[quote]ddot76 wrote:
sbmart2 wrote:
5/3/1 Neutral grip pushpress: Tuesday, May 26th
I call these Cheerleader Presses. Check yourself out in the mirror next time you do them![/quote]
I could see how you might look like a cheerleader, but my ginormous shoulders and loud grunts really take away from the cheerleader look when I do them. 
[quote]sbmart2 wrote:
ouroboro_s wrote:
sbmart2 wrote:
5/3/1 Neutral grip pushpress: Tuesday, May 26th
Push press:
5@35lb dbs
5@40lb dbs
5@45lb dbs This was supposed to be a set of as many as possible, but I totally forgot that part, so I just did 5 like the other sets. I was a little sad that I had forgotten because I love me some push presses.
Push ups:4x8 with a 45lb plate on my back.
The last 2 reps of the last set I did without any weight because I died at 6.
Face pulls:
3x12@32.5
1x18x27.5
Molly joined me after my workout and we walked around the track for an hour.
I enjoy push presses as well. I think itās because you can push up more weight and itās more explosive.
So I just finished the part of M.S. with the weeks of clusters. How did you find them when you were doing the program? I think it was an interesting way to get in a lot of heavy volume. Itās almost like a way of sneaking up on weight.
I really enjoyed the clusters for that same reason. It just made me feel stronger. Also because I hadnāt done anything like powerlifting at the time, it seemed like a good way to break into heavier weights without feeling overwhelmed. By this point in the program I also started putting on a crazy amount of muscle. I gained 10 lbs while being strict with precision nutrition and went down a pant size. I always loved it when people would say āyou look like you have lost 20 lbs, how much weight have you lost?ā I would smile and tell them I had gained 10 lbs. They would get this crazy look of confusion. From your log, it looks like you are experiencing the same type of weight gain.[/quote]
No kidding about the weight gain. However, I havenāt gone down in size. Iāve gone up a bit. Iām still leaner. I can just feel it in my body and see it. There feels like less fat on my ass and more muscle. The problem will be getting rid of the 2 kilos to make weight.
Last night I squatted 185 for 5 a couple of times. It was tough but not crazy tough. I could probably go up to 195. Iām not sure how much is an increase in strength, improved form and just mentally coming at it from a different direction. It was a lot easier than the cluster of 5 singles.
Training today was a big pile of suckage!!! This morning I had a hard time eating breakfast, so I only ate a few bites. A little before I worked out at noon, I forced myself to eat my steak. It didnāt sit all that well either. All through my workout my legs felt pretty heavy. I think it was a combo of a lack of food, training 17 hours earlier, and mental fatigue. I canāt wait until this stupid dissertation writing shit is over. I am too laid back for this kind of stress.
5/3/1 Wednesday May 27, 2009:
Box squats
3@190
3@205
5@215 as many reps as possible set. This didnāt go as well as I would have liked 
Reverse lunges: 4x10@75 for each leg
Pallof press: 4x10@17.5 - My arms were tired from yesterday so I kept the weight lighter but forced myself to keep my feet closer, in order to work my core more.
[quote]sbmart2 wrote:
mom-in-MD wrote:
ewā¦your a brave soulā¦couldnāt you have just doubled up on the tuna or something?
I needed the yougurt for the fat! I have to get in around 24g of fat with each meal. Usually itās awesome because fat makes things taste delicious, not so much on this occasion.
[/quote]
olive oil? nuts? oh well, lesson learned! 
sb mart
I just read through a bunch of you log, really good stuff. I am impressed with your progress.
I am on second month the Maximum strength too, OB_s and I started at the same time, she altered herās to PL needs, I am doing it as written, and this was the first week with clusters, they are a mixture of suck and good.
and yes I have gained a little weight and got a little leaner- too
kmc
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
sb mart
I just read through a bunch of you log, really good stuff. I am impressed with your progress.
I am on second month the Maximum strength too, OB_s and I started at the same time, she altered herās to PL needs, I am doing it as written, and this was the first week with clusters, they are a mixture of suck and good.
and yes I have gained a little weight and got a little leaner- too
kmc
[/quote]
kmc,
Thanks for stopping by and reading. Minus showing up, I feel like I owe all my progress to Max Strength and a group of knowledgeable lifting partners.
Thatās awesome that you are taking on Max Strength. I love that program with my heart and soul. It completely changed my understanding of how to get what I wanted out of lifting. Plus, I never found myself getting bored.
It sounds like you are already getting the good results too. Did you do a lot of strength training before Max Strength?
Sbmart
thank you.
I have, but nothing organized like this.I have a log in over 35.
