Need to light a fire under my butt journal

[ChocoChick]

Any problems with your knees rotating inward today?

[DocTats]

Any problems with your knees rotating inward today?

Actually didn't even think about it at the time but no problems. I think having a real narrow foot stance is favorable for me. I did have some heel raising at 185 though.

Well I had a lot of notes but due to a fairly stressful day, sort of forgot it. Some philosophical BS.....

Off topic but I'm not going to do that 3 week beginner yoga series in June because it meets Saturday afternoons and don't want to tie it up. I am still starting, probably at the same studio, in June. In fact, will probably stop by there later this week or next week to see what is the best. They do offer some beginner's deal there. Although I will at also have to look around a bit more to see what style may be best for my condition. This place seems to call their thing Lotus Flow Yoga

[ChocoChick]

Actually didn't even think about it at the time but no problems. I think having a real narrow foot stance is favorable for me. I did have some heel raising at 185 though.

I like a narrow stance but, mechanically, I can only do narrow stance in the Smith.




Off topic but I'm not going to do that 3 week beginner yoga series in June because it meets Saturday afternoons and don't want to tie it up. I am still starting, probably at the same studio, in June. In fact, will probably stop by there later this week or next week to see what is the best. They do offer some beginner's deal there. Although I will at also have to look around a bit more to see what style may be best for my condition. This place seems to call their thing Lotus Flow Yoga

Are you familiar with the different types of yoga? I am only vaguely so. I tried Iyenger yoga for a beginner's series similar to the one you are embarking on. I think the classes at my gym are a variant of this, too. I will be curious to hear what Lotus Flow is like!

[DocTats]

I like a narrow stance but, mechanically, I can only do narrow stance in the Smith.

This is definitely more of a bodybuilder's mentality of making the lift as hard as you can and working the muscle through a deeper ROM than a powerlifter's mentality of trying to make a lift as easy as you can. But it actually feels fairly natural



Are you familiar with the different types of yoga? I am only vaguely so. I tried Iyenger yoga for a beginner's series similar to the one you are embarking on. I think the classes at my gym are a variant of this, too. I will be curious to hear what Lotus Flow is like!

Super duper ignorant about yoga styles. Probably should have done more research. Not really sure what Lotus Flow really is, seems like something a bit non-traditional http://nyc.laughinglotus.com/whatislotus.html Just looked up Iyenger, sounds interesting and one studio close by. How was your experience in it?

[ChocoChick]

Super duper ignorant about yoga styles. Probably should have done more research. Not really sure what Lotus Flow really is, seems like something a bit non-traditional http://nyc.laughinglotus.com/whatislotus.html Just looked up Iyenger, sounds interesting and one studio close by. How was your experience in it?

I read the description on the site you linked me to and, I have to admit, I can't quite figure it out. (OT Rant: Why can't people keep it's and its straight?)

The Iyengar I did at a studio was so-so. Part of the problem was that we (my daughter and I) were the only two. This should have led to an individualized program but the woman who was meant to teach it had to go out of town and so our 4 weeks was spent with someone who had just completed her training. I think she was a bit unsure what to do with us. And, to be fair, we were probably not the best students, being prone to giggling about our lack of gracefulness. But the clincher was at the end of the class, when we were supposed to lie still on our mats for 5 minutes or so while the instructor watched us and led us through relaxing each body part. Feel your feet. They are heavy on the floor. Feel your legs... And so on. Until: feel your eyes falling into your head. For some reason, this prompted my daughter to whisper an explanation (to me) of why this isn't possible, which somehow led to more giggling. Oh well, I guess you had to be there. Suffice it to say that we did not do well with this part of the session. Now, at the gym, I am fine with the "quiet time" at the end of the session. A key difference is that the room is darkened and the music is soft and there is no sense of being watched by the instructor.

As for the actual movements... A lot of the poses are either similar to gym moves (i.e., "chair" pose is basically a bodyweight squat that you hold) or something that a gym move helps (the crow pose pictured below, for instance). Then there are endurance poses. Like one where we sit on our toes (picture below) and stay like that for 2 minutes. There are also lots of nice stretches. I enjoy the stretches most of all, primarily because I am bad about stretching on my own time. I was surprised to see that the prices at Laughing Lotus are far less expensive than anything around here. *boggled* And wow - you have so many classes to choose from. I miss NY.

chair pose:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AOAM1m9N5vA/SXbXcw653sI/AAAAAAAACTg/Xxk0HPkf8EA/s400/powerful-pose.jpg

crow pose:
http://www.movingstillnesspersonalfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Crow_Pose.jpg

toe stretch (not its real name):
http://www.yoga-for-new-mums.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/yoga-for-new-mums-toe-cruncher.gif

By the way, as I was searching for these images, I see that several are considered Ashtanga or Power poses. So perhaps I am not doing Iyengar at the gym after all. Or maybe there is tremendous overlap in poses.

