Lifting like girls

Happy weekend, Commandos!
Hope everyone's holiday prep is fun and not stressful! (I'm just letting the holiday stress go to my head this year. I'm hopeless. Bleh.)
Anyways, I needed to feel powerful this morning. Luckily, it's deadlift day! This workout of OTF is tough and I have to pace myself with sets, because so many of the lifts are 'major' lifts.
Deadlifts 235# x8, x6, x7, x6
BB Hip Thrust 235# 4x10
Chinups 4x5
DB snatches 45# 2x7 each side
Russian twists 45# 1x6 (too heavy for my spent hands) and 30# 2x20 and 1x15

Looking forward to scaling back food intake in 2 weeks. I am supposed to do a month of maintenance at my ending weight (to solidify muscle and strength gains) before cutting. My tummy doesn't like alllllll that food for so many weeks, methinks. Not sure.
I have 8 weeks of OTF left but my pare it back to 6, to end with the end of my maintenance phase. Unlike GSF, a week's OTF workouts are the same over the three phases, with the only difference the undulating rep patterns.

Tom, so sorry to hear about your elbow. Bummer! Rest it before it takes longer to heal! Maybe add some BB good mornings to get some extra posterior chain work in?

Karen, amazing workout, as always.
Justine, I never cease to be amazing with your BW work!
Lib, awesome work on T25!
Lisa, great workout. You know I love that boxing stuff, too! :)
Oh, and I didn't even know there was a Star Wars movie coming out. Am I living under a barbell?
lisa_la_machina said:
I just got my ICE shipment confirmation email. Justine, I might actually follow a real rotation for once. I'm thinking one of the rotations that combines ICE with another series, assuming such a rotation will exist.
Click to expand...
I'm also super stoked for ICE. But the question is, could you deal with the Live withdrawal?!

Gotta run, toddler mischief! High fives!
Roz
 
Woke up a little late this morning, checked my phone for "forum news", saw Roz's post, got back under the covers with "waves of inadequacy'" washing in!! Holy cow Roz..GREAT WORK!! High and Heavy! After laying there for a while I decided to do a DADS wo;(dumb a$$ do something)! I thought I would do a core, light leg day and started with crunches x50 x30 x20, followed by alternate bicycles x25 x25 x25 x25. Next to work it the other way I took "POWERBOTS" advice and did some goodmornings. Never really did many of these and went 45 x8 65 x8 85 x8 105 x8. Not sure how much to use, but my hammies are really inflexible and I hope this will help a little...felt like plenty at 105. Next I went back to abs and did a long set of inclined sit ups x50. I decided to do some light deadlift type stuff and did a light set of deads 135x5 then ROZ got in my head and I decided to go a little heavier and did 205 x8 (conv) x 8 (sumo) 225# x 6 (sumo) and 245# x 3 (sumo) x3 (conv). I did a light 3 sets of squats, trying to get deep, 115 x8 135 x 8 155 x8 and finished with 4 sets of barbell calf raises 155# x30 x25 x25 x20. No issues with elbow on anything this morning so happy "bout dat"!! Hope all my "IRON SISTAS" have great weekends!!! Great wo's all!
 
Had to go to Springfield today, then came home and crashed for almost three hours......that was so weird. I did NOT want to work out, so called my best friend and after some motivational chat.....where he makes me convince myself to just try it........

T25 total body done.......with NO pauses!! I did a lot of modifying though.

Hope everyone is doing well! Shower and Netflix with the kiddos!!!!

P.S. Now I KNOW this is the perfect group! I have never seen Star Wars period.
 
Last edited:
Bowing to Roz's greatness and unconquerable strength.

Cheering for Tom's DADS workout, and chuckling over the title. Not too shabby for someone who wanted to pull the covers over his head.

Vicariously gasping for air, thinking about Lib's T25 (seriously, my DH did the program, I tried a couple...NOT easy!).

Envisioning Karen kissing the floor on her suspension trainer pushups (and I'm talking about ROM, not crashing to the ground like I would've).

