Fucking A on the pull. I am not at all jealous. Much.
CBear’s ass = Om nom nom nom.
arachne - thanks! you can attribute that to the owner of the gym and my pseudo coach for the next 4 weeks Todd Christensen, who kept adding more weight behind my back:) He is so awesome and if I decide to seriously pursue powerlifting as a competitive sport instead of just for training, he is the best in the state.
cbear - you have made my morning filled with sunshine, joy, and garter belts. That’s one sexy little piece girlfriend:) BTW - not dropping kcals, definitely raising them. I would really only do that if I had 3-4+ months to drop a weight class after some significant lift training, but since I only have 1 month to begin really training at all, I’ll go up to about 2000-2200 per day. BTW, where do you train? I read on Molly’s log that you go down to Kentucky, but up in Ohio do you get to work with Westside at all? Is there a similar camp that does the 5/3/1 (which I am still researching)?
rcfromdb - thanks for the compliment. It seriously hasn’t been until I found weight training that I can say upfront how much I weigh to anyone and they usually wouldn’t have guessed. It’s the German muscle, seriously.
kimba - thanks for the cheering…even online. Honestly I had never met some of the people in there before so the support of you ladies is just as meaningful! As far as the pants, I know they are great and make the ass look spectacular…but most the girls who wear them…it’s just another trendy outfit, a way to make a fashion statement at the gym. Trust me, if they weren’t so expensive and were already the staple of every sorority girls’ closet, I would think about it. Maybe in the future…maybe. Also, where do you live? And I bet you don’t even see the stares you get when you are so focused on lifting…if I saw you busting ass in the gym (and I am speaking 24 Hour here), I would totally stare and then stalk you because I would be SO shocked to see another chick lifting:)
deja - I added the belt seriously at 265, and I say “seriously” to reference it being tight and fitted. I don’t own my own belt so I had to use one from someone else, so while it was around my waist at 185, it was not actually useful. At 305 I switched to a stiffer belt, which was actually too tight and started cutting into my hips, something which I believed greatly hindered my lift and helped with my fail. After that I went back to the previous one. I actually rarely have used a belt in any of my training except for DLs 200+ or squats 185+. Other than that I have always focused on higher rep (5-12) training with all my movements, including bench, and in the past 6 months have really only focused on isolation training. In fact, there has only been about 6 workouts in the past 1 1/2 years that I have focused on powerlifting type training (of course set up for me by my p-lifter bf Aaron). This is why me having 4 weeks to prepare for a meet is crazy. While I have felt growth in strength, I am nowhere near my potential, so this meet will be mostly for funa dn the experience. If I love it I will do more…and buy my own belt!
Cal - thanks…and i love the sound effect (that I clearly make up in my mind)!
Today is recovery day!! Aaron and I will either go to Greenlake and I will repeat the walking/sledding drill like Sunday, or I will go to the gym and do the hot tub/sauna thing, or both!
I am also thinking about getting a massage. My training yesterday was not a workout, but clearly it was taxing and while I am not sore, I am tired and fatigued.
My diet was spot on yesterday and expect the same today. I already feel less sluggish than yesterday from a full 24 hours low carbs, and I know any tiredness today is from my lift. I am hoping some more water weight comes off today too.
Lastly, you guys are fucking awesome. I know I say this like everyday but it’s true. Yesterday I was tired from all the carbs and wasn’t planning to deadlift, but Todd said I was pulling and I knew if I wanted to make gains I had to snap the fuck out of it. So I thought about what you ladies would do, what encouragement and dedication you show, and tried to get into that mental space. It worked and I made a PR. So thanks…a lot.
Alrighty…
Just finished up a BENCH workout which went a little something like this:
WARM-UP:
5 mins elliptical
dynamic stretching w band, BW exercises, etc.
BENCH:
Decline Bench - warm-up sets of 6 (bar, 95, 105)
4 sets X 6 reps (115, 125, 135, 145) - the last rep of the last set I needed the spot from random guy I asked to spot me
DB Floor Presses (elbows in with a pause at the bottom) - 4 X 6 (warm-up with 35s)
1@40s, 1@45s, 1@50s (lost form at this weight, so went back down), 1@45s
DB Seated Shoulder Press - 3 X 10 (30s, 35s, 35s)
supersetted with…
Iron Crosses - 3 X 10 with 15 DBs
Lat Raises - 3 X 12 with 12.5 DBs
finished with some random Push-Up sets (weighted and non-weighted), but I was pretty spent by then.
Was looking to do a strength oriented workout instead of one focusing on volume. Got some great ideas from past workouts, your logs, and from Precision Nutrition (an awesome site, especially for diet info. They also have an amazing clean eating cookbook).
