yeah I shouldn't be so lazy, I hear ya sister!

I again felt like I have lots of power to unleash but I just need my little assistance muscles to catch up.

And/or ligaments and so forth. It takes more than just major muscle groups to lift anything consistently, so just give your body some time to adapt and get stronger.

I do a lot better with my back stability now that I've incorporated sphinx and locust into my yoga practice. They work the spinal erectors that nobody talks about (who the heck ever heard of a multifidus muscle?) and that often get neglected, but are awesome when it comes to stabilizing the core (which is a big deal for squatting, obviously). They're deceptively easy and simple but very effective.

Congrats on the 150 lb deadlift! That's a great milestone!

@Freckled: You go girl! I was into triathlons when I had my first (at age 30) and I swam a mile the day he was born. Being in shape helped my recovery a lot. And I know that for sure, because i had two kids after that (at 32 and 34) when my fitness level had dropped a bit, and the recovery was tougher. Thankfully, now that they are older mommy has more time to get fit again!

Love, love, love this @chunkmunk! I get some looks/questions for sure. I've been going to the gym very consistently 4-5 times a week for the last few years, and I'm not looking to quit just because I'm pregnant (especially when so much of what I've read seems to really encourage maintaining being active and its benefits on pregnancy/baby's growth). I love hearing about other fit moms who kept active -- a Zumba teacher at my gym who was teaching classes the week before she gave birth, another woman who did yoga right up to the end... whatever works to keep you moving. At a time when my body is doing all these crazy things, the Oly bar is a bit of a zen place for me... it makes me feel strong, confident, and takes all the stress of the day away.

I did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday--I think I'm going to really like it!

Here's what I did...
Warm Up
Dumbbell overhead presses
30 lbs (15 each) 5 reps
35 lbs 5 reps
40 lbs 5 reps
45 lbs (bar) 3 reps

Work Set
OHP
45 lbs 5 reps
55 lbs 5 reps
60 lbs 7 reps

Assistance
Weight assisted dips
3x10 with 95 lbs assistance
Weight assisted chin ups
3x8 with 110 lbs assistance
Body Weight Dips...just 3

I was done in less than 30 minutes, so I tried to do some intervals on the treadmill, but I didn't have my inhaler and I couldn't breathe, so I quit 8 minutes in (I was going for 15.)

I really think I'm going to love the change and just focusing on 1 lift per session.

I copied my goals here too. Thanks for adding the separate goals sticky because they can be hard to find at the end of the month.

I would like to lose a bit more on the scale and less inches if that's possible. I am losing my butt and boobs - not happy! I hit my goal weight of 125, but I would like to go down to 120 since I'm 5'1". I'm still doing cardio 4 times a week in addition to other weight machines. Doing S/L only was not enough for me, so I had to add more to it.

squat - 175 (currently 160)
deadlift - 150 (currently 135)
OHP - 65 (currently 55)
Row - 65 (currently 55)
Bench 50

Is there a point where I will max out on my deadlifts and squats?

I love that I am getting stronger and stronger, and I have had to change my grip with the extra weight. The guys at the gym are stopping in there tracks to watch me lift, and I have even had an offer for a spotter and to add a pad to my back for squats - so annoying. Such a shame that they act like teenagers when a lady is in the weightroom.

Dude, you look AMAZING. Awesome goals. I agree, it's a shame when guys act like teenagers when a lady is in the weight room. Flattering, but rather hilarious.

Ges congratulations on body weight!!

Mrsk you look awesome!

Very impressed that everyone is getting/staying strong for and through pregnancies! I did a lot of belly dancing which was helpful for the 4 days of back labour. I wish I had been lifting then!

Extra, let us know how 531 goes! Looks interesting!

I am taking a day, maybe the week off. I am tired of having a sore butt. It is clearly time to let it heal.

Got my workout in this morning and of course had issues with OHP
Here is what I did
110 squats
60 OHP -sorta
140 dead lift

Here is what happened on the OHP.
Last workout whereby did OHP I did 57.5 so naturally tried
To go up to 60. First set was really difficult but I got it done
2nd-4th set were gosh awful and I really think the spotter gave way
More help than he said he was giving. 5th set I could not even
get the weight up and went back down to 55 since in had left my 1.25 s
at home
I remember 57.5 being difficult but not this much!

