Rachel's Rippetoe Rebellion

[Cort]

Thanks! I'm definitely feeling those squats today. But it's a good sore.  

[Cort]

Middle of week 6:

 

o   Squat – 80, 100, 120, 120

o   OHP – 45, 50, 60, 65 (barely), 55x8

o   DL – 105, 125, 145, 165

o   Situps in 2 min – 102

 

It looks like such a small workout on paper, but man I was sweating and spent after those last deadlifts. Whew.

[Cort]

(The science experiment continues with some nutrition advice from Donar.)

Macro plan based on my height/weight/age/gender/BF and goals (5'6/142/30/F/~22% to hold the world on my shoulders like Atlas). Numbers are rounded to make it easier to remember.  

 

CAL/PRO/CHO/FAT

•      Training days: 1700/140g/180g/45g
•      Non-training days: 1500/115g/165g/42g

This is pretty similar to my initial plan of getting at least 120-140g protein per day with a 1600 calorie budget, so hopefully it will be a fairly painless adjustment.

[Cort]

End of week 6:

 

o   Squat – 80, 100, 120, 140, 165x2, 150x4, 120x8

o   Bench – 50, 65, 75, 90, 102.5x3, 80x10

o   Row/Situps/Pushups/Pullups Circuits (dry heave)

§  Row – 45, 50, 50, 60, 50

§  Situps – 60, 60, 60, 20 (200 total)

§  Pushups – 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 (75 total)

§  Pullups â€“

·         2 Band Rev: 8, 8, 8, 8

·         2 Band Reg: 5, 5, 5

·         2 Band Neutral: 5

·         1 Band Rev: 2

o   54 total

 

The squat struggles continue. I was so pissed off after my failure on 165x3 that I was determined to at least get 5 at 150, then failed on the 5th of the 150 too. AAUGH!

 

I'm also thinking of trading in the regular grip pullup to a neutral pullup simply because I find that my right elbow quite frequently locks up as I'm coming down and it is excruciatingly painful. Does that happen to anyone else?

I'm taking a few extra days rest after this since I have my weigh-in and PRT this week.  Not to mention I'm transitioning to night shift at the same time.  Awesome timing.  Will resume with week 7 after that's over.

Have done pretty well with the Macros over the last 2 days.  

 

Last training day: 1650 - 137/103/43

Last non-training day: 1590 - 129/209/31.5

 

Still working out the details.  Keeping track of all the specifics is tedious!

[Cort]

16 OCT - First night back on night shift and zombie brain is already kicking in.

 

So I had my official weigh-in yesterday (143lbs - note to self, the scale at work is +1lb compared to my scale at home) and my official fall PRT this morning at 0600. Overall score last time was just a "Good" and the time before that was dismal with a mere "Satisfactory" (overestimated my ability to perform after a busy 14 hour ER night shift) so this time around my goal was to max out my situps and pushups in order to bring my overall score back up to a respectable level.  

 

In 2 minutes I maxed out situps at 100 (and even stopped 10 seconds before time was called) and then maxed out pushups at 44 (also finishing early).  Success!

 

Walked out with an overall score of "Excellent" which is above "Good" but leaves room to meet "Outstanding" for next time - although I'm not very motivated to work on my cardio portion of the test (the overall scoring system is kind of stupid) and prefer to continue focusing on strength.  

 

Will start back up with Week 7 after I adjust and get my sleep schedule worked out.  Thinking about switching to 5-3-1 now that my newbie gains are slowing down to a crawl.

[Malcore]

You passed newbie a while ago, according to Rippetoe's associate Dr. Kilgore.  Everyone is different, of course, but your squat is scraping Advanced levels.  See  http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.htm  . 

 

5-3-1 Boring But Big will make you stronger, build muscle, and when it comes to squats and deadlift- give you all kinds of cardio benefits that will probably push you well into outstanding for the run/bike/swim.  It isn't fun and games though, its a gut check- for sure. 

[Cort]

It's hard to feel "advanced" when there are so many women squatting and deadlifting significantly more than me. However, I will settle for "seriously intermediate." 

