Red is a great color for a belt! I almost went with that, but opted for forest green instead. If your belt is leather with a buckle like mine, you can roll it up and run it through the dishwasher as per this awesome article:
http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/powerlifting-articles/virgin-belt-users/
I put mine in the dishwasher once in each direction and it worked great. I also dried it outside in the sun, but that was summer and now it is not. Pity.
that is so awesome you got a shake weight! hahaha
Is that you and your son in your avvie? I can’t tell 
It’s an awesome pic. And you have beautiful kids.
I hear you on the physics thing. That rule applies to me; when I’m at rest, I prefer to stay there.
I’m sure you look awesome in your belt. It sounds awesome.
I’m hoping that the next video you will be wearing it 
Yippee! You got a shake weight! Now you don’t have to worry about running to stay active. You can get your workout in just by sitting on the couch.
Luck-ky!
;D
Kimba: Yes, red was the perfect color choice for me. He did good. Thanks for the article link. The dishwasher! I’m not sure I can do that to my pretty red belt. I don’t want the color to fade.
Deja: The shake weight is funny. What’s even better is that it comes with a workout DVD and instructions on form–apparently it is possible to shake the weight incorrectly.
Nikki: I’m hoping to wear the belt for my next PR, but it may take some time to break it in. RIght now when I wear it, it feels like it’s bruising my hips. It’s a stiff one. And yes that’s my son I’m dancing with. And he is a cutie. The picture was taken a couple of months ago at my sister’s wedding.
what a beautiful picture!! you look stunning!!
Superbuff arms, too!
Does the shakeweight at least make a good vibrator?
Aww! he is a cutie and you are absolutely beautiful!
Excellent news on the belt! And red is my color!! so its doubly awesome! As for the shake weight…HAHAH! I like Cal’s recommendation…
Trust me, after the first time you try and wear this stiff belt and it hurts you and you can’t buckle it, you will be throwing that sucker into the dishwasher with abandon. My dark green belt didn’t fade noticeably despite my very harsh treatment of it.
You are a hottie.
Thanks Brute!
Cal and Masch, you devils. THe shake weight instructions clearly state that “The shake weight is NOT a toy.”
Kimba thanks. It’s hard for me to believe, but my husband says he purchased the already broken in kind. I can buckle it ok. In fact, yesterday I did laundry while wearing it. I got a pr.
++++++++++++++
Training tomorrow, but first a recap of cycle 2.
BW: Dec-121.0; Nov-120.8; Oct 116.5
Miles Run: Dec-87; Nov-75; Oct 100
Cycle 2 PRS
Bench 80x15 (+2) and 90x9 (+2)
Squat: 100x17 (+11)
DL: 180x11 (+4)
MP: nothing but the knowledge (thank you Cal and Kimba) that I’ve not been doing full ROM.
Pullups: suck
For cycle 3 I have set my maxes as follows:
MP 62.5 (same);
squat: 115 (+10 because high rep squats make me want to puke);
DL 192.5 (+5);
Bench 95 (+2.5 because I’m a chicken shit).
That was a good wave 2. Be careful bumping up the weight too much in any one month. Once you advance out a few waves, it becomes harder to progress and you might have to reset maxes. I’ve come to completely buy into the incremental progress mind-set: that it is better to progress as long as possible by only incrementally increasing the weights rather than to hit my wall quickly and constantly have to reset.
Nice job on miles run!
LMAO leave it to Cal to ask if it makes a good vibrator.
That pic is beautiful. Your son is a cutie and I see where he gets it from <3
You made great progress on the lifts, great job.
Wow! you are one gorgeous lady! All that hard work you do has sure paid off:)
I gotta say, your DL max is way higher than where you set it. But you’ll figure that out. And there’s no harm in slow gains.
Really beauteous pic of you and your son. There’s nothing like being able to show off your hard work in a gorgeous dress.
I’ve forgotten . . . do you train outta your house? If so, why not up your 1 RM for bench if your hubby can spot you?
Kimba: Yeah, look at me all cocky with the squat all of the sudden. You’re right. I’m going to lower my training max to 110. II seriously haven’t done shit with anything over 100lbs. I’ve done 100x6, 105x5, 115x3, 125x1, 135x1 and 150x1. But, now that I know I can miss and live, obviously, I’m feeling much more confident! But, slow and steady is the way. Thanks for the reminder.
