Deadlift 10 lb PR tonight and a nice compliment. I’ll take it.
Congrats on the PR, sushi. You and Midwest would kick my rear in the lifting department.
If I waited to workout in the evening it wouldn’t happen. After I workout I exercise the dogs and do the same after work - very therapeutic! Just need to do what works for your schedule, I guess.
Beautiful morning here - slept in before walking Sabapup followed by a play session. I’m taking a rest day today after a full week.
Yesterday, I soaked my hands and took down the ridges of my hand calluses with a smaller fine heel callus remover. Worked beautifully.
Sab, but you would wipe the floor with me in a run.
I went out to the trail by the bay to run 5 miles yesterday, nice headwind on the way out, but otherwise, the weather was beautiful. While running around the trail, my kid and a friend were walking Sushipup for the first time in the Baylands.
I’m 5 lbs away from a nice round # (x00), but that last 5 lbs will be very difficult. I videotaped my effort at x95 and I was shaking like a leaf on a tree in a brisk wind. I thought about going for it, but I was felt done. Quit while I was ahead.
Sabapuppy is too little for a walk - still getting those vaccines.
It was great weather here yesterday morning. I had an easy 4.2 miles through campus then a ton of yard work and puppy play (I’m including Sabapup as a puppy just in case anyone feels I’m neglecting her). The running felt really good. My last mile home is always the slowest thanks to a fairly significant hill. I need to work on that but I’m starting to feel better about running again. Trying to decide between some fall races but I’m headed to Europe in August and I’m not sure how much training I’d fit in!
I’ve been doing a lot of visualization when faced with physical challenge. It works well for Pilates, I bet it would work well with lifting too.
Conditioning camp this morning with my personal favorite- burpees.
Hi anyone who might still be reading!
I’m psyched to be having a two hour form check session with a Starting Strength coach. It’s a bit of a drive, but I’m looking forward to it.
I’m not loving the new forum design.
In case we don’t see each other much, thank you for this thread and all the support & good tips!
I’m still here! I don’t post here all that much. I mean, how many stories about burpees can you guys listen to? :lol:
The new forum design sucks, but what can we do. Others can complain, I usually roll over and just deal with it.
I’m very happy that you’re continuing your path with the barbell. So many rewards in terms of your health. And fun too! Are you checking your press, back squat or deadlift form? Or all 3?
This past week has been a deload week for me. Last week seemed like a deload week, but this week has been even a bit lighter, but more focused on core. Lots of “pause” and/or “tempo” lifts, where you pause let’s say for example at the bottom of the squat, or you lower yourself slowly as you descend. And then there are the glute bridges, situps, Good Mornings, etc.
Thursday, today, is my day of rest. 
We are doing a form check on the Big Five. Squat (low bar back), Deadlift, Bench, Press (standing overhead), and he offered me choice of Power Cleans or Barbell Rows.
I’m not currently doing Power Cleans or Rows and it’s not even on my radar. I’m doing chin-ups instead and would very much like to progress on those. So, I’m opting to use the time to pick his brain. I have a BUNCH of questions. I’ve got a two hour time slot.
I think I’m going to get a lot of the session. Although I’m a beginner, I can set up and verbalize the form queues I give myself – and get feedback in real life. I think it might be overwhelming and less helpful if I had never picked up a barbell before. In other words, the timing seems just right for another form check.
I have an old injury – well, that’s my best guess – that is making noises. When I was a freshman in high school, I had sepsis arthritis. It was very serious. The infection was in my sacroiliac joint on the left side. I was in the hospital on IV antibiotics for a full 30 days, and then on crutches and oral antibiotics for months and months afterwards.
I haven’t felt the ache in that joint for many years, and it has been saying hello again to me now that I’m lifting heavier weights in squats and DLs. It’s not PAIN as much as it’s an ache and soreness.
I’m not a parent but I was wondering what is a good workout routine to build up a six pack?
