Liz's Log

[LizzyLifts]

Hi seadog,

yeah, gotta get some baseline measurements first. Then i'll be able to see what's getting bigger relative to what

Thanks for reading and commenting on my log!

[Kathy]

Hey Liz,
Best of luck on the eating. It will be interesting to see how it translates to your lifts. Surprising but happy effect on your sleep! It's always nice to see a positive impact when you make a change. Hopefully, your body will adapt so you're not in the bathroom as much going forward I know my kids really don't give me much time to do this necessary life function

[LizzyLifts]

Hi Kathy! Thanks. I'm hoping I'll get used to the new intake...i think i will....i hope. You are too funny....yep, i'm just about to pick them up at the bus....then all hell breaks loose , but it's Friday, so it's all good! But, I have the quiet to 'take care of business' during the day now you know....ahhhh the things one really comes to appreciate like never before

Here is today's workout. I am quite happy with it.

Friday, Oct. 30 Day#9 "bulking diet"

usual warm-up

Squats- 45x2x10, 95x2x3, 110x3, 120x5x5PR, 95x5
OHP-45x5, 58 3/4/4/2/1, 45x6
D/L-95x5, 135x5, 150x5, 155x5PR
Dips-@35lbs. assist 11/7/6

Squats were good...the last rep on the last two sets was slow coming up, and shallower than the others. But everything felt really solid...was able to hold the knees out, but i really have to watch this. I may repeat 120 on Monday.

OHP, had a bit of a hard time focusing after squats . So, i'm hopefull that i can make 5x5 next time.

D/L, again, i'm amzed that i had the energy to lift the 155 in the end. 150 felt pretty good so i thought i'd just try. i've never been so comfortable resetting and pulling between reps as i was today.

SO...the diet will continue. And I must go now to find some ground beef or tuna.

Happy Halloween!

[XCouchPotato]

Hi Liz:

Looks like the diet is definately helping. Two PRs in one night, fantastic!

[pagangoddess]

Nice job on those PRs Liz.

[atypical1]

Dang, PR's left and right in here!

james

[seadog]

Liz, I have a number of young women working for me. I have become the local fitness guru over time at my job. Consequencely one of the women was talking to me about losing weight the other day. She wants to lose some weight because she is getting married. She has the bulkiness phobia. Like you she is very short. I have been trying to convince her that stronglifts is the way to go, lose the fat by improving muscularity. I also gave her my copy of Venuto's book, "Lose the fat Feed the Muscle". I was reading your log and some of the other forum women's logs to find proof and prove to her that this method had merit. I know that you did not seem to have fat loss as a goal but your log was inspirational enough that I hoped it would make this seem viable. Unfortunately many of the logs do not seem to expose much fat loss. Most of the women just don't talk about it. Some discuss the need to get larger clothes; this would not be a desirable outcome in this case. Many of the men pursue strength though greater calorie consumption and then are conflicted about the excess around their middles. I wondered what you thought about this protocol for fat loss and body recomposition. Have your changes been what you hoped or were you merely hoping for the functional strength gains and improved health.

[LizzyLifts]

Monday, 11/02

Squats-45x2x10, 95x5, 110x3, 125-3/2, 120-5/5/5, 110x2x5, 95x5
Bench-45x10, 65x3, 80x2x3, 75x3x5, 65x9, 45x20
BOR-75lbs. 5x5
Reverse Crunches-16/12/9
Dips-35lbs. assist 10/8/7

Squats @125 were heavy but doable. Just not a stellar squatting session today. Maybe I could have done my warm-up sets differently. Maybe it's a monday thing. It took till benching to really get in the groove mentally and physically...arrgh. During squats @125 I could feel my lower back 'talking to me'. No pain, but I just wasn't able to keep as tight as I should have been at the bottom. Keeping knees out wasn't a problem. I'll keep working at 125 thru the week.

Bench, I was happy with. No Spotter! I've decided to give benching a go now w/o a spotter. I'll have to back off on reps perhaps but at least i'll know exactly what I'm doing, and w/o the distraction of having to chase down a spotter. It was quite enjoyable. Besides, the gym has been completely empty the last few workouts. 80lbs. felt good actually. I was cautious tho' without the spot.

BOR, so happy to be doing these again! I'm using the oly bar stacked up on a couple of 25lb. plates each side. I'm able to set the bar down with a flat back between reps. and had no troubles with the back from these today. Just from squatting...arrgh.

Diet continues. Although it gets difficult to eat the full compliment, especially if i get behind during the day. So, i'm eating a bit shy of the total. Have to do better here. Keeping up with the water is necessary too....to keep everything moving ...since i'm eating more protien now.

Happy lifting All!

[Barry06GT]

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Wow!

Two PRs in one day!

