Adena gets strong!

[Adena]

I forgot to mention it, but on Sunday when I went in to deadlift there was a group of four or five guys there having a bench and squat fest. They were impressed with my deadlifts and a couple of them came up to me and asked if I compete. One of them asked how much I weigh. Made me feel like one of the guys.

Squat Day

Parallel Squat:

1x5x135
1x5x145
1x3x165
1x2x185 PR!

Oly Squat:

3x5x145

Lunges with 35 lb plate held overhead:

3 sets, a little farther this time just to wear myself out for the fun of it.

[VeganEssentials]

Great work on the squat PR, Adena!

Can't wait to shake this post-Xmas cold and finally get to train again myself.

[MaryStella]

have to agree your numbers are looking real nice!

[Adena]

Thanks, guys! I really didn't expect to be able to squat 185 once, but I'm happy to see a little unexpected progress.

[Adena]

Bench Day

Bench Press:

1x5x45
1x5x85
1x3x100
1x1x110
1x2x105
1x1x100
1x3x95
1x3x90
1x5x85

BOR:

3x10x95

Push-Ups:

2x14
1x10

Deadlift Day

Deadlift:

1x5x135
1x5x185
1x3x210
1x1x235

Rack Pulls:

3x1x255

Assisted Wide Grip Pull-Ups:

1x10
1x4
1x3

Farmer's Walks with a 45 lb plate in each hand:

3 sets

Plate Pinches with two 5 lb plates:

3 sets

Now this week is Deload Week, and hopefully I'll have a little more time to devote to cardio.

[MaryStella]

strong deads and benching!

[Adena]

Looks like I forgot to write down what I did for Deload Week last week. Basically, for the program I'm using, you do 40%, 50%, and 60% of your assumed 1RM for the month for each main lift, three sets of five. I did that for squats, bench, and deadlift. I also did a lot of cardio last week since I felt that I had time for it.

It's been a while since I've given a rundown of my typical diet, and it may have changed somewhat. I know I take in more calories than I used to. So if any of you are interested, this is pretty typical for me:

7 am Breakfast: 1/4 cup oats with 1tsp milled flax seed, 1tbsp peanut butter, 2-3 tsp brown sugar; 4 oz scrambled tofu with a smidgen of olive oil, 1/8 cup nutritional yeast, various spices

4 cups of coffee (really, I'm ridiculous) throughout the morning at work

10 am Snack: 20 almonds

1 pm Lunch: stew with about 1 cup cooked lentils, various veggies, and whole wheat noodles; 1/2-1 cup steamed broccoli with salt and pepper, or a spinach salad with balsamic vinegar

3:30 pm Lunch 2: same as Lunch 1, usually

Strength Training Session begins at approximately 5pm

6PM: pea protein shake with about 20 grams protein

7 or 8 pm Supper: 1-2 cups three bean chili, spinach salad, 1/2 a yam, two pieces of homemade cornbread

Not really too ridiculous on the calorie count, but it's definitely way more than I ate when I was just into cardio years ago.

[Adena]

Squat Day

I decided to use the same weight for each lift that I used last month, since it felt a bit shaky sometimes.

Parallel Squat:

1x5x45 to warm up
1x5x125
1x5x145
1x8x165 (guess I could've moved up the weight after all)

Oly Squat:

3x10x135

Lunges with 35 lb plate held overhead:

3 sets

Well, the last 1RM I had for parallel squats was 185, and that was only two weeks ago. Looks like that might be moving up this month! Awesome. I feel like I've gotten my second wind this month, or something.

[lobsteriffic]

Just getting caught up. Wow you're strong!

[chewybaws]

Repeating cycles is for wimps, get the weight up!

[Adena]

Haha, I never denied I was a wimp, Chewy!

[Adena]

Bench Day

Bench:

1x5x45
1x5x75
1x5x85
1x5x95
1x5x90
1x6x85
1x8x80
1x10x75
1x12x70

BOR:

2x8x95
1x6x95

These felt a lot more difficult than last week. It might have been because I was picking the weight off the floor instead of from a low racked position.

Push-Ups:

1x16
1x10
1x8

Deadlift Day

Deadlift:

1x5x135
1x5x160
1x5x185
1x5x210

Rack Pulls:

3x3x245

Farmer's Walks with two 45s:

3 sets

Plate Pinches with two 5s pinched between thumb and fingers of each hand:

3 sets

[Adena]

Forgot to update my log all last week, so that's the rest of it, above. This week I'm doing triples.

Squat Day

Parallel Squat:

1x3x135
1x3x155
1x5x175

Oly Squats:

3x8x145

Lunges with 35 lb plate held overhead:

4 sets

At some point during the fourth set of lunges, I broke my butt! Luckily, my powerlifter friend was there to show me how to use a foam roller. It's pretty much what it looks like. It worked really well, too.

[Lean and Green]

This whole training journal is straight up Brolic!

It's a pleasure to catch up with your progress. This is the kind of inspiration i've been missing by not being on the forum for so long. You're awesome!!

Keep it coming and way to train hard

[StephanieBerard]

Love LOVE your journal! Very inspiring and incredibly kick ass! Gives me something to look forward as my own strength increases (which by the way is no where NEAR you ha-ha)