Workout Check-in: Heavy Metal Edition (aka August)
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Nice to be back lifting after an unexpected week off. Had already planned a de-load on overhead pressed and the rest stayed the same except deadlift, which I increased by 5. Really trying to work up to that 225 even though every time it feels rather heavy. I ended up skipping rdl and hip thrust at the end, as now I'm trying to bake cake before bed. One of my coworkers put in her notice so tomorrow is her last day and I promised cake.
Workout B
low bar squat 3x5 @ 135 - okay but the power cage is a tiny bit tall for me on low bar so I struggled to put the bar back after a couple of the sets.
overhead press 3x5 @ 60 - easy enough though last reps I could feel it. No problem with shoulder at least.
leg press 3x10 @ 200 - had to wait for area to deadlift.
deadlift 1x5 @ 135 warm up and 1x5 @ 185 - heavy but still managing though had doubts on getting all 5 reps.
good morning 3x12 @ 60 - used the fixed weight barbell so had to clean it each time
Now to get the cake baked and get some sleep.0 -
I can't remember if I checked in last Friday, so I'll report on Friday and today's workouts.
Friday, Workout B
Squats, 5x5@105 lbs
OHP, 5x5@45 lbs (ugh, deload AGAIN)
Deadlifts, 2x5@115 lbs
Good mornings, 3x10@55 lbs
Today, Workout A
Squats, 5x5@110 lbs
Bench, 4x5, 1x4@70 lbs (just barely avoided the roll of shame this morning :-\ )
Rows, 5x5@75 lbs
RDLs, 3x10@75 lbs0 -
Back from vacation. Only got in 1 workout during the trip, and it was mostly messing about. Some goblet squats, OHP, and rows.
I did average about 20K steps every day for that week, which is a lot of walking for me.
I also managed a spa afternoon, with an absolutely amazing deep tissue massage. Hurt sooo good -- I think I may be a masochist.0 -
Hi all. It's been a while. I've been out on vacation for the past week plus lots of house renovation prior to that so my SL schedule has been off. I need to get back on track and stay within my macros. I have also increased my daily protein intake since I think that will be key muscle build. This is my report for the week. Thank for looking:
Monday:
Squats: 5x5@110 lbs. Easy.
Bench press: 5x5@ 70 lbs. Too easy
Bentover rows: 5x5@70 lbs. Too easy
40 minute bike from home to work then back home.
Wednesday:
Squats: 5x5@ 115 lbs. Pretty easy and have been going deeper these days.
Overhead press: 5x5@45 lbs. So easy these days with good form. I guess I should bump up to 50 lbs. next time.
Deadlifts: 5x5 @ 135 lbs. Easy.
30 minute run.
40 minute bike from home to work then back home.0 -
hi all
Lifted last night - was not feeling it at all. Meh.
Squat 5x5x135lbs
OHP 5x5x70lbs
Deadlift 1x5x200lbs
Couldn't be bothered with accessories, will hit arms up either Friday or Saturday0 -
Finally back to doing low bar squats. After being off, deloading, then getting injured again I really didn't know what to lift. Decided to do experiment with volume again and see how it goes.
Low bar back squats 1x5 45/45/95/105/115/125/135/145/155/155 - 155lbs went good but I got tired so I didn't do any more.
Bench 5x5 95lbs (warm up 45/45/65) Looking back I just realized last time I bench I did 95lbs. I didn't log it in the app the last time, so I had forgot. bleh.
Dumbbell rows 35lbs 20 each arm. Man, heavy dumbbells are expensive. I don't think I'm going to buy any for awhile, but I prefer these over pendlay rows.0 -
awkwardsoul wrote: »Dumbbell rows 35lbs 20 each arm. Man, heavy dumbbells are expensive. I don't think I'm going to buy any for awhile, but I prefer these over pendlay rows.
The cool thing with "dumbbell" rows though is that you don't have to stick to DBs to do the same movement. If you're alright doing them one at a time, throw the DB with a few heavy books in a heavy duty back pack (at least not a cheap 10$ from walmart with the seems that'll break after 2 weeks of normal use) or a bucket with a solid handle and row that instead
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Guess who just did the SL A workout this morning! I'm one of yours again!
