ME upper body day
bench: 10@45, 10@65, 5@85, 5@95, 3@105, fail@115, fail@110, 6@95
incline bench:10@45, 10@65, 5/4/3@75
floor press: 10@45, 10@65, 2x6@75, 10@65
arnold presses: 5x10@15’s. (these are brutal – and I could really only handle light weight.)
3 pullups to see if I can still do 'em.
On the external rotator work… if you are getting pain, do a different variation of it. My favs:
- Blast-strap/TRX external rotation (both arms)
- Seated Ext Rot (working elbow on knee)
- Cable Ext Rotation (standing, having cable on opposite side of working arm, externally rotate to the side)
Alisa, I saw your pic in SAMA and I just wanted to say you look amazing!! Inspiring me to get back on top of my diet…
Wow, thanks! (my diet has actually been shitty lately; you’re the one who’s inspiring me to get back on the horse.)
squats: 10@45, 10@65, 5@95, 3@135, fail@155, 1@145, 2/1@135 (today was not my day. On the other hand, I did outlift the other girl. I’m patting myself on the back despite the fact that she’s tiny, because she’s a more experienced lifter. No, I’m not competitive at all, lol.)
trap bar deadlift: 5x10@135, just while waiting for everyone else to finish up. Last time I tried these I couldn’t keep my balance at all; now I can.
adductor machine: 10@50, 10@70, 10@90, 10@110
hypers: 5x10@25 plate
glute machine: 4x10@100 each leg.
seated calf: 3x10@45-lb plate. (never did calf work before; no aesthetic reason to as my calves are already icky big. Do you need good calves for powerlifting somehow?)
I just turned 18 and I’m pretty much useless after 9 pm. Am I a granny too? 
You have pretty shoulders!
Wish I could work out with PLers. My gym is 90% complete weeeeeniiiee!
Bah! no such thing as icky big calves. I used to think mine were too big but now that I’ve started developing them I get compliments almost daily. Having genetically good calves is something to be proud of, you’d be surprised how many people would love to have your calves!
A good reason to train calves is so that you don’t accidently pull or strain one while training squats, deadlifts, dragging the sled, etc. I also believe training them helps with balance and stability much in the same way training formarms helps with grip, if that makes sense.
speed day:
deadlift 10@95, 10@115, 10@135, 3x10@155
then realized it was supposed to be 10x1, not 10x10, and did a bunch of singles at 155.
Romanians: 10@135, 10/5/5@155
(damn I can NOT do these right.)
cable crunch: 10@60, 10@70, 10@80
lat pulldowns: 3x10@87.5
standing calf: 3x10@160
Blech, been eating badly all week. Tomorrow’s a pizza party for first-year students, but after that I be good, promise. I don’t think I ever want to see food again.
Alisa, great pictures!
I used to hate my calves and thought they were big from years of cycling. Turns out, alot of that bigness wasn’t muscle but fat. I still don’t train calves, though.
I think RDLs are hard. What’s not going right with them, Alisa?
If you could do 10 reps at 155 when the protocol called for 1 rep, you gotta up your weight, lady.
I have lean calves. One place I never gain weight. I do work 'em, but always feel like it’s kind of pointless.
This is Westside – it’s supposed to be “speed day.” I generally follow the girl in the club who’s comparable in strength to me. But, yeah, next time I could go heavier.
RDL’s – just have not figured out form. Back rounding, pretty much; also I don’t feel them in my butt.
If your back is rounding maybe try lessening the weight to work on form. Last thing you wanna do is mess your back up!
Think about bending at the hips, kinda how a stripper picks up a dollar bill, haha!! I think I’ve used this reference before…not that I would know about being a stripper!
How far you lower the weight depends on your flexibility or when you feel that good stretch in your hammies…then you drive the hips through on the way up.
1-hour run; some hills involved.
lower body day:
squats: 5@45, 5@65, 5x5@115. Light today because Boss Girl wants me to fix my lopsidedness – I carry my right shoulder lower and twist my body. I was getting better by the end, but still going lopsided at the last second; because I’m weaker on one side, I get nervous about failing the lift when I try to go perfectly straight.
RDL’s: 10@135, 8@155, 5x8@135
hip abductions, adductions, and abs (incline situps with 25-lb plate. The inclines at this gym are VERY inclined; these are serious situps.)
Here you go Alisa… a lot of people don’t know how to do RDLs!
http://www.cathletics.com/exercises/exercise.php?exerciseID=101
^very helpful! The video really helps you see the difference.
What part of the body does the unilateral weakness stem from? Can you tell?
Not sure; I know I put more weight on the left foot, and my left knee tends to cave in.
upper body day:
bench: 10@45, 10@65, 5@85, 4@95, 2/1@105
press: 10@45, 10@55, 5@65, 2@75
DB rows: 10@40, 3x10@45 (each arm)
hammer curls: 3x5@22.5’s, 3x10@15’s
arnold press: 10@15’s, 10@20’s, 8/8/5@22.5’s
cable tricep pulldowns: 10@60, 10@70, 10@80
squats:
10@45, 10@65, 8@95, 8/8/5@115, 8@95
RDL’s: 5x10@135
abductors: 3x10@90
adductors: 3x10@90
cable ab crunch: 10@60, 10@80, 10@100, 10@110
What’s the standard remedy for knee cave again? That’s my current bugbear.
I feel like I’m the kid in one of those old karate movies, where the old master won’t let him do the neat fighting moves, he has to do chores and wash the car. They’re making me do form, form, and form.