Female Athlete Q&A

Had a great push/pull training session last night:

Bench press - 3 sets x 8 reps @ 142lbs
Barbell rows - 3 sets x 8 reps @ 185lbs
Close Grip Bench - 3 sets x 8 (2 sets @ 115lbs & 1 @ 135lbs)
Weighted Pull-ups -
2 sets x 10 with 10lbs (reverse grip)
2 sets x 10 with 22lbs (wide grip)
2 sets x 10 with 30lb chain (neutral grip)
Swiss Bar Floor Press - 3 sets x 12 @ 90lbs
Wide grip pulldowns - 3 sets x 12 reps
Lateral raise & rope face full Superset - 3 sets x 12 reps each
Rope push downs & bench dips superset: 2 sets x 15 reps each

I donā€™t normally use chain as weights for my pull-ups but I was feeling like utilizing the gym equipmentā€¦ And it made me feel hardcore ;)) haha. (I use a 2" wide grip pull up bar to help keep my grip strength great for my heavy deadliftsā€¦ So far itā€™s working well because my hands havenā€™t slipped on a deadlift yet!)

I saw a deadlift challenge on Facebook yesterday and wanted to give it a shot. How many deadlifts can you do with 135lbs in 30 seconds? I got 51! Video shows 52 but the timer was done halfway through the rep.

I finished my regular workout before I tried this because I didnā€™t want to ruin my workout by exhausting myself beforehand. Hereā€™s what I did last night:

Deadlifts:
2 sets x 5 reps @ 337lbs

Deficit deadlifts: (2")
2 sets x 5 reps @315lbs

Deadlift Challenge:
51 reps with 135lbs in 60seconds

Pull-ups:
6 sets x 8 reps
*2 sets reverse grip, 2 sets wide grip, 2 sets neutral grip

Wide grip pulldowns
4 sets x 12 reps

Hi Bron!!

I was wondering if I could pick your brain on a few things??

[quote]Jnnylw wrote:
Hi Bron!!

I was wondering if I could pick your brain on a few things?? [/quote]

Hi Jnnylw! I got your email but feel free you ask me anything here :slight_smile:

Some low bar squats from last week

Had some fun on back day this week :slight_smile:

Tried from 1 arm pull-ups and did a triple set (wide grip, neutral grip and reverse grip) + deadlifts 5 reps @ 365lbs for a rep PR

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had fun and enjoyed their holidays.

So far Iā€™m off to a good start in 2015, despite being sick for the past week I still managed to get in a good squat session on the 1st. I did 270lbs for 3 reps and then 280 for 2 reps, I was supposed to do 3reps but I missed my last one!

My next figure show is going to be in June this year, itā€™s the British Columbia Provincial Championships. This is the show I must do in order to qualify for nationals here in Canada. I havenā€™t decided on my next powerlifting meet yet but Iā€™m thinking sometime in April. My training split accommodates both my powerlifting and figure goals. I have 3 days that concentrate on my main lifts for powerlifting and another 1-2 days that I use to concentrate on other ā€œbodybuildingā€ type training to improve my weaknesses as a figure competitor.


Made it into the international lifter rankings on powerlifting watch. http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/yearly-rankings/femalesworld

#6 total
#5 Deadlift
#14 Bench Press
#10 Squat

Iā€™m excited to see what kind of improvements I can make in 2015!


Deadlift - International Rankings (75kg Raw)

Wow Bron thats incredible! Congratulations!

Quite the accomplishment! Congratulations to you!

[quote]FarmerOwen wrote:
Wow Bron thats incredible! Congratulations![/quote]

Thank you FarmerOwen! Itā€™s just the beginning for me and Iā€™m looking forward to competing in 2015.

[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Quite the accomplishment! Congratulations to you![/quote]

Thank you so much! I hope your training is going well, any plans for your next meet?

Hereā€™s an interview I did after the CPF Nationals back in June. Iā€™ve made significant improvements since this time and surpassed my own expectations. I absolutely LOVE powerlifting!

Hello! I havenā€™t been on here in a whileā€¦
I need some advice on diet and training! I was never athletic or lifted a weight until age 36. That was almost 3 years ago. But to look at me you would never know that I workout. A year and a half ago I had some training and diet help from an online coach that volunteered his time here on the forum. I had wonderful results but the (crash) diet was not exactly practical to do forever. His help was for me to look a certain way before my vacation in three months time. After three months I started to ā€œeat regularā€ againā€¦

Well, as I sit here today, I am completely frustrated with my appearance. Iā€™m 38, er, going to be 39. Iā€™m a whopping 4ā€™11 and weigh 123. I train 4 days a week religiously- squats, overhead press, bench, deads- mostly some variation of 5|3|1. My diet is good- red meat, ground turkey, chicken thighs, Greek yogurt, eggs with a slice of toast, cottage cheese, rice, protein shakes with blueberries or a banana, salad greens with a serving of dressing, tuna with a little mayo, I do have trouble eating 120 grams of protein- mostly because it upsets my system or grosses me out. My husband gets on about not eating enough but Iā€™m fulfilled on 1200-1400 calories a day. I blame my genes. Haha.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[quote]nez1nez wrote:
Hello! I havenā€™t been on here in a whileā€¦
I need some advice on diet and training! I was never athletic or lifted a weight until age 36. That was almost 3 years ago. But to look at me you would never know that I workout. A year and a half ago I had some training and diet help from an online coach that volunteered his time here on the forum. I had wonderful results but the (crash) diet was not exactly practical to do forever. His help was for me to look a certain way before my vacation in three months time. After three months I started to ā€œeat regularā€ againā€¦

