PL in My Future?

Training Over 35 Lifter
21

Tuesday 6/24

warm-up, stretch, hip ROM

Squats (warm-up)
45x7
65x5
85x5
105x5

work sets:
115x5,5,5
120x5,5

This is pathetic. I believe these were to parallel, but they were a bit of a struggle. I of course could have done quarter squats with heavier weight! :wink: Oh well, I have to start somewhere. I’m hoping to get video soon to make sure my form and depth are good.

Front squat
50x5
70x5
80x5
90x5

Leg Extension
70x8
80x10
90x7,8

BSS with two 17.5 lb. DB
8,10,10

decline situps
20,15,15

stand calf raise
100x12
120x12
140x10

more abs…

Wed. 6/25

walk 1/2 mile
run 2 miles

stretch

22

Compete! It’s maybe the best way to get motivated and goal setting is the way to push yourself to greater abilities. You have a solid foundation and everyone’s advice about the 5 x 5 programs is spot on. There are a million effective programs but the best thing is to stick to one that works for you for several years if not more. If you’d like a good read try Squat Every Day, I found it very informative about the most important part of lifting, your mind. Onwards and Upwards! Go get it.

23

[quote]gorillavanilla wrote:
Compete! It’s maybe the best way to get motivated and goal setting is the way to push yourself to greater abilities. You have a solid foundation and everyone’s advice about the 5 x 5 programs is spot on. There are a million effective programs but the best thing is to stick to one that works for you for several years if not more. If you’d like a good read try Squat Every Day, I found it very informative about the most important part of lifting, your mind. Onwards and Upwards! Go get it.[/quote]

Thanks Gorilla! I am hoping to compete. I just have to find a meet that works with the family schedule. I’ll have to check out Squat Every Day, it sounds interesting for sure!

24

My oldest daughter asked me a few months ago to take her to the gym with me, but gym rules wouldn’t let her work out til she was 14. Yesterday she came with me for the first time, and I’m super proud of her. Took her through a basic full body routine (chins, bench, squats, lunges, leg press, wide grip pull downs, and abs) and she did awesome!

It slowed my workout a bit, but I got a few good sets in.

6/26/14

warm-up, stretch, Shoulder ROM

Bench
45x10
65x5
85x6
105x5
120x5

pull-ups
7, 5, 6, 6, 6

wide grip pull down (wgpd)
90 x 10
100 x 10, 10

bent over bb row
45 x 10
55 x 7
65 x 5
75 x 5
95 x 5

I’ve never done bb row before. It was cool to feel different muscles working!

ABS

Concept 2 rower

2K steady row
2.24.4 ave/500m
9:37.7 min.

6/27/14

Had a great workout today. Even though I wish my numbers were higher, everything felt good.

warm-up, stretch, hip ROM

RDL
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5

Conv. DL
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 3
175 x 8

Squat
45 x 5
75 x 5
95 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5

lying leg curl
60 x 10, 10, 10

seated calf raise
25 x 15
35 x 10, 15

ABS

Week one is over, and I’m already ready for Monday! I hope to stop in to some of your logs, say hi and see what y’all are all up to.

Have a good weekend everyone!

25

Good to get your daughter in the gym. My daughter sometimes joins me in my garage gym for some very light lifts, she’s 4. She loves to swings with a 5 lbs kettlebell and she does curls, lateral raises, front raises with 1/2 pound plates.

She also likes to do hanging knee raises for sets of 3-5. I’m trying to get her to do a pull up but that will take a while. It’s very rewarding to spend time with her having fun and doing(sort of) what I’m doing.

26

Had to miss Monday’s workout because I was at the vet all afternoon with our (almost) 12 year old Springer Spaniel who was in severe respiratory distress. He is okay now, but stress is high due to potentially high surgical costs or living with the consequences of no surgery. Between a rock and a hard place is not fun.

Nevertheless, managed to get in a partial Monday workout today with my daughter in tow.

Tuesday, July 1

warm-up

Bench
45 x 7
80 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
125 x 3
115 x 5

Decline Bench
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 5
100 x 5
115 x 5

WGPD
96 2/3 x 10, 10, 10

ABS

An hour and a half is not enough time to get in a proper workout, and coach your 14 year old daughter for her second time in the gym with a hard deadline in order to get to a meeting on time. Ah well, I will strive to make up for it in my next three workouts. At the very least, a bit of stress was relieved (if only temporarily) by pushing some iron around.

