Weightlifting people, here! Ongoing chat thread...

ah thanks Margo. Yes, I'm not in a hurry to get outside, that's for sure!

Hope you feel better soon Findo - although being tucked up inside does have some upsides, as it is polar out at the moment.

I haven't done anything since Tuesday morning and have been mostly in bed since then too - seems my prediction re: illness was correct! Driving myself slowly nuts, feel weak as a kitten. But at least I'm lucky enough to be able to rest - my husband is being lovely and my boss isn't giving me hassle about three days off work with what appears to be just a bad cold, so every cloud and all that.

Knackered this morning, so poor effort from me.

20 mins HIIT but only 10 mins really count, as it took me ages to give it enough to get my heart rate up in the fast bits.

Leg press 165lb 3 sets of 10
Rowing lifts 45lb 4 sets of 10
Trunk curls 20lb 2 sets of 10 and 15lb 2 sets of 10
Flyes 30lb 3 sets of 10

Glad that you are enjoying those sore muscles Maid - sometimes it does feel really good!

Still in awe of your upper body strength Johnny.

margo I sometimes get it after really big races where I've really pushed myself to exhaustion (I'm a trail runner when not on crutches). Not with lifting though.

Personal training session this morning

• 3 x 10 ring press ups with turn out at the top
• 3 x 10 horizontal cable rows @35kg
• 3 x 10 lat pull downs @16.25kg
• 3 x 10 shoulder press using bar bell in the hinged floor rack
• 6 x 30 seconds all out seated ski erg, 30 seconds rest

Thanks Maid I'll try that next time

In the last few years, I've really noticed it Findo. At first I had no idea what was causing it, but I'm fairly certain this is what it is. I went on an expedition last year, which was physically exhausting & it brought on a full on period, completely out of sync. Mostly, it is just a bit of spotting, when I'm really applying myself to the exercise and watching what I eat (and I am just tipping the BMI at overweight, so it is not an underweight thing).

That's really interesting Margo. I do sometimes get mid cycle bleeding though I don't think I'm yet perimenopausal. In my case it's not related to exercise or food intake, I don't think. I didn't realise these things could cause hormonal fluctuations - though I guess I did know about amenorrhea in women who are very athletic or underweight, so obviously there's some relationship. Be interesting to find out more.

Maid - I badly worded my query about breakthrough bleeding. Rather than pushing , in the sense of bearing down - I meant pushing in the sense of working harder than usual - IFYSWIM. So, whenever I increase the amount of exercise & cut down food intake (and I don't mean starvation, just small overall reduction) I get breakthrough bleeding.

Love reading what you are all doing. Have to look up some of them as I don't recognise them, but it is giving me ideas.

Today

HIIT 20 mins
Chest press - 45lb 10 x 2, 40 10 x 1, 35 10 x 1
Ab pull downs - 50lb 10 x 4
Leg extensions - 50lb 10 x 2, 8 x 1
Back pull downs - 50lb 10 x 2, 45lb 10 x 1

Do any of you struggle with break through bleeding when you push it? This has become a real issue for me. Possibly because I'm peri-menopausal (or I am assuming I am as I'm 48)?

Thanks for the press tips! I do standing shoulder press

I’m wary of simply doing more of them as my left shoulder is prone to niggle. In fact, my ‘push’ day used to include both incline and flat bench presses and I found that too much for my shoulders in one session

Managed to hobble to the gym again this morning- the fact that it is in my apartment building is my saving grace.

• 3x10 @10kg ( each hand) DB bench press.
• 5kg front raise 3x 10, alternating with 3 x 10 tricep dips off the bench
• 37.5lb hamstring curl 3x10 alternating with leg extension 57lb 3 x 10
• 2 x 10x lat pull down (I realised when I got home I forgot to do the 3rd set as saw a friend and got distracted). Focused on resetting between each rep to really get my shoulders back.
• 3 pronated pull ups (singles), then 2 x 3 neutral pull ups.
• 3 x 30 second hollow body holds. Cannot wait to get back on the big lifts so I don't have to do dedicated ab work anymore.

I can tell you what I do, if that helps at all?

Shoulders
Strict overhead barbell press - first I always did sets of 5 x 5 as a hangover from Stronglifts, but now I vary it. I might go heavier for triples and then do longer sets at the end, for example. This is still my favourite. I've been plateauing a bit with this recently though and am thinking about adding in push presses to get through the sticking point and get a chance at some heavier weights.
Seated dumbbell press (usually 3 or 4 x 10-12)
Landmine shoulder press (3 or 4 x 10-12)
Kneeling face pulls on the cable machine
lateral flies, reverse flies, front raise supersets

Bench- mainly I do variations of the standard bench press.
Bench press - but again, I vary the weight and the number of reps. So I might try for 5 sets of 4 reps at one weight, or I might go for sets of 10-12 at a lighter weight, or I might do an AMRAP set - as many reps as possible.

