Catching up

Wednesday night I took Body Combat and then Coralette's sculpting class. Thursday took a rest day, Friday B.C. class again. Today I took Stefanie's quick Spin class and lifted, heavy day.
Squats went 1x 10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x2x 125, 3x1x 135, going for two reps on these next week, gotta get my mind in it. 4x3x 115, 1x5x 95.
Bench was interesting, 1x12x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x1x 95, (that was a two rep set but the second rep was assisted, 1x1x 100 (also assisted I think, John Ta said he didn't help but if I'm not sure I won't consider it a real rep). But hey, got 100 lbs on the bar for the first time, and one of those 95 lb reps was actually good.

There was no way I was deadlifting after that, so I hit the lat pulldown machine to get a pull in the session, 1x6x 80, 3x5x 90lbs. Tomorrow is a rest day, I'll figure out Monday when it comes.

Harper's Bazaar cover image fail

I love getting a new fashion mag in the mail, and this one had the added bonus of cracking me up on sight. Beyonce is on the cover sporting legs so skinny I'm sure she hasn't looked down on that since she was 14 years old. I understand fashion, but did someone really think that we won't notice when one of the most over-exposed celebrities in the world has been air-brushed down to half her size? Her big thighs are the main reason she became famous in the first place.

Okay, back to me ;-) The cat woke me up dark and early so I went to 6am Spin, then lifted for a volume day. Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 3x5x 115, 2x3x 115, 2x5x 105, that last set was tough to make myself do. Overhead press aka the Bane of my Existence was 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x3x 65. Romanian deadlifts, 3x5x 95. Tomorrow I'm aiming for Body Combat and Coralette's sculpting class, Thursday will be a rest day or some easy cardio class, Friday Body Combat, Saturday heavy lifting day.

Heavy Day

I'll start with Friday night, Body Combat class. That was it. Today, I took a quick Spin class and then lifted. Squats were, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x2x 125, 1x1x 130, 1x2x 130, 3x1x 135!!! 1x3x 115, 3x5x 95. Huge PR day, I was aiming for 135 by Halloween and thanks to the trainer there pushing me after I told him about the 130 made the goal a week early. That was so awesome I did a girly happy dance right there.

Bench press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 2x2x 85, 1x3x 85, 3x5x 75. Deadlifts, 1x3x 135, 1x1x 145, 1x1x 155, 3x1x 160, form breakdown, 1x3x 135, back catting up even at the lower weight. Effing deadlifts. But so what, I squatted 135 lbs today!!

Tuesday, light day squats only

I had not worked out at all since Friday and felt like a big slug. So, Tuesday evening I took a Spin class and then did squats. 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x2x 115, 5x3x 115, 1x5x 105, 2x5x 95. Lots of squats, and I found one of my Spinning buddies doing some curly things with the small dumbbells and dragged her over to the Squat rack. She said Spinning wasn't changing her body enough. I showed her how to squat with the bar, and after a lot of playing around with getting into the correct position she did three sets of eight with the bar.

She is the third woman I have tried to show how to squat and so far none of them are comfortable going all the way down. Realizing just how weird it already is to be in the barbell section I encourage them to go a little lower each time and drive up with the butt.

The other thing that happened is, she saw the hack squat machine next to the squat rack (natch) and wanted to try it. I showed her how it works and pointed out that the machine will always be uncomfortable because the shoulder pads are too wide apart and that using the bar instead makes the exercise adjustable to one's own proportions. Which is all true.

It was fun having someone to chat with, but made my gym stay late, so I left after squats. Wednesday night I took Body Combat, which was really fun. People dis those Les Mills classes but I had a good sweaty time punching and kicking away. Then I took Coralette's body sculpt class with the heaviest weight I could find in there- don't laugh 18 lb bar, and 8 lb weights, but doing all those many reps did burn. I feel it today!

Today was Yoga this morning and rest, tomorrow I plan to take Body Combat again and lift, heavy day. Squat, bench, deadlift.