Today's workout looked great also. The BORs at 75 pounds must be killer! They will give you a strong back though.

Lift strong!
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[Kathy]

Liz! You squatted your BW!!! Congrats!
I have gotten used to not having a spotter for bench press-same problem, no one around. And it has forced me to learn how to use "leg drive" those times when I wasn't sure if I could get the bar up.
Great workout!

[pagangoddess]

Unfortunately many of the logs do not seem to expose much fat loss. Most of the women just don't talk about it. Some discuss the need to get larger clothes; this would not be a desirable outcome in this case. Many of the men pursue strength though greater calorie consumption and then are conflicted about the excess around their middles. I wondered what you thought about this protocol for fat loss and body recomposition. Have your changes been what you hoped or were you merely hoping for the functional strength gains and improved health.

I can only speak for myself when I say strength training alone won't do much for fat loss. Couple it with a good diet & cardio. That should make a difference. I haven't reached my fat loss goals as I hate cardio & I'm not consistent enough in my eating. But it's not because of the strength training. As many will point out it doesn't really matter what program you use, diet is a larger factor in fat loss than anything else.

As a side note, I found volume training & circuits to be quite efficient at lowering body fat.

One thing I'd like to point out is there is more to be garnered from strength training than fat loss. There's a sense of accomplishment & increased confidence. That is more valuable to me than dropping a dress size.

Edit: If she is doing this for a wedding adding muscle may not be ideal as it's harder to alter a dress up in size than down. Just a thought.

[LizzyLifts]

Thanks much y'all! Those PRs really meant something

@Kathy, Thankyou! I won't call it a bodyweight squat at least till I get the 5x5. And I still have a lot of work to do to get 'em. But I did go down and I came back up! Now, if i can just not gain too much weight!

I have gotten used to not having a spotter for bench press-same problem, no one around. And it has forced me to learn how to use "leg drive" those times when I wasn't sure if I could get the bar up.

Man, how right you are! I "discovered" leg-drive just in the last couple of sessions probably precisely because i was alone...had you not mentioned it i wouldn't have articulated it myself. Also, i' found that really tightening everything up, including those glutes has helped too. I wouln't have done any of this with the spotter there.

@seadog... I agree with Pagangoddess' comments, particularly about the importance of consistency in diet. My experience has been that this program worked for body recomposition and fat loss. My strength gains were slower than they could have been if i'd eaten more early on. The caloric intake I set for myself was less than it should have been, and on top of that I often unknowingly ate less than the daily goal. I do remember seeing changes in my body, I actually dropped a pants size, early on. Only later did the shirt size/pants size go up. I went as far as I could strength wise on the calories I was getting and am now starting to eat significantly more.

For your co-worker who's getting married I would add that this program involves commitment. Not complicated commitment, but you have to learn the lifts properly and then you have to do them...consistently...and keep your diet consistent. Then it is possible to see changes in fat loss, body re-comp. So, this protocol might not have the right timeline for results for her wedding. And ultimately you won't end up looking like one of those "fragile waif-like beauties". Let her be forewarned

[seadog]

Thanks for the feed back.

[LizzyLifts]

Wednesday, 11/4

The Usual Warm-Up...I did 8 minutes on the elliptical and it felt great. Sometimes when I warm up the 7 or 8 min. it can feel tough/sluggish. My mind is still making the transition from the street to the gym...and it doesn't feel like a good "omen" for the workout. Nevertheless, one never knows, the workout could turn out great in the end. But today there was energy there and I was mentally 'checked-in' and thinking about the lifts coming up. Particuclarly squats; always squats So luckily, mind and body started out together... It just felt good

Squats- 45x10, 85x5, 105x3, 115x2, 125: 4/5/5/3, 120x5, 95x5
OHP- 45x5, 58: 4/4/3/3/2, 45x7
D/L- 95x5, 135x3, 150x2, 160x4
Planks- i.o.u
Chinups- i.o.u

There seems to be such a big difference between squatting 120 and 125 right now. Probably mental. By the last set at 125 my lower back was 'talking to me' again and the last set was slow. The next set at 120 went deeper and with enough energy to spare to think about squeezing the glutes and other cues and with a good pace. 5lb. difference...

OHP, just wasn't keeping the lower back tight enough...'twas the weak link.

D/L, felt good...here I could keep chest up and everything tight enough that the lower back wasn't in the equation...till the attempt at the 5th rep.... next time

[Barry06GT]

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Congratulations on the squats! You went for the extra 5 pounds and kept with it; that takes resolve.

Having the back "talk" to you is good body system feed back. It lets you know that you need to change something, maybe just a small change to form, let's hope so.

When the weights get heavy form is even more important, as you already know.

Keep up the good workouts.
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