Sort of a strange day lifting today. It was "Heavy" Bench Day today, but the prescribed work sets for my competition bench were 95#x2repsx5sets. I trust the program but Lilly also says to add weight if the bar feels too light and take it off it it feels too heavy so going in I figured I would be adding weight to my comp bench sets. I actually only ended up adding 5# for the last three sets because even the 95# felt pretty weighty. Not sure if this is because I was up late last night watching the Sox (whoo hoo!) or if it's because my body is still adjusting to the new programming, or something else entirely.
It was a quick workout today, just over an hour of lifting. That's good since I am planning on squatting tomorrow evening instead of Saturday morning, but it still felt too short to me so I added in 4 minutes of Tabata rope work at the end. I think I drank too much coffee pre-workout too so I had some extra energy to burn off and 4 minutes of rope work took care of it nicely.
----------------------
Training today:
Warm-up (foam roll, mobility work, push-ups. band pull-aparts and band-pulldowns)
Bench Warm-up Sets: 45#x10, 65#x5, 75#x3
Competition-style Bench: 95#x2repsx2sets; 100#x2repsx3sets
Close-Grip Bench: 100#x3repsx2sets
Pause-Bench (pause 1" above chest): 90#x6repsx2sets
Tricep Pushdown: 60# (4x10)
DB Shoulder Press: 25# (4x8)
Eccentric Chin-upsx3,3,2,1
Tabata Rope Work - 4 minutes
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Deadlift Day
I am really enjoying the Cube Boss programming. Doing so many working sets of my main lift (14 sets of deadlifts if you include my warm-ups) makes me feel like I am getting quality work in to make progress with the "big three" while the relative high-rep/low-weight nature of the sets (compared to my 5-3-1 program) combined with a fairly serious amount of accessory work means I've been getting a pretty consistent endorphin boost from these workouts too. Wins all around.
------------------
Training today - "Explosive" Deadlift Day
Warm-up Deads: 133#x5, 165#x5, 3
Competition Deadlift: 182#x3repsx8sets
2" Deficit Deadlift: 170#x8repsx3sets
Kettlebell Swings (in place of block pulls b/c the Y isn't equipped for rack pulls or block pulls): 20kgx25, 25, 20, 15, 15
Walking Lunge 30#DBsx10repsx4sets
Goodmornings 105#x10repsx3sets
Farmer Carry 70#DBsx20 secs; 60#DBsx23secsx2
Band Chin-upsx4,3,2
--------------
p.s. I also drank twice as much pre-workout coffee as I usually do, so that might be contributing a small amount to my effervescent good mood . . . :)
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Prowler = enlightenment?
This post is sort of all over the place. Sort of is an understatement. It also gets all touchy-feely about body-image and what-not, so, you know, fair warning.
--------------------------
This morning at TPS while pushing the Prowler down the 100" of indoor turf they have there (AWESOMENESS), I looked in the mirror to check my form and had a shocking moment of realization, that I really do like my body. I like it all, not just my butt or my quads or my traps and shoulders that have all been wildly "improved" over the past couple years but even and perhaps especially my floppy hanging-down belly that was jiggling around as I plowed down the turf.
My stomach has always been the first thing I target in the mirror as the part of my body that I wish I could change. For years pretty much every glance in a mirror was a cringe-worthy experience for me as I was so deeply unhappy with the way that I looked (I'd say from about age 12 or whenever it is that girls start looking in the mirror and hating themselves, all the way through morbid obesity in highschool and college, right up until about two years ago at age 29, so yeah, a solid 17 years or so.) Though over the past few years I have gotten somewhat less mirror-apprehensive as I've gotten in much better shape, my stomach has been a reliable source of continued self-bashing every time I see it poking out over the top of my pants or pooching out against a clingy shirt or god forbid while bending over in a sports bra in public (THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN PT SCHOOL, PEOPLE.).
Strangely and wonderfully though, in that moment with the Prowler I really loved my stomach as a reminder of where I have been and how far I have come. The fact that it is floppy and jiggles around and hangs down when I push the Prowler is because it used to be huge and filled with fat and there's still a lot of extra skin hanging around, and it may hang around forever, and I am beginning to realize that if it does, that's totally ok. In some ways it's even better than having the ABzzzzz of my dreams because it's part of who I was, and who I was is an essential part of who I am.
I think this sudden wave of contentment is probably at least partly creditable to a few things, 1) my meditation practice, which is all about acceptance of what is, not what was or what will be (sounds sort of obnoxious and new-agey until you actually think about it, and then for me it just seems really true), 2) mad endorphins from Prowler pushing (I am a conditioning junkie for a reason), 3) feeling a degree of social acceptance and belonging at TPS that has been missing from the rest of my life.
In her book, Daring Greatly (which I think everyone should read, seriously), Brene Brown talks a lot about the importance of belonging and how not-belonging is the source of most shame. It's the idea that you are not thin-cool-pretty-smart-rich-powerful-educated-whatever-fill-in-the-blank enough to be accepted and valued by others. While I certainly feel a sense of belonging with my friends and family, and feel loved and cared for by many people and feel very lucky to have that, there are not many people who "get" the training part of my life, and why it is so important to me. Just being in the same room as a bunch of people (even if they're all strangers) who clearly place the same value on this activity that I'm so passionate about is really, really fucking cool. It helps complete another piece of the puzzle of my life that I'm trying to figure out.
So yeah, back to loving my belly. I think this moment of insight/self-awareness/ability to stop being such a dick to myself every time I look in the mirror, can at least be partly credited to feeling worthy, feeling connected, feeling less-alone in my weirdo hobby of choice. I'm not saying if I had gone to TPS years ago I would have found self-acceptance sooner (as years ago I obviously wouldn't have had any idea what to do in a gym like that, and certainly wouldn't have felt surrounded by like-minded people), rather I think I have been lucky enough to find the right place at the right time in my life, when I was ready for the insight and the opportunity to connect, and that being in that place facilitated this moment. I'm feeling extraordinarily grateful.
