Musings, Music and Motivation

A good morning, I love lifting weights, absolutely love it! It's funny how I was so angry when I had to stop squatting, and I turned to training my arms. Well just look at them now! They look pretty massive and it's only been a few weeks.  I am sure all of the chin ups I have been doing every week are also contributing, there is never just one factor at play.

When I refer to "arms" that generally means biceps and triceps, I always train deltoids and that is "shoulder" day....I would typically throw some biceps in with my back training, it's a natural to combine them, but when I sustained some injuries, I had time to fill, so I have been devoting two days a week just to biceps and triceps.

I'm really liking how my arms look, they certainly snapped to attention quickly. Roy said they would, I eat a lot and a lot of good, clean food. I also go to sleep early, so combined with some new heavy training- boom!

Today though was "Back" day, one of my favorites. I guess they are all one of my favorites, there is not a body part I don't like to train!

Friday I had been watching some video's that Roy told me about and heard a song, this would be great for chin ups I immediately thought, so onto the ipod it goes, then of course itunes suggested another and it led to another and I ended up with a lot of great new music. 

Saturday I was high as a kite, listening to my new music, cranking out my chin ups and I had to do more than the previous week (yet again). I had my dip belt on, and a total of 12 1/2 pounds and was well into my set, but sitting resting in between when a good looking guy walks over to talk to me.

"I'm not trying to pick up on you or anything, but you have a great body! I have been watching your muscles ripple as you do those chin ups!" 

Dayayum!

He looked at my stopwatch and apologized about interrupting me and I quickly said "It's ok, I'm nearly done..." LOL!

We talked for a while about diet and supplements, seems that's almost all I ever talk about these days, but I guess I know quite a bit at this point, at least what works for me.

He said "You just keep on, I will watch from back here" and so I started back in to finish the set.

5,7,7,7,6,7,7,7,7,6

66 chins

4 more than last week

I then went on to the Low Row, Barbell Bent Over Row and Pulldowns.

I think I was smiling and humming and singing, guys were smiling back (not many women at Gold's in the morning, and most that are there, are upstairs doing the dreaded "C" word....a couple guys I see everyday, but never talked to waved goodbye as they left. Obviously I was having a good time in my own little world and it was showing.

I practiced posing and then some stretching. My view from the floor, I could have laid there all day at this point but food was on my mind.

Just what were some of those songs that got me through the 66 weighted chin ups?

Here is 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues by the White Stripes, great for chin ups. (Email readers will need to navigate to the link at the top to go directly to the blog to view the video).





Other songs that helped me through the morning (and I ended up being there two hours!) Have a listen, it might help get you through your next workout with a smile too!

Top Yourself by The Raconteurs

The Sex Is Good by Saving Abel

S.E.X. by Nickelback

Go It Alone by Beck

Love Of The Loveless by Eels

T.M.S by Rhymefest

Back Day and Mind Games

Saturday I walked down the stairs from the locker room at Gold's, my dip belt in my hand, heading straight for one particular power rack. I see Steve and his training partner there, doing pulls ups, just what I had planned on doing.

One reason why I try to get to the gym first thing is to claim my space- see I need this cage for about 30 minutes. Sure I can share, sharing's not a problem for me, but it's also nice to have it on my terms the whole time, my rest periods are timed so I have only enough rest to recover and no more. I was about 10 minutes late today.

The guys looked up, big smiles on their faces and waved and said hi. They either knew what I wanted, read my blog, watch me on Saturdays....or I may have just looked like I was on a mission.

I asked if they would be there long and Steve said they only had one more set then the would move to another cage, they were going to use this to do bent over rows, but they don't have to. This is the only one with the different pull up bars, the rest are strictly squat cages. Bent over rows can be done at any of the cages.

I really appreciated their willingness to move and thanked them, and started stretching.

I told Steve I was up to 61 chin ups, but can't get past 7 at a time. Not bad, really, not bad at all. He asked if I was adding weight and I said "Yes, 9 1/2 pounds". He nodded his head. I told him that I am not sure if I should add reps or add weight, I can't just do chin ups all day and I need to change something! It takes me almost 30 minutes just for that one exercise.

He said "If you are looking for size, add weight" so I did. I threw on a 10 pound plate and started into my sets.

5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 5, 5, 5

I realized I had mad a mistake, but I kept going. See last week my total weight (belt and plates) was 9 1/2 pounds. This week I had neglected to add (in my head) the belt, so by throwing the 10 pound plate on, I actually had 12 1/2 pounds added!

So....I did one chin up more than the previous week, BUT, I had 3 pounds more added, the entire time!

