Liz's Log

[pagangoddess]

First day back in the gym since surgery. I'm so happy to be lifting again!!! Surgery went fine, No Cancer.

THAT is the best news.

Glad to see you back Liz.

[LizzyLifts]

thanks much PG!...yeah, it was a relief to get the all clear...and made it that much sweeter to be in the gym this morning

[greasygemo]

Awesome! I'm so glad! Welcome back!

[Kathy]

So glad everything went well Liz!! Now go lift some weights

[LizzyLifts]

Thanks gemo! Thanks Kathy!

Gemo, I'm hoping all goes well with your procedure too.

Now go lift some weights

yes, indeed!

[atypical1]

Monday 4/27

First day back in the gym since surgery. I'm so happy to be lifting again!!! Surgery went fine, No Cancer

Also, i need to learn how to evaluate my body's response to these lifts. In the week before surgery i accumulated so much muscle tension in my upper back/shoulders i ended up with limited ROM in my neck and pain/knots/trigger points esp. in the traps. Horrible. I'm hoping it had more to do with anticipating the surgery and less to do with training. I need to learn how to avoid this, if it's avoidable, or work thru it. I got Clair-Davies book and did lots of soft tissue work with a tennis ball...it helped somewhat...better than doing nothing.

On to Wkt.B on Wed.

That is great news indeed!

Regarding the tension, I use a foam roller and find that it helps a lot. If I can find the time (make the time) I'm going to start getting sports massages too. You might try that route if the tennis ball isn't helping. Folks who get massages swear by them even though when they get them they hate it

james

[LizzyLifts]

Hey James, thanks!

interesting...so you get this kind of muscle tension too. and here i thought it was an artifact of being an aged-newbie.

well, in any case i'm paying more attention to warming-down after workout (which i had not done at all) and just generally keeping up w/soft tissue work. i'll have to track down some sports massage options, and hope i'll have the $ and time to do it. The gym has a massage therapist that offers 15min sessions. I might try this proactively/periodically for upper back...and hope she's good.

gotta stretch now...

[herf]

In the week before surgery i accumulated so much muscle tension in my upper back/shoulders i ended up with limited ROM in my neck and pain/knots/trigger points esp. in the traps. Horrible. I'm hoping it had more to do with anticipating the surgery and less to do with training. I need to learn how to avoid this, if it's avoidable, or work thru it. I got Clair-Davies book and did lots of soft tissue work with a tennis ball...it helped somewhat...better than doing nothing.

Just seen the video that was posted and the guy said that may be caused by not going up all the way during an OHP. Might not be your case, but never know. It's a pretty boring video, but its informative.

Glad to hear about the no cancer!! Always a nice thing to hear.

click me

[Mouse]

Great log Liz and some top lifting.
Keep it up and the rewards will come.

[LizzyLifts]

Wed. 4/29 Wkt. B........but NOT SL 5x5!!!!


Ok, i worked with the head trainer today and i ended up lifting alot of weight, yes i did. BUT, it certainly was NOT the routine I wanted to lift and not the one i had laid out in my own head. We argued/discussed it for awhile and i agreed to go ahead and do things his way today. (I do like this trainer, and he does listen to me usually, but not today!)

I think basically he just wanted to push me today. And truthfully, he pushed me to lift heavier, while i would probably take another week at lighter weight in the name of form. I have mixed feelings about today's work...i'll sum up after.

Squats
65lbs. 12 reps onto a bench not low enough, imho!
70lbs. 12 reps no bench here, but form? well wtf, who knows
75lbs. 7 with assists on last ones, definitely not making parallel
80lbs. 6 with assists and not deep enough
45lbs. 20 reps

my mind and body were not together, he's racking and unracking for me, assisting me, i'm just not getting to squat the way i wanted to.

OHP
20 lbs. x20 no guidance on form at all
30lbs. x12
40lbs. x7 i could feel my lower back swaying, he assisted me on several here
20lbs. x20
30lbs. x6 assistance here too, this is probably the weight i would have stay at and worked on form

what was the point of all this!!! I just felt like i rushed thru and was throwing a bunch of weight around with no regard to any form at all...unbelievable.

Deadlift
45lbs. x20
80lbs. x7

i just tried to remember anything and everything i could about form here so as not to injure anything...didn't feel too bad actually.

