Christal's Log Book

So I started a log already over in the powerful women section, but realized that it’s pretty dead over there as far as training logs go. I’ve decided to move my log over here. Here’s the link to my other log:

http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_women_training_performance_powerful/christals_log_book

I’m new to powerlifting and am trying to focus on the big lifts while also improving overall strength, flexibility, coordination and cardiovascular health. One of my powerlifting goals is to hold the state deadlift record which is currently 407 lbs in my weight class.

My stats:

Sex: Female
Height: 5’8"
Weight: 160-165
Age: 28

Bench Press (competition style w/ pause): 148 lbs
Back Squat: 250 lbs (beltless)
Deadlift: 353 lbs (conventional, beltless)
Military Press: 120 lbs
Chin-up: +60 lbs
Dip: +40 lbs

Today’s workout:

Back Squats 3 x 5 @ 95, 135, 135, 4 x 9 @ 185 lbs
Bench Press 4 x 6, 6, 5, 4 @ 135 lbs
Wide Grip Cable Rows 6 x 10 @ 90, 90, 100, 110, 100, 100 lbs
Decline Abs w/ weight overhead 5 x 5 @ BW, 30, 40, 40, 40 lbs
Bicep Curls 4 x 7 @ 30s
1 mile run @ 10:00

Good session today. My quads were definitely burning with those sets of 9. I really want to finish this up and get sets of 10 so I can move up in weight and down in reps. I think I used up all of my energy on squats and by the time I got to bench press, my focus wasn’t there. I’m going to restart this lifting cycle with sets of 3 on bench until it gets smoother. The eventual goal is to get sets of 12 at 135 before adding more weight to the bar. Slow and steady wins the race. I’m having to learn patience by sticking with the same weight until I’ve mastered it.

Also, I think my husband and I are going to start including jogging after our workouts for some extra conditioning. I could definitely use it. My cardiovascular health is not at all where it should be. My best mile time is 8:15, but I’d like to improve that.

12/30/14

Pistols 5 x 5 @ BW
Glute Machine 3 x 15 @ 180, 167.5, 155 lbs
DB OH Press (Single Arm) 8 x 5 @ 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 45, 40, 35 lbs
Chest Supported Rows 3 x 10 @ 45, 70, 90, 1 x 8 @ 115, 1 x 2 @ 135, 1 x 10 @ 115 + dropset
Planks 3 x 1 min, 45 sec, 30 sec @ 45 lbs
Single Arm Bar hangs 45 sec (rt), 30 sec (left), 20 sec (rt), 20 sec (left)
Chin ups 10, 8
Roman Chair Leg Lifts 15, 10

12/31/14
Back Squats 3 x 5 @ 95, 135, 155, 4 x 10 @ 185, 1 x 5 @ 135
DB Incline Press 5 x 7 @ 50s
DB Rows 5 x 10 @ 60, 70, 70, 70, 65 lbs
Decline Abs 5 x 20 @ BW
Calf Raises 3 x 30+30+30 (toes together, neutral, heels together) @ 50 lbs
2-1 Leg Curls 5 x 5 @ 60, 65, 65, 65, 60

1/1/15
Walking Lunges “L” around gym (about 40 steps) 6 @ BW, 20, 30, BW, BW, 20
Bench Press 2 x 5 @ 95, 115, 4 x 3 @ 135, 1 x 5 @ 115
Chest Supported Rows 6 x 10 @ 25, 45, 70, 90, 70, 45
Decline Abs w/ OH BB 4 x 5 @ 20, 30, 40, 50, 1 x 4 @ 60
Rear delt flys to Lateral Raises 3 x 10+10 @ 10s, 12s, 15s

Got in some good volume so far this week. I’m really happy with my back squats. Doing sets of 10 at 185 was brutal. I’m glad I get to up the weight and go back down in reps the next time I do squats. :slight_smile: I’m just trying to put in a ton of volume before really training for heavier singles. My next powerlifting meet is in April so I have some time to build up some strength before then.

