Workout check-in - April-tle bit more awesome

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  • Had a conflict for my regular lifting time, so I'll be going to the gym T/Th/Sa this week. Took Huck for an hour+ walk around town -- after an amazing, don't even want to know how many calories dinner. Nice to move, enjoy the warm night, wander in the dark, and listen to some good music. 66 minutes total.
  • ScientificExplorerGirl
    ScientificExplorerGirl Posts: 535 Member
    edited April 2015
    Hi everyone! I'm back from my week away and back to lifting (yesterday)! I really missed lifting but I think the break was good for me too. My left shoulder had been feeling a bit "wonky" but after this rest, it feels much better and stronger. I took the suggested deload on my lifts. All of my lefts felt good and slightly easy, which I guess is a good sign!

    So, in addition to running just over three miles yesterday morning, I did the following lifts:

    Squat 6x5 @ 95 lbs
    OHP 5x5 @ 50 lbs
    DL 1x5 @ 95 lbs

    Goblet Squat 3x10 @ 30 lbs.
    I'm loving the goblet squats. I really feel total core engagement with these as well as gluts, quads, and hammies.

    Well ladies, you all rock as usual! I am looking forward to an awesome Summer sharing in all of our victories :)
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    Workout A yesterday.

    Squats 5x5 at 155#. I went into the gym feeling smoked from Sunday's long workout, but I was able to get these. They felt pretty good too.
    Bench 5x5 at 115#!!!! YAYAYAYAY! I can't believe I actually got these. The last 2 reps weren't the prettiest, but I got them!
    Rows 5x5 at 80#.

    Accessories
    Narrow lat pull down 1x10 at 80#, 4x10 at 90#.
    Bench flyes 3x10 at 20# each hand.
    Tricep overhead extension 1x20 at 20#, 2x10 at 20#.
  • tracyledyard
    tracyledyard Posts: 69 Member
    On week 4. 90# squat, 75# BP, 70# BR.
  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
    Ohp day 5
    50 lbs x 5, 55 lbs x 5, 65 lbs x 5
    3x8 45 lbs emotm
    Then 12/9/6/3 of
    Clean 65lbs
    Db rows 20 lbs
    Assisted pullups
    Plank

    Felt pretty good aside from some left over doms from yesterday's deadlifts. Really felt it during the cleans.
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
    Nyah, should've rested today

    12 min to 1RM Clean
    65x3, 75x2, 85x2, 95x1, 105x1, 115x1, 125x fail + re-fail
    I then waited 3 minutes or so and decided to be stubborn and try it again because, FFS, I've done this weight before! And I got it. In the ugliest of ways. Only a power clean. It cleaned me out.

    12 min to 2RM OHP
    Oh, OHP... Oh Odious Horrible Press
    45x5, 55x5, 65x3, 75x3, 85x2, 90xfail (seriously? Barely got it off my shoulders even though I felt my grip was strong and I braced like hell)... waited til 12 min was almost up. I'm pretty sure I did this for 3 the last time around. Grrr. And i got it. Albeit used a little body english on the first rep.

    12 min EMOTM
    ODD: -> 4 muscle up (trx rows w/ transition + triceps extension) & 2 burpee broad jumps
    EVEN -> 10, 7, 9 box side step ups, then 10, 8, 6 of trx assisted pistols / leg

    Can't win them all, right? I want a nap. And food...
  • Deena_Bean
    Deena_Bean Posts: 906 Member
    Lift day for me - standard quick cardio warmup first...
    Squat: 2x5x45, 1x3x85, 5x5x130
    OHP: 2x5x45, 5x5x80
    Dead: 1x5x160

    I almost failed everything at one point today - I just felt super weak and not capable. I think I need to drop back down some and apply pressure to form again. I can tell that my squats at 85 in the warmups are good, but my form at 130 waivers. My left knee almost always turns in a bit and I feel like I could probably get a little lower. I may try to record myself this coming Sunday (I don't have time to mess with recordings during the week - too rushed with the AM workout). OHP form is definitely becoming more of push press than OHP, I have to dip a little to get the weight up. Deadlifts, I felt my back rounding this morning. I was in total wimp-mode. I got through them with shoddy form, but I think two things are in order: a solid rest day and a deload. Sigh.
  • dcresider
    dcresider Posts: 1,272 Member
    edited April 2015
    I started week 7 yesterday. Today I may bike/spin at the gym. I do miss cardio and feel the best time to that is on Friday's after the workout of the week, but can't this week as we are heading out of town.

    Squats: 5x5x 120 - felt good but think I will stay at this weight for the week.

    Bench Press: 5x5x 80 - finished well but may stay on this weight for the week.

