Jess' Grind (outta the hole)

[AbstruseMind13]

Here begins the documentation of my attempt to get strong after injury and several years of recovery...

I'm 33, 5'5" and 170 lbs. I've been all over the board with my workouts and terribly inconsistent over the past several years as I've fought through the healing process, weight gain and resulting emotional and physical issues. So, now I feel like I'm in a place where I can commit to getting myself back on solid ground.

Here's the plan to start:

Day 1
Squat
Overhead Press
Deadlift

Day 2
Rest

Day 3
Squat
Bench
Back Extensions

Day 4
Rest

Day 5
Squat
Overhead Press
Deadlift

Day 6
Light conditioning on bike

Day 7
Rest

Tomorrow is DAY 1.

[AbstruseMind13]

Squat
Warm-Ups: 45x5, 55x5, 70x3, 85x2
Work-Set: 105x3x5
Lower back slightly tight on the work sets; leaned onto my toes during a couple reps, but felt I brought that under control.

Overhead Press
Warm-Ups: 20x5, 25x5, 30x3, 35x2
Work Set: 45x3x5
Felt good with this weight. No issues.

Deadlift
Warm-Ups: 45x5, 55x5, 70x3, 85x2
Work Set: 105x3x5
Really concentrated on pulling these straight up my legs, which took away some from concentrating on other potential form issues. Overall, though, I think I did good on these. Weight felt a bit too light.

Added 3x15 crunches on the ball. Did some light stretching.

I left the gym feeling like I should have done more, but I have a tendency to push myself too hard too quick, so I'm going to try to be patient with myself. I feel like I'm in a good mindset for training, paying close attention to my form and getting a little pissy with myself when it's not perfect. I'm not interested in flying through my workouts or getting "cardio" done with them. Just want to get strong.

[AbstruseMind13]

Yesterday was DAY 2: Rest

Squat
Warm-Ups: 45x5, 55x5, 70x3, 90x2
Work Set: 110x3x5
Felt great on these!

Bench Press
Warm-Ups: 45x5, 45x5, 50x3, 55x2
Work Set: 65x3x5
Couldn't find the bar I was looking for, so didn't follow my planned warm-up succession, but I was very happy with the way this workout turned out. Improved my form, following Rip's advice to keep my back arched, squeeze my shoulder blades together, keep that posture while laying on the bench and focus on one spot on the ceiling. I felt this helped for me to be able to handle more weight. My work set felt pretty easy.

Back Extensions
3x12
Added 3x12 Side Extensions on each side.
Felt good on these. Think I'll progress to 15 reps next time and then, moving forward, drop the reps and add some weight, then go from there.

Added Chins, shooting for 3x5 with the assist. Here's what I was able to do:
55lb assist, 3 full reps, 2 shitty reps
60lb assist, 2 full reps, 3 shitty reps
70 lbs assist, 3 full reps, 2 shitty reps
Definitely need to get better at these. I'll probably start with the 70lb assist next time and see what I can do.

Added bike intervals:
15min, 2:1 (Level 5 Intensity @ 80rpm : Level 9 Intensity @ 115rpm)
MAX HR: 180
Total intervals: 5

I left the gym feeling great. I would like to concentrate a little more on my breathing. I didn't pay attention to that at all today.

[AbstruseMind13]

DAYS 4 & 5: Rest (Had to work a couple late days, which fucked up my schedule)

Squat
Warm-Ups: 45x5, 55x5, 70x3, 90x2
Work Set: 115x3x5
No issues with these. Feel like I can keep adding weight without a problem.

Overhead Press
Warm-Ups: 20x5, 25x5, 30x3, 40x2
Work Set: 50x3x5
These felt a bit challenging, but feel like I can still increase the poundage.

Deadlifts
Warm-Ups: 45x5, 55x5, 70x3, 90x2
Work Set: 115x3x5
Went with a 10lb jump instead of the usual 5. Feel like I can do a lot more weight with these. Probably started out too light, but I'll get up there.

Crunches
3x15 on the ball

Focused a little more on my breathing in these workouts, but couldn't always remember what the proper breaths were. Guess I need to make note of those and get them down. I left the gym feeling good. Felt like I could have done more, but I went in with the intention of not pushing myself too much since I was still a little sore from the workout two days prior.

[AbstruseMind13]

So, Alex keeps telling me that he thinks this CrossFit thing would be really good for me. So, I went in this morning for a one-on-one assessment at District CrossFit (which is only three blocks away from my house, so that's cool). I agree with the concept. There appear to be some parallels to Rip's idea of training with movements that imitate things you do in real life. The owner of the gym, Andrew, seemed to really know what he was talking about; his thinking seemed to be in line with mine; and he knows about Rip and Starting Strength. So, I felt pretty comfortable there.

My assessment consisted of:
500m row
40 air squats
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 pull-ups

My time was 6:40, which he said was pretty good.

That was actually the first time I've ever used the rowing machine (which is the only machine they have there - thank jesus). I actually kinda liked using it; got the heart rate up a bit. Could be a good alternative to the stationary bike at my regular gym to mix it up a bit.

So, here's the new plan (at least for the next two months that I've paid for District CrossFit)...

Day 1
Squat
Overhead Press
Deadlift

Day 2
Rest

Day 3
CrossFit

Day 4
Squat
Bench
Back Extensions
Chins

Day 5
CrossFit

Day 6
Squat
Overhead Press
Power Cleans

Day 7
Rest

[borzoi06]

Hey babe,

I would recommend you do something different for day 6. Keep SS to just two days a week like you have it for days 1 and 4 though:

Day 6:
Light Squat 2x5--> use for warm up for cleans. Not heavy.
Power Cleans --> Knock yourself out as appropriate
Assistance exercises like hypers, sit ups etc.

Just drop the press on day 6 altogether. So you would have an A and B workout routine during the week with a focus on cleans for day 6.

[AbstruseMind13]

Sounds good, babe. I'll do that. Thanks.

[AbstruseMind13]

Squat
Warm-Ups: 50x5, 60x5, 75x3, 95x2
Work Set: 120x3x5
Felt some slight calf strain, toward the outside of the calves, during warm-ups. Subsided a bit during my work sets, but not completely.

Overhead Press
Warm-Ups: 25x5, 30x5, 35x3, 45x2
Work Set: 55x3x5
These felt moderately heavy. Starting to wonder how much more I can increase this weight and still be able to knock out all three sets without a problem, but feel confident I can go up another 5lb for next time.

Deadlifts
Warm-Ups: 50x5, 60x5, 80x3, 95x2
Work Set: 120x3x5
Still feel like I can do a lot more weight with these.

Crunches
3x20 on the ball