Squeaks' Journey to a hotter bod and other life stuff

[squeaks77]

9/12

TRAINING

Quad Dominant, biceps

Daily Supps: Multi-vit, Glucosamine

Pre-Workout: 1 scoop Con Cret mixed with 1.5 scoops Beta Cret

Intra-Workout: 1/2 scoop Glutamine Select, 1/2 scoop Xtend

Squats SS w/BB curls

Back Squats

Today was a day of practice. Nothing real heavy, just working on form.

Box Squats with full sit

45x10
65x5 *vid
70x5 *vid
70x5 *vid, this set really sucked
65x4 *vid, was supposed to be 5, but I can't count and think about squat form at the same time apparently
65x5 *vid

Regular Squats

95x5
115x4 - form was breaking down and I decided not to try one more rep

BB Curls

Probably should have done 50, since these weren't that hard

45 X 6
45 X 6
45 X 6
45 X 6
45 X 6

Leg Press SS w/Hamstring curl

Leg Press

70 per side x 8 (starts at 118) - too hard again
55 per side x 10
55 per side x 10

Seated Hamstring curl

35 x 15
35 x 15
35 x 15

Outta time, had to run to get the kiddos


Random Thoughts

Okay, I'm going to post all 5 squat videos. I don't expect anyone to watch them all, but please watch at least one and let me know what you think. Number 4 (70x5) was terrible. I did a whole bunch of box squats and then did some regular ones and realized what the difference is. I feel like I'm stopping my squat prematurely when I do box squats. I guess that's the intention, but that's why it feels funny. When I did the 2 sets of regular squats afterwards, I felt that stretch down in the hole that I didn't get with the box squats. However, the box squats did something because my legs were more jelly-like after this workout than they usually are and I never got past warm up weights, lol.

Set #1. Looks like I'm leaning forward a lot, not sure how to fix that. It seems to happen naturally when I stand up.


Set #2


Set #3 On this one, I put the box at an angle, which felt like it put my feet in a better position. I took my shoes off too and kept them off for the rest of the squat sets. Last 2 reps were terrible. I almost didn't get back up.


Set #4 Moved the camera, so I could see my knees and hips. You see that weird hip-shake thing? It goes away when I wear a belt. Core weakness?


Set #5 Moved the camera so my feet would show. I was playing around with foot placement on this set. I don't like my feet too wide or turned out too much. The first couple reps hurt my hips, so I had to adjust to what was comfortable.


/vidapalooza

I'm coming up with a new plan...stay tuned.


ETA: I just discovered I won a tub of pink lemonade Xtend. woohoo!

[newbeginning828]

Hey Squeaks!

Just watched all your vids.. yes totally srs

Here are a couple of things I noticed:
-looks like you need to sit back a bit more/don't keep your feet so close to the box... give yourself a little space to sit back and have your butt find the box
-you did a great job staying tight throughout the movement! You didn't really have any 'rock' during the sit
-as for the hip shake.. looks to me like the hip turns in a bit? If that's the case, I had the same exact problem. It's actually a glute issue. It means that your glutes are weak and you aren't using them to push through the movement and you are relying on your quads. Which are a much smaller muscle than your glutes. The quad (dominant) tries to overcompensate which creates the shift. I corrected this by dropping weight, going slow, concentrating on squeezing my glutes throughout the movement, and most importantly shoving my knees outward. That helped me a ton.
I know that was kinda all over the place but I hope it made sense.

Overall, your squats looked good! Can't wait to see what's next!

[squeaks77]

Thank you for watching and commenting. I can't believe how difficult squats can be!

[tina722]

NB has good comments. If you want to try the higher weights and work more on staying tight, you could do lower reps. How's your setup for the squat?

Very nice videos though - and nice trap/delt/bicep lines in the last one.

[squeaks77]

NB has good comments. If you want to try the higher weights and work more on staying tight, you could do lower reps. How's your setup for the squat?

Very nice videos though - and nice trap/delt/bicep lines in the last one.

