Ruthless Training Journal

Babe Ruthless said:
Hi Ryan! Thank you for this! I'm going to watch RDL vids to see how it is being done. Of course, i should start with the lightest possible in doing RDL right? :)
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Yep. I get my clients to begin RDLs without any weight at all at first, doing the first drill seen in this video: I'm working with a woman right now who started with several sets of unloaded RDLs like that, and then finally got her to practice it with just an 8kg kettlebell. 2 weeks later we've gone up to 16kg, and next week she's either going to learn the KB swing or she's going to start using the barbell to deadlift.
Babe Ruthless said:
~ Skipped gym last week. Handled a big company event which means late evenings at work, lack of sleep, cramming deadlines, and less food. It was a hellish week of starting work at 9am and leaving at 10-11pm. I am so glad it's finally over.

~This week: I usually go to the gym every Monday evening but had to skip Monday to allow my body to recuperate. The company event commenced last Sunday evening so after that, i just slept the whole next day away, only waking up to eat and diving back to bed ala piglet-mode hahah.

~Tuesday evening: Back to gym! :-D

11.3.14 | Tuesday

Assisted chin-up - 4x7x43kg
Lat pull down - 3x10x30kg
Vertical row - 3x10x30kg

Bench press - 3x12x10kg
Abductor and adductor - 3x12x30kg
Leg press - 3x15x40kg

Squat - 3x10x20kg

45 degree back raise - 5x20

~Wednesday: - attended a yoga session.

:)

*Will try to do Romanian deadlift next session. Thanks Ryan for the suggestion!
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It's a pleasure to help. That work week sounds dreadful. I don't blame you taking the week off from training. I was starting to wonder where you'd gotten to...now I know.
JustinRVA said:
Just consider last week a de-load week and you won't feel guilty for not being able to train ;)
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Do this.
 
24.3.14 | Monday

Db bench press - 3x15x4kg
One arm db - 3x20x4kg

Bench press - 3x15x10kg
Abductor and adductor - 3x20x30kg
Leg press - 3x20x60kg
Assisted chin up - 3x10x43kg

Squat - 3x10x20kg
3x5x22.5kg

Back raise - 3x30
 
27.3.14 | Thursday

Squat 3x10x20kg
3x5x22.5kg

Abductor and adductor - 3x15x45kg
Lat pull down - 3x5x45kg
Vertical row - 3x10x30kg

One arm db row - 3x15x3kg
Db bench press - 3x10x4kg

Assisted chin up - 3x10x43kg
45 degree back raise - 3x30

Had to cut session quickly to attend a function.
 
29.3.14 | Saturday

Cycle: 17.5 km from house to Botanic Gardens and back. Toughest cycle ever due to slopes and uphills. Farthest i've ever pedalled too.
 
29.3.14 | Sunday

Run: 6km from house close to southern coast and back.

*I've written a long entry an hour ago explaining my week's workout but unfortunately fitness[dot]com says my login has expired after i hit the post button. Bonkers, can't type it all again... +_+

*Heading to the gym now (Monday 7.24pm here).
 
Thanks Ryan! Last week's another crazy week for me. I'm so glad my boss finally went overseas for a vacation hahah. Planning to talk to him about my workload so i can clear some of my excess load and be not insanely busy and be merry again! I'm still glad that i did able to go back to the gym regularly plus i've been running and cycling often on some days. I started doing RDL with just 10kg barbell. Workout exercises so i can get used to it. I hope that what i'm doing is correct lol! I attempted to video myself last sessions but the gym was always crowded lately to the point that i couldn't even place my phone somewhere for a good capture (highly considering finding a new gym at the moment).

By the way, quick question! For RDL, does the legs need to be super straight? I watched vids on youtube, some does it straight, some with knees slightly bent.

Oh i remember your youtube channel! I haven't gone through it yet to check but will browse on it later heheh. Rushing to gym now :-D Laters!


Goldfish said:
Yep. I get my clients to begin RDLs without any weight at all at first, doing the first drill seen in this video: I'm working with a woman right now who started with several sets of unloaded RDLs like that, and then finally got her to practice it with just an 8kg kettlebell. 2 weeks later we've gone up to 16kg, and next week she's either going to learn the KB swing or she's going to start using the barbell to deadlift.

It's a pleasure to help. That work week sounds dreadful. I don't blame you taking the week off from training. I was starting to wonder where you'd gotten to...now I know.

Do this.
Click to expand...
 
Babe Ruthless said:
29.3.14 | Sunday

Run: 6km from house close to southern coast and back.

*I've written a long entry an hour ago explaining my week's workout but unfortunately fitness[dot]com says my login has expired after i hit the post button. Bonkers, can't type it all again... +_+

*Heading to the gym now (Monday 7.24pm here).
Click to expand...

That happens to me all the time. Just always remember to copy what you type in case that happens.
 
Babe Ruthless said:
Thanks Ryan! Last week's another crazy week for me. I'm so glad my boss finally went overseas for a vacation hahah. Planning to talk to him about my workload so i can clear some of my excess load and be not insanely busy and be merry again! I'm still glad that i did able to go back to the gym regularly plus i've been running and cycling often on some days. I started doing RDL with just 10kg barbell. Workout exercises so i can get used to it. I hope that what i'm doing is correct lol! I attempted to video myself last sessions but the gym was always crowded lately to the point that i couldn't even place my phone somewhere for a good capture (highly considering finding a new gym at the moment).

By the way, quick question! For RDL, does the legs need to be super straight? I watched vids on youtube, some does it straight, some with knees slightly bent.

Oh i remember your youtube channel! I haven't gone through it yet to check but will browse on it later heheh. Rushing to gym now :-D Laters!
Click to expand...

