Atlas Shrugged; I Pressed

Training Over 35 Lifter
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Hi Strick -

I just wanted to say I’ve enjoyed reading about the daddy-daughter training. Very fun, and she seems to be doing just great!
Honestly, I think lifting can be super affirming to young women. I loved that first year because I would see progress in strength nearly every time I went to the gym. And it helped me be at peace with my body. It sounds pretty crazy now, but I was always very self-conscious of my calves, and for being so petite but with a bone structure that is much larger than my fine-boned mom. Lifting really helped me see it as a good thing. Anything that helps young girls appreciate their body for being healthy and athletic is a win. Not to mention, I really think that spending quality time with fathers has a protective effect on girls.

Best to you!

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Powerpuff - Thank you for the post! It is always nice to hear that I might be doing something right…lol. At least I am trying.

Lexie is a good kid (young lady). She has a great heart, is old enough to be fun to interact with and, fortunately, really likes doing things with me. Two things she does lack, though, are self-esteem and self-confidence. The thing is, those feelings are very much misplaced. And I think I can say that with relative objectivity.

She didn’t want to go to the gym (or most places) because people would be looking at her. What if she is too weak? What if she can’t do it? etc… When she finally figured out that everyone wasn’t staring at her, it got pretty easy. Of course, she won’t go anywhere without a hoodie (self-consciousness I understand), so she doesn’t give them anything to look at. And I seem to be a bit of a security blanket for her. Which I, of course, do not mind.

Once we got her in there, and actually lifting weights, I could point out to her what some of the other lifters around her age were doing. She saw that she wasn’t actually weak. Her confidence climbed a little. She got 100# on bench (there is more there) and got taken out to lunch as reward. Unfortunately, I also told her she could go to the gym with cat ears and make-up whiskers, once she could bench 100#…lol. That hasn’t happened yet, but I promise that she hasn’t forgotten.

But you are absolutely right. I see this as a way for her to be involved in something, excel at it, grow in it, develop some confidence and, hopefully, have that carry over and help her to see herself as someone she likes. That she is good, has worth and can do great things…just by being herself. To stop hiding behind doubt, fear of failure or fitting in. Hell, we all have doubt, fear (or detest) failure and with 7 billion folks on the planet, her niche already exists. But she needs to see that for herself.

On a side note…If any of you have any ideas how to get her a bit more…uh…focused? Intense? Seeing it as a challenge? I am all ears. It is all very mechanical and methodical for her. I don’t expect her to be as emotional as I am, but a degree of determination, or learning to see it as a challenge, would be nice. Of course, I may be asking for too much too quickly.

Don’t really have many lifting pics of her. Here are a few that Grandpa took this past week, though…

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Working the lats

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Pretending to work legs

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Oh, what a neat girl. Darling in the hoodie. When I was that age, I was always the girl at the pool hiding under a huge t-shirt that came to my knees, so I see a bit of myself in that. From a parent’s perspective, there are worse problems to have. :wink: In a few years you can introduce her to Bulldog’s son. :slight_smile:

As for motivation, hopefully as she gets more comfortable with it, and keeps seeing all the newbie gains, she’ll get a little bit hooked on her own progress. I don’t know. Maybe make a visual chart for the fridge that shows her PRs, so she can see that she’s improving? I like things that I can measure and see.

She might be too young to let her have a FB, but if she does have one, it might be fun for her to post a video or two. It seems like kids that age need something that is “their thing” to be good at. Maybe if there is a PLing club with kids around you? I don’t know if the social aspect of it would be a motivator or not. My girl likes everything better if she can bring a friend with her, and sometimes I just want her to myself. In my kids, lifting at a crossfit gym or in a PLing club would probably be intimidating unless they already had built some confidence.

I’m a little bit jealous that you have a gym you can take her to. I train at a university gym and they don’t allow kids who aren’t college age in the free weight section. We got away with training our son just a bit when he was in high school because they let families in on Saturdays to play badminton, use the basketball courts, racket ball, etc… and he looked old enough to blend in with the college students so nobody said anything to him in the weight room. Funny thing, he’s a really confident kid in most things (was ASB president, homecoming king, ran track…), but he was really nervous about learning to lift weights. The idea that these college students - who were just a couple of years older - might see him do it wrong, or be weak, or whatever. Really, in our case a home setup would have been best. Then I could train my 12-year-old daughter who likes to lift DBs with me and do BW stuff at home.

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There are definitely worse problems to have. And lying to protect herself aside, she is a good kid. Yes sir, no sir, yes ma’am, no ma’am, holds the door for people, always willing to jump in and help. I feel fortunate.