I've been doing 5x5 on squats for quite awhile now. Not quite sure what you're asking about my setup.

[tina722]

I can't tell how you do it in the video. Just more things to think about while squatting : getting tight under the bar before you step back, stand up and step back in as few steps as possible.

[thehobbes]

Hey Squeaks, congrats on the Xtend win!

[squeaks77]

9/13

TRAINING

BGB - Vertical Push/Pull, Calves, Abs, Shoulder rehab

Daily Supps: multi-vit, Glucosamine

Pre-Workout: 2 scoops Con Cret (skipped Beta Cret today. Had trouble sleeping last night)

Intra-Workout: 1/2 scoop Glutamine Select, 1/2 scoop Xtend

Pull Ups SS w/Knee ins

w/u
Lat pulldown 12 x 40

work
Pullups - In a power rack

7 x BW Probably could've eeked out 8, but was afraid it would impact the rest of my sets
5 x BW
5 x BW
5 x BW
5 x BW


knee ins

15 x 10 (held a 10# DB between my feet)
15 x 10
15 x 10
15 x 10

Hammer high rows

8 x 45 per side
10 x 40 per side <--finally decided I needed to take some weight off for better form, but this was a little too easy.
8 x 42.5 per side

Inverted Rows SS w/calf raises

inverted rows

BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

calf raises

20 x 80 (smith + 60)
20 x 80 (smith + 60) +2 reps
18 x 80 (smith + 60)

T/Y/I/Scapular retraction/reverse extension


This was a real halfassed version on the hyperextension bench because I forgot my towel to put on a regular bench. My lower back kept spasming. Ouch!

2.5 x 10 - both arms

Random Thoughts

A fairly quick workout and then off to get the kiddos.

I'm thinking I'm going to switch things up next week. Lots of leg work, not as much arm work to give the shoulder more rest.

[squeaks77]

Friday weigh-in

8/31 Weight: 103.8 Waist: 25.75 start of bulk
9/7 Weight: 103.6 Waist: 25.25 AVG Cals: 1500
9/14 Weight: 105.00 Waist: 25.5 Avg Cals: 1671

Somehow I don't think this weight is accurate. Not likely that I gained 1.5 lbs. When I'm eating a lot of carbs, my weight jumps all over the place. Will be look more for trends over time than actual weight. This is probably that extra water weight I always gain that makes me freak out and think I'm gaining too fast. I'm gonna roll with it and try to get my average calories closer to 1800 next week.

[squeaks77]

9/14

TRAINING

BGB Hamstring Dominant, triceps

Daily Supps: Multi-vit, Glucosamine

Pre-Workout: 1 scoop Con Cret mixed with 1.5 scoops Beta Cret

Intra-Workout: 1/2 scoop Glutamine Select, 1/2 scoop Xtend


RDL

w/u
95x10
115x6

work
135x5
155x5 *vid <---was so easy, I thought I put the wrong plates on, lol.
155x5
155x5
150x5




DB Walking Lunges SS w/Tricep Pushdowns

DB Walking lunges

25s x 14
25s x 14
25s x 14

Tricep Pushdowns with rope

30x9
30x8
30x8

Good Mornings

80x8*vid <--- this was way easy! I had to re-check my plates here too
80x8
80x8



Smith Leg Press

130x8 (smith + 55 per side)
130x8 (smith + 55 per side)
130x10 (smith + 55 per side)


Random Thoughts

Sweet workout tonight! All the weights felt super easy today. I really wanted to go heavier on RDLs, but decided to try to finish 4 sets at 155, since I never have. I guess the extra cals and creatine have finally kicked in.

I forgot my socks today, yuck! Oh well, life goes on, albeit with sweaty feet. I had to go grocery shopping afterwards. Did not like going sockless for that long. I guess I need to keep extra socks, towels and ponytail holders in my car.

On another note, I have an odd YouTube subscriber (no, I'm not referring to you Ham, lol). This person keeps leaving strange comments on my vids. Oh well, it is the interwebs after all.

