and I thought yesterday's session was tough

Today was treadmill training, long slow intervals. It was a bear. I did two intervals of .75 mile, and one at .50. My max heart rate was 186, instead of the usual 174, and it never fully recovered into the 120s which is where I like it to be before starting the next jogging interval. Missing a week of workouts resulted in significant and measurable decreases in my abilities.

Tomorrow is a lifting day, going for 3 x 5 x 115 on squats, 3 x 5 x 55 overhead press, 5 x 3 x 65 power cleans. Sunday the gym is closed for New Year's Day, since that is a running session I may run outside, otherwise running Monday, I will repeat today's plan. 5.2 mile an hour intervals .75 mile in length and see what my heart rate does there.

I just checked an online heart rate calculator here is the link and even if I check the box for higher than average fitness it says my training zone is between 123 and 158 beats per minute. Huh.

Been away from the gym so long I don't know where to start

I did not like the way I look in the Christmas pictures and need to get ahold of this before it gets out of hand. Fitday keeps going down or leaving me in loading hell, probably from all the thousands of people like me suddenly deciding to keep track of their nutrition. Such a pain in the ass. The last time I really liked my body I was a Spinning junkie, sometimes two or three classes a day.

I have a plan! (insert evil laughter here) I've got a five week plan, week 1, starting today, I log everything that goes in my mouth, in a notebook, no waiting for Fitday. Week 2, continue logging and crunch the numbers to see how many calories I'm taking in and where they are coming from. Week 3 I subtract 500 calories a day, continue logging. Week 4 continue logging, aiming for the calorie goal and work to meet nutrition RDA of everything. Week 5 evaluate how this has been going.

My long-term goal is to weigh 20 pounds less then currently, as much lean and muscle as possible, while retaining femininity. Short term goal, to keep on the Plan!


Today (Thursdy) I'm going to lift with volume for squats, up to 3 x 5 x 125, volume presses, 3 x 5 x 60 again, my shoulder has been wonky ever since last week's sessions. Bench press 3 x 5 x 80, Romanian deadliest 3 x 5 x 95.

Friday will be a long slow distance day, .75 mile intervals 5.2, 4.0 interval active rest.

Saturday lifts light presses 3 x 8 x bar, power cleans 5 x 3 x 65.

Sunday fast intervals at 1% incline, 6.0 half miles alternated with 3.0 active rest up to four miles.

Will update after lifting.

Light day:
Squats, 1 x 12 x air, 1 x 10 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 85, 1 x 5 x 105, 1 x 4 x 115, 2 x 3 x 115, 1 x 1 x 115, 1 x 3 x 105. Not a good squat session. Moving on

Overhead press 3 x 8 x bar, right shoulder still twangy. Bench press, 1 x 8 x bar, 1 x 5 x 55, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 3 x 75, 2 x 5 x 75, 1 x 8 x 75- with a spotter but no actual help other then not wanting to fail while he was right there. May be on to something!

Romanian deads 3 x 5 x 95.

Not a very good running session

This was tough, felt crampy halfway through, which doesn't make any sense as i ran on an empty stomach. Totaled 1.5 miles fast at 6.0, the rest 3.0 and 4.0, lots of 3.0 rest intervals. I truly hope this will get easier the more I do it. Today I'm set for heavy squat singles and doubles, bench press and deadliest. Fucking blogger keeps changing the word 'deadlift' into 'deadliest' UGH


Friday evening lifts, max out on squats, volume everything else. Squats were 1 x 12 x air, 1 x 10 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 85, 1 x 3 x 105, 1 x 3 x 115, 1 x 3 x 125, 2 x 1 x 130, 1 failed rep at 135, 1 x 1 x 125, 1 x 2 x 125, 1 x 3 x 125, done.

Bench press 1 x 8 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 75, 3 x 5 x 80. Overhead press, 1 x 8 x bar, 3 x 5 x 55. Romanian deadlift 3 x 5 x 95. Taking the weekend, Christmas Eve and Day, off from the gym.

All the other stuff

First of all, my grandmother died today. She was 102, it was expected but still sad that my last grandparent is gone. What was worse was that when I called to check on my mom to make sure she was doing all right, my aunt answered and said my mom had fallen down the stairs and the ambulance was on its way. Holy crap, nice way to begin the day.

Being 1000 miles away and unable to do anything but wait, I went to the gym. Today was a no squat day, time to focus on the other lifts for a change. I started with bench press. 2 x 12 x bar, 1 x 5 x 55, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 75, 1 x 1 x 85- big issue with my inner elbow/ bicep insertion. I pumped my arm around a bit and started over. 1 x 3 x 85, so-so. Got a spotter, the only good one I've had so far who doesn't try to help before necessary and made 1 x 4 x 85. He was called over to the other side of the gym to move equipment, and I got tired of waiting so did 1 x 5 x 85, not good form, didn't touch my chest on a couple of reps.

Overhead press, 1 x 8 x bar, 5 x 5 x 55 volume work. Power clean 1 x 5 x bar, 1 x 5 x 55, 3 x 5 x 65. Romanian deadliest 3 x 5 x 95. I never really felt 'on' during this session, it was a slugfest. At home I had cottage cheese and chicken gumbo from the can and went to bed after a while. Woke up still exhausted at almost four. I do not know what is going on with me today, stress I guess.

Tomorrow is fast interval running day, .25 miles at 6.0, 1% incline. Friday I plan to have a heavy squatting day, maxing out singles and doubles.

volume squats, heavy overhead press and deadlift

Ate a ton of carbs today, hope this session absorbs them. Squats 1x 12x air, 1x 10x bar, 1x 5x 65, 1x 5x 85, 1x 5x 105, 5x 5x 115, not bad, getting better at keeping tight through the lift. Overhead press 1x 8x bar, 1x 5x 55, 2x 4x 62.5, 1x 3x 62.5, need to repeat this weight. Deadlift 1x3x 135, 1x3x 145, was tough to keep my back tight by now, do this weight again too. Finished with some active recovery, 2x 8x bar bicep curl, 2x 8x bar overhead press. And done.

Tomorrow is a long slow distance running day, 5.2 intervals, .75 mile, at least three of these. I hope my back feels good tomorrow, its a bit awkward now.

Weds (or thursday depending on the back situation) squats up to 3x3x 130. This is a lot for me, may end up as doubles, not planning to go to failure on these this day. Bench press 3x5x 85, still working on this, the spotters have not been great so far, too much helping. Power clean 5 x 3x 70.

Next day, speed day, 6.0 intervals of .25 miles, 1% incline. Working on getting this with the 4.0 interval break instead of half a lap at 3.0 to catch my breath and half at 4.0

Friday or Saturday, heavy squats, going for 135 lb doubles. Overhead press, repeat attempt of 3x 5x 62.5, Deadlifts 1x3x 135, 1x3x 145 unless the heavy squats wipe me out, will play this one by ear, may be light Romanian deadlift 3x5x 95.

Catching up on posts.

Tuesday lifts; squats 1x 12x air, 1x 10x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x3x 115, 3x3x 125, not sure about depth, will repeat these next time and go deeeep, 3x3x 115, also really working on that tight torso through the whole move. Overhead press, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x5x 60. Deadlift 2x3x 135, felt good. 20 back extensions and done.

Long slow distance running Weds, .75 mile intervals at 5.2, went well. 20 back extensions, 2 sets 10 reps overhead press with the bar (45 lbs) for active recovery.

Friday afternoon lifts; squats 1x 12x air, 1x 10 x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x3x 115, 3x3x 125- deep and good. I did three deep singles with 125 to finish it off. Bench press 1x 8x bar, 1x 5x 65, 1x 5x 75, 4x 3x 85, still working on five reps with 85 lbs. I set up for power cleans but had a client call and had to abandon the session.

Saturday fast interval run, 6.0 run .25 mile intervals at 1 degree incline. Better then last week, no nausea probably because I didn't eat a thing before, just drank water and iced tea. 12 back extensions and 12 reps of overhead press with the bar for active recovery.

It is a beautiful December day.

