I can't stand mosquitos!

They always chow down on me incessantly. I read in a forum that vitamin B1 helps and must remember to stock up on that next time I'm at a store as the summer has barely started and they are already swarming. Training today, i took Pilates first to get some ab work. Then hit the gym for jump squats, 1x10xbar, 3x8x55. Whew! I did two sets of ten reps w the bar for overhead press, one set of seven and a last set of five. I need to come up with another lift to help my weak-ass shoulders get better. For now the plan is to do sets of them every session unless they start to get even worse. Hang cleans, 5x4x75. Still sloppy and heavy.

Memorial Day Weekend

I had a blast at the game yesterday. Take it from me, if you get a chance to go to a sporing event with a person who works for that sporting organization, go! From parking in the insanely close employee parking lot, to incredible seats (Free) and being ushered to the head of every line, it was great fun. Fast forward to Sunday and the gym...
Squat, bench, deadlift. I warmed up with ten minutes on the arc climber and 15 back extensions. My squat work sets were 3x5x95, 1x5x100, 1x3x100. Standard bench press 3x5x70, then dumbbell bench 3x6x25, one armed pressed 2x5x25 (those are a killer and work the core too which I need). Deadlifts 2x2x145 and that was it, wandered out of the gym in a daze. I'm taking Monday off to recover, my little parts, wrists and ankles are where I feel weakness and need to recuperate. Tuesday will be technical day, jump squats 3x8x55, overhead press 3x5x60, hang cleans 3x5x75. No problem!

Thrashed by light day

Warm up was the elliptical for ten minutes and 15 back extensions. Three sets of ten jump squats with the bar got my heart racing, so I need to decide if i should go for three sets of 12 next time, or put some weight on the bar. Standard bench press, three sets of five at 65lbs, then dumbbell bench w/ 25 lbs dumbells. Next, I did one-armed bench presses, three sets of 8 w 20lb dumbbell. That was tough. I think it wore me out for overhead press three sets of four at 55lbs, then three sloppy sets of four hang cleans at 75lbs. My arms still feel like weak noodles, hope I can stay up and work tonight.

non-lifting day

Sheesh was I sore and tired today, I kept falling asleep! In spite of that I went to the gym for the Core class which was good. The instructor includes plenty of stretching which I need, and the stretching component shows the parts that do get flexibility from lifting, my hip flexors for example are as strong as they are flexible. Then I took half of Zumba, just wasn't feeling it and there was a substitute who couldn't really remember the dances and suddenly cried out 'Freestyle!" in the middle of songs. She was both amusing and annoying. So, walking down the hall leaving my aborted workout, one of the gym employees invited my to... Climb the wall! Yay, and perfect timing too, so we harnessed me up and at it i went. That was pretty damm fun and I will do it again as soon as I walk by and it is adult time.

Tomorrow is technical day, jump squats, bench presses- I'm going to try one-handed dumbbell presses. Then overhead press and hang cleans.

Yesterday's workout, the first since last Wednesday

It is mind-blowing how easy it is to let a missed workout snowball into almost a week. Yesterday I did squats, 4x4x95, ugly ones at that, and deadlifts 1x5x135, 1x2x135, 12 overhead presses with the bar only and left. I did a spin class before that. This afternoon I am taking a core class at 4pm followed by Zumba, the last time I took that core class my abs felt it for two days afterward, and my abs really need help as I just hate to do them consistently on my own and it is a place fat collects. Tomorrow, Thursday will be a technical day, with three sets of 10 reps jump squats with the bar, bench press, overhead press and hang cleans. I haven't decided what time I am going to go yet, which will determine what i do for a warmup. Friday Zumba, then Saturday morning squats and deadlifts, need to be relatively early as I am going to a baseball game in the afternoon at 2:30.

Technical day

After a sweaty round of Zumba; sometimes I think I'm really getting it, then other times like tonight it is as if I'm taking the class for the first time. Hmmph. Maybe I need to stop stressing the steps so much and enjoy the music more. In the gym, three sets ten reps each of bar jump squats. That is a heart-rate raiser! 3x5x70 struggling bench presses, 3x5x55 overhead press. Then, 3x5x70 hang cleans, 1x4x70 in the middle there. After that I was as done as they come. At home I didn't feel like cooking, but there was a chicken breast left over from yesterday, so I took most of the meat off of that and put it in the bottom of a bowl, a couple of tablespoons of leftover refried beans on that. I poured in a can of tomato soup and a half can of water, and put a slice of cheddar chipotle cheese on top and heated the whole thing up. Can you say yummy? It was so freaking good and not too terrible as far as healthiness goes either.

