Mell's Training Log

[Pianissimo]

Hi all,

I've been interested in weight lifting for a while, but only since this summer have I decided to move beyond low weights and machine work. The impetus was seven weeks out west for my university's geology field camp. I was in good enough shape to climb up or down (however ungracefully) whatever I needed, but it took a heavy toll on my body, especially my knees- I couldn't crouch down or climb stairs without pain for two weeks after field school was over. I'm 20. I've had a couple of false starts, but I'm ready to go for it now!

Stats
20yr old female, 5'6", 130lbs, bodyfat 22.2%
Non-smoker, no drugs, drank once, don't sleep enough
Other activities: some biking to class and grocery store, 6hrs/week of ballroom/ballet

Big Goals (April 1) and Corresponding Mini-Goals (end of semester- December 19th)
Weights:
squats: 135lbs; 100lbs
deadlifts: 200lbs; 145lbs
bench: 100lbs; 75lbs
barbell row: 120lbs; 85lbs
press: 70-75 lbs; 60lbs
Pullups: 2; 90lbs lat pulldown
Ab work: haven't decided; 4x1min planks, unweighted reverse crunches
Pushups: 3x15 with20lbs; 3x15
Other:
Bodyfat: 18%; 20%
Flexibility: splits; closer to splits
Attitude: Tougher and more confident!

I think these are realistic, andI start working out again on Friday; hope to hear from you guys!

[Pianissimo]

Today's workout:

squats: 45lbs, 5x5, plus 1x5 front squats just because I like them
OHP: 45lbs, 5x5
Deadlift: 75lbs, 1x5
lat pulldown (standing): 70lbs, 1x12 wide pullup grip, 1x12 narrow chinup grip, 2x6 wide pullup grip
Planks: 4x45 sec, with two of those being normal, one on the left side, one on the right side


Comments:
Only five hours of sleep the night before, but for once I actually ate breakfast before working out.
Squats: 1. They rule. 2. I'm going to increase the weight next time since I can handle it, but I noticed that occasionally my hips come up faster than my shoulders, so I definitely have to concentrate on not doing that and see if I can completely fix it before the weights really go up.
OHP: I really focused on pushing up evenly with both arms, since my right shoulder is stronger than my left. Previously it's felt like my right shoulder is doing most of the work, but today it felt much more balanced.
Deadlift: I'm not entirely sure if I'm doing this one right (so i'm probably not). Is it normal for it to feel like the quadriceps is a big player in this exercise? My right hamstring is weak and right quad is strong compared to the other side, so I'm not sure if my form is off and/or I'm compensating for a weak hamstring on the right side. There was literally no one I could ask this morning- Empty front desk, 20 people on cardio machines, 2 or 3 in the dumbbell/cable machines area, and me with 6 power racks all to myself.
Lat pulldown: I think in the future I'll stop mixing chinup and pullup grips within workouts and instead alternate focusing on one or the other, as suggested in the program. I paused in the middle of my last set, so I had to count it as two. :/
Planks: fun times

Thoughts: will strength imbalances just correct themselves as long as I concentrate on good form/using the correct muscle(s)/moving evenly; would adding a set or two of isolation exercises to address them be beneficial or detrimental or just a waste of time, etc.

[Mouse]

Welcome to the forum Mell.

If you could post a vid of your deadlift, it would help with some analysis.
If you feel you are using your quads too much, it may be your hips are too low on set up.
That said, quads do play a part in helping to break the bar from the floor.
Make sure you are squeezing your glutes and 'snapping' your hips forward to lock out the top position.

Read as many of the exercise articles on the left side of the Blog page to get tips and pointers.

Good lifting.

[Pianissimo]

Thanks Mouse! I'll try setting up with my hips higher the next time I deadlift and also review the instructions and tips for the lift, then if it still doesn't feel right I'll bust out the camera.

