It was actually warm enough to go hiking today, so I went for a four-and-a-half mile one. It didn't seem that long. I still huffed and puffed going up the steeper trails, but overall it didn't feel like that much distance.
Still, it reminded me why I powerlift. If you want a twenty-second burst of maximal effort, I'm all over it. Sustaining even 75% effort for more than about thirty seconds? That is a lot of effort and huffing and puffing and cursing everything. No wonder I was never any good at PE as a child. Well, that and my inherent distaste for team sports and pointlessly chasing a ball around a field.
After resting a while post-hike, I did S&S. The swings I got down to 4:37, though holy crap, was I smoked. If I can keep up that time for the next few sessions I'll move to one-handed swings with the 25lb. TGUs - again, with the 25lb - came in at 8:09, but they felt awfully wobbly. I want to wait to move up weight on that one until I really feel like I own the 25lb bell for every stage of all ten reps. Oddly enough, they get easier on the last couple of reps, so maybe it's the technique I'm having trouble with more than the weight. Either way, I'm not putting 35 pounds over my face until I'm stable with the 25. Probably this will happen by the time I get one-armed swings down below 5 minutes, so I can move everything up at once.
By the way - if you, like me, just started wondering why the hell lb is the abbreviation for pound, World Wide Words via The Google tells me it's because lb stands for libra, which is a shorter reference to libra pondo or "pound weight"; the English pound comes from the second word, but the abbreviation comes from the first.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Bad week for my PRs.
So I implemented the strategy of doing heavy singles before my work sets. Well, "heavy." They're ten pounds over my top work weight. I might have to boost that up a little.
Monday was squat day, and my heavy set of 90 went up and down like a well-oiled machine but didn't top my all-time heavy lift of 100.
Thursday was bench press day. I pressed 70 pounds for a single pretty easily despite the fact that it was after work and I hadn't eaten since breakfast; and my blood sugar level was at that point where you start tingling in all your limbs and become half convinced that you've evolved to a transcendent spiritual plane where Eternal Gainz can be yours if you only live on sunlight, water, and communion with the Divine. (What, is that just me? Well, I did pull a bench PR in that state, so.)
Today was deadlift day. I pulled 160 for a single, which was a PR, and my top set was 150x5. When I started 5/3/1, 150 was my 1RM.
Now if I just didn't have 35% body fat covering all these developing muscles. I need to be more conscientious about doing S&S twice a week, and also about my diet.
Earlier this week, I realized why "my" power cage is always the one that's empty: it's the only one that doesn't face a mirror. Today, some poor guy got stuck in the mirrorless power cage and was forced to actually turn sideways in the rack so he could watch his deadlifts in the mirror behind the dumbbell rack.
Monday was squat day, and my heavy set of 90 went up and down like a well-oiled machine but didn't top my all-time heavy lift of 100.
Thursday was bench press day. I pressed 70 pounds for a single pretty easily despite the fact that it was after work and I hadn't eaten since breakfast; and my blood sugar level was at that point where you start tingling in all your limbs and become half convinced that you've evolved to a transcendent spiritual plane where Eternal Gainz can be yours if you only live on sunlight, water, and communion with the Divine. (What, is that just me? Well, I did pull a bench PR in that state, so.)
Today was deadlift day. I pulled 160 for a single, which was a PR, and my top set was 150x5. When I started 5/3/1, 150 was my 1RM.
Now if I just didn't have 35% body fat covering all these developing muscles. I need to be more conscientious about doing S&S twice a week, and also about my diet.
Earlier this week, I realized why "my" power cage is always the one that's empty: it's the only one that doesn't face a mirror. Today, some poor guy got stuck in the mirrorless power cage and was forced to actually turn sideways in the rack so he could watch his deadlifts in the mirror behind the dumbbell rack.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Seriously, don't change in the bathroom. We've seen it.
So Friday on the deadlifting front was not pretty. It was heavy week and my top weight was 145; I really needed five reps to increase my estimated 1RM and it didn't happen. I pulled two doubles and a single, and those barely, partly because my hands were killing me.
So today I read around the Starting Strength forums, and reaped some really good and inspiring advice, including:
- This link on technique
- The advice not to chase 1RMs, because 1RMs only matter to competitive lifters. This was a load off my mind, since my estimated 1RM actually went down since last cycle while the amount of weight I lifted (for fewer reps) went up.
-The idea of doing a heavy single before your work set. I like heavy singles, and this would make me feel like I've pushed an adaptation even if I fail to meet my rep goal on the top set.
-Heavy squats are heavy. Maybe cut down on the warmups.
