Nice link, Kimba - I can’t believe the girls on that vid were considered “amazons” - they looked quite normal to me! And it’s pretty sad Jessica Biel and Hilary Swank could be considered bulky. I thought they looked great at their most muscular. Ah well, society.
[quote]talenaah wrote:
happy new year kimba, you zoo animal! i’m looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the 2010 lifting year!
sorry about your kitty and the white carpet…
glad the cat is better. [/quote]
T, thanks for the encouragement! Both the kitty and the carpet are improved.
[quote]JoeGood wrote:
Nice lifting Kimba, at least you can pack in the cals tonight.[/quote]
Thanks Joe! Swordfish is on the menu. Mmmmm.
[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Nice link, Kimba - I can’t believe the girls on that vid were considered “amazons” - they looked quite normal to me! And it’s pretty sad Jessica Biel and Hilary Swank could be considered bulky. I thought they looked great at their most muscular. Ah well, society.[/quote]
That article is probably the saddest thing I’ve read in awhile. Ah, well. Harsh judgments on women’s body shapes? That never happens! 
Here it is: Kimba’s 2009 Lifting Year in Review
As of January 1, 2009, I had been lifting for five months. Two weeks earlier, I had just learned the back squat with only the oly bar. I’d never deadlifted before. I’d never bench pressed before. The increases from then to December 31, 2009 are:
Back squat: 65lbs to cheated depth → 110lbs x 3 reps to legal depth (+ 45 lbs.)
Sumo deadlift: 0 for 0 → 160 lbs x 2 reps (+ 160 lbs.)
Dumbbell chest press: 25s dumbbells for 8 reps → 30s dumbbells for 10 reps (not tested recently)
Bench Press: 0 → 80 lb bench press x 3 reps (+ 80 lbs., but clearly I could press 50 lbs at the start of the year, so the gain is really more like + 30 lbs.)
Chin ups: 0 unassisted → 8 chinups, 5 parallel grip pull ups,
Dips (real ones, full range of motion): 0 → BW 1 x 27, BW + 10lbs. 1 x 11, 10, 8
Shoulder press: 12s x 15 reps, → 25s x 4 reps (+ 26 lbs.)
Military Press: 0 for 0 → 60 lbs. x 1 rep (+ 60 lbs.)
One armed bent over DB rows: 25 lbs x 20 reps → 50 lbs. x 8 reps (+ 25 lbs.)
Looking over this list, I’m feeling pretty good about the number increases. I did not set out in January 2009 to accomplish anything like this. My goals definitely evolved throughout the year into gaining strength on the major lifts.
What’s in store for 2010? Well, my plan is to implement 5/3/1 on the two day per week program putting squat, bench plus accessory work on one day, and deadlifts, MPs and accessory work on the other. This isn’t a real 5/3/1 as I’ll be off the reservation for my third weekly lifting day. But I think I can make this work for me.
I’m setting my maxes at: squat - 110, bench - 80, sumo deadlift - 155 and MP - 55 lbs. We will see if these are low enough. My continued focus is getting my squat and deadlift numbers up. Bench – maybe someday I’ll feel the love.
This program starts tomorrow with deadlift/MP day! Yay!
Happy New Year to all of you! Thanks for all the help and encouragement.
And Happy New Year to YOU! you Zoo Animal…a cougar perhaps? GRRRR!!!
Nice progress.
I saw the Leigh Peele thing too … bizarre. I keep forgetting that’s most of the world.
Happy new year, Kimba! Great progress. Looking forward to seeing where you get in 2010.
Thanks MIM, Alisa and Arachne! 2010 will be a great Powerful Women lifting year. I can feel it.
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
Gaining weight will make bench and squat go up. You’ve got room.[/quote]
Of course, you are correct. But such a simple observation yields to complex body image issues. The short response is that I am 100% happy with my body just as it is. If that means sacrificing progress in the weight room because I refuse to gain weight, that is the choice I’ll make.
