single arm db press; more difficult bc of the coordination involved, also, you don’t get the other half of your body to “help” when one starts to fail. also, unilateral training kicks ass because it actually recruits more than half of what youre training, even down to stability stuff. wouldnt do it all the time, but its awesome accessory work. helps you find out where you have weaknesses. and strengths.
Cbear: def need to build my shoulders. when I whined through my third set, he (trainer) said “You want to build your shoulders don’t you?” He won’t have me do it for more than a few times then he will throw something else in the mix. thx for the input. btw - i like the new tattoo very cool.
thoughts - I am thinking this suit. Different than most of what I have seen. I refuse to wear velvet; and refuse to do what everyone else is doing. What I wish I had was this girls shoulders…damn! Anyway, as I browse suits, this one is one I keep going back to…called black pearl mist
I may just take my video camera with me today. Its chest day and I have a strange feeling I will end up on the Kaiser, so it might be cool to show you what this thing does. I swear, its my new love affair.
Lastly, what would you do? I see this stuff all the time with my job but now its next door to me. Some people just should not own a home. Namely those who are too lazy to mow their lawn. We have the same slope lot, I have mowed, power raked, you name it, its not that hard…mow your freaking lawn!!!
I have lost count of how many times we have mowed and the lazy ass next door has yet to mow ONE time. The biggest problem is that we back to greenspace/farm/treed area so with not mowing comes a ton of snakes, ticks, whatever. My kids play out back and to be honest I care more about their safety than the yard itself. I am tempted to go over and offer my lawn mower (in a sarcastic tone) because I thought his must be broke and he cannot afford a new one (or to pay someone). Dude, needs mainteanace provided living or go back to renting. This house will be trashed when he is done I can already see it coming. He is the house that will ruin the whole street.
No covenants in your 'hood, I’m assuming? If not, there’s not much you can do.
Suit looks pretty. But I’m way out of my league with your competition stuff.
Would love to see Kaiser vids.
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imagine what her shoulders look like when shes not that lean. she’d be beastly with normal (for a FA) BF. keep that in mind while you’re building.
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dont be a bitch about it. go over and explain the safety thing. take your kids with you. its easy to be a dick when its adult to adult, but if they have to look at the kids and say they dont give a shit about mowing, snakes, and ticks, it probably will work better. then, you can file a complaint with the police department if that doesnt work.
The suit, I like. Frankly, that is a bit too much shoulder for my liking, but I know NOTHING about competitive figure standards.
As for your neighbor issue, you should certainly try CBear’s good suggestion about going over with your kids. However, I would expect there not to be a change in behavior because people suck. Frankly, a nice tall fence might be your only solution to the safety concern.
That chic is pretty ‘big,’ for figure, no? I like it!
would love to see vids!
Update on the lack of mowing - my husband was actually outside and he (the neighbor) came over. He said he is trying to pay someone to do it but cannot get anyone to come over??? Hu? I don’t expect it will change. I found out that the girlfriend and the two kids moved out and she took the mower. He just purchased a brand new Silverado, king cab, - he can afford to buy a new mower.
Anyway, I think deep down I don’t like the guy because when the girlfriend was pregnant SHE had to mow the yard in the middle of the summer. she was miserable but she did it. MY husband actually did it twice last summer too because we felt bad for her. I think he is just a loser. (ok done venting)
snap: we do have HOA, but they are not reinforced. It may be me calling the city. Which I hate to do that, but if that gets the yard mowed (I think the city will do it and fine him).
I am going to call my pest control guy and have him come respray my yard and house. I have noticed the spiders are back too, not sure if it has to do with the rain or the weeds but whatever I don’t want my kids bit by some brown recluse or something nasty.
Moving on…Today is Mother’s Day, not sure what we are doing. I have been craving meat lately so I think I am going to try and drag the family to Texas Roadhouse. Its hard to go out to eat with the little one, he is a little jumping bean so sometimes eating out is more of a chore than relaxing. if that is the case, then I am going to go to Five Guys and get one of their awesome burgers. YUM!