The link on technique has all sorts of good advice, including but not limited to:
Today's workout
This is deload week so I only did three warm-up sets of squats, but then I tried out sumo deadlifts, 45x5, 65x5, 95x5, and 135x3. They're fun! Also, 35x10x5 two-handed kettlebell swings. I was going to do S&S tonight but I'm feeling the deadlifts a little, so I'll wait until tomorrow.
And now a pet peeve. If your gym only has four stalls in the women's room and there's always a line, for fuck's sake don't take up one of those stalls changing. There is literally an entire room right next to you specifically dedicated to that purpose. I guarantee you, honey, you've got nothing we haven't seen before. Get your ass out of that stall, let your cellulite fly, and free up the space for someone who has two minutes to pee before spin class.
So today I read around the Starting Strength forums, and reaped some really good and inspiring advice, including:
- This link on technique
- The advice not to chase 1RMs, because 1RMs only matter to competitive lifters. This was a load off my mind, since my estimated 1RM actually went down since last cycle while the amount of weight I lifted (for fewer reps) went up.
-The idea of doing a heavy single before your work set. I like heavy singles, and this would make me feel like I've pushed an adaptation even if I fail to meet my rep goal on the top set.
-Heavy squats are heavy. Maybe cut down on the warmups.
The link on technique has all sorts of good advice, including but not limited to:
- Try narrowing your stance and turning your feet out.
- Start with the bar in your fingers, since that's where it's going to end up anyway.
- Chalk really does help.
- Set your thumb across your fingernails instead of over your fingers. (I tried this today. It works!)
Today's workout
This is deload week so I only did three warm-up sets of squats, but then I tried out sumo deadlifts, 45x5, 65x5, 95x5, and 135x3. They're fun! Also, 35x10x5 two-handed kettlebell swings. I was going to do S&S tonight but I'm feeling the deadlifts a little, so I'll wait until tomorrow.
And now a pet peeve. If your gym only has four stalls in the women's room and there's always a line, for fuck's sake don't take up one of those stalls changing. There is literally an entire room right next to you specifically dedicated to that purpose. I guarantee you, honey, you've got nothing we haven't seen before. Get your ass out of that stall, let your cellulite fly, and free up the space for someone who has two minutes to pee before spin class.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Werther thou goest...
Attention, Met Live in HD viewers: the day you see an Under Armor sports bra land at Jonas Kaufmann's feet during his curtain call is the day you'll know I finally sprang for seats within throwing distance of the stage.
But workout stuff first: this was Week 3 of my second 5/3/1 cycle and my deadlift is concerning me a little. I tried the hook grip on 135 pounds and it did nothing but nearly kill my hands - I sliced a cuticle open, as a matter of fact, so I'm pretty sure I was doing it wrong. My top set of 145 went up to lockout with the mixed grip, but it felt unstable. I'm just going to have to hope I'm getting stronger in recovery as we speak.
On the S&S front, I dropped down to about 6:25 in two-handed swings with the 25-pound bell and started doing TGUs with the 25-pounder too. I was fairly sure I was going to die of a kettlebell to the face, but no; the TGUs were super challenging but doable. I didn't time them because I didn't want to feel rushed with a new weight, but next time I will.
Also, when your back is sore from deadlifting the seats at the Metropolitan Opera House are murder, which brings me back to Werther.
I often think that there's an odd sort of discrepancy between Jonas Kaufmann live and Jonas Kaufmann in recordings. As often as I listen to his recordings, I'm always just blown away by him live, whether in lieder or operas. A good example of this is Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin - relatively tame, if lyrical, on the CD and dark, erotic and edgy in his Princeton recital last year. Changing interpretations, probably, but I've noticed the same thing with a lot of his recordings; while beautiful, they're missing some essential Jonasness that, when you put him in front of an audience, roars out of wherever it's hiding and burns the place down. This is on my mind both because he sang like a god in Werther last night and because I raided the Met gift shop and bought the Parsifal bluray and Kaufmann's elusive Winterreise, which appears to be currently available on American shores only through the Met. I'm really looking forward to kicking back with good scotch, a log on the fire, and the Winterreise CD, and we'll see how it sounds.
And maybe I'll practice cleans with my new kettlebell, too.
Link roundup, the Kaufmann edition
Here's a guy who clearly went to the same Carnegie Hall recital I did.
GiryaGirl on not getting caught up in the social-media version of tabloid trash. Of all things ask, "Does this bring more Jonas Kaufmann into my life? No? Forget it." This is an article I definitely needed to read, because I get sucked into that garbage like nobody's business and it never seems to do anything but make me unhappy.