----------------------
Training today ("body day" or the day when I'm supposed to work on weak points with targeted accessory work and also try to give my legs a bit of a break.)
1A) Single-arm Floor Press (4x10)
1B) Lat Pulldown (4x10)
2A) Single-arm DB Row (4x10)
2B) Standing Tricep Extension (4x10)
Prowler Pushing: Sled+90#x200', Sled+180#x6x100' (9:40 total)
Kettlebell Swings 20kgx25, 20, 15, 10, 5
Plank: 1 minute
After my plank I was feeling so good I literally almost cried, laying in the gym all sweaty and spent and deliriously happy. When people say that the gym is an addiction they are telling the truth. The high is seriously high and always fun to chase.
--------------------------
This morning at TPS while pushing the Prowler down the 100" of indoor turf they have there (AWESOMENESS), I looked in the mirror to check my form and had a shocking moment of realization, that I really do like my body. I like it all, not just my butt or my quads or my traps and shoulders that have all been wildly "improved" over the past couple years but even and perhaps especially my floppy hanging-down belly that was jiggling around as I plowed down the turf.
My stomach has always been the first thing I target in the mirror as the part of my body that I wish I could change. For years pretty much every glance in a mirror was a cringe-worthy experience for me as I was so deeply unhappy with the way that I looked (I'd say from about age 12 or whenever it is that girls start looking in the mirror and hating themselves, all the way through morbid obesity in highschool and college, right up until about two years ago at age 29, so yeah, a solid 17 years or so.) Though over the past few years I have gotten somewhat less mirror-apprehensive as I've gotten in much better shape, my stomach has been a reliable source of continued self-bashing every time I see it poking out over the top of my pants or pooching out against a clingy shirt or god forbid while bending over in a sports bra in public (THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN PT SCHOOL, PEOPLE.).
Strangely and wonderfully though, in that moment with the Prowler I really loved my stomach as a reminder of where I have been and how far I have come. The fact that it is floppy and jiggles around and hangs down when I push the Prowler is because it used to be huge and filled with fat and there's still a lot of extra skin hanging around, and it may hang around forever, and I am beginning to realize that if it does, that's totally ok. In some ways it's even better than having the ABzzzzz of my dreams because it's part of who I was, and who I was is an essential part of who I am.
I think this sudden wave of contentment is probably at least partly creditable to a few things, 1) my meditation practice, which is all about acceptance of what is, not what was or what will be (sounds sort of obnoxious and new-agey until you actually think about it, and then for me it just seems really true), 2) mad endorphins from Prowler pushing (I am a conditioning junkie for a reason), 3) feeling a degree of social acceptance and belonging at TPS that has been missing from the rest of my life.
In her book, Daring Greatly (which I think everyone should read, seriously), Brene Brown talks a lot about the importance of belonging and how not-belonging is the source of most shame. It's the idea that you are not thin-cool-pretty-smart-rich-powerful-educated-whatever-fill-in-the-blank enough to be accepted and valued by others. While I certainly feel a sense of belonging with my friends and family, and feel loved and cared for by many people and feel very lucky to have that, there are not many people who "get" the training part of my life, and why it is so important to me. Just being in the same room as a bunch of people (even if they're all strangers) who clearly place the same value on this activity that I'm so passionate about is really, really fucking cool. It helps complete another piece of the puzzle of my life that I'm trying to figure out.
So yeah, back to loving my belly. I think this moment of insight/self-awareness/ability to stop being such a dick to myself every time I look in the mirror, can at least be partly credited to feeling worthy, feeling connected, feeling less-alone in my weirdo hobby of choice. I'm not saying if I had gone to TPS years ago I would have found self-acceptance sooner (as years ago I obviously wouldn't have had any idea what to do in a gym like that, and certainly wouldn't have felt surrounded by like-minded people), rather I think I have been lucky enough to find the right place at the right time in my life, when I was ready for the insight and the opportunity to connect, and that being in that place facilitated this moment. I'm feeling extraordinarily grateful.
----------------------
Training today ("body day" or the day when I'm supposed to work on weak points with targeted accessory work and also try to give my legs a bit of a break.)
1A) Single-arm Floor Press (4x10)
1B) Lat Pulldown (4x10)
2A) Single-arm DB Row (4x10)
2B) Standing Tricep Extension (4x10)
Prowler Pushing: Sled+90#x200', Sled+180#x6x100' (9:40 total)
Kettlebell Swings 20kgx25, 20, 15, 10, 5
Plank: 1 minute
After my plank I was feeling so good I literally almost cried, laying in the gym all sweaty and spent and deliriously happy. When people say that the gym is an addiction they are telling the truth. The high is seriously high and always fun to chase.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Squaterday!
Training with Chris + Training at TPS = PRETTY MUCH THE BEST THING EVER.
Seriously.
It was explosive squat day on the Cube program, and I was a little anxious about squatting at all because my left knee has been feeling so shitty since the competition, but I figured with Chris there for advice I had a decent chance at getting a good session in. Overall it was definitely a success. My left hip/glutes have not been firing, which caused my deadlift day last Sunday to completely trash my back (and I'm sure didn't help my knee at all) and I wanted to avoid doing the same thing again today. I went through a thorough warm-up (Meathead Mobility by Molly Gailbraith) and Chris suggested some kickbacks against a wall to get my left side firing. I was able to get through all 12 (TWELVE!) sets of squats without any significant knee pain, and pretty much every rep was to depth.
