Last Night's SL B -

Squat: 5x5 @ 135lb

OHP: 5x5 @65lb

DL: 1x5 @ 165lb

Tonight will be a quick home workout

Nervously attempted Stronglifts B workout today. Decided to do deadlifts before the barbell hip thrusts so that I wasn't too fatigued. I also taped each set and to me I think it looks good, but posted the last set in the Eat, Train Progress. forum for a form check. Everything went fine though, except I just wasn't feeling it on overhead press.

SQ: 3x5 at 37.5kg
OHP: 5,4,4,3,3 at 25kg
DL: 1x5 at 60kg, 70kg and 80kg
HT: 5x5 at 40kg

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Does anyone ever feel it on OHPs?!? They suck!

um . . . i kind of love them? i'm not saying i'm good at them, and the highest i ever got for reps was 65lb before that one rib went weird. but i do quite often re-rack the bar after a pitiful attempt at a squat, and then take it out and bust a set of 5 presses in that kind of but-i-can-do-this kind of way.

Workout B today --

Squats - 5x5 @ 60 lbs
- These feel good. I'm trying to make sure I'm getting low low low -- which means I'm probably only just getting to parallel, even though it feels different in my head. Also concentrating on engaging my glutes and hamstrings instead of my quads -- seems to be working.
- Did one extra set - 1x5 @ 65 lbs - mostly just because I wanted to put the 10s on the bar. I'm feeling a little weenie with just the 5 + 2.5

OHP - 5x5 @ 30 lbs.
- These felt fine. I guess I'll do each weight for a week (or more), maybe working up to 5x10 sets before attempting to move up by 10 lbs. Could go for dumbbells, but it's not the same movement.
- Got to this bar just in time. Some dude, who already had the 40 lb and 50 lb static bars, was reaching for the 30 lb as I walked up. I asked if I could use it between his sets and he just said to take it. Which was nice, but talk about an equipment hog!

Deadlifts - 3x5 @ 100 lbs.
- Deads have always been my favorite, so I'm doing extra sets just for fun at these low weights. Form felt good, other than the fact that I hit the bottom of my right knee on every pull. It's going to have a nice big bruise for sure.

Bicep curls - 3x10 @ 10 lbs.
- Am thinking I'll do a week at each weight and then see about moving up 2.5 lbs. It's crazy how quickly my arms fatigue.


Am considering adding hip thrusts, but I don't really know how yet, so I need to do some research. Plus, there's just no good, tucked away corner in which to do them. Not sure I want to be out in the middle of the floor trying to figure these out.

And note to self, need to go earlier in the day. It wasn't super crowded, but there were definitely more peeps than I want to deal with on a regular basis. I'll be aiming for ~2 PM from now on, and see how that goes.

SL's B

Squat: 65lbs 5x5

OHP: 55lbs 4x5, 60lbs 1 x5


Deadlift: 105lbs 1x5

BB Curls: 35lbs 1x8, 40 lbs 1x8


Calf Raises 45lbs 3x15

Actually I was doing quite a few warms ups/practices with & without the bar for the squat, I am staying at 65lbs until I am happy with my form.

Last night lifting was a little rough. Squats were a challenge so just managed 3x3 even though it's not trying at max or anything. Then did deadlifts, which were easy. Attempted rack pulls and man I suck at those. 135 was easy enough. Tried using the top part of the aerobic step because using the lowest safety spots on the rack puts the bar at knee height instead of just below. Think the step is too tall for this but can't stand on the plates with the ones the gym has. Need to work on that. I tried 225, which I can deadlift, but couldn't get the weight to move in a rack pull. But not bad overall.


Last night:
squat 2x10 @ 45, 1x8 @ 95, 1x5 @ 135 and 3x3 @ 185 with belt
deadlift 1x6 @ 135, 1x5 @ 185, 3x3 @ 205 with belt
rack pulls 1x3 @ 155, 3x3 @ 185
cable kickbacks 2x10 @ 30

elliptical for 30 minutes while watching Food Network


Today I went to the park and attempted to jog. Health wise, I was fine though legs were a tad sore cause last night's squats. However, I tried using the fuel belt thing I got for the half-marathon training and it was a fail. The water bottle is nice and good to have spot for things, but it would not stay tight. Kept getting loose and even tugged down my leggings some. Part way through the run I walked to the car and abandoned the water. It was cool so I had a jacket anyways. I may need to get a wrist water bottle because that won't work for the big run training, not at all.

Then I went to lululemon and bought a pair of shorts just to have one thing that wasn't 100+ dollars from the location. They do have really nice clothes but over my budget most of the time. It was a little treat. I had lunch at Whole Foods grocery store and got some small items. I wanted a whole container of the honey sunflower seed butter. Alas, had to settle for the last few small backs as they didn't have a bigger container. FYI - honey sunflower butter on carbs or protein bowl cake things, it is pretty delicious. mmmm I'm loving nut butters in general and it helps me get my fats to above 30 some days.