I can feel some tightness in my neck and shoulders. I also have what I believe to be a pulled tendon of ligament in my collarbone region. Clearly I’m no doctor, but I do know it hurts like a motherfucker. I used to be pretty good at BW Chin-Ups, but have had to stop those due to this pain. Also, pressing is pretty uncomfortable because my left wrist really needs some support (wrist wraps, here I come).
Overall a good workout. I felt really great in the gym too. The water weight from the cheat/carb-up last weekend is finally gone, so I feel much tighter.
Until later!
So THIS is where all my bench mojo went today.
You need a massage at the very least, dontcha think?
kimba - you KNOW I need a massage…just need the money. Been outta work for awhile and am starting a new job next week, so I’ll either wait until the first paycheck or treat myself before then. and nice new avi:) Your back looks solid.
I’m trying to load a pic on here but it not quite working out. If it shows up, it is me and Aaron from a vacation we took to Maui earlier this summer.
Twas the shit.
The PN site is pretty awesome!
Let me guess, you JUST started benching…cough, bitch, cough
[quote]shaunar25 wrote:
kimba - you KNOW I need a massage…just need the money. Been outta work for awhile and am starting a new job next week, so I’ll either wait until the first paycheck or treat myself before then. and nice new avi:) Your back looks solid.[/quote]
Thanks Shauna!
hey, congrats on the new job! If there are any massage schools around, sometimes you can get a really cheap massage from a student practicing on you.
[quote]I’m trying to load a pic on here but it not quite working out. If it shows up, it is me and Aaron from a vacation we took to Maui earlier this summer.
Twas the shit.[/quote]
I see it – nice pic. Cute boy. Went to Maui for the first time last January and was practically crying at the airport when they forced me onto the plane home. That is one. nice. place.
Well it is raining balls outside today, but it is Seattle…yeah yeah, what else would I expect?
Kimba - you are so right about the massage school. Ima check it out and see if I can get one this weekend or so. Thanks about the job…it’s another serving job which I really didn’t want to go back to (money was good but I always fancied myself way to smart to be getting rich bitches their food), but it’s time. Also, I figure my newfound direction into powerlifting will give me distraction from the work train. BTW - what school did you go to? I probably read it in your log but completely blanked. And yeah, he’s cute! Been a little over two years and he’s my best friend, my biggest support, and my introduction to PL, so I love him very much.
mom-in-MD - hey lady! Actually, no, I have benched, DL, and SQT for the last year or so, but always treated them as another movement in high volume workouts. Now I am determined to get that weight up and perfect my form since my understanding of these lifts is at a totally different place and respect. I think I could really get my bench decent for another meet a few months down the road, so I am hopeful. But decline benching also allows you to do more weight, so I am interested to find out one of these days what my 1 RM would be on flat bench. And yeah, PN kicks ass. I actually ordered their cookbook for my bf as a present a long time ago and then got signed up on one of their exercise experiments which was pretty cool. After that we became members and I still read their articles and reference their movement database for new ideas.
WORKOUT:
Nothing too exciting, but some stupid cardio…
5 min warm-up on spin bike
4 min high resistance Tabata cycle
4 min easy cycle break
4 min high resistance Tabata cycle
20 min on elliptical LISS
30 min foam rolling
Actually does this even qualify as a workout? I SERIOUSLY hate cardio.
Chillin for the rest of the day. Gonna read some of your journals.
Excited:)
Sure “stupid cardio” counts. Tabata definitely counts cause it hurts so much.
In this economy, a job is a job…all good. But if you have career goals in mind, now is the time to work on that. Right along with the PL goals.
kimba - trust me when I say how much I have been thinking, for years, about a career path. I majored in Art History which I love learning about, but not so much in love with it’s post college opportunities. I have been blessed and cursed with the “jack of all trades” syndrome. I have both book and street smarts, am fully capable, and am interested in SO many things that choosing one is the biggest challenge I’ll ever face.
I have strongly considered grad school, yet I have also considered going back to school for something totally different. Nursing, psych, veterinary technician training, interior design, and even personal training if, and only if, I work on my own or in a gym I own, so at the moment it is a long shot. I’m really just in transition and feeling really confused.
So for now, I am working to pay the bills and doing what I love by getting in the gym. Also, I learning about myself by staying disciplined with a diet in a way I never used to be able to do. I suppose my goals right now are to do something totally new by competing in this meet and then spend the next few months cutting and transforming my body to come back lean and strong in a new PL weight class. Wow, that was a winded response. I honestly wish I had been one of those kids who always knew what they wanted to do. That would have been nice:)
How did you get into what you do today?
[quote]shaunar25 wrote:
How did you get into what you do today?[/quote]
A combination of a measured process of elimination and dumb luck. I usually give the following advice – don’t pay for an expensive professional education if you aren’t really sure you want to do the job you are training for.
