LiftingLiz's SS Log

[LiftingLiz]

If you are having problems with keeping your thumb around the bar I would first switch to a hook grip. There's a really good picture and explanation in Starting Strength (page 180).

My only problem with hook grip is I have little hands and short fingers. My thumb does not fit under my other fingers when it is around the bar. It goes a few millimeters away from my fingertips when I try to hook grip. Is that still good enough, or are my tiny hands doomed?

[isis]

If your hands are too small for your thumb to contribute much to the grip then maybe it will just come off and you will have to train the other 4 fingers to do the job. They can do it. Don't go to an alternate grip until double overhand stops working, and then only use it for the work sets not the warmups.

Another solution would be to use a women's bar which is built for smaller hands, if your gym has one. Or if you can find a gym that has one.

[LiftingLiz]

This is not going to be the best week of workouts ever. The day got away from me, and I got too busy to work out yesterday. So, I did my routine today. However, I'm leaving town early Thursday, which means if I want to get two workouts in, I have to do another tomorrow. I think I can handle it for one week, especially since I won't be back until Monday.

I bought some protein powder over the weekend. The flavor is... inoffensive when mixed with water, but it makes a great breakfast smoothie when I put blueberries and yogurt in it! I had a smoothie for breakfast, which I may keep up on really early days (had to be at work at 4:45 today...), and I had it "plain" right after my workout. I can really chug some liquid when I've been sweating, man.

Anyway, Today's Lifts:

Squat
2x5x45 lb
1x5x55 lb
1x3x85 lb
1x2x115 lb
3x5x145 lb -- Began to lean forward at the hips on second set. Corrected for the third set.

OHP
1x5x45 lb
1/2/2x65 lb -- Felt like lifting a ton. I could see it coming from the past few weeks, so I'll reset to 60 lb. Will consider micro-loading further.

Hang Cleans
2x5x45 lb -- working on technique. I think I got my rack high enough. I'm essentially punching myself in the throat with the barbell, though.
1x5x55 lb -- worked on stomping my feet. Really helped.
Power Cleans
1x5x65 lb -- need to work further on transition from slow part to fast part. Overall, technique much improved. I was very, very tired at the end of this set, decided that further work can wait for next week.

I'm thinking of starting a light jogging routine next week. Nothing too drastic, just some more impetus for my fat to leave. On that note, I can definitely see changes in my body comp now. My shoulders are broader, which oddly makes me look smaller overall. Also, my belly is melting! Here's my current progress pic:

[fnet]

Nice going, Liz. Keep up the good work!

[LiftingLiz]

Today's the last day I'm working out before I head off for the weekend. I'll be seeing some people that haven't seen me in quite some time, hopefully I'll get some decent compliments coming my way!

Today's Lifts:

Squat
2x5x45 lb
1x5x60 lb
1x3x95 lb
1x2x120 lb
3x5x150 lb -- Overall, great squats. Still have to think about leaning back, though, or else I'll start to tip forward.

Bench Press
2x5x45 lb
1x3x65 lb
3x5x75 lb -- I had been thinking about micro-loading, but I pumped out 3x5 with a 5 lb increase. I'll at least wait for a hard stall.

Deadlift
1x5x135 lb
1x3x175 lb -- overhand grip, no problems
1x175 lb -- couldn't straighten all the way up, thumb popped out
1x175 lb -- got half way up, then my thumb popped out and the bar started to roll out of my fingers
1x2x175 lb -- alternate grip, no problems

I should add more warmups for the deadlift. I can really bang out 135 lb now. About two months ago, that was really hard work. Warming up with your work weight from a month or two ago is really motivating.

[TonyaB]

Great numbers Liz. I'm enjoying following your progress.

Tonya

[Mr.City]

I saw the pictures. Nice job

[isis]

You're making great progress.

Your press stall, going from 5/5/5 to 1/2/2 with a loading increase of 2 1/2 lbs and no sign in your log of underrecovery being a problem, makes me suspect that the plates you are using don't weigh exactly what they are supposed to, so that you actually made a bigger jump than you thought. It's actually very common for metal plates to be off by 10%. Something to think about along with microloading.

Form makes a huge difference on the press, too. Whenever I'm stuck I reread the chapter in SS and often find something in there that makes the bar feel lighter.

[TonyaB]

Whenever I'm stuck I reread the chapter in SS and often find something in there that makes the bar feel lighter.

This is great advice!

[LiftingLiz]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! I plan to take pictures once a month, so definitely keep an eye out for them in another two weeks or so.

You're making great progress.

Your press stall, going from 5/5/5 to 1/2/2 with a loading increase of 2 1/2 lbs and no sign in your log of underrecovery being a problem, makes me suspect that the plates you are using don't weigh exactly what they are supposed to, so that you actually made a bigger jump than you thought. It's actually very common for metal plates to be off by 10%. Something to think about along with microloading.

Form makes a huge difference on the press, too. Whenever I'm stuck I reread the chapter in SS and often find something in there that makes the bar feel lighter.

Good advice. I weighed my smallest weights on my kitchen scale, and what were supposed to be 10 oz. were actually 9.5 oz. That's a 5% difference. Would adding an extra 2 oz. be enough of a shock, though? And could this be overcome if I were to add 1.25 lbs each time instead of 2.5 lbs? My gut feeling is that this would be the correct course of action. That, and maybe get a few little washers to glue to them and correct their weight. My 2.5 lb weights are less than 1 oz off each, and on top of that one is high and the other is low. I think they're OK. I don't have an accurate scale to measure the bigger weights on (my bathroom scale is not very good quality). All food for thought for me here.

Yesterday's Lifts:

Squat:
2x5x45 lb
1x5x60 lb
1x3x95 lb
1x2x120 lb
3x5x155 lb -- still having trouble with forward lean.

Overhead Press:
1x5x45 lb
3x5x60 lb -- really freakin' hard. I felt completely spent afterward, like I was going to just fall asleep on the floor. I chalk that up to having a big "party weekend" of eating crap and not enough sleep all weekend.

Skipped power cleans, did my protein, and took a nap before work.

I'm not happy that I skipped power cleans, but overall, this workout felt like absolute shit. I'm back on my regular diet and sleeping well now, so tomorrow should feel loads better. I'm also going to reread the squat, bench press, and deadlift chapters before tomorrow's workout, and I'll reread the overhead press and power clean chapters for Friday. I bet there's at least one thing I'm doing wrong in each exercise that I can improve this week.

I'm thinking about adding some cardio work, for overall fitness and weight loss. Right now, I'm thinking of adding about 30 minutes right after weights. That way, my rest days are still completely rest days.