Not feeling great. Summer is here, which means my blood pressure is dropping, my appetite is kind of gone and I'm studying crazy hours. I'll probably take a short break from the gym soon. I hate the idea but I think it's wise.
I'll do some walks in the morning and I'll focus on keeping my deficit under control and hitting my macros. I hope to lift some more before summer break, then I'll figure some bodyweight routine for August. One day at a time

Squat 67.5kg 5,5,5,4 man, they were hard. Thank you, safety rack!
Overhead Press 22.5kg 5x5 struggled a bit with the last rep on the last two sets
Deadlift 60kg 1x5
Quick cooldown run on treadmill (1mile @10ish minutes)

I like to eat a big bed time snack; it helps me sleep and I have no idea if it helps with morning workouts, but I find I have plenty of energy for the morning. I have started eating an apple or a granola bar first thing in the morning on lifting days, just to help wake me up. Tried that on a run day and even just an apple didn't sit right so that's a no go.

Workout a today
Squat 150lbs 5/4/5 I always seem to get stuck here. I've promised myself that if I get my 3x5 (with good form) I will move up but 155 seems really scary.
Bench 66 lbs 2x4 and 1x5 this was my third fail so deload next time.
Row 3x5 71lbs

Accessories
Front raises 10/9/8 thinking this was just me pettering out.
One arm rows 3x10 25lbs
Flies 3x8 15 lbs

Eta next week I get to wake up 15 minutes early as I slowly adjust myself back to working hours. Only 6 more weeks till I go back.

Workout B this morning:

Squat:
65lb 1x5
85lb 2x5
100lb 5x5
Felt like I could have gone much heavier, but 100lbs is the stage I'm at in the program (on 5th week now) and I don't want to jump the gun. My stance feels really good. I went low enough on each rep that the bar came about an inch away from touching the rubber guard on the side of the squat rack. For being 6'2", that is very low!

OHP: Grrrr. Did 65lb for all 5x5 last time I did workout B. Wanted to attempt 70lb this morning:

45lb 1x5
55lb 1x5
70lb 1x3: Just could not get that dang bar off my chest for another rep. I got it up near my face and then my arms started to look like I was a rag doll. All wobbly and crooked and couldn't lift any higher. Deloaded back to 65 lb and tried to do 5x5 again after resting 5 mins (I rested 5 mins between each OHP set today and these were my numbers):
65 lb 1x4, 2x5, 2x4. Kind of frustrating because I did 65 lb 5x5 last time, and while it was very difficult, this attempt felt much harder.

Deadlift:
155lb 1x5. Used a mixed grip, the weight felt OK and like I could have lifted heavier. Some dudes with chicken legs doing bicep curls in the free weights section were 'mirin my 45lb. plates on the DL :bigsmile:

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Workout A for me on Sunday morning. I'm planning on getting to the gym 10 mins before they open so the guy that DLs and shrugs like 450 lbs on weekends doesn't hog the rack for 2 hours before I can use it for squats. And BTW thanks everyone for congratulating me on our engagement last weekend!

Hi all quick post and run. On tuesday the 3rd, I had a puny workout - puny because I'd been away about a week and a half and because life is crazy and tiring right now. I was so emotionally spent on this particular day that my body was pretty weak too.

Last night got in a much better workout:

Squats - various warm ups then 185x3x5 followed by 155x2x5. I should have stuck with 185 for all 5 sets but I was in a hurry to run another errand and figured I could just grind out sets faster if I lowered my weight vs. resting longer.

OHP - can I just pause and mention how much I love this lift?! I am not particularly strong at it, but I love to do it. I can see my biceps and triceps doing their thing while I'm pushing the bar and I like seeing how strong my arms are! I also love the OHP just in general - it makes my whole upper body just feel "right"

so: 45x10, 55x5, 65x4 + 1 push press, then 55x5 and 45x8

Then I KILLED it on accessory work -- all done in a circuit, last night I did it at a brisk pace and by the end I was really digging to finish – in a good way.
Lying triceps extension – 42 x 3x 10
DB Bicep Curl – 20 x 3 x 10
Cable Crunch – 52.5 x3 x 10
Back Extension – 25 x 3 x 10

Workout A today

Squats 5x5 55 lbs - didn't use the plates under my heels today and my improved form stuck, so I'll finally be progressing again.
Bench: 4/5/4/3/0 70 lbs - couldn't even get the last set off my chest and had to do the roll of shame
Rows: 1x3 65 lbs - my left elbow kept getting locked out, not sure why.