The power of the mind! All I needed was Steve to tell me to add more weight and I did, not realizing that I added quite a bit more. If I hadn't talked to him, I would probably have plodded along doing the same weight, and maybe one set more. I never would have thought I could add another three pounds!

Our minds can convince us that tasks are too difficult, or our diet is too strict, our training too hard. It's important to remember this, that our bodies are designed to lift, push, pull, run, jump and generally be active. Our own minds can often be our worst enemies when it comes to training.

There is just no going back now, I mean, Saturday when I go in again, I certainly cannot lower the weight, I must add the 10 pound plate again, and do more reps, you see, I have already established that I can do it, and I will.

again

again

and again

Dip Belt

Helpless is not attractive. I see so many women who think that looking cute and helpless, along with dumb and incapable is the way to be. Really? Come on!

I like being self sufficient, resourceful, street smart and calculating. I lift that way too. 

That means chains, leather, big plates, sweat, scraped knees, chalk, callouses and loud music. While I love my friends and family, I pride myself in the fact that I can manage just fine on my own. OK...I have some issues. I won't go near a spider and I have no idea how to change a tire. But I don't need to know, I am a VIP at AAA! In fact, I got a letter from them saying I had called for their free towing and roadside service just a few too many times in one year, so I should just keep that in mind. LOL!

I do pull ups and chin ups a lot. They are one of the reasons why I have such a great back. Pull ups are a fantastic way to develop the entire physique, they are in the same category of squats, deadlifts, sleds, lunges and Glute Ham Raise. They must be done to create a killer physique. 

I recently started to use a dip belt to add weight to my bodyweight for pull ups. I don't use the "assisted station", I use a squat rack or the dual cable station, they both have various hand grips for chins and pull ups.  You will probably have to start with an assisted machine, but someday, you gotta learn to walk on your own.

Gold's Gym has one old, worn, heavy dip belt and I cannot always locate it. That's frustrating when I need it. It also happens to weigh 4 1/2 pounds, that's heavy! I was venting to Roy one day and he said he would order one for me. I picked a leather one because the fabric ones are scratchy on my hips. I had to call Harbinger to ask the weight of this belt, and the woman on the phone said I was the only person who had ever asked such a question, she had to call me back. This one weighs 2 1/4 pounds, perfect!

Roy gave it to me a couple weeks ago, better than flowers in my book! 

It was stiff though, no one wants to walk around in new jeans, new shoes or a new dip belt so I researched how to soften the leather. All the sites said to rub it well with alcohol, then rub in Vaseline. 

I laid it on the kitchen table and rubbed in the alcohol, the black started to come off on the cotton ball...David decided he would take over.

David is explaining his technique to Cooper- he is using a special cream to soften and condition leather, he just happened to have it in the garage. 

You  can see he is having a lot of fun with my dip belt! Probably more than I will.....

To the left you can see the espresso machine I got at the auction, the old World Gym in Santa Cruz. The grinder is hidden to the side. It's a lot bigger than I originally thought, it took me a couple weeks to find the right size island to put it on! 

He took so long I got bored and walked away and returned later, the smell was awful! 

Apparently he has done this before, not sure why, it certainly wasn't for a dip belt! I told him I should scratch off Harbinger and replace it with my name in pink with a  skull and crossbones and some rhinestones! 

But look! Look how soft and pliable it is now! David did a great job, I cannot wait to use it this Sunday for the first time, and if you see my belt on the floor at Gold's better ask before you try to use it!

Swinging

I am sure some of you are not thinking the same thing I am when I say "swinging", but that's just fine, think what you like!


Sunday was back day and I decided to sleep in, I have been enjoying my Sundays lately. So...I woke up at 5:55 a.m. oh well. I had my meal replacement drink and headed off to the gym.


I felt good, rested for a change and was ready to attack the day. I started with my favorite, chin ups and pull ups, superset with dips. Not sure how many sets, I think 7 sets of 6 to 8 chin ups, and 4 sets of dips (10 reps).


Lat pull down, I didn't increase weight but I did increase reps. I also cut my rest time down. Low Cable Row, again no increase in weight but more reps and less rest in between. I did 5 sets of each.

Single Arm bent Over Row, 5 sets.


E-Z Bar Curl, 5 sets.

Then, what would I do for conditioning? I decided to use the kettlebells. I haven't used bells in quite a while, I have done a bit of swinging and that was it.  Although I love training with Roy, kettlebells are what brought me to SC, that's all we did for almost a year. I love the down and dirty of kettlebells, there is nothing sweet and pretty about them. SC taught me everything anyone needs to know, and I am darn good too.