[DocTats]

Thanks for all the info....researching a bit more, Iyengar may be the best choice for me if flexibility is my goal. Although I have no way of filtering out good vs bad sources because of how ignorant I am and overall, most forms will help with flexibility


I read the description on the site you linked me to and, I have to admit, I can't quite figure it out. (OT Rant: Why can't people keep it's and its straight?)

I think it's a bit more zen than others, one review I read was hippie-esque. My sister went there so need to ask her (although given her back is worse off than mine, not sure how much it helped)


The Iyengar I did at a studio was so-so. Part of the problem was that we (my daughter and I) were the only two. This should have led to an individualized program but the woman who was meant to teach it had to go out of town and so our 4 weeks was spent with someone who had just completed her training. I think she was a bit unsure what to do with us. And, to be fair, we were probably not the best students, being prone to giggling about our lack of gracefulness.

I'm ready to be humbled. Luckily, I don't care much about looking foolish in front of others


But the clincher was at the end of the class, when we were supposed to lie still on our mats for 5 minutes or so while the instructor watched us and led us through relaxing each body part. Feel your feet. They are heavy on the floor. Feel your legs... And so on. Until: feel your eyes falling into your head. For some reason, this prompted my daughter to whisper an explanation (to me) of why this isn't possible, which somehow led to more giggling.

Kind of funny when you have science literate people (like your daughter) interacting with non-science types (like the instructor). Short tangent but there are times I have gone into something like the Vitamin Shoppe and these salesmen are (sometimes arrogantly) trying to explain to me why certain supplements are beneficial to me. Usually polite and say "thanks for your help" but sometimes want to scream "I have a f'n PhD in this s**t!!!"



Oh well, I guess you had to be there.

I can picture it all snowballing....


As for the actual movements... A lot of the poses are either similar to gym moves (i.e., "chair" pose is basically a bodyweight squat that you hold) or something that a gym move helps (the crow pose pictured below, for instance).

That crow pose may look like it will wreak havoc on my shoulder. I really need to keep my ego at check and stay within my limits


By the way, as I was searching for these images, I see that several are considered Ashtanga or Power poses. So perhaps I am not doing Iyengar at the gym after all. Or maybe there is tremendous overlap in poses.

Interesting, one thing I picked up is that most yoga out there are a form of Hatha. So maybe like you wrote, there will be overlaps and I just need to pick a school and see if I like it

[ChocoChick]

Interesting, one thing I picked up is that most yoga out there are a form of Hatha. So maybe like you wrote, there will be overlaps and I just need to pick a school and see if I like it

Yes. I think this is spot on.

When I had all the problems with the weird pain that would travel from my back to my groin, no doctor could figure it out (and I went to many). Based on my research, I concluded it was the ilio-psoas muscle, but every doctor pooh-poohed this idea. Fast forward a few months and I went to my first yoga class at the gym. To my surprise, the instructor talked about the ilio-psoas band and how easy it was to injure it. Several of the poses we do specifically help that area. So for me, this "school" was the right one (I have school in quotes because it's actually an included class at the gym). I think the instructor is even more important than the school or type of yoga, because a good instructor will tailor instruction to what is right for you. Even though the class at my gym is quite large, the instructor is always moving around and will reposition students as needed. She'll also see when someone is less or more advanced and alter a movement to that person's ability level (I am very flexible so she is forever pushing me into more stretched out positions!).

You probably have quite a few studios to choose from and multiple instructors per studio. So it's just a matter of finding the right fit. :)

Oh, this is probably a better example of Crow pose. The elbows are more bent here, forming a ledge for the shins:

http://www.eternity-yoga.com/images/Crow-1.jpg

Apparently, the next move is the Crane (arms are straight). I have not tried this one yet!

http://askinyourface.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/crane-pose-bakasana.jpg

[DocTats]

Wednesday, 5/23/12

Had a Clif Bar an hour before I hit the gym, thing is loaded with sugar but I seemed a bit more energetic than usual. Personally, I think that what you eat a day or more determines your energy since there should be sufficient muscle glycogen to fuel it but well placebo is not a bad thing....

weight x set x reps

Upright Leg Press (plate weight only)