Squats 125x5x5 - I *can* handle more, but I was really focusing on form this morning (will have a few vids for outside feedback later today, since I might as well get the basics back good while I'm working my way back up). The last reps of every set were not "easy" so I think I selected my work weight okay.
The rest was easy, I just went back to square one: the empty bar
Bench Press 45x5x5 (and 55x5 because I was like "this was way too easy, I need to, Iunno, feel something working") - shoulder didn't bother me. However I was using the decline bench with the loopy hooks, so my setup was less than optimal. Also, left elbow gave me minimal grief so I'll knock on wood!
Pendlay Rows (from a "dead" hang) 45x5x5 - I never liked bent over rows, so I just do these pretending there's a floor to touch. They were a little more painful than bench when I wasn't paying attention. I tried to work on not letting my shoulders hand at the bottom position so I can say my upper back has gotten a good amount of work this morning.
I spruced up rest periods with shoulder rehab stuff, and 3 sets of back extensions, and some bottoms up KB press (awesome for shoulder stability, and a set of 10 with 15lbs was challenging)
I need to get my butt out of bed faster when I go to the gym in the AM, though xD0 -
Squat 1 day, nothing really stellar even for 1 day (damn deload)
135 lbs x 5, 140 lbs x 3 150 lbs x 3. Pretty happy hitting 3 reps at 150 lbs
5x8 95 lbs
EMOTM x 5 DB snatches 8 per side @ 20 lbs
Run is a maybe for lunch time. My cramps are pretty bad and running just seems like so much work. Lately I have just been managing 1 run a week but still getting out and go for a walk at lunch. I just don't seem to have the drive for running that I used to.0 -
awkwardsoul wrote: »Bleh, I'm due to lift however I lift in my garage. We are having a heat wave over and it's been 99F / 37C here and even worse in the garage. Yuck!
I sure know that feeling. I lift in my hot and humid garage in Miami. It almost makes me want to go to the gym instead...almost. My gym is crazy-packed at the times when I can get there and I hate crowded, so I tolerate the heat. It'll be nice when "winter" rolls around and it's 88* in there instead of 98*!
So far this week:
SL B
Squat 32.5kg 5x5
Overhead press 27.5kg 5x5
Deadlift 50kg 1x5
SL A
Squat 35kg 5x5
Bench Press 30kg 5x5
Row 32.5kg 5x5
I'm also finally getting back into a semi-regular schedule with yoga and cycling. Feels really good to be back at it after sitting around for so long. Funny, my ankle/calf don't mind the lifting at all but the yoga is tough. Screws and scar tissue just don't like going barefoot!
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Lots of stuff going on in here. I went to the gym before work today so didn't spend too long but my arms will feel it after work as it's freight day.
Workout A
high bar squat 3x5 @ 160 - same as before, still feels heavy and I'm slow with it
bench press 3x5 @ 85 - working my way back up after the de-load, felt okay
bent-over row 3x6 @ 75 - did a de-load, pretty easy
lat pulldown 3x10 @ 70 - hadn't done the accessory in a while, it was challenging after 8 reps
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I tried to vindicate myself today since I had only gotten 1 rep at 160 for deadlifts last week when I was supposed to get 5 and I had gotten 5 at 155 without much difficulty the week before. I only got 2 today. Ugh! I'll try again next week and then deload I guess. I am so frustrated!
Squat 5x55,65,80,80
OHP 5x45,50,55; 3x65 (I was supposed to get 5 of these too. Blah!)
Deadlift 5x100,120,140; 2x160
Hip thrust 3x10x125
Ab wheel 3x100 -
Bench and power clean 1 day
80 lbs x 5, 90 lbs x 3 100 lbs x 2 for both.
5x8 70 lbs superset
The last set of bench I had to rack the weight at rep 5 for a couple of seconds, I don't know what happened but something just felt off. Then I did the other 3 reps right after, so I am counting it...0 -
I was sooo tempted to sleep in this morning, but I'm glad I got up and to the gym.
Workout B
Squats, 5x5@110 lbs. I felt strong doing these, so will go up to 115 lbs next time.
OHP, 5x5@50 lbs. Still difficult, I really need to invest in some fractional plates.
Deadlift, 2x5@120 lbs. Starting to get pretty heavy, I may only be able to do 1x5 next workout. Only going up 5 lbs at a time.
Accessory: Good mornings, 3x10@50 lbs.
