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Thread: Sirimiti's SS log - Novice Female

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Montreal
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    Default Sirimiti's SS log - Novice Female

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    Hello everyone,

    I have been reading through the forums for a couple months and love the idea of gaining strength. I have only now decided to post my own log because I think there needs to be more examples of female progress. The ones that I have seen are very reassuring and motivating so I hope to add to that (even if it ends up being an example of what not to do :P).

    Before Starting Strength, I did kickboxing casually for 2 years and then fooled around at the local YMCA for 3 months with their generic programming until I realized I actually wanted to get strong. I was never physically active before starting the kickboxing and I enjoy it but had to quit because it was too far. I do plan on returning to it eventually.

    My current stats are:
    Female, 25 years old, 5'4", 127lbs (up 4lbs since starting 2 months ago). I don't know what my bf % is but I suspect it to be around 25-28%.

    I have read Starting Strength, Practical Programming, Strong Enough?, and I just got Mean Ol' Mr. Gravity.

    I eat in a ballpark of 2250-2500 Cal with approximately 120g of protein. I do not have exact amounts because I struggled with disordered eating for nearly 6 months and I am scared to go back to counting/weighing everything. However, I feel I have a decent idea on how to eyeball amounts from that previous experience.

    As for my progress (all weights are in lbs and I do warm up sets before even though they are not written):

    23/05: SQ-70x3x5 / OP-35x3x5 / DL-85x5
    25/05: SQ-75x3x5 / BP-60x3x5 / DL-95x5
    30/05: SQ-80x3x5 / OP-40x3x5 / DL-105x5
    01/06: SQ-85x3x5 / BP-65x3x5 / DL-110x5
    03/06: SQ-90x5,5,4 / OP-45x5,3,2 / DL-115x4

    (I missed the last rep of my squats because someone random guy decided to jump in and "help", but I feel I could have grinded through. I know he was just trying to be nice but I was kind of mad.)

    08/06: SQ-90x3x5 / BP-70x3x5 / DL-115x5
    10/06: SQ-95x3x5 / OP-45x3x5 / DL-120x5
    13/06: SQ-100x3x5/BP-75x5,5,4/DL-120x5

    (Same story as before, I missed the last rep on my bench because my spotter felt I was going up too slow but I would have gotten it. Again, I know he was just trying to help but really annoying)

    15/06: SQ-105x3x5 / OP-50x3x5 / PC-65x5x3
    17/06: SQ-110x3x3 / BP-75x3x5 / DL-125x4
    21/06: SQ-110x3,1,0 / OP-55x4,3,3 / PC-75x2,3,3,2,3
    23/06: SQ-100x3x5 / BP-80x3x5 / DL-125x4

    (I decided to go back down to 100 on the squat because I was very discouraged and I wanted to end on a high note before leaving for vacation. The next weights are low due to having done nothing for 2 weeks. I suspect I may have gone too low but I didn't feel very confident)

    11/07: SQ-65x3x5 / OP-30x3x5 / DL-85x5
    13/07: SQ-75x3x5 / BP-65x3x5 / DL-95x5
    15/07: SQ-90x3x5 / OP-45x3x5 / DL-105x5
    18/07: SQ-92x3x5 / BP-75x3x5 / DL-115x5
    20/07: SQ-94x3x5 / OP-47x3x5 / Hang Cleans-65x5x3

    (I felt some pain in both my quads on the squat but I just pushed through it and I was originally planning to deadlift but I had too much trouble after to get down that low because of the quad pain. I did hang cleans because it didn't bother me very much. I don't know what I did to hurt both my legs and it has never happened before.)

    22/07: SQ-45x5x5 / BP-77x5,4,0 / Hang clean-65x5x3

    (My legs felt better so I though it would be ok to train again but my first warm-up set told me that was probably a mistake. I was stupid when I decided to just keep going and squat the empty bar for 5x5 and try focusing on form but the pain was too distracting. Just squatting without the bar hurts. Hang cleans again this time for the same reasons.

    I feel I shouldn't get discouraged about my bench press because I was distracted by my squat and I did too many warm-up sets. I decided to deload the 3rd bench set to 60 because 77 was just not going to happen in that state of mind.)

    I am actually happy with my bench press progress, overhead press seems on track, and power clean is about right compared to my deadlift. However, my deadlift and squat strike me as woefully underdeveloped and I feel like I keep having setbacks. It is very frustrating. After about 90lbs on squat, the reps are very slow and I have to take a 10 second breather before the last ones. I rest around 5 minutes between sets. I feel like my form stays relatively good but the recent pain in my quads tell me I did something very wrong. I also smell a faint metallic odour after the really hard reps (like smelling blood).

    I know I should probably post a form check on my squat and deadlift. I am working on that but I can't seem to get a good angle of my squat due to the set up at the gym I currently frequent (all shots are basically a great view of just my ass, which doesn't give much indication about what's happening).

    Phew! Sorry for the novel. I am not sure if it's a bit excessive for a novice log.

    If anyone has suggestions based on what I have presented then feel free to let me know if and where I screwed the pooch. Until then, I am going to just go easy on squats until the pain gets better and try microloading.

    Btw, I hate cardio so I don't think that is the issue. At most, I do 2 hours of rollerblading and maybe 3 hours per week just walking to work and the gym (no car so travel is all bus and walking).