My workout tonight took a lot longer, I needed more rest between sets. I think switching to lower impact cardio will help.

Squats 80# 5x5
OHP 55# 5x5
DL 120# 1x5 only went up 5# on all lifts

I'm gonna stay at 55# on OHP until I get some fractionals this wknd. I also feel like I lost form and pulled a tendon in my neck shoulder area. I'm using a heat pack, hopefully it's nothing serious:smokin: a little herbal medicine and some vino is helping too!

Good morning my fellow bad azzez.

I did my workout A 3x8 last night. Got a late start (730p) and really wasn't feeling the workout to begin with. My eating was off yesterday because I slept in and missed breakfast, ate a footlong sub which I never do, my son wanted Subway. I try to take him to lunch just me and him every few weeks or so, and was still 400 cals short on my high calorie day. So all messed up yesterday. Thankfully time passed quickly and it was over with before I knew it.

Squats- 65lbs went up 5 lbs today and it seemed incredibly easy so will raise again next workout. I think my daily ATG BW squats are helping. I find myself doing them randomly. Also seems to help me loosen up when my legs are feeling tight.

Bench- 55 lbs... still couldn't even get 60 off the bar so I decided just to stick with 55 for the moment since they were really hard last time anyways. will add on some fractionals next time.

Cleans- 65lbs 1x8. 2x5 I got stupid on these and really should have looked on my log to see my previous weight instead of thinking I knew. I went up 15 WHOLE POUNDS on these. No wonder they seemed so danged hard and I was struggling with every set and had to take several rest breaks between reps and probably accounted for the weird twinges I was having in my abs and obliques last night. Pretty sure this counted as cardio too because my heart was a-thumping.

Bicep curls- 35.5lbs will definitely up weight on these next time

Standing tricep extension- 10lb each arm with kettlebell. Decided not to do the skull crushers last night because hubby was at work and I really don't trust my 12 yo to spot while I am aiming a barbell at my head. And by the time I got to these I was wore out.

Almost time for progress pics and measurements. Going to do these on Saturday. I am hopeful to see some changes. I think that I look smaller, but I also notice that I have a new confidence and don't see my body as negatively as I did before I started lifting. So there may be only a small change . My weight is staying pretty consistent between 209-214, 5 lbs spread but I have some crazy water retention fluctuations.

@Tameko- Is it possible to get a sticky for our progress pics???? I think this would be some great motivation especially for new people.


Everyone is doing awesome here and putting up some super numbers. Y'all are definitely some BAMF's!!!

ooh session A for me tonight, due for 40kg (88lb) squats eek.. I've always chickened out of this (with proper form!) so will steel myself. 30kg (66lb) for bench press. hm. not sure if this will happen, and 40kg pendlay rows. finally get to break out the big girl plates!!

must take some 'before' photos too, now this is happening regularly. not sure measurements are going to happen. I'm rather fond of the way my calves are looking already though I also think my eating bigger is with rather more gusto than the weights currently deserve but will stick with it for now!

Straight into a squat rack yeah and a guy asked very politely if he could use the bench press after me. I even let him warm up in between my sets. Yay!
squats 40kg 5x5 yay! Will redo next time to keep form!
bench 30kg new pr, 5,5,5,4,3
and had a durr moment on the rows.. I have used the half weight bar before so loaded up the Olympic bar with 20kg weights err no that is 60kg should have been 10 each side! (the maths was screwy whatever bar I was using I am turning onto a meathead!) so even with the right weight only managed 5,4,4,5,4 but it didn't feel great. will try with the small bar and the 15kg plates next time for better distance to floor! Oh no that would still be a 5k increase. Bah humbug I need to get stronger fast!

BUUUUUT!!! If your goal is "to go to the gym and not be a fat lazy *kitten* at least 3x a week" then its fine to make your program yourself.

That's about my goal, really. The other goal being to never lose my love for lifting, and to stick with it, while making some sort of upward/forward progression on a semi-regular basis. Which is very generic, I know, but that's still a HUGE improvement from where I was this time last year when I was lifting zero and doing yoga a couple times a month maybe.