I do cheer on women (some of them on here) who set as a goal to gain size and strength. This really swims against society’s tide of what women should look like/be like. For an example of what is “mainstream”, read here:
http://www.leighpeele.com/bulky-muscles-and-training-females-the-definition
I’ll readily admit to having the fortitude to swim upstream a little bit (lifting heavy in my gym makes me feel like a zoo-animal ALOT) but not further.
Only when I’m sure your head won’t explode.
[/quote]
Fair enough. I started out the same way: didn’t want to gain weight but get as strong as possible. And I did, but it turned out that “as strong as possible” didn’t match up with “as strong as I wanted to be” and got injured a fair bit trying to reach the latter without getting bigger. Like many do, I tend to think that what I want is what everybody wants or should want. Oddly enough, they frequently don’t.
So I apologize - I didn’t realize that you wished to stay at the same weight and would not push you to get bigger if that’s something you don’t want. Just be careful as you approach your maximums down the road. You may find that you need to cycle up to them, supplanting volume with intensity over many weeks in order to reach a new max safely.
Gettin’ hurt sucks.
As for the head explosions - my wife is very adept at forestalling any egregious cranial swelling resulting from unearned self-regard so I don’t think there’s any danger there.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
Fair enough. I started out the same way: didn’t want to gain weight but get as strong as possible. And I did, but it turned out that “as strong as possible” didn’t match up with “as strong as I wanted to be” and got injured a fair bit trying to reach the latter without getting bigger. Like many do, I tend to think that what I want is what everybody wants or should want. Oddly enough, they frequently don’t.
So I apologize - I didn’t realize that you wished to stay at the same weight and would not push you to get bigger if that’s something you don’t want. Just be careful as you approach your maximums down the road. You may find that you need to cycle up to them, supplanting volume with intensity over many weeks in order to reach a new max safely. [/quote]
Oh, no apology necessary. I love hearing suggestions from all points of view. Challenge is a good thing!
That is good advice right there. I will be so excited to one day find it necessary to cycle up to maxes instead of just figuring out how to do the damn lift correctly.
Especially when self-employed with crap medical insurance. Careful is the only way.
You married well.
awesome achievements this year, kimba!!! bravo hot stuff!
Ditto on that - amazing progress. Kudos.
Deja and Cal, thanks so much for the props!
Today’s Training – 5/3/1 Wave One, Week One, Day One
Sumo Deadlift
from risers:
65# 1 x 10 warmup
105# 1 x 5 warmup
120# 1 x 5 working
from floor
135# 1 x 11 ← rep PR +3
115# 1 x 10
95# 4 x 10
Good deadlift day! 135# for 11 was hard but I was pretty happy with how they looked, form-wise. I was super excited to get 11.
Military Press
40# (2 20s) 1 x 5 working
45# 1 x 5 working
50# 1 x 7 ← rep PR +1
I tried for an 8th rep, but failed on it. Again, happy with the rep PR. At least for the moment, I think I’ve set my max low enough.
Pull-ups (close parallel grip)
1 x 5, 2 x 3
Every single time I do these at the gym, I get commentary. Enuf said.
Back Raises
10# plate behind head 1 x 27 ← rep PR +7
I failed on rep 28, so this for sure was all I could do today.
Cable Hip Adductions/Abductions
12.5# 3 x 10 reps, both legs.
Went up on weight for these, and I can really feel it in my hips/glutes
Face Pulls (external rotation)
25.5# 1 x 20, 2 x 15
working on posture, working on posture, WORKING ON POSTURE!
Sumos looking good Kimba. Nice neutral spine. Back is getting stronger?
hell yeah for your deadlifts, lady!! (i’ll just add that you’re still hyper extending your back just a wee bit at lockout…)
but seriously!! nice PR’s!!!
and still loving the definition in your arms. nom.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
Sumos looking good Kimba. Nice neutral spine. Back is getting stronger?[/quote]
Thanks DCA! Back, glutes, legs…something is getting stronger, I hope.
