Triple Extending

Molly

Hi, I'm 24, 5'7 and 151 pounds. My goal is to shed some of my blubber and get stronger. I had been doing stronglifts for a while but wasn't doing certain things correctly so got a session with a trainer and he corrected my form on pretty much everything . So I reset everything back to the bar. However I'm temporarily going up in increments of 10 lbs (everything in this log will be in pounds as I'm based in America). I started a few days ago but didn't get around to logging so will sum up the first 2 days quickly

Day 1:
Squats 5x5 : 54lbs
Bench 5x5 : 54lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,6,4
Pushups 3XF : 15,10,8
Reverse Ab Crunchs 3x12

Everything went pretty well.

Day 2:
Squats 5x5 : 64lbs
Overhead Press 5x5 : 54lbs
Deadlift 1x5 : 84 lbs
Chin ups : 5,3,2
Planks 3x30 seconds

Again things went pretty well

Molly

Day 3:
Squats 5x5 : 74lbs
Bench 5x5 : 64lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,6,4
Push ups 3XF : 15,10,9
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Things went pretty smoothly here. Finding I really need to concentrate on what I'm doing when I'm squatting

Molly

Day 4 (Start of Week 2):
Squats 5x5 : 84lbs
Overhead Press 5x5 : 64lbs
Deadlift 1x5 : 104 lbs
Pull ups : 3,1,1
Planks 3x30 seconds

Found squats a good bit easier today. I think it's because I had been doing a lot of air squats recently trying to focus on getting my knees following my toes and keeping my chest up. Having done so much of these over the last day or two I think my body is starting to realise what it has to do without me having to concentrate so hard.

Overhead press was tough. Will be going up in 5lb increments from here on in. Deadlifts were fun but a bit easy. Pull ups were an improvement on before. I used to get a pain in my left bicep and shoulder, 3 weeks rest due to holidays and stuff combined with some pointers I recieved seem to have gotten rid of this pain. Second 'set' was with bad technique and I got the pains in my bicep shoulder again. Third set I did it properly and painlessly. Planks were planks

Molly

Saturday
Had a soccer match

Sunday
Day 5:
Squats 5x5 : 94lbs
Bench 5x5 : 74lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,6,4
Push ups 3XF : 15,10,8
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

As before I'm finding the technique easier to do on squats. Most pleased with this. Everything else went pretty well. Reverse Ab Crunches killed me as usual.

jayoo

Did ye win????

TommyKnocker

Hi Molly

Looks like you have started off on Strong Lifts 5x5

This is the same routine I am using at the moment. Finding it really good, though I kept my weight jumps per routine down to 2.5kg, so I would not have to reset too quickly.

You seem to be going well so far. Enjoy the program.


Best Regards,

M

Molly

Well it's more a reset than a start, which is why I was going up in larger than normal increments. That's stopping in a work out or two (already has for some exercises).

No Jayoo we drew unfortunately :pac:

Molly

Tuesday Day 6 (End of Week 2)

Squats 5x5 : 104lbs
Overhead Press 4x5 & 1x4 : 69 lbs
Deadlift 1x5 : 124 lbs
Chin ups : 5,4,3
Planks 3x30 seconds

Squats were nice and handy, Overhead press was difficult as usual. Really struggled in the last set of this, I have pressed more than this before but took a few weeks off so it was disappointing to fail at this. I'll attempt this weight again next time i'm overhead pressing (Sunday). Deadlifts were good. Chin ups were really good. Planks were planks

Molly

Thursday Day 7 (Start of Week 3)

Squats 5x5 : 109lbs
Bench 5x5 : 84lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,6,4
Push ups 3XF : 15,9,8
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Squats were pretty handy, I am noticing them getting more difficult but they're still really easy. Bench was tough. I messed up and was using 84 lbs instead of 79, managed to do get through it though. I'm going to do this weight again next time as it was too big a skip for me. Although I don't seem to be making progress with the inverted rows I'm almost getting another rep in each set so i'm getting there. Ab crunches were ab crunches and killed me

Molly

Saturday
Had a match

Sunday

Squats 5x5 : 114lbs
Overhead Press 5x5 : 69 lbs
Deadlift 1x5 : 144 lbs
Pull ups : 3,2,2
Planks 3x30 seconds

Squats were fine. Bit more difficult than last time but still pretty easy. Overhead press was a bit easier than last time when i failed on the last rep of the last set. Deadlift was good. I did some warm up sets at a lower weight to focus on form. Pull ups have 'noticeable' progress; an extra rep on the second and third set.

