Awwww, gee thanks everyone! Gotta say that I love the support on this forum.....
Yesterday I started reading Rippetoe's Starting Strength in detail, rather than just skimming it. I read the squat chapter and decided to practice my squat form without any weights to make sure I was doing in right. Turns out, I haven't been doing squats quite low enough. I've been just a couple inches shy of where I should be going. I can see now why most people should be able to DL more than they squat. Wish I'd had this book when I first started lifting. I think it would have made a big difference. It will be interesting to test my form on the other exercises, too.
Today I did some gardening for a couple hours since it is the first weekend that it hasn't been over 100 degrees in months. Pulling weeds and shovelling dirt really made me work up a sweat. I'm going swimming in a little while to cool off.
Ok, tangential rant here: What is up with ass cleavage? It is NOT sexy. Yet everytime I go swimming I see about a half dozen collegiate age girls at the pool who are wearing bikinis with bottoms that do not cover their bottoms. Do they not look at the back when they are shopping for swimsuits? Do they want people to see their butt cracks? I'm tempted to go drop a quarter down their trunks, it looks so much like a slot machine. It's not a good look, and I don't want to see it!!!
Hopefully, I will be spared some of the skimpy-suited girls today......
Today I did some gardening for a couple hours since it is the first weekend that it hasn't been over 100 degrees in months. Pulling weeds and shovelling dirt really made me work up a sweat. I'm going swimming in a little while to cool off.
It's nice to know I'm not the only person broiling out here! In which part of the country are you? I'm in AZ.
As to the ass cleavage, maybe all those girls are aspiring plumbers.
Hi Evie, got some nice workouts going in here! Stage 5 can definitely be a challenge w the time issue but it looks like you are planning for that so that's great. Keep up the great work!
__________________ Sade-
If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! Move it, move it.
Ok, tangential rant here: What is up with ass cleavage? It is NOT sexy. Yet everytime I go swimming I see about a half dozen collegiate age girls at the pool who are wearing bikinis with bottoms that do not cover their bottoms. Do they not look at the back when they are shopping for swimsuits? Do they want people to see their butt cracks? I'm tempted to go drop a quarter down their trunks, it looks so much like a slot machine. It's not a good look, and I don't want to see it!!!
Hopefully, I will be spared some of the skimpy-suited girls today......
you should be in my office... I work in the fashion industry in swimsuits.... I see that crap alllllll day!
Fencai, I would go crazy if I had to look at skinny beeyotches in too-small bikinis all day. Ugh!
Ok, I got to my stage 5 B1 workout today:
BB RDL/row-- 4x4 @ 80 lbs
single leg partial squat-- 3x4 @ 27.5 lbs
wide grip lat pulldown-- 1x4 @100, 2x4 @ 95
Back extension -- 1x4 @ 25, 1x4 @ 35, 1x4 @ 45
YTWL-- 1x4 @ 8, 2x4 @ 10
Ball crunch-- 4x4 w/ 14 lbs
Jackknife-- 4x6
side ball crunch-- 4x5
cobra-- 3 x 120 sec.
15 min HIIT on spin bike.
Thoughts: I think I can go up on RDL/row. It's the row part that is hardest for me.
I might increase on the single leg squat a little, but I'd like to focus more on range of motion more than just adding weight. Balance felt good today, at least.
I thought I could surely do 4 pulldowns at 100 lbs, but I was wrong. I'd forgotten how much harder widegrip is. My form just wasn't where I wanted it to be, so I went down to 95, which was ok.
I'd never done 45 lbs on back extension and just did it to see if I could. It felt pretty good. I worry a little about doing too much weight on this exercise, though, so I may continue to superset so I get a decently warmed up before using the 45.
Pleasantly surprised w/ the YTWL. The T is the hardest for me, and didn't have stellar form in the last set on the T.
What's a good way to make the side ball crunch a little more challenging? Can you do those w/ weights like you would a regular ball crunch?
Do they want people to see their butt cracks? I'm tempted to go drop a quarter down their trunks, it looks so much like a slot machine. It's not a good look, and I don't want to see it!!!
Hey, I'll hold the video camera if you drop the quarter.....