[quote]CBear84 wrote:
hell yeah for your deadlifts, lady!! (i’ll just add that you’re still hyper extending your back just a wee bit at lockout…)
but seriously!! nice PR’s!!![/quote]
Thanks for the critique…super helpful. I would never have known to pull my shoulder blades together and that hyper-extending at lockout was a bad thing without you. Working it, working it…
I need to find a “before” picture somewhere showing my shoulder-less, skinny-fat-arm pre-lifting state.
WooHoo! nice PR there kimba-lady!
What commentary do you get on the pull-ups?
Really impressive progress over the past year, Kimba. I will definitely record my own benchmarks Kimba-style on those push/pulls I have goals for and those not even on my radar yet. Happy New Year of Lifting and thanks, again, for your encouragement elsewhere!
[quote]soldog wrote:
WooHoo! nice PR there kimba-lady!
What commentary do you get on the pull-ups?[/quote]
Thanks George!
How to describe the commentary…from men, never from women.
First I get the “look”, the “wow, look at THAT…never seen THAT before” look that a weird-looking animal at a zoo would recognize. Luckily, I am quite blind so its easy for me to overlook this part when I’m not in the mood to be amused by it.
Then a fair amount of the time, the look is followed by “wow, you are strong” or “that’s a hard exercise, isn’t it” or “I’ve never seen a girl do that”.
Now, I’m not saying that the old ego isn’t a bit boosted by this attention. But its also uncomfortable not being able to quietly go about my workout without putting on a one-woman freak show.
[quote]FreckleFace wrote:
Really impressive progress over the past year, Kimba. I will definitely record my own benchmarks Kimba-style on those push/pulls I have goals for and those not even on my radar yet. Happy New Year of Lifting and thanks, again, for your encouragement elsewhere![/quote]
FF, thanks for the kind words! My goals evolved over the year, and yours will too. Best of luck.
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
Deja and Cal, thanks so much for the props!
Today’s Training – 5/3/1 Wave One, Week One, Day One
Sumo Deadlift
from risers:
65# 1 x 10 warmup
105# 1 x 5 warmup
120# 1 x 5 working
from floor
135# 1 x 11 ← rep PR +3
115# 1 x 10
95# 4 x 10
Good deadlift day! 135# for 11 was hard but I was pretty happy with how they looked, form-wise. I was super excited to get 11.
Military Press
40# (2 20s) 1 x 5 working
45# 1 x 5 working
50# 1 x 7 ← rep PR +1
I tried for an 8th rep, but failed on it. Again, happy with the rep PR. At least for the moment, I think I’ve set my max low enough.
Pull-ups (close parallel grip)
1 x 5, 2 x 3
Every single time I do these at the gym, I get commentary. Enuf said.
Back Raises
10# plate behind head 1 x 27 ← rep PR +7
I failed on rep 28, so this for sure was all I could do today.
Cable Hip Adductions/Abductions
12.5# 3 x 10 reps, both legs.
Went up on weight for these, and I can really feel it in my hips/glutes
Face Pulls (external rotation)
25.5# 1 x 20, 2 x 15
working on posture, working on posture, WORKING ON POSTURE![/quote]
whoa. whoa. I am confused as hell. I just worked out my 5/3/1 schedule, and as you can guess, it’s similar to yours on maxes. How is this 5/3/1 with presses and deadlifts on the same day? Help!
[quote]arachne12 wrote:
working on posture, working on posture, WORKING ON POSTURE![/quote]
whoa. whoa. I am confused as hell. I just worked out my 5/3/1 schedule, and as you can guess, it’s similar to yours on maxes. How is this 5/3/1 with presses and deadlifts on the same day? Help!
[/quote]
Ah, spider. Read your manual! This is the two day per week program. Because I work out with my trainer-guy once per week (as of now) I can’t commit to the normal 5/3/1 4 or 3 day/week program. I know that because of this once per week off-the-program workout what I’m doing isn’t 5/3/1, but its pretty close.
Deadlift definitely better. I find it hard to keep a neutral spine even with an empty bar. Too many years sat at a computer, tbh.