I Lift Things Up and Put Them Down

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerful Women
1

Well this will be my second attempt at a log. Let’s see if I can keep up with one this time!

Age: 21
Height / Weight: 5’7 / 185lbs
Squat: 155 (Haven’t tested max in a long time)
Box Squat: 185
Bench: 115
Deadlift: 255

I have the good fortune of being able to work out at an awesome little warehouse-type gym with a group of very encouraging people. I feel that just having people around me to cheer me on when I lift and occasionally make fun of me helps a ton! Here’s what I did yesterday:

Max Effort Lower Body:

  1. Box Squats with ~40-60lbs band tension (not sure how much forgot to ask):
    1 x 5 x 45lb + bands
    1 x 5 x 65lb + bands
    1 x 3 x 85lb + etc…
    1 x 2 x 95lb
    2 x 2 x 115lb
    1 x 1 x 135 - fail
    1 x 1 x 135 - Huzzah!

We had to play around with this a lot because I had never used bands before on a squat. I used a small belt on the second 135lb attempt, it always feels like cheating when I use one.

  1. 2 inch Deficit Deadlifts with 40lbs of chains:
    1 x 5 x 135 (no chains)
    2 x 5 x 135 w/ chains
    1 x 1 x 175 w/ chain
    1 x 1 x 185 w/ chain

I was pretty happy about that one, especially since I outlifted the guy who was working out in my group. (Okay so he’s only 16 but we’ll disregard that…)

  1. 3 x 10 x 40lb Bulgarian split squats superset w/ 3 x 10 GHR

  2. 2 x 40yd sled sprints

  3. Lay on ground and suck air.

I’m trying to do a meet, my first one, November in north Myrtle Beach, SC. Only thing holding me back is how incredibly poor I am. I hope I’ll have the funds to do it since I’d get to go with the team I work out with and have some free housing.

So here’s some goals I have for December, I’m not very good at making them but I try:

Squat: Not 100lbs less than my deadlift. But in seriousness, 175lbs
Bench: 125
Deadlift: 275

After the holiday season I think I may add some more physique related goals, but it’s not a primary concern at the moment.

So that’s all for now! Speed work day tomorrow, which I desperately need to work on. I LOVE the new gym I work out at and I look forward to it everyday.

Oh also, Fleizig who made a post in the Q&A is my roommate, be kind! I’ve talked at length about the benefits of lifting but maybe hearing from someone she hasn’t known since elementary school would help.

Here’s some videos from the gym I lift at:
185 Box Squat: UNC Graduate Kat Whitfield beats female record at IP - 185lb Squat! - YouTube
195 x 3 Deadlift: Kat Whitfield Deadlifts 195 for 3 easy! Beats IP female record. - YouTube

Happy lifting!

2

In!
I may never be back bit I’m first in lol.

Love ur tvix pix gurl.

3

fun fun fun! Which federation are you lifting in for November?

Speed work tomorrow? awesome. I’ll check in tomorrow to see what that looks like. I just got access to a tendo again, so my speed work has been on the decline all summer. But soon…soon it starts again.

Anyway, I am glad you are logging. I will be following.

4

Welcome back! I’ll be following along, good luck with the meet in Nov, is that the SPF meet on 11/5?

5

[quote] Hallowed wrote:
In!
I may never be back bit I’m first in lol.

Love ur tvix pix gurl. [/quote]

I’m honored to have you as my first post! And thank you, I haven’t taken any recently as I haven’t been feeling too inspired. Soon maybe!

[quote] Dasher wrote:
fun fun fun! Which federation are you lifting in for November?

Speed work tomorrow? awesome. I’ll check in tomorrow to see what that looks like. I just got access to a tendo again, so my speed work has been on the decline all summer. But soon…soon it starts again.

Anyway, I am glad you are logging. I will be following. [/quote]

SPF! Only problem I have with it is not being drug tested, but I’m not too concerned. For my first meet I figure the main point is just to be there and get a feel for competition. Hopefully it won’t be like when I was a swimmer and would just sit and nervously shake my leg and have too much time to fret about my next event.

