Daily Check-in : It's the Fitness Fever-ary

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  • bepeejaye
    bepeejaye Posts: 775 Member
    fothers365 wrote: »
    I also read somewhere someone recommending thumbless grip so I played around with that but the bar felt less secure.

    i don't think thumbless is safe with the overhead press. ohp and bench are the ones where, if the bar does slip, you're the thing that it's going to hit first. don't think it's advice i would follow, myself :p

    Oh, I think I will try the thumbless grip on Monday!
    I have read that one is just as unsafe as another, depending on the use. Thank you ladies!!

    Today was great! I get every other Friday off, so I can go in early today, and I did! I had the squat rack all to myself, and no one for miles! Was listening to Britney Spears' " Work B%&^h!" (Sorry for the expletive, but it does pump me up :D )

    I also improved my squat form even more. I kept thinking, "Bottom (pardon me) out first as you go down...you are sitting on this nice chair."

    I also changed my warm-up from walking on an incline on the treadmill to Jumping Jacks, Lunges, Fire Hydrants, Leg-to-Ceiling, Bridges etc to help with my Squats).
  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
    My last SL 5x5 session for awhile
    Workout A
    Squat 150lbs 5x5
    Bench 95 lbs 3/3/4/3/2
    Row 85 lbs 5x5

    Not really spectacular but I am really excited for starting 5/3/1 next week.
  • TravelsWithHuckleberry
    TravelsWithHuckleberry Posts: 955 Member
    edited February 2015
    Haven't lifted since Monday. :( School stuff has been crazy, and I've also been having some serious lower back / hip / abductor pain -- like wake me up at night it's so bad kind of pain. I had a muscle relaxer prescription called in with the hopes that will help. I'm in Utah all next week -- will try to find a gym and do a deloaded workout, but will have to play it by ear. I don't want to push too hard and sideline myself. But already dreading the ten hour drive and the hours spent sitting conducting these interviews.

    Bottom line, when you're not in the mood or things are sucking, remember that I'd rather be lifting! :) (Not meant in a sh!tty way -- in a motivational way!)

    xo,
    C.
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    Morning exercise went well. Tried out my new running shoes on this 3 mile section I used to walk. I even jogged twice for different lengths of time. Rained a bit but wasn't too cold. The jogging is getting easier as I lose weight. 30 lbs ago when I first attempted to jog a little on the same route, it felt so much more awkward and difficult. Yay for improvement.

    Then... well, I got called in to work on my day off. Last time I had a day off was last friday because I took someone else's shift on Wednesday. My next day off is set for Wednesday, so hopefully I'll get it. While it's a lot of working in a row, I may get lucky then because we are switching when my day off is set up. The work week is Thursday-Wednesday, so I am scheduled to have Wednesday (as was the old schedule) then Thursday and Friday off (which will be the new schedule). I'm going to need some days off, I'm getting tired.

    What is with the gym blahness going on around here. This time the gym after work wasn't so great. Squat racks were busy, so that was the last lift instead of first. During them my back decided to act up. I'm icing it now, it's just a bit achy. Goes well with the cramps from being female. *sighs*

    Day 7, A4

    Push-up 2x12 at the walkway rail
    Seated row 2x12 @ 60 - solid but not too heavy

    Step-up 2x12 @ 20 - increased and felt fine
    PJ 2x10 - correct reps this time, hehe

    Squat 2x12 @ 105 - okay but back cranky

    No accessories tonight.
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
    Go in 2 rounds (out of the 3 I wanted) of my active recovery routine. Will probably knock 1-2 more out once I'M back from the long drive. It does take me from board-stiff to mobile-ish within just a few minutes ^^
  • fothers365
    fothers365 Posts: 59 Member
    A today

    5x5 squats 65kg
    BP should have been 37.5kg but wasn't going well so deload to 36kg and 3x5 2x4
    Rows 42.5kg 5x5

    OHP on Monday :neutral_face: my nemisis.
  • LaarainNYC
    LaarainNYC Posts: 90 Member
    Hi folks. New to 5x5 and loving it.

    A

    Squats 65 lbs
    BP 55 lbs
    Row 50 lbs

    40 minutes of Zumba


  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    Last one of the month.