Catching Up - Chest and Triceps Yesterday…
**BB Bench Press
85x8 (three sets). I don’t know why but my left shoudler gives me problems in certain positions when I lift. This is one of them. Its tight and pops at me sometimes; not sure what that means. Kinda hurts but not bad, but at night I get pains from my shoulder down my arm. Not ready to go to dr. yet…but its been this way for a while…
**Incline DB Press: no shoulder issue here
40x10
40x10
40x8
**Pushups with one arm on Med ball, feet together 3x12
**Bench Tricep Dips
25lb (on legs) x 12 x 3
**Lying French Press
40x12x2
40x10x1
**Triceps Press Down (with rope)
55x12x3
**Kick Backs
15x12x3
I did legs Friday - legs and back twice a week are taxing. I am finding a rest in the afternoon is needed now; my body doesn’t recover as well as I would like.
Legs (this was not as intense as Tuesday, but still had me panting…)
***Leg Press:
315x10 warmup
395x10 warmup
485x12
535x8 (PR)there was serious grunting here…
505x10
485x12
***Step Ups w/EZ curl Bar (ss) Single Leg Lying Leg Curls
70x12 (each leg) x 3
35x12 x 3
**Walking Lunges (ss) with Lying Leg Ball Curls
60x24x3
BWx12x3 (pathetic, my hips kept dropping, my trainer said he was going to reach his foot underneath me and kick my ass…literally, lol. So needless to say, I got mad, sucked it up and pulled my tired butt off the ground)
I LOVE the round shoulders like that. I know many people who don’t like it either, but like cbear said, she is dieted down so they are a poppin’. I don’t see many girls competing around here with shoulders like that, but I want them. For me that lateral head (and lats) have been hard to develop so its a challenge. I love the v-taper look.
CBear: yeah, you are right, she is probably pretty big when she isn’t leaned out.
We didn’t use the Kaiser on Friday so I will take the video camera with me next week and try and get something.
Hope all of you that are Mom’s have great Mother’s Day. I am going to go call mine…and then eat! 
Hey Spirited! Happy mommy’s day!
Great work as per usual. And that suit does look very nice. Will look gorgeous on your complexion.
Yeah, that woman has great shoulders. I’m curious. How do you decide whether you think the comp will require more muscle, as opposed to less muscle. You know what I mean?
I know that the judging of these comps is very ambiguous, so I guess what I’m asking is, is there a way to know what kinds of physique judges are looking for - perhaps related to a certain contest, or the state that a contest is being held in. Clearly depending on whether your competing in bikini, figure or BB matters, but is there something more?
Sorry to be so nosey btw! and feel free not to answer if I’m overstepping my boundries. I’m just endlessly fascinated by this.
Also, I’m interested in how you do these spotted pullups with the bench - do you just give yourself a little push off when you feel you’re slowing down?
Ok, I’ll leave you alone now!
Hey Masch - nope, nope, I appreciate the questions. Not nosey at all…
Yup, it is ambiguous alright. I will be competing in NANBF which is much different (from what i have heard) than NPC. From what I can tell, NANBF will award some muscularity, but they don’t want to see much of a striation. Put it this way, if your shoulders and arms look tight, they want to see some good quads and your back side better be in prime shape. If your shoulders are hard, big back and weak backside you will def loose placement. They are HUGE when it comes to being balanced and have an “X” frame, which is why I am trying to balance out my shoulders/lats with my legs. They also want girls who look conditioned, but not overly muscular. I happen to like my muscles, but if its too much than so be it.
I will probably never know, they seem to change what they want every year. I am just going to focus on being in the best shape possible and hope they like it.
the spotted pullups - exactly. I set the incline bench at the 1 pin position so its not too close to my feet but not out of reach when I bend me knees; slightly more than a 90 degree angle. I rest the tops of my feet on the bench and since I tend to stick in the middle of my pullup I give a small push through that weak point and then make sure I am squeezing through the rest of the contraction to the top of the movement.
I like these much, much better than a spotter or the assisted machine.
That squat rack with the pneumatics looks very cool. What a great piece of equipment for you to use with your back issues!
The suit looks great, and that competitor has a killer physique, imo.
Hope you have a great dinner with the fam!