Feeling proud of my Compound Giant Sets--Light Weights Live (7/9/15) workout. Roz, you know I'd find a way to fit Live into my ICE rotation. And today's workout made me think of Karen because it was Afterburn-ish. Why do we associate Karen with AB? But I really do. :)

Wondering if Justine is having a great weekend?

Loving the Star Wars-free zone in our Check-in. Those of you with Netflix: will you be watching Fuller House when it starts showing on Netflix? I don't have Netflix but my lame self wants to see the show so bad that I might sign up.
 
Hi all! Wow, there have been some fab workouts. Roz - 235# for those reps is fantastic. And then to continue with hip thrusts, chin ups, snatches etc. I'm feeling weary just reading it. What sort of # do you think OTF has added to your dl? Although I like the idea of a dl-focuses programme, I'm like you, not so sure I could cope with the same workouts over all the phases.
Good that your eating maintenance phase is on the horizon - pretty good timing, too, given everybody seems to lower calories in January!

Karen, I think I did just 2 weeks of phase 1 bw, then just 3 of phase 2, and I'm probably only going to do 3 of phase 3 as well. Certainly the first phase seemed the most ordinary.

Lisa - a rotation? Glad to hear it! Hope you'll post your thoughts on ice as soon as you try it.

Tom, glad you can still dl with that elbow. Great way to work the lats.

Lib, well done with T25.

I had a day off yesterday, then today did the second w/o of HTS. Reminiscent of Mark Lauren stuff. 3 different supersets:
Goblet squat, tempo 333 (oh boy) 10kg 15 reps + lunge rotations 8 per side
Kneeling pull downs (again tempo) x12, then squatting internal external rotations x8 (ow)
Then suitcase carries (30kg) and sort of 1 leg dl cable pull move.

Liked it, but it's not heavy weights, so may need to adjust calories, as I doubt I'll be muscle building in this phase.

Agree re Star Wars!!!!

Got a run, as my sleigh awaits to whisk me off Christmas shopping (urggh)

Xx
 
Justinef said:
Lisa - a rotation? Glad to hear it! Hope you'll post your thoughts on ice as soon as you try it.
Click to expand...
Justinef said:
sort of 1 leg dl cable pull move
Click to expand...

Justine, I jinxed myself. ICE arrived today, damaged. I've already contacted Customer Service. Haven't heard back yet, but will likely have to mail back my DVDs and wait for a new (hopefully unbroken) copy. What is this sort of 1 leg DL cable pull move? Are you making up exercises now to make the rest of us look bad.

desertambrosia said:
Because I love it!!
Click to expand...

Love for AB? Please tell me you're talking "love/hate!" ;)

Liberty said:
Oh, for the woman who declared how much I detest cardio, this morning I actually said, I GET to workout today. Lol
Click to expand...

YAY! Maybe you've just found a cardio soul mate with T25? Gotta find what you love to do. Fuller House is a 'reboot' of the 90's sitcom Full House. Most all of the characters are coming back, all grown up, except the Olsen twins. It was a cheesy family sitcom but it reminds me of my youth so the nostalgia makes me want to watch. I'm sure it won't be 'deep' or dramatic by any means, just brainlessly entertaining.

Waves to Tom and Roz.

No workout for me today. Be back tomorrow to report some movement.
 
Slugo day for me today, did manage 5 minutes of planks, but that was it!! I have been trying some of the stretching exercises DirtDiva had mentioned on another forum for tendonitis. ( thanks Justine!) My DW had me raking leaves yesterday, I wanted to invoke the "injury clause" but knew it wouldn't fly!! By not doing bi's or lats, I will probably hit other bodyparts 2x this week....guess that's good news. Hopefully everyone has a great Christmas week!!
 
Lisa, ICE...jealous! Can't wait to hear all about it.....when you get your replacement...what a bummer. I wouldn't call T25 my cardio soulmate, more like I'm not bored yet. Lol. I need to work in more of Cathe's weightlifting again. But, will see. I was able to do planks on my toes today! That's huge for me.

Oh and what is AB?

I hope everyone is doing well. I couldn't sleep, so began living room. I need to unpack, but the wind is COLD! And my boxes are in the garage.
 