Cardio: 2 mile run, then 30 minutes on the elliptical.
I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!0 -
Blah on today! I've been sticking to my deficit and can feel it. I miss my strength
Squat 140 5/4/5/5/5 Felt heavier today, than on Tues. My depth wasn't great throughout.
OHP 70 4/4/4/3/1 Did something funny to my shoulder right before the last set. These were HARD.
DL 195, 5 reps Felt pretty darn heavy, but lifted well. I'm starting to get concerned with my grip strength.0 -
4 mile jog today, though about an hour later than normal cause after alarm went off this morning, I went back to sleep.0
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Switching to front squats has been weird as I'm doing the same weight as my OHP this time!
Front Squat 5x5 75lbs (warmup 45/45). Pretty easy. Happy with my depth and me keeping my body straight.
OHP 5/2/3/5/5 75lbs (warmup 45/45/60). Stupid OHP, I started off really strong then it was wacky, then went back to totally fine.
Then I played with deadlifts. I saw Alan Thrall's new video and tried out some Romanian Deadlifts to get my hamstrings more engaged.
Romanian Deadlift 1x5 75/75/95/95/95lbs - Actually liked these a lot as it felt really good and strong in the back and legs. I will do more again.
Sumo Deadlift 1x5 95/95/95/145lbs
Off to choke down more casein, yuck.0 -
barbell club and the trainer's plans for me. uh. he does set progressions that i can't hope to remember, but they're something like 3x5, 3x5, 2x5, 1x5 for warmup, then 1x3 or maybe 2x3plus amrap at the work weight. ended with amrap at my highest weight for both lifts, i know that. and i know i kept losing count so i did more reps in most of the sets along the way too.
bench: 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 62.5. i think i got 8 for the amrap. pretty good, now that i think about it and i learned a few things i might natter about at some point.
deadlift: i don't recall the progressions. there were about 5 warmup sets at 5 or 10lb jumps, and then work set and an amrap set at 95. also pretty good, now that i think about it
for the amrap i got 10 reps.
accessory was pendlay rows because he wanted me to do something lats to counteract the bench. i have NEVER had the benefit of coaching for pendlays before, so that's very win too. i did sets of 8 at 55, with 1x8 warmups at the progression weights. 55 was easy beam beam.
no squats. not because i'm banned, it's just how he does things - i end up squatting every other week with this guy. i'm still a complete mess with them so i regretted the lack of corrective help. on the other hand, i'm a complete mess with them so i didn't regret not having to do them. at all.
also, i ate half a chicken and half a cantaloupe for lunch. that might have had something to do with my performance tonight.0 -
My workout this afternoon was super rushed because I was running a little late and the gym daycare was closing. Had to minimize my rest times and superset a couple accessories, so it was pretty tiring. No time for hip thrusts or pull ups
Squat - 3x5 at 120 lbs. While these don't feel as hard anymore, I still find my form is only meh, mostly because I lose focus and forget to concentrate on it. I am going to stay here for another session at least to work on that, as well as my breathing.
Bench - 3x5 at 72.5 lbs - pretty good. May go up to 75. I think I will be fine as long as I remember to stay tight.
Row - 3x5 at 80 lbs. - not as hard as last time, but still not getting a great squeeze at the top. Will repeat.
Barbell shrug - 3x8 at 60 lbs. Could increase to 65. Actually did 8,9,8 since I can't count.
Hyperextensions - 3x10 with 20 lbs. Might go to 25...
Skull crushers - 3x10 at 35 lbs. ok.
Cable crunches - 3x12 at 50 lbs. Still tough.
Barbell curls - 8,8,7 at 45 lbs. Still couldn't get that last rep.0 -
Dun dun dun... Today was workout B!
Squats 130x5x5 - still working on staying more upright, which made the 5th rep of each set a little grindy. Technically, prior to the shoudler injury I could grind out 5 reps at 150 if not even 160 per set, but my form is so much better now and the new position puts much less stress on my elbows, so it's a work in progress, but really good progress
OHP 35x4x5 then I got a lil bored and strapped on an extra 2.5 each side and did 40x5... the last set was kinda painful though so I'm going to stay conservative here.
