when I was at my strongest I was using the 45s(dbs) for presses…
I hope to kick the 45s in the pants this new year! 
What you are doing is good!
[quote]Oleena wrote:
It was also the first day of my time of the month. I’m not sure how much difference that makes for other people. [/quote]
This day on occasion is a very low point for me. Lifts go all to shit. Then other months it’s not a consideration. Blech.
[quote]sluicy wrote:
[quote]Oleena wrote:
It was also the first day of my time of the month. I’m not sure how much difference that makes for other people. [/quote]
This day on occasion is a very low point for me. Lifts go all to shit. Then other months it’s not a consideration. Blech. [/quote]
I actually find this fascinating (i’m also a total nerd) and have been trying to keep track of lifting and its correlation to hormone levels etc. Oddly, my least motivated day is on the last day of my ‘special time’ - I think its my bodies way of saying, ‘bitch please.’
It was a 55lb barbell. For the first couple of sets I’m always like “Why am I lifting this?” and then by the end I’m like “Oh yeah, because it sucks.”
I should post a pullup video and also add that the Wendler’s program is actually chin-ups. I’m pretty sure I could do the 10 with pullups, but I think he has it set up like that because the OHP kills your triceps and then the chinups knock out your biceps. Next week is deloading week, so I’ll try to grab someone to video tape me.
[quote]Oleena wrote:
PS. Why are people so impressed with women who can do pullups? I had a guy follow me down the street after I left the gym inquiring about whether I was a gymnast and going on about them. I told him they were easy if you have a decent body fat %.
The best thing about coming on here is seeing all of the women kicking my ass at all of the lifts because if I listened to the weaklings at the gym, I’d start thinking I was doing good. However, reading your logs always reminds me of how far I have to go before the word “good” can even come into play. Thank you.
[/quote]
x2
I’ve had more guys comment on my chinups/pullups than anything else (of which, I can do less than you). Its like, they can’t believe their eyes.
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
[quote]Oleena wrote:
PS. Why are people so impressed with women who can do pullups? I had a guy follow me down the street after I left the gym inquiring about whether I was a gymnast and going on about them. I told him they were easy if you have a decent body fat %.
The best thing about coming on here is seeing all of the women kicking my ass at all of the lifts because if I listened to the weaklings at the gym, I’d start thinking I was doing good. However, reading your logs always reminds me of how far I have to go before the word “good” can even come into play. Thank you.
[/quote]
x2
I’ve had more guys comment on my chinups/pullups than anything else (of which, I can do less than you). Its like, they can’t believe their eyes.
[/quote]
I get more comments if I do them in pike, which isn’t really any harder but for some reason looks much more impressive - try it 
I’m working on these but they’re still sketchy… Front lever pull ups - YouTube
[quote]Oleena wrote:
Today:
120x3
150x3
170x2<<<< Yeah. Last month I did 4 at 170. I was feeling pretty weak today, especially during the following five sets of 10 squats each at 115. I ended up putting more rest time between them than the week before.
I have two guesses as to what’s going on: 1. I didn’t recover enough in the last week. Last night I didn’t get enough sleep, plus I’ve been eatting a little less. So my plan for the following 5 days is to eat 2500+ calories per day and work on the sleep thing. or 2. The 5 sets of 10 squats plus HITT cardio later on in the week is too much.
Any other ideas would be welcomed.[/quote]
It may not be anything serious. I think we all have days where we just don’t feel it like we want to. Do you think it might also be your body still adjusting to the extra volume/work capacity?
[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
[quote]Oleena wrote:
PS. Why are people so impressed with women who can do pullups? I had a guy follow me down the street after I left the gym inquiring about whether I was a gymnast and going on about them. I told him they were easy if you have a decent body fat %.
The best thing about coming on here is seeing all of the women kicking my ass at all of the lifts because if I listened to the weaklings at the gym, I’d start thinking I was doing good. However, reading your logs always reminds me of how far I have to go before the word “good” can even come into play. Thank you.
[/quote]
x2
I’ve had more guys comment on my chinups/pullups than anything else (of which, I can do less than you). Its like, they can’t believe their eyes.
[/quote]
I get more comments if I do them in pike, which isn’t really any harder but for some reason looks much more impressive - try it
I’m working on these but they’re still sketchy… [/quote]
HAHAHAH! you’re an f*ing maniac. That does look impressive!
From my myopic perspective they appear to use MORE MUSCLES! Like your - and your neighbors’s abs? That looks so amazing!
rcfromdb- Ha. Yeah right. I’ve tried slowly lowering myself into the pike position from hanging upside down on the rings and I can get to…oh…maybe 5 degrees from the top before my lats die. Those pullups are freaking amazing!
On a related note, wouldn’t it be fun to have some uneven gymnastics bars hanging out in your basement?
celibrate2047- Yes, I’m sure that the extra volume is effecting me and I’m not doing enough for recovery. I took about 4 days off, and noticed that my hip flexors where still really sore by day 3. They still don’t feel completely recovered, but they aren’t killing me every time I push with my legs. I didn’t even notice the soreness until I stopped working out.
