Christal's Log Book

Training Training Logs
201

9/2/15

Back Squats 1 x 10 @ 95, 1 x 5 @ 135, 3 x 10 @ 170 lbs
Staggered ring chin-ups 3, 4, 3
Handstand push-ups onto 3" yoga block 5, 8 (PR), 5, 5
Ab wheel
Push-ups with handles 15, 12
Stretching/headstands

I’m getting closer to my pre-injury squat weights. My strength is there, I just feel that in the really deep position, my pelvis feels a little off. I used to feel so comfortable coming out of the hole. That’s frustrating. It might just have to do with the fact that I’ve been avoiding lower back loading for a while, so my legs have gotten stronger, but my lower back may be lagging behind. Either way, it’s getting better. So I can’t complain too much. Maybe incorporating paused squats again might not be a bad idea since the deep position is right where I feel my injury.

And right now I’m debating whether or not to compete in a powerlifting or strongman meet this fall/winter. There’s a strongman meet coming up soon (October 24th) and a powerlifting meet coming up November 14th. My gym doesn’t have a lot of the strongman implements so it’d be harder to train for, but I could still do it. And for me to want to compete in powerlifting I’d like to have higher numbers than my last meet. Due to the lower back injury in April and the lack of heavy squatting for the last few months, I’m not sure if 2 months is enough time. And I’d like to not re-injure myself chasing higher numbers. Even though strongman is very intensive with some very heavy weights, from what I can tell, squats are the only thing that bother my lower back at this point. Maybe I should test this theory out with some moderate deadlifts this weekend to see if those bother me too and then make a decision.

Also, one of my clients plans to compete November 14th for her very first powerlifting competition! I’m super excited for her. So even if I don’t do the meet myself, it’ll be great to be there to coach her. :slight_smile: She’s 54, 130-135 lbs and can deadlift 155 for a triple, back squat 75 lbs for a paused triple, and bench press 90 lbs for a paused single. She can already do 3 chin-ups and sets of 12 chest to ground push-ups and has only been lifting weights since March. I’m so proud of her progress! It’s been amazing to watch her strength and confidence increase so much.

In other news, I got a job! I’m going to be working full time as a welfare case worker starting in two weeks. I’m still training a few people in the evenings, but I’m excited to start full time work again. I think it’ll be good for me. I really wanted to do something where I’m helping people, so social work should be a good career field to get into.

202

9/3/15 BW: 159.2

Lunge holds 3 x 30 seconds @ BW, 80 lbs, 44 lbs
Bench Press 1 x 10 @ 95, 4 x 8 (fast) @ 115 lbs
Medicine ball throws 3 x 5 @ 25 lbs
Calf raises 3 x 15+10+10 (single leg, both legs-toes together, both legs-heels together)
DB Rows (w/ bench) 4 x 10 @ 50, 70, 70, 60 lbs
Mile run - 6.5 mi/hr @ 1.0 incline

203

9/4/15

Military Press (paused on chest for every rep) 4 x 8, 9, 10 (PR), 8 @ 95 lbs
Single leg deadlifts 3 x 8 @ 100 lbs, 80 lbs, 80 lbs
Ab bench isos 3 x 30 seconds
Cable curls 2 x 10 @ 47.5, 42.5 lbs

I killed it today on military press! I wasn’t really expecting that. I was cramping and not feeling well so I didn’t want to do lower body. Figured I would just hit some paused sets of 5 at 95 lbs and call it a day. But as soon as I started lifting, they felt way easier than normal. I’ve hit 10 reps before, but I wasn’t pausing each rep and it certainly wasn’t during the 3rd set like that. Crazy. It’s also a volume PR for me. I think all of that handstand push-up work has really been helping me. I don’t think of bodyweight movements really translating directly to barbell work, but it totally does. When I’m upside down, I’m supporting 160 lbs overhead, which is more than I ever do with a barbell. I’ve also been doing tons of bear crawls, inch worm push-ups, handstand walking and ground work. I’m sure all of that is helping too. Anyway, I got really excited today seeing the huge improvement.