Going to be planning and getting ready for my trip to LA. I leave on the 11th and can't wait. Don't know what we will do yet. Do have plans to meet up with someone from instagram who actually knows my sister and we're going to lift at Barbell Brigade. Other than that, just hanging out with sister, maybe walk on the beach, and have a good time.

so happy. happyhappyhappy. i did my squat workout on this last chance day of my wendler week 1, and IT WORKED.

oh yeah, and there was bench press there too. bench max set was 75 and i didn't love it but i did get it respectably done. 6 on amrap plus quite a lot of warmup.

squat max was also 75, but i started with three warmup sets with the bar and then began doing 5 pound jumps for another 5 reps each time. it all felt fine, and i feel like i stopped at exactly the right point too - heavy enough that i could feel the work, but still light enough that even the tiny struggle to finish the final rep felt fine too.

and when i was leaving, the attendant chatted to me for a while and she told me without any prompting that my form had looked 'really good'. so that part was huge, because i know how it was all feeling, and hearing that it actually was good form means that i know i can safely keep looking for those same sensations and following the same pattern next time. i mentioned i'm happy, right?

accessory was mostly lower-trap stuff. actually mostly the same olds, but with far more attention to getting my lower traps right. it really seems to be paying off in the t4 region where i have so much trouble so much of the time. i did band pulls, external rotation and y's with 2.5 and 5lb plates, and also some very careful, good-feeling pulldowns with very light weight. stayed off the lower body accessories because i want to monitor how my hamstrings and glutes feel tomorrow to see how much work they got while i was doing the squats.

spoilered for possible boringness

tomorrow, trainer! press and deadlift and i'll be done with week 1.

@Deena_Bean - congrats on that Hour Earlier Dedicated Workout

VeryKatie wrote: »

4/23's workout:
Squat 5x5 @ 105 lb
OHP 4x5 @ 52.5 lb and 1x4 @ 52.5 (failed to be repeated)
DL 1x5 @ 145 lb

I am scheduled to workout today but I'm not sure if I should. I rolled my ankle yesterday and it's a little tender today, but significantly improved. It's completely painless if I don't roll it in that exact direction (meaning it's fine in squat direction). But maybe it's still not smart to squat.

What do you think? If not squat, could I still bench and row?

Luckily my restless leg seems to be pretty much gone now that I've taken iron a few days in a row haha.

Also a question about deadlifts. The program says to switch from 10 lb increments to 5 lb increments once you hit 220 lb. I imagine that's for men. What weight did you switch from 10 to 5 lb increments on deadlift?

Took some days off to let my ankle heal from a minor sprain after all. I'm glad I did but today's workout was hard!

Squat 5x5@110 lb - it was so hard. I felt like I was so close to not being able to get up in the first two sets.
Bench 2x5, 1x4, 2x5 at 62.5 lb. Failed on the 3rd set so I increased the rest time to 5 minutes for the remainder.
Row 1x2 @ 75 lb, then 5x5 at 70 lb. Been a bit stuck at 70 here... but I know I've been inconsistent lately due to ordering my bench much later than the rest of the equipment and avoiding the gym. No more excuses!

In general, I thought it was curious that I found some of the earlier lifts the hardest. Maybe time to improve my warmups. I did the empty bar about 10 times, then 10lb each side x 5, then 25 lb each side x 4, then up to 32.5 each side for the actual workout. Maybe a more gradual warm up?

Also thinking of adding assisted pull ups or let downs? to the mix. Probably to workout B. To workout A I'm considering good mornings or hip thrusts. It was for sure going to be HT but I tested my bench today and it may not be heavy enough to stay put. Good mornings are an option too, I just worry about my neck. If anyone has any good form videos, I'd love to see them

I love reading everyone's updates and seeing their numbers climb It's so motivating.

ETA: There must be a better way than the roll of shame! But I didn't have a spotter around. *sigh*

@lwhayes820 - I started using a belt part way in my attempt at a pre-meet peak cycle. Recently competed in my first powerlifting meet and even in the raw division, most tend to use belts and even knee sleeves or wraps. I just went with the belt for this first one. I have used it for almost a couple of months now. It's hard to tell so far how much it helps because I need to break it in more as it's still rather stiff. The 4 inches is a little big at my height and it causes a small ache on the spot at the top of my hip bone. But overall, I do like using it for the heavy sets on squats and deadlift.


Had struggles with internet browser, so here was what I posted from yesterday's workout over in the other group too. Just a day late in posting it on here.

Rough day rough day as I didn't sleep at all. No reason, just couldn't fall asleep. Ended up going to the gym at 8 am, which is way early for me but knew I'd be too tired later in the day.


No Sleep Mess Around

10 minutes elliptical warm up

chin ups - rep counts of 3, 2 and 3
cable bicep curls 3x8 @ 60

power cleans - worked on each part of the move with just the bar for a little bit then did 3x5 roughly with a couple struggled reps on different sets with 65 total weight. Oddly, felt it more in my quads but they have been getting worked the past couple of days. We don't have an area with mats or the bumper plates, anything like that, so I have to be careful in how I put the weights down. Started with stacks of 2 25 plates per side cause the 10 plates are small but ended up adding another plate per side to get the bar up a little higher on start. Kinda interesting though.

pendlay rows - with straps did 3x5 @ 95. Tried 115 but no good. Hadn't done them in few weeks so need to be consistent if want any progress but 95 was pretty good.

20 minutes elliptical then some random walking around stores before getting cold brew at Starbucks.


Considering Texas Method. While I like the 4 days a week, upper/lower splits but full body would be three days a week, which might work better with the running. Not sure yet but we'll see. It's near the top of the list of potential options.



Also, considering going to gym in morning instead of at night but not sure yet. hmmm