Squat-tober: October check in and chat
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I did my second B session at home - in my undies! Oh the joy of the home gym.
Squats were just the bar, but full 5x5 sets. And I discovered that putting the 5 kilo weights under my heels helps me get a bit lower. I really struggle getting to parallel and below. It's hard. Dodgy knees don't like it. But I will persevere and see if this new trick helps me get there. I'd post form video for suggestions, but I was only in my undies - nobody wants to see that!
OHP was awesome. I put my .25kg weights on either side, so increased the load a tiny bit. And managed to do 6 in each set, so that was 5x6 at 20.5kg. Maybe I'll try 22kg next time? I think I have 1kg fractionals. I just want to use them!
And deads were pretty good. 1x5 at 55kg.
That was yesterday evening. Today I've gone for a bike ride of nearly 30km and burnt 416 cals. I learnt not to ride on a tummy full of scrambled eggs - it nearly came up! And I'm just now enjoying a diet ginger beer spider. With not diet ice cream
Happy lifting and happy weekends ladies 0 -
Blargh. You would think with two days of rest that I would have had a better time of it today.
Squats:
1x5@140
1x5@165
1x6@185
Good mornings
3x10@50
Bulgarian split squats
3x8@20 - these are new for me, so I took it easy. They are HARD!
Woodchoppers
3x10@25, each side.
And then I looked at the crap ton of people hogging every single thing in the gym, thought of lucky Zany lifting in her undies (not in a lascivious way, mind you, but in a convenience way), sighed, and went up to do intervals on the Arc trainer. Thankfully tomorrow I can get in around 4 so I should have my pick of the stations.
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it today (mostly Canadians, I think)!0 -
Didn't want to workout today, but finally got motivated and got it done! Had to do something useful while the Hungarian Goulash was cooking:)
Squats 122.5
Bench 77.5
Rows 87.5
S l o w l y upping my weights, at this rate I might be ready for an intermediate program in about 5 years!0 -
Didn't want to workout today, but finally got motivated and got it done! Had to do something useful while the Hungarian Goulash was cooking:)
Squats 122.5
Bench 77.5
Rows 87.5
S l o w l y upping my weights, at this rate I might be ready for an intermediate program in about 5 years!
Hungarian goulash-yum!0 -
Hey Ladies...
Missed my Friday work out...(went out and had way tooooo much fun) but back at it today
Workout A today
Squats 5x5 @ 115 to ensure form wasn't suffering
Bench Press 5x5 @ 85 due to fail last time (easy peasy this time)
Rows 3x5 @ 95, 1x4 @ 95, 1x3 @ 95...guess I will be there on Friday too...
All in all a good workout...glad to be back at er today.0 -
So tired! Not having 2 rest days between benching sucks! :laugh: I did squats 161x5, bench 129x5, row 91x5, assisted dips 3x5 supersetted with 3x30second planks. I also went to the eye dr after work, but before benching so no cardio for me :brokenheart: :huh: It makes me miss the ABAB of SL! Madcow is like ABA ABA but Friday A has more weight and less reps at max weight. Monday A has same weight and more reps at max weight.0
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Checking in! Forgot to post a few workouts but did..
5,5,5,4,4 Squats at 125lbs (going to stay here another week)
5,5,5,5,5 Bench at 75lbs .. the weight seems light, but I feel kind of wobbly.. like if I increased it to a weight that was challenging (maybe 90lbs?) I might topple right off the bench. I'm going to increase to 85 next week and hope I find some balance.
5,5,5,5,5 P.Rows at 50lbs (going to increase for next week)
Also i just wanted to say you are all super inspriring! I am going to try and post a form-check video this week for rows because I'm not 100% those are right. Happy lifting 0 -
Hey ladies,
amyrebeccah congrats on working up your squat weight!
SexzyStef, 85lb bench, impressive!
everyone is doing great!
I did workout A on Sunday in preparation for a busy end of the week, but since then my cold has gotten worse so I have decided to take off the rest of the week. Which is such a shame because Sunday I finally used the Big Girl plates (45lbs) and squatted 135 for 3x5! I know I'll have to deload again for missing this week but my body is currently too weak to care.
Also Sunday I benched 70lbs-pretty easy. Rows were at 65lbs. Still working on my left wrist being weak but my bf tweaked my form and it helped some.