I wrestled in collge, we did o-lifts front squats snatch grip deads Oh squats and stuff like that.
and conditioning work- then and I do similar stuff now.
lifted on and off for year- maybe 1 or 2 years of decent since coming here.
I picked MM for a few reasons, I needed to work on squat and bench volume- and technique,
it has a ton of unilateral work, and really good things for shoulders.
Some of which I did before.
So far I am loving the volume and the set rep, schemes and yes feeling some progress
kmc
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
Sbmart
thank you.
I have, but nothing organized like this.I have a log in over 35.
I wrestled in collge, we did o-lifts front squats snatch grip deads Oh squats and stuff like that.
and conditioning work- then and I do similar stuff now.
lifted on and off for year- maybe 1 or 2 years of decent since coming here.
I picked MM for a few reasons, I needed to work on squat and bench volume- and technique,
it has a ton of unilateral work, and really good things for shoulders.
Some of which I did before.
So far I am loving the volume and the set rep, schemes and yes feeling some progress
kmc
[/quote]
Iām so glad youāre enjoying the program. Did you ever actually buy the book or have you been depending solely on me emailing you your daily training regimen.
Since youāre feeling progress, post a shirtless back photo. Those are my favourite. k thx.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
kmcnyc wrote:
Sbmart
thank you.
I have, but nothing organized like this.I have a log in over 35.
I wrestled in collge, we did o-lifts front squats snatch grip deads Oh squats and stuff like that.
and conditioning work- then and I do similar stuff now.
lifted on and off for year- maybe 1 or 2 years of decent since coming here.
I picked MM for a few reasons, I needed to work on squat and bench volume- and technique,
it has a ton of unilateral work, and really good things for shoulders.
Some of which I did before.
So far I am loving the volume and the set rep, schemes and yes feeling some progress
kmc
Iām so glad youāre enjoying the program. Did you ever actually buy the book or have you been depending solely on me emailing you your daily training regimen.
Since youāre feeling progress, post a shirtless back photo. Those are my favourite. k thx.[/quote]
I carry my book around in my training bag. I donāt look in it anymore but I feel attached.
You should definitely post a shirtless picture to show your progress. You can post it here in my log if you want to make sure all the ladies see your hard work.
EDIT: Or maybe Ouroboroās log. I believe her log gets more traffic than mine.
5/3/1 Friday May 29, 2009: Board press
Seriously spacey workout with Molly. Molly had a cold and I was 10x my normal space cadet self. Iām surprised we actually were able to get anything done.
Board press:
3@135
3@145
11@155 After 3 reps I started to get sluggish until I realized that I hadnāt been driving my feet. I added the drive and the reps started to fly up! Woohoo for leg drive!
Pull ups:
2x5 with knee in band
1x6 with band looped around one handle once! Pull ups are definitely improving
Incline press:
1x20@40lb dbs
I was supposed to do 3 sets but I started feeling really dizzy and light headed. I need to plan my eating better on this lower calorie (2200) diet.
In other news, I tried on my purple brides maid dress that I need to fit into for this wedding at the end of July. IT FITS, well it zips all the way, but it is kind of constricting. At least I know everything is heading in the right direction.
I did actually buy the book, but I kept leaving it home while traveling thank you OB_s
and speaking of OB_s I have indeed sent her pics and pantless pics showing my progress hasnāt she shared them??
she is silly.
Looks like your still training hardā¦ I am not sure if I like the cluster sets but Im sure in a week or two they will feel awesome.
kmc
I MUST see this dress! Hooray on the pull-ups, too =) Hope Molly didnāt sneeze on you.
On a serious note, blood sugar/insulin can be a B#%&*!
[quote]sbmart2 wrote:
5/3/1 Friday May 29, 2009: Board press
Seriously spacey workout with Molly. Molly had a cold and I was 10x my normal space cadet self. Iām surprised we actually were able to get anything done.
Board press:
3@135
3@145
11@155 After 3 reps I started to get sluggish until I realized that I hadnāt been driving my feet. I added the drive and the reps started to fly up! Woohoo for leg drive!
Pull ups:
2x5 with knee in band
1x6 with band looped around one handle once! Pull ups are definitely improving
Incline press:
1x20@40lb dbs
I was supposed to do 3 sets but I started feeling really dizzy and light headed. I need to plan my eating better on this lower calorie (2200) diet.
In other news, I tried on my purple brides maid dress that I need to fit into for this wedding at the end of July. IT FITS, well it zips all the way, but it is kind of constricting. At least I know everything is heading in the right direction.[/quote]
Is the dress āsquat friendlyā?