Chin-up (neg) 3x5

Planks 65s/55s/55s

Well, taking a deep breath here...on the one hand i never want to do this kind of workout again...i was'nt in control, i didn't learn anything and ...and because i didn't lift 5x5, i have no way of knowing if i made any progress here!!!! sheesh.

On the other hand, i definitely lifted more weight than i would have attempted on my own and right now, a few hours later, i don't think i injured myself, and i feel really good i lifted alot of weight....so, maybe this is some kind of progress.

Saturday is Wkt. A and i'm on my own. I'll only need a spot for Bench. I'll squat my own way, although still have to figure what my working weight will be.

You know what I need....I need a SL 5x5 workout partner!...yessiree, that would be so great.

[LizzyLifts]

Hi Herf! Thanks for visiting...and thanks for the link. I agree, alot of technical info, and a bit dry...but could be quite useful...i'll think about my pull-ups differently from now on

Mouse! Glad you visited my log, and thanks for the supportive comments, much appreciated.

liz

[pagangoddess]

Squats
65lbs. 12 reps onto a bench not low enough, imho!
70lbs. 12 reps no bench here, but form? well wtf, who knows
75lbs. 7 with assists on last ones, definitely not making parallel
80lbs. 6 with assists and not deep enough
45lbs. 20 reps

What do you mean with assists?

what was the point of all this!!! I just felt like i rushed thru and was throwing a bunch of weight around with no regard to any form at all...unbelievable

I know you said you like this person but that doesn't make him a good trainer. Especially if he wasn't helping you on form and was rushing you through the whole thing. I'd definitely take a pass on working out with him in the future.

[LizzyLifts]

I'd definitely take a pass on working out with him in the future.

Yeah, you got that straight. I was pissed off and bummed about that squat session. I had several things in mind to work on and couldn't focus on any of them. But, hey, my shoulder was fine throughout and i feel good today. So, i'll get spots when i need them, but, my workouts will be my own from now on.

Re: assists...I've never experienced that before. he was behind me with his hands under the bar on the way up...hard to tell how much he was helping, but it was distracting. At 80lbs. i lost interest in the whole endeavor...never again.

[pagangoddess]

Re: assists...I've never experienced that before. he was behind me with his hands under the bar on the way up...hard to tell how much he was helping, but it was distracting. At 80lbs. i lost interest in the whole endeavor...never again.

I had someone do that to me when I asked for a spot once. He got too close and I almost lost my balance. I had 120 lbs on my back. I just about racked it and bitch slapped him. The next time I asked for a spot (a different person) I told him to just stand there and only do something if I get stuck in the hole.

[LizzyLifts]

Sat. 5/2 Wkt.A

A good day at the gym. Had all the time I needed (unheard of) and I planned my lifts and lifted my plan.

Warm-up
elliptical 10min., leg swings 1x10, side lunges 1x10

Squats
12lbs. 12/10
45lbs. 10/10
60lbs. 5/5/5
75lbs. 5x5
80lbs. 1x5
45lbs. 1x10

It all felt good. Some general Observations: 1st set felt heaviest, energy better and better afterwards tho', depth ok., kept everything tight, on last reps my hips sometimes came up faster than chest but i could correct it if i paid attention...and no trouble at all from my rt.shldr now!

More specifically: I wanted to try the cue for keeping the knees out that I recently read about in a forum discussion...the one about "opening up the groin". Wow, made a noticable difference for me. My legs felt more stable, well planted...and i could feel my inner thigh muscles (adductors) do work i don't think they were doing before. i need to work on driving up out of the hole next...not much going on there.

Had to wait for Bench...

Inv. Rows
6 (3 full ones chest touching!)/6(2full)/6(2full) probably a titch better 'cause they came before bench

Rev. Crunches
12/12/12 hard!


Bench
45lbs. 2x5
55lbs. 1x5
60lbs. 5x5 always so decieving, my 1st sets feel so heavy, then get much better.
45l.bs 1x13

Push-ups
9/8/6

Overall: Wkt.A feels solid now in terms of form, i've got the basics at least. Looking forward to more weight...i'm treading new ground weightwise tomorrow...finally.

I'm hoping to make similar headway tomorrow on OH Press and Deadlift in terms of technique...then i'll feel comfortable posting something to SL Strongest Woman. Mehdi and Rippetoe will be bedtime reading tonight!