But workout stuff first: this was Week 3 of my second 5/3/1 cycle and my deadlift is concerning me a little. I tried the hook grip on 135 pounds and it did nothing but nearly kill my hands - I sliced a cuticle open, as a matter of fact, so I'm pretty sure I was doing it wrong. My top set of 145 went up to lockout with the mixed grip, but it felt unstable. I'm just going to have to hope I'm getting stronger in recovery as we speak.
On the S&S front, I dropped down to about 6:25 in two-handed swings with the 25-pound bell and started doing TGUs with the 25-pounder too. I was fairly sure I was going to die of a kettlebell to the face, but no; the TGUs were super challenging but doable. I didn't time them because I didn't want to feel rushed with a new weight, but next time I will.
Also, when your back is sore from deadlifting the seats at the Metropolitan Opera House are murder, which brings me back to Werther.
I often think that there's an odd sort of discrepancy between Jonas Kaufmann live and Jonas Kaufmann in recordings. As often as I listen to his recordings, I'm always just blown away by him live, whether in lieder or operas. A good example of this is Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin - relatively tame, if lyrical, on the CD and dark, erotic and edgy in his Princeton recital last year. Changing interpretations, probably, but I've noticed the same thing with a lot of his recordings; while beautiful, they're missing some essential Jonasness that, when you put him in front of an audience, roars out of wherever it's hiding and burns the place down. This is on my mind both because he sang like a god in Werther last night and because I raided the Met gift shop and bought the Parsifal bluray and Kaufmann's elusive Winterreise, which appears to be currently available on American shores only through the Met. I'm really looking forward to kicking back with good scotch, a log on the fire, and the Winterreise CD, and we'll see how it sounds.
And maybe I'll practice cleans with my new kettlebell, too.
Link roundup, the Kaufmann edition
Here's a guy who clearly went to the same Carnegie Hall recital I did.
GiryaGirl on not getting caught up in the social-media version of tabloid trash. Of all things ask, "Does this bring more Jonas Kaufmann into my life? No? Forget it." This is an article I definitely needed to read, because I get sucked into that garbage like nobody's business and it never seems to do anything but make me unhappy.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Grip strength woes
So Friday was deadlifting day. Which was problematic to begin with, since I sort of overdid it on the bench press/upper body on Thursday. I may need to rethink my T/Th/F schedule, though it keeps me out of the gym on Monday, which is the only busy day in the weight room.
Anyway; I did 140x5 but my lockout sucked. I didn't feel strong at the top, or feel like I was straightening up all the way. So instead of unloading the bar, I glared at it for a couple of minutes and then decided to do another triple.
Same result. The weight went up, but the lockout sucked. Also, I could barely hold onto the bar, and on at least one rep it fell out of my hands right before it hit the floor. So I tried a set with the alternating grip, and boom - the weight went straight up, no lockout issues at all.
I was a little displeased by this, so I tried a backoff single of 135. It honest to god dropped right out of my hands at the top of the lift. Between the noise 135 pounds makes hitting the floor and the sound of me turning the air blue upon lift failure, it's a good thing I don't work out at Planet Fatness or my picture would be on Do Not Admit lists all over the country. Again, 135 with the alternating grip went up just fine.
So I'm going to have to work grip strength. And this week I'm going to try hook grip and see if that helps. Also, the tendons in my forearms hurt.
In other fail news, I got the goals backward for S&S - it's 100 kettlebell swings in 5 minutes and 5 TGUs on each side in 10. That's bad news for my swings, but does mean I should probably think about moving up weight on the TGU.
Link roundup
So it looks like cardio might not actually kill your gainz after all, depending on what you're doing.
Anyway; I did 140x5 but my lockout sucked. I didn't feel strong at the top, or feel like I was straightening up all the way. So instead of unloading the bar, I glared at it for a couple of minutes and then decided to do another triple.
Same result. The weight went up, but the lockout sucked. Also, I could barely hold onto the bar, and on at least one rep it fell out of my hands right before it hit the floor. So I tried a set with the alternating grip, and boom - the weight went straight up, no lockout issues at all.
I was a little displeased by this, so I tried a backoff single of 135. It honest to god dropped right out of my hands at the top of the lift. Between the noise 135 pounds makes hitting the floor and the sound of me turning the air blue upon lift failure, it's a good thing I don't work out at Planet Fatness or my picture would be on Do Not Admit lists all over the country. Again, 135 with the alternating grip went up just fine.
So I'm going to have to work grip strength. And this week I'm going to try hook grip and see if that helps. Also, the tendons in my forearms hurt.
In other fail news, I got the goals backward for S&S - it's 100 kettlebell swings in 5 minutes and 5 TGUs on each side in 10. That's bad news for my swings, but does mean I should probably think about moving up weight on the TGU.
Link roundup
So it looks like cardio might not actually kill your gainz after all, depending on what you're doing.
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