Chillicat's journal

[Chillicat]

Yay for 5x5 Miss Chilli! Welcome to the club! Have a great LOOooooong Weekend! :grin:

Which 5x5 are you going to do?

It's one of the ones from the Bill Starr articles that Pman posted in your journal - he had 2 sample versions in (I think) the first article, and I'm doing the second one of those - mainly because I know how to do most of the exercises (still one or two to learn!).

[Chillicat]

Short week this week, so compacting my normal 4 day workout into 2 days (today and tomorrow) so that I can squeeze in a pump class on Friday.

So today was lower body - squats and SLDLs with a few calf raises just for fun. Intend to spend the rest of the day sitting, as legs are now hammered!

Same weights as last week for squats, worked up to 55kg, but this time managed 2 to parallel at 55kg (none last week) and the final 3 were partial, so an improvement.

Worked up to 57.5kg on SLDLs, up frm 55kg last week, so an improvement - yay!

Struggling still with the calf raises at the prescribed 2x30. Dropped right down to 61kg today (more or less bodyweight depending on the day ) and managed 30 then 20. Don't really want to drop lower than this, so might just try to work up to 2x30 at this weight.

[knock knock]

Nice work, and another wow on the 50kg row! :clap:

[Chillicat]

Nice work, and another wow on the 50kg row! :clap:

Thanks! Couldn't manage to replicate it today though - lower back a bit sore after yesterday, so just did a few sets at 40kg and left it at that.

Finding it hard to progress much on bench press. Stuck on 40kg and managing to do them a bit better each time, but not ready to up it to 42.5kg just yet.

Oh, and I re-read my 5x5 programme in anticipation of starting on Sunday, and realised it's 3x30 of calf raises, not 2x30! Yowch!

[Chillicat]

Pump classes are bloody hard after 10 weeks off doing them!

[teamfatboy]

:ditto: - but how were your weights? Did you stick with exactly the same weights you were used to... or did you actually find your work upstairs made you stronger?

[rose]

Finding it hard to progress much on bench press

Happy to help CC. We could go across to my free work gym on The Terrace for a quick technique session if you want. PM me if keen.

[Chillicat]

:ditto: - but how were your weights? Did you stick with exactly the same weights you were used to... or did you actually find your work upstairs made you stronger?

Bit of both - started with my normal squat weight (22.5kg) but really struggled by the end, same with chest (12.5kg, then dropped to 10kg but still found it hard to go for that long at that weight). Back/hammies/clean and press was fine at a slightly lower than normal 10kg. Did triceps at the upped weight of 10kg (previously 7.5kg on a good day), but biceps were next and I had to drop to 5kg :oops: . Shoulders 2x3kg instead of 2x2kg as before (or even 2x1.25kg, as shoulders were previously crap).

So I've definitely made improvements that have crossed over to pump with triceps and shoulders which were previously my weakest bits. But everything else was harder than normal at normal pump weight. Though I suspect if I did a class a week for a few weeks I'd soon get used to the endurance aspect.

Would be good if I could fit a class in each week, but I want to stick rigidly to the 5x5 once I get started. Maybe after a couple of months I might slip a pump class in once a fortnight?

[VampireChick]

50 kg bent over rows...wooohooo that's an impressive weight chilli well done \:D/

:ditto: What she said - great effort.

I liked your comment this arvo about how "Forty is the new twenty".... can I quote that ? :grin:

Wow your strength has really increased! Woohoo!

[ThePman]

Would be good if I could fit a class in each week, but I want to stick rigidly to the 5x5 once I get started. Maybe after a couple of months I might slip a pump class in once a fortnight?

You can do other less-strenuous kinds of conditioning work if you want to keep up some aerobic/cardio fitness. It's not a step-class or nothing deal :grin:

[Chillicat]

Would be good if I could fit a class in each week, but I want to stick rigidly to the 5x5 once I get started. Maybe after a couple of months I might slip a pump class in once a fortnight?

You can do other less-strenuous kinds of conditioning work if you want to keep up some aerobic/cardio fitness. It's not a step-class or nothing deal :grin:

Not really bothered with cardio fitness - I pretty much hate doing cardio and find most cardio exercise a chore rather than fun like weights. But I just really enjoy pump classes and would like to find a way of including them every now and then. I don't necessarily want to do them weekly or even fortnightly, but maybe once every 2-3 weeks would be nice - but not if it interferes with my proper programme that is actually going to do me good. If that makes sense.

[Chillicat]

50 kg bent over rows...wooohooo that's an impressive weight chilli well done \:D/

:ditto: What she said - great effort.

I liked your comment this arvo about how "Forty is the new twenty".... can I quote that ? :grin:

Wow your strength has really increased! Woohoo!

Thanks! It's amazing the difference a change of approach makes!

[Chillicat]

Yesterday was my first day of 5x5. I've seen lots of versions around, but have decided to follow one that was in a Bill Starr article. I have to admit that my choice is based entirely on this being the only example programme I've seen where I actually know how to do most of the exercises :roll: (those I'm not sure about I'll either try to learn or substitute something else).

Heavy day

Squats 5x5

Bent over rows 5x5

Bench press 5x5

Incline DB press 2x20

Calf raises 3x30

Light day

Squats 5x5

Stiff legged deadlifts 5x5

Overhead press 3x5; 2x3

Dips 4x failure

Curls 2x15

Medium day

Squats 5x5

*Clean grip high pulls 5x5

Incline press 5x5

Close grip bench 3x12

Chins 4xfailure

*So I don't actually know how to do these, have tried googling and have found a couple of bits of info, but not entirely sure that learning something like this off the internet is the safest way, so might substitute this with something else.