    Workout B (Sat)


    Overhand Bicep Curls - seated 5 x 5 - 105

    Reverse Curls 5 x 5 - 100

    Bench press - 5 x 1 - 90

    Bench press - 5 x 5 - 85

    squats 5 x 2 - 145

    squats 5 x 2 - 165 (acceptable but staying here till 100% satisfied with my form)

    Deadlifts 1 x 3 - 180 (I eeked out these 3 but then I went back to 175 and did a set of 5, maybe next time)

    Deadlifts 1 x 5 - 175
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    Cardio day - 5km run done. Couldn't find a happy pace, was too fast then too slow. Meh. But it's done. Man, I thought running the day after deadlifts was bad enough, but running with severe arm DOMS was sooooo much worse!!
  • barneychavez
    barneychavez Posts: 30 Member
    Tried out some barbell hip thrusts for the first time. Kinda hard to do with the ez curl bars. Rows getting much better. Did some good mornings too, want to make sure my form is perfect before going up. Also did some bench press with the actual bar, couldn't make it to 5x5. Back to 20 lb dumbbells! Squats up to 85x5 now.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    Squats: 2x5@45, 1x3@75, 5x5@105
    Bench: total clusterf--k. Was supposed to do 80lbs, and had struggled at 75lbs. Really rough night Thursday into Friday (little one was up at 4am). Wife let me sleep in today but I still felt sluggish. So I was ok on squats but starting to drag, and the first set I only managed 4 very messy reps. Then I managed 5, barely, and on the third set my arms gave out and I nearly got stuck under the bar. I managed to stay calm and roll the bar down but it was scary as all hell. I took a few minutes to rest, then deloaded to 65lbs and did two sets of 5. I knew I had to keep going and not be scared but holy crap. From now on if the weight room is empty I am using the power rack since it has safety arms.
    Rows: 5x5@80 on a deload (partly because I was still shaken by my bench fail and partly to work on form).

    3x8 assisted pull-ups (using a chair and the pull-up bar).

    Lesson of the day: don't get cocky on any lift, and if you feel crappy it's ok to deload. And don't be too proud to yell for help if you get pinned by a bar.
  • a_stronger_steph
    a_stronger_steph Posts: 434 Member
    Well, I was supposed to lift on Friday, but ended up in a union meeting that lasted hours. Didn't much feel much like lifting afterwards, because the result of the meeting is that we're now on strike.

    Today I did my long run (I'm training for an ultra marathon). I split it into two. First I did 13km outside, which is a bit of a big deal for me because I've been super chicken this winter. It's been around -25 in Ontario for ages, and today it was finally both sunny and only -7 (-12 with windchill!). Practically balmy. I was stupid, though, and went down to the lake where it was windier. Brrrr. Then I finished the second half, 12km, on the treadmill. So, 25km done in total today! Now for more food.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    yet more proof of the rule that sometimes it's the workouts you don't really think you'll enjoy . . . i went in thinking that all i was going to do was execute all of the lifts in super-slow motion and see what it showed of my form. but that went so well that in between that i ended up racking up a legitimate workout-a too.

    squats: 2x5@45, 2x5@65, 5x5@75. so another 5lb increase, and all my fingers are crossed that the corner's been turned. i was really concentrating on pushing off harder than usual with my left leg, but still 75lbs felt quite easy. feel confident of repeating it next time or even maybe another increase. couple of points:
    - here's a big thing. once i've got the bar on my shoulders and i've stepped back, i take a breath and bring my ribcage up. then i just spend a couple of seconds like that, because there's always small stuff that's too tight to really be comfortable. i try and let those spots settle out before i start in on the rep.
    - i realized in the middle of one of the sets that i was letting my eyes drop to my own knees again - bad habit picked up in my first four or five months. bringing them back to a point further in front of me on the floor made a major difference to the remaining sets that i did. big boost to the hip drive, and i imagine it helped me to keep my back tight as well.
    - i've been getting sloppy about the glute-clench at the start of the lift. even if it has to come undone while i'm on my way down, it helps me to square up my hips and get straight before starting so i'm giong to try to get this back into my auto-routine.

    bench: 4x5@45, 5x5@55. whoo hoo! it has been so long since i benched anything more than the bar. monster trigger-point flare in one pec, back flakery, the way that most of my form seemed to have gotten away from me again, all kindsa stuff. today i did several empty-bar sets like usual, and then i just decided to get over myself and move up. turned out i did the full five without any problems at all and on this one too, expecting to either repeat or go up to 60 next time. notes: benching is almost like doing a plank upside down. glutes, abs, solid legs - what a difference these make. also rippetoe's info about the mechanics of optimal pec/humerus angle were in my mind a whole lot. not because they reminded me to do something right ;-) more because i got it right by accident and that made me remember his points.