[squeaks77]

Went to a friend's to watch football yesterday, since she pays to be able to watch all the games and ours wasn't televised on our cable, lol. Anyhow, I ate way too much junk food and drank too much beer and my tummy isn't happy today. UGH! I was trying to track calories, but it's hard when there's all kinds of little bite-sized things. So, I have no idea how many cals I ate yesterday, just that they mostly consisted of cream cheese and bacon, lol.

I was planning on switching up my workouts this week, but I'm still undecided. I want to focus on legs more and I'm thinking of doing squats the day before DL instead. The only problem with that is that means Monday = squat day. Why make a Monday worse than it already is? DLs are currently the only happy part of my Mondays, lol.

[squeaks77]

9/17

TRAINING

BGB Horizontal Push/Pull, Calves, Abs - modified for shoulder injury

Daily Supps: Multi-vit, Glucosamine

Pre-Workout: 1 scoop Con Cret, 1 scoop Beta Cret

Intra-Workout: 1/2 scoop Glutamine Select, 1/2 scoop Xtend


Flat DB Bench

none-resting the shoulder

Deadlift

Went lighter and worked on form

w/u
95x8
135x5

work
160x5
160x5
160x5
160x5
160x5


Incline DB Bench

None-resting shoulder

Bent over BB Row

85x8 *took a vid and didn't like my form, so I dropped the weight
75x10 *took another vid and almost cried when I saw my form. My shoulder is effed up and it's effing everything else up now.
75x10

Pec Dec

Skipped, shoulder issues

Weighted planks SS w/calf raises

Seated Calf raises

100x15 (starts at 60#, added 40#)
100x15 (starts at 60#, added 40#)
100x15 (starts at 60#, added 40#)+20#

So, I looked at my log and saw that I added 20# last week and thought it meant 20# per side. No, I have notes that say 10# per side andI did 25# and 20# per side today. Duh, once again, stupidity will make me stronger. lol @ accidental PRs this week.


Weighted planks

10# x 1:15
10# x 1:15
10# x 1:15


Prone T/Y/I/Scapular Retraction/extension

Not today

Random Thoughts

Okay, so I did a set of BB rows and noticed that I was uneven. It's that same un-evenness that I saw in my DL's last week. My injured (left) shoulder is up higher than my right shoulder. I've thought about it and I think I am unconsciously favoring my hurt side and letting my right side pick up the slack. Since all the weight is on my right side, that side hangs down more.


I'm at my wit's end with this and don't know what to do. If I completely eliminate anything that uses my left arm, I don't think I'm left with a single damn thing I can do at the gym. I don't see the Dr. until late next week and she won't put in the MRI until I after I see her, so who knows how long this might take before I know what's going on. Do I quit going to the gym altogether? I just don't know and I'm so frustrated right now.

[nvrstopworking]

Honestly Squeaks.... I don't know exactly what I did to my shoulder but it felt pretty bad for a few weeks. And the thing that helped me get better was resting it 100%. In hindsight I really wish that I had kept going to the gym at least twice a week to do legs... I might recommend the same thing to you. Just chill for 2 weeks and do legs twice/week and maybe cardio/abs 2x a week too? And see how that goes?

Even though you're not doing pressing movements stuff like heavy rows and DLs are def. going to tax your shoulder. I'd avoid those and try to give that joint complete rest.

Just my opinion though.

[dreahere]

Honestly Squeaks.... I don't know exactly what I did to my shoulder but it felt pretty bad for a few weeks. And the thing that helped me get better was resting it 100%. In hindsight I really wish that I had kept going to the gym at least twice a week to do legs... I might recommend the same thing to you. Just chill for 2 weeks and do legs twice/week and maybe cardio/abs 2x a week too? And see how that goes?

Even though you're not doing pressing movements stuff like heavy rows and DLs are def. going to tax your shoulder. I'd avoid those and try to give that joint complete rest.

I think Spanky's giving you real good advice here, Squeaks.