204

9/5/15 BW: 159.2 (need to work on getting this back down…)

Sandbag over shoulder - 16 reps in 2 minutes @ 80 lbs (PR)
Medicine ball throws for distance (under legs) - 5 x 2 @ 10 lbs, best distance 24 1/2 feet
Medicine ball shot put - 3 x 2 @ 10 lbs, best distance about 25 feet
Deadlifts 7 x 10 @ 95, 135, 185, 185, 185, 185, 135 lbs
Push-ups w/ handles 15, 10, 15, 10, 10
Pull-ups + toes to bar 7, 5, 5
Rear delt flys

Lots of work today. I tried deadlifts today for the first time in forever. They felt good and were pretty fast. I think I’m going to slowly add weight and keep doing 10s. Anyway, my entire back is super sore from today’s workout. Good stuff.

205

9/7/15

Ring chin-up lock-offs - a few (just messing around)
Single arm DB press 2 x 10 @ 25, 30 lbs
Handstand push-ups onto 3" block 9 (PR), 8, 7, 6
Pull-ups (paused) 9, 8, 6
Cable Rows (paused) 3 x 15 @ 60, 70, 90 lbs
Ducks walks & lunges
Side bends 3 x 10 @ 50 lbs
Ab wheel roll outs

We trained with a friend for the first time so it was more of an instructional day. My husband taught our friend how to deadlift. He’s been wanting to learn for a while, so he was happy. I got another handstand PR. I’m sure I must be getting close to a real handstand push-up. I think I want to wait until I can do sets of 10, and then will try to find something about 1 1/2" thick and repeat the process of adding reps. It is exciting though because when I started, I could only do maybe 3 or 4 reps on the same size block.

206

9/8/15 BW: 158.2

Front squats 1 x 5 @ 95, 1 x 3 @ 135, 1 x 3 @ 185, 200 (PR), 2 x 3 @ 135 lbs
Handstand walking work
Rolls
Single arm bar hang - 20 seconds
Both arm bar hang - 1 minute

I didn’t have a lot of time today so I wanted to work up to a heavy triple on front squats. I was supposed to get 3 reps at 200 lbs, but I don’t think I was bracing properly. Anyway, I’ve never gone that heavy on front squats, so it’s still technically a PR, but I can do better. Handstand walking work was challenging today. My arms were feeling it by the last few sets so I decided to stretch everything out with some hangs.

207

960×1280 441 KB

9/9/15

Duck walks 4 x 10 + 10 meters (forwards and backwards) @ BW, 90 lbs (fail backwards), 40 lbs, BW
Push-ups (chest to ground) 4 x 15
Body rows 4 x 15

9/10/15

5 hour hike, about 8 miles - gained about 3000 feet of elevation, jogged about 2 miles on the way back. We got snowed on a bit on the way down. And the wind was ridiculous. Still, it was beautiful and we found hill after hill of blueberries. Everything was covered in them. We kept running into bear scat, but luckily no bears.

208

^ What a beautiful place up there.

And look at you with your MP and Handstand Pushups!! Awesome. OH and upside-down.
Best of luck as you start your new job.

209

[quote]Powerpuff wrote:
^ What a beautiful place up there.

And look at you with your MP and Handstand Pushups!! Awesome. OH and upside-down.
Best of luck as you start your new job.

[/quote]

Thank you! Yeah, it’s crazy how much those handstand push-ups seem to be helping me. It makes sense, it’s just funny because I feel like I’m just messing around with gymnastics stuff. I would highly recommend them if you don’t do them already. And seeing where your bench press is at compared to your bodyweight, you should have no problem with them. :slight_smile: I do them up against a wall for balance. I’ve found that my wrists have gotten stronger and more flexible and my core gets hit quite a bit.

9/11/15 BW: 157.2

Bench Press 2 x 5 @ 95, 105, 4 x 10 @ 115 lbs
Deadlifts 1 x 10 @ 135, 4 x 10 @ 195 lbs, 1 x 10 @ 135 lbs
Body rows 2 x 15
Reverse DB curls 2 x 10 @ 15s, 20s

210

9/12/15 BW: 157.2

Box pistols 3 x 5 @ BW, 10, 25, 1 x 3 @ 44 lbs (PR), 1 x 5 @ BW
Handstand push-ups 2 x 10 (PR) @ 3" block, 2 x 5, 6 @ 2" block
Stagger ring chin-ups 5 (PR), 4, 3, 3, 2, 1
1.5 mile run @ 6.1 mi/hr pace, 1% incline - 14:53

Great session today! I got 3 PRs in one day. That’s not a bad day at all. I haven’t done pistol squats in a while, but beat my old best. My handstand push-ups are still improving quite a bit. I’ve lowered the block to a 2" dyna disc, which even gets a bit lower than 2" because it indents a bit. Once I can get sets of 10 on the dyna disc, I’ll be ready to go to the floor. And then I’ll eventually give myself a deficit and have my hands on blocks. Exciting stuff. :slight_smile: I’m going to get some beastly shoulders from all of this.