Chest day today, yay! Did a 12 set up and down pyramid as usual from 45 -195. 45x10 95x5 135x4 155x3 175x2 195x2 185x2 175x5 165x6 155x8x6x5. next I did 6 sets of inclined bench 135x8x8x7 115x8x8x9, and finished with push ups x20 x18. I felt really good about this wo, as I used 155 for my last 3 sets on bench, up 20# from what I previously finished with and upped my first 3 sets of inclined B 20#, using 135 instead of 115 and did my final 3 sets with 115 I finished with some assorted ab stuff, crunches, knee ins and alternate leg bikes. I'm thinking that instead of skipping back day to rest elbows, I may sub a deadlift/pullover day instead. (anything to push back a leg day!!) I wont get the same lat intensity, but deads are a great overall strengthener and I need work on these! "Bust em up" my fellow iron workers, get this week started in style since it may be a tough one to finish with Christmas festivities!!
 
Good morning everybody. The workout this morning was ta da AFTERBURN! Yes Lisa, love to hate that workout. But, it works me in so many ways, and feels so good! Love it!
Happy Monday!!
Back to edit. Someone brought all kinds of treats and fudge to work. I'm toast. Maybe I will lock myself in my office. Probably not.
 
Last edited:
Tom, 20# increase is a great improvement. A proper jump in weight. Good idea working lats and back. They're my favourite workouts.

Karen, afterburn and fudge probably cancelled out, so I'm sure all will be well! I must do ab again soon, to see if it feels any easier (or harder?)

Lib, you sound as though you're getting in the exercise groove. I always reckon I don't need to love a workout, just not hate it!

Today was day 3 of HTS. I really could do with a bit more intensity. If it wasn't such a busy time of year, I'd do doubles. It's not that I don't like HTS, just that phase 1 seems to be all about movement patterns, which is no bad thing, but I'd like a bit of oomph as well. So today there were 3 supersets, as usual. 4 times through each:
Half kneeling rope raises x8 + glute focussed spit squats x8
Half kneeling KB press 10kgx10 + hand walk Cossack squats x8
DB shoulder carries 15kgx20 yds + tempo push-ups x15

Not an easy workout on the knees! Mind you, it's the only reason I'll get house maids knee, as I don't do much floor scrubbing!!

Oh, and Lisa, I'm not inventing these exercises, honest.

it was my first Christmas party of the year yesterday, and I'm just about to go and collect my dd, so it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here.

Hope everyone's well x
 
Hi, Commandos!
It has been a crazy week and will only get busier! I've still managed to squeeze in my workouts.
Yesterday was bench. Basically the same as last week with wee improvements (really wee) in each lift. Then a walk later.
This morning, I was lying in bed at oh-dark-thirty (thank, Karen), unable to go back to sleep, and I had some ruminating time. I decided to end my massing phase now, because it's basically been a month (which is a fine duration) and it's starting to wear me down (the food and the crazy training volume). Plus OTF is headed in a lower rep direction. So I'm heading (as of today) into my maintenance phase. I'm supposed to maintain my new higher weight (weird the scale has suddenly 'shown' the gain recently, part of which might be hormonal, etc., though physically it's felt pretty gradual). I'm up 4-5 lbs, which is just about right. I'll still be eating more than usual to maintain this weight, mostly because my metabolism is revved from my recent crazy calorie intake. So I won't be restricting around xmas! I think I'm going to start around 2700-2800 and see if that allow me to maintain. In the RP ebook they say expect a quick dropoff after calories and carbs are cut back (not tissue loss), then see where you land.
Today was my first lower-rep day, squats. PR for me, yay! I know a good bit of it is the recent introduction of the belt. Anyways, triples at 175, 185, and 195; 200x2; 175x2x5. Pistols 4x5 each side superset with double hammer curls 2x30# 4x8. Then I did a few sets of one-leg RDLs and called it a day. I'm hoping to try some of the ICE videos soon, but the holidays are crazy and it's hard to find time!!
I am feeling optimistic that I'll hit 600 when I max in 4 weeks...
Tomorrow I'm off lifting so I may try a cardio workout if I can fit it in.

