Hey everyone! I wanted to start a journal over here to track my strength progress. I just competed in a figure competition about 4 weeks ago and I am ITCHING to get my strength back!!! I HATE losing strength when I get ready for a show. I am also considering doing a PL-ing meet sometime in the next 6 months if I can find one that's a reasonable distance from my hometown.

I competed in a Push/Pull meet in August of 2005... but it was very spur-of-the-moment... I only decided about 3 weeks before the meet and I was relatively new to lifting heavy at that time. My bench stunk (and still kind of does compared to my other lifts... that's what I get for having a 6' wing span =D) so I ONLY pulled in the meet, and I was able to DL 285 lbs. I went for 300 and missed... =(

However, I am ADDICTED to lifting heavy, and this summer when I was about 14 weeks out from my show I pulled 315... it was an U-G-L-Y 315... but dangit I got that weight up! Here is a link:



So right now, my max lift are currently (all done with only a belt):
Bench: 135 x 3 (never done a 1 RM)
Squat: 225 x 3 with a safety bar Free squat, 245 x 1 (parallel box squat)
Deadlift: 315 x 1

I would LOVE to bench 150, squat 275-300, and DL 350-365 (this would all be WITHOUT gear... only a belt and knee wraps... although I haven't used knee wraps before...)

Here is a link to my old Journal on FA if anyone is interested in reading about my journey:

http://www.figureathlete.com/...c.do?id=2306696

I am feeling a bit ignored over there these days since my show is over :::PITY PARTY:::

OK pity party over... =D But seriously, I feel like women over here will be interested in keeping up with my journal since it's all about strength and being POWERFUL! =D

Oh yeah, my other goal is to be able to do 3 sets of 10 neutral grip pull-ups... I used to be able to do 8, then when I got weak around show-time that decreased to about 4... and now I am back up to 6 or 7...

Hope people will follow along on my quest for strength! I am currently doing Westside for Skinny Bastards Part 3 =D

Monday
ME Lower Body Day

Parallel Box Squat (**supposed to work up to a 3-5 RM, but my back has been bugging me a bit... so I am lifting in the 6RM range and keeping form SPOT ON!**)
3 sets of 6 @ 185 lbs

Reverse Lunges
3 sets of 12 @ 25 lb DBs (50 lbs total)

DB Romanian DL
3 sets of 10 @ 65 lbs DBs (130 lbs total)

Was supposed to do an ab circuit, but ran out of time. Will do it tomorrow after my RE Upper Body Day.

Was SMOKED after this workout!

Nice to see you over here, looking forward to see you reach your goals.

Hey Molls- sorry to hear the girls dogging you like that. I haven't been back over there since I got my ass chewed for eating a cookie!
I guess talking about cookies to a girl getting ready to compete is a no-no :P

Anyway, good to have back on this side of the house! :)

Haha thanks Mom-in-Md! It's good to be over here!

And it's not that they are being mean or anything like that... it's just that I haven't been getting much in the way of responses/feedback/questions/etc... sometimes it feels like I am over there talking to myself! haha =D

I will likely still continue my thread over there too... if I can inspire just ONE girl to lift heavy... then that makes me happy! I just want a thread where I can get some actual FEEDBACK and SUPPORT!

Got it dude!

Oh yeah, thanks for the welcome Jennycbd! =D

Getting pumped to do my RE Upper Body tonight! Going to eat and take some supps and go to the gym in an hour or so.. =D

Hi mmgalb727

You have some very impressive lifts there, I'm a bit jealous really :)
I'm glad you started a log and it will be great to follow your progress.

Hey Molly - I LOVED your journal! But I am also glad to see you over here. I probably should have said it sooner, but you truly inspire me to be stronger, and stronger! I am starting from about where YOU started (yeah, I saw that before photo, hehe). Seriously, keep it up, and I will be following along, dreaming of heavy lifts like yours :D

Ronda - Thank you so much! You are very sweet! Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to catching up on your log when I get time! =D

Ambular - haha Oh goodness! My before picture... feels like a different lifetime ago that that was taken (it's actually been less than 5 years...) Congrats on making the decision to change your body and your life! And don't worry about how long it takes YOU to change your body because the time is going to pass anyway... so you might as well be working towards something positive! I am so happy that my lifting inspires you! It's women like YOU who say I inspire them, who actually PUSH ME in the gym! Hope to see you in my journal often! =D

Well.... tonight was SUPPOSED to be RE Upper Body.... BUT, I get to the gym and one of my best friends who just won her Figure class A out of 20 girls at a National Qualifier was there and wanted me to go to dinner with her... she was done with her workout... so I didn't have time to do my planned workout.

