Great progress here, Lexy, and interesting stuff about the breathing. I don’t use a belt either (I have one, but it gathers dust).
But why for the love of god are you deadlifting 80kg whilst standing on half a foam roller? That sounds like a nasty accident waiting to happen.
I like your bike. Trek makes good bikes. If you keep having problems with your chain, take it back to the shop you got it from and they will help you. Ive been riding bikes for years, and I still wouldnt even dare to attempt servicing the gears. Although it will be a good idea for you to learn how to change a tyre, clean the chain and adjust the brakes. If you have skinny tyres, then flats occur often. You should be carrying with you a spare tube, a hand pump and some tyre levers.
Why are you deadlifting on a foam roller? What have you done with Alexus? Next thing you know, you will be writing on how your curling on a bosu ball in the squat rack.
Anyway happy new years sexy lexy.
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Sounds like everything is going well!
Congrats on the chin/pullup progress. Happy to see they are coming along for you! And congrats on getting through the first few weeks of not smoking. You never have to go through that again! I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a great year for this log!
Happy New Year, Lex!
[quote]alexus wrote:
nadia - i remember when i got my first pull-up (chin-up) too! i feel like progress stalled with them, rather. harry really has got me progressing along on them, though. quite amazingly, i reckon. i figure i’m good for a triple - but 5 triples?? that seems a little hasty to me. could it be a mistake?? i feel a bit scared to ask and don’t mean to doubt him…[/quote]
It’s not a mistake. Go for them. You might surprise yourself. 5 sets of 3 pullups is just 15. Your body is good for 20 now with your 10 sets of 2. Those 5 sets of 3 are very much in your reach. The sets of 2 after–they’ll be hard. But you’re practiced at 2. Your confident at that rep range. You’ll fight your way through. REST a lot. However much you need to get them. The point is to get them. Build your confidence.
I’m hopelessly behind on logs! Working for a living is such a frakking hassle LOL.
Errryone bear with me I’m just jumpin back in for 2012:
Happy New Year GORL!
Happy new year, Alexus!
I love trail rides, after this winter thing is over, starting over on the hills will be killer. I need a new
bike though, mine doesnt have front shocks and its brutal on my wrists.
Still No smoking, love it!!
Happy New Year
Congrats on the no smoking, girl! Keep it up, you’re doing great!!
And congrats on the new bike and the new outlook on training (with and without your PT)!
Happy New Year!!
cal - i’m not using the half-roller as an unstable surface. i’ve got the flat half on the ground. the rounded surface is (perhaps) good for my feet, though. with my heel raised oly shoes my toes have a tendancy to curl under… standing my heels back on the rounded surface provides heel raise and wearing my vibrams is helping train me to stretch the toes back flat from the ball of my foot where my forefoot is planted firmly on the ground… i’ll get a vid when i’m able…
bird - i’ve learned my gear change problems come from my not knowing how to ride a bike lol. apparently you are meant to keep light constant tension while you gear change and not try and change gears while you are (for example) power-stroking with your entire body-weight behind the stride (oops). my last bike was forgiving but apparently it is really hard on the gears and chain doing that and you aren’t supposed to ride like that. whod’a thunk??
mom - yeah, pretty well 
puff - thanks! happy new year to you, too! you gonna log again? miss following along with your progress. would love to see some ballet vids.
nadia - wow. i was so sure there was some kinda mistake… jeepers… okay. um… looks like thursday is the day.
hallowed - aw. sorry you have to work 
that sucks
kimba - happy new year!!
up - happy new year to you too. i think biking is good. should get us quads like farmerbrett and birdie, yeah.
masch - thanks
i’m thinking the 2 gyms thing is going to work out well. and the pt… i really am learning a lot. there are lots of little things that i’ve been avoiding for a while now… looks like he is going to be helpful for helping motivate me to do some of that stuff… ab activation… things like that. a certain amount of sucking it up is in order. realizing now how much stuff i actually do avoid when left to my own devices.
really excited about starting the exercise science course. really very. learned the glute guy is doing his doctorate in nz currently (different region) hmm… might possibly be able to continue studying sport and exercise science to masters and even phd level i’ve learned… hmm… career change here i come
today…
just faffing being a gym whore…
front squat worked up to a single @52.5kg PR fuck yeah!
clean and powerjerk up to a single @ 42.5kg (=PR)
powerclean and powerjerk not quite locking out 45kg (got it overhead for the first time, though!
powerclean worked up to a single @52.5kg PR fuck yeah!
hrm. guess that means i got stronger. when i’ve been not doing any oly lifting or much heavy squatting for the past month or so. wow.
did some ab activation stuffs. i’ve only just learned that one is supposed to posteriorly tilt the pelvis for that. got them activated okay and did my 3x20kg planks. seems that they can work properly but i need to spend a little more time making sure that they do work properly.
bodyweight front squat might be closer to my reach than i’d thought.
PRs to start the new year, thats what Im talking about!
Sooo… fucking around being a gymwhore = PRs!? FUKKYEAH! Love it.
You are now. Non smoker. I have declared eeeeet! No looking back. Ha you get a hella jumpstart on yo resolutions.
So cool!