The sun is calling me to get out in it. Saturday's run was awful, hard and I stopped at three miles. I planned to do back extensions and overhead press the bar for reps, but I seriously thought I was going to throw up. I waited around for a while to see if it would pass but it didn't, so I went home. Coffee upsets my stomach sometimes so no more guzzling it before a session.
Today's lifts will be squats, overhead press, and deadllifts. Going for squats 3x3x 125, concentrating on keeping my whole body tight and strong. Overhead press 3x5x 60. Deadlifts 1x5x 135. So far my form has always broken down when I do a linear progression on deadliest, I don't know what to do other then keep resetting the lift.


Okay, here is how it went. Squats, 1x12x air, 1x10x bar (did a couple extra reps to warm-up as it was cold this morning), 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x3x 115, 3x3x 125- not sure if I wasn't cheating depth on the last one of each set, am going to repeat this next session and make sure they are deep and strong. Really setting my chest and torso hard helps the weight go up a LOT. Finished with 3x3x 115.

Overhead press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x5x 60- made it! Next overhead press day, 62.5.

Deadlifts, I decided to do two sets of three instead of one set of five and completed them with ease. Next time, 1x3x 135, 1x3x 145.

Today is a running day, going for two .75 mile 5.2 mph intervals, total treadmill distance 4 miles.

Wednesday running, Friday lifts

Wednesday run was long slow distance day, 4 intervals at 5.2 mph, of one-half mile each. Total including warm-up and cool down of four miles. Next LSD day going to two intervals of .75 mile each.
Friday lifts were squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x5x 115, 2x3x 125, 1x1x 125, failed to the rails. Must remember to concentrate on keeping my back and abs super tight through the movement. This is where a coach would help, someone shouting important shit at me. I asked a nearby guy to lift the bar back up to the pins for me took 10 lbs off and kept going. 3x3x 115.
Bench press, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 75, 2x3x 85, asked a different guy to spot me for my third set, he basically carried the bar so I let him assist me for 6 reps, then when he was busy did my third set of three by myself.

Power cleans were sloppy today, guy walking around dangerously close to the barbell I was throwing around. It was idiot night at the gym except for the guy who helped move my loaded squat bar, that was cool. 1x5x bar, 1x3x 55, 1x3x 65, 3x3x 70 sloppy, 1x3x 65. My right shoulder feels wonky and messed up today.

Today is a fast interval run, 4.0 and 6.0, going to add in a one degree incline on this. End with 20 back extensions and 10 overhead press (bar).

off lifting day dammit

Monday I ran, fast intervals, 4.0/ 6.0 and it went well. Tomorrow's run will be LSD, with the goal of two mile total, in .5 mile increments of 5.2.

On to today. Sheesh, am I premenstrual or something? Squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 2x3x 115 (this was going to be one set but it was tough so I added another one) 1x3x 120, 1x3x 125 HARD 2x1x 125- UGH weak shit, and 1x1x 115. I was beaten. I had shitty sleep this week, and got a bunch a gifts in the mail, including a new Macbook Pro. Which is awesome, but maybe that got me too excited to sleep or something.

Overhead press, reset to 60 lbs, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 2x5x 60, 1x4x 60. Deadlift, also a reset due to form breakdown 1x5x 135. And out.

Run session

My run went suprisingly well considering the week off of running. Intervals 4.0 and 5.2, the 5.2 jogging intervals were .5 mile and I felt comfortable and avoided the burning lungs feeling. Next treadmill session will be faster intervals, 4.0 and 6.0 at .25 miles for a total for four miles including warm-up and cool-down .25 miles.

My wrists and forearms are very beat-up feeling today, not sure if that is from benching which I probably do wrong, or the power cleans. Today will be a rest day, Monday lifts squats going for 3x3x 130, overhead press reseting down to 3x5x 60. Deadlifts pulling back again to 1x5x 135. So squatting heavy and going temporarily backwards on overhead press and deadlifts. Tuesday is fast interval running.

Lost a day

I was interrupted while posting Wednesday's workout (work call that was worth it, big Xmas tip) and it appears I threw away the paper it was on. I have not run this week at all due to the dehydration, the race isn't until April so for now maintaining strength is my focus. I plan to resume treadmill training Saturday, it will be lsd training, 4.0 and 5.2 intervals.
Today I am going for 3x3x 125 squats, 3x5x 85 bench press and am adding power cleans back in so will see where I am with those, I expect to be at 65lbs. Also 3x10x bar overhead press active recovery.

Also, in a blow to healthy equalling sexy, I notice that after the 4 days of nausea that resulted in minimal eating and minimal training that my body looks better then it has in a long time. My waist is narrower and I have a more streamlined look altogether. I think that all the reading I've done about eating (actually, eating influenced by the reading makes more sense) to support strength in addition to inflammation caused by exercise blew me up. I'm not going to make myself eat anymore unless I really want to at the time, including post workout.

Friday afternoon session: warmup of 20 back extensions, squats 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x5x 115 kind of a grind but ok, 3x3x 125 tough but doable, 1x2x 125, 1x1x 125, 1x3x 115.

Bench press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 75, 1x1x 85 UGH, 1x2x 85, 2x2x 85, 1x4x 85, 1x3x 85, 1x5x 75. Very tough bench press session.
I brought power cleans back in, 1x5x bar, 1x5x 55, 1x3x 60, 5x3x 65, nice cleans. Learning how to do a tight set-up was the most important thing to do these, now I need to not hit myself in the face with the bar Doh.

food poisoning isn't good for lifting

But I felt better towards the end of the day and decided to go. Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 2x2x 125 (not 3x5x as planned) 3x5x 115, really had to fight for these, 1x3x 115 and done.
Bench press 1x 10x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 75, 3x3x 85 (not 3x5x 85 as planned) 3x5x 75. Deadlifts 1x2x 135, 1x1x 150, 1x1x 155, form breakdown, back catted up, 1x1x 150, also bad.

Overhead press active recovery 3x10x bar. 20 back extensions. Tuesday treadmill training lsd. 4.0 at .25 mile, 5.2 at .50. Tummy problems are still happening as of Tuesday morning dammit. I haven't had anything except tea at 12:30 don't know whether to eat something or go into the session fasted.

Interval treadmill day

4.0/ 6.0 intervals, went well. In the second mile I needed time to catch my breath so that slow interval I dropped from 4.0 to 3.0. That rejuvenated me for the rest of the session. After that I had to go by Walmart for cleaning supplies and cash, so I used the blood pressure machine in the pharmacy there. My blood pressure according to that was 117/72, not bad for after workout. Tomorrow is volume day for squats, going for 3x5x 125. Bench press 3x5x 85, deadlifts 1x5x 155.

Friday lifts

Good thing I decided to go early, as the person who told me they had regular hours on Friday was wrong. No cardio warm-up, Squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x3x 125, 1x2x 135 (yeah baby) 1x1x 135, 1 fail at 135, 2x3x 125, 1x3x 115. Next session do 3x3x 125.
Overhead press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 2x4x 65, 1x3x 65. Hard. Romanian deadlift 1x5x 95, 3x5x 105, 20 back extensions and closed the gym down. So not a bad heavy night for squats and overhead press, still working on it. Treadmill training Sunday and lifting Monday.

What I've been up to

Wednesday, I couldn't sleep so did 6am Spin, planned for an evening lift session but it didn't happen. Thursday was Thanksgiving, so bearing the burden of guilt for missing the night's session, I went OUTSIDE in the am and ran/walked 3 miles. Which means Friday is definitely a heavy weight day. Squats, looking for doubles at 130, overhead press still trying for 3x5x 65, Romanian deadlifts, 3x5x 105.

Run run run away

Went to the gym earlier in the day then usual, 11am. Treadmill work 4.0 .25, 5.2 .25, 4.0 .25, 5.2 .50, 4.0 .25, 5.2 .50, 3.0 .25, 5.2 .50, 4.0 .25, heartrate still high so 3.0 .25, then 5.2 .25, 4.0 .25, 3.0 cooldown. Its tougher in the beginning, the middle is good, and then when I was cooled down I couldn't resist throwing another quarter-mile at 5.2 in there. That is where my cardio-bunny past creeps up. It's amazing how sport-specific exercise is. One could be the Spinning queen but running will break you, and vice-versa. I get where Crossfit is coming from by throwing all of the above at you, but also understand how fit people end up with rhabdo. It's easy to assume that because you are great at A and B exercise that you can also do C and D okay, but the truth is if you are genetically average you have to train for what it is you want to do.
Which brings me to skiing, which is what I really love. I am starting saving now to take a month off to ski next year. Yeah buddy!