Before we moved, I had a home gym set up. In our temporary (which is lasting longer than planned) residence, I don’t have the space for it. So, we use the Y and you only have to be 14, if accompanied by an adult. My youngest, who is 9, is really jealous that his sister gets to workout with me even though he is the one who wants to play football.
She has said that she would rather lift at home, once we get moved and set up. Of course, that could change in a moments notice.

She does have a FB account, but I am wary of her posting videos on it. As an ex-cop, I am overly paranoid. But, also, kids can be mean. And I worry that some asshat would say something derogatory. If I ever get a video of her, I will post it here, for the time being. At least I know that, here, she will actually get encouragement.

The chart on the fridge is a very good idea! Seeing progress, visually, is a great motivator.
Once school starts, she makes a few friends and gets more confident in her lifting, I can see her making friends at the gym. The Y is actually attached to the high school. Not hers, but there is one there as well. For the time being, though, she seems content with Dad.
I have also considered, after she really gets settled into lifting, printing out the erxx strength standards page, so she can use that as a gauge for where she is. It isn’t perfect, and is for grown women, not teens, but she will likely be somewhere in the middle by years end. So, she might find some motivation in that…trying to reach that next level. And it isn’t a competitive measure.

Which brings me to a (kind of) downside to her personality…she doesn’t seem very competitive. She says she isn’t competitive. Honestly, I think that is an excuse she uses to cover her self-doubt. Once she starts seeing progress, I can definitely see her comparing herself to others and trying to match or pass them. As long as her view of personal success is not wrapped up in that, it would be a good thing.

She has a 14 year old cousin (male) here. He benches 130-135#. I so want her to pass him, while he is busy playing football. I am not going to push it, because that is selfish. But I mentioned it to her and she got an evil grin…lol.

Thank you for the input!

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Official Weigh-in…

After relaxing the diet 2 weeks ago, and enjoying cobbler (multiple times), ice cream, brownies, lots of pizza, etc…, I went up a whole 2.5#. I assumed that was water weight that the sugar was causing me to hold. I cleaned the diet back up, starting this past weekend. Subsequently, I dropped the 2.5# and an additional 2.4#.

Now down 38.4#. I am less than 10# from goal. But I really need to slow this down. After feeding for a week, I felt much better lifting. MPs were stronger (which is all that really matters). So, I don’t want to go back to dropping 2-4# a week and feel like heck again.

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[quote]LittleStrick wrote:

But I really need to slow this down. [/quote]

Oh good, I was getting nervous that were going to come down and lift in my weight class!!!hahaha

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[quote]OldGoat wrote:

[quote]LittleStrick wrote:

But I really need to slow this down. [/quote]

Oh good, I was getting nervous that were going to come down and lift in my weight class!!!hahaha
[/quote]

lol…

Paul, I am pretty sure that I haven’t qualified for your weight class since I was…uh…13? Maybe 14… Of course, I was 6’ when I was 14.

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Military Press Day…

This is the last workout that had Grandpa in tow, for this visit. We got to the gym earlier than I like to. My body felt asleep for much of my MP, which is why I hate lifting early.
Lexie did her 5x5 on MP and bench, with an increase in the MP weight, but holding the bench weight at 75#. I got a couple of videos that I will post after this. I am waiting on Grandpa to email her bench video and my MP video.

Military Press
barx20 - 10 front and 10 behind
95x10
135x10
165x5
195x3
225x5 - first time I have gotten all 5 without a pause (to breathe), since starting back
235x3
245x1
250x1 - This was the best rep of the exercise. I took my time, concentrated on form and it flew up. It was good for another 15-20#.

BB Shruggs
315x15
405x10x2
455x10

Cable Upright Rows
145x10
160x10
175x10

Rear Delt Raises/Reverse Flyes
45x10x3

DB Laterals
35x10x2
25x12

Rear Delt Machine
100x10x2

Lexie’s Workout

Military Press
barx10
55x5
65x5x2
65x6x3 - Girl has math problems. She kept losing count and doing 6 reps (sets 3 and 4). So, I told her to finish with 6.

Bench Press
barx5
75x5x5

Seated Row Machine Thangy
70x10x2
75x10
80x10

Cable Upright Row
55x10
60x10x2

Lat Pulls
50x10
60x10
50x10x2

Decent workout. I wish that my body had woken sooner. But I was heartened by the rep at 250#.
Lexie looked good. She was more focused. All the reps went up without a hitch. If she ever starts eating right, and actually sleeping, she will be a beast.

