bench – LiftBakelove

May 2022 FITNESS AND LIFESTYLE FAVORITES

I’m so excited to share my fitness and lifestyle favorites now that it’s almost June somehow, and that I loved especially during May. I spend most of my time outside of work and testing beauty products training for powerlifting competitions (see my last competition recap here) and am very into fitness and health. As always, thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here or on Instagram @liftbakelove for new posts!

HoldOn Compostable Bags (*gifted) – HoldOn bags are heavy duty, plant-based, compostable bags. We are in the process of moving to a new house where we are required to compost as much as possible (which we should’ve been doing anyway), so I was so excited to get these. I love that we can still use trash bags, sandwich bags, and gallon bags like we normally do and not worry about contributing to additional plastic waste. And they work just as well as the plastic version, which is something I would have been worried about. Honestly this wasn’t even something I was thinking about investing in, but I’m so happy we have them!

A7 Bar Grip Tank (*gifted) – This tank is so incredibly comfortable and functional, and I’m beyond excited that I have it now that it’s getting so warm. I love that the bar grip material on the back that I use for bench and low bar squats (it helps you stick to the bench or a bar stick to you) is now on a tank. I get super overheated in the gym, especially in the Spring and Summer, so this has been perfect. It is so worth it, and I can’t wait for more women’s bar grip tanks!

Buff Chick Cinnamon Swirl Buff Whey – I have been loving mixing this protein powder into oatmeal. I have never been able to mix protein powder into oatmeal and have it taste good or have a good texture, but this works! I have used the Buff Chick Birthday Cake and Strawberry Banana as well with no issues! The powder blends in so easily, and there’s no weird texture or aftertaste. It’s such an easy way to have a ton of protein for breakfast or dessert or a snack, and it’s so easy using quick oats in the microwave. And there’s a vegan version too!

Sour Strips – These really are as good as everyone says they are. And if you haven’t heard of them before, they are really high quality sour candy strips that are each about 30 calories. They’re actually sour, the flavors taste like what they say they are, they have really fun seasonal flavors, and are super portable. These are a great intraworkout snack, especially when I’m lifting super heavy, which is most of the time. They now have a permanent home in our gym bag, and I’m so happy we ended up with so many of them when I first fell in love with them last year.

What would you like to see next on LiftBakeLove? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks as always for being here! As always, some links may be affiliate links that support the blog, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.

Juggernaut AI Program and App Review after 120 Days

Featuredby liftbakelove3 Comments

The Juggernaut AI Powerlifting app is described as having the best powerlifting coach in the world with you during every training session, helping you reach your true potential. It’s a subscription based powerlifting app that is 100% personalized to you based on your goals, how often you want to work out, when your meet (or mock meet) is scheduled, and your personal weak points. I wanted to give my review now that I’ve been running this program for over 4 months, and now that I’ve gotten a chance to test it with an actual meet. This review is not sponsored, and I am not sponsored by Juggernaut. I do have an affiliate code with them that I got after I’d already reviewed it here a couple times, and like all my reviews, everything written is my completely unbiased opinion, and I would definitely be talking about this program without being an affiliate. If you do want to support me and save 10% every month on the program (or anything else from Juggernaut’s site), you can use code LIFTBAKELOVE.

I’m so incredibly happy with the progress I made on this program! Last year, I basically started over once gyms opened up again and so got some incredible newbie gains (almost 300 lbs on my total), and I was confident that was the end of that period for me. Since my lifts were already pretty great (a 270lb deadlift is almost 2x my bodyweight as it is), I thought I’d maybe add 15lbs to each lift after 4 months if I really put my all into it. I ended up adding 17lbs to my bench, my squat went up 29lbs and my deadlift went up 66 pounds! This program focuses on specificity for the squat, bench, and deadlift based on your personal weak points, and I know that made a huge difference for me in getting my numbers up.

