trainer day bench/squats.

bench 72 and got 6 on amrap without much trouble.
for squats i alternated front and back form with just the bar, since introducing the bar is the next step in my 'figure out how to squat without wrecking myself' campaign. i did idk how many sets of 5, and mr t said they were good. however, i was personally only about 50% happy with the feel of them. the tspine tweak is what i was waiting/testing/watching for and that seems so-far-so-good atm though, so there is that.

dimel deadlifts 8x65/75 warmup, 15x 100/100/100 for accessory. and then there was this fun challenge someone came up with where you take a bar and just hold it at arms' length in front of you, knuckles up. it's surprisingly deadly on the middle delts within only a dozen seconds or so.

but you know what? the guys all did it, starting with mr t, and were amazed by how hard it was. then i asked to try it and i AT LEAST matched all of their time. i think i went over it, actually, and i do not think i'm imagining the impressed/surprised noises they made.

i am strong. in some ways it seems like i'm stronger than you would know if you were just watching me lift. so i'm smirking right now.

VeryKatie wrote: »

Hm.. I did my squats at home (yay) but they were awful form (boo). I need a mirror!

personally, i don't find the mirror helps me much. it's frontal-plane only, and if you turn sideways to it then you interfere with your 'real' form by turning your head to check yourself. i didn't realise this properly until i started doing one workout a week with my trainer, who doesn't believe in mirrors and doesn't have any. my other problem with real-time visual feedback is, if i'm watching myself do an actual rep, i've got too many other things to worry about. such as the fact i've got a big bar on my back and we're moving through space it's like 'i see it, body. i just don't know what the heck you expect me to do about it right now.' so i knew for months that i was doing certain things, i just coulnd't keep myself from doing them.

for my work i just do by myself, webcamming has worked a lot better than mirrors for me. i do a small number of reps without taking my eyes off the house across the street (they probably think i'm nuts), and i focus entirely on how it actually feels to the individual muscles involved. then i replay and i can correlate the muscle sensations with what actually happened. i have a short attention span so i only do about five reps before i check the clip. i'm getting really good at both seeing and feeling tiny subtleties i would never have noticed a few months ago.

but then i do a LOT of webcam time. it's my 'excuse' to not go to the gym because these days i kind of dread squats.

canadianlbs wrote: »

melodiclyrics wrote: »

I look forward to my deload since I know what I'm capable of lifting now, and I can focus more on reps and strengthening the area at more reps at a much lighter weight and really refocus on form.

this is going to sound weird, especially with all the complaining i've done. but assuming it's not catastrophic i do find some of this 'warning sign' injury has helped me with progressively correcting my form. when something is vulnerable and i still remember/feel it, the sensation actually gives me a guideline and a bit of instant feedback about when and how i begin to go wrong.

i'm not saying lift when you're hurt, of course. but it is what i've found when i go back to it once i AM fit to start trying again.

Doesn't sound weird to me at all - I really think this injury will help me in the long run to be extra careful with form, and to not go too fast with the lifts. I knew I had been getting close to reaching my max with deads, and I think I should've just taken some time to work on form at a lighter weight instead of just slugging through to 145 and injuring myself. We live and learn.

@melodiclyrics best of luck for your recovery, I hope it's a quick one and you're back to it soon.

Stronglifts A this morning, felt good after first game of netball yesterday.
SQ: 3x5 at 30kg
BP: 5,4,5,4,4 at 34.5kg
BR: 5x5 at 37kg

SL's today,


Squat: 45lbs - 2x5, 65lbs - 5x5

OHP 50lbs 5x5

Deadlift 100lbs 1x5

BB Curls 35lbs 2x8

Calf Raises 25lbs 3x15

Shrugs 2x25lb DB's 2x15

Yesterday was kind of an off day. Went to check weight since getting over cold and monthly cycle is at the very end (bit drawn out this month cause the worst days of the cold paused it for some reason, it was weird). Had weighed at 135 few days ago but yesterday the scale would not work at all. Though battery was dead but today it works. Kinda weird.

Did go to the gym last night. Had belt in car but forgot it and didn't want to go out the locked door thing and then back in. The one near my apartment was having issues and buzzing the entire time (probably buzzed all night as staff wasn't there and not sure anyone even goes in on Sundays).

Chapter 8: bench and deadlift

bench 2x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 75, 1x5 @ 95, 1x1 @ 105 and 1x1 @ 115
-this went pretty well, just feeling out cause upper strength is slow back after cold

deadlift 1x6 @ 135, 1x5 @ 185, 1x1 @ 230 and well that's all cause failed 240
-tried to follow plan but couldn't get 2 @ 230 but tried 240 anyways. I was slow off the floor on 230, which was unusual too. 240 went a couple inches and no more.


Today think I'll just do a little cardio. Tomorrow I'm going to wear the singlet and try all three lifts, playing around with just the first attempts. Nothing more above that until the meet. Oh and scale at 11 am was at 131.8, so seems on track. Have to weight that Saturday at 5pm in underwear, so we'll see how it goes. Plus a little excited just to get scale to 131 as that will be 80 lost since started back in September 2014.

Yesterday's SL work out
Squat- 5x5- 90lbs
OHP- 3/4/4/4/4 -55lbs( have to repeat that)
DL- 1x5- 105lbs
Overall slow progress, getting in the routine.

Friday:
Squat - 3x5 at 115 lbs
Pull ups - 5,4,3
OHP - 3x5 at 57.5 lbs
DL - 1x5 at 155
Row - 3x5 at 65
Close grip BP - 3x8 at 55
Curl - 5,4,4 at 45 lbs
Hanging knee raise - 3x10

Sunday - Completely ridiculous derby practice. Very challenging both on skates and off. I feel like I have been punched in the gut and ribs :P Short on people, so no break for scrimmage. And I got knocked on my a $$ due to me slacking on proper form and now I have a bruised tailbone. Oops. Won't make that mistake again any time soon!