I really like the program that I’m doing and feel that it really is making me stronger. I’ve gotten so much better at bench in the last few months. I was working out today with an old training partner who used to train with me in July and she noticed a huge difference in my bench. It’s nice to know that I am getting better. It just takes time and effort. :slight_smile:

1/2/15

Back Squats 9 x 3 @ 95, 135, 185, 195, 205, 205, 205, 205, 135
SA Military Press 6 x 5 @ 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 3 @ 55, 3 x 5 @ 45, 40, 35
Cable Rows 5 x 10 @ 100, 110, 120, 130, 110
Chin ups 5, 5
Roman Chair Leg Lifts 3 x 15
Bicep Curls 3 x 7 @ 30s
1 mile run @ 6.1 pace

1/3/15 BW: 166.2

RDLs (w/ 1 min rest) 5 x 15 @ 145 lbs
Incline Press (paused & CAT) 3 @ 95, 5 x 3 @ 115 lbs
Chin ups 6 x 3 @ 30, 28, 28, 28, 28, 18 lbs
Decline Abs w/ OH BB 3 x 5 @ 20, 30, 50, 1 x 2 @ 60 lbs
Mile Run @ 6.2 pace (time: 9:48)

Good session today. RDLs with high reps and low rest SUCK!!! Saturday is my RDL day. It’s also our all you can eat Mongolian grill day. Mmm…Mongolian grill. :smiley: Everything else today felt pretty good. I didn’t like how slow my first set of chin ups was so I dropped the weight a little. Weighted chin ups are probably one of my favorite exercises. 1. They’re a great back and bicep workout. 2. You always feel like a badass doing them. I feel like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. For the longest time, I couldn’t even do a single chin up and now that I can, I fucking love them.

1/4/15

Rock climbing

Haven’t done this in while and my fingers felt like they were going to fall off. Sunday is usually my day off from lifting, but it was a nice active recovery day.

1/5/15 BW: 165.6

High Step ups (24" box) 6 x 10 @ BW, 30, 40, 50, 60, BW
Bench Press 5 x 4 @ 135 lbs
TRX Rows 8, 7, 8, 6, 7, 7
SL Hypers 5 x 5 @ BW, 15, 20, 20, 25 lbs
Planks w/ 45 lb plate 1 min, 1 min, 30 sec
Chin ups 10

Training was good today. The step ups felt a bit heavy and my knees creaked a bit so I might use less weight next time. Bench press was fast and smooth today. I felt like I had more in me, so I added another set. It’s exciting seeing obvious improvement in my bench. Bench used to be my least favorite lift, but it’s growing on me. I kinda like it now.

My weight has been on my mind recently. I need to drop about 7-8 lbs because the USAPL changed the weight classes. I will now be competing in the 158 class. It’ll probably be healthier for me anyway. I will actually need to focus on my diet and get a little leaner. I have until April so I should be able to gradually shed some bodyfat before then.

1/6/15 BW: 165.0

Back Squats 4 x 4 @ 205 lbs
DB Incline Press 5 x 8 @ 50s
Straight Arm Pulldowns 4 x 10 @ 80, 90, 90, 90
Rear Delt Flys 4 x 10 @ 10s
GHR Sit-up w/ medicine ball tosses overhead 3 x 10 @ 4lb, 10lb, 10lbs
Plank w/ 45 lb plate 1 min

Bicep tendons were sore today (probably delayed from the weighted chins and rock climbing) so I did less back work than I normally would. I put in some good volume with DB Incline. Sets of 9 and 10 are going to suck. I have to get sets of 10 before being able to move up to the 55 lb dumbbells. I’m realizing that my dumbbell strength would indicate a higher competition bench. I just need to actually work on my form. I need to learn how to lock it in and practice the arched back. I’m not even sure if I have the flexibility for that right now. So doing a bridge stretch regularly might be something else that I should add to my training. I also press with a fairly close grip, so maybe I should play around with that and see if a wider grip would help.

1/7/15 BW: 166.6 (Nachos and beer last night. Whoops. I was wing-manning for a friend who was on a bad date.)

RDLs w/ 1 min rest 5 x 15 @ 150 lbs
BB OH Press 7 x 5 @ 65, 75, 85, 95, 100, 100, 85 lbs
DB Rows 5 x 10 @ 60, 65, 65, 65, 65
SL Decline Abs 2 x 10 @ BW
1 mile run @ 6.3 pace

I decided to do RDLs today instead of waiting until Saturday because my knees were feeling a bit creaky so I wanted to give them a break while still doing leg work. I might stick with 150 for a bit just to make sure it’s smooth and fast. We’ll see.

