Yeah, you’re going to get funny comments, because it’s REALLY hard for guys to get out of the women-are-for-hitting-on mindset. Especially at the gym. If I were married, I’d be miffed too.
Also, how precisely are you stuck at 115? What happens when you try 125 – do you literally fail the squat or do you just realize “nah, that’s not happening”? Because if you can do 5 reps at 115, I’d bet you could do one rep at 125 if there were no anxiety involved.
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Yeah, you’re going to get funny comments, because it’s REALLY hard for guys to get out of the women-are-for-hitting-on mindset. Especially at the gym. If I were married, I’d be miffed too.[/quote]
Actually, when you’ve been married as long as I have the comments are just enormously entertaining.
I can do 3-5 (depending on the day) ugly reps at 120. I’ve never tried 125 lbs, but guess what is on my 5/3/1 schedule for the weekend. Yep! 1+ rep at 125! We will soon find out what happens at this weight. 
I’d be interested to see what happened if you followed a more radical squat program for a time, like Smolov. Three weeks of squatting 4x week. I’ll bet you’d blast through that 115. But you’d probably have to set your 1 RM way lower than it actually is to make it through. I have also had a lot of success with doing 5 x 5 twice a week and then upping the weight the next week by however much you think you can manage. With the microplates, you can move as slowly as you want. But the point is, every week you’re lifting a wee bit more. That’s one of my concerns about 5/3/1. If I drop down in weight, I lose my gains. And it happens fast for me in squat.
Oh, I see no reason to be miffed by getting comments from men even though I’ve been married even LONGER than Kimba. It’s quite flattering, actually.
(maybe this is a crazy idea Kimba and you can kick me in the head, but judging from your pics alone maybe you need to eat a tad more? I know you have a hot bod but adding a few cals might help with the strength…just an idea, when all else fails.)
N., I definitely understand the suggestion. But if its between my squat and my expensive wardrobe, I’m choosing the clothes.
In all seriousness, I’m going to have to be satisfied with lifting whatever I can given the size I currently am. To steal from someone else’s log title, I know its not OPTIMAL.
Interesting discussion going on here, Kimba. And here’s the positives - you’re still forging ahead (yay!) and you got quite a few suggestions (double yay!).
You will blast through this - perseverance!
Glad the wrist is better 
Its ok to be small and powerful…
I like it.
nice work on those dips.
I’ll jump on the knees out bandwagon- get the glutes strong.
and see if your ankles have the same mobility,
my left knee veer in- and it starts at the ankle
little bit of spiral torsion…
ps nice work
Hi Kimba, you’ll get through this little hump…thats what makes lifting so great! Not everyone progresses the same but everyone has the same ups and downs(and plateus).
LOTS of good stuff over here!
[quote]DCA, do you mean multiple sets of 1 rep? I’ve never tried that exact formulation, just lighter weight at multiple reps. I really like that idea – practicing knees out but with singles. My knee cave tends to worsen as a set goes on.[/qoute]
Yes, I believe he does. Tried and true way to gain strength. Check out Dave Tate’s latest spew on ramping for pushing heavire weights. It’ll be clear.
You could consider eating to match your training. i.e. more protein during recovery periods, more carbs prior to heavier lifting sessions. You can do it without coming out of your wardrobe. I have faith.
Those happen to be my favorites, but there’s a lot of info. above.
Nice to hear about your dips! Congrats!
T
Maschy, thanks as always for your postive vibe.
kmc, small and powerful folks UNITE!
Betty, you speak the truth. Everyone has their good and bad days.
T, thanks for your suggestions. Heading over to read Dave Tate. Carbs before the lifting sessions is something I need to focus on. I tried a carb-heavy afternoon before tonight’s session and I think it rescued me.
Challenges for tonight’s workout: two nights of crappy sleep, lots of work distraction, marginal nutrition during the last couple of days except for a carb up this afternoon.
Friday nite training - 5/3/1 Wave 4, Week 3 - Sumo Deadlift Day
Sumo Deadlift
From steps, bar loaded only with 10# plates:
65# 1 x 5 warmup
85# 1 x 5 warmup
105# 1 x 5 warmup
From floor:
135# 1 x 5 <–working, good form
155# 1 x 5 <–working, good form
175# 1 x 3, 1 x 0 <–money set, PR +5 lbs, but form was crappy (rounded back)
135# 3 x 5 <–all good form, just to prove I can
Got a PR, but my form sucked due to head case issues. I waited too long to pull, then reset but didn’t get my butt or back correct. I just over-thought this lift. PR attempts sometimes spook me. However, the second time I circle back to these weights, I always pull prettier.