Monday heavy lifts

Friday's workout turned into Saturday. I did 3x5x95 squats which got a little ugly at the end, and 1x5x135 deadlifts. Plan for Monday is 3x5x100 squats and 1x5x140 deadlifts. Home behaving and eating protein today which should help make it happen. I may be watching the niece on Tues and Thursday nights, and considering taking the four pm yoga classes at those times. That makes it, Monday Spin and heavy lift, Tues yoga, Weds Zumba and power lift day (bench, overhead press, jump squat, hang cleans)Thurs yoga, Friday Zumba and lifting. Only three cardio days then unless I add some weekend work or exchange the yoga for Spin, which is offered at the same time. We will see.

Planning Friday's workout

It will be different from most Fridays as I have a friend coming over to catch up on things at the time I usually go, so I'll need to go to the gym earlier in the day. The interval treadmill running class is beckoning but I'm unsure of putting 100 lb squats right after that, so I may just warm up on the elliptical. The elliptical is boring but between that, back extensions (which I forgot to do on Weds with the excitement of being asked to demonstrate a correct squat and all) and bar squats should do the job. So, I'm going for four by four at 100 lbs, then deadlifts at 135 for five reps. Not five sets of one or anything else like that. I need to see that I can do this before raising weight again. That is it for Friday, I have a lot of social stuff planned for the weekend so may not get back in the gym until Monday night.

Great light day workout

Taking away heavy squats on Wednesdays was the best idea I've had as far as training goes. Zumba was a fun warm-up, then into the weight room for jump squats. Three sets of eight bar jump squats. Next week will be three sets of ten. Also- a man brought his college age son over to me to show him how to do a proper squat. Is that the best compliment ever or what?? I was floored and happy and trying to be cool about it. Benched 65 lbs 3sets of five. Overhead press was 3 sets of FOUR at 55 lbs. So do-over at that weight next week. Hang curls was 4 sets of five at 65 lbs, good for an increase in weight to 70 lbs next week. Wonderful, long lasting exercise high after this one. Eating protein, avoiding the vino tonight.

Next day- wow can you say soreness? It's the good kind so I went out and bought some milk, chicken breasts and an easel. I'm having an urge to start painting. I have no ida how to start, but have been slowly amassing materials, two blank canvasses, the basic colors of paint, several brushes and now a rather large standing easel in the corner of my room.

Looking ahead

I behaved myself last night and did not go out or have wine with dinner. Today I'm taking an advanced Spin class and that's it. Tomorrow I will take Zumba at 9am then lift, working glutes and hamstrings with back extensions and bar-only jump squats, 3 sets of 8. Then, bench press, overhead press (60-65 lbs) and hang cleans also 60-65 lbs. It is a technique, strenghten weak spots and upper body day. I love how my upper body/lower body priorities are exactly opposite of 99 percent of guys. That reminds me of something I read in a forum the other day.

Pear-shaped women were complaining that it takes forever to get rid of cellulite on their hips and asses, while the hipless and more straight up and down types (which I am a part of, from the front anyway, so excepting boobs and the sticking out ass) said shut-up you get abs so much faster. Then, one of the straighter body type women asked how she could look curvier. A bodybuilding coach, female, advised her that the only way was to build her shoulders across to make the waist appear smaller.

Huh? By straight up and down, I mean a shape that does go in at the waist, and where it goes back out again at the top of the hipbone, the shape then goes straight down, rather than having the pads of fat over the hips which create the sexy hourglass shape.Our fat pad is usually just below the belly-button in front, thus the complaining about abs. That advice isn't going to do a thing for her lack of noticeable hips, and will only make a less traditionally female shaped woman appear broad-shouldered and manly.

PRs scheduled tonight

Training plan for tonight, Squats 3x3x100 lbs, focusing on getting deep and keeping my head in it. Deadlifts 2x1x155. This will happen after Spin class to warm up. I've been visualizing the squats and re-reading Rip's squat chapter to prepare mentally for this. 95 lbs is still not easy so getting my brain in gear with the bigger weight is key. Also, I've changed my mind about letting my hair grow all summer, I miss being able to style it easily. The man jokes about the one-inch haircuts I get. Update later. The haircut looks good, and feels like about five pounds of excess is gone, very happy about that.
Lifts, on the other hand...Squats were rough. On the first set of three with 100 I good morning-ed and knee collasped on the last one. So I did two sets of two keeping strict form, then two sets of three again. Deadlifts were even worse, two sets of one rep at 145- painful! Just sucked. I didn't take care of myself this weekend and it showed under the bar.

Friday training

Training tonight; Zumba first to warm up, then squats and deadlifts. I haven't been able to squat 5 reps across at 95 lbs, going for it tonight and if that doesn't happen I am going to add five pounds to the bar Monday anyway and go for 5x3. Deadlifting 150 for 5 reps tonight. Update: I did get 3x5x95 on squats tonight; my mind balked a little and I did my first partial squat, which pissed me off. Low baby, low. Deadlifts were a little off plan, ended up with three sets of two reps of the 150. Jeez i can hardly type now! Thanks for the comment Kyle, I have been modifying the program (or not effing doing it as Rip would say) by changing the programming a bit as far as adding the weight goes.Sometimes after I add weight it takes two weeks to build up to the 3x5, and sometimes, like with deadlifts I can't seem to rep them out and lift as heavy as desired. All right, time to eat.

