Hermione Gainser and the Quads of Fire

[Hermione Gainser]

Ha! Those are awesome shirts!

 

Wasn't feeling great yesterday so I took the day off (work, gym, life) and rested.  I feel much, much better now.  So this week I'll hit the gym Tues, Thurs, Sat (yay I get out of work early!)

 

12/5/14

 

FS:

45x3

50x3

50x3

50x3

50x3

50x3

 

Deadlift:

155x3

175x2

190x1

200x3

200x3

200x3

200x3

 

OHP:

65x4

72.5x4

72.5x4

72.5x4

72.5x4

Ab wheel:

8

8

8

 

RDL:

110x8

110x8

110x8

(Not quite) Dragon flagish:

5

5

5

Dip shrug:

8

8

8

 

Notes: Felt kind of ehh, but stoked I remembered to (and had no trouble) do FS. I've been lax on the core work and it showed. Blah.

 

Mobility - Spent a good amount of time on mobility. Did some great shoulder work Friday, got an awesome adjustment that helped a lot, too.

 

Accessory - Last week was a good week for dem quads.

[Strawberry Squatcake]

Sorry you weren't feeling great yesterday. But yay for taking time off when you need it! Are you still working the weekend job? 

 

Your quads are all, "Thanks, Hermy." 

[Hermione Gainser]

I sure am.  Oy.  So tired.

 

Had a crazy headache yesterday starting around 3 and didn't let up.  Workout + headache = ugh.

 

12/9/14

 

Squat:

bwx4

65x3

75x2

80x10

80x10

80x7

Notes: The last set kept getting all messed up. I couldn't keep a good rack. Weirdness.

 

Pull work:

3 banded chin

1 negative

3 banded pull

1 hold at the top

3 banded chin

2 banded pull, two feet in band

3 banded chin, both feet in

WRKT:

12x8

12x6

12x4

 

BSS:

15x8

15x8

15x8

Bench dips:

12

10

10

Notes: Used a different bench for the bss and it worked much better than it has been.

 

Headache was raging at this point so I called it quits without doing farmer walk.  Bleh.

 

Mobility: shoulder and some hip - did ankle at work.

[Strawberry Squatcake]

OMG. There is a headache virus going around here. It sounds like you got it. My 3 year old nephew got it first in our family. "My head huhts weewy baad." It's a super-intense headache, a fever and fatigue. It lasts around 24 hours, so hopefully if you're not over it already, you will be soon. If you're still struggling, try to get comfortable enough to sleep. 

 

Or maybe it's just an annoying dry air headache. I get those, too. Or just a "work is annoying" headache that was amplified by doing something awesome (lifting).

Who knows where headaches come from? They just appear. 

 

 

Nice job on the work out despite feeling craptastic! 

 

[Hermione Gainser]

Thanks!  Yeah, I think it was a mix of dry air and tension + the general feeling of being overwhelmed which is my current state of existence.

 

Headache and junk cleared up for Wednesday until the evening. Then I started to feel extra bad again. Really fatigued and headachy.  Took work off again Thursday to rest - got more sick then rested and felt a lot better so went to the gym.  Like halfway through my squats the headache came back full force and I was all zzzzz again. I probably could have pushed through it and did the rest of my workout, but I thought - live to fight another day. So I finished up my squats, did a little maintenance work and left for more rest.

 

Boyf was at the gym with me, which is rare, so I had him help me with a quick shoulder mobility thing and then I went home.

 

12/11/14

 

Squat:

bwx3

75x3

95x2

105x3

105x3

105x3

105x3

105x3

105x3

 

Extension:

25x8

25x10

25x8

LYTP:

5x10

5x8

5x8

 

Notes: Even though I wasn't feeling great, the squats went well.  I had some really good hip drahve going on.  There were definitely some eh reps, but over all I'm pleased.  Heavier squats continue to be easier than light squats. Weird? Maybe. I think I need to get my light days back up to the range where my current "heavy" squats are and things will be good again.  Now that my body is getting on board with squats I find the weight is moving up at a good pace.