Chris recommended I try the safety bar for my initial work sets, and I was glad he was there to set it up and explain it as it pretty much looks and feels like a medieval torture device. It definitely worked in terms of getting me to sit back into the movement and forcing my back to stay tight, this quick article from elitefts does a nice job explaining some of the benefits of the safety bar. Access to things like specialty bars is yet another amazing benefit of training at TPS, I get the sense it is definitely going to be worth the extra time and financial investment. And I just love the feel of the place.
I think we trained for close to two hours including warming up, but I seriously could have stayed all day if my body or my schedule allowed it. The only good thing about finishing training is that we went to Veggie Galaxy afterwards so I could get gluten-free pancakes (yay re-feed day!). So delicious. I am currently carb-dazed and starting to get really, really sore and feeling very, very content.
-----------------------------------
Training today:
Warm-up Squats (regular bar): 45#x5, 5; 95#x5; 115#x5
Competition Squats: 135#x3, 3
Safety Bar Squats: 115#x3repsx4sets; 125#x3repsx2 sets
Front Squat: 95#x5; 115#x5
Pause Squat: 125#x8,7
(SQUATS ALL DAY, YO!)
Glute Ham Raise (another awesome piece of equipment at TPS) x 6,6,7,8,8
Farmer Carries (giant contraption+50# added weight) x 200' x 3
Snatch Grip Deads 135#x8, 155#x8, 8, 8
Seriously.
It was explosive squat day on the Cube program, and I was a little anxious about squatting at all because my left knee has been feeling so shitty since the competition, but I figured with Chris there for advice I had a decent chance at getting a good session in. Overall it was definitely a success. My left hip/glutes have not been firing, which caused my deadlift day last Sunday to completely trash my back (and I'm sure didn't help my knee at all) and I wanted to avoid doing the same thing again today. I went through a thorough warm-up (Meathead Mobility by Molly Gailbraith) and Chris suggested some kickbacks against a wall to get my left side firing. I was able to get through all 12 (TWELVE!) sets of squats without any significant knee pain, and pretty much every rep was to depth.
Chris recommended I try the safety bar for my initial work sets, and I was glad he was there to set it up and explain it as it pretty much looks and feels like a medieval torture device. It definitely worked in terms of getting me to sit back into the movement and forcing my back to stay tight, this quick article from elitefts does a nice job explaining some of the benefits of the safety bar. Access to things like specialty bars is yet another amazing benefit of training at TPS, I get the sense it is definitely going to be worth the extra time and financial investment. And I just love the feel of the place.
I think we trained for close to two hours including warming up, but I seriously could have stayed all day if my body or my schedule allowed it. The only good thing about finishing training is that we went to Veggie Galaxy afterwards so I could get gluten-free pancakes (yay re-feed day!). So delicious. I am currently carb-dazed and starting to get really, really sore and feeling very, very content.
-----------------------------------
Training today:
Warm-up Squats (regular bar): 45#x5, 5; 95#x5; 115#x5
Competition Squats: 135#x3, 3
Safety Bar Squats: 115#x3repsx4sets; 125#x3repsx2 sets
Front Squat: 95#x5; 115#x5
Pause Squat: 125#x8,7
(SQUATS ALL DAY, YO!)
Glute Ham Raise (another awesome piece of equipment at TPS) x 6,6,7,8,8
Farmer Carries (giant contraption+50# added weight) x 200' x 3
Snatch Grip Deads 135#x8, 155#x8, 8, 8
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Cube Week 1 Rep Bench Day
Yesterday was Rep Bench Day on the new Cube Boss program I'm trying out, and it went pretty well. It's definitely a different feeling, as between the various styles of benching I'm doing 8 work sets, some with up to 12 reps per set which is crazy high for me. The weight is obviously a lot lower which also takes some getting used to and is humbling as it's a little rough to be struggling to push up 85# even if it is my 10th rep.
I was super muscle-fatigued immediately after yesterday's training and today am generally sore everywhere above my waist, including my abs which is a little weird since I didn't really do any direct ab or core work, but I think it's from trying to stay tight during eccentric pull-ups. I also noticed that my grip was getting tired pumping up a blood pressure cuff today, so clearly I got some good work in yesterday.
I took today off and went for a 20 minute walk after work instead of my planned hill sprints. My left knee is still feeling unstable and is occasionally painful coming up from a squat position, plus I put in 9.5 non-stop hours at the hospital today so am just wiped out in general. The recovery walk was added with prodding from my nutrition coach who thinks I should probably up my recovery game a bit to make the best gains in terms of strength and fat loss. She's been right so far so I figure it certainly can't hurt to try.
--------------------------
Yesterday's training:
Warm-up (foam roll, mobility work, push-ups. band pull-aparts and band-pulldowns)
Bench Warm-up Sets: 45#x5, 65#x5, 75#x3
Competition-style Bench: 85#x12repsx3sets
Close-Grip Bench: 90#x6repsx2sets
Pause-Bench (pause at chest): 80#x10repsx3sets
Tricep Pushdown: 70# (4x10)
DB Shoulder Press: 20# (4x8)
Eccentric Chin-upsx3,3,3,2,1
I was super muscle-fatigued immediately after yesterday's training and today am generally sore everywhere above my waist, including my abs which is a little weird since I didn't really do any direct ab or core work, but I think it's from trying to stay tight during eccentric pull-ups. I also noticed that my grip was getting tired pumping up a blood pressure cuff today, so clearly I got some good work in yesterday.
I took today off and went for a 20 minute walk after work instead of my planned hill sprints. My left knee is still feeling unstable and is occasionally painful coming up from a squat position, plus I put in 9.5 non-stop hours at the hospital today so am just wiped out in general. The recovery walk was added with prodding from my nutrition coach who thinks I should probably up my recovery game a bit to make the best gains in terms of strength and fat loss. She's been right so far so I figure it certainly can't hurt to try.