[Malcore]

Well, relatively speaking-  I'm not sure that there are a whole lot of women who do. 

[Vixen68]

It's hard to feel "advanced" when there are so many women squatting and deadlifting significantly more than me. However, I will settle for "seriously intermediate." 

Well you are more advanced then me! stop showing me up

 

 

Well, relatively speaking-  I'm not sure that there are a whole lot of women who do. 

I think you would be surprised ... with how many there are in the powerlifting world anyway ...

[Cort]

Yeah, I'm nowhere near Spezzi lifts (and I won't even mention Jennifer Thompson because she's like an advanced terminator robot). And I see girls younger and older than me lifting insane numbers on my Women Powerlifting feed on facebook.  But hey - I'm definitely seeing improvement in both my strength abilities and my body shape, so I'm pleased with my progress.

 

Vixen you're still deadlifting more than me!  I will catch up to you one of these days...  

[Vixen68]

Yeah, I'm nowhere near Spezzi lifts (and I won't even mention Jennifer Thompson because she's like an advanced terminator robot). And I see girls younger and older than me lifting insane numbers on my Women Powerlifting feed on facebook.  But hey - I'm definitely seeing improvement in both my strength abilities and my body shape, so I'm pleased with my progress.

 

Vixen you're still deadlifting more than me!  I will catch up to you one of these days...  

 

Ooo whats the facebook page?

 

tested my maxes last night - was hoping for a 100kg (220lbs) deadlift but wasnt going to get it - next time haha

[Cort]

It's a gym located in Illinois called Monster Garage - here's the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WomensPowerliftingPage

They post videos and PRs pretty often with some impressive numbers, although I've noticed a lot of the ladies look like they're eating... shall we say a different diet than me?  

[Malcore]

Ahh, don't confuse "advanced" with "elite."  It is much harder to get to elite from advanced,  than from novice to intermediate, etc.  Thompson has been lifting for 14 years.  Be proud of what you've earned.  I can sit here all day and look at my numbers, which on Kilgore's scale are high novice/low intermediate and think "Well, I sure as shootin' ain't Andy Bolton."  Or I can think about how much I've improved from where I started, and those beginner numbers are accurate to my starting numbers on his chart as well.  My assessment stands, you ain't no newbie.  And yes, PED's make a difference that can make natural lifters feel insignificant by comparison. 

[Cort]

Ahh, don't confuse "advanced" with "elite."  It is much harder to get to elite from advanced,  than from novice to intermediate, etc.  Thompson has been lifting for 14 years.  Be proud of what you've earned.  I can sit here all day and look at my numbers, which on Kilgore's scale are high novice/low intermediate and think "Well, I sure as shootin' ain't Andy Bolton."  Or I can think about how much I've improved from where I started, and those beginner numbers are accurate to my starting numbers on his chart as well.  My assessment stands, you ain't no newbie.  And yes, PED's make a difference that can make natural lifters feel insignificant by comparison. 

 

That's fair - thanks for the props Malcore.  

[Cort]

Started a new program this week doing Wendler's 5-3-1 Boring but Big program thanks to the unfailing assistance of my husband and his mighty workout spreadsheet powers.  So the big 4 will each have their own dedicated workout day with assistance exercises stacked on top, which hopefully will work out to be a little more manageable with my 12-hour work days.

 

Week 1 = Squat Day

 

             - Squats (x5 unless otherwise noted)

o   65

o   80

o   95x3

o   100

o   115

o   130x8

o   80x10

             

             - Pullups

o   2Band Rev: 13

o   2Band Neutral: 8 (elbow locked!)

o   1Band Rev: 3

o   Raw Rev: got halfway but failed on 1

 

             - Boring but big squats (x10 reps)

o   80 for 5 sets

 

             - Jumped rope

o   50x1

 

Neutral pullups tonight ended up being just as prone to elbow locking as regular grip, which was the reason I had to stop at 8. Otherwise it feels like if I come down too far my R elbow might actually snap in the middle.  May have to just stick to reverse grip from now on.

