Daily check in - NoVEmbeR give up!
Replies
-
I'm nearing a week off and I think it'll do me some good. OHP 3 this morning
62.5x3
72.5x3
80x5
65x10
EMOTMx8 assisted pull-ups 1-3 reps (so as little assistance as possible. But I started too low and burned myself out on the first 2 minutes...
4 rounds of the double KB complex @25lbs
- wide stance sumo deadlift x5
- front squats x5
- push press x5
- thruster x5
it was a lot harder than with the 20lbs next week, which would explain the
EMOTMx6
- KB deadlift pop squat x3
- hanging knee raises RAT = 65 total (1 less than last week. But I was more tired. So ah well...)
I'm debating doing my 1RM testing next week WITH the 5/3/1 instead of on its own the week after. And basically taking 2 whole weeks off from heavy lifting (1 where I will go to the gym but just work on speed stuff, and 1 where I'll do only bodyweight stuff because I'll be on a trip to see my wife!). The numbers might not be *quite* as good... But I think it'll do me more good to get more rest. Aye?0 -
Wasn't really feeling it yesterday, but I got to they gym anyway. I deloaded my squats a bit to work on form -- medial L knee has been bothering me a bit lately.
Squats: 2x5 @bw, 2x5@45, 1x5@65, 1x5@75, 1x5@80, 1x5@85, 1x5@95
Bench: 2x5@45, then 1x4@70, 1x5@70, 1x4@70, 1x3@70 (and the roll of shame, so I was done after 4 sets). These felt really hard.
Row: 4x5@75
Accessories:
3x12 bw hip thrusters0 -
I'm nearing a week off and I think it'll do me some good.
I'm debating doing my 1RM testing next week WITH the 5/3/1 instead of on its own the week after. And basically taking 2 whole weeks off from heavy lifting (1 where I will go to the gym but just work on speed stuff, and 1 where I'll do only bodyweight stuff because I'll be on a trip to see my wife!). The numbers might not be *quite* as good... But I think it'll do me more good to get more rest. Aye?
Good Lord, Krok! REST!
0 -
Hey everyone! I just ended up repeating the same weights as last week and no accessories. I came down with a sore throat/cold and my lifts weren't anything spectacular lol. I'm just glad I got them done.
Have a great weekend! Keep on killing it
0 -
Hey all!
Saturday here so morning lifting for me! Not quite a fasted workout but tummy sure grumbled throughout it!
Squat 5x5 @ 155lbs - only 10 ish pounds off my bodyweight!
bench 5,5,3,4,5 @ 85lbs - these felt really heavy today, had to roll of shame one set, then stop after 4 reps for the next one
Row 5x5@ 90lbs
Hungry now. Contemplating taking next week off as I really haven't been feelin it lately, will get some rest tomorrow and see how I feel when Monday rolls around
0 -
Back after a kind of inadvertent rest week, since Monday. I think it was kind of needed - was nice to hit the gym at lunch today.
Squats - 5x5 @ 165 lbs (stayed here just because there aren't any nice 2.5's at my work), felt nice and easy, just one rep where my form failed because I was distracted
OHP - 5x5 @ 75 - first attempt here after failing a few times at 80 then deloading. Felt pretty good actually (and I hate OHP)
Deadlifts - 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195. I feel like the warmup at 165 really helped the "work" set. My 185 was a bit shaky last week so I was nervous about this attempt - but it went really well, my grip only started failing on the last rep.0 -
Family gone and back to business. Day B done. It was a decent work out once I did my treadmill warmup, bit of try and some foam rolling. I tried doing the OHP in a different section but the 30 was too light and 40 occupied so ended up back by the squat section. Then I ended up waiting to do the deadlifts. Hope I can catch it unoccupied or with someone who takes less than 30 minutes as they were using it most of my squat and OHP sets. Still, I did the deadlift using a couple 45's on each side to get the bar up higher. My set took so much less time since I'm just starting out with the 1x5 and that's it. Guy afterward probably wondered why I wanted so long to take so little time on it but whatever.
Workout B
Squat - 75
OHP - Bar, working on form. When I added weight my head tries to go back and get out of the way, lol.
Deadlift - 95 (used 25's on the bar this time)
Done and already looking forward to next time that I get to lift.0 -
Saturday morning for me. Nothing extra special, nothing disastrous.
Squats 5,6,5,6,5 @ 101lb
OHP 5,4,5,5,5 @ 46lb. Again.
DL 5 @ 134lb
In other news, two of bulky big men who work out at similar times spoke to me. One complimented me on my squat form (but said I didn't need to go to parallel) and another said any time I needed spotting on the bench, just to give him a shout.
