paintALLthethings

I made sure I was nice and warm before my squats. It wasn't as bad as the last time, but by the time I got to 100lbs, I was getting sharp pains in my quads again. I gritted through it, and was able to squat 125 ! I'm super happy, but still not sure whether or not it is supposed to feel like that... Used a dumbbell for a foam roller, which did help, right after it killed! Here was the workout today: 5x45 5x80x2 (meant to do 70, but accidentally loaded too much weight) 3x85 2x100 5x125x3 Basically, I want to keep getting stronger, but certainly not at the expense of injury in the first month of training. --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=1.338275,103.779978

It is really interesting how he talked about that as we get more fatigued, our chest comes up more, which places more stress on the quads. I'll definitely try some of these and see if they help a bit. I definitely try and get a bit of a 5-10min easy warmup just to get the blood flowing since our gym is kind of cold sometimes. Some of these stretches I think would help a lot too.

I've been doing full ROM for about a month now, but that's also about the amount of time I've been lifting total, so I'm a bit of a beginner. I just got SS in the mail about a week ago (finally!), and I think I had been loading my warm-up sets too heavy, but I backed it off the past two workouts. This is what my squats had been: 45x5 85x5x2 100x3 105x2 115x5x3 I modified it to this: 45x5 65x5x2 80x3 95x2 120x5x3

Wow, that it a challenge if I've ever heard one. --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=1.338267,103.779981

The past two times I've squatted, by my first set of work reps, my quads are kind of close to cramping and feel like they are close to max at the bottom. During my rests between the three work sets I kind of try and knead out the muscle so that it doesn't actually cramp during the squats. Immediately afterwards, the muscles hurt, and I can't walk so well (or do anything that involves a partial squat, like sit in a chair). But the next day it isn't too bad. As far as my spotter and I can tell, my form is correct. I've played lots of sports, but this feel different from when I've pulled a muscle in the past. I'm just not sure if this is how it is supposed to feel, or if I'm on the verge of injury? I'm doing Starting Strength 3x/wk and increasing my work sets by 5 lbs. each workout.

Good to know! Then I'll just ask everyone everything I like a lot of these things, so it's pretty awesome to have someone tell me that I can do them. I was always a more natural sprinter than long-distance runner, even when I played soccer. I totally hated running the 2 mile + circuits they made us do for that. But the 120 yard dashes? Loved them. So Spezzy, you said you work out 2x/day (in another thread). Do you do weights in the AM and cardio in the PM (or vice versa?) Do you work out 5-6 days a week, or do you take a day off in between lifting? Were you doing less when you first started lifting heavy stuff, or did you just jump right in? I started full Paleo (minus a teensy bit of soy sauce when we go out for sashimi, or a dusting of salad dressing) about a week ago. LOVE IT. I have much better constant energy throughout the day than I've ever had, with no crashes. This upcoming week I'm working on cutting down on the alcohol and nuts (a lot of our professional networking - which is pretty important - revolves around drinking...). I'm also contemplating throwing away my scale, this is pretty convincing: http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/06/22/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/ Is there a specific technique to use when putting the weight back down? I know that sounds kind of silly, but I figure if you are using proper form on the way up, you should probably do the same on the way down... I have this same question about deadlifts...

It's not! But you have to work with what's available, right? There are about three or four serious lifters in the whole gym, and they're JACKED. But other than that, everyone is terrified of lifting really heavy stuff. I asked the trainers (multiple trainers) about the proper technique and about lifting heavy things. Their reply? "Oh, I don't want to get bulky (these are guys by the way), I'm just trying to get leaner." Pssshaw. Plus, they have almost no training. I can't tell you how many times I've watched them allowing clients to do exercises in ways that will leave them injured and over-trained. Drives me batty. But that's another rant for anther day.

Thanks for the insight. The list of exercises looks like a great place to start. I'm living in SE Asia right now, so I'm (not so patiently) waiting on my Amazon order so I can actually READ Starting Strength. So far this forum and NerdFitness has been great as a resource. Do you have any recommendations for something to do instead of power cleans (for the SS routine)?

I'm a 5'4", 140 lb. female, and I miss being strong. Back in HS I was a gymnast, so I had a rocking 6 pack and I could do 10 pull-ups. I also weighed 15 lbs less and had a crazy low body fat percentage. Ten years and lots of beer and college weight later, (gained and thankfully now lost) I'm pretty happy with my body, I just miss feeling like a ninja. On and off over the past couple years, I've done things like bootcamps and p90X. p90X was great, but it seemed to take forever to make gains in strength. It usually takes me a solid 6 weeks to really start seeing results, but once I start seeing my biceps come back and some of my abs peeking out, I love it! But about 6 weeks in, I start getting kind of bored with the workouts, so I thought I would try something more intense. I'm a total n00b at lifting heavy stuff (hell, only squatting 85 and benching 80), I've been doing it for about a week now, and I love it. There's something really fantastic about walking into a gym and doing low reps of heavy stuff and then being done. I'm pretty much doing the Starting Strength program, but here's my question, especially for the ladies: If I'm really just trying to lean out (but build strength), should I be doing cardio on the alternate days? It just feels so weird to go in and do 3 exercises and then leave and take the entire next day off. Also, we (my husband and I) go to a gym where you can't drop the weights. Do any of you have thoughts about this? It seems like the power clean on B day of Starting Strength is out of the question, since we can't drop weights. Right now we're working on the technique for deadlifts, so hopefully I can start adding weight to those soon And finally, shouldn't I be squatting more than I'm benching? That just doesn't seem totally logical. I'm still trying to work on the form with my squats, it's still a little weird to learn this technique rather than the "don't let your knees go past your toes" I've always learned in the past...

Thanks guys! Yesterday morning we wound up eating a giant omelette with steak, veggies and eggs. He seemed to do a lot better. I'm also going to try out that crazy breakfast recipe that is floating around the forum. Looks like it is very much up his alley!

Okay, so here's the story: My husband and I started Paleo about two days ago. We're "rip the bandaid" type people, so we're going pretty full bore (what?!?! No cheese on my salad or in my eggs?!?!). So far my energy has been pretty good (also fighting jet lag), and I haven't been hungry at all. Yesterday my husband was ravenous most of the day, and wound up eating two breakfasts. Here's what he ate: 6AM: 2 Scrambled Omega 3 eggs w/ onions, salsa, mushrooms 10AM: 2 eggs with pesto (teeny bit of parmesan cheese), 2 slices proscuitto, 2 slices bacon 3PM: Teppanyaki steak and grilled veggies 6:30PM: Zesty pecan grape salad from The Everything Paleo Diet Cookbook Snack (we're working on the learning curve): Peanuts, then wasabi peas Both of us wind up mindlessly snacking if we're allowed, so I want to make sure he's eating enough. If you say we can eat nuts, we'll sit down and eat 1/2 cup before we realize what we're doing (he's a former smoker). Any ideas? Am I feeding my husband enough? PS - Husband is also breaking me in to lifting heavy stuff... Saturday was my first day squatting and benching. And I loved it! TL;DR: Just started Paleo, husband is 5'11" and 185, is his wife starving him?