April Check in & Chat - Spring into the Squat Rack
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Also, on squats, how low do most of you go? I can do signficantly more weight if I don't go all the way down, but going all way way or most of the way (below parallel, but not quite to the ground), the amount of weight I can do is greatly reduced, however, going down further seems to help with my knees.
:nods: yes, what helps my knees -- and my knees were really awful before -- is to go to what looks like just below parallel... your hip bone level with your knees, so the bottom of your butt below that. That way you engage & strengthen your hamstrings instead of only your quads. Going lower has transformed my overall enjoyment of life because my knees are so much better. I wish I'd known to do it 15 years ago! I have read that going ATG can actually just be harder on your knees, so no need to go lower.
@lwoodruff -- sounds like you & I have the 'natural ceiling' with deadlifts. I'm sure you have plenty of gains ahead of you though. And no, I hadn't noticed that about pendlay rows but maybe I just hadn't noticed LOL
@macybean -- sorry you've been sick, that's no fun! Glad you are feeling better now.
So, I was so excited about power cleans but they definitely hurt my knee. I will try again today but I might go back to pendlay rows and add in chins/pullups. I don't want to go back to hobbling around with my knees all swollen!0 -
Hi! Did my first SL workout today, and, as I thought I would, I loved it. It's like NROLW Stage 1, when everything's just fun and straightforward...no fussy set-ups. I really forced myself to focus on form, getting really low on those squats, even though it meant a much lower weight than I used to squat. Watching all the videos over the weekend (and again during rest periods in the gym...gotta love YouTube/Wifi) made such a huge difference. Can't wait for Wednesday's workout! Think I'll run tomorrow, if my legs aren't dead.
Hope you all have a great Monday!0 -
Also, on squats, how low do most of you go? I can do signficantly more weight if I don't go all the way down, but going all way way or most of the way (below parallel, but not quite to the ground), the amount of weight I can do is greatly reduced, however, going down further seems to help with my knees.
In any case, I'm just feeling happy that I did a 170 pound deadlift! 175 next time....or 170 if I'm a scaredy cat that day!
Awesome on the deadlift! For squats, I just went from my last workout of 130 down to 105 this morning. I was really struggling with 130; I'm pretty sure I was getting to parallel, but I like to go just past that point so my butt dips down a little more. 130 was too hard for that, so I'm going to play around with working my way back up. With 105 I could almost go ATG, but I don't think I need to go that low. I really felt the difference in my butt with 105 vs mostly in my thighs for 130, so I know now I wasn't getting down far enough.
Bench press - 90 lbs 5x5! I think I might even be able to make it through 5x5 on 95 lbs, but I'll probably stick with 90 again on Friday.
Rows - Dropped 5 lbs from 100 down to 95. It's amazing how much difference 5 lbs makes. Might try 100 again next time.0 -
You gals are putting me to shame with those numbers. Most excellent!
I think squat depth is a personal preference, and parallell is really the minimum depth (but plenty good enough if that's what you're doing). Any lower than that is up to you, really. If you're agile enough to go ATG and unleash your inner olympic beast, and if your hips and knees can handle it, then good on you I say. The mechanics are obviously going to be different, but unless you're lifting competitively, who cares? :flowerforyou:0 -
Hi! Did my first SL workout today, and, as I thought I would, I loved it. It's like NROLW Stage 1, when everything's just fun and straightforward...no fussy set-ups. I really forced myself to focus on form, getting really low on those squats, even though it meant a much lower weight than I used to squat. Watching all the videos over the weekend (and again during rest periods in the gym...gotta love YouTube/Wifi) made such a huge difference. Can't wait for Wednesday's workout! Think I'll run tomorrow, if my legs aren't dead.
Hope you all have a great Monday!
YAY!! I'll be doing my first SL5X5 after lunch-- around 2:30.0 -
Hey guys! I know I haven't been posting a lot, I haven't been keeping up with my workouts quite as much as I'd like (still doing two a week but it should be three) but I'm still reading all your stories! You're making great progress!
I think maybe the reason I'm not making it is because I keep thinking "urgh, an hour and a half out of the house" - I'm a complete homebody, I love being at home and I only go outside when I have to (unless it's sunny, in which case solitary walks). I feel like that could be helped by switching to 3x5 instead of 5x5 - has anyone here done that?0 -
@lady....any chance you could set up weights at home? I too hate to leave the house (unless it's something really fun!) and find I'm a much better at home workouts.