    Barbell Row: 5x5x 95 - this was hard this week so plan on staying here for the week. Form looked horrible but I finished all 5 sets.
  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    Squat: 140 (5x5). After doing a form check at 135 and 140, I think I need to stay at this weight for a while or even deload. I'm not getting the depth needed. The weight has started to really get heavy for me since 125!!! Started to have a forward lean as well and was struggling to get to parallel last week and this week.

    Bench: stayed at 75. Started hitting failure after set 3. I did better last week than this week. Gonna stick with 75.

    Barbell Row: Attempted 105, and it just wasn't gonna happen. I've been struggling since 85-95 lbs but started filming myself for form checks at 95. Hasn't sit right with me, so I did a major deload and went down to 75 lbs. 75 lbs felt fantastic & I was able to crank out all 5 sets of 5 rep.

    Moral of the story: don't let pride get in the way of proper form and safety! The gains with this program are fantastic, but I wish I would have started filming myself sooner!

    Thank you, I'm not the only one! I've noticed the same thing the last couple of weeks! My mind has been messing with my head lately and my form has been severely suffering. It feels like I'm going backwards, especially with my squats. Failed with the OHP (another 4 letter word!) a few weeks back and that started the whole downward spiral. I'm considering a deload on all 5...
  • LaarainNYC
    LaarainNYC Posts: 90 Member
    Stronglifts A

    Squat 4x5 @150; I'm deloading on these because I'm really nervous about safety. Bench press machine: 1x5 @ 350 lb

    BP. 65 3x5, 2 x4 My fractional plates finally arrived so no more of this I hope!

    Row 70 5 ×5

    Plank 3 @ 30 seconds
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    For grins and giggles, I decided to test myself on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). For anyone who doesn't know, it's 2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups, and a 2 mile run. To pass, you have to get 60 points on each "section" with a minimum score of 180/300 points. I ended up scoring 212/300, with 25 push-ups, 53 sit-ups, and 2 miles in 17:53.
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    @xcalygrl you're killing it hun!!

    I see a lot of ladies struggling with having to deload, or needing to deload - its a mental game, but seriously your body will tell you when you need to take a break, listen to it - you do as much good by resting as you do by working! And when you fail a weight several times, use the experience of deloading and working back up as a chance to perfect your form, to do them better with better form, or faster, or more efficient, or with less time in between sets - all of these are still progressing, just a slightly different way of progressing. Don't ever see a deload as a failure - nothing is a failure, its a chance to rebuild and come back even stronger!!

    xxx
  • MissHolidayGolightly
    MissHolidayGolightly Posts: 857 Member
    Just went for a run but my gps went a little nuts. I think two cell towers were fighting over it. mro5wdsfupvn.jpg

    Just kidding, I can run really fast on water, no less!
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    Workout A (Tues)

    Squats 1 x 5 - 125

    Squats 1 x 5 - 175

    Squats 5 x 5 - 195

    Squats 1 x 5 - 200

    Overhead Press, Barbell - 5 x 5 - 80

    Pendlay Row - 5 x 5 - 115
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    edited April 2015
    @xcalygrl...Nice job! ooh rah @psych101, de-loading to work on form is not failure, it is strategy, when I start intermediate (which I am closing in on fast, I was originally going to start in January pre-accident, but it is coming around my 1 year StrongLifts anniversary so that is cool too) anyway, I plan to deload on things and work on my form at least 1 day/week. It is all good.
  • indianarose2
    indianarose2 Posts: 469 Member
    Yes, you ladies are definitely awesome and motivating!!
    It's been almost 3 weeks since I was able to get a real workout in due to travel. So happy to have gotten workout B done yesterday and a walk/jog today!! Feeling great!
    All 5x5, chose to do a download which was fine:
    Squat: 60
    OHP: 40, 30, 30, 25, 25 (I've joined the OHP hate group - felt a tendon or something grind/catch at the top of the 40# = scary!! 25 felt fine I was scared I had hurt myself.)
    DL: 65
    Ok-who else watches the YouTube of mark rippetoe doing squats before/while squatting? I put my phone on the bench in front of me and I pretend we are working out together.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Ok-who else watches the YouTube of mark rippetoe doing squats before/while squatting?

    no, but i saw it and it made my weekend.

  • awkwardsoul
    awkwardsoul Posts: 222 Member
    Another cardio session since my husband needs to drill more holes in wood in the garage next to my squat rack.. making more dust. If he doesn't vacuum this time I'm not baking him cookies.

    So I did another session of GSP Rushfit, with 10lb dumbells. Turns out the isometric moves are now a piece of cake, holding a past parallel squat is a piece of cake, whereas GSP is barely squatting enough to hover over a toilet set. :p
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    Finished work early so I could lift Hahahahaha. Yup. Priorities.