[squeaks77]

Honestly Squeaks.... I don't know exactly what I did to my shoulder but it felt pretty bad for a few weeks. And the thing that helped me get better was resting it 100%. In hindsight I really wish that I had kept going to the gym at least twice a week to do legs... I might recommend the same thing to you. Just chill for 2 weeks and do legs twice/week and maybe cardio/abs 2x a week too? And see how that goes?

Even though you're not doing pressing movements stuff like heavy rows and DLs are def. going to tax your shoulder. I'd avoid those and try to give that joint complete rest.

Just my opinion though.

So, like leg machines? Squats are even giving me trouble now. It irritates my shoulder to hold the bar. I guess I can do various leg press machines, leg ext, ham curls. I think even holding db's or bb to do lunges would bug my shoulder at this point. Now I wish I would've done this over the summer when I was only eating 1100 cals, lol.

[nvrstopworking]

So, like leg machines? Squats are even giving me trouble now. It irritates my shoulder to hold the bar. I guess I can do various leg press machines, leg ext, ham curls. I think even holding db's or bb to do lunges would bug my shoulder at this point. Now I wish I would've done this over the summer when I was only eating 1100 cals, lol.

Yep. Leg Press, curls, extensions, the "vagina machines" (lulz), calf machines etc, etc, etc.

Whatever won't involve your upper body.

[squeaks77]

Yep. Leg Press, curls, extensions, the "vagina machines" (lulz), calf machines etc, etc, etc.

Whatever won't involve your upper body.

I know you're right. My husband has been saying this to me for weeks. It's just so hard to slow down! It seriously gives me anxiety to think about not working out!

[nvrstopworking]

I know you're right. My husband has been saying this to me for weeks. It's just so hard to slow down! It seriously gives me anxiety to think about not working out!

That's the thing though! You WILL be working out..... you'll still be burning cals... you'll still be building muscle and busting your azz... you'll just be focusing on lower body exercises is all.

Sometimes you'll actually make BETTER gains with a little more rest.

[thehobbes]

Hai Squeaks, sorry to hear this shoulder is acting up so much now. When I hurt my other shoulder a couple yrs ago it was BAD, hurt to get dressed, hurt to drive a car, hurt to shower, definitely could not lift anything with it (yes even stuff like DL was horribly painful.) The only way I could get through a day at work was to keep putting icyhot patches on it and then ice the hell out of it when I got home. (The current shoulder thing never got half that bad and did not hurt during daily activities.) My honest advice - stop doing all upper body for sure until you get in to see your doc. Your insurance already gave the OK for the MRI right, you just need the doc's order on it? I've always been able to schedule one of those things within a week or two, which I know still seems like eternity in terms of backing off on the lifting, but seriously you need to know if you did tear something. Once you know what's wrong then you can come up with a solid plan for how to fix it. If it turns out to NOT be a tear then perhaps you are someone who would benefit from the cortisone shots. I've never had one personally, as far as I know you can't do those over and over because it'll jack things up worse if you kept doing it, but hey maybe get one, rest it for a couple more weeks as the inflamation settles down, and hopefully your issue won't return.

For the time being you don't have to deload, but I would not do anything that really involves your arms/shoulders. What I did was legs and cardio, use a lot of machines so you don't have to hold onto barbells (or use straps for squats if it doesn't hurt.) I stopped pretty much everything for a solid month - all chest, back, arms. I'm not sure if it's because I just eat crazy amounts of food but when I went back to db bench and stuff my strength didn't really drop at all. Oddly I didn't look like I stopped lifting when I did that, but I am not very lean, ham.jpg, but it really wasn't as big of deal as I thought it'd be. It was pretty depressing to not be able to go into the gym and lift whatever muscle groups I wanted, but meh, my shoulder healed in time and I'm fine now.

