Rep. Max. Repeat.

No. 8

2017-12-15T13:45:00.001-08:00

Mountain Range High School
Thursday

I've been lifting quite a bit now and I'm loving the new gym membership. It's extremely convenient and it's open 24 hours a day except for weekends. However, in the morning, I've been lifting in my gym class too and we recently just maxed today. My mentor is out sick but I'm continuing to work on my own with the workout routines he's been giving me. I was finishing up my gym class when I noticed some type of paper on the board. I didn't really look at it much. Usually on the white board near the exit of the doors, there are names of the strongest people in class, both male and female. I was trying to look for my name in the ranking system but the white board was empty except for the paper. I finally had my eyes land on the paper and my hearty burst with joy. I was the strongest girl in the entire gym class. I have yet to show my mentor but I hope to show him this weekend. I'm extremely proud of the work I've been putting in and I guess you could say that hard work really does pay off.

No. 7

2017-12-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

Chuze Fitness
Thornton Recreation Center
Mountain Range High School
Thursday, Saturday-Sunday

I have finally joined a gym! I decided to go with Chuze fitness because it was close to my house and only $9.99 a month. It was great deal. I went to the gym and tested some things out. I worked arms that day. There were more than just the big three lifts I had to do. In order to get stronger and build muscle, I had to work all types of exercises from which I was used to. My mentor is very happy about my improvement and he says that I'm getting really strong. He wants to soon find out some of my new maxes later this month.

Here is my set of dumbbell push presses @30x5

Previous max for my sumo deadlift. I finally got the form down and hit 185x1!

Last but not least, I have my all time back squat max which is 185x1.

No. 6

2017-12-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

Mountain Range High School
Thursday

I've been working so much with my mentor. I've been looking up some cool new lifts on the internet and there was on I really wanted to try out which was called a "Sumo Deadlift". It looked really fun to do but also very hard. I was confident that I'd get it right however on my attempt, I had bad form. My feet were too close together and my back was too arched. The result of this was, a pulled lower back muscle. My mentor just kept reassuring that I had to keep practicing the form before I continue anymore lifts. Also he recommended me take a few days off from lifting to let my newly pulled back muscle to heal. He even said when I sleep, put a pillow in between my knees to keep my spine straight when I sleep. It was a total pain in the butt to stay off my back for a few days but I kept stretching and icing my back for it heal. I know I have to practice more form for this and I definitely will get the sumo lift down.

Here is my attempted sumo deadlift @165x1

No. 5

2017-12-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

Mountain Range High School
Tuesday

I have learned so much from my mentor. He said he wanted to test out my max for all the lifts. However, I did it alone at school because he wouldn't have time to see me this weekend because he was covering shifts for work. He said I could do the maxes by myself and as long as there was someone to "spot" me if I struggled doing a lift. So I took on the challenge and did them in the school gym. I tried the hex-bar type of dead lift instead of conventional with the bar because that's what we originally started out with. Also the thing with deadlift is, no one can spot you for this because you can be safe doing this on your own. Now in order to find your max weight of each lift, you must wear a belt. The belt engage your core and keeps it that way until you take it off. Also, it helps you from pulling or twisting in a wrong way.

Here is my first max on deadlift @205x1

No. 4

2017-12-14T21:31:00.000-08:00

Carpenter Recreation Center
Saturday-Sunday

I finally added weights to my sets. I was so happy. The catch with adding weight was, the heavier you go, the less repetitions you do. So to help visually, this is a little representation of what I mean.

P.S. Keep in mind now, that the number have been changed. The front number is the amount of weight in total and the second number is the number of repetitions I did.

Bench press

55x10
65x5
75x3

Front Squat

65x10
85x5
95x3

Back Squat

95x10
115x5
135x3

Deadlift

135x10
145x5
165x3

Power cleans

65x10
70x5
75x3

I was happy that I could finally add a little wight to my routine. Now after this is to keep practicing. I even find myself going to the gym on my own and working out on arms and legs quite a bit now. I sometimes even do it during my off hours on black days during my school schedule. I have gotten into the habit of going to the gym so much that I even considered a gym membership. I really hope to see some results in the next coming month. I'm starting to really like this whole powerlifting thing.

No. 3

2017-12-14T21:17:00.002-08:00

Carpenter Recreation Center
Saturday-Sunday

I didn't get the chance to work with my mentor this week however, he did send me a work out routine that I had to follow this week in order to get stronger.