I broke that rule, but got lucky anyway.
Trust yourself to find the right path.
Good advice Kim!
Went in for a PULL workout, which was good, not great. My upper back, traps, and neck have been really killing me the last few days, so I had to go light. But I have a 90 min massage in 30 mins, so I’m freakin pumped.
PULL
WARM-UP:
5 min elliptical
dynamic stretching
weighted glute raises
broomstick stretches
BB Rows - 4 X 6 (lowered my sets and upped the reps from last week)
3 warm-up sets (bar, 75, 95)
115, 125, 135, 135 - had no belt and no energy, so didn’t force it
One-Armed DB Rows - 3 X 10
50, 55, 60 (started with the weight that was my last set last week)
Back Hyper - 3 X 12 (BW, 35 plate, 45 plate)
Tricep Pushdown - 3 X 12 (100, 110, 120)
supersetted with
Skull Crushers - 3 X 12 with 50 BB
BB Bicep Curls - 3 X 12 (50, 50, 40)
Side Bends - 3 X 15 per side (35 plate, 45, 45) (I used to do these all the time a few years ago and dropped them when I saw how much core training the lifts do, but I did some Westside reading and decided to throw them in today)
Standing Cable Crunches - 3 X 10 (100, 110, 100)
DB Holds (Grip Training) 4 X 30 secs with 70 DBs
Afterwards I went in the sauna/hot tub/ pool (did it in rounds) for some recovery. It is awkward sometimes though because it is communal and mostly middle aged guys are in there (recall the “older gentlemen” I referred to who have the habit of interrupting my workouts and just being creepy eye stalker…yeah, their in there with me), so I don’t feel comfortable staying too long and it is actually hard to relax.
Knots in my back have been shooting pain up into my neck and giving me headaches so I made a massage appointment tonight.
I report on how it goes…new massage therapist so it’s always risky.
So jealous about the massage. Feel free to describe it here in great detail. 
Oh my good god I am sore and tired and freakin out of it. It has been raining crazy sauce this entire week and it is discouraging when you just feel trapped in your house. The lightening and thunder were so intense last night it shook the entire apartment building. This is my main frustration with Seattle ( I grew up in Chicago and came out here about 6 years ago to go to school), and why I have been planning a move for like the last 3 years…having a boyfriend with all his family here and who has live here all his life makes this a bit harder. Anyway, Aarons at work, and honestly, I am fine to just sit here all afternoon.
kimba - The massage was…eh. The chick doing it was not really putting in the intensity of deep tissue that I really needed. She would hit a knot, rub it a few times or hold it with medium pressure and then basically just rub her hands down my back with minimal pressure, more like a stroke. I like pain when I feel like it is doing something, like when you floss hard and it hurts SO good. AND, she actually hurt me and left bruises in my armpit area because she was pressing the skin in separate directions with no lotion so it literally felt like she was tearing my skin. Usually I feel doped up after a massage, which is why they are probably my favorite things in the world, yet by the end I had spent the entire time wondering what was happening, that I finally had to say something and tell her to workout a specific knot that had been giving me a lot of trouble. Overall, wasn’t great…not the worst I have had, but no great. Still tipped her a lot just because it is a job I would never want to do and anyone who does it I give props to. On the other hand, I’m pretty broke so it may not have been the best investment. My girl who I went to a few times who really did an amazing job doesn’t work there anymore. Anyway, I am sore this morning from my workout yesterday. I really think that when I get some more money I will go see a chiropractor. I feel my neck bones grinding…AHHHH MY BODY IS FALLING APARTTTTTTT!
Anyhooser, just hanging out and watching crappy TV. Probably going to the Seahawks game tomorrow and doing a small carb-up.
What do you ladies do on the weekend or your days off?
Football + Fish Fry!
Go to the gym, ride my bicycle, do chores.
Bobbi’s fish fry sounds tasty, though.
Homework
Cleaning
Playing with my crazy kids
Nothing
i make plans.
i promptly ignore those plans.
this weekend i slept and watched movies on saturday, today is training, laundry, and anything else that doesnt bother me too much to do.
so sorry the massage went poorly! i hear you about being addicted to them! I had one every week for awhile, then i quit entirely, now im at every 2 weeks. girl i’ve known forever, does ok on the deep tissue stuff, but constantly tells me im in great shape. ego boost + massage at one time… yeah im ok with that.
maybe you could drop little hints next time… like, “oh im so glad i’m getting a massage! there’s some really deep tissue work that i need, because i just can’t get to it by myself…” or, “bitch that knot didnt go away just bc you ignored it. get out the meat tenderizer and get to work on that shit.”