Going midday on Sunday reminded how much stronger I feel later in the day as opposed to my usual 6am! Too bad I hate having to wait for a squat rack and thus refuse to go during the week at any time other than 6am.0 -
We go on hol for a week next Saturday so have an enforced break coming up. However, today was:squats 52.5kg 3x5 will try and get a clip up, really worried these are becoming squat mornings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLDl2c8H5XI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
OHPs a bit of a maths crisis so did 32.5kg 2 by accident then 544 yay for creatine I say!
Deadlift 90kg got it up twice again, sadly not 3 times as I hoped.
Pullups 3 with 25kg assistance and 5 with 30.
Pooped!0 -
I had a student video my form at work for me, and my form is much better than I thought for squat...I am keeping my weight lower to focus on my knees tracking outward instead of inward over my toe. I dropped down to 95 pounds and working up from there. So for today....
Squat: 5x5 @ 125lbs
Bench: 5x5 @ 105lbs
Row: 5x5 @ 70lbs all with 2 warm up sets
I realized after my first set that my row could be 75 or even 80 (I thought I lifted at 65 last week, but it was 70), and I laugh a little bit that my bench is only 20 pounds less than my squat...but I'd rather have better form and no knee pain that lift a heavier weight just to say I can. I noticed that even when I just add 5 pounds to squat that my knees start to track inside my toes instead over my toes (I try to push outward as I lift up to compensate, and have seen a considerable improvement in knee pain because of it.) I have also been rolling my calves to work on ankle pain/ flexibility and have seen improvement here as well.
Oh, and I ran a mile...had to warm up somehow...0 -
Amyrebeccah - are you on the shorter side? I'm a shorty (5'2") and have a hard time stabilizing myself on bench unless I put something under my feet. I put a Reebok aerobics-type step with one level of riser on either side of the bench to put my feet on, which gives the effect of the bench being a few inches lower to the ground. Then, I can really use my legs for stability. Otherwise, I can barely get my feet on the ground and feel very wobbly on the bench. Before I found the steps I was using 2 25 lb plates stacked under each foot - but the steps are easier to set up and get less odd looks. Might be worth a try!
I hit w/o A yesterday.
Squat - 105 lbs 5*5
Bench - 95 lbs. 1*5, then 90 lbs. 4*5
Rows - I started at 70 lbs., did 2 sets, then realized it felt easy-ish, so bumped it up to 75 for the last 3.
Hip thrusts - 50 lbs. 2*10
Good workout - but I'm a bit frustrated that my squats are progressing very slowly - less than 5 lbs a week. I'm guessing its some combination of deficit eating and only lifting 2ce a week? Neither of those is negotiable at the moment, so I'll be patient with the bod.0 -
Have taken a week off as I pulled my back on Sunday (slipped over) So I plan on getting back to this on Monday.
I bought a new book a week or so ago called thinner leaner stronger. It's an ok read, not rocket science. May try his program for a month or alternate week by week. The exercises are roughly the same. He has you lift 5 days and work 2 areas per day so day 1 is chest and abs. Bench press, incline press and dips combined with a group of ab exercises to make supersets. It looks interesting but I may have to deload a bit as he is more about doing sets of 5-10 *3 and also the fact that you are working the area will be harder I suspect. Squats and dead lifts are still in there and I like that it is a bot more fitness focussed rather than just lifting.
We shall see....0 -
Today:
Squats: 5x5 @ 35kg, but not deep enough for my liking. Does this happen to any of you, where the first time you move up to a new weight you can't get deep enough? Do you just try anyway and do very few reps, or do you opt for non-optimum depth and complete more reps? I guess it's a mental thing, where I don't want to attempt an *kitten*-to-grass and not even be able to do one rep and quit there. I guess it's never good to do any reps that are not past parallel...
OHP: 4 3 3 3 ? @ 20kg
Deadlift: 1x2 @ 70kg
So...whine whine whine, but I am starting to get concerned that my "upper body" exercises (OHP/bench) not only seem not to be progressing, but actually regressing. Has this happened to anyone? Any likely causes for being able to do even less reps than one used to be able to do at a given weight?0 -
If you get to parallel then you should be ok. I don't find it a problem yet though.
OHP, I am so slow with that, any increases kill me for session after session now. I have to give myself good long breaks between sets - 2 minutes plus. And it helps if I am well rested and well fed the day before. I also find if I am trying to do anything much else in addition (I was 30 day shredding) the one limits my capability to improve the other.
Might it be worth trying an extra day off or doing a "light" day for your next session then hitting the OHP hard.
Or maybe try going for a lower weight and an extra set for a session or two. I work out alone so I rarely increase weight unless I have had an extra set in at the old weight so I can feel confident at the new weight. Not totally sure why but I am convinced that I will go from doing 5*5 at x to a cartoon style arms can't move from the floor when I increase by 2.5kg!