Still feeling a little off today, but improved. Today's a cardio day for me, hopefully with my new rowing machine (awaiting a call to say it's here)!
There's some awesome numbers out there! On the squat issue, I tend to go just below parallel, it's where I feel I get the most workout and it seems to use some of the muscles I notice screaming when I'm carrying my backpack up mountain passes....and in the end I really just want to be able to continue to do that and maybe even improve my climb. Lowering the weight on my pack is out as I WILL NOT give up my cheese! I don't care what it weighs!
That was a rather rambling post....this is what happens when I'm anxiously awaiting something! Where IS that delivery truck?0 -
Hey guys! I know I haven't been posting a lot, I haven't been keeping up with my workouts quite as much as I'd like (still doing two a week but it should be three) but I'm still reading all your stories! You're making great progress!
I think maybe the reason I'm not making it is because I keep thinking "urgh, an hour and a half out of the house" - I'm a complete homebody, I love being at home and I only go outside when I have to (unless it's sunny, in which case solitary walks). I feel like that could be helped by switching to 3x5 instead of 5x5 - has anyone here done that?
I've started lifting in the mornings and 5x5 would mean I had to get up even earlier. So I'm on 3x5. Plus I was tired ALL THE TIME from 5x5 and everything else going on in my life. The Starting Strength program has you on 3x5 from day 1, so it's not a problem at all to just do that.
After all, doing 3x5 will get you infinitely better results than 0x5
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Hey guys! I know I haven't been posting a lot, I haven't been keeping up with my workouts quite as much as I'd like (still doing two a week but it should be three) but I'm still reading all your stories! You're making great progress!
I think maybe the reason I'm not making it is because I keep thinking "urgh, an hour and a half out of the house" - I'm a complete homebody, I love being at home and I only go outside when I have to (unless it's sunny, in which case solitary walks). I feel like that could be helped by switching to 3x5 instead of 5x5 - has anyone here done that?
I'm a total homebody too--I even work out at home, even though a perfectly fine YMCA is 5 minutes away. I switched to 3 x 5 when the workouts started going over an hour and I LOVE IT! I'm still physically beat at the end, but mentally I am much better.0 -
So much going on in here - I"m gone for a few days and you all turn into even bigger rockstars!
We had to do an emergency out of town trip this weekend (sick relative), but I managed to fit in at least one lifting session, and didn't eat too horribly. I will say this though - I will never, ever, ever do squats in a Smith machine again. We were in a small town with only one gym, and all they had was a Smith. Blergh. And I had to use a nautilus style machine to do shoulder presses. In retrospect I probably should have just used dumbbells. They only had a short E-Z bar for deadlifts, but at least it was free weights. And all the guys (no chicks at all) in the room stopped to watch me. When I finished and looked up they all clapped, which was pretty hilarious. 3 of them told me they had never seen a woman lift before AT ALL, so yeah, I guess seeing me deadlift 155 must have been a little eye-opening. All of my weights were off, and I think I'll just repeat my squat weight at 100 tomorrow (back home thankfully), and then redo my OHP and deadlifts on Thursday. But even with all the substitutions and incredulity, the lifting helped me deal with an otherwise very stressful and emotional weekend.
Okay, now to catch up with the goings-on a bit more thoroughly.0 -
Hey guys! I know I haven't been posting a lot, I haven't been keeping up with my workouts quite as much as I'd like (still doing two a week but it should be three) but I'm still reading all your stories! You're making great progress!
I think maybe the reason I'm not making it is because I keep thinking "urgh, an hour and a half out of the house" - I'm a complete homebody, I love being at home and I only go outside when I have to (unless it's sunny, in which case solitary walks). I feel like that could be helped by switching to 3x5 instead of 5x5 - has anyone here done that?
Would I home gym be an option? Once I'm out, its like, nbd to just keep doing what needs to get done. 1 hour vs 1hour 30 wouldn't matter for me, its the act of leaving the house that can be hard to do.0 -
So much going on in here - I"m gone for a few days and you all turn into even bigger rockstars!