Saturday

Bench press 3x10
Lat pull downs 3x10
Seated Cable Rows 3x10
Barbell curls 3x10
Tricep push downs 3x10
3 way shoulder flies 3x10

Sunday

Squat jumps with box 3x10
Front squat 3x10
Back squat 3x10
Overhead lunges 3x10
Leg presses 3x10
Leg curls 3x10

Let me tell you, leg day was a pain in the butt. I had hard time walking up or down the stairs. My arms felt like limp noodles and I was exhausted. He then proceeded to tell me that in order to build muscle and get stronger, I have to eat healthy. I should drink a protein shake or eat something that is high in protein after a workout because that's when your body tries to restore itself. Also I should stay clear of any stimulants such as "Pre-Workout" drinks. He explained that it's a very addicting thing, almost like cocaine, but for athletes. It release dopamine and helps your body feel more away and it gets your stamina going. He said that I should be more natural and just eat healthy. Typically, I don't eat after a workout but I did my best to listen to everything my mentor had to say. After the grueling two days, my body just fought me and didn't want to eat or even get out of bed. My muscles were tired and I didn't want to go to the gym anymore. My body did everything it could to try and fight me from going back to the rec center.

No. 2

2017-12-14T20:56:00.001-08:00

Carpenter Recreation Center
Saturday-Sunday

14 days in and I still am not allowed to put on any weights. Two weeks of repping nothing, but 45 pounds, was really starting to aggravate me. I know I can definitely do more than 45 pounds on anything. I was becoming impatient and I finally spoke up and said to my mentor, "Hey, can I add a little weight when I bench press?" He looked at me a little concerned but he allowed me to add weight. Just when I thought I was going to be able to add maybe rack 10 pounds on each side, he stopped me before I could finish. He reminded me that even a little bit of weight will effect the way I lift. Even the touch of a finger can be a huge impact. I took this into consideration and added only 2.5 pounds to each side of the bar. I was really arrogant at this point and began thinking in my head, "This is so easy." My thoughts were completely destroyed when I attempted to rep the bar 10 times. It was so much heavier than I thought it was going to be. It felt as if I were trying to hoist up a boulder. It sounds like I'm being dramatic but I'm really not. So he helped me out and just plain out gave me that, "I told you so" kind of look. I sighed in defeat and kind of laughed it off a little but accepted my defeat internally. I now have a clearer understanding of how powerlifting works. You can't just jump into it. You have to work your way up, little by little.

No. 1

2017-12-14T20:35:00.001-08:00

Carpenter Recreation Center
Saturday - Sunday

First day was extremely hard. Worked a lot on warm up, especially dynamics, and a whole lot of form. Here is a list of things we did today.

P.S. The '3x10' means that I did 10 repetitions, 10 times. It can also vary into different numbers as well. The front number is the amount of sets, and the second number is the amount of repetitions I did.

Bench press 3x10
Front squat 3x10
Back squat 3x10
Deadlift 3x10
Power cleans 3x10

My mentor didn't even let me touch the weights until he felt as if I were ready. He made me practice with just the bar which weighed 45 pounds. To put that in perspective, that would weigh as much as a small child. The only difference would be that the bar is cold, metal, and lifeless. To be frank, I thought he was just babying me and thinking I was weak but at the same time he explained to me that powerlifting is quite different from regular weight lifting. If the form isn't right, then you have a huge risk of injuries. A lot of people get hurt because their form isn't good at all. Out of all the things we worked on, power cleans became my favorite. The only difference with this lift from all the other lifts is that my mentor made me use a metal pipe that maybe weight less than 10 pounds.It's quite hard but once you get the hang of it, it's quite fun. You have to grab the bar from the ground and lift it up to your chest while landing in a squat position. Once the bar is up to your chest, extend both legs and stand straight up. The form for this one was quite hard because everything needed to be perfect. If not, then I would either hurt myself or screw up the entire lift. I now hope that I can get the form down and maybe soon, add weight to the bars.

Goals

2017-10-02T13:36:00.002-07:00

Hi! I'm a 17 year old girl. I go to Mountain Range High School and I'm an amateur weight lifter. I will be working with a mentor to teach me more about powerlifting and focus on the big three of which I know to be the bread and butter of all powerlifters; bench press, squat, and dead lift. My goal through this training is to hopefully join an open competition and powerlift competitively. I lacked self confidence that I could actually do this however, the thing about this is, it has no physical requirements. You can be any height, weight, and physique to powerlift. Everyone can do it. The road to success in this will be very hard but I will work as hard as I can to reach my goal.