T Nation

Choppie's WS4SB Cycle

Powerful Women
#1

Hi Ladies:

Deja made me join. Or rather, Deja has encouraged for a couple of months to get my head out of my ass and join you. So I am. So she’ll stop bothering me.

/jest

I’m looking forward to keeping up with everyone’s journals. I workout alone; I don’t have any RL female friends who lift.

My short-tem goals right now are: weight loss (I’m all fatty), and some flexibility work. I have some piriformis problems I want to kick, and I think my lifting is inhibited by a lack of flexibility. Long-term goals… I’m kicking around. I am working out at a gym for the moment but I worked out at home all summer with a sandbag and some kettlebells. I have farmer friends who’ve promised me a tire, and I’ve been looking into some homemade equipment.

I’d really like to try a strongman comp, just to see what I think. I’m hoping that my local SpendyGym, which fancies itself a bit much, will host one again this fall. I’m a little up in the air about plans because I have a few big sort of life decisions to make, but I know I need goals to focus on. I’ll probably ride a century this summer (usual cancer center fundraiser that I do).

So maybe the goals will be: weight loss to June, century in July, focus on strength for strongman toe-dipping in the fall?

This was my most recent (Wednesday) ME upper body lift.

WS4SB Week 3, Day 1

5 minute bike warmup
approx 3 mins foam rolling

Maximum Effort:
barbell bench press (goal: warmup to 3-5 reps ME on final set)
1xbarx10
1x65lbs.x5
1x95lbs.x5
1x115lbs.x5
1x125lbs.x3
1x135lbs.x3 (last 2 assisted)
1x145lbs.x2 (assisted. This was a little but of a bummer b/c I think I could have hit 145 for a PR if the guy spotting me hadn’t jumped in so quickly.)

Supplemental:
incline db presses (goal: 3 sets of 6-10 reps)
1x40lbs.x10
1x40lbs.x10
1x40lbs.x7

Horizontal Row:
Pendlay rows (goal: 4 sets of 10-15 reps)
3x95lbs.x15
1x95lbs.x14

Rear Delt/Upper Back:
face pulls (goal: 3 sets of 12-15 reps)
1x45lbs.x15
1x45lbs.x15
1x45lbs.x15

Weighted Abs:
swiss ball pulley crunches (goal: 4 sets of 8-15 reps)
1x27.5lbs.x15
1x30lbs.15
1x30lbs.x15
1x32.55lbs.x15

shoulder prehab exercises

grip training: static holds
1x60 lbs dbsx1 min
1x60 lbs dbsx45 secs
1x60 lbs dbsx35 secs

I’m going to do my lower body ME this afternoon. Umm. That’s all. Carry on.

#2

Welcome aboard and god how I envy your bench.

#3

Hey welcome. We’re in the same boat on the training alone/no lifting friends/flexibility/piriformis issues and fat loss. Kinda sucks but you have to keep grinding along.

Very nice benching - just make sure you are doing a good amount of back work to balance out the chest stuff you’re doing (I speak as a veteran of rotator cuff aggro). The 100 mile thing - that a bike thing or horse?
Kimba on here is an avid cyclist - she might be able to give you some tips.

#4

this has got to be a troll.

#5

[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Hey welcome. We’re in the same boat on the training alone/no lifting friends/flexibility/piriformis issues and fat loss. Kinda sucks but you have to keep grinding along.

Very nice benching - just make sure you are doing a good amount of back work to balance out the chest stuff you’re doing (I speak as a veteran of rotator cuff aggro). The 100 mile thing - that a bike thing or horse?
Kimba on here is an avid cyclist - she might be able to give you some tips.[/quote]

Yeah - I was reading someone’s journal here (yours? can’t remember) who mentioned a bench-related injury due to heavy benching and terrible computer-related posture. That’s totally me.

It’s a bike thing. I’m a biker. A fat biker. Apparently, we make the rockin’ world go round.

#6

[quote]dejavued wrote:
this has got to be a troll. [/quote]

That’s no kind of welcome, missy.