So here are my 531 numbers from the last two days:
Bench press:
95x5
105x3
120x4
Deadlift:
150x5
170x3
190x9
Now, even though I didn’t set a pr according to the rep calculator with the deadlift (I think that calculator becomes less accurate for me the closer I lift to my actual max), 190lbs felt easier than it ever has before. I’m completely convinced that I could lift well over 200lbs and next month I’ll be proving that.
I’m super excited for this next month!
After my deloading week I’m going to do my third month of Wendler’s program with the bodyweight assistance exercises. It looks like this:
Military press-75pullups-75dips
deadlift-75glute ham raises(this might take some working up to)-75leg raises
bench-75chins-75 pushups
squat-75lunges-75situps (I’m going to find a different core exercise because I can knock out three times this amount without a struggle).
Also, I found a judo club to join! It turns out that the etiquette is similar to kendo, which is in itself exciting. I miss being a part of a Japanese martial art community with the politeness, respect, tradition, and parties (Japanese people can drink most Americans under the table. It’s weird to watch because they’re about half my size). In addition, this is also the busiest training month of the year, so I’m not going to be around here much.
75 pullups will take a while…
[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
75 pullups will take a while…[/quote]
Ah yes, it’s going to be fun.
Squat today:
140x5
160x3
180x0<<< So the squats didn’t improve even with time off. I realized that this is the only exercise that I’ve been going to failure on, which Wendler advises against. Thus, next month I’m going to start over with it. I’ll be using 175 lbs as my max, and using 90% of that to start. I’ll also start doing more mobility exercises and foam rolling. Also, no more going to failure.
Everything else is still going up.
[quote]Oleena wrote:
[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
75 pullups will take a while…[/quote]
Ah yes, it’s going to be fun.
Squat today:
140x5
160x3
180x0<<< So the squats didn’t improve even with time off. I realized that this is the only exercise that I’ve been going to failure on, which Wendler advises against. Thus, next month I’m going to start over with it. I’ll be using 175 lbs as my max, and using 90% of that to start. I’ll also start doing more mobility exercises and foam rolling. Also, no more going to failure.
Everything else is still going up.[/quote]
Nice! good work.
The first week of this month for 531 has been off numberswise. I also started eatting exclusively vegetarian for the first couple meals of the day, and am currently eatting only one meat meal later at night.
On the bright side, I feel much more energetic with more beans in my diet (I’ve been researching them and the way they digest does give you a lot more energy). However, I ran out of whey last week, and stopped recovering as well.
To give you an example of how much whey effects recovery for me- my huge 5lb tub of it arrive last night. I’d been extremely sore for the last three days from the 75 chins and bar dips. Two hours after drinking 1 shake all pain above the hips went away. I’m really interested to see how bench goes today.
Oleena, check out skyel7 log, and what jim has recommended to help increase her squat, it might help out.
*2 on the whey, it makes a significant difference in my recovery as well. Keep up the hard work and 200 is gonna be easy for you for the squat and deadlift.
Numbers from this last week:
OHP:
55x5
60x5
75x4
Deadlift:
140x5
160x5
180x9 (yeah, I’ve done MUCH better than this. I expect to do better next week)
Bench:
85x5
95x5
110x10
Squat:
110x5
130x5
140x11<< I started squat over and am being cautious about doing to exhaustion. Also, I set up a short stool behind me and practiced a few box squats with no weight to get the correct depth and make sure that my chest stays up. I find that I keep my core much tighter when I think about lightly touching the stool with the underside my thighs/glutes and then coming back up. I then pushed the stool back so that the very back of my butt lightly brushed it at the bottom of the squat and performed my working sets like that. It helped emmensely with keeping the chest up- so much so that I now know that my weakest link in the squat is my core.
I completed all of the body weight assistance exercises as recommended in 531 and I think I can already see a difference with my back from the chins.
[quote]Heracles_rocks wrote:
Oleena, check out skyel7 log, and what jim has recommended to help increase her squat, it might help out.
*2 on the whey, it makes a significant difference in my recovery as well. Keep up the hard work and 200 is gonna be easy for you for the squat and deadlift. [/quote]
I just checked that out. Front squats don’t help me with keeping my chest up for back squats (even though I have used them with clients for that reason). I don’t know why- but the “awkward” front squat bar placement and upright body positioning come easy for me, but the second the bar switches onto my back, I forget how to manuver my hips. However- when I use the method I described in the post above, I do much better.
OHP:
60x3
70x3
80x3 (New PR!)
Completed my 75 chins and bar dips over the course of the next 40 minutes (strict form). As I was grabbing a drink of water another guy came up and told me that my back looks like a painting. Hopefully I can actually see what he’s talking about when I’m taking pictures without a pump again at the end of the month.
My legs are still killing me from the bulgarian split squats on Sunday.
OHP:
60x3
70x3
80x3 (New PR!)
Completed my 75 chins and bar dips over the course of the next 40 minutes (strict form). As I was grabbing a drink of water another guy came up and told me that my back looks like a painting. Hopefully I can actually see what he’s talking about when I’m taking pictures without a pump again at the end of the month.
My legs are still killing me from the bulgarian split squats on Sunday.