Monday lifting

Based on a recent comment that squats warm-up the whole body, I decided to ditch any cardio warm-up and see what happened. I had a great lifting session, progression after my last reset of volume day was better then expected, allowing me to add an extra set of five at the work weight to squats and bench press. Sometimes I do things just because I can, you know?
Here are the details, squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x5x 115, 4x5x 120, Yay me! Bench press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 4x5x 80. Deadlift, 1x2x 135, 5x1x 150. Active recovery for overhead press 3x10x bar and done.
Tomorrow is LSD day, although at this point my long distance intervals are .5 mile. Aiming for 4.0 .25, 5.2/ .5 to three miles. Wednesday will be intensity squat day, looking for doubles at 130 lbs. Overhead press still looking for 3x5x 65. Romanian deadlifts 3x5x 115.

Sunday session

Run/ walk 4.0 6.0 intervals for three miles. Then volume day for squats with five rep sets, goal of 3x5x 120. Bench press goal 3x5x 80 lbs, based on last BP dat 3x5x 75. Deadlift, 1x5x 150. Will update after.

It turns out that raising the intensity of running made me unable to lift. Training to run breaks down as (in quarter-mile increments) 4.0/ .25, 5.2/ .25, 4.0/ .25, 6.0/ .25, 4.0/ .25, 6.0/ .25, 4.0/ .25, 3.0/ .25( still needed to catch my breath after the 4.0 quarter so added in a slow lap), 6.0/ .25, 4.0/ .25 and cooldown lap. Super-red and sweating after that, I changed shoes and shirt and had some water.

At the squat rack I warmed up, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, then I just could not do anymore. So, lifting and running will now be on different days, volume squat lift day for Mondays, five rep sets up to 120 lbs. Bench press 3x5x 80, deadlift 1x2x 135, 1x5x 150.

The gym didn't make me sick, it was my man!

But the throat thing seems to have gone away, which is good. Yesterday for the run I added some longer intervals at the slow jog pace (5.2 mph). So it went .25 mile warmup at 4.0, .25 mile at 5.2, .25 mile 4.0, .5 mile at 5.2, .25 mile at 4.0, .5 mile at 5.2, .25 mile at 4.0, .25 mile at 6.0, .25 mile at 4.0, cooldown. Now that I now I can jog for half a mile without keeling over dead, I will alternate LSD training with half-miles at 5.2 for the whole session, with fast quarter miles at 6.0 for the next session. Next time (Sunday) 4.0/ 6.0 for 3 miles.

I took a little break and went on to lifting, heavy day for squats. 1x 10x air, 1x 8x bar, 1x 5x 65, 1x 5x 85, 1x 3x 105, 1x 3x 115, 4x2x 125 (heavy sets, felt good) 2x 5x 115. For next time I haven't decided if I want to do as much as I can at 120, or just stay with the 125 and go for more reps there.

Overhead press still shitty 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 1x4x 65, 2x3x 65. Maybe I should do these first before squats. Romanian deadlifts, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 95, 1x5x 105. So here's the thing, do I work my upper body first because it is so weak and lagging, or do I continue to focus on lower body because those are the biggest muscle groups?

Is the gym making me sick?

How did you like that Carrie Bradshaw opening? It is strange, I had a great workout but now at home my throat is bothering me again. Ah well, it isn't bad. I did the run/walk intervals at 4.0, 5.2, 4.0, 6.0 and so on for three miles.
Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 3x5x 115, good work sets, 3x5x 95, easy back offs. Happy with those will have an intensity day next time, going up until failure.
Benchpress 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 3x3x 85 (was supposed to be 5x3 but hasn't happened yet), 3x5x 75. Deadlifts 1x2x 135, 2x2x 145, fucked up form and hitched the fifth one, so did it over. 20 back extensions mostly for the stretch and home for food.

Saturday gym time

Kicked things off on the treadmill, getting ready for a four mile trail run in April, yes, I like a lot of lead time. Walk 4.0 jog 5.2 .25 mile intervals except for the last .25 I ran at 6.0. The friend going to the race with me said she runs at 5.2 or so, but I may end up more comfortable at 6.0. Will see how that goes. Total mileage was 2.75.
Lifts: Squats 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 5x3x 115, 3x5x 95. Those last three sets were tacked on because there was a 'drinking bird' lady using tiny dumbbells right next to me and I couldn't resist doing more squats with an easily handled weight.
Overhead press 1x5x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x3x 65, 1x5x 55. Deadlift 1x5x 135. Back extensions 20 reps. Shower, tuna sub from Subway and time to get to work.

One year ago I was squatting with the bar only!

Trying to get motivated

This day has been dragging on so slowly- ugh! The powerlifter link in Kyle's comment on the blog entry below this is inspiring, love watching a small woman squat 225. Maybe finding more clips of athletic people will have me more stoked about getting in the gym tonight. Taking Spinning for entertainment yesterday didn't work, I was bored halfway through. The instructor is down to earth and funny, but I think she has us move our arms around to all the different bike handle positions in an effort to keep the class engrossing, but instead I find that a distraction from the activity. Yes, this post is full of complaints, no?
It is a beautiful sunny day outside too, which makes me miss living close to a great park with waterfalls and hiking trails. When I first moved there I would only go on the main path and with someone else. Later, alone seemed acceptable, then I got brave and started taking the trails. By the time I had been there a few months I was completely off-trail, using the creekbed as the guide. I miss that park.

Uneven shoulders and strength on each side

My left shoulder in noticeably smaller then the right, so much so that when squatting I have to raise the left elbow up higher to keep the bar straight across my back and during the squat the bat tends to dip on the left side. Rip's book says that with time and lifting body imbalances will become balanced but that hasn't happened with me in just at a year of lifting. I don't know what to do.

Today is a non-lifting day so I'm just taking a Spin class for entertainment. Tomorrow will be squats, going for 3x5x 115, overhead press 3x5x 65, deadlift 1x5x 135. Also run practice, 2 miles, .25 mile intervals walk 4.0 jog 5x2. Next week I'll put a slight incline on it and go another .25 mile, so it will total out at 2.5 miles including the cooldown quarter.

First lifting day after a sick week

Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 3x3x 115, 3x5x 105. I do the extensive warmup because my knees are a little wonky and it helps me get brave when I go up step by step.
Overhead press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 2x3x 65, 1x5x 55. Very rough sets. Romanian deadlifts were 1x5x 95, 1x5x 105, 1x4x 105. So it was a kind of lame workout but felt very tough and at least I did it. This was Monday, all day Tuesday my quads were screaming so I took a Spin class to pump extra blood through the body.
Normally I take more then one day between lifting sessions, but I needed to hit the gym today to get over a crappy experience (non training related) and went for it. Also, I didn't note, on Monday I started training for a four mile trail run and did 2 miles on the treadmills with .25 mile intervals. They were walk 4.0 jog 5.0. today, Weds, I did the same but the intervals were walk 4.0 run 5.1. My heartrate recovery was very good from max (165) to not max (135) but getting lower then that at 3.0 for my cooldown .25 mile was difficult. That was the warm-up.
After doing an intro/volume day Monday i did a tentative intensity day tonight. Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105 (really working on keeping weight over heels as my mindful cue tonight). 1x3x 115, 2x1x 125, 1x2x 125 (Whoo-Hoo) 1x1x 125, 1x dumpx 125, 2x3x 115. Good lord I was done with squats then.

Bench press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 2x3x 85, 1x2x 85, failed the third rep. Then decided to get more exercise at least with 3x5x 70- oddly the last set was the easiest one. I'm going back to linear progression on bench press and will see how that goes, so next bench day 3x5x 72.5 20 back extensions and done.