Well, as I sit here today, I am completely frustrated with my appearance. Iā€™m 38, er, going to be 39. Iā€™m a whopping 4ā€™11 and weigh 123. I train 4 days a week religiously- squats, overhead press, bench, deads- mostly some variation of 5|3|1. My diet is good- red meat, ground turkey, chicken thighs, Greek yogurt, eggs with a slice of toast, cottage cheese, rice, protein shakes with blueberries or a banana, salad greens with a serving of dressing, tuna with a little mayo, I do have trouble eating 120 grams of protein- mostly because it upsets my system or grosses me out. My husband gets on about not eating enough but Iā€™m fulfilled on 1200-1400 calories a day. I blame my genes. Haha.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.[/quote]

Hi!

Thanks for posting, happy to see youā€™re back!

Itā€™s never too late to start so donā€™t worry about your age! Starting at 36 is better than never :slight_smile:
A common complaint I hear from people is that they donā€™t look like they even train and so itā€™s not unusual for you to feel this way because it takes time to build the muscle mass that would give you this appearance. Nutrition also needs to be on point in order to build your physique and youā€™re also correct that crash dieting wonā€™t help you in the long run so you need to set out a long term plan and stick with it.

For example: Iā€™ve been an athlete my whole life and been training seriously for many years but my physique isnā€™t where Iā€™d like it to be. I have a lot of work ahead of me to achieve my desired physique and itā€™s a journey Iā€™m always looking forward to. Itā€™s human nature to always want more and no matter how I look I always want to look better! I do believe that any progress is good progress and Iā€™m happy about any improvements I can make in a week, month or year. Itā€™s a lifestyle commitment and very rewarding when you start to see progress.

Your food choices look good. Do you have any issues with dairy? You mentioned that you donā€™t feel well from eating a lot of protein and even a slight sensitivity can cause this especially if you are eating greek yogurt and cottage cheese regularly. Are you measuring them each day or itā€™s just an estimate? Also, do you use any supplements? If protein consumption is an issue there are some great supplements like MAG-10 for example that will help you get in the nutrition without feeling like crap. 5/3/1 is a great program, have you tried Plazma during your workouts? I find that since I started using it my recovery is faster and my workouts have been much more intense. Do you do any cardio? If youā€™re looking to lose bodyfat then your diet will need to be planned out and nutritional timing is going to be very important.

Thanks for answering back!

-no issues with dairy that I know of. And really I eat it just so I can reach my protein goals in a convenient way or at least be in the ballpark. Ugh.
-itā€™s really the powders and and bars that arenā€™t nice to me.
-itā€™s measured out to a cup each time.
-Iā€™ll use protein powder and bars to meet my goals. Fish oil when I remember.
-I will look into Plazma
-no cardio because it sucks. Haha
-can you direct me on the diet part and the timing?

[quote]nez1nez wrote:
Hello! I havenā€™t been on here in a whileā€¦
I need some advice on diet and training! I was never athletic or lifted a weight until age 36. That was almost 3 years ago. But to look at me you would never know that I workout. A year and a half ago I had some training and diet help from an online coach that volunteered his time here on the forum. I had wonderful results but the (crash) diet was not exactly practical to do forever. His help was for me to look a certain way before my vacation in three months time. After three months I started to ā€œeat regularā€ againā€¦

Well, as I sit here today, I am completely frustrated with my appearance. Iā€™m 38, er, going to be 39. Iā€™m a whopping 4ā€™11 and weigh 123. I train 4 days a week religiously- squats, overhead press, bench, deads- mostly some variation of 5|3|1. My diet is good- red meat, ground turkey, chicken thighs, Greek yogurt, eggs with a slice of toast, cottage cheese, rice, protein shakes with blueberries or a banana, salad greens with a serving of dressing, tuna with a little mayo, I do have trouble eating 120 grams of protein- mostly because it upsets my system or grosses me out. My husband gets on about not eating enough but Iā€™m fulfilled on 1200-1400 calories a day. I blame my genes. Haha.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.[/quote]

Nice to see you!!

Just thinking about this. You are currently eating about 1200-1400 cals per day? Or that is the caloric level you were at when Jake was coaching you? Both?

Iā€™m just wondering if you think your metabolism has slowed down a lot? I want to say you were eating about 1300 cals when you cut to a BW of about 108? Has your lifestyle changed a lot so youā€™re moving a lot less? Any other health changes?

I recently switched over to a low bar squat and I can feel a lot more power this way, my goal is to reach 315 for my next meet. I also traded in my chucks for some Nike Romaleos and they are awesome! If you girls have any requests for specific videos of my training please ask and Iā€™ll post them here.

This is my 3 year old son Lior. He loves his MAG-10 just like his mom!