Just booked a holiday! only 3 nights, but getting the huz on a plane.. to Barcelona! splashed out on a nice hotel too as it's our 10th wedding anniversary

Ohhh fun! And congratulations!

Fly by hi and a quick WTG to all the bad@$$es in here.

Workout B and a Nia Shanks barbell finisher for me this morning. I'm getting close to hitting some PR's on squat and dead now so that's pretty exciting :bigsmile: I'm thinking that I will stick with a weekly progression when I begin Beautiful Badass in a couple weeks. I think I still have more in me, just getting tired of SL :frown:

Vegas, I hear ya on this. I actually started Nia Shank's S(hero) program last night. (I got Beautiful BadAss too but this one appealed to me more right now). It is quite similar to SL as far as the lifts, but a little more variety in the reps. And shorter, which frankly this mamma of 3 needs as summer activities pick up. I have a MAJOR girl crush on Nia.

So I got a new pair of trail running minimalist shoes (Merrill's, off the clearance shelf at EMS!). I have my running clothes, my shoes, my armband for my phone, and my water bottle all packed in my backpack that I brought to work. It's going to be 85 degrees and super humid when I get out of work, so I don't know if I'll be running so much as strolling on the trails today. Oh well--I think I'm going to stick to my original plan and motivate to go to the state park after work even if I just walk. A routine has to start somewhere, and I don't like that I could make an excuse on the first day. Thunderstorms would be a good excuse, just "too hot", not so much.

Have you been wearing the minimalist shoes for a while, just in a different pair? I ask because the change in heel-toe drop can take some time to get used to. I switched to a pair of the Merrell barefoot about a year ago for running and it took a good 4-6 months before my calves were totally used to it. I wouldn't go back to traditional shoes for anything at this point. I know some of the Merrell minimalists have some drop so it shouldn't be so bad.....just thought I would mention it though.

Round 2 Wkout B

Squat: 125lbs 3x5
OHP: 55lbs 3x5
Deadlift: 155lbs 1x5

Tough one today. OHP is a ***** no matter what weight you do, and I was dragging by the time I did my cardio cool down. It was wonderful. :happy:

I had a messed up recording. my last session ("A" on Monday) I was coming off a 3 day migraine, so I just did my warm ups for each lift, but not the 5X5 weight amount. And I didn't bother recording it. I am using the app, so when I went to do today's workout (B)- my app was set to do A, so I just filled them in for the sake of being done with that workout , but I couldn't get to the one I wanted today... But I know what I did and will just fill it in tomorrow I guess.

QUESTION: my 18 Yr old is not really doing warm ups, he is kinda in the beginning so it's not super heavy, but I want a way to explain to him the benefits of warm ups...

AND- how quickly is it OK for him to increase weights. I think he went up 20# in squats today, his form was still good, so I was thinking it's probably fine.
(He went from 80 to 100#)

Ooh today hit my 52.5kg squats 3x3 yay, and 3x3 37.5kg rows but not pretty. I've been hovering around this weight for weeks now, wondering if I should deload to 30kg and work back up.. thoughts? Pendlays saw a guy take the catch bars off the squat rack and prop them against it on the floor to rest the bar on which was so much better than stacking weights. My form was all over the shop though having been thinking about deadlifts for days, and at 42.5kg did 255 grr.

I had a rubbish lifting day today too

Didn't really eat enough yesterday or today and I paid for it at the gym.

Squats - 57.5kg 5x5. My squats were progressing really well and I was on track for my main goal - to hit body weight squats (60kg) on Saturday before my holiday but today was sooooo hard and to be honest my form sucked for the last couple of reps in each set.
Think I am gonna drop back down to 50kg and work my way back up more slowly. I have aggrevated my lower back again so think I may cut down to 3 x 5 for working weight squats as the weight progresses and maybe only increase every other session...?

