[quote]Mascherano wrote:
So jealous of your ski outing! That is sure to get the legs aching. Such a great workout!
[/quote]
Actually, my arms felt it more than anything due to the pole-ing involving in XC ski-skating. You can see what I mean here:
Only, um…I don’t ski that fast.
[quote]arachne12 wrote:
Kimba,
I can’t see videos at work, but I have to say that a half inch makes a huge! difference in the difficulty. I failed at 130 today because of a tiny sink in depth.[/quote]
Oh, I so know how true this is!
Yeah, I am hoping that struggling with DB presses will eventually cause a breakthrough between me and the oly bar. My gym sucks in many ways, but one thing that is good is the intermediate weight dumbbells they have in the weight room. 12.5/17.5/22.5/27.5/32.5/37.5 – these help SO MUCH when trying to make the jump to a harder weight. After 40lbs, there aren’t any more intermediate jumps, but I’m happy for what I do have.
squats are the best i’ve seen from you yet! congrats! RAWR!!!
As far as db’s being more difficult than a bar, it’s bc holding 2 things and moving them in sync is more demanding on your CNS and proprioceptors (sp?) than holding one thing… each side has to work independently equally as hard, rather than allowing one side to pick up slack from the other.
^^^^^
or, i’m completely making shit up.
[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
XC skiing - the highest calories burned per hour of any exercise. The only thing that beats swimming ;)[/quote]
Oh yeah! XC skating is not for the weak. When I first tried it years ago, with zero upper body strength, I lasted only a few minutes and then I gave up in disgust. I picked it up again Feb 2009 after gaining some arm strength, and this made all the difference.
[quote]CBear84 wrote:
squats are the best i’ve seen from you yet! congrats! RAWR!!! [/quote]
Thanks so much. That means alot. RAWR!!
[quote]As far as db’s being more difficult than a bar, it’s bc holding 2 things and moving them in sync is more demanding on your CNS and proprioceptors (sp?) than holding one thing… each side has to work independently equally as hard, rather than allowing one side to pick up slack from the other.
^^^^^
or, i’m completely making shit up.
[/quote]
My bullshit-ometer did not go off. This is absolutely consistent with what it felt like. My weak side (left) was dying. DYING.
[quote]dejavued wrote:
still killin it in here kimba! bravo. =+)
you should give us a rundown of ur strength gains the last year. i bet they’ll blow mah mind. u’ve made some SERIOUS progress.
cheers![/quote]
Deja is back! YEAH! Missed you.
I’ve been thinking about a year-end wrap-up. One more training on Wednesday to do a little sumthin’-sumthin’ before time is called.
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
I like to do some OH presses with the bar, then I I’ll throw in single db presses after…just to give each side a chance to work :)[/quote]
Great idea. I haven’t yet tried combining oly bar and dumbbell work on shoulder presses.
Thanks so much for your encouragement! It will be a bit difficult to figure out 2009 gains because my record keeping wasn’t the best until June or so, but I’m kind of looking forward to quantifying the year in this way.
major cheers to you kimba! your squat video impresses me mucho, makes me sad that i have so much work to do but at the same time just proves to me what consistency and determination will allow.
i would love to see your progress report. xcountry skiing…soooooooooooo jealous. i’ve never done anything in the snow except roll down hills in a plastic sled. hoping to change that this winter.
and finally, as usual, ms. bear is correct. i don’t know what that word was, propr-what? but i’m a big fan of DBs and think mixing them with bar as MIM suggested is swell.
spider, my gym weights have that 22.5 increment as well. 12, 12.5, 15, 17.5, etc. the 2.5 increments stop at 22.5.
If you ski in Tahoe, there is a great XC area up there…Royal Gorge. My favorite Tahoe downhill area is Sugar Bowl, although Northstar is good too. Hmmm…maybe someone needs a ski vacation??
the short version- because of proprioceptors, when you close your eyes, u know whether you’re sitting, standing, laying down. they’re why you know how many fingers you hold up behind your back. lack of development is why babies are fascinated by watching their own hand open and close.
ok, its not just babies. i like watching my muscles flex. but im conceited, too, so there’s that.
so my proprioceptors were temporarily fucked up when i lost balance in the middle of those OH squats? thanks for the link Cbear.
Ryal Gorge… thank you Kimba. yes, i need a vacation of some sort. although i’m already feeling rejuvinated after that work crap. we are swearing that we will try to ski/board this year. and it would be in the Tahoe area and/or Shasta. or maybe up 80 towards Reno since that’s where my friend goes. anywhere will make me happy, i’m sure.
and you so deserve the Rawwr so you are very welcome!
Heh, my proprioception is terrible. I always smack my hands against walls and objects or bump into people and miss my footing walking down stairs unless I concentrate. I once knocked a boyfriend of mine on his arse and gave him a bloody nose while demonstrating a punch I’d learned in my Muay Thai class at uni. I meant to pull it but, well, proprioception fail. Yup, I was the school spaz who always got picked last for sports because I couldn’t catch.
Today’s training gave me a PR, but not the one I went in expecting.
Back squat to three risers plus step
Bar 1 x 10 warmup
75# 1 x 10
85# 1 x 5
105# 1 x 5 good reps, then some leaning and twisting in turn led to overzealous spotting, which led to “helping” which led to not counting the last 5 reps.
85# 1 x 10
65# 1 x 20
I’ll be honest: I was hoping for more to end the year. But I’m over it now and happy for what I did get.
Bench Press
75# 1 x 7, 1 x 5
65# 1x 12
Progress here is like a snail. A slow snail.
Walking lunges
20s once around the gym
Lat Pull Downs
70# 1 x 20
HS underhanded high pull rows (independent handle)
40# 1 x 20
Dips (full ROM)
BW 1 x 27 <–PR +2
Yay! Training lower reps weighted is pushing up my bodyweight only numbers. Thirty dips, you will be my bitch.
Lots of ab work
Then home to eat leftover turkey chili (more delicious than it was yesterday) with melted cheddar/jack cheese and tortilla chips, and to witness projectile cat puking which then resulted in an $$ trip to the vet. Ah, the joys of caretaking old kitties.
[quote]dejavued wrote:
damn woman u dominate the dips. nice!
the chili sounds great, the puking not so much.[/quote]
Right on both counts. The $500 I spent at the vet was totally worth it to remove myself from puke patrol. And, have I mentioned that my house has acres and acres of white carpet? That.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
Gaining weight will make bench and squat go up. You’ve got room.[/quote]
Of course, you are correct. But such a simple observation yields to complex body image issues. The short response is that I am 100% happy with my body just as it is. If that means sacrificing progress in the weight room because I refuse to gain weight, that is the choice I’ll make.
I do cheer on women (some of them on here) who set as a goal to gain size and strength. This really swims against society’s tide of what women should look like/be like. For an example of what is “mainstream”, read here:
I’ll readily admit to having the fortitude to swim upstream a little bit (lifting heavy in my gym makes me feel like a zoo-animal ALOT) but not further.
Only when I’m sure your head won’t explode.
[quote]Mascherano wrote:
“Thirty dips, you will be my bitch.” Hellz ya!
Can’t wait to see what the new year has in store for you. Well done woman![/quote]
Hey, thanks for the encouragement! I’m looking forward to the 2010 lifting year too.
glad the cat is better.