--------------------------
Yesterday's training:
Warm-up (foam roll, mobility work, push-ups. band pull-aparts and band-pulldowns)
Bench Warm-up Sets: 45#x5, 65#x5, 75#x3
Competition-style Bench: 85#x12repsx3sets
Close-Grip Bench: 90#x6repsx2sets
Pause-Bench (pause at chest): 80#x10repsx3sets
Tricep Pushdown: 70# (4x10)
DB Shoulder Press: 20# (4x8)
Eccentric Chin-upsx3,3,3,2,1
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
New warm-up
I sort of hate warming up. When I get to the gym I generally want to get to work, and my warm up feels like dead time. I think I've only skipped it completely once or twice with fairly predictable consequences (taking forever to actually feel good moving weight and generally having a sub-par workout), but I often don't really give it as much attention and effort as I should. It makes sense that warming up well is critical for a successful lifting session, so I am dedicating myself to trying this warm-up from Molly Gailbraith for the next few weeks to see if 1) it works better than my current fairly stale routine and 2) if it really only takes 12 minutes. If so, I can be fully warmed up and ready to go in 15 minutes total (3 minutes of foam rolling to start things off, of course) which seems like a reasonable investment of time.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Julia Ladewski continues to be my hero in pretty much every way imaginable
Wise and inspiring words from a super-strong woman:
http://julialadewski.com/2013/10/fitness-taglines-and-trends-whats-the-real-message/
http://julialadewski.com/2013/10/fitness-taglines-and-trends-whats-the-real-message/
Sunday, October 20, 2013
And on the seventh day . . .
. . . God probably deadlifted. Because it's waaaaaay more fun than resting. Or at least it was for me today given that I have been resting all week and one more day of it was pretty much going to send me over the edge.
I trained at TPS today, and wow. WOW. I had really high expectations going in and it was seriously everything I thought it would be and then some. They have every piece of equipment I could possibly think of needing, plus things I've only ever seen in pictures, plus some stuff I have literally no idea what it is or how it's used but I'm sure it makes you wicked strong. It was pretty quiet which makes sense since I was there from 2-4pm on Sunday afternoon, but every single one of the 10-15 men and women in the building were attacking their workout with purpose and intensity and looked serious about it. I found my people! Turns out they were hiding in Everett this whole time!
I deadlifted one of their FOUR lifting platforms, though my other option was pretty tempting as they also have a shed that exists for the purpose of being able to drop things (they ask that you not drop weight on the platforms.) That is correct, they have a shed for dropping weight. It is filled with atlas stones and loud metal music. I would have lifted there but I was too entranced by the platform and the beautiful views of Boston and the sun streaming through the giant windows (the gym is in an old industrial building in Everett and looks it, but it's simultaneously a really beautiful space.)
Right now I am hoping/planning to be able to lift there on Saturdays and Sundays (working on car-borrowing logistics currently), which means I'll usually be squatting (on one of their dozens of squat racks, seriously, dozens) and doing "body day" (all accessory work to help with my three main lifts), but hopefully in the future I'll be able to squeeze in a few deadlift days here and there as it really is the perfect environment.
Oh, and they have TURF and a PROWLER and SAND BAGS and TIRES and OMFGIAMINLOVEWITHTHISGYM.
I am aware that part of my obsession might be that this was also my first day back lifting heavy, and as my post yesterday indicated I was sorely in need of it. But even taking that into consideration I am still totally psyched about lifting at TPS. It feels like home. I have a feeling I'm going to be taking my gym-rat meathead antics to a new level and I am MAD EXCITED about it.
Training today: Heavy Dead Day (Day 1 of me trying out Brandon Lilly's Cube Boss program!)
Warm-up (foam rolling on PVC pipe - whoo hoo!, stretching, mobility work, lunges, KB swings)
Conventional Deadlift:
Warm-up sets (135#x5, 165#x4, 185#x3, 205#x2)
Work sets: 225#x2repsx5sets
Block Pull: 240#x2x2
2" Deficit Deadlift: 210#x4x2
Walking Lunges w/ 30# DBs 4x10
Good Mornings 95#x10, 10; 105#x10
Sandbag Carries - really heavy bagx3 laps on the turf
Band Chin-upsx4,4,3,3,3
Cue happiest post-workout feeling ever.
I trained at TPS today, and wow. WOW. I had really high expectations going in and it was seriously everything I thought it would be and then some. They have every piece of equipment I could possibly think of needing, plus things I've only ever seen in pictures, plus some stuff I have literally no idea what it is or how it's used but I'm sure it makes you wicked strong. It was pretty quiet which makes sense since I was there from 2-4pm on Sunday afternoon, but every single one of the 10-15 men and women in the building were attacking their workout with purpose and intensity and looked serious about it. I found my people! Turns out they were hiding in Everett this whole time!
I deadlifted one of their FOUR lifting platforms, though my other option was pretty tempting as they also have a shed that exists for the purpose of being able to drop things (they ask that you not drop weight on the platforms.) That is correct, they have a shed for dropping weight. It is filled with atlas stones and loud metal music. I would have lifted there but I was too entranced by the platform and the beautiful views of Boston and the sun streaming through the giant windows (the gym is in an old industrial building in Everett and looks it, but it's simultaneously a really beautiful space.)
Right now I am hoping/planning to be able to lift there on Saturdays and Sundays (working on car-borrowing logistics currently), which means I'll usually be squatting (on one of their dozens of squat racks, seriously, dozens) and doing "body day" (all accessory work to help with my three main lifts), but hopefully in the future I'll be able to squeeze in a few deadlift days here and there as it really is the perfect environment.
