Weightlifting Check-in
I get random, unforseen urges to test my fitness from time to time. I’ll be sitting in my cubicle at work fighting off the compelling impulse to get down and do as many pushups as I can. I could be at my dad’s house and I’ll absolutely need to go into a headstand. I will get up from a cozy reading spot on the couch to do a wall sit for as long as I can. It’s really a curious behaviour of mine.
Tonight before my leg workout I tested my push-up ability. It wasn’t a compulsive impulse though, I was checking my progress toward my 100 push-ups Beast Mode goal.
Drumroll please . . .
I can do 28 push-ups before crashing. I still have a lot of work to do!
Today was the last day of my most recent 4 Day Upper/Lower Body Split Weight Training Plan (download here). I noticed that I had lost a bit of strength when getting back into it after the marathon but I’ve made pretty decent progress and I’m pretty happy with how the last 4 weeks have gone.
Particularly for these exercises:
Squats: increased from 155lb to 165lb
Bench Press: increased from 105lb to 115lb
Turkish Get-Ups: increased from 10lbs to 25lbs (<– HUGE!)
Close Grip Bench Press: increased from 50lbs to 80lbs
Here’s my Week 1 vs Week 4 progress for all exercises:
Next Steps:
I’m going to keep with the same exercises for the next 4 weeks, but make a few changes to how I do it.
1) Do push-ups first
2) Superset the arm (ie. biceps & triceps) exercises
3) Superset the shoulder exercises
4) Increase rest time to 2:00-3:00 rather than my current 1:00-2:00 for the heavier lifting (squats, bench, deadlifts, etc)
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- e-mail: samanthaamenzies@gmail.com
- Samantha Menzies is an opinionated young firecracker who just happens to enjoy distracting web surfers with chronicles of her mildly entertaining daily pursuits.
Your killing it! 28 push ups, that is amazing. Your workouts no joke, what an increase in strength you have gained in those 4 weeks.
Wow … very impressive. You inspire me!
Dangggg! Those are some great numbers. Congrats, beast!
Thanks!!
[...] 175lb for 5 reps. My progress has been plateauing here. In September I was squatting 145lb. In February I was up to 165lb. And currently I’m at 175lbs. So in almost a year I increased by 30lbs. [...]