WS4SB Week 3, Day 2

5 minute bike warmup
approx 3 mins foam rolling

Maximum Effort:
back squats (goal: warmup to 3-5 reps ME on final set)
1xbarx10
1x95lbs.x5
1x135lbs.x5
1x155lbs.x5
1x175lbs.x3
1x185lbs.x3
1x195lbs.x1
1x205.lbs.x1 (PR)
1x210lbs.x1 (new PR)

Unilateral:
Bulgarian split squats (goal: 4 sets of 8-15 reps each side)
4x30lbs.(2 15 lbs. dumbbells)x15

Posterior Chain:
seated leg curls (goal: 4 sets of 6-10 reps)
1x100lbs.x10
1x100lbs.x10
1x105lbs.x10
1x110lbs.x10

Grip work: Pinch Grip
3x2 10lbs. platex1 minute (each hand, 6 mins total)

shoulder prehab exercises

stretching, foam roller

Total time: 1:50 (incl. cardio warmup)
Max HR: 163
Av HR: 122
Cals: 912

Kicked my ass tonight. Poor pre-workout nutrition I guess. It took forever to get the Bulgarians done. I’m sort of worried about my squat form but I’m terrible about backing off. I just like to push. I have become the gym stalker: totally, unabashedly staring at everyone’s squats. I saw a guy doing classic “butt wink.” I didn’t tell him. Need to get the camera in there to evaluate myself.

I change up my exercises next week so I’m thinking I should do bodyweight squats on my cardio days to work on my form.

#7

Yes, that’s me - the computer geek. I’m jealous of your squats - I can’t squat much at all. I avoided squatting for years then decided I had to man up and do it, and took to it with gusto, completely neglecting the fact that I have the hip and ankle mobility of a pensioner (butt wink - I have it in spades.

Unsurprisingly I now have a nice lower back injury and am paying a very expensive ART lady to fix me.

#8

[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
Yes, that’s me - the computer geek. I’m jealous of your squats - I can’t squat much at all. I avoided squatting for years then decided I had to man up and do it, and took to it with gusto, completely neglecting the fact that I have the hip and ankle mobility of a pensioner (butt wink - I have it in spades.

Unsurprisingly I now have a nice lower back injury and am paying a very expensive ART lady to fix me. [/quote]

Ugh.

I started doing some shoulder dislocations and looking at my bench style more closely. I am so sure the squat vid is going to be horrendous.

I was looking for an ART practitioner but there are none in my area (closest was an hour and a half drive). I think I’m going to try a local massage therapist who does myofascial release for athletes. I’m hoping she can get this nasty knot out from my right upper back (scapula area). And then work on my flexibility.

#9

WS4SB Week 3, Day 3

5 minute bike warmup
approx 10 mins foam rolling, stretching, shoulder dislocations

Repetition Lift:
dumbbell press, flat bench (goal: work up to 3 sets max rep, 60 seconds rest between sets)
1x20lbs.x10
1x25lbs.x10
1x30lbs.x10
1x35lbs.x10
1x40lbs.x10
1x45lbs.x5
1x45lbs.x4
1x45lbs.x4

Vertical Pulling:
lat pulldowns (seated fixed machine, not cable) (goal: 4 sets of 8-12 reps each side)
1x120lbs.x12
1x125lbs.x12
1x130lbs.x12
1x135lbs.x12

Medial Delts:
Bradford presses (goal: 3 sets of 10-15 reps)
1x olympic bar x15
1x olympic bar x7
1x olympic bar x10

Elbow flexion:
bicep curls (goal: 3 sets of 8-10 reps)
3x60lbs.x10
3x60lbs.x6
3x55lbs.x10

ab circuit

shoulder prehab exercises

stretching, foam roller

Total time: 1:41 (incl. cardio warmup)
Max HR: 141
Av HR: 109
Cals: 640

#10

Wow.

I just realized that I dropped the triceps exercise from my repetition day. For three weeks.

Awesome.

#11

Welcome, Chop. Its nice to see another cyclist here. No centuries for me this past season (78 miles was the longest) but maybe in 2010!

#12

[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
Welcome, Chop. Its nice to see another cyclist here. No centuries for me this past season (78 miles was the longest) but maybe in 2010![/quote]

Thanks Kimba.

Yeah, I’ve gone off them a bit myself. Training for that distance is a huge time commitment. I think I need some good cardiovascular goals, though.