Oh, and they have TURF and a PROWLER and SAND BAGS and TIRES and OMFGIAMINLOVEWITHTHISGYM.
I am aware that part of my obsession might be that this was also my first day back lifting heavy, and as my post yesterday indicated I was sorely in need of it. But even taking that into consideration I am still totally psyched about lifting at TPS. It feels like home. I have a feeling I'm going to be taking my gym-rat meathead antics to a new level and I am MAD EXCITED about it.
Training today: Heavy Dead Day (Day 1 of me trying out Brandon Lilly's Cube Boss program!)
Warm-up (foam rolling on PVC pipe - whoo hoo!, stretching, mobility work, lunges, KB swings)
Conventional Deadlift:
Warm-up sets (135#x5, 165#x4, 185#x3, 205#x2)
Work sets: 225#x2repsx5sets
Block Pull: 240#x2x2
2" Deficit Deadlift: 210#x4x2
Walking Lunges w/ 30# DBs 4x10
Good Mornings 95#x10, 10; 105#x10
Sandbag Carries - really heavy bagx3 laps on the turf
Band Chin-upsx4,4,3,3,3
Cue happiest post-workout feeling ever.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
In withdrawal
I knew I was addicted to the gym, but at this point I'm truly beginning to understand the consequences of that addiction. I've only lifted once this week, on Wednesday, and that was light and short. I was planning on lifting again on Friday or at least running some HIIT hill intervals to get some endorphins flowing, but I woke up still absurdly sore on Friday morning from Wednesday's workout. I figured if I wanted to be really fresh and ready to start training full force again this coming week I should probably take it easy so I went for a long walk instead. It was incredibly unsatisfying.
At this point I would say my mood is legitimately depressed by the fact that I've been out of my lifting routine for almost two weeks (between pre-comp deload and post-comp recovery.) It sucks. I didn't train today because I was in 8 hours of PT board exam prep class and because I am planning on starting my new program tomorrow but I sort of wish I had just so I wouldn't be feeling so totally shitty right now. I am in a serious funk and I'm pretty sure the only cure is smashing some weights. Fortunately tomorrow is deadlift day and I'm checking out TPS for the first time, which as I understand it is basically a powerlifter's dream gym.
Until then, you can find me sulking in this corner.
At this point I would say my mood is legitimately depressed by the fact that I've been out of my lifting routine for almost two weeks (between pre-comp deload and post-comp recovery.) It sucks. I didn't train today because I was in 8 hours of PT board exam prep class and because I am planning on starting my new program tomorrow but I sort of wish I had just so I wouldn't be feeling so totally shitty right now. I am in a serious funk and I'm pretty sure the only cure is smashing some weights. Fortunately tomorrow is deadlift day and I'm checking out TPS for the first time, which as I understand it is basically a powerlifter's dream gym.
Until then, you can find me sulking in this corner.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
So yeah, not quite recovered yet
I went to the gym to lift today for the first time since the meet on Saturday. From previous experience I know better than to try to lift heavy within a week of a meet (I tried once and maxed out my deadlift at about 155#, it was painful.) Today my plan was to do low weight, high-rep stuff and just get my body moving and sweating a little bit to help with recovery. I'll start training again on my new program (woot!) on Monday, more on that later.
I thought I planned out a pretty light and easy program for myself and it did only take about 40 minutes total, but by the end I was still totally wiped, and right now I feel more like I just did a max effort deadlift day with Chris than that I spent 40 minutes doing some light-weight stuff at the Y. Ah well, it was certainly humbling and also a good reminder that my body still needs a few more days of rest and recovery before I can go hard again. As they say, recovery is as important and training for making progress!
Training today:
1) Front Squat 45#x10 (only one set because my left knee is acting up again so I want to lay off it until it calms down. I probably tweaked it on my failed 205# squat at the meet but hoping it shapes up by next week.)
2) Single-leg Dumbbell RDLs w/ 20# DBs 4x10
(random set of bicep curls with 15# DBs just for fun)
3a) Elevated push-ups 4x10
3b) Single-arm lunge rows 35# 4x10
4a) Barbell pushpress 55# 4x10
4b) Lat pulldown 100# 3x10 (skipped my last set because a guy was sitting on the machine and I didn't care enough to ask him to get off it, like I said, I was tired :)
5a) Planks 2x30secs
5b) Back extensions 3x10
Aaaaaaand . . . . exhausted.
I thought I planned out a pretty light and easy program for myself and it did only take about 40 minutes total, but by the end I was still totally wiped, and right now I feel more like I just did a max effort deadlift day with Chris than that I spent 40 minutes doing some light-weight stuff at the Y. Ah well, it was certainly humbling and also a good reminder that my body still needs a few more days of rest and recovery before I can go hard again. As they say, recovery is as important and training for making progress!
Training today:
1) Front Squat 45#x10 (only one set because my left knee is acting up again so I want to lay off it until it calms down. I probably tweaked it on my failed 205# squat at the meet but hoping it shapes up by next week.)
2) Single-leg Dumbbell RDLs w/ 20# DBs 4x10
(random set of bicep curls with 15# DBs just for fun)
3a) Elevated push-ups 4x10
3b) Single-arm lunge rows 35# 4x10
4a) Barbell pushpress 55# 4x10
4b) Lat pulldown 100# 3x10 (skipped my last set because a guy was sitting on the machine and I didn't care enough to ask him to get off it, like I said, I was tired :)
5a) Planks 2x30secs
5b) Back extensions 3x10
Aaaaaaand . . . . exhausted.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Extended Meet Recap
I am thrilled and relieved and excited to report that I met my goal of a 600# total at the RPS/TPS Power Challenge meet in Everett, MA this past Saturday.
What follows is a lift-by-lift and moment-by-moment description of the day, feel free to scroll to the bottom for the very short summary of the day's lifts.