	Day 1 (in lbs)	Day 120 (in lbs)
Squat	225	254
Bench	115	132
Deadlift	270	336
Total	611	722

The 120 days numbers are from my competition on April 30th, which was the USA Powerlifting 2022 Ladies of Iron Washington Competition. I placed 4th, which I was incredibly excited about given it was only my second meet and there were some amazing competitors there. As usual, my weight class was one of the most competitive with the most people, so I’m so proud of coming in 4th. I also cut weight for this competition to the 67.5kg class, which I know reduced my numbers a bit, so I’m beyond excited I still managed a 111lb meet PR under the circumstances. I also needed to take a few days off here and there, so I ended up doing 57 sessions in those 4 months. I can’t believe I added over a hundred pounds to both my squat and deadlift in that time, and almost doubled my total. I was able to add almost 6 pounds to my total every single workout session. I know I can credit the Stronger by the Day program for that success, and I couldn’t have hoped for anything better given the amount of time I spent training.

My 336lb deadlift!

Things I absolutely love about this program:

Everything is customized to me – all the programming was based on when my meet was so I could perform my best that day, the warm-ups and all the lifts are chosen specifically based on my weak points and what I need to work on, and everything is adjusted based on how I’m feeling before and during the work out. It also adjusts over time based on how well you recover between workouts.
I can choose the number of days I want to work out, and it adjusts the workouts for that amount of days. 4 days a week works really well for me, but I have a friend who can only do 3 days a week, and we can both do the program.
I get to pick my own accessories! On other programs, I’ve honestly skipped accessories sometimes because the machine wasn’t available or I just really couldn’t motivate myself to do that movement. On this program, I get to choose the accessory lifts from a recommend list so I never have to do Bulgarian Split Squats if I don’t want to.
It automatically calculates new 1RM maxes about once a month, and then adjusts all the weights it has you lifting after that point, so you always keep progressing exactly as much as you should be. I love that I don’t have to do any math and that it keeps me pushing with the max tests so often.
As mentioned earlier, the app adjusts based on how you’re feeling before a workout and after every single set. When I wasn’t having a great day, it lowered the weight and volume so I didn’t hurt myself but could keep making progress. And when I was having a great day, the app gave me a workout that I could really push myself with. Most of the accessories are RPE or RIR (reps in reserve) based so all I need to focus on is how the weight feels and how many I can do. Sometimes that meant I went down in weight from the week before or down in reps, but as long as I was hitting the right RPE or RIR, I still got to feel awesome about the workout.
It has video explanations of every lift and lots of information about it in case it’s a new accessory or new variation of the main 3 lifts. There’s also tons of info about your program, the timing, and anything else you can think of. Plus, you can chat with the team right from the app if you have any questions.
The warmups don’t suck! I almost always skipped the warm ups on other programs, but I did this one pretty often. I appreciated that it was kind of fun and pretty short. It also changes the warm ups based on what you’re working on and what your weak points are, so it felt more worth it to me.

My USAPL Ladies of Iron Medal paired with a KB Shimmer Reflective Polish (LE – no longer available)

Things to keep in mind before investing in JTS AI:

Even with an affiliate code like mine that saves you 10%, the program is still over $30/a month, which is much more than something like Stronger by The Day. As someone prepping for competition and wanting to really get the most out of my training for squat, bench, and deadlift, the extra $20/month is so worth it to me. But if you’re not training for competition and just want to have a program that helps you get stronger in a powerlifting-style, something more generalized might work great for you!
The workouts can be long and hard – you really have to be in it and want to do the work. Sometimes we’d be in the gym for at least an hour and a half or more and super exhausted. Like the price, this is worth it to me. I love powerlifting, and the grind is just part of the process of being an athlete for me. If you’re not up for that or don’t need to be doing something as intense, I would go with another program.
Because it’s so focused on powerlifting (on purpose), my physique isn’t exactly where I’d want it to be. Depending on when my next meet ends up being, I might do their Powerbuilding program for a bit so I can get a little more balance into my routine before diving back into another meet prep.

Is there any fitness gear or program you want me to test? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks as always for reading!

March 2022 Fitness and Lifestyle Favorites (includes mini Juggernaut AI Review)

Featuredby liftbakeloveLeave a Comment

I’m so excited to share my fitness and lifestyle favorites to kick off March (how is it already April?!), and that I loved especially during March. I spend most of my time outside of work and testing beauty products training for powerlifting competitions (see my last competition recap here) and am very into fitness and health. As always, thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here or on Instagram @liftbakelove for new posts!

