My legs are really stiff from yesterday. That is the first times I have been sore after doing machine legs. I used even higher weight on Friday and was ok on Saturday. On Friday I did yoga right afterwards whereas yesterday I waited 6 hrs and then did a step class. I streched really well after the step class.
I was cautious about not using too much weight on the bent over rows today. They make my back really pull together - in a good way but still, this exercise really has an impact even at low weight. Seated rows do the same thing but not at such low a load.
I am also using the video given by Pendlay himself where he says to extend the thoracic spine during these rows and Lenda’s video about focusing on the back. So I am really trying to extend and feel my back muscles so that is part of the reason I am keeping the weight low- if it is higher, I cannot pay as much attention to technique. (Pendley actually says to flex the upper back but I am sure he really means extend it)
I did all these rows while standing over a Reebok step. I want to keep my legs straight and don’t always feel flexible enough to reach the ground- especially today- so I place the weights on the step instead. It is about 8 inches off the ground. I aim to eventually do these from the ground.
That was a good start. I plan to add alternating and one arm rows to this routine as well as Krow rows. I may do a row/shoulder warmup routine while suspended from the 45 degreee hyperextension machine. I think that might be a really good warmup. For the chest I plan to add the exercise that is part bench press part fly- I forget what it is called.
wow- ok. looking back I see that I was doing way too much- exercising in some form non stop for well over a week and lots of legs stuff prior to getting the illiotibeal band stinging and feeling burnt out. So I guess those 3 days off were warranted. Must take at least one day completely off a week.
–Lat pulldown machine:
15x60#
12x70#
10x80#
6x90#
6x90#
I tried my hardest to focus on contracting my lats and not using my arms. I did not alternate with another exercise because I didn’t want to lose the machine.
–45 degree hhyperextension machine:
16x10#held at chest
16x10#held overhead
16x10#each hand rowing while also extending.
supine chin tucks 3x30seconds
prone back raises- loads
off. So hard to know the difference between being lazy and truely needing a break. My lateral thigh was still stinging a bit. I spent at least 30 minutes stretching but decided to forgot yoga and weights.
warmup:
–about 30 standing cable rows @ 30#
–Diesel Crew’s shoulder warmup whilst suspended off the 45 degree back hyperextension machine- 5 reps each move with 3 pound DB’s- this was also a nice hamstring warmup for the straight legged bent over rows.
–about 30 facepulls @ 30#
–Straight-legged Bent over DB rows:
(12x10#DB’s)(12x15#DB’s)(12x15#DB’s)(12x15#DB’s)
–alternated with
(12x7.5DB’s)pullovers (12x7.5DB’s)flies
I was also wearing 1.5# wrist bands.
that’s all I had time for. I was tempted to move up to 20# DB’s but held back. If I wanted I bet I could pick up 100# but I just don’t want to do that yet. Plus, my back is getting a workout so I am happy where I am at for the moment.
I have decided to do weights before aerobics from now on.
My back felt really good today. All day.
ok- I ended up doing more at home:
3 sets of 15 at 12# single arm dumbbell rows
(10x12#)(10x12#)push press
alternated with
(10x10#)(10x10#) Military Press
I got the new Lenda Murray video on dumbbell rows, below.
I find that I need to go slowly to really focus on the muscle contraction.
I have been thinking about it and for the most part I am not going to do explosive movements for awhile. I feel as a beginner it is more important to go slowly and learn to engage the right muscles.
I also lay prone for about 30 minutes and practiced just isometrically contracting my back muscles. I have conscious control over my lumbar erectors (I ended up tightening them too much), my rhomboids, my lower traps and my lats. I still can’t isometrically engage my thoracic extensers- not sure if I should even be able to do so while laying prone (I think I should) but I will keep trying.
