Benching volume work continues: 6x5 @ 95. I’m worn out from the week of doing this and I started failing on the third set. Forced reps for each set to finish. At least I know I’m giving it maximal effort. A little protein and a little rest and I should see some good improvements next week.
Low-bar back squats, 8-3 reps at 95, 115, 135, 155. Doing well with squats: good depth every time, knees out, hips back.
The Widow-maker, which I insist on calling The Widower-maker: 20 reps in one set of back squats, at 95. My husband was a widower at the 15th rep.
Today was a lot like Friday: run around outside in the sun a lot, in the parking lot where that truck tire lies, taunting me. Lots of bodyweight movements plus some additional movements with two almost-inconsequential 12# dumbbells, to get the heart rate up and keep up for a while.
Then inside for some “do you remember how to bench press?” pressing weights, from the bare bar to 95#, all done very cautiously to make sure my formerly-injured shoulder is truly fine. Seems okay.
Then squatting, yay squatting! High bar back squats, at weights running up from the bare bar to 165#. Mostly a technique reminder. I’ve been working on metcons for weight loss for the last few months and not lifting anything heavy. What strength I’ve lost (and I’ve lost some) I have more than made up for with mobility improvements over that time. My knees and ankles were freaking solid on those squats.
Recovery period over. Back to kicking my ass at the gym!
Monday started with half an hour of stretching and concluded with 20 minutes of treadmill jogging. Which was actually 20 minutes of run/walk walk walk/run/walk walk walk etc. Because I am a terrible runner and cannot actually run in any meaningful way. Maybe some day I will, though. Meanwhile, I continue to pick up heavy weights and put them back down again. The main feature of the day was squats supersetted with deadlifts in two different ways.
First superset:
4 or 5x back squat @ 135#
10x deficit deadlifts @ 155#
Second superset:
5x deadlift @ 225#
10x back squat @ 95# (75# on the last set because I was wiped out)
This was cruel & unusual and my legs are still toast from it two days later. As is my upper back. Deficit deadlifts are fantastic. I’d never done them before. Will definitely do them again.
Yesterday: Half an hour of general stretching, calf & ankle mobility work, hip-centric lunges that were horrible after all that leg work the day before, then 2000m of rowing. The rowing was supposed to be at 20 strokes/min. That is, concentrating on perfect form and a really strong pull every time. I might have wavered below that at 18 strokes/min. It was an interesting thing to do.
I need to bring an iPod to the gym for next time.
My upper back is still sore from deadlifting on Monday. I worked harder than it felt in the moment, I guess.
Prologue: half an hour of stretching and foam rolling.
Act I: wave pattern back squats, starting with 10 @ 115# and peaking with 2 @ 175#, then back down to 115#. Much higher volume than the 5x5 program, so fatigue set in during the last set.
Act II: three strength exercises supersetted. 8x Hammer Strength seated row (70# per side) / 8x floor chest press (40# dumbbells) / a plyometric single-leg box sproinging thingie. 3 sets of each.
Act III: an informal metcon. Pushups on a bar, bodyweight incline rows on the same bar, forward lunges on alternating legs. 5/10/15/10/5 reps of each. The intent was just to crank the heart rate up and keep it up.
Epilogue: strawberries, almond milk, and whey protein powder blended up.
145# for the Pendlay row.
200# for the back squat. Woot! I’m going to return to this next week because I’m fairly sure I can get more if I go at it more aggressively. I did a lot of sets on the way up to there because I had no idea where my max was going to be.
I’ll try to find my 1-rep max for the deadlift and the bench press later this week. Then I will know my powerlifting total. Heh.
My trainer mailed me two videos of me doing back squats @ 135#, one from Wednesday and another from December. Just four months of work and my squat almost unrecognizable it’s so much better. My ass is not quite to the grass but ho boy, it’s getting down there. I was pretty stoked. I’m not going to post them, though. I feel horrible about my body when I watch them, at the same time that I’m happy about my progress. Awesome legs. Pity about that pudgy belly. I’m still a fat person. I’m trying to not worry about it too much right now. Muscle first, weight loss later. This lifting program is relentless about the strength gains and eventually it should start promoting fat loss as well. I hope.
I’m not sure what women doing it can expect. Metabolism differences from men. However, I’m already seeing changes in my upper body. I’ve got shoulders now. Never had those before.
Friday:
5x5 back squats @ 140#
5x5 bench press @ 100#
1x5 deadlift @ 215#
Made all weights. The bench is starting to feel heavy, but I’m nowhere near failing on it yet. If I falter, I just concentrate on back arch & pushing with my feet, and the weight pops up.
I’ll return to front squats next week, probably, because my elbow has been quiet for days now. I’ll drop back down to the weight I was doing when I swapped to back squats to let the tedonitis chill out. So 120# again. It’ll feel light.
Today’s metcon was a Jeff Special(tm). Three rounds for time of:
20x push press @ 55#
10’ dumbbell bear crawl @ 25#
10x dumbbell snatches @ 25#
25 walking lunges
About ten minutes of maxed heart rate, if you’re me. Easiest move: snatches. Hardest: the bear crawl, wow.
Following that, back squats and squat lockouts, in that order. The squats started with the bare bar and loaded up weight until I started having form problems at 145#. I have a video of said form wobble at the bottom. No, you don’t get to see it. Watching it makes me mad at myself. I continue to go deeper and deeper as I gain flexibility. It’s a mobility thing for me now. I was working on getting used to the low bar position for the squat, just to have it in my repertoire. After that, squat lockouts ending at, hmm, I think 235#, also low bar.
Man oh man, friends, don’t sit at a desk for 20 years. Keep yourselves flexible. Do yoga, lift weights, whatever. Keep your shoulders & hips mobile! It takes forever to undo the damage. Pro tip from me to you.
