@surfin maybe something like this could be up your alley?: http://ca.bodybuilding.com/store/big-back-grips/big-back-lifting-grips.html (yes it looks silly, I got a pair similar to these in a giveaway bag and I gave them away cuz they were too big for me and felt awkward and I already have callouses and can use chalk, so why bother? But according to the reviews, they do work. Maybe trim them down to size if that's what you need, it's just foam)

@whoever asked about deadlift warm-ups: I usually do 95, 115, 135 (5/5/3) before my working sets. If for some reason I don't have access to the bumper plates I just use the rack and do romanian or don't give a crap and do deficit deads. It's just a warm-up so I'm not too worried. Also will use the rack to load up the 45s at the very least. My gym's plates and the floor being somewhat uneven (lol) make it a lot easier to add weight, but the 2.5 or 5lbs plate under the 45 helps a ton, too.

@crabada AWESOME GIRL! It IS a great feeling when you realize this whole lifting thing has become a part of your life!

@llama I'm in a good bit of a funk too. Seasonal changes and other stuff going on with the after-wedding and immigraiton papers... it sucks, but push through it, it'll be worth it! If anything, when the rest of your life makes you feel like crap, use lifting as your therapy! The thing about Wendler is, as I am noticing, sometimes those + sets have you expecting some huge PR and on any given day you're going to fall short. If you go in with lower expectations and just looking for a good time no matter the outcome, you'll still make progress!

On to today's... thing? OHP 5/3/1 (repeat)

65x5
75x3
82.5x3 - I tried for a 4th rep but got to that stupid eye level sticking point and couldn't push through this time. At least I added a rep here. Getting close to reaching a plateau here - slower than I'd done in the past for OHP, though. So that's a win. (slow progress is still progress)
65x9

EMOTM x6 of pull/chin ups with 65lbs of assist for first 4 rounds, 80 for the last 2, 3-5 reps each round

4 rounds of double KB
- snatch x5
- push press x5
- front rack lunges x 5/leg
- power cleans x5

started at 25 but my form was sooo bad I regressed to 20s for rounds 2-4. Also not 100% sure those KBs are not another pair of 30s. They feel a smidge lighter but from day to day it seems to vary so Iunno.

EMOTM x6
- sumo deadlift kb pop squat x4 (20kg kb)
- RAT 1/2 burpees

Managed 34 half burpees just like last time, but the kB was heavier, so meh. I gave it a good go but not my all. I've had 5 hours of sleep or so.

I'm thinking one more Wendler cycle, test my maxes, then finish running through the Garage built body without the additional barbell stuff and focusing more on fat loss. That'll take me past new year easily. Then we'll see where I go from there.

In the hotel gym today.

Goblet squats 5x40 lbs, 5x45 lbs, 5x5x50 lbs -- I felt like this got my core much more than legs. I don't think I could have held a heavier weight but I might try 55lbs on Saturday.
DB Bench press 5x25 lbs, 5x5x30lbs -- this was hard
Regular barbell rows 5x5x80lbs -- they had an oly bar but no squat rack or bench press. Strange.
Cable crunches 12x22.5, 12x27.5, 12x32.5, 12x37.5, 12x42.5

Then I went for a walk on the beach!

Edited because hit post too soon.

Went to the gym yesterday finally and had to deload significantly. I guess it's perfect that my 5x5 app updated and deleted all my history *

Squats were down to 75 from 115-120 and deads were down to 115 from 195. I completed them but they were tougher than I expected. Guess a month and a half of inconsistent workouts will do that to you! I also started OHP again but did it at 30 lbs. which was pretty easy. I need to not worry so much about progressing because my workouts are going to be interrupted for the next month or so.

*I saw that the app has an option to securely back up your data for $1.99 now - something a good program should do inherently. Way to nickel and dime, Mehdi.

MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »

*I saw that the app has an option to securely back up your data for $1.99 now - something a good program should do inherently. Way to nickel and dime, Mehdi.

Yeah, I saw this on the same day that the app lost all my data and started me at the beginning. I think I'm done with the app!

