This week felt hectic (I feel like all weeks are becoming hectic lol)!


Got my first outdoor jog in this Thursday. Funny story... I wear Invisalign and I don't know if that is the reason, but I was producing some serious saliva. So I decided to spit as I was jogging. Told my husband and my daughter I would meet them at her piano school. I show up and my husband is staring at me I'm wearing a clown suit. He points down and I'm covered in spit!!! :sick: I was so embarrassed!

Yesterday did my lift and felt pretty content with it

Squat 85lbs
Moving up next lift!!!!

OHP
4x5 , 1x4 at 55lbs
Man did I ever feel confident with this lift. I powered through them all and maybe I just got too cocky and failed on the last one!!!!! Ugh! Third fail so now I have to deload.

DL
1x5 at 125lbs
I did four with the over hand grip. Did my last one with a mixed grip and I find that it really helped!

Got some cardio in afterwards. And decided to no longer do the TDEE minus 20%. I found that I felt more motivated using mfp settings. I used to come out eating around the same anyways.

Hi ladies it's a Saturday workout for me today...missed last night due to "stress" and dinner out with friends to relieve the stress.

@fit yah I figured it's best to do something light while I am getting it sorted out as 150 was not working. Good news is it is working. I am still doing rehab 4x a day but the muscle isn't hurting as long when I do them and less and less through out the day...and I get to work on form and now my DH is squatting more than me so he feels good...teehee

@ myrealname welcome and nice workout and yes I use a spreadsheet and log it here on MFP too...2x just in case...:bigsmile:
@leadfoot I hate that when "I lose it" I have done that with squats before trying to make sure I wasn't toe heavy...scary..
@liza and all those trying the pull ups I got them by doing "reverse pullups/chinups" where you hang on the bar at the correct level until you can't...seemed to work well
@kat I agree with the rest times. I started with 60-90secs but I found I would increase with my sets...now based on weight it could be as much as 3:30-4mins...and if I fail on the last rep I know i need to increase my time. I am lucky tho as I workout at home so I read the updates here...respond...and then type up my workouts...during my rests like I am doing now.
@red Yah on the big plates...I don't have any of those...:sad: just fake ones...35lbs...hehe that is the only thing I think I miss out by working out at home...those looks when I am lifting heavy...hehe
@sbarella Yah for you..yes being stronger is nice...and I agree lifting is the bomb.

@fit again jeez woman you amaze me with your weight...amazing...:drinker:

So for me today workout B...Yah Deadlifts...

Squats @ 115 again today leg feels almost normal..5x5 and giving me a chance to work on form and leave out the box and get atg.

OHP @ 80lbs 5x5 I had started with 3:15 rests but after 2nd set upping it to 3.5mins...I want 100lbs on that bar so no screwing around. Upped my rest on last set to 3:45 as the last rep on set 4 was going up hard.


Deads @ 180 5x5 again still working on form as my barbell math was off the other day...190...hehe will post video link on form thread

I am 3lbs from maintenance tho so I expect by mid May with upping my calories to maintenance in about 3 weeks my lifts should improve with the extra calories.

Also looking forward to getting the snow gone so I can get my bike out and start riding it, and of course so I can wear shorts and tanks to show off this new bod...(arms/shoulders/back/legs and butt...belly is coming but still got about 6lbs to get to bf% I want):drinker:

on that note got a text from DH today..."since you are close to goal we should go do some lingere shopping..." then he sends me a link...hello victoria secret................:devil: :devil: :devil:

Another workout done!

Bench press day (Personal Record!!!!)

1X10 @45 lbs
5X5 @75 lbs (PR!!)

Rows with barbell curl supersets
5X5 @80 lbs (rows)
5X5 @40 lbs (curls)

Seated Row Machine
3X10 @65 lbs
2X10 @60 lbs

Pec Fly Machine
1X8 @55 lbs
3X6 @55 lbs
1X4 @55 lbs

Rear Delt Machine
1X5 @55 lbs
2X8 @40 lbs
2X5 @40 lbs

Followed by a 2.3 mile run from zombies, increased my time by 2 minutes. :bigsmile:

What do you guys do while you are resting between sets? I have a book on my iPhone that I read. I also have a Spanish app that I like to use as well.

What do you guys do while you are resting between sets? I have a book on my iPhone that I read. I also have a Spanish app that I like to use as well.

I check out guys and girls. :bigsmile:

That is definitely an advantage of working out at a gym!! ; )

What do you guys do while you are resting between sets? I have a book on my iPhone that I read. I also have a Spanish app that I like to use as well.

I usually do stretching on the muscle I am working on. Except when I do bench press. When I do BP I do ankle circles . It supposd to thin out wide ankles. I know it stupid and you can not spot reduce , but it can't hurt so why not?

@Sara You still rocked it!!
@Everyone.... Keep on kicking butt!

