Count Up to 16 Weeks of Strength Building - Take 2
Replies
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Dcresider, thanks for the feedback. I took your advice and did my strength training first then went for a 4 mile walk/jog. Felt really great but especially since I did not do squats or deadlifts.
Week: 3 / Total Weeks: 19
Routine: Workout B
Hyperextensions- Held 4 sets for 1 minute
Note: I attempted to do deadlifts with just 53 pounds but I could still feel the discomfort in my left, back hip. I just don't know if I need to wait until I feel absolutely nothing or it's okay to feel a little discomfort. I didn't know it was still there until I attempted the lift. I am so very pleased how it has healed thus far because it improves everyday. Now it's to a point that I unaware unless I attempt to do deadlifts or squats. Does not hurt but just a feeling that is not normal.
Shoulder Press - 45 lbs 4 × 6,6,6,5
Note: Even though I could not do the last rep of the last set, this felt really good for once.
Negative Pull Ups- 4 X 6 reps
Have a great weekend everyone!0 -
Friday's Workout
Week 3, Day 9
Squats - Warm-up 2x5 @ 45lbs
Workout 5x5 @ 85lbs - Felt good. Form was good. I can feel new muscles working.0 -
I really don't know why my posts are not going through?! They keep getting cut off after I post!
Continuation
Bench Press 5x5@65lbs
Lift was better today. Finally feeling more comfortable with it.
Row 5x5 @ 85lbs
This one is tough for me! Especially at the 4th rep of the 4th set. I waited 3 min between sets. I may hold at this weight the next time.
Sat workout
30 min HIIT Elliptical intervals - 1 min work, 2 min rest. Felt good, but drained afterwards. Enjoying my rest day.0 -
Week:4 / Total Weeks: 20
Routine: Workout A
Bodyweight: 125.4 lbs
Squats
Set 1: 33 lbs × 6
Set 2: 43 lbs × 6
Set 3: 53 lbs × 6
Set 4: 63 lbs × 6
Set 5: 73 lbs × 6
Was able to do squats again. Previous max was 84. So not too bad. Felt no discomfort. Decided to start with the bar and keep adding 10 lbs until it felt challenging. Also, decided to count each set not knowing if discomfort would return with each increase of weight but it never did. Thanks goodness!
Bench Press - 63 lbs 4 × 6
Negative Pull Ups - 4 X 6
Still not ready to try the rows. I want to give deadlift a try again before adding rows back to my routine.1 -
Happy Monday everyone! Hope your Monday is better than mine since my is not starting with a good start. Warning....vent alert!!
I stopped my IF for the weekend and splurged more than usual. I suppose this splurge counteracts all the IF 16:8 I did for last week but I was just plain hungry even with the extra protein. I decided to weigh myself this morning but still no change. I'm very frustrated because I see any change whatsoever...no weight loss...no inches lost. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Hubby says he notices some definition but I can't see it.
Anyway, our 4 week update is coming up and I guess once I take measurements I'll re-evaluate my macros, possibly do more cardio, and increase reps/decrease weights. So at what point in your strength training did you see your weight #s go down? I know I shouldn't focus on the the scale but I have to see some kind of change.
A new problem: my right rotator cuff is giving me problems since my overhead press and bench press from last last week. I'm afraid to lift anything shoulder related and today is bench press day. Any alternate exercises/lifts I can do?
All opinions welcome and thanks for listening.0 -
A new problem: my right rotator cuff is giving me problems since my overhead press and bench press from last last week. I'm afraid to lift anything shoulder related and today is bench press day. Any alternate exercises/lifts I can do?
your pecs probably won't wither from missing one or two bench workouts
at least, mine haven't, and i've half-assed a lot of my bench work in the past year.
instead of doing the lift, you could tell yourself that your 'bench related' mission this week is to do rehabby maintenance stuff. stretching pec major AND pec minor can make you sweat and gasp almost as much as the lift. and (assuming impingement is the issue) the best stuff i've found in terms of actual exercise is external rotation drills.