    Thank you for taking the time to look at this and I will keep reading the forums here while I try to figure this out and see how far I get. I keep finding unexpected gems about stuff I never even considered.

    That's all for now folks,

    Sirimiti

  2. #2
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    Jul 2016
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    Hi, I am just concerned right now because I weighed 123lbs when I started and I figured I had around 25% body fat based on photos, measurements and one of those scales that also measures body fat. I know none of them are very accurate but they all gave roughly the same figure (within a couple %) so I figure it is a good starting point for comparison. These results would put my lbm at around 92 lbs.

    I just weighed and measured myself today at 127lbs (no body fat scale, just a tape measure and photos for comparison) and I get 30%. This puts my lbm at around 89lbs!

    Is it even possible that my lbm has gone down? What am I doing so wrong?

    Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I figure it is part of my log because it constitutes my progress (or lack of progress).

  3. #3
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    Newcastle upon Tyne, England
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    Don't take body fat %, measured by a scale, to heart. I've seen countless videos of people measuring body fat inaccurately from a lot of different methods.

    How does the scale measure this body fat % just out of curiosity?

  4. #4
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    Jun 2015
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    Welcome to the board. Seeing other strong women has motivated me too. You are about the same size (and age) as when I started. Good luck in your strength training!

    About the bodyfat... Those scales use impedance measurements, which can vary depending on basic things such as how much water you've recently drunk. I wouldn't take it too seriously. A tape measure and the US Navy body fat calculator are what I use.

  5. #5
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    The body fat scale said I weighed 128lbs with 28% body fat (so a lbm of 91 lbs) 2 months ago but my doctor and home scale both said 123lbs and US Navy measurements said 25% (92lbs lbm). The US Navy calculator is the one I used this time for measurement also. I know I carry most of my weight around my hips and that may skew the results but it is very discouraging to think I actually lost lbm.

    I also took a quick perusal through your log, Chromoly, and my measurements are very similar to your except my hips are a bit larger. I also think it might be time I switch to triples on my squats because the last 2-3 reps really grind. Your numbers and programming are very informative and helpful.

  6. #6
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    If you ever have questions about my programming, let me know!

  7. #7
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    This week's training (all in pounds):

    25/07: SQ-30x5x5, OP-50x3x5, DL-120x1x5

    Going easy on the squat today because of lingering pain and I don't want to make it worse. The deadlift was painless because it is only at a certain depth that my quads hurt.

    27/09: SQ-45 to 90x1x5, BP-77.5x3x5, PC-70x3x5

    Just testing the squat today. No more pain but I didn't want to jump right back in so I did 5 reps at 5 lb intervals from 45 to 90lbs. No pain so it looks like next time is back to work.

    I almost failed the bench at the same rep as last time but swore through it. I then discovered the power of positive thinking on the last set and it was so much easier!
    Also, I realised the weight was 77.5 and not 77 as I had noted last time (typo, I guess).

    I love power cleans, they are so much fun! Especially since I focused on "straight arms" this time and made a conscious effort to shrug (I almost threw the bar into my face). So much more effective!

    29/07: SQ-95x3x5, OP-52.5x3x5, DL-125x1x5

    Yay, back up to working weight! Squats felt excellent today, and I think part of it was because I narrowed my stance just a bit. I always felt discomfort in my hips but I thought that was normal for me (I am prone to hip pain). Then I read on the SS forums that a too-wide stance can cause the hips to jam or something. I can't remember the exact words used or where I saw it but I was much more comfortable today after bringing it in an inch or two and I still reach depth.

    Press was good but I need to work on not going too far back because I almost throw myself over and end up with a really good ab workout trying to bring the weight back in line

    I made my reps on the deadlift but I know my lower back arched a bit on the last rep. Should I do the weight again, just to be sure I can handle it? I don't want to keep adding weight if I can't do it with proper form and will end up hurting my back.

  8. #8
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    I worked in with someone yesterday for the first time, another girl doing squats and we were both able to work at our own weights (2 separate bars) so it was very easy and didn't take up as much time as I expected.

    My gym only has a Smith machine and a dual-axis Smith. The dual-axis cage has slots to rack the bar on both sides so I always just steal a bar from the bench press and set it up on the opposite side (I know I am not the only one there to do this). It doesn't fit perfectly so unracking and reracking have to be done very carefully and it has no centre knurling. It is nowhere near an ideal set-up but tolerable until school begins again and I switch back to the YMCA near my school (they are far better equipped).

    I didn't want to ask the other girl but it seemed as though she was just starting a similar program, maybe 5x5. She said it was only her second day and she was very upset to find out this gym only has Smith machines. I think she was intrigued by the idea of appropriating a bench bar.

    To make up for squats taking longer, I tried super-setting my press warm-up between my last two squat sets. I think it worked quite well and I am going to try doing it more often when possible/needed.

  9. #9
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    I experienced the effect eye gaze can have on the squat.

    On the last rep of the last set, I was sticking about halfway up before I realized I was looking about 20 feet away. As I brought my gaze in/down, the bar started going up again.

    It was an interesting feeling.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    It really is amazing how the eye gaze thing works. Not to mention bringing in the stance a just smidge can really affect how the whole movement feels! Even a centimeter in on each side can make a world of difference.

    I'm sorry you're stuck with this Smith machine business. Are there safeties that you can set in your dual-axis system? Especially if the bar is not easily re-racked...

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