    Squat 5x5x145lbs
    Ohp 5x5x70lbs
    Deadlift 1x5x200lbs then 1x1x230lbs woooooooohooooo!! I may have fist pumped and jumped around the shed when I pulled that deadlift!
  • The gym was blissfully empty today. Makes me wonder if I should switch to a T/Th/Sa schedule instead of M/W/F. I'm considering it.

    Obviously still working my way back up to my pre-thesis weights.

    Squats -- 5x5 @ 100 lbs.
    - Warmed up with super sets of squats / good mornings 3x5 @ 45
    - These felt decent weight-wise, but not exactly easy. I'll probably stay here at least one more workout, maybe two. As eager as I am to get back to my big girl plates, I do like staying at a weight for a full week before moving up. We'll see.
    - I recorded one set and was sad to see that I'm not getting as low as I *feel* like I am. I'll keep working at it.
    - Really concentrating on engaging my core all the way through the descent and ascent. That's the #1 goal for right now, until it becomes second nature.

    Bench -- 5x5 @ 65 lbs.
    - These are still relatively easy. We'll see how 67.5 lbs. feel next time -- if it's easy, I'll bump to 70 lbs.

    Rows -- 5x5 @ 65 lbs.
    - These felt much better than last week. I'm sure it had something to do with the set up. (I didn't stack plates like usual last week and they just didn't work as well.)
    - I'd like to figure out a way to record these to see if I'm keeping my back parallel to the ground. The angle from the floor won't work, so I'll have to figure out some other way to do this.

    No accessories today due to a couple of appointments. I did take Huck for a ~45 minute walk after though. It was hot (about 95 degrees) but lovely in the shade, especially after a handful of days that were in the 60s.

    Keep up all the good work, Everyone!

    xoxo,
    C.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
    I went a little earlier today and it was mobbed! Geez!

    Squat cage was very very occupied so I found other things to do...

    Ice Cream Fitness ..A? B? Now I can't remember lol

    Squats - did front squats 5x5 and OHP 5x5 w/50 fixed bar. But after doing a front squat my arms would always be tired so all my OHP were the push press type.

    Bench - deload to 55 after being off for a bit. 5x5 and 5x12 leg lowers/raises while holding up the bar and 5x15 hip popups. 55 was very easy.

    Bent-over Rows - deload to 70 which was certainly doable but acceptably challenging.

    Shrugs - 3x9 @ 70. Challenging
    Barbell Curls - 3x8 @30. Tough but manageable.
    Tricep Extensions - 3x8 @50, was tough
    Hyper Extensions - 2x10 @25 omggg I was dying

    I worked my *kitten* off today so I felt really good even though I couldn't do my normal squats, which usually makes me all ragey.
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    Long day. This morning I went to Grit Strength and managed to do some of the push ups this time as I set up a step on a bunch of risers to do incline ones. Then went to lunch with coworker at buffet place, hence the morning cardio/strength class. She wants me to help her get on track with her nutrition and might be trying out NROLFW soon. Then after spending too much time on the computer I went to the gym to lift. Oh, and I did some house work and stuff too. Also dealing with that time of month so all bloated and crampy. Blech.

    (Note: even after 10pm the gym was pretty busy. Too many guys in the dumbbell area which is all kinds of fun since I have to do romanian deadlifts on one leg and squats while holding one dumbbell above my head... yeah.)

    Stage 3, A2

    db one arm snatch 3x6 @ 27.5 - not bad but didn't quite have the courage to try 30 yet.

    db one leg romandian deadlift 3x6 @ 27.5 - okay but still struggled a tad not to fall over.
    bar bent over row 3x6 @ 70 - heavy but manageable.

    db one arm overhead squat 3x6 @ 10&20 - Easier now that I put the heavy one in middle and not off to one side when doing the lift.
    db incline bench 3x6 @ 22.5 - easy enough.

    plank 3x 60 seconds - not gonna get 90 any time soon.
    reverse wood chop 3x6 @ 12.5 - okay.

    BWM ... Yeah, I did it one time and took lots of pauses but slowly made it through and just over 5 minutes by a few seconds. Last time I only had the timer set for 5 (it counts down and not up) so this time I put in 10 as the starting point).


    Bench 3x8 @ 80 - struggled but made it through.
    Bicep curl 3x10 @ 20 - easy. I was too lazy to get the 30 cause others were over there. And I was tired.

    Lots of rows going on so my arms are feeling it. The Grit Strength class had lots of pushups and some rows, then the different rows each day in stage 3. Next week I won't do the class though because I don't have lunch plans and I have work that day cause my days off are changing again.
  • MalineVD
    MalineVD Posts: 649 Member
    Had an awesome workout this morning at 7am. Thought it wouldn't be so good, because I didn't sleep enough. But I walked in the gym, a great song just started playing and I felt the energy floating!

