I see you didn’t try the overhead squats. I highly recommend trying a set I think they emphasize a lower back arch that might be useful.
Yeah… I can’t do any appreciable weight on overhead squats but I do recall that there’s no way to do them without good form. Your back automatically sets properly.
do you have a foam roller at home?
That 25 rep squat set looks fierce, good work.
[quote]arachne12 wrote:
I see you didn’t try the overhead squats. I highly recommend trying a set I think they emphasize a lower back arch that might be useful. [/quote]
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Yeah… I can’t do any appreciable weight on overhead squats but I do recall that there’s no way to do them without good form. Your back automatically sets properly.[/quote]
Yesterday’s training was with my trainer-guy, so he got to pick the workout. I do plan on trying this on Friday with a 25# plate to start with. I definitely think it will be useful in working on my back issues!
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
do you have a foam roller at home? [/quote]
Oh, I absolutely do. There’s lots of weird things that I’m comfortable doing in a gym (think air humping) but foam rolling I prefer to do in the privacy of my living room!
[quote]JoeGood wrote:
That 25 rep squat set looks fierce, good work.[/quote]
Thanks Joe! I sort of enjoy seeing how many light weight squats I can eek out. I think it helps my endurance on heavier weight.
And I forgot to add that I did do 20 real dips (BW) only during yesterday’s training. I knew I was forgetting something.
I have to roll at home because of the groaning. I don’t want to be banned from the gym because someone mistakes that for orgasmic grunting.
Nice work!
great squatting and dips!!..
Alisav is right, you cant OH squat wrong without bailing.
the things that work for me - for OH squat is to get the bar back over the hips,
to push the knees out and lead with the ass those two kind of go together…
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
[quote]arachne12 wrote:
[quote]nlmain wrote:
Your arms are looking fabulous on that deadlift vid Kimba- I was more interesting in watching those than judging your form- lol. And those bridges look heavy like hell- now I’ve got to go try them, although I’m not sure where I could set up for that in my gym. Kudos for coming back strong. Keep those days in mind when you hit another bump.[/quote]
That’s funny, I was distracted by your butt, Kimba. :)[/quote]
Butt, arms. Its all good. Thanks for noticing. 
Right now, I am distracted by how painful foam rolling my adductors just was. Ouch. I don’t usually roll this part of my leg. But given my recent butt-tucked-under sumo deadlift woes, I think I’ve found a problem area. Maybe if my adductors were more flexible, I could stick my butt out more!?!?!
From Strength Training, Bodybuilding & Online Supplement Store - T NATION
<Adductors: Balance on your forearms with the top of one of your inner thighs resting on the roller. From this position, roll all the way down to the adductor tubercle (just above the medial aspect of the knee) to get the distal attachments. You’ll even get a little vastus medialis work in while you’re there. >
ouch, ouch, ouch.[/quote]
yes, kimba…i must 2x and 3x the comments…your bootay is lookin good…and your arms…pleghh…i’m a hater for all you with lean arms!!
so we are in pain together on the hip, ad/abductor issues…i’m gonna go roll now…
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
Nice work!
great squatting and dips!!..
Alisav is right, you cant OH squat wrong without bailing.
the things that work for me - for OH squat is to get the bar back over the hips,
to push the knees out and lead with the ass those two kind of go together…
[/quote]
Thanks! I’m trying the OH squats tonight. Excited! If I can hunt down the 18# body bar, I can try that as well as a 25# plate.
All on video, of course, to keep me honest and perhaps to amuse and entertain others.
[quote]talenaah wrote:
yes, kimba…i must 2x and 3x the comments…your bootay is lookin good…and your arms…pleghh…i’m a hater for all you with lean arms!!
so we are in pain together on the hip, ad/abductor issues…i’m gonna go roll now…[/quote]
Hey, thanks T!
I’m continuing to roll on the hurty bits in hopes of eventual improvement. For the past year and a half, I’ve religiously rolled out my left ITB and this has helped enormously in getting rid of left knee issues. I have high hopes for the adductor rolling.
