Thanks for the advice, my hips are kind of tight. Also, it never hurts to work on glute activation and hip drive.
Jog again. As I was jogging, I felt the familiar mental stirrings I remembered from when I used to jog regularly. This process usually kicks in at around 5 minutes. I have carefully analyzed this curious occurrence and identified it as “thinking.” Not much room for that during heavy squat sets.
Anyway, this is what my idle brain began to reflect on to fight the boredom…
What of front squats? Should I do these? And when?
What of sumo deadlifts? I’d like to integrate them. Is there room for them in my life?
Also, damn, my neck is tight. What can I do to remedy this?
I guess I have my research cut out for me for today…
Then, my mind progressed to the slightly more philosophical. How did I get here? How is it that I’ve pushed myself even to this point? This kind of determination and focus was completely unprecedented in my childhood and adolescence. I’ve become a completely different person. I came out of my jog feeling positive and refreshed. I really shouldn’t skip the cardio sessions, because they give me time to boost my own morale which is invaluable to my training.
tight neck:
How long has this been going on ?
Since you are so new to lifting i have found that females traps and neck take a massive beating when they first start (especally the weights your tossing around) they body will find anyway possible to get the lift done. do everything you can to strengthen your lower traps (rows, chins ect) this will help support the neck and traps so to speak. Get massage work and strech your chest and pecs. I know this is tuff advice but take some weight of the bar for awhile and allow your body a chance to get used to straining.
front squats: are good they def have there place. I like to use them for teaching squat and assitance work. i would stay away from them while you neck is tight for they put extra stress on that area especally if you do them arms crossed in front. For now i would do back foot elevated lunges in stead or reverse lunges.
sumo dealifts: would be awesome for you they would really help your squat. It forces you to bring your hips.
I would start off light using them for assitance work until you master them. then you can switch back and forth between sumo on conventional every few weeks.
good job on how far you have come. Determination is a great thing if applied properly, for example there is a door in front of you, you are determined to get through it you begin smashing into it over and over. Oh a door knob maybe I should just open it and walk through.
1x5 @153lbs
1x5 @163lbs
1x13 @173lbs (PR)
Forgot my digital camera. I was gonna film it so ya’ll could check my deadlift form. Oh well, next week.
Bent over dumbell rows-
4x6 @50lbs
Backed off a little in weight here. I want to make sure I’m really using my upper back here and not cheating the reps.
bbb deadlifts
3x10 @130lbs
My lower back was really inflamed and pissy so I didn’t go for those last two sets. Again, backing off here because I don’t want my accessory stuff to get in the way of my recovery.
1x6 bw chins
I really got fatigued today. I don’t know why. I feel great now though, almost as if I didn’t just deadlift.
5/5/5 Squat day
Squats:
1x5 @165lbs
1x5 @175lbs
1x9 @185lbs
*I took a video of my working set that I’ll post later.
Deadlifts
5x10 @120lbs
Reverse grip curls
5x10 @35lbs
I was going to do interval crunches, but I didn’t…ok now for a delicious Thai curry.
*I was planned on completing 10 reps, but I’m happy with 9. Odd thing happened, after the 8th rep I literally felt like I was going to project my oats all over the mirror. Which would be fine if the nausea was a result of me challenging myself. I sometimes feel like horking when I’m doing high volume squat work, but I think today I just ate way too much before coming in. Oh well, learned my lesson, won’t do it next week.
Pull-ups
1x5 @bw
add 5lbs dumbbell
1x5
2x4
Chin-up
1x6
2x5
*Last week, during my deload week, I did chin-ups for my working set and used the weight belt which I realize weighs like 2lbs and has like a 3lb chain on it. I can manage that + more weight with chins, but my pull-ups just aren’t there yet so I get to swing a dumbbell around between my feet like a monkey instead of looking even more ridiculous wearing a weight belt with no weight on it. I’m aware that’s a run-on, and I refuse to fix it.
BBB OHP
3x10 @60lbs
1x7 @60lbs
Planned on 5 sets of 10…I didn’t finish because my work-out was running a little long for my liking, and I would be better off getting home and getting my shake. My focus right now is on pushing my 4 main lifts up and it got to the point today where I felt like I would meet this objective better by going home and starting to recover.
Very nice! I’m a little envious, I must admit - you get good depth without losing your arch. You look as though you’re holding your breath a few times there - watch you don’t pass out eh?
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
You look as though you’re holding your breath a few times there - watch you don’t pass out eh?[/quote]
Its kind of uncomfortable to look at, isn’t it? I think I need to work on my breathing technique, but I really don’t know how to go about doing that. I don’t know why I gulp air like that, but it doesn’t seem like a very efficient way to be breathing.
[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
whoever is running the camera should be shot. solid squats.[/quote]
I just think he needs a hearty beating with a large stick. If I shoot him, he may have to be hospitalized and then I’ll have nobody to take my video. I always worry when leaving my camera somewhere while I’m recording my sets. I feel like one of the idiots at my gym will sit on it or hit it with a 10lb dumbbell they happen to be swinging around.
Yeah, I balanced mine on a radiator last time and an instructor knocked it off and caused a scratch on the case. Safer to have someone do it, all things considered.
I had a dream about swimming last night. I was much faster and better at it than I probably am in reality. Maybe I should just suck it up and get in the murky gym pool and swim. I really miss it.
Woke up and figured I should probably do some cardio. I did something slightly different today. I am usually not very creative when it comes to cardio, and I don’t like to work that hard. I decided to change that attitude because I would actually like to improve my cardiovascular endurance and make my respiratory system more efficient rather than just stagnating.
I took a 5 min. warm-up jog then 5 min at a slightly faster but still slow pace. Then 3min at a fast (for me) pace. I repeated that 3 times. It was more challenging than what I’m used to which is just jogging slowly for 20min, so I guess that’s a start.
*Made a video of my working set-will post later!!! My deadlifts are kind of weak for what I would expect at this point…exactly the same as my squats now, which doesn’t seem…right…hmmmm
I think its because I have an advantage in the way I’m proportioned when it comes to squats, so I just “get” them. Deadlift form has been a little harder for me to hammer into my thick-headed CNS, but I’ve improved a lot recently, form-wise, now I just have to bust my back and ass(literally) to get the weight up.
and walk through.