I must confess I missed my squat day on Thursday. My back’s being a real bitch at the moment. I think I’m going to just have to drop squatting and rack pulls and do single leg stuff and rehab for a bit. Meh.
So, straight back to military press day, then.
Military Press:
Bar x 5, bar x 10, (working sets) 25kg x 5, 30g x 3, 32.5kg x 6
My weight for 1 rep is the same as my weight for the 3 rep week - it’s just the way it works with rounding up and down. Doesn’t matter though. I still can’t get more than 6 reps with the bastard. This is frustrating.
Accessory work:
Push Press:
5 x 35kg
3 x 3 x 40kg
I just wanted to shove something big over my head. (40kg = 88lbs btw - which isn’t huge by a lot of definitions, but it feels substantial to me).
Superset:
Chins: 5, 3, 2
Decline push-ups: 10, 10, 10
First time I’ve done chins for a while (I got too fat over Christmas, then my elbow starting bitching due to the way I held the bar during squats). I was happy to get 5 reps on set 1, though there was some “body English” on the last couple).
KB swings:
3 x 20 (16kg KB)
I did one pull-up (prone grip) before each set.
KB snatches:
2 x 6, alternating
These were worse than last weeks so I left it at two sets. The pull-ups seem to really take it out of me. Plus I had a boyfriend waiting at home, heh.
Now that’s out of the way I’m going to post some less flattering full length shots, so you can see what I’m working with.
Front. I cut my head off not for reasons of privacy but because I had a stupid expression and my hair was sticking up. I’m not immune to vanity.
So OK, I like my top half a lot better than my bottom half. I store fat on my hips, inner thighs and bum, which you can see, but this is a big improvement on how I looked after Christmas. So I’m not too upset with this picture.
Do you think there is a correlation of your back hurting with the running at all? Also I went back a couple pages, and I didn’t see any direct lower back work(hypers, GM’s) etc
No, the back pain started when I began squatting. I hadn’t squatted for years - I used to do Smith machine squats in my early 20s but never barbell squats. I finally sucked it up and started doing them. Back pain came after that.
Running has never caused me any trouble except for knees and achilles tendon.
I am doing hypers, still, and rehab (clams and bird dogs) - I don’t always write that stuff down though.
First, you are rocking that bikini. Your proportions are fabulous.
And yes, I see your “trouble spot” but it is just not as bad as YOU think it is. I’ll bet when you flex your glutes, they are rock hard. If you could cut just a little more, you could stop with the “fat arse” comments once and for all.
We have very similar body shapes Cal. I remember reading you weighed 150. Where are you at now? I know you’ve been cutting since after the holidays. Love the smooth belly. A little work to be done in the butt but not as horrible as you seem to say all the time. It just needs some extra attention.
kpsnap - I’ve posted squat vids earlier in this thread and also Meat’s thread on the Over 35 forum. Basically I lack hip mobility - I work at a computer and I’m a hardcore computer gamer so I spent most of my time sitting. My psoas are short and tight and I have almost zero mobility in my t-spine, which means my body finds the flexibility in my lumber spine instead and this in turn causes shear forces on those verterbrae. (I also have poor ankle mobility, long femurs and short shins so my mechanics aren’t great to begin with). So yeah, I know exactly what’s wrong - it’s just a case of fixing it, which takes a lot of time and patience.
I haven’t used a belt much, to be honest.
Kimba - I’m continuing to cut so yes, hoping this will improve. Of course, boyfriend is here so I’m not dieting this weekend. I’ve had a nice chilled out day visiting Battersea Park and Children’s Zoo (a small zoo with farm animals, meerkats and monkeys) and then a patisserie for coffee and cheesecake. Heh.
cal-you are looking great. you really do have great proportions-such a nice waist. and your english skin looks lovely. certainly not even close to 44!! << i think i got that right.
i hope you are having a great, well-deserved time with the beau.
keep up the hard work. nice tummy you got going on too!!
42 Tal (43 in June) - I’ll let you off though as I know there are a few ladies here who are 44 and you got muddled. I’ve got a few things on my side re: the ageing - I don’t sunbathe (I do get some sun when I do my amusement park holidays, but I’m an indoor kitty the rest of the year), genetics (I’m from a family of later bloomers) and I’ve not had kids with all the hormonal changes, stretching and exhaustion that accompanies that delightful process. The main thing that reminds me of my real age is the fecking aches and pains. Me and the fella were making audible groans when we were sitting down yesterday. I looked at him and said “we’re old, dude.”
Oh and cheesecake was plain, mascarpone cheesecake. Om nom nom. I feel less dirty eating this than some sort of flour/buttercream confection - at least I’m getting some protein, heh heh.
Sunday: 4.5 mile run in the rain and mud. Soaking wet feet, soggy blisters. Other than that, it felt absolutely fine. Two weeks until my 10K.
My triceps are sore - wondering if this is from the push-press because nothing else I did has made them sore before. Hmm!