One of my mentors/coaches was there and he told me he would put me through a 10 minute impromptu KILLER workout... and he DELIVERED!

It looked like this:

10 pushups
then immediately push 100 lb plate 50 yds across the floor
10 more pushups
push the 100 lb plate another 50 yds
then 10 pullups (last couple were assisted)

Rest 60-90 seconds... Repeat 2 more times...

HOLY CRAP! My blood sugar was IN THE TOILET at this point! Haha It was a TOUGH workout... but it's fun to mix it up every once in a while. =D

Thanks for the welcome Claire! Yeah on the last set I couldn't even do 1 pullup! haha So I just hung for time... I jumped up with my chin above the bar and hung as long as I could, then dropped 1/4 of the way, and hung, then dropped to halfway, and then to the bottom quarter... then I punched my coach in the face.

Not really... but I wanted to =D

Sbmart - yeah that circuit will kick your booty in 10 min or less! ha! And thanks for the kind words! Hope to see you here often!

Tonight was RE Upper Body (I cut some of the sets down since yesterday was a little tough on my upper body)

Decline Pushups (feet on bench)
20/18/16 (Same reps as last week/+2/same)
**However last week was not decline =D

Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown
11 reps/10 reps @ 110 lbs (+1 reps/same reps)
***supersetted with ***
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises
3 sets of 12 @ 12.5 lbs (Did scarecrows last week.... had to change this week b/c cable pulley machine was not available)

Cable Lateral Raise
2 sets of 12 @ 7.5 lbs (weird machine)
***supersetted with ***
1 Arm Arnold Press
2 sets of 12 @ 20 lbs (+2 reps/+2 reps)

Cable Tricep Pressdown
10 reps/10 reps @ 47.5 (same reps/same reps)

Then I had to do a TABATA workout... as I promised a guy that I am friends with that I would put him through a TABATA workout... hehe ::::insert evil laugh here::::

He saw me at the gym one day come in and stretch and do a little dynamic warm-up... and then get ready to leave about 10 min later.. he started laughing and said, "workout over already?!?!" I tried to explain TABATA to him but he seems SUPER skeptical... I told him that the next time I did it, he could do it with me...

SOOOO... tonight... the poor lad agreed to do DB Thrusters with me, TABATA-style...

TABATA
10 lb DBs
20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, 8x
I did between 17 and 13 thrusters per 20 seconds...

My poor friend Jason had to set down his 15 lb DBs after the 2nd set... and then after the 4th set, he kept stopping in the middle of the 20 seconds... I had to yell at him and coach him to get him to keep going... after the 4 min was up... he laid on the ground for a couple minutes... HAHAH!

Then I rested about 10 minutes and did a 20 min low intensity walk to cool down... =D

DONE!

hahaha Yeah my BF has refused to even try TABATA with me... but I don't blame him... he is not the most conditioned person I know... ;)

So the quads are a bit TIGHT this morning from last nights ASS-Kickin'! I was planning on going for a light walk and doing some foam rolling and stretching... but taking the rest of the day off other than that. I am trying to figure out whether to do my ME Upper Day tomorrow or my DE Lower... My week has gotten all screwed up... I kind of have to plan my lifting days based on when I know I will have spotters there... =P

Yeah my legs ACHE from Wednesday... talk about DOMS! So I will be doing ME Upper tonight as long as I have a spotter... unfortunately I may have to do a quick change of plans if I get there and no one can spot me... then I will have to push through the pain and do my DE lower...

Either way.... excited about lifting! WHOO HOO! =D

Well tonight was my ME Upper Lift...But before I get into details... Here's a little sneak peek into what happened last week... (an excerpt from my FA Journal on 11/6/08):

"OMG had one of the best workouts EVER today thanks to Big Jim (my powerlifting buddy who is a bit of a mentor for me)!