So not my greatest workout, but at least my squats are back on track.

Myles, welcome! those are excellent weights, have you lifted before?

Hi! Thanks for the welcome message.

I am very new to weightlifting. I did have a trainer teach me form on these lifts, but I was mostly a cardio junkie for the last 20 years (lots of running & biking). I surf and did do (mostly Ashtanga power) yoga for the last dozen years, so I guess I'm starting from that base of strength. I'm going to be really cautious about adding weight to the bar, since I am super injury-prone. :P

Yes! Yes! Yay for the weekend!!!! (Workout A to commence in 3...2...1...)

Hello friends :flowerforyou: New to this group, completed my 7th 5x5 workout this morning

I am taking it nice and slow, esp with squats (running and some horse riding sometimes make it too much to do all the squats and be able to do anything the next day!)

Today
5x5 squats 60lb
5x5 bench 60lb (BARELY made it, but felt like a superhero)
5,4,3,4,1 70lb barbell row, what?? weird, all over the place, thinking of sticking at this weight and focusing on form.

Also, so far ABSOLUTELY NO WOMEN have been back in the heavy weights section with me, even my bff gay workout buddy just peeks around the corner and goes back to the weight machines... leaving gobs of sweat on the bench and grunting just as loud as the guys in there, hilarious, and surprised I don't feel more self conscious.

I've been thinking of doing a small protein shake right before bed on nights before lifts b/c I workout first thing and will NOT get up early to eat, it would take me too long to digest food and I love my late night reading and sleep time too much! Glad to know it works for some of you, will try out this week

Super excited. I deadlifted 100# today. 1x5. I am a 5'1" 54 yr old woman. Just had to put that out there. I know I'll never be able to keep up with you bigger much younger ladies but this makes me feel like I can do anything.

Squat 70#5x5
OHP still sucky @ 35#.

Came home and did a brisk walk. Now I'm gonna settle down with a cheesesteak.

dldoddy, congrats on your deadlift! Awesome!

Fittree...that deadlift...you continue to amaze me!

Was not really happy with my lifts today, I'm tired from working outside so...that's my excuse anyway. :sick:

Week 2 of Strong Curves:

Barbell Hip Thrusts 3x20 75 lbs
Barbell rows 3x8 75 lbs

Barbell Squats (low): 3x5 120 lbs
Bench Press: 3x5: 95 lbs

Pull-ups: (2,3,2)

Kettlebell swings, KB pirate ship, side lying leg lift, turkish get-ups, and 20 push ups just for fun. :bigsmile:

Back at the weights! Somewhat of a testing week as i start the phase!

First did box jumps (10 attempts max)! 18 inches was like PFFT! 20' was like "hell yeah I got this" stacked a 25lbs plate (2.5 inches I guess) and did 2 jumps. Switched to a 35 bumper plate (3 inches) and made it. Got amped up, videoed myself and broke 24' somewhat easily. Then put up a 10lbser and did it twice. Then my last jump I put a 15lbser, took a deep breath and according to the video BARELY made it. But I did! 26' box jump: GOT!

Then worked up to a 90lbs full snatch. Somewhat missed the first try (it was more of a power snatch, lacked the squat part), and the second one went up and I did stabilize and sink down but it was U.G.L.Y. so I regressed to 87.5 and got a cleaner rep to end out which is what I'm going to base the rest of the phase on. Probably won't make a HUGE difference, but I need to work on that flow.

by this point I was already pretty trashed but I got to test my 2RM back squat. 2 weeks ago I hit 175 for 2 so I wanted to beat that. I worked up to it and those 2 reps were grinders! But I wanted to hit BW squat so I added 10lbs, waited til my 12 minutes was almost up and tried. The first rep I grinded out. The second? Couldn't get out of the hole. The best part? I have it on video: me dropping the bar. sitting on the ground, and then rolling out of there in shame. I had to rewatch it and man, it's actually funny to watch xD This is what I get for drinking last night, I guess!