27

Wed. 7/2

warm-up, stretch

Squats
BW x 10
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 5
140 x 3
115 x 8

Front Squat
65 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 5, 5

Full ATG Pistols
8, 8, 8

Leg Extension
80 x 10
90 x 8, 8, 8

Standing Calf
120 x 12
140 x 12, 10, 10

Decline situps
20, 15, 15

Jog 40 yards x 8

75% effort run 40 yds x 5

Sprint 40 yds x 5

Thursday 7/3

warm-up, stretch, Shoulder ROM

pull-ups
8, 8, 6, 6, 6

Bench
65 x 6
80 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
130 x 5

I had my daughter video the set at 115. If I can figure out how to load it, I’ll do so, but may have to put it in a separate post.

Military Press
45 x 10
55 x 8
65 x 6, 6

Machine Chest press
95 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 10, 10

Bent over BB row
45 x 10
55 x 6
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 5
75 x 5

Dec. situps
15, 15, 15

28

late on the welcome but here it is anyway - Welcome!!! I started PL when I was 42, and it looks like you have a good base to start. I am now lifting multiply but started out raw to build the base and then progressed from there. I keep trying to get my soon to be 17 y/o daughter to lift, but so far, no go…

29

[quote]lil power wrote:
late on the welcome but here it is anyway - Welcome!!! I started PL when I was 42, and it looks like you have a good base to start. I am now lifting multiply but started out raw to build the base and then progressed from there. I keep trying to get my soon to be 17 y/o daughter to lift, but so far, no go…[/quote]

Thanks for the welcome! Love the videos in your log, I’m hoping to get some of my own up soon. I think with the kids, especially teens, it has to be their idea unfortunately… Definitely keep telling and showing her all the benefits that go with lifting though, maybe it will sink in eventually!

30

Really wanted to post this workout with the vid’s I took, but it just isn’t to be. Kids come before mastering new technology…

Friday 7/4

warm-up, stretch, hip ROM

(a bit stiff and sore today)

RDL
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 5

Conv. DL
120 x 5
140 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 5
200 x 5
215 x 3
185 x 5

These all felt good once I finally worked out the kinks.

Squats
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 5

Watching the video, I’m definitely getting to parallel or even below, but I had to laugh at myself as I watched me finish each rep with a very definite hip thrust forward to bring my hips in line with my shoulders and knees as I had been taught years ago. It was very comical. Gonna have to tone that down some unless I want to just embarrass myself here or at a meet.

lying leg curl
60 x 10, 10, 10

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

31

Monday 7/7/14

warm-up, stretch, SH ROM

Bench
45x10
65x6
85x6
105x5
120x5
135x5 was only supposed to do 3
115x5? did at least 5, was supposed to do 8, but not sure how many I did.

All sets felt good and finished strong. I worked at 135, but maybe still had a couple reps in the tank. This set and rep scheme is from numbers I put into a Bill Starr 5x5 calculator. I’m tweaking it a bit, because I’m working out 4 days a week, not 3. The 3 day program calls for 3 days of squatting (I’m only doing 2 days right now), and 2 days of (flat) benching with incline bench between. I’m benching 2x a week, but including incline on the 1st bench day. I have increased my weight every session since the first week (this is the start of the 3rd week).

These weights don’t feel easy per se, but I wonder if I should be pushing more weight if I’m able to, or if it’s supposed to be somewhat easy now, because the weights are going to increase substantially later. I don’t know, I just looked through the rest of the prescribed 12 week program and I think maybe I set my bench weights too low. I think I will continue to up my weights from what is “prescribed” until I get stuck.

Decline Bench
45x10
75x5
95x5
105x5 (should have gone to 115, this was too easy)
115x 5, 5 (this should have been higher, next week it will be)

Incline Bench
45x10
65x5
85x5, (maybe another set with 5 reps, but not sure)
95x5, 5

this weight was about right. I was getting tired. Maybe could have done a bit more, next week I’ll increase the weight a bit.

Dips
10, 10, 10

I can’t believe I did 3 sets of 10. I used to do dips first when I was freshest, but haven’t done 3 sets of 10 in a long time. Maybe I am getting stronger!

Abs…

32

Limited on time today, but very emotionally fueled.

Tuesday, 7/8/14

Warm-up, stretch, Hip ROM

Both squat racks were being used (both by women-yay!) so had to kill time…

Leg Press
90 x 7, 7, 7

Squat
45x10
70x5
90x5
110x5
130x5
145x3 (Bodyweight reps!)
150x3
135x6 (I lost my concentration at the bottom of the last rep and the guy behind me asked if I was having a party down there. At least I didn’t have to bail on it. Pausing is better than bouncing isn’t it?)

Pull-ups weren’t in the prescribed workout, but they always make me feel better when I need to burn off steam so…

WG full extension pull-ups
8, 8, 6

(supersetted with)

Walking lunges
25# db’s x 15, 15, 12 (each set was per leg)

ABS…

Tomorrow is rest or cardio. Night y’all.

33

It’s nice to see families that lift. My 16 year old son is finally getting into it. Mostly for football. My daughter is 12. She’s been dying to go, but I wont let her yet. She’s a very gifted athlete, so when she is old enough I’ll help her out too.

