May check in and chat - May all your weights go up
Replies
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@xidia.....this sub of rack pull/RDL for DL to work on hammy and low back is incredibly interesting to me as my deadlift is lagging (IMO) from where it should be. She your PT give you any other information on it? Please keep me posted on this as I'm super curious if it might be something that could work for me as well....if not as a full on sub but even as accessory lift!
Do you have the Starting Strength book? Rippetoe talks extensively about assistance work for DL, and these two exercises are a part of the discussion -- along with others.0 -
Well, tonight's lifting is brought to you by homemade chocolate semolina! maybe not as effective as ice cream, but not bad!!
45kg 5x5, just have to remember to concentrate on form, my depth was awesome though! movin' on up next time, I'm looking forward to hitting 50kg again but with good form soon
Bench press - stuck at 35kg, and ground out 5x5, think this needs repeating as the last lift in the last couple of sets wasn't pretty... much much much much much better than a week ago though!
Pendlay rows - from looking at the video of pendlay, I think I was squatting too much. This is going to be an issue for me as a tall gal (6ft) until I'm on much bigger weights, it was supposed to be 45kg, so I loaded up the ladies' oly bar with 15kg each side. with my new technique (only bending knees enough to get back flat, wider grip as per the video) this wasn't happening.. so I dropped down to 10kg each side, stuck them on the discarded 15kgs and that was easy peasy, so added 2.5kg each side and ground out some decent sets there. bashed my knee on the way up on one of them, so I'm sure my form isn't great, but working on going for stomach rather than boob height and keeping back flat.. just not a terribly pretty exercise at the piffling weights I'm on.
However after last week I'll take 3 exercises at 5x5 with joy!!0 -
I love reading about everyone's progress
I find it really inspiring and can't wait until I can post some big numbers
Squat - 37.5kg (83lbs) 5x5. Was even complimented on my form this evening (made me want to giggle like a school girl and do a little dance of joy on the inside - but obviously I acted ice cool on the outside
Bench - 32.5kg (72lbs) 5x5. This felt good but I don't it will be long before my first stall on then bench press!
Row - Due to my slipped disc I haven't been doing barbell rows but today was my first day trying. I am unable to do pendlay rows as I cannot get into the right position as my back is still not 100% so am doing bent over rows and standing cable rows. I asked the guy who runs my gym to show me proper form and managed just the bar 20kg (44lbs) for 3x10 fairly easily. Gonna progress really slowly on this so as not to overload my back.
Pull-ups - I use a band for assistance but didn't manage anywhere near as many reps as last time - my arms felt really tired today so only managed 7/4/4. Think I might do these on workout B days instead!
Finished off with some weighted lunges and Bulgarian split squats while waiting for hubby.
I decided to try a ProBake protein double choc-chip cookie from the gym - contains 37.5g of protein - OMG it was so tasty. May be my new Friday evening treat!!
Happy lifting0 -
@xidia.....this sub of rack pull/RDL for DL to work on hammy and low back is incredibly interesting to me as my deadlift is lagging (IMO) from where it should be. She your PT give you any other information on it? Please keep me posted on this as I'm super curious if it might be something that could work for me as well....if not as a full on sub but even as accessory lift!
Do you have the Starting Strength book? Rippetoe talks extensively about assistance work for DL, and these two exercises are a part of the discussion -- along with others.
I do. I shall read that bit again, thanks.0 -
I'm really liking all these workout fuel suggestions. Protein cookies! Ice cream! Chocolate semolina! I had green tea ice cream last night to prepare myself. Maybe if I had cookies, too, those OHP wouldn't be so hard.
Squats - 85. Starting to get challenging! I've noticed that my shoulder blades are kind of sore/tense after these. Am I squeezing them together too hard, or am I just not flexible enough there yet?
OHP - 60. Last workout's 55 lb didn't really feel hard... it's funny what a difference 5 lb makes! I'm going to count this as a fail and repeat it, as I felt I was arching my back on the last few reps of sets 4 & 5 to get the weight up, and I was shaking a LOT at the top. First time I've ever had to wait the whole 3 min between sets.
Deadlift - 90. Not finding these hard yet... Is that normal?0 -
Finished my 3rd workout and my 1st week!
Squat: 60lbs 5x5
Bench: 50lbs 5x5
Row: 70lbs 5x5 (last rep was HARD but I got it!)
I am so fired up for next week!