We had to do an emergency out of town trip this weekend (sick relative), but I managed to fit in at least one lifting session, and didn't eat too horribly. I will say this though - I will never, ever, ever do squats in a Smith machine again. We were in a small town with only one gym, and all they had was a Smith. Blergh. And I had to use a nautilus style machine to do shoulder presses. In retrospect I probably should have just used dumbbells. They only had a short E-Z bar for deadlifts, but at least it was free weights. And all the guys (no chicks at all) in the room stopped to watch me. When I finished and looked up they all clapped, which was pretty hilarious. 3 of them told me they had never seen a woman lift before AT ALL, so yeah, I guess seeing me deadlift 155 must have been a little eye-opening. All of my weights were off, and I think I'll just repeat my squat weight at 100 tomorrow (back home thankfully), and then redo my OHP and deadlifts on Thursday. But even with all the substitutions and incredulity, the lifting helped me deal with an otherwise very stressful and emotional weekend.
Okay, now to catch up with the goings-on a bit more thoroughly.
I love that they clapped for you! Awesome story and awesome commitment to just make it work at the small town gym! :happy:0 -
I really enjoyed my workout today and I didn't feel too taxed while I was doing it, but now my joints are all kinds of sore. Might be more to do with the weather than the workout, though.
Squats 115 oops that was supposed to be 105. I realized it when I was finished with warmups, but 105 had felt so light that I just went ahead and did 115.
Bench was 65 and was incredibly easy as well. I stalled out at 67 so am looking forward to smashing through that soon. Next time I will go for 67 1/2 just so that I can say I got through that stall.
Then I had a decision to make -- power cleans or no. I decided not to because I don't want my knees to hurt, I've been so incredibly grateful that they haven't been hurting and I just don't want to go back to how it used to be. So I did Pendlays at 80. They were hard but manageable. I'll add like 1 or two pounds next time.0 -
I'm okay about getting out of the house and down to the gym, it's just once I'm there everything feels like it's taking forever. The rest time between my squats has increased enough that it takes me about twenty minutes to get through them, my OHP feels like it takes forever too.
Sadly home gym is not an option yet. I live in a tiny rental house and although there's a garage filled with crap, it's very definitely outside and I know I wouldn't use it during the winter. I'm hoping that when I move in a couple of years I can set up a home gym, but it's not going to be possible before then.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's switched because of time management!
@kirabob - I hope your relative is okay. Awesome story about the lifting though!0 -
Got to 80 on squats today and 65 on BPs! Back to my old PR of 115 on deadlifts, and inching my way up there with OHP (47.5 today). :drinker:
5x5 is quite a bit more work than 3x5, but I'm liking it even though I seem to be making slower progress. 3x5 for OHP may end up being the way to go, because 5x5 for those is a crapton of work. Jeez. Feeling very accomplished though. :glasses:0 -
Workout B
3 more workouts until my deload week. I'm so excited I could pee.
Kira: that's an awesome compliment!0 -
Got to 80 on squats today and 65 on BPs! Back to my old PR of 115 on deadlifts, and inching my way up there with OHP (47.5 today). :drinker:
5x5 is quite a bit more work than 3x5, but I'm liking it even though I seem to be making slower progress. 3x5 for OHP may end up being the way to go, because 5x5 for those is a crapton of work. Jeez. Feeling very accomplished though. :glasses:
Sounds like you were super serious in there today! And oh yes, I feel you on the OHP. I don't want to hate them, but man, they are tough!
A for me today:
Repeated squats at 105 to make up for the mysterious Smith machine weight.
Bench Press - 5x5 85 pounds!!!! I was super duper pumped about this today - I have really been focusing on my form, and re-read the section in SS on benches, and it made a huuuuuge difference.
Rows - Tried to go up to 100, and my form went out the door. Dropped back to 95 and finished them out - thinking this will be the first place I add in fractionals.
Chins and dips, both with 66 pounds of my bodyweight. Making some slow and steady progress here - I tried a 1RM on chins yesterday, and got about 2 inches from chin over the bar! So my 40th birthday present (10 full chins and dips, no assistance) to myself may just happen - but thankfully I have most of the year to get there!
I upped my calories again last week to a conservative TDEE estimate of 2200, and started losing fat again. Woot! I can definitely feel the extra fuel in my lifting quality, too. So thankful that I figured out I needed to eat the food and lift the iron!!!!
