Mell's Training Log

[LizzyLifts]

Hi Mell,

Good start to the program! Looks like your workouts are coming along well. Nice work on negatives for chins/pulls. And good job on OHP. It is one tough lift. Unless you have some significant imbalances don't worry about the feeling of uneveness. I think it is one of the great benefits of doing these compound lifts that your body learns to work as one unit and things will soon balance out. Just keep everything from glutes on up tight as possible while pressing, without scrunching your shoulder(s) up.

I'd second muddy's comment about not using the bar pad. I tried it once when I first started, but I couldn't get the feel of the bar, which is what i needed to do. Plus, i felt like it was shifting on me and my neck was at a weird angle etc. Keep your shoulders back/elbows up and you should find a spot for the bar on muscle, as muddy described. How is your upper body/shoulder flexibility holding the bar?

happy lifting!
oh, and don't forget that notebook

[Pianissimo]

Haha, guess who remembered their notebook today! Thanks for the encouragement!

Today's workout:
Squats: 70lbs, 3 4 5 3 4
Bench: 55lbs, 5x5
Row: 55lbs, 5 5 5 4 4
(modified) Pushups: 13, 11, 9
Reverse crunches: 15lbs counterweight, 7 11 8

Comments:
D:

Squats really sucked today (or rather, I sucked at squats today). I tried to hold the bar lower as per muddy's and lizzy's advice; finding the best and proper place for it and adjusting my balance accordingly is clearly a work in progress. The set of 5 was when I changed my stance to a narrower one and put the bar up high. Part of the problem for the low bar squat seems to be upper body/ shoulder flexibility, so shoulder dislocations are now going to become part of my stretching routine. The last two sets of rows I counted as four reps each because there wasn't any bar-chest contact on the fifth rep of each. Pushups and bench seem fine, and next time I'm going to do real pushups and see how many I can do chest to floor. Reverse crunches... I think I did the first set much too slow. Very interesting day.

[Pianissimo]

I haven't updated in forever! But I've been (mostly) good about keeping a paper and pen log, so here are the last three workouts:

Friday
Squats: 4@70lbs, 65lbs 5,5,5,5
OHP: 55lbs, 4,3,3,3,3
Deadlifts: 85lbs, 1x5
Negatives, pullup grip: 8,5,5
Planks: Didn't write them down for some reason

Monday
Squats: 70lbs, 5x5
Bench Press: 60lbs, 5x5
Barbell row: 55lbs, 5x5
Pushups: 3(ish) real, then 12 and 10 modified
Reverse crunches: 15lbs counterweight, 3x12

Wednesday
Squats: 75lbs, 5x5
OHP: 55lbs, 5 3 4 4 4
Deadlifts: 90lbs, 1x5
Negatives, chinup grip: 11, experimentation with assisted pullup machine +5 negatives, 7
Planks: 1min front, 45s each side, 1min front

COMMENTS
Bar placement on squats is getting better- I'm pretty sure today I got the right low-bar placement, but I just need to keep everything really tight, since the "spines" of my shoulder blades towards the middle of the back end in knobs and it hurts like the dickens when I relax and the bar sits on them. I'm getting better at using my glutes, though there's still room for improvement there, and I very rarely now have the problem of hips coming up faster than shoulders. I don't know what my deal was on Friday, but it looks like the delay in loading worked out in the end. Overhead press- its amazing how much of a difference five pounds makes! Not sure about Friday, but today felt uneven- good thing I get another go at the weight before I have to move on. Bench press- this one's getting harder, I'll probably have my first stall on it pretty soon. I think I need to start with the pins lower, since I often have to readjust how my back is tightened between unracking and lowering the bar. Still some of that right shoulder- left chest unevenness but that might be related to teh readjustments. Row- I really enjoy this one. It might be good to switch to doing inverted rows sometime, but i DO like barbell rows so. Deadlifts- form is improving all the time on this one, too. One of my favorite parts is getting to put all those plates on. Pushups- attempted real chest to floor pushups, did some, kept getting stuck on the floor for the others, so I went back to modified. Pullups- Today I attempted a chinup from a dead hang- no dice (yet). Hopefully by the time I go home for winter break I will be able to make my Marine mom, dad, and older brother proud(er) and bust them out (Thanks to all the veterans for your service and your sacrifices!). Ab work- not much to report besides that it is indeed working my abs. Other- I've been working on getting more sleep and been mostly successful; we'll see how that continues as crunch time nears. I need to drink more water- last night I was actually lightheaded/dizzy with dehydration. Food- no problems here, I love eating, I eat pretty well/healthily, and I can't actually afford to buy both good stuff and junk anyway.

[Pianissimo]

Missed workout on Friday, so I went today

Squats: 80lbs: 3, 5, 3 (front)
bench: 65lbs: 5 5 5 4 5
row: 60lbs: 5 5 5 5 4
pushups: (real) 4, 2, 2
reverse crunches: 12.5lbs counterweight, 12 12 12
Glute-ham raises: 6 (fiddling with the machine dimensions), 12, 12, 10

Comments
Lift and learn. Squats were painful today. It hurt in my front upper left thigh, slightly to the inside, to go deep during squats (even in front squats, where I have a narrower stance), it also hurts when I pull my knee to my chest. I suppose its a groin issue. And fancy that, there's an article on the site "Groin Pulls: Why you pulled your groin and how to treat it." So there's my plan of attack, plus ice and ibuprofen. Bench: started with pins one hole lower. Much better, though really a setting in between that and teh hole above would be perfect. Missed the fifth rep on the fourth set because I realized I hadn't lowered the bar all the way down, and so foolishly reversed in the middle of raising it to try to get the chest touch. Fortunately it was light enough that I could set it on my stomach and just roll it down to my hips to sit up. Row: couldn't quite get the bar all the way up on the last set. Pushups: real ones, chest to floor, got stuck on the floor on the 5th, 3rd, and 3rd reps, respectively. Glute-ham raises- I finally figured out what that weird looking thing in the gym was for. I've read that this is an excellent exercise for posterior chain strengthening, so i'd thought i'd try it. I could definitely feel it in my hamstrings, but I think I need to squeeze my glutes more.