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Adena gets strong!


Adena
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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.

 

Learn to love the foam roller (as well as tennis balls, great for small target areas that need some loosening), both will get those knots and kinks worked out like nothing else!

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It's pretty amazing, it doesn't look like much, but it worked like a charm. I heard they hurt to use, but it wasn't really bad at all.

 

So I have a lot of things going on, I'm going to open a vegan bakery and offer some gluten free items as well. So far I have a temporary place with a commercial kitchen to use, but I'm not ready to sell items yet. It's hard to find time for a side business when you already have a full-time job! I'll make it work, though. My husband is behind me 100%, which is really encouraging. Des Moines, IA will soon have vegan gluten free desserts at local coffee shops and health food stores, if all goes as planned!

 

I'll be updating my log with my deadlift day as soon as possible...

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Deadlift Day, Friday, January 21, 2011

 

Deadlift:

 

1x3x135

1x3x170

1x3x195

1x3x220

 

Rack Pulls:

 

3x1x255

 

Assisted Wide Grip Pull-Ups:

 

3x3

 

Farmer's Walks:

 

3 sets to failure with a 45 lb plate in each hand

 

Plate Pinches:

 

3 sets to failure with two 5 lb plates pinched between my thumb and fingers of each hand

 

My bodyweight jumped up to 140 this week. Whoopsy daisy! This bakery business could be dangerous for me.

 

Squat Day, January 24, 2011

 

This is the beginning of the week where I do a set of five, then three, then one. It's the heaviest week of the month. After stretching and loosening up my hips, I did...

 

Parallel Squat:

 

1x5x45

1x5x145

1x3x165

1x3x185

 

Oly Squats:

 

3x10x135

 

Lunges with a 35 lb plate held overhead:

 

3 sets

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  • 2 weeks later...

Bench Day

 

Bench Press:

 

1x5x45

1x5x85

1x3x100

1x2x110

1x3x105

1x4x100

1x5x95

1x5x90

1x7x85

 

BOR:

 

1x10x95

2x8x95

 

Push-Ups:

 

2x16

1x10

 

Assisted Pull-Ups:

 

1x8

2x3

 

Deadlift Day

 

Deadlift:

 

1x5x135

1x5x185

1x3x210

1x1x235

 

Just didn't have anything left in the tank for a second rep!

 

Rack Pulls:

 

3x1x255

 

Farmer's Walks:

 

3 sets

 

Plate Pinches:

 

3 sets

 

So this week would be my Deload Week, but I haven't made it in to the gym as I'm busy preparing for our international adventure next week. The husband and I are going to Istanbul and Paris for our honeymoon. We also had a blizzard here so I didn't feel safe driving more than I had to.

 

If I'm not on here for a couple weeks, don't worry, I'm just either touring ancient mosques/orthodox churches in Istanbul, or sipping coffee at a Parisian cafe!

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Pft, honeymoons, blizzards...where's your priorities?

 

Shouldn't this have been PB week? Or you still with this repeating cycles nonsense.

 

 

I just COMPLETED my PB week, if you mean the 5/3/1 week. This week of the blizzard is Deload Week, so I've been messing around with the kettle bell at home during the snowstorm. The roads are a lot better today, so I'll go to the gym and probably just do some more cardio.

 

Sorry to disappoint, but I know when I've reached my limits...for the moment. I'm sure I'll be a little weak when I come back after two straight weeks of vacationing, too. I might have to repeat the cycle yet again! But I can usually buckle down and start wolfing down food and lifting heavy fairly quickly, so I'll be back in the game before you know it. I don't think I'll compete until at least the state fair this summer. They have a Bench Press / Deadlift Competition that sounds sort of informal. There was one in April I was thinking about, but I think it's too soon after the vacation.

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Have fun on your honeymoon!! What great locations.

 

I'm SO impressed with your bench!