1/8/15 BW: 164.4

Back Squats 2 x 5 @ 95, 135, 2 x 3 @ 155, 185, 4 x 5 @ 205 lbs
Bench Press 1 x 10 @ 95, 1 x 3 @ 115, 4 x 5 @ 135 lbs
TRX Rows 10, 6, 10, 8, 7
Cable Lateral Raises 5 x 10 @ 2.5, 4, 5.5, 7.5, 7.5 lbs

Didn’t get a lot of exercises in today. Squats took forever to warm up. I like to take a lot of sets building up to my work sets and quite a bit of time between sets. It’s weird with squats because the difficulty level with them doesn’t seem to change that much. 185 felt about the same as 205. I have no idea how many reps I’ll be able to get before restarting the squat cycle. I guess we’ll find out. Bench press felt good enough. When I attempt my sets of 6s I’ll have a rest day before then so that’ll be good.

1/8/15
Did some extra work in the evening…

Side bends 2 x 15 @ 50 lbs
Roman Chair Leg Lifts 2 x 15 @ BW
Bicep Curls 4 x 7 @ 30s
Push-ups (very strict, elbows tucked, chest to ground) 19 - My husband was training a client and called me out and made me do push-ups on the spot.

1/9/15 BW: 167.2

Walking Lunges 5 x 24ish steps @ BW, 30, 50, 60, 40 lbs
Incline Press (paused and CAT) 4 x 4 @ 115 lbs
Cable Rows 5 x 10 @ 120, 130, 140, 150, 140 lbs
1 mile run @ 6.4 pace
2-1 Eccentric Leg Curls 3 x 5 @ 60, 65, 70 lbs

These runs are getting easier. It’s nice knowing that the time is decreasing slightly each time.

[quote]Babypowerlifter wrote:
Push-ups (very strict, elbows tucked, chest to ground) 19 - My husband was training a client and called me out and made me do push-ups on the spot.
[/quote]
Very few people do them this way. Good for you.

What state are you from? Does your husband compete in PLing as well? Can’t remember if you’ve already said . . .

[quote]kpsnap wrote:

[quote]Babypowerlifter wrote:
Push-ups (very strict, elbows tucked, chest to ground) 19 - My husband was training a client and called me out and made me do push-ups on the spot.
[/quote]
Very few people do them this way. Good for you.

What state are you from? Does your husband compete in PLing as well? Can’t remember if you’ve already said . . .[/quote]

Thanks! I’m from Alaska. My husband doesn’t powerlift yet, but used to be a sprinter and comes from a very athletic background. He got me into weight training. He’s a lot more explosive and coordinated than I am. That’s kinda why I gravitated towards powerlifting because the lifts are very straight forward and I don’t have an athletic background at all. I’m working on it, but it’s taking some time. I’d like to eventually do strongman or highland games.

1/10/15 BW: 166.0

Whip Snatches 4 x 3 @ 65, 85, 95, 105, 1 @ 115 (PR), 2 x 3 @ 95 lbs
Hip Adductor 3 x 10 @ 120 lbs
Hip Abductor 3 x 10 @ 120 lbs
Cable Tricep Pushdowns 5 x 10 @ 80, 90, 100, 90, 90 lbs
Cable Rope Curls 3 x 10 @ 70, 70, 60 lbs
Toe to bar 8, 6, 7
Ab Wheel 5, 8

First time doing snatches in a few months. It’s nice to try these again just to mix it up. And it’s nice to know that my training is working and these are much easier than they were. The last time I tried these was in October and I failed at 105 for a single. 100 for 1 was my best. So a 15 lbs PR, not bad. Whatever the hell I’m doing seems to be working.

1/12/15 BW: 166.8

Back Squats 4 x 6 @ 205 lbs
Pull up variations: Pull ups 8, Knees to elbows 6, Neutral grip 6, 1/4 increment pull up
Bench Press 4 x 6,6,4,4 @ 135 lbs
Roman Chair Leg Lifts 15

I got my back squats, but was not feeling the bench. I was very disappointed with my reps. I was supposed to get 4 sets of 6 there. Booo… :frowning: Ah well, I’ll try it again next time. I think it may have been because I got 6 hours of sleep last night and because I did pulling work first. But still, I should have had that.