211

9/13/15

A few hours of hiking. We picked buckets and buckets of mountain blueberries and are now in the process of making wine with it. :smiley:

9/14/15 BW: 157.8

Elliptical 20 minutes
Alt. DB OH Press 2 x 5 @ 20s, 35s, 1 x 4 @ 45s, 1 x 5 @ 40s
Walking Lunges 4 x 30 steps @ BW, 40, 50, BW
Pulldown machine (w/ lean back) 4 x 10 @ 85 lbs
Stability ball leg curls 4 x 15
Stability ball jack knives 4 x 10

9/15/15

Pistol squats 3 x 5 @ BW
Push-ups (w/ handles) 20 (PR), 10, 10
Pull-ups (paused) 3 x 7

9/16/15

Reverse Lunges 2 x 50 @ BW
Handstand push-ups 5 @ 4" block, 3 x 6, 10 (PR), 9 @ 2" block

So I got a new job and I’m still training people in the evenings so my days have been a lot busier recently. My gym is a little bit of a drive so I’ve been doing at home workouts. I’ll try to hit it extra hard this weekend.

212

9/17/15
DB Rows (paused) 2 x 15 @ 50 lbs

9/18/15
Handstand P/U 4 x 5, 6, 5, 3 @ 1.5 inches

9/19/15 BW: 158.8
Warm-up: Squat twists, reverse lunges, and inch worm x 8, jump rope 2 min, bridge 30 seconds
Deficit deadlifts (4") 5 x 10 @ 135, 185, 185, 185, 135 lbs
Chin-ups 5 x 3 @ 35 lbs
Duck walks 4 x 10 + 10 meters @ BW
DB Bench 5 x 10 @ 30s, 40s, 45s, 45s, 45s
Decline Abs 15
Ab Coaster 3 x 10
Toes to bar 8
Cable rows (paused) 3 x 10 @ 80 lbs
Mile jog

9/21/15
Back squats 3 x 10 @ 175 lbs
Handstand P/U on 2" dyna disc 2, 5, 6, 2
Rope climb (w/o feet) 2 x 12 feet, 7 feet
Ring rows w/ feet elevated 4 x 6
Toes to bar 15 (PR)

I’ve been super busy for the last week. I tried to get in what training I could when I could. My squats and deadlifts are feeling much better.

Yesterday, I saw a girl next to me squatting with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend kept adding more weight to the bar when she was already a mile high. Her squats got gradually higher and higher and she eventually got 225 lbs on the bar. She probably went home and thought that she actually squatted 225. I overheard him telling her that she “was actually pretty deep.” I don’t really understand some people’s training methods. Also, the fact that she was getting coached to lift like this is scary. She could seriously get hurt using weights that she can’t actually lift. Ugh. Anyway, it’s frustrating watching people in the gym. Just lower the weight a little and do it right. And don’t train people if you don’t know what you’re doing. End rant.

213

[quote]Babypowerlifter wrote:
Yesterday, I saw a girl next to me squatting with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend kept adding more weight to the bar when she was already a mile high. Her squats got gradually higher and higher and she eventually got 225 lbs on the bar. She probably went home and thought that she actually squatted 225. I overheard him telling her that she “was actually pretty deep.” I don’t really understand some people’s training methods. Also, the fact that she was getting coached to lift like this is scary. She could seriously get hurt using weights that she can’t actually lift. Ugh. Anyway, it’s frustrating watching people in the gym. Just lower the weight a little and do it right. And don’t train people if you don’t know what you’re doing. End rant. [/quote]

I’ve seen this quite a few times with young college students training their girlfriends. We have a lot of tiny Asian women in our area who really struggle to just squat the bar at first. Then their BF wants to start putting the 25’s on, which is probably her BW. Makes me a little nuts to watch as well.

Looks like you’re doing so well with your conditioning. Pistol squats are WICKED hard.