Today's workout

Squats: 5x5, 50lbs
Bench press: 5x5, 45lbs
barbell row: 5x5, 45lbs
pushups: 15, 9, 8
reverse crunches: 3x12, 20lbs counterweight

Comments
Went to the gym in the evening instead of the morning, and it was interesting to compare the demographics- male students like the evening, older faculty/staff prefer early in the day. Much as I enjoy the evening scenery, I'm certainly more focused and less self concious in the morning and with the morning crowd. Anyway, JUST squeaked out the last rep of the last set of squats; I think I need to do more glute activation. Hips coming up faster than shoulders wasn't as much of a problem, though it still happened several times. I actually saw two guys squatting today, too, but they didn't actually go even to parallel... :/ Bench press and barbell row were fine, though I did notice that my right shoulder and left chest (the strong sides) feel like they get worked the most during bench press and pushups. Reverse crunches feel so brutally effective, I both love and hate them at the same time.
I've been stretching before and after lifting- dynamically and statically, respectively- so hopefully flexibility will start coming along. I also used the foam roller for the first time tonight, and wow, my calves are a mess of knots. I think I shall be spending more quality time with this device in the future.

[migwickert]

Hey Mell, welcome!

I'm constantly watching my form to ensure everything is done properly, especially with squats. Anyhow, congrats on your growth thus far and all the best. Looking forward to hearing about your continual success. Happy lifting!

Cheers,

-Mig

[Pianissimo]

Hey, thanks Mig! Good to know someone's out there rooting for me!

Totally forgot to mention this the night before, but here it is now: Earlier this month I was sitting in class, a few hours after a workout (I believe it was B), and I rolled my shoulder forward and felt this sharp pain in the right side of my chest, towards the outside. It doesn't hurt when I lift, and it hasn't hurt anywhere near as bad as that first day, but its pretty annoying when I'm doing everyday tasks. The movement that seems to be the worst for it is rolling my shoulder forward, and sometimes when I do that I can hear a sort of wet-ish crackling sound within the muscle. I suspect that there's a very evil knot in it since I'm generally pretty knotted up, but I'm not sure, and the sound is pretty odd. Trying to pinpoint where exactly the pain is coming from isn't going to happen today since I'm somewhat sore from yesterday. Thoughts?

[jpez]

Hi Mel and welcome to Stronglifts!

I'm sure after a few months on the program that you'll be running up and down mountains or whatever like it's nothing!

About the pain, if it's getting better I wouldn't worry about it. Your bound to feel little aches and pains especially as you're just starting out. Just be careful and make sure it doesn't get worse.

Also what's with the lat pulldowns? Why aren't you trying to do pullups/chinups?

You should also consider adding weight to your pushups or switching to dips since you can do up to 15 reps.

Happy lifting!

[migwickert]

That's no fun. Injuries are just us back. Make sure you get proper rest, food intake and so on. Good question by jpez, no pull-ups or chin-ups? I used to do a pull downs but like the challenge of lifting my own body weight instead. Cheers!

-Mig

[Pianissimo]

Aww, jpez, I was doing pulldowns 'cause I can't quite haul myself up yet. :/ But thank you for calling me out on that, for you guys have motivated me to try the next best thing:

Today's workout:
Squats: 55 lbs, 5x5 plus one set of 5 front squats just because I like 'em
OHP: 50lbs; 5,5,5,4,4
Deadlifts: 80lbs, 1x5, and then three reps just to practice form
Pullups/Chinups: Wide pullup grip, NEGATIVES: 9, 4, 3
Planks: 1 min on front, 40s on each side, 1min front again

Comments:
Squats are coming along, though I still have to watch hips v shoulders sometimes, and I definitely need to work on using my glutes more. I felt on the overhead press that I was pressing less evenly today and using my stronger shoulder more, so though I'm a little disappointed I can't add weight yet, it'll be good to practice form and even-ness with another day at 50lbs. Form on deadlifts was much better today, but still plenty of room for improvement- using the glutes and getting the bar down more safely and quickly especially. And then I did pullup negatives; they're pretty hard. I ended each set when I was just dropping down like a sack of potatoes, which happened rather quickly after the first set. I can't wait until I can bust out a real pullup! Planks: harder than usual.

Thanks for the feedback and reassurance about my weird pains, guys. I'll definitely keep an eye on it, and now I'll worry a little less. The challenge these days is getting enough sleep (well, managing my time is more likely)- I got 8 hours last night, but only because I barely made a dent in my work. Consequently, my goal tonight is to actually be able to go to sleep period.