I just checked your log Dash, didn’t realize you had one. You are a conditioning goddess! I tried out crossfit one time and really sucked at it! I didn’t think I would need my inhaler so I didn’t bring it which also didn’t help (sport induced asthma). But I still really enjoyed it and I wanted to do it more and get better. At the time I was already playing a sport and training for powerlifting however so I had enough going on. Maybe I should try to pick it back up!

My lifts are so slow that everyone says I look like I’m training for bodybuilding, so speed work’s definitely needed. Not that I know if bodybuilders have slow tempos or not.

Thanks! Yes it is. I really hope I’ll have the money to go when the time comes. I’m really only confident in my deadlift but I know I need to compete in all 3. I’ve also gotta buy a singlet which I cringe to think about what it would look like on me haha.

On a different note, is it normal that my deadlift is 100lbs higher than my squat? I’ve been looking around at other ladies’ logs and don’t seem to have such a huge gap. I’m thinking it’s a mental thing.

6

Welcome and good luck with your first meet.

Re: the deadlift - it’s all about leverages. As a rule, long limbed people tend to do better at deads than squats, and short limbed people do better at squats than deads. There’s a lot of other factors but you’re not abnormal.
My squat sucks enough that my old bench was better than my squat. I am not a powerlifter, though - too old and busted.

7

Agree w/Cal, it has a lot do with leverages. I’m short limbed, and my squat is higher than my DL. In fact with single ply gear it’s almost a 100# more. Lol

But I also think the squat is mentally challenging,it scared me until I missed and had to dump my first squat. After that and finding out dumping a squat isn’t so bad, my squat really took off.

8

Another SPF-er! I have never lifted with them. I’ll be following to see how this goes.

As for conditioning, it would appear that way. I condition up a storm, but its also a laaaaaaaaarge part of my job.

Cant wait to hear about your speed work :slight_smile:

9

Welcome back. :slight_smile:

My last tested deadlift is 125# over my last tested squat. Current 1RM calculations put it at 135# over. I hate my squat. :\

10

So while it’s fresh in my mind here’s speed day:

  1. Bench Press w/ 40lb band tension
    1 x 5 x 45lb
    2 x 3 x 55lb
    3 x 2 x 65lb

These all felt pretty good. Felt strong and fast the whole way up, especially off the chest where all my problems are. (Obviously due to the slack in the bands but I’m trying to build the mental confidence!)

  1. 3 x 12 x 20lb tricep rollbacks superset with 25 fast tricep pulldowns with a band. Can’t remember how much tension though. These destroy my triceps and they’re usually shaking the rest of the workout.

  2. Speed Deadlift w/ 50lb band tension
    1 x 5 x 135 w/ no bands
    5 x 1 x 135 w/ bands

LOVE these. My problem with deadlifts is just getting it off the floor; if it gets an inch off the ground I can finish the lift. However it’s still pretty slow, akin to rep #3 in the deadlifting video in my first post.

  1. 2 x 2 x 40yd Prowler sprints w/ 90lbs. High bar down, low bar back.

I never got to use prowlers until I came to this gym a few weeks ago. I always wanted to since I thought they looked really cool and interesting…not so much now. Jelly legs after them everytime. (It’s still fun)

Cal - Thanks! I never really thought of myself as having long limbs but I suppose I’m taller than a lot of girls I know.

lil power: Yeah I always get really intimidated when I walk the squat out and it’s heavy on my back, which probably screws me up a lot. I think one of the main reasons I’ll get stronger working at this gym isn’t the guidance or non-retarded spotters, but just having people yell in my ear and encourage me to make a lift so I can shut out all the bad thoughts. With deadlift there isn’t any anticipation - you just lift. Maybe also why my bench isn’t so good either!

Dash - Well hey, beats having a desk job right?

Kristoph - Thank you! And good to know I’m not the only one with this problem. I dislike my squat too but at least my form is pretty…at least that’s what I tell myself.

11

Well it’s not really about height - it’s limb length relative to torso. Me - my wingspan is three inches less than my height, which makes me a lousy deadlifter but a good bencher (well, I would be, if my right shoulder wasn’t borked). My legs are a mess, though - my back is long, my thigh is long, but my shin is short, so I have real issues when trying to squat. It’s all fun though.

