Lifting with the Stricks

Training Over 35 Lifter
661

[quote]LittleStrick wrote:

Bulldog, I’m not sure what you are apologizing for. Unless you are pointing out that I don’t have the biggest arms in the gym. Because I do! But only because MrsS is the only other person in the gym…lol. This is one of those places where long arms suck!

[/quote]
I didn’t proof read what I had posted. When I got around to doing so ,I found that it was a mess. To the point I even had to decipher what I had written.

Yeah you might want to put some focus on some arm hypertrophy. Because the the way your wife’s going shes going to have more impressive pipes then you…(JOKING)

662

[quote]PeteS wrote:
awesome stuff here Strick and Mrs Strick

Regarding the diet limitations, it sucks eating clean and lower carb, but guessing you are like me, it is necessary. My wife has also joined in on that for most food choices. We usually cook up several pounds of flank, sirloin, and chicken breasts every Sunday. Mix and combine with different frozen veggies or salads, also another god send is low carb tortillas for wraps, tacos, fajitas. All of the kids’ foods get put in the basement fridge because one week moment and a batch of mac and chesse can be gone, lol. Also keep around cottage cheese, low fat cheese sticks, etc[/quote]

Pete, that is a great idea and one that we plan on incorporating to some degree. MrsS does not eat a lot of carbs. But we usually have something carby for the kids. And we really need to expand our menu. Eating the same thing over and over gets old, as I am sure you know.

What I have been trying to do with my carbs, and it seems to help me, is to save tham for the latter half of the meal. I can eat meat and veggies until my IAP feels like I am wearign a weight belt, but I will still feel unsated and be craving. If I hold off on the carbs (I try to avoid bread, but stick with potatoes, corn, etc…), I can eat them slowly and tell when that craving goes away. I usually never finish the serving. That makes it a lot easier.

My typical day involves almost no carbs until lunch. Eggs and bacon, or sausage, for breakfast. Salami sticks and/or cheese, roasted peanuts and an orange, as snacks, throughout the day. Limit of 1 orange, for the fiber, vitamin C and a little sweetness. Supper is usually like lunch…meat, veggies, and just enough carbs to curb the craving. Of course, any protein shakes I have are made with milk, as water based shake make me want to puke. So, I do get the sugars from that and post workout, the Surge carries its share. But any meal, on a Surge night, I eat no other carbs, other than maybe a serving of green veggies.

As long as I get enough carbs to curb the craving, i am good. And the craving diminishes over time. Even though I have never been able to hit really low carb without crashing. But I don’t seem to need to.

663

Steve, that sounds good. Very good, actually. And that would likely make the chicken palatable.

Boring ass chicken…blah!

664

Bulldog, I knew what you meant. Maybe that means that I am a mess? I am sure that MrsS would agree.

I definitely need some arm size. They are not small, but neither do they “jump” out at you. In my vanity, I want to LOOK strong, as well as feel it.

665

Strick, bear in mind that your shoulders are pretty good sized, they might be making you think your arms are smaller than they are.

That’s a good strict diet. Kinda surprising you don’t have a bodybuilder physique by now.

666

Glad to hear your shoulders don’t hurt any more.

667

[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Bulldog, I knew what you meant. Maybe that means that I am a mess? I am sure that MrsS would agree.

I definitely need some arm size. They are not small, but neither do they “jump” out at you. In my vanity, I want to LOOK strong, as well as feel it.[/quote]

I get what you mean. That’s always been a pet peeve of mine to a small degree. Ive always been bugged by the fact that people will respect someone who has a pair of arms that jump out. Even if that person in all reality might be weak as piss or have a set of legs the same size as there arms. Oh well that’s how it is.

668

Thanks all.

Shoulders — MrsS is going to post her own.

Military Press
barx20
95x10
135x5
185x5
205x3
225x3
245x1
265x1 - stopped here, as I was having pain issues on the inside of my right elbow. Shoulder felt better, but they both feel really tight.

BB Shrugs
225x20
315x15
405x10x3

1-arm Laterals
50x10x3

Reverse Flyes
40x10x5

Incline DB Upright Rows - chest into the bench - these were awkward
40x8x2

DB Laterals
40x8x2

Definitely felt this in the shoulders. I should have stayed lighter on the MPs, but it is hard to mot try to keep the weight up. I don’t want to go backwards.

Got the kid’s pool up and running, yesterday. They were in it for about 5 hours. They spent 4 or 5 hours in it today. I think that a bit of time in it would do me some good…if I could get in it without immediately being attacked and held onto and dealing with "throw me"s, etc… I guess it’ll just have to b e good for them…lol.

669

[quote]bulldog9899 wrote:
Yeah you might want to put some focus on some arm hypertrophy. Because the the way your wife’s going shes going to have more impressive pipes then you…(JOKING)

[/quote]
Yes! That’s my goal. To get big/strong enough to take him down. The fact that he is twice my size won’t matter, right? :slight_smile:

670

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:

I’d be asking a lot of questions that’s for sure.

I love that you are keeping this log together and it’s great to have another woman around. Thanks for joining us MrsS.
[/quote]
Thank you! I like being here. Everyone IRL thinks I’m nuts for doing this and having so much fun with it!

671

Today’s workout was fun. Last one I was feeling off and didn’t want to be in there, but today I was looking forward to it.

MP
45x8
65x3
80x5x3 PR +1 rep
80x4
80x3

Last week I got 80x 3 or 4 for all 5 sets (except one set when I completely blew it and got it once). I like seeing poof that I am improving!