PS this has been so good for my confidence. I attacked my husband last night!:smokin:0 -
I just did a quickie scan over the last few pages. You guys are amazing!! Huge numbers!!! Fish sorry about your injury! Makes me cringe. I love all the ice cream discussion and resulting incredible workouts! I am still just plugging along. Nothing extraordinary to report about me but I do have something exciting to tell you! I got my 15 year old son to do the whole 5x5 workout...A? B? it was the one with the bench press and the rows! he did Squats with two 10lb dumb bells, Bench and rows with the bar!! He has Asperger's and aside from aikido is not really an athletic guy. He was all worried about not being able to do the bar so we had a long talk about how we all work at our own pace and if something doesn't feel right then we deload and just progress from there. Then I used that analogy to say that that is a good way to do life. When things get overwhelming in life sometimes you just have to deload and progress from there. We don't have to stop doing things that are uncomfortable we just have to deload and progress from there. I have to tell you I felt like a pretty BA parent! I think he was pretty pleased that he completed the workout.0
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I just did a quickie scan over the last few pages. You guys are amazing!! Huge numbers!!! Fish sorry about your injury! Makes me cringe. I love all the ice cream discussion and resulting incredible workouts! I am still just plugging along. Nothing extraordinary to report about me but I do have something exciting to tell you! I got my 15 year old son to do the whole 5x5 workout...A? B? it was the one with the bench press and the rows! he did Squats with two 10lb dumb bells, Bench and rows with the bar!! He has Asperger's and aside from aikido is not really an athletic guy. He was all worried about not being able to do the bar so we had a long talk about how we all work at our own pace and if something doesn't feel right then we deload and just progress from there. Then I used that analogy to say that that is a good way to do life. When things get overwhelming in life sometimes you just have to deload and progress from there. We don't have to stop doing things that are uncomfortable we just have to deload and progress from there. I have to tell you I felt like a pretty BA parent! I think he was pretty pleased that he completed the workout.
You are my new hero parent - what a great way to talk about life with your son!0 -
I just did a quickie scan over the last few pages. You guys are amazing!! Huge numbers!!! Fish sorry about your injury! Makes me cringe. I love all the ice cream discussion and resulting incredible workouts! I am still just plugging along. Nothing extraordinary to report about me but I do have something exciting to tell you! I got my 15 year old son to do the whole 5x5 workout...A? B? it was the one with the bench press and the rows! he did Squats with two 10lb dumb bells, Bench and rows with the bar!! He has Asperger's and aside from aikido is not really an athletic guy. He was all worried about not being able to do the bar so we had a long talk about how we all work at our own pace and if something doesn't feel right then we deload and just progress from there. Then I used that analogy to say that that is a good way to do life. When things get overwhelming in life sometimes you just have to deload and progress from there. We don't have to stop doing things that are uncomfortable we just have to deload and progress from there. I have to tell you I felt like a pretty BA parent! I think he was pretty pleased that he completed the workout.
You are my new hero parent - what a great way to talk about life with your son!
Thanks Kira. I don't always handle things that well but when I do it really feels great!0 -
Hey ladies! I know I'm not on everyone's fl here, so I just wanted to say after my recovery from my OHP shoulder injury,I was afraid to get under the weights again. I started Zumbaing like crazy and I realized that my body was not changing the same way it was with weights, so with new found courage I'm back! I'm going to do SL but in a 3x5 format. I really like dancing, but I also want to avoid neglecting the weight training so I think this is a happy medium. In my last progression, the sessions were getting really long and I wasn't looking forward to it the way I did in the beginning, so I really want to stick it out for the long haul this go round.
Tonight I did workout A:
Squats 60
Bench 45
Rows 65
Cheers and I look forward to lifting with y'all again :flowerforyou:0 -
@xidia.....this sub of rack pull/RDL for DL to work on hammy and low back is incredibly interesting to me as my deadlift is lagging (IMO) from where it should be. She your PT give you any other information on it? Please keep me posted on this as I'm super curious if it might be something that could work for me as well....if not as a full on sub but even as accessory lift!
Do you have the Starting Strength book? Rippetoe talks extensively about assistance work for DL, and these two exercises are a part of the discussion -- along with others.
I do but to be honest I probably never read that far lol I will definitely look at it now though! Thanks :happy:0 -
@fish...I've taken a couple of breaks from lifting, the longest 2 weeks for a trip to St John in March, and have always just started back where I left off.