214

[quote]Powerpuff wrote:

[quote]Babypowerlifter wrote:
Yesterday, I saw a girl next to me squatting with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend kept adding more weight to the bar when she was already a mile high. Her squats got gradually higher and higher and she eventually got 225 lbs on the bar. She probably went home and thought that she actually squatted 225. I overheard him telling her that she “was actually pretty deep.” I don’t really understand some people’s training methods. Also, the fact that she was getting coached to lift like this is scary. She could seriously get hurt using weights that she can’t actually lift. Ugh. Anyway, it’s frustrating watching people in the gym. Just lower the weight a little and do it right. And don’t train people if you don’t know what you’re doing. End rant. [/quote]

I’ve seen this quite a few times with young college students training their girlfriends. We have a lot of tiny Asian women in our area who really struggle to just squat the bar at first. Then their BF wants to start putting the 25’s on, which is probably her BW. Makes me a little nuts to watch as well.

Looks like you’re doing so well with your conditioning. Pistol squats are WICKED hard. [/quote]

Yeah, it goes against gym etiquette to say anything. So the only thing you can do is just fume inside, haha unless they directly ask for your opinion. The sad thing is that this guy is also a personal trainer. He just happened to be working out with his girlfriend. I’m not super impressed with the personal training industry in general even though I happen to be a part of it. It seems that only about 10% of trainers know what they’re doing. It’s sad to say, but most people are probably better off doing their own research to learn how to train or maybe find an experienced friend (but even then, you can be lead astray). Anyway, I’m not sure how this problem could be resolved. There was a T-Nation article a while back by Mark Rippetoe that said that there was going to be a governing body for personal training certs. Big Brother is Watching You Squat

More red tape is usually not the answer though. Anyway, there will always be people like that. The best thing you can do is probably to just do the exercises correctly and lead by example. That same day, another man who was training a woman in the gym saw me squatting and I was midset, but I’m pretty sure I heard him comment to her, “look how deep she goes.” He said it in a positive way trying to teach her proper squat form. So that was good. I was just so distracted by the horrible squatting next to me, that I forgot to mention the other interaction, haha.

Anyway, thanks for the compliment about my pistol squats. I like those a lot. They are super hard. For a while, I didn’t have the ankle flexibility to do them without shoes. A slight heel helped me. Now, I can do them barefoot (only if I’m warmed up). Also, I seem to have better balance if I hold weight out in front of me. Either way, it’s a good test of overall strength and flexibility. And you can do them anywhere! :slight_smile: I like exercises like that. Versatility is definitely a bonus.

215

9/23/15

BB Reverse Lunges 6 x 8 @ BW, 45, 75, 110, 110, 88 lbs,
Bench Press 1 x 10 @ 95, 4 x 9 @ 115 lbs
DB Rows 4 x 10 @ 50, 75, 75, 75 lbs
Roman Chair Leg Lifts 2 x 15

I had a good lifting session this evening. I had a serious leg pump going on after those reverse lunges. My rest periods were shorter today. I only had about 45 minutes. I’m still getting adjusted to my new schedule. It looks like I’ll only be able to go to the gym about 3 times a week. But on the other days, I might be able to squeeze in an at home workout. I’m pretty much going to cut out anything extra from my lifting. I may have to get creative and bring a dumbbell to hide under my desk, haha. I’m still in training and not actually at my desk yet, but I’m already trying to come up with a plan to stay in shape while working in an office. Apparently, my office loves potlucks and eating so I’m going to have to watch myself and exercise a lot self control. :slight_smile:

216

9/26/15

Deficit deadlifts (4") 5 x 10 @ 135, 195, 195, 195, 135 lbs
Handstand push-ups 5 @ 3" block, 4 x 6, 7, 6, 6 @ 2" dyna disc
Pull-ups (paused) 4 x 7
Calf raises (SL) 2 x 15
Duck walks 3 x 10 + 10m @ BW, 36, 70 (fail backwards)
Bicep curls 3 x 10 @ 25s, 30s, 30s
Decline sit-ups w/ BB OH 3 x 5 @ BW, 25, 45, 1 x 3 @ 55, 1 x 10 @ BW

I had a great session on Saturday. I got to get a really nice stretch in with those deficit deadlifts. I’m glad to see that my lower body lifts are returning to normal after hurting myself back in April. It seems like I’m bouncing back just fine. The body is an amazing thing. I love deadlifts so I’m happy I get to do them again. :slight_smile:

In other news, my husband and I put an offer in on some land. 2.5 acres near the mountains close to where we go hiking a lot. We want to build a cabin next summer. Hopefully, the offer goes through. Right now, there is no easement so figuring out how to get to the property is going to be tricky. If it does work out, we’re going to have a lot of work ahead of us making a clearing for a foot path and cabin. There’s tons of trees, bushes, devil’s club. Good stuff, haha.