That vid looks like someone with an injured shoulder, your back/traps are trying to compensate for it. Since you've been doing a lot of normal exercises like pullups, DL, etc I doubt there's anything fuked up in there to an extreme extent. I'm not a doctor obviously but it seems that if you hurt something horribly you have a serious ROM loss, serious strength loss, and lifting anything with your upper body wouldn't be an option. I really hope your injury is nothing that requires drastic measures to fix. The human body is always a lot tougher than I give it credit for though, I usually get injuries that require lots of rest (and yep I'm horrible at that too ), but seriously you may need like a month off of using the shoulder with a cortisone shot. In the grand scheme of things that's a pretty easy fix. And feel free to take every opportunity (like I did!) to complain you can't lift for that month and are jelous of everyone else getting to DL. I got pretty good at playing golf on PS2 during that time though lol.

[mmater]

Friday weigh-in

8/31 Weight: 103.8 Waist: 25.75 start of bulk
9/7 Weight: 103.6 Waist: 25.25 AVG Cals: 1500
9/14 Weight: 105.00 Waist: 25.5 Avg Cals: 1671

Somehow I don't think this weight is accurate. Not likely that I gained 1.5 lbs. When I'm eating a lot of carbs, my weight jumps all over the place. Will be look more for trends over time than actual weight. This is probably that extra water weight I always gain that makes me freak out and think I'm gaining too fast. I'm gonna roll with it and try to get my average calories closer to 1800 next week.

Glad I am not the only one with this carb problem. Ate some pizza and cheezy bread last night (a lot of it actually) and gained 8 pounds in one day. HAHAHA. So yea, I feel ya on the carb thing.

[squeaks77]

Hai Squeaks, sorry to hear this shoulder is acting up so much now. When I hurt my other shoulder a couple yrs ago it was BAD, hurt to get dressed, hurt to drive a car, hurt to shower, definitely could not lift anything with it (yes even stuff like DL was horribly painful.) The only way I could get through a day at work was to keep putting icyhot patches on it and then ice the hell out of it when I got home. (The current shoulder thing never got half that bad and did not hurt during daily activities.) My honest advice - stop doing all upper body for sure until you get in to see your doc. Your insurance already gave the OK for the MRI right, you just need the doc's order on it? I've always been able to schedule one of those things within a week or two, which I know still seems like eternity in terms of backing off on the lifting, but seriously you need to know if you did tear something. Once you know what's wrong then you can come up with a solid plan for how to fix it. If it turns out to NOT be a tear then perhaps you are someone who would benefit from the cortisone shots. I've never had one personally, as far as I know you can't do those over and over because it'll jack things up worse if you kept doing it, but hey maybe get one, rest it for a couple more weeks as the inflamation settles down, and hopefully your issue won't return.

For the time being you don't have to deload, but I would not do anything that really involves your arms/shoulders. What I did was legs and cardio, use a lot of machines so you don't have to hold onto barbells (or use straps for squats if it doesn't hurt.) I stopped pretty much everything for a solid month - all chest, back, arms. I'm not sure if it's because I just eat crazy amounts of food but when I went back to db bench and stuff my strength didn't really drop at all. Oddly I didn't look like I stopped lifting when I did that, but I am not very lean, ham.jpg, but it really wasn't as big of deal as I thought it'd be. It was pretty depressing to not be able to go into the gym and lift whatever muscle groups I wanted, but meh, my shoulder healed in time and I'm fine now.

That vid looks like someone with an injured shoulder, your back/traps are trying to compensate for it. Since you've been doing a lot of normal exercises like pullups, DL, etc I doubt there's anything fuked up in there to an extreme extent. I'm not a doctor obviously but it seems that if you hurt something horribly you have a serious ROM loss, serious strength loss, and lifting anything with your upper body wouldn't be an option. I really hope your injury is nothing that requires drastic measures to fix. The human body is always a lot tougher than I give it credit for though, I usually get injuries that require lots of rest (and yep I'm horrible at that too ), but seriously you may need like a month off of using the shoulder with a cortisone shot. In the grand scheme of things that's a pretty easy fix. And feel free to take every opportunity (like I did!) to complain you can't lift for that month and are jelous of everyone else getting to DL. I got pretty good at playing golf on PS2 during that time though lol.