Molly

Tuesday Day 9(End of Week 3)

Squats 5x5 : 119lbs
Bench 5x5 : 84lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,6,5
Push ups 3XF : 15,9,5
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Flew through the squats. Bench was tough. I did the same weight as last time as i skipped forward a bit too much. Got an extra rep on the last set of inverted rows. I tried a new style of push up today with my hands at the level with the bottom of my pecs. I seem to recall reading somewhere here during the week that it's better to do them there. I found these noticeably more difficult, hence the lower amount of them done.

Molly

Friday (Day 1 of week 4)

Squats 5x5 : 124lbs
Overhead Press 5x5 : 74 lbs
Deadlift 1x5 : 154 lbs
Chin ups : 6,4,3
Planks 3x30 seconds

Found squats a bit tough tonight. Was delighted to get through the overhead press seeing as i had failed on 69 lbs previously. Deadlifts were good. I enjoy these. Chin ups were nice. I flew through the first couple of reps. I was using a different bar today (thinner) as the normal bar i do chins/pull ups was in use. They seemed much easier on this bar

Molly

Saturday
Had a match

Sunday
Didn't go to the gym as I was injured.

Tuesday Day 2 of Week 4
Squats 5x5 : 129 lbs
Bench Press 5x5 : 89 lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,6,6

Was in a rush so skipped out on crunches & push ups. Squats seemed really easy, bench was okay and rows were getting better

Molly

Thursday (Day 3 of week 4)

Squats 5x5 : 134lbs
Overhead Press 4x5 & 1x3 : 79 lbs
Deadlift 1x5 : 164 lbs
Pull ups : 3,2,1
Planks 3x30 seconds

Squats were pretty easy. Overhead press i was disappointed to fail on the final set but i'm confident i'll get it next time. Starting to find deadlifts a bit difficult. I'm not sure is the weight, the bar ripping my hand or a combination of the two. I'm considering gloves but is there any point really (would like some feedback on this )? Disappointed with the pull ups, well the 2nd the 3rd set. I was really hoping to be able to knock out another rep on set 3, almost got a 4th on the first set though. Planks were planks.

g'em

Molly wrote: »

Starting to find deadlifts a bit difficult. I'm not sure is the weight, the bar ripping my hand or a combination of the two. I'm considering gloves but is there any point really (would like some feedback on this )?

What grip are you using for the deadlift? Are both hands over or under teh bar or is it one of each?

When you start to DL a weak grip is a really common problem, especially for girls (we tend to have softer, callous-free hands!). But it just takes a bit of perseverance and you can toughen them up (without making them look awful!).

A mixed grip is where you have one hand over and one hand under the bar: it's the most slip-free grip and should help you keep control of the bar better.



The problem with gloves is that you won't improve your grip with them, meaning you won't be able to deadlift without them. If you find your hands get very sweaty you can use chalk too - some gyms don't allow it but to overcome that you can buy handy little climbing chalk pouches that you can roll over your hands, not a lot of chalk will come out and it doesn't spill on the floor.

Good job on the lifting, keep it up!

justsomebloke

have to agree with g'em, I wouldn't bother with the gloves chalk is a much better option. If chalk isn't allowed in your gym liquid chalk is probably your best bet as it really is mess free, just put some on your hands and wait for it to dry just like magic.

Other then that maybe add some farmers walks into your routine to help build some grip strength.

Oh and good work so far

Molly

Haha, I really should have stated I was male in my original post. Stupid username Thanks for the responses, both hands are over the bar (as in my palms would be facing my legs) I have started using chalk but only once or twice so far. I had read (can't remember where) that using a mixed grip from the off/too early was a bad idea as it generally allowed you to lift more. Thus I wanted to try and use two hands over the bar for as long as possible. I guess now is the time to change then.