Reverse Flies
15x8x4

Laterals
15x8x4

Shrugs
135x10x3
First time I’ve ever done these. I always have pain/tightness in my traps, and I don’t think I liked this very much. But I’ll keep up with them, maybe they’ll actually help in the long run.

DB Upright Rows
15x8x3

My shoulders were all nicely burny afterward. I like the workouts where I feel like I’ve actually done something.

672

MrsS, have you ever tried overhead shrugs? (using much less weight of course, probably an empty bar to start) They’ve really helped me stetch & loosen my whole shoulder girdle area. I do them randomly throughout the day with just my arms to help get the blood moving.

I stole the idea from an article I can link for you guys if you’re interested in reading all the mumbo-jumbo behind why they’re good for you.

673

PG, not to answer for her, but that sounds like a great idea. I will start using them to help with the tightness.

674

I do paused DB shrugs rather than BB shrugs because I want my weaker shoulder to have to do its share of the work. I just continue to marvel at how far you’ve come so fast, Mrs. S.

675

[quote]kpsnap wrote:
I do paused DB shrugs rather than BB shrugs because I want my weaker shoulder to have to do its share of the work. I just continue to marvel at how far you’ve come so fast, Mrs. S.[/quote]
That sounds like an excellent idea. I know my left arm isn’t as strong as my right. As for my progress, I still maintain that I’m kind of cheating. I used to weigh about 180lbs more than I do right now, so my muscles were used to being under a much heavier load. By working out I’m just reminding them what they can do. It is great through, feeling and seeing progress. Things that were heavy just a couple of months ago just don’t feel that way anymore.

[quote]punnyguy wrote:
MrsS, have you ever tried overhead shrugs? (using much less weight of course, probably an empty bar to start) They’ve really helped me stetch & loosen my whole shoulder girdle area. I do them randomly throughout the day with just my arms to help get the blood moving.

I stole the idea from an article I can link for you guys if you’re interested in reading all the mumbo-jumbo behind why they’re good for you.[/quote]
I haven’t done them, but I am totally willing to try it! I think I’ve also decided that part of my problem is my pillow. It always hurts worst at night and first thing in the morning. It’s an easily addressed problem though!

676

Squats night! My very favorite of all my workouts. I enjoy doing squats, even though I’m not moving as much weight as I’d like to be with them. And then the leg extensions and goblet squats lead to wonderfully wobbly legs and great DOMs :slight_smile:

Squats - back to the 5x5
barx8
75x5
105x3
125x5x5 PR + 4 reps

I went down faster than I have been on these, probably too fast. I don’t know if I would have gotten the entire 5x5 had I gone slow, but I will continue to work on that.

Leg Extensions
45x10x4 - I’ll go up in weight on these next time. They were a bit too easy.

Goblet Squats
34x10x4

I purposely went as slow and deep as I could, to work on my fast descent problem on regular squats. By the time I was done, my legs were jello. Then I had to go up and down the stairs to get the kids ready for bed. By the time I was coming down for the last time I was seriously considering kicking whoever invented the concept of 2 story houses, except that would mean I’d have to move my legs. :slight_smile:

677

[quote]MrsS wrote:
I used to weigh about 180lbs more than I do right now [/quote]

Woah! Hold on there. That is pure awesome! This was probably mentioned before but I obviously missed it.

Your training and enthusiasm are fun to watch.

678

[quote]giterdone wrote:

[quote]MrsS wrote:
I used to weigh about 180lbs more than I do right now [/quote]

Woah! Hold on there. That is pure awesome! This was probably mentioned before but I obviously missed it.

Your training and enthusiasm are fun to watch.
[/quote]
I hadn’t missed it. That’s one of the reasons I find you such an amazing success story.

679

Legs

I have been playing with the speed of my deads. The sets at 135#, 225# and 315# are all pretty damned fast. Weight goes up, on the way down I let it tap the floor, then right back up. The heavier weights don’t feel as heavy when my warmup sets are done at a more rapid pace.
Also, threw in Goblet? squats. I put in the question mark because I don’t have any DBs over 65#. So, I hugged 2 45# plates. These still count as Goblet?
It was too light, though. I think I will TRY to hug 3 45# plates next time. Hopefully I don’t drop one…or all of them. I do like the movement, though.

Deads
135x10
225x5
315x5
365x5
405x5x2
405x3 - back really starting to fatigue. All sets were touch and go while trying to minimize bounce at the floor.

Goblet Squats - 2 - 45# plates - will try 3 plates next time.
90x10x4

The goblets put some fatigue in my legs, though the weight was too light. Not bad for a 1st go, though.

MrsS did wonderfully, as she has already mentioned. Her descent was a tad fast, but not divebombing them. 5 or 10 more pounds on the bar and she still would have gotten the 5x5. She is tearing it up!

And thanks to all of you for the encouragement you have given her. It does make a difference.

680

[quote]MrsS wrote:

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:

I’d be asking a lot of questions that’s for sure.

I love that you are keeping this log together and it’s great to have another woman around. Thanks for joining us MrsS.
[/quote]
Thank you! I like being here. Everyone IRL thinks I’m nuts for doing this and having so much fun with it!

[/quote]

People may think you’re crazy but once they notice how much better you look, it won’t seem so crazy. I don’t mean just looking better by being leaner etc. I started looking better when I found something that really lit me up. Plus it seems to give me nicer skin.