Beginners Gains

Training
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[quote]alexus wrote:

feet feeling pretty hammered. i suspect there is a better way to land than heel stomp. while it does seem true that you are most stable in a squat / bottom position with your weight through the heel and you want to stand it up by pushing through the heel i’m suspecting that it would be better to land on the ball of the foot so ones arch can help absorb the impact before the weight is transfered through the heel for the catch. i think that would save my ankles a bashing, anyway, so i’ll definitely experiment with this.

[/quote]

I think you will find things more stable the way you are doing it now, as opposed to landing on the balls of your feet. You don’t need to stomp you feet on the platform, but a flat footed catch is best. I am often wrong however, its worth trying. Good news about the feet and toes.

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I went with the ‘Sprint’ model because the ‘Classic’ probably wouldn’t have stayed put on my deflated heel and there was no way in hell I was going to be able to jam my toes in the ‘KSO’. Hope to get some KSO’s in a bit once I have better neurological control over my toes.

I suspect you are right, Carl. Will play around, but I suspect you are right.

Started tutoring work a couple weeks back (when training started to get a bit crappy). Started functions work round the same time. That involves between 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 hours of brisk walking, carrying, ambling, and standing. It is very hard going for me being on my feet. My toes seem to curl more when my feet get tired (some kind of misguided defense mechanism) so by the end of the shift my feet are very painful from my toes jamming into the ground. Only had one shift per week so far. Manageable, but definitely impacting on my training. That is partly why I decided it was time to try and fix up my feet (also realized I couldn’t jerk properly because of it). Have a shift tomorrow and another the following day. Will go easy on my training because of this. Hoping that I’ll adapt to the work over time. Shouldn’t get more than 1 or 2 shifts per week so if I can do these this week then I should be ok.

TRAINING AM:

vibrams.
Toe / feet rehab exercises.
EVA rolling. ITB starting to come right.
5x1 chin-ups with slow negative. fairly tired after yesterdays PM training.
3x10 push-ups. distributed the sets through the session.
2x two sets of however many to failure (maybe 6) presses with 8kg (one arm at a time from both locked out).
2x two sets of 5 inverted rows 5th peg
learning dumbbell swings to overhead - love getting it up there but some trouble getting it back down. not sure if it is my lack of ankle dorsiflexion or simply better getting the hang of sitting back into it with lumbar curve. maybe a bit of both. enjoyed this. up to 15.5kg dumbbell.
back extensions - swiss ball. managed to jam my feet into something to hold a 5kg med ball. 3x10. feeling it in hamstrings / glutes.

i need some not standing up / not requiring ankle dorsiflexion lower body stuff. i know nothing replaces squats and deadlifts - but i do need some lower body stuff for when my ankles are stiff (lunges are also out unfortunately until my toes are sorted out). i’m not strong enough for glute-ham raises - but perhaps i should persist with trying what i can do with those. want to avoid machines if possible - but perhaps this is one of those times when a good case can be made for them…

i’m also trying to find some good information on ‘how to jump’. perhaps geared towards teaching people technique for improving their vertical leap. i’m not sure whether i need more ankle dorsiflexion than i have, or whether i simply lack the technique, or both. have been looking but no luck thus far. if anybody knows of a resource on that i’d be grateful.

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Someday I want better control over my toes too! Its rather humiliating to realize that I can’t move my toes to order. :slight_smile:

It sounds like you are making great progress! Honestly, having recently been in the situation of needing not-standing-up lower body exercises, I had to deal with the machines. I think every piece of gym equipment does have a place in a training program under the right circumstances. And these are the right circumstances for some leg press/glute machine/good-girl bad girl type action. Go for it!

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If your gym has a GHR use it in whatever capacity you can! You’ll can only get better and stronger by doing them, right? Wish I had access to one. I love those things.

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We don’t have a GHR specifically but I’ve seen a few people jam their heels under something on one of the machines and do something that looks to me like a GHR. I had a go at lowering myself to the ground and was fairly surprised to discover that my hamstrings felt almost like they were being ripped off (because I’m too heavy) once I lowered myself about half an inch. Still, I can practice contracting them (trying hard to lift or lower myself) at both ends of the range of motion, i guess. Then start to use my arms to help or something. Will be careful not to tear my hamstrings. Will get back into Romanian Deadlifts, too.

Now just need a couple of knee dominant exercises (for when I can’t front squat / lunge)…

I am very reluctant to use the machines… But yeah, I guess they are most useful for injuries…

(I’m thinking that upper body circuits on my non Oly days aren’t good for me since it is my lower body that really needs the work)

beautiful case of DOMS in all the right places from slow negative chins yesterday.

Found the jump neural charge video. Perfect little taster of how to jump for me. Will hold off seriously training this until my feet are more adapted. Mostly just want to be able to confidently hop onto and off of curbs and steps and things like that in my daily life.