Or increase your weight and aim for 3*5 then do the others with a lower weight eg 22.5kg for the first 2 sets then 17.5 for the rest. If you know you only have a couple of sets you might feel stronger at 5 reps.0 -
Amyrebeccah - are you on the shorter side? I'm a shorty (5'2") and have a hard time stabilizing myself on bench unless I put something under my feet. I put a Reebok aerobics-type step with one level of riser on either side of the bench to put my feet on, which gives the effect of the bench being a few inches lower to the ground. Then, I can really use my legs for stability. Otherwise, I can barely get my feet on the ground and feel very wobbly on the bench. Before I found the steps I was using 2 25 lb plates stacked under each foot - but the steps are easier to set up and get less odd looks. Might be worth a try!
I am going to try this next time.. I always feel like I am going to fall off sideways! haha0 -
With the upper body stuff, I got to a point where I needed to add extra reps for 2 weeks, then go up by fractionals - pretty typical for women, especially if you are lifting at a deficit. It's important to remember that even if you go to a lower weight and do more reps - you are still getting stronger.
Yes, I often find that the first time at a new squat weight I don't often go below parallel - but after a few times at that weight I hit lower again. YMMV.
Wendler Deadlifts, 2nd week, Cycle 2
1x3@160
1x3@185
1x10@205 - I'm gonna have to start using chalk, because the sweat was pouring down halfway through the set and my grip really suffered. But - still really chuffed that I got so many reps at that weight!
Sumo deads
5x10@115 - repeat of last week - much easier this time around
Woodchoppers
3x10@25, each side,
Farmers walk
100 stepsx35 lbs, each side
Waiters carry
100 steps x 27.5, each side.
For any new folks who are looking to improve grip strength - the weighted farmers walks are really useful. Since I have started doing them, I can use an overhand grip all the way up to 170 on my deads.
Happy lifting, all!0 -
Hey ladies everyone seems to be doing great.
Today for me was workout B
squats 5x5 @ 120 set 4 was interesting so I took 2 min rest and set 5 was great. Didn't need the spotter.
ohp 5x5 @ 65 lbs but last two reps on set 4 and 5 were a bit iffy...might stay there on next workout
DL 1x5 @ 140...easy peasy...maxed out on my metal plates tho gonna have to go t the york plastic sand filled ones as well...
Only 6 more workout B's and I have maxed my plates at home and not even sure I can get those in as there are lots of 2.5lbers...eek.
Might have to go shopping glad my hubby has done lots of OT lately...
Note on squats tho I don't go totally deep on mine now that the weight is up but I do get down low enough (hubby says so) I might start putting a little seat there for confirmation...
I gotta say I am loving this lifting. I feel so amazing and the changes I am noticing in my body are encouraging...my husband hugged me the other day and noticed that his hands were touching his elbows (on the opposite side) he commented he's never been able to do that and how tiny I was getting...he's so sweet.0 -
Hello Ladies!
It was deadlift day! Wooo! I did front squat 120 2x5, OHP 5x91, Deads 5x282. Then I did chins and curls. After that I had a nice 40 minute or so walk around the track. I have a fitbit flex so when I walk I don't really pay attention to how far.
For feeling like you're falling off benching if you want to do it plifting style you can pull your legs really far back. My training partner is 4'11" and she does okay this way, but still prefers to put stone mats under her feet. They are a bit thinner than a plate. YMMV.0 -
Tonight was supposed to be a lifting night, but the hubs didn't get home until so late....too tired to go. So, I'll go tomorrow night after my kickball game. Frankly, I think the bod could use an extra day. But I'm running my last long training run this weekend - 11 or 12 miles - so I would be in better shape then had I lifted tonight... Oh well.
Wednesday is my kettlebells day, and I did a shorter workout - 4 rounds of a 5- minute circuit. I have got to figure out how to do kettlebell cleans and snatches without bruising up my forearm, or shredding my hand. So far, I'm sacrificing the forearm.0 -
Yay! I'm back to where I was this summer when my dog nearly died and I stopped lifting (and pretty much doing anything but laying on the floor with him).
Squat 125
OHP 60
Deadlift 170
I'm also short and I use the 25# plates under my feet when I bench.
Yobecca (I think it was you....sorry if wrong!). I also am progressing really slowly as I lift twice weekly instead of 3. I'm fine with it and with homemade fractional "weights" I can pretty much go up by the ounce if I need to:)0
