Adena

I always cut my own hair. I've cut it in a couple different ways. Sometimes it doesn't turn out so great, but it grows really fast, luckily. I've cut it a bit like Amelie's hair (if you've ever seen that movie) and it looks ok. I've had the Chelsea, which is all shaved or buzzed except for bangs and side flaps, and it actually looks pretty rockin' on me. Right now it's getting quite a bit longer and I'm hoping to grow it out before my wedding. I always have bangs, and somehow usually manage not to get them too uneven. It took a lot of practice, though!

Yeah, the primary reason I do those is to improve my grip strength. We have plates at my gym that have wide handles, so it's sort of a struggle to hang onto them. I've done them with 50 lb dumbbells before and it pretty much feels the same to me, although the plates can hang closer to my body, which is a little more comfortable for me. I'm hoping the farmer's walks will help my "crush grip," and the plate pinches will help my "pinch grip." Crush grip is like the sort of hand movement you use to make a fist, and pinch grip is more like when you're holding onto a sandwich with your fingers on top and your thumb on the bottom. Only harder. I hope that makes sense! If you already know all this, sorry!

Oh, I forgot to mention, my body weight has been fluctuating a bit lately, but it seems to have settled into about 134 lb.

+1 All of my shorts were like less than $10.00, which is nice, but they sometimes bunch up annoyingly and have no pockets. Of course, I mean, I totally love sprinting while holding onto my keys...

Some new numbers for me... Adena...female Height: 5'1" Weight: 134 Deadlift:205 Squat: 175 Unfortunately, I'm really struggling with bench right now, so nothing exciting to report there.

Aw, man, I'm so bummed out about your left glute issues. Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you're doing well in other areas though, so nice job on krav maga and your PRs in several lifts! That's great news! I hope you feel better soon.

Deadlift Day Deadlift: 1x5x145 1x5x170 1x6x190 Good Mornings: 1x16x115 2x16x135 Rack Pulls: 1x10x135 3x1x225 I have actually never done rack pulls before, so I really didn't know what I was doing. I had the mistaken impression that they were easier than deadlifts, so you could do more weight than you usually deadlifted. Actually, they felt about the same. I think it was still useful for me to do some heavy singles, and just get used to feeling that heavy of a weight, hold it for a few seconds, and let it down. If anybody else has some useful insight here, feel free to comment! Farmer's Walks with 45 lb plates Plate pinches with 5 lb plates Various planks

Yes. All the other women at my work think I'm nuts.

Standing Overhead Press Day SOHP 1x5x50 1x5x55 1x6x65 BOR 1x12x75 1x10x85 2x8x85 One Arm DB Press with 20 lb dumbbell Right: 1x16, 1x12, 1x10 Left: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8 Assisted Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups

A lot of people do lat pull downs when they aren't able to do even one pull-up yet, so I think that yes, they target that area.

I'm impressed that you went running while hung over. Way to persevere!

YES! Squats are back! I'm rooting for you!

Way to keep up the Positive Mental Attitude! You'll kick butt tomorrow, whatever you do.

Nice work! You're getting to be a big boy, haha!

Deload Week Deload week is when you intentionally lift about half of what you normally can, to give the ol' muscles a bit of a break. SOHP: 1x5x30 1x5x40 1x5x45 Deadlift: 1x5x90 1x5x110 1x5x130 Bench: 1x5x45 1x5x55 1x5x65 Squat: 1x5x75 1x5x95 1x5x115 Plus, I did more cardio than usual. I managed to run outside a few times, between thunderstorms. Mostly I had to use the cardio equipment at the gym, though. Tonight I plan to do some HIIT after work, and then tomorrow, back to the old grind.

Well, this weekend I managed to only spend $30.00 on food instead of $100.00. I guess it depends on how much stuff I have stocked up. Since I stocked up last week and spent about $100.00, I guess I don't actually spend that much every single week.

Thanks for the congratulations, everyone! My boyfriend told me to quit telling people until we actually have a ring, haha!

Wow...Nice job!

I never warm up, which is weird. Guess I'm just a weightlifting machine! Haha, just kidding. I'm kind of curious what other people do, too. In the past, I would warm up doing a few sets with just the bar if I wasn't in the right mindset yet.

Pariah. Do not watch it.

I'm happy because I just got "sort of" engaged? Here's the story... A couple months ago, my boyfriend asked, "So, if I were to propose, what would you say?" I said, "Um, are you proposing right now?" He said, "No, no, I just want to know what you would say." I replied, "You may have to ask me for real to find out." This weekend he admitted to me he had been looking for rings, but was clueless, so he wanted my help. He found a fair trade company online but didn't know what I would be happy with. So I ended up picking the one he thought I would like anyway! I'm not sure at what point I get to tell people I'm engaged, but I guess it's pretty close to happening, so I'm happy!

Awesome!

Aw, thanks! I was definitely excited about that!

Squat Day Squats: 1x5x140 1x3x160 1x1x175 I was hoping for a few more reps of that last set, but I just didn't have it in me. At least I tried and failed the second rep. I think it's due to my lazy weekend when I slept in and only ate twice a day. Box Squats: 3x12x115 Lunges with 35 lb plate Leg Press: 1x12x300 2x12x320 Leg Curl: 1x12x80 2x10x95

Haha!