Leeniepie's Lifting log - a sort of powerlifter in training

[leeniepie]

another successful DL sesh yesterday but god im feeling it today! my back aches like hell and so do my traps lol
still taking it slow so just added reps to last week:

high rack pull (knee level) 90 3x10/8/8
low rack pull 80 3x9
sumo DL 60 2x12 - first time I've pulled sumo in about 8 months, man that was hard and felt weird!
back raises 3x12 SS hipthrusts 50kg 3x10 - uugh I usually do 70kg for twice as many sets but heyho

today - back in the temporary gym
seated row 27kg 4x10
db chest press 16 4x10
inc. chest press 14 4x8 SS single arm row 20 4x10
leg press 50kg 4x12
pull-ups 6/ 4.5 (lol)/ 4 and one set of 3 -ves
superset:
face pulls 3x10
tricep rope pulldowns 3x8
straight arm pulldowns 3x8 - no idea of weights as the lables are gone
ab stuff

didn't eat enough yesterday + DL's = dying today

[leeniepie]

managing ok in the temp gym. some of the bro's have abandoned ship so its kinda nice in a way!
felt a little stronger this week which is nice. thought some old knee issues were flaring up and that got me worried, but think its more to do with me whacking it on the metal desk at work lol

went elsewhere to get some benching in today - felt so good! (first time benching in 3 weeks!!)
40kg 6x6 felt easy as pie
db bench - tried the 20kg db's and only got 3x3
dips - 7/5/4
superset of death: db bench press 10kgdb's SS pushups (face-planted A LOT) 3 sets with 1 min rest

don't think i'll be able to move over the next few days...

[leeniepie]

forgot to add - got my first overhand grip pull-up this week

[Fiction2Fitness]

forgot to add - got my first overhand grip pull-up this week

Woot!

[anandagirl]

forgot to add - got my first overhand grip pull-up this week

Awesome!!!!

[leeniepie]

Awesome!!!!

Woot!

thanks guys! so chuffed now to get more than one....lol (and get my neutral grips over 5)

[leeniepie]

didn't realise it'd been so long!
so, temp gym has gone and new shiny gym is in its place. its good and bad, good= 2 squat racks, Olympic style plates, hex bar, more room for free weights, captains chair, back raise bench. bad= one less cable station, no lat pulldown, no seated cable row, not the greatest use of space with the cardio stuff. Also for some reason people think that because its new there's no reason to put their plates or dumbbells away..grrrr....

so my training has been hit and miss. hip pain has flared up a lot, had an xray and some bloods and am waiting on results. have decided to scale back the lifting as much as I don't want to. also looking at a powerlifting coach, even though its quite far to travel. wished I lived in London as there are tonnes of gyms and trainers there!!

[LunaLifts]

forgot to add - got my first overhand grip pull-up this week

Waaay behind here, but nice job!

didn't realise it'd been so long!
so, temp gym has gone and new shiny gym is in its place. its good and bad, good= 2 squat racks, Olympic style plates, hex bar, more room for free weights, captains chair, back raise bench. bad= one less cable station, no lat pulldown, no seated cable row, not the greatest use of space with the cardio stuff. Also for some reason people think that because its new there's no reason to put their plates or dumbbells away..grrrr....

so my training has been hit and miss. hip pain has flared up a lot, had an xray and some bloods and am waiting on results. have decided to scale back the lifting as much as I don't want to. also looking at a powerlifting coach, even though its quite far to travel. wished I lived in London as there are tonnes of gyms and trainers there!!

Yay for shiny new gym, big boo for hip issues. I hope the tests can provide some answers.

Have you considered an online coach? A few of the ladies here use the same coach, I assume you'd have to be comfortable sharing videos, but they seem to all be doing well even without the personal interactions. Partyrocking is also considering coaching.

[leeniepie]

Waaay behind here, but nice job!

Yay for shiny new gym, big boo for hip issues. I hope the tests can provide some answers.

Have you considered an online coach? A few of the ladies here use the same coach, I assume you'd have to be comfortable sharing videos, but they seem to all be doing well even without the personal interactions. Partyrocking is also considering coaching.

thanks
I have thought about it but I feel at the moment I need someone physically there to adjust my form rather than just telling me to do x/y/z.

things were going ok back wise but then bent down to the DL bar yesterday and got a shooting pain all the way up my back so that scuppered yesterdays session
on the plus side have re-started 5/3/1 for my bench and done ok the last 3 sessions.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Ahh so hit and miss. Nice work and hope that 5/3/1 goes well for you. Weird on the no lat pull down for sure but definitely a bonus having those plates. I prefer the gym that has the olympic plates even though they still lack 2.5's... Hope the hip cooperates for you more.