TRAINING:

Shoes not ready :frowning:

Sneakers / heel plates: some playing with the technique plates. drop snatch practice. wow gravity is fast on the bar / stick. my limited knowledge of physics leads me to believe that the stick descends as fast as the stick + n amount of weight would. But I’m not actually sure about this :-/ need to work on my squat mobility. can get into a comfortable deep squat but a bit stiff and takes a little wiggling. no time for wiggling trying to beat the stick, though. looking forward to getting my shoes and sorting this out. Think I am going to end up with a wider stance for the catch position than I’ve been using to squat. Hips will take some time adjusting to standing up from there, I reckon.

Vibrams (to and from gym): dumbbell swings. re-read Dan John’s Metabolic Drive article and realize that I do have the ankle / knee mobility to do swings. Accelerating is trivial for me (because of cleans and snatches), braking it on its descent is not. Very useful exercise for my abdominals / hips / lumbar spine, I think. 1x10 10kg. 6x10 15kg.

The next exercise toy I buy is going to be a kettlebell, I reckon. Swings are going to be my conditioning. I think it is different enough from O lifting to not interfere with technique and hopefully will have some positive carry over.

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my stats will be on the wall in the gym. age. weight. best lifts. sinclair - once they have done the calculation (know i’m the weakest person already lol). i guess i’m not as fussy about it as most women are… but i don’t feel perfectly comfortable with it…

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Alexus -

Just saw another Aussie woman who posted over in the beginner’s forum. I encouraged her to come over to Powerful Women. She’s at

One Armed Row and Bench Critique - Beginners - Forums - T Nation

Hope that link comes through.

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[quote]alexus wrote:
my stats will be on the wall in the gym. age. weight. best lifts. sinclair - once they have done the calculation (know i’m the weakest person already lol). i guess i’m not as fussy about it as most women are… but i don’t feel perfectly comfortable with it…[/quote]

Guess having your stats posted is pretty motivating.

Sorry to here that you’re shoes still aren’t ready.

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Do you use a stick to help you with the GHRs? When I do them on the Smith Machine, I use a stick (could be a bodybar or the bar for the cable machines) to help with balance. They are hard, but just keep with it and they’ll prove beneficial.

Swings are awesome conditioning, and I agree, it should carry over nicely with Oly.

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Thats a good idea about using a stick, Nikki. I need some support or I’ll tear my hamstring, I think. Motivating is a good way to look at it Veggie. I guess I was more (annoyed(???)) about everyone in the gym knowing my age / weight than anything else. But I guess I don’t care overly much.

I want to blame my squishy shoes - but I suspect I’m not ‘over the bar’ enough (shoulders in front of it). Hips also aren’t low enough. Not sure if I can’t get them lower without heel raise or I thought they were lower than they were. Need to work on that, too. 45kg didn’t want to play (I actually thought it was only 40kg because I forgot I was using the guys bar). Got 42.5kg fairly solidly at the end, though:

The vid of my snatches didn’t turn out :frowning: Got some dumbbell swinging, though (15kg second set). As I suspected I need to work on keeping my lumbar arch a bit harder:

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Nice swings! Imma have to try that. You can borrow some of my lumbar arch :smiley: Nice work on the snatch too. Your gym look like its pimped out with fun stuff.

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[quote]BreStruction wrote:
Nice swings! Imma have to try that. You can borrow some of my lumbar arch :smiley: Nice work on the snatch too. Your gym look like its pimped out with fun stuff. [/quote]

So fun to see you on video. You’re quite the tall, thin, long-legged one. Looking good.

I do kettle bell swings with DBs too since my gym doesn’t have kettle bells. I only go up to about chest level since I’m using it as mostly a glute/ham move. Humm…Now I’m thinking on that.

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thanks Bre - i’ll take any lumbar arch that is on offer! still having some trouble with that.

puff - i know you meant it as a compliment… but i’m actually fairly shocked at how twiggy my legs are :frowning: i do know that they need more mass - but i didn’t realize quite how badly they needed it.

i really do need to get serious about my legs. learn to count calories (something i’ve never done) and make sure i’m getting enough calories / protein / good fat. do some bodybuilding for my legs, i reckon. if i was a guy everyone would be tearing me a new one…

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You do have some long, skinny stems! How tall are you? And I do agree that you need some more leg mass. It’ll help your lifts and you’ll look smokin’. Long, shapely legs- you can do it!

I liked the vids. I’m buying a kettlebell to do swings and such. Looks like you’ve got it down w/the DB. Always feels weird to me.

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[quote]alexus wrote:
i really do need to get serious about my legs. learn to count calories (something i’ve never done) and make sure i’m getting enough calories / protein / good fat. do some bodybuilding for my legs, i reckon. if i was a guy everyone would be tearing me a new one…[/quote]

Eating to grow can be a wonderful thing, if you like your food :slight_smile: I envy your journey!

