Fit Geek

I’m a fan of a metaphors.

Daydreaming while I was driving home from the gym, it occurred to me that I’m in the summer years of my life. The newness and naivete of spring have passed, and the age of summer with its sun-soaked revelry and earthly abundance is well in progress. To me, being at this juncture means enjoying life and experiencing it to its fullest. While I feel that I will always at my core be a lighthearted person, now is probably the time that trait will flourish the most. Summer is the time to frolic and feast and explore, and although sometimes those thunderstorms may ruin it (*cough my last post cough*), they never last too long.

Call me cheesy, but I found something very comforting and endearing in that thought. In that moment it really made sense to me.

This quote by Yoko Ono also came to mind:
“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”

Yes, I think I need to indulge my exuberance more.

The above was brought to you by post-workout endorphins. Who says you need drugs?! But seriously, I forgot how nice that natural pick-me-up is. While I was thinking all that stuff I was like…”Wait. I’m…in a good mood. And thinking happy thoughts. OMG ENDORPHINS!” Which was good, because a few minutes prior I felt light-headed and kind of foggy. Translation: I had a really good, intense workout.

So ANYWAY. Here’s a video from last week of me pressing 35 lbs overhead for the first time. I usually use 30s. This made me very happy.

Notice me grimacing in the mirror.

This is another video of me squatting. I was really reluctant to post it because my form is not great. I’m squatting 120 lbs and that’s pretty heavy for me, considering I weigh about 115. You’ll notice that I’m bringing my hips up a little too soon on the way back up, especially on the last rep. I don’t have this problem when I go lighter, so it probably has a lot to do with the weight being heavy. I would like to fix this, although I’m not entirely sure HOW.

There might also be some muscle imbalances that are causing this specific issue. But alas, a Google search did not give me a definitive answer. So for now I’m going a little lighter with the weight, adding front squats to my routine and foam rolling and stretching all the muscles in my legs (and my glutes.)

As I’ve mentioned before, your weight lifting form is an evolving thing. It will probably never be perfect, but I think always striving to improve is what keeps it interesting. Honestly, I was a little disappointed that my form is kind of mediocre even after years of practice, but at the same time it kind of rejuvenated me by giving me a new challenge to tackle.

So yeah, BOOYAH!

PS. I am on the Facebooks now. Like me! PLEASE, ALL I WANT IS FOR YOU TO LIKE ME!

My man squats ME ass to grass!

He also uses me as a human barbell.

And this is why we’re together.

In other news…got my co-op share today. Here are some crappy pictures of good produce.

Eat your vaggies! That's a spaghetti squash on the left, btw.

Mushrooms!

Persimmons! I've never had these before.

Beets! I'm looking forward to having purple poop.

Let’s see what I come up with the next two weeks.

The other day I was doing squats at the gym. On the other side of the room a female trainer was also squatting. (Incidentally people have asked if we’re sisters because there is a slight resemblance, AND I saw her at the club I went to last night.)

I immediately start sizing her up, looking at her form, how much weight she’s moving and how many reps. I tend to do this with everyone who squats, but especially with women. Apparently I take squats very seriously.

At first it was no thang because she was only squatting 65 lbs (the bar plus two 10 lb plates). I warm up and do my first set of squats (110 lbs for 8 reps. I want to address this in the future, but my strength has gone down since starting a body part split and I’m working to get it back up.)

Then she takes the 10s off and replaces them with 25s. Now she’s squatting 95 and I’m staying at 110. Too close for comfort. I watch her intently. She does something like 15 reps and gets to about parallel with her depth.

Whatever, at least I go ass to grass, and I’m still doing 15 lbs more than her, I think to myself.

The whole time I’m anxious that she’s going to add weight to the bar and out-squat me. I realize that this is pretty ridiculous, but I am competitive. It’s strange to experience this inner rivalry and yet be completely aware of how unnecessary and petty it is.