90 x 1 x 15
180 x 1 x 10
270 x 1 x 10
360 x 1 x 10
450 x 1 x 10

This is an old AFS (defunct company I think) seated leg press. It's not angled and compared to the Nebula 45 deg leg press, I can only use about 70% of the weight. But there's a back story to why I use this instead (the first few weeks of this journal when I was doing leg presses were performed on this machine) instead of the smoother Nebula (and sort of made me yearn for the good old days). There was a change in ownership of this gym back in 1997 and when this location re-opened, turned out that one guy I knew from the previous ownership now worked here. When showing me the new equipment, he told me that the leg pump he felt with the AFS leg press was similar to what he felt on the squat. Now this guy, Raul, was one of the best squatters I've seen. He could do an easy reps with 405, ass to the ground and upright, even though he was less than 200 lbs (probably 185-ish). So of course I took his word for it and used this leg press more than the other. Anyway, miss the old Powerhouse days (previous ownership) and crew.....guys like Raul, Kelson, Rich (600 lb bench presser), Tony, Marty etc. Even though I was smaller than all of the except Raul (and weaker than all), they did respect me because I was really the only guy doing deadlifts, power cleans, squats in my program. Now those guys lit a fire under my butt.....Anyway, back to the journal

BTW, I like to use a back pad on this leg press because it just feels better but couldn't find it. WTF? Not only that, but the gym was a mess this morning, loaded bars everywhere, dumbbells all over the floor, the overnight crew are dopes (and pretty weak from the weights they leave around).

Where was I....

Close grip bench press

95 x 1 x 10
115 x 1 x 10
145 x 2 x 8

shoulder didn't like this too much which is tellling because close grips are somewhat friendly on my shoulder

Chin ups

BW x 1 x 10
+25 x 2 x 10

Lying leg curls

60 x 1 x 10
90 x 1 x 10 (wanted 80 but accidentally set the pin on 90)
100 x 1 x 10
120 x 1 x 10

Ab wheel

BW x 1 x 20

another telling exercise because my lower back was screaming doing these. Going to try and see my shiatsu master this weekend

Hanging leg raise

BW x 1 x 20

don't know why I stopped at 20....

Nice workout, moderate weight for moderate reps, if I do go the maintenance route, this is probably what all my workouts are going to look like

Jump rope 40 minutes

Well the reason why I went 90 minutes Monday was because for some reason, I starting sucking doing the double under criss cross (regular criss cross was fine as was regular DU). I mean, I would either sometimes not even hit it or only get about 3 in a row and the rope would hit my feet. I am very proficient in this, usually don't miss at all but I don't know if it was my new shoes or what. So I spent 30 minutes getting my mojo back on this and I did. I guess it's like a 90% free throw shooter somehow missing 10 FTs in a row. Just became sloppy with my technique I guess, stuff like this doesn't happen to Louis Garcia or Molly Metz I bet...

Me doing double under criss crosses in my better days (about 10 secs in).....
zXJv9b_XLpc



Yes. I think this is spot on.

When I had all the problems with the weird pain that would travel from my back to my groin, no doctor could figure it out (and I went to many). Based on my research, I concluded it was the ilio-psoas muscle, but every doctor pooh-poohed this idea. Fast forward a few months and I went to my first yoga class at the gym. To my surprise, the instructor talked about the ilio-psoas band and how easy it was to injure it. Several of the poses we do specifically help that area.

Good to hear, I hope I get some of my issues resolved


So for me, this "school" was the right one (I have school in quotes because it's actually an included class at the gym). I think the instructor is even more important than the school or type of yoga, because a good instructor will tailor instruction to what is right for you. Even though the class at my gym is quite large, the instructor is always moving around and will reposition students as needed. She'll also see when someone is less or more advanced and alter a movement to that person's ability level (I am very flexible so she is forever pushing me into more stretched out positions!).

You probably have quite a few studios to choose from and multiple instructors per studio. So it's just a matter of finding the right fit. :)

Agree about instructors, like this in every endeavor. I think I'm going to do these unlimited one week beginners deal that a few places offer before I commit so I can try out a few instructors


Oh, this is probably a better example of Crow pose. The elbows are more bent here, forming a ledge for the shins:

http://www.eternity-yoga.com/images/Crow-1.jpg

Apparently, the next move is the Crane (arms are straight). I have not tried this one yet!

http://askinyourface.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/crane-pose-bakasana.jpg

Not that I already didn't know this but going to find out the strength I've gained in the gym is pretty useless in real life. Don't think I can do the Crow, much less the Crane (but you can bet I'll keep trying until I can!)

[DocTats]

Friday, 5/25/12

Well today I picked up some weights and I put them back down. A few times. I am going on a hiatus from this journal although most likely I'm not coming back. Thanks to ChocoChick for making it interactive and to anyone who may have been silently following along. I did make gains during this time, my weight still fluctuates between 170-175 but I am a bit leaner, more vascular than when I started. So my guess is that the first few weeks, I put on (more accurately regained) some muscle and the last few weeks when I increased my jump roping, maybe burned some fat.