    rows: 5x5@50. yup, i'm back to doing the pendlay-row thing. actually wanted to, after my time with the bench because now i'm neurotic about making sure my back gets equal time with my front. also, i made a major form discovery when i was slo-mo'ing my power clean stuff, i.e. i *kitten* my left wrist inwards towards my own body something fierce when i'm pulling a weight. you might not think it means much. i didn't all this time, obviously. but once i laid it on myself to straighten that wrist - and keep it straight, dammit - i could pretty much tell that it must have been at least part of my total problem with rows as well. pulling straight up with straight arms was a whole lot harder but i did the whole 5x5, even coming at the end of everything else that i'd done. so i'll try 55 the next time and see how that goes. i'm on a mission for anything that strengthens my upper back too.

    extras: kind of mixed in and among the official sl part of the day.

    ohp: i don't think it was ohp day, but after my squats i did three or four sets of 3-5 at ex-treme-ly-slow speed with the 45lb bar, with a long pause at the top with my shoulders shrugged up. i wanted to watch my form and keep myself even, more than anything else. i'll tell ya, taking 5-10 seconds to push the bar up and then lower it again can take it out of you too. i only managed three reps on some of the sets, but it was just a form check kind of process to me anyway. then the bench became free so i moved over and did that one formally.

    powerclean project: once again did the sllllllloooooooooowwww hang clean move idk, probably 4x5 with the 30lb bar. i wasn't really looking for the rack at the end of it this time around, although i did make it. it was more just to watch myself bringing the bar up and shooting my elbows under. holy crud, what a mess. and what a seriously good thing i didn't just jump into this and start whipping the bar up and down. the weight per se is hardly a problem for me, but the pathways my body would have been taking to do it, oy vey. left side weakness again, and i could see that being very bad for my back on this one. so still happy to put in the time and feel like i'm doing something that will pay off in more ways than just this one lift.

    deadlift: not a serious deadlifting day either, i guess. but i'm on a bit of a glute-strength mission right now, and again i feel like my deadlift form has been getting all kinds of 'away' from me. so i put together a 70lb bar with the big trainee plates, and did a straight 5x5 sets with it.

    pullups/hangs: did some of this too.

    sorry for long wall of text. i plead the fact that i haven't posted excessively much in february and i have some leeway by now ;-)
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
    @canadianlbs‌ - when you say c-o-c-k (I assume that is what the censors are taking out :P) your wrist, do you mean like curl it toward your body? Because I have noticed I am doing that toward the end as a sort of "cheater" to get the bar closer to my chest. One of the reasons I want to deload this month.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    mirrim52 wrote: »
    @canadianlbs‌ - when you say c-o-c-k (I assume that is what the censors are taking out :P) your wrist, do you mean like curl it toward your body?

    yup, that's what i do, all the way off the floor. and clever reading :D it took me a while to figure out what their problem must have been. idek why i was doing it, but i think it must have something to do with the tightness in my triceps on that side. i found out just recently that the long head of your triceps goes from the outside edge of your shoulderblade down to your forearm, so you use it to pull your elbow back. and i know mine will do anything to get out of that job.

    i have much higher hopes for rows now that i've got this one obviously-wrong thing to try and keep right. interested to hear what your findings are if you decide to try keeping yours straight as well.

  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    Then I managed 5, barely, and on the third set my arms gave out and I nearly got stuck under the bar. I managed to stay calm and roll the bar down but it was scary as all hell. I took a few minutes to rest, then deloaded to 65lbs and did two sets of 5. I knew I had to keep going and not be scared but holy crap. From now on if the weight room is empty I am using the power rack since it has safety arms.
    Lesson of the day: don't get cocky on any lift, and if you feel crappy it's ok to deload. And don't be too proud to yell for help if you get pinned by a bar.

    Hope your okay, this is my biggest fear :o
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
    If you are nervous about getting stuck under the bar, press in the power rack, or practice the "roll of shame". Practice on purpose, so you know what to do when you can't get the bar back up and you don't panic :)
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    mirrim52 wrote: »
    If you are nervous about getting stuck under the bar, press in the power rack, or practice the "roll of shame". Practice on purpose, so you know what to do when you can't get the bar back up and you don't panic :)

    Agreed. I was just glad I had read about the roll of shame and knew what to do!
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    yeah, never mind all that yammer from me about triceps muscles. i'm too lame and body-dyslexic to be listened to. do i even lift bro?

    triceps don't bend your elbow. they straighten it. still and all, anything tight in the teres or triceps or lats seems to make rows an uncomfortable process for me.
  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    What is the 'roll of shame?'