Archive for the 'Iron' Category

Speaking of workouts

Published at September 12, 2009 in Iron. 1 Comment

I’m in the penultimate stage of the New Rules program.  Stage 6 is the increasing-strength-relative-to-body-weight stage, in which one of the exercises is a negative chin-up.  I’ve had to adjust that because I’m really too heavy for that to work.  So I’ve gone to an assisted pullup with the weight set so I’m pulling about 120 pounds.  Which is still pretty difficult, but I *can* do multiple, albeit somewhat ugly, sets of it.

Really getting a good amount of soreness along my sides and shoulders, though less each time I do it.  I’m good and winded after each set, and the tiredness that sets in, especially when I get into bed after an evening workout, flexing and stretching as I settle in, is just delicious.

Bum-looker

Published at September 12, 2009 in Iron and Clotheshorsery. 0 Comments

I’ve lost some weight since I began with the iron, enough to necessitate some new clothing purchases.  I bought “real” clothes first  — workwear and the like — since I have to be out in public and all.  I put off buying new workout wear since I don’t really care what I wear to work out in, as long as my boobs are hoisted and all important bits covered.  But my bras were beginning to get shot, and I was getting holes in my workout pants.  So I got a bunch of new outfits, in the smaller size.

And — hello!  Now that I’m wearing formfitting workout pants (I previously had too-big non-clingy sweatpant-like things) and shirts that come no lower than the top of my hips, I can see that I now actually have a curved ass.  Curved on the top, no less.  And fairly prominent hamstrings as well.  I’ve actually managed to overcome my flat-assed genetic legacy by doing squats.

Yay!

Unfortunately, the bras didn’t work out as well.  I got them from Figleaves, which does very helpfully tell you that a UK F is equivalent to a US G.  But I didn’t look quite as carefully at the sizing on the particular bra I bought, which seems to have been made in France, where an F is the same as a US F.  I could have returned them, but, eh, it’s only one cup size, and it would have taken weeks to get replacements.

There’s another reason it was a good idea to get new workout clothes: it’s easier to check my form in form-fitting clothing.

My transformation into a brute continues apace

Published at April 28, 2009 in Iron, Aging gracefully or not and Sports. 5 Comments

Just moved on to Stage 3 of the New Rules workout! I’m taking my time, making sure that when I have injuries, or something doesn’t feel quite right, I take a step back and rest up instead of trying to work through it. What with the being old thing. And that’s working quite nicely.

But one thing is going to kill me in this stage — the body-weight matrix. For one of the workouts (you get an A and a B, and you alternate them), I have to do the following all at once at the end of an already-grueling session:

  • 24 squats
  • 12 lunges, each leg
  • 12 lunge jumps, each leg
  • 24 squat jumps

Rest and repeat.

That’s really fucking HARD at the end of a tough workout! And to make it more special, I did this first body-weight matrix in a dark playground by the on-ramp to the BQE Sunday night because I got to the gym too close to closing time to fit it in while there and had to finish on the way home. Which is just as well, because I was able to hold onto a piece of playground equipment with a death grip while doing the lunge jumps, which I thought were going to finish me.

But even though I was sure I couldn’t make it, I did. And then I visited a Mr. Softee truck on the way home.

Next up: getting involved in Scottish heavy events. I can throw 28 pounds. I might not be able to throw it far, or well, but I can throw it. The biggest hurdle is finding a place to practice, preferably somewhere that already has all the weights so I don’t have to hump them onto the bus.

Speaking of biceps

Published at March 8, 2009 in Iron. 6 Comments

Mine are coming along quite nicely.  I’ve just finished Stage 1 of the New Rules of Lifting plan, albeit a couple of weeks later than I’d planned.  I had to take a couple of weeks off recently.

First, I tweaked my back doing squats; I was somewhat pressed for time, and paying more attention to the clock than to my form.  Big mistake. But a week off lifting, combined with some stretching and judicious use of cold packs and anti-inflammatories, put me right.  Unfortunately, I had one workout after I got started again, and had to stop for another week due to the cold from hell.  But I’m back on track.  Which means that I’m off for another week before Stage 2, which is good, since it gives me time to practice the front squat with overhead press with my Swiffer.

I’d rather not whack myself in the chin with the bar.