I had been thinking/ruminating/obsessing all week over my sumo deadlift form. And in particular, NOT tucking my butt under, and squeezing my shoulder blades together to lock out. Although usually my deadlift day is Sunday, I walked into the gym last nite and just couldn’t get deadlifts outta my mind.
So that’s what I did.
Sumo Deadlifts
On one riser:
65# 1 x 10
95# 1 x 5
115# 1 x 5
From Floor:
115# 1 x 5 <–way harder for me than off of risers. Hip, adductor and hammie flexibility is definitely the limiter.
135# 1 x 5 <–not as hard as 115# from the floor with the smaller 35# plates. Also using narrower stance for the remainder of the sets. My hips and inner thighs just can’t handle my feet so near the plates as I’d been trying for recently.
155# 1 x 2
160# 1 x 2
135# 1 x 3
My goal today was NOT to tuck my butt under. I did a good job of this at 135# and below. 155# was a better back than last time. Then, of course, I had to go for 160#, which is equal to the most weight I’ve ever deadlifted.
I was really trying to keep a decent back arch, but was only partially successful and then at the expense of a good pull-back. I’m still happy with the training, though, because I met my goal of addressing the butt-tuck at every weight except my max.
Overhead squats
18# body bar 1 x 10
25# plate 1 x 10
I’ve got no idea what I’m doing here, but it was fun and I plan on working on OHS more.
Bench Press
80# 1 x 3 <–PR +5 lbs.
75# 2 x 5
I was super excited to bench 80# for the first time ever!
One armed DB bent-over rows
50# 2 x 6, 1 x 5 <–PR + 5 lbs
Never ever touched the 50s before, so I was pretty happy with this! My grip failed on the last set, and my form probably sucked so I plan to work at this weight for awhile.
Face Pulls
27.5 kg 3 x 10
Decline sits
10# behind head 2 x 10 reps
Can’t wait for Sunday’s training!
Nice improvement on the DLs and well done on the PRs.
I am not sure I’d be able to do the overheads with a plate. I use a bar and a snatch grip - very wide, basically - which allows me to keep my shoulders back (there’s a vid of me warming up with some on page 5 of my log - though I’ve subsequently dumped those shoes, I might add). Your arms are drifting forward which will tip your whole weight forward in turn. If you can find a light bar you’ll probably have a much easier time of it.
PS, envious of your gym music. I get to listen to Lady Gaga and endless crap R&B at mine. 
+1 ^^^^^^^. Whatever type of weight you use, you need to try and get your elbows locked out and your arms back behind your ears. KMC is the OHS king, he could probably give you some good tips as well.
Good work, great PRs!
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Nice improvement on the DLs and well done on the PRs.
I am not sure I’d be able to do the overheads with a plate. I use a bar and a snatch grip - very wide, basically - which allows me to keep my shoulders back (there’s a vid of me warming up with some on page 5 of my log - though I’ve subsequently dumped those shoes, I might add). Your arms are drifting forward which will tip your whole weight forward in turn. If you can find a light bar you’ll probably have a much easier time of it.
PS, envious of your gym music. I get to listen to Lady Gaga and endless crap R&B at mine. :/[/quote]
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
+1 ^^^^^^^. Whatever type of weight you use, you need to try and get your elbows locked out and your arms back behind your ears. KMC is the OHS king, he could probably give you some good tips as well.
Good work, great PRs![/quote]
Cal and jack, thanks for the feedback. Agreed, with the plate there is probably no way I can keep my arms back behind my ears given my shoulder-hunching issues. I did better with the 18# body bar on that. And, I can probably load up the curl bar until I get strong enough for the oly bar, cause the 18# body bar is the heaviest at my gym.
BTW, I just got a nice oly bar as a present from my husband. (I do believe he appreciates that I am the kind of girl who thinks this is a kick-ass present, but I digress.) I’d love to be able to practice OHS with that at home. First, must get stronger…
(With apologies to the girls struggling with dropping lbs) So, I get on the scale this morning after sort of screwing up my nutrition yesterday. I forgot to eat before going to a holiday party where I knew the food would be crap. Indeed, the food was crap and I ate a handful of M&Ms, meatballs with sauce, salad, fruit salad, a brownie, a pizzelle sort of cookie and an oatmeal cookie.
