Posts by apophenia

Fitnessgirll has it right... no matter how I grip, that pinkie gets pinched--and it's the skin that's pinching.  I'm wearing gloves already, but they're fingerless and do nothing for the pinkie.  I've tried (overhand) hook grips and turning that hand around (underhand) but it still pinches.

Also, I can't wrap my thumb over my other fingers because my hand's not big enough to do that--my thumb can barely even touch my middle finger's tip around the oly bar.

Regular dumbbells and such are no problem.  It's just the oly bar I have trouble with because it's got a larger girth than the other bars.

So, would straps maybe help because they'd take some of the pressure off my pinkie?  Or would it work if I just put tape around it so that the skin doesn't pull?

From personal experience, I have to concur with amethystgirl.  Recently I had a night with just 3 hours sleep, and I really noticed the difference when I could barely do my next day's workout!  It really affected my performance.

Yeah, love the dudes who spread out across two or three areas, though I've yet to see a fight break out. 

Also love the ones that throw their towel across the squat bar (or whatever) to "mark" it and then disappear for the next 10 minutes. 

And at my gym, I think I'm one of maybe three people who actually rack the weights after lifting.  Nothing like having to pull a bunch of 45lb plates off a bar that's practically over my head before I can lift.  (I know, the solution here is to grow several inches taller and be able to squat 250+, obviously.  )  Actually, I wouldn't mind so much if the bar was lower so that I wasn't straining my back at an awkward angle to pull off the plates--bonus workout, right?

I've been on BC pills for over 20 years now (showing my age, there!), and have not had them affect weight gain or weight loss in any noticable way.  In fact, I've lost more weight while on the pill than I have during times when I wasn't on the pill.  My eating and exercise patterns are the only things that I've found to affect my weight gain or loss.

Right now I'm on seasonique, which I've been on for a year.  I'm also doing NROLFW and having no problem gaining muscle so far.  The fat is a little stubborn with NROLFW, but that's because I'm not creating huge calorie deficits with this program the way I have during other times I've lost weight.

I'm just one person, though. YMMV.  Who knows, maybe I'd look like Ahnold if I wasn't on the pill! 

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out just what is different (functionally) between stepups and one-legged squats.  They look like they'd be working all the same muscles in pretty much the same way.  Can anyone point out how they work differently?

My theory with starting at the top is that I'm just doing the same workout in reverse order, with the downward motion first.  Maybe not?  I can not for the life of me NOT cheat if I start with both feet on the floor--coordination issues or something.

I've been doing kind of a reverse step-up, starting off with both feet on the bench and lowering the nonworking foot to the ground, then bringing it up.  Otherwise, I tend to cheat with the nonworking foot.  Does this make sense, or is it more of a cheat to do it this way?

I was just thinking about this... I recently heard those jiggly underarms called "teachers' wings." 

Really, the fat will come off in whatever order it comes off (usually in "last gained, first lost" order for me). 

FWIW, I'm doing NROLFW right now, and it says that isolation exercises aren't much use for this kind of goal--it suggests using these muscles as they funciton in real life, which is as part of a set of muscles.  So big pushing and pulling and balancing movements that use muscle groups end up getting everything you need to get, as long as you're not training for bodybuilding competitions where you need all those little muscles to be popping out individually.

If she didn't already have muscles there, she wouldn't be able to move her arms! 

I'm late to the party but just got the book and am ready to go!  I've been lifting heavy already for a few weeks on my own and seeing some good changes, but I think this will be a challenge. 

I never realized until reading this book how quad-dependent my usual routine has been.  Zowie!

For those of you following it, what has been the biggest challenge about the program?

Original Post by the_oarsman:

Original Post by apophenia:

I'm gonna make my goal when I go to the gym this morning!  Woo-hoo!

ETA:  1.817 km today!

You did great this month.  Ready to try it again next month?

I'm thinking about it... but may downgrade to 15 km this time what with my schedule... no time to get a head start early in the month with the way I did in June.

Thanks, Hayley.  I wish I could burn 3000, but at my height and with my desk job that would be tough to acheive!  For me "maintainece" is what would be a pretty restrictive diet for most people. 

Vyper, great tips, but I'm still not sure which you think should come first--higher calorie eating for muscle building OR lower calorie eating for fat loss. 

I know to eat clean, get protien and complex carbs and all of that, which I would need to do regardless.  But I'm thinking of how bodybuilders cycle through muscle building phases and fat loss phases, with calorie intake adjusted accordingly--so for someone starting out and wanting to get more muscular AND lose fat, which should I focus on first?  More calories to build or fewer calories to lose?

Yeah, I'm thinking Ed Norton in "Fight Club" for my lean-but-cut ideal. 

The Ahnold-type bulkiness is interesting to look at, but doesn't ring my bell.   At some point it just looks synthetic, or makes me wonder if the guy is compensating for something.  Not my thing, but YMMV.

Yesterday 3.211!

Original Post by clangworthy:

So back to the whole smaller legs, air between the thighs idea.  So to achieve this I need to increase my weight and lower my reps?

For some people, this just won't happen.  My thighs touched even when I was  a 96 pound waif (which I will never--and don't want to--be again).  It's just the way I'm put together.

Like fitnessgirll, I'm curious.  I have "big" legs, too, but they're big with muscle--which I'm proud of!  Makes it hard to buy boots, though.  Bootmakers want you to have straight up-and-down calves, it seems, instead of the rock hard Betty Grable stems I've got.