Hey girl! For some reason, I didn’t see your thread before, otherwise I would have popped in to say hello and offer some encouragement!! (Maybe we’ve been too busy with the red-headed sluts, no? LOL). Great benching and training all around 
I’ve been so busy myself, that I’ve been slacking… coming here and to see Masch’s progress really gets me inspired! And on the husband subject, I agree with everyone else… no need to trick that lucky bastard bcuz you’re just beautiful
[quote]RBlue wrote:
Today’s training:
(1) Bench Press 3x5,3,1
75% = 110 lbs x5
85% = 125 lbs x3
95% = 140 lbs x5 !!
I’m thinking I want to test my 1RMs after my deload week. Not sure if I should test one lift a day, and follow the same daily schedule I’ve been on, or test all 4 lifts (squat, bench, deadlift and OHP) in one day. What do you guys think?
[/quote]
RBlue,
Sorry I am little late on the reply. It’s great to see you running Wendler’s 5/3/1. It’s truly a great strength program that allows for consistent progress and enough variety in the assistance work to meet your specific goals/prevent boredom/burnout. I ran 9 cycles of 5/3/1 with great success (many PRs/no injuries). I’ve only stopped it recently to learn Olympic lifting.
I would agree with the others that you should test your maxes on different days if this is how you’ve been training them.
Regarding the deload before maxes - what I ended up doing was to do the 3x5 week, then 3x3, THEN deload, and then 5/3/1 (do your 5@75,3*85/1@95, and keeping doing singles until you max out.) You may do well with a deload after the 5/3/1 week then test.
May I ask how long you’ve been running 5/3/1? I ask because my understanding is that 5/3/1 is not set up to be testing 1 RM too soon or too frequently.
Best wishes - happy training!
about these bands to use for chins…can someone provide me some info on my log…like what kind to get, and how the heck to USE THEM??
or I can look it up myself 
[quote]Hot Tamale wrote:
I’ve been so busy myself, that I’ve been slacking… coming here and to see Masch’s progress really gets me inspired! A[/quote]
I actually pay Tamale to say this (in sexual favors).
And in the same vein, Blue, your workouts inspire me! Great work on everything - especially the chins! I’ll catch up to you soon enough missy.
RBlue;
Just hopped on the bandwangon - can’t say I read all 17 pages, but I did see enough to know you can move some iron - nice! I heart deadlifts; I can do them but not squats, strange but true.
So what did you NOT like about competing? Also, incase you didn’t see my reply on my journal, who did your suit? What color is that?
I’m late and need to head out to work - will reply to everyone as soon as I get the chance!
In the meantime, Hi everyone!
Hot Tamale - Hi! Glad you found my log and stopped in. You’re very sweet, thanks for the compliments! Those red-headed sluts sure are tasty, but the hangover’s a bitch. 
NewWorldMan - Thanks for stopping in, and thanks for the input regarding 5/3/1 and 1RM testing. I’ve been running 5/3/1 for 4 cycles now. Do you think that’s too soon to be testing my maxes? Also, I checked out your training log, nice work! Oly lifting is so technical and challenging - how are you enjoying the training?
MiM - I got my bands from ironwoody.com. To use them for assisted chin/pull-ups, you choke the band around the bar, then hook your knee or foot into the loop of the band. There are lots of other uses for them too, but I mainly use them for the assisted chins and band leg curls.
Masch - HT’s sure got a sweet deal going with you! Thank you! I think we’re pretty much neck & neck on the chins, and all your numbers are looking really good. Plus you’re a goal-scoring machine, so rock on sister!
Spirited - Glad you dropped in! You’ve had some back problems, right? Is that why you have trouble squatting? I heart deadlifts too.
What did I not like about competing? For one, I was SUPER nervous being up on stage. Dieting sucks. Plus, the particular show I did, the head judge decided to turn into even MORE of a T&A show/beauty pageant than figure normally is. They changed the posing rules on us the night before the show - the head judge told us to stand onstage as if we were waiting in line for a bus. He gave the competitors a speech the morning of about how they weren’t looking for the most conditioned girl (yes, he called us ‘girls’ the whole time), and the winner of the show wouldn’t be the girl who worked the hardest.
The woman who won the overall, tall class, and masters was beautiful, yes. And someone certainly worked hard to pay for her breasts. But she didn’t look like she set foot in a gym, beyond maybe a group fitness class, and the cardio machines. She did have the advantage of working with a well-known trainer, who was a major sponsor of the event, and who trained 75% of the competitors who placed at that show. She’s now an IFBB pro, and made a rather remarkable transformation in less than a year.
Overall, that show experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
No training the past few days - work and life getting in the way. Grrr.
[quote]RBlue wrote:
NewWorldMan - Thanks for stopping in, and thanks for the input regarding 5/3/1 and 1RM testing. I’ve been running 5/3/1 for 4 cycles now. Do you think that’s too soon to be testing my maxes? Also, I checked out your training log, nice work! Oly lifting is so technical and challenging - how are you enjoying the training?
[/quote]
I think you’re good to test after 4 cycles, especially if you are WANTING to test them. I’ve seen some people want to test their 1RM every 5/3/1 week and that’s not what Jim Wendler had in mind when with this program. Glad to see you are not one of those impatient types.
The question will be: do you reset at 90% of your new (higher) maxes or do you keep on with your normal increases? Either way is ultimately fine.
