a_stronger_steph Member

I agree with the chorus of "Garmin!". I have the 305 and it's great - it picks up signal fairly quickly even though I'm in the middle of downtown Toronto, with skyscrapers all around me (I do, however, leave it out on my balcony for a few minutes before I run so it can pick up satellites while I get ready). I agree with…

With respect to the legs, I usually wax so not much has changed for me there. But with respect to the pits... yes, yes, a thousand times YES. I noticed that dip/curve a while ago and was all... "what the heck?! I swear I shaved you effortlessly before!" Small price to pay, though, hahah. ;)

I live in Toronto. Like, right downtown Toronto. About as downtown as one can live. I'm utterly surrounded by tall buildings at the start of all my runs. So I *always* have issues with GPS reception...it's a bugger! I started using my Android phone (HTC Desire) with RunKeeper, but it would often take >5 minutes to find…

Congrats on your running progress! :D I'm wondering if you have a smartphone (or access to one, or a GPS watch)? If so, I'd highly recommend downloading the RunKeeper (or similar) app that uses GPS to track your location and speed. You can set it to chime in periodically with your current and average speed or pace.…

I'm 5'4" and the length I like best is a few inches above my knee. Hitting right at the knee looks awkward on me, and hitting mid-calf is just not good. Long, maxi skirts/dresses are also nice, I've recently discovered - I always thought I couldn't pull them off (especially the maxi dresses - they look SO tall on the…

I did C25K last summer, and signed up for a race while I was doing the program, but the race was scheduled for a couple of months after I finished the program. To be honest, I wish the race had come sooner, haha. So... yes! GO FOR IT! The thing about doing a race, too, is that you're not necessarily "competing" with the…

If there is a specialty running store in your area (where I am, we have "The Running Room" stores), I would go there. They will ask you to run back and forth in the store without your shoes, and will look at how your foot falls. Then they'll pick a bunch of shoes that will be right for your type of foot fall, and you can…

Argh... my "May progress" is going to suuuuck. I'm headed to Iceland for 2 weeks tomorrow (yay!). Staying in hostels and farm guesthouses - not exactly the sort of places that would have gyms. I expect to lose some strength, but hopefully not *too* much, while I'm gone. We'll see when I get back, I guess! Anyone taken two…

Psh, of course you qualify! Hope those squats move into a more love-love relationship for ya. :)

Haha yeah, I love that.

Ahh, we look like progress twins! I was thinking I should deload my rows as well to get the form down - other than that my stats are pretty close to yours. Yay!

I'm fairly sure it's supposed to be done standing. Here's the SL page on it: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-overhead-press-with-correct-technique/ I guess you could do it sitting, but you would lose a lot of the effects that you get from "stabilizing" while standing. If you find the overhead press becoming more of a push…

I haven't noticed this, but it would be welcome if it happened. I'm on the pill, though, so I'm pretty regular in duration/intensity. I'll keep an eye out for changes though!

I did squats/bench/row day today, and increased my squats from my deload back up to 90 lbs, and felt fine. Using UponThisRock's advice to activate my hips *before* the descent and keep 'em activated on the ascent as well. Still iffy about my hands (using a neutral thumb is really starting to aggravate my the outer edge of…

I think lots of people successfully do ATG squats. For some, they are too low (if you lack the flexibility, which some do) - it sounds like you are flexible enough, so you're probably fine. That said, the Stronglifts' guy doesn't really recommend ATG squats, but it seems to be mostly because of concern of potential for…

Super impressive!!

Well, I finally (finally!) increased my overhead press weight from 45 to 50 lbs. I failed *every* set (varying degrees of failure - sometimes I managed 4 reps, once I only managed one piddly rep). BUT - I increased it. I will only get better! And, no, I didn't rest 5 whole minutes for each failed set, mostly because if I…

Hi! I've got a few questions... 1) When did you start the program? How often have you been lifting (1x, 2x, 3x a week?). 2) When you say your run time is worse, what do you mean? You've had a bad run, or your time has been getting consistently worse? Are you running as frequently as you were before you started SL? 3) How…

I have heard of people using those Reebok step-thingies - maybe that would work? I might try that next time... or putting them in the power rack with the catch bars all the way down, maybe. I don't know, I've gotta do something differently, because this move is super bizarre to me. I'll try the thumbless grip, too. :)

From the aforementioned UponThisRock, who has given me permission to repost his message to me (hey, if it helps me, which I hope it will, then it may help others as well!): The main problem with your squat is that you're doing too much "bending over" and not enough "sitting back." Another way to think about it is "squat…

Sounds like a great day! I have a quick question about what you said with the rows (for anyone to answer, really): I remember reading that the grip was supposed to be the same for the bench press as for the row, that they were supposed to be "same but opposite" movements. Would thumbless grip throw that off at all? I think…

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate it. :) I probably won't be switching to ATG squats, the reason being that neither Mehdi nor Rippetoe particularly recommend it (http://stronglifts.com/how-deep-should-you-squat-anyway/), and it's this program that I'm trying to stick to at the moment. Though, hmm, believe me, I have…

I tried to increase my bench from 60 lbs to 65 lbs today and it was a pretty astonishingly epic fail. I could only manage 2-3 reps per set. I know that I'm supposed to wait 5 minutes if I fail a set, but... really? That's 25 minutes on bench press alone. I go to the "women's hour" at the gym most of the time, because it's…

I guess I will have to get someone to take a video of my row form... seems like it might be the only way to figure out what the heck I'm doing, haha.

Yeah - my workouts started taking longer than an hour in Stage 2 and that's when I called it quits. I'm also too lazy/impatient to remember all the different moves and I'm not fond of bringing a book to the gym with me. Stronglifts was short n' sweet n' simple n' structured!

Oh, I know that quote well, haha. I guess I've just never understood it? Why won't that train your upper back? You're still getting the full range of motion, no?

Thanks for the hip stretch link! I think I definitely need to incorporate those into my stretching. One thing I also like (especially on deadlift days) is a good lower back stretch. Usually I just do child's pose but sometimes some of these: http://www.fitsugar.com/Stretches-Relieve-Lower-Back-Pain-Open-Tight-Hips-409369 I…

Yeah, I see this a lot in my gym, too. I had an almost identical experience to yours - I saw a lady loading up the bar with 45 lb plates on each side, plus 10 lbs on each side, so 145 lbs total, and was peeking from my squat rack next to her, excited to see her in action. Same thing: she bent her knees slightly then came…

YES. I find it *very* difficult not to stand up a bit during each rep. My first rep is usually fine (I think!), but the rest of them I creep upwards even though I "reset" my form on each rep when I return the bar to the floor. Also, does anyone else feel these in their legs a lot? It's weird but I think it's from me trying…

I deloaded to 85 lbs today to try to work on form. I felt a lot better about it than last time. I asked the helpful badass who works at the gym (she was there to work out today, though, not on duty, so I couldn't really bug her as much as I wanted!) about hand placement and she gave me tips (turns out I was putting them…