I supersetted with deadlifts, since I'm far far far from my usual work weights and just trying to get the form back into my brain. 95x5, 115x5, 125x3x5
Then did a bit of accessories
Seated rows 40x12, 55x12, 60x12, 65x12, 65x12 (I read they were good/better than bent over for shoulder health. Count me in!)
Seated calf raises 45x12, 70x12, 70x12, 80x14 (did plank variations between sets)
reverse pec deck flyes 15x15, 30x15, 35x15
Figured that was enough trauma for my shoulder today. I spent about 2 hours at the gym between the strength training, my bw warm-up and all the stretches and rehab moves I did between sets. All that,s missing today is a nice walk, which will happen after I eat and watch the Killjoys season finale
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Gym after work as usual.
Workout B
low bar squat 3x5 @ 140 - not bad, decided to increase this time
overhead press 3x5 @ 65 - working back up, feels easy at first but challenging by the end
deadlift 1x5 @ 135 warmup then 1x5 @ 190 - so heavy, barely managed
clean/front squat 3x8 @ 55 - eh, wrist got cranky during some of it, also hit collar with bar a few times
incline db bench press 3x10 @ 27.5 - not bad
We will see about running in the morning when it gets here. It's a little smokey outside from fires in other places.0 -
Oh boy, I'm not meant for sustained effort work, lol. This morning was 3x3 laps at the track by my apartment complex (350m/lap = 1050m per interval).
I managed 5:51, 6:24 and 6:20. It was all I could do at the end of the 2nd and 3rd interval not to collapse into the grass on the soccer field at the end lol. 2 weeks left on the 6 weeks program that is going to have taken me all summer to complete. Woop!
I'm gonna pop in the Tapout XT ultimate abs DVD to finish this off now. Need some focused ab work 0 -
Yesterday was:
Squat 5x55,65,80,90; 3x105; 8x80
Bench 5x50,60,70,85; 2x95 (supposed to get 3); 8x70
Row 3x5x65; 5x70; 3x85; 8x65
I have now failed on deadlifts, OHP, and bench so I am going back to 531. I wanted to stick it out for the whole 12 weeks for Madcow but I really don't think it is doing me any good except for squats. In an effort to really nail down my squat form I decided to do the 3 day a week full body template so that I can get a lot of squat practice in. I really think I may have to get some lifting straps even though my lifts aren't that heavy. With possible RA, my hands hurt so bad trying to do rows yesterday and I am pretty sure this flare is why I missed my deadlifts twice in a row. It's hard to remind myself that I have some chronic illness issues and so I can't quite lift like I want to. I didn't mean that to come off as whining so I apologize if it did.0 -
Lifted yesterday but was too tired to record - here's what went down
Squat 5x5x115lbs - this was a substantial deload due to tight hip issue
OHP 5x5x70lbs
Deadlift 1x5x200lbs
superset shoulder /back stuff 3x8
Lat pulldowns
Dumbbell row
Overhead thrust thing
Dumbbell bench press
Arnold press
Swiss ball pike into pushup
oh man
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Feeling the need to show my face and go for a nit more accountability...
So, I sort of mix strong curves and 5x5 a bit depending on what space is available at the gym. And some days I just play with a kettlebell!
Started with 5x5 today as there were no benches but the area emptied mid way through my squats so I switch to Strong Curves lol
5x5 squats at 40kg
3x 10 hip thrusts at 35kg
3x 8 16kg one arm dumbell rows
3x 8 10kg dumbell incline bench press
3x5 55kg Romanian deadlifts
10x 10kg standing leg abductions - I am really weak at those...
and a 30second plank and 30 second side planks
Dancing tonight and dog walking and horseriding tomorrow for my active "rest"0 -
Squat - 65lb. I could get the bar up 5x5 times but I can feel my form is all over the place. my upper body tips forward on the way up because I raise my hips before my chest. Need to really focus on keeping the bar over midfoot through the whole movement so I'm going to stay here for another day and work on that. I did 60lb 5x5 on Friday and it felt GREAT. I guess things are getting a little heavy for me now...
Bench press. 70lb 5x5x3x2x1. really really struggled with this today. Second failure at this weight. I think more warmup sets might've helped?
