Reply With QuoteAll the advice comes from other female novices and me (also female novice) though, and not an experienced lifter, so take that with a grain of salt.
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Personally, I switch between a 3s and 5s. I try to do 5s when possible (because it's faster) but if I'm especially tired and the 3rd rep of my first set feels miserable and grindy, I rack it and do triples for that workout.
One method that I've heard works for some ladies is alternating between 5s and 3s. Work your way up as far as possible with 5s, when that doesn't work anymore, switch to 3s. If you stall while doing triples deload 10%ish and work your way back up with 5s. Repeat cycle.
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All the advice comes from other female novices and me (also female novice) though, and not an experienced lifter, so take that with a grain of salt.
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That's the exact kind of advice I need, though! I looked around on the boards and saw several other women saying that it was helpful for them too, but I didn't see the suggestion about switching between 3s and 5s.Originally Posted by chromoly
Unfortunately, I don't have a camera. I think I'm just at that point everyone talks about where the weight really starts to feel heavy and you're liable to get psyched out. I did a site search for funsies and returned over 200 results for "dread squats," which were pretty much all from people in the novice/intermediate range who feel like all their reps are shit and the bar is going to destroy them, so I feel better. I'm neither physically nor psychologically weak relative to other novices; this is just a thing.
I try to set my back before I unrack because it seems like I wouldn't be able to do much in that way with the bar sitting on my muscles, but practically speaking I do have to re-brace myself a little once it's on there, to make sure it's gonna stay.
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The analogy I was told for this goes along the lines: "The 3's improved confidence under heavier weight; the 5's built a more consistent strength base. A bit like digging a tunnel through a cave, dig wide, then dig deep, then back off and widen out some more."
There's a FB group for women called Starting Strength ~ Barbelles too. You could ask for input over there as well. I'm more of a lurker myself, but it seems like many people feel more comfortable posting form checks and anything else on a women-only FB group than the main one.
The mental thing is tough. For me, the sticking point was around my bodyweight. I was stuck there mentally for a few weeks. I've pushed through it through, and am now squatting 20# more than BW. On an absolute scale, it's not a lot, but I just seemed to have it in my head that the weight was REALLY HEAVY. Easier said than done, but I had to find a way to build up my confidence and go through the sticking point. I bet you have heaps of Linear Progression left, just got to make it past this sticking point first. Good luck!
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Squat: 45 2x5, 80 1x5, 120 1x3, 160 1x2, 200 5x3
Press: 45 1x3, 65 1x3, 85 5x3
Deadlift: 135 1x5, 185 1x3, 235 2x3
Yeah! 200! I think that number was psyching me out a little, like chromoly was talking about with her BW squat. 200 is a Big Round Number in my head. I did switch to triples because I got a little lightheaded on rep 3 of set 1. I think I like it. The downside is that I have to get myself revved up five times instead of three, but the process is a little easier when I know I only have to do three reps. Focused on getting my chest up more before unracking the bar, and I think it helped.
Definitely glad to get 85 on press at last. Felt a little easier with sets of 3. I'm kind of annoyed at how finicky grip width is -- seems like even an inch too wide will screw me up. Time to start microloading. I think this augurs well for Wednesday's bench.
In the part of PPST3 where it talks about triples for women, it says that women can do sets across for DL, so the training example shows someone switching from 3x5 to 5x3. With all due respect to the authors, hell fucking no, so I kind of compromised. I hate doing 5s on DL, my head starts feeling weird.
There was this bro swearing and mooing during his arm workout while I was doing deadlifts -- he literally sounded like a cow in heat. I think he caught me looking at him funny in the mirror. Thankfully, I'm pretty sure he can't have mistaken the look on my face for admiration.
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Congrats on the 200 lbs squats, Liz! Awesome job!
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Fat broad seeks to become strong fat broad
Yeah girl! 200 pounds! Congrats![emoji123]
For deadlifts, I like to do 2x3 or 1x5 at my goal weight. Based on a second-hand suggestion from an SSC (an SSC suggested back offs to someone else; I usurped the idea) I started incorporating back-off sets instead of tons of sets at heavy weight. Last week, for example I did 5x195, then back off at 2x5 @ 85% (165). Seems to be fitting the criteria for sets across but not so much that I feel like dying. The suggested weight for back off sets is 80-90%.
Mooing bros are hilarious. [emoji202]
Last edited by chromoly; 08-17-2015 at 03:27 PM.
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Awesome, Liz - that's a big achievement! Two plates will fall next!
Sounds like quite a bovine bro you have there in the gym - I sometimes miss the entertainment a commercial gym provides.
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awesome squats! it took me forEVER to mentally get myself through 200; I kept thinking 'this is going to squash me like a bug'
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Thanks, everybody! Two plates is another Big Number, but I'm going to try to remember how nervous I was about 200 and how I totally survived it anyway. Rereading your lovely comments helps me with the jitters sometimes.
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