I hope you were reading my old 5/3/1 logs, as the new log in the 0ver 35 isn’t very detailed and is mostly O-lift related.
The Olympic lifts are very humbling to learn - especially when you’re tall (6’3") and already have a good strength base from prior lifting. You end up having strength in excess of technical skill. That being said, I am thoroughly enjoying the training and am looking to work the 5/3/1 on the Big 4 lifts into my routine soon (Carl Darby - he’s post in the over 35 forum - is doing this.)
Hope you are enjoying your training as well!
Sorry to hear your first contest was so disappointing. Too bad people don’t have to take some sort of integrity exam before becoming a judge. That aspect is scary to me as well. I am worried my body will look stringy on stage and I won’t appear to have much muscle. That is why I am working now to put on as much as I can; I am unsure how I will look when I diet.
Yup. I hurt my back a few years ago - bulging disc. I have had two epidurals and was told to go see a surgeon too. I made one last ditch effort to manage the pain and ahve been doing fairly well. Its strange, but I just pay attention to what irritates me and what doesn’t and I keep going. I have a fear of someone looming around my spine with a knife. Eeek.
Aww, RBlue, that sux about your first show. Obviously the judge was at the wrong event! He needed to be at the Miss Strawberry Hill of Hick County, TN pageant. I think you look awesome in your avatar. What were they looking for if not the “most conditioned” girl?
Yeah it’s ridiculous. Hopefully now they have a bikini category, that kind of bullshit won’t happen as much. Little you can do about the trainer/sponsor issue though.
Eat some chocolates to remove that bad taste in your mouth Blue. Judging is always subjective. Nobody can tell us our weights don’t have enough glitter on them. You lift or you don’t. I beleive that the competitions may have started as something good but the diets and such have gotten to such extremes. I don’t get how someone can prone a healthy lifestyle for months and then start calculating water intake. The whole thing smells unhealthy to me.
oh and HI!
N
xx
That’s what I like about powerlifting. Pretty objective. You either get the lift or you don’t. Plus, I’m more comfortable in a singlet and chucks than a bikini and high heels!
What about a bikini and chucks?
That would work really well for me, actually.
Snapper, that would work really well for all of us, I think.
NewWorldMan - Actually, I am one of those impatient types, but I’ve learned to hide it well. I like your idea of testing 1RMs during the 3rd week of the cycle, so I think I’m going to try that this time around. I’ll have to dig around for your 5/3/1 log and check it out. Also, I can imagine that the Oly lifts are incredibly humbling. I’ve heard a trainer say “Oh, there’s nothing to them, you just jump with the bar”. I’d like to see him try to do that when the bar’s loaded with several hundred pounds.
Spirited - From what I’ve heard and seen about back surgery, I think you’re right to try to avoid it if at all possible. It sounds like you’re still able to do a lot, so why risk it? Regarding training for your show, all you can do is try to bring your best ‘package’ to the stage, and judging from your avatar, you’re well on your way!
Grneyes - Thanks! Yeah, if I’d wanted to enter a beauty pageant, I would have. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though.
Cal - Hi! And yeah, the ‘politics’ will never go away.
N - Believe me, I know about the subjectivity of judging! I did provincial level synchronized swimming for several years. It still manages to piss me off, though, lol. And yes, that’s why I love lifting! And YES, dieting for shows is pretty damn unhealthy (in general), although if you’re smart about it you can minimize the issues.
Will post yesterday’s training and catch up on the other logs when I get home from work tonight.
Arms crossed, tapping foot, looks at watch
Hi Blue! I’ll check back.
yeah im tapping mah foot too.
while cleaning my pistol.
blue, you plan on coming back before curfew or do i hafta go lookin?
Sorry to keep you lovely ladies waiting up for me. Bear, you can put the pistol away, and I swear, I didn’t get into any trouble… or at least, not too much.
Worked till 9:15 pm, then headed into the gym for more training, then home to eat and watch House on west coast time and wait for the bro to get off my comp. I now have two days of training to catch y’all up on, if that makes up for my tardiness.
Started my deload week yesterday in fine fashion - slept in till 12:30, ate a big breakfast while catching up on some of my shows, made a lame attempt at cleaning my room (1 load of laundry down, probably 6 to go), bought a few pairs of flip flops, then in to the gym for squat deload.
Yesterday’s training:
(1) Squat 3x5:
40% = 70 lbs x5
50% = 90 lbs x5
60% = 105 lbs x5
(2) Zercher Squat 3x3: 150 lbs
(3) DB RDL 3x10: 45 lbs
(4) Band leg curls 4x10: Blue band, left leg only
=> Interspersed between sets of my 1st 3 exercises, I did 10 sets of 2 chin-ups. I’m trying to be a good girl with my deload this week, and drop volume and/or weights for my entire workouts, not only my main lifts.
Today’s training:
(1) Bench Press 3x5:
40% = 60 lbs x5
50% = 70 lbs x5
60% = 90 lbs x5
=> I hope my squat max is up when I do my 1RM testing in a few weeks, because these numbers look remarkably close to my squat deload.
(2) 1-arm DB row 4x6: 55 lbs
(3a) Face pulls 3x10: 5 plates
(3b) DB “W” Press 3x10: 15 lbs
2 rounds of BB complex: 10 reps each of RDL, Bent-over row, Hang clean, Push press, Back squat with 70 lbs
=> This was brutal. I think my hang clean form sucks.