Journey, Not A Destination

Miss Ladybug said:
I'm pretty consistant and my weight has dropped about 3 pounds in the past two months, not much in my book, but I've dropped drastically in inches, which just blow my mind.
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That's very good news. Inches hold much more weighting than the number on the scale!

I probably wouldn't mess with your intake too much at this point. If results become stagnant, we'll re-evaluate.
 
A weight room story

SO yesterday I was in the weight room, and I realized "Hey, I actually do incorporate sets of 8-10 reps with lighter weights into my heavy sets, for various body parts"--usually after a heavy set--with the exception of bench presses. For BP I have been doing 95 pounds for some time now,and it's still a struggle so I don't see me upping the weight anytime soon.

Now; there is a guy I see in there fairly often named Ryan and he's a part time P.T. but a few years ago when I had a different job that allowed me to take a morning kickboxing class, he had subbed for the instructor for two weeks, where I got to know him. He's fit and slim and muscled but in a wiry way, and I see him in the gym all the time, doing circuit training and stuff. He always says hi, how's your running, yada yada. Well, anyway, since I have been doing deadlifts, he's been calling out ways to improve my form--"Put your shoulders back, more, Valerie!" or "back straighter!" and I don't mind, I welcome it, of course. He's a caring-type nice person. A few months ago he criticized my bench presses (not the form, the weight) and suggested I lighten the load. I just laughed and continued on,and eventually I was able to go deeper (come to the proper distance from my chest).

But yesterday, I remembered what you said about moderate, realized I was good except for the bench presses, and took off the 25 lb plates and was too lazy to stick on a 10 lber, so I just did a few sets of 12 reps with only the bar. Ryan was nearby and commented, "A little light for you, eh Valerie?" And I laughed and said,

"Yeah, someone told me to incorporate moderate weight into my routine,"

And his back was turned to me as he was doing dumbell bicep curls,and he said,

"I told you that months ago, but you don't listen to me. Must be a good trainer."

And I thought of YOU, got speechless and actually turned RED :eek:. I sputtered, "Sorry....." and that was that.

I don't think he was really upset and I wasn't honestly too embarrassed, especially since I'm the type of person who thinks most people are resilient and offense passes as people get over things, and if they don't, that is THEIR problem. But he made me realize how much I listen to you!! HA! :rotflmao: A man I've never met! Well, in my defense, your advice proves sound and like I said, I owe the firmness of my ass, in part, to you. ;)
 
Happy Tuesday Steve! :)

Hey,

help me find a job workin' in a freezer!

Between that and snortin' protein powders I could get this weight off in record time!! :D

*Stacy
 
Curvie Girlie said:
SO yesterday I was in the weight room, and I realized "Hey, I actually do incorporate sets of 8-10 reps with lighter weights into my heavy sets, for various body parts"--usually after a heavy set--with the exception of bench presses. For BP I have been doing 95 pounds for some time now,and it's still a struggle so I don't see me upping the weight anytime soon.

Now; there is a guy I see in there fairly often named Ryan and he's a part time P.T. but a few years ago when I had a different job that allowed me to take a morning kickboxing class, he had subbed for the instructor for two weeks, where I got to know him. He's fit and slim and muscled but in a wiry way, and I see him in the gym all the time, doing circuit training and stuff. He always says hi, how's your running, yada yada. Well, anyway, since I have been doing deadlifts, he's been calling out ways to improve my form--"Put your shoulders back, more, Valerie!" or "back straighter!" and I don't mind, I welcome it, of course. He's a caring-type nice person. A few months ago he criticized my bench presses (not the form, the weight) and suggested I lighten the load. I just laughed and continued on,and eventually I was able to go deeper (come to the proper distance from my chest).

But yesterday, I remembered what you said about moderate, realized I was good except for the bench presses, and took off the 25 lb plates and was too lazy to stick on a 10 lber, so I just did a few sets of 12 reps with only the bar. Ryan was nearby and commented, "A little light for you, eh Valerie?" And I laughed and said,

"Yeah, someone told me to incorporate moderate weight into my routine,"

And his back was turned to me as he was doing dumbell bicep curls,and he said,

"I told you that months ago, but you don't listen to me. Must be a good trainer."

And I thought of YOU, got speechless and actually turned RED :eek:. I sputtered, "Sorry....." and that was that.

I don't think he was really upset and I wasn't honestly too embarrassed, especially since I'm the type of person who thinks most people are resilient and offense passes as people get over things, and if they don't, that is THEIR problem. But he made me realize how much I listen to you!! HA! :rotflmao: A man I've never met! Well, in my defense, your advice proves sound and like I said, I owe the firmness of my ass, in part, to you. ;)
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Thanks a lot Val, that means a lot. This is what I enjoy, spreading some good 'word' about fitness/health. It makes my day when I hear that there are people out there who not only listen, but apply the info.

So thanks again! :)

As an aside.... whenever you find yourself stuck in a particular lift, it's good to back off for a while.

That's the entire concept of periodization. Create a plan where you push your body in order to force a positive adaptation. However, the tricky part about periodization is planning a program to match your recovery abilities. If you push too hard, progress will stall, such as your bench press.

