PitBull_Liz

Thank you so much for those videos! At this point I don't have the flexibility (in my ankles I'd guess?) to keep my heels on the ground when my ass is that low. I've actually been trying to spend random times in a squat position in the hopes of increasing that flexibility. But these vids are very helpful, thanks!

I just started week 4 of the Stronglifts program. I'd never lifted before this so I'm learning as I go, thanks to videos and most especially "Starting Strength." Squats: I've been at 75lbs for several workouts now to work on my form. I KNOW what I'm doing wrong and I just can't fix it, which is extremely frustrating. I'm finally getting deep enough but I'm still leaning way too far forward. It's not because the weight is too much - I learn too far forward with body weight squats (which I find more difficult than weighted squats). But as soon as I try to lift my chest a bit I tilt backwards off-balance. I know I've got a huge ass but is it really over-balancing me this much? This is set 3 of my squats tonight. It's actually uglier than it has been, but I'm posting anyway. The past couple workouts I've been much more consistent with getting my hip crease below my knees. Also, since you can't really tell, I am shoving my knees out to the sides, especially as I rise up. Bench: Really excited with tonight's bench. I'd been struggling with 55lbs for a few workouts, then really struggled with 60lbs, then really struggled with 65lbs. I almost didn't bump up to 70lbs tonight, but so glad I did! Not going to say they were easy, but they felt a lot easier than the lower weights had. Yay for newbie strength gains, I guess! On my first couple sets I had my hands wider on the bar, but on the last few I narrowed them to a touch wider than shoulder width. Set 1: Set 5: Rows: Some days these are better than others. I really struggled with 85lbs but tonight 90lbs was very manageable for me. I recorded sets 3, 4 and 5 and as they go my form improves. I still need to get my butt lower, but I noticed a difference when I scooted my feet a bit closer and dropped my butt down. Less distance to haul the bar up. ;-) Set 3: Set 4: Set 5: I appreciate any and all feedback! ETA: I know getting the bar for my squats from that rack isn't perfect, but I'd have trouble hauling it over my noggin myself. I'm having a power cage built for me by a friend so hopefully with a few weeks I'll have a better setup. :-)

1. "Why are you trying to squat at or below parallel? It's bad for your knees!" Said to me by a physical trainer who got very defensive when I said that's how all the lifters do it and that's how it's described in Starting Strength. "Well, I guess I'll just disregard all the years of research I've done then!" Was the snarky response. 2. "Why are you following a powerlifting program if you are just interested in fitness?" *sigh* Because I want to be strong and look fantastic?

I wish I could get all of it from whole foods, but I just can't balance my macros out if I do that. The protein shakes make it a little easier. But I struggle.

Gotcha, thank you for the explanation!

Forgive me as I'm a newbie, but I don't understand pushing forward with the elbows. I thought we were supposed to have our elbows/shoulderblades back to make a nice meaty shelf for the bar to rest on?

200 grams??? Good god, I'm struggling to get 150, even with protein shakes. Looks like I need to reevaluate my standard/comfortable menu. Meat on everything now! LOL Thank you for the feedback, Gainsdalf!

Thanks for the welcome! I will definitely be posting some vids up eventually for form checks. I'm really struggling with my squats - last night I got below parallel for the first time (very exciting, actually exclaimed out loud when it happened because I was so surprised, LOL), but I'm still leaning forward a lot. I do a low-back squat so I know I need to be leaning forward some, but I'm almost doing good mornings. But if I straighten up any, I start tipping backwards. I think the weight of my ginormous hiney is throwing my balance off, LOL. Eseng, that's a good idea about maybe eating a little less during the week. I love eating though and I reall don't feel like I'm overeating at 2000 calories. I am still trying to figure out what my TDEE is though - not sure if lifting counts as light or moderate exercise since it's only 3x a week. I really don't do much else in the way of exercising - walk the dog a little bit but that's usually more of a stroll so she can enjoy sniffing around.

So I first joined NF a long time ago and determined I was an Assassin. Then I fell off the wagon. And three and a half weeks ago I discovered Stronglifts and I'm addicted. It's slow going, but it gives me such a sense of accomplishment. And biceps. That's right, I'm going around making my friends feel my arms because I'm so excited about having muscles. I'm 5'9" and about 218 lbs, so I definitely need to drop some weight/body fat. I've kind of kicked the scale to the side for now though. I'm eating about 500 below my TDEE in the hopes of losing some fat while keeping some muscle. I do mostly primal/paleo but have a tendency to screw it up on the weekends and EAT ALL THE FOOD. It's not pretty and it makes me angry. And bloated. So I just need to stop. So hey, you guys need another Warrior, albeit a still weak one?

*hug* Actually, LOTS of *hugs* for you. I'm so with you on the financial stuff. The last two nights I've woken up with nightmares in the middle of the night about money and actually gotten up to check my account balance online. I think I'm going to go through all my stuff and see what I can sell. So I feel you. Frozen and canned veggies are your friends, as are chicken thighs or quarters. WalMart sells a 10lb bag of chicken quarters for $8. They're not high quality but they're protein. Between that, frozen veggies and eggs you can be set for pretty cheap. Not fun, but healthy and cheap. Regarding meeting your boyfriend's family, whew! Have fun with that one! I'm an Ohioan but fortunately I'm in Cleveland which is pretty liberal, so I don't have to see too many of those hard core Repubs. Just try to relax and be yourself. Your boyfriend obviously thinks you're worthwhile, and that's what matters. Dazzle them. You can do it.

Woot! Fantastic job today!