Barbell Row: 5x5 at 55lb. I actually got up to 75lb on this last week but it was really messy. I'm trying to stick with Pendlay rows and I know my back can't come too far up above parallel for that lift. To lift 75lb it was coming up about 40-45 degrees. I know my hips were probably doing most of the work, so I sorta arbitrarily deloaded today, moving from a dead hang instead of up from the floor (so more of a bent over row? i'm new at this lol). the empty oly bar was too easy, 55lb was just right. I'll try 60lb next time.
The only thing I worry about w/pulling from a dead hang is that my back will get too tired and I'll fail out before I can hit my reps.
I also tried a couple sets of inverted row on a bench press rack. It was extremely easy unless I wanted to go for 10-15 reps instead of 5. the range of movement was too small and I need to raise the bar up enough that I'm pulling up from straightened arms. I've seen people doing inverted rows with the smith machine so I may try that, since all the smith is good for is as an adjustable stationary bar anyway, heh.0 -
Reporting in late, but reporting some progress!
Squats 135x5x5 - these were actually easier than the 130 2 days ago (go figure, seeing as I was tight and sore as hell. My abs, too, lol. It took 30 minutes just to warm-up!)
Some dude (a trainer, too!) Interrupted my 4th set by kicking a swiss med ball all the way across the xfit area to the wall beside me, while i was down in the hole. I nearly shat my pants. Who DOES that?!
Bench 55x4x5, 65x5 - no issues at all here. Felt like I could've just done 25 reps straight with 55 but I forced myself to take a break and stretch and stuff. Still fitting shoulder rehab randomly in-between sets to try and save time
Pendlay Rows 55x4x5, 65x4/1
these were a little more iffy. I don't know if using the 35lbs bar threw me off (so I could slap on the 10lbs bumpers, which are flimsy as hell, beeteedubs) but I had a hard time getting my back straight and keeping it there. Weight was flying up, so it wasn't an issue of strength, but of bar path control, and my shoulder was definitely piching when I tried to up the weight, so I'll have to either A- do Db rows for a bit or B- stay a bit lower to make sure I don't aggravate that stupid shoulder/upper back/trap area.
I twiddled with some KB press/bottoms up press (super light), and tried KB swings but that was a no go. By this point shoulder was screaming STAHP!, so I did.
Walked for 45 minutes in the heat with old socks on. Welcome to blister city! xD
I think I'll be a good girl and actually take my "2 days off" from the gym like the program says. Yoga tomorrow morning, running on Wednesday, then I'll try to slap on more weight to that OHP and progress mah deadlift and reincorporate circuits, too. I need to up my conditioning a smidge.0 -
I'm going on vacation soon so I wanted to squeeze in an extra lifting day. I split up upper body and squats/dl and I'll do the rest tomorrow, avoiding squatting back to back.
OHP 1x5 45/45/60/65/70/75/80. Got 2 reps on 85! PR! OHP was feeling really good. I even tried 90lbs but failed. I should of tried 87.5lbs, next time!
Bench 1x5 45/45/70/80/85/90/95/100/105 1x3 110, 1x1 115lbs PR! Failed 120lbs. I made it to 110lbs without a spot, my husband finally got home and spotted me for 115 and 120lbs.
Dumbbell Rows 53lbs 1x5 on the left arm. 1x10 35lbs on right. My right arm couldn't lift 53lbs. I'm lefthanded so I guess that's the reason I couldn't do my right.
My arms feel crazy right now!0 -
Workout A today:
Squats, 5x5@115 lbs. These were tough. Used the lifting belt to help with back support, definitely a good idea!
Bench, 4x5, 1x4@70 lbs. Second fail here, hopefully I get them next time.
Rows, 5x5@80 lbs. These were not great form, so I will repeat.
RDLs, 3x10@80 lbs.
35 minutes on the elliptical.0 -
We came back from our vacation on Sunday and I made myself workout, so I only ended up missing one lifting day. Yay me! *high fives self*
Sunday - Workout B
Squats 5x5x65 lbs
OHP 5x5x52.5 lbs
Deadlift 1x5x80 lbs
Tuesday - Workout A
Squats 5x5x67.5 lbs
Bench 5x5x55 lbs
Rows 5x5x52.5 lbs
Also did a lot of walking on vacation (usually while carrying my toddler - feel the burn, biceps!) and a short cardio dance class on Monday (because I love to shake my groove thing a few days a week). All in all, I feel like I'm progressing nicely, if a bit slowly.
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