Adena

Thank you! Squat Day Squats: 1x5x135 1x3x150 1x3x165 Box Squats: 3x12x115 Lunges with 25 lb plate overhead (might move up in the next four week phase) Leg Press: 3x15x280 (This was super hard today, but then, I don't know why I'm doing so many reps for this.) Leg Curl: 3x15x65

I don't take protein shakes or any supplements other than B12. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, but I seem to be making some pretty awesome strength gains (for me) just by eating a ton. Mostly I eat the cheap types of meals, some combination of brown rice and either lentils or chickpeas. And of course lots of vegetables. I have oatmeal with peanut butter every morning. I don't know, check out my log and see what you think of my progress, and if you think I sound like a pretty strong lady, I'll "school you in my ways." ....And if you have any ideas of how I can bench more weight, you should school me in your ways.

Powerlifting good mornings are different than bodybuilding style. You don't have to bend over that far, just about as far as you usually lean forward during a squat or deadlift. So, not very far. You can also bend your knees slightly. I know the feeling, I was killing my hamstrings before I got it sorted out. I'm thinking about going heavier on the assistance work, too.

Deadlift Day Deadlift: 1x5x155 1x3x175 1x3x195 Good Morning: 1x12x115 4x12x120 Farmer's Walks with 50 lb dumbbells and Plate Pinches Hanging Leg Raises: 1x10xBW 2x8xBW Planks Bench Press Day Bench: 1x5x85 1x3x95 1x1x105 J & Press: 2x8x65 1x7x65 Dips: 1x12xBW 1x9xBW 1x6xBW Push-Ups: 1x10 1x9 1x8 Ok, I need to start doing stuff that real powerlifters do. I'm going to do negatives, and start using chains and bands. Maybe even some board presses. Obviously what I'm doing is not working. It's also kind of hard for me to get around to preparing enough food so I can really stuff my face every day, too, but I'm going to try to do better on that during the next four week phase. Oh well, tonight is Squat Day, which always cheers me up.

I printed off this recipe. Faturday, here I come!

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans. The fermentation used to make tempeh makes it easier on the digestive system than tofu, at least for most of us. I know if I ate tofu three or four times a day nobody would want to be near me, haha!

Overhead Press Day SOHP: 1x5x55 1x3x60 1x2x70 BOR: 1x12x75 2x10x75 One Arm DB Press: Right Arm: 1x15x20, 1x8x25, 1x7x25 Left Arm: 1x8x20, 1x5x25, 1x4x25 Assisted Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups

Congratulations on the job and moving to California! Your run sounds pretty exciting. That bridge must have been pretty high. Also, nice job on the sumo deads. I haven't even attempted one of those yet.

Went back for my progress exam at the chiropractor, and although my back's not perfect, it has definitely improved since I've been going in. I'm still in pain, but I can tell my range of motion is better, so that's good. I'm going to go in twice a week for the next month, have another progress exam, and then hopefully be able to go in less often. Squat Day Squats: 1x3x125 1x3x140 1x3x160 Box Squats: 3x12x115 Lunges with 25 lb plate Leg Press: 3x15x280 Leg Curl: 3x15x65 Planks with shorter rest periods

The 3-5 rep range is a lot better for building strength than the 8-12 rep range.

I'm really enjoying the workouts. Sometimes after the last set of the main lift I feel like doing another couple of sets at the same weight though. But I'm gonna stick it out the way it is. I forgot to mention I made cereal out the thrive book today, had it with soy milk and it tasted alright. There was way too much omega oils in it though (1/3 cup for full recipe = 4 servings), expensive and unnecessary calories. So next time I'll be only using half the amount. It'll still be 762 calories and 25.7g protein vs 388kcal 14.6g for the pancakes. Quicker to eat than pancakes/soy milk but I'll mix them up for what I have for breakfast. I always feel like I have more strength left for a few more sets with the heaviest weight, but well, I've been making such good progress with the program as is since December that I figured I should keep doing what I'm doing, too.

Nice job! I hope you're having fun, and this program works out better for you.

Nice job! Not just on the race, but on letting your foot heal. That must have been all it needed. And I know how annoying it is to slow down or completely stop training for a while due to an injury or sickness and want nothing more than to get back into it. It's pretty difficult!

Thanks! I really miss cardio. Well, I do some, I just don't feel like it's enough. I've been having fun with HIIT lately, but I almost never have time in my schedule to do a nice, relaxing distance run. Also, I figured out that for the last several years I've had the bad habit of snoozing in front of the TV almost immediately after eating supper. From now on, I'm going to try to putter around my apartment in the evening instead, just so I have some time to digest before I sleep. I'm kind of running out of ideas of where my belly came from, so I'm going to try a few changes. I suppose I could just admit that being a fat powerlifter is my destiny and embrace the belly, but I'm not quite ready to do that yet!

Maybe you were in a hurry to get out of the rain, haha! Nice job!

