No, we do them flat on the ground, like this: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-do-a-backward-roll (that site has some quite good how to vids but dear god, the music…)
Mine aren’t purty like that - I don’t think I keep my knees together so nicely and tend to drop my elbows onto the ground on the way up, but at least I’m not hurting my neck now.
I don’t even think I could do that without hurting myself! lol.
Good for you on getting that out of your to do list 
Well, yesterday was pleasantly sunny and mild - perfect day for a run, except that I had to go to gymnastics. Today, when I’m due to run, it absolutely pisses down. Not a little bit of rain, either. A torrent. Now I could have gone to the gym, except that I have some pretty evil DOMs from Saturday and from gymnastics yesterday.
Old me would’ve said, screw it, I’ll take a rest day then. But since I have to cram all my workouts into this part of the week, I ate a couple of apples, drank some tea, played a game and waited for the rain to stop, which it did around 1pm.
And off I went for my run (after mobs, of course). Ran about 7.5 miles. It might be more, since I use mapmyrun.com to measure and I have to guess where a lot of the paths and tracks go on the commons. It took 1 hr 20, in any case.
I usually try to run on grass and trail where possible but it was so muddy I stuck to the hard paths more than I normally would, though it didn’t stop my feet from getting a soaking (especially when someone’s pug dog charged at me and my evasive action took me into an ankle-deep puddle. Thanks, dog).
Hip/glute discomfort was noticeable but unsurprising given that I deadlifted on Saturday and did some very arse-intensive work in gymnastics. Glute medius, minimus and piriformis were all sore anyway. Will tennis ball them some more later.
Now, if I was Nadia, I’d just be off to the gym to do some deadlifting. But as I’m Cal, a 1 hr 20 run is quite enough exercise for today, thankyou.
Someday I’ll work my way up to a 7.5 mile run. Not today, though.
YAY for your deadlifting PR! I really like how you are working together with your body these days to move forward in all the areas that are possible.
Ha, ha Cal. Congrats on the Back roll. Good stuff. And on the successful long run. But seriously, you lost a game of chicken with a pug. You clearly weren’t running hard enough if you were willing to take evasive action. Me, I sharpen my elbows to pass the 3 abreast pack of middleaged yippity yapping park path walkers. Seriously, get the fuck out of my way. Run angry. Then deadlift. It works.
It was coming at me from the side like a bullet, I tell you! A bullet! Seriously though, I was just worried that it would get under my feet and trip me. Since I’m Queen Dyspraxia, this is a legitimate concern. Mmhmm.
Nice run!
[quote]
Now, if I was Nadia, I’d just be off to the gym to do some deadlifting. But as I’m Cal, a 1 hr 20 run is quite enough exercise for today, thankyou. [/quote]
LMAO!
I used to do forward and backward rolls like a damn groundhog, now, it’s just not possible for me ;(
Congrats!
I could be totally off with the bridge thing… But I’ve found that I have a problem with locking out my arms if my hands are sweaty and I’m trying to do bridges on a gym mat or a hard floor. It feels like I’m not strong enough to lock it / not flexible enough in my thoracic spine - but the problem goes away if I do them on carpet or if I actually grip my hands around the top of the gym mat.
I’m not sure about ‘too much’ mobility work - but it is something that I’ve been thinking about. A while ago I deadlifted heavier than normal and also with a greater volume. Couple days later my lumbar spine had severe DOMS which I thought would benefit from some facial release with a softball. I basically rolled myself an injury trying to release what needed to be left alone to recover. I think you can do too much in the sense of breaking down muscle knots and then not giving them enough time to recover. Not sure if you can do too much mobility work, though…
I wouldn’t even know how to start going about doing backwards rolls lol… Nice work on your pressing and deadlifting.
My body felt pretty destroyed this morning - my back muscles are sore, and I’m talking about the ones around my ribs - I guess these are postural ones, and where my adductors insert on the pubic bone is very tender. Trust me to get sore in a place I can’t massage in public.
Anyway, whilst I would have loved to take a rest day, the fact that the next three days are non-training days compelled me to go to the gym and man up. I mobilised and stretched between sets so the workout took me nearly two hours.
Whilst I was there I decided to revisit a couple of old friends.
Bar x 20
30kg x 10
40kg x 10
3 x 50kg x 6
I didn’t push myself too hard on the 50kg sets - I just wanted to see how my shoulder would cope. The good news is that it was pain free. I did sleeper stretches between sets.
24kg x 10
26kg x 8
I was pretty “beat” (as you say in America) so these weren’t great. Did 'em slow and relatively strict.
(Done on locked Smith Machine - it’s good for something!)
5 x 5
I felt pretty weak sauce on these. Couldn’t do many so did more sets.
4 x 3
Bar x 10
30kg x 10
3 x 40kg x 5
First time I’ve done squats with weight in, uh, a while. Tried holding the barbell lower down my back, which seemed to help the squat, but that right elbow still gets pissy. I really don’t know what to do about that. We only have vanilla oly bars so I can’t alter my grip.
I also did a set of leg raises in the captain’s chair (or roman chair as it’s erroneously known) to see if I could elicit any kind of response but no, nothing. Damn.
After that, stretching.
I had to walk to the laundrette to pick up my washing afterwards and I’m getting twinges in my groin, left side. This happened yesterday too when I took the washing down. I don’t know if it’s the straddle stuff we were doing in gymnastics combined with the long run - seems likely. I go for ART on the 31st so I’ll ask Nicole about it.
