Strong is Beautiful

Training
461

CBear, that makes alot of sense to warmup sparingly on max effort days to save energy.

Mascherano, I am WAY less than shocked that you have outed yourself as a makeup whore! I was reformed for a long while, but have recently started turning expensive makeup tricks again.

N., Coco is a great perfume. I wore that for many years myself. Now I don’t use perfume anymore – too many folks allergic. No way – your comment was totally on target. Clearly I am all about the hot bod first, and the strength second. I doubt anyone is surprised. :slight_smile: I haven’t incorporated the microplates into my training yet. I will recalculate my 5/3/1 maxes and start a new cycle next week using un-round numbers.

T, thanks for bandwagoning. I do always like to leave the gym with a little something-something in the PR-getting. Even if its small and tiny.

Sunday AM training – 5/3/1 Wave 4, Week 3, Squat and Bench Day

Well, today was supposed to be the big attempt at a 125 lb squat. As a result of four nights of craptastic sleep, I quickly realized that wasn’t happening. So, I took up DCA’s suggestion, amplified by T to do singles at a reduced weight to practice “knees out”. This was an interesting experiment…

Squats (3 risers/step)
45# 1 x 5 warmup
85# 1 x 3 warmup
100# 1 x 1 <–bad knee cave, gave up the scheduled PR attempt right here
95# 3 x 1 <–all of these singles looked decent as to knee cave because I was just concentrating on “knees out”.
100# 1 x 1 <–looked good on knee cave. Then why so craptastic earlier??
105# 1 x 1 <–so I got bold and added 5# and still knees looked decent.

I know in this crowd I need not apologize for excessive crotch action.

110# 1 x 1 <–so I got ever bolder and added 5# more, and this is what my knee cave looks like

So, I think, let’s go back down to 105 lbs. and do some more singles. WRONG.

105# 1 x 0 <–fail and bail, shown here for your entertainment. I believe that Snapper was asking a few days ago how people fail on squat. Well, here you go.

After this, I figured that I was done for the day. What a helpful exercise! The upside is that I can get within 15 pounds of my best lift ever with decent form even on a weak day. The challenge will be to strengthen up my weak areas in order to move forward on this lift.

Bench Press
Bar 1 x 5 warmup
70# 1 x 5 working
80# 1 x 3 working
90# 1 x 0 <–total fail. Time to reset the max on this lift.
BBB work – 70# 5 x 5

Inverted rows (on Smith machine)
1 x 3 <–stopped because this was tweaking my left wrist. No inverted rows quite yet.

Back Raises
30 lb. dumbbell behind head - 1 x 10, 2 x 7 <–PR +2.5 lbs.

This was super-challenging today. Logistically, the 30# dumbbell barely fits on either side of my head. My ears are pretty squished, but its do-able. Strength-wise, this was hard. I’m hoping its just sleep deprivation.

Kroc Rows
40# 1 x 10, 2 x 8

Empty sled leg press for time
34 in 45 secs.
20 in 30 secs. x 2

CBear suggested this, and I think she is trying to kill me. Painful, hurtful, suffer-fest, but in a good way. I’ll definitely try this again.

462

Just getting myself caught up, Kimba.

First, nice deadlift PR! Your form may have been troubling you, but it’s very impressive nonetheless. :slight_smile:

Jealous of your sexy new shoe purchase.

Sorry to hear that today’s training didn’t go as well as planned. Lack of sleep is something you can ignore for a time, but eventually it always catches up to you.

That first squat vid at 105 looked really nice! I’m sure once you get some more rest you’ll be breaking that barrier down.

463

CBear is trying to kill all of us, so don’t take it personally.

Thanks for sharing the vids. Looks like you were tired. But you must keep in mind that you are a tiny creature and squatting body weight is pretty damn good for us old folks. Plus, we all have shit days. Now, since you didn’t do the prescribed 5/3/1 squat program yesterday, will you try it on your next squat day or just forge ahead with the next workout?

464

Thats still some good lifting even if you didn’t do 125. Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back, get your body and mind right and go from there. If my sleep or food is off by even a little I’m worthless.