[jpez]

Don't worry you should be able to do a pullup/chinup very soon and from then on things only get better. Good choice to choose the negatives I think they'll help you way more than the pull downs.

Good luck!

[Pianissimo]

Today's workout:

Squats: 3 reps at 70lbs, then 5x5 at 60lbs
bench press: 5x5, 50 lbs
barbell row: 5x5, 50lbs
pushups: 12, 7, 9
reverse crunches: 3x12, 17.5lbs counterweight

Comments:
heh. I loaded up the bar for squats, and for the life of me couldn't figure out why I was struggling so much. Then I realized that 45 + 25 does not equal 60. Simple math fail (story of my life. I swear I go to a highly respected university.). Experimented with different stance widths; not sure which I like best yet. I also have to be more careful about squeezing the ol' glutes and pushing up more evenly; it feels like the right quad is doing a lot of work, which isn't optimal since its already better developed than the left (and it probably indicates a weakness in form, too). Bench press and barbell rows were both good, though I'm still pretty sore from pullup negatives on Wednesday, and there seemed to be much less unevenness with the bench press and pushups (which also have a fail associated with them). I realized last night that pushups don't actually count unless there's chest-ground contact. I was too sore and tired to do real and correct pushups, so I did them on my knees, making sure I went all the way down.

[Kathy]

Hi Pianissimo, welcome to SL. You've made a great start!
I frequently mess up the weight on the bar...so embarrassing! But sometimes it's kind of fun to find out that you can do a higher weight, if only for a few reps.
I look forward to reading about your strength training journey.
Kathy

[atypical1]

No worries on the math fail. I have to think about too and it's easy to get confused when you're tired (at least that's what I tell myself).

So, you're about two weeks into training. What are your thoughts on it?

james

[Pianissimo]

haha, good to know I'm not alone with the simple addition problems

Today's workout:
Squats: 5x5 @ 65lbs
OHP: 5x5 @50lbs
Deadlift: 5,4 @ 80lbs
Chinups: negatives, 10 9 5 (or 6)
planks: Don't remember :/

Comments:
Loading the bar for squats was easy today: 10+10+45 does in fact equal 65! I must not be holding the bar correctly, because the top of my left shoulder is bruised. I'll see about trying out the pads that the gym provides next time. One of the sets was actually six reps, because I stood up, started squatting again, then realized somewhere around parallel that the set was supposed to be over already. Oops. Overhead press felt more even today; I noticed that my left shoulder tends to scrunch up, so that may be part of the unevenness problem I experience sometimes. I'm kicking myself a little over the deadlifts- I didn't check my log before i went to the gym, so I thought I had done 75lbs the time before. At least I'll be well prepared for 85lbs, I guess. Form feels better, though I still need to work on using the right hamstring more. Chinups: Negatives are easier in this grip, and I discovered that I can do a chinup if I start with arms about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way straightened (w00t). Planks: The final proof that I need to carry around a notebook.

To James' question:
I love training! I like the direction that having a set routine to follow gives me, and the continuous challenge is really immensely satisfying. There really aren't very many areas in life where progress is so easily measured. And frankly, its just really fun to move heavy things around, and even more so when people aren't expecting it. The eating part is also no trouble to stick to- in no way do I feel deprived, I actually feel freer. I've gained more respect for my body, too. Self confidence hasn't quite trickled over into other parts of my life yet (for example, I haven't actually told anyone what exactly I'm up to when I go the gym), but training has just really been a positive experience, and has (along with one of my classes) helped change my perspective rather significantly from destination-oriented to journey-oriented. More than just my muscles are growing.

[muddy]

I must not be holding the bar correctly, because the top of my left shoulder is bruised. I'll see about trying out the pads that the gym provides next time.

Hmm, I would wager there is a bar positioning problem too, if you are getting bruised. Of course what you do is up to you, but I wouldn't recommend a bar pad, especially if you are doing a low bar back squat. It will make the proper position for a low bar back squat pretty much impossible. If it is possible to fix your positioning, that would be better. The main things to check is that the bar really is in a low bar position, and that you are pinching your shoulders back and tightening up your upper back before you take the bar off the rack. In particular, you should not feel the bar against your shoulder bones.