Adding in LYTP because I used to do more shoulder work and now I don't. I think getting some good stuff in will help with the mobility issue I'm having.

 

 

hip drahve, yo.

 

Still keeping up with mobility. and getting in the gym, even if it's just to squat and leave.

[Alanna]

 

 

hip drahve, yo.

 

If I start laughing the next time I do squats, I'm blaming you . (Also, is there more where that came from?)

 

Hope you feel better soon (both in terms of the headache and feeling overwhelmed). Seems like this time of year tends to be hard on most people. I'm glad squats are going well despite feeling under the weather, though! And in the meantime...

 

 

My brain is foggy at the moment--what's LYTP stand for? If it has to do with shoulder mobility, it's probably something I should be doing.

[Hermione Gainser]

Hahaha I fully accept the responsibility! 

 

Where's Chairbrokey? He's the giver of amazing lifting comics. I'm fairly certain he posted it on one of mine once upon a time (i may or may not have admitted to pretending I'm a space ship taking off when I squat). Chairbrokey, do your thing! 

 

Thanks! Feeling better physically and somewhat better in the overwhelmed world.  I took care of a few things and that's helped quite a bit. 

 

Oh! LYPT - they're some prehabby things to do for the shoulder/rotator cuff area. I tried to find the articles I read on them that I liked but my google-fu is failing me so I linked a video on 'em. 

 

***

Today I lifted post job 2. Ooof. 

 

12/13/14

 

FS: 

45x4

60x3

60x3

60x3

60x3

60x3

 

Deadlift: 

155x3

175x1

190x1

195x5

185x5

185x3

175x5

Russian twist:

20

18

18

Notes: Feeling pretty weak after working all morning, but still not unhappy with my lifts.  Decided to just work up to a heavy 5 and play from there. So I did. Twists are stupid. i hate them. 

 

OHP:

65x5

72.5x5

72.5x4

72.5x4

70x4

70x4

 

RDL:

110x8

110x8

110x6

DB bench: 

30x10

30x6

30x7

Notes: Yeah, about that. Uh no. So hungry at this point and body was just not having it. 

 

 

 

Reasons I like my gym: two guys I know at the gym were chatting.  Topics discussed: bulks and cuts, fixing squats specifically relating to butt wink, how it's better to quit a set before form breaks down too much and you get hurt.  le sigh <3 

[Alanna]

Glad you're feeling better! And nice job getting the front squats in pre-deadlifts .

 

Oh! LYPT - they're some prehabby things to do for the shoulder/rotator cuff area. I tried to find the articles I read on them that I liked but my google-fu is failing me so I linked a video on 'em. 

 

 

Hey, it's like the shoulder mobility version of the YMCA! Thanks for sharing--I'll have to give these a try.

 

 

Reasons I like my gym: two guys I know at the gym were chatting.  Topics discussed: bulks and cuts, fixing squats specifically relating to butt wink, how it's better to quit a set before form breaks down too much and you get hurt.  le sigh <3 

 

[CourtnieMarie]

yay!! you got in some lytp! hows this week going?

[Hermione Gainser]

 

 

 

 

The legit perfect gif right here. 

 

yay!! you got in some lytp! hows this week going?

 

Yes! Strong, stable shoulders FTW! 

 

***

SO, it's Thursday, huh?  Ok. 

 

Workout 12/16/14

 

Squat: 

65x3

75x3

85x10

85x10

85x10

 

Pull work: 

5 pull ups 

5 pull ups 

3 pull ups 

5 chin ups

5 chin ups

WRKT:

12x8

12x8

12x8

Notes: all pull work was banded. added a tiny red band to my usual band for extra help since my shoulders have been funky lately. 

 

BSS:

20x8

20x8

20x8

DB OHP:

20x10

20x10

20x10

Notes: opted for the ohp as a push assistance for two reasons - 1. more ohp, 2. shoulder is continually funky and dips aren't helping right now. 

 

Farmer walk: 

50x38 steps

50x49 steps

50x46 steps

 

****

 

Challenge overview:

 

So, the challenge isn't over yet, but I'm feeling spunky and am going to do a little "how it's going" type thing (since, ya know, I haven't really at all..)

