K's 5 / 3 / 1 Log

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerful Women
1

Hey y’all!

On the suggestion of the FA ladies, I’m moving my brand new log over here to reach a more appropriate demographic. Some background info: 22yrs old, living in CT, graduated from college in January, didn’t get a job in this cruddy market but ended up with a fantastic internship in fixed income.

My days pretty much consist of waking up, working 11 hours, gym for 2, and sleep. I can’t claim to be the most exciting person, but hopefully there will be something of merit worth reading here =).

I have kept a private log for some time, but now I feel compelled to share my work with others. I get no support for my lifting endeavors (other than my trainer) in real life, and I kind of feel like a puss to now suddenly need a community and people to talk about this sort of thing with.

I know motivation needs to come from inside and I should only worry about lifting for myself, but I think it’ll be cool to pretend to have “training partners” on the internet, plus everyone on these forums seems very nice =).

I first picked up a weight in February 2008, “bench pressing” 10lb dumbbells, and barely able to do 10 bodyweight squats. I had no idea what I was doing but pretty much taught myself what to do and forced myself to pick up heavier weights when I wasn’t sure if I could. Now I have a bench max of 135lbs (lower now since a string of recent shoulder injuries), squat max 195lbs, and deadlift max 225lbs.

I could get real poetic about my feelings on the matter, but for now I’ll just say I’m pretty proud of myself for pushing forward and accomplishing more than I ever set out to do.

I am currently focusing on powerlifting right now on the 5/3/1 plan, while simultaneously dropping weight. Tricky things to do together, but in the past 6 weeks I’ve lost 11 lbs while getting stronger in squat and DL, and maintaining on the bench. Let’s hope this keeps up! I work with a well-regarded powerlifter in the area as often as I can, and follow a carb cycling diet from Shelby Starnes. I hope my results are enough to do them justice!

Thanks for reading this far and I’ll start posting some workouts asap!

2

8/20/09

TRAINING - Squat/DL max, week 1
I feel like it’s been quite awhile since I squatted without Matt, so I hoped I’d fare just as well without him jabbing me in the back between reps and saying “give me one more!”. The final set was with 170lbs, which I got for 9 in last cycle’s week 2, so I was hoping for 10 this time. I ended up with 9 and a half…the 10th rep got away from me because I came forward too much. Still, I’ll take it.

I’m enjoying deadlifting a lot more now, especially with the belt. It truly was the missing link I needed for leverage, not to mention it gives me a damn hot little waist. My grip really needs work though, as I got the final set for 7 but could have probably squeezed out another one if my grip were stronger.

My schedule said to do step-ups next, but I don’t know why I put them on there because I hate that shiz, so I felt compelled to do front squats instead. Bar position for them is my limiting factor, but I’m getting the hang of the clean grip and did sets with 105 - the most I’ve ever done. Can’t wait till I hit 135 in those.

Then it was just the usual good girl/bad girl machine, back extensions, and abs. My iliopsoas felt a little iffy so I’ll get that zapped at acupuncture this weekend, and it dawned on me that I really gotta remember to foam roll religiously. But all in all, a good day for being solo.

Squat
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5, 5
150 x 5
170 x 9

Deadlift
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
200 x 7

Front Squat
bar x 10
85 x 10
95 x 10
105 x 7, 8

Hip Ab/Adductor
80lbs 3 x 15 each

Back Extension
35lbs 3 x 10

Abs 3 x 20

DIET - Medium
Good, solid day. Oats + canned pumpkin + cottage cheese is bomb.

3

Good to see you here, welcome aboard!! (^:

4

Welcome! What terrific progress. You deserve to be proud of yourself. I look forward to seeing your progress forward.

5

TRAINING
I had to have an abridged workout today because I arrived late, the gym closed early, and I got caught up talking about training and figure comps with the ladies at the front desk. She showed me pictures of a couple girls she knew who a comp and they were tiny - one only trained and dieted for 2 months before entering. I don’t know that I’d call them figure competitors though…looked more like bikini to me. Anyway, with my shoulder practically falling out of the socket, it was a great day to military press, but I increased the 5x5 weight yet another 5lbs from last week and got them for 70lbs. Pretty cool. I decreased the assisted pull-up weight to -40lbs which is also cool, and will hopefully enable me to do more than 3 regular pullups. Then I did some other stuff super quick and had to leave at 9. My iliopsoas was unusually sore and somehow I got a black and blue on my shoulder (front squats?) so I hope that all clears up soon.