465

Can’t win em all darlin…but still not a bad days work!

466

“I know in this crowd I need not apologize for excessive crotch action.”

^^^^ This cracked my ass up! You know us all too well.

So I was wondering what you meant about the knee cave - but now I think I see what you mean.

I’m going to reiterate what Snap said, you really are small, so you’re kind of ahead of the game re: lifting heavy (you are, after all, lifting at or above BW) - but I wonder how much of the knee cave can be fixed by changing stance. Do you know Kimba? Or maybe someone else knows? Just wondering.

Anywho, you did a fuck ton of work on minimal sleep and those 30s hypers are ridic! Not bad training all in all.

ps. that failed squat was kinda the cutest thing I ever saw!

467

Rachelle, thanks for the encouragement! The lack of sleep totally caught me. Luckily, I’m starting to catch up a bit with the zzzzs.

Snapper, I appreciate the perspective. I plan on re-calculating (read: LOWERING) my bench and squat maxes, and re-jiggering my 5/3/1 spreadsheet not to round the weight calcs to make use of my brand-new, kick-ass fractional plates. Instead of a deload week next week, I’m just gonna start the next wave, thusly recalculated.

Joe, I wasn’t even that upset at having to step back from the 5/3/1 expectations. There is no prize other than enjoying the journey.

Betty, so true. If I learn something in the weight room, I call it good. And I did.

Mascherano, I am happy to be your horrible example for knee cave. Now you know what NOT to do! :slight_smile: I haven’t been able to fix the knee cave by changing my stance. Its purely a strength thing for me. I used to have terrible knee cave at way lower weights, but have worked my way up to here. And I’ll keep working past here.

Today I got out of bed, and pulled out the oly bar that I keep in my bedroom (doesn’t everyone?). Time for military presses! Well, before going for the bar I did put on some yoga pants but after putting on the fuchsia VS pushup bra, just went with that as a lifting outfit. Classy.

5/3/1 Wave 4, Week 3 – Military Press Day
50# 1 x 5
55# 1 x 3
65# 1 x 3 <–money set, rep PR +1

Why I EVER do MPs on days that I do other lifts is just beyond me. The only times I can really score on this lift is when I’ve given MPs their own day. So, seeing that I got the reps on the money set, I might not recalculate this max quite yet.

468

trying to catch up here with you and the rest of everyone’s log.

*awesome on your DL PR!

*yes, you are lifting and progressing like a bad ass! yes, you are a lightweight and i’m always impressed by the #'s you put up.

i’d like to reiterate i’m also impressed with your CONSISTENT progress. i’m not allowed to say you make me feel like a lazy ass so i won’t!

awesome work kimba, thanks for the crotch shots. just what i needed for my return to PW!

469

That 105lbs looked good Kimba. I find it cool that people around here post their failures too. It makes the whole process more human and paints a better picture of the true journey. I can’t wait to see you post a squat with a 110lbs victory. We will be here to cheer for you!

470

[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
Rachelle, thanks for the encouragement! The lack of sleep totally caught me. Luckily, I’m starting to catch up a bit with the zzzzs.

Snapper, I appreciate the perspective. I plan on re-calculating (read: LOWERING) my bench and squat maxes, and re-jiggering my 5/3/1 spreadsheet not to round the weight calcs to make use of my brand-new, kick-ass fractional plates. Instead of a deload week next week, I’m just gonna start the next wave, thusly recalculated.

Joe, I wasn’t even that upset at having to step back from the 5/3/1 expectations. There is no prize other than enjoying the journey.

Betty, so true. If I learn something in the weight room, I call it good. And I did.

Mascherano, I am happy to be your horrible example for knee cave. Now you know what NOT to do! :slight_smile: I haven’t been able to fix the knee cave by changing my stance. Its purely a strength thing for me. I used to have terrible knee cave at way lower weights, but have worked my way up to here. And I’ll keep working past here.

Today I got out of bed, and pulled out the oly bar that I keep in my bedroom (doesn’t everyone?). Time for military presses! Well, before going for the bar I did put on some yoga pants but after putting on the fuchsia VS pushup bra, just went with that as a lifting outfit. Classy.

