Friday's Training with Roy

Or, Back squats and Butts. Sounds better huh? We are done with the German Volume Training, and on to something else for a while at least. 


I was feeling rather tired today and when my alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. I actually considered turning it off and going back to sleep, after all, I would only be going into Courtside for cardio and stretching. But, my conscious got the better of me and I got up and went.


30 minutes on the stairmill, 10 minutes on the Concept 2 rower, a bit of jump rope then stretching. It took quite a bit of time, but it is nice when I don't need to be anywhere in a hurry. I grab some coffee at the cafe and my phone then sit and read my email in the ladies lounge. Finally, a shower and very long steam...I wasn't going into work so I had time.


You are thinking: "What whack job gets up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning on their day off?!"...your'e looking at her!


I am down a bit in weight from last Friday, now it's probably water weight, but that's fine. You see, the more starchy carbs you ingest, the more glycogen in the muscles, the more glycogen in the muscles, the more water your body holds onto. Start to reduce the amount of starchy carbs and the exact opposite takes place. This is why everyone who starts a new diet loses a couple pounds the first week!

Still, only a small amount of weight change makes a difference in my appearance. David said he can already see it in my face, but I think he is being dramatic!


I can see it in my stomach and the upper back area, the places where I tend to hold it most.


Back to Back squats and Butts.


Roy wanted to test my maximum weights and my range of motion on the front squat after the last four weeks. I have improved! I knew I would. Actually I have always loved front squats, I think because people just don't do them, they are difficult!


We went into back squats. I started with 135 and Roy kindly said "You are one of the few people who are better at the front squat than the back squat, like me."


He could have said "Damn you suck!" but he didn't. I used to squat a lot, and heavy, really heavy. But never with the form he is expecting. I would go as low as parallel, I thought that was right and the best way.


Nope, he wants me down, down low and push the knees out in front, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that part, I mean, my damn knees go where they go don't they?


But, as I have learned, I need to put my head in the body part I am trying to work. That's right, think with my butt or think with my heels, or my knees, whatever it takes.  What that means for me, is I become that part of my body, I am almost looking out at the world from that body part, I can only be thinking of that part. It works, try it. 

So we lowered the weight and lowered the weight. I got it down to 95 pounds when he finally felt the form was right, I was feeling like I just took a huge step (or steps) backward. Then it hit me, I never used to squat with this foot stance! 

My feet were close, and pointing straight ahead, I had always performed squats with a very, very wide stance, with my toes slightly pointed out. I told Roy, I wanted him to know I wasn't a weakling!

He said "well that's how you became glute dominant"...and in my mind I heard "that's how you built that great butt". YES!

But, he said we are working on quads, as I wanted. Right. We went through the form, over and over till he thought I had it right, weight on the heels, come down with knees out in front, push off from the heels, drive up with the hips.

He told me not to do "the stripper squat" and demonstrated. What a blast, I was laughing hysterically! I liked watching him do the stripper squat and realized I have never seen a women do that, at least I don't think I have in person, or maybe they did it a bit differently than Roy did...

And all this time I have been doing the stripper squat....seems I should have gotten tips or something.

We then did 10 sets of 10 Good Mornings, I am still working on my hamstrings. He said the "time under tension" was good, high 40s and even hit 57 seconds with the last set. 

That was it, Back squats and Butts. A bit anti-climactic after the weeks of German Volume Training, but I know I need to do something different. I have time, and I can do it again. I will do it again.

Home and the boys went out to lunch without me, probably good as they went for ramen and I shouldn't eat that right now.

And those stripper squats? They actually exist! Stripper Squats