2x12 static lunges with 10# DB’s on shoulders
lots of side lunges
2x10 single leg rdls
30 fast calf raises
2x15 slow single leg calf raises
20 one leg bridge lifts
2x15 stability ball hamstring rollouts
2x20 standing hip abductions
2x20x30# one arm lat pull down (just for warmup)
1x40x30# standing cable rows (just for warmup)
The bridge lifts are no longer doing much for me regardless of how high I go or if I do them on one leg. I rather not do them on one leg anyway. Barbell across hips is not an option and sounds really uncomfortable. I need a new exercise for the glute max.
I also need a new exercise for the standing hip abductions, they are too easy now. I might try using the cable station with something wrapped around my foot but not sure. I have ankle weights that go up to 10 pounds, I guess I can start using these.
My single leg calf raises were much easier tonight.
My back felt worse today. I think it feels worse the day after exercising it. I had a little epiphany today wrt this. So I have worked my legs my whole life and it is very typical that they are weaker the day following a workout- especially the quads will be weaker when climbing up stairs. This never bothered me and I never worried about it, I just thought it was normal. Well maybe it is the same thing with my back. I have never worked out my back before. But if my back behaves like my legs, then, yes of course it will be a little fatigued the day after working it. Not that I am climbing stairs with my back, but standing up straight does exercise the extensors- just the muscles that I exercised so hard the day before.
So maybe it is completely natural that my back will be tired the day after a back workout. I bet if I was 20 I wouldn’t give this a second thought.
[quote]Reconstruction wrote:
wow- ok. looking back I see that I was doing way too much- exercising in some form non stop for well over a week and lots of legs stuff prior to getting the illiotibeal band stinging and feeling burnt out. So I guess those 3 days off were warranted. Must take at least one day completely off a week.[/quote]
Ha, I was catching up and had this exact thought. Damn, that’s a lot! You’ve been working like a beast, have you been eating like one too? I can’t imagine how tired you must get if you’re not.
I think what you’re feeling in your back is probably good ole DOMS. It’s usually worst the next day or 2 days after working whatever it is. Is it pain, or just muscles saying hello? Pain is bad, saying hello is good, a reminder that you and they exist.
[quote]Reconstruction wrote:
wow- ok. looking back I see that I was doing way too much- exercising in some form non stop for well over a week and lots of legs stuff prior to getting the illiotibeal band stinging and feeling burnt out. So I guess those 3 days off were warranted. Must take at least one day completely off a week.[/quote]
Ha, I was catching up and had this exact thought. Damn, that’s a lot! You’ve been working like a beast, have you been eating like one too? I can’t imagine how tired you must get if you’re not.
I think what you’re feeling in your back is probably good ole DOMS. It’s usually worst the next day or 2 days after working whatever it is. Is it pain, or just muscles saying hello? Pain is bad, saying hello is good, a reminder that you and they exist. [/quote]
Hi Patch, thank you so much for visiting!!!
My back does not hurt so much as it begins to fatigue around 3 pm. But it seems like it is doing this only on days after working my back. Not having ever worked my back before, I can’t say what this is. I get DOMS in my legs/butt quite often- especially from lunges. Also in my biceps and shoulders on the rare occasion I work them. My back does not feel like DOMS. I get some lat stiffness after a lot of pulldowns. That is DOMS. This is rhomboids or lower traps or thoracic erectors. It is more like the burning fatigue I will get in my quads while climbing stairs the day after I work them. Almost like, whatever stored muscle energy has been used up and not been replaced yet.
But ya, the more often I experience it, the less it is worrying me!
and no I haven’t been eating like a beast. I bought my first whey powder today- haha! But I HAVE gained weight and am pretty ticked off about it!
my legs were quite sore. I am sure it was from the lunges. I now think static lunges are better- what I did yesterday, because I can really drop my back knee all the way to the ground and get a huge stretch. Also can focus on keeping my hips perfectly square. So I did not feel anything in my quads while doing these apart from a huge stretch but I sure felt them the next day.
Saturday April 28
nil. my legs were still sore. Hamstrings a little tight too.