Regarding the farmer's walk, i think that could be a good idea for grip improvement. I think I'll start adding this into my sessions on the days that I don't deadlift as it might be asking a bit much of my hands to deadlift and do some farmer's walks.

justsomebloke

Molly wrote: »

I had read (can't remember where) that using a mixed grip from the off/too early was a bad idea as it generally allowed you to lift more.

what part of lifting more is a bad thing though

Molly

I have problems getting my point across first thing in the morning! What i meant to say is that while it allowed you to lift more you were better off reaching your plateau with two hands over the bar before moving onto mixed grip. Now this might be a load of rubbish (I'm pretty new to this whole lifting weights thing so I find it hard to know what to believe and what not to believe from reading online). Either way I guess I'll move to a mixed grip now.

Molly

Saturday Day 13(Start of Week 5)

Squats 5x5 : 139lbs
Bench 5x5 : 94lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 8,6,5
Push ups 3XF : 15,9,5
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Farmers walk : 50lb dumbbells 60 seconds
Pull ups : 1x3
Farmers walk : 50lb dumbbells 30 seconds x2

Squats were fine, bench was tough. Inverted rows i was really happy with. Almost got a ninth rep on the first set and a 6th on the last set. Progressing nicely here I feel. My second time doing this type of press ups. They are really an awful lot tougher. So following on from g'em and joe the santas advice i did some farmers walks today. Just picked up 50lb dumbbells and walked for a minute. My forearms and hands were wrecked after it. Going to try get up to 60 seconds on each walk. Did some pull ups for some reason. Enjoyable session, arms are sore now though

Molly

Monday Day 14(Middle of Week 5)

Squats 5x5 : 144lbs
Overhead press 3x5 & 1x3 : 79lbs
Deadlifts 1x5 : 174lbs
Chin ups 3XF : 5,5,3
Planks 3 x 30s

2 Mile run in 13 minutes.

Squats were a bit tough. I knew from the offset that the overhead press was going to be rough when i struggled with the first rep of the first set. Really struggled on the end of the third set and the fourth set wasn't happening. I'm quite disappointed with this especially when I was only one rep from completing this on Saturday. One more chance at this before I'll drop the weight a bit. Deadlifts were nice and handy today. I warmed up well, used chalk and my grip didn't give out to me. Will keep doing farmers walks on my non deadlift days though. I didn't use a mixed grip as it slipped my mind. I was flying through the first set of chin ups when my hand slipped off of the bar. Next two sets were fine. Decided i'd do a small run after finishing off. Did 2 miles in 13 minutes. Wasn't difficult but it got the heart pumping. I'm going to try increase the pace of this over the next couple of weeks. Finished off with some hamstring foam rolling as my hamstring flexibility is quite poor

Molly

Wednesday Day 15(End of Week 5)

Squats 5x5 : 149lbs
Bench 4x5 & 1x4 : 99lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,7,5
Push ups 3XF : 15,9,7
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Farmers walk : 50lb dumbbells 60 seconds, 45 seconds, 30 seconds

Squats were fine, bench was tough and felt a bit crap to not finish the final set (and at such a low weight). I'll get it next time.. Inverted rows I was a bit disappointed with since the last day I almost got 9 reps on the first set. Press ups are moving a long slowly. Did my farmers walks to help with my deadlift grip again today. Hands are in bits now. Forgot to bring my runners to the gym so no run today, disappointed with this as it's a stupid thing to do. Overall I wasn't too happy with this week. Poor overhead pressing and failing on the bench for the first time. Going to be extra motivated next week to get everything back on track.

TommyKnocker

Hi Molly

You seem to be progresing really well on the strong lifts program. Really enjoying it myself too.

Must ad some Farmers Walking to my own no weight days to help with my grip, as my grip is starting to fail on my DL's as well.

Keep up the good work.