Floor press (you can do this on the bench with your feet up)
Close grip bench press (to isolate your triceps)
Incline bench press (about a 45% angle) - works your chest more
Dumbbell bench press

Rows are also supposed to help your bench - barbell or dumbell. There's also some crossover from shoulder strength to bench press strength, but not in the other direction.

If things feel like they're stalling a bit, the standard advice is to vary the stimulus, as you've essentially adapted to the current stimulus. So that can mean changing the weight and rep pattern as above, or for example working on speed/explosive power in the lifting/concentric portion vs slowing down the eccentric portion, or trying shorter rest periods between sets.

But also I would say sometimes progress just is slow and whilst that's frustrating it doesn't necessarily mean you're doing anything wrong. As long as you're challenging yourself regularly and - as you say - eating and sleeping enough, something will give eventually.

Can anyone suggest some good accessory work to help me improve my rubbish bench press and shoulder press? I'm not really making any progress (but I am progressing on my squats/ DL, so I don't think it's down to diet/ rest/ etc).

findo they are absolutely the opposite of fun. They are either massive quad burn or massive hamstring burn depending on whether pulling or pushing. I know what you mean about those protein bars- they're like rocks.

Quick session today before work- had to do my foot physio too so bit short on time.

• 5kg front raise 3x 10, alternating with 3 x 10 tricep dips off the bench
• 37.5lb hamstring curl 3x10 alternating with leg extension 50lb 3 x 10
• 3 x 10 single arm shoulder press 15lb alterating 30 sec tabletop hold
• Accumulated 12 neutral grip pull ups in sets of 2
• 3 x 30 second hollow body holds

Nice one Oogle! Looks like a big session. I've never used a prowler Johnny but I always think they look like fun. Or 'fun'.

I've swapped one of the cardio days I've recently been doing for more weights. This would take me to 4 weights sessions a week (Mon/Tue, Thurs/Fri) and one token cardio day (Sat). I think that's the right balance for now.

This morning I went a bit wabbit during bulgarian split squats so had to grab an emergency protein bar from the gym vending machine, which was horrible and which nearly dislocated my jaw, but it was that or one of several varieties of lurid caffeine drink with no sugar in. I don't usually eat before the gym because I'm there so early, so my body is used to training on an empty stomach. I reckon I must be coming down with one of the various lurgies the rest of my family seems to have.

Upper body session today. Was dreading it as haven't been to the gym since last Tuesday. It was good though! Really enjoyed it.

Bent over row 4 x 10 x 20
Bench press 4 x 10 x 20
Lat pull down 3 x 10 x 25
Lat raise 3 x 10 x 6
Front raise 3 x 10 x 6
Pull ups using total gym 3 x 10
Weighted plank 1 x 1min, 2 x 45 sec
Russian twists with 5kg 3 x 10
Bike: tabata (20 sec, 10 rest) x 5

I felt like I kept things really well balanced through out. Didn't push myself SO hard on one exercise that I couldn't do so well on the others. Felt like a good session where we focused on form rather than increasing the weights.

Margo One of the issues is that there is no definition of what makes Crossfit Crossfit, so pretty much anyone can set themselves up as a Crossfit gym "box". Crossfit publishes a "workout of the day" (WOD) every day and some gyms just put the clients through that. However, most schedule their own workouts based around the basic principles to provide more structure and to fit it neatly into a 1 hour class slot. My gym structures it as A, B and C work and programmes on a 4 week cycle with designated upper and lower body days each week to make sure you progress in the key movements - so A might be 4 sets of 6 heavy back squats, B might be a superset of benchpress and pull ups and then C would be a 12 min conditioning piece alternating 3 exercises like box jumps, KB swings and burpees on either an "every minute on the minute" for set number of reps, or on a continuous "as many reps as possible". They then just do a WOD on Saturday which would be a 40 minute piece comprising weights and aerobic stuff in either a circuit or a pyramid.

Session with my PT today which was bloody frsutrating as I cannot stop my bastard shoulders from rolling forward on the lat stuff. It's like the neural pathway doesnt exist. I might as well try to drag the prowler with the power of my mind . Tabletop beckons [sad face]

I don't know much about Crossfit. Is it like circuits with weights?

This morning:

20 mins HIIT

165lb leg press 10 x 4
50lb abdominal crunches 10 x 4
15lb overhead lift 10 x 4
55lb abductors 10 x 4

Yes, despite the criticisms of Crossfit for being the wild west of the fitness world, it does deserve credit for democratising heavy lifting, particularly for women.

Two good sessions on Saturday and this morning doing a mixture of machines and DB stuff. Getting more efficient and put in a couple of supersets to save time without killing myself :-). Need to focus on my pull ups and my core. Too easy to say "ooh is that the time? Best get to work!"