Daily check in - NoVEmbeR give up!
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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,
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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!
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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!
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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
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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