All the talk of running made me a little nostalgic. I used to LOVE to run, even better if it was in the rain (weird, I know!), but after 2 stress fractures I decided to go with lower impact cardio. It is still something I love (again, yes, I'm weird!), but it's not running.
Nothing new to report on my 5x5....next lifting day is Sunday and I'll hopefully be putting those big plates on for squats for the first time!0 -
Wow, good job ladies!!
fisherlassie, you are definitely on BA parent! I wish my parents had been a bit more like that when I was growing up.
I did my third workout B this morning:
Squats 60 5x5, I kept them the same as the previous workout, but they were really hard. I could barely finish my last set. So I'm thinking I may keep at 60 for the next set.
Overhead press was 50 55544, it was really hard also
Deadlift 115 1x5 it was also really hard
So overall, just hard :grumble: but I'm really glad I went. I'm worried about form for my squats.... I think I'm going low enough, but my upper body isn't staying as upright as I think it should...
Also, I'd love to friend some you ladies! I don't have very many friends on here and none that lift, seeing your progress would be super encouraging :happy:
Kellie0 -
Ok so lifting the day after taking a muscle relaxer for a muscle spasm in my jaw made all my muscles go to rubber and my lifts go to *kitten*. 10-day prescription means I'm going to have to do a forced deload. Grrr. Beats being in pain though.
I went to my first ever power lifting meet, and watched a guy in his late 60s deadlift 635 pounds.I was awestruck. The whole meeting was awesome. Looking forward to going again next year !!!!
Happy weekend, and happy Mother's Day to all our moms in the group. :flowerforyou:0 -
Mothering Sunday is before Easter in the UK but for everyone else have a fab weekend!
bought the huz some new running shoes as he's done 500 miles and training for the Blenheim 1/2 marathon in October. was a little jealous!! I haven't got proper lifting shoes, was wondering about getting some cheap deck shoes or something as an alternative - or is the upper support on trainers just as good despite the bounce absorption?0 -
Fish - I totally agree. You are one BA Momma!! It is great that a simple lesson in training can be used to help every day life.
Dani - Hopefully the spasm calms down so you can get your muscles back!
Kellie - I'm glad you still enjoyed the lifting session!! It may be hard, but now you can look at people and say, "It was hard, but I did it." Always a good feeling knowing that you are doing something that is hard in order to improve yourself! Makes the benefits well worth the work!
lwoodroff - I lift in a "barefoot" shoe by Merrell. I know a lot of people lift in a cheap pair of Chucks. I think the training shoe issue is the soft sole in that it has too much give. I have been happy with the shoes I have as I can also run in them so they are my "everything" shoe.
Back to A day for me....and this time I got video of my bench and row. I'll post them on the Eat, Train, Progress form check thread if anyone wants to check them out. I can say this for doing a video, if you have any questions about how you personally do a lift, seeing it for yourself helps a lot.
Squats: 1x5 @ 90, 100, 110, 120, 130. So I had a loading plates brain fart on the 110 and loaded one side for 110 and the other side for 120 :noway: Stood the weight up and one side started tipping over. Glad I decided to re-rack to figure out why it felt imbalanced.
Bench: 4x5 and 1x4 @ 115. I keep bouncing between being able to complete all reps and then missing a rep here or there. Today it was the last rep and I got stuck in the down position :grumble: Thankfully another guy was nearby and had just finished his set. I was able to call for a spot and he came over and helped me get the bar up. Nothing hurt but my ego. Lesson learned though that at this weight if I don't think I can complete the next rep, don't attempt.
Row: 1x5 @ 110 4x5 @ 95. After reviewing the video at 110, I decided to deload and check form at 95. Better, but I'm still popping up as the reps go. So I will stay at 95 until I get my upper body stable.
