Tiny Freak Goes Ninja

Training
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Lots of good stuff going on in here, Kimba! NICE!

I would love to see you in animal print btw - I bet you’d look stunning!!

And nice vibrams! I’m still not sure how i feel about them for myself. But those look cool, especially the colors. Can’t wait to see what you think of them.

And yes, good idea to ditch the rack pulls on the slippery floor. Last thing you need is to fall on your ass while pulling! Which has happened to me, while not on a slippery floor…

YAY for running with no side stitches! It wouldn’t surprise me if the no food prior too helped. Good work!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I’ve never been to any sort of college or high school reunion. The past is skerry for me.

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Not bad lifting at all considering the circumstances. We need to see the dress to make an informed opinion.

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vibrams! a little part of my soul died Kimba :wink:

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George, while all those around me were buying t-shirts bearing the name of the alma mater, I was buying freaky toe shoes. Can’t call me a lemming!

ManfromMA, indeed the aesthetics of the Vibrams leave alot to be desired. It says alot about how good they feel that I bought them regardless.

Juniormint, I bought the periwinkle and yellow pair in the picture. In person the black and gold pair is rather garish…think flashy metallic gold. But I’d rather have had the black but they didn’t have my size. The blue is rather growing on me, though.

Snapper, I hope you have a picture of the new boots for your log! Good for you about breaking free from the tomboy, just for a change of pace. As for the slippery floor, I emailed the athletic director about it and made the point about potential liability to him. We’ll see if I ever get a response.

BG, I actually like the look of the Sprints better than the closed top. But the Komodo Sports that I bought just fit me perfectly. Each model that I tried on fit somewhat differently and I only shelled out the dough because of the perfection.

alexus, these vibrams really freak me out in terms of looks. As if I didn’t already get enough attention in the weight room!

Cal, I know you are jonesing for the Vibrams. But you really have to try them on to see what size and model suits you.

Maschy, the past isn’t skeery for me but just irrelevant to my present. I actually had a good time at this reunion, which was the first one I’ve ever attended. All in all, it was very worth it.

Joe, the leopard print dress is getting returned. My deal with the hubby is he gets to weigh in on my clothing choices, and then shuts up about the credit card bill. A very workable and fair system. He was thumbs down on the dress, deeming it “too busy” a print.

Frenchie, this coming from a woman who wears knee socks with Dr. Seuss chucks. HA! :wink:

Sorry to be absent around here. I am so far behind in work and chores that I don’t even know where I left my behind. I’ll be back checking on my PW and other fellow travelers as soon as I can.

I did train yesterday after getting back from reunion. A weekend of starchy carbs (there was nothing else to eat) and more booze than I’m used to did not make for a stellar training. I was, however, entertained by lifting in my new Vibrams. So far I like them!

Squats
Bar 1 x 5
65# 2 x 5
75# 1 x 5

Everything felt weak and wobbly and looked high.

Squats with tight knee band to 4 risers/step
Bar 5 x 5

At least I got some anti-knee cave work in here if nothing else

supersetted with

Chinps on the Smith machine
5 x 3

incredibly weak on chinups. I haven’t trained these in forever and it shows.

Inverted rows (6th pin on smith machine)
3 x 10

supersetted with

Face pulls
22.5# 2 x 10
27.5 1 x 10

Already racked up my first comment on the Vibrams…from a really nice bodybuilder-type guy who said he was thinking about buying them because “they are the best for squats and deadlifts”. Nice!

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so pumped that you trained at your reunion.
who plans college gyms?

the jury is out for vibrams for me

my feet are all strange huge arches
and years of wrestling shoes - nuf said.

+1 on the motion control shoes I had a pair that
helped me work thru some ankle crap

as for the running on empty
when I did mega roadwork I found I had to skip on food or water too

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Kimba, that’s exactly why I chose the sprints. That particular style fit me best. It really seems like there are slight variations in the styles that affects what fits different people the best.

At least you got some work in on squats. It seems like even a little trip or vacation can lead to a not so great workout or two upon returning home.

And be prepared for all of the comments. Its likely you’ll have to explain what those things on your feet are any time you wear them out. Or maybe I just need to work on looking less approachable…

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Ok I have an ignorant question-

What is the purpose of rack pulls? And why do them instead of deadlifts? Is it a way to increase the DL without (or lessening) risk of injury? I read an article here on rack pulls but I’m still a little lost on when to implement them.

kthx :slight_smile:

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kmc, running on empty seems to help me in some ways (less side stitches) but hurt me in others (less energy). Why is it always like this??! And, OF COURSE I trained during reunion. I always train, no matter what!

BG, I tried on the Sprints and Classics and HATED THEM. My pinky toe barely made it in and then it hurt like a mother even a size up from my Komodo Sport size. It seems that the feel and fit between models of Vibrams is huge, at least for me. Too bad…I kind of like the Sprints.

cholulalula, that isn’t an ignorant question at all. Most people use rack pulls to work through sticking points…problems locking out or at a certain point in the pull. Me…well my sticking point is the fucking ground. If I can break it, I can lock it out so that isn’t why I do rack pulls. I do them because at heavier weights I would tend to pull with my back – i.e. bending over and picking up the weight – instead of using my hammies and glutes to initiate the lift. Because my sticking point is the floor, I can practice bringing my hips through and “squatting the weight up” at higher weights without going into survival mode shitty-assed form. I feel that I have benefited alot from rack pulls.

