Trevor's Journey

Hi Trevor

I am so pleased that Steve is looking after you. I have just been reading through since I last visited your diary and every time that Kimberly said "speak to Steve" I was thinking - that is exactly what he needs to do.

Steve is so highly regarded here. Even people like me that dont go to a gym have learnt much from him. He is so knowledgeable - it is silly.

I hope that you are having a good day today.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Hi Trevor

I am so pleased that Steve is looking after you. I have just been reading through since I last visited your diary and every time that Kimberly said "speak to Steve" I was thinking - that is exactly what he needs to do.

Steve is so highly regarded here. Even people like me that dont go to a gym have learnt much from him. He is so knowledgeable - it is silly.

I hope that you are having a good day today.

Take care
Love
Margaret

Hey Margaret!

Thanks for stopping in once again...sorry i haven't been around your journal lately, I have been really busy getting things down before spring break. I'm so thankful for Steve's help and i will definitely follow his prescribed plan! I'm excited for this next chapter in my life, and its not going to be easy psychologically for me, but i know if i work as hard as i have in the past, I will be rewarded.

Trevor
 
Hi Trevor

Dont worry about not visiting as much - I havent been in to visit you as much. We all get a bit busy at times. The important thing is that Kimberly nagged you into speaking to Steve - he really is the best person to steer you right. He will help you make your dreams come true.

I meant to add to my post lastnight (but hubby was nagging for the computer at the time) - a lot of us want to eat at night. I have a very repetitive diet as you know - and every night after 8.30pm I go through the following:
2 pears
1 apple
1 or 2 clementines (depending on whether I have had one earlier)
40 medium or large grapes

Sometimes I have an extra handful of honey shreddies then too!

I seem to want to nibble things all night long. My main point is that you are not alone and as long as the food that you eat is healthy and fits into the calories that you are prepared to spend that day (and builds up to a day that gives all your nutrients) - I really cannot see a problem with it.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Hey everyone,

Sorry about the no update yesterday..I never got around to actually sitting down and updating this thing. Anyways all i have planned today is homework and relaxing. Tomorrow i start my new routine in the gym...and im still waiting on my measuring tape (should be tomorrow afternoon). This week im going to focus on just getting the routine down, and making the right movements with each, so it shouldn't be hard. I'm starting at 1800 calories for this week and my spring break week and after those two weeks i will take measurements and my weight to see where my progress has landed me. I didn't have a very good food day yesterday and i had a bit of cake for my roommates birthday so im not happy about that to say the least.

I will update later, gotta go

Trevor
 
Good luck with the new routine, Trev!! And don't worry about the cake, hon. Life happens. These are things we have to take in stride. The way I see it, feeling guilty isn't worth it. All we have to do, is make up for eating it the rest of the week by NOT eating other guilty pleasures.
 
I agree with Rae--you mustn't beat yourself up over a slice of cake. Life is too short not to enjoy goodies once in awhile. ;) As Margaret said, as long as you are within or close to your calorie target most of the time, that's what's important. I eat naughty things quite frequently, but I usually fit them into my calorie limit for the day. And then I'm guilt free. :)

You are far too hard on yourself, my dear. :) :hug2:
 
Trevor10 said:
Alright so i have a few questions, but other than that i understand everything so far...

Glad to hear!

Im not sure what planks or SHELCs are...so i may need a briefing on that, or i can Google them.

SHELCs = supine hip extensions with a leg curl

For these, you will need an exercise ball.

Here's a vid:

YouTube - SHELC

The first part where you pelvis moves up is the hip extension. This should be accomplished primarily by "popping" your pelvis forward/up by contracting your glute muscles.

The second part of it is the leg curl, where you curl the ball toward your butt. It's best to go nice, slow, and controlled here. Focus on pushing down on the ball and contracting your hamstrings.

It might take you a minute to get used to this as for some, it's an awkward exercise with balance and whatnot. Just be sure to keep your arms planted down at your sides to stabilize your body.

As far as form goes for squats, i may need some directional videos so i can practice this form in order to lift properly.

Squats can be tricky for some people depending on muscle imbalances, poor balance, and flexibility issues.

I'd really spend a lot of time focusing on the mechanics of the exercise before worrying about how much weight you're lifting. Actually, I'd focus on this for ALL the exercises before worrying about weight.

