That is cool you get to train with your Dad some. Even cooler that he still lifts the weights, and lifts them well from the way you tell it. Kudos Dad.
Bodyweight/band stuff really isn’t that bad. Especially if you go for more of a strength phase before you head out you’ll be happy for the lighter loads/higher volume. The biggest challenge is generally a place to do pullups and inverted rows- once you get that licked you can start feeling like a badass assassin doing her training. I mean, you can get quality work in.
Since I’ve got you and Nikki here together I’ll plug that PLP article from awhile back. Where you start with either 1 or 10 (depending on your strength) pushup, lunge, and pullup on day one and add another rep every day for two months. It’s starting to turn into a mini-workout in the late afternoon/evening; up to 3 sets of 8 tonight. In a few weeks it’ll be kind of crazy. I generally think of you two (and your volume) while doing it, and grin because you both still do sooo much more than I do.
If you focus on strength for the next short while you might add that in, since you have a shorter time frame maybe add 2 reps/day instead of 1.
Oh cool, how far along are you and how is it treating you? I feel like I’m getting stronger on pullups, which is counterintuitive to me. I guess the super slow buildup of reps lets your body adapt even though you’re doing them every day.
Thanks, Veg, my partner in push-up crime! I’m interested to see what we come up with, too!
Hey Nikki, good thought. (lol at the ‘pregnant goat’!) I have actually never tried HSPUs, but there’s a first time for everything! I feel like that might require some practice for me…
When I was looking at videos for the HSPUs I saw this crazy video for 90 degree and planche push-ups - they look insane! Gymnast Veggie, you ever do those??
Hey Kristoph! I’m definitely planning a heavier weight phase for the short two weeks before I head back out. Having been before, I can say I’m going to be hard-pressed to find anywhere to do pull-ups while in Kinshasa. But how do you know I’m not already a badass assassin…?
Thanks for reminding me about that PLP thing! How’s that working for you, MiM? I would love to get stronger with my pull-ups (which was actually the motivation behind my last back-focused training cycle), but as I said, I can’t picture any place to do them. I don’t remember there being any door frames, so I can’t rep those out like Nikki! Hopefully I’ll figure something out.
Kris, you also reminded me of another exercise from even further back where you do a pushup, stand up, do two push ups, stand up… Anyway, I found it: the “Texas Push-up Challenge” Test Your Grit: 3 Challenges I’ll plan to do that while I’m there, too. That’ll be fun.
Start the HSPUs in a pike position, with your feet on a chair, booty in the air. The body should be an upside down V. It’s a great shoulder exercise. I always say that body resistance is the toughest resistance you can put on your muscles.
I do rack chins at home. My dining room chairs have places for me to put a rod through (giggity) and I put my feet up and do the pull-ups. Also good for inverted rows.
You just have to get crafty with what you got, ya know?
haha, MiM you’re on with the old school hip hop today! haha Perhaps soon we’ll all be down with PLP - every last lady! Thanks much for the links!! Being both crafty and naughty by nature, I will do what I can.
[quote]Nikki9591 wrote:
Start the HSPUs in a pike position, with your feet on a chair, booty in the air. The body should be an upside down V. It’s a great shoulder exercise. I always say that body resistance is the toughest resistance you can put on your muscles.
I do rack chins at home. My dining room chairs have places for me to put a rod through (giggity) and I put my feet up and do the pull-ups. Also good for inverted rows.
You just have to get crafty with what you got, ya know?[/quote]
That’s quite a set-up. Not sure I’m fully visualizing, but at least I understand what you’re saying with the HSPUs. This is something I’m going to have to relegate to trying at home or perhaps one of those lonely Friday nights at the gym… haha Thanks!
DB floor press 32.5x38 32.5x32 32.5x20 32.5x18 32.5x15 32.5x15
Lat pull down 60x36 (this was a mistake, went too quickly, thought it was 70. sigh) 70x23 70x19 70x17 70x18 70x17
Had a guy come up to me as I was starting to tell me that I was the ‘most diligent’ person in the gym, writing down my workouts. I suppose that was nice to say. Turns out there is newly another person writing down their workouts, and she appears to be a FA. Just showed up all of the sudden and has been there the past few days. Suddenly feeling like a smaller fish in a bigger pond… Trying not to be concerned with her, although I might introduce myself. Maybe there’s something I can learn from her (rather than being jealous of her awesome abs).
[quote]Nikki9591 wrote:
Start the HSPUs in a pike position, with your feet on a chair, booty in the air. The body should be an upside down V. It’s a great shoulder exercise. I always say that body resistance is the toughest resistance you can put on your muscles.
I do rack chins at home. My dining room chairs have places for me to put a rod through (giggity) and I put my feet up and do the pull-ups. Also good for inverted rows.
You just have to get crafty with what you got, ya know?[/quote]
[quote]We’re all microscopic fish in an inconceivably big pond
[/quote]
Horribly depressing, thanks, Kristoph. I am well aware of that, but it was easier to focus on myself when I didn’t have Svetlana next to me. (Turns out that’s really her name. 'Nough said.) But I shall use her as my motivation.
MiM, this is for you with all your crazy songs tonight! It’s a new one I like and I think appropriate. Also, a reminder to myself that I’m sure I can make my “booty work” as good as Svetlana. B-) Perhaps I shall go out dancing this weekend…
(Brand new, so I can’t find the actual music vid.)
Okay, with all the wall squat vids going around, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Tonight was literally the first time I tried them! I think I probably need to work on my depth with these. I’ve been trying to also work on keeping my back from rounding in the bottom of my DLs, so same idea. Just another thing to practice in the Congo. Provided there are no lizards on my wall this time! Although they tend to like the ceiling…
If you have chairs or anything that you can stick something sturdy through, go for it. The form is kinda bad because I put the table for my feet a tad too close, but hopefully I got the idea through.
Thanks, Nikki! Innnnnnteresting! I will see if I can rig something like this when I get to Kinshasa, but my resources are severely limited. Good to have in mind, though!
Haha, thanks, MiM. You’re def taller than I am! I’m 5’4" and hovering around 150.
oh, hmm…well, maybe that’s what I would like if I were 5’4" Accept I’m 5’9" and have about 20 lbs on you.
so you can imagine how scrawny I looked at 135 lbs…yep. About 10 years ago I started this fitness craze when I had put on 30lbs in a year, eating right along side the hubby…haha! I don’t remember cooking back then so we went out almost every night.
I didn’t intentionally mean to get down that low, but I did. If only I knew back then what I know now. Not that I’m trying to get to 135…
155-160 would look pretty sweet, but it seems so elusive now.