Military Press
bar x 5
70lbs 5 x 5

Assisted Pull-Up
-40lbs x 8, 8, 7

Flat DB Press
35’s x 10, 10, 10

Bicep Curls
20’s x 10, 10, 10

Lateral Raise
17.5’s x 10, 10, 10

DIET - High
It was my turn to choose the place for free lunch friday at work, so of course I chose sushi which made my day pretty fantastic. I love that this place makes it with brown rice too, and gives a very generous portion of fish. I make such good decisions, they should let me choose every week.

6

[quote]K11 wrote:
DIET - High
It was my turn to choose the place for free lunch friday at work, so of course I chose sushi which made my day pretty fantastic. I love that this place makes it with brown rice too, and gives a very generous portion of fish. I make such good decisions, they should let me choose every week.[/quote]

sushi makes me so happy!!

and ditto on the good decisions. If I found a situation where I could be the boss but take no responsibility for the actions of stupid co-workers, I’d be on it!

7

Hey your from CT too! Where are you located?

8

8/22/09
TRAINING
Feeling dejected today so I can’t muster up as much enthusiasm for yesterday’s successes as I would like. It was squat assist day, felt like doing some 5’s so I just worked up to 165. Then felt compelled to do front squats, and last time I did them I got 105 for 7 and 8. This time I got it for an easy 10 so went up to 115. Felt good man. D gave many accolades on my form and said my movement was so fluid, everything looked easy, and that I’ll surprise myself with how much progress I’m going to make. In light of those positive affirmations, next week I’m going to go for 135 because that would be another big visual milestone for me. I had to split up my workout because I had an early acupuncture appointment, where I got my calf and shoulder zapped. Then went back to the gym later and did an hour of cardio, romanian deadlifts, and good girl/bad girl machine. No lunges because my iliopsoas was so angry. I’ll maybe try to get in for graston this week so that can get worked on, as well as my super-angry shoulder.

Squat
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
155 x 5, 5
165 x 5

Front Squat
95 x 10
105 x 10
115 x 10, 10

Romanian Deadlift
135lbs 3 x 10

Hip Ab/Adductor
80lbs 3 x 15

DIET - Medium
I haven’t had cornish hens in awhile, so I felt kind of like a caveman getting to eat the whole bird. yummm

9

[quote]rondastarr wrote:
Hey your from CT too! Where are you located?[/quote]

Lower fairfield county, right along LI sound. Yourself?

10

[quote]K11 wrote:
rondastarr wrote:
Hey your from CT too! Where are you located?

Lower fairfield county, right along LI sound. Yourself?[/quote]

I am in Hartford county :slight_smile:

11

TRAINING
Today was supposed to be bench max day, but there was a scheduling mix up so I had no Matt. It would have been best for my schedule to squat instead, but my iliopsoas was still so angry I wanted to give it one more day, so tonight I did bench assist instead. Started off with military presses, which I should have tried to get for 75lbs this week, since I got 70lbs for 5x5 last week. I got 75 for 3, and decided there was nothing to be gained by getting just a couple reps per set with shitty form. Dropped back down to 70 until I got sick of the dumb bar and switched to DBs, which I much prefer. I felt weaker on the militaries tho…I think my head just wasn’t straight today. The rest of the workout was pretty standard, but I skipped assisted pullups and did bicep curls instead. Not at all a valid substitution, I know, but after doing the high row and hella shoulder work, I couldn’t imagine hauling my ass up and down on the machine. Key presses with the 30s were nice and easy, so maybe next time I’ll go up to 35’s. Then I did 50 mins (not an hour…boo) of precor cardio, half on lvl 8 and half on lvl 9.

Oh, I also encountered for the very first time the gym idiots people rant about. 3 skinny young guido kids standing 2 inches from the DB rack, doing a bunch of curls while making THE most constipated faces. I was mesmerized. I hope they come back…I need the lulz.

Military Press
bar x 8
75 x 3
70 x 5, 5, 4
25’s x 8, 8, 10 (DBs)

Key Press
30’s 4 x 10

High Row
80 x 10
90 x 10, 10, 10

Lateral Raises
17.5’s x 10, 10

Scaption
17.5’s x 5, 5
15’s x 10

Bicep Curls
25’s x 5
20’s x 10, 10

DIET - Med
I weighed myself this morning for shits and giggles and was 137.2 lbs. That means I lost 2.2lbs in one day, but NONE during the entirety of last week?? Haha weight is a funny thing. But that number doesn’t count, only the one I get next monday. Fingers crossed for something good.

12

Nice progress!
(I don’t know some of those exercises, though. Scaption? Key press? New fun things to try?)