Best Regards,

M

Molly

Friday Day 16(Start of Week 6)

Squats 5x5 : 154lbs
Overhead press 5x5 : 79lbs
Deadlifts 1x5 : 184lbs
Pull ups 3XF : 4,2,2
Planks 3 x 30s

2 Mile run in 13 minutes.

Squats were pretty good, used a rack as opposed to a cage. Rack isn't facing a mirror so had to judge depth by feel. Overhead press was really good. After being disappointed in my last attempt at this I was able to fly through it today. Felt like I could possibly have got a 6th set done. Deadlifts were good, not much to say. Happy with pull ups as that's the most I've actually done. Ran 2 miles in 13 minutes again and finished up with a lot of foam rolling of my legs and back. Really happy with this session

Molly

Squats 5x5 : 159lbs
Bench 5x5 : 99lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 7,7,6
Push ups 3XF : 15,10,7
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Farmer's walk : 50lb dumbbells 60, 45, 45

Not much to say really. No doubt in my mind that i wouldn't get 5x5 on the bench today. Rows and pushup numbers increased (slightly) on the last session. Held onto the dumbbells a bit longer today as well. Didn't run today. Will run outside tomorrow.

Molly

Wednesday Day 18(End of Week 6)

Squats 5x5 : 164lbs
Overhead press 3x5, 1x3, 1x2 : 84lbs
Deadlifts 1x5 : 194lbs
Chin ups 3XF : 7,5,3
Planks 3 x 30s

2 Mile run in 13 minutes.

Some foam rolling

Squats were fine, overhead press I was disappointed in. I felt i got 79 pretty easily the last time. Felt good the first set and second set and went downhill from here. Will improve on this next time no doubt. Deadlifts were pretty good. I'm a bit curious about a set of deadlifts though. Lately I've been doing a rep, resetting my grip and doing a rep etc. Is this alright to do? Chins were pretty good. The last two days I have been consuming no more than 40g worth of carbs. Will see how this goes. I don't feel like it took anything out of me today but it's early days yet

Also I have some goals I'd like to reach before I take my christmas vacation (18 sessions left at the gym). These are (5x5)

Squat : 234 lbs
Deadlift : 244 lbs
Bench : 134 lbs
Overhead Press : 104 lbs
Pull ups : 10
Chin ups : 12
Inverted Rows : 12
2 Mile Run : 10 minutes

Bench, Pull ups, and rows I feel are going to be the most difficult (I'm wondering how wrong I can be here)

Molly

Squats 5x5 : 169lbs
Bench 5x5 : 104lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 8,8,6
Push ups 3XF : 15,10,8
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Farmer's walk : 50lb dumbbells 60, 50, 45

Squats were tough today, my legs can feel it already. I think there is still a good bit to go in the tank before i fail though. Bench was pretty tough. Rows and pushup numbers increased (slightly) on the last session. Struggling to get much more time on the farmers walks, but going to push myself to get it to a minute on each set next time. Only going to run every second session so no running today

Molly

Monday 16th of November Day 20 middle of week 7

Squats 5x5 : 174lbs
Overhead press 3x5, 1x3, 1x3 : 84lbs
Deadlifts 1x5 : 204lbs
Chin ups 3XF : 5,3,3
Planks 3 x 30s

Squats seem to have just snuck up on me. Finding these pretty hard now. Overhead press was marginally better than last time. If i don't get it next time I'll drop back 10% of the weight (to 74 lbs) and work from there. Deadlifts were quite hard today, gym ran out of chalk so struggled a bit more with my grip than usual. Chins I was pleased with, never done 5 before and I think this is the most I did any day so far. Planks were planks. I get pains in my left shoulder and bicep when I'm doing chins so I'm going to try get an appointment with a physio about this. Easier said than done in this country though.

TommyKnocker

Hi Molly

If you are located on Dublin's southside or don't mind traveling, I can reccommend a good physio (at least I found him very good) who is based in Dun Loaghaire, close to the Royal Marine Hotel.

His Name is Brian Thomas
Mobile: 086 229 0449
Mail: bth@biofitsystems.com

Usually not waiting too long for an appoinment with him.


Best Regards,

M

Molly

Thanks for the offer but I'm based in Boston

TommyKnocker

Molly wrote: »

Thanks for the offer but I'm based in Boston

Oops. It probably a little far to travel for a physio alright

Best of luck with getting it sorted.