i do 3x12 external rotations with light weights in different planes, 'y' and 't' lifts, and band pulls to warm up my shoulder and remind the rear cuff how to move. fwiw, the physio who helped me fix this issue was very adamant that 'you never work shoulder muscles to fatigue point. they're too small and you just want to remind your brain how to activate them and hold the joint in a good position.'
broomstick dislocates are essential too. i try to do them slowly to actually find sticking points in the movement, and when i find something i pause and hold for a stretch time instead of just letting momentum pull me through it.
gl with it. on the weight thing . . . hang in there. you could read this thread for entertainment while you do.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/797688/experience-with-the-whoosh
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broomstick dislocates are essential too. i try to do them slowly to actually find sticking points in the movement, and when i find something i pause and hold for a stretch time instead of just letting momentum pull me through it.
I think I saw these on an Allan Thrall video. Awesome for stretching. First time I did it, I was like ooowwww this hurts. But slowly getting better.
The pain in my hip is awesome. Not really. Everything down the left side hurts today, sciatic, hip joint, even my index finger on the left side. So not impressed right now.
Gym on Friday
Squat 5/5/4/4/1@ 160pds
BP 5x5@105pds (sticking here as I don't have a spotter
)
Row- skipped these as I ran out of time to get back to the office
Last week, I just felt 'off'. Not sure what is going on, though the pain in my sciatic etc, may explain a bit.
I did some yoga moves (omg I suck at these) to help with the pain and stretching. Debating what to do at the gym today as the chiro is closed.
Positive note...I no longer have any pain in my knee!0 -
canadianlbs - thanks for the read re: "the whoosh." I'll also lay off the bench press for a while so I won't keep aggravating the problem. After googling the rotator cuff problems, it feels more like a tendonitis problem. I can actually feel the tendon when I press on it or if I rotate my arm/hand. I guess I'll be stretching more this week.
Week 4 - Today's workout: partial SL and cardio.
Squats: 5x5 @110 lbs. I'm staying at this weight for a while. Maybe I'll increase the reps.
OP: Not doing these today because of my shoulder tendonitis /rotator cuff problem.
BRows: 5x5@ 75 lbs. Sticking with these at the same weight and may increase reps.
cardio: 3m run scheduled. I was planning to bike to work but had a flat.
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Canadianlbs, you are so awesome with your responses. So detailed and helpful. But I must admit that you tend to remind me of my newbie status. LOL! In other words, I still have a lot of strength training lingo to learn. But keep it coming.
Isca_1, yeah for the no pain in knee!
Iwayes, great job on the consistency! I can tell you are committed to these 16 weeks. Keep going!
Dcresider, are you saying that you have not lost a single pound since starting the the first 16 week thread? I ask because I just want to try to help you see the victories that you might be overlooking. If you haven't lost any fat, then I my next question is can you honestly say that you have been tracking and eating in a deficit consistently (as in for an entire month)? I am talking overall deficit for an entire month not necessarily deficit every single day for an entire month. I'm being careful not to just say the RA RA RA feel good responses because I want to help. Did you see that video where the woman is convinced that she's eating at a deficit but turns out she was not? The best thing I can come up with so that you can get to the root cause is INSIST that you do 1 month perfect food tracking making sure to eat at a deficit. If there is truly no loss then we need to go from there. But I am still guessing that you are not eating at a deficit when you look at a months worth of data. Can you try this Dcresider? Or would you say that you know for sure that you have in the past (excluding this past weekend) and still no loss?
On the other hand, of course you don't want to be hungry. That's no fun. And you shouldn't have to be. But I suspect this is due to IF. That can be a little tricky--if it's something you really want to do then maybe try to slowly increase you time without food. Maybe 30 minutes a day until you get to a point where you can skip breakfast.