Source

On one hand, competition can be a good motivator to push us beyond our boundaries. On the other hand, it can very easily turn into something negative. I think there’s a fine line between friendly competition and a pissing contest.

I’m always talking about how women should be more open to lifting weights, yet when I encounter one I feel threatened. I guess that’s the only child in me coming out. This is MY area. I am the official weight lifting girl here. Who are YOU? Silly, yes, I know.

I don’t really have a point to all of this, except that I’d like to change this behavior. If I see another girl lifting, and I decide to go heavier because of it, it should be because I’m inspired, not threatened. Also, I’m wondering if anyone else reading this is as competitive as I am?

And this is kind of, sort of related in the sense that it reveals how psycho I am….
The other day I was driving to my self defense class and the parking lot was full. I circled around it once then went back in. As I came in the second time, a lady was walking into the lot to leave so I stopped and waited. Her car was actually right next to mine and I needed to reverse to let her out.

Only, a girl was behind me and she didn’t want to reverse because she wanted the parking spot. Oh hell no. I knew I was about to be that chick…the one who gets out of the car and walks up to the other person’s window and asks them to roll it down. Yeah, I did that. The conversation went like this:

Me: Would you mind backing up?
Girl: I can’t. There’s a truck there.
Me: There’s like four feet between you and the truck. I just need a little space to reverse so the lady can get out.
Girl: But I was here first.
Me: How were you here first if I’m in front of you?
Girl: You cut me off.
Me: I did NOT cut you off. (Which I didn’t…AT ALL.)

At this point some people walked up and told us that they were leaving and the space was right there. Nice way to diffuse the situation. Not that I would have done anything violent, but I did feel my bitch meter starting to rise. The thing is, I’m a considerate driver in a city of assholes. If you don’t live in Miami, ASK ANYONE who does. The people drive like dicks here. If I were in that girl’s position, I would have reversed in the first place (which she eventually did.)

At least I didn't do this.

Source

Was getting out of my car a little extreme? I don’t give a shit. I think I was perfectly in the clear to ask her politely if she’d move. My cop friend told me that I was crazy because “everyone carries a gun here.” Whatever. I guess I live on the wild side then! My life is usually pretty boring. I need something to get my blood pumping, and that certainly did the trick. And I’m not sorry I did it at all.

So apparently I have relatives that read my blog. And according to my father they have an issue with me cursing. Whatever. I don’t think I even curse that much. I’ve even tried to curtail it these past few posts…to be nice, or something. However I am not a fan of censorship.

It was relayed to me that my relatives look down on me cursing because people who curse are ignorant and can’t think of a more eloquent way to express themselves. (For the record, my parents don’t care if I curse. That’s why they rule.)

As I’ve said before, I look at my posts as conversations. When I write them, I try to think of myself talking to a friend. I’m mostly being casual here. And in casual conversations with friends, I curse. If that offends anyone, it’s really not my problem. This is a BLOG…not an article for publication. And like I said, I don’t think I do it excessively.

But what can you do? Many of my family members are from another time. I don’t really expect them to understand.

I mean, why is cursing even bad? What is it about those words that is so taboo? Aren’t they only taboo if you make them taboo? Man, taboos are annoying and useless.

Well, ANYWAY…

If there’s anything that will make you curse, it’s a tough workout. That’s why I deem the following routine the WTF Workout. It might make you swear, but I chose the acronym so as to not offend my family. A few friends and I did this cardio workout a couple of weeks ago, and according to them their limbs were hurting for days afterwards.

THE WTF WORKOUT
Do each exercise for the specified amount of time, then move on to the next. Beginners, complete one circuit. Intermediate and advanced people can do two circuits.

Squat Overhead Press – 2 minutes

Squat and simultaneously lift your hands straight up as high as they will go. This one is harder than it looks! Remember, when you squat you should be sticking your butt back as far as it will go, like you are sitting back on something. You want to keep your back straight and avoid having your knees pass your toes.

