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Thread: Just came here to brag

  1. #81
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    Jun 2019
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    Brava!

    Even if you stopped right now (you won't), you should be proud of each of those numbers.

  2. #82
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    Jul 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by tiny&mighty View Post
    Bench - dropped weight increment from 1.5 to 1 lb. I don't think I have much runway left on this one. Now 3 lbs away from a BW bench, which is my current goal at the moment.
    You're going to beat me to a bodyweight bench, even with 1 lb jumps.

  3. #83
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    Jan 2021
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    Gatineau, QC
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    Thank you for the kind words, gentlemen.

    Today was my easy workout:

    Light squat: 2 sets of 5 reps at 145 lbs
    Press (strict): 3 sets of 5 reps at 80 lbs
    Deadlift: 2 sets of 3 reps at 217.5 lbs

    I was not in the best dispositions for a workout today. For the first time since we officially started living together, my husband is away for the weekend, leaving me alone with his neurotic dog. She loves me despite the fact that her feelings are not mutual. She thinks I require her protection, and it is always worse when Bernard is not around. So she has been acting batshit crazy this weekend. So annoying.

    Just to further disturb my routine, I attended a social gathering last night with a few colleagues. I came home late, did not eat well, and had to manage the dog's psychotic behaviour upon my return. Fun times.

    And then I got a delivery from Wayfair. I normally enjoy assembling furniture, but those pieces were not well designed, especially with the dog running in circles around while I was trying to figure this out.

    All of that to say that I was not in the mood for training. But after two days off, it seemed dumb to postpone this session to Sunday, especially with light squats on today's menu. So I put the dog outside and did my workout.

    ***

    Those light squats feel so nice. They make me realize I far I have come, as you two have said. The first time I used the big boy plates on the bar was a huge deal for me. Now it is not enough for a light day!

    I hit a new psychological milestone with the press, still with 3 sets of 5. However, the fifth reps of my second and third sets were nearing leap-of-faith territory. I doubt I will be able to stick to sets of 5 for much longer; it already feels like a bit of a miracle, especially while sticking to press 1.0. The downside is that I am a bit out of practice with the press 2.0. This might become a problem when I need to switch to 2.0.

    For the deadlift, I went back to a 2.5 lbs jump as advertised. Wise decision. My grip held well, and my back angle was not perfect but much better.

    Next workout will most likely be on Monday afternoon, when I will attempt my 200 lbs squat and my 120 lbs bench press (adding another real plate!). This will be followed by a light-squat day on Wednesday, and then I think I am going to go with a modified version of this PPST3 program (p. 154).

    Saturday Sunday Tuesday or Wednesday Wednesday or Thursday
    PPST3
    p. 154
    Bench 5 RM
    Press 5 X 5
    Squat 5 RM
    Clean 5 X 3
    Press 5 RM
    Bench 5 X 5
    Deadlift 5 RM
    Squat 5 X 5
    Modified version Bench 2 X 3
    Press 5 X 5
    Squat 2 X 3
    Deadlift 3 X 5
    Press 15 reps total
    Bench 5 X 5
    Deadlift 2 X 3
    Squat 5 X 5

    For volume sets, I have read that some women do 6-8 X 3 instead of 5 X 5. I might reassess later, but I want to do sets of 5 because I like doing sets of 5. Doing 5 sets of 3 already sucks balls; doing 6-8 sets just sounds awful. No thanks.

    For 5 RM, I will use 2 X 3. Otherwise, I will have to reset considerably, which seems to defeat the purpose of turning to intermediate programming.

    For the volume pull, I cannot do power cleans at the moment, so I would like to add “volume deadlift” instead, and see how that goes. Apparently, women can tolerate more frequency and volume on the deadlift, and I feel I could benefit from more frequent practice to improve my back angle. This could also help with my grip since I would have to hold on to the bar for an extra 2 reps (at a much lower weight, but still). And I like the deadlift. So I am going to try it and see how that goes. I can always select another pulling movement if this strategy proves to be idiotic.