So, the barbell row is simpler lift, an “accessory” exercise. In simple terms, you bend over and lift a weight to your chest. It’s mainly for the back, hip and grip, and core. It might also help with your pullups.
The clean is a whole body compound lift and there are three types: muscle clean, power clean and squat clean. It’s picking up the barbell from the floor to your shoulder in brief terms.
Essentially, the muscle clean is for light weight/warmup and you catch the barbell (in the front rack/on shoulders) without bending your knees. A power clean, you will partially bend your knees to catch the slightly heavier weight. The squat clean is the most techincal of the three, where you catch the weight at the bottom of the squat and stand up. It’s used for the heaviest amount of weight, because the limited travel of the bar and weight in the vertical plane. Meaning the heavier weight doesn’t have to be lifted as high up in order catch it, but you have to be able to “squat it up” to the standing position.
I was taught the squat clean first, because it’s the most technical. The theory being if you can squat clean, then power and muscle cleans are WAY easy. However, in your case, if you were to learn how to clean, maybe just learning the easier muscle and power cleans and forgetting about the squat clean would be the best path, since you have that soreness in your sacroiliac joint.
Or just keep up what your doing, but maybe with lighter weight until the soreness goes away. Should you talk to your doctor? I’m very sorry to hear about your injury. Please be careful.
@MoonKnight There’s an adage “abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.” But I’d add that the gym really brings them out or accentuates them. It takes a lot of REALLY hard work, both with your meals and limiting or eliminating bad foods/calories as well as cardio and core work. There is no such thing as 5-minute abs IMO. There’s no simple answer unfortunately.
I think I have the food portion down as I eat healthy. I just need to figure out the exercise part and which exercises would really work them out and bring them out more.
@MoonKnight try a Pilates mat class. Pilates is great for the core.
Lots and lots of situps, planks, crunches, barbell rows, good mornings, hip extensions, V-ups, pushups, burpees, deadlifts, bench press, glute bridges, toes to bar, squats, running, rowing, biking, lunges, farmers carry, box jumps, wall balls, on and on.
I’d suggest speaking with a experienced and certified trainer about your goal(s) and have them design an individual program for you. From experience, it’s a lot of everything that I mentioned above and more. And probably some genetics too.
With so many burpee variations, how could you ever run out of stories? I feel like I’m the one always on repeat! Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out this new format.
I love your enthusiasm for lifting, Midwest. I hope your joint pain resolves.
Double workout for me yesterday. A cardio type boot camp - self paced. 25 reps of 25 different exercises, except 100 jump ropes. Fun for me. After work, an upper body class at the Pilates studio. I did not find it as difficult as I once would have. Lots of pushups! This morning, a 5k run in what felt like a sauna.
I think the key to those kind of abs is genetics and very low body fat. I don’t think they’re in my future and I’m okay with that.
How’s the trail running coming @sabaray ?
@mom60 @sushiritto Thank you for the suggestions! Much appreciated! 
@sabaray Here’s a burpee variation “story” for ya. A few weeks ago, I had a workout that was a combination of deadlifts and burpee pull-ups. Burpee pull-ups, that was a 1st for me. Mind numbing. 
There’s a trainer in my gym who can do a burpee into a backflip. There’s a variation I’ll never do.
A good friend of mine just joined a gym called “F45”, which I’ve come to find out means functional training in 45 minutes. Of course, I make fun of him. Though I’m sure it’s a wonderful program.
We have F45 in my area, very similar idea to my gym. Lots of women drinking the koolaid, buying the merch, buying the product. Our trainers are great though - backgrounds in kinesiology, etc. My favorite used to train Marines.
Since MOWC asked, I haven’t gotten back to the trail since my first real attempt. I don’t want to go alone and I also don’t have an access pass - I went with friends. I liked it a lot but I don’t know if it’s realistic to expect it to be a regular activity.
That’s too bad since you really seemed to like it. We have access to a lot of trails around here, and I’ve run trails in other places, but I am too fall prone so I stick to the roads. It is beautiful, though. And there’s the snakes and bears thing…