My personal situation. I accidentally posted my weight in today's post because it's a copy/paste from my strength training app. But what I want you know is that before I saw that 125.4 lbs, I had been hovering around 127.2 and at one point back up to 129 for a few days. I won't lie as I was little concern when I saw 129 as I thought I was past having to see that number. But I still reminded myself that I had not eaten in excess 3,500 calories to gain a pound, let alone 7,000 in excess for 2 pounds. Heck, I hadn't even eaten in 1,750 for a half pound. Having said that, don't get me wrong as I do eat over my 1,200 + workout calories some days but I just take my time and make up for them throughout the week. I could just keep going and never mind the extra but this is just my chosen way to deal with at this time. Where the heck am I going with this, just like the link that Canadianlbs included, I just woke up this weekend and SWOOSH down to 125.4. I first went from 129 to 127 earlier in the week then a new low of 125.4. It has happened this way for me most of the time through out this journey. I don't really know if there is a swoosh or my body has regulated itself after the period and ovulation cycle. I think the lateral. But I've learned to trust it because it has been happening this way for nearly 20 weeks now. Again, what the heck am I trying to say, I am trying to convey that ONLY you can do the trial and error to REALLY know your number for being in a deficit. Then all you need is patience and to be consistent. Dresider, you don't want to be hungry so even a small 15% deficit is okay as long as you are getting some results slowly but surely. Now others will probably say don't focus on the scale and they probably know better than me BUT, I know I have not put on 10 to 15 lbs of muscles in 20 weeks. So if I haven't then I do expect to see some type of loss on the scale. But again, perhaps others know best but I know from your posts that you want to see fat loss in addition to retaining muscles.
Hope something in all of this helps Dcresider as I want you to get the results you want. I feel like mine are super duper slow but I am okay with it. So I know you are too but you just want to see something. I get it. But I bet your hubby is right. Look at your pictures! In it for the long haul!!! Stay the course!
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DDHFree - Thank you for taking time for giving me your opinion and I know it takes time and patience, something that I don't have, but I will persevere! Like you said, I have to stay strict with my deficit. MFP has me eating 1290 calories (listed myself as a non-active) plus the extra cardio calories accrued if I want to eat more. One thing I can say about this weekend was that I had way too much sodium, some wine, and it was also that time of month. With the exception of some weekends, I do track everything down to the piece of gum I chew and a shot of cream in my coffee. I'm drinking lots of water today and trying to get to 10+ cups a day.
I'm planning to track my weight every morning this week just to see if there is any fluctuation.0 -
Week 4/Day 8/Total weeks 4
SL's A
Cycled for 13.5 miles this morning so skipped the squats!
BP: 45lbs 2x5/70lbs 5x5
err, skipped the Row too :-/
I did do skullcrushers & shrugs though!0 -
Squat 75 lbs - 3 X 5
Bench 52.5 lbs 3 X 6
DB rows - 22.5 lbs 3 X 80 -
Canadianlbs, you are so awesome with your responses. So detailed and helpful. But I must admit that you tend to remind me of my newbie status. LOL! In other words, I still have a lot of strength training lingo to learn. But keep it coming.
Isca_1, yeah for the no pain in knee!
Iwayes, great job on the consistency! I can tell you are committed to these 16 weeks. Keep going!
Dcresider, are you saying that you have not lost a single pound since starting the the first 16 week thread? I ask because I just want to try to help you see the victories that you might be overlooking. If you haven't lost any fat, then I my next question is can you honestly say that you have been tracking and eating in a deficit consistently (as in for an entire month)? I am talking overall deficit for an entire month not necessarily deficit every single day for an entire month. I'm being careful not to just say the RA RA RA feel good responses because I want to help. Did you see that video where the woman is convinced that she's eating at a deficit but turns out she was not? The best thing I can come up with so that you can get to the root cause is INSIST that you do 1 month perfect food tracking making sure to eat at a deficit. If there is truly no loss then we need to go from there. But I am still guessing that you are not eating at a deficit when you look at a months worth of data. Can you try this Dcresider? Or would you say that you know for sure that you have in the past (excluding this past weekend) and still no loss?
On the other hand, of course you don't want to be hungry. That's no fun. And you shouldn't have to be. But I suspect this is due to IF. That can be a little tricky--if it's something you really want to do then maybe try to slowly increase you time without food. Maybe 30 minutes a day until you get to a point where you can skip breakfast.