So, I have a confession to make... everyone LISTEN UP: I was "put in my place" today by Big Jim =D

I have been more worried about breaking PR's left and right and not completely focusing on what would be best for me in the future. I was wanting to break records NOW NOW NOW and it left me a bit short-sighted. It easily happens to the best of us if we are not careful! =D

Big Jim reminded me that getting into the weights that are super-heavy (for me, at least) is causing my form to deteriorate... and instead of getting a set of 3 crappy reps... I need to bring the weight down and focus on my form more. I have to learn to STRAIN with good form...

That being said... he was at the gym today and helped me with my workout... which led him to the above conclusion. I had to set my ego aside and realize he is right and I thanked him for being there to put my booty in check when I need it. So THANKS BIG JIM! =D"

Soo... instead of working up to a shitty 3RM.. I have been trying to keep my form perfect and working up to a 5-6RM

Max Effort Upper
Friday 11/14/08

3 Board Flat Bench Press
worked up to 6 reps @ 125, then 6 reps @ 130

DB Floor Presses (Palm-In)
2 sets of 9 reps @ 45 lbs (paused at the bottom)

BB Bent Over Row
3 sets of 8 reps @ 115 lbs
***supersetted with ***
Scarecrows
3 sets of 10 @ 50 lbs

1 Arm Lateral Raises
3 sets of 15 @ 15 reps

EZ Bar Curls
3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs (I think... don't know how much this particular EZ Bar weighs as we have like 5 at the gym and they are all different... but there was a 10 lb plate on each side)

AB Circuit:
V-ups
Sprinter Abs
Decline situps
2 sets of 10 reps each with 2 min rest between sets

15 Min walk around the track...

Getting excited about DE Lower tomorrow (Saturday) and YOGA on Sunday! I am pretty new to YOGA and brand-new to this particular class! =D

Great job on your workout! Listen to big Jim. Whenever I just keep pushing for PRs and don't plan a cycle and deload, I end up lifting less and less weight each week. Especially on the bench.

I just started yoga a couple of months ago. It has made a big difference in my life. I feel great. I was having major low back problems. I would wake up in pain and took awhile to warm the body up. Now I feel great. No pain, less DOMs and better recovery time. Some yoga classes are awful. You just have to find the right instructor.

Claire

Hey Claire! Yeah Big Jim is a smarty! =D I am pretty good about taking de-loads (about every 5-6 weeks or whenever my strength stagnates for 2 weeks in a row... whichever comes first =D) but the main problem is that I ALWAYS want my lifts increasing and sometimes let me form go to crap just to use a heavier weight <---- NOT SMART! =D

I am so pumped about Yoga. Apparently this woman is an AMAZING instructor... I am definitely going to have to hang in the back until I have a few more classes under my belt. =D

I am glad to hear that you are giving yoga rave reviews!

I will let everyone know how it goes! Right now I am off to do a DE Lower Day!

DE Lower Body Day
Box Jumps
6 sets of 3 reps (Increased height about 5 inches from last week)

Bulg Split Squat w/ Front Foot Elevated
3 sets of 10 reps w/ 10 lb DB (+20 lbs from last week)

Pull Throughs
3 sets of 12 @ 57.5 (+5 lbs)

Decline Situps
4 sets of 15 reps @ 10 lbs (same as last week)

Also did some random pullups (I got 7 ... then I added 10 lbs of chain around my neck and got 4 and then 3...)

All in all a good workout. I increased performance on everything but abs (my abs are weak and I am going to work them more..)

Tomorrow I am going to stretch and foam roll a bit and then sit in the sauna to get nice and warm before yoga =D

So I went to my first yoga class tonight. (OK.. that's a lie... it is my 2nd, but my first was 5 years ago, so it doesn't count!)

It was fantastic! I LOVED it! It was difficult but doable and I didn't have trouble with many of the poses... I am sure I could have done them better/more gracefully/deeper/etc, but I still felt like I did a pretty good job. The room was warm (but not HOT like Bikram) and I was definitely sweating.

One thing that I think is holding me back a bit is my wrist strength. My wrists used to bother me in gymnastics all the time... so hopefully after several weeks of yoga they will strengthen enough and not bother me anymore.

I typically either take Sunday OFF or make it a light cardio day... but I think yoga will be my new Sunday workout. =D

cool Molly! I was thinking of doing yoga or pilates on my 'off day,' as well. I did it through both pg's and I love the feeling of just being calm afterward.