I also went on the bench, and with an empty bar practised rescuing myself.
0 -
I am one week in now!
Friday B:
Squats: 5 x 5 @ 40 lbs
OHP: 5 x 5 @ 35 lbs
Deadlift: 5 x 5 @ 60 lbs
Feeling good!
I am going to add in flexibility/balance work now that I have made this part of my weekly routine.
@krokador and psych101: Your DLs are amazing!!!!
@krokador: Thanks for all of your helpful responses. They are really helping me!!0 -
Squat5@45,55,65,75,85
OHP: 2@55+2@50+1@45, 3@50+2@45, 2@50+3@45, 5@50
DL: 5@95,115,135
Hip thrusters: 3x12bw
I'm deviating from the strict SL program at this point -- feeling a bit run down, but also kind of bored. I know my lifts just aren't that heavy in the grand scheme of things. Is boredom a reasonable excuse for moving to a different program, or should I stick with the slog that is 5 sets straight across? Btw, the OHP
is so wonky today because SL had me increase to 55 lbs, but that 5 lb jump was clearly just too much. I'm hoping for a set of fractional plates for my birthday next week. And the squats were this way so I could work on form. It seems my left leg is a log weaker than the right.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks all!0 -
we're at almost exactly the same point and weights. same thing, in a lot of ways.
idk what the technical prescription would be, but my mindset is kind of like: hey, this is my body and i can do whatever i want to with it. so if i decide that 90lb squats is good enough for right now and i want to mess around with something else for a while, that's my business.0 -
SkepticalOwl wrote: »Squat5@45,55,65,75,85
OHP: 2@55+2@50+1@45, 3@50+2@45, 2@50+3@45, 5@50
DL: 5@95,115,135
Hip thrusters: 3x12bw
I'm deviating from the strict SL program at this point -- feeling a bit run down, but also kind of bored. I know my lifts just aren't that heavy in the grand scheme of things. Is boredom a reasonable excuse for moving to a different program, or should I stick with the slog that is 5 sets straight across? Btw, the OHP
is so wonky today because SL had me increase to 55 lbs, but that 5 lb jump was clearly just too much. I'm hoping for a set of fractional plates for my birthday next week. And the squats were this way so I could work on form. It seems my left leg is a log weaker than the right.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks all!
If you're bored with it, move on to something that you feel is more fun. Half the battle is doing something you enjoy, the other half is giving it your best effort. If you go in half-assed, you'll get only partial results. Also, not everyone has the same ceiling when it comes to a particular way of doing things. Switching it up might very well be what YOU need, regardless of what the "experts" or whatever say.
I'm saying this with the assumption that you've at least done 8 weeks on that program, though. There's program hopping and changing program. But again, if you really don't enjoy it, might as well find something you will 0 -
@krok Thanks to the advice. I've been doing SL since July with 1 deload and now it's time for another, so I think I've given it a fair shot. I'm still struggling with form a lot of the time, so I'm definitely still a beginner and I don't want to go to a more advanced program until I'm ready. Anyway, motivation isn't too much of a problem for me, so I might stick with it until I get my form and imbalance issues under control. I don't really want to introduce new variables at this point.
Wow. That was rambling. Thanks for listening!0 -
Bench day!
5 @ 59, 62.5, 75, 85, 100 (triple digits FINALLY), then 10 @ 75lbs
More bench press! 15, 15, 20 @ 65lbs
Resistance Band front & lateral raises 10, 15, 20
Dumbbell single arm bent over rows 10, 12, 14 @ 30lbs
Also did 15 frog kicks on the bench after my last set of presses and did 15 shrugs with the 30lb dumbbells after my rowd. Oh, and since my dog/stalker kept trying to get me to ditch my workout and walk him, I battled him in between bench press sets with the nail clippers. Trimming a 75lb dog's nails will make you sweaty! lol I walked him after the lifting so he's happy now.
0 -
The OHP seems a bit of a nuisance for many, from what I've seen in the different forums. I don't know why but I'm okay with the bar form wise but add 5 measly lbs and my head goes "nope, I'm staying out of the way". When I was working with the trainer it kept going back when I lifted the weight up instead of forward. I did okay on my own when I did the 30 lbs, which was too light, and then just the regular bar though it was a slight struggle on the last couple. I'm going to do the bar one more time, I think, then maybe try adding a little weight and really try and keep my form in place. *grumbles* I'm just going to be starting week 3, so long ways to go.