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.

Slept thru yoga again!

Last night my heart rate stayed higher then usual for a long time, hours even, and the hormonal theory has yet to provide evidence of it being correct, so I don't know what is going on there. I alerted the Man to keep an eye on me.

New goal: get there for Yoga tomorrow, my wrists and shoulder can use it. I'm also flirting with the idea of doing 3x3x 125 squats on the next lifting session which will be Saturday or Sunday. That will be a new PR and if there are issues I can make it into doubles or singles (chop- chop- chop). I want to get past this 120 sticking point. Next lifting will include warming up with the one-mile walk run, 4.0 walk, 5.2 run intervals. This time I'm not going to wear my lifting t-shirt while running, that was a sweaty mess.

Then squats sets of three across to 125! I'm going for it and will report back. Overhead press, 3x5x 60. Then deadlifts 5 reps at 150. Short yet deadly workout there.

Today has involved a lot of laying around in between feedings, hopefully facilitating recovery so I can enter the gym as a BEAST next time. Tonight I'll be walking around a street fair for a couple of hours, the past few evenings have been on the verge of comfortable, so I'm hoping this will be too. If it's hot and sticky I won't be staying long.

Looking forward to tonight

This is new. I didn't make it to yoga because a disruptive cat kept me up all night and I couldn't drag myself out of bed by the time she gave up. Today I'll warm up with the one mile walk-run, walking intervals at 4.0 and running at 5.1. Squatting 5 rep sets across until work sets of 3x3x 120. Then dumbbell bench presses 3x6x 30, one handed 3x6x 30. Power clean reset 5x3x 65, Romanian deadlift 2x5x 95 and done. I had a bowl of pasta for lunch with the intention of all those carbs at the ready to fuel my workout and am also drinking water like crazy. Two hours to go!

The run did not go well, I ended up walking two minutes for the one minute running intervals, and it wasn't my imagination that today was more difficult then Tuesday. As i checked the heart-rate monitor, instead of getting back under 120 beats per minute in a minute like usual, it took three and even then was wavering between 128-129 beats per minute. My shirt was soaked with sweat too. I think this is hormonal as I've been craving chocolate and a bit weepy lately.

Lifts were better, squats were 1x8x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x3x 115, 3x3x 120, but I wasn't sure I was getting my usual depth on the heavy sets as i was thinking about the 'up' on the way down. There wasn't anyone handy to ask either. Those were tough sets too. Before I go i get convinced that if I try like hell it will be easy and so far it does work sometimes. Not this time but I made the lifts. Then to do more with proper depth for sure I did 1x5x 105, and 1x5x 95.

Dumnnell presses went as planned with good attack on the weights. Power cleans 1x 5x bar, 1x3x 55, 5x3x 65 with one moment when a guy got a little too close and made me miss the lift in order not to brain him with the bar. I think my setup on the power cleans is getting better. Then I did 2x5x 95 Romanian deadlifts and I was wiped out. Tomorrow aiming for yoga in the morning and thats it!

Moving forward

Often after lifting I go to sleep easily but don't stay there, and that was the case last night and this morning. As I was up at 5am, I decided to take 6am Spin. It was cooler outside then in, for the first time in six months or so YAY! That was fine, I came home and was able to get a few hours of sleep as work was slow.

Tomorrow I will warm up with the one mile walk/ run. 4mph on the walking minutes and 5.1 for the running. It was strangely fun and more interesting then rowing or elliptical. If my shoulder starts to bug I will add five mins of rowing back, it helps.

With squats I'll warm up with sets of five to work sets of 3x3x 120. Dumbbell bench press with the 30 lb dumbbells, 3x6x 30, then one-handed 3x6x 30. Power cleans, 5x3x 65 and then possible 2x5x 95 Romanian deadlifts.

Recovery: Aiming for yoga tomorrow morning, home behaving myself tonight and tomorrow night, Rest day Friday.

Finally, a decent session

My programming is all over the place, forgive me if you are trying to follow along. After chatting with a girl in Spin yesterday who always runs a mile to start her workouts, I was intrigued. After all, I used to enjoy running outside when it was bearable (God Summer be over with already!!) I started the session with a mile walk.jog. After warming up for five minutes I alternated between 4mph and 5 until the mile was up.

Then jump squats weren't that appealing, so I decided to do sets of 5 across regular low-bar squats and work my way up to whatever. 1x 10x air, 1x5x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105. These were sort of hard, so i did 3x5x 105 thinking about a reset. After the three sets however, I could keep going so I loaded the bar to 115 and did 3x3x 115. Even then, I wasn't 'done' but stopped in order to end on a positive note. Yay me!

Continued with 3x5x 57.5 standing presses, and 1x3x 135 deadlifts, then 3x2x 145. I finished eating and feel pretty good, not overly wiped out.

okee-dokee

Tonight is squat jumps, 3x10xbar, maybe I'll start with a set of eight, then three of ten. Overhead press 3x5x 57.5 microplate time. Deadlifts 1x5x 145. I bought three new shirts to wear to the gym as the way those cap sleeve push up and look like some odd muscle shirt on me is disgusting. I don't know why women's t-shirts all have those dinky sleeves that make my arms look bigger and not feminine. So, I had to buy men's T-shirts to get a longer short sleeve that ultimately looks more graceful. I tried the wash and dried top on with yoga pants this morning and it looks a lot better then the former. This should help with having to lift in front of the mirror at least.

I just saw that the yoga instructor I prefer has a class at four today. Work has been dead, and I am tempted to take yoga, Spin and then lift. Crazy?

Sunday and Monday

Yesterday's squats were better, hit 2x5x 115, then 1x3x 115, failed on the fourth rep. 1x5x 105 to finish. Dumbbell bench press 3x5x 30, one handed 3x5x 30 (these were harder. I'm going to stay with the 30s next time too. Power cleans were a disaster, 1x3x 65, 1x1x 75, 1x1x 70 and gave up. It wasn't great. I'm going back to 65 lb power cleans next and micro-loading after that.

Tonight I'm going to a spin class. Tuesday lifts will be 3x 10x bar jump squats, 3x5x (I need to look back and fill this in/ microloading ) overhead press, 1x5x 145 deadlifts. If that turns into split sets to get the five or six reps that's okay too.

Wednesday possibilities; early Spin and yoga afterward, or skip the gym and push the truck around if I have a steerer. Thursday will be squats 3x5x 115, DB bench 3x6x 30, one handed 3x6x 30, power cleans 5x3x 65 OR romanian deadlifts, 2x5x 95. Friday rest.

Not sure what to do here.

Normally I know exactly what the plan is for the workout, but at this point I have no clue. I know one thing, rain or not, I am putting my shoes on (instead of flip-flops) before leaving the house so at least I'll have socks on. I'll warm up with sets of five across and aim for 3x5x 115. Today is bench press and power clean day too, so dumbbell bench with the 30 lb dumbells, 3x5, then one-handed 3x3. Power cleans 5x3x 75. Warm-up 10 mins arc-trainer, five minutes of rowing (god that is boring) and 20 back extensions.

Deadlift reset going okay.

Honestly, I considered naming this post "Crap Squats!" but decided to attempt to keep a positive perspective. Friday's workout included my omission of both socks and a small towel. Also, I did 6 minutes of the rower for a warm-up in order to get my shoulders and upper back feeling flexible before starting instead of the usual 10 minutes on the elliptical. I'm unsure if any of those factors had to do with the sessions poor performance but keeping track of details is what this log is for.

Squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x4x 65, 1x4x 105, planned work sets were 3x5x 120. Instead it was 1x2x 120, 1x3x 120 (failed third rep, 1x2x 120, failed second rep. Okay, this wasn't going well so I took five lbs off the bar. New plan, 3x5x 115. I did 1x2x 115- gave up, wrote a little pep talk in my log, 2x3x 115. I'm basically freaking out at this point. Took more weight off the bar and did 2x5x 105; then I was done.

Overhead press reset, 1x5x bar, 3x5x 55, went okay. Deadlifts, 1x2x 135, 2x3x 140. Deads felt okay, my video camera fell over on its side so can't see form to check. That squat session had me doubting why I even do this in the first place. I took a walk around the gym and looked at every other person in there blissfully going about their easy workouts and for a minute I considered going back there. Clearly, I just need to work harder.