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| 295# at lockout |
I got the the Rec Center by about 7:20 at at the same time as my friend Keith, and just before Chris and Emily, with plenty of time to find a spot for my stuff and finish stretching and getting a little warmed up before rules clinic at 7:45am. When Gene Rychlak, the director of RPS, asked how many people were at their first meet or their first RPS meet, I think about 1/2 to 2/3 of the group raised their hands, which made me feel like a down-right veteran and definitely helped calm some of my nerves.
After rules clinic wrapped up around 8:05, I started warming up for the squat in earnest. I don't have specific weights and reps laid out for my warm-ups, because the timing can sometimes be a little unpredictable and you have to share 2 squat bars with the 20+ lifters who also want to warm up when you do, so I prefer to have a general idea of what I want to warm up with and then be flexible enough to work around what is on the bar already. I ended up warming up with something like 85#x5, 115#x4, 135#x3, 165#x2, 175#x1 and felt solid heading into my first lift. I was definitely nervous and a little jumpy and appreciated Chris' advice after watching my final warm-up lift - "Don't get excited and stay tight." My opener was 185#, a weight that I have been squatting for well over a year and a half and recently have been hitting for 4-5 reps at a time so was feeling very confident. Setting up under the bar I felt good, and the lift felt solid all the way down and up.
Walking away from the bar after having the back spotter clap me on the back and say "nice lift," I was shocked to hear "no lift" called out and had to confirm it with Chris. I was certain I had my depth and I knew I had waited for the squat command so I was incredulous that I had gotten a no-lift call. The announcer stated that if any lifter was unclear why they had been no-repped they should ask the judge right away, which is what I did. The first judge I asked said he had green-lighted me, but the second said it was for depth. I have since watched the video and feel really confident saying that I definitely hit my depth. I think it was a bullshit call and it was a rough way to start the meet, but I stuck with my 185# weight, stayed warm for my second attempt and dropped my ass waaaaaaay below parallel and held it there for a moment to make sure everyone was on the same page about this attempt. I got 3 green lights for that one, and probably wasted a lot of energy going so low and hanging there, but with a clean lift on the board I at least knew I was going to make it to the bench. (If you fail to get a clean lift in each event you are not allowed to continue to compete. It's called bombing out and it's pretty much every lifter's worst possible meet outcome.)
For my third squat attempt I went up to 205# which is my current meet PR and a weight that I am comfortable squatting to depth. Walking up to the bar I noticed it was racked up significantly to the left, and I should have either moved it back to the center myself or asked the spotters to move it, but I tend to get so nervous before each lift that stopping to re-adjust myself or the set-up doesn't even occur to me as an option. Instead I also set up to the left of center so I was underneath the bar, but I think it probably ended up messing up my pattern as I failed that lift about half-way up and basically fell to the left side and had to get help from all three spotters to not fall over. Watching the video though I am happy with my attempt to grind it out, I didn't give up until I was literally falling over, which is not something I think I would have been capable of in the past, as fear of failing would have had me bailing on the lift way before I actually physically failed it. Lesson learned: always pause and switch the set-up if you need to. Coming out of the squat with only 1 clean lift at 185#, I figured getting my 600# total just got a lot harder, as I would need to make up 20# with either my bench or deadlift number, but I tried not to focus on that fact too much and instead on staying warmed up and focused for the bench press.
Because I was the very last lifter in my flight (which was pretty cool as it meant that I was lifting decently heavy weight compared to a lot of the women lifting), I didn't have as long a wait between the end of squatting and the beginning of benching as I would between benching and the deadlift. I finished squatting by 9:15 or so and started benching at 11 and was probably done by 11:30 or 11:45, and wouldn't start deadlifting until almost 2. I cheered on Chris, Krys, and Keith as they squatted and towards the end of second attempts for their flight I started warming up for the bench press.
My warm-up for bench was pretty straightforward since I was starting so light. I drank some black coffee about 30 minutes before my first attempt and to warm up I hit 55#x5, 65#x4, 85#x3, 95#x2 and for a single with Chris giving me a hand-off and calling commands for a bit of final practice. My first attempt at 105# felt solid and easy, just as it should have. My second attempt at 120# felt like more of a struggle than it has been in the gym, perhaps due to fatigue or nerves or a combination. I think my set-up was solid but I definitely had to grind it out a little bit and my left butt came off the bench. I heard someone on the left side note that it had, but since my right butt cheek stayed down it was a clean lift. While waiting for my 3rd attempt which I had set at 130# since 120# was a significant struggle (I had hoped to be able to try for 135# but it seemed like too big of a leap at the moment), I developed some pretty painful muscle spasms in my right trap/rhomboid/levator and was worried what effect that would have on my next attempt. Chris worked on me for a few minutes with some scap distractions and mobilizations and that definitely helped calm it down but it was still twinging as I went into my 3rd attempt. Setting up for my 3rd lift I felt really good and solid, and confident that I would be able to move the weight, unfortunately that didn't turn out to be the case. I think I may have lost some of the tightness in my set-up on the way down, for whatever reason though I couldn't even begin to budge the bar off my chest and the judge called it quickly as a no-lift and the spotters pulled it off me. It was a weird feeling as usually I can at least begin to move the bar up even if I won't be able to complete the lift, but at that moment it felt glued down.
With 120# on the bench my running total was 305#, meaning I would need to pull 295# on deadlift, 35# more than my previous competition PR and 30# more than my most recent gym PR. At the time though I was more concerned about how tired I was feeling and how long a wait it would be before I would actually begin the deadlift as I figured I had at least 2 hours since I was in the first of three flights for the bench press but the second of three for the deadlift. I took some ibuprofin to ward off the beginning of an ache in my low back and tried to lay down and close my eyes for a few quick 5-10 minute periods to try to calm down a little and save some energy for the deadlift. I couldn't drink any more black coffee because it was giving me the runs (and trying not to shit your pants while pulling deadlifts is not fun), and although I had two sugar-free Red Bulls in my bag for extra energy as needed, I am always a little leery of getting TOO hyped up on supplements and caffeine as it can make me too anxious to focus.