Nice pressing!!!
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
I did actually buy the book, but I kept leaving it home while traveling thank you OB_s
and speaking of OB_s I have indeed sent her pics and pantless pics showing my progress hasnāt she shared them??
she is silly.
Looks like your still training hardā¦ I am not sure if I like the cluster sets but Im sure in a week or two they will feel awesome.
kmc[/quote]
Iām keeping the pictures to myself. You are keeping the ones of me to yourself right? RIGHT???
Smart girl Iām glad you can get in the dress. Itās a good feeling when you know things are heading the right way. The results donāt have to be immediate, you just need to know theyāre coming.
Regarding pullups, have you tried looping the band around your neck? Itās super incentive to get up to the bar.
Congrats on fitting into the dress 
I just read through the beginning of your log to get an idea of EC Maximum strength program. I just ordered the book. I am going to try it after my bench meet.
Do you feel the pallof press works your abs? I have tried it a few times and just canāt seem to get it right.
[quote]shandwill wrote:
I MUST see this dress! Hooray on the pull-ups, too =) Hope Molly didnāt sneeze on you.
On a serious note, blood sugar/insulin can be a B#%&*![/quote]
Maybe we can have a fashion show! Hmm, maybe I will try on my whole closet full of bridesmaids dresses!
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
sbmart2 wrote:
5/3/1 Friday May 29, 2009: Board press
Seriously spacey workout with Molly. Molly had a cold and I was 10x my normal space cadet self. Iām surprised we actually were able to get anything done.
Board press:
3@135
3@145
11@155 After 3 reps I started to get sluggish until I realized that I hadnāt been driving my feet. I added the drive and the reps started to fly up! Woohoo for leg drive!
Pull ups:
2x5 with knee in band
1x6 with band looped around one handle once! Pull ups are definitely improving
Incline press:
1x20@40lb dbs
I was supposed to do 3 sets but I started feeling really dizzy and light headed. I need to plan my eating better on this lower calorie (2200) diet.
In other news, I tried on my purple brides maid dress that I need to fit into for this wedding at the end of July. IT FITS, well it zips all the way, but it is kind of constricting. At least I know everything is heading in the right direction.
Is the dress āsquat friendlyā?
Nice pressing!!![/quote]
Good question. After the wedding I will do some research on the squat functionality of the purple dress!
Did you ever have a problem with your grip? My hands still fail me sometimes.
and you know you can wear a purple bridesmaidās dress everywhere. Donāt think of it as a one shot deal.
When I was in college my mom set me up on a blind date that I really didnāt want to go on so I wore a pink, with gold tulle bridesmaid dress that had a huge bow on my ass. Loved it!
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
kmcnyc wrote:
I did actually buy the book, but I kept leaving it home while traveling thank you OB_s
and speaking of OB_s I have indeed sent her pics and pantless pics showing my progress hasnāt she shared them??
she is silly.
Looks like your still training hardā¦ I am not sure if I like the cluster sets but Im sure in a week or two they will feel awesome.
kmc
Iām keeping the pictures to myself. You are keeping the ones of me to yourself right? RIGHT???
Smart girl Iām glad you can get in the dress. Itās a good feeling when you know things are heading the right way. The results donāt have to be immediate, you just need to know theyāre coming.
Regarding pullups, have you tried looping the band around your neck? Itās super incentive to get up to the bar.[/quote]
No worries. Iām not sending them out to everybodyā¦only the ones who pay top dollar!
If anyone is interested, you can pay through paypal!
Very true, what you say about results O wise one. Iāve tried to keep that as my outlook through this whole process of getting strong and in shape. The slow and steady approach has served me well. I do tend to forget sometimes and get discouraged but I try to keep in mind, what you donāt work hard at, you donāt appreciate fully.
I havenāt tried looping the band around my neck. I would probably end up hanging myself. Bands and I donāt get along too well. I usually get hit in the face when I just have them wrapped around the bar.
P.S. I was doing a whole bunch of work in my garden today and realized that I have yet to post pictures. I will try to take some this week!
[quote]cvb wrote:
Congrats on fitting into the dress
I just read through the beginning of your log to get an idea of EC Maximum strength program. I just ordered the book. I am going to try it after my bench meet.
Do you feel the pallof press works your abs? I have tried it a few times and just canāt seem to get it right.[/quote]
That is great that you are going to do Max Strength. You will have to let me know how you like it!
I have found that that the pallof presses work pretty well for me. Have you tried holding it out with your arms extended for a count of two before you pull the handle back into you. Also, itās harder if you bring your feet in closer together.