lacklustre kind of performance today, with my head not really in it at any point. i also stopped at the alternate gym instead of my regular one, which for some reason always makes it harder for me to find my focus. pre-and-post stretching options are limited which also affects things a lot. i cut it short after a while and came home.

squats: 3x5@45, 5x5@70. up five after a few workouts at 65. still don't really feel like i've got my form together, but i was okay going up. i also tried out 95 again just standing up, and i have no clue how i ever managed to squat that much weight.

bench: 3x5@45. like i said, just not really into it. i went for water after the third set and someone scooted in while i was gone, but i just left them to it.

deadlift: 3x1@100 with the 35lb plates, then a couple more at 120.

i did some one-sided dumbbell work on the left only: 3x5@12.5 of bicep curls, press and rows.

also, a bit of time on the power-clean project and that's how i decided about my left-hand policy from now on. i used the 30lb bar and was just taking it from my thighs up to the rack position, but in really really really slow motion so i could look at my symmetry. fecking awful, that's what. i'm going to keep doing drills at this with every workout, at this speed, for the foreseeable future.

Despite the genereal not-feeling-it feeling, some kickass workoutds have been logged during the last few days. Congrats girls!

I was in the same not-feeling-it mood the last few days and I almost skipped gym and workout AGAIN this morning because of an another crappy night of sleep. I tried to go back to sleep after a three and half hours of sleep night, but I was not able to fall back asleep. so I got up 20 minutes later and went to the gym anyway. I have mixed feelings about this workout. I tought about deloading a little to compensate the lack of sleep, but I finally didn't. Squats were ok, but I had to deload a little on the OHP and I failed my last rep on DL (it just didn't move. not an inch! wtf? I did it four times and then, the last rep? nothing. that was weird). Still, I'm proud because I did it.

Husband called me at the exact moment I was back in the locker room and putting things in my bag, so I could notice the phone ringing. That's probably the reason you marry people, because they feel when it's the exact moment to give you a call. So, I complained a little about my DL fail and all, but he told me: "At this point, going to the gym this morning was the victory. The rest doesn't matter."

So I'll take it this way.

Here's the workout breakdown

Adaptive Motion Trainer: 15 minutes

Squats: 1x5 @ 45, 1x5 @ 65, 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 100, 5x5 @ 120. 120 still feel really heavy, and my heart pulse at 160 when I'm done with a set (my HRM usually encourages me to stay below 156, so it's intense). Will repeat for sure.

OHP: 1x5 @ 45, 2x5 @ 50, 3x5 @ 45. I did'nt fail at 50, but I would if I had done another set, so I deload to 45. As everyone else, I seem to struggle with this more then everything else.

Deadlift: 1x5 @ 45, 1x5 @ 100, 1x4 @ 125.

Accessories:

Farmer's walk: 4 @ 35, 2 @‌ 55

Plank 80 seconds on the BOSU

Then stretch and foam rolling. I was foam rolling like crazy because I just didn't want to leave the gym and get in the trouble of taking a shower and everything. That's how much tired I was.

@DaivaSimone --- the farmer's walks sound awesome for improving grip strength. I think I am going to try them!! How far/long do you walk with them?

Squat 5x8 105 (will increase on Monday)
Bench 5x5 65 (somewhat sloppy; repeat this weight)
Row 5x5 75

Convict Conditioning Pullups Step 3: Jackknife Pullups 3x15
Convict Conditioning Pushups Step 3 Knee Pushups 3x10
Deadlift 1x5 75 (just for fun)

Have a great weekend everyone! I turn 51 tomorrow. Gonna celebrate tonight with Thai dinner out with Hubby and friends over tomorrow night. Spring is coming!!!

My workout yesterday was my first fail - technically... although after talking to some of my women friends I was surprised to find that most have failed earlier than this. (I finished week 6 yesterday) I do 5x5 with my husband and he does so much heavier weights than me, its hard for me to keep it in perspective sometimes.

My squat was 1x5 @ 45, 1x5 @ 95, 5x5 @‌ 130
My OHP was 1x5 @ 45, 1x5 @ 65, 5,5,4,5,3 @ 80
My DL was 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @‌ 175

Anyways, cheers to that! I'm already dreading BP and Rows on Sunday, cause I'm on the verge of failing both of those too. However, there is something mentally liberating about failing... i just like, ok... I'll try again next time, and I don't have to increase, so I already know I can at least semi-lift this!

Anyways, two more weeks til my trip, which I will use as a recovery week, with just cardio, and maybe some very light lifting, if the hotels have a Smith machine or something like that in their gyms. Can't wait!

canadianlbs wrote: »

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

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 )

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).

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.

Hi folks. New to 5x5 and loving it.

A

Squats 65 lbs
BP 55 lbs
Row 50 lbs

40 minutes of Zumba

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!!

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.

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 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 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.

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

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.