That is a hell of alot of good work in one session. The next time I’m in my gym with some time to spare, I also plan on trying the roman chair trick. My hopes aren’t high.
Ha, you’re so disappointed about the romain chair. I was too.
I tried and pushed and pushed, but nothing “came” from it 
Productive day.
nadia- the more i read of you, the more i like your 'tude. even if you are a freaky run then lifter.
cal- a pug definitely isnt worth another injury. but, bullet? i’ve seen those things. wouldnt have come at you that fast unless it was shot from a cannon. in which case, i’d be more interested abt that part of the story.
and fuck yeah for pain free benching! I do not envy your ass when the tennis ball meets it, later. owie.
No training for me during the school week (Wed - Fri) and I’m glad as I’ve been bone tired. I know I did a lot at the weekend (two lifting sessions, 90 mins gymnastics, a 1 hr 20 run… bear in mind it’s a 4 day “weekend” for me, lucky bastard that I am) but it’s also the stress of the school inspection and the fact I’m getting up in what feels like the middle of the night (5.30 - 6 am, and it doesn’t get light until 8am here at the moment).
On Wednesday I was observed by the inspectors with one class, who chose that day to be quite naughty (sigh). However I had a nice chat with the inspector after, who was a very nice lady and had seen the same class be quite naughty in their classroom earlier this week. I am taking on board any criticisms and advice, and I know the main thing I have to get a handle on is learning how to control the class and keep them focussed. Being a rookie, I haven’t quite got that down yet.
That aside, the school actually did fantastically which was a great relief to everyone. The school downsized last year, from a primary and secondary (high school) combined to just a primary prep school (ages 3-11), so essentially it’s been remarketed as a new school and thus this has been its first proper inspection. We had a glass of bubbly and canapes and mini chocolate eclairs after school yesterday, which didn’t do anything for my diet but never mind. Today everyone seemed tired but a lot more relaxed and happy.
I can’t wait for the weekend, just so that I don’t have to get up quite so early. One more day to go.
Congrats on a successful evaluation! Sure you are a rookie, but obviously you stumbled upon something you are good at right off the bat. Awesome!
Glad the eval is over and done and a success. And the shortest day is a month behind us. We have turned the corner! Looking forward to reading about your weekend gym exploits. Only one more day…
Mint chocolate eclairs?.. FML
Sorry that’s the only thing I noticed, I’m deprived of sugar over here
Mini. Not mint.
That sucks, mint chocolate would be delicious.
glad the inspection went well. i kinda want to try the roman chair thing but will wait till i’m the only person in the gym lol. just in case.
I’ve been bone tired all week and put it down to the fact I worked out pretty hard last weekend, plus the inspection and the fact Flo’s due next week (albeit at the end…but PMS can sometimes hit early). Turns out I actually have a cold.
I woke up in the middle of the night feeling as though I’d been stabbed in the soft palate. As it was on one side, I initially thought something I ate must have scratched me back there, (swallowing really hurt) and went back to sleep. Then when I woke up this morning, around 7am, I realised I actually felt groggy, shitty, spaced out, with that gritty eye feeling that spells the beginning of a cold. I’m a bit miffed because I only had one back in September (or maybe end of August, can’t quite remember), but that’s the problem with working at a school. The little darlings may be cute but they’re harbingers of infection.
Anyway, I had glutamine and vit C, plus a cuppa while I sat in front of the PC, trying to convince myself to go to the gym at 8. I know working out with an infection is not always great, as it can put stress on the immune system. I also know that sometimes, a bit of a workout can make you feel a lot better. I did go back to bed for half an hour, then had some more vit C and finally headed to the gym at 9am.
There was no way I was going to deadlift or do anything strenuous so I figured a deload was in order.
Military Press/Front Squat superset
3 x bar x 10/10
2 x 25kg x 10/10
I have to say my shoulders were burning on the front squats. Those 25kg sets were really challenging. I guess they wouldn’t be quite so challenging if I felt 100% but, ouch.
Then decided to do some squat rehab.
2 x Bar x 10
There’s an instructor I’m quite friendly with (not that sort of friendly) so I asked him to come tell me when I was losing my lumbar curve. Apparently it’s when I hit parallel or there abouts. So I got some step risers - six of 'em, and put a 15kg plate on top and used it as a box.
After that I did another set with the bar and then
3 x 30kg x 10
Obviously I’m squatting high, but I figure it’s better to squat high than not at all (or to squat to depth and fuck my back up again. Do not want). I’m not a powerlifter so working within my limitations is fine. Obviously I am working on mobility in the meantime so hopefully I can start removing risers in the future.
After this did another superset:
3 x 20 Hyperextensions
3 x 10 Roll-ups
(I don’t know what the correct term is for roll-ups or even if there is a term - it’s basically where you sit down, roll back in a tuck, then forward again, trying to come onto feet. It’s a gymnastic drill).
I felt a bit better so then went to practise forward and backward rolls, couple of headstands and some lousy attempts at handstand. Actually, I did get vertical with the handstand one time, but promptly fell on my head (I did tuck my chin in and roll, though, so it was all good). Then some guy decided to use the mat by me so I turned round and tried to do a handstand against the wall. That didn’t go well - I hit the wall and fell over, surprising him somewhat. I decided it was probably best not to continue at that point.
Hopefully I’ll be good to go to gymnastics tomorrow. I’m hoping the sore throat is gone by then, at least. I’m also hoping I don’t end up snotting everywhere. That wouldn’t be cool.