5/3/1 Wave 4, Week 3 – Military Press Day
50# 1 x 5
55# 1 x 3
65# 1 x 3 <–money set, rep PR +1

Why I EVER do MPs on days that I do other lifts is just beyond me. The only times I can really score on this lift is when I’ve given MPs their own day. So, seeing that I got the reps on the money set, I might not recalculate this max quite yet.
[/quote]

yep - keep running on this one and only reset what you need.

and really nice squat - focus is everything

471

You are a hard-working tiny lady. Sleep! Eat!

472

Yay for the MP PR!

473

T, welcome back! Consistency and persistence will beat out natural talent and genetics anytime. Continue to chip away at your own stuff – progress is inevitable.

N., I also like seeing people’s unbeautiful lifts. I learn from that, so I have no problem being the horrible example for others.

George, focus IS everything. As soon as my one focus was “knees out”, the knees got better. For a time, anyway. I really think that lowering the weight and working this cue is the only way for me to get stronger. Getting more weight up by cheating (knee cave, butt wiggle) isn’t strengthening my weak areas.

Thanks Alisa! I am doing better on the sleep.

Rachelle, I was happy about the MP. That is my most challenging lift, by far.

Today is an off day, where I try to catch up on work. I did take the time last night to re-jigger my 5/3/1 spreadsheet for Wave 5. In order to continue making incremental progress, I am now rounding down the weight calculations to the nearest .5 lbs, and thus making maximal use of my new fractional plates.

I did not reset my Military Press max, and added 5 lbs. to my working max as the program indicates.

I did not reset my Deadlift max, but added only 5 lbs to my working max instead of the prescribed 10 lbs, giving me a Week 3 money set max of 180.5 (which would be a PR of 5.5 lbs). This gives me some breathing space on my form issues.

I did reset my Bench max by subtracting 10 lbs. off my working max. Bench is not my priority lift, and I don’t even give it its own day. My goal over the next few waves is to get more reps in the 80-85 lb. range.

I did reset my Squat max by subtracting 15 lbs. off my working max. I’d like to spend the next wave focusing on building strength in my weak areas to reduce/eliminate knee cave.

And that’s the master plan!

474

re focus:
I could see the loss and regaining of your focus in the vids and recognize it 'cause I feel the same thing.

I think you are doing the right thing on setting your training maxes.

475

I think you are very smart to lower your squat weight and focus on form. I have often thought you to be a very wise individual with a very pragmatic approach to training. I think it’s one reason why I enjoy your log so much. No posturing. Just good, plain, honest training, complete with successes and failures. And since you’re my size (with thinner thighs), I find it even more interesting.

Anyway, keep up the super work.

476

^^^^

Very much what Snap said! You’re a very dedicated individual, quite IMPRESSIVE in and of itself.

Was looking at your squat vids…my .02…widen your heels a bit, you can adjust your toes to work on quad area specifics and I think you would benefit from taking a little more time in your set-up. Remember…focus starts long before you ever leave the rack. Other than that…I’d say you’ve got a great plan of attack so keep us informed!

477

George, if only I could focus ALL the time. I’m sure you wish the same thing!

Awwww Snap. I’m all verklempt. All much as I enjoy all the PW logs, I just can’t believe my luck in having a same-age, same-weight chica on here too.

T – by the way, I caught your TILF pix and that is one smokin’ hot bod you’ve got goin’ on. Hard work shows through.

Definitely I can play with slightly wider heels. A super wide stance is very destabilizing for me, but I haven’t tried a slight tweak yet. Thanks for the suggestion.

478

Congrats on the PR, I also think you made the right choice by resetting your squat.Not letting your ego drive your lifting is the way to go, at least I hear thats how it’s supposed to work.

479

shit you scared me for a sec kimba…i scrolled back to see that CDQAR is also T…

:slight_smile: now i must go take a looksy…

480

I have GOT to tell you I love seeing what you are up to…love your pics,and vids(even the failed attempt one …your so believable i can so relate to you!
Keep on it!!