Liz's Little 500 by '07 Log

[littlegirlbunny]

Good squats

Tonight at the gym, some guy told me that I am lifting too heavy. He said that he worries that I might hurt myself. I told him that I'm careful and that if I have any pain I'll back off.

So you didn't tell him if he didn't back of he might get hurt then? Was it a gym instructor or just some random gym user?

Photo's look great BTW - you look well strong and fit I definately wouldn't worry about loosing any weight, thats for sure

[JP]

some serious shoulder muscle there as well! Something which many women struggle to put on.

Daywalker should give pointers on posing, would put on a lot of muscle size immediately by just knowing how to flex and bring out the muscles

[Rochellita]

I second what LGB and JP are saying- you look great and I'm especially envious of those fantastic shoulders and arms! It is really hard for a lot of women to build up that sort of shoulder muscle, so hang on to it

[Jonathan]

I echo what the others said - absolutely no need to lose weight, you look great I especially like the definition in the arms and the shoulders are huge - what kind of weights do you do with the overhead press?

*thinks to himself that he must convince Liz to do strongwoman.....*

Jonathan

[FormicaLinoleum]

So you didn't tell him if he didn't back of he might get hurt then? Was it a gym instructor or just some random gym user?

Haha--I should have! He had a strong accent and his English was a little awkward, so some of the wording he used was probably due to that. He also said "sometimes I cannot lift the weight you lift" (which makes it sound like he comes along after me and tries to lift what I was just lifting, which isn't the case (for one thing I always put my weight away when I am done)). But that doesn't matter, does it? What matters is that I can lift it!

He was just a random gym user, but one I see around a lot. There are a number of regulars.

Thanks for all of the comments, everyone! One thing you can't tell from the photos I posted is that I carry a fair amount of weight on my hips, and I know I can't lose that without just losing weight in general. But I'm not too worried about it. I like feeling (and being) strong, so I don't want to jeopardize any strength gains by going on a serious diet. If I could lose a little fat really gradually that would make me happy.

*thinks to himself that he must convince Liz to do strongwoman.....*

Strongwoman looks super fun! I'll be at next Edinburgh Strength, so I can try it out then and I am sure I will love it!

Oh, I am at 27 kg for overhead press (strict). That's for reps; I haven't tested my max on that. I think I have naturally kinda big shoulders, though--I don't think they actually look that much bigger than they did before I started working out.

[Frostfire]

Impressive arms/shoulders for sure . I definatly agree with the others, you look so strong and healthy.

And you should try out strongwoman before next years Edinburgh event! There are so many things you can do without specific equipment (although there are tons you can't do without equipment I suppose).

Like farmers walks can be done with dumbbells or other things just lying around. Or yolk-type walks with an olympic bar (if you are brave enough to walk around a gym with a bar on your shoulders that is ). Or stone lifting, just find some nice ones around town (uh, be careful here I suppose as you will get weird looks from passers by). Or Crucifixes, those hurt, but your shoulders are so strong it should be no problem .

And there are different ways to deadlift that I find fun. Like 2-finger deadlifts with the middle and ring finger are crazy hard! There is a website with "forgotten" lifts here that has tons of ways to deadlift.

Anyway, the point is strongwoman stuff is fun and I encourage you to try some out .

[FormicaLinoleum]

Like 2-finger deadlifts with the middle and ring finger are crazy hard!

I can imagine!

Thanks for the ideas and the links. For the Crucifix, does the weight have to be held out for a period of time, or is the lift over once the arms are parallel with the ground?

[vegchassy]

I second, third and fourth what everyone else has said. If you are happy there is no need to lose weight. I envy you those shoulders and arms, absolutely brilliant....and i envy that stomach of yours as well....

[FormicaLinoleum]

Daywalker should give pointers on posing, would put on a lot of muscle size immediately by just knowing how to flex and bring out the muscles

btw, I think that Daywalker should post a "how to pose" thread with photos. I'd really like to know how it's done!