And if that wasn't enough, I got to kick this bad boy to end out the session: 3 rounds for time
- 10 DB front squats @25
- 5 Deadlift @ 165
- 25 push-ups on dumbbells

Time: 11:45

The push-ups had to be broken up in mini sets, and the toughest parts on the DB Front squat was holding the DB in front of me lol. The fun part is, I get to retest this one, exactly, in 2 weeks. Wee!

@viglet You shouldn't break 30 seconds between reps on the deadlift. 5-10 seconds to take a breath or 2 and reset your grip, yeah. 30 secs is more like breaking the set IMO

@fittree You pull a lot of weight! What's your secret? lol

Note to self: never argue with fittree! :laugh:

This was a sub par session. My mind just wasn,t right this morning, and my lower back all kinds of sore from getting back to heavy lifts yesterday and possibly that 50 minutes run. I think it's the run xD

Testing 1RM Cleans. I'd pulled 105 for a power clean a month ago so I went pretty aggressive but got stuck on that weight. My hips were just too tight to drop under the bar effectively so I was basically power cleaning it and THEN squatting. I did eventually get it though, it just wasn't pretty.

Then went on to 2RM OHP. Worked up to what I thought was going to be a fairly easy 85x2 because i had in mind that I'd failed at doing a 3RM last month at that weight but had gotten 2 clean reps. Failed the second rep and was pretty angry with myself/disappointed. Started to think I'd really done that deload thing all wrong. Got kinda angry, decided to record myself and actually banged out the 2 reps (albeit maybe with a slight knee bend). Then I saw in my notebook my previous 1RM was 85. Facepalm moment right there. Had some time left, decided to try for 87.5, barely got the first rep up, the 2nd wasn't happening today. But hey, I beat my 1RM? I feel like I coulda done more though

The conditioning type of sesison today was a 12min EMOTM
- ODD 3 muscle ups (regressed to false grip recline rows with transition and box supported ring dips) and 3 burpee box jumps (18' box)
- EVEN 10 pistol squats per leg (regressed to lternating side step up on the 18' box)

I couldn't get 10 reps of the step ups in the minutes but on the last one, hovered around 6-7. I was sweaty by the end but definitely ready to call it in. There are days where it just... I was looking forward to this!

My Doctor told me to eat more since I am having stupid accidents for no apparent reason. I was averaging 1600, so I ate 1800 Thursday, maybe will try that another day or 2 this week and see how that goes. So far my weight trend is still down (about 1/2 lb.) since Thursday.

@perseverance, definitely let that hand heal up! Hope the eating more helps out, I had to up my calories too. I'm still losing. Are you doing TDEE?


Today is a TOTAL REST DAY. All I'm doing today is drinking beer and watching a soccer game. There MAY be jumping involved if Galaxy scores, but I will make sure to limit it to 5 jumps. 7 if the goal was amazing.

Tomorrow I have a 30 min session with my trainer and 6 hours and 15 mins in the pool. That is almost double the time in the pool as last week. 2,250 calories AIN'T gonna cut it this week. I barely made it last week on that. I am thinking of going up at least 250 more and maybe even 500. I'd rather make it through the week than lose weight at this point. I don't want to stop lifting so I just need to eat like I'm gaining.

Yes, I am doing TDEE -20%...which for me is 1600. Last week I lost 2.8, since Thursday morning when I weighed I lost another .05. That does seem to be a bit fast, maybe I need to switch to TDEE -15%.

My Doctor seemed to think my feeling sick and my accident were both from not eating enough. I think being sick was from my scaling Tuesday, that can unleash bacteria and I know I had a sore in my mouth, even thought about changing the appointment because of that, have the second half appointment Thursday...thankfully it is only about every 10 years, and I quit smoking 10 years ago so my scalings don't really hurt at all, I remember they used to hurt a lot when I was a smoker.

That said, my Doctor also doesn't agree with my target weight (130), I am 17.5 lbs. away from that now. She thinks I should go down to my high school weight (120). Right now I am tending to agree with her just because my body fat still isn't under 30 yet, seems like it might take going to my high school weight to get the body fat % I want (not much over 20).