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I skimmed the first and last pages of this thread and saw something about technique plates. For non-oly lifters, or oly lifters who don’t drop the weight after a lift, a much cheaper version of technique plates are 18 inch pine tabletops. I purchased mine at Lowes. I’m pretty sure that I paid less than ten bucks per plate. They weigh 3.75 lbs apiece. Photo attached.

A two and one-eighth inch drill bit is required to bore out the middle.

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you look great alexus! I find it pretty difficult to change what your body’s genes are wanting to do–it can be done of course, but i think you can do great with what you got.

there are plenty of long legged thinner thighed ladies on here that rock it out-- Ouroboro and KSnap in the over 35 forum are fantastic powerlfters who have an unconventional body type for the sport. I would think oly lifters too have all sorts of variety.

I say go for your happiness and if you want bigger legs by all means the sky’s the limit, but i think you can totally embrace your shape to your advantage no prob at all.

those swings made my back get all jazzed…they look like they feel good! another trick to add to my training box,thanks to you !:)!

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veggie - I’m 5"7 so tall, but not super-tall. the dumbbell does feel weird for me to grip. found out today that 16kg kettlebells are $100 here, though, so dumbbells it is.

debra - i do like food. it is hard to be a poor student trying to eat well, though. need to get into eggs…

elliott - thats why i need a guy. to figure out stuff like that :slight_smile: i got some technique plates already, but your idea really is a good one.

brute - thanks. it is a little hard for me to tell (since my body perception is mega unreliable) but i think i’m a bit top heavy. my upper body is nothing to write home about either strengthwise or masswise, tis true - but it is better developed than my lower body. people can tell from my upper body that i play sport or lift weights or something. my lower body just looks… well… i avoid cameras usually so i don’t have pics to compare, but i’m really suspecting my legs are still atrophied compared to ‘normal’ for me (before wheelchair). they certainly don’t look anywhere near as developed as my upper body. i mean… i can push-press my max squat for fucks sake.

TRAINING:

EVA foam rolling

LEG PRESS: 60kg 4x10. haven’t done this in a looong time (and first time on the lying down one with plates rather than the stupid sitting up one in the other room). thought it was only 40kg (trying to start light) but someone hid a 20kg plate under the bottom. Thank god because this was actually fairly hard. Went a little easy since it is a new exercise for me, but me like. Thank god, again.

LEG EXTENSION: Setting 7. 4x10. all the stupid machines in the other room have numbers on these dinky looking rectangular weights that you stick a pin in. There isn’t a kg or a lb marker on them and nobody in the gym seems to know how much they weigh, though someone helpfully told me that he suspected they varied quite a lot. there are only 16 of them on the machine, though, so i look forward to outgrowing this one.

BLOCKS POWERSNATCH: Worked up to 32.5kg. Got it for a single then 2 misses. 2 misses at 30kg. Then bailed. Feeling hungry and tired and just blah quite generally. Forgot my usual ritual of pre-training caffeine.

Got some protein powder and went grocery shopping. Protein powder (decent stuff to the best of my knowledge - they didn’t stock Biotest, though) really isn’t cheap, huh. Still… Will see if it helps.

Need to figure out how I’m going to fit my leg day/s around my Oly lifting… I do still want to keep doing push-ups and chin-ups, too, because they deteriorate if not practiced… I know I can’t do everything… But I want my legs to grow, dammit.

I’m thinking (but not totally sure) 2 compound movements and 1 isolation for legs? dunno… need to read up on growing legs. sigh.

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oh, my shoes still aren’t ready. friday, he reckons. i’m pretty pissed off about this. told him that i can’t train without my shoes and i’ve missed 10 days already. true so far as squats go. and pulling from the floor. a bit scared sick, actually, since even once i get them it might well turn out that i simply can’t squat or pull from the floor in them. oh well. i think that is what put me in a bad mood for todays training. but at least the leg press was sorta kinda fun.

my back is a bit cranky. with respect to lumbar arch / hips. i think… it might be telling me that i need to get my ass back to bodybalance. i seem to recall something like this that would hit me once i missed the class for a couple weeks. sigh. think i can make this saturday…

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no shoes still?! that SUCKS! :frowning: well, you are getting primed, primed and ready for them once they arrive…but lame! i’m climbing the walls here in anticipation for you to get em! GRR!

you’re probably correct about the atrophy in your legs from being confined in a wheelchair,it has to have affected them definably. I’m sorry you feel self conscious-- you shouldn’t but i understand that kinda thing is pretty personal and ,well just how it is sometimes. but your upper body strength is QUITE impressive to me! opposite girl ;)–you get my respect for that.

what about loading up a bit extra on front squats? those bulk up the quads for sure. maybe you can do high rep days of those?–or are you unable to do those right now with your feet? that is a difficult thing to consider…

long post! oh! and trying to do ghr’s ghetto style, or not on the special ghr’s bench thing is TRCIKY. i had to mess with a few ideas before i could do it at all as well! this is how i do em, and it took me a whielto get this figured out as well but they are cool!