 

When my husband saw this he laughed and said "maybe she's being sarcastic." He's just kidding. I've been struggling with that dang bench press for months and months, but am finally starting to see a little progress. Any miniscule amount of time off equals lost strength, primarily in that lift, so I'm sure it'll sink back down after I get back from Paris. Oh well.

 

I'm sure we will have fun. We're super excited! I'm going to get some of those curly-toed slippers in Istanbul, I think. And plenty of Turkish Delights and falafel.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm back! Had an awesome time. I definitely fell in love with Istanbul. I didn't expect it to be such a comfortable place to visit. Paris was of course awesome, minus how most french food is meat and dairy focused and the smelly Metro stations, but it was all worth it to see some amazing sights. I'm glad I brought along so much food, though. I found a few pretty awesome vegan things, but definitely not enough to account for all my meals per day. The day we went to Versailles I was particularly worried because that takes about a full day, so I thought I would have to eat protein bars and larabars for my lunch, but we randomly stumbled across an organic farmer's market. There was a small stand with primarily vegan food, so I had vegan paella and a lentil quiche type thing. Such an awesome coincidence. He even had vegan pumpkin pie, but I was too full to get it.

 

Anyway, I'm attempting to get back into the game. So on Monday I did:

 

Parallel Squats:

 

1x5x45

1x5x135

1x5x155

1x1x175

 

On the last set I just felt sort of distracted and worried, so I just racked it and decided to do something a little lighter for a while.

 

Oly Squats:

 

3x5x135

 

Lunges with 35 lb plate held overhead:

 

3 sets

 

Tonight I will do (gulp) bench press and see how that goes. I'm attempting to get back to my normal calorie ratio, but it's a little difficult. I think next week will go a little better. Tonight is going to be rough, haha!

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Yay you're back! Was it pretty easy to find vegan food in Istanbul?

 

You'll be back to where you were when you left off in no time.

 

Well, we did some research before we left, so mostly we hunted down restaurants we found online beforehand. Once we went to Asia for dinner. Istanbul is partially in Europe and partially in Asia. The restaurant was called Ciya. My food was ok, but kind of a small portion. It was some sort of spicy bean soup. There was one restaurant close to our hotel where I got a bean dish, rice and spinach, and some eggplant thing. Very lean and healthy for a restaurant, and pretty tasty, too. That one was a good find. Lots of vegan candy, but I just wasn't in the mood. I kind of wished we had brought some Turkish delights back to the States now, but oh well. I actually think we might go back someday.

 

Paris was another story. I thought I was going to starve. Luckily, I brought along about fifteen boxed meals ready to eat, so I had rice and lentil thingies when we came home. Lunch was more of an issue. We did meet up with The Vegan Society of France at a Vegan bed and breakfast for Valentine's Day Dinner. We didn't stay there, we just went to their special dinner party as my Valentine's Day present. That was probably the best I had the whole time. They recommended several restaurants, but we only got to one of them and the lunch for both of us cost 50 euros!!!! So no more eating at restaurants for the remaining 1 1/2 days, haha. At least I had tons of good Parisian coffee.

 

We did find an organic grocery store called Naturalia online before we went. They had multiple shops all over the city. We went there for various food items as well. We rented an apartment instead of staying in a hotel, so we had a kitchenette to work with. All in all, I had fun, but was a little disappointed in the food situation in Paris.

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Well, for the remainder of my week I did the following:

 

Bench Day on Wednesday

 

Bench Press:

 

1x5x45

1x5x65

1x5x75

1x9x85

1x9x80

1x10x75

1x11x70

1x11x65

 

Push-Ups:

 

1x10

1x8

1x7

 

I was losing steam, so I called it a day.

 

Deadlift Day on Friday

 

Deadlift:

 

1x5x135

1x5x175

1x5x185

1x2x195

 

I had a bit of pain in my right knee during my second to last set, and then during the second rep of my last set it was suddenly a lot worse, so I stopped even though my back and my grip were still doing fine. I think it might just be a stance thing so I'll concentrate on that next time.