Weird thing is that I had decent workouts this week, I think the stress of lifting was gone. Journals are good to show progress but if you're an intense person like me, there is also the pressure to add reps or weight to the bar every week and well, I just need to take it slow these days. Like I said, I will always lift weights, I'll probably be lifting as hard as anyone on this board. I'll keep it moderate weight, moderate reps, probably around 10-15 reps and go a bit lower reps every once in a blue moon but pretty much maintenance work and see no point in posting at a site called bodybuilding.com with these types of workouts. My priorities are now (in order) jump rope, yoga and weights.

Anyway, I still be a bit active, probably check up on the adventures of ChocoChick and a couple of others journals I regularly lurk (the MMA one and the Crossfits/Westside one). For my last journal post (for now), I want to end it with one more jump rope post...

The Lifeline Orange speed rope (one in my avi) is the best plastic speed rope. For some reason, it is even better than the colors of the Lifeline speed rope family. Went back to it today and had an awesome session. Doesn't do anyone any good since Lifeline no longer makes their regular (unweighted) speed rope but if they do bring it back...Unfortunately, the orange one seems to break a bit faster than the other colors...(FWIW, the second best is their red)

I have a new second favorite plastic speed rope and the eventual replacement when I run out of the Lifelines is the regular speed rope from www.jumprope.com Better than the ones from buyjumpropes.net although unlike the latter, it doesn't have those adjustable ends. The cord is just a bit thicker and they have a different selection of cords. This is the same rope as the one sold in Peter Nestler's site (www.jumprm.com) and pretty sure he uses ropes from this company so that's a good endorsement. I recommend their standard speed rope (same one sold in Nestler's site and basically the same price) http://www.jumprope.com/products.php?Category=1&SubCategory=4 and not their fitness one (heavier cord) or freestyle (thinner cord...stick with the buyjumpropes.net one if you want the long handle freestyle)

Best rope for beginners is the a beaded one, especially if you want to learn some tricks. It keeps a better arc throughout and for the first 6 months or so, if I wanted to learn a new skill, I would try it out on my beaded. The one from buyjumpropes.net is light and you can make your own color scheme (not a big deal for some but I like this option...hey, Inzer sells their powerlifting belts in many colors too...). The handle may break easily, I was doing some release tricks on concrete yesterday and it cracked. If it's not so bad, then you can just tape it up. I'm going to order the Lite bead rope from jumprope.com later. They claim their handles are sturdier. One tip when sizing these ropes....just untie the knot and remove beads until it reaches your desired size. Then tie a figure 8 knot. I tied a regular knot, the rope slipped through the handles and the beads went flying everywhere. I later learned from a Molly Metz video to tie a figure 8 knot. Worked okay yesterday (make sure it comes tied like that, the knot that was tied by the company also came loose). Beaded ropes are also the best ones to use outside on concrete. (not the best surface to skip rope in as there is no give but once in a while is okay as long as you don't do too many intense stuff). Speaking of surfaces, wood is best followed by those rubberized mats

Jumping rope will become boring if you don't constantly learn new skills. The first ones to learn is the basic two foot, the alternating single foot and the side swings. Then you start adding in new footwork (all are based on the two foot or single foot jumps) like the side straddle (jumping jack), forward straddle, the boxer shuffle, the kick and so on. Then you can start combining different foot patterns so you can start freestyling a bit. Then learn how to jump backwards so in effect, you double your repertoire. Then learn the criss cross and double unders and string them together multiple times. Then you will probably be able to do just about anything, make your own combinations and freestyle routine and that's when jumping rope becomes extremely fun.

For speed, eventually graduate to a cable speed rope (you cannot do crosses with them and definitely don't use it on concrete because it will destroy the wire). As noted, the best I've tried (Iv'e only tried two) is www.jumpnrope.com R1 cable (uncoated is faster, coated may last longer). Those R1 handles are awesome, you can also order PVC and beaded with those handles, not sure how well they will work for tricks though.

And I'll end by saying Louis Garcia is the coolest jump roper ever (maybe not the best but the coolest). I like others a lot but he just makes everything look so smooth and effortless like dancing. Check out the spin move he does at 1:11....doesn't look hard but to make it look that smooth and cool, it is and very few can do it that smoothly (I've tried this many times and I look like a spaz)

eQLCCOD-Eu0

If there are any aspiring jump ropers out there, feel free to e-mail me at tatsyamada@yahoo.com if you have any questions

[ChocoChick]

Oh, rats.

:( :( :(