13

[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Nice progress!
(I don’t know some of those exercises, though. Scaption? Key press? New fun things to try?)[/quote]

I do key presses when I don’t feel like flat benching with dumbbells or doing incline, which is most of the time. I really feel it in the triceps, and holding the bottom position is a good stretch for the pecs, as well as a good opportunity to be explosive off the bottom.

Scaption is kind of like a front raise except your arms are off to the side and thumbs are up. As far as hitting the front delts, it feels like a more natural ROM for me. There’s another exercise sometimes called scaption where you get on the ground, get on your elbows and using only your scapula, move up and down. I’d call that a scapular protraction (retraction?) though.

They are both very fun =)

14

TRAINING
Today was a very light squat assist day, because I don’t want to be useless for bench max tomorrow and retain some leg energy for intervals and squat max later in the week. So nothing really exciting to report, except that I got a rude awakening when I stretched for the first time in forever. My serratus area was tight as hell and I could barely touch my forehead to my knees. I was practically a contortionist a few weeks ago so clearly I need to get into a more regular stretching/foam rolling regimen. Oh and I also did 45 mins of precor afterwards.

Leg Press
lvl 4 x 10
lvl 6 x 10
lvl 8 x 10, 10, 10

Romanian Deadlift
135lbs 3 x 10

Hip Ab/Adductor
80lbs 3 x 15

SHELC
3 x 20

DIET - Medium

15

8/27/09

TRAINING - Bench max, week 2
…aka mental health day. I had the best of intentions throughout the day, visualized how I was going to do everything right, watching psych-up videos on youtube, etc. Got to the gym, had a good warmup, all the opening sets felt light, and then…2. I had to get at least 3. I lost all my arch, lost my tightness, and in a split second just forgot how to push.

It was beyond disastrous, and after a few moments of silence (which were very dramatic - you could feel the tension in the air), Matt gave a very direct, and very honest monologue. This is where he busts out the psychoanalysis and since this isn’t my diary I won’t go into detail, but it was quite a monologue. This does go far beyond my missing a rep goal, so believe me there was definitely a worthwhile rant to be had.

So now we’re at the end of this like, 15 minute lecture. I’m feeling totally deflated, silently hyperventilating from the stress of a confrontation, feeling like I let me and him down, and he says…NOW do it. Oh crap, how well am I going to do after 2 and 3, and feeling like a failure on top of it? But, there’s no alternative, I gotta lift this weight for at least more than 3 reps.

As I set up, he says to keep my feet back - fine with me. I get mad, start cussing, say f this weight and all that, and say to myself “this is light weight, it’s not going to feel heavy, rep it out”. I end up getting it for 6. My butt did come off the bench from the new foot placement so I can’t stand behind the integrity of those reps 100%, but I did something 6 times with 115 lbs. Moreover, I have now resolved that I can’t hold anything back, physically OR emotionally when I get to the gym.

If someone has a problem with me acting the fool to get psyched for a 115lb bench, so what. Next week I’m keeping my feet back, butt down, elbows in, belly up, and holding my damn breath.

The rest of my workout was good. I have gotten over my phobia of incline bench, even though I did it pretty light, and even did rear delt raises with 15lb DBs. I remember when I started lifting I couldn’t even do them with 2.5’s. How far I have come =).

Bench Press
bar x 10
65 x 10
85 x 5
90 x 3
100 x 3
115 x 2, 3, 6

One Arm DB Row
40 x 10
45 x 10, 10, 10

Incline Bench Press
bar x 10
65 x 10
70 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 6, 5

Bar Extensions
40lbs 4 x 10

Rear Delt Raises
12’s x 10, 10
15’s x 10, 10

Bicep DB Curls
25 → 22.5 → 20 → 17.5 → 15 and back, 5 each arm, no rest

DIET - High
I noticed I had to add in like, 30g of incidental carbs from pretzels, dressing, etc. Not good!

16

TRAINING - Squat max, week 2
Today I took one step back in hopes of being able to take two steps forward next week. Just warming up with the bar, my entire left hip flexor/groin area was in the throes of pain.

It kicked in before hitting parallel, or even depth for that matter, and it was not the kind of pain I could still be functional and push through. Second warmup set was even worse and my form was going to shit with just 95lbs, but I figured I’d put the belt on for 140 x 3 and see if that would at least help keep my form. No dice, and 140 may as well have been 200. I shut it down there. In retrospect, I COULD have just tried hitting the rep goals of 3 and not tried to rep out 180.

Would I be in any more pain right now if I didn’t? Who knows. Deadlifting hadn’t caused this kind of pain in the past, so I figured I was good to go for that. Aside from having my killer instinct dulled by the low morale, I did pretty decently. Step Ups were also a no, so I did leg press instead. Then I did an hour on the precor to fatigue my legs, since thankfully that doesn’t hurt.