My personal situation. I accidentally posted my weight in today's post because it's a copy/paste from my strength training app. But what I want you know is that before I saw that 125.4 lbs, I had been hovering around 127.2 and at one point back up to 129 for a few days. I won't lie as I was little concern when I saw 129 as I thought I was past having to see that number. But I still reminded myself that I had not eaten in excess 3,500 calories to gain a pound, let alone 7,000 in excess for 2 pounds. Heck, I hadn't even eaten in 1,750 for a half pound. Having said that, don't get me wrong as I do eat over my 1,200 + workout calories some days but I just take my time and make up for them throughout the week. I could just keep going and never mind the extra but this is just my chosen way to deal with at this time. Where the heck am I going with this, just like the link that Canadianlbs included, I just woke up this weekend and SWOOSH down to 125.4. I first went from 129 to 127 earlier in the week then a new low of 125.4. It has happened this way for me most of the time through out this journey. I don't really know if there is a swoosh or my body has regulated itself after the period and ovulation cycle. I think the lateral. But I've learned to trust it because it has been happening this way for nearly 20 weeks now. Again, what the heck am I trying to say, I am trying to convey that ONLY you can do the trial and error to REALLY know your number for being in a deficit. Then all you need is patience and to be consistent. Dresider, you don't want to be hungry so even a small 15% deficit is okay as long as you are getting some results slowly but surely. Now others will probably say don't focus on the scale and they probably know better than me BUT, I know I have not put on 10 to 15 lbs of muscles in 20 weeks. So if I haven't then I do expect to see some type of loss on the scale. But again, perhaps others know best but I know from your posts that you want to see fat loss in addition to retaining muscles.
Hope something in all of this helps Dcresider as I want you to get the results you want. I feel like mine are super duper slow but I am okay with it. So I know you are too but you just want to see something. I get it. But I bet your hubby is right. Look at your pictures! In it for the long haul!!! Stay the course!
Nice post, agree with you. I always see a loss right after my periods and before ovulation. Rest of the month scale weight is always high. But as long as you are doing everything right, the loss will eventually happen.
Good luck everyone!!0 -
It really helps me to see the validation from you sixpacklady. It's been my reality for nearly 20 weeks now and to know that I'm not the only one helps me to see that it's just the way the body works for some of us. Thanks for sharing!sixpacklady wrote: »I always see a loss right after my periods and before ovulation. Rest of the month scale weight is always high. But as long as you are doing everything right, the loss will eventually happen.
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Canadianlbs, you are so awesome with your responses. So detailed and helpful. But I must admit that you tend to remind me of my newbie status.
heh. i usually assume there's already some google-friendly webpage or vidclip out there that could explain any 'technical' term a lot better than me. basing that on the fact that i'm 98% google-educated myself when it comes to lifting
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DDHFree - excellent post and thanks for your encouragement.
All of you ladies are inspirational and I'm glad we have each other to keep us accountable.0 -
Monday's Workout
Week 4 Day 10
Routine B
Squats - Warmup 2x5@45lbs; Lift 5x5 @ 90lbs. Started taking 3 min between sets. It helped me to complete the sets.
OHP - Warmup 2x5@45 lbs, Lift 5x5 @ 65 lbs. Last two sets, rested 3 min. Was hard at end, but finished.
Deadlift - 2x5 @ 130lbs. Definitely got my heart pumping!
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Iwhayes820 - great job on those overhead presses. I still can't go beyond 55 lbs. just yet and now with my shoulder hurting, I may be deloading. Gotta love those deadlifts!0
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Week:4 / Workout: A /Total Weeks: 20
Deadlifts
Set 1: 73 lbs × 6
Set 2: 83 lbs × 6
Set 3: 93 lbs × 6
Set 4: 103 lbs × 6
Finally able to do my deadlifts again! I am so relieved. As side from the first warm up set, I simply did a full set each time just in case my body rejected. But it was not a problem at all. My previous max was 109 lbs so I will settled for 103 after 2 weeks of no deadlifting. I will respect this lift even more moving forward. Yeah!!! I can deadlift again!
Shoulder Press - 46 lbs 4 × 6
Okay, I can't believe I can finally do all 4 sets and all 6 reps at 46 lbs. I deloaded to 43 a few weeks ago because I kept failing at 46 lbs. Now I finally did it. The last set and rep was tough but I did it!!!
Negative Pull Ups - 4 X 6
Dcresider, I hope you have a speedy recover with your shoulder.
