Lady Roadie Log (Novice Female)

[fallstoclimb]

I'm 29, 5'3", 150ish.

Never held a barbell outside of occasionally playing around with light bench pressing before this fall. A brief crossfit stint made me realize how strong I could be, and I decided I'd rather train than exercise, so I quit crossfit and bought some weights. During the warmer months I'm a (slow!) cyclist. Hoping the weight training will both help me stay sane through winter, help me be stronger on the bike next year, and just generally keep me healthy, strong and injury-free.

Read Starting Strength in November and started the program in early December. I wish I'd started my log then as I'm already impressed with what I've accomplished (I had some low expectations). I think my days of early easy gains are over, so I decided to start a public log so that I can get some support, advice and accountability as I start to run into trouble.

Starting weights in December, best I can remember:

Squat - 45 lbs
Bench - 45 lbs
Press - 35 lbs
Row - 45 lbs
Deadlift - 85 lbs


Saturday's workout (3x5 work sets):

Squats: 100 (!!) pounds. Felt like a LOT to have on my back. On my second set, after the 4th rep I was trying to reset and take a little breather but my lower back started hurting more than my legs so I just knocked out my last rep so I could get the weight off my back sooner. Sign of poor form / not tightening enough, or does it just mean my legs are stronger than my back? (Which is probably true).

Bench: 57.5 pounds. Really hoping to make 60 next time I try, I kept failing at the 55-60 jump so I made myself some microweights to help.

Row: 65 pounds, but I hate the row, it feels like such an awkward movement to me.


I'm starting to move enough weight that I feel stiff and/or creaky often, but basically never 'sore' in the way I used to define good muscle soreness. Is this normal or concerning?

I also have really no idea how much I should be eating. Tracked for a few days and it looked like I tend to hit 1900 cal/day, with 60-100 grams of protein (usually in the 70-90 range). Probably not enough but I'm vegetarian so it's tough. Not sure how much this matters, really?

[goldbody]

Hey there and welcome from another newbie! Started the program at about the same time as you, so I can't tell you much of rights/wrongs, but I deffo second the advice of posting in the form check forum. It very much helped me so far! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

[fallstoclimb]

Whey protein powder.

1. Post form video checks
2. What bike?
3. Congrats on the progress
4. Welcome

I do have a protein smoothie every morning with a plant-based protein powder (20g per serving). I assume I read about the benefits of plant based protein on a vegan blog, but I'm not vegan, so if someone wants to talk me into switching to whey I'm all ears

I have a 2010 Specialized Dolce. I don't do any racing but I am aiming for a tough local century this year.


Monday's workout, posting warmup sets for feedback on if I'm doing enough/too much/just right:

Squat:
3x5 @ 65
2x5 @ 85
1x3 @ 95
3x5 @ 105 (work set).

I know that I am not actually supporting the weight on my wrists, but due to mobility limitations they are not as straight as they should be, and as the weight is getting heavier I am starting to have fears that my wrists are just going to snap. I do realize this is unfounded, I'm just starting to be afraid of the weight I am moving (supervised only by my husband, who knows less than I do about this stuff), and it is manifesting in various ways! Anyway, the weight was tough but I didn't miss any reps.

Deadlift:
1x5 @ 95
1x3 @ 105
1x2 @ 115
1x2 @ 120
1x5 @ 130 (work set). Took a couple videos on my warmup sets and made some form adjustments that definitely made the weight easier to lift. I also finally got my head in the right place and stacked the plate on a enough blocks of wood to get the bar right at the middle of my shins (I was doing this before but not high enough, my max plate is a 25 lbs so way too low). Still afraid of injuring my back with these but so far it is fine. I should probably get some chalk though, on one lift the bar slipped out of my hand a bit.

Press:
1x5 @ 35
1x5 @ 40
3x5 @ 45 but failed -- 3-5-3. I think I could have gotten this one, I rushed the warmup because I was STARVING at this point (also I usually do the deadlift last but put the press last so I'd have to switch out fewer plates, since I was rushing), plus a friend called right before my last set and I put her on speaker so I could finish it out but obviously I was distracted. Next time I'll keep it at 45 and I'm pretty sure I'll hit it. It is ridiculous to me how light my press is, but one of my major goals is getting weight equivalent to a standard bar over my head, so I am excited to be basically there! (This is actually my 2014 press goal. I'm pretty sure all my 2014 lifting goals are laughably light and I will be there in like, a month.)

Overall was happy with how the workout went, given that I went into it dehydrated, tired and a bit hungry. Now I'm off to the form check forum to post a deadlift video!

[Str8shutr]

This program will beat you up. If you are not willing to commit to maximizing your recovery by eating protein (even if it is just whey shakes) you may want to look at a slower progression and accept that you will not progress as fast as others. Also, microloading! I see you already latched on to that, good!

Good Luck!

[fallstoclimb]

This program will beat you up. If you are not willing to commit to maximizing your recovery by eating protein (even if it is just whey shakes) you may want to look at a slower progression and accept that you will not progress as fast as others. Also, microloading! I see you already latched on to that, good!

Good Luck!

Ha. The microloading became necessary absurdly quickly.

I for sure am willing to eat protein, I could up to a second protein shake a day and do eat lots of beans and nuts already, I just don't know much about how much is really necessary / if protein shakes are an effective way of absorbing protein / if whey is better or worse than plant based (I know a lot of whey is mostly sugar-based).

[Str8shutr]

Yes, protein is necessary if you want to be successful. (disclaimer: there have been some lucky few that are genetically gifted that have achieved awe-inspiring physiques while on vegan diets, even, but they are not the norm.)

Start reading the Nutrition forum, run by Jordan Feigenbaum. There are quite a few threads in there that discuss vegetarianism and things like pea protein. (Pea protein does not have the correct amino acid profile to be very useful.)

[fallstoclimb]

Shoulder blades are aching today. This happened last week as well, setting in about 36 hours after the workout. I actually skipped a few days to ride it out but that strategy is going to get in the way of my goals, quick.

Since it is happening on A days that implies its either the deadlift or the press, since I was okay after the B day workout, but I actually suspect the low bar squat. It's so much weight to have on my back. Who knows, though...does anyone have experience with this?

[Runner]

Here!


This is Jordan's nutrition blog and this article lays out the groundwork for both men and women.

Just from your comments I can tell something is off in your form. If you can afford it I would encourage you to find a starting strength coach. It will save you some wear and tear down the road.

Good luck!

[fallstoclimb]

Thanks for the link! And yes, I think I'm going to find a coach. I'm too clueless on all this and there's only so much the internet can do.

[Runner]

The SS dvd helped me a ton as well and you might consider getting it so you can see Rip training all different types of people. It solidified for me what he was saying in the book. I video myself and if i see form creep I look at the SS dvd and try to locate the fix.

If you have access to a SS coach I would go into him/her once a quarter to recheck form. It is amazing how lifts drift away from proper form.