I'm gonna go curl up under the tree -- wake me for Christmas morning, OK? I'll let the elves take care of everything.

Tom, nice bench improvement!
Justine, I'm very interested to hear about your HTS thoughts going forward.
Karen, yeah, AB! (Lib, that's Cathe's Afterburn.) That one winds me like none other.
Lisa, how are you and the gals? Excited for Santa?
Lib, hooray for your T25 successes! That's great! Congrats on your plank work! :)

Must run, it's almost naptime! It's pretty warm, so I may see if I can get a stroller walk/nap going. :)
I'll be back when I can, not sure when that will be.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!! :D
I'm grateful for my commandos keeping me inspired!
Roz
 
PRs all around! Yay for Tom, those were big time weight increases and after your Yard Max leave raking workout yesterday! ;)

And Roz, how does one congratulate a warrior who keeps breaking her PRs? hooray! Enjoy your cardio tomorrow. Wonder what it will be? DD2 is (obviously) clueless about Christmas but DD1 had a meltdown yesterday when we had to keep telling her that she cannot open presents yet. So, yeah, she's excited! How about your cutie?

Karen, you're killing me with the AB. What Justine said: mountain climbers cancel out fudge. I had my first Christmas cookie yesterday and probably my last. I'd just rather eat my usual treats.

Justine, stinks that TS is not meeting your expectations. Maybe you should be making up exercises to make it more enjoyable?

Lib, now that you know what Afterburn is, you have to do it. Those are the rules. :) Terrific job on your planks. Those really are a total body move, tough!

I'm sad about ICE delay, but I coped with Stephanie Vitorino's Ultimate Body Shaper. It's a circuit workout. Don't do it often but I like it. I think it's out of production so I'd better be nice and careful handling this DVD.
 
Roz, I read RPs blog on different metabolisms which you pointed me to. Interesting. Which do you think you are? It doesn't sound as though you've gained a huge amount (just right, I'd say). Does that mean your metabolism changes quickly? Have you any idea how much is fat and how much muscle? Do RP suggest what sort of workouts to do during the different phases? Presumably you need to be in a hypertrophy phase whilst bulking? What about during maintenance?

Sorry, so many questions, but I'm thinking of trying it in the new year, but my head will have to be in the right place first! I hate surprises!!!
 
Justine, I'm not really sure which metabolic 'type' I am. Perhaps I change quickly? I did find that the weight didn't come and didn't come and then it felt the number on the scale spiked quickly. Not sure 100% what to make of that.
I can't tell how much is muscle. They say if your 10RM is going up, then a good bit is muscle. That's the case for me. All I can say is, some is muscle and some is fat. They say to anticipate about 1/3 muscle, 2/3 fat for someone who's not a total newbie but also not a seasoned lifter/dieter.
And yes, 7-12 rep range for hypertrophy, as much as you can (more volume = more % muscle), then reduce volume (and presumably reps) for maintenance. Then again a higher volume during cutting to maintain training stimulus/retain muscle. If you 'do it right', they say you only lose about 10% muscle during cutting (unless you're dipping into the very low bodyfat %s [sub-15%], in which case it's more muscle -- but this won't be the case for me).
Does that answer your questions?
I would advise starting with just a month and see how you feel. But follow your muse -- that's just my experience.

This morning I did Rock'm Sock'm Kickbox -- very fun! I'd say it's intermediate-for-Cathe, not 'generally intermediate'. Lisa, have those cute pink gloves at the ready, I think you'll want 'em (though Cathe and crew don't use them). I warmed up with Icy Core 2, which I also enjoyed.
I'm excited to use the Blizzard Blasts for cardio finishers -- they seem just the right length! (Though I haven't tried any yet.)
I think ICE will be a great addition to Cathe's collection. The (relative) yin to RWH's yang.
Hark! I hear a little voice. Must run.
Roz
ETA: Oh, speaking of yin, I did the better part of a 1-hour yin yoga class on youtube last night. If you search the 'tube for 'yin yoga', a 1-hr Travis Elliot class comes up first, which is great, because I loved his yin from UY that I used on the Udaya streaming service.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top