A7 Bar Grip Shirts – I work out in a commercial gym that doesn’t allow chalk, so you’ll always find me wearing a bar grip shirt. From A7’s site – A7 Bar Grip is a one-of-a-kind performance shirt with a patent-pending silicone grip on the back that is designed to help with slippery commercial benches and bars. The grip helps you stick to the bench during bench press and anchors the barbell to your back when squatting. I wear one of these every single time I go to the gym so I have the grip for both squat and bench. They are so helpful for both lifts when you can’t use chalk (and are way less messy than chalk anyway). I honestly can’t imagine working out without a bar grip shirt now.

Buff Chick Strawberry Banana Buff Whey – I have been loving mixing this protein powder in smoothies lately. I use about a cup of protein milk, half of a frozen banana, a few frozen strawberries, a spoonful of greek yogurt, and one scoop of protein powder. The powder blends in so easily, and there’s no weird texture or aftertaste. It honestly takes just like a strawberry banana smoothie, and I wouldn’t be able to tell how much protein it has. The smoothie is over 40 grams of protein for about 250 calories which are incredible macros, especially given I try to hit around 125g of protein a day.

The Stick – I use this both before and after my workouts, particularly ahead of heavier lift days. I use this during a warm-up to make sure my muscles are ready to go and there isn’t any tightness. After, this helps with muscle recovery by dispersing the effects of lactic acid. When I tried to use a traditional foam roller, I honestly never got around to it. This is way better because it’s handheld and is super-efficient so I can roll out my legs in less than 5 minutes. It’s also fairly flexible which is perfect for really getting at calves, quads, and other areas that aren’t flat.

Juggernaut AI Powerlifting program – I wanted to talk about the program again because I’ve been so impressed with the progress, I’ve been able to make. In October, I barely lifted 225lbs for my squat and this week, I did 250lbsx3! I also couldn’t even move 255lbs deadlifting in the gym last year, and now I’m doing 305lbs. It’s clear to me that this is a very well researched and designed program, and it really works! I’m still only doing 4 days a week and have even missed a session here and there – I’m still getting so much stronger. The app is super easy to use, and they updated it even since the last time I wrote about it. I’ll be doing a full review after my meet but I wanted to share because I’ve just been loving it. As always, you can use my affiliate code LIFTBAKELOVE with Juggernaut to get 10% off. Like all my reviews, everything written is my completely unbiased opinion, and I would definitely be talking about this program without being an affiliate (I even wrote this before getting a code and am editing this in afterwards).

STRONGER BY THE DAY WORKOUT PROGRAM REVIEW – 120 DAYS IN & USAPL Meet Recap

October 3, 2021February 27, 2022by liftbakelove9 Comments

I spend most of my time outside of work and testing beauty products training for powerlifting competitions now that we are back in the gym, and the program I’ve been following for training is Stronger By The Day. It’s is a 4 day a week workout program created by MegSquats that is focused on strength and powerlifting movements. It’s $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for the in-the-gym program. It also includes a full at-home workout program, an extra workout day every week, warm ups, and access to a Facebook group with other lifters running the program. For transparency, I did win a free year of the program in 2019 but have become a paying customer since then.

Wearing all Buffbunny, my favorite activewear

I did a 90 days in review of this program in early 2020 after I had recovered from a back injury and was beginning to prep for a powerlifting competition. As happened with most things in 2020, the competition got cancelled, the gyms closed, and we had to figure out something else for the last year and a half. Luckily Stronger by the Day added a home workout program, and we also discovered the amazing home HIIT workouts from The Team Plans. Because of that, we didn’t start from zero going back into the gym in June, but I was definitely a long way off from my pre-COVID lifts (as you can see from day Day 1 numbers here).