Again, so I get on the scale and it says 109.5. What? Usually extra junky carbs will temporarily put me over my normal 111.5 in the AM. Apparently arachne’s “food shock” hypothesis strikes again, after MIM’s hamburger episode…
Feeling a bit light, I headed to the gym for my Sunday AM training. As I’m stretching and warming up, the nice high-school girl who works the fitness center came up to me and insisted I had to do the pull-up challenge of the day (something about a raffle for free months membership…I don’t know). She’s cute and I like her so I say OK, even though the pull-up station is in the fucking middle of the gym totally on display, and there is no straight grip for my strongest variation: the chin-up.
I pick the neutral grip, of which my previous record is 2. And, with a few competitive juices flowing I banged out 5 really nice reps, chest to the bar and full ROM down. PR +3, but in fairness I was down at least 1 pound from my usual weight. Some random guy went out of his way to tell me that he was impressed by my pull-up abilities. That was cool, and the second consecutive Sunday that this sort of thing has happened.
Actually, on Friday night one of the gym employees (not a trainer, like a maintenance guy) was watching me pull 155#, and then came up to me and asked if I was “a competitive powerlifter”. Um, no. Not quite. PMPM and Shauna, just to name two, would warm up with that weight.
Back squats to THREE risers and a step (yep, I took out a riser)
Bar 1 x 10 warmup
70# 1 x 10 pretty easy
95# 1 x 5 last rep was hard
Then, not trusting I could get 115# up even one time, I added the fourth riser:
115# 1 x 5 failed on 6 and had to dump it on the rails <–Rep PR +2
Back to three risers:
75# 5 x 10 reps
I wanted to change up my squat training a bit, and going lower seemed a good plan.
Military Press
Bar 1 x 5
55# 1 x 4 failed on 5
60# O x 0 fail, fail, fail.
Clearly 60# is my one-rep-max on a good day, and this was not a good day.
Dips (real ones)
10# dumbbell between thighs 1 x 10, 2 x 9 <–PR +2.5#
I’m not 100% positive that I was getting as far down as I should be, although I always lock out at the top. Next time, I’ll repeat this weight to be sure.
Back Raises
5# plate behind head 1 x 41 <–Rep PR +6
Chinups on the smith machine BW 1 x 5
And then I was done.
Went home and ate a delicious egg salad sandwich on wheat toast. I cannot adequately express in words how much I love egg salad.
we should eat crap more often! j/k
The theory makes sense, and thats why its probably recommended to eat a cheat meal(s?) during the week to let the bod know its not starving…and then it says, ok, we’ll let some fat go!
Much better lucking DLs!!! Thats awesome-ness!!
Nice work on the squats and dips. I, however, do not share your enthusiasm for egg salad. Eggs, yes…but mayo is the devil’s jism. Bleurgh!
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
we should eat crap more often! j/k
The theory makes sense, and thats why its probably recommended to eat a cheat meal(s?) during the week to let the bod know its not starving…and then it says, ok, we’ll let some fat go!
Much better lucking DLs!!! Thats awesome-ness!! :)[/quote]
I think maybe eating the crap sorta by accident was the key here. 
Thanks for the encouragement on the DLs. I definitely want pretty ones as well as heavy ones.
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Nice work on the squats and dips. I, however, do not share your enthusiasm for egg salad. Eggs, yes…but mayo is the devil’s jism. Bleurgh![/quote]
Thanks Cal! Mayo and I have no issues with one another. I don’t eat it super often, but I enjoy it when I do. Mostly I eat my eggs hard boiled, on top of salads.
Actually, the only food I feel about the way you feel about mayo is…cucumbers. Disgusting.
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Nice work on the squats and dips. I, however, do not share your enthusiasm for egg salad. Eggs, yes…but mayo is the devil’s jism. Bleurgh![/quote]
then the devil would love me because i love me some mayo…
[quote]talenaah wrote:
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Nice work on the squats and dips. I, however, do not share your enthusiasm for egg salad. Eggs, yes…but mayo is the devil’s jism. Bleurgh![/quote]
then the devil would love me because i love me some mayo…
[/quote]
Preach sistah!