I think I will have to drop Friday yoga. He had us stay in firebird for ages and my glute medius’s were screaming. Not that I mind but I have been too sort of tired to go to aerobics on Saturdays since this whole weight lifting began and I need aerobics to keep my weight down and I love it, I mean I am doing this for aerobics so kind of ironic I am skimping on aerobics now.
My back was still fatiguing on Friday but just about fine yesterday and wonderful today. So I went to the gym and did a big back workout. I am quite excited to see what happens to my back tomorrow. Sitting here it is sore- but in a good way I guess. Ya, I guess in a good way. I wish I wasn’t so afraid of my own back. I can’t imagine being afraid of my legs like this. Speaking of legs I will be very curious to see how my hamstrings and glutes feel tomorrow- I did a truckload of deadlifts and goodmornings- not so much that the weight was large but the stretch was huge and I really felt these muscles while doing them, so it will be interesting to see what happens to them tomorrow.
I also bought some whey isolate afterwards and made a smoothie. I bought unflavored whey and added milk, frozen strawberries, vanilla and sugar. I was surprised at how little sugar I needed to make it taste good. The isolate did not have that stinky grossness about it that I have had with whey in the distant past. This stuff didn’t alter the taste of the smoothie a bit.
So I did a HUGE 1 hour and 15 minute long workout that I am calling
FREE BENT-OVER BACK
and by bent over I mean my back is parallel to the floor- the idea being to work on thoracic extenser endurance as well as all the other back muscles.
All exercises done with 1.5# wrist bands
Bent over warmup ywtls
–4repsx1.5#DBs 2 sets
Bent over rhomboid contractions
–2x(12x10#DBs)
Bent over rows
–(15x10#DBs)(15x15#DBs)(15x15#DBs)
Bent over posterior deltoid rows
–2x(12x10#DBs)
Bent over posterior deltoid flies
–3x(15x1.5#DBs) more like a break
Bent over unsupported one arm dumbbell rows
–1x(15x15#DBs)
Bent over unsupported alternating dumbbell rows
–1x(15x15#DBs)
Bent over knee and arm supported one arm dumbbell rows
–1x(15x20#DBs)
Bent over arm supported outside leg front dumbbell rows
–1x(15x20#DBs)
Bent over tricep kickbacks
–2x(15x10#DBs)
Bent over straight arm kickbacks
–2x(15x7.5#DBs)
Deadlifts
–2x(12x20#DBs)
Deadlifts
–2x(16x12.5#Bar)
Good mornings
–3x(16x12.5#Bar)
Alternated with:
Chest press
–1x(15x15#DBs)
Hyght DB flies
–1x(12x7.5#DBs)
Pullovers
–1x(15x20#)
DB flies
–1x(12x7.5#DBs)
Skull crushers
–1x(12x7.5#DBs)
Leg raises
–3 x 10
Scissors
–3 x 10
Prone leg raises for lower back
–1 x 20
Prone Lower trap back extensions
–1 x 20
Prone upper thoracic back extensions
–1 x 20
Superman
– 1 x 10
Rocking Banana
– 1 x 10
Reverse Plank
–1 x 1 minute
Chin tucks
It was wonderfully quiet in the gym today. It really makes a difference, I much prefer it when it is quiet.
In yoga you should never be afraid to just tap on a pose. I do it all the time. I was having issues dealing with plain old bird dog the other day and just sunk back into childs pose.
If your instructor says it’s not ok to do that, you need to stop going to that class.
[quote]Patch2 wrote:
In yoga you should never be afraid to just tap on a pose. I do it all the time. I was having issues dealing with plain old bird dog the other day and just sunk back into childs pose.
If your instructor says it’s not ok to do that, you need to stop going to that class. [/quote]
thanx Patch I’m afraid it’s my ego. Actually what happened was he was helping someone else and lost track of time and meanwhile we are all there trying to hold our firebirds. It just seems a natural thing for me to push myself. There is lots of stuff in that class I pass on though. I am pretty much refusing to do flexion-style abs because I don’t want to encourage that sort of posture. Ditto for forward thoracic bends and shoulder stands. I guess I am just more daring with my legs.
