Ugh, another not so great workout this morning. Deloaded squats and DL were fine, but couldn't get my head in the game for OHP.

Squats - 5x85, 5x105, 5x125, 5x125

OHP - 5x47.5, 5x57.5, 5x65, 4x75 could not get that 5th rep which is ridiculous because I've done more reps with higher weight before. Bah, whatever. I'll get you next time OHP.

DL - 5x105, 5x125, 5x147.5, 5x167.5


Off topic, but pretty much the reason why my last two workouts haven't been as awesome as I'd hoped:
This whole idea of having a baby in the next few years is doing my head in. While I'm not opposed to having ONE, I'm not anywhere near ready right now and I have serious doubts about my husband's readiness to participate in being a parent. I love the guy, don't get me wrong, but I knew pretty early on that he isn't what I would consider father material, ya know? We agreed early on that we didn't want children, but now that he's approaching his mid 30s and I'm approaching 30, he's reconsidering. Nice, but when I expressed my concerns that I thought he'd be an absent parent, I'd be doing all the work, etc. he agreed that that's what would probably happen because that's how he was raised (his parents are very old fashioned - the man is the king and whatever he says goes while the woman busts her *kitten* to pump out babies, take care of them, take care of the house and also have a job). That's the complete opposite of how I was raised (dad worked during the day, but when he got home, he split everything with my mom 50/50 and she didn't have an outside job). Yeah... ummm, NO. Married single mom does not compute. Plus, my husband clearly has "man tact" and started this conversation with, "Well, you're almost 30 and you're not getting any younger so your window for having a baby at a reasonable age is already starting to close. BUT I'm not getting any younger either... blah blah blah." Ouch. Rage kind of made me go deaf at that point, lol.

wide grip lat pulldowns
125x3x5

*faints*. i've been trying for half an hour to think up some kind of octobery pun, but it just hasn't worked so go you.

*faints*. i've been trying for half an hour to think up some kind of octobery pun, but it just hasn't worked so go you.

Haha, me too! All I could come up with was something with "Shocktober" in it and that's just been done to death so I gave up.

Off topic, but pretty much the reason why my last two workouts haven't been as awesome as I'd hoped:
This whole idea of having a baby in the next few years is doing my head in. While I'm not opposed to having ONE, I'm not anywhere near ready right now and I have serious doubts about my husband's readiness to participate in being a parent. I love the guy, don't get me wrong, but I knew pretty early on that he isn't what I would consider father material, ya know? We agreed early on that we didn't want children, but now that he's approaching his mid 30s and I'm approaching 30, he's reconsidering. Nice, but when I expressed my concerns that I thought he'd be an absent parent, I'd be doing all the work, etc. he agreed that that's what would probably happen because that's how he was raised (his parents are very old fashioned - the man is the king and whatever he says goes while the woman busts her *kitten* to pump out babies, take care of them, take care of the house and also have a job). That's the complete opposite of how I was raised (dad worked during the day, but when he got home, he split everything with my mom 50/50 and she didn't have an outside job). Yeah... ummm, NO. Married single mom does not compute. Plus, my husband clearly has "man tact" and started this conversation with, "Well, you're almost 30 and you're not getting any younger so your window for having a baby at a reasonable age is already starting to close. BUT I'm not getting any younger either... blah blah blah." Ouch. Rage kind of made me go deaf at that point, lol.

When i met my husband I had 2 kids already, 1 boy, 1 girl. I was done, he was good with that even though he didn't have any of his own. Fast forward 3 yrs of marriage. We get into a HUGE fight over what I dont even remember. When he is mad he text fights. I don't know why. anywho.. He said im not going to my appt on friday (vasectomy) I said why not? I want a baby! :noway: What?!?!? I didn't speak to him for 2 days, while i thought... ALOT! All of his family was surprised that he wanted one. More like shocked! :laugh: I thought great I am going to be a single mom to 3 kids plus this adult kid. But he is the best daddy i could ask for to our little guy. They have time together every day when i work and even some after to give me some time to myself. I really didn't think he would be like this, he always said he doesn't do spit up or diapers and well he did them.. more than he would like.. but he did it. Sorry was so long but just give it some time and you two need to talk about it. Tell him your concerns and tell each other what you would expect, need from each other, if/when it does happen. Good luck!

It's been awhile since I've posted but I had a superb day in the gym Doubled up DL and bench. 3/3/3+ day.

DL: 105x3, 120x3, 135x10
Bench: 65x3, 70x3, 80x15 (oops?)

Straight Leg DL: 75x10x3
Walking lunges with 20lb dumbbells
Hip Thrusters: 45x10x3

My bum hurts

My form still isn't right - I really struggle to get low and I seem uneven - the bar slides to one side and my shoulder hurts on that side..

just a thought . . . i kind of swivel left too unless i pay strict attention to it, and i think the main cause is glute strength imbalance. it's gotten better since i started making sure i don't let my left leg cheat, and i think that piriformis stretching pre-squats helped as well. sometimes you do that and you're stunned to find how much tighter you are on one side, compared with the other.

the other advice that i found useful for symmetry was to really concentrate on squeezing the glutes at the same time as you take your big breath and lock your core. if you do have any imbalances going on in that area, this kind of forces you to get your hips level before you go into the squat.

and yeah. once i start tipping, it does have a ripple-up effect into my shoulder and all on that side.