[leeniepie]

i'm coming to terms with no squats, decided to lay off deads for this week since they really hurt my back last week so lower body workouts are odd. managed leg presses (60kg 4x8 today) some RDL's (50 3-4x10) and KB squats to a box, SLDL 16's 3x8, all without pain thankfully.

on the plus side bench is going well, hit 45 5x3 last heavy session, 47.5 for 1x3 and 4x2 this week, which is a major improvement as I've only done singles before. Volume wise I hit 35 5x12 last week and 37.5 5x10 this week - again big improvement as I hadn't even hit 37.5 for 5x8 before.
still getting some elbow pain so did pushpresses 30 3x5 and only 2x8 on incline chest press (wanted 4x8 but stopped due to pain - boo), chest flyes are fine (yay! I love them).
still been avoiding abs (only half due to my back lol, I still hate training abs)

[LunaLifts]

thanks
I have thought about it but I feel at the moment I need someone physically there to adjust my form rather than just telling me to do x/y/z.

I get what you mean, but x/y/z is better than nothing. Look at Fallen, Ananda, and Penny. They all do powerlifting with a coach online, and they make awesome progress, and get great feedback. At the very least, it's helped me to sen videos to PR to get advice. I learned I wasn't bracing my upper body on squats, and even now that I've switched to low bar, I'm still tighter through my whole body now because of it.

I guess what I'm saying is, a little free advice can't hurt, when it's hard to get one on one.

Way to work around the issues, and find stuff you can do. Have you tried lunges, or Bulgarian split squats? It'd be less weight on your back since you're working one side at a time, though I don't know about it with the hip issue.

[leeniepie]

I get what you mean, but x/y/z is better than nothing. Look at Fallen, Ananda, and Penny. They all do powerlifting with a coach online, and they make awesome progress, and get great feedback. At the very least, it's helped me to sen videos to PR to get advice. I learned I wasn't bracing my upper body on squats, and even now that I've switched to low bar, I'm still tighter through my whole body now because of it.

I guess what I'm saying is, a little free advice can't hurt, when it's hard to get one on one.

Way to work around the issues, and find stuff you can do. Have you tried lunges, or Bulgarian split squats? It'd be less weight on your back since you're working one side at a time, though I don't know about it with the hip issue.

oh im not dissing online coaching. its something i'll look into and will probably go with in the long term.
unfortunately any lunge movement is a no-go as I have a long term knee issue and it really aggravates it (yup, totally falling apart, god knows what i'll be like by the time i'm 50 lol)

did 15 mins cardio on the cross trainer, then a yoga class, then tried to do my back workout yesterday - almost died! yoga doesn't feel that hard till afterwards when you try to do something else lol. you normally cant get into the Sunday class but since its a bank holiday weekend here in the uk lots of people are away. i'd like to go again though (this time I will eat more before hand too - porridge obviously doesnt cut it for me).

[leeniepie]

lots of little niggles this week, which I've discovered is my body telling me I need a de-load. I haven't had any time off since march (enforced few days off due to illness), but didn't really think i'd need it that much since I haven't been training heavy. my body says otherwise! got a week off now though and heading to the coast for a few days with my mum and 2/3 dogs. going to do pretty much nothing except walking the woofs and reading books

Tuesday workout:
bench for volume 37.5 kg 12/12/10/9/10 - was a little harder than I anticipated seeing as the last few bench sessions have been surprisingly easy (well easier than expected), maybe its all catching up with me?
incline chest press 14kgdb 4x8
cable flyes 6.25 3x15 1x12
db shoulder press 12kgdb 10/10/7
front/lat raises 5's 3x7
teicep cable pull downs (single arm) 3.25 3x12
leg press 60kg 4x10
kb box squats 4x12

still getting elbow niggles. think I might be flaring on bench?

Thursday workout:
superset
pullups -overhand2x3 then got a pain in my pec so switched to neutral and did 2x4
single arm lat pull 16kg 4x8
facepulls 16 kg 4x12
cable rear flye? (dunno what you call it) 3x12 1x15

row machine 42.5kg 4x8
single arm rows 20kg 3x10 SS bi curls 10kg 3x8
kb squat to box 4x12 SS step ups 4x12 SS SLDL 16kgdbs 4x8
back raises 3x15 then tried a couple with the 10kg plate that had been left there - they were ok! didn't think id actually be able to lift myself up - now we have olympic style plates I keep forgetting that just because they're the same size doesn't mean they weigh the same! lol

cant believe I pulled my pec doing pullups! sometimes I don't know how I do such stupid stuff *insert rolling eyes smiley here*
this meant that my plan for bench max testing and pullup AMRAPs for this weekend had to be scrapped. I really REALLY wanted to do it but the last thing I need is another injury sidelining me for the rest of the year.