[vectoranalysisgo]

just wanted to chime in liz- I agree- you look fantastic. I have to say you've got a lot of muscle there!
and losing weight- first, I don't think you need to either- but I also understand that everyone has their own level of satisfaction that needs to be reached. but, to respond to your one thought- it can happen gradually, I know because it seems to be happening to me- even though I am making strength gains I seem to be losing about a pound a month.. which is definitely ok with me.. so don't give weight loss or dieting a second thought and let your body do what it wants while you get stronger and stronger.. I'd be willing to bet if you really have extra baggage to loose, some will come off without any extra work on your part.

keep up the good work!

[FormicaLinoleum]

Sunday at the gym (weights in pounds):
Squats: 75 x5, 140 x2, 145 x5/2
Calf Press (one leg at a time): 120 x7, 180 x7/7/7
Barbell Bench Press: 45 x6, 85 x4/3/3
Barbell Shoulder Press: 45 x7, 60 x4/3/3
Cable Row: 55 x7, 110 x4/4/4
Lat Pulldown: 50 x7, 100 x5/4/4

[FormicaLinoleum]

I have decided to set a goal for myself for the end of the year. I'd like to get my total to 480 lbs (218.2 kg) by the end of 2006.

I'm thinking of something like a 200 lb (90.9 kg) DL, 170 lb (77.3 ) squat, and a 110 lb (50.0 kg) bench. My current DL max is 165 lbs and squat is 145. I haven't tested bench in a while now, but I'm doing 85 for reps, so I imagine I could get a max of 100 lbs pretty soon.

If anyone thinks I should adjust my goals up or down, let me know!

[FormicaLinoleum]

Monday:
Light road ride with K again, same trail. The loop is around 12 miles. I'm not sure how long it took us.

Tuesday (all weight in pounds):
Deadlift: 85 x6, 150 x5/5/5
Calf Press (one leg at a time): 120 x7, 180 x7/7/7
Chest Dips: -70 x5, -30 x5/5/5
Hang Cleans: 45 x5, 65 x5/4/5
Barbell Bent-Over Row: 60 x6, 110 x2/3/3
Narrow-Grip Chinup: -80 x5, -50 x3/3/2

I had grip troubles today. I was doing my DLs double overhand, then my grip failed on my very last rep, so I did that one over with mixed grip. Then cleans tired out my grip again. By my rows, my grip was failing me. I could have rowed more if I could have held onto the bar longer.

And summer has hit! Yesterday and today it has been in the 90s, and humid. Typical for Baltimore, but despite the fact that I have been here for 15 years it's always kind of a surprise the first time it happens in a year. I'm like "oh yes, this is what summer is like". Needless to say, I was sweating profusely on the bike ride yesterday and in the (inadequately cooled) gym tonight. Ah, Baltimore summers!

[vectoranalysisgo]

liz- I think your goals are totally reasonable- actually I'm usually a fan of setting goals a little absurdly high and then going all out for them, so I might even aim a little higher if I were you! but as it stands, I think you have a good benchmark to work toward for the time being.. you'll be there in no time.

I hear you on the grip, too.. I hit a sort of wall with my grip limiting my deadlifting around the same weight- I switched to always using a mixed grip for larger weights, (and recently have spent a lot of effort remembering to switch it back and forth now and again so I don't get myself off balance) and doing double overhand on lighter/warm up weights.. maybe working on mixed grip and some rack lockouts will help- it's helped my grip strength a good bit.

and yeah. it's been 90s/humid here in pittsburgh too. I hate it. I can't stand humidity. I go to vegas in the summers and love 110 degrees if it's dry, but god.. humidity makes me cranky...

[Malcolms Billy]

Damn! Can I just basically agree with everyone else on here: you look great! I'm training pretty hard (for my standards that is) to gain predominantly upper body muscle and strength and boy if I'd end up with muscles like yours I'd be one happy girl!
As for that guy: he was just jealous