For me today I am just going to get my 10,000 steps in, going to a reptile expo and getting a new gecko. I need rest so I can kick butt on deadlifts tomorrow.

What do you guys do while you are resting between sets? I have a book on my iPhone that I read. I also have a Spanish app that I like to use as well.

I check out guys and girls. :bigsmile:

Me too. Although, I usually look at form and footwear (not sure why I check out the shoes; I'd hoped that more stiff soles would correlate with better form, but it does not). The biggest problem with watching what others do is that I have no poker face, and I have to try really hard to not burst out laughing; people do some very strange things in the gym. There are I think maybe 2 people I'd ever ask for form help from; good to identify them though.

During rests I:

Enter my sets/reps into my diary app (I have my madcow spreadsheet printed on paper, but sometimes I vary it. )
People watch
Headbop while listening to music. I might be crazy, but I can squat a crapton
Start stretching/myofascial release for my next lift. So if I'm squatting and OHP is next I might start warming up shoulders.
Stare into space.
Chat with other gym goers that start chatting with me.

Did my workout today instead of yesterday. I was invited to two birthdays yesterday and didn't log my food. I couldn't, we went to a brunch buffet and I didn't overdo it, but also didn't restrict myself too much, later cake and so on *sigh* but I went dancing half of the night, which made me do about 11000 steps :-D

And I finished my fourth week of stronglifts today, yay.

Squats, deloaded due to working on my form.

@viglet and rugby: you were right, I kind of did a low bar squat with a high bar bar position. That pushed my upper body down. When I moved the bar lower today, it was much much better, could keep my back and chest up and it felt better in general.

45kg 5x5 (99lbs)

Bench, was me today, I felt just wiggly and örgs

30kg 5x5 (66lbs)

Row

25kg 5x5 (55lbs) - the squat rack was not free and the smaller bars didn't have 27,5kg but in the end i was fine with that weight

Added hip thrusts

20kg 3x10 (45lbs)

I am too tired today to answer properly to all of you, soooorrrrryyy

But, yay, awesome workouts!

Anna, I'm so sorry for your loss! Our pets are family members and Jack was lucky to have you as your words show how much you cared about him.

Rows 3x5 90 (as per usual, I don't feel these in my back and struggle to get the bar into my chest. I completely don't feel like they are working, and I might just switch to a machine for rows, but I don't want to lose out on the stabilizers)

Ugh. Rows.

That's how I feel, too; I only seem to feel them in my shoulder blades and not in my mid or lower lats. If I do them underhand (not the overhand Pendlay style that SL outlines) I immediately feel my upper, mid and lower lats working as well as my biceps.

ETA: On that note, how important is it that the rows are done Pendlay style e.g. does it make a difference if they are done underhand?

Hm, I had not contemplated underhand grip. This website is interesting, and it says that underhand naturally pulls you elbows in, whcih can hep target the lats.

http://www.musclemag.com/muscle-building/spot-the-error-reverse-grip-bent-over-row/#.U0F6MfldXng

I don't know that pendlays are imperative, although Mehdi seems to think his way is the only way (which would be Pendlay). Because I've had problems with not feeling rows, I've switched between bent over rows and pendlay, and I still can't feel anything. I might give underhand grip a try.

Thanks for the article - good read! Something that stood out to me:
"...And because your hands are supinated, you’re automatically stronger because of the mechanical advantage and biceps involvement."

So true (for me anyway). When I do Pendlay rows I feel so weak. Even though I can get the bar to my chest, the position always feels awkward and like my shoulders are doing all the work. If I did them with reverse grip, I know I could go higher in weight.

After a little internet research, using underhand grip makes it a different kind of row, but not sure if that's true or not if you keep your back in the near-parallel Pendlay form? I think I'm over-thinking this now! :huh:

Aww Anna I'm so sorry about your little Jack. :frown:

Anna, big hugs - I am lucky to have been chosen by 2 bichons to parent them (so impudent, so naughty and the cutest ever),

I know how these small creatures can light up our lives.
xoxoxo

Oh no, so sorry about your cat, Anna.

I also don't *feel* my rows in the sense that I am not feeling the fatigue in specific muscles. I am, however, finding them hard and exhausting now so I guess they must be doing something.

Today I went to the gym and did lots of warmups then squats 165 5x5. Some huge bodybuilder dude asked me for some tips on his squat form since mine was "so good". I am not even kidding. He was bashful and completely non-skeevy and it was just about the best compliment I have ever received. He was having some pain with heavy squats and......well, I hope I was able to help him out .

OHP 75lb 5x5
DL 210 5x1 (then curls and other odds and ends)

My grip was slipping all over the place with the deadlift. Kept having to flap my hands around to clear the sweat between pulls. Ridiculous. What is the non-chalk chalk you all use?

I felt really strong today.