In between pseudo-naps I also helped Keith with lift-offs for his bench press, and had a really good time cheering him on through a successful series of attempts. It was also super fun to see Chris hit a 300# bench PR. He really is a beast.
I started warming up for the deadlift about 30 minutes before I estimated I'd be lifting (ok, I totally had to ask Chris for help with timing, I don't know why but my brain can never do the math correctly at meets to figure out exactly when I should start warming up), and also drank a Red Bull, which definitely gave me a much needed kick in the pants energy-wise. I warmed up with 135#x5, 155#x4, 185#x3, 205#x2, 225#x1, 1 and 185#x3. The bar felt alarmingly heavy even at 185# and 205#, weights that I am used to handling pretty easily. I also felt like I was pulling really slowly and everything felt like a grind. The final 185#x3 set was on Chris' recommendation as way to practice driving my hips through and grooving the pattern without wearing myself out any more. I went into my first attempt knowing I could get the 245# up but I was worried about whether my form would hold up and what I would have left for my 2nd and 3rd attempts, keeping in mind that I needed to get 295# to reach a meet 600#. Going into my first lift I focused on repeating my set-up to myself over and over and on the fact that I have been lifting 245x5 recently. Happily, 245# came up super clean and easy and the look on Chris' face afterwards told me that it looked as easy as it had felt and gave me a ton of confidence going for my second attempt at 275#.
275# also came up pretty easy, though my back rounded more than I'd like, but it was a clean lift so I was happy. At that point I felt like I could probably pull 300#, but I knew I needed 295# to get my 600# total and didn't want to be greedy or throw myself off with the psychological intimidation of that big, round 300# number. I spent the time between my second and third attempts sitting alone against a wall with my favorite hype music blasting (thank you, Jay-Z, Kanye and Dorrough), focusing on only positive visualization of my having already completed the 295# lift and how good it felt to have done it. Going into the lift there was literally no doubt in my mind that I was going to be successful, and I think that certainly played a part in getting the weight up, as it was only a couple months ago that I failed to lift 275# in the gym. I think I need to be more aware of the power of positive focus and visualization and use this more often in my training. Realistically I also need to give some credit to Red Bull as I was pretty much buzzing with my own adrenaline combined with caffeine and whatever else they put in that little magic silver can.
As with all my heavy lifts, I don't actually remember the actual pull. I can remember setting up for it, and setting it down and walking away and completely freaking out in ungraceful, undignified, spastic, joyous celebration, but I don't remember what it actually felt like to lift the weight off the ground. I think that's partly because my brain is too focused on the lift itself to bother storing memories, and it's one of the reasons I use the same set-up and routine before each lift, so that I can basically switch the flip in my brain that says "deadlift," and not have to worry about the mechanics of the lift at all. I think it's also worth noting for me that before each of my deadlift attempts I was definitely the happiest I had been all day, actively remembering why I choose to spent my time training (because I love it) and focusing on how much pleasure I really do get from lifting heavy weights.
I do want to make sure I remember the tremendous feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that finishing that lift gave me. The physical reaction (my spastic, unhardcore-powerlifter giddy dancing celebration) was a very visceral reaction to the tremendous feeling of joy and GOODNESS that I felt inside. To work so hard at something and to have it pay off in such a concrete way is truly, deeply satisfying. It was a really awesome moment and I feel so lucky to have had it.
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And, as promised about 17 paragraphs ago, here's the quick recap of my lifts:
Squat 1: 185#, no-repped by 2/3 judges for depth
Squat 2: 185# clean lift
Squat 3: 205# failed lift
Bench 1: 105# clean lift
Bench 2: 120# clean lift (15# meet PR)
Bench 3: 130# failed lift
Deadlift 1: 245# clean lift
Deadlift 2: 275# clean lift (15# meet PR)
Deadlift 3: 295# clean lift (35# meet PR)
Friday, October 11, 2013
Official weigh-in success!
Official weigh-in weight: 194.? I was so surprised to hear the 194 I didn't listen to the rest! I had figured I'd come in around 196, but my home scale may be a pound or two heavy. Ah well.
Chris also made weight, at 163#, and I'm excited to see him crush the deep 165# field tomorrow.
I'm all carbed up at this point, on my way to being fully rehydrated, and rather sleepy at the moment. Super psyched for tomorrow, and looking forward to enjoying every moment.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Making weight
I made weight this morning! Doing this a day early definitely takes some anxiety away from the whole process as now I just have to monitor my water and food intake until tomorrow evening when I'll actually weigh in officially. I'd also still like to shed another pound or so of water weight since I was at 197.8 stark naked on my scale and although they do offer you private weigh-ins as needed in case you have to strip to make it into your weight class, if prefer to be able to keep a few articles of clothing on.
This week has actually gone really well, working 9 hour days has been pretty easy so far and I feel like my energy level is staying up even though I haven't had more than 30-50g of carbs a day since last Saturday. I've been sleeping decently, only waking up 3-4 times a night, but able to fall back asleep easily (usually I sleep through the night no problem but last pre-comp period I was waking up at 2-3am for an hour or more for what I dubbed "worry hour" and my nutrition coach credits to too much cortisol-the stress hormone.)
Apologies if there are more typos than usual, I'm posting from my phone since my MacBook Air has decided to not turn on any more. Ah well, I made weight and that's enough to keep me thoroughly nonplussed about my computer.