    Squats: 5x5 66 lbs (30kg)
    Bench: 5x5 49.6lbs (22.5kg). I couldn't do this weight last week and now I could finish all sets! Thrilled!!
    Rows: 5x5 55lbs (25kg) Went really good.

    It's only week two of Stronglifts and for some bizarre reason, I already feel stronger.. It's probably just imagination, but I like the feeling :)
  • tracyledyard
    tracyledyard Posts: 69 Member
    Question about deadlifts: Do you always start each reps on the floor like he says to or do only go down to mid shin? Deadlifts scare me. I'm always worried about my back.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    Question about deadlifts: Do you always start each reps on the floor like he says to or do only go down to mid shin? Deadlifts scare me. I'm always worried about my back.

    I make sure my plates touch the ground between each rep. If you have proper form and aren't going too heavy for your abilities, your back should be fine.
  • Anniel88
    Anniel88 Posts: 150 Member
    Hi, everyone. I’m new here and jumping in. I am so impressed with how much you all are lifting. You're so motivating!

    Last night I did workout A. I was really trying to focus on form.

    Squats – 75 lbs. By my last set I really felt that the stars had aligned and my form was spot on. I’m going to stay here again next time.
    Bench Press – De-loaded to 50 lbs. These still felt hard, but I was able to complete all reps. I’m not sure yet if I’ll try for 55 next time or stay here.
    Barbell Row – 60lbs. These still feel awkward to me. I’m going to try lifting them up higher next time to see if it is just too low of a starting point. I use the smaller bar for these so I do have plates on them, but I may try 65 lbs next time with bumper plates.

    Overall the workout felt good and my form is getting better, but breathing still feels awkward to me. I feel like I pause too long in between each rep to breathe and get re-situated.

    The gym was extremely busy. “Count down dude” was there today and seems to be on the same gym schedule as me. He shouts his countdowns while doing his sets. I think he is just awkward and has no idea that he is even shouting it since he has his music on so loud. I kind of feel bad for him since he is this scrawny kid that is trying so hard but has absolutely deplorable form on everything. I know I’m learning and my form is bad, but wow…

    MalineVD wrote: »
    It's only week two of Stronglifts and for some bizarre reason, I already feel stronger.. It's probably just imagination, but I like the feeling :)
    I've only just started too, but it feels good to know you can lift heavier things! We're stronger than we think!

  • tracyledyard
    tracyledyard Posts: 69 Member
    xcalygrl wrote: »
    Question about deadlifts: Do you always start each reps on the floor like he says to or do only go down to mid shin? Deadlifts scare me. I'm always worried about my back.

    I make sure my plates touch the ground between each rep. If you have proper form and aren't going too heavy for your abilities, your back should be fine.

    Thank you!!
  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    "psych101 wrote: »
    I see a lot of ladies struggling with having to deload, or needing to deload - its a mental game, but seriously your body will tell you when you need to take a break, listen to it - you do as much good by resting as you do by working! And when you fail a weight several times, use the experience of deloading and working back up as a chance to perfect your form, to do them better with better form, or faster, or more efficient, or with less time in between sets - all of these are still progressing, just a slightly different way of progressing. Don't ever see a deload as a failure - nothing is a failure, its a chance to rebuild and come back even stronger!!

    xxx

    XXXXX
  • dcresider
    dcresider Posts: 1,272 Member
    edited April 2015
    Good morning everyone. I went to the gym early (7:30 a.m.) which I rarely do. It was pretty crowded at the squat cage so I ended up doing some hillwork on the treadmill for about half an hour. I finally got to the squat cage around 8:00 am , finished by 8:40, then off to shower and run upstairs to work.

    Squats: 5x5x 125lbs. Originally I was going to stay at 115lbs. but decided to go up. Did okay and could feel myself tilting forward so will stay at this weight next time.

    OP: 5x5x50lbs. Still slightly arching my lower back so will stay at same weight. The last rep is the hardest.

    Deadlift:5x4x155 lbs. For some reason I couldn't lift the last rep: my concentration was shot and my grip wasn't good. I did fine last time but I guess I'll stay at this weight next time.

    Psycho101 - I will definitely take note and thanks for the great advice.
  • Jennifer_Lynn_1982
    Jennifer_Lynn_1982 Posts: 567 Member
    Last Night's Workout - All 5x5

    Squats – 70#
    Bench Press - 60#
    Barbell Row – 60#

    Quick workout and then a rush to get to my ball game - played the entire game at 2nd base (1 hr warmup plus 1-3/4 hr game, HR monitor said 940 calories burned not that that's too accurate but I was moving as much as I could). We won 9-0 - great start to our new season!
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