Best Regards,

M

Molly

Squats 5x5 : 179lbs
Bench 3x5 2x3 : 109lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 9,7,7
Push ups 3XF : 15,12,10
Reverse Ab Crunches 3x12

Farmer's walk : 45lb dumbbells 60, 60, 60

Squats were tough but enjoyable, almost lost it on the 4th rep of the 4th set but steadied myself. Bench was tough. First 3 sets were tough but doable, 4th set was a big struggle, was only able to get the bar about half way off my chest for the 4th rep so just lowered it and got myself out from under it. 5th set was the same as the 4th but I knew after the third rep that I was done. Inverted rows were fine, seeing a steady increase here, same applies to push ups. Reverse ab crunches were same as usual. For the farmer's walk the 50lb dumbbells were in use so used the 45lb ones. Despite the lighter weight, I still found these difficult

Molly

Friday 20th, Week 8 day 1

Squats 5x5: 184 lbs
Overhead press: 4x5, 1x3: 84 lbs
Deadlift: Blah
Chin ups: 7,5,4
Plank 3x30s

Squats were pretty good except in the last set I felt a tweak in my back. I know what I did to tweak my back so I need to be conscious of not doing it again. Overhead press was an improvement but failed once again, going to have to drop some weight on this and work my way back up. Deadlifts were horrible, it just felt all wrong. Was doing my warm up sets to 184 lbs and stopped at that. Back didn't feel right and I didn't want to push it. Did some chin ups that were an improvement.

Saturday 21st
Played a soccer match and hurt my ankle, woke up Sunday morning and my ankle was huge. Walking was tough but it's getting better. Was supposed to do a charity run on Thursday morning but that's out of the question now. I'm hoping to get back to the gym on Friday afternoon. A weeks rest should do me the world of good. Never thought I'd say that I would miss the gym.

Molly

Saturday 28th, Week 8 day 1

Squats 5x5: 184 lbs
Overhead press: 5x5: 84 lbs
Deadlift 1x5: 214 lbs
Chin ups: 6,4,4
Plank 3x30s

Redid this day as i had taken a week off and this day was very poor the last day. Did a lot of warm up sets today for all exercises. Think I'm going to carry on doing more warm ups as I'm pretty sure I benefited from it today.

Squats were tough after the week off but I got through them, there is definitely some more in the tank. Dropped 10% off of my overhead press (8.4) and rounded up to the nearest 10 so went for 74 lbs today. Did it pretty easily and at a really quick pace too. Deadlifts were probably the best I've ever done. Big thanks to jayoo for posting this. Chin ups were fine, I think I could have squeezed out an extra rep on some sets, disappointed I didn't push myself to do it. Planks were planks

I've decided that I'm going to stop stronglifts after week 10. I'm going to move onto the 5/3/1 program many other people are using here. I've read the e-book and am planning out my assistance exercises as well. Will start practicing some of the assistance exercises as of Monday.

Delighted to be back after a week off.

Molly

Squats 5x5 : 189lbs
Bench 5x5 : 109lbs
Inverted Rows 3xF : 8,6,6
Push ups 3XF : 15,11,9

Squats were tough but got through them. Bench was really good. Last time i attempted this I didn't even get 4 sets of 5 reps so was very pleased to do this. Inverted rows were down slightly as were push ups. I was in a hurry last night so skipped out on crunches and farmers walks. Not going to get near most of the targets I set myself a few posts back but i'll see what I can reach between now and going home for Christmas

Molly

Friday Week 8 Day 3.

Squats 5x5: 194 lbs
Overhead press: 5x5: 79 lbs (did 74 the last day not 84)
Deadlift 1x4: 224 lbs
Pull ups: 3,2,2
Plank 3x30s

Squats were very tough. Got through them though. I can see myself failing to get get 5x5 one of these days. Overhead press felt heavy, even though I've lifted more than this before. Deadlifts were really tough, last rep just would not go. My first time lifting over 100kg in anything though so at least something good came out of today! Pull ups were also horrid and down on what I can normally do. Planks were same as usual.

I had a horrible week at work this week so I'm going to blame today's poor performance on that combined with the terrible eating this week as well. 6 sessions left before I go home for Christmas and before I move away from stronglifts and onto 5/3/1.