I went to acupuncture right after and had my whole left side zapped, and just now finished foam rolling the entire lower region. Turns out I have a tight right hamstring so I’ll return to rolling that later tonight. I got a prescription for an MRI for my shoulder (thank goodness) so that will hopefully provide some answers.

Squat
bar x 10
95 x 10
140 x 3
160 x 0
180 x 0

Deadlift
165 x 3
190 x 3
210 x 6

Leg Press
level 6 x 10
level 8 x 10
level 9 x 10
level 10 x 10

DIET - Medium
Perhaps one my most superior discoveries is that finely shredded and steamed cabbage works just as well as pasta if you want some kind of sauce. So lunch today was cabbage + tomato sauce + chicken + parmesan. Good stuff =).

17

TRAINING - Bench max, week 3
Good day good day!! Aside from the other non-gym related wins today, I finally had a bench day I can feel good about. The new foot placement really did wonders for helping stay tight, keep my arch, and get something kind of resembling leg drive. I ended up getting 120lbs for 5 (when 1 was the goal), and had I not fallen flat on the 5th one, prob could have gotten 6. What a change from last week! This was a rep PR for 120, AND while I’m significantly lighter and more injured than last time I handled anything kinda heavy, haha. So that was awesome. Next, Matt gave me a lesson in warming up because apparently I know nothing about that subject, so now I have a new regimen of bike + foam roller + stretching for like, 20 mins before I touch a barbell. Military press will also be done from now on according to the 5/3/1 rep scheme.

The rest of training was also pretty awesome. One arm DB rows with the 45’s felt pretty light (prob because I was in such a good frame of mind) so I went for the 50’s (PR!). I also used 15’s for all 4 sets of rear delt raises (PR!) and since my gym got new DBs, I started my bicep curl megaset with 27.5’s (PR!). Afterwards I did 50 mins of cardio on the precor. So much win today!

Bench Press
bar x 10
65 x 10
85 x 5
95 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 5

One Arm DB Row
40 x 10
45 x 10, 10
50 x 10

Incline Bench
75 x 10, 10, 10, 8

Skullcrushers
40lbs 4 x 10

Rear Delt Raises
15’s 4 x 10

Bicep Curls
27.5 → 25 → 22.5 → 20 → 17.5 → 15 5 each arm

DIET - Medium
I lost 2.9 lbs last week, wow! I did cut out most of my sodium last night in anticipation of today’s weigh-in so I won’t say I lost 3 lbs of fat, but SOMETHING definitely went bye bye around my ass and hips. Good way to start the week =).

18

TRAINING
I didn’t go to the gym for 3 days straight this week - Tues, Wed, and Thurs. No lifting, no cardio. Absolutely ridiculous. I haven’t missed a single day in months. Last time I did anything upper body was Monday, and last time I squatted was…I don’t even remember.

Yesterday I did double sessions of cardio since I got out of work early, and was pleased that my precor performance wasn’t any worse. That’s usually a pretty good indicator of my lower body strength, but I guess we’ll see next time I squat (Tuesday, hopefully). I don’t like missing days, and I definitely don’t like being injured when I make it back.

Anyway, today was bench assist day. It got off to a sucky start, as I could barely clean the 70lb bar, and once it was up there, whatever I did hardly resembled a military press. So I switched to 30lb DBs…also frickin hard.

I ended up using the 25’s and died a little inside. Key presses went ok, assisted pullups were nothing special, high row was ok, and lateral raise/scaption were ok. However I was noticeably weaker, and in the future I will not leave 6 days between upper body.

Next I went to graston, where I had a wonderfully painful and productive session, as usual. We worked on my shoulder and got it a little more mobile, but there is still major impingement around the AC joint. Then we did the hip, and Tom did all the stretches for me since I hate doing them myself.

I’m so lazy. He said it only takes 17hrs for muscles to atrophy from disuse (aside from sleeping, general every day movement, etc). Basically, if I sit on my butt for 3 days straight and don’t lift anything heavy for almost a week, I’m screwed, and this was readily apparent today. I hope I get back to 100% soon.

Then I went BACK to the gym for an hour of cardio and finally ate PWO around 1:30. What a full day.

Military Press
50 x 10 (bar)
70 x 5 (bar)
30’s x 5 (DB)
25’s x 10, 10, 8 (DB)

Key Press
30’s 4 x 10

Assisted Pull-Up
-50 x 10, 10, 8

Lateral Raise
17.5’s 3 x 10

Scaption
15’s 3 x 10

Bicep Curls
20lbs 3 x 5

DIET - Low?