That's a good starting place. When you check through my youtube video and find the video of me doing RDL's, you'll discover two things: 1) at the bottom my knees are bent something like 20-30 degrees (IIRC; I actually haven't looked at the video myself lately :p); 2) you might find yourself on a hot date half-way through a set. So, to answer your question, your legs don't have to be super straight for RDL's. I'd say unlock your knees for all but the very top of the movement (I do recommend locking both your hips and knees in the most concentric position, as bent knees will take the tension out of the hamstrings, and the glutes will go into their highest overload for the exercise when your lock out your hips), but make sure that your knees are either staying exactly where they are or moving back on the way down. Do not let your knees move forwards, or else you'll excessively bend them and weaken the stretch in the hamstrings.
 
Okay i get it now! I need to practice more on a stick to make sure i'm getting somewhere hahah. In front of the mirror to see if i get the same form as what you've shown. Nice vids by the way! LOL @ the rdl sexy time. I also noticed you got a lot of hair styles! Hahah.


Goldfish said:
That's a good starting place. When you check through my youtube video and find the video of me doing RDL's, you'll discover two things: 1) at the bottom my knees are bent something like 20-30 degrees (IIRC; I actually haven't looked at the video myself lately :p); 2) you might find yourself on a hot date half-way through a set. So, to answer your question, your legs don't have to be super straight for RDL's. I'd say unlock your knees for all but the very top of the movement (I do recommend locking both your hips and knees in the most concentric position, as bent knees will take the tension out of the hamstrings, and the glutes will go into their highest overload for the exercise when your lock out your hips), but make sure that your knees are either staying exactly where they are or moving back on the way down. Do not let your knees move forwards, or else you'll excessively bend them and weaken the stretch in the hamstrings.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah lesson learned on that one. Face palm when everything was gone after typing a long entry hahah. I'll keep that in mind. Will do ctrl+c from now before hitting the post button. :)

JustinRVA said:
That happens to me all the time. Just always remember to copy what you type in case that happens.
Click to expand...
 
24.3.14 | Monday

Assisted chin up - 3x10x43kg
Leg press - 3x10x60kg

Abductor and adductor - 3x10x45kg
Vertical row - 3x10x30kg

DB bench press - 3x15x4kg
One arm db row - 3x15x4kg

Bench press - 3x20x10kg

Squat - 3x10x20kg
3x5x22.5kg

RDL - 3x10x10kg

45 degree back raise - 3x30
 
27.3.14 | Thursday
(Trying new gym)

I went to try a new gym, 7 minutes walk from the apartment. It was not a fruitful one though. The gym called Celebrity Fitness which claims that they have state of the art equipments but no squat rack. So i had to make use of the smith machine for squats which i find uncomfortable. Shocking that they also don't have light barbells. The barbell starts at 30kg. For a pricey gym membership, the dumbbells are limited as well.

I tried to make the most out of the situation and did the following instead:

• Treadmill hahaha! - 7 minutes
• Some power stretching and swiss ball

• Db bench press - 3x15x4kg
• One arm db row - 3x15x4kg

• Squat (using smith machine T_T ) - 3x10x20kg
2x5x22.5kg (have to stop at set 2 cos my legs feel weird after using the smith machine)

• Bench press - no barbells lower than 30kg so i had to use a bar with zigzag handle which i realised wasn't a good idea at all because it feels weird as well and the handle's almost hazardously hitting my chest part - 1x10x12.5 or 15?

• Vertical row - 3x10x30kg
• Lat pull down - 3x10x30kg

Thoughts: Maybe this gym's turf is more on aerobics, yoga, body combat, and other workouts but they shouldn't put free weights/weightlifting on their brochure.

I might try another gym nearby but i will thoroughly inquire over the phone first. Will go back to my usual gym again next session. Even if it's a 30mins commute time, i'll have a good squat rack and weights.
 
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Babe Ruthless said:
Okay i get it now! I need to practice more on a stick to make sure i'm getting somewhere hahah. In front of the mirror to see if i get the same form as what you've shown. Nice vids by the way! LOL @ the rdl sexy time. I also noticed you got a lot of hair styles! Hahah.
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I think so long as you're keeping your torso tight and neutral, you won't need to do much work with the stick...but then I haven't seen you RDL yet, so that's a guideline rather than a prescription.

As the weight increases, your technique will actually change subtly over time to accommodate heavier loads. Basically, the torque of the barbell will have influences on your exact technique, and will actually lend itself to a lot of the technique points, which is why if you can consistently do the movement with your back neutral, I think it's safe and even good to use the bar.

I used to have hair down to my nipples. I've recently shaved my head to raise money for cancer research. My hair is highly variable.
 
My hair is varying by the day, basically because it's falling out. Used to be very long, nearly waist length when damp. But middle age kicked in and I decided even with my negligible style I had to lose the long hair due to going bald.
There are a number of different styles of deadlift to accommodate different loads and builds. My heaviest were always sumo, something I haven't done in years. Weight makes you rethink and adjust posture etc. a lot in deadlifts, something to always be aware of.
 
It's hard trying/finding new gyms. People don't want to lift weights any more. The "real" gym is dying out and the new cookie cutter is moving in. All these machines with unnatural ROM and cardio stuff are the wave of the future. Squats in a smith machine are terrible as far as being natural and I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. Seeing a "trainer" teaching someone squats in a smith machine turns my stomach. I can see their back problems happening. Don't even get me started on the "trainer" at my old gym that I saw teaching somebody how to dead lift in a smith machine. That was the day I realized I needed to get out of there. I hope you find a gym where you don't have to change your routine and use machines that risk injury.
 
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