And in my streak of strange things happening to me in the gym, I had a random man ask me today "Where, exactly, did you learn to lift like a man?" Um, youtube? He was unimpressed with my answer. And not too happy when I pointed out that women's bodies were just as capable of lifting heavy objects as male bodies. But I had just finished my benches, so I was feeling my oats. . .
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And in my streak of strange things happening to me in the gym, I had a random man ask me today "Where, exactly, did you learn to lift like a man?" Um, youtube? He was unimpressed with my answer. And not too happy when I pointed out that women's bodies were just as capable of lifting heavy objects as male bodies. But I had just finished my benches, so I was feeling my oats. . .
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Man, lifting from home is so boring. I miss out on all the funny gym stories. :bigsmile:
OHP is one of my favorite lifts. I'm trying really hard to not start hating on them, so am doing what I can to take my time and proceed very, very slowly. Cuz mama wants triceps without arms flapping in the breeze!0 -
Workout B today, and and like many of you OHP are my nemeses! Felt really good overall, though. Maybe because it is finally sunny out and I had cake for breakfast. :laugh:
Squat: 150 lbs
OHP: 55 lbs (still
)
Deadlift: 160 lbs
What seems to be working very well for me is increasing weights by 5 lbs every other workout (too lazy to buy fractionals XD). And I have found a sweet time spot where the super early morning people are leaving and the later morning people have not arrived to take up squat racks. :flowerforyou:0 -
And in my streak of strange things happening to me in the gym, I had a random man ask me today "Where, exactly, did you learn to lift like a man?" Um, youtube? He was unimpressed with my answer. And not too happy when I pointed out that women's bodies were just as capable of lifting heavy objects as male bodies. But I had just finished my benches, so I was feeling my oats. . .
That's hilarious. I will now devote some serious time to deciding what to say should I ever be so lucky to get asked this question. ;-)0 -
Workout B today
Having a fight with OP. Deloaded to 55 from 60 and now I am failing out on reps at 55... Need to buy fractionals/eat protein/rest longer/eat better/etc... I'm considering going all the way back to 45 lb oly bar and starting over. Must beat OP!! Rawr!!
Today
Squat - 130# 5x5 - Met my April goal!!
OP 55# 5,5,5,4,3
DL 130# 5x5 - 10 lbs over April goal!
Saturday
Bench 80# 5x5 - 5lbs from April goal! Totally gonna hit it.
Row 70# 5x5 Back to where I was before mini deload for form.
Squat 125# 5x5
It's been my long term goal to squat & dead lift body weight. Since the body weight doesn't seem to be coming down, glad to see the weights are going up!0 -
It's been my long term goal to squat & dead lift body weight. Since the body weight doesn't seem to be coming down, glad to see the weights are going up!
Haha Fish! This has been my goal too. I made it with deads, but I just told my husband last night that the squat thing is not going to happen unless some weight comes off me first. :laugh:0 -
Dani - Yes, working out in a gym does lend itself to seeing and hearing some very interesting stuff. I also wanted to thank you for your discussions on the progressive lifts (pyramid). I think I will be doing them more now that I am getting close to my upper limits.
Kira - WOW, just WOW. That guy had no clue did he?
So, workout A today....
Squats - did a progressive climb on the weights, warm up with body weight and bar, then did 1x5 @ 65, 75, 85, 95 and 105. This seemed to give me the chance to hit a higher weight before wearing down the hip flexor. I also tried to "rip apart the floor with my heals" as I was coming up out of the squat. I saw that tip in the Eat, Train, Progress group and I think it really did help to take some pressure off the hip flexor.
Bench - did a similar progression, but did warm-up at bar and 75 then 1x5 @ 95 and 105 then 115 for 3 sets for 4, 5, 4 reps.
Rows - I made the mistake of not stacking plates to lift off of since the weight room was busy. 105 was rough so I dropped down to 95 for the last 4 sets.0 -
Dani-I work out at home and every now and then this guy appears at the top of the stairs making growly sounds and talking about "pipes! Look at those pipes!". He actually made me fail on bench once due to his random, goofy comments! Then there's always some cat meandering around the power rack and the dog who thinks the coin socks are dog toys. Does your home gym not have these things?!