I’m still sore from Saturday’s session. The cable rope curls fried my biceps. And then the pull ups today added to it and my forearms and biceps are done for a bit. I’m going to give them a bit of rest for a few days. And my traps are still extremely sore from those whip snatches. Holy hell. If you want big traps, do those. For whatever reason, I have fairly large traps for my frame. They are usually the first thing to grow on me, upper body wise. I used to think it was unfeminine to have large traps, but now I kinda like them. They are what allow me to pick things up and carry them. That’s a useful thing as a human. Even if it wasn’t useful for a competition or aesthetics, it’s useful for life.

Best thing I’ve read all day! I agree, picking things up is very useful. And my favorite is when moms tell me they don’t have arm strength, and I just scratch my head… Did they not pick their child up for however many years at various different weights, multiple times a day?

[quote]Seachel_25 wrote:

Best thing I’ve read all day! I agree, picking things up is very useful. And my favorite is when moms tell me they don’t have arm strength, and I just scratch my head… Did they not pick their child up for however many years at various different weights, multiple times a day?

[/quote]

Haha, thanks, Seachel! :slight_smile: I totally agree with you about the mom thing. A child weighs more than some weights I give my clients and they look at me like I’m crazy for having them lift that heavy. Usually their child weighs a lot more and when I point that out to them, they start to view it differently.

1/13/15

Short session today. I had to meet with a client in the middle of my workout.

High Step Ups (24" box) 5 x 10 @ BW, 30, 30, 30, 30 lbs

Chest Supported Rows 4 x 8 @ 1 plate, 1 1/2 plates, 2 plates, 2 1/2 plates, 1 x 3 @ 3 plates, 1 x 25 @ 1 1/2 plates

Single Arm DB Press 3 x 5 @ 30, 35, 40 lbs (didn’t finish these. Was supposed to work up to 50 or 55. Ran out of time.)

Roman Chair Leg Lifts 5 x 5, 10, 15, 10, 5

Walking Lunges 3 x about 24 steps @ BW

I got in some light work today. The chest supported rows got a little bit heavy towards the end. 3 plates was pretty challenging. I’d like to eventually get a top set with 8-10 reps. Building dat back. Have I mentioned I love back work? Well, it’s my favorite. I’m trying to decide what to do for pressing tomorrow. Stupid bench. I could repeat my bench workout and try to get 6s again or finish my overhead pressing that I didn’t finish today. I’ll sleep on it and see how my body is feeling.

1/14/15 BW: 165.6

RDLs w/ 1 min rest 5 x 15 @ 150 lbs
Single Arm DB OH 9 x 5 @ 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30
Preacher Curls 2 x 5 @ 40, 50, 4 x 8, 10, 10, 8 @ 40 lbs
Decline Abs w/ OH BB 4 x 5 @ 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 (PR), 1 @ 70 (PR)
Cable Tricep Pushdowns 4-5 sets up to 50.5 lbs
1 mile run @ 6.5 pace (9:15)
Pull-ups 6
Chin-ups 5
DB Bench 2 x 10 @ 40, 45, 2 x 7 @ 50

So I ended up not taking a break from bicep work. My training partner wanted to train arms and they were feeling fine. I did DB bench for the first time in a long time. I do a lot of dumbbell work with overhead and incline, but always bench with a barbell because I want to get my competition lift up. I’m beginning to realize that my shoulders and triceps are stronger relatively and what’s failing me is my pecs. The dumbbell work would probably help because it’ll stretch the shit out of my pecs and force me to stabilize at the bottom range of motion. The fact that my DB bench is so similar to my DB incline leads me to believe that my theory is correct. I’m relying on my shoulders and triceps to do most of the work in my bench press. So, I’m just going to have to throw in more DB bench and pec work.

My husband and I took tomorrow off work and are going hiking. It’s been unusually warm up here recently and we can actually be outside in the middle of January. Weird. We’re taking advantage of and are going to go explore some trails. Yay! :slight_smile:

Great log. You’ve got some impressive strength for a “baby” powerlifter!