Thanks Prof. Ham! I think that's just what I needed to hear. I know it's the right advice, it's just hard to wrap my mind around it. Starting tomorrow (today is a rest day due to Girl Scout meeting), I will only work my legs in a way that doesn't use my arms. I need quit kidding myself that this is just going to magically get better and take the steps to fix it.

[thehobbes]

Have you tried the squat method with the straps on the bar? Although I would probably avoid trying that atm anyways, just curious since I think I'm the only one over here who squats like that.

[squeaks77]

Have you tried the squat method with the straps on the bar? Although I would probably avoid trying that atm anyways, just curious since I think I'm the only one over here who squats like that.

No, because I can't figure it out, lol.

[llahhsoj]

Have you tried the squat method with the straps on the bar? Although I would probably avoid trying that atm anyways, just curious since I think I'm the only one over here who squats like that.

I tried doing that once. I can't front squat worth a crap(depth issues). I can do Goblets and Zurchers and get proper depth.

[squeaks77]

9/19

TRAINING

Lower Body - Quad Dominant

Daily Supps: Multi-vit, Glucosamine

Pre-Workout: 2 scoops Con Cret

Intra-Workout: 1 scoop Glutamine Select


Leg Press

10 x 118 (sled only)
10 x 168 (25 per side)
10 x 188 (35 per side)
10 x 208 (45 per side)
10 x 228 (55 per side)
10 x 228
10 x 228
10 x 228

That's the most sets/reps of leg presses I've ever done in one day!

Iso Lateral Kneeling Hamstring curl

15 x 18 (starts at 8, added 10)
12 x 20.5 (added 12.5)
12 x 20.5

Leg Extension

10 x 20 - single leg
10 x 20 - single leg
10 x 20 - single leg
10 x 50 - both legs


Random Thoughts

Okay, so today was day one of trying really really hard not to use my upper body in my workout. The only tough part was putting plates on the leg press, but that's doable. This workout doesn't look like much, but my legs are jelly! I wonder if I'll get DOMS from all those leg presses. Guess we'll see tomorrow.
...
So after trying so hard not to aggravate my shoulder at the gym, I come home and jack it up bringing my trash cans back up to the house. UGH! I'll be icing it tonight while I watch tv.

[nvrstopworking]

Oh lawd Squeaks... maybe we'll have to put you in a straight jacket for a month and you can be one of those people who learn how to drive, type and eat with their feet.

Hope the shoulder feels better tomorrow!

[thehobbes]

Nice leg pressing! I was just going to ask if there's anything you do day to day that would be an issue for your shoulder, read you bothered it with the trash cans ahhh, car doors and jackets were the worst for me. As long as you try to treat it gingerly for a few weeks you should notice a big difference.

No, because I can't figure it out, lol.

Lol, I have only seen one other person do it (on this site) ever.

[squeaks77]

Nice leg pressing! I was just going to ask if there's anything you do day to day that would be an issue for your shoulder, read you bothered it with the trash cans ahhh, car doors and jackets were the worst for me. As long as you try to treat it gingerly for a few weeks you should notice a big difference.


Lol, I have only seen one other person do it (on this site) ever.

Oh yes, the 2 things that always hurt my shoulder is picking up my heavy-ass purse and opening the refrigerator door, lol.

ETA: oh yeah, picking up my VERY heavy ass gym bag. Carrying that thing around is a workout in itself, lol.

[squeaks77]

Not quite sure what to do at the gym today, since I've nixed upper body work for the time being. Today should be pullup day aka my favorite day of the week .

I normally do abs and calves with upper body, so I'll still do those, but that takes like 10 minutes. I was thinking I could do some weighted hyperextensions. I don't think hugging a plate will bother my shoulder at all. I guess I could do some BW leg exercises maybe. I don't want to do too much on legs though, since I hit them heavy yesterday and will again tomorrow. I hate going to the gym and not having a plan. I'm not really a "go with the flow" type of person, lol.

[nvrstopworking]

If you only have an hour at the gym you could always do 15-20 minutes of calves (maybe 2 exercises for those) and then 40 min-ish of cardio? Bike? Elliptical?