Saturday:
trap bar DL 55x2x8/65x2x8/75x3x5 first DL in 2 weeks. felt like hell. some tightness in my back but not too bad. ironically last set felt the best. I think it just takes ages for me to get in the groove. trap bar is certainly making me use my legs more, which I NEED.

RDL 55 3x12
squats to a box - first time i've had a bar on my back since December. first two sets ok, third set=pain in back. maybe squats WERE the cultprit for my back injury and not DL? as kb squats haven't been hurting at all?

front squats - bar only 3x10 - first time ive ever front squatted. how the hell do you make the bar stay on your shoulders??lol used a crossed arm grip as clean grip was in no way happening.

ab/adductor machine 35 3x8/49 3x15

also saw the physio this week for the results of my movement screening. not surprised that my calf/ankle flexibility falls below the 'poor' category and my righthand side of my body is weak af casing my knee to cave in and hips to go all wonky. apparently hammies and hip flexors aren't as inflexible as I thought (fall into 'good' and 'very good') and core is ok. still cant seem to give me any better advice than 'stretch your calves' though, and I do that every day anyway.

[anandagirl]

Ahhh, stupid niggles. Hope a week on deload will help. Do you video yourself when you lift? If not, it might help you find some form issues that could be aggravating your back?

Front squats. UGH. I don't do bodybuilder grip, but yes, freaking clean grip BLOWS. You can try it with wraps, it helps some. Other than that, gotta keep your upper arms as parallel to the floor as you can manage, and of course then the bar pushes against my neck and I feel like I can't breathe LOL

And if your not following It's A Good Day's log, take a look. She's working on some unilateral weaknesses, etc.

[leeniepie]

BACK!

had a week on holiday the took a really easy week to help all the niggles, so now im back lifting but doing lower weights and reps (boo!) trying not to aggreviate anything so that hopefully I can get back to heavy stuff (yay!)

finally saw a powerlifting coach last week!! started with the deadlift (gulp!) and he said they weren't too shoddy!! gave me some cues to work on about sitting back more, including not setting up the Ripptoe way (shock horror) so will see how they go. also advised putting a heavy a$$ weight on the bar and doing sitting back practise as theres no way the bar will come off the floor/me fall on my butt, but haven't had the guts to try this yet incse people think im just really stupid and just struggling to lift a weight that's way to heavy for me lol.

did some benching today and 35kg felt soo heavy really focused on keeping tight and keeping elbows in. things were a bit sore but not too bad so fingers crossed.

[anandagirl]

Yay for a coach! I totally understand not wanting to "lift" the bar that won't come off the ground LOL

[leeniepie]

thanks anandagirl

saw the coach again this weekend (after him getting ill and cancelling last week, which turned out to be a good thing as my back went again when trying deads really pi$$ed me off). This time we did bench and he got me doing a true powerlifter-arch-as-high-as-possible-wide-grip bench, which felt weird as hell seeing as I've never done it before. I was quite happy with my baby arch but hey, might as well get practicing! managed to get my bar path down from 13.5 to 9 inches just with set up lol. Only thing I didn't think of was that with a wider grip i'm going to have to use the lower pegs on the bench rack as I cant unrack on the high *doh*
Was really nice benching with handouts and a spotter for the first time, if a bit weird staring up at someone's face above you when you're trying to concentrate! I managed a single on 50kg which I was really impressed with as 1)new grip and new set-up and 2)last time I hit a 50kg single was probably 2 months ago. Added bonus of no elbow of pec pain, so wide grip is a winner!

Went to yoga today to try and ease off the tight back, then did some upper back stuff (pull-ups, straight arm pull downs, face pulls, machine rows, single arm lat pulls). Yoga honestly makes me feel like I've been hit by a truck or something, but I do feel better in a way too. just wish all the up-down-ness didn't make me wanna pass out (not helped by the room being a toast 26 degrees)

[anandagirl]

Ha, yes! My arch blows no matter how much I try to arch, and I hate the way wide grip feels, but after seeing a vid of a bench that only had to move like 5 Inches.... LOL Yay, glad it all worked for you!

[leeniepie]

i am so rubbish at keeping this updated! work has ben mental this week so just been crashing most evenings.