Spirited, many people seem to have shoulder problems with barbell bench, but not with dumbbells. Perhaps your shoulder just doesn’t like the range of motion that its confined to with the barbell?
RBlue: Yeah, i don’t know where I would be on my leg development without that power rack. I was miserable when I couldn’t deadlift 
Kimba: I think you are correct; its just the one shoulder and as I type this, its bugging me…this has been the entire reason I am not a big bencher, the shoudler stops me before I actually get to push through my lifts. I am curious to see what I could do w/o the shoulder issue, ya know?
I wished the moms a Happy Mothers day on my log, but didnt personally wish you one here…hope it was nice!!
The new fed you are competing in sounds good…
Regarding the shoulder issue, do you keep your elbows tucked as you bring the bar down/press up? And what is your grip distance like?
kpsnap: My grip is generally just outside of my shoulders, ring finger on the stripe if that makes sense. When you say tucked do you mean near my sides, as in a tricep press, with a more narrow grip? Or do you mean elbows in line with the bar?
The same thing happened tonight on the smith machine shoulder press, I think my shoulder doesn’t like to be confined to certain ROM. What do you think?
Nite ladies! I actually had to work today…sorry I didn’t post more. I will be sniffing around again in the morning
When Snapper says elbows tucked on bench, I believe she means in closer to your body. When you bench with your elbows flared (in line with the bar), it may stimulate the pecs more, but it’s very hard on your shoulders. Keeping your elbows about 45 degrees from your body so that the bar is roughly above your nipples will make the movement a little easier on your shoulders. Or, as Kimba suggested, you could stick to DB pressing movements. I find keeping a neutral grip on those is easier on the shoulders too.
RBlue: thanks for the clarification; makes sense.
Hi ladies;
Workout for Monday was so-so. I went to the gym @ 5:00 and of course its busy and people want to talk. lol. I love to talk but darn it, I am on a mission! So my workouts will go like this
Mon: Back Shoudlers and Biceps
Tues: Legs
Wed: Chest
Thurs: off
Friday: Back Shoulders
Sat: Legs
Sun: Off
<lather, rinse, repeat> hahaha!
**Pullups
3x12, spotting myself with incline bench. Forgot 4th set…b/c i was talking…grrrr
**Seated Cable Rows (wide/neutral grip) not sure what the bar is called exactly
80x12
80x12
85x12
**DB PullOvers
40x12x3
**Smith Machine Shoulder Press (shoulders were popping and what not so I played with the weight a little and arm position)
30x12 (way too easy but shoulder felt ok)
50x8 (much more work, but shoulder issue, changed hand placement
50x10 (I am so close to the fricking bar its almost too close, but shoudler doesn’t hurt)
Single Arm DB Press (hardly any issue here)
30x10x3
Seated Machine Lateral Raises
25x12x3
Seated Rear Delt Flys
15x12x3
Bicep curls - EZ Bar
60x6
50x10
50x10
Incline DB Curls
15x12
20x10
20x10
Decline Sit Ups/holding plate above my head (ss with above ^)
35x12x3
shoulda done one more bicep exercise and more abs, but I just felt discouraged about the whole workout, it was 6:30 and the kids were at home and I started feeling guilty. Plus I hate training biceps so I left!
LOL, I don’t know what is going on with me and ‘grass’. I am now having an issue with a builder and we have a closing Thursday. Guess what is still missing? SOD! Technically you can still move in to the home without it, but the lender makes you escrow for the cost and the builder is fighting me on the fees to do it. I will probably end up paying for it myself to get the deal done but its just ironic that it has to do with turf.
So today is leg day with my trainer (evening workout again). I am going to talk to him about my shoulder issue and see what he says. He knows it bothers me because we have tried doing upright rows and for some reason my left shoulder won’t track properly. Weird? Do you ladies think I need to have it looked at? Its been bothering me for a while, but I have just ignored it when possible. A little voice tells me I should but I hate going to the doctor and complaining if I can just suck it up. But then again if phyiscal therapy or ART or something can help then maybe its worth it? Thoughts?
Well I am going to go wake up the kiddo’s get my 7YO off to school, come back home get myself in gear and head to the office.
Make it a great day!