Yesterday's efforts - Heavy day

Did this at J'ville as it's generally pretty quiet down there on a Sunday, so hopefully I won't have to wait for the squat rack on heavy days. They've got one normal squat rack and one other thing that I don't know what it's called, but which I guess would do the job if the main rack is in use. I've never seen both in use at the same time on a Sunday, so should be fine to get on the equipment I want.

Still had sore triceps from Friday's pump class, but battled on.

Squats 40kg, 45kg, 50kg, 52.5kg, 55kg (managed 3 to parallel, one more than last time, so a wee teeny improvement)

Bent over rows 40kg, 45kg, 47.5kg, 50kg, 52.5kg (x4)

Bench press 30kg, 32.5kg, 35kg, 37.5kg, 40kg (only 2 full ones)

Incline DB press - 8kg 2x20

Calf raises 52kg 30/25/25

Then went home and got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed my filthy kitchen floor (I really should clean more often :oops: ) and after that I was completely fried.

[teamfatboy]

Nice work yesterday CC - see the squats are coming along :clap:

I'm not sure about the clean-grip high pull - is it like an "upright row" ? I'm sure Rose and Vee would know- maybe they can show you.

Happy to help if I'm around - and great to see you planning the training. I reckon you'll surprise a lot of people, including yourself, with how you get on, so good luck!

[Chillicat]

Nice work yesterday CC - see the squats are coming along :clap:

I'm not sure about the clean-grip high pull - is it like an "upright row" ? I'm sure Rose and Vee would know- maybe they can show you.

Happy to help if I'm around - and great to see you planning the training. I reckon you'll surprise a lot of people, including yourself, with how you get on, so good luck!

Thanks TFB!

Yeah, from what I've read the clean grip high pull is like an upright row, but slightly different - though I'm not entirely sure about the technicalities of the differences. I freely admit I have no clue about different grips either, or the names for them - many many questions for Rose!

[rose]

Re high pulls, when's medium day? Before Wednesday?

[Chillicat]

Re high pulls, when's medium day? Before Wednesday?

Nope - not til Thursday :grin:

[rose]

Hah, cool :grin:

[Chillicat]

Light Day

Squats - 30kg, 35kg, 37.5kg, 40kg, 45kg - all x5

SLDLS - 40kg, 42.5kg, 45kg, 47.5kg, 50kg - all x5 (wasn't entirely sure what weights to use for this, since these are only a light day exercise, so worked on the basis that if I'm dropping squats to about the 3rd highest weight I do on a heavy day for my light day workout, then I should do also the 3rd highest weight than what I normally did for SLDLs)

Overhead press - 20kg 3x5, 2x3 (this was meant to have an increase for the 2x3 weight - but this is the first time I'd done these and wasn't sure what the right weight was for me, so just used oly bar and after 3x5 I decided that it might not quite be considered light if I upped it, given that I found 3x5 reasonably tiring. So thought it best to just stick with the oly alone, at least for this week)

Dips - 4x to failure. I did 8/8/5/5 - first 2 were narrow and the second 2 were wide. Don't feel like I was dipping very deeply on the narrow ones, but found the wider ones a bit more comfortable.

EZ bar curls - 5kg 2x15

[bigdogbob]

Awesome workouts cc...can't wait to see how you find the 5x5

If I had to guess with the clean grip high pulls you would be concentrating on the explosive shrug part of it rather than bringing up of the elbows to get the weight up????

That's the premise behind the cleans we do

[Chillicat]

Awesome workouts cc...can't wait to see how you find the 5x5

If I had to guess with the clean grip high pulls you would be concentrating on the explosive shrug part of it rather than bringing up of the elbows to get the weight up????

That's the premise behind the cleans we do

Well, I had myself a session with Rose this lunchtime and am now an absolute expert at these (explosive bit is key), as well as benchpress and deadlifts and a few other bits and pieces. Wow, my benchpresses didn't look anything like Rose's, so I'm very keen to get cracking with them again and see the difference my newly learnt better form makes.

Am now also armed with some great tips on how not to kill my shoulders, and will practice diligently a wonderful broomstick exercise that I actually can't quite do yet - but will endeavour to perfect. It looked so easy when Rose did it - but my arms just wouldn't do what her arms did!

Thanks Miss Rose!

[rose]

a wonderful broomstick exercise

http://stronglifts.com/shoulders-dislocations/

Thanks Miss Rose!

Your welcome. Hope it helps, happy to help again

[runveerun]

Well, I had myself a session with Rose this lunchtime and am now an absolute expert at these (explosive bit is key), as well as benchpress and deadlifts and a few other bits and pieces. Wow, my benchpresses didn't look anything like Rose's, so I'm very keen to get cracking with them again and see the difference my newly learnt better form makes.

Am now also armed with some great tips on how not to kill my shoulders, and will practice diligently a wonderful broomstick exercise that I actually can't quite do yet - but will endeavour to perfect. It looked so easy when Rose did it - but my arms just wouldn't do what her arms did!

Thanks Miss Rose!

Ha ha Rose has fixed my bench too (well trying too!) I have been doing it wrong too! Ah you must mean shoulder dislocations with the broomstick? They is good too :grin:

Welcome to the world of 5x5! <3 you will receive a secret handshake and password in the mail! :grin:

[Chillicat]

you will receive a secret handshake and password in the mail! :grin:

I'll get to work with my broomstick and master it - then I think I'll have earned a secret handshake at the very least! Might need a magic wand to go with the broomstick though, as I was nowhere near getting it today

[rose]

I was nowhere near getting it today

Heh, yes you were. I think that broom was too short. We should've tried a skipping rope as it would've been longer.