I’ve rewritten this 3 times now because I’m not sure how much information is actually relevant to share But basically I was a super dedicated lifter from ages 15-18. I then suffered a shoulder injury that began my downward spiral of inconsistency.
I’m now back, 4 years later, with plenty of goals… but I know I need to start slow because I’m pretty much back at square one strength wise.
I’ve considered getting a coach because I had one in the past but I’ve realized the only person who can help me the most with my goals and what I’m aiming to build is me. So this is definitely going to be a huge learning process which kind of freaks me out because I tend to be too much of a perfectionist and hate wasting time on things that don’t give me the results I want. Probably why designing my own program IS a good idea.
Stats:
Height - 5”2
Weight - 131-132
Age - 22
My main goal at the moment is fat loss. I’m hoping to lose about 10-15 lbs. Second goal/focus would be back and hamstrings.
5 day program beginning Monday (not necessarily in this order):
Floor press
High to low flyes
Incline dumbbell bicep curls
Preacher curls
Still over thinking
This ain’t rocket science. Run your program for a few weeks and figure what is working and what’s not. Your not going to run this for the rest of your life. You will have to make changes. Get in the gym, do the work, and then you will know where to make changes.
Haha honestly wasn’t overthinking, I just tend to ramble I read some logs that gave a lot of info and some that was just short and sweet so I wasn’t sure what should be included
Definitely know I’ll need to make changes though as I said, I have many goals so I know this isn’t what I’ll stick with the rest of my life haha.
Yesterday I did my shoulder focused workout which didn’t go as I had hoped because my right shoulder/chest was feeling all tight and sore.
Anterior shoulder press
1st set - 5 lb dumbbells for 12 reps
2nd set - 10 lb dumbbells for 10
3rd set - 10 lb for 10
Dumbbell lateral raises
1st-3rd set - 5 lb dumbbells for 10 reps
Posterior delt row
1st-3rd set - 10 lbs for 10 reps
Cross body tricep extension (only had access to a band so started at 5 lbs which was very easy, so jumped to 15)
1st-3rd set - 15 lb for 8 reps
Overall a very humbling workout, which I knew it would be. But I also know I shouldn’t expect to lift as much with shoulders as I would with legs or something so overall felt good to just get the first session done, even though my shoulder felt weird.
Decided to do a leg day today instead of back. Why did I do two deadlifts in one day? I didn’t even notice that but my hamstrings are going to hurt.
After my first baby, it took me a good 4 months before I felt comfortable doing any lower body movements because I felt very unstable. This time around, I’m definitely feeling more confident (which is a win) but still am taking it slow.
I kind of forgot how to brace properly though so I think I got distracted focusing more on breathing and bracing as opposed to the actual exercise.
Anyways,
Glute abduction
3 sets of 15 lb band for 10 reps
RDLS
1st set - 5 lb dumbbells for 12
2-3rd set - 10 lb dumbbells for 10
Stiff legged deadlifts
Same as RDLS
Seated leg curl (with band)
1st-3rd set - 15 lb band for 12 reps
Calf raises
1st set - just body weight for 12
2nd set - 5 lb dumbbell on each side for 12
3rd set - 10 lb dumbbells for 10
Overall felt meh though today because I didn’t sleep very well. But I got the work done
Dumbbell row
1st set - 10 lb for 12 reps
2-3rd set - 15 lb for 10 reps
Landmine row
1st-3rd set - just the bar for 10 reps
One arm lat pull down
1st set - 10 lbs for 12
2-3rd set - 15 lbs for 10
Wide grip lat pull down
1st set - 20 lbs for 12
2nd-3rd set - 25 lbs for 12
Today I was absolutely exhausted. Actually the past few days I have been, but today just kind of got to me more than the others. Felt good to move either way even though it took me a bit to get into it. Tomorrow I’m taking a rest day but will kick it up again with leg day #2 on Saturday
This weekend I sucked at logging but I did manage to get in my chest and leg workout. Kept everything light though.
Monday was a rest day. So, I started off this week with my shoulder workout:
Anterior shoulder press
1-3rd set - 10 lbs for 10 reps
Dumbbell lateral raises
1-3rd set - 5 lbs for 12 reps
Posterior delt row
1-2nd set - 10 lbs for 10
3rd set - 10 lbs for 12
Crossbody tricep extension
1-3rd set - 15 lbs for 10
Finished off the workout with some dead-hangs because I heard they’re good to do. 3 sets of 10-15 sec hangs.
Was able to do a few more reps than last week so that’s cool! My right shoulder still felt kind of pinched and achy during the workout but no pain so I’m happy about that.