Abs, Zumba and power cleans

Is that an odd combination of training or what? I got to Zumba class at the wrong time, it was actually an abs class so I took it. Next, Zumba, which is getting a little easier although there are still songs/ dances that have me clueless. It did sweat me up and warm me up perfectly to lift. I haven't done any lifts other then squats and deadlifts for a month. As those are progressing I am adding a day in between to work presses, bench and power cleans. Unfortunately I forgot my towel which canceled bench press, overhead press was ok at 3x5x55. Hang cleans started out sloppy, due to the long neglet of the lift, but cleaned up (see what I did there?) nicely. 4x5x55. So, intro to upper body lifting went well. I was freaking ravenous afterwards. I ate a breaded chicken breast with a slice of brie melted on top, 4 oz of tilapia, a blender full of raw spinach and a shot of hot sauce, a piece of chocolate cake and large glass of organic skim milk. yeah, lots of food!

Workout of the day

Zumba fit my schedule better the Spin, so took that first. Then Squats 2x4x95, 3x3x95. Deadlifts, 1x5x135, 2x2x145. Pretty decent, not quite the reps on the 95 lb squats I was expecting possibly due to body squatting in Zumba or maybe just not ready. Deadlifts felt good. Considering penciling in two Zumba classes a week, making the weekly workouts, two lifting sessions, both heavy, two Spin classes and two Zumba. I'm also curious about the climbing for adults, really want to do it but don't want to screw up my lifts. We'll see.

Squat and deadlift goals met.

Last night I squatted 4x4x95- finally using some decent sized plates! This has been my goal since starting to lift and when I was stuck at 65 for what felt like forever it was depressing. Trying to do 3x5xweight with perfect form got me hung up on details, so I loosened up the programming a bit, allowing myself to do fewer reps when I increased weight while also paying attention to form. This allowed me to go up. As long as I take care of recovery this weight should be possible for 3x5x95 on Friday. Topped out deadlifts at 2x2x150, planning for 2 sets of three on Friday.
Tonight is Spinning, increased cardio to shed some fat. The cardio goal is four times a week and I'm flirting with the idea to learn Zumba. People love it, but I've found the classes to feel like an audition for a Broadway show, an audition that I fail miserably. Too bad there are mirrors all over the walls at the class, that is probably a big part of the problem. Also I heard a rumor that there are adult climbing wall classes, now that is interesting.

So, this week tonight Spinning, tomorrow light squats, overhead press, power cleans, Thurs off, Friday Spinning to warm-up and heavy lifting.
ETA: I just called the gym and the adult climb is at the exact time I can't go. Damn.

Update: Zumba class one is completed. It was a pretty fun if goofy way to move around and get sweaty. Definitely not as much of a workout as Spinning and nowhere close to lifting with barbells, but a good switch from the bike. It is possible that Zumba will become a better workout as I start to have a clue what is going on and can emphasize the movements more. Tonight was about trying to follow along and try not to run into anyone. I will keep going.

Can we get a ya-eah?

Uh huh, squats 3x5x85 and very pretty squats at that. I am going up to 90 lbs for the next heavy session Friday. Deadlifts 2x3x145 and plan to lift 150 Friday also instead of waiting around to get one full set of five deads at 145. I have a feeling that just doesn't work for me based on the last injury. More later :-)

Can't believe I almost forgot to post this

Yesterday was crazy busy, knowing it was going to be I worked out first. Squats were kinda suck, ended up w. 4x3x85, but I deadlifted 145 for a personal best! It was more like five sets of one rep then one set of five but I did it and didn't hurt anything, just normal tiredness today. Yay me!

Squats and deadlifts

Having not lifted since Friday evening I decided to do the main lifts again today. Squats, 1x10x0, 1x6x45, 1x5x55, 1x5x65, 1x5x75, 5x3x85. Deadlifts, 1x2x95, 1x2x115, 2x3x135. Nice session, tomorrow at 5pm is the Spin class I like.

Back to modified SS

Okay the minimalist program was more minimalist then expected due to illness, and March is over so back to your regularly scheduled programming. Which means tomorrow is squats, standing press and power cleans. We'll see how those go after not doing them for a month. Quads are singing from Friday's squats.

back at it

Okay, so I can breathe and only sometimes have to catch the drippy nose, time to work out. Since it's been a week, I'm doing squats and deadlifts. Worked up to 4x4x80 squats, goal next time to bring them to 5 reps each then 85 lbs. I cannot friggin wait to have 95 pounds on there.Then deads 1x3x135, next week goal 1x5x135, then upping to 140. So all is good, up early w a stuffy nose, will sleep as soon as I can. Pedicure and eyebrows today!