 

Rack Pulls:

 

3x2x235

 

Assisted Wide Grip Pull-Ups:

 

3x5

 

Farmer's Walks:

 

3 sets with a 45 lb plate in each hand

 

Plate Pinches:

 

3 sets each hand

 

I thought my cold was still hanging on, so I sacrificed the cardio all week. I think I might step into the gym tonight just to do some quick cardio, then tomorrow back to lifting.

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  • 3 weeks later...

It's been a while since I've updated my blog. The last two weeks since I got back from my vacation I got sick twice, once with an epic cold, once with some kind of stomach thing going around my office. So I've had a rough time getting back to the ol' routine. I'm just starting fresh this week, since I've been able to once again shovel in the food and am feeling more like my old self.

 

Squat Day

 

Assumed 1RM: 195

 

I started out with a few leg and hip stretches.

 

Parallel Squat:

 

1x5x45

1x5x125

1x5x145

1x5x165

 

Oly Squat:

 

3x5x135

 

Lunges with 35 lb plate held overhead:

 

3 sets

 

Foam Rolling

 

Bench Day

 

My legs were pretty sore from squatting the previous day, so I started out foam rolling for a while. I don't think it was enough.

 

Bench:

 

1x5x45

1x5x70

1x5x80

1x5x95

 

Then a pyramid down:

 

1x6x90

1x7x85

1x8x80

1x10x75

1x11x70

 

Push-Ups:

 

2x10

1x9

 

Assisted Chin-Ups:

 

1x10

1x7

1x5

 

More foam rolling. This usually helps, but I think after taking some time off due to being sick, I'm just not used to lifting yet. It should wear off soon.

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Thanks, MaryStella!

 

On Thursday I ran sprints outside in my green shorts and green running shoes in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

 

Deadlift Day

 

Deadlift:

 

1x5x135

1x5x160

1x5x185

1x5x210

 

Rack Pulls:

 

3x3x235

 

Assisted Wide Grip Pull-Ups:

 

3x5

1x3

 

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

 

3 sets

 

Plate Pinches with two 5 lb plates pinched between my thumb and fingers:

 

3 sets each hand

 

My bodyweight is 139.

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Squat Day

 

Started out the day with leg and hip stretches.

 

Parallel Squat:

 

1x3x45

1x3x135

1x3x155

1x3x175

 

Oly Squat:

 

1x5x135

1x4x135

1x5x135

 

That was weird...I think during the second set, I shot down way too fast during the fifth rep, and that's why I couldn't make it up. I had to dump the weight behind me onto the safety bars. One of the guys in the Power Room complimented me for dumping it the right way. That was kind of funny. I was still pretty embarrassed.

 

Lunge with 35 lb plate held overhead:

 

2x8 lunges on each side

1x6 lunges on each side

 

I forgot all about foam rolling, but this week I am much less sore. Well, at least from lifting. Yesterday morning I slipped down the stairs while carrying my breakfast and my back and neck are all sore from that. My breakfast went all over the place. It was like a tofu scramble hurricane. Miraculously, my oatmeal bowl landed upright and just shifted around inside the bowl a little, so at least I managed to eat half my usual breakfast before I went to work. I was still pretty grumpy, though.

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Haha, yeah, I'm over it. My back sure is sore from that fall, though.

 

Bench Day

 

Bench Press:

 

1x3x45

1x3x75

1x3x90

1x6x100 (no spotter at all, but I wasn't even nervous about attempting the last rep: a good sign)

 

1x8x90

1x10x85

1x11x80

1x10x75

1x12x70

 

Bent Over Rows:

 

1x10x95

1x8x95

1x7x95

 

Push-Ups:

 

1x12

1x10

1x8

 

Assisted Pull-Ups:

 

1x10

1x6

1x5

1x4

 

This was the best bench day I've had in I think, over a year. I thought I was starting to gain a little momentum from including that pyramid down before I went on my honeymoon. Then when I came back I sort of had a slow start from taking so much time off, but I've gotten back to where I was right before we left. So, that's a good sign.

 

Today's BW: 142

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