Monday, October 7, 2013
On eating, sleeping, and exercising. Pretty much all I do anyways.
Since I'm not training this week as it's pre-comp deload time (my lifting focused activities today consist of foam rolling, stretching, and putting together a playlist of songs for the comp that I can turn to when I need instant motivation), I figured I'd catch up on sharing some articles that I have been meaning to link to.
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This one is a really awesome and comprehensive discussion on "metabolic capacity," and goes into solid detail about how eating fuels (or fails to fuel) training. Although the author is a physique competitor and she addresses some topics and issues that are more common for that population, I appreciated her insights on how limiting what you eat can limit how you perform, as I've struggled somewhat with balancing my desire to look a certain way and my desire to smash heavy weights as effectively as I possibly can.
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As someone who is fairly sleep-obsessed (I need 8+ hours a night to maintain my function at work and in the gym, I'm way too into tracking the quality of my sleep with the iPhone Sleep Cycle app, and I firmly believe that the hours slept before midnight count more than the hours slept after, like I said, obsessed), I appreciated this article from Precision Nutrition about how to "hack your sleep." I think it's got a ton of good info and helpful advice about setting yourself up for better rest. There's also a link in that piece to another one of their articles that explains why sleep is so critical.
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And finally, a friend of mine sent me this link months ago, but it's too cool not to share. It's a piece from the NYTimes on research that shows how exercise changes our genes. NBD.
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This one is a really awesome and comprehensive discussion on "metabolic capacity," and goes into solid detail about how eating fuels (or fails to fuel) training. Although the author is a physique competitor and she addresses some topics and issues that are more common for that population, I appreciated her insights on how limiting what you eat can limit how you perform, as I've struggled somewhat with balancing my desire to look a certain way and my desire to smash heavy weights as effectively as I possibly can.
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As someone who is fairly sleep-obsessed (I need 8+ hours a night to maintain my function at work and in the gym, I'm way too into tracking the quality of my sleep with the iPhone Sleep Cycle app, and I firmly believe that the hours slept before midnight count more than the hours slept after, like I said, obsessed), I appreciated this article from Precision Nutrition about how to "hack your sleep." I think it's got a ton of good info and helpful advice about setting yourself up for better rest. There's also a link in that piece to another one of their articles that explains why sleep is so critical.
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And finally, a friend of mine sent me this link months ago, but it's too cool not to share. It's a piece from the NYTimes on research that shows how exercise changes our genes. NBD.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Squatx5
Today was my last day of heavy-ish lifting before the comp. I worked up to squatting 185#x5, with every rep below comp depth, so am feeling very positive about using that as my opener next Saturday. Next week I'll probably only be at the gym once and will only be doing mobility work and moving the bar without any weight. In the past I have gotten nervous in these pre-comp deload weeks, that somehow 6 days away from the gym will cause me to lose all memory of how to bench/squat/deadlift properly and I'll do terribly at the competition. This is, of course, absurd, as the literally thousands of repetitions I have put in for each movement are so deeply ingrained at this point I think I could properly execute each one in my sleep (and sometimes do, as pre-comp dreams about lifting are not uncommon :)
Today's session was pretty different than 7 months ago when during my last heavy lifting day pre-comp I missed a lift, felt completely destroyed by that and sat on the floor for a good 5-10 minutes and tried not to cry. This was largely due to the fact that I had been dieting like a crazy person for over two months in order to get down to 181# for the comp and so I was pretty on edge and depleted of any emotional or physical reserves at that point. This time I around I feel about 1,000 times saner and more stable. I credit that to not trying to diet down to an unrealistic weight class for me, picking up a regular meditation practice, and I hope having matured a little bit as a lifter. I don't regret my decision to try for 181# last time around, as it was a tremendous learning experience and I'm still really proud of myself for doing it, but I'm glad that I'm lifting in the 198# class next weekend.
Today's session was pretty different than 7 months ago when during my last heavy lifting day pre-comp I missed a lift, felt completely destroyed by that and sat on the floor for a good 5-10 minutes and tried not to cry. This was largely due to the fact that I had been dieting like a crazy person for over two months in order to get down to 181# for the comp and so I was pretty on edge and depleted of any emotional or physical reserves at that point. This time I around I feel about 1,000 times saner and more stable. I credit that to not trying to diet down to an unrealistic weight class for me, picking up a regular meditation practice, and I hope having matured a little bit as a lifter. I don't regret my decision to try for 181# last time around, as it was a tremendous learning experience and I'm still really proud of myself for doing it, but I'm glad that I'm lifting in the 198# class next weekend.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Blah bench day.
I cut pretty much every part of my workout today short, except for the actual benching. I was feeling pretty tired from yesterday and despite pre-workout coffee and as hype music as I could find on my iPod (I need new hype music), I just couldn't get past the fatigue. Since my goal right now is cementing my form and building confidence pre-comp and I'm not really trying for last-minute strength gains (which would be silly and impossible), I think I made the right choice. I was able to bench 105#x5 (should be fine for my opener), 115#x3 and 120#x2, all with good form and my butt on the bench, so even though I didn't get much accessory work in, it still felt like a successful day. I also finished with 6 HIIT sprints on the treadmill (incline to 10, sprinting at 7.5mph for 20-25 seconds at a time), which, while as effective as outdoor hill sprints, are nowhere near as much fun.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Quick Update
Just a quick post to say that I hit 231#x7 today on deadlift. This was 2 more reps than called for (it's my x5 week) so I am feeling very, very positive about my chances of hitting my planned second-attempt deadlift of 275# at the comp.
I think I'm giving the credit to my pre-workout black coffee for this one. Caffeine is a miracle drug.
I think I'm giving the credit to my pre-workout black coffee for this one. Caffeine is a miracle drug.
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