I'm terribly concerned that using up my newb gains too quickly by putting the pedal to the metal is going to make me stand in my garage a year from now and think "ok now what?" Because once you're at the point of making like a pound or two gains every month, what's there to aim for now if your goal is to max out some program or to achieve straight-up number gains? The point in a video game where I roll an alt is usually way before I reach top level. Just so I can do the thing over again in a different way, apply what I've learned, and explore different sides of it, rather than maxing out top end gains (eeking out the last 1-2% of something is never my idea of a good time).

I know that Starting Strength is proven, as is Stronglifts and AllPro's and those people obviously know way more than I do about strength training. They've poured all their years and decades' worth of experience into these programs and made them as close to ideal and efficient as you're going to get.

But who they don't know, is me. I know me and my boredom threshold, I know what I've learned from my personal lifting sessions over the past couple months, and sticking with the same program for 8 weeks isn't going to happen. I gotta have that variety sprinkled in. That's why I can never get to a max level in a video game very quickly because I love the process of exploration and folliwing side trails to see where they lead. Or use shortcuts/cheat codes just to see how the game ends. Except you can't do that with lifting. :huh:

If you don't play video games, then my analogy is probably meaningless to you but that's really the best way I can put it. :drinker:

Now at some point I might get a wild hair up my *kitten* and decide I want to straight-up power lift to see how high I can get, and that's when I'll be following Starting Strength to the letter because it's designed to help people do exactly that: The greatest amount of strength gains in the shortest amount of time. But, at this point in the game, my goals are a lot more fuzzy than that, which is why I don't mind experimenting, trying different things and discarding what doesn't work for me. Heck I just might actually give SL a whirl for a few weeks and see what that's all about (and actually earn my right to be posting here :laugh:).

TLDR: I'm perfectly okay with taking the first 6 or so months of my lifting experience to find out what actually suits me, and trying out different programs to see what those are all about while I figure out more concrete goals. All the while gaining strength and getting rid of some unwanted fat cells that have set up shop for way too long around here. I am definitely going to stick with some form of compound lifting as a foundation/focus, because there's just nothing better, period, and I really enjoy it.

Sorry for throwing up my random inner musings all over this thread. But it helps to get them out and getting feedback, so thanks for that! :flowerforyou:

Oh and I took some vids of me OHPing and rowing today. Those were very eye opening! Going to try and upload them for some feedback.

great workout, some amazing weights there! I use the lifting buddy app which tells me what to lift, but not how to work out the weights.. *sigh*..

But who they don't know, is me. I know me and my boredom threshold, I know what I've learned from my personal lifting sessions over the past couple months, and sticking with the same program for 8 weeks isn't going to happen. I gotta have that variety sprinkled in. That's why I can never get to a max level in a video game very quickly because I love the process of exploration and folliwing side trails to see where they lead. Or use shortcuts/cheat codes just to see how the game ends. Except you can't do that with lifting. :huh:

If you don't play video games, then my analogy is probably meaningless to you but that's really the best way I can put it. :drinker:

Now at some point I might get a wild hair up my *kitten* and decide I want to straight-up power lift to see how high I can get, and that's when I'll be following Starting Strength to the letter because it's designed to help people do exactly that: The greatest amount of strength gains in the shortest amount of time. But, at this point in the game, my goals are a lot more fuzzy than that, which is why I don't mind experimenting, trying different things and discarding what doesn't work for me. Heck I just might actually give SL a whirl for a few weeks and see what that's all about (and actually earn my right to be posting here :laugh:).

TLDR: I'm perfectly okay with taking the first 6 or so months of my lifting experience to find out what actually suits me, and trying out different programs to see what those are all about while I figure out more concrete goals. All the while gaining strength and getting rid of some unwanted fat cells that have set up shop for way too long around here. I am definitely going to stick with some form of compound lifting as a foundation/focus, because there's just nothing better, period, and I really enjoy it.

Sorry for throwing up my random inner musings all over this thread. But it helps to get them out and getting feedback, so thanks for that! :flowerforyou:

Oh and I took some vids of me OHPing and rowing today. Those were very eye opening! Going to try and upload them for some feedback.

You're my ADD twin lol. I have a very very low boredom threshold :yawn:

You might also be interested in this

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lift-to-burn-4-barbell-complexes-scorch-fat-increase-strength.html?mcid=facetraining