I was told by a physical therapist today that I shouldn't worry about getting back under the bar, and instead should focus on leg presses, weight belt squats, and dumbbells. It's entirely possible I'll find a new therapist after I talk to my surgeon Thursday.
So you were told not to get back under the bar but instead to do leg presses? Yeah I'm guessing a new therapist is in your future. Although, if I liked the therapy was I getting I might stick with the person and just ignore the bad advice.
Ignoring the bad advice, for now. I made it clear we have drastically different outlooks on exercise and fitness protocol, so just make my shoulder work like it's supposed to, and I'll handle everything else.
Well, it's time for me to get back in shape. This is only a new year's resolution by coincidence, since the holidays finally pushed me over the edge and forced me to admit that my pants just don't fit right anymore. My birthday is on April 3rd, so from today until then (12 weeks and two days) I'm going to try to stick to a realistic exercise/diet plan and see what kind of progress I can make. I find the more complex my fitness plans are, the more likely I will fail. So this time it's just a simple goal of cutting out crap (fast food, etc.), trying to eat smaller meals more often/regularly, and limiting drinking to once a week. On the exercise side, I'm going to get back in the pool and swim a few times a week, go for a couple runs a week, and start taking the stairs up to my 10th floor apartment. To help motivate me, I'm posting my "before" pictures here. In 12 weeks, on my 26th birthday, I'll post the "after" ones in the TiBer thread. We'll see how this goes! Spoiler 170.8 lbs
Dude. This is easy. Don't eat like an idiot, and commit yourself to a baseline program of strength and conditioning and you'll be pleased with the results. And limit your drinking.
This. And if you do booze it up, don't eat stuff with carbohydrates with it as your body will be more eager to store it as fat.
I read about and am doing this thing where I set a lift goal. The thing I read was "lift a million pounds" but since I am just getting back into it and am as weak as a kitten, I set a more modest goal of 100,000lbs. All you do is keep a log of the weights and reps and keep a running tally of total weight lifted. I think it is a cool way to keep me on top of my lifting log, to keep me going to the gym, and to be always striving to lift heavier.
So today I hit 5 reps at 405 on the ol' box squat. However, it led to a funny moment. A lady who happened to be nearby came up and complimented my technique. She mentioned she'd seen me squatting before and was hoping I could show her how. In any case, she asks what I listen to as I lift, takes an ear bud that was hanging down, and puts it on. She looks at me and I press play with a bit of a grimace, since what I had been listening to at the time was: Her: Wait...that's not english. Me: No. It's japanese. Her: Do you know what they're saying? Me: No... Her: Where's it from? Me: It's an anime. Her: An anime? Isn't that those japanese cartoons? Me: Yes. It's from the soundtrack to Puella Magi Magica. Her: ...Ah...well I should get back to my workout. Me: *sigh*
I can't wait for my grip to catch up with the strength of my legs. Deads are far more difficult for me than squats, but only because of the gripping issue. Anyone else remember dealing with this when they started lifting? How long did it take for your soft lady hands to catch up?
Is your grip giving out or do your hands just hurt, because you need to build up calluses? You using an over/under grip already?
I use a mixed grip. Maybe it does have more to do with callus formation. I'm not sure. I just have a really hard time keeping the bar in my hands after a few reps. I haven't had to drop the bar yet, it's just that I have to focus more on keeping the bar in my hands than on the actual exercise and muscle engagement. I'm at a comfortable weight with my squats but I am lifting less with the deads because of problems holding onto the bar. I never thought this would be an issue.
I don't know if you are, but if you pick your calluses off your hands, stop. If you're having trouble, move down in weight until you can grip well the whole way. Also, make sure you're gripping as hard as you can before you even start lifting, and try not to ease up when it hits the ground until you're sure your hand strength can handle it.
First workout since my surgery two weeks ago went so-so. I've lost some off my squats, but that should come back quickly. My bigger problem is my left shoulder; it's still fucked up even though I don't experience any discomfort except when I'm lifting, and after two sets it just gets so weak I've got nothing. It's been this way for a month and I don't know what the fuck is wrong, which is frustrating. I feel like I just have to unfuck my shoulder somehow and it'll be fine.
This too. Chalk is amazing. More PT today. Nothing fancy. They said we may be able to start doing resistance soon though. Whoopy.
That's what you get for being a nerd. If you were playing this, she would have raped you on the spot.
If you can't use chalk at your gym, use these. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.ironmind-store.com/Strong-Enough-Lifting-Straps153/productinfo/1239/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ironmind-store.com/Strong-En ... info/1239/</a>
Does not compute. So you're saying that A) there are gyms that prohibit chalk use, which leads to B) why would someone who lifts work out at such a gym?
Actual weight lifting gyms are hard to find if you don't know where to look. Most places open to the public are just hamster factories like Lifetime, Ballys, Planet Fatness, etc. You and I have two really good facilities near us. Southside Bully in Burnsville and Los Campeones in Minnecrapolis are both strongman/powerlifting friendly gyms. Most of the time, you have to go to private gyms to be allowed to actually lift stuff.