Molly

5.75 mile slow run

Molly

December has been atrocious! I've been ridiculously busy with work the last two weeks and when I haven't been so busy i've been exhausted from being so busy. Finally got back to the gym last night. I'm bored with Stronglifts, I want a bit more variation so I'm moving to 5/3/1. Been reading the ebook a bit lately so i'm going to start it saturday. Had a 1 rep max day yesterday. Probably not the smartest to try my 1 rep max for all 4 lifts on the same day but it's what I went with

Squat (previous max 194lbs)

Bar x10
94lbs x 5
134lbs x 5
184lbs x 3
224lbs x 1
264lbs x 0
244lbs x 1 = 110.67Kg
254lbx x 0

Overhead Press (Previous max 84lbs)
Bar x 10
64lbs x 5
84lbs x 3
94lbs x 2
104lbs x 1 = = 47.17Kg
109lbs x 0

Deadlift (Previous max 224lbs)
94lbs x 5
144lbs x 5
184lbs x 2
234lbs x 1
274lbs x 0
254lbx x 0
244lbs x 1 = 110.67Kg

Bench Press
Bar x 10
64lbs x 5
94lbs x 3
114lbs x 2
134lbs x 1 = 60.78kg
144lbs x 0

Started with squats, felt really good, 224lbs was easy so decided to go for 264. What I noticed that I didn't really have control of the weight coming down. It was more the weight forced me down rather than me lowering the weight so momentum seemed to stop me from being able to stop and push myself up. Went for 244 and remained conscious of not descending too rapidly and was able to complete the rep. Went for 254 and just wasn't focused enough when trying to complete the rep. 244 was quite an ugly rep so didn't want to try and force 254 with awful form. 50lbs heavier than I had ever lifted before though, I was pretty pleased.

Next up was the overhead press, this is my least enjoyable lift. So warmed up nicely and went for 104lbs, was a struggle to get it up over the head but got it in the end. Was happy with this and thought I should be able to get 109lbs, got stuck about half way up. Pretty pleased with this. I had never lifted more than 84lbs in this lift.

Moved onto deadlifts after this and this is where I got a little disappointed. Warm ups were fine, 224lbs was the heaviest I had lifted before. Got to 234 pretty easily, stupidly made a big jump up to 274lbs and it wouldn't come up over my knee, went for 254 and it only got to around the same level. Went for 244lbs and managed to get it up without hitching it. I was a little disheartened here because my deadlift was the same as my squat. There are two things that I can put this down to; 1) tiredness from testing squat and ohp maxes (I'm not sure how likely this is, in fact I'm not even considering this is the reason) 2) I've not had the same amount of practice deadlifting with good technique as i've had with squats. I'm going to try a deadlift max day before my very first day of 5/3/1 on saturday. I think I'll have a better idea of things then. Still a 20lb improvement on anything I had done before.

Finally I moved onto the bench press, again warmed up nicely, went for 134lbs and I had no doubt I was going to be able to do this. Didn't have to struggle too bad getting the bar up either. Found a spotter and went for 144lbs, got the bar about half way up and that was that. Again this was a 20lb improvement on anything I had done before.

Looking forward to starting 5/3/1. Also did two hours indoor soccer on Monday.

jaggiebunnet

Molly wrote: »

December has been atrocious! I've been ridiculously busy with work the last two weeks and when I haven't been so busy i've been exhausted from being so busy. Finally got back to the gym last night. I'm bored with Stronglifts, I want a bit more variation so I'm moving to 5/3/1. Been reading the ebook a bit lately so i'm going to start it saturday. Had a 1 rep max day yesterday. Probably not the smartest to try my 1 rep max for all 4 lifts on the same day but it's what I went with

Squat (previous max 194lbs)

Bar x10
94lbs x 5
134lbs x 5
184lbs x 3
224lbs x 1
264lbs x 0
244lbs x 1 = 110.67Kg
254lbx x 0

Overhead Press (Previous max 84lbs)
Bar x 10
64lbs x 5
84lbs x 3
94lbs x 2
104lbs x 1 = = 47.17Kg
109lbs x 0

Deadlift (Previous max 224lbs)
94lbs x 5
144lbs x 5
184lbs x 2
234lbs x 1
274lbs x 0
254lbx x 0
244lbs x 1 = 110.67Kg

Bench Press
Bar x 10
64lbs x 5
94lbs x 3
114lbs x 2
134lbs x 1 = 60.78kg
144lbs x 0

Started with squats, felt really good, 224lbs was easy so decided to go for 264. What I noticed that I didn't really have control of the weight coming down. It was more the weight forced me down rather than me lowering the weight so momentum seemed to stop me from being able to stop and push myself up. Went for 244 and remained conscious of not descending too rapidly and was able to complete the rep. Went for 254 and just wasn't focused enough when trying to complete the rep. 244 was quite an ugly rep so didn't want to try and force 254 with awful form. 50lbs heavier than I had ever lifted before though, I was pretty pleased.

