March Check-in&Chat - Green beer to fuel your lifts!
Options
Replies
-
I love seeing everyone's goals!
Audii, you're pictures are awesome and your butt is definitely higher.
I did workout B today:
squats: 115x5
OHP: 60x4 ---- The first set, I only got 4 reps but did all 5 for the rest. I think I'm going to stay at 60 for another workout or 2.
Deads: fail --- 145 is what I was going for, but only got 3 reps before my grip failed. I couldn't hang on to the bar anymore. It was odd to me because I had no problems with 140 but 145 is too much. So, try try again.
Happy Saturday!
ETA: I need to do measurements and pictures.0 -
Hey, since we have similar stats and goals, and I'm doing anywhere between 3x5 and 5x5 anyway, why don't we keep each other going? I do lift 3x/week.
Sounds lovely, thanks!0 -
audii...all I can say is WOW..big difference.... you are so inspiring!!!
after lessons with my swimming trainer today, we decided that SLs will only be 2 days a week.... Im a lil bumbed about it but going to try it his way for 8 weeks.... he did say he thinks SLs is helping my strokes, specifically saying my backstroke looks a lot stronger
confession: Im going to see my ex-H next month.... We broke up about 17-18 years ago... I had gained weight from size 8 to size 12.....and he used to call me fat.... among other things.... I think thats why Im so focused on losing this 15 pounds in April...I do not want to feel fat & self-conscious in front of him & his family...
anyhoo, I weight myself this morning & will not step on the scale again til next Saturday..... I have a date with my kids tonight and Im not gonna worry about calories or much else...0 -
So I did take my first set of progress pics today :grumble: I know that it's super important, now more than ever, but man I hate thinking one minute that I'm cute and not looking too bad and then the next minute I'm looking at the pictures and thinking ugh I'm so gross :sad: I do need to know though....how does everybody make them go side by side like that? And also put writing on them? I'm so bad when it comes to this stuff!
I hated progress pics at first, but once more time progresses between them, you really start seeing the differences, and it gets better. I still look horribly overweight, but I look much better than before
As for the side by sides and text, I use photoshop. But, it's rather expensive (like $500), but there's a freeware program that was designed to be somewhat similar that I used to use called Gimp. Haven't used it lately, but with photoshop, I create a new "canvas", then drag my photos in and position them side by side (it's just drag and drop essentially) and then add text on top. It's pretty easy once you get to know the program.
Oh, and with the icing, I had a friend who'd do that, but instead of a spoon, she'd eat it out of the container with twix. :laugh:
And thanks to everyone who's commenting on my photos. Long way to go, but thanks to the lifting the journey is a lot of fun and is making me feel great about my accomplishments.
I also wanted to say thanks so much to everyone in this group. It's so supportive, and everyone is so great. I tried to explain my BAMF moment on Thursday to my gym friend (who has been avoiding the gym lately), and she just kind of smiled and said "that's great" in that tone that actually says "you're a crazy person". Oh well.0 -
I started stronglifts a month ago, to the day!
I am now lifting
Squat 92.5 lb
Deadlift 101 lb
OHP 44 lb
Bench 62 lb
(not multiples of 5 because I started with a 12kg bar - the biggest one in my gym - and I've been adding 1, 2 or 3 kg per workout (1kg on the OHP, 2kg on squats and bench, 3kg on deadlifts) since I didn't buy fractional plates and this has been working for me so far)
I can do 3x10 (real) push ups
And I'm working up to doing chin ups and inverted rows (I found a variation of the stronglifts 5x5 program in PDF and there's a lot less of the annoying guy/marketing chatter in that PDF and it has inverted rows, push ups, chin ups and some abwork I've substituted with planks.
I tried running yesterday and that didn't work out too well for me, I gave birth less than 4 months ago and my hips and pelvis felt horrible that evening and the whole next day (lifting helps though!). I had really bad SPD during the second half of my pregnancy so being pain-free is actually my #1 goal.
According to the military BF% calculator I'm at 30.7% BF (down from 34.7% last month!)
My current goals
#1 be pain/injury free
#2 get down to 25% BF
#3 Reach the "novice" level on all my lifts according to strstd.com (I'm almost there!)