Side Lunge and Knee-up – 1 minute per leg

Do a side lunge, and as you come back up bring your knee up. The leg that comes up should be the same leg that you stepped out with. Continue to do this on the SAME side for a minute, then switch legs. Check the link for a re-fresher on how to do a side lunge.

Lunge Jump – 2 minutes

Get into a lunge position, then jump up and switch legs in the air. Let’s say you start with your right leg in front. You jump up and switch legs so that when you land your left foot is now in front. Make sure your upper body stays upright the whole time. You don’t want to lean forward.Watch this video to see it in action.

Cross Body Mountain Climber – 2 minutes

Get in the plank position. Bring your left knee to your right elbow then go back to the starting position. Then bring your right knee to the left elbow. This is like a regular mountain climber, but you are bringing each knee to the opposite elbow.

MMA Get Up – 15 each side

Watch the video

Moving Push-ups – 20

Here you will start with your right hand slightly forward and the left hand slightly lower than they would be in a conventional push-up. Do a push-up, then put your hands in the conventional push-up position. Do another push-up. Then put your left hand slightly forward and your left hand slightly lower. Do another push-up. Complete 20 of these. Each push-up counts as one rep. Beginners can do them on their knees.

Forward Jump – 40
Jump forward 20 times, then turn around and jump back another 20 times. Just to be clear, you will NOT be doing any backwards jumping. Just jumping ahead 20 times then turning back around. If you have enough space, you can do the 40 jumps in one shot without turning to go back to where you started.

One-leg Bridge – 20 per leg

Lie on your back and stick one leg straight in the air. Use your planted foot to lift your butt off the ground. Do 20 reps, then switch sides.

Try it and let me know if you uttered any expletives during or after.

So, in part 1 I discussed how you can do a glute-ham raise at home with a partner.

David is now a member of my gym so he was able to get some footage of me doing a glute-ham raise on an ab bench. (Very crappy phone footage, but whatever.) We had to be kind of discreet filming because I don’t think it’s allowed in the gym. Sshh, don’t tell.

So first of all, find an ab bench that looks like this.

Make sure the ab bench you use has pads on the foot-holder dealie.

It should have cushions on the foot-holder thingies. I’d recommend putting a towel on the part where your knees will be resting because this exercise can be rough on your knees. Trying to describe how to mount this thing to do a glute-ham raise is kind of awkward. I think the most accurate way to put it is to think of the way you’d normally slide in to do an ab workout, but do it upside down. Just watch the video, haha.

I mentioned in my first glute-ham raise post that this exercise is HARD. So try it out if you’re feeling hardcore. One thing you want to watch out for is not leading with your butt too much. You want to be as straight as possible coming back up. I’m leading with my ass a little bit in the video, but it’s normal for that to happen to a small degree.

To make this exercise a little easier, you can put a bosu ball on the bench and use that to push yourself back up. It shortens your range of motion and gives you a little more momentum coming back up.

Also, I’m small and I have short legs, so this modification on the ab bench works for me. I’m not so sure how well it’d work for someone with longer legs. I’d get David to try it out but his knees are all scabbed up from a drunken fall.

And if you’re curious about what else I do for legs, here are some videos. Once again, terribly sorry for the horrible quality.

Me squatting 125 lbs for 4 sets of 4 reps. It’s not the prettiest squat ever, but this was pretty hard for me. I’m small, okay!

Romanian deadlifts. 3 sets of 8 at 120 lbs. These are actually pretty easy for me, but my biggest issue is my grip going out. I need to do farmer’s walks!

In other news, good weekend was good. I partied with cool people and ate an overly-teriyakied chicken sandwich at Vagabond. I had good ceviche (review to come soon!) I also saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Yeah, it was as cheesy as you’d expect it to be, and there were a few loopholes in the plot. It did, however, make me wonder how my pet bunny, Sumo, would feel about me if he suddenly got super intelligent. Despite his cuteness, he’s a pretty hateful little turd. It’s probably for the best that he stays dumb, lest he turn into an evil, brainy bunny bent on taking over the world.