I'm not saying don't push hard. It's just many people have the proclivity to constantly 'crush' a particular muscle or even their entire body without ever giving it a break. They think taking a week or two off, or even taking a bit of time at a lesser intensity will negate the gains they've experienced. A) We don't lose it that fast. B) More importantly, backing off is critical to long term success.

It takes a long while to understand when to push and when to back off.

I like to think of pushing and backing off more systemically: Meaning, the entire program is pushing at some point or backing off at another.

But thinking of it in terms of each individual exercise is fine too. So, if you are realizing that many of your lifts are still progressing in terms of form and strength, yet there is one that is stalled out.... it's fine to keep pushing everything except for this one that's lagging.

There are multiple ways to back off.

If you want, you could take a week off from the exercise.

Or you can reduce the intensity. Drop the weight lifted to something like 75% of where you were at your max. Then build back up from that point slowly and consistently. More often than not, you'll blast right past your previous sticking point.

All this does is it allows your body time to recover. Fatigue accumulates as you keep pushing, even if you don't feel it. Backing off allows some of this fatigue to dissipate.

Does this make sense?
 
be_gone_soon said:
I do have back pain quite alot actually. Even lifting my kids can throw it out. I never let it stop me, but it's there.:mad:
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Well that fact may contraindicate particular exercises that put your back in 'risky' positions. No doubt the deadlift and stiff leg deadlift put a high level of stress on the back.

You may be better suited using some of the less intensive exercises I mentioned in my previous post to you.

Here are some examples:









The above are pretty easy in terms of intensiveness. But it may be just enough to keep yourself from 'pushing the limit.'

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to see a doc or a good chiro.
 
maleficent said:
What's wrong with being content? it's what a lot of people strive for...
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Screw that.

Maintaining what I have, especially in terms of physique it moving backwards in my mind.

I like to continually be working toward something.

I understand not everyone is like that, but that's definitely how I am. And it doesn't apply to all areas of life. There are certain things I am content with, such as my marriage. Or my relationships.
 
hickgurltx said:
Happy Tuesday Steve! :)

Hey,

help me find a job workin' in a freezer!

Between that and snortin' protein powders I could get this weight off in record time!! :D

*Stacy
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Hmmm, a butcher maybe?

haha

Be consistent with a sound approach and the weight will come off.... don't sweat it!
 
*TeeHee* ;)

I will!

~~~

Makin' note of the leg raises..I'll be doin' those!

The others are listed in BL book exercise section..

:)
 
Steve said:
Thanks a lot Val, that means a lot. This is what I enjoy, spreading some good 'word' about fitness/health. It makes my day when I hear that there are people out there who not only listen, but apply the info.

Fatigue accumulates as you keep pushing, even if you don't feel it. Backing off allows some of this fatigue to dissipate.

Does this make sense?
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yes it does, and I honestly can say I DO feel fatigue accumulating at this point. I'm considering this very carefully. Exercise brings me joy, and the thought of going cold turkey for longer than 24 hours makes me hyperventilate--BUT if I decided to just WALK and do things around the house for a week, and eat lightly, I bet it would be better for me, especially with this 5K race on the 28th....I should rest up for THAT. Ok I'll consider a rest week....or taking it lightly, I need to think about this first...
 
Curvie Girlie said:
yes it does, and I honestly can say I DO feel fatigue accumulating at this point. I'm considering this very carefully. Exercise brings me joy, and the thought of going cold turkey for longer than 24 hours makes me hyperventilate--BUT if I decided to just WALK and do things around the house for a week, and eat lightly, I bet it would be better for me, especially with this 5K race on the 28th....I should rest up for THAT. Ok I'll consider a rest week....or taking it lightly, I need to think about this first...
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Well let me know if you have any questions.

Anymore it's rare I take a week off from the weights. However my periodization is much different than what you see me recommend around here.

For instance, I recommend most here focus on increasing their weights as much as possible.... every session if they can actually. They should ride this out as long as they can.

When this is the case, they are 'overloading' their bodies each workout, follow me?

Once you reach a certain point though, in terms of strength, you can't continue increasing the weight so consistently.... ESPECIALLY when dieting.

When this is the case, overload needs to be applied more sporadically.

For instance, with me, a particular program may look like this:

Week 1 -- 75%
Week 2 -- 85%
Week 3 -- 95%
Week 4 -- 105%
Week 5 -- 110%
Week 7 -- back off, down to 75% again or change up some other parameters

So really, overload isn't being applied except for weeks 4 & 5. The reason being is this: I've gotten strong to the point where the weights that I lift induce a significant amount of fatigue to the point where when I overload the muscles, it takes an appreciable amount of time to recover enough in order to overload the muscle once again.

Remember, overload is what stimulates positive adaptation. Without overload, you are only maintaining.

The more advanced you become in terms of strength, the more complex your periodization must be come. Olympians for instance, might having their training planned for years in order to peak for the next Olympics in terms of strength and performance.

Hopefully you followed some of that.
 
I get it, but it's going to take me some planning, writing down, and adhering to practice this. And you know how THAT can be sometimes! :rolleyes: I suspect I need to do a session at 75%. My bench presses are not going to get heavier anytime soon. BUT in regards to squats, I think I can manage more than 135 lbs soon! And with deadlifts, I'm pretty sure I can manage 135 lbs, I did do that once, then went back to 115 lbs after that.

In my previous post I was more referring to cardio, but I get your point.

*thinking about weight program*
 
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