I tacked on the barbell complex that I did Tuesday as well. And then did 2x8 toes to bar kicks to finish out. My whole body is really feeling the week and I'm happy that tomorrow is my rest day. Good Mornings are no joke when it comes to hitting the hamstrings, by the way :laugh: I think the foam roller and I are going to have a long date tonight :bigsmile:0 -
Dani: ouch, you'll come back though
Parenting: way to go! I love that analogy for life:
Lwoodruff: I have some £2.99 plimsolls from Next or Primark. They're hideous salmon pink, but they work great.0 -
B lift today, just waiting for the huz to get back from his run (and my pain au chocolate, greek yogurt and banana to slide down!). Been checking the rippetoe video on deadlift setup, will retry that today! Supposed to be 90kg.. will give it a go with improved (we hope) form, otherwise will drop back down to work on it. OHP 27.5kg yet again... and hopefully good form at 47.5kg squat. I'll let you know how it goes! 0
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Just me in here then? :-) squats cool so looking forward to 50kg next time, OHPs only a mother could love but 5x5.. should I try to go up next time, stick and hope it helps or deload and work back up?! Deadlift I dropped to 60kg to try the form as per the rippetoe vid which was cool, went up to 90 did one rep and dropped back to 80. Managed the 5 but bashed my shin at one point (prob a good sign!) And suspect my back wasn't right. One guy was looking as though he wanted to say something but I scurried off! Then finished with a jog round the block with the girls so hardly quick but after all the running talk I just had to!0
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Squats - 85. Starting to get challenging! I've noticed that my shoulder blades are kind of sore/tense after these. Am I squeezing them together too hard, or am I just not flexible enough there yet?
OHP - 60. Last workout's 55 lb didn't really feel hard... it's funny what a difference 5 lb makes! I'm going to count this as a fail and repeat it, as I felt I was arching my back on the last few reps of sets 4 & 5 to get the weight up, and I was shaking a LOT at the top. First time I've ever had to wait the whole 3 min between sets.
Deadlift - 90. Not finding these hard yet... Is that normal?
re your squats and your shoulders, you can try different things and see what works best. I had a more narrow grip at first, and the bar sat consequently sat higher on my shoulder blades. At some point I widened my grip, the bar sat lower, and my form was better as a result, so I stayed with that. It's OK to experiment a little bit, especially when the weights are low.
I didn't feel really challenged by some of my lifts for a while. Just enjoy easy deadlifts while you can, and focus on your grip, your breathing, your hip hinge, etc. They'll be very hard soon enough!0 -
Yesterday I had a good workout.
Squats 132.5 I had one of those sessions where you don't think about form so much and you just Do It. Felt great. Next up is Big Girl Plates, yee-haw!
OHP I tried to go up 2 pounds to 57 for the first set, but I knew that was setting me up for a failure, so went to 56# for the last sets. Next time I'll go for 56 1/2
Deadlift I managed to do 165 well enough to move on. I'll maybe add 2 1/2 pounds to this one.
While I was deadlifting there was a guy doing clean and split jerks with 205 pounds. Holy *kitten*.0 -
Some great lifting going on - I can't wait until I can go for the big-girl plates!!
Workout B today - started out great:
Squats 40kg (88lbs) - 5x5
OHP 25kg (55lbs) - 5x5
Then came the deadlifts - 40kg (should have been 45kg but apparently I can't count... and just as well) on my second rep there was an excruciating pain in my back and it shot straight down my right leg.
I am so annoyed - I have been 3 weeks completely pain free since my herniated disk and I don't know what went wrong. My husband was videoing my lifts today and we have both watched it back over and over and my form appears okay - there was no apparent rounding or disengagement of my back and my form felt good (until the pain started).
This will be another few weeks off deadlifting. I'm not even sure whether to go back to them at all. Does anyone have any suggestions on what exercises to do instead of deadlifts to ensure I hit all parts of my back and posterior chain. I know there is no direct substitute.0 -
Just me in here then? :-) squats cool so looking forward to 50kg next time, OHPs only a mother could love but 5x5.. should I try to go up next time, stick and hope it helps or deload and work back up?! Deadlift I dropped to 60kg to try the form as per the rippetoe vid which was cool, went up to 90 did one rep and dropped back to 80. Managed the 5 but bashed my shin at one point (prob a good sign!) And suspect my back wasn't right. One guy was looking as though he wanted to say something but I scurried off! Then finished with a jog round the block with the girls so hardly quick but after all the running talk I just had to!
I am new at this but personally I would increase the weight. I believe you are supposed to increase till you fail to do 5x5 with good form than stay at that weight for 2 additional workouts. If at that point you are still unable to do 5x5 with good form than it is time to deload by20% and work back up.
Mabye someone more versed and experienced will confirm or debunk this idea but that was my understanding of the program.0 -
Yeah, the trouble depends on how you define "good form" as they weren't smooth and straightforward..0
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I'm SUPER sore after my first ever strong lifts day yesterday. Pretty sure it's from the squats, of course.