That said, first I suggest reading my write up on the squat in the basic lifts thread, found here:

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weight-loss-through-exercise/14264-basic-lifts.html

It's the second post in the thread, however, the entire thread is worth a read as it goes into some progression.

I'm not sure if the vids are all still working or not, but you should watch them as well.

This youtube user has some amazing vids on squat rx worth watching.... it could eat up some time but it's a wise investment IMO if you are going to start lifting seriously. You don't have to watch them all, but at the very least, most of the ones concerning the squat. He's found here:

YouTube - johnnymnemonic2's Videos

What kind of machine is needed for calves?

Some gyms have machines specifically for calves.

If not, do you have a leg press machine?

If not, you'll have to modify something and use DBs.

How often will i need to change routines?

There's no set answer to this..... it will vary from person to person. That said, there's no need being as that you're a novice to create some fancy periodization set up yet. In the early stages, focus on learning proper execution of these exercises. Once comfortable, start focusing on gradual progression in terms of weight lifted.

Being as that you're a novice and you're going to be eating adequately, you should expect pretty steady strength gains for quite a while.... some can ride out these novice gains without changing things up for a few months. I've seen some ride it out an entire year.

We'll discuss progression in a bit.

lol so many questions, and i understand if you cant get back to me right away...sounds like the test is keeping ya pretty busy...hope you ace it! :)

Haha, I'm busy, but it sure as shit wasn't b/c of that test. I studied for a week. Crammed a lot of reading into a few days, but I passed.... thanks.

***********************

The main point of order that you need to keep in mind right now is you aren't focusing on getting strong right now. That comes after a foundation is in place, and that foundation comes in the way of learning the exercises. I don't want you grinding out any sets yet; by that, I mean don't be using any weight that you are even close to struggling with. Everything should be 'light.' Think 55-65% intensity. Focus all of your attention on form.

*************************

Most people have tight/overactive hip flexors, ITB, biceps femoris, adductors and piriformis muscles and weakened/inhibited hip extensors – the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and minimus, and possibly medial hamstrings.

That's the imbalances I speak of for the most part.

With that in mind.... it would be wise to focus on flexibility training, especially during these initial stages before you're pushing any serious weights. This is a large chunk of that initial 'foundation' I mentioned previously.

I'd really think about purchasing a foam roller if I were you. Most anyone nowadays is going to have bad stuff going on in terms of kinetic chain imbalances and self myofascial release (foam rolling) is one of the best weapons to combat these imbalances. We can discuss some flexibility training concepts in a bit once the rest of this shit is digested.

****************************

Anytime you're weight training, you should do a proper warm-up. A general warm-up is good to start with. This would be something like 5-10 minutes of light jogging, jump roping, bike riding, etc.

From there, you should move into more specific warmup, specific to what you're about to do; lift weights.

A specific warmup serves as a neuromuscular rehearsal of the upcoming lift as well as an opportunity to get your body used to progressively heavier loads.

Contrary to how most people warm up (with high reps), the focus should be on low rep warm up sets as the high rep warm ups sets promote too much residual fatigue which can negatively affect strength. You should do a couple light weight (but progressively heavier), low rep warm up sets for the exercises before getting into the work sets. So, a warm up for a 200-pound squat might look something like this

95x5
135x3
185x1

And then you'd start the work sets with 200lbs for the designated number of reps.

Follow me?

************************

Like I said, there's a lot to digest in the beginning, but once it's digested, the concepts in weight training are rather simple.

Again, take some time, look through everything, and then let the questions fire.
 
I appreciate it Steve...Next week is spring break so i will have some time to sit down and get this all in my head, then the questions will start rolling in. This week is rather busy for me but i cant wait to start doing this! When i hit the gym this week, i will focus on properly executing most of these exercises.

Thanks,
Trevor
 
Yea, no rush. Slow and steady wins the race all the time on this front. Give it some time before you really start pushing the weights around. In fact, I don't want you doing anything real intense until you fully understand all the info I presented to you in the last couple of posts.
 
Yea, no rush. Slow and steady wins the race all the time on this front. Give it some time before you really start pushing the weights around. In fact, I don't want you doing anything real intense until you fully understand all the info I presented to you in the last couple of posts.

Alright, sounds great man, i will let you know how the next couple of weeks go..hope you have a good week man!

Trevor
 
It's getting superbly alive with muscle talk and men in here. I'm getting all warm... ;)

Trev hon, you sound UBERLY busy. I hope you can figure all of this out without conjuring a massive cranial headache that consistantly knocks on the back door of your skull. These kind happen to me when I'm frustratingly indecisive. Hopefully you're better at re-arranging thoughts in your head than I am. LOL.