Wednesday night session

I didn't go Tuesday because it was raining, bad excuse, I know. It was still rainy Wednesday and the gym wasn't crazy crowded so that was good. Squats were 1x4x 115, 3x3x 120, 1x2x 115, 1x3x 115, 3x5x 105. I did a lot of back up sets due to disappointment at the 120 lb work sets being rather lame. I am starting to feel more like myself and stronger then the shaky leaf of Sunday.

I used the 25 pound dumbbells again to do 3x6x 25 of both bench presses and one handed bench press. Power cleans 1x3x 75, 1x2x 75, very ugly, dropped down to 70 pounds for 5x3x 70, then several 1 rep pratices for form with Eric. The yoga class this morning was essential, there is a bit of the 'broken doll' feeling but I bet it would be alot worse if I didn't go.

Friday I need to lift early as a friend is celebrating her birthday at 7pm which is my normal lifting time. Looking for squats 3x5x 120, overhead press 3x5x 55, deadlift 1x5x 140.

Back home and at it again

The plan of eating lots of protein didn't work out in the land of pasta and pastries, which meant I either had sandwiches when they were available or skipped the meal completely. After a week of unfamiliar food, drinking, grief and family stress (there were some good times too) I am still feeling weak. That said, I had to get in the gym anyway today.

Squat work sets were 2x4x 115, 1x4x 120, 1x3x 120 with the third rep a bailout. Overhead press 1x8xbar, 2x5x 50, 1x6x 50. Deadlifts, 1x3x 135, 2x2x 135. There you have it, not great but not bad considering I feel less then normal today. I'm hoping for a good yoga class tomorrow, Tuesday is the instructor i don't care for, so lifting in the evening with squats again, 3x5x 120 (may as well go for it) dumbell bench and one-handed, 3x6x 25, and power cleans 5x3x 70. Wednesday yoga and spin class, Thursday squat, overhead press, deadlift, Friday some conditioning, maybe truck pushing.

Last workout for a while

Going out of town means I won't be back in the gym to lift until Sunday, so I tried to really kick it this time. I went to yoga in the morning and lifted in the afternoon. Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x4x 65, 1x4x 85, 1x4x 105, 1x3x 115, then 5x3x 120, not too shabby, a knee pop on one and trying to get used to sitting back more, I really need to film this again. then 1x3x 115, 1x5x 95 and my ass literally was tired.
Overhead press was 1x8x 45, 3x8x 55 (god I hate these) but going lighter has made it better as far as my form goes, I hope it helps with strength. Then power cleans 1x3x bar, 1x3x 55, 1x3x 65, 5x3x 70. These weren't bad, but the gym started filling up at four. They probably would have been better if I didn't have to watch out for careless people crowding me and walking by.

Home, chocolate milk, protein and a nap. I plan to pound the protein while I can this week and pick up my niece and carry her around as much as possible. Sunday I will repeat the squat sequence, 5x3x 120, dumbbell presses with 25 lbs, 1x5x 135 deadlifts. If all goes well I will start progressing again from there.

Trained anyway.

Jon would have gone to the gym, so I did. Squats, 3x5x 115, 2x5x 105. Dumbbell bench and one-handed 25lb bells. Deadlifts, 1x5x 135. Came home, chocolate milk. Deciding whether to drive or fly up to the rest of the family.

2011

It has been the year of death. I have never gone to so many funerals in such a short time span and hope never to again.

It was a good one!

A good one for squats at least, and let's be real, squats are all that really matters. That, and very attractive men complimenting my form hubba hubba. Ahem, so I made the 3x5x 115. I just got home and guzzled a huge amount of chocolate milk and declined the chance to hang out with my man at a smoky bar. Hopefully my good behavior tonight will be rewarded with more strength. As my shoulder still doesn't feel right overhead presses were 3x8x 45- yes the bar. Then 5x3x 65 power cleans. I did 65 because the first set felt heavy and clumsy but once I was in the groove of them could have added weight. Next time. Then I finished with lat pulldowns, 1x10x70, 1x8x 80, 1x6x 90 and took a much needed shower. No idea what, if anything I will do tomorrow for conditioning, push the truck if I can get ahold of Heidi to steer.

Saturday squats 5x3x 120, Romanian deadlifts, 3x5x105, bench press I don't know about. Maybe I'll go back to the 30 lbs dumbbells for two and one-handed presses.

Persistence

I waited to post about Tuesday's lift session because, it sucked! Going to the gym was unappealing but I had just posted an inspirational quote about persistence on Facebook. Avoiding hypocrisy, I went in spite of not feeling like it. Squats at 115 (115! not 120) were heavy, again. I had to make 3x5 into 5x3, and those were tough. The squat racks were full when I went over there, so I did bench press first. That may have sapped me for squats. On bench O got two sets of three at 85, all the rest were lower. Then deadlifts, 1x1x 135, 2x1x 145, filmed myself deadlifting and my lower back does round so it's back to 135 for reps.

Yoga class was eh (not the most uplifting post so far is this?) the guy teaching counts loudly through the whole thing- the second class was better. So far I like Linn, Maria and Jeff as yoga teachers. Tonight I am going to do 3x5x 115 squats (War with the BAR!), 3x5x60 overhead press, 5x3x 75 power cleans.

7:30 was too early today.

I slept through yoga but did go to a tough Spin class tonight. Tomorrow I will make the yoga class, the difference in the way my body feels is too much to ignore and not to take advantage of. Then, a lifting night! I am looking for squats 3x5x 115 with the weight on my heels/ midfoot and knees shoved out, with good depth and chin tucked. Whew! I may also try the Rip warmup which should be 2x5x bar, 1x4x 52, 1x3x 75, 1x3x 100 (or so, I forget the formula offhand) then the work sets.

Bench press, going for 85 lbs, 3x5. Power cleans, 80 lbs 5x3.

Taking a couple of steps back to go forward

I put off posting this because I decided to drop the weight a bit. Saturday should have been a perfect lifting day, it was early afternoon and there were only serious lifting guys around. There was one staff member there, and he wasn't feeling well so was staying out of the way, it was great. Except, I just wasn't completely there. I decided to lighten up on squats and did 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x4x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x2x 105, 5x3x 115 as the work sets. The first set was slow and heavy, the second was better. I did the chin tuck and it worked well until the last set when I was fatigued. Then 2x5x 100, the first set was hard and my upper back was loose, the second was all right.

Trying to think of all these cues at once is screwing me up, so the plan is to get it from the ground up. I'll think about keeping my weight back and knees out and when that is natural move up. Squats will be 3x5x 115 Tuesday.

Moved on the overhead press, 1x3x 60, 1x5x 60, 1x4x 60, 1x5x 60, so all over the place. It didn't help that a cheerful challenged guy came over to cheer me on. I decided to let him try it and lo and behold- he did three reps, thanked me and wandered off never to be seen again. As much as I detest shoulder work, a defined, slightly-wider shoulder looks so good on top of my body that I'm grudgingly glad they are in the program.

Finished off with Romanian deadlifts, 1x5x 95, 1x5x 105, and 1x5x 95. A session without much going for it other then getting in there and doing it in spite of myself. In other news, I talked my sister into steering my truck while I pushed it around an empty parking lot for a while Friday night. It was fun, she filed her nails while I was back there pushing. The prowler programming that I am using to model my plans for truck-pushing suggests twice a week for beginners.

To end on a shopping note, I am the proud owner of a brand-new yoga mat!

Why do I love thee? Let me blog the way.

The day after telling my man that on Friday I was going to a movie with a group of friends, I came home earlier then planned, lugging the big gym bag. Surprised, my man said:, "I thought you were going to a movie and then out after?"

I replied, "Well, I decided to see my sister and have her steer the truck while I pushed it around a parking lot for a while."

Man: "What's wrong with the truck?"

Me: "Nothing, I did it for exercise. (long pause) Do you think that's weird?"

Man: "Nope, (leaned over and kissed me) I'm proud of you."