12

hi :slight_smile:
nice lifting! your gym sounds and looks wonderful. squats are my nemesis. long femurs in relation to my tibias mean breaking parallel is a long way down. i freak out when the weight feels heavy on my back, too. have you tried walking out a weight that is heavier than the one you are going to lift before walking out your lift weight? some people find it helps the weight they are going to squat feel lighter.

13

Hello!

It will be interesting to follow your training towards your first meet!!
I do not train for PL specifically, but you and I have almost similar stats across the board. Although, I haven’t squatted heavy in a long time. Also, I’m trying to shed some pounds.

fwiw, you do NOT look like 185. I would have guessed 160 maybe.

14

Cal - Maybe I’ll measure my limb length sometime, I never really thought about it before. Reminds me that in high school our dress code was that skirts and shorts had to be at fingertip length or longer and I would always complain by saying my arms are just longer than some people’s! And yeah even if I suck at bench and squat I still enjoy them a lot. Getting to 185 on my squat would really make me feel like a badass. P.S. Your back development in your avatar is sick!

Alexus - It is! I’m very fortunate to be there. I haven’t tried it before I go for my real squat. I’ve done it afterwards since I didn’t want to tire myself out just walking it out, but that now sounds kind of silly. The one time I did that I walked out with 185lb on my back and a friend came up to me and said “I’m going to be really impressed if you squat that” and…I had to say I wasn’t going to.

Mom MD: I’ve been lurking in your log for a while, your progress is so amazing! You look stunning and that waist to hip ratio is to die for. Yeah I figure after the holidays if I reach my lifting goals I’ll try to shed some as well. 185 seems a bit high. And everyone tells me that when I mention my weight! I just tell myself it’s all in the ass. Anytime I go to amusement parks or fairs I play the game where the worker tries to guess your weight, because I always win. Always. I haven’t lost once!

15

I suffer from the DL/ Squat disparity too. There is a strong mental component to that for me too–it’s just easier to be more aggressive with the DL. Squats are scary. Sit back with heavy weight on your back–just seems like a bad idea.

Looking forward to hearing about your first comp experiences–hope you can make the finances work out.

16

ooh, a lurker… You don’t have to lurk!

If YOU are comfortable with your weight, don’t listen to anyone else. You look great!

you’ll get that 185 squat in no time. I got 175 last Dec to end the year right…haven’t squatted it since though, lol.

17

I tell myself my squat is pretty too actually. grin Which it is! I just need to man it up, which I’m doing slowly but surely. I think I’m so paranoid about being that guy who ‘squats’ a lot I go extra deep. Stupid long femurs.

Wow, I would not have guessed near 185 either. And you ‘are’ taller than most girls around you.

I’m jelly of your prowler-induced jelly legs. :slight_smile:

18

squat vs dl- deadlift is kind of only half a lift- sq and bench has to move twice- down, then back up.

squatting can be scary, and theres a lot that can fuck it up but about half of it is mental, and being ready/willing/able to remember that (with trustworthy spotters) its OKAY to push through when your body says to stop, when your eyes cross, when your eyes grey out, when all of the loud music/sound stops, when time slows down and 3 seconds becomes an eternity, when you don’t hear anything except (maybe) the cues that are being shouted to you.

19

Today is supposed to be max effort upper body. Unfortunately I had to go home for a funeral and so had no access to a gym. Instead I used today to do

5 x 5 pushups
3 x 1 min hold planks
3 x 15 overhead press w/ 15lb dumbbell
3 x 15 floor bench press w/ 15lb dumbbell

Complex that I made up:
Goblet squat x 8
1-arm snatch x 8 each side
1-arm row x 8 each side
Good Morning x 8

Rest 90, repeat for 6 rep, 4, 2

Not ideal but it was pretty impromptu.

Also pushups are a HUGE struggle for me. I’ve been terrible at them ever since I fractured one of my lumbar vertebrae in high school, not to mention my upper body strength isn’t too good in general. I want to be good at them, though.

20

Cbear - can you do that in the power rack too? I mean… If you pass out or something the safeties will catch it.

I find the fine line between potentiation and fatigue pretty hard to grasp, too. Go through this every time with my warm-up. Afraid of tiring myself by warming up too much, but often think I mess up a bit the other way where I’m not properly recruiting things for my work sets. Too many other variables for me to be able to figure… I wonder whether different people are different with this or whether there are general guidelines somewhere…