I was so mad at myself for the crappy form that I tried to pull the PR weight again, but I’d shot my load and the bar wouldn’t come up. Then I pretty-pulled 135# a bunch of times just to make myself feel better.
Comment of the day: some guy came to use the Smith machine right next to me just before I started pulling the last set of 135s. After I pulled the 5, he gave me the “nice lift”. Hey, thanks dude. Even though it was my BBB weight – I’ll take that.
Barbell Hip Thrusts (shoulders on bench)
205# 1 x 3, 1 x 4
This was weak. I blame the tired and the prior deadlifts.
But, an interesting night in the weight room. As always.
im wondering what would happen if u tried starting your warmup at 105, and taking an extra minute or two of rest between sets.
congrats on the pr, even if it was crappy. i’ll break ur back if it happens again!! muahaha!
now have lots of the sleeps and the foodz. bears orders
Nice lift.
Congrats on the PR, sometimes form goes to shit. As long as you feel fine after it then just shake it off, enjoy the PR, and refocus next time.
Yep. Doing great Kimba. 3 x 175 is nuthin’ to sneeze at when you’re our size.
CBear, are you thinking only one warmup set at 105? Or a couple? It does take me a couple of warmup sets to get into the groove. Or maybe I should do better mobility work first? Moar rest between sets – especially PR attempts sounds like a good plan too.
Jack, you crack me up. Trust me, we are cool. I wish my gym was filled with the guys that post here.
Joe, I didn’t hurt anything and felt fine today. No harm, no foul. But this validates my snail’s pace approach to a 200 lb. pull.
Snapper, thanks for the props. According to my husband who often is around when I’m lifting, its the contrast between our size and the big 45 lb. plates that draws the attention our way.
Today’s training (besides shopping which is a different sort of exercise) was a bodyweight tabata – 20 on/10 off/8 rounds of speed squats/burpees/mountain climbers/jump rope.
Shopping netted me a pair of sexy black pumps that don’t hurt my feet YEAH!, a new pair of non-ugly Saucony running shoes to not-run in, and the perfect Chanel lippie for spring/summer (Rouge Coco in Egerie if there are makeup whores here besides me).
maybe 1 sets of 2 reps with a lil longer rest between… if you’re goin for a max effort day or something… when i lifted at dc, they told me how much energy it wastes to set the bar down instead of dropping it. i learned how much energy it uses to walk a squat out of a rack instead of using a mono.
small lil things that can make a huge difference. not for everyday, necessarily, but for once in awhile.
and i’ll always say moar mobility work. like, do some for me, too.
Hi, my name is Mascherano and I’m a makeup whore. Love Chanel lipstick!
Can’t wait to see how you plan on proceeding and what happens - you’ll be blasting through in no time.
I wore Chanel Antigua lipstick when I got married in 2004- it’s fabulous cherie. Plus I wear Coco as my daily perfume. I’m ALL about french chic.
Glad to know you aren’t upset about my coment Kimba. Small and strong is awesome by all means but that does slow the PR process a bit. A s long as your ok with it that’s what counts.
Oh and way to freakin go for that 175lbs PR Madame! 5lbs past your last numbers is tres bon. Was that with the help of microplates?? If so vive les microplates!
YEAH…sign me up for the bandwagon! Great job on your DL PR!
You know, I’ve been checking out your log for a minute now and I’ve seen a pattern…PRs!
I know you’ve had some not so good days, but on the whole…you’re doing awesome! Couldn’t help but think about you when I was commenting on one of the latest RMF threads.
I’m glad you liked the suggestions and I hope they’ll help you for many years to come. And Bear’s right about it being little things that waste your energy.
One example that I like is for the upper chest and ant. delts on the incline bench, pull the bar off from the bottom pin and “start” with the bar on your chest. I find that it allows me to keep my scaps retracted and doesn’t waste the energy of having to control the bar down on the first rep. Doing some plyo push-ups between sets helps with this area too.