it off him). But I think he still feels bad about the bench press - and unfortunately he's got the WORST body for benching - long arms and legs, relatively narrow chest, etc so he'll always be a little weaker there than some. He's built to deadlift, which is a lift no gym bro knows or cares about.
Boys are GIRLS, seriously.0 -
My hubby is a really small guy (taller than me, but skinny as heck, and HATES working out), and he's such a trooper... he'll go lift with me once in awhile, and listen to me talking about it all day long... but last week I said, "Hey, did you know they have competitions for lifting? Powerlifting?" And he was like, "..... that is dumb."
That is the first time he's ever been negative about it, kinda caught me off-guard.
Anyway, hey—I have a question about gloves. I've been using them for my row and deadlift and OHP, because the notches or whatever really hurt my hands. :sad: Especially on the deadlift, which is pretty heavy now. I don't use them on the bench or the squat, because my hands are tiny anyway, and the extra bulk makes it hard to grip. But I read on the SL site that Medhi was totally against them, for all these specific reasons.... but my gym doesn't have chalk, and dang... especially on the DL, that bar really screws my hands up if I don't use them. Opinions??
I had kind of a stupid session this morning. I was totally overthinking my form the whole time, plus I didn't sleep well last night so that probably had a lot to do with it. I did add to my row, though, so that was good.
I bought some flat sneakers last week for squats, after reading what some of you said about the running shoes. I tried them last Friday, and couldn't tell much of a difference, or so I though... today I wore my running shoes again, and it was AWFUL. Don't know how I ever did squats in them now. :laugh: Back to the good ol' flat sneakers!0 -
Just keep the gloves if the knurling hurts your hands that much. For now, its fine, later its probably going to mean your weaker grip holds you back, and at that point it might be time to use straps. (FYI straps are not raw-competition legal, I believe, but you don't care about that and you DO care about deadlifting so use em if you need em). You might also want to try doing your light sets with no gloves - see if you can toughen up your hands a little.
But re: chalk, you can buy some to take with you. I carry mine in my gym bag.0 -
This is what I've been using. I've been stacking 3 plates on each side (once I go up to a 25lb plate on the bar I'd only need two; gotten there with DL, no way in hell with rows). The only problem seems to be you have to make sure they are stacked very much in line, and be careful when setting the bar down, when I do it the bar always seems to want to roll off.
And then everyone stares at you. Not that I've had this happen...
Nexangelus- I'm so sorry about your bike. I would be so sad if someone stole mine. Fortunately it isn't really good enough to steal. I like your union jack toe shoes.
Sarahisyou- About the knurling. Apparently I am a little pretty pretty internet gaming princess, because when I first started I couldn't even do SQUATS without it hurting my poor widdle paws. So sad. I've slowly started doing more and more lifts without them. I'm to the point where I can do everything but deads. I actually was planning on doing what Tameko said (she is so smart) and not using gloves for lighter sets.0 -
Just keep the gloves if the knurling hurts your hands that much. For now, its fine, later its probably going to mean your weaker grip holds you back, and at that point it might be time to use straps. (FYI straps are not raw-competition legal, I believe, but you don't care about that and you DO care about deadlifting so use em if you need em). You might also want to try doing your light sets with no gloves - see if you can toughen up your hands a little.
But re: chalk, you can buy some to take with you. I carry mine in my gym bag.
Ah, I see. I always learn something in here! Thanks!!0 -
I keep meaning to tell you all... I finally bought myself some new (cheap) bras, but on Amazon (because no other stores exist anymore, amirite?) Anyway... I overestimated how the girls are shrinking.
Which made me happy, except that I blew $30 on bras. My old Vicky's 36Cs are a perfect fit, and when I do the VS measurement, that's my size. Lo and behold, when you measure the standard way, I'm a 36D - or even a 34D! (But I doubt that would fit). My 38Cs are too big, so I figured I would just bump a band size. Evidently not. So yay for losing less boobage than I thought! Boo for still having no bras that fit. 
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Sarahisyou- About the knurling. Apparently I am a little pretty pretty internet gaming princess, because when I first started I couldn't even do SQUATS without it hurting my poor widdle paws. So sad. I've slowly started doing more and more lifts without them. I'm to the point where I can do everything but deads. I actually was planning on doing what Tameko said (she is so smart) and not using gloves for lighter sets.
Haha, glad I'm not the only one! LOL
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This may not seem like a lot, but to me, I'm really happy! Since starting SL I've lost 0.6%BF! I'm on my way!0
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Boys are so dumb, Tameko! My husband won't even go to the rec center with me because he thinks he'd be "too weak" to lift in public.
What.
Ev.
Er.
I updated my blog with some pics if any of you are bored. There's a sweet pic of my nekkid back (and my granny panties) that you don't want to miss. lol
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/extraordinary_machine/view/checking-in-february-2013-485093
You truly look Extraordinary!!!
And Tameko I love your new profile photo! You are so beautiful!
Congratulations Kit on loss of body fat!!!
Squats:125 5x5
Bench: 82 5x5
Row: 90 5x5 May be cheating on this because a couple didn't go right up to my chest but I counted them anyway. I have been doing them from the bottom holes on the rack. it is just above mid shin. Probably a little high but weights on the floor is a little low and a little rickety. This makes me feel safer.0 -
This may not seem like a lot, but to me, I'm really happy! Since starting SL I've lost 0.6%BF! I'm on my way!
That is AWESOME!!!!0