One meal it is, but I need to make it LESS of a cheat meal, I think. Not an "eat everything in sight" meal but more of a "gee, I really miss this and would enjoy ONE SERVING of it" type thing. Lowered myself TWICE in a push up position this evening. That's right, twice I managed without bopping my nose. I'm feeling pretty big-time. ;-) Then I had jello arms and finished with 5 knee push ups. And 2 20-second planks. Good workout this evening. Was huffing and puffing even though it was short. Then went for a brisk 30 minute walk with the dog, during which both she and I accrued many "kudos" for dealing with dogs (she's VERY dog aggressive) in a calm manner. Exercise is doing both of us good I think! Had spaghetti squash for dinner with butter, parm cheese, pepper and a splash of heavy whipping cream. YUM. Eggs for breakfast, pork chop for lunch. LOVE primal eating. Unfortunately I did spend more money today than I had wanted. I got guilted into fundraisers at work. First, I needed $7 for a gift for a retiring coworker. Then one of my good friends is having a fundraiser and I agree to buy a ticket $10. Fine. Not perfect, but planned spending. However, one of the officers hit me up for raffle tickets for a good cause and I gave in to peer pressure so as not to appear cheap. It was $5. No big deal. But on top of the $17 I'd just spent it kind of broke my heart. But I know that if I'd said no I would have looked like a stingy asshole who can't even chip in $5 for a great cause. *sigh* Why do people feel the need to argue when you say no? Even when I say, "I can't afford it," they argue. Saving money is HARD. I've revised my life goal - instead of saving $1000 ('cause that's just not going to happen in 6 weeks) I'm going to change it to getting all of my bills up to date. This includes my water bill *insert ominous music*. I think this is a more feasible goal and, quite frankly, probably more important at this point. I will change my first post to reflect the revised goal. Weighed in this morning and my weight didn't budge. I'm thrilled with that! It seems odd saying that, but at least it didn't go up. For the longest time I was yo-yo'ing the same 3 lbs, so the fact that I kept them off this week is stellar and I'm super excited.

Last night I was able to slowly and in a controlled fashion lower myself to the ground in push up position! When I tried to push back up my arms just quivered uselessly though, LOL. But I was excited I didn't nose bop!

Ugh, hope you're feel better quickly! Kudos on not letting it stop you entirely!

Had a lovely day! Didn't do any exercise - in fact, I was a total bum other than one training client. But that's okay because Sundays are my "do no exercise and be a bum" days. I did spend a great deal of time in the kitchen preparing meals like a fiend for this week. I have Broccoli Bacon salad, pork chops and Paleo Cereal. I also still have a spag squash that I can toss in the oven for an easy (though not quick) meal. So between the above-mentioned foods and my beloved eggs, I'm set for several days.

*cheers*

Thank you for the encouragement! Allen, I'm usually doing a set of 8 knee push ups followed by a set of 5 knee ones. Last night before bed, just for sh*ts & giggles (can we swear on this forum?), I tried a real push up. Managed to barely heave myself up but was NOT going to make it safely back down, LOL. But I made it up! I can definitely tell I need to work more on my core though as it hurt my lower back. Maybe I wasn't focused enough on clenching my abs and butt, but regardless, I need more core strength. I should keep better track of what I eat on my cheats - I never log it because quite frankly, I don't wanna know the stats. But sometimes I can really splurge (went to Olive Garden with my mom one day and had salad, tortellini and we split a dessert) and I can still feel just fine afterwards. Then other times I splurge and want to die.

Sounds like an awesomely fun day!

WOOT! So proud of your comeback! I especially love the bribery of the wearing of the Daniel Boone cap.

Had a small bobble in the programming. Was supposed to work out yesterday and failed to do so. I did go for a walk, but it was only about 20 minutes. But I ate properly, so I'm calling it a partial success - 60% maybe? However, I made up the workout today. Started with girly push ups and actually felt stronger, to the point where I was trying to figure out if if the house had shifted and I was maybe on an incline. Very cool! I ALMOST got cocky and tried a real push up but didn't want to disappoint myself. It's only been a week. I don't think my workouts have been that spectacular that I could go from struggling incline push ups to real push ups in that brief time. But it was kinda cool and reinvigorated me. :-) Had my one permitted weekly splurge meal today. Ugh. Not sure why I allow myself to do this as I feel like crap after. Sure, it tastes divine while I'm eating (fried cheese, breadstick, salad with CROUTONS, french fries, etc. - it was ugly) but immediately I feel horrid. Bloated, nauseous, sluggish and let's not even talk about what it did to my insides and how I had to race to the bathroom when I got home. So I need to change my perception of a "cheat" meal. Perhaps one or two aspects of the meal can be cheats: breadstick and fried cheese as opposed to EVERY aspect of the meal being a cheat and feeling like I need to really make it count as a cheat. Bleh. Struggling with the financial goal. I just don't think I can save $400 extra dollars in between now and 5 weeks from now unless I don't pay any bills. So I need to revise it but I'm not sure how. Will have to think on that over the next couple of days.

Ooh! Chicken is one of the things I know how to cook! LOL I get the bone-in chicken thighs (cheap!!!) and toss them on a baking dish (I put foil down and make sure it has sides - they make a mess). Preheat the oven to 375, maybe put some basic seasoning crap on the thighs and then put them in the oven for about 45 minutes. Crispy skin outside (best part!) and very moist inside. I'm a junkie.

Jimmie, if you message me your email address I can send you an invite.

Eh, little bobbles happen. Sounds like you have good plans to get right back on track! Hope everybody is back up to par health-wise today!

Good luck on your challenge this go-round!

Iced tea is my drug of choice. I'll never admit to how much of it I actually drink, LOL. I use Splenda in mine just because it dissolves well and I enjoy the flavor. I don't stress myself overly much about little things like that. However, if you're contemplating dumping spoonfulls of sugar in you might want to reconsider that.