That is marrying material ladies.

Sipping a delicious spinach juice and herding cats.

As one does before sitting down to log in yesterdays workout. The synopsis of tips received from my squat form check clip include, sit back more, widen your stance, keep weight on your heels rather then toes, and look down. Guess what? That is a lot to think about when one is struggling with a heavy weight on ones back but I gave it a go and discovered that actively looking down as I came up tends to make my upper back collapse at the top 1/3 of the lift.

Squats were, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x4x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105 (these felt heavy) 1x2x 115 (again, heavy) 2x3x 120, 1x2x 120 because my form completely disintegrated at the end there. 3x3x 115, also messy, 2x5x 95. I'm not sure whether to go for another 3x3x 120 tomorrow or not. Way back when I was stuck at 65 lbs it was due to trying to perfect my form before going up in weight. I'll try to film myself tomorrow and see how it goes.

Having gone down in standard bench weight recently these went well. Warmup 1x5x bar, 1x3x 65, 1x2x 75, 5x3x 80, challenging but not too much of a struggle.

Deadlifts need to be filmed again for a back check, were 1x2x 135, 1x1x 145, 3x1x 155. Then I was DONE. Switching to Tues, Thurs, Sat rather then lifting Mon, Weds, Fri is much better as far as avoiding fools in the gym. The crappy water pressure in the gym showers sucks, but taking one right after a session is conducive to getting things done on the way home. I didn't bring towels and clothes to change into, and instead of picking up a yoga mat I wanted to get home immediately to wash up. Moral of the story, when I have things to do after the gym, bring shower stuff.

Tomorrow's session will be, squats, 3x3x 120, 3x3x 115, raising the weight on my back-off sets to 100 lbs, so 2x5x 100. Then, the dreaded overhead press 3x5x 62.5, Romanian deadlifts 3x5x115.

Heavier

Back from the second yoga class in a row. It is almost like getting a massage except I have to do all the work, but the majority of my stiffness is gone. I stopped by the Walmart next to the gym to pick up a yoga mat (not realizing before how intimate one gets with it) but they don't carry sporting goods. What??

Tonight is increase the weight night on squats, and the squat form check I posted had so many different bits of advice that I'm confused. Lots to work on, sitting back even further to keep my knees from traveling forward and make sure to go low. The plan in 3x3x 120, then 3x3x 115 really focusing on form. I've been feeling like a pudge-o lately but want to get my squats up to an easy 135 before I start cutting fat.

Bench 3x5x 80 if I can get on a standard bench without waiting, otherwise will use the 30# dumbbells for reps. Deadlift at 155, need to film that too.

Squats, overhead press and power cleans

Squats were fine, 3x5x 117.5, I'll post the video. Wasn't sure I was getting the depth wanted, but on review the bar is really close to the safties, so I think its okay. After the work sets my partner showed up so i did two sets of five at 95 to keep her company and because i like those easy back-off sets. They remind me how far I've come since being stuck at 65 lbs for so long. Overhead press was next, as my form was atrocious last time I dropped back on weight to 60 lbs, and did 3x5x 60. It was still tough, I won't lie. Then power cleans, 1x3x bar, 1x3x 55, 1x3x 65, 5x3x 70. The last set got sloppy and I missed the third lift on the fourth set too. There is a vid of the last power clean set too I may post.

All in all a good night. Tomorrow probably Spin, yoga if its at a good time for me, and may go out to a breast cancer research benefit. Thursday session- going to go for squats at 120 lbs, bench press 75, 80 if possible, deadlifts 160.

Lift plan.

Today, squats 3x5x 117.5. Honestly, it scares me to think about doing these. Last time, although they were challenging the squats went up easily at the top so I don't know where this feeling is coming from. I need to psyche myself up more effectively. So, those, overhead press 3x5x60 lbs. I will see how dropping the weight by five lbs goes this week. Then power cleans 5x3x70. I'll also do two sets of back extensions and 3x8x cable lat pulls. I'm thinking 60, 80, 100lbs on those. Will update after the session.

Good squats and a little rant.

Squats, 1x10x air, 1x6x bar, 1x5x 64, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 2x5x117,5, 1x4x 117.5, 1x5x 115. I'm giving myself credit for making all 3 sets because there was an annoying guy talking crap about how low I was going during the third set right behind me. So, in lieu of turning around and pointing out that not only is he weak but that his form always sucks, he lifts like a wet noodle and is all-around ridiculous, I racked the bar. The trainer with whom he was talking during that set told me that my form was great. Jack-off guy is apparently a chiropractor and sure that quarter-squats are the best way to protect the knees, not the dangerous deep squats I was doing. What kills me the most about that is that he (a complete idiot) probably makes three times as much $ as I do. The important thing is that I owned 117.5.

Bench presses were heavy at 85, 3x2x 85, then 2x5x75. Eddie, the good trainer, gave me some form tips, advising me to pull my shoulders down which activated my lats more then squeezing them together was. Basically I'm resetting my bench to 75 lbs.

Romanian deads were 1x5x 95, 1x5x 105, 1x4x 115, 1x3x 115 so good. Monday I'll take a cardio class, either Spin or body combat. Tuesday will be another round of 3x5x 117.5 squats just to make sure, overhead press 5x3x60 dropping weight on this one too, power cleans 5x3x70. I may add in some lat pulldowns.

Tomorrow and regrouping

For Sunday I am going for squats, 3x5x117.5, standard bench press 5x3x90, Romanian deadlifts, 1x5x95, 1x5x105, 1x5x 115 (or however many I can do with god form.) I'll try to get better form check videos too. I did notice that the videoed squats look better as far as form goes then they feel, so thats good. Also, I may add a cardio class back in on the off days, as not doing it didn't make any difference in my strength last week. Hell considering all the days off if not doing cardio was going to help then Friday's workout should have been twice as good as it was. In fact, I just talked myself into a spin class today :-)

Finally getting back in the gym

After Mondays session my right shoulder felt odd when rotated. Those 35 lb dumbbells may have been too much, but the thing with lifting is, if you don't ever lift more you never get better, so risks must be taken. My next session with dumbbells should be this coming Thursday, I'll figure out whether to lift the 35s again then.


I decided to err on the side of caution and chill on workouts until it felt better, which Thank GOD is today. Since it has been that long today will be squats, 3x5x 117.5, overhead press 3x5x 65, and deadlifts @ 155 lbs. Sunday I will do standard bench press, going for 90 lbs this time, 5x3. All this will happen later tonight, will update after.

Update: Well that sucked. Squats ended up 3x4x117.5, 1x3x117.5 Failed rep (with video, even the video is off). Then I did 2x5x95 just to accomplish something. Overhead presses were not better, 1x5xbar, 1x3x55, 2x3x 65 and I just basically punked out on the rest. Deadlifts however were not that bad, being totally pissed off seemed to help. 2x3x 135, 2x2x 155. Saw handsome Ben too and chatted about lifting so it wasn't a total waste. Finished off with 30 back extensions.

Did all right today

Made all planned lifts. Squats were 1x10x air, 1x6x bar, 1x4x 65, 1x4x 85, 1x4x 105, 4x4x 117.5 2x5x107.5. I moseyed on over to the benches and got up to shaky dumbbell bench presses with the 35 lb weights, as well as 2x4x35 one -handed. I dropped back to the 30 lb dumbbells and did 3x5s for both bench and one-handed. That is when something kinda weird happened. The whole time I was doing my sets there was an older guy 'coaching' two kids (they looked young to me but I'm in my 40s so who knows) Anyway, the two younger looking ones were very skinny. Older coach guy had them doing regular isolation stuff one sees in the gym all the time, using light weights. 20 lbs and less.

The weird thing was, when I got up to put the dumbbells I was using away and go to deadlift, he stopped and gave me an Evil Look of Doom. I kind of smiled at him, I try to be friendly and don't really give a shit either way, but that was oddly unwarranted.

Deadlifts, 3 reps at 155, it is still a challenge to really get that back set tightly. Lowering my hips seems to help. Tomorrow I will take a yoga class at 7:30, also need to call the Lion Heart gym owner about lifting there Weds. He is going to check out my form and make sure I am following the APA rules in case I enter the meet in October.