#13

WS4SB Week 4, Day 1

5 minute bike warmup
foam rolling, hip mobility, shoulder dislocations, hip stretching

Maximum Effort:
rack lockouts (goal: warmup to 3-5 reps ME on final set)
1xbarx10
1x65lbs.x5
1x95lbs.x5
1x135lbs.x5
1x155lbs.x2
1x155lbs.x1
1x135lbs.x3

Supplemental:
decline db presses (goal: 3 sets of 6-10 reps)
1x40lbs.x10
1x40lbs.x10
1x40lbs.x7

Horizontal Row:
seated machine rows (goal: 4 sets of 10-15 reps)
3x70lbs.x12
1x70lbs.x7

Rear Delt/Upper Back:
bentover rear flyes (goal: 3 sets of 12-15 reps)
3x15lbs dbsx15

Weighted Abs:
dumbbell side bends (goal: 4 sets of 8-15 reps)
1x50lbs.x10
1x45lbs.10
1x40lbs.x10
1x40lbs.x10
1x32.55lbs.x15

shoulder prehab exercises

stretching, foam roller, hip mobility, shoulder dislocations

Total time: 1:30 (incl. cardio warmup)
Max HR: 149
Av HR: 115
Cals: 647

So rack lockouts were interesting. I found it hard to work on my technique with the ROM so limited. I also noticed that when things get heavy I start slipping back into crappy technique (letting my elbows out to an L shape). Things to work on.

The person previously using the decline bench for dumbbell work left his dumbbells on each side of the bench (I think he was still working but doing some huge circuit). I didn’t really think anything of it. When I finished my last set I dropped my right dumbbell and caught my middle finger between my db and the one on the floor. I got an ice pack from the gym manager and sat icing it for 10 minutes before I finished my workout. It’s not broken just swollen and bruised. It didn’t bother my grip too much but I sort of lost the rhythm of the workout.

#14

Any friend of deja’s is a friend of mine! Welcome.

You got some serious lifting going on. Good stuff!

Sucks about your finger, but if its just rhythm you lost, then that’s good. Much better than a serious injury.

I’ll be following along!

#15

[quote]Mascherano wrote:
Any friend of deja’s is a friend of mine! Welcome.

You got some serious lifting going on. Good stuff!
[/quote]

Thanks!

I think I need to back off the idea of lifting heavy things for awhile and be more cognizant of form. That should drive me slightly insane.

#16

[quote]Chopaholic wrote:

I think I need to back off the idea of lifting heavy things for awhile and be more cognizant of form. That should drive me slightly insane.[/quote]

One word: video. We love video. :slight_smile:

#17

[quote]kimbakimba wrote:

[quote]Chopaholic wrote:

I think I need to back off the idea of lifting heavy things for awhile and be more cognizant of form. That should drive me slightly insane.[/quote]

One word: video. We love video. :)[/quote]

#18

Okay I tried to attach a video, but nothing’s showing up. I’ll try again in a bit.

WS4SB Week 4, Day 2

5 minute bike warmup
foam rolling, shoulder dislocations, hip stretches, etc.

Maximum Effort:
dealifts (goal: warmup to 3-5 reps ME on final set)
1xbarx10
1x95lbs.x5
1x115lbs.x5
1x135lbs.x5
1x155lbs.x5
1x175lbs.x3
1x185lbs.xfail
1x135.lbs.x4 (working on form)

Unilateral:
dumbbell walking lunges (goal: 4 sets of 8-15 reps each side)
1x30lbs.(2 15 lbs. dumbbells)x16
1x35lbs.x16
1x40lbs.x12
1x30lbs.x12

Posterior Chain:
goodmornings (goal: 4 sets of 6-10 reps)
1x95lbs.x10
1x95lbs.x10
1x95lbs.x19

Grip work: Static Holds
1x2 60lbs. dumbbells x45 seconds
1x2 60lbs. dumbbells x30 seconds
1x2 60lbs. dumbbells x30 seconds

shoulder prehab exercises

stretching, foam roller, hip stretches, etc.

Total time: 200 (incl. cardio warmup)
Max HR: 172
Av HR: 114
Cals: 854

I suck at deadlifting.

#19

Here goes. I am terribly eager for you all to see me adjusting my belly.

So now my thread icon shows a vid, but I see no vid. Kiss me, Hardy.

#20

I’m confused. You’re squatting 210 lb (to depth, I assume, which to me means below parallel) and fail on a 185-lb. deadlift? Are you sumo or conventional?

May I ask your age and weight?

Welcome, by the way. I’m new here too . . .