OHP - tried to bump up to 30kg but only managed 2 x 3 reps before deloading to 28.5kg and managed 3 x 4 with a push press at the end of each set.

Bench - 40kg 5x5

Am still not able to do deadlifts or pendlay rows - but I do bent over barbell rows, hip thrusts, lat pull-downs, pull-ups, tricep dips and push ups as additional exercises.

Planning to drop all my weights down when I get back from my holiday and work back up (hopefully I won't lose too much strength). Although will all the ice-cream and carb loading (beer drinking) I should be in full on beast mode when I get back :drinker:

Ooh yes goal review as that was my last may workout...

So... Number one, keep form good and keep enjoying it! That aside.. YES!

Squats work back up to 50kg with good form YES AND MORE!
OHP current 27.5kg use fractionals to move towards 30kg NO FRACTIONALS, HIT!
deadlift current 80kg work towards 100 (eep!) CHANGED GRIP, NOPE
bench current 35kg would love to see 40! STRUGGLING AT 37.5
pendlay rows current 45kg think 55 will be a stretch! GONE BACKWARDS, FORM...

More cardio HA HA HA
good food choices and log and complete diary daily... YEAH RIGHT...

Have you been wearing the minimalist shoes for a while, just in a different pair? I ask because the change in heel-toe drop can take some time to get used to. I switched to a pair of the Merrell barefoot about a year ago for running and it took a good 4-6 months before my calves were totally used to it. I wouldn't go back to traditional shoes for anything at this point. I know some of the Merrell minimalists have some drop so it shouldn't be so bad.....just thought I would mention it though.

Yes, I have a pair of vibram five fingers that I've been running in on the street occasionally. I wanted to get something a tiny bit sturdier for the trails. I used them this afternoon, about 2-2.5 miles. The loose toe box feels odd compared to the vibrams, and I have a couple small rub spots that will hopefully go away with breaking in. My legs felt pretty good, though.

It was hot but not too bad in the shady parts, which was most of it. I only came across one other person before I got back to the main intersection. If I had planned better, I could have gone for a quick swim in the lake before I left.

Okay, I have known a few people who try to jump right into the minimalist shoes with poor results so I like to ask. I'm glad they worked out for you! I was never into the look of the 5-toe shoes so I've always had the Merrells with the toe box. I still wear running socks with them because I've had blisters form on longer runs, but I think my feet are a little on the delicate side.:happy:

3fold - Maybe tell him that to perform his best and reduce the risk of injury when he does achieve "Beast Mode" on his lifts, the warm up reps are the most important lifts he will do each workout. It gives his body the chance to work on obtaining muscle memory for proper form, brings blood to the worked muscles that will make lifting heavy easier, and helps reduce the risk that he will have to explain to people how he hurt his butt muscle while squatting (I always use a little humor). Oh, and I've pulled the glute during squats before....not fun to explain that one. As for jumping 20 lbs, it is part of the same "impatient teenager" problem with the warm-ups. He is compelled to get to the end as fast as he can. If he is still maintaining form, I wouldn't worry too much, but try to get him to keep the jumps in weight to 10 lbs if he won't hang tight with the 5. You may be able to compromise with him by doing a progressive lift of 1x5 where he adds 10 lbs to each set with a lower starting weight, but a higher final working weight. That would also allow him to see where he may have trouble with the weight and form when he gets to the higher final weights.

I haven't even been to the gym since Tuesday and I don't plan on going back in until Sunday if not Monday. I haven't taken a rest break since about...well, probably around September 2012 so a new cold, car issues, and a general sense that the universe is telling me to rest, I'm doing just that. I'm also eating when I'm hungry and not really focusing on hitting calories or macros. So far I think I'm probably under on calories a little, but the cold has suppressed my appetite a little.

Monday I will start my new program see how it goes over the summer. I'm still doing squats, deadlifts, OHP and bench, but I'll be doing other work for the back and adding accessory work into each session along with some cardio and plyometrics.