Could you explain your training template if you have a chance? You seem to do higher reps than a lot of strength programs call for and I’d be interested to hear your method.

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Great log. You’ve got some impressive strength for a “baby” powerlifter!

Could you explain your training template if you have a chance? You seem to do higher reps than a lot of strength programs call for and I’d be interested to hear your method.[/quote]

Certainly! Thanks for the great compliment! :slight_smile:

I do full body 6 days a week,and I usually break down my training into 5 or 6 movement patterns each day. (This is loosely based off of Dan John’s 5 movements, who my husband reads a lot of):

Squat
Upper body push
Upper body pull
Hip Hinge (although I don’t always do both a squat and a hip hinge in the same day)
Core work
Accessory work

For the big movements, we pick a weight and stick with it until we’ve “mastered it.” For upper body, this is 4 sets of 12 reps. For lower body, this is 4 sets of 10 reps because the upper body seems to tolerate higher reps a little easier than the lower body. We start with sets of 3. Each time we repeat the workout, we try to get one more rep each set. If we don’t make it to 10 or 12 reps, we’ll repeat the process starting again with sets of 3 for the same weight. Once we’ve mastered a weight, we bump up the weight by 10-30 pounds depending on what exercise it is and where our strength levels are at. It’s kind of based on feel.

I mainly do this with my competitive lifts. With non-competitive lifts, I just try to get in some volume or whatever I feel like doing for the day.

I rotate between different presses (flat, incline, overhead), and different rows (db rows, cable, chins, pull-ups, chest supported, etc.), and different squats (back squats, step ups, lunges, pistols, etc.), and different hip hinges (RDLs, KB swings, leg curls, single leg deadlifts, etc.), and different core exercises (leg lifts, decline sit-ups, planks, etc.) on a day to day basis. Accessory work usually consists of extra arm work, maybe some calf work or whatever seems to need extra attention.

There’s a lot of variety in my training program, which is nice. I feel like that’s what has allowed me to not get injured or feel over trained. We lift weights 6 days a week, but because the exercises are always changing, we’re not working the same exact movement pattern everyday. And I’ve gained a ridiculous amount of strength from doing this. My deadlift has gone up over 100 lbs, my squat has gone up around 50 lbs, and my bench has gone up about 30 lbs in the last year. Anyway, I hope that answers your question. Sorry for the long winded response. :stuck_out_tongue:

1/15/15 BW: 164.6

Hike up Arch Angel in Hatcher’s Pass. Worst. Hike. EVER! The snow was just packed enough that there was a crust, but not so packed that you could actually walk on top of the snow. With each step, we would fall through about 2-3 feet and then have to do a high step up to get out of the snow, only to fall into it again. Very frustrating. Some of the men in our group weighed 225-240 and they had the hardest time. Half of our group was lightweight enough to not sink in and couldn’t understand why we wanted to turn back early haha. Either way, my legs were pretty much toast after that.

1/16/15 BW: 165.6

Back Squats x 5 @ 95, 135, 2 x 3 @ 155, 185, 4 x 3 @ 205 lbs
DB Incline Press 4 x 9 @ 50s
DB Rows (w/ pause at top) 5 x 10 @ 60 lbs
Roman Chair Leg Lifts 3 x 15
Pec Flys 2 x 10 @ 15s, 20s
Rear delt work
Chin ups 10

Restarted my squat cycle today. The last time I squatted, I did sets of 6 which were fine, but they started to feel a little slow and grindy. I definitely did not have sets of 7 in me today after hiking yesterday so I decided it would be a good time to start over with 3s. My incline pressing is going good. I’ll get to move up to 55 lb dumbbells soon! Yay, progress. :slight_smile:

1/17/15 BW: 165.4

Walking Lunges 5 x 24ish steps @ BW, 30, 40, 60, 50 lbs
Glute machine 3 x 15 @ 150 lbs

Superset
Pull-ups 8, 6, 6, 6
Single Arm DB Press 4 x 5 @ 30, 40, 40, 40 lbs

Ab Work
GHR Sit-up hold with medicine ball tosses
Roman Chair Leg Lifts 15