	Day 1 (lbs)	Day 120 (lbs)
Squat	115	226
Bench	75	115
Deadlift	135	270
Total	325	611

The 120 days numbers are from my competition on October 2nd, which was the USA Powerlifting 2021 Washington State Championship. I placed 5th, which I was incredibly excited about given it was my first meet and there were some amazing competitors there. I’m really proud of what I was able to accomplish after only four months of training, which included a few weeks off for vacations and other things, so I ended up doing exactly 50 sessions in those 4 months. I can’t believe I added over a hundred pounds to both my squat and deadlift in that time, and almost doubled my total. I was able to add almost 6 pounds to my total every single workout session. I know I can credit the Stronger by the Day program for that success, and I couldn’t have hoped for anything better given the amount of time I spent training.

KBShimmer in Better Lake than Never with my USAPL medal

Beyond the incredible strength gains, I really love that there’s a ton of variety week to week and block to block so you avoid getting bored. There’s still enough consistency to actually make progress, but it stays fun. I also love how many substitutions are offered to make it easy to work with whatever is available at the gym. And because I’m always wary of getting another back injury, I appreciate that there are core and mobility movements included in every workout, which I find help keep my back feeling great.

However, as I noted with my last review, I still struggled with peaking for my meet since it’s not personalized to you and doesn’t account for things like having a meet coming up. I had switch up some of the sessions to try and prep as best I could (which honestly still worked out just fine!). I also found that the blocks in these months focused way more on squat and deadlift progress, so I made way less progress on my bench than on those lifts. So if you’re prepping for a meet, I don’t think this is necessarily the best program for you unless you’re on a budget. Even with this issues, the program is still definitely one of the most affordable while still being very effective.

I also can’t wait for the team to launch their app which will make it so much easier to use than having to copy everything into the Strong app. I know that’s coming out as soon as they have it ready, and the sneak peaks have made it look amazing. I’m still planning on using the program to prep for my next meet in December, app or no app!

Is there any fitness gear or program you want me to test? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks as always for reading!

Stronger By The Day Workout Program Review – 90 days in

February 27, 2020by liftbakelove5 Comments

Stronger By The Day is a 4 day a week workout program created by MegSquats that is focused on strength and powerlifting movements. It’s $/8 a month and includes an extra workout day, warms up, and access to a Facebook group where you can ask questions and find info from other lifters running the program.

I wanted to give my review now that I’ve been running this program for over 3 months. Some important information up front before I go through my progress and the pros/cons of the program:

I’ve been lifting since high school and have been training to compete as a powerlifter in the past.
I had a very severe back injury in October 2018 that I spent a year rehabbing and this workout program was my re-entry into powerlifting training.
I won a giveway for a free year of this program, but all opinions are my own, not sponsored, and I am trying my best to look at this from the perspective of paying $8/month.

Most importantly for me, this program was exactly what I needed to quickly regain my strength after my injury. These are in pounds and aren’t anywhere near my maxes pre-injury, but for only 3 months, I’m incredibly excited about this progress.

	Day 1	Day 90
Squat	95	165
Bench	100	125
Deadlift	125	215

And look at these arm gains! This wasn’t even an arm day.

I am confident that with another 3 months before my next competition, I can get my total back to where it was or even higher. Other things I love about this program:

There’s a ton of variety week to week and block to block. I never get bored with the workouts.
There’s so many substitutions offered for the different movements so if I shouldn’t do something because of my back injury or it’s not available at the gym, it’s super easy to still get the workout done.
Beyond the strength gains, I can definitely see a change in my body composition which I’m super exited about.
There are multiple exercises included that were given to me from my PT for my back injury (deadbugs, bird dogs, clamshells, etc.), and I’m so thankful that this workout keeps me on track to keep doing them.
$8/month is way less than what I was paying for previous programs, and I definitely think it’s worth the price.

Things I don’t love so much:

The program is hosted on a website, so I have to copy over everything into the Strong app to track. Since it’s different every week, I need to reenter the workouts every time, which can get frustrating.
I don’t always feel like I get to make progress on the accessories because I’m learning new movements instead.
There isn’t a good way to transition to a peak for a competition like there was with JTS AI (my last program), so I might need to find an alternative. I believe they’re working on this though!

Did following this program make me happier? Definitely! I love that it’s kept me going 4 times a week every week, and it’s something I look forward to. I highly recommend this program if you’re looking for strength gains and generally getting more jacked!

Tag: bench