I use a belt and a wide grip (I think it is wide). Pinkies or ring finger on the last ring. The guys I lift with are trying to get my grip wider so that I have less to travel. I have short arms though…I don’t know if I can go wider!
I ONLY use a belt when I do PR’s. Since I started the bands and chains, I don’t train with belt.
I use a belt and a wide grip (I think it is wide). Pinkies or ring finger on the last ring. The guys I lift with are trying to get my grip wider so that I have less to travel. I have short arms though…I don’t know if I can go wider!
I ONLY use a belt when I do PR’s. Since I started the bands and chains, I don’t train with belt.
I didn’t know a belt would help on bench!
I use pinkies on the rings. I used to go wider and I was told I could lift more if I went narrower.
Squat Day
first time ever for singles. It went ok. I could definitely have done more…like I was kinda crawling out of my skin wanting to go heavier but Todd had me keep it down. Damn him.
Dynamic WU
Squat
bar X 10
95 X 8
135 X 3
165 X 1
185 X 1
200 X 1
210 X 1 - first video
220 X 2 - second video (behind me is Ricky, an almost 1,000lb squatter…awesome)
Pretty slow on the way up but just trying to keep my form solid and get legit depth. ya know.
Box Squats
4 sets
155 x 3
155 x 3
175 x 3
175 x 3
I had basically mentally checked out after my singles. It is hard in this “gym” (hole) because I never sweat or keep my heart rate up, so after my sets I kinda call it a day. It is so different from going to 24 Hr where I sweat like a beast and don’t stop until I am fatigued as fuck. I can literally (and do) eat meals in between sets here. Funny.
A lil foam rolling and then watching Aaron go for 500 on his dead. Good times.
ok I suck at attaching shit
second
[quote]CBear84 wrote:
can be arranged. february? k. i’ll put in for vacation time. i assume u have a place for me to sleep? i can be big spoon or little spoon, s’ok.[/quote]
yes it can. aarons got legs…he can go away. february is perfect, right around my birthday.
a naked birthday extravaganza bonanza.
we should try a little bit of forkin with the spoonin.
oh my.
oh, and thanks for the benching grip advice ladies. I am going to give it all a go on Wednesday, my last benching day. I’ll let you know how it all goes!
[quote]shaunar25 wrote:
CBear84 wrote:
can be arranged. february? k. i’ll put in for vacation time. i assume u have a place for me to sleep? i can be big spoon or little spoon, s’ok.
yes it can. aarons got legs…he can go away. february is perfect, right around my birthday.
a naked birthday extravaganza bonanza.
we should try a little bit of forkin with the spoonin.
oh my.
[/quote]
lmao.
squat vids look great! didnt look as slow coming up as they felt, i assure you. im so excited for your meet, you’re gonna kick ass!
Wow. You are fucking amazing. You’re basically the same height as me, around the same bf%, plus 45 pounds of muscle. Crazy. You’re going to dominate that competition!
Shauna, you are definitely killing it! I’m so excited for you.
I just spent the past two days reading your entire journal. Dude, you strong like woah. And sexy. You’re definitely gonna rock it!
Ladies, thank you for all the support. I seriously needed to read some of this last night. I mean, I felt really good, I did. Felt like my form was decent and was getting my ass down there. But I know I can get that weight higher, I know it. This was only my time with singles for the squat and I know I can come back with 250 or so.
I have also put on a few pounds (up to 175 officially), and that’s fine and even better for me for this meet, but ya know, it kinda sucks.
Also, the job that I had taken I actually ended up deciding not to work there because it turned out to be different than what I thought it would be (meaning all the girl servers, who were ALL the servers, had to wear skirts and fishnets and most ended up wearing 4 inch heels with their mini skirts, while the guys could wear pants. I then asked management if we could have a choice of pants or skirts since all the guys get to wear pants, and he said no. So I said peace out. I wanted to work at a restaurant, not a gentlemens’ club. They also paid me less and never guaranteed me full time, which was not made clear to me until after I took the job). Well, that’s fine, but now there is problems with my unemployment. I have to basically defend my decision, they will continue paying me, but if in two months when they review it they decide I was not within reason, I have to send every cent back and no longer qualify. So yeah, a little stressed.
I was kinda counting on a few more months of UE because all I really want to do is get some basic PT certification, get some experience under my belt, maybe get another cert, and then go train at a college or uni where all girls, except maybe athletes, think fitness is hours of cardio while watching reality TV and starving yourself until you binge on beer at a house party and eat pizza drunk before you pass out at 3am. And I have lived it so I know. Mostly I just wonder what my life would be like if I had known about REAL strength training (not 5lb dumbbells) when I was that age. So that is what I really want to do; spread the word.
So my point is that I needed the positive vibes yesterday. SO thanks:)
So it looks like here are what my opening numbers will be going in to the meet:
297 dead
200 squat
120 bench - ha. ridiculous.
here are my best numbers so far:
325 dead
220 squat
135 bench - seriously. ridiculous.
here is what I would like to end up with for this meet:
340+ dead
240+ squat
140+ bench - my. dear. god. ridiculous.
here is where I would hypothetically like my numbers to be within the next year:
400 dead
350 squat
160 bench - whatever. I’m over it.
seriously, I have got to get my bench legit. But nevertheless, I want more. And heavier.
Probably going to do some LISS and foam rollin today.
aww, keep your chin up! You will get to where you need to be, in all areas(strength and job path)!! You are here now and DOING IT!!