    Finally, for intensity press, I will keep shooting for 15 reps in the fewest sets possible until this no longer works and reassess at that point. Since I am still able (as of today) to progress with strict pressing for 3 X 5, I do not see the point of making a radical change yet. And I like the press.

  4. #84
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    Jul 2016
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    By chance, does the dog have heeler or some other cattle breed in it? I've seen several heelers that seem to recognize one person as 'master' and everybody else as 'thing that must be herded into a corner'. (Also, is your husband thinking of doing a log here? It'd be cool to have a husband/wife combo around.)

    That program looks pretty good to me! That 5x5 on press and bench really broke me out of a hard stall. Just as a data point, I got about 20 lb on my press with the '15 reps at all costs' approach, though I did have a reset or two in there. I didn't have the 5x5, though, so maybe you'll have a better run of it.

  5. #85
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    Jan 2021
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    Good catch, Hooper! The dog is a German Shepherd, and I miss my cat who has been living with my brother since I moved here. According to Bernard, his dog is likely to brutality kill my cat, and I would like for my cat to outlive his insane dog. Dog is 10, cat is 16.

    Thanks for the feedback too, that is very helpful. I had some time on my hands today and put all my progression in an excel spreadsheet. I seem to respond well to frequency, especially for the upper body lifts (not so much for the squat beyond a certain point). So going from 3 to 4 days a week seems like a reasonable change, with an extra pressing session, etc. My work-life balance is also much better since I got posted this summer. In my previous job, it was not usual for me to train every third day because I was working such long hours. I cannot lift after a 10-hour day, and training in the morning would not work well for me (especially with the arthritis in my fingers, which can take over an hour to loosen up). Now I am paid more to work less and can have a very consistent training schedule.

    Bernard has considered having a log too, so I will bring this up again tonight. I think he would enjoy it as well.

    Capture.jpg

  6. #86
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    One odd breed that you'd never expect that behavior out of is a greyhound. My wife was the master, so I was the one to be moved from room to room. But he wasn't psychotic about it. If I didn't budge, he'd let out an exasperated sigh then head to the nearest bed to glare at me. Once I retired and my wife was going to school, roles reversed and he started herding her. It was hilarious to watch. Man I miss that pooch.

    I'm pretty impressed with how the increased pressing frequency moved things along for me, even being as inconsistent as I am due to life choices. No doubt that you'll find some success with that.

    Fun chart! I have all of these past years in a spreadsheet, but never thought to chart the results. I don't think I will, but it's a fun concept for this data nerd.

    Keep at it, you two. And get Bernard on here, if he wishes.

  7. #87
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    Jul 2016
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    We had to put our Very Good DogTM down last May and have been waiting until after Christmas (there's more than that to the wait, but whatever) to get another. I'd love to have a greyhound. Surprisingly lazy and usually willing to snuggle all year long.

    If St. Bernard starts a log, please be sure to post here too so we know it's him.

  8. #88
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Hooper View Post
    I'd love to have a greyhound. Surprisingly lazy and usually willing to snuggle all year long.
    Exactly. People are always surprised to hear how much they lie about. Giant cats, really.

    We put our Skinny down in 2014 and still can't. But part of it now is that we're quite in the mode of deciding late one evening that we're going to take off for a week+ the following day. That's not conducive to keeping a greyhound happy.

    If you decide to go that route, we cannot recommend the fine folks over at Greyhound Pets of America - Nashville enough.

  9. #89
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    Jan 2021
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    Gatineau, QC
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    Well, I just added two data points to my spreadsheet:

    Squat: 5 sets of 3 at 200 lbs
    Bench: 5 sets of 3 at 120 lbs

    Let's just say that every single one of those squat sets was terrifying. Here's set 5, neither the best nor the worst. I felt I had a duty to share. I am too exhausted to comment further!

  10. #90
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    starting strength coach development program
    That's a well-deserved smile at the end! Well done!

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