He already thinks he rules the world.

So cute....so evil!

Admittedly, I’m a bit competitive.

Whenever I see a girl getting ready to do a barbell squat (a rare occasion), I always watch her from the corner of my eye to see how many plates she puts on the bar. Recently I was taken aback by how heavy two different girls loaded up their bars. Until I saw how low they went. Or rather, how low they DIDN’T go.

Yesterday a 16- or 17-year-old girl was squatting 135 lbs (for 15 reps!), and a few weeks ago I saw a bodybuilder chick squatting 225 lbs. The only thing was, their range of motion was extremely limited. They only did quarter squats, which is where their thighs don’t even go parallel to the floor. It’s a lot easier to squat a heavy-ass weight when you’re only going down a few inches. For the record, I can squat 125 for something like 4 sets of 4 reps. The difference is that I go ASS TO GRASS! That’s when you go all the way down.

In my opinion, squats are the king of exercises. No other exercise is as challenging, or rewarding. Squatting works multiple muscle groups AND your cardiovascular system, boosts your metabolism for hours after you’ve exercised, and gives you a nice butt. But to get the full benefit of squatting, you should try going down as low as possible, or at least get your thighs parallel to the floor.

So why should you go ass to grass? When you do a partial squat, it’s mainly recruiting your quadriceps. When you do a full squat, you are using your glutes and hamstrings in addition to your quads. That makes for a more balanced exercise. By only doing partial squats, you can develop muscle imbalances (which lead to injury), and you are placing anterior stress on your knees that isn’t being balanced by the posterior pull that happens when you do a full squat.

Squatting is a great indicator of lower body mobility, so if a person cannot successfully do a full-range-of-motion squat, it’s most likely because of tightness in the hips, knees, or ankles. Improving your flexibility will help to improve your squat.

Some people argue that squats ruin your knees, but the fact is that unless you have a pre-existing condition, squats can actually strengthen your knees and help to prevent injuries. The thing is that you have to make sure your form is correct. When you start doing things like rounding your back, bending your knees inward, and letting your knees pass your toes on the descent, then you’re setting yourself up for problems.

Here are some tips on how to squat.

o hai.

If you are doing a traditional squat, stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Point your toes out slightly. You can also stand with your feet pointing straight ahead, but I find that pointing your toes out a little helps to prevent your knees from dipping inward. Your knees should ALWAYS be pointing in the same direction as your toes.

Move your hips back as if you were going to sit back in a chair and bend your knees. Keep your back straight. Think of this movement as horizontal more than vertical. Your are moving your hips back horizontally, and then lowering yourself by bending your knees and dropping your butt down.

Go as low as you can. Keep your back straight and try not to let your butt tuck in. It needs to be sticking out.

DO NOT DO THESE THINGS:

The hunchback is a no-no!

Round your back.

Let your knees bend inward. This usually happens as a slight movement when you are coming back up, rather than being a fixed position during the whole exercise. Like I said, pointing your toes out a little helps a lot with this.

Let your knees pass your toes. If you are doing this, you are moving more vertically than horizontally. People who squat like how I am in the picture above are not sticking their butt back enough. Try practicing by sitting back on a chair. Do that until you can squat without the chair.

Keep in mind that your unique anatomy is going to effect your form. Short people have a much easier time squatting than tall people because well, their legs are shorter. It comes more naturally to them.

The best thing to do is ask a professional to observe your form and correct it if need be. And if you have knee problems or have ever had knee injuries, then you should most certainly consult with a physical therapist before attempting squats. However, if you’ve never had any injuries, practicing body-weight squats at home is a good way to learn. That’s how I did it in the beginning.

More info on deep squat test.

More info on full squat flexibility.

Now get off the leg press machine and do some squats!

Squats are useful when your bladder is full and there's not a bathroom in sight.