0 -
End of the stretch! Squats 5/3/1 1RM day went as follow:
135x5
152.5x3
170x1
180x1
187.5x1
192.5x1
135x6
I reckon I probably could've gone for 195 and even possibly 200 if I hadn't been following the 5/3/1 scheme to the letter, but eh, this is pretty good and still a PR
I have videos of 180, 187.5 and I tried to take one of 192.5 (where I yelled like a crazy person to not get stuck in the hole, lol) but my phone crashed - made me pretty upset
I also have one of the set of 6 at the end. I will have to work on keeping my bar path straight and staying upright, methinks
Then did 3 rounds of 40/20s with 2 20lbs KB
- Push-ups
- single leg RDL one side at a time
- alternating bent over rows
and then 4 rounds of 2 min AMRAPs of
- burpee broad jump x2
- KB thrusters x3
- russian outside the hips KB swings (really weird move, btw) x4
managed 3 rounds per round (erf... you get it, right?) and an extra 2 burpees on the last set.
Whew!0 -
So I did a body weight workout Friday since I didn't have access to weights. Got some good increases today.
Workout A (Sun)
Dumbbell Side Bends - 5 x 10 - 40
Overhead Press, Barbell - 5 x 5 - 70
Barbell Row, Bent Over - 5 x 5 - 105
squats 5 X 1 - 200
squats 5 X 5 - 205
Flat dumbbell flys - 5 x 10 - 40
underhand bicep curls 5 x 5 - 135
Reverse curls 5 x 5 - 110
Incline obliques - 1 x 100 (each side, 200 total)0 -
Damn, you peeps are STRONG! Awesome job!0
-
Go perseverence on those 205lb squats!!
Today was squat day and it was fantastic. I repeated the same weights from last week, but this week I had knee wraps which were AMAZING. My right knee has been making this crunchy sound for the past few months when I do any kind of bending (walking, going up stairs, squats, deadlifts, everything...) so I decided to finally invest in some knee wraps. My jumper's knee brace was helping, but not quite cutting it. These wraps are just wonderful.
Squats
5 @ 87.5, 110, 132.5, 152.5, 2x5 @ 180, 10 @ 135
10, 12, 15 @ 120
Lunges
3x10 @ 600 -
slept most of yesterday, when i wasn't rolling my shoulders and upper back against the wall with a small rubber ball for the kinks. then i woke up long enough to eat, take a hot bath and a muscle relaxant, and sleep some more. i also retro-checked what my november goals had been since this is my last day for ticking those off.
seems like it paid off. workout b:
squats: 1x5x45, 2x5x65, 5x5x95. NINETY FIVE. these were hard work, but only the very last rep of the very last set was close to what you'd call bad form. i'm claiming it anyway. spending warmup time just hanging out down in the hole and activating those bounce muscles with body weight before i dive in really seems like a keeper as far as routines go, to me.
ohp: 1x5x30, 2x5x45, 5x5x50. these weren't very graceful, but i realised i've been hanging back on ohp and not even trying to push thing for quite some time. and i started the month at 50lb, so i kind of did want to finish it there instead of going backwards.
deadlifts: 1x5x80, 5x5x100. i'm deviating from instructions with deadlifts, and mehdi can bite me. november goal was to work on form at whatever deload would let me do that without hurting myself. 100 pounds seems to be it, and the 5x5 format is so i can get locked on the form. even so . . . stringing 5 deadlift reps into a set isn't too easy by the time the 5th rep comes round.0 -
Due to unforeseen circumstances (*cough* argument with roommate *cough*), I didn't have a whole lot of time at the gym tonight, so my workout was cut short. But it felt really good to be back -- this rest week felt uber-long!
Squats -- Warm ups: 1x5 @ 45, 65, 85, 95; Working sets 5x5 @ 105 lbs.
- I'm trying some new stuff with my form, so did a lot more warm up sets than usual. Also trying to be careful with the adductor which feels pretty much OK, but reminds me it's there every once in while, even after a week off.
- I brought my feet in quite a bit, to just outside shoulder-width, and turned them out to about 30º, which seems to help take the adductor out of the lift. Also concentrated on simply lifting my *kitten*, as if it's being pulled up by a chain, on the way up, rather than thinking about trying to push through the floor, or my abductors/glutes/hammies. Also helped a surprising amount with my form overall. Finally, I concentrated on the extension / upward movement the whole time, rather than thinking about the descent. This also was really helpful. All tips from Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe.
Bench Press -- Warmups + Working Sets: 5, 5, 5, 4, 3 @ 82.5
- My first "roll of shame" tonight! I wasn't embarrassed, but it was way more uncomfortable than I expected. That bar hurts as it rolls from boobs to ribcage to stomach and over the hip bones! Geez! Got through three on the final set and knew I wasn't going to get more so called it.