Tomorrow is workout B...gonna shoot for 130 on squats, which would put me over my body weight (by only a pound, but hey, a pound is a pound, right?). We'll see about OHP. Grrrr, now I'm growling!
Glad to read that others are staying the same size/weight but getting stronger. I recently looked and I've been the same weight and no change in measurements in 3 months, but my strength is increasing. Eventually somethings got to change, right? I get my body fat checked next month for my work's wellness program, hope to see some progress there at least!0 -
Dani-I work out at home and every now and then this guy appears at the top of the stairs making growly sounds and talking about "pipes! Look at those pipes!". He actually made me fail on bench once due to his random, goofy comments! Then there's always some cat meandering around the power rack and the dog who thinks the coin socks are dog toys. Does your home gym not have these things?!
No ma'am. My gym is in the garage, so first thing I do is open both garage doors and turn on our enormously huge, loud fan to get the gasoline smell out (cause we have lawnmowers and a motorcycle plus gas cans in there. Then I go do yoga (in the house, not the garage). Then I return (to the garage), close one door completely and the other partway (leaving a crack for some air circulation), and the only thing you'll hear for the next 45 minutes or so is me talking to myself, grunting here and there, and the clanging of plates and the bar. No music (can't hear it due to said enormously loud fan). Just me, the fan, my own thoughts and my barbells.Dani - Yes, working out in a gym does lend itself to seeing and hearing some very interesting stuff. I also wanted to thank you for your discussions on the progressive lifts (pyramid). I think I will be doing them more now that I am getting close to my upper limits.
You're so welcome! I was surprised when I read about variations of 5x5, and the staggered (pyramid?) was what really appealed to me because it seemed straightforward and effective without being overly taxing. Glad my rabid researching is helping somebody else! :flowerforyou:
It just makes me mad when I read posts about "I failed this lift" and "I failed that lift" when really, none of you people are failing anything, and all it would take are some minor tweaks for you to find your happy place and being able to continue progressing without sitting there beating yourselves up for no reason whatsoever. Stronglifts is only one variation of the 5x5, and while it's a solid program, I think it's perfectly fine to adapt it to your situation here and there with certain lifts and being able to steadily progress without getting frustrated or feeling like some sort of failure (in what universe is a woman lifting an olympic barbell plus plates over her head repeatedly a failure anyway, pray tell????). Do what you gotta do to progress and enjoy the journey, because why frustrate yourself for no reason?
I did the "rip the floor apart" today too while squatting. Very effective!0 -
I have a tendency to 'rip the floor apart' when squatting. sadly only with the power of my farts!
giggling at work, how professional!!
A for me tonight, supposed to do 50kg squats (repeating to get that backside horizontal!), 35kg bench (eep!) and 43.5 rows. ...
fishlover - did you really do 5x5 deads?! wow!
checked out the ankle weights and they are out of stock at Tesco
booo! hopefully not needing them just yet though! 0 -
@macy LOL at the home gym quirks.
@fishlover 5x5 deadlifts? Hardcore!
So, lunchtime workout B on 3x5 for me today.
Squat - 37.5kg/82.5# again. Ready to go up next time
OHP - 17.5kg/38.5# Fractions next time, then I'm ready to use the men's Oly bar instead of the women's! This is where I stalled out last time...
DL - 57.5kg/126.5# Easier than last time. Back up to 60kg bodyweight next time.0 -
Today will be my second day. I will go with less weight for my squats. They did not feel 'too heavy' at 45, but totally messed up my back muscles on my left. I will probably go with 30 instead of 45/50#... Try that, maybe for a few more sessions, see if it helps my weak left side.
Normally, I think I'd be fine with the planned Deadlifts, but I can still barely walk from Monday's workout. I guess I am a wimpy squatter.... Gonna take a bot longer to bring those up to par.0 -
It's also okay to take more than one rest day. Sometimes lifting helps you work through the muscle soreness, and sometimes you just need another day of rest, good food, and lots of water!0
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It's also okay to take more than one rest day. Sometimes lifting helps you work through the muscle soreness, and sometimes you just need another day of rest, good food, and lots of water!
Today will be my gauge... Does lifting help work through the soreness or not..... If NOT, then day 3 will NOT be Friday!! :happy:0