Next up was the overhead press, this is my least enjoyable lift. So warmed up nicely and went for 104lbs, was a struggle to get it up over the head but got it in the end. Was happy with this and thought I should be able to get 109lbs, got stuck about half way up. Pretty pleased with this. I had never lifted more than 84lbs in this lift.

Moved onto deadlifts after this and this is where I got a little disappointed. Warm ups were fine, 224lbs was the heaviest I had lifted before. Got to 234 pretty easily, stupidly made a big jump up to 274lbs and it wouldn't come up over my knee, went for 254 and it only got to around the same level. Went for 244lbs and managed to get it up without hitching it. I was a little disheartened here because my deadlift was the same as my squat. There are two things that I can put this down to; 1) tiredness from testing squat and ohp maxes (I'm not sure how likely this is, in fact I'm not even considering this is the reason) 2) I've not had the same amount of practice deadlifting with good technique as i've had with squats. I'm going to try a deadlift max day before my very first day of 5/3/1 on saturday. I think I'll have a better idea of things then. Still a 20lb improvement on anything I had done before.

Finally I moved onto the bench press, again warmed up nicely, went for 134lbs and I had no doubt I was going to be able to do this. Didn't have to struggle too bad getting the bar up either. Found a spotter and went for 144lbs, got the bar about half way up and that was that. Again this was a 20lb improvement on anything I had done before.

Looking forward to starting 5/3/1. Also did two hours indoor soccer on Monday.

Hi, I am actually thinking about moving to 5/3/1 after new year possibly too, from Starting Strength rather than Stronglifts, but same reason, getting bored and looking to mix it up a bit - can you post a link to where you were reading about it so I can get some more info? thanks.

cardio,shoot me

if you want jaggie i can email it to you, pm your email

jaggiebunnet

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

if you want jaggie i can email it to you, pm your email

pm on it's way, cheers.

Molly

I bought the ebook, was only 20 dollars as far as I remember.

Molly

Went to the 'gym' on Sunday at home, the only free weights they had were dumbbells (they had a nice selection of these mind ). I had intended to begin 5/3/1 that day but when i was unable to find a barbell this plan failed! I just did some dumbbell military presses. I also did some sets of pull ups, chin ups and neutral grip pull ups.

Molly

My one rep maxes were

Military Press 104lbs
Squats 244lbs
Benc 134lbs
Deadlift 244lbs

Squat 2Week 1, Cycle 1 Military Press and Deadlifts (combined session as I want to get a full week in this week) before I go home for Christmas.

Military Press
44 x 5
49.6 x 5
60.6 x 3
60.6 x 5
71.6 x 5
82.6 x 9
44 x 5 x 10

Lat pulldown
66.1 x 5 x 10

Deadlift
88 x 5
110 x 5
132 x 5
154 x 5
165 x 5
187 x 7
88 x 5 x 10

Hanging Leg Raise
5,6,7,7,7

After sundays experience I was on the lookout for a decent gym, so I went to fitnessworx in douglas. Very impressed with this gym, 2 squat racks, 2 power cages and one set of squat stands plus about 10 olympic bar bells and a large array of dumbbells. They even had a set of monkey bars! The only thing I saw missing was a glute ham raise bench.

I operate in lbs because i'm based in the states so I made a few errors with my lbs to kg calculatons I made in my head! I have already made some secondary calculations for Thursday's visit. Looking forward to getting back to using lbs

Military press was fine until boring but big where I really struggled. Have never really done anything near the volume of them I did today. Really happy I started at 40% rather than 60%. Cheers for that advice BossArky. I hadn't done lat pulldowns before so looked at a view videos online recently to see what to do. I started with 30kgs (a small bit under half bodyweight). I'll probably move this up a bit next time I do these.