Thats really crappy about that other job…I woulda done the same…truth is, I’ve never even worn heels…and mini skirts? no thanks…
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
Thats really crappy about that other job…I woulda done the same…truth is, I’ve never even worn heels…and mini skirts? no thanks…
[/quote]
With my current company during the first trade show all the women were wearing these ass tight yoga pants with running shoes and the men were wearing classy slacks and shoes. I wore my suit pants with a nice black leather pump. Told my bosses that if I wanted customers to talk big buisness with me I had to look the part. I’ve had other shows since then and they know what to expect. Actually I think I earned a little more respect for it. Never feel bad for standing up for yourself.
[quote]shaunar25 wrote:
we should try a little bit of forkin with the spoonin.
[/quote]
okay. I grinned.
PS. What’s up with your bench? There’s something missing here…
Re: benching grip width and belts -
I don’t use a belt when benching, unless I’m wearing a bench shirt and need the belt to hold it down. I wear a 2" lever belt for that. I do push hard against the belt, to the point where I’ve torn metal grommets out of a dress belt, but a shirt increases the pressure on your body so much I don’t know if I’d push as much if I were benching raw.
Check to see if you can even wear a belt when benching raw in your federation - this could be a moot point.
Grip width - as wide as is legal in USAPL (index fingers on rings). Particularly with a high arch, this shortens the stroke - simple physics. However, you need to work your way out there because it can be rough on your shoulders if you just move out immediately. I started with pinkies on rings (felt natural), then middle fingers, now index fingers. I chalk up a lot because I feel my hands are more likely to slip at this distance. I also use wrist wraps for protection, pretty much every lift above 135.
I didn’t realize you were out of work. I’m in the same boat. Your experience is one of the reasons I’m trying to avoid taking a job that isn’t guaranteed to be temporary, unless the job I take is a REAL job. Keep your chin up. And send us some pics of you in that waitress outfit.
[quote]shaunar25 wrote:
deja - you are totally right. Benching is so new to me for the most part and there is a science behind it jsut like the squat, which even that I am still figuring out. It is the lift I struggle with the most and after this meet, I will really focus on bringing up my upper body strength.
Ladies - Do you use a wide or narrow grip with the bench? And do you use a belt?
[/quote]
I have super long arms and bench with my index fingers on the rings. The only time I wear a belt is when I wear a shirt. It’s a leather tool belt from Home Depot. It’s only meant to hold my shirt tight. My bench lags way behind my other lifts too. Damn monkey arms.
Bobbi…nothing wrong with my bench per say, just merely significant suckitude. I find it to be really fun, but I am so poorly versed on the lift itself (its meaning, function, mechanics, etc…I need to read up) and under trained that it is comedic for me to see how far it trails behind my two other lifts.
Lindsay…UE is the best and the worst in terms of getting something for nothing but feeling pretty lame. but that uniform…thats the death of me. I could go strip for more money and not be lying to myself about what my role was. If I had stayed there, I would have been untrue to my morals. Those girls at the restaurant are there to look like escorts to make a good tip and keep bringing back male customers. Lets now pretend it is anything else but that.
What did you do before for work?
ouroboro…you can damn the monkey arms all you want, but I can’t even believe that arch you have goin on in your avi. Crazy.
I like that everyone is giving me their experience with grip width and such. Since my arms are, I assume, proportional to my body (fingers crossed), I would not say they are long or short…ok, maybe shorter. Unfortunately, since today is my last real press, I don’t really have time to try out different grip positions…although I may just have to give it a go if it will put on 5 pounds.
Also, I get equal voices saying “yes belt” and “no belt.” Sometimes though, especially when talking with women at Todds, I have to remember whatever they are saying is coming from the mentality of using gear, meaning almost all the women use gear and I must take that into account .
I have no desire really whatsoever to compete with gear. Because it is SO dominate within PL, I will not articulate WHY I don’t want to use it. But I don’t. However, I fully understand and respect the idea that nothing can beat when you achieve an outrageous number and how it makes you feel. I do feel bad that competing raw can almost makes it a totally different sport, and the feeling that if you compete raw, you aren’t REALLY competing with the big boys of the sport. In this case I do refer to the men I know and how amazing it is to squat 900 lbs…not gonna happen raw (well maybe…any examples???).
Nevertheless, I will try a belt today and see how it feels.
I’m feeling a little sluggish today. Once I let me brain latch on to the idea that carbs are ok right now and I don’t need to lose any weight and maybe even gain some…all my diet laurels flew…no, jumped to their death, right out the fucking window. Right now I am eating about 4 meals clean, with the usual pro/fat mix. But the carbs. The carbs are taking over my life. Last night was delicious but not clean in any sense of the word. I had a burger we made at home, a few beers, and cookies with chocolate milk. Ok, so its bad. And I KNOW I made those choices. And honestly, no real regrets. I have put on a few, but I know that right now it is actually a good thing. For the first time in my life EVER, I can put on a few and feel good about it. I actually think I need to, since before I came to PW I was on the other side, I literally felt like I had an eating disorder just THINKING about food and how it would effect my body. When all I surrounded myself with was pictures of beautiful lean fitness models, yeah, I’ll admit it, I got a complex. I just didn’t feel good enough. But now that I am here, now that I have been rescued, things are starting to change. Here where women are powerful and strong and beautiful, even if I have never seen their faces, their determination, dedication, and power speak volumes of beauty no make-up could ever produce. So I look at my body differently lately. Differently in the sense that it is so much better than I ever could have thought. We have a pretty good pact now. I visualize the movement and she moves the weight around. And no, this is not a justification for eating the cookies. But fuck justification. I wanted some motherfucking cookies. And I had some. And I liked it.
For my own sanity, sometimes I just need to eat cookies.
yeah.
Ok apologies for the verbal vomit.
Benching later.
Theres more to life than stressing about food!!
Eat your cookies(and have your milk too) 
I learned my lesson by not telling that to a figure girl though…especially one that was on a diet! 