I think the girls think it's sex--ayyy. Really. I think they get a lot of male attention with it and that's what they want. Hate to say it, but it is true in a lot of cases. Or, they are semi-autistic and don't know the social implications of butt crack showage....
Anyway, came by to say hello even though I am a dog person. There are lots of great-looking bodies in this challenge and it is going to be thrilling to see some of these transformations! Good luck!
On that deadlift, have you ever tried facing one hand forward and one hand backward? I've never done it, but I saw where some people suggested it could help with your grip. Anyone here have any experience with that?
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I find it's the easiest way to control the bar...left palm up, right palm down. It helps with a lot of different issues.
LOL. Mixed grip is by far the easiest type of grip. If you can manage it, alternate between overhand L/underhand R (OHL/UHR) and OHR/UHL
However... I've lost the mixed grip in favour of the harder & more painful hook grip, because an overhand grip is the only allowed grip for Oly lifts.. so I'd better get used to it. Only when I'm excessively tired I still revert to mixed grip.
You rarely see it but I like chinning with a mixed grip as well when there's only a straight bar & not an option to do neutral grip chins (2 parallel bars)
LuckyStella, MissJane, Espi-- Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to put them on the backburner for the moment, though, as DLs aren't in my current stage-- too bad, as I love them dearly. But I'll see how heavy I can go w/ a mixed grip next time. Not sure what my gym thinks about chalk, but I have a chalk bag somewhere from my brief experiment with rock climbing that I might use. I will say that the grip strength is gradually improving and that I am growing some nice little callouses.
Momli-- Thanks!
On another note, my bi's, tri's, and butt are sore today. I'm not even sure why my tri's should be sore-- what did I do that was pushing yesterday? Am going to do some cardio after work today to get the blood moving (and rejoice in the new running shoes I bought) and do some stretching. I've neglected stretching recently, and I am feeling really stiff. I need to drink some more H2O today, too, and a lot of it.
I'm in Texas. We are experiencing one of our hottest summers ever, which is saying something.
I lived in Houston for about 9 months many years ago. I know that heat plus humidity is MUUUUUCH worse than what we have here in AZ right now. I also lived in TN for years-- hot, humid, and buggy!
Hi Evie; just got to read your whole log. I got curious when you said in mine that our weights are the same. They are NOT! You are lifting heavier than I am for sure!
Since you've been to my log I know you know I'm a cat person! There are a lot of us here.
I lived in Texas (Austin) for 10 years, just moved to California 18 months ago. Hated Austin heat, hate California heat. I'm a New England gal at root. I remember the summer of 1998 in Austin, when it hit over 100 in April and stayed there most of the summer. I remember it so well because I was pregnant that summer; all summer. . . .I had my son Sept. 3, so I went heavy pregnant through all that crazy heat. It sucked big time!
Anyway....good workouts, keep it up, and good luck in the challenge!
Hi Evie; just got to read your whole log. I got curious when you said in mine that our weights are the same. They are NOT! You are lifting heavier than I am for sure!
Since you've been to my log I know you know I'm a cat person! There are a lot of us here.
I lived in Texas (Austin) for 10 years, just moved to California 18 months ago. Hated Austin heat, hate California heat. I'm a New England gal at root. I remember the summer of 1998 in Austin, when it hit over 100 in April and stayed there most of the summer. I remember it so well because I was pregnant that summer; all summer. . . .I had my son Sept. 3, so I went heavy pregnant through all that crazy heat. It sucked big time!
Anyway....good workouts, keep it up, and good luck in the challenge!
And btw, I love your log title!
Interesting. I live in Austin, which is my hometown. The heat can be oppressive, but I'm better equipped to handle it than the cold of New England.
I should post a picture of my other cat. I'll have to find a good one.
Me too! Not a fave at all. I'm impressed that you can do it with 10 lbs. Evie. I struggle with the 8's; by the L I can barely lift my arms.
Thank you. YTWL is among the most painful exercises, IMO. I was SHOCKED I could do that w/ 10 lbs at all. I just tried it for kicks. Only did it for 2 sets (and they are sets of 4) and my form by the end was less than stellar. I could not do a 6-rep set with that weight-- eight pounds is very challenging for that many reps. What I always forget with that exercise is that it is really 4 separate moves, so 6 reps is really like 24 reps. Going down to 4 reps means I'm really doing 16, which is a lot fewer than 24.