Today - so tired!
Squat - 3x5 at 115 lbs. Still hard. Will repeat once more, I think.
Pull ups - 5,4,4
BP - 3x5 at 72.5 lbs. Second set felt sloppy, but I think that was just laziness, not that it was too heavy. Third set felt good.
Row - 3x5 at 72.5
Shrug - 3x8 at 72.5. Didn't want to change the barbell. Need to start holding back on the weight here though. Getting meh on the form.
Skullcrushers - 3x8 at 35 lbs. Ok. Need to get my hands on a ez curl bar.
BB curl - 3x5 at 45 lbs. Barely.
Good morning - 3x10 at 65 lbs. Meh. Could have been better I think.
Hanging knee raise - 3x10
Barbell Glute Bridge 10,8,8 at 95 lbs. First time trying these. Finally got a pool noodle to use as a bar pad. I like these better than hip thrusts. Less awkward balancing the bar. I need to get to 115 lbs though so I can roll the barbell over my legs.

@sherocks98 and @pezhed - Thanks.


Last lifting session before the meet. Did squat, bench then deadlift at the gym even put up with the cage for the bench. Went pretty well though squat felt the most challenging. Think the numbers might work well for my first attempts.

Chapter 9: First Attempts

warm up for squats - 2x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 95, 1x6 @ 135
Squats 3x1 @ 185 with belt

warm up for bench - 1x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 75, 1x5 @ 95
Bench 3x1 @ 105

warm up for deadlift - 1x6 @ 135, 1x5 @ 185
Deadlift 3x1 @ 225 with belt


Imagined the cues on them all. Still a little nervous about that and all of the details that will be different, like the number of people around. Wish I had family or something nearby so that I didn't have to do the whole event alone. I would like to get video but that may not be plausible since no one is going with me. Will have to wait and see. Anyways, no more lifting until Sunday. I have off from work Wednesday and Thursday, then Saturday and Sunday. Almost like a mini vacation except that one work day in between. Will be nice and I just have a few things to get ready (food and such).

It's almost here. Then will have to figure out what I do next.

I'll be thinking of you on Sunday, @DawnEmbers !

I hope it all goes well - I'm sure it will. Just try to have fun and enjoy the experience! If I didn't live on the other side of the Atlantic I'd come along and cheer you on

I pretty much started over on SL5x5 yesterday after being away from the gym for over a month, aside from 1 or 2 half-assed attempts during March. I have determined that if I want to do lifting along with all the other things I like doing (volleyball, jogging, skateboarding, roller skating, biking, gardening, fishing, hiking, hanging out with my kid, coaching her volleyball team, etc....), I will have to aim for 2x/week lifting instead of 3. Trying to get there 3x per week was really difficult, and I felt like I was always on the verge of completely giving up on lifting or having to give up something else.

Anyway, so yesterday I did:

Squats: 5x5 @ 45 lb -- this was actually great because I could focus on form and get below parallel, whereas before I was really struggling to hit parallel doing 80 lb.
OHP: 5x5 @ 45 lb -- will probably be stuck at 45 for a while, but that's ok. It's better than 0.
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 105 -- figure I can up this maybe 20 lb next time instead of 10. I deadlift.

Current plan is to hit the gym Thursday on the way home from work, and if that fails, then Saturday at noon. My gym has crap hours (closes at 1 pm Saturdays, is closed Sundays, grrr... I like supporting small local business but closed Sundays is really annoying) so fitting a workout in on the weekend is tough.

I also now have a 15 lb and a 30 lb kettlebell, plus some 8 lb - 20 lb dumbbells. These are for days that I'm supposed to lift but can't get to the gym. At the very least I can do some stuff at home to keep the momentum up.

Long story short, getting back at it, and trying to set myself up for success rather than for failure.

Tonight - nice empty gym due to the rain

Squats: 5x5 @ 66kg
Deadlift: 5x5 @ 66kg - my back felt a bit dodgy after this. Need to watch my form
OHP: 3/3/2 @ 23kg - left it at that as I was worried about the slight ache in my back...

Partly I think I was just really hungry and so gave up easily!

had a sort-of workout this morning in a gym that was completely bro'd out at 10:30 am, with filthy misogynist rap music and curlers in the squat racks and all. you'd think god created the male half of the species without even giving them legs, from the lifts being done. my actual purpose in going was to do bench press, but didn't really happen. no breakfast and still kind of tight from sleeping. plus i'd also decided today was the day i'd obsess about squats.

in theory it's week 3 on wendlers, and in theory that means i'm doing amrap for 90% of my 90% of my 1-rep maxes. har har.

bench: 65 was as high as i got, and i didn't try very hard as it didn't feel to me like i had my pecs into it. too much front delt, which is not what i want. so i left it at 3x5 after too many lower-weight sets trying to settle my form. idk if this is copping out, but i didn't feel like i wanted to waste my amrap workouts on form that was not going to get to the muscles i want.

squats: bleh, everything tight and too many glute/hip joint pinches. i stretched and warmed up and all but i never felt like i'd properly found my abs or my core so it was disappointing. i did about 5x45/45/45 front squats, and then went up to 50 and did a full 5x5. for back squats, only a couple of sets and i don't really ahve a memory or opinion now about how they went. there were some where the bar was feeling super-light again, and i think my tspine is okay, so there's that.

5x5 rows and 3x15 dimel deadlifts @ 65lb.

i just wasn't really feeling it much this morning.

eta: also, weight in squat shoes was 134.something, but then i didn't have as much water inside me as usual so idk.