Lifting Support Thread 3

[Proteinpud]

Continuing from @Work2live 's original thread, with the following intro post

"Thought I’d start this thread as a few people thought it’d be a good idea.

"It might be a nice place to support each other and talk about lifting in general, ask for tips and advice on workouts, how to get enough protein etc.

"All levels very much welcome, from complete newbies to those who’ve been weightlifting for years! 💪🏼"

Thanks for all those tips @MsMartini My PT generally gives me a 2-3 minute break between heavy sets. I respond really well to rest between sets! So on my own maybe I should take 5 mins!

@YellowAsteroid give it a go some time when you are alone and fresh- you really are giving max strength a chance then! it makes sense to me that we may need a bit longer......now I've got decent volume, I may gradually cut rest time a bit but not if it means losing significant reps or power - for the first time ever pull ups are feeling smooth not creaky.....I definitely have to prioritise more than my (younger, male) gym partner does and let other things go.

Sounds like some good training going on! I got hit by the dreaded lurgy and have had some time out. Just starting to ease back in and am as sore as a newbie after doing light bodyweight and dumbell work. Sure it will come back in time. My coach took one look at me and told me last week that there was absolutely no way I was putting a bar on my back!

I had that lurgy @everycowandagain - it was a mild cold but made me very ill & weak & exhausted for over 2 weeks. It was terrible. I wanted to train, but my PT said No. Rest.

Honestly, I've got over various doses of COVID more easily & quickly.

Yes that's the exact one @YellowAsteroid I am up and down right now, a day of feeling a bit better then overdoing it and feeling worse again. Rest is of course the best cure, if I can make myself.

I thought I might have been being a slacker, but when I finally felt myself again, I realised how ill the virus had made me. It’s a nasty one. Back to the grind now, though.

The microplates can only be used when setting records at PL meets :) Smallest plates usually are 1.25kg each side at competition, but 1kg/0.5kg plates are fantastic for women training to increase bench, as even 2.5kg can be a large % of a max lift! I noticed a HUGE difference when I went from a gym that only had 1.25kg plates as the smallest to 0.5kg and 1kg as I could actually increase the amount I was benching even if it was by a teeny amount, but it still meant there was progress which lead to PBs. Don't under estimate those teeny increases!

Sounds like some great lifting going on, around these blooming viruses doing the rounds. Pull ups are HARD so still have huge respect for anyone who can manage even one!

I lost momentum a bit (though was still training). My "off season" building phase is finished now and back into prep for May competition. Week 1 has gone well, starting a new block with 120kg squat/ 52.5kg bench and 145kg deadlift top set feels mental but everything is moving well!

I love micro plates, I have some of my own because one of the gyms I train in doesn't have them. I take them when I bench there, so useful for those tiny increases.

Years ago I was one of very few women at a bodybuilding gym where the smallest plates they had were 2.5kg, I bought microplates and some 1.25kgs as well and they used to keep them behind the desk for me 😄

My training is a bit slow at the moment, it's taken me a while to get back into my routine after illness (solidarity with others going through that!) I'm back on my performance style programme and looking forward to it changing next week! Its been a few weeks of high reps and its been killing me!

I tried and failed again at losing weight, I'm a little baffled at how much my exercise and intake can vary yet absolutely nothing budges. I may have to rethink my pull up ambitions, as just a few extra kilos makes them so much harder than they used to be.

Gosh, sympathy about these horrid illnesses coming and going. So frustrating. Sounds like you are well back into it @2andadog .

@Proteinpudding yeah I hear you 😀. I'm the same. I exercise loads anyway, lose a couple of kg especially when on holiday, and then change absolutely nothing and it reappears! I think training pull ups (as an older woman) is a big commitment - I sort of feel I've started so I'll finish or at least see where I can get to - but planning the week around them can be a bit of a pain. Right now, for me, the awareness than those extra 2kg make a difference does help me I think, but if it stops being helpful in future I might switch focus.....

@MsMartini losing and regaining the same weight used to be my usual experience, right now whatever I do it seems to stay the same. I suppose I'll just have to aim to get even stronger for those pull ups!

