well, i dithered all day about going, but in the end i did went. and so far i'm glad.

workout a (mostly).

squats 2x5@45, 2x5@65, 5x5@70. that grip vid i posted . . . it helped me so much. main things: wrists straight with the bar ACROSS the palm, elbows UP to get the bar off the rack. it was unbelievable how comfortable all of that was, and how easy 70lbs felt like that. in between sets i kept stretching out my rhomboids and upper back, and getting under the bar to do this first-rib-hell move from kelly starrett that i found last night.

bench: 2x5@45, 2x5@50, 5x5@55. i'm really happy with bench. there's a thing i seem to have figured out how to do after unracking it, kind of a pause to settle my shoulders all the way back into their sockets and kind of 'expose' the whole range of my pecs before i start in. 55 felt about 10lbs short of what i might have been able to do, but i stayed where i could feel like the whole thing was smooth.

rows: 2x5@30, 5x5@50. rows are going to be where there'll be a problem if there's still going to be a problem of any kind. all the pinch and the tweak feels like it's somewhere in my left lat or maybe the lowest point of that trap. but my symmetry is better across the shoulders and elbows, and i kept them light specifically because of that. i did one or two really half-hearted experiments at deadlifting, but decided to skip it today.

i'm also skipping the pulldown machine from now on. instead i finished up by setting the smith machine bar as high as it goes, and then just hanging off it for a few seconds at a time to add more stretch to my shoulder capsule and watching myself very closely in the mirror to make sure of my symmetry. it felt wonderful and my shoulders feel better right now than they have since forever-ago. i did do a few rounds of 'activating' my whole shoulder girdle from that hang position as well, just the first move of a pullup type thing - but only that very first activation movement, and only three or four reps of it for a couple of sets. i was doing it more for the active-stretching feel than for anything else, and ohhhhh it was good

Derby day today. It was hell :P 30ish mins of off skates conditioning, which is core work, proprioception, HIIT drills with ladders and such, and plank variations. Then an hour of on skates drills, followed by 90 minutes of scrimmage. We only had 2 subs, so not much rest time. It was a great time, but took a couple big hits, so now I ache all over, and I am just starting my week of night shift.

This week is going to be challenging to hit my protein targets as I will be sleeping through lunch. But since I work nights every 3-4 weeks, I need to figure it out.

Some great workouts going on here ladies xx

Lifted tonight with Mr Psych! Took twice as long, had to wait for my squat rack, and he didn't unrack his weights.....but it was nice to have some company!

Squat 5x5 @ 150lbs
OHP 5x5 @ 66lbs
Deadlift 1x5 @ 190lbs - this was a deload and felt great!

I have some crazy chest/shoulder DOMS from yesterday... Dem offset push-ups O_o Anyways, GBB 17 - Density done! Only 8 workouts left to this program now !

12 min AMRAP:
- Assisted "power repeat" pull-ups x5
- 12' Box Pike Press x5
- 30lbs KB Goblet cossack squats x5/leg

Managed 6 round and 5 pike presses. Had on note that the last time around I did 7 rounds and 3 pull-ups (at home, with a 20lbs DB), so I added 5 more squats and 3 more chin-ups to make it up. I really wanted to feel like I was besting myself, I guess haha. Such sweat, much work, oof!

Then attacked this stupid burpee ladder (time cap 10 mins, but I decided to finish it and took 12;11)

Burpees x 30, 20, 10, 5
KB Ground 2 overhead x 5, 10, 15, 20

I was at 2 on the last set of burpees when I hit 10 minutes. Obv. my pace kinda slowed after that. I might have to start working on those burpees again, my endurance is def. not there!

Finished with some band chin-ups with only my red band. Still trying to hit 4, still only getting up about 3/4 of the way on that last rep. Then did 14 hanging hollow swings, 14 hanging knee raises, and managed to hold myself up like 40s on the bar. Tried to throw in some GHRs (6 and 5) but i'm really not sure about my form on these and the last rep was more in the back of my knees and calves than glutes. Will have to watch some vids on these but they sure as hell are hard!

It's always great top see you guys consistently reporting in! 1. Makes me feel like I'm not alone (even tho I'm crazy and apparently make you guys feel tired just reading my stuff) and 2. Seeing everyone push ahead makes me just that much more motivated to go and kill it the next day!

Kepp up the great work gals =D

Forgot to check in after my workout on Friday.

Friday: Workout B
Squats 5x5 at 155#. Felt good, real good.
OHP 5x5 at 90#. I'm feeling pretty good here. I think I'll stick here for a few more lifting sessions before trying 95#.
Deadlifts 1x5 at 190#.
Decided to test my 1RM after this while I had it all set up. Pulled 200, 205, 210, and 215. That makes my new 1RM 215 (up from 205 in November). I tried to pull 220, but I couldn't lock out at the top before my grip gave out on me. Oh well. I'll keep pulling and working. I'm gonna hang out at 190 for my working weight for a bit before going to 195.

Today: Workout A with some accessory lifts.
Squats 5x5 at 160#. First set felt really tough, but the rest felt great. GOnna hang out here for the week before bumping up to 165. (This is going to be my norm for a bit because I want to make sure my form doesn't fall apart again.)
Bench 5x5 at 105#. I decided to hang out here again before going to 107.5 or 110. The first 3-4 sets felt pretty easy, but the last set almost got me (again). I did the 3 min rest period between sets again. I think I need to spend a few sessions (maybe 2 weeks here) before I bump up in weight.
Rows 5x5 at 100#.

Accessory lifts:
3x10 ATG squats with 50#.
3x16 lunges with 50#.
5x10 decline bench with 65#.
3x10 lat pulldown with 100#.
3x10 cable row with 90# first set, 80# the other 2 sets.

glwerth wrote: »

GAH! Second dead lift day when I couldn't complete my reps.

I don't know if I'm having trouble mentally or physically. I'm going to give it one more day at 245 and deload if I can't make the reps next time.

On everything else, I'm plugging along. Made 170 on squats (5x5) which seems great to me.

That's some impressive weight, though!

I may have hurt something I my lower back this morning, it's so stiff now, and I feel the paiiiiiin. Hu.

Ok, so I am mostly a lurker... and I am technically not doing actual strong lifts program for various consistancy, logistical and other reasons (read that as "lame excuses" please).

BUT... I was proud of myself today and figured I would tell a group of people who at least would maybe appreciate this somewhat... Normally, when I do bench press it's at the beginning of my workout, before I get too worn down from other stuff. Today, due to bench availability at this silly gym I am at while traveling, it was nearly the last thing I did, so I wasn't expecting anything too great. However... My last set was at 80lbs!!! yay!

MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »

That's some impressive weight, though![/quote]

Thanks! I'm working hard and not increasing as fast as I used to, but I feel strong.

So I was sick for the last part of last week. Decided to have another me weekend of laziness and too much food. Blah. Getting back onto the deficit wagon for awhile and training up for my 5k in May (last year at that race I got just over 41 minutes and I would like to beat it).
Workout A, I probably should have deloaded a bit after a week off but meh I'll just fail a bit

Squat 180 lbs 5/5/4/3/4 these were lack luster
Bench 95 lbs 3x7 2x1 I was trying to add some volume to try to bust past this plateau; we will see how that works out
Row 95 lbs 5x5 but I didn't like the last rep on most of my sets so I will repeat 95 lbs next time.