Wasn’t planning on taking a rest day yesterday but it happened.
So today I kicked off with a leg workout and my calves for some reason are just completely destroyed haha. It hurts to stand
Glute bridge
1st set - BW for 12
2-3rd set - 10 lb dumbbell for 12
Glute kickback
1-3rd set - 15 lb band for 12
Quad leg press
1st - 45 lbs for 12
2nd - 55 for 12
3rd - 65 for 12
Calf raises
1st - BW for 20
2nd - BW for 15
Still mentally trying to trust my body and remind myself that I’m not going to snap in half. I think after dealing with an injury that’s effected me so long, I’m just beyond paranoid that I’ll end up hurting myself again. This makes it really tough to keep motivation up at times because my attitude tends to become all or nothing.
Making up for the past two days I didn’t log. Leg day and chest day.
Glute abduction
1st set - 5 lb band for 12
2-3rd set - 15 lb band for 10
RDLs
1st-2nd set - 10 lb dumbbells for 12
3rd set - 15 lbs for 10
Stiff legged dumbbell deadlift
Same as RDLS
Seated leg curl
1st-3rd set - 15 lb band for 12
Calf raises
1st-3rd set - 10 lbs for 12
———————————-
Floor press
1st-3rd set - 10 lb dumbbells for 10
High to low flyes
1st-3rd set - 15 lb band for 12
Incline dumbbell bicep curls
1st-3rd set - 10 lb dumbbells for 10
Preacher curls
1-3rd set - 10 lb dumbbells for 10
So what I find weird is that when I did the flyes, that’s literally the first upper body movement that I’ve done in the past two weeks that hasn’t given my right shoulder a pinched feeling. My shoulder actually felt better after doing it.
All this time I thought I had a weak back but could it be the other way around?
I know I did more pressing exercises in the past compared to pulling and I think that’s what caused the initial injury in the first place. But any time I’ve done upper body in the past couple years, I would never do any pressing exercises because I was afraid it would make it worse. But now I’m thinking that by constantly avoiding it, I made it worse
The past two weeks have definitely been a lot of experimentation on what feels good and what doesn’t. It’s a long process and can be frustrating haha but I’ve learned a lot so far which has been awesome.
Been MIA due to some family stuff going on that left me mentally drained for the past week and a half. Definitely not a good excuse to not workout or eat right (especially since eating like crap and not being more physically active made me feel even worse) but it’s in the past, so nothing can be done about it now. Hoping I can get some decent sleep tonight and get back on track tomorrow.
I’ve been kicking myself for the past month for being so inconsistent BUT as said in the comment above, “don’t let setbacks derail you, just get back on the horse.”
So here I am.
Tomorrow, leg day and a bit of a check in for where I’m at mentally.
I’ve been in a rut of negative thinking. I’ve been upset about being back at square one. I remember years ago when I first started lifting how intimidating it was to be at square one. I remember how long it took me to just push past it and keep going. And back then my drive was a lot stronger. Not saying that I don’t have any drive to make progress now, but I’ve picked up a lot of bad habits over the years that have made it a little more difficult.
I know it all sounds like excuses… it basically is just one big excuse. I’m not satisfied with where I’m at, yet I’m not doing enough about it to change.
I’m bummed about all the progress I’ve lost. I’m ashamed at how my body looks, even though after having two kids in two years it’s not that bad.
I’m discouraged at this lingering injury in my shoulder/lat area because I feel like I’ve done everything and yet it still nags me.
But despite all of this, I’m even more sick of the fact that I just sit around and dream about how I want things to be, how strong I want to be again or how I want to look, and I do nothing about it.
So that’s why I’m done. I am seriously done making excuses. Because I don’t ever want to look back and regret the things I never did.
Sorry - that got long but felt like I had to just get it out in the open and hold myself accountable, to look back on this everyday until training and treating my body better becomes a habit.
Anyways - to the actual training part haha
Glute bridge
1 set - body weight for 12 reps
2 set - 10 lbs for 10
3rd set - 15 for 8 reps
Stiff legged deadlift
1-2 set - 10 lbs for 12 and then 10 reps
3rd set - 15 lbs for 8 reps
Seated band leg curl
1-3rd set - 15 lbs for 12 reps
But basically I was a super dedicated lifter from ages 15-18. I then suffered a shoulder injury that began my downward spiral of inconsistency.
I read some logs that gave a lot of info and some that was just short and sweet so I wasn’t sure what should be included 
as I said, I have many goals so I know this isn’t what I’ll stick with the rest of my life haha.
I didn’t even notice that but my hamstrings are going to hurt.