The workouts are still very intense, and I still feel pretty wiped for a couple of days afterwards.  But if I don’t perturb the muscles, I won’t make them mad enough to get bigger and stronger, right?

Nutritionally, I’m still having a bit of trouble getting in all my protein, and I’m not cutting back as much on the sugar as I should to make room for the protein.  I’d really like to rely less on the soy protein powder, since it’s making me gassy.

Wiped.

Published at January 2, 2009 in Iron and Aging gracefully or not. 9 Comments

Trying a new workout routine, from The New Rules of Lifting For Women.  Now, I’ve been lifting weights for some time now, and working with a trainer, E, who’s fun as hell to train with.  She and I have a ball when I train, and we’re still not sure of which of us tells filthier jokes.  She loves that I love to lift big heavy things, and I love that she encourages me while keeping my knees and hips from blowing out and protecting my hinky rotator cuff.  If I have one problem, it’s trying to do too much too soon.

But because I’m going back to school, my training sessions with E will soon come to an end.  So she and I have been working out what I should be doing on my own, and I picked up the New Rules after reading very good reviews on Amazon.  And so far, I haven’t been disappointed.  E also approves, though she really doesn’t like anything like barbell squats where the bar goes anywhere near your neck.

However, since I told her I was going to go ahead and do them anyway, she agreed to spend the last few sessions with me showing me how to do them, and some of the other exercises in the program which I haven’t done, or which I’ve been doing in a different way (such as deadlifts, which I’ve been doing with straight legs while the book starts with a variation on the deadlift that has you squatting, before moving on to the straight-leg deadlift in a later phase).  That way, I can try them out safely and under professional supervision.

Today was the first day I tried out a full workout from the book.  Yikes!  I was breathing very hard by the time I finished my step-ups, and I walked away feeling wiped out.  It’s not like E doesn’t work me hard, it’s just that I’ve never done those exercises in that combination before, and because I tried things I haven’t done, or haven’t done recently, I worked all kinds of new muscles in new ways.

The goal of the program is to add muscle mass, build strength and burn fat, if necessary, due to the increased muscle mass.  A lot of the advice is contrary to all the messages women get about getting in shape — for example, eat more! Stop doing so much cardio!  Get more rest!  Lift big heavy things!

Sadly, the book does contain reassurances that, no, you won’t get “bulky” if you lift weights over 10 pounds, because it’s hard enough for a man to put on muscle mass even with testosterone, and contains reassurances that you will *look* good.  I say “sadly,” because it’s necessary to make those reassurances to women because of our cultural conditioning.   Being strong isn’t enough of a goal in itself, not if you might take up space and not look good in your clothes.  The author goes to some lengths to assure readers that the end result will not be mannish.

Which is kind of a shame, because the book has a hell of a lot of solid information, and includes explanations for why you should do certain things, like recover for the prescribed length of time, or eat five to six times a day, or not waste time with bicep curls.

Back to the gym

Published at July 12, 2008 in Iron, Aging gracefully or not and Health. 3 Comments

Whee! I’m finally cleared to go back to the gym for the first time in about six months.  My back’s okay, my toe has healed up, and my knee is at a point where workouts are encouraged to strengthen it.  So I called up my trainer and booked 20 sessions.

I haven’t lost as much ground as I had been afraid I would; Elizabeth, my trainer, told me it’s much easier to regain lost ground than to build up the muscles in the first place.

The coolest thing is the whole chest business.  There came a point, about a year into my workouts, when I suddenly felt my chest engaging when I did bench presses.  It was very odd; I had thought it was working before, but apparently not.  According to E., it takes a while for the body to learn to do that instead of relying on the arms and back.  And the cool part was that my body remembered that when I got onto the bench.

I also was able to bench-press the 45-pound bar plus two 10-pound plates first time out.  I had last gotten up to the 35-pound plates, so it was pretty great to see I hadn’t deteriorated back to square one.  I think it had taken me six months to get to the bar alone.

The only real drawback is that E. is leaving the gym in a few months, having had it with being a trainer.  But we’re going to work out some kind of “workout buddy” arrangement to continue, where we train together on the weekends and I’m on my own during the week.  I may also take the money I save from not buying training sessions and start going to a yoga studio as well to increase my flexibility.  Because one of the things that doomed my knee was tight, very tight, super tight IT bands and calves.