grandevampire

I mental pictured then lol'd. That is all.

Hm, I think what they meant was *proper* shoes, vs trad running shoes (which have a raised heel and are squishy). Barefoot means you're already level and have no bouncy cushioning, but other than that maybe there is a secret benefit to shoes. Yes!!! I would totally wear that, but the inverse. "My max workout is Kira's…

Understatement of the century!!! Way to go! Today's workout: Squats 5x5 @ 40kg Bench 5x3ish @ 27.5kg Rows 55433 @ 32.5kg

I don't think it's the best idea to lift the bar over your head and onto your back... Have you tried the Olympic bar yet? You might find you can do it. Otherwise, if you really don't feel up to trying yet, you can use a dumbbell and do goblet squats instead of low-bar squats.

Oh, and in answer, because I want to finish my morning workouts in a fairly timely manner, I chain a bunch of random core exercises from P90X's Ab Ripper X before I do my post-workout stretching.

I agree that I saw a difference when I did separate accessory core work vs just doing the compound lifts. Many lifting programs propose good mornings, etc when necessary to help areas that are lagging in the compound lifts. Kind of like farmer walks for working on grip strength to improve deadlift. You could just do the…

Hey, but this is pretty much the only good kind of pain in the *kitten*, right?? Yay, I seem to be progressing again! (Go banana!, in the voice of Ralph Wiggum) Squats: 5x5 @ 37.5kg OHP: 5 5 5 5 4 @ 20kg OOOOH. That last rep really wasn't happening, but considering how much better that was compared to every attempt at OHP…

I just lol'd at this at work. Hahahaha. I'm in such a good mood this morning because (I just received my new camera from Amazon, but also because) I finally feel like I'm back in the gym!! Squats 5x5 @ 35kg with good form!! Bench 5x5 @ 25kg (I know it's nothing, but at least I finished my sets for the first time in ages)…

Today: Squats: 5x5 @ 35kg, but not deep enough for my liking. Does this happen to any of you, where the first time you move up to a new weight you can't get deep enough? Do you just try anyway and do very few reps, or do you opt for non-optimum depth and complete more reps? I guess it's a mental thing, where I don't want…

Oh! It's an annual race from the Eiffel Tower to Versailles (16km). Was great fun!

You ladies are all totally beast. In the words of Chris Traeger, "You are LITrally the best." No workout today because I am dying a slow DOMS death today (serves me right for not doing the wise thing and deloading upon my return from a long break). When I walk, my lower half burns like wonderful pants of fire.

Thanks for the suggestion. I can do 15kg fine, but the problem is that my bar [EDIT: where's my head at, lol, I mean my gym, not my bar] has nothing between a 15kg fixed bar and the 20kg Olympic bar, which is a pretty big jump. I guess I could use dumbbells, but the problem is that dumbbells at lighter than 20kg seem even…

Ooookay, so I meant to dive back into lifting last week, but I caught a tummy bug and felt like crap for days. Finally hit the gym this morning still feeling pretty week, esp. having been away from lifting for 5 weeks. Squats: 5x5 @ 32.5kg Trying to work on my form, will probably stick with this for a few sessions OHP: 4 4…

aliciaje, I can't promise it will all disappear, I am shaped differently from before I started working out. I think I look more balanced now, but my shoulders are "permanently" broader than before. I got a free t-shirt for my running race, and none of the ladies' sizes fit me (but to be fair, they seemed TINY). I think…

Do you eat/like bananas? A scoop of unflavoured whey blended with banana, a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder, and a tablespoon of honey is good (to me). I can even manage pea protein that way, and pea protein is 10000x harder than whey (for me at least. I don't mind whey plain with water).

Thanks, gals, you inspire me to do more all the time! Lol, I actually dusted the most people during the whole race on that stretch, and I think I owe it all to squatting, I kid you not. I pretty much trotted the rest of the way, but on the hills, my hamstring power really kicked in, and it oddly felt like a break to change…

Hello hello, My 16.1K race finally happened on Sunday, and I was super happy to have finished (and to be able to move on with my lifting life again)! Ran it in 1:48:55, which was faster than I was expecting considering that I had only trained at running for two months, not to mention that big *kitten* 3km/200m rise hill to…

I have to say that the point of true minimalist shoes is to eliminate external support. It is meant to mimic being barefoot, while keeping out dirt and keeping pointy things from cutting your feet (i.e. VFFs or Merrell Vapor Gloves). But that is a whole other discussion!

Wait, but less than half is good right?? That means that you can pull up more than half of your body weight?

lwoodroff, dumb question, but I keep seeing posts about assisted pullups...not having ever used such a machine, what does the 35kg mean? Does it mean it takes off 35kg from your bodyweight, or is it the inverse (i.e. makes you "weigh" 35kg)?

@roxylola....I dunno if you have already been to chiropractors, but personally, my experience with it has been slightly violent. I originally went when I was younger for mild scoliosis, and they cracked every joint everywhere, and ever since, I often just feel uncomfortable and have to crack, whereas I had never had that…

I am training for a race later this month, so I scaled back my lifting to twice a week, and I run 3 times a week (never on the same day). I had my schedule set up in a non-ideal way, with my long run the day before lifting, and I could see that my lifting suffered. I will be trying a tweaked schedule where I rest before…

Hey all, guess I shall play... I am 5'8.5" (173cm), about to turn 29. I am originally from Canada (Toronto), but am currently living in Paris, France. As a kid, I was a competitive swimmer, and when I stopped that, went on to play quite a bit of tennis. I have always been athletically inclined, I suppose, although after…

Hello hello, separated from my gym by more than 6000km, I did a makeshift Stronglifts session at the gym in my sister's building. Using dumbbells. Gotta say, lifting is a lot trickier with dumbbells. 60lb goblet squats...Except I couldn't hold onto the 60lb dumbbell properly with goblet squat form (arms too weak!). So I…

In general, I try not to take any single source of advice. Having more than one point of reference helps to know whether there are better points of view. In this case, I don't watch his stuff regularly, and I have seen many other videos, so I was using it more as a practical demonstration of how to get the bar to go…

Yay Dory! Even if your memory goes in old age, you'll still be fit and swimming about! Hill sprints day, did 6 x 2 minute sprints, 7 km total run. I can feel my fitness level going up, I could have run a bunch more easy kilometers, but I was running late for work. Boo work. Always getting in the way!!!

Wait, wait, I think I take back analysis point number 2!! Rewatching Jonnie Candito (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fmrKmJMQnw), he actually verbally says the opposite, that he keeps his upper body quite upright throughout! (Which totally makes sense if avoiding the bar travelling forwards at the bottom.) So basically…

Lol, sounds delicious. I have no food stuffs to report except that now I'm all stuffed from food (since going on maintenance). I keep forgetting and falling behind. Argh, it's hard without pigging out on any old crap. This morning's workout: Squats 5x5 @ 32.5kg again to work on my form (as evidenced by my form check video…

Ohhh thanks! I tried to find this video when you mentioned it on another thread, but I only found ones with other people learning (which was helpful, but not as).

Lol, ya, my feet aren't big enough to save me. I will start brainstorming on what I can use as a TUBOW!