Mama needs muscles

[bluebutton]

I'm 33, mother of 2, 5'4", 156lb.

Over Christmas I was struggling to get my 32lb 4 y.o. out of the grocery cart and realized that was ridiculous. When did I get that weak?

Heard of SS via Instapundit. Started SS Jan 16, 2013.

Currently, my work weights in lbs are
Squat 150
Press 61.25
BP 80
DL 188
PC 90

Figured I'd start logging because I'm not sure how much LP I have left, but I want to wring out as much as I can. Hoping I can get feedback on that.

I have a labrum tear in my L shoulder. Trying to avoid surgery was a secondary motivation for getting into this. I had arthroscopic surgery in '06 to smooth out my R hip labrum which I had torn. This made getting into squats kind of slow but seems to have worked itself out. I twinged my left knee 6 wks ago squatting down to pick up my 2 y.o. That has set my squat back much more.

My husband asks what the end game is for this. Right now, I would like to be able to sling my kids around without hurting myself or them. Otherwise, I'd like to age well. Maybe when the kids aren't so little I'll get back into dragonboating (like crew but going the other way, paddling forward).

My goals for the end of the year are
Squat 225
Press 100
DL 250

I've taken out the BP because I've failed twice, once missing the catches and dropping a side on my head. The other time I rolled it down. I don't feel safe with it.

And that's it for now.

[bluebutton]

Deadlift day seems to always come after a night of horrible sleep and an achy shoulder. Humbug.

Squat
45 x 5 x 3
65 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135! x 5 x 3
--for whatever reason "shoving the knees out" went a lot easier today. Keeping them out and set still a little shakey. Hopefully, will help knee soreness

Press
45 x5
50 x 5
61.25 x 5 x 3
--completed 3 sets across which I was unable to do two days ago
--cue to shove hips back helped w finish

Deadlift
88 x 5
113 x 4
138 x 3
163 x 2
193 fail
188 fail
168 x 5

My last successful deadlift day was 4/5 where I completed 188. 4/15 failed at 190. I did get weightlifting shoes for the first time 4/12. Otherwise not sure why the DL which was formerly my favorite lift has degenerated.

[Aleli]

Deadlift day seems to always come after a night of horrible sleep and an achy shoulder. Humbug.

Squat
45 x 5 x 3
65 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135! x 5 x 3
--for whatever reason "shoving the knees out" went a lot easier today. Keeping them out and set still a little shakey. Hopefully, will help knee soreness

Press
45 x5
50 x 5
61.25 x 5 x 3
--completed 3 sets across which I was unable to do two days ago
--cue to shove hips back helped w finish

Deadlift
88 x 5
113 x 4
138 x 3
163 x 2
193 fail
188 fail
168 x 5

My last successful deadlift day was 4/5 where I completed 188. 4/15 failed at 190. I did get weightlifting shoes for the first time 4/12. Otherwise not sure why the DL which was formerly my favorite lift has degenerated.

Keep up the good work. You are making great progress. I commend you for starting a log here, which is something I have yet to do!

What is your current programing like? Are you still deadlifiting every other workout? You may need more recovery time between deadlift training sessions. I know my deadlift training days are always the hardest and will make me very tired, so I started alternating the deadlift, chin ups with back extensions, and power cleans. That helped me get more recovery time between deadlift training days.

[bluebutton]

My current programming is

A days:
Squat
Press
DL/PC

B days:
Squat
Press
chins*

So I only DL every 9-10 days precisely because of the recovery issue. This is sad to me because I like deadlifting but more than that wasn't working. Although what I'm doing currently also doesn't seem to be working.

* I can't do a chin up yet. So I've been doing 1 x 8 of hangs where I pull up as high as I can and hold for 5 seconds. My last chin day my first pull was 3/4 of the way up, so I'm making (slow) progress. The incline back extension at my gym, when set for my height, has me impaling myself on the support at the bottom, so I didn't continue after my first try.

[bluebutton]

B day today

Squat
45 x 5 x 3
70 x 5
95 x 5
120 x 3
140 x 5 x 3

Press
45 x 5
50 x 5
62.5 x 5
62.5 x 3
62.5 x 4
--May deload to 56.25 lbs and head back up. Working on 1.25lb increments

Chins
1 x 8

Back extensions
BW x 10 x 3
--Tried them again, stopped decending when I got to the impaling support, uncomfortable, but I can put on my big girl britches and do them. Not convinced they are useful.

[Michele Knaub]

welcome and congrats on the steady progress.

I wonder if your husband were lifting barbells, if anyone would ask *him* what the "end game" was ....

[bluebutton]

Whoever did, it wouldn't be me. He's a self-described "pencil-neck geek". Love him dearly and if he ever got under the bar, I'd move heaven and earth to help him have workout time. I don't know what he'd do about food though, I doubt he eats over 1200-1500 cals a day.

[Aleli]

I recommend you upload a deadlift video to the Technique forum. I'm not saying your form is bad, btw. Just speaking from personal experience. Following the form recommendations the coaches provided me I was able to progress my deadlift from 170# to 190#.

[bluebutton]

Today was an A day

Squat
45 x 5 x 3
70 x 5
95 x 5
120 x 3
145 x 5 x 3
--first set at 145 was ugly, ea. set got better

Press
45 x 5
50 x 5
56.25 x 5 x 3
--work set went up better than the 62.5 for 2 days ago, not surprisingly. Need to reread SS & PP to see whether I should head back up 1.25 lbs at a time or more. At 1.25 lbs each workout, I wouldn't be back to 62.5 until 2 wks from now.

PC
75 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3 x 5
--90 is a redo of last PC session which was 90 x 3 x 4. Sets got better over time. Focused on getting weight off my toes before pulling.

Re: Deadlift & form check. Yes that's on my mind, just need to figure out how to do that since I don't have a smart ph with a camera. But I'll manage. Also realized that w/ the new weightlifting shoes I had not been as mindful of keeping the weight on the middle of my foot vs the toes. So that's part of the problem.

[bluebutton]

Today was a B day

Squat
45 x 5 x 3
75 x 5
105 x 5
130 x 3
150 x 5 x 3
--Again, first set ugly, ea set got better. Not sure if it is a focus thing or that I approach the first set scared, which I do.

Chins
1 x 8
--much improved, first 4 pulls were 1/2 way there or more, 1st one was almost a complete chin up!
--Moved ahead of press because I REALLY want to be able to do chin ups and pull ups

Press
45 x 5
50 x 5
57.5 x 5 x 3
--Reread PP and saw that a 2 wk return to previous weight is pretty normal so I decided to stick with the 1.25lb increments
--Need to re-read SS and decide whether to start at the top or at the bottom and where to breathe

Friday will be deadlift day!! YAY! and should be squat-my-bodyweight day. So sweet!