Iwhayes, I don't know how you OHP 65 lbs. I am just so proud of my 46 and you press darn near 20 lbs more than that. You go girl!
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Wednesday's work out
Week 4/Day 11/Workout A/ Total Weeks - 4
Squats
2x5 @ 45lbs
1x3 @ 65lbs
5x5 @ 95lbs!! Taking 2-3 min rests now0 -
Bench Press
2x5 @ 70lbs. Very proud of this lift! Watching Alan Thrall videos has certainly me with my form. These felt pretty good.
Rows
2x5 @ 65lbs
5x5 @ 90lbs. I had my fractional plates ready! But, I decided to try it and if it didn't work, deload and try again. But, the warmup and 2-3 min rests helped. I still may deload just to feel more secure in this lift. Lifting 65lbs felt like a breeze and I remember it being hard, too.
Dcresider and DDHFree - thanks for the encouragement on OHPs. I'm definitely resting 3 min between sets, but so far so good.0 -
Happy Hump Day. I was planning on skipping my SL workout today due to the shoulder but decided against it and went forward with it. I upped my reps instead of weights.
Squats: 5x6 @110 lbs.
OH Press: 5x6 @ 45lbs. I didn't want to lift 60 lbs. today because of the shoulder. It still twinges when I pull at things although pushing is fine so I ended up doing 5 sets of 6 reps.
DeadLifts: 1x6 @ 150 lbs. Felt heavy but didn't effect my shoulder surprisingly.
Cardio: 30 minute run. Still no bicycling because of the 15th day of rain. Ugh!
macros: Because of this weather, I just want to snack all day! I'm eating enough protein but need some veggies in my diet.
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Dcreider, you deadlift 150 lbs? Wow! And you did that with an injured shoulder. I guess I have to get use to see these impressive numbers from you ladies. Seriously, I just can't imagine the lifting the weight that you and Iwhayes lift.0
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DDHFree - You'd be surprised how much strength you really have when you dead lift. I still can't believe I can lift that although it's only 1 set. I really don't think I could do multiple sets.0
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Holy Moly @dcresider 150lb deadlift, that is an awesome amount of weight!
Week 4/Day 9/Total Weeks 4
SL's A & B!
My old trainer helped me out with form checks today, so I actually ended up doing all of A & B, I will count this as a workout, as I was still a sweaty mess afterwards, so I definitely did work out!
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Hi ladies. Happy Thursday. Today is rest day for me. No exercise whatsoever. No IF either just because I need a break, plus I have lunch plans at work.
My shoulder is feeling better after my overhead presses yesterday. I felt like one of my tendons clicked into place after the lift and for some reason it felt better last night. I will lower my weight for tomorrow's bench press because that's where the shoulder pain started and check on my form.
Have a great day.0 -
Enjoy your break Dcresider. Good for you for recognizing the need. I've been feeling one approaching as well. I've been toying with the idea of taking a 2 weeks deficit break. But haven't committed to it yet. Part of me is concerned that if I do, that it might be hard to restart.0
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Week:4 / Workout: A /Total Weeks: 20
Squats - 74 lbs 4× 6
Bench Press - 63 lbs 4 × 6
Negative Pull Ups - 4 X 61 -
Deadlift 105lbs 2 X 6
OHP - 3 X 5 45 lbs - last one was struggle
Pullups - Negatives and band pullups0 -
It's finally Friday and the sun is finally out after 16 days. Things are looking up. Here's my SL workout for the day.
Squats: 5 x 6 @ 110 lbs. Upped the reps but staying on the same weight.
Bench P: 5 x 6 @ 75 lbs. Deloaded 10 lbs since I'm iffy about my shoulder. I also placed risers underneath the bench so that my feet would stay flat on the floor and i definitely felt the difference. I'll know tomorrow if i'm sore.
Bentover Rows: 5 x 6 @ 75 lbs. Deloaded 10 lbs here too and increased reps.
romanian deadlifts: 3 x 8 @ 80 lbs.
Cardio: bike to work 20 minutes (leaving bike at work since we're off to a soccer game); ran 20 minute intervals.
Have a great weekend.
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