Deadlifts were fine except my hands are now ripped to pieces. Like military press, I had never performed anywhere near this volume before. My hands actually blistered up doing boring but big! I would have liked to do GHRs but there was no bench for it in the gym. I had decided that I would do hanging leg raises if this was the case. I was doing these on the monkey bars in the gym as the dip station was in use, one of the blister's on my right hand burst on one of the sets. I'm not really a fan of this exercise.

I'm expecting to be sore tomorrow. Squats and bench on Thursday then a few days off until I go back to the states.

Molly

Week 1 Cycle 1 Squats and Bench

Squat
88 lbs x 5
110 x 5
132 x 3
143 x 5
165 x 5
187 x 7
88 x 5 x 10
Leg Press
143 x 5 x 10

Bench

44 lbs x 5
60 x 5
71 x 3
77 x 5
88 x 5
99 x 8
44 x 5 x 10

Dumbbell Row
22lbs x 4 x 10
27.5 x 1 x 10

Night out last night and not a whole lot of sleep so this was a tough session. Got through everything though. 3 days off now before I go back to the states.

On another note I woke up wednesday and I could barely get out of bed. My abs were in pieces. Having originally thought Hanging Leg Raises did nothing I'd like to retract that statement

Molly

Cycle 1 Week 2 Day 1

Military Press
44 lbs x 5
47 x 5
54 x 3
64 x 3
74 x 3
84 x 8
44 x 5 x 10

Lat pulldown
80 x 10
70 x 10 x 4

Pull ups/Chin ups/Neutral Grip
5/5/5

Pretty easy day today. Nothing to say about military presses really. Lat pulldown I started with 80 but felt I was moving my elbows in a non vertical path so moved back to 70. Need to schedule an appointment with a physio, left shoulder/arm giving me a bit of hassle during lat pulldown and assorted pull ups. Same thing as before, just ignored it for a while.

Molly

Cycle 1 Week 2 Deadlift Day

Deadlift

89 lbs x 5
109 x 5
134 x 3
154 x 3
174 x 3
199 x 7
94 x 5 x 10

Hangling Leg Raise

7,7,7,7,7

Glute Ham Raises

10,10,8

Much tougher than military press day. My hands are ripped to pieces now, just about avoided another blister I'd say. The volume of deadlifts is definitely helping me I think, with stronglifts I wasn't really doing them that often or that much. Hanging leg raises were tough due me struggling to actually grip the bar. Glute Ham Raises were an interesting exercise, my first time doing them really and I'm pretty confident I'll be suffering in the morning. Will definitely keep them up though.

Molly

Cycle 1 Week 2 Bench Day

Bench
49lbs x 5
59 x 5
74 x 3
84 x 3
94 x 3
109 x 8
49 x 5 x 10

DB Row
30lbs,30,30,30,30

Not much to say. A pretty easy day today really.

Molly

5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week 2 Squat Day

Squats
84 x 5
104 x 5
134 x 3
154 x 3
174 x 3
199 x 7
95 x 5 x 10

Leg Press
165 x 5 x 10

Squats felt heavy today, possibly due to a lack of food and being a bit tired. Focused on trying to get my breathing right. I think i'm getting there. Not much else to say

Molly

5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week3 Military Press

44lbs x 5
49 x 5
54 x 3
69 x 5
79 x 3
89 x 7
44 x 5 x 10

Lat Pulldowns
80 x 5 x 10

Pretty quick day today. In and out in about 40 minutes. After I get my shoulder looked at next Monday I'll probably add in some chins and pulls as well.

Molly

5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week 3 Deadlift

94lbs x 5
109 x 5
134 x 3
164 x 5
189 x 3
209 x 5
94 x 5 x 10

Hanging Leg Raises
8 x 5

Glute Ham Raises
10 x 3

Deadlifts were tough, lower back was fried after them. I would have liked another rep or two. Hands were pretty sore after too. Hanging Leg Raises were tough and further ripped my hands. No blister's today though so happy with that. Glute Ham Raises were really tough as well. I enjoy these a lot though for some reason. Deadlift day is definitely the toughest for me.