[Cort]

Just realized that I'm just a few days shy of the 6 week mark for this challenge, so this new program was good timing.  Will try to remember to take measurements and whatnot tomorrow morning to see if there were any changes.  Doesn't feel like it on this challenge, especially with taking off to London for almost a week and then taking almost another week off around PRT time and night shift swap, but we'll see.

[Malcore]

80 for 5 sets of 10.  Epic.

[Cort]

Had a restless night last night and forgot about measurements today. Will shoot for tomorrow.

[Cort]

OHP Day (ugh)

 

          OHP (x5 unless otherwise noted)

o   30

o   40

o   45x3

o   45

o   55

o   60x6

 

          Boring but big (x10 reps)

o   35 for 5 sets

 

Had time to add some accessory work, but dealing with a bit of a gastrointestinal  issue for the past couple days brought this workout to a halt once the main lifts were done.

[Cort]

Finally remembered to take some measurements. Here they are, compared with my very first measurements back in August.

 

Body measurements as of August 15, 2013 [145lbs]

·                         Thigh: 23†at widest point

·                         Hip: 36†at widest point

·                         Waist: 32†at belly button            

·                         Bicep: 10.5†at widest point

·                         Calf: 14.5†R, 14†L

 

Sep 9, 2013 Measurements [141.4lbs]

o             Thigh: 22.5â€

o             Hip: 35â€

o             Waist: 30.5â€

o             Bicep: 10.75â€

o             Calf: 14.5†R, 14†L

 

Oct 22, 2013 Measurements [140.9lbs] 

o             Thigh: 22â€

o             Hip: 35.5â€

o             Waist: 30.25â€

o             Bicep: 11â€

o             Calf: 14.5†both

 

I have been pretty much maintaining a weight of 142lbs for the last month, so this weigh-in might not be entirely accurate considering my gastrointestinal issues over the weekend.  It may just be a bit low due to lingering hydration deficit.  I also can't explain the change in hip from 36 to 35 to 35.5 unless it's just a matter of measurement error.  I was trying my best to get the widest point today without "squeezing" any skin with the tape, so perhaps last time was an error.  I made sure to measure everything today first before looking at my old chart so I wouldn't be tempted to meet any certain numbers.

 

Headed off to work tonight, but should be doing deadlifts when I get home if all goes well.

[Donar]

Maintaining weight while reducing waist and increasing bicep is like the definition of a recomp....seriously.

 

Please tell me you have taken some pictures along the way.....they can be shocking even with small changes in the numbers.....

 

Also, how are the clothes fitting?

[Cort]

Thanks for dropping in Donar  

 

I haven't taken any pictures since I posted the last ones, but I will put that on my to do list.  My husband has told me several times in the last month that I am looking "hotter" these days, and yes - the clothes are fitting much more comfortably than they were back in August.

 

Onward and upward.

[Cort]

Deadlift Day:

 

-          Deadlifts (x5 unless...)

o   70

o   85

o   100x3

o   105

o   125

o   140x8

-          Situps: 100 nonstop

-          Unassisted pullups: 1, 1, 1

 

That's right - finally got ONE unassisted pullup with the reverse grip.  Booyah.  Waited a few minutes then did another one.  Waited a few more minutes and did one more, but I kind of had to kick a little at the end.

[Cort]

Bench Day:

 

Opened with the unassisted pullups

o   1, rest, 1

-          Bench (x5)

o   45

o   50

o   60x3

o   65

o   75

o   85x8

-          Boring but big (x10)

o   50 for 5 sets

-          Pushups

o   10 

-          Unassisted pullup

                        o   Failed on 1

 

Wanted to start with pullups while I was fresh so I could at least get one or two in tonight. Bench felt good today, but then again we've deloaded quite a bit. Think I could have done more than 10 reps for each set of BBB 50. However, my attempts to do pushups afterward might prove otherwise. Tried for one last pullup at the end, but failed halfway up at the sticking point.

[Cort]

Busy weekend, haven't worked out in a few days. But I did do 2 unassisted pullups when I got up today. Progress.