I get dirty, blistered, bloody, sore sweaty. I love them.


I started with Turkish Get Ups. This is a slow, steady move that targets the whole body, but particularly the core. You start laying on the ground and one hand has a KB, held straight up in the air. You sit up then stand, and go back down again, all under a great deal of control. It sounds easy and it's not. I did three sets of 4 on each side. I hadn't done them in over a year, I will need to start doing more and work up to 10 on each side.


Then snatches, I loves snatches. A couple years ago I spent the summer doing Kenneth Jay's Viking Warrior Conditioning. SC helped me come up with the correct tempo and weight. You start with a small bell and a fairly slow tempo, everything is timed including the rest periods. You work up to 45 minutes of continuous snatches. That's why the bell needs to be so light.


I wear cut up tube socks on my hands, I have permanent blisters but this stops them from tearing and bleeding. Once you start bleeding you pretty much need to stop. I have several sets in my bag, they get dirty and I toss them out. Below you can see a short demo of snatches in my backyard. February in California- nice huh?


(Email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video below).




At the gym I did 5 sets of 10 on each side, I walk in between to bring my heart rate down.


After the snatches I moved to swings. This is the classic kettlebell move and the one that most people don't perform correctly. I typically see people perform it in the "crossfit" method, which although may be useful for what crossfitters want it for, it is not what the move or exercise was intended for at all. This is not meant to offend anyone who loves Crossfit- I say do what you like. I am only trying to explain to those who do not know kettlebells, that if they see the 'crossfit" method they should not confuse this with the kettlebell swing. They are two completely different animals.


In crossfit it becomes more of an arm exercise, they swing it up with arm strength way up over the head; they may say that this is the "American Style".The swing is everything but that. It is designed as a  posterior exercise. It should hit the glutes, the hips, the hams, the quads, and the abs, and some of the back/shoulders too. Some crossfitters call this the "Russian Style".


The power should come from the hips, and the glutes. The arms are only an extension of the bell, they are attached and flowing with it, there is no effort coming from the arms.


(Again, if you want to do it crossfit style, that's fine, but I cannot offer advise, I am not into crossfit although I have plenty of friends who are.)


I did 10 sets of 10 with a 24 kilo kettlebell (that's 53 pounds). Again, I walk in between each set to bring my heart rate down. I knew I was doing them right, my breathing becomes very rhythmic and I could feel my glutes swelling after 5 sets! ha ha


I have my own bells, so can do these any evening in the backyard. I think I need to start this again.

Fat Gripz

Friday my new toy was Fat Gripz. Not sure if I like them, but I love new things, I love trying different things and I will use them for a while and then decide!


I met Roy for my usual shoulder training, darn shoulders just cannot get big enough if you ask me!


We are still working on behind the neck barbell presses, and the weight is still going up. I suppose as long as I am not at a plateau, then this is good!


Then seated dumbbell press and again, still moving up in the weight each week.


Front raises, and I am just a wet mess here. I suppose that my arms and shoulders are a bit fatigued by this point, and Roy wants me to perform the exercise very strictly. Honestly, I watch others in the gym do this and they almost have a little dance going, they bounce along, using momentum to swing the weights up, and then just drop them down, completely ignoring the fact that the eccentric movement (the lowering) is really important to be done in a controlled manner- this is where the strength and size is developed.


Times was up and his next client was there stretching, I was still trying to lift my sorry little dumbbells for my front raises. Although I make fun of myself, I am actually doing a good job, you can tell, my arms look great and look better and better everyday actually.


I finish and Roy starts working with his other client then comes over and tells me to do some pull ups with these. We talk a bit about them, they make the bar much, much thicker, so it is incredibly difficult to hold on. 


The theory behind these is simple and it makes sense. Your grip and your arm strength typically give out before the larger muscles that are being trained. This is why I use lifting straps for deadlifts, to hold my dumbbells with walking lunges, with barbell bent over rows, you have the idea right?


By using these large rubber grips, your are supposed to be able to develop the grip and arm strength which in turn allows you to continue on or with more weight with your main lifts.


Roy had them on the pull up bars in the middle of the dual cable machine, I tried some pull ups. Much more difficult! What I noticed is I had to strategically place the opening where the slit in the rubber was, as it tended to turn a bit in my hands. Once I found the right position it stayed though.


I love pull ups and chin ups (I told you recently right?) so I just hung out, doing a few sets, moving the Fat Gripz to other posts and trying those.


As usual, my gym doesn't have any of the fun toys, so I cannot use these there, I have to use them at Roy's place.


I will keep track of my progress and let you know how it goes!