Dude! Bummer about everyone losing their history. I would be so pissed, even though I'm only 5 weeks in. I might just spend the 10 bucks and buy the whole SL 5x5 suite.

Workout A today. Holy balls, my *kitten* is kicked.

Squats: Warmups then 5x5@120. These still felt good, though my butt is feeling them now.
Bench: Warmups then 4x5 + 1x4@105. Yeesh, these were tough. I whiffed the last rep, so will repeat.
Rows: Warmups then 1x5 @95 lbs and 4x5@90 lbs. I tried to progress but hit the wall. Realized that I need to probably repeat 90 lbs a few times. Rows are so hard, not just in muscular terms, but also coordination-wise.

Accessories: 4x5 assisted pullups at 64 lbs of assistance. Didn't have time for anything else because I had to get back to work for a meeting.

TGIF! I don't have to work today, so I did an extra long workout.

Squats: 5@65,80,100,115, 3@130(PR), 8@95
Bench: 5@45,45,50,60, 3@70(PR), 8@60
Rows: 5@45,50,60,70, 3@80, 8@70
Triceps bench dip: 3x8
Barbell shrugs: 3x8 @45
Glute bridges: 3x8 @70
Good mornings: 3x8 @45
BW glute-ham raise: 3x8

I hope I'll be able to walk tomorrow. I was struggling going up the stairs lol Have a wonderful weekend, ladies!

Weakling Friday! Which is pretty much as expected. I also went to the gym tired, hungry, unmotivated and having skipped Wed just because I was preoccupied with other projects. So you can imagine how well this went lol.

No warmup cardio. Because I didn't feel like it.

Squats - New weight 80lbs. I felt pretty weak to add new weight but I have squatted 75lbs for so long that I just needed to give it a shot. It was ok. Not bad, not great. I'm going to try to go up again on Monday after a weekend of eating lots of food.

OHP - Sigh. I did try at 50lbs but could only do 1x4. So I dropped it to 45 and still could barely finish my remaining 4x5. Weak, weak weak.

Deadlifts - My favorite, and they were so awful today Tried my new weight of 145 and my grip was just so weak and pathetic today I could barely hold the bar. Did 2@145 then deloaded to 135 and it was still tough (and I have deadlifted 135 for a while now). Did maybe 4x135. Felt like my grip was going to slip. Felt sad.

Then I just made a bitchy face and went home. No accessories, zip, nada, zilch.

So far my hypothesis about my weakling fridays holds true, but I didn't go on Wednesday so I can't be sure. If I have a great and strong Monday I will definitely suspect I'm right. But I was not surprised to do poorly today; I haven't eaten well during the week (I really, really, really need to stop eating light on the weekdays and heavy on the weekends)

I have been lifting for a couple months now, and doing bench presses and push ups regularly for over a year. I just started stronglift today and I am wondering about setting goals. I used the 45 pound bar for squats and rows, and did my bench press at 75 to start, even though I benched 85 in longer sets a couple days ago. I did do a bunch of other strength training in addition to the strong lift exercises. I am wondering about how to set goals for myself. I want to get stronger, but I really want to avoid injury. I have osteoarthritis in my neck and upper back, and my knees tend to get sore if I overwork them. I am age 42, 5'6, 159 lbs, and approximately 29% body fat. Can someone give me advice on what sort of goals I should set for the next few months? The weights that I used today were all on the easy side and I didn't end up waiting a full 90 seconds for any of the exercises.

@sing I found the best goals to set are adherence goals and direction goals. So for me my goals are to do my 4 workouts a week and increase my 1 rm on the big lifts. I find setting more concrete goals (like bench x by Christmas) sets me up for failure or injury.

Day 5 for bench
Warmup then 70lbs X5 85lbs X 5 95 X 5
I might have been able to get one more on my plus set but I really didn't feel like risking it (roll of shame is loud and the baby was sleeping).
Accessories
Assisted pull ups, tricep kickbacks and upright rows. 10 reps 3 sets.