Bench Press Day Bench Press: 1x3x75 1x3x90 1x3x100 Hit my target! I didn't go above and beyond, but hitting my target seems to be the best I can expect for upper body movements, so I'm satisfied...for now. J & Press: 1x8x65 2x6x65 DB Press: 1x15x25 lb dumbbells 2x12x30 lb dumbbells Ok, so I don't know how you spell dumbbells. Or is it dumbells? Dips: 1x10 1x7 1x6 Push-Ups: 1x10 1x8 1x6 I've been seeing a chiropractor for the last month or so, and my progress exam is tomorrow. They'll let me know if I need to keep coming in three times a week or if we can slow the frequency of adjustments. I've been having so much trouble keeping up with everything since the adjustments take up some of my time during the day, then I go back to work and have to make up my time, and then it's later by the time I get off work and head to the gym. I'm thinking I might slow my strength training sessions for a while, just go in three times a week and see how that goes. That way I'll have more days open for cardio, which I'm really wishing I had more time for these days.

I like your training program. Emphasis on compound lifts, and assistance work for each key lifts. That's my kind of strength training! I hope your back gets better. I know how that goes. I have a childhood injury that left my entire vertebral column curved over to the side, so now I have a chiropractor working on fixing that. They took x-rays, and it was painful just to look at, haha!

Week of 3/20/10 Standing Overhead Press Day SOHP: 1x3x55 1x3x65 1x2x70 BOR: 1x15x65 1x12x75 1x10x75 One Arm DB Press: I can't really remember, but I used 25 lb dumbells and didn't really have any notable improvement here. Assisted Pull-Ups & Chin-Ups Deadlift Day Deadlift: 1x3x145 1x3x165 1x5x185 Look out, Medman, I'm coming for you! Good Morning: 1x15x105 4x12x115 Farmer's Walks with 50 lb dumbells Plate Pinches with two 5 lb plates in each hand Hanging Leg Raises: 2x8 1x6

I am so jealous, but also happy for you. I've kind of worked out a system. My food processor is great at chopping nuts, but sucks at chopping beans. So hummus and falafel get made in the blender instead. It still doesn't get it pureed too well, though. Anyway, yay, you!

This site and www.theppk.com I don't really care for facebook, but I check it every day.

Well, if you had a yard you could always do caveman drills...sledge hammer swings, tire flips, carrying cinder blocks around. If you're stuck in an apartment, I don't know...I did bodyweight exercises for a while.

If you do aim to do ass to grass squats at some point, it helps to have a much narrower stance, and sometimes people even elevate their heels. You might already be able to do deep squats like that.

What? I thought that's what we WERE doing! Now I'm confused. I did 24 pushups the other day, so I guess, add that to the running total or my running total...I haven't been paying attention to my personal running total, though.

Thanks! I'm certainly trying. Yesterday, there were two guys who set up 180 on their squat next to me. After I finished warming up and moved to my work weight of 185, I saw them look at me and say something like "Ok, time to bring it" and added 10 lbs. My gym buddy and I then watched as they proceeded to do a few sets of squats with half a proper ROM. These guys easily had at least 60 lbs on me. Made me feel quite ant-like A girl did that to me the other day. To a certain extent, I'm happy just to see girls attempting squats, but what kind of a victory is it if you're going to 45 degrees instead of parallel? You're doing well, Ant Man!

Bench Day Bench Press: 1x5x70 1x5x80 1x3x95 Why can't I do five reps of this weight yet? Must be time to start taking in more calories! J&Press: 1x10x65 1x8x65 1x6x65 I'm still working on getting deeper on these. Anybody ever do J&Presses? It looks like a J, thus the name. You bring the bar down, scoop it toward your chin, then push up. My powerlifting buddy told me they were his number one assistance exercise for improving bench. DB Chest Press: 1x12x25 lb dumbells 2x10x25 lb dumbells Dips: 1x10xBW 1x8xBW 1x6xBW Push-Ups: 1x10 1x8 1x6 Kind of pathetic on the push-ups lately. I guess since I do them last, I'm pretty tired at this point. Squat Day Squats: 1x5x115 1x5x135 1x3x150 Aargh! I'm not improving as fast anymore. Well, for the next four week phase I'll use the same assumed 1RM and maybe I can get five reps of this weight. I have to say, this last set was really fun, even though I couldn't squat one more time. On the last squat I went pretty deep and felt like I wouldn't make it, then said something along the lines of "BLAAAAARCHGH!!!" (in my head, not out loud) and forced my way back up. I decided I might burst a blood vessel if I tried one more, so I racked it. The guy at the leg press was staring at me kind of funny. Box Squats: 3x15x105 Lunges with 25 lb plate overhead Leg Press: 3x12x280 Leg Curl: 3x15x65 On Sunday it was so dang nice out I went for a leisurely 30-35 minute run. I've mostly been doing sprints on my non-lifting days, so it was really nice to just do a long run outside. Tonight I'm planning on doing some HITT, then tomorrow, back to lifting heavy!