I'm thinking maybe another day of rest?
Oh, and and I was getting ready to make an appointment with my GYN because my breasts are super tender today... not preggo, but started worrying about cancer, etc! But then, DUH! Bench Press! DUH! LOL0 -
I'm SUPER sore after my first ever strong lifts day yesterday. Pretty sure it's from the squats, of course.
I'm thinking maybe another day of rest?
Oh, and and I was getting ready to make an appointment with my GYN because my breasts are super tender today... not preggo, but started worrying about cancer, etc! But then, DUH! Bench Press! DUH! LOL
Sometimes it is best to do the workout without an extra day of rest. There is a difference between muscle soreness and pain from injury. Many people find (myself included) that sometimes when it is just muscle soreness, working out actually helps with it and loosens everything back up. Ultimately it is up to you and you will figure out when to take an extra day and when to do the workout!0 -
I just did a quickie scan over the last few pages. You guys are amazing!! Huge numbers!!! Fish sorry about your injury! Makes me cringe. I love all the ice cream discussion and resulting incredible workouts! I am still just plugging along. Nothing extraordinary to report about me but I do have something exciting to tell you! I got my 15 year old son to do the whole 5x5 workout...A? B? it was the one with the bench press and the rows! he did Squats with two 10lb dumb bells, Bench and rows with the bar!! He has Asperger's and aside from aikido is not really an athletic guy. He was all worried about not being able to do the bar so we had a long talk about how we all work at our own pace and if something doesn't feel right then we deload and just progress from there. Then I used that analogy to say that that is a good way to do life. When things get overwhelming in life sometimes you just have to deload and progress from there. We don't have to stop doing things that are uncomfortable we just have to deload and progress from there. I have to tell you I felt like a pretty BA parent! I think he was pretty pleased that he completed the workout.
This is so awesome. Feeling like a BA parent is a good feeling!0 -
I had a pretty awful workout yesterday. But I'm exhausted, so I'm pretty sure that's way. Plan was to squat 125, but the warmups felt super hard at 105, so I decided to just do 115 for the work weight. That was tough enough! I did manage to bench 94 and row 88, but man, I was spent afterwards.
I think adding C25k is hurting my legs a bit. But also the week was just crazy, as Mr. Chunk was out of town, and then injured his back and is unable to help at all with the 3 young chunks. And my youngest is disabled and requires complete care, so that's taking it's toll on me when there is no break.
Today I will rest--and eat!0 -
I'm SUPER sore after my first ever strong lifts day yesterday. Pretty sure it's from the squats, of course.
I'm thinking maybe another day of rest?
Oh, and and I was getting ready to make an appointment with my GYN because my breasts are super tender today... not preggo, but started worrying about cancer, etc! But then, DUH! Bench Press! DUH! LOL
Sometimes it is best to do the workout without an extra day of rest. There is a difference between muscle soreness and pain from injury. Many people find (myself included) that sometimes when it is just muscle soreness, working out actually helps with it and loosens everything back up. Ultimately it is up to you and you will figure out when to take an extra day and when to do the workout!
Ditto this - ESPECIALLY in the beginning, when you first start, just about everything will make you sore.
Needing an extra rest day is usually not so much painful for me - its usualyl more like a constantly low level exhausted feeling in the muscles and maybe a bit of discomfort. Actual pain is usually worked out with exercise. I do recommend walking regularly on non-lifting days - that does a lot to work out soreness for me. Also a light jog works well - if jogging is something that is non strenuous for you.
I had an ok deadlift day yesterday. Did a very crappy looking 1rm (had to hitch the bar) at 200. Still my worst lift by FAR. :explode:0 -
I agree with Tameko - I only take an extra day if I'm just feeling completely fatigued. But lifting with DOMS feels good in a painful-but-wonderful kind of way.
Today:
Squats 140 BOOYAH!
OHP 70 55554 again - so I'll deload on these next time and work back up. I actually made it 1/3 of the way through the last rep before I realized I wasn't going any farther, so I feel like with a deload I'll bust right through.
Deads 195. I'm not sure I should count this - I had to take a break after the 3rd rep and breathe for about 30 seconds before I did the last two. Regardless, I'll repeat because this weight feels very heavy and I don't want to jump up until it feels a little better.
And I'll head out for a walk today - Bobby wasn't feeling well so we skipped complexes today. And hopefully more bow time 0