Ta-da!

Thanks to the good workout vibes sent by Siobhan yesterday's session went perfectly. I changed the squat warmup from 10 lb raises to 20, so it went 1x10x air, 1x5x bar, 1x3x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 5x3x 117.5 ! The first three work sets were pretty smooth, the fourth was tougher. Psyched myself up and made the fifth one easily, minimum of good morning. Then, as I was hoping my lifting partner would show up in time for some more squats, and also because I was pumped from the successful sets, 3x5x 105.

Overhead press was good too. 1x5x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x5x 65. Romanian deadlifts, 1x5x95, 2x5x 105. Finsihed off with power cleans 5x3x65 and 25 back extensions. It felt good to sit down after that! Really good workout session, now have the weekend off unless I can get in the gym Sunday which I doubt.

Monday will be squat, bench, deadlift day. Looking for 4x4x117.5, squats, 4x4x82.5 bench, 155 lb deadlifts.

Friiiday! Friiday! (to the tune of that girl's awesome song)

A better one for today's session is from Chumbawumba but I forgot the name of it. Be glad you are spared my singing. Trying it again, five sets, three reps at 117.5 lb squats. Then, overhead presses, 3x5x65. Romanian deadlifts, 1x5x95, 1x5x100 lbs. Top it off with power cleans, 5x3x65 for fun. This protein thing is interesting, sometimes I have had to make myself eat it but after five days of this I am not bloated or fat-feeling. I haven't specifically reduced or started counting carbs, being aware of the amount of protein I'm going for made me eat less of the yummy, I mean carby stuff.

Which reminds me, last week I watched the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. The main guy, Joe I believe, did have an astounding amount of weight loss and regained health, but even as I watched it was obvious the man had nothing in the way of muscle tone. Curious, I went to the website and found, in the Frequently asked questions an inquiry of survival without protein for extended periods of time. Te response was that we have protein already in our body tissue that can be released. Um, isn't that a big part what our tissue is made of? I think the site just advocated the destruction of lean body mass.

Voodoo science aside, it does seem like a good way to force ingest a ton of nutrients. A couple of my friends tried it and only lasted two days, the kale in the main juice was unpalatable. On that note, I have just talked myself into a delicious spinach, cold water, hot sauce blend!

Funny dilemma

I am dying for a massage. That said, after discovering that even eloping requires planning and money, I don't want to spend a lot on the massage. Amazingly (or so I thought) recently one of my sister's neighbors dropped a business card and flyer advertising intro rate massages for $15 a hour. The business card includes the therapists certification number on it. Well, that is perfect! However, I forgot to get the number. When I went back to her house and told her I was going to get the massage, my sister said that when she lays out in the sun she sees the neighbor hovering behind the trees in his front yard, apparently peeking over. She is sure he is a pervert.

So, do I get the cheap massage and risk being spied on by a pervert? Uh, no! That sucks though, hopes and dreams dashed... Guess I'll go to Walmart and buy a pool noodle to roll around on.

Rough squats

Here goes; 1x10xair, 1x6xbar, 1x3x55, 1x3x65, etc until 105, then 1x2x105, 1x2x115, Work sets, 2x3x117.5, heard a knee pop but no pain on the third rep of the second set. Then 2x3x117.5, 2x2x117.5, lots of struggling and good morning going on. Backed off to 115 and still only did 1x2x115. Finished (gave up) with 2x5x95. Felt crappy after that debacle.

Standard bench was 1x8xbar, 1x4x55, 1x3x65, 1x2x75, 3x2x82.5, 2x3x82.5, interestingly the last two sets were easier. I had spotter interference helping for the first three sets reps three to five during the first two sets so am only counting the first two reps.

Cleans for technique, 1x5xbar, 5x3x65, nice cleans but did scrape my neck on one of the reps.

All-righty then. Friday lifts will be squats, see how it goes with 117.5 again. Overhead press, 67.5 lbs. Romanian deadlifts, 1x5x95, 1x5x100.

The Protein Project

In spite of being nearly gagged by all the protein yesterday, I woke up hungry at 4am. Seemed like a good idea to get a head start on the 150 grams, so got up and had a can of light tuna (I shared the juice and leftover with the cat) three big radishes and two big glasses of water. Today will be an easy workout day, just a Spin class. Tomorrow will be squats, 5x3x117.5, bench press going for an increase in weight here too, 5x3x82.5 and power cleans starting back at 65lbs.

It's amazing

how little I want to post when I can't use the browser of my choice. Get in gear Blogspot/Google!!

Thanks to the back-to-school sales I picked up a big notebook to keep track of my protein intake. The goal is 150 grams of protein a day. Tonight's session will be squats, try for 115 again after that low set Friday (I had to back off to 105 for reps, all shaky and falling forward like a goof). Also on Friday I did 4x4x80 bench presses, and 2x5x95 Romanian Deads which were fine while I did them and a literal pain in the ass (lower ass) the next day. That is fine, I hope its strengthening what needs to be stronger.

Back to tonight, going for a good form 3x5x115 squats. Overhead press 3x5x65, deadlifts 2x3x160. Lofty goals considering the mush of lst week but what the heck?

Good squats, shitty deadlifts. Squats were; 1x10xair, 1x8xbar, 1x3x55, 1x3x65, 1x3x75, 1x3x85, 1x3x95, 1x3x105, H2O break, 3x5x115! Back off sets, 1x5x105, 1x5x95.

Overhead press 1x5xbar, 1x3x55, 1x5x65, 2x4x65. Deadlift, 1x3x135, 1x1x145, 1x1x155, three singles at 160- never got my form dialed in with these. As I was taking a shower after I recalled the cue to pull the bar back into me- completely forgot that earlier. Took 5 lbs off and pulled one at 155 and finished for the night.

First, the good news..

Deadlift PR at 155lbs! Everyone's tips really helped, including the DVD. When my back is good and tight the weight goes up pretty easily. This is especially good, considering I may enter the powerlifting meet in Oct. For the experience of course. Overhead presses were not good, 3 sets of two reps at 67.5, and squats 2x5x105. The deadlifts were 1x3x145, 1x2x155, the second one wasn't good so I regrouped for a minute then 1x1x155.

Making up for it

Last night, after the usual fitful night that comes after a heavy late evening workout, I couldn't sleep and decided to go to 6am Spin. After that, I attempted the power cleans skipped yesterday. They basically sucked at 75 lbs, I'm going back down to 65 and working up again. The good news is, done training for the day and I am getting a pedicure this afternoon.

Wednesday will be squats, 3x5x115, overhead press 3x5x67.5, deadlifts 2x3x145 either before or after Coralette's class. Thursday off.

Why I have a blog (rant warning)

It is not just to keep track of my lifts, although it may seem so at times. One of the best things about a blog is that I can freely state my opinion about anything I want without some ridiculous assholes coming back with stupid comments. Even better, if one did go so far as to post an unwanted comment here, it has to go through me first. Muahahahaha! Deleted! Terminated!

Back to training: Today will be squats 4x4x115, Bench press 5x3x77.5, then... I don't know. It should be power-clean day but I've become off-schedule with them and have read so much conflicting information on doing them correctly that now I'm more confused about them then ever. That said, my other choice is deadlifts and my lower back doesn't feel normal yet. This could be from the raised weight on squats Saturday as well as Romanian deadlifts. Deadlifts are pissing me off anyway, I keep seeing women pull higher weights then me who have been lifting the same amount of time and it is frustrating. I need to generate more income so i can afford two gyms, bet there are some Oly lifters at the real gym I talked about in an earlier blog.

I sent the owner an email asking about meets in the area, so when he gets back to me I'll see if we can work something out for 'drop-in' sessions. Now I have a couple of hours to go before the gym will hopefully be not too crowded to lift.

Squats and bench were successfully completed, and I did 4x4x77.5 on standard bench presses. Next bench session will be 80 lbs. I think I just didn't know how to bench and switching to dumbbells helped me get the motion down. Squats were okay at 4x4x115. The new rep scheme has really been helpful in preventing stalls so far. No pull tonight, on the bright side my lower back feels normal again, so I will pull tomorrow night after Spin.