Today’s training was a run done first thing in the AM with no food or much water. It wasn’t quite as perfect on the side stitch front as my Saturday early AM run down frat row (but what could be?). Still, I do think the empty stomach is helpful and I will try it again. 4 min strides/1 min walk x 4, done at an easy pace. I’ve almost gotten myself back to where I was before my last IT band setback, so I’m happy with this.

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i’m remembering that i was embarrassed wearing my vibrams when i first got them. now they seem more normal to me than regular shoes, but that did take a while. i still get asked questions about them. i have the black sprints but would like some kso’s at some point. prefer the more enclosed look (also it is winter here and the sprints feel very cold which don’t help my feet joints).

i have the same issues as you with deadlifts. working snatch pulls, mostly. much lighter weights but really working on squatting the weight up. have found it interesting to watch your progress with the rack pulls. if i was still deadlifting i think that would be the approach i’d take to fix my issues up, now.

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Glad you’re making progress with the running. Funny about those side stitches. Those effortless, joyful and pain free runs down fraternity row can be surprisingly few and far between, but it doesn’t take many of them to turn you in to a full blown addict.

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alexus, having just tried on sprints I can see how they might be a bit cold for winter-time. There’s not much to them!

Nadia, my pain threshold is really high. A minor side stitch doesn’t really touch my enjoyment of the run. However, the few COMPLETELY effortless runs I’ve had are very awesome indeed.

Today’s training was just some light-ish volume on squats, bench, a few lat pull-downs for giggles and some ab work.

The highlight of my day was a woman coming up to me and asking me how I got the body I have. Said and done in a very nice, respectful way that made me feel very flattered. This was especially nice since she was at least twenty years younger than me, and seemed athletic and in good shape. I told her it was mostly diet, and then she asked me what I eat, like she really wanted to know! Gosh, I am always excited to actually help someone with information about reaching their goals.

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[quote]Nadia Comeandeat wrote:
Those effortless, joyful and pain free runs down fraternity row can be surprisingly few and far between, but it doesn’t take many of them to turn you in to a full blown addict. [/quote]

Why does this sound dirty to me?

Just popping in to say hi! Glad you’re finding your stride with the running (punny! wait i think someone already made that joke)

And what a lovely compliment indeed! It is nice when people are genuinely interested in your training/diet - clearly you’re doing something right.

Keep killing you beautiful, tiny ninja freak!

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Outstanding news on the pain free run.

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Maschy, its GREAT to hear from you! I’m breathlessly awaiting your new log, but I hope you are doing OK with the injury in the meantime.

Thanks Joe! I think so too.

Today’s training was a good run in a warm misty rain. Its actually a good thing that I’ve taking up running because on days like today bicycling really sucks. Goodbye rooster tail!

A few weeks ago I was overly ambitious on a 4 min stride/1 min. walk interval and have had to work my way slowly back to this level. Today I ran a pain free 25 minutes using this split, so I was happy with that. No food and just a little water before runs is making a big difference on the side stitch situation. Really, I find it shocking that in essence I’m doing fasted cardio in the mornings. I don’t even know who I am anymore!

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[quote]Mascherano wrote:

[quote]Nadia Comeandeat wrote:
Those effortless, joyful and pain free runs down fraternity row can be surprisingly few and far between, but it doesn’t take many of them to turn you in to a full blown addict. [/quote]

Why does this sound dirty to me?

[/quote]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought so, but I chose to let it go.

I’ll never understand runners - I can’t imagine a worse form of torture, especially in the rain. Then again, lots of people don’t understand why I do what I do either.

Nevertheless, I’m happy for you that you’re able to do it pain free. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it continues.

So what the hell is “rooster tail”?

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[quote]ManfromMass wrote:

I’ll never understand runners - I can’t imagine a worse form of torture, especially in the rain. Then again, lots of people don’t understand why I do what I do either.[/quote]

Honestly, until very recently I thought the same way. One day I just upped and decided to give it a try. Amazingly, I liked it! Hey Mikey!

Its the wet, muddy stripe that runs from one’s ass crack up to mid-back resulting from the spray coming off the rear tire of the bicycle when ridden in the rain. Hate it! Last summer, this wasn’t a problem since it was sunny all the time. This summer? What’s with the cold and wet? I’m not a fan.

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Ha! We have a shitty wet June too. March, April and May were super dry - they were warning of a big drought like the one we had in 1977 (which I remember cos I’m old). But this month it’s done nothing but rain. Typical, because Wimbledon is on now. On the one hand I’m happy to see green grass instead of brown and I’m happy that it isn’t so hot in my flat (I get the afternoon sun which then turns my room into a sauna for the night - no air con in residential London homes, oh no). On the other, it sucks because I have to teach PE indoors. Being outside is much more fun.

Good news on the run and awesome getting the compliment from the younger chick. Ya know ya rock.

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[quote]kimbakimba wrote:

Really, I find it shocking that in essence I’m doing fasted cardio in the mornings. I don’t even know who I am anymore!

[/quote]

ruh roh, be careful or they will release the hounds on you!

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Heh heh. I do all my exercise fasted, but that’s only because I’ll vom otherwise.

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[quote]kimbakimba wrote:

Frenchie, this coming from a woman who wears knee socks with Dr. Seuss chucks. HA! :wink:

[/quote]

touche :wink:

Its awesome when you can inspire other people like that and yeah on the pain free running!
Hope July brings us better weather than June - all this rain…sheesh