#4 Chin ups without assistance (I'm pretty far from this, I'm doing the routine from stage 6 of NROLFW after my "B" stronglifts workout but lately my stronglifts have been getting heavy enough that I'm not completing all 10 sets of 2)
#5 Lower my RHR to 70 BPM
My workout routine
Stronglifts 2-3x per week (usually 3 but sometimes DH has to be at work early and I depend on him to watch the baby)
Walks (with dog & baby)
Just Dance/BEP experience on Wii as often as possible
Occasionally spinning or zumba at the gym if schedules allow for it.
As for my "be pain/injury free" goal you'd think it goes without saying but after my run I googled "SPD running after pregnancy" and sooo many online forum posts were girls who decided to push through the pain and keep running. Uh, no. Not going to do that.0 -
I actually ended up fibbing to get a photobucket account (for some reason the site wouldn't accept my postal code so I am now the proud owner of zip code 90210 :laugh: ) You can add text to a photo on there, but no side by side comparisons. I see lots of people who do it so there must be some free program. Oh well, the text is better than nothing at this point!0
-
Omfg Auddii you look amazing!
Vegas I'm so happy for your inch!
Everyone great lifts so bamf in here!0 -
For side by sides I just use power point make a blank slide then insert the pictures drag them to where I want then save As a .jpeg0
-
Auddii Congratulations!!! What a huge difference! Your belly is smooth and your arms are lean and you have little hips now!! You look Fabulous!
Vegas Congratulations to you too on your inches lost!
My workout yesterday was good.
Squats 80 lb
Bench 70
Row 70
And then I went off for a Dr appt and I got my hair cut! It feels great! I am finding the photo thing is an issue for me too. I look in the mirror and think nice, and then I take a photo and I look quite old and haggard. Clearly camera's lie! lol!
Hiit Nice strokes from your swimming coach! i am finding SL are helping me to do the other things that I do better too!0 -
Started March off like a badass. Maybe I need to drink heavily the night before more often.
First off my squats were stupid easy felt like nothing @215. Because it was so easy and I was feeling vain. I went up to 225 on my last set so I could look like a super hero with 2 45 pound plates on each side.
OHP I finally after a deload and a fail last time got past 95 pounds. Hell yea. Last set was a struggle but I got it.
Deadlift was really heavy for me last time at 255 and was worried I was gonna fail at 265. Nope kicked its *kitten* perfect form. Felt easier too. Can't wait for 275. That's 1.25 body weight.
Also Monday will be squats at 220 which will be body weight so excited
Sorry for bragging. Just really happy right now.0 -
Great idea with power point!
Audii, you look a-frelling-mazing!
I0 -
Audii you look fantastic!!!! Are you tall?
Thanks! I'm 5'8".
Auddi that's amazing. I saw you get to eat 30 more calries for body fat %. Maybe I don't use the right calculator. How did you calculate?
All I can say is you transformation is amazing! I can't wait to do my 3 month side by sides. Stronglifts is really recomping my body. Yesterday another pair of pants was falling down. Woo hoo!0 -
Audii you look fantastic!!!! Are you tall?
Thanks! I'm 5'8".
Auddi that's amazing. I saw you get to eat 30 more calries for body fat %. Maybe I don't use the right calculator. How did you calculate?
All I can say is you transformation is amazing! I can't wait to do my 3 month side by sides. Stronglifts is really recomping my body. Yesterday another pair of pants was falling down. Woo hoo!
Ha, I actually misread why I get to eat more. I use Heybales spreadsheet, and you're supposed to recalculate every 5 pounds. I get to eat more because I've lost weight, and since I'm closer to goal, it has me set to lose 1.3 pounds per week instead of 1.4 pounds per week. That's why I get to eat more - user error when reading. I do love the worksheet though, it's super easy to use.
When I was out shopping today, I decided to go to Trader Joes to get some coconut oils since everyone's raving about it (right now I just have greasy hands and hair and I'm not sure how I feel about that). Found some Sessions Black, which I'd never seen before, but looking forward to try. The case self describes the beer as "blackiliciousness". Mmm. At checkout, they have 9,000 chocolate bars to tempt me. Since I have a ton of extra calories today, I picked up the dark chocolate with caramel and coconut. It's AMAZING!!0 -
Hi everyone!
I just started SL on 2/19 and I am happy to have found this group!
I started this at:
Squat: 75
Bench: 65
Row: 65
OHP: 45
Deadlift: 75
My #'s for Feb ended at:
Squat: 95
Bench: 75
Row: 75
OHP: 50
Deadlift: 80
For March my goals are:
- Eat as close to TDEE as I can
- Keep up with 3x/week with the SL and a total of 6 days/week in the gym despite a very busy month
- Perfect my Gluten Free chocolate chip cookie recipe
I don't know where I will be as for weights at the end of the month since I don't see me keeping with the 5lb jumps each session for too much longer. I will be happy just continuing to lift!