Row -- Didn't have time for these.
Not a *great* night at the gym, but definitely not awful either. Feeling good about changes to my squat form and looking forward to experimenting more.
On to December, Folks!
xo,
C.0 -
Since December's isn't up yet, I'll add today's workout along with Saturday's to this one.
Saturday, Nov 29, Workout B
Squats 75 lbs 5x5
OHP 50 lbs 5x5
Deadlift 85 lbs 5x5
Monday, Dec 1, Workout A
Squats 80 lbs 5x5
Bench 55 lbs 5x5
Rows 55 lbs 5x5
Both days felt great, so I will be going up on all lifts the next time I do them.0 -
@crabada, your attitude is always so amazing. Keep putting up dem numbers, girls.
@coltsgirl, excellent work getting right back into it.0 -
Agree about Crabada, she is awesome!
And thank you, it feels good to be back in the swing of things!0 -
Aw - you gals are so nice! Not sure what I did to deserve your comments, but thank you! 0
-
You and I tend to have some of the same issues while lifting, so I like getting input from you, plus you lift more weight than I do, so that is motivation!
0 -
Crabada - Rock Climbing sounds brilliant!!
I did not lift last week...but this week, I am back!! I decided to re-do the workout from a fortnight ago, to master the form some more.
Do you ladies ever have problems holding the Oly bar such that your hands are equidistant (from the point of lifting) at both ends of the bar? On two occasions, I noticed that the bar was leaning too much on one end, while I was dead-lifting and bench pressing. I now have to intentionally focus not to do this - weird!0 -
The Oly bars at my gym have changes in texture to help you keep them centered. I pay close attention to where I place my hands because it makes a huge difference on the lift.0
-
Do you ladies ever have problems holding the Oly bar such that your hands are equidistant (from the point of lifting) at both ends of the bar?
i totally depend on the rough patches of the bar to tell me where my hands go. but even so on the squat i can duck myself under it and find myself come up off-centre a bit. plus, i'm weaker on the left . . . it's embarrassing when one side of your squat bar clangs on the rails and the other side doesn't, down in the hole.
i'm a happy person tonight. tired and overstimulated and i feel like i'm in a rat race making dinner at almost 10pm after the gym, but i kept going straight past home tonight and went to the gym and i did my lifting. workout a. general comment: i rode today, and it was cold. airwalk takkies might be great for lifting but they freeze your feet off at minus 4 celsius when you're on a bike. ride back was a little warmer, but i still feel like i came in and got started a little bit stiff today, just from the ride. first time i've lifted in these flat-soled shoes which might have confused me a little wrt my form, as well. it went pretty well though.
squats: 2x5@45, 2x5@65, 6x5@95. pretty sure it was 6 sets. i was still warming up when someone came to ask how long i would be so i offered to let him work in. that always throws my counting off, but once he was done and went away again i did an extra set just to be sure. but it also meant it was easier to just ask for 25s on my turns, than do all that math and ask him for two tens and a fractional . . . . so i repeated the 95 whether i would have done that all on my own, or not. and i guess sunday wasn't a fluke. i'm not going to say it was painless, but it was all pretty solid. also, after my work sets, i was so enamoured of my new form discoveries i switched back to 65 and did about 12 more reps, just reminding my body for next time as well. plus, switching plates back and forth for my work-in buddy was a bit of a warmup in its own right. =
rows: blagh. 2x5@50, 5x5@70. up 10 from last time because i'm lazy and those were the plates i could find. bumper plates were available so yay for a little bit more like the correct height. and as usual, they were horribly hard but i don't know why. i *tried* not to cheat, but i just don't get rows. i've decided, maybe, to forget about the lats and just treat them as an unnecessarily stupid and complicated form of core work . . . because i looked sideways in the mirror and i could definitely see that there's a specific kind of braced-core feeling that levels my back when i'm shaped up for rows. without it, i tend to develop a dip at around where the ribcage begins. which just can't be good. so whatever, i'll just call them planks from now on and keep doing them.
bench: 2x5@45, 5x5@65. same ol' same ol'. i did try one set at 70 and got four reps which was more than i'd thought i would get. but the 5th one wasn't there and with bench i'm seriously interested in not ripping my left arm off at the shoulder and/or not dropping the bar on my face. so i called that a 65 set and took the two fractionals off for the rest of the lift.
did some deadlifting with my row bar, in between sets it's a form thang. other than that, no more time and i just came home. it really isn't easy fitting the logistics of lifting in around all this working nonsense. 0 -
Hate to break it to you gals, but it's December already! Mosey on over to the new thread! 0
This discussion has been closed.