Where are you currently with your education? I’m sure you’ve said but I (typically) retained nothing LOL
Holy PR bonanza!!!
I’m excited for your exercise science course too, and the pending career change. Lots of positivity coming out of here, I like!
Yay Lexy!!! Glad to hear everything is coming together, but of course we knew it all would for you.
PR PR PR!!!
I think that’s an excellent career change for you. And the freedom of a bike in a nice place, is one of the good things in life. I myself have not cycled in ages because this city is crap for it.
Anyway so happy for you.
Yay you’ve got a bike!
In my opinion (which is worth diddley squat) biking and lifting make great bedfellows. Those two activities cover all the bases and I found even when I was hitting the bike hard on off days it wasn’t negatively affecting my lifting, in fact it seemed to help. Active recovery and all that crap.
[quote]alexus wrote:
i’ve learned my gear change problems come from my not knowing how to ride a bike lol. apparently you are meant to keep light constant tension while you gear change and not try and change gears while you are (for example) power-stroking with your entire body-weight behind the stride (oops). my last bike was forgiving but apparently it is really hard on the gears and chain doing that and you aren’t supposed to ride like that. whod’a thunk?[/quote]
Cycling’s all about noticing the terrain (it’s hard not to notice a hill) and pre-empting it so you are in the right gear before you start the hill, because it’s much easier to change UP a gear on a hill than change DOWN when you start to slow.
In fact after cycling for many years I now drive my car the same way and change down before I get to the hill (I hope my engine appreciates the consideration), not like my wife who changes half way up the hill just before the engine stalls in fourth gear seethe
Congrats on the PRs (again)
Awesome work.
thanks matty!
yeah, hallowed. i’m a non-smoker. still pretty grumpy… but whatever. i’m writing my phd thesis in philospohy, only i’m not, really. pretty over it.
thanks lula!
yeah minimal, pretty happy about biking here given how flat it is. people aren’t as good to bikes here as they are in aussie, though. and the roads get a bit precarious by the ocean… can bike paths / trails along the river, though. even though pedestrians think you are supposed to give way to them.
brett - oh. i only do tiny little but steep trail hills. get up speed on a low gear for the approach then throw my bodyweight behind the downstroke to try and get up without needing to change gear. i don’t do endurance stuffs… you mean i’m supposed to grind the hills?? wah!
had another pt session today… i’m really not sure about them.
seems the thing with my feet is basically to keep on and maybe i’ll get a little improvement but probably not. so, um. that is that, i suppose. guess it was as i suspected. probably won’t be up to split jerking.
so somehow or other the pt sessions are going to focus on… me actually training or something. in the 12 rep range for some reason that i can’t remember. something about building a base. i don’t know.
i don’t know.
i really don’t.
there has been some mix up and the auto payments haven’t been coming out my bank account… not sure why. i have a vague worry that i might have given them the wrong account number - but then my other account would have simply slammed me with bank fees so that can’t be it.
um… pt guy said something about how someone else had okayed us to train for an hour. if i wanted to. i said okay. but i’m only paying for half an hour (not that i said that - but that was the contract). i don’t know. i’m feeling a bit confused about what is going on. why am i training with him? what is the point? what am i getting out of it? i don’t know… and why 1 hour sessions when i’m only paying (reduced rate as a initial thing) for half an hour? i mean… i’m not quite sure what can be done in half an hour that is true, but they seem to be selling them.
i suppose i really should have asked.
crunches. boy did i bitch and moan.
i don’t know… i don’t know. maybe i just miss doing my own thing?
maybe they are trying to suck me in to keeping the sessions up after the ones i’ve got already run out?
maybe they are trying to get other women wanting to strength train?
probably i should ask eh. i dunno. i feel sad today.
i think… the news hit me hard about my feet. not that i haven’t heard it before… but i kinda hoped someone might believe somehting different for me.
this week sucks for me financially. should be set next week for hitting up some serious protein and starting my nutrition log. will compile a shopping list over the week… need to find some ideas for meals that involve mostly the same foods that are within a budget. i’ve realized… i have absolutely no idea about how much food i need to be eating…
oh. i didn’t get the chin-ups.
i want to blame the gym renovations that means the spin class people were in front of me… so some of the guys who worked there kinda strategically put themselves between the spin people and me. i think so the spin people didn’t think i was growling and grimacing at them…
but there was no way i was gonna yell. and i was feeling self conscious. and whatever whatever at some point i gave up.
was meant to do 5x3, 5x2.
did 3x3 then failed the last rep of the last two triples. rested a bit and did the single that was owed. then got the doubles out okay. all the triples looked pretty spastic. think i’m using a lot of momentum to get myself over the bar the first time and iv’e developed a bit of a kip (to put it mildly) for the third rep.
i’m very sad i failed this. of course i failed in my head days before and had the sick feeling in my gut all morning. i’ve only ever felt like that about squats. now i see pull ups can do that too.
afterwards… i got a PR bench, though. 47.5kg. tried for 50kg but lost it on the way down. managed to roll the bar down my self and extract myself okay.
i think…
i think i miss my old gym where i used to yell a bit. sometimes it really is good to have a bit of a yell.