chichidachimp wrote: »

jowaring wrote: »

Today's workout after warm up.
Ohp 5x5@50lbs.finally up from 47.

Congrats on the OHP PR! That's so awesome!

Thanks for all the great advice on protein sources guys! I love cheese and pumpkin seeds. I should definitely include more of them in my diet.

Starting my first workout of week 4!
Squats 5x5 100 (WU: 2x5 45, 65, 85) I'm still trying to prevent front leaning.
OHP 5x5 45. Tried 50lbs and could only do 1x3 or 1x4. Sticking with this weight for now.
DL 1x5 135 (WU: 1x5 65, 90, 115). Going to stick with this weight for a week or 2.

Seems like I should repeat these exact weights on Friday and see if they get better. Guess my noobish gains are slowly coming to an end. I followed up with a 4mi run.

Thank you!your numbers are really good for just 4 weeks!I've been doing sl for 8 months now.i find ohp hard to increase weight on.

@chichidachimp Do you do back or front squats? High or low bar? If it's back, esp low bar, you should have some forward lean to keep the bar over your midfoot as you go down. The Eat, Train, Progress group has a video form check thread, like the one on this group but more extensive if you want feedback from some experienced lifters.

@amyinthetardis1231 I generally do low bar back squats. Maybe front leaning is the wrong term. My friend was watching my squats yesterday and said I don't go up in one full motion. I think this is called the good morning squat. Thanks for the idea! I'll definitely check out that group!

@jowaring Thank you! I'm learning every day. Yesterday, I was working out with some friends who were squatting around 300lbs so it's nice to have a little perspective.

SL Day off. Definitely feeling it in the hamstrings and shoulders. Doing a run commute to work this week. Ran 1.6mi and will run another short run in the evening.

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

Both squat and ohp were better today. Definitely stay at the same weight for one more round each and then re-evaluate. I think I'll need to add reps to my ohp before I can add more weight, unless I pick up some fractional plates soon.

Did some hip thrusters too. Tried to activate my glutes, but my abs are SORE. Normal, or was I doing them wrong?

You definitely have to engage the heck out of your abs during hip thrusts, so it makes sense they were sore. If your hamstrings or low back were sore but your butt wasn't I'd say you were probably doing them incorrectly, but for now it sounds like your abs need to catch up to your butt.

Went to the office gym at lunch, not my favorite gym. Mostly because jerks can't put stuff away! I usually have the free weight room to myself at least at the time I go. I did workout B today, I have to get fancy to do DL here, use some mats and whatnot to get the bar up to heights. Things also feel heavier at this gym than at the power lifting gym I just joined. My lower back hurts after today's workout, I wonder if I am pushing up with too much back in it on my squats??

Edit to add: Over the weekend I booked a trip to FL for late April and another to Mexico late August, so I am extra motivated to keep my eating in check and my workouts consistent!

Haven't been checking in, but I'm still at it. 4 workouts done.
Squats - 5x5 at 60 lbs
OHP - 5x5 at 47.5
DL - 1x5 at 105

Squat Day

squats 2x10 @ 45, 1x10 @ 95, 1x8 @ 135 and 2x8 @ 155
overload 235 for 20 count
good morning 3x10 @ 95
pause squat 2x5 @ 95
leg extensions 2x12 @ 55

Today's workout after warm up.
Hubby's at work so did light squats.
5x12@50lbs
Bench 55454 @67lbs .second time I've failed at this weight.
Rows 5x5@72lbs
bulgarian split squats.30 each leg.back to heavy squats tomorrow!

canadianlbs wrote: »

chichidachimp wrote: »

@amyinthetardis1231 I generally do low bar back squats. Maybe front leaning is the wrong term. My friend was watching my squats yesterday and said I don't go up in one full motion. I think this is called the good morning squat.

sounds like what people also call hips 'shooting up'? where your legs are stronger than your back so the bar gets kind of left behind. then as your back flattens out there's nowhere for the bar to go but forwards, really.

sometimes what helps me with that is to imagine i'm sitting on teh floor and trying to shove a refrigerator back against a wall. my feet are braced and sure my legs are doing most of the work. but really i'm using my back too, otherwise i'd just jackknife at the hips and most of that power would be wasted. the times i remember to do it it's almost more like you're driving with your abs than your back, actually.

no lifting for me. i got a totally flat rear tire a few blocks from home yesterday, and after-work errands today, tomorrow and maybe thursday.

This is why I've been "stuck" at 65 lbs in my squat for a week or so now. Trying to get all the parts caught up. Ha ha. Yesterday was better... tomorrow will hopefully be good so I can add more. We'll see.

No SL for me. Boyfriend and I are joining some friends for rock climbing/bouldering this evening. We've never been. I'm looking forward to an activity with people that is physical.

i'd love to pretend my s.i. is all better, but it wouldn't be honest. been a bit disappointed with it, and with my tuesday massage session with a new student who was adorable and whip-smart but so skinny and droopy i wondered how she could hoist a gallon of milk. but just on the chance i thunk ahead and sherpa'd workout stuff with me this morning as well.

and it worked out. i went and squatted at the non-fancy rec centre where the patronizing attendant/trainer hangs out. luckily i forgot about that and luckily also the place was nice and quiet. i stayed at 65 pounds, because by that point i'd discovered something that worked and i was afraid that another five pounds would make me lose it again. did three very careful sets of 5, front and back, and came home.

poor mr t. just as he gives up trying to get me to keep my head up and accepts that dropping it is more comfortable for me, i arrive at exactly the conclusion he's been trying to explain by some sideways path of my own. i'm not even sure what's doing it. but i think having a stronger back recently has made it suddenly meaningful to pull my whole upper back down, and actively keep it that way throughout the rep. and when you do that, turns out, your head naturally wants to be a little more back-and-up too. so result: a back that feels a lot more straight from neck to bum, and that i can actually feel in the sensory sense too. so if anything deviates i feel that as well. idk why this seems to kill the s.i. crinkle better than anythign else that i've tried, but it does.

i think the magic bullet might be externally rotating my arms when i take hold of the bar. i can place my thumbs at the edge of the knurl now, which is way tighter than i've ever been able to get them before. then i rotate my arm bones so my elbows are pointing down instead of just sideways. and then i step in and under once i've got all that done. i try to hold that tightness in my teres muscles and so on the whole time.

could be another false dawn, but i guess i'll take it for now and just see how the mid-term works out.