Wednesdays and Friday's lifting sessions

It has been a while since I blogged, but I have been lifting. Wednesday was one of those weird days, the outfit I was wearing was all wrong, the shorts kept wanting to fall down annoyingly so running (even walking) on the treadmill was an embarrasment. I gave that up after six minutes and intend to throw those shorts away, it was that bad. I went on to squats which were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 2x1 125, one attempt at 135, missed the lift, 1x1x 115, horrible form, felt heavy. 1x3x 95, 1x3x 95, 1x5x 95, ended the session.
Today was better, took a Spin class before lifting. Squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x3x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 2x2x 125, 1x1x 125, 2x3x 115, 3x3x 105, 2x5x 95. Good intensity and volume today. Overhead press were as crappy as usual, 1x5x 45, 1x5x 55, 3x3x 65. Heavy, struggling with the bar. Deadlift, 1x2x 135, three singles x 145, 1x2x 145. So, not bad.

Light day

Yesterday my sister wanted to join me at the gym and I was due for a higher volume light weight day which worked out well. Warmed up with one mile walk/jog at 4.0 and 6.0, heartrate went to below 120 in less then three minutes during the cooldown. 20 back extensions, then squats. 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 5x5x 105. Overhead press 1x5x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x3x 65, seriously, I haven't felt strong on these yet. Deadlift, 2x3x 135, feeling easy. My wrists have that odd feeling about them, not pain but the awareness of something. I may do some cardio tonight if a friend is there for the social-ness of it. Tomorrow squatting up to 130 singles, bench press 3x5x 35 dumbbells if my wrists feel okay, then power cleans 72.5 5x3.

Squat singles

I did not go to a class yesterday, and today was dragging as far as work was concerned, and absolutely beautiful outside, so I went to the gym early. Warmup was one-mile intervals on the treadmill 4.0/ 6.0. My heart-rate recovery from the 160 to under 120 was good and quick. Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x3x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, the planned 3x5x 115 turned into 1x4x 115, 2x3x 115. Then I put ten more pounds on the bar and did three singles at 125(3x1x 125), and finished with 2x5x 105.

Standard bench press: warmed up with 1x5x bar, 1x3x 65, then did 1x1x 85, got a spotter and did 1x3x 85, he wandered off and I did another 2x3x 85 (3x3x 85). Pleased with that but my wrists did feel wonky afterward. Romanian deadlifts were 1x5x 95, 1x5x 105, back extensions 1x20. Then it was back to the treadmill to cooldown with one mile at 3.0/ 6.1.

I was hungry after that! Had a stuffed tuna pita and skim milk/protein powder mixture.

Sore and yucky

Describes how I feel today, which is mildly surprising considering how light the weights were yesterday. Also my added in work schedule is up in the air so I may have to push Thursday's session to Friday, then lift on Sunday. I decided that when that annoying mirror-washing guy comes around I'll take a break until he is gone from the area. He is disabled, so I can't tell him off without looking like an a-hole. I bet he knows it too and that is why he says shitty things to people.

The tentative plan is to take Coralette's class at 7 and then rest Thursday, lift and run Friday, Yoga Saturday, lift Sunday. I also need to fix my squat form to keep my knees from, what is the word? They don't hurt, its more like an awareness as if they are trying to tell me something. Hard to explain. My back feels completely better, right now just have the normal post-worout soreness that comes every now and then.

Friday will be squats, top out at 115 and work on keeping the weight back more on heels, core strong and tight. Dumbbell bench press, 3x8x 30 lbs. Power cleans, see how 70 lbs feels on these for 5x3. Warm-up and cool down run intervals 4.0 and 6.0. Two sets of 20 back extensions bookending the lifting.

Tuesday light squats heavy presses

Back and knee issues influenced my decision to back off on squats tonight. I warmed up with one mile intervals, 4.0 and 5.9, very good heartrate and fast recovery at the end. 20 back extensions, then squats. 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x4x 115, 2x3x 115, 2x5x 105, tough session.

Overhead press was 2x5x bar, 1x3x 55, 3x3x 65. Tough at the end. There was no chalk at the gym tonight which sucked mightily and made deadlifts less fun then usual. 1x5x 135 deads, wrapped it up with 20 back extensions, one mile intervals 3.0 and 6.0, good recovery again.

Maybe I should have listened

To my body when it didn't want to lift yesterday, as I tweaked something in my back. It doesn't feel serious, just annoying and I have to move carefully like an old person to get dressed and what not.

Okay, busy weekend, so here is Saturday's workout. I started with the warm-up mile intervals, 4.0 and 5.8. This felt difficult and labored but my heartrate did not go up as much as usual and recovered down very quickly, so that was strange. Then squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x5x 115, 2x3x 125, 1x2x 125, 1x5x 115, 1x1x 115- tweaked back. This sucked and hurt and basically killed the session.