217

9/28/15

Handstand push-ups 10 @ 1.5 inches (PR)
Elliptical 15 min
Single Arm DB OH Press 4 x 10 @ 20, 35 40, 45 lbs
DB Rows (paused) 3 x 10 @ 50, 60, 50
Bicycle kicks & toe touches
Stairmaster 10 min

Kind of a lighter day last night. I went with my friend to the gym and was teaching her some exercises she can do. I’m really proud of her for going back to the gym. She’s been in a bad relationship, gained a bunch of weight, and is now turning things around. Anyway, it’s good to see. She’s lost about 10 lbs so far and has worked out consistently for the last 2 weeks. I think weightlifting can be so good for women especially. It increases their confidence and self esteem in a way that nothing else really can. When you overcome a physical challenge, it’s something you can see. And then it affects every other aspect of your life. It changes your thinking. You start to think, if I can do _________ in the gym, maybe I can do ________ in real life. Anyway, it’s really cool to see.

218

[quote]Babypowerlifter wrote:
I think weightlifting can be so good for women especially. It increases their confidence and self esteem in a way that nothing else really can. When you overcome a physical challenge, it’s something you can see. And then it affects every other aspect of your life. It changes your thinking. You start to think, if I can do _________ in the gym, maybe I can do ________ in real life. Anyway, it’s really cool to see. [/quote]

I agree 100%.

And regarding your earlier comments about CPTs, I have such strong feelings about that it’s dangerous to get me started. Most of the time I train at a 24 Hour Fitness. 90% of the trainers are horrible. Never even lift themselves. They have no concept of good form or how to teach lifts. I get very upset thinking of people spending $70/hour for what they get.

219

[quote]kpsnap wrote:

[quote]Babypowerlifter wrote:
I think weightlifting can be so good for women especially. It increases their confidence and self esteem in a way that nothing else really can. When you overcome a physical challenge, it’s something you can see. And then it affects every other aspect of your life. It changes your thinking. You start to think, if I can do _________ in the gym, maybe I can do ________ in real life. Anyway, it’s really cool to see. [/quote]

I agree 100%.

And regarding your earlier comments about CPTs, I have such strong feelings about that it’s dangerous to get me started. Most of the time I train at a 24 Hour Fitness. 90% of the trainers are horrible. Never even lift themselves. They have no concept of good form or how to teach lifts. I get very upset thinking of people spending $70/hour for what they get.[/quote]

Yeah, I hear ya. Our old boss didn’t lift weights herself. She starved herself when she wanted to lose weight, used lots of Botox, had fake boobs, fake lips, etc. She was a personal trainer for 20+ years. Her clients stayed with her because she pretty much kept them clueless and had them mindlessly use machines with no rhyme or reason. Anyway, my husband and I ultimately had to leave because we had a very different training philosophy. It sucks too because they inherited the old Gold’s Gym and there was a lot of good equipment there and the gym was in a very convenient location. That’s probably the only reason they are still in business. Now, we drive across town to go to a gym run by much better people. It’s a bit of a pain in the butt, but it’s worth it. :slight_smile:

(I should say even though it’s run by good people, the trainers there are all freelance. The gym in general has less rules, which is nice. But, that’s why you still end up running into people who don’t know what they’re doing.)

9/29/15

At home workout…

Thrusters 2 x 10 @ 30s, 40s, 2 x 7 (PR), 4 @ 50s
DB Rows (both arms, bent over) 4 x 10 @ 50s
Slidder reverse lunges 4 x 15
Slidder jack knives 4 x 10
Slidder mountain climbers - about 50

I should be happy with my thruster PR, but I really wanted 10 reps and I think I could have made it, but hesitated too long. I did get in some good volume with furniture slidders afterward though. Tomorrow, hopefully, I will get to a real gym. I trained an evening client tonight so I ran out of time to drive to the gym.

220

10/1/15 (Thursday)

Back Squats 3 x 10 @ 180 lbs
Military Press (paused) 4 x 8, 8, 6, 7 @ 95 lbs
DB Rows 1 x 10 @ 50 lbs
Chin-ups 3 x 3 @ +40 lbs

10/4/15 BW: 161.0

Run - 1 mile, 1.0 incline, 5.5 mi/hr pace
Deficit deadlifts (4") 5 x 10 @ 135, 185, 205, 205, 205 lbs
Bench Press 3 x 12 @ 115 lbs
Cable Rows 5 x 10 @ 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 lbs