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workout 2013-11-09
Nov. 9th, 2013 21:07rested yesterday because 5 consecutive days of strength training is plenty.
squat
6x5 8lb
bench (floor) press
5x5 43.5lb
pendlay row
5x5 60lb
planks
3x 30 sec bodyweight (plus big, fat tomcat on 1st set, *snicker*)
using a 7 ft piece of galvanized plumbing pipe as my bar now, because this way i can rack it properly and get used to that. the additional weight was no problem, and it actually felt good to have some weight up top. but my grip is atrociously bad (very wide; i barely get the bar in high bar position). the right shoulder is tighter than the left. there is no way i will be able to safely squat serious weight like this. so, calm down about it, throttle some of the eagerness to pile on weight. goal for tomorrow is to search out more specific exercises to increase shoulder mobility. squat form otherwise was decent; went down to the box for every single one, though during the last rep in each set i was fighting on the way back up. did an additional set for practice.
bench (floor) press went well, i hardly rested between sets (because it's a hassle to get back up each time ;). analyzing this more carefully -- i do lose some RoM at the bottom, but this is still good practice for the bench; i am more steady now even with the higher weight (last time gloria had me "bench" dumbbells while lying on an instability ball i pressed a mere 24 lbs. sometimes i roll my eyes at myself. was procrastinating about making footrests for the bench, but the curl bar is too short to rack, so even with foot rests i wouldn't be able to use the bench. *sigh*. so, did floor press again. next time will be the empty oly bar, and experimentally properly on the bench. though i might stay with the floor if i feel my form on the bench is worse. i can feel, however, that i will probably need to increase the weight in smaller increments than 5 lb soon.
rows also went well. had the paramour spot me, who said my form was right on. yay! i feel i have a lot left in the tank for these.
the most amusing thing is that a couple of weeks ago i was kvetching about the spring clamps holding the weights on, because i had trouble sliding them on and off. well, my grip strength has improved so much that they're no problem anymore.
the main thing i like about SL5x5 is its training economy -- i'm training types of movement rather than individual muscles or even muscle groups. that gives me a whole lot more bang for my training buck / time invested. thinking about the whole set of SL5x5 exercises, i feel there is plenty of things for my arms, shoulders, back, and legs to do, but my abdominal area, while constantly being tightened, is possibly not worked as much as it could be -- though the deadlift does work it. so even after dropping the workouts with gloria, i will continue to do planks and side planks, and i'll probably add leg/knee raises while working up my strength to eventually do a pull-up.
squat
6x5 8lb
bench (floor) press
5x5 43.5lb
pendlay row
5x5 60lb
planks
3x 30 sec bodyweight (plus big, fat tomcat on 1st set, *snicker*)
using a 7 ft piece of galvanized plumbing pipe as my bar now, because this way i can rack it properly and get used to that. the additional weight was no problem, and it actually felt good to have some weight up top. but my grip is atrociously bad (very wide; i barely get the bar in high bar position). the right shoulder is tighter than the left. there is no way i will be able to safely squat serious weight like this. so, calm down about it, throttle some of the eagerness to pile on weight. goal for tomorrow is to search out more specific exercises to increase shoulder mobility. squat form otherwise was decent; went down to the box for every single one, though during the last rep in each set i was fighting on the way back up. did an additional set for practice.
bench (floor) press went well, i hardly rested between sets (because it's a hassle to get back up each time ;). analyzing this more carefully -- i do lose some RoM at the bottom, but this is still good practice for the bench; i am more steady now even with the higher weight (last time gloria had me "bench" dumbbells while lying on an instability ball i pressed a mere 24 lbs. sometimes i roll my eyes at myself. was procrastinating about making footrests for the bench, but the curl bar is too short to rack, so even with foot rests i wouldn't be able to use the bench. *sigh*. so, did floor press again. next time will be the empty oly bar, and experimentally properly on the bench. though i might stay with the floor if i feel my form on the bench is worse. i can feel, however, that i will probably need to increase the weight in smaller increments than 5 lb soon.
rows also went well. had the paramour spot me, who said my form was right on. yay! i feel i have a lot left in the tank for these.
the most amusing thing is that a couple of weeks ago i was kvetching about the spring clamps holding the weights on, because i had trouble sliding them on and off. well, my grip strength has improved so much that they're no problem anymore.
the main thing i like about SL5x5 is its training economy -- i'm training types of movement rather than individual muscles or even muscle groups. that gives me a whole lot more bang for my training buck / time invested. thinking about the whole set of SL5x5 exercises, i feel there is plenty of things for my arms, shoulders, back, and legs to do, but my abdominal area, while constantly being tightened, is possibly not worked as much as it could be -- though the deadlift does work it. so even after dropping the workouts with gloria, i will continue to do planks and side planks, and i'll probably add leg/knee raises while working up my strength to eventually do a pull-up.