34

[quote]Crippler56 wrote:
It’s nice to see families that lift. My 16 year old son is finally getting into it. Mostly for football. My daughter is 12. She’s been dying to go, but I wont let her yet. She’s a very gifted athlete, so when she is old enough I’ll help her out too. [/quote]

Thanks Crippler! Next time she asks, you could always give your daughter some basic BW stuff to start with at home, unless she is already getting that from her sports. BW squats, pushups, pullups and ab stuff. I took for granted my own core strength when I started training my daughter, and realized she doesn’t quite have a solid core.

Plus getting her form correct on BW squats will go a long way towards having that muscle memory ingrained correctly when she starts adding weight in a few years. It just has to stay fun for now and only when she wants to!

35

Thursday 7/10/14

Warm-up, stretch, SH ROM

Bench warm-up
45x5, 65x6, 75x5

work sets
95x5
115x5

145x1 (WTH?? Oh, I was only supposed to add 15 lbs. total, not 15 to each side!)

130x5, 5, 5 (ok, that’s better, but didn’t want to work any higher without a spot)

Full extension Chin-ups (sup grip)
10, 7, 8

supersetted with:

feet elevated push-ups
12, 12, 12

Bent over BB row
45x8
65x6
75x5
85x5
95x5

Stand BB OH press
45x5
55x5
65x5,5

ABS

36

Love super setting any pushing movement with chins or pull ups…nice work!

37

[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Love super setting any pushing movement with chins or pull ups…nice work![/quote]

Thanks Matty. Usually I superset my chins or pull-ups with bench, but I’ve been trying to work harder with my bench, and didn’t want the chins to take away from bench so decided on push-ups this time.

38

Bummed that I had to skip my DL workout Friday because of kid obligations, but watched my first PL competition today, and am equally petrified and excited about doing one myself.

I had thought I might get my feet wet with a Bench only entry at a meet near the end of August, but I would definitely compete Raw, and am not sure whether this would really be a good meet for me. The entry form says the following:

“You may lift in one or two divisions of the bench press or dead lift or both. YOU MUST INDICATE ON THIS ENTRY WHETHER YOU WILL BE LIFTING SINGLE-PLY OR DOUBLE-PLY IN THE BENCH PRESS. You must choose one or the other for the competition. You may not choose one for one division and the other for a second division. WABDL doesnâ??t keep â??rawâ?? records, but you may lift â??rawâ?? for trophies and not compete against suited lifters. Any records count as single-ply records.”

Does anyone have thoughts on lifting Raw at a WABDL meet? (Especially with regards to it being their first meet?)

On the other hand, there is a small, local meet I might still be able to sign up for in exactly 3 weeks. I’ve only been “PL” training for 3 weeks, and don’t even have a lifting suit, let alone really know what I’m doing.

So my choices are competing Raw with no records kept at the upcoming WABDL meet, doing a small local meet that is only 3 weeks away, or probably waiting until next spring before competing.

Any seasoned advice would be appreciated.

39

Monday 7/14

Was chomping at the bit to get in the gym Saturday and Sunday (but couldn’t) and had to drag my butt in today. Thankfully felt much better once I got there.

warm-up, stretch, SH ROM

Bench
45x10
65x5
85x5
105x5
120x5
135x5
145x4

Was hoping for 5, but had to get help on the last rep. My spotter said he was only helping like 5%, but it felt like more. After we had a short discussion about the mental aspect of almost failing a rep and getting help, I believe him, plus he’s a very seasoned lifter and I trust his judgement. Since I’ve never pushed myself to my max before, (because I’ve never trained with a spotter) this was the first time I’ve ever failed a rep. It was actually kind of cool to know I had pushed that hard. Anyway, onward we go…

Incline Bench
45x7
65x7
85x5
95x5
105x5

Decline Bench
65x5
85x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Dips x 10, 10, 10
(full range of motion, BW)

Abs

Tuesday, 7/15

Was supposed to be main squat day, but since I missed deads last week, decided to do that workout instead.

RDL
45x10
65x5
85x5
105x5
120x5

Conventional DL (double overhand grip)

135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
215x3
225x1

Squats
45x6
65x5
85x5
105x5
125x5, 5, 5

My squats are weak! I was tired after the DL’s, but still… these need work. I’m not even convinced I hit depth on the last 3 sets. Oh well…

ABS

Done!

40

Thursday, 7/17

Warm-up, stretch, SH ROM

Bench
45x10
65x5
85x5
105x5
125x5,5,5

Ugh, weights felt heavy today

Pull-ups
8, 8

Bent over BB Row
45x10
65x5
85x5
95x5

ABS

Not the best session, but I guess it’s better than no session. Hopefully squats on Saturday will be better.