New test post

Checking to see if it works in Safari. All-righty then, the missing post issue has something to do with Firefox. Last night it was impossible for me to get comfortable between back soreness and feeling hot as hell. It is a good thing its the weekend and i could sleep late. Yesterday's workout was good, PR on squats, 5x3x115! On the second set my knee did a little something, so I really need to focus on pushing the knees out at the bottom of the movement. Then I did 5x3x65 overhead press and 2x5x95 Romanian Deadlifts, it is still a challenge to keep the bar path going along my legs and deal with breathing.

Monday squats will be 4x4x115, bench press 3x5x77.5, power cleans 5x3x 80. Those are the goals. If I get up early or can't sleep again I will take the 6am Spin too. I'm taking my little niece sometime this week so flexibility will be important, thus i better lift while I can.

Also, my Tamara Cohen t-shirt from Wild Gorilla Man arrived. The size chart on the site had me concerned so i ordered an xl, but the shirts have a nice generous cut and drape. A large would have been fine. The fabric is so nice I think I'll wear the shirt out and about rather then to work out in. Let's see how my image mojo is....

Test post

Squat, bench, deadlift

Motivation was low, but I went anyway

And did squats, building up to 4x4x110 kind of ugly squats (there is video) then back off sets 1x5x105, 1x5x95. Overhead press 5x3x65, still effing hard. When I say it was hard, I mean the last rep doesn't seem to go up by strength but by sheer will. Then I chose Romanian Deadlifts, which were also a struggle at 1x6x95, 1x5x95, 1x4x95. Breathing is hard to get sorted out with these for some reason. So, at least I went and did something. Looking for a better, higher energy session Wednesday.

One thing I have noticed, is no matter what slop my form check is, there is always some goof doing some odd exercise in the background.

Monday workout

Dealing with indecision right now, I am considering whether to take the 6pm Combat cardio class, Spin or just a quick cardio warmup before lifting. It will depend on how antsy I am at the end of the work day. I also need to decide whether to do heavy squats again or mix it up with front squats, then overhead press, then either power cleans or Romanian Deadlifts. I love the way the RDLs target the hamstrings in a way the other exercises don't. It's been a while since I've 'cleaned' because I need to concentrate to do those correctly and the gym can be so busy and distracting. I may move them completely to after a 6am Spin class. So I'm looking at the regular, squats 4x4x110, overhead press 5x3x60, cleans 5x3x65 or front squats 3x5x65, same ovp, RDLs 2x8x95.

Good old body image issues

Yesterday, I felt broken and sore and decided not to go to the gym. Immediately after making that decision, I looked in a mirror and thought, "Eww, I look fat today."

Later, I called my sister and mentioned that we all may have body image issues. Her response was, "Well we need to lose weight!" We are pretty much the same size, 10-12 US. The truth is, we don't need to lose weight. Both of us can walk into any store that caters to adult women and find clothes that fit. They may pull across the bust in my case, or gap in the waist in hers, but it isn't a matter of everything being too small. We fit comfortably in airplane, roller-coaster and ski-lift seats. Men find us attractive and ask us out. We could probably live another 40 years this size in good health.

Her need is actually a desire. I think it stems from being little girls in the 70s, when there were only three TV stations. Images of Chrissy Snow and Charlie's Angels are burned in our psyches as the right way an adult woman looks. I don't know how to fix this. I know that when I'm struggling to keep good form with a heavy weight that that is the only thing on my mind, and I like it.

Good lifting day, squats were good at 5x3x110 (finally!)then back off sets 1x5x105, 1x5x95, bench press 3x5x75, I will switch the rep scheme to 5x3 next time at 80. Deadlifts 1x3x135, 1x3x145. I did a couple of sets of overhead press and bicep curls with the bar to finish off. So for Monday, squats 4x4x110, overhead press 5x3xwhatever I can, power cleans 5x3x65.

Bummer low-carb lunch

Having read tons of nutrition info on various weightlifting sites, the need to get lots of protein has been pounded into my brain. I aim for 100-150 grams and often fall a little short of that. I have never been a dieter, so when low-carb proponents enthusiastically discuss the thrill of being able to eat steak and bacon, it's like, okay whoop-de-doo. But I am trying to give it a shot.

Earlier today I picked up some lean steaks and portabella mushrooms, which I made for lunch today. I sauteed them in olive oil and finished off with red pepper flakes and sea salt. It just wasn't that great. A baked potato, steak frites, or piece of crusty buttery garlic bread would have complemented the meal perfectly, but of course that is not recommended. That meal was a lot less enjoyable then working out! The protein thing isn't always a depressing failure, last night I had a sauteed chicken breast and the man made a big yummy mixed greens salad, so that was good. Oh well, every meal can't be great. Maybe shoes will cheer me up.

The 6am Spin class today was fun. Tomorrow the plan is squats, work up to 5x3x110 (pr) back-off set 1x5x105, 1x5x95. Bench press on the standard bench, 3x5x80, if that doesn't work I'll do 3x5x77.5. Then deadlifts 1x5x135, 1x5x145 really working form. If it deteriorates I'll adjust the number of repititions at the time. I'll try to get form video too.

Uggghh

First the good news, squats were successfully completed. Upping the weight next time to 110lbs. In case anyone doesn't know this, Wednesday evening at 5:45pm is a TERRIBLE time to hit the gym unless you just want to be a social butterfly. Luckily, I snapped up a squat rack (after giving two young guys curling in it the Bert Stare for a while) and parked myself there the whole time. So, yes I was an asshole tonight. Owning it!

Maybe Karma was getting me because overhead presses sucked ass. I ended up struggling to do 5x3x65 instead of the 3x5x65 planned. 2x5x95 Romanian deadlifts, 2x8x45 overhead presses, yes just the bar, and 2x10xbar bicep curls. After that I took Coralette's combo class which is much harder after lifting and dragged ass home.

Spinning (spun?) tonight and what's up tomorrow

Looking at squats, 3x5x107.5, overhead press 3x5 dammit x65, Romanian deadlifts, 1x5x95, 1x5x97.5. I have my friend lifting with me, and she has shoulder issues so I think overhead press will be better for her then bench. I did both Monday, and the other option is power clean which her shoulder has problems also (yes I will fix that sentence later). So, a quick and dirty lifting session and then Coralette's combo class which should be fine.

Epic workout

And I didn't even get to everything on my plan. It all started with Spin, and I have to admit that having a cute guy right behind me probably caused more show-off-ness then would normally happen in a warm-up Spin class. Red in the face and heart still beating faster then usual, I hit the squat rack.
Squats, 1x10xair, 1x8xbar, 1x3x55, 1x3x65, 1x3x75, 1x3x85, 1x3x95, 1x3x105. I waited for a crappy Mariah Carey song to end, then did 4x4x107.5, 2x5x105. These squat sets were good, totally video worthy, I kept form and concentrated on each rep, no flopping. Being Monday it was too busy to film but I am proud of those squats none the less. Next heavy squat session will be 3x5x107.5 and soon- the bigger plates! Rippetoe dislikes 35 lb plates but I can't wait to put those on the bar.
Overhead press , 1x5xbar, 1x5x55, 3x4x65, the fourth rep was a fight each time. All of the standard benches were taken so onto dumbbell bench press and one-handed. I worked up to 30lbs, 3x5x30, regular and then one-handed. By now i was so done so no pull tonight. After running around doing a couple of errands home and eat.

Thought of the day, 10 lbs of added weight on the bar per month equals 120 lbs in a year. Less then a year for my 225lb squat! That will be a great 45th birthday accomplishment.

Some pics

Side view coming along okay, I started taking note of what bloats me. So far in addition to powdered coffee creamer, ice cream (doh!).

Ahh, cellulite.

These are the Quads of Doom baby!

Proof that genetics are king; I never work my calves. Maybe they are like that from carrying the rest of me around! As tempting as it is to re-name this post, "Big-legged Woman" I hate to imagine the search engine results that could happen. In three months, I'll redo these and see what changes.