Thank you for your input though Patch, I really do value what you have to say.
ok, I compiled some strength standards.
I converted 1 rep max to 6 and 12 reps because I don’t think I will ever even try a 1 rep max.
I got the conversion from exrx- all very approx
Squat - Adult Women- Body Weight 148 â?? age 20-40
Un-trained------065-(1rep)—054-(6reps)—045-(12reps)
Novice----------121-(1rep)—100-(6reps)—085-(12reps)
Intermediate----141-(1rep)—117-(6reps)—100-(12reps)
and it states “…the term"untrained” refers to the expected level of strength in a healthy individual who has not trained on the exercise before but can perform it correctly. This represents the minimum level of strength required to maintain a reasonable quality of life in a sedentary individual. “Novice” means a person training regularly for a period of 3-9 months. This strength level supports the demands of vigorous recreational activities. An “intermediate” is a person who has engaged in regular training for up to two years. The intermediate level indicates some degree of specialization in the exercises and a high level of performance at the recreational level…"
so I guess I should aim for novice.
also from here at
I get- for on rep only
Exercise (decent)(good)(great)
Squat (95 or .75x bw)(155 or 1.25x bw)(205 or 2x bw)
Bench Press (65 or .5x bw)(105 or .75x bw)(135 or 1x bw)
Deadlift (115 or 1x bw)(185 or 1.5x bw)(225 or 2x bw)
Standing Military Press (45)(65)(95)
Leg Press (180)(360)(450)
45 1/4 Bent Over Row (65)(105)(135)
Push-ups (5)(25)(50)
Dips (1)(15)(30)
Pull-ups (1)(5)(12)
EZ Bicep Curl (40)(60)(80)
Skull Crusher (35)(55)(75)
Elbow Plank (1:30)(3:00)(5:00)
so I will aim for 70% of one rep for 12 reps. So curl would be 28# which seems about right based on various youtube videos I have found.
and here is a video I find really inspirational. Also, I am happy to see that she is lifting achievable loads. This is IFBB fitness champion Oksana Grishina.
[quote]minimaltechno wrote:
Just dropping by…
Hmm yeah no forward flexion for me either. I usually just use yoga to relax and get intuned with my body.
[quote]Reconstruction wrote:
here is another one. I am really surprised at how low her weights are.
[/quote]
I’d say its lots & lots of reps and low body fat levels.[/quote]
Hi Minimal T I am really anti flexion in yoga as most of the poses are really intended to be hinging at the waist yet people, including the instructor hinge around t7. Why struggle to sit up straight and day and then go to yoga to curl into a ball, it really bothers me.
I suspect you are right about the low body fat- I can see her veins bulging out in some of the shots. Still she must be very strong to support herself like that on the wheelchair…
Hamstrings are really really worked and stiff but feel good.
Butt feels nothing. That is because I did all my deadlifts and good mornings with straight legs. I think if I bend slightly at the knee it will work my butt more.
My triceps are quite sore.Also my anterior shoulders are sore- I am not sure why.
My back- wow. So many different feelings. Lower traps stiff when I raise my shoulders. Upper lats under armpits and just under shoulder blades have a sickening feeling. Lower lats are stiff if I stretch them. Central thoracic area fatigueing more when sitting- not sure what muscle it is- but that is typical.
So I am glad I did not do more yesterday- that was quite enough! But all in all my back feels energized. Walking to the gym I felt like I was wearing a back corset but then I did step class and it feels fine. Got some blood circulating.
I’m afraid it’s my ego. Actually what happened was he was helping someone else and lost track of time and meanwhile we are all there trying to hold our firebirds. It just seems a natural thing for me to push myself. There is lots of stuff in that class I pass on though. I am pretty much refusing to do flexion-style abs because I don’t want to encourage that sort of posture. Ditto for forward thoracic bends and shoulder stands. I guess I am just more daring with my legs.
