chunkmunk Member

Thank you! I ordered them. Weird that I am totally excited about getting washers in the mail now . . . . .

I think it is all about making water easily accessible, as the other posters have said. Just keep it with you at all times. I used to laugh at folks in college and law school that toted water bottles around with them everywhere--I wondered why they were so thirsty all the time, as I rarely drank anything. Now I am one of…

I have officially switched to 3 x 5 and I am back in love with lifting!!!! Plus I scored a deal on craiglist yesterday and now have an olympic bar and weights instead of my standard ones, which is a huge upgrade. And I nailed 120 squats today--like I could have done them all day. I'm seriously happy as 4 weeks ago I could…

HOLY COW, hofo! 13 pounds since January is BADASS. And 3% loss of BF is certainly nothing to sneeze at. I'm on my way out of the office and to a bar to watch some basketball. I'll drink to you! :drinker:

I don't think any type of exercise creates a more defined mid-section. Definition will only come with loss of body fat. What lifting does, and what other ab workouts do, is strengthen the abdominal/core muscles. My opinion, anyway. And I'm feeling much stronger in my abs and core afer 10 plus weeks of stronglifts. The only…

@citris: Nurse

Meh workout last night. Finally hit 120 on squats, but only 5554. Then decided to screw it because I'm sick of 5 x 5 and am only going to do 3 x 5 hereinafter. Now I feel better. :angry:

OP I do 3 sets to failure of both pushups and chinups (assisted) after deadlifts on workout B days. But only if I have extra time. Otherwise I don't sweat it. I do agree that you should not ditch the OHP. I've actually come to enjoy that lift. But I still despise rows.

You ladies are bringing it! Congrats to everyone on their awesomeness. I have a quick NSV to share. I tried on a pair of jeans last night that were a size smaller than I thought I needed. And woo hoo--they were TOO BIG! The scale isn't moving, but clearly the fat is. Happy dance.:laugh:

We all react to exercise a little differently, so try to find what is best for you. But I agree with Tameko that that sounds like a lot of work, especially if you are new to both running and barbell work. I thought I was in decent shape when I started SL 10 weeks ago. I"m near goal weight and had completed ChaLean Extreme,…

You are doing great! I agree about running shoes. But I workout at home and am too cheap to buy converse, so I just wear socks. :wink:

Welcome!

I have two weeks left on my first cycle of SL, and after a rest week, I intend to start up again---but 3 x 5 for all exercises. That's what Starting Strength is so I figure it can't be awful. And frankly the workouts are just TOO LONG at 5 x 5 and I'm getting bored.

I'm in week 10. My workouts take 70 to 80 mins at this point, including warmups. The weights are really heavy and I'm resting 3-4 mins in between sets, which is why it takes so long. So keep in mind that the workouts may not be less than an hour forever.

Welcome Kira!

My daughter has trisomy 12p and is completely unable to support her body weight and requires 24 hour care. I'm a bit bigger than you, at 140, but I also wanted to get strong in order to be able to care for her and not hurt myself. I started doing DVD programs that incorporated weight training, first ChaLean Extreme and…

@tameko: Damn. Just Damn. 175 is amazing. @Dani: I love your posts. You help me screen out all the negative stuff and keep focused. Thank you. (And all you ladies, I love this group!) NSV for me today: I'm naked getting dressed this morning. Hubby walks by and says "Wow, hon, changes are starting to happen in your body."…

I second auddi's advice. Also, I've found that hanging from a bar (LIke the bottom of a chinup) has increased my grip strength. I deadlifted 165 last night with no grip problem.

I agree with auddi that mastering form is most important. Oddly, though, I think it is easier to get good form with a little bit of weight (like your ten pounds in each hand) than it is with just your bodyweight. Maybe that's just me---but if you are comfortable with your tens, I'd suggest just continuing with them until…

I agree with what everyone else said. Progress at your own rate. Also, keep in mind that progress doesn't have to be 5 pounds at a time. Lots of us are using fractional weights so we only progress one or two pounds at a time when the lifts get really hard. This makes a huge difference. Keep up the great work!

@vash Great job! Squatting your bodyweight is a fantastic accomplishment. Cheers to you! :drinker:

You mean a sumo deadlift?

Hi Coco, welcome! I have the powerline rack you linked to and it works great for me. I actually got it because Mehdi suggested it as a good option in a stronglifts post. I got it for $350 new, though, so maybe shop around a little to see if you can get a better price. My husband put it together in just over an hour, and…

I have a question related to the rest/deload ones. I'm nearly done with the first 12 weeks (workout 29 is tonight). I'm thinking I will take a rest week afther the next 7 workouts. But after that I'm not sure what to do. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss cardio. And I have an itch to complete Tapout XT (I have a…

I stalled on OHP at 60, squat at 115, and rows at 70. No stall yet on bench (77) or deads (160). I did deload bench though because I realized the form I started with was totally wrong after reading starting strength.

Quick pop in to brag a bit. I pulled 160 this morning, 1 x 5. PR for me and I feel like a BEAST! I still feel like my squat progress is ridiculously slow, but I'm working my way back up and did 113 5 x 5. Failed the stupid OHP (53443) at 62 after OWNING it last week at 60. Damn 2 pounds can make a big difference. @ fit: I…

Welcome! I think your numbers look great, and I'm sure you will make progress. Ignore the ladies at your gym. IN two months they'll be begging to lift like you. :tongue:

You look pretty darn good now, ho! And kudos on the contortionism necessary to take that photo.

@Soos I'm really late to the party but I see a HUGE difference in your progress pics. Awesome job!