Coyote and Nikki: Thank you.
Snap: I guess I should say 192.5 is my DL training max. It’s lower than my (for sure) 1 rep max of 225.
And you’re right, I’m gunning for slow and steady gains. Regarding bench, I do train at home, and I could have my husband spot me, but that didn’t work out the one time we tried. I was naughty and couldn’t concentrate with him standing over me. But really, and in my defense, if you knew him you would understand why–he’s been known to fuck with me. Of course, on this particular occasion, he was taking my max effort bench attempt with the utmost seriousness. Unimpressed by my lack of focus, (I was giggling) he let the bar pin me. I haven’t asked him for a spot since then. I probably will again–now that I know that max effort bench attempts are like being on home base. I’ll see how I feel. Ideally, when I hit a 100lb bench it will be for reps!
+++++++++++++
Training: I’m following a variation of 5-3-1 and switching my 5-5-5- week with my 3-3-3 week. My intention is to go for rep prs and do BBB on my 1st and 3rd training weeks only and take it easy on my 2nd week.
Bench today 3-3-3 (broke out the micro weights)
Bench
45x10
65x5
67.5x3
77.5x3
87.5x11 * I’ve never benched 87.5 before so this is a default rep pr. But, my rep pr at 85 is also 11, so I’m very happy with this.
BBB Bench: 67.5x10x5
ROws: 45x10, 75x5; 85x5x3; 95x5
Jumps–long, box, rebound, tuck all x10 (ankle felt good–I think I get to go running tonight!)
I skipped out on my jumps my last cycle because BBB killed me and I had nothing left by the end. I felt good today and got through this workout easily. I even had to check my 5-3-1 book to make sure I wasn’t leaving out an accessory.
And crap. I totally forgot to try out my new belt today.
Nice benching. My husband always spots me on bench in the gym. He doesn’t fuck with me, I’ve trained him not to touch the bar until I tell him to take it, and I take bench pretty seriously cause I’m skeered of the bar over my head.
What do you use for your box jumps? How do you do long jumps at home? Inquiring minds want to know!
LMAO I’m not good training with boyfriends for that reason either. And having a guy spot you while benching is such a nice view! <3
You forgot the belt? Drats.
That bench looks like progress/PR to me!
Good work on the benching.
I have real problems with jumping. I actually can’t tuck jump - I hardly get off the ground at all. I’m not sure if it’s a motor skills thing or a lack of mobility or what, but this white girl can’t jump. We have to do them sometimes as part of warm-up in gymnastics class and I’m rather pathetic. Any tips?
HAHAH! I’m intrigued by your relationship with your hubby and your inability to train together…HAH! Love it.
Goals look good Nadia! And yes, you can miss and you will survive - in other words, its ok to dream big.
Great work on the bench PR! Micro plates…still toying with getting these…
LOL! you forgot the belt!! Too funny.
Hi Kimba: I do standing long jumps across (or on to) the DL mat that we use. I’ve improved to the point that I’m jumping about 6 feet. Box jumps are done on the plywood box my husband made to use for his box squats–turned up on to its side it’s about 28 inches high.
Nikki: Yes, the view was one reason I was laughing. It was also a nervous laugh brought on by fears of being t-bagged.
Cal: I’m no jumper either, which is why I started jumping. I started jumping up on to a single interior step in my house. Then, it was on to my husband’s squat box at about 16 inches high, now I’m up to a 28 inch box jump. If you start jumping you’ll probably see quick improvement. I just added the tuck jumps in very recently.
Masch: I actually practiced missing on the bench during my boring but big sets. Put the bar gently here, roll it down…I’m getting confidence. Re training with hubby–I’ll blame him. It doesn’t work because he is a grap ass, slap, tickle, pull my finger kinda guy. Maybe in public we’d be ok, but in our garage gym he’s randy. But, he took my one time max effort bench attempt very seriously…it was me, the view, the anxiety of being t-bagged, and his unusual display of intensity that all worked against my ability to concentrate.
