Gotta keep trying, eh?

You know NBS...I think you might be right...haha! At least I wasn't inclining it like that, although that would be quite the sight.

Tom - I'm not sure what a cable row is, although I'll probably look it up after I post this. I wouldn't mind doing barbell rows or bench presses, but I've never used the barbell before so it kind of scares me...
 
NBS 4life said:
The headrest may be the seat :D you could be laying on it upside down feet where head should be haha
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Ah lol - good call, I didn't think of that!

kittyhartman26 said:
You know NBS...I think you might be right...haha! At least I wasn't inclining it like that, although that would be quite the sight.

Tom - I'm not sure what a cable row is, although I'll probably look it up after I post this. I wouldn't mind doing barbell rows or bench presses, but I've never used the barbell before so it kind of scares me...
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Also you don't need the bench if you're doing db rows either - just doing standing bent over rows with one or two dumbbells is more difficult actually because of the extra stabilization work.
 
Guys, I'm a total big wimp. I'm not that worried about it, I know better than to go try to lift more than I can but I think I probably look kinda like a joke amongst yous alls whats are lifting 400 lbs. Although I think in the free weight room the guys (I say guys because I'm the only female I've ever seen in there, including employees. Which makes me sad.) seem to appreciate the fact that I actually go in there and do things more than they care that I can only do those things with 20-30 lbs of weight.

On that note I don't really care. Just a thought!

My gym is closed for the weekend to get new carpet so I guess I'm taking a break...kinda sucks that it's so close to when I just started. But it's only two days.

Have a good weekend everybody!
 
flyinfree said:
break a swseat anyway, don't be a puke!

;)
FF
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+1

All you need is some kind of resistance... you could do body weight exercises even in those couple of days.

As for the guys in the gym, I'd say the fact you're in the weight room at all gets you some respect.
 
Well I've been doing squats all wrong. A trainer showed me how to do them correctly, and boy howdy! They are both easier AND more difficult. I am sore in all new places. Anyway today was just a cardio day. Saturday I felt like I didn't push hard enough so tomorrow I think I will try some more weight. I'll also weigh in and start posting that probably.
 
Early morning today. Had some cottage cheese and yogurt, did 3x10@30 bent over rows, 3x10@30 bench presses, 30 painful scissory-like crunches, 30 min. elliptical. Weighed in at 2 lbs more than last week. Slightly discouraging, but I think it might be the scale at the gym. It's kinda junky.
 
Just returned from the gym. Moved up in weights on squats and will probably move up for deadlifts on Thursday.

Squats 3x10@30
Deads 3x10@30
About 40 min elliptical

When I get strong enough I'm going to start using the bar. They tell me it weighs 45 lbs.

My best friends joined my gym with me, so not only do I get a referral reward, I have buddies. It's good to have someone relying on you being there, it makes it easier to wake up and go.

I have a diet and exercise computer profile thingy I got for free when I took Nutrition last semester, so I started using that. It's pretty cool.

Hope you're all having a good day!
 
I'm guessing you're using dumbbells for the squats and deadlifts? If so, and if you're carrying a 30 in each hand, you should be able to use the olympic barbell, which is indeed 45 lbs (20kg).
 
Kitty! :D

And doing real well, I see. Outstanding.\

I'm glad you didn't start a new journal, though. It's all about the journey.


kittyhartman26 said:
Next time I'm going to insert my own two second drama while I'm walking by other people.
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I do this sometimes, too! It's a game my buddy and I play. When someone who wasn't already looks to be coming into earshot we switch (usually mid sentence) to arguing over some made-up drama. The higher the shock value, the better. :D

Edit: Recommend transitioning to the barbell on all your lifts as soon as possible, for learning best form. Even if you can't do as many reps - that's no big deal, it'll come over time. Dumbbells actually make things more difficult - super common misconception, that they're more beginner friendly. They are so not.

You could even look into ladder training. I am finding that to be more and more helpful in getting accustomed to new exercises quickly.
 
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No, I've got a 15 in each hand equalling 30. I'm actually kind of scared of the barbell. I think I could squat and deadlift 45 lbs, maybe not as many times, but will I look crazy with just the bar? Or do people do that? Not many people use the weights in my gym (except the bench press) so there's really no one to watch. Speaking of bench presses should I use the bar for those too? Because I've been using dumbells for that and bent over rows. Also what is ladder training? I hope you're enjoying this onslaught of questions :) Thanks for your help, guys!
 
kittyhartman26 said:
No, I've got a 15 in each hand equalling 30. I'm actually kind of scared of the barbell. I think I could squat and deadlift 45 lbs, maybe not as many times, but will I look crazy with just the bar? Or do people do that? Not many people use the weights in my gym (except the bench press) so there's really no one to watch. Speaking of bench presses should I use the bar for those too? Because I've been using dumbells for that and bent over rows. Also what is ladder training? I hope you're enjoying this onslaught of questions :) Thanks for your help, guys!
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In a sense, it hardly matters, as it's what YOU'RE going to do that counts. But yes, people do squat and DL with the empty bar - you have to start somewhere you know. As for dumbbells, and as Focus has pointed out, I think they're a bit more complicated than the barbell, but they use more stabilizers, and you can isolate imbalances easier with them (dumbbells). The stabilizers etc is one reason kettlebells are so popular - they increase that need to control the weight. That said, try it and see how you do. From what you've said, nobody will know what you're doing anyhow since they don't squat or deadlift. Keep up the good work. (I'm not entirely sure what ladder training is, so I'll leave it to more informed minds to chime in.)

