kazzari Member

Just make sure you choose a weight that is challenging for the number of reps. If you find you can do all the reps without much effort, add weight on your next set. If it feels right, keep the same weight for all sets. But definitely always aim to increase your weight each time you do a particular workout. If it is going…

Finished out August with some progress on my squats. Two pounds away from big girl plates finally, but I gave everything I had on squats last night and failed miserably on bench. Bar stuck on my chest at 86 lbs., just 1lb. more than my last workout. I made a spectacle of myself, rolled the bar down until it stopped at my…

I remember you, too. Welcome back and look forward to watching you post your progress. Strength competition sounds like fun. I don't think we have anything like that near me. It would be motivating to train for I think.

Thank you for your detailed response! I don't know any women who have gone through it. Well, women with whom I am close enough to have these discussions anyway. I know I have a ways to go. I have just been frustrated that the squatting is keeping my quads sore all the time. Not regular DOMS but just that it hurts…

Curious about this. I am peri-menopausal and wondering if this will influence my strength gains. Did you find this simply because your symptoms interfered with your level of activity or was it directly related to hormonal changes?

Okay, made it again this week. I've been very active everyday either hiking, lifting and last night back on my bike. I have a friend needs encouragement so whatever she's up for I'm happy to do with her. Good for me, too. I'd be much lazier otherwise. Tonight: Squats 130 (heaviest weight completed before taking time off…

I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have another August workout to post. I had taken two weeks off to allow full recovery because my quads were always a little sore whenever I stood up. It has been unusually hot and muggy and I managed to talk myself out of going to the gym for nearly another week. So, forced…

Exactly what I love about Greek yogurt. When I was a kid I loved eating sour cream straight of the container. We obviously all have different tastes. I think plain Greek yogurt tastes a lot better than plain unstrained yogurt. If I hated any yogurt, I wouldn't eat it. It isn't a necessity, merely an option.

Can't you tell your husband he is not allowed to touch the bar until the moment the bar stops making upward progress? You should not even be aware of his presence until that moment. I'm so hesitant to ask someone to spot me because the guys always think the need to be cradling the bar. I've not used a spotter thus far…

Yeah, our gym only has one power rack and an angled squat rack. I do my OHP's with the hooks on the outside of the power rack only if the squat rack isn't available as it seems a waste to take up a whole power rack when I don't need it. I wish we had a lot of power racks. I sometimes I wait a half hour for the rack.

I appreciate all the responses. I was feeling extremely bloated yesterday and I'm thinking that is symptom for me. Breasts are still tender...pretty annoying. I look into that book.

Yay! I know I've been really creeping up sometimes just 1/2 lb. at a time. But progress is progress. It kills me when I see women putting up bench numbers well over 100 lbs. I can't believe I'll ever be that strong.

I personally do not recommend lifting gloves at all. They actual inhibit your gripping ability as the extra layer between your hands and the bar effectively makes your hand smaller and less able to get around the bar. I used gloves briefly until I learned of this detriment. I don't miss them at all. Don't waste your money.…

Interesting....I would not have thought of all those different symptoms. I actually have been getting mild migraines, which I've never had before in my life. My periods are probably more regular than ever,, and basically uneventful. I am noticing this month that the breast tenderness that accompanies my period has not gone…

TDEE = total daily energy expenditure...so all the calories you burn throughout the day doing all activities. Your BMR + activities of daily living + exercise.

Personally, I'd wait until I have the proper weights., but you can try it. If you feel like you didn't get enough of a challenge, repeat it in the gym. As for holding dumbbells while lunging, I have that problem at 30 lbs. I find it so uncomfortable and distracting, the I'll use a barbell instead, either pre loaded or in…

LOL...yeah, you will! It's kind of fun in a sick way, though.

Always reset. If you touch and go you are not doing a true deadlift, as the point is to pull the weight from a dead stop. Plus you won't be able to touch and go with a very heavy weight as your form will deteriorate with each rep. In order to ensure perfect form with each rep, reset. Also, get the Starting Strength and the…

Cardio isn't part of the plan. If you must do cardio, definitely do it on a day off of lifting. And if you are doing cardio and that is important to you, definitely consider lifting twice a week.

It sounds like you are talking about the set up. You only pick the bar up off the floor to get into starting position, which is standing up with the bar in front of your thighs. From here your reps begin. One rep consists of bending at the hips and lowering the bar down your thighs past your knees to in front of your shins…

You shouldn't lose strength in a week, in fact, a week off now and then gives your muscles a chance to recover fully. You may be able to lift more. I'm going to test this out on Monday. I took a deliberate week and a half off because I'm sick of feeling soreness in my quads every time I stand up at work.

Well, true. But that doesn't really apply to women. Although starting with the bar, most women should be able to add ten lbs. In the beginning. Once I reached 160 lbs. I started moving up in 2 lb. increments. Mehdi doesn't really address women doing this program, whereas Rippetoe does for Starting Strength and he does say…

LOL...yeah. How'd that pan out for you in the end?

You might be fighting a losing battle since you are already at a good weight for your height. I am 5'6" and I would be extremely thin at 129...and I am small boned. My goal weight is 135, but my body fights it and the lowest weight I can reasonably maintain is 138. You are probably much younger than me. I weighed 128 in…

I second the RDL's to strengthen hamstrings so they can play a bigger role in your squats. I'm thinking of doing this as well. Although I am squatting deep enough, thus activating my hams and glutes, my quads are sore all the time. I do feel soreness in my hams and glutes, but my quads hurt every time I stand up at work…

That sucks ... you're so young! Were you a high school athlete? I have heard good things about that supplement. My daughter's bf who has issues with his vertebra due to football injuries speaks highly of it. So far I'm pain free, but the older I get the more careful I am.

As long as I am in the novice lifter category I don't think a belt is indicated. I expect that I will be in this category for quite some time. When increasing weights on a more advanced program because difficult, I would consider investing in a belt.

August 1 workout! Squats 132.5 OHP 62 Power cleans are 45 and 55 lbs. I stopped at three sets on squats. All was well until I started set four. On the way down my right knee didn't feel quite right. I know too many people with messed up knees and I don't want to be one, so I stopped. Ten minutes later my knee felt fine,…

Wow...how extremely rude! Maybe because I'm older the guys have never been anything but respectful of me. I have even been ma'amed a few times, which unfortunately reminds me I'm not actually as young as I feel!

These are so awkward for me. Definitely a flexibility issue. I can't stand up from a body weight squat with my arms straight overhead. I practiced with a foam roller between my hands, and even that was tough. I've done squats with dumbbells with one arm down and one overhead. More doable but still awkward.