But, I kept going and did dumbbell bench presses in spite of being very uncomfortable to 3x4x 35lbs. Deadlifts weren't happening as I couldn't bend over properly, so I did lat pulldowns 1x8x 60, 1x8x 70, 1x8x 80, and the a set of twenty back extensions.

I stayed in motion through the weekend, going to an art show of a friend's and thrifting for Halloween costume stuff. I didn't find any good costumes but did find two cute and new-looking tops as well as two pretty bracelets. Another good thing that happened this weekend is that I discovered a facial cleanser that I like better then the Estee Lauder I was using and it costs half as much. It is Alba Botanical Natural Even Advanced sea mineral cleansing gel. That's a mouthful, right? I'm very pleased with it's lightweght feel and make-up and oil dissolving properties, it leaves me skin feeling clean yet soft. If you have sensitive skin I recommend giving it a shot.

Too early for whine

I woke up with a headache, hungry and yawny but the man left a disaster in the kitchen last night and I do not want to spend any time in there. This room isn't much better as a neighbor is doing something that requires lots of hammering. The good news is that the news says the temperature will be in the 60s tonight. I hope it stays there so we can stop running the air-conditioner non-stop as well as for general comfort. Thrift-shopping yesterday was fun, I picked up two stretchy black dresses and a witch hat as options for Halloween, there was a lot of art there too but it did not have any prices posted. Not wonderful art, but not terrible, the kind you use to make a room more complete until you find some you fall in love with. I have to eat something and try to get energized to work out today.

Almost back to normal

Getting better every day, I couldn't sleep so got up and went to the early yoga class. If there is any truth to the release of toxins that they always mention I should be guzzling water right now. I did notice lots of wrist twinges which is a bummer since I did not do heavy pulls yesterday. Will get to that later. I'm less stiff then before the class at any rate.

Tomorrow session plan: warm up 1 mile 4.0 and 5.8 intervals, squats go for 3x3x 120 and up from there if it goes well. I'll play around with that and if more weight isn't working yet will go for sets of five at 115. Make up in volume what isn't there in intensity. Dumbbell bench press 3x5x 35, 3x5x 30 one-handed. Deadlift if the wrists let me 1x5x 135. Cool down mile 4.0, 5.8 intervals.

Back to the gym

Sunday night I caught that awful cold, now its at the ending part when I am impatient and ready to get back to my normal activities. The hope for tonight is treadmill warm up 4.0 and 5.7 intervals for one mile. Squats, 3x3x 130, 3x5x 120, but I am giving myself a break if this doesn't pan out due to illness. Overhead press 1x8x 45, 1x8x 55, 2x5x 60, Romanian deadlift, 2x5x 95. That will be enough. I'll update after the session.

Here is what happened: warmup 1 mile, 4.0 and 5.7 intervals, went like a dream. Squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x3x 125, 3x3x 115. Not great but not bad for being sick. Overhead press, 1x8x bar, 3x8x 55. Romanian deadlifts, 3x5x 95. Then I decided to add a mile run/walk cooldown to the session, 4.0 and 5.7 and, while not as enjoyable as the warmup mile, it was still good.

I could seriously do all cardio all the time but the flat butts of the serious cardio women in their 40s scares me off. I'd rather be a little fluffy with a good round high ass then have abs and pancake butt.

Wrist pain

My wrists have been sore since lifting Friday night. They are pretty delicate for such a robust woman and wrist issues run in the family. My sister had to stop doing gymnastics at the Elite level because hers were so bad. She also had a broken back that healed itself so she wasn't the type to complain about little things. After reflecting on that, I've decided to drop deadlifts back to 135 for reps when I do them and see how it goes. If I decide to go to straps I'll need to take a session at the other gym to learn how to use them properly. Good thing I found programming that focuses on squats.

So today, squats by threes up to 130, then 3x5x 120. Dumbbell bench 3x3x 35 (more reps if possible) One-handed up to 30 lbs. Power cleans 72.5 5x3. Warmup 1 mile, 4.0 and 5.6 intervals. Eh voila!

The warm-up went really well, was easy and my heart-rate went down when it was supposed to. I can see how people get into running. Squats were good, got 2x3x 130, then an annoying mirror cleaning gym employee got all up in my space so I had to replace the bar at one rep on my third and hardest set, to wait for him to get out of my way. He saw me giving him the evil eye and set the bar down, and said,

"That's probably too much weight for you."