ETA: Go to youtube and look up squat rx (either as two words or squatrx) watch the videos - you'll learn a lot.
 
kittyhartman26 said:
will I look crazy with just the bar? Or do people do that?
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To most people in a commercial gym? Sure. They're all hopping up and down on bosu balls or whatever they like to do. To people who actually know what they're doing? No. Not at all.

kittyhartman26 said:
Speaking of bench presses should I use the bar for those too? Because I've been using dumbells for that and bent over rows.
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Ideally, yeah, if you can be careful about the benching. With just the bar, though, I'm quite certain that if you get stuck you can simply tip it off and stand up, if not easily roll it down your chest and sit up. I sometimes do this with over 200 lbs, so I can't see you struggling much with the bar. You don't have to worry about plates coming off or making a big racket or anything. Generally, if you do fail to get it up, you can still make it to the lower rack on the bench, then get up and pull it back into position.

kittyhartman26 said:
Also what is ladder training?
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Just a training principle the application of which is to allow a beginner to handle more volume than they might otherwise be able to; the basic idea behind which is that as a newbie most of your gains are mental rather than physical, and as such you will be best served by simply getting as much practice as you can. This is particularly true when using heavier weights (in a lower rep range, say 3-5 rep max).

So, say you start benching that 45 lb bar.

Instead of just doing as much as you can (saving absolute failure for the last set, btw), you would do something like this:

45x1, rest a few seconds, 45x2, rest a few seconds, 45x3, rest a few seconds, etc. until you can no longer add a rep on your previous set.

An example 3 sets (the 45 being lbs, the weight of the bar and x# being the number of reps performed, each line break being a new set) of that might look like:

BB Bench Press

45x1, 45x2, 45x3, 45x4, 45x5, 45x4
45x1, 45x2, 45x3, 45x4, 45x4,
45x1, 45x2, 45x3, 45x2

As you can see, each set ends when you are no longer able to "climb a rung of the ladder". In this way you are theoretically performing a total of 40 reps where you might otherwise have only been able to do something like 24 (45x10, 45x8, 45x6 for example).
 
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Ok, I've been watching the videos, but I think I'm gonna wait until my friend Carl comes with me so I can make sure I can do it on my own without killing myself before going and killing myself. Culinary school makes it difficult to eat well...they kind of make you eat everything. Although today in Baking Science I told the chef I would rather not do the candy taste test and eat the cookies we made and he said he was happy to oblige my dietary needs :)

Today:
Bench press 10, 10, 7! @ 40 Woo hoo I totally had failure!
Bent over rows 3x10@30
I tried to do situps but it HURT. I mean like, really really hurt. It felt like someone was slicing my midsection with a knife. So I quit doing that after like 3 and hit the elliptical for 30.
 
kittyhartman26 said:
Ok, I've been watching the videos, but I think I'm gonna wait until my friend Carl comes with me so I can make sure I can do it on my own without killing myself before going and killing myself. Culinary school makes it difficult to eat well...they kind of make you eat everything. Although today in Baking Science I told the chef I would rather not do the candy taste test and eat the cookies we made and he said he was happy to oblige my dietary needs :)

Today:
Bench press 10, 10, 7! @ 40 Woo hoo I totally had failure!
Bent over rows 3x10@30
I tried to do situps but it HURT. I mean like, really really hurt. It felt like someone was slicing my midsection with a knife. So I quit doing that after like 3 and hit the elliptical for 30.
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That's probably a wise decision to wait on the bar, but you can practice the wall squat etc with the dumbbells too. On the bench press, you can keep doing your 20's until you can do all 3 sets for 10 reps (and good form/control), then move up. As for the situps - your description makes it sound like you have an injury, do you? Did you try crunches?

And yes I can see where culinary school would pose quite a few dangers to a healthy lifestyle.
 
It doesn't feel like an injury, I thought I was just sore, but then those situps really hurt. I guess I'll wait a few more days and see if it's not just because I haven't used those muscles in so long.
 
kittyhartman26 said:
It doesn't feel like an injury, I thought I was just sore, but then those situps really hurt. I guess I'll wait a few more days and see if it's not just because I haven't used those muscles in so long.
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Not true - you used them in both previous exercises to brace yourself/stability.
 
In that case, no clue. But you'd be proud of me today guys! I squatted with 40lbs and deadlifted 50! And I used a bar. Carl was there but when we went to the rack I kind of got nervous and he was like, well if you don't want to you can always use these, and he points to a rack of barbells that are preweighted all the way down to 10 lbs. I was like, what the crap! How did I not notice that? So anyway I used those. I'm quite stiff but I feel good.
So here's this for today:

Squats 3x10@40
Deads 3x10@50
Elliptical: 35 min.
 
Sounds like your problem with the bar is more psychological than physical. If you can do 3x10@40, 3x6 or 3x8@45 shouldn't be that far from it.
 
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