Hope school and life (besides this aspect) are treating you rather well!!
 
It's getting superbly alive with muscle talk and men in here. I'm getting all warm... ;)

Trev hon, you sound UBERLY busy. I hope you can figure all of this out without conjuring a massive cranial headache that consistantly knocks on the back door of your skull. These kind happen to me when I'm frustratingly indecisive. Hopefully you're better at re-arranging thoughts in your head than I am. LOL.

Hope school and life (besides this aspect) are treating you rather well!!

I'm not as busy as other weeks have been, but i do have a huge trigonometry test Thursday morning, and i would like to continue to get A's on every test. It requires me to memorize a million things, but I know i can do it, and hopefully with that i can pull another A on the test. I'm just excited to be going home after the Test for a good 10 days for spring break. A nice break is in order!
 
I'm not as busy as other weeks have been, but i do have a huge trigonometry test Thursday morning, and i would like to continue to get A's on every test. It requires me to memorize a million things, but I know i can do it, and hopefully with that i can pull another A on the test. I'm just excited to be going home after the Test for a good 10 days for spring break. A nice break is in order!

You're telling me. Your brain definitely needs a rest, especially after working so hard to be pulling out so many A's. Even geniuses need days off, especially ten of them.

So you're going home on Friday then?
 
You're telling me. Your brain definitely needs a rest, especially after working so hard to be pulling out so many A's. Even geniuses need days off, especially ten of them.

So you're going home on Friday then?

I'm actually going home right after my test Thursday Morning! I cant wait either...the weather should be spring like next week, so hopefully the lake is an option and maybe even a nice jog around the neighborhood each day since i wont be around the gym i frequently attend throughout the weeks here.
 
I'm actually going home right after my test Thursday Morning! I cant wait either...the weather should be spring like next week, so hopefully the lake is an option and maybe even a nice jog around the neighborhood each day since i wont be around the gym i frequently attend throughout the weeks here.

Jogging outside is one of my all time favorite hobbies, too. It falls right beside laying out under the stars and laughing until I cry. Jogging by the lake sounds like fun to me. I know some girls would find it strange that I've said something like that, but alot of my hobbies don't fall in the same category as those of the socially accepted 'superficial princess'. Maybe that's why I love myself so much, cause I don't fit the sterotype. LOL.

Okay, so after our cookie dough blizzard and movie, we'll have to take a jog outside...at night...with the stars, street lamps and night breeze....ooo, I just got excited. Haha. Maybe it's the coffee I drank this morning. I get in a massively good mood when I drink too much caffeine...

I'm happy you're going home Trev. I know how much you love it there. Not to mention the folks will shower you with praise and hugs. Those moments are always the best ones to look forward to.
 
Trevor, I might copy and paste some of our dialog to put in the forum as an example for some people about the 'theories' of setting up a weight lifting routine.

Might being the operative word, lol.
 
Trevor, I might copy and paste some of our dialog to put in the forum as an example for some people about the 'theories' of setting up a weight lifting routine.

Might being the operative word, lol.

lol, alright! Thats fine with me, its really good information!!
 
Jogging outside is one of my all time favorite hobbies, too. It falls right beside laying out under the stars and laughing until I cry. Jogging by the lake sounds like fun to me. I know some girls would find it strange that I've said something like that, but alot of my hobbies don't fall in the same category as those of the socially accepted 'superficial princess'. Maybe that's why I love myself so much, cause I don't fit the sterotype. LOL.

Okay, so after our cookie dough blizzard and movie, we'll have to take a jog outside...at night...with the stars, street lamps and night breeze....ooo, I just got excited. Haha. Maybe it's the coffee I drank this morning. I get in a massively good mood when I drink too much caffeine...

I'm happy you're going home Trev. I know how much you love it there. Not to mention the folks will shower you with praise and hugs. Those moments are always the best ones to look forward to.

I cant wait until our cookie dough blizzards....i want one soo bad, but im staying far away from it until then, because if i get close they may just be out of cookie dough for the rest of the week!
 
Sorry I haven't been around for the past few days. I hope your running is still going well. It looks like you are more advanced than the first few weeks for the C25K program.

Hope all is well, and all this talk about DQ Blizzards is just doing me in. ha
 
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