Yeah, I was pissed. Did 1x2x 130 after that, then 3x5x 120, 1x5x 115. I am happy with my performance anyway.

Bench press, up to 35 lb dumbells, 1x3x 35, 1x4x 35, 1x5x 35, better then planned. Power cleans 5x3x 75, good cleans, only hit my neck twice.

Yay for funny T-shirts

Good workout tonight

Warmup, one mile 4.0/ 5.5 intervals, felt good and easy. Squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x3x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 3x3x 125, 1x2x 125, 3x5x 115. Next time I'll try 130 again, if that isn't a go will go to 3x3x 127.5, then 3x5x 120. The idea behind this is to keep adding weight to the bar while also keeping a good volume and success rate.

Overhead press was 1x5x bar, 1x3x 55, 3x3x 67.5. Deadlifts were 1x3x 135, 1x1x 145, 3x1x 155. Staying home tonight avoiding alcohol and secondhand smoke, tomorrow is yoga, Sunday lift again.

Plan for Sunday, squat by threes up to 130, see how it goes, finish w 3x5x 120. Dumbbell bench up to 3x3x 35, keep the one-handed at 30 lbs. Power cleans, 5x3x 72.5. The warmup intervals up to 5.6 mph.

Harder then expected

My friend's class was harder then I anticipated, and today my ass and hamstrings are yelling at me. No workouts planned, this is a rest day that hasn't been very restful so far. Waiting until you absolutely have to go to the grocery store to eat means a big trip that seems to take forever. Especially when the people with the loaded cart in front of you decide to start haggling! Sheesh. A few hours of work today, the charity event with my friend and then possibly more work. We'll see.

Tomorrow warm-up walk/ jog 4.0 and 5.4 Squats 3x5x 125, overhead press 62.5 3x5, may switch this to 3x3 if I start wiggling all over the place. Deadlift 5 reps and 155.

130 lb squat today

Why not go for it, right? I'm staying with sets of three across. Dumbbell bench press 3x8x 30, one-handed 3x8x 30. If this goes well I will try sets of three with the 35 lb weights next time. Power clean, 5x3x 70 (wishing self luck!) Romanian deadlifts 1x5x 95, 1x5x 105. This will be a long workout session, two hours I imagine. Must use self-discipline and not get into long conversations too!

Forgot about the warm-up, walk/ jog 4.0 and 5.3 mph intervals for one mile.

The warm-up run went well and my heart-rate went down at a normal time, no racing. Squats were 1x8x air, 1x8x bar, 1x3x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x3x 120, 1x3x 125, 1x1x 130. More at 130 weren't happening. 3x3x 115 and done. I did 3 sumo deadlifts of 135 because the guys next to me were doing them and I was curious. Dumbbell bench press 3x8x 30, one handed 1x8x 30, 1x6x 30, then I was over doing them so onto power cleans. Power cleans were 1x3x bar, 1x3x 55, 1x3x 65, 5x3x 70- these were good cleans for the most part. I think tightening up my setup helped a lot, the weight did not feel like too much to handle at any point and the only iffy part is that I'm still scraping the front of my neck sometimes.

Tomorrow I am taking a combo class a friend teaches, so going with that as a light weight day, and then lifting again on Friday.

Yes.

I made all the lifts today. Squats, 1x8x air, 1x8x bar, 1x3x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x3x 120, 3x3x 125 PR BABY! 1x3x 115, 1x3x 105 and squats were done. It was a great feeling to handle and do what I intended for today.

Overhead press 1x5x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x5x 60. Deadlifts 1x2x 135, 1x2x 145, then 5 singles at 150 concentrating on really tightening up my back for the pulls. I alternated grip on the fourth pull out of curiosity and went back to double overhand for the fifth. It is three and a half hours later now and I feel pretty beat up so aiming for yoga tomorrow morning. I am so proud of myself for making those lifts!

Made it to yoga finally

Where I discovered that not going to class all week makes the positions a lot harder when one does actually show up. That shoulder stand was damn uncomfortable. I made it through the class and feel better and more mobile then before. Tomorrow I am going for a new PR; 125 lb squats. I wrote out the workout in yesterday's blog entry, am taking two days off in a row first. I'm considering getting some shorter shorts to wear to the gym. Yoga pants all the time is boring and based on the clips i see of women squatting and deadlifting in shorts they don't look over-exposed. We'll see what I find when shopping next.