Wednesday-- jogging/walking moderate intervals on the trail near my house, 40 minutes. Felt good to be outside now that the weather is a little cooler.
Thursday--crazy work day, no exercise.
Today-- 5A2
1-arm DB snatch-- 4x4 @ 27.5 lbs. (easier to hoist weight if i power up from full squat)
DB 1-leg RDL-- 4x4 w/ 30 lbs DBs (felt less balanced this time than last time; may be due to new shoes)
BB bent over row-- 4x4 @ 80 (crap form on last 2 sets, prob should have lightened but I'm stubborn)
DB 1-arm overhead squat-- 4x4 @ 27.5/15 (hard! never feel like I'm squatting low enough on this move, like the arm being up affects my range of motion)
Rev woodchop-- 4x4 @ 55 (felt good; can prob incr.)
Body weight matrix-- 2:30, 2:15 (total crap form 2nd time; legs felt like jelly; much panting)
General thoughts: So I added a 4th set this time, since it's Friday and I wasn't in a rush to get back to work. 4th set really ups the ante. At these weights, it is extremely tough to crank out another set. I don't see myself increasing on anything next time (except maybe rev woodchop). My shoulders are already sore. And my hip adductors. And my back. I'm gonna feel this one for a couple days.
Also, had 2 dudes compliment me for my "commitment" in the gym. I thought it was a funny choice of words coming from men, but I thanked them for their gracious compliment without making any snarky comments.
Weight back up to 154 today. I think I've been eating too much salt (prob a few too many calories, too). How much salt is one supposed to eat in a day?
Evie, love your log title x ? Your cat looks like a sweet boy! Good job on the workouts. I think 2 grams of salt is what "they" recommend. If you don't eat processed foods you can stay below that, but it's tough if you use canned anything.
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Weight back up to 154 today. I think I've been eating too much salt (prob a few too many calories, too). How much salt is one supposed to eat in a day?
I know I'm dumb, but I don't worry about salt intake. I am not a salt junkie, and if I do consume a lot, I just expect a slight temporary increase on the scale, but that is it. I can always tell when I have eaten more than usual salt because I am crazy thirsty for a couple of days.
Unless you have a medical condition, salt intake doesn't really matter, or at least that is what I have learned with my Dad's potassium issues and stuff.
Anything can be overdone, but overall, I don't think it's one of those things that you have to monitor like calories, protein, etc.
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If you weren't born drop dead gorgeous, be thankful for the opportunity to develop character first.
yeah, my salt has been dramatically higher than that, according to my food tracking program. And it's not from processed foods b/c I don't eat that many processed foods. I just really like salt. I'm fortunate that my blood pressure is naturally low. Well, it may not be entirely from salt, anyway. I'm just looking for something to blame for not keeping the weight down. That just came to mind b/c I know I eat a lot of salt.
From various food labels in my kitchen: RDA of sodium is 2400 mgs. for a 2000 calorie diet.
I too, love salt. I put it on all my veggies at dinner, potatoes, raw tomatoes, meats, just about everything that isn't sweet! I too, have low blood pressure, so I don't worry about it. I don't notice too much bloat from salt, much more noticeable from starchy carbs.
From various food labels in my kitchen: RDA of sodium is 2400 mgs. for a 2000 calorie diet.
I too, love salt. I put it on all my veggies at dinner, potatoes, raw tomatoes, meats, just about everything that isn't sweet! I too, have low blood pressure, so I don't worry about it. I don't notice too much bloat from salt, much more noticeable from starchy carbs.
Yeah, it could prob be starchy carbs, too. I'm trying to be better about that sort of thing, but it's definitely a work in progress.
Gotta say that I love the support on this forum.....
There are lots of great-looking bodies in this challenge and it is going to be thrilling to see some of these transformations! Good luck!
At these weights, it is extremely tough to crank out another set. I don't see myself increasing on anything next time (except maybe rev woodchop). My shoulders are already sore. And my hip adductors. And my back. I'm gonna feel this one for a couple days.
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