Training in Santa Cruz

[JessEvans]

Sometimes we just have bad days in the gym. Also menstrual cycles can really affect training for some women, so I would not sweat it too much. The Barbelles Facebook group has had some discussion of this over the years if you search through.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm feeling better today after lots of sleep and food.

Maybe I will get used to benching 5 sets of 3, I don't know. Do you rest long between those little sets, or just go again right away? My heart rate doesn't go up from them the way it does for a set of 5. Maybe if I rested less they wouldn't be so slow to get through.

[chromoly]

It depends on how much rest you need. In the novice progression, as Leah probably told you, you rest as long as you need to complete the reps. If that's 2 minutes at the beginning, great! If that's five minutes, great! If that's 8 minutes, great! If it's 10, well, it sucks but I've done it as necessary.

[Mr. Bingley]

resting between sets is the hardest damn thing for me. intellectually i know as an old fart i need probably 6-7 minutes on my work sets, but even 4 seems like interminable torture of boredom

[chromoly]

Man. I don't know about you all but I LOVE resting between sets. It usually takes me at least 3-4 minutes to feel "normal" after a heavy set of squats and then I know I need to sit a bit longer to fully recover. Maybe I'm just out of shape

[Mr. Bingley]

Maybe I'm just out of shape

no you're just smart and focused on THE PROGRAM; i sit there and go "shit, i can't wait to get this done so i can go home and have dinner!" lol

[JessEvans]

Man. I don't know about you all but I LOVE resting between sets. It usually takes me at least 3-4 minutes to feel "normal" after a heavy set of squats and then I know I need to sit a bit longer to fully recover. Maybe I'm just out of shape

I'm with you on resting after a set of heavy squats. My heart is pounding like a motherfucker and I'm sweating and I feel like I actually DID something. It feel great to rest, and I'm happy to give it at least 5 or 6 minutes.

resting between sets is the hardest damn thing for me. intellectually i know as an old fart i need probably 6-7 minutes on my work sets, but even 4 seems like interminable torture of boredom

^^This, for the 5 sets of 3 on the bench. After a set of three bench presses my heart isn't up, I feel like a weak bitch, and I'm bored A.F. I just want to do a set of 5, but the hard cold truth is that I can't do more than 3 reps in a row successfully. Maybe I can start dialing the rests between sets down and see how low I can go and still make the reps, though, just to cut the boredom and sitting around time. I did already test the safety rail height by failing a 2nd rep at a too-high weight increase, so I know they work and I won't die. Yay for not dying.

[Mr. Bingley]

Yay for not dying.

yes, that does have some perks

[ChrisRozon]

I'm with you on resting after a set of heavy squats. My heart is pounding like a motherfucker and I'm sweating and I feel like I actually DID something. It feel great to rest, and I'm happy to give it at least 5 or 6 minutes.



^^This, for the 5 sets of 3 on the bench. After a set of three bench presses my heart isn't up, I feel like a weak bitch, and I'm bored A.F. I just want to do a set of 5, but the hard cold truth is that I can't do more than 3 reps in a row successfully. Maybe I can start dialing the rests between sets down and see how low I can go and still make the reps, though, just to cut the boredom and sitting around time. I did already test the safety rail height by failing a 2nd rep at a too-high weight increase, so I know they work and I won't die. Yay for not dying.

Maybe start warming up for your next lift during that time?

[Quit Tomorrow]

Resting

My GF has had the same problem with rest. She's at the point where she needs 10 minutes for her Squat, Bench and press

A few solutions

1. Find a training partner. Helps make time go by

1b. Headphones with music/audiobook for inbetween

2. She multitask's and will surf or read non stressful items on cell phone for about 7-8 minutes. She'll use the last 2 minutes to visualize, get her wraps and belt on, receivie coaching cues from me if I'm there with her and completes the lift.

3. We often record our worksets, so we spend time looking to see what to improve inbetween sets.

[JessEvans]

Resting

My GF has had the same problem with rest. She's at the point where she needs 10 minutes for her Squat, Bench and press

That is...long. How long has she been doing the LP?

1. Find a training partner. Helps make time go by

I would like to find a training partner. That would be really cool.

2. She multitask's and will surf or read non stressful items on cell phone for about 7-8 minutes. She'll use the last 2 minutes to visualize, get her wraps and belt on, receivie coaching cues from me if I'm there with her and completes the lift.

I do take some notes. I think right now I need to spend my rest time between bench sets calculating what should be my rest time between bench sets. The first time I did 5 sets of 3, I rested the same as if they were squats (5 minutes) and lost all my intensity and focus and got cold AF. The second time (yesterday) I didn't rest long enough and missed my last rep of my last set. It's not easy to figure out because my body/heart recovers way before my puny little arm muscles do!

If I get to needing 10 minutes between bench sets of 3, I will have to start writing a novel or something. Or at least reconsider my no-phone-in-the-weight-room policy. That's 40 minutes of rest time for benching alone...