My form still isn't right - I really struggle to get low and I seem uneven - the bar slides to one side and my shoulder hurts on that side..

just a thought . . . i kind of swivel left too unless i pay strict attention to it, and i think the main cause is glute strength imbalance. it's gotten better since i started making sure i don't let my left leg cheat, and i think that piriformis stretching pre-squats helped as well. sometimes you do that and you're stunned to find how much tighter you are on one side, compared with the other.

the other advice that i found useful for symmetry was to really concentrate on squeezing the glutes at the same time as you take your big breath and lock your core. if you do have any imbalances going on in that area, this kind of forces you to get your hips level before you go into the squat.

and yeah. once i start tipping, it does have a ripple-up effect into my shoulder and all on that side.

Thanks for the tips - there might well be an imbalance issue as I have a dodgy left knee. I'll try that stretch out.

I did pretty well on Tuesday. Finally got through 65# 5x5 on OHP, did 145# 5x5 on squats, 155# 1x5 for DL.

I think I probably need to eat more after deadlift day, though, because I was absolutely STARVING all day Wednesday (and I'm still pretty hungry, lol). I added an extra 2x10 warmup to DL on Tuesday, so I did a ton of squats/DL.

Squats - 2x10 @ 45, 2x10 @ 85, 2x10 @ 115, 5x5 @ 145
DL - 2x10 @ 65, 2x10 @ 115, 2x10 @ 145, 1x5 @ 155

When I'm doing them, I love them, and I really enjoy doing that much volume/weight, but maybe it's a bit of overkill. I'm not super sore or anything, though, which is nice.

My form still isn't right - I really struggle to get low and I seem uneven - the bar slides to one side and my shoulder hurts on that side.. One of the staff at the gym has suggested I use the smith machine to build a bit of strength and confidence on the form, then go back to the freeweights. I don't know whether to follow that advice or try goblet squats with a lighter kettlebell or just bodyweight squats.
I'm considering bodyweight squats to warm up, then using the smith machine, aiming to move back to the bar. All advice welcome

I have found that doing a lot of stretching before squats helps me tremendously. I squat down with just body weight as far as I can go, sit there and stretch the knees out to the side while in the squat. After a few of those I can get to just a few inches above the floor. Back and hip stretches also help. Flexibility seems to be an issue I'm dealing with as I get older :frown: I've also decided to stay at a weight until I really feel comfortable with that weight and my form is still good before moving up.

Last night's lifts:
Squats: 5x5 @ 90 lbs.
BP: 5x5 @ 85 lbs.
Barbell row: 5x5 @ 80 lbs. Staying at this next time because I'm still a little shy of hitting my chest.

We're going camping this weekend, so I'll have to skip my Saturday workout.

Nice work everybody!

I used the power cage instead of the squat rack for the first time today, too and it was great. The mirror is lower to the floor and I could make sure I got low enough and I could see myself getting unsteady.

Ah, that's what I need in my workout room...a mirror! So far I've been watching my shadow for form. Lol.

I backed off on squats again today so that I can go as deep as I should. I'm soooo frustrated. I could do 5x5 at parallel, but only 85 lbs. I had to take a few days off for religious holidays, so that's some of it. Also, I think my caloric deficit is too steep but I'm in the process of reverse dieting back up to maintenance since I've pretty much reached my weight goal. It's messing with my head, though. I need to stay strong and remind myself that fueling my workouts is what I want to be doing, but it's hard after eating at a deficit for the past 6 months and focusing on cutting... Sorry I'm kind of rambling, but it feels good to get it out there.

Oh and I just realised that I must have scraped my shins a bit last night when deadlifting - I have bruises and scrapes lol didn't even feel it at the time!

Todays workout - SL 5x5 B
Squats - Warm up + 5x5 @ 85
OHP - Warm up + 5x5 @ 50
DL - 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x3 @ 135

I am taking a week off. My lower back seems to be suffering, my guess is from bad form so I am going to heal and deload as needed.

Nice work, chicas!

Here's what I was able to squeak out today:
squat - 3x5 @ 85lbs, 2x4 85lbs
BP - 5x1 @70lbs, 5x4 @70
BR - 5x5 @ 60lbs

After giving myself a much needed pep talk, I feel pretty good. I'm not hitting all of my reps and that was getting me really down. I actually cried last workout after not being able to squat 90lbs for 5x5. But today I reminded myself of something my Dad used to say, "The race is not to the swift, but to s/he who can endure".

There is no end of the line for me. I've fallen in love and I want to keep lifting for the rest of my life. So why am I beating myself up over one little speed bump? So I put my ego in check and dropped the weight. The 85lbs actually felt light, but my mind is so weak! My husband got up to spot me at the start of my fourth set and that just caused a switch to go off in my head - "you need help! you won't be able to lift this! this $*!T is heavy!" and yep, I failed after 4.

How do you guys keep your head in a good place? I'm getting really apprehensive about squatting now. I used to love it but as the weights get heavier, so do the doubts