Full range of motion

I don't know what was going on in the gym but all the women working out seemed to have either watched the same workout video or have the same trainer.  "Full range of motion," is what I have to say about their workouts.  Each person was picking up a very heavy weight and tossing it around willy nilly; getting nothing from the workout but joint stress, maybe pain and damage.  Holding their arm at a point of maximum joint strain and moving in and out of that point by a inch or two.  

Breaking muscle - full range of motion article

I see people in the gym doing "pseudo" workouts all the time.  They pick up a big weight and swing it around in the inch range of motion spot.  They think they are strong and getting strong; but ask them to use the same weight in a full range of motion movement and it's not happening.  Full range of motion movements uses all the muscles needed for that particular movement.  If you cannot do full range because the weight is too heavy, lighten up.  

There are times when partial reps are needed; those times when you are trying to up your weight but just cannot do a full rep yet.  Those are typically saved for the end of your set when you squeak them in; at least that is when I do them.  I don't try to up my weight before doing lighter reps.  

A bicep curl with FRM rep would start with your arm hanging down beside you and end with your fist up near your chin somewhere.  Many people are pushing for more and more weight without using form.  Form and full range of motion will make you strong the right way.  Using too heavy of weights and staying in the point of least resistance zone; swinging the weight around in there will lead you to joint damage.  

Too heavy is damaging,
Too light does nothing, 
Build your strength, it takes time.  

I'm back

Some of my new workout clothes I got for Christmas. 

Hello, it's been a while.  I hope that you all had a wonderful and healthy Christmas with a bit of indulgence.  I was pretty good with a little extra goodies here and there but nothing to pack on the pounds. We had a nice big turkey for Christmas dinner which is a huge help as far as snacking goes.  Turkey is a great protein which helps you to stay away from the other stuff that you shouldn't be eating.  

I had four days away from the gym and working out completely. You see I've been suffering with a very bad back for about two weeks.  I did several different things that ended up with me having thrown my back out.  I tried working around it for a while but finally gave in and took the days I needed off.  But I am happy to say that I was back at it yesterday and today and am feeling MUCH better.  

Taking time off can be very hard to do when you see progress.  The idea of letting any of that progress slip away can be tough mentally; but the sooner you take time off the quicker your body can mend itself.  As hard as it is, you must take the time off for your bodies sake.  Four days wasn't so bad and my back is thanking me for it.  The most difficult thing over the last two weeks has been standing, cooking and baking.  Standing in one spot can be the most taxing thing that you can do for your back and I did a lot of it leading up to the season.
  
Having a thrown back is not okay with me; I hate being down for anything.  When yesterday rolled around I was determined to hit the gym; but my workout was very careful.  I monitored my body from head to toe for the entire workout; paying close attention to anything that sent a twinge to my back.  I kept it slow and steady and did nothing stupid; I have a tendency to try stupid things now and again.  :)  Yesterday was upper body and today was lower.  I did a bit of hanging but only a few bent leg raises to test the waters.  So far so good and I feel great.

We had a wonderful Christmas at our house.  It was very "fitness" oriented which I love.  My whole family is into eating well and working out which is really nice.  We talk about food, diet, new workouts and staying fit much of the time.  It truly is a family affair. 

Just one more big "celebration" holiday and we will be into the New Year.  It's gonna be a great one.  

Hanging out

Reebok Nano 3.0  LOVE!!

I had an amazing workout today.  It was upper body day and I switched it up big time.  I started with light standing, straight arm lat pull downs for a warm up before hitting any weights.  Next was the assisted pull up machine, onto curls, bench press and triceps.  After being done just about everything I looked at the pull up bar; it is high, not meant for me at 5' 1".  I wanted to do hanging leg raises; it is a crazy great workout.  I pondered the height of the bar and looked around the gym, "maybe I'd missed another bar somewhere" I thought.  Nope.  Only one and very high.  

I spotted the stools that people use to jump up and down on.  Then noticed that there is a small sized one; just right and all I needed to make my bar workout work.  I ran and got it and readied for the work.  I wondered how good my neoprene gloves would do for grip.  I soon found out that they are no good for grip; especially at the end of my workout when they are wet.  I took them off, dried my hands and tried without gloves.  It's tough, a bare handed grip is going to take some getting use to.  I have very small hands, they sort of go with my short body.  ;)  

I did manage to get two sets of ten bent leg lifts done before losing grip.  Then I squeezed out three single straight leg lifts.  There is no texture grip on the bar so you really have to grip.  Of course every time I am hanging from a bar I realize that I need to work on dropping weight.  Any weight I lose will make it that much easier to hang on or pull myself up on the bar.  Lots of steps on the journey, strength, weight loss, learning new things about working out etc. etc. 

Hanging type exercises are hard.  Pull up type exercises are hard.  Give simply hanging a try before adding bent leg or body lifts.  It's really hard and you must focus on form; you do not want to throw out your back.   

As a side note; I also had a chance to try out my new lifting shoes today.  I LOVE THEM.  The bottom is nice and flat for lifting and they are super comfortable.  Of course they're really cute to boot.  :)  

Bars

I love when my family gets together and we get into fitness, either in the form of discussion or action.  Everyone in my family is into fitness and clean eating which makes for great conversation and fun.  This past Thanksgiving we hit a close-by school yard for a workout.  My son who is a huge crossfit fan did the coaching as it was his day off from working out.  Days off are very important when you work out hard.  So on his day off he shared some of his workout knowledge with his sisters, brother in law and me.  

My daughter who is also a huge crossfit fan; with her dog watching her do burpees. 

 I hung onto my daughter's Bull Terrier and took pics while they worked on their WOD (workout of the day).  It was really hot this morning and as I was also on my day off I skipped the WOD but did join in for some hanging workout. 
  

I loved this workout.

The first thing I did on the bar was to just hang.  I could literally feel and hear my spine stretching.  If you have back problems, this is wonderful.  Next it was bent leg lifts and onto straight leg lifts which are MUCH harder.  It is amazing what a great workout you can get just with a few bars.  Had it not been so hot I would have done much more.  So many muscle groups are hit by doing these exercises and the following day I had sore muscles that have not been sore in a very long time.  

As I've said before, form is so very important and my son really helped me with this hanging exercise by simply telling me to engage my lats (latissimus dorsi).  This made all the difference when doing the leg lifts; putting the work onto my lats and off of my joints.  

Now I just need one of these bars in my back yard.