Tonight’s session just didn’t click, last week the 22.5 monster dumbell felt doable, tonight the 17.5 was a challenge.

i know it’s all part of process but it’s still frustrating

Checking in: I've been travelling for work a lot so often not getting more than 2 or 3 workouts each week. But my PT keeps me grinding - last week sets of deadlifts for 90, plus testing I can pull 100 still.

Today my legs are dead: heavy sled pulls going up to just under 300 kilos. I've done sled drags in a harness of over 300 but not pulling using the TRX straps and/or the waist belt.

It's interesting - a really heavy sled drag (I think I've done almost 400 kilos) really hits my quads and calves, whereas the pull using a belt around my waist (so my grip strength wasn't the cause of failure) was so in my glutes and I'm now really feeling my hamstrings.

One of those days when I may have to have a little nap ... Luckily I'm just writing a book chapter today so I can sit down & recover.

We've all been there @Sirzy Fitness isn't linear (my mantra). I find also that when I'm building up to a series of heavy sets in deadlifts or squats, my warm up reps feel heavier than my top reps or even 1RM.

How is everyone? I have banded, sumo deadlifts in my programme right now. Banded in the sense of the band being looped around the bar and then tucked into my feet. They are truly humbling. (They're intended to be done more explosively than a regular deadlift, with much lighter weight on the bar)

I gave myself mild food poisoning last week, so had to miss a day of a planned 5 day series of training sessions, but otherwise good. And on Good Friday completed first a 250 kg sled push, then a 260 kg sled push. Tired but I felt great afterwards!

I can't quite visualise that @Proteinpudding !

Training going well here - still very focussed on pull ups and enjoying the feeling that some at least feel smooth and easy! That takes some mental adjustment after so many years of trying.

Sounds like excellent work, both of you!

Hi everyone. It's been a bit patchy for me recently. I eventually recovered from my virus and then spent a couple of weeks lifting only a little because I was focused on a different sporting pursuit, then had a decent week of training and now I am away again!

The week of decent training felt surprisingly good, I wasn't as rusty as I expected (perhaps the cross sport benefit was more than I thought it would be) and I am itching to get back to it later this week. Really want to string a solid few weeks of training together so hopefully no interruptions - fingers crossed.

Oh what other sport were you doing @everycowandagain ?
I do find coming back after a break im often pleasantly surprised about feeling strong. I have another couple of weeks of this part of my programme - which is high reps and more explosive movements, or very slowed down movements - I'll be interested to see how the usual squats/bench/dead are at the end of the programme.

@YellowAsteroid hope you're feeling ok after the food poisoning. I've never done a sled push, but moving 260kg must feel pretty special

@MsMartini I really admire your pull up consistency. I lost focus on it, being a bit frustrated at not being able to slim down and not being any good at them. Though I know I'll only get better if I keep trying, and tolerate the very slow progress.

@Proteinpudding I did a cheeky bit of running :-)

The week of decent training felt surprisingly good, I wasn't as rusty as I expected (perhaps the cross sport benefit was more than I thought it would be)

Once you've reaped the "newbie gains" progress isn't linear.

I'm about to go on a work trip when I'll be away from my regular training, but when I come back, after a tough couple of sessions, I know I'll be back to the normal grind.

I feel like my updates are the most boring ever. I’ve been training, same as ever, lots of squat/bench/deadlift. A few accessories. Lots of work on the minutiae of technique, gradual improvement. Looking forward to British and seeing how much more I can lift.

Good point @YellowAsteroid I worry about 'losing all my progress' but thankfully that's not how it works.

Glad to hear you're still working away at it @RayKrayit's all about those marginal gains for you

Lots of work on the minutiae of technique, gradual improvement.

Your trainer & my PT must be psychic - yesterday, I deadlifted but my PT kept me at just 3 x 80 kilos for 5 sets, for me to focus on my form. Apparently I lose my back extension & it curves over too much at anything over 100 kg so I need to practice my hinge/butt backwards technique on a weight that is heavyish but not at the top of my range.

I am very flexible (dance-trained) so I have trouble feeling my hamstrings working till about 80 kilos. I try, I try, to lift through my hamstrings but I think I let my back do too much.