 

Mobility: Check.  Improved hip and ankle mobility.  Back and forth on shoulder mobility, but refocusing on that for a while.  

 

Dem quads: Check!  Look at that! I actually succeeded in some quad growth.  Talk about craziness. Measurements confirm what my eyes see.  Happy Hermy is happy. 

 

Get the work done: And yes. I've been going to the gym and rearranging my schedule to accommodate my three lift plan.  That's pretty big since 1. things have been rough lately, 2. working out after Job 2 sucks.  So yay for me. 

[MasterOfCows]

F'yeah quad growth!!!  It's so sweet.  Way to go!

Before I had my surgery I was starting to get a bit of a teardrop... you sort of had to squint to see it, but I knew it was there.

[Hermione Gainser]

It's very exciting! I missed my quads. 

 

12/18/14

 

Squat:

bwx3

75x3

90x2

105x1

110x3

110x3

110x3

110x3

110x3

110x3

Notes: I wanted to do a bigger jump, but the body just wasn't feeling it. These weren't my best, but still okay enough. 

 

 

Bench: 

95x3

112.5x3

112.5x3

112.5x2

112.5x2

95x3

95x5

Step up: 

20x10

20x10

20x10

Notes: Felt weak this workout so wasn't surprised at bench fail.  Dropped weight to 80% of estimated max to finish off the sets. Bro was waiting for bench so did minimum instead of max sets. 

 

 

Extension:

25x10

25x10

25x10

Farmer:

50x57

50x58

50x56

Notes: All my other lifts felt weak today.. but farmers were nothing.  How does that even happen? 

 

Stayed around post workout to do a good amount of mobility. 

[CourtnieMarie]

i'm sure you've answered this before but for your farmers, is that 25# per hand or 50# per hand?

[Hermione Gainser]

i'm sure you've answered this before but for your farmers, is that 25# per hand or 50# per hand?

 

50 per hand

[CourtnieMarie]

[Alanna]

The legit perfect gif right here. 

 

 

I have been learning from the Queen of gifs (Step 1: Google "le sigh." Step 2: Limit search to animated images. Step 3: Profit.)

 

Yay for super quads!

 

 

(And this gif is relevant because the Velociraptor wants strong quads too, right? Heck, it's a dinosaur on a bicycle--relevant or not, I couldn't resist.)

[Hermione Gainser]

 

lols!

 

I have been learning from the Queen of gifs (Step 1: Google "le sigh." Step 2: Limit search to animated images. Step 3: Profit.)

 

Yay for super quads!

 

 

(And this gif is relevant because the Velociraptor wants strong quads too, right? Heck, it's a dinosaur on a bicycle--relevant or not, I couldn't resist.)

HA! This is thebestgifever.  Every time I think something is the best gif a new best gif comes up.. yeah.

 

Also, not sure what is says about my brain and its associations but this gif made complete sense to me in relation to super quads. So.. there's that.

 

***

So, the challenge is over!  How did I do?

 

Mobility: Yes. Lots of it and improvement was had.

 

Accessorize: Dat quad work.  Did a lot, saw improvement as well.

 

Squat: Like a boss. Got in lots of squats.

 

Punch the clock: No workouts missed. Look at me go.

 

Now off to the battle log I go...

[CourtnieMarie]

dude, you ROCKED this challenge! nice job!

 

[PrincessHeather]

No workouts missed.... I am so jealous right now...

 

[Alanna]

I think this gif pretty well summarizes how this episode of you (the cat) vs. life (injuries, mobility issues, time constraints...) unfolded:

 

[Hermione Gainser]

LMAO. I love you guys.  

 

The gifs. Oh the gifs! 

[Strickland5]

Had to swing by and see how things are going for another Atlantian ... looks like its going GREAT! 

 

Keep swinging!

[Hermione Gainser]

Can I assume these gifs are previews for Saturday?!  

 

Thanks!  I'm hanging out in my battle log for a while now that work is bananas.  Come play!