As for the side by side photos, I open them in my computer, put them side by side, and then take a screen shot of it and crop as necessary. I use photobucket for the words and to post here.0 -
Hi everyone!
I just started SL on 2/19 and I am happy to have found this group!
I started this at:
Squat: 75
Bench: 65
Row: 65
OHP: 45
Deadlift: 75
My #'s for Feb ended at:
Squat: 95
Bench: 75
Row: 75
OHP: 50
Deadlift: 80
For March my goals are:
- Eat as close to TDEE as I can
- Keep up with 3x/week with the SL and a total of 6 days/week in the gym despite a very busy month
- Perfect my Gluten Free chocolate chip cookie recipe
I don't know where I will be as for weights at the end of the month since I don't see me keeping with the 5lb jumps each session for too much longer. I will be happy just continuing to lift!
As for the side by side photos, I open them in my computer, put them side by side, and then take a screen shot of it and crop as necessary. I use photobucket for the words and to post here.
Welcome to the group! You're making good progress, although I see on your profile you deloaded to start (yeah, I'm an MFP creeper). You'll probably blow by several of us soon, but I love this program, and hopefully you will too.0 -
Started March off like a badass. Maybe I need to drink heavily the night before more often.
First off my squats were stupid easy felt like nothing @215. Because it was so easy and I was feeling vain. I went up to 225 on my last set so I could look like a super hero with 2 45 pound plates on each side.
OHP I finally after a deload and a fail last time got past 95 pounds. Hell yea. Last set was a struggle but I got it.
Deadlift was really heavy for me last time at 255 and was worried I was gonna fail at 265. Nope kicked its *kitten* perfect form. Felt easier too. Can't wait for 275. That's 1.25 body weight.
Also Monday will be squats at 220 which will be body weight so excited
Sorry for bragging. Just really happy right now.
Understood. Personal bests never fail to feel gratifying. 0 -
Damn Audii, you are inspirational! That is a great body transform.
@jstout Hiya! I started a month ago and everyone is super nice and supportive and knowledgeable. :flowerforyou:
Finally made it to March, and Spring Break is in sight. Body is getting ready for crazy shenanigans! :bigsmile: Have been pretty crazy hungry for the past couple weeks, IDK if this is going along with picking up heavier things or just me being hormonal. :laugh: Thinking about upping calories from 1700 to 1800/1900--maybe?
Also somebody left the squat rack bar on the floor and loaded with 45's that took me way too long to take apart. :grumble:
Anyways, this morning!
Squats 110 (last set a little wobbly /shiftyeyes)
Benchpress 65
Rows 60 (they still feel really awkward/uncomfortable woes)
Continue on with the badassery!0 -
Welcome to the group! You're making good progress, although I see on your profile you deloaded to start (yeah, I'm an MFP creeper). You'll probably blow by several of us soon, but I love this program, and hopefully you will too.
auddii - Yep, I deloaded from what I had been at when I started so I could get used to the deeper squats, pendlay rows and full deadlifts. I am a little bit of a form freak and, while I like to lift a lot of weight, I don't like sacrificing my form to do so. I had some wobble in my knees today with squat so I'll stay at 100 until I can get that worked out. I'm really liking the program so far. It gives me time to work on some other stuff the days I don't do SL.
vashnic - Hi! I upped to 1800-1900 ish in January when I started lifting more. I noticed that I was getting wiped out by Thursday on 1500-1700 and eating more helped. I'm at 2000+ depending on activity level right now and have been feeling good and strong! I always find the 55 lb kettle bells laying around the gym.....not as tricky to move around, but still, I feel you.0 -
Great goals everyone! And Congratulations on all the personal bests! Not to mention moving away from the Smith Machine! Awesome!
I plan to keep on keeping on. Trying to stay slightly in the green on calories and avoid sugar, move up on weights if I can and continue with the cardio: aikido, elliptical, running (I'm going to try the zombie run app tomorrow! I hope to get my son interested.) I am going to give up trying to keep up with all of the posts here! ; ). Circuit training sounds good in theory but life can really ...well, suck the life out of you so that is still to be determined.
Have a great month everyone!0