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Lexie’s 1st set of MP

2nd Set of MP

2nd set of Bench

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Love this pics and vids. It’s great that Lexie is keeping it up.

Regarding competitiveness and drive, I think it’s largely innate. I’ve met many a [potentially] talented lifter who had no desire to compete because the passion isn’t there and the competitive spirit is nothing but a tiny ember. Regardless, there is absolutely no downside to Lexie training and enjoying small gym victories and priceless time spent with you, Strick.

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[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Love this pics and vids. It’s great that Lexie is keeping it up.

Regarding competitiveness and drive, I think it’s largely innate. I’ve met many a [potentially] talented lifter who had no desire to compete because the passion isn’t there and the competitive spirit is nothing but a tiny ember. Regardless, there is absolutely no downside to Lexie training and enjoying small gym victories and priceless time spent with you, Strick.[/quote]

Thanks!
She hasn’t shown any indication of wanting to slow down or back-off. Which is a very good thing.
It is funny, though. She won’t watch the videos of herself. She is too self-conscious and scared that she will look “stupid”. Her Mom and I are trying to work through that.

I don’t necessarily want her to feel like she needs to do a competition. I couldn’t care less about that. Even though, doing a comp at some point would be indicative of an enormous leap for her.
And I definitely don’t want her to judge herself through the prism of how she compares to others. I just want her to see what she is doing as mattering and getting that bit of determination and drive to push herself and try her best.
A little competitive nature might help push that forward…even if no one else knows that she is trying to match and pass them.

If I can just get her as determined to get the last rep as she is to get the last word, we will be golden…lol.

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I think your wise with your daughter, not pushing her too fast and helping her to realize her potential. Nice work waking up with that 250 MP and having more left in the tank.

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[quote]gorillavanilla wrote:
I think your wise with your daughter, not pushing her too fast and helping her to realize her potential. Nice work waking up with that 250 MP and having more left in the tank.[/quote]

Thanks GV. I hope I am playing this right. Realizing that everyone doesn’t think like you do, nor find motivation the same, is the first step. It also makes it seem infinitely more complex.

I think I will work on her chart, today. So she can see it for herself.

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Slacker Day…

Grandpa left this morning. It was a good visit.
Unfortunately, the constant running left Lexie and I pretty wiped out. Neither of us wanted to go to the gym today. But, as I told her, we must be consistent and keep the momentum rolling…even with only a token workout.

Lat Pulls
110x12
150x10x6 - alternating wider and narrower grip

Seated Cable Rows
285x10x6 - 1st 4 sets were narrow grip and last 2 wide

Kroc Rows
120x20

Seated Machine Row Thangy
150x10
150x12

Lexie’s Workout

Leg Curls
65x10x5

Leg Extensions
65x10x3

Leg Press Machine
50x10
90x10
120x10
190x10
235x5x5 - +5# from last week

We are home, exhausted (she slept 11 hours last night) and ready to crash.

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Awesome vids …but who is that svelte young man doing the spotting? !!

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[quote]OldGoat wrote:
Awesome vids …but who is that svelte young man doing the spotting? !! [/quote]

Not sure I would say “svelte”. Maybe round, Shrek-like, scary…but not svelte.

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Short update

Lexie got here 5x5 with 80#, on Wednesday.
We won’t mention my workout.

Today…

Sucky feeling day. Strained a muscle in my neck on MP. Lexie was way out of sync. Just clocked the time.

Military Press
barx20 - 10 front and 10 back
95x10
135x10
165x5
195x3
225x2
245x1
255x1
265x1 - PR since getting back - strained neck on this one
225x5

Wanted to try for 275#. I had to pee really bad, though. By the time I got back to the rack, my neck had stiffened and I had started to cool down. Dropped to 225#.

Rear Delt Machine
95x12
100x12
105x12

Lexie

Military Press
barx10
55x5x5 - didn’t want to go any higher

Bench
barx10
55x10
65x10
75x10x5 -not what was played but impressive nonetheless

Got out of Dodge…

I am about to start playing with my Military training. Since bench is for shit, it is literally becoming an accessory lift for MP.

Saturdays will still be heavy BB MP. Wednesdays, though, are going to become moderate weight DB MP. CGB will replace regular bench and be done after the DB presses, and only for a few sets.

I just haven’t decided if I am going straight to DB OH Press next Wednesday or if I am going to continue with the BB 3 sets of 10 up until I can do 205#. Maybe I will alternate until I hit it.

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Well of your back to the 315 MP. Impressive work Strick and I love that your is continuing to hit the gym with you.