Had some bench issues this week - it feels like the rings on the bar at the gym are wider apart than the on the bar I used with the coach? I know they theoretically should be the same, but my grip feel much wider when I do fingers on rings at the gym. it might be psychological or it might be the cheap crappy bars.

did some trap bar DL's this week, didn't feel great but only hurt a bit. went slowly and I can def feel glutes and hammies working more so should probably do them more often. also managed to get a bar and bench at the same time (shocker!!) so actually did some hipthrusts for the first time in ages. OMG my glutes on Monday lol

fingers crossed my elbow tendonitis and strained pec seem to be on the mend. my pull-ups have really gone down hill so I really want to get back to them. trying to see if I can get a pull-up bar installed in my garden but got to find out how much trouble i'll get into for drilling into the wall! surely what they don't know wont hurt them......

[leeniepie]

did something called F45 on Friday - its an Australian crossfit crossed with circuits class. I didn't actually know it was cardio when I went - when I saw the class set up I nearly died! 6 stations of 3 exercises each, 30 seconds at each exercise with 5 seconds break then onto the next exercise. 4 rounds at each station then a 1min break before the next station. it was absolute chaos for the first 10 mins as no one knew what they were doing! but it went ok - fastest 45mins ever! (which is a good thing!) I wasn't as dead as I thought i'd be after either, seeing as I do zero cardio. I wasn't pushing myself very hard as im still being super cautious of my back, but I did everything and kept going.
i'd like to try some of their more resistance and core based classes, and I have a 2 week free trial, but the venue is about 40 mins from my house so not sure if i'll actually be able to get there that much. good to try something new though and met some nice people which is always a bonus

[Fiction2Fitness]

oo fun. I like to try new things on occasion, something a little different. I don't mind a bit of a cardio approach either as the classes can be fun even though I do really like my solitary lifting.

[leeniepie]

Yeah it's something I really should do more of, I'm just lazy and uncoordinated lol

[LunaLifts]

Haven't abandoned the thread, still lurking! Been lazy about replying lately so I'm trying to catch up on a few.

Yay for trying something new. I find cardio can be hard to stay consistent with, most of it gets boring after awhile.
Unless it's swimming, if I had a big ass pool, I could swim every day.

[leeniepie]

Haven't abandoned the thread, still lurking! Been lazy about replying lately so I'm trying to catch up on a few.

Yay for trying something new. I find cardio can be hard to stay consistent with, most of it gets boring after awhile.
Unless it's swimming, if I had a big ass pool, I could swim every day.

Totally agree! I love swimming. Shame my local pool has crappy times to go.

[anandagirl]

I was gone for three weeks, but I'm back

[leeniepie]

so whats been happening.....
deadlifts were getting there, then I went to a 'core' f45 class which turned out to not have any core work in it and a lot of jumping about, which royal screwed my back up really left me in a lot of pain for a while.
Everythings been feeling a bit 'off', which I think is due to the sheer lack of consistency I've had. Im also starting to feel very fluffy, even though my weight hasn't changed, and im not surprised to be losing muscle mass since I haven't done any heavy training for months.

went to an osteopath on Friday who was recommended to me by someone at my gym, as a last ditch attempt to get this sorted before I pay out for an MRI. He seems really nice and did a lot more that the physio I saw ever did, but by the time I got home I could barely move! iced my back for a couple of hours as recommended and yesterday I wasn't in as much pain but felt very delicate. He recons that once he's loosened up my SI's and the surrounding muscles I can start building strength back up fairly quickly. I really hope so as im so fed up of being in pain all the time.

Today felt better so I went to yoga, did some upper body work (even though he said no lifting - I only did chest and shoulders so that's ok right lol) and then sat in the sauna for 15mins. Feeling ok right now, fingers crossed

bench - 45kg 5x2 (was going to be triples but felt very grindy after a lot of putting bodyweight through my arms in yoga, so made it doubles)
giant set: cable chest flyes, cable rear flyes, straight arm pulldowns
db shoulder press (seated) SS single arm rows
giant set: cable front, side, and rear delt raises
floor presses - never done these before, not sure what I think, feels weird having such a limited ROM

[Fiction2Fitness]

I hope things improve with your back soon. Floor presses just seem odd to me but I've also never tried them. Guessing I wouldn't know what to think for a while either.

[leeniepie]

I hope things improve with your back soon. Floor presses just seem odd to me but I've also never tried them. Guessing I wouldn't know what to think for a while either.

Thanks. Feeling ok at the moment, but off to the osteopath again tomorrow so I might be dying again soon!

[leeniepie]

Benching last night felt awesome! Did paused at 37.5kg 5x6 which is a PB 😁 also managed OHP 30 5x3 which isnt bad considering i havent done it in weeks and my lower back is still very unstable.
Also got an overhand pullups PB of 4/3/3! Not sure why things went so well yesterday but made up for feeling poop about not being allowed to deadlift. Maybe the Pilates class I did on Monday had magic powers of some kind?

Won't be doing anymore training til the weekend now as the next few days involve working late and the osteopath .