utterly trivial

[the_siobhan]

I've been trying to write a serious post for a couple of days now, but it's just not coming. So I'll write a trivial one, in the hopes that eventually something serious will slip out without me noticing.

In the interest of better brain chemistry, I've been going to the gym a lot lately. It helps. And I'm getting my muscles back, which makes me deleriously happy.

So the other week I'm watching this guy do chin-ups, because I WANT to do chin-ups. I can't do them. Not even one. My goal at the end of all this is to do chin-ups. Well, and to throw people across the room, but in my head that's easier to do if you can already do chin-ups.

So the guy I'm watching isn't very big. The kind of muscles taht are usually described as "lean". He looks fast. And as I'm watching him, he does this thing where he swings his legs and flips himself over so that he is now above the chin-up bar with his legs above his head. And starts doing chin-ups upside-down. Except now I guess they are chin-downs, since his entire body is above the bar.

So SpiderMan works out at the West End Y. Who knew?

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I tried to empty some stuff out of my gym bag today so it would stop pulling my shoulder down between my elbows. It contained:

• A complete change of clothes so I can go directly to work afterwards
  
• Soap, shampoo, towel etc, so I can go to work not smelling like a camel
  
• My lunch, and dinner, and a snack, because I can't eat beforehand and I need calories in a "hand over the chocolate bar and nobody gets hurt" kind of way immediately after
  
• My shoes, because I refuse to put wear on a pair of shoes that cost as much as the rest of my wardrobe put together by doing something as mundane with them as walking
  
• A 40-pound bottle of water, which I will finish off completely and then go looking for a water fountain.
  
• And for today only, all my hair gear, including blow-dryer and crimping iron, so I can go to Jason's housewarming straight from work.

I should count getting this stuff to the gym in the first place as a workout all on it's own.

--------

I don't think any of my serious leaked out.

Better luck next time.

Comments

[the-tsm.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any better, my standard bench-routine in the gym is ten of each of the following, 170, 140, and then 110. I used to do two sets of ten at 200 each, but I had the bar position set up one higher than the lowest possible setting and I decided that the bar being up that high made me feel like a wuss.

Now the bench-bar starts out literally resting on my shoulders and I work from there, which is kind of like being in hell, except that there are mirrors and you're lying on a pleather bench instead of a burning rock. Additionally, depending on how spunky I'm feeling I do between forty and sixty pushups throughout the day in sets of 20.

Needless to say my upper-body strength is coming right along since I spend so much time on it. Despite all this, I cannot do a pull-up.

We're both built from the ground up. We're hung on a large frame and we have a great deal of natural strength even for our size without the least bit of effort. Pull-ups are a little person's excersize. I'm not saying that you shouldn't try and pull them off. I still make the attempt every time I'm in there to get my chin over that fucking bar, but then I'm attempting to haul the entireity of my bodyweight up there, which in my case is 240 fucking pounds. I don't know too many people who can throw that kind of weight around, so take it easy on yourself.

Babysteps, as they say.

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

I actually briefly got myself to the point of being able to do something like 3 chinups in a row a couple of years ago, which was significant because I'd never been able to do one before that, even as a kid. I started out with a bar at a height I could kneel at and have my arms not-quite fully extended. I'd kneel in front of the bar and try to pull myself up while keeping my feet on the ground. 5 hands forward, 5 hands back, and another set of both. Eventually I was actually able to pick my knees up off the ground, then with less and less weight on my feet. Then to a standing position, again with arms not-quite extended, and eventually I was able to do a few in a row from a hanging position. I think it took me at least 6 months to work up to it, probably closer to 9.

[50-ft-queenie.livejournal.com]

Chin-ups are horrible nasty self-torture routines. I thikan I tried to do them once and failed miserably.

Any chance you could rent a locker at the gym to avoid carrying all that stuff back and forth?

In related news, there's a community centre with a pool just down the street from our new house. I may start swimming again, and if they have some aerobic classes, even better.

I go do yoga now.

[silentq.livejournal.com]

er, yeah, before I screwed up my arm, I was doing a lot of chest presses and got to the point where I could do 5-8 chin ups. But I am wee. :)

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

We're both built from the ground up.

I like that phrasing.

I do get your point. And it's definitely something that I have in the mental "some day" category. There is a machine at the gym where you can do chin-ups and adjust the amount of counterweight you are using to get up there - so as long as I am gradually adjusting that weight down, I'm a happy enough camper.

Mostly I figure if I should ever again happen to be hanging off the side of a building, I want to be able to get my ass up out of there with a minimum of fucking around.

more noodling about weight

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

You know, I just mentally did the math to see where I compare to you given our relative masses, and adjusting the numbers down for size, I am still just starting to scrape at the bottom of what you lift. (Of course, I am a) just starting to get back into this after about 18 months off, and b) suffering from the dreaded estrogen poisoning.)

My upper body is a lot more resistant to putting on muscles compared to my legs - I can pretty much notch the weight up on the leg press every time I go to the gym if I want to, but I'll struggle for months to step up my arms. So as a result I aleays think of myself as "strong for a girl".

So it always startles me when something happens to make me think that maybe I'm just "strong". I was shocked as hell to find out I really can bench press more than Axel. He's been telling me I'm stronger than he is for years, I just never believed him.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Any chance you could rent a locker at the gym to avoid carrying all that stuff back and forth?

Ah, but carrying it back and forth is free.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

That's the sort of thinking that always gets me in trouble. But I have a healthy bank balance.

Re: more noodling about weight

[melete.livejournal.com]

My upper body is a lot more resistant to putting on muscles compared to my legs - I can pretty much notch the weight up on the leg press every time I go to the gym if I want to, but I'll struggle for months to step up my arms. So as a result I aleays think of myself as "strong for a girl".

I wonder if that is a girl thing or just something we have in common. Leg workout is easy and I can add weight on easily. I've actually over time learned to just up reps there and seem to get more out of it over adding weight.

Arm stuff, on the other hand, is a bitch. It takes forever to add on either weights or reps. I finely seemed to reach a point where I was adding weight on more swiftly and then I stopped going. My brain and motivation have been less than kind to me this summer. I start back today and we'll see how it goes, but I'm sure I've lost more ground here than I will have in my legs.

Re: more noodling about weight

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I've always thought of it as a girl thing, but I couldn't explain to you how it works.

On the plus sides, muscles have memory. Even if you have lost ground it won't take nearly as long to get back to the point you were when you left off.

Re: more noodling about weight

[melete.livejournal.com]

I did notice that last time I took a long break from working out. I was impressed with how much weight I didn't have to take off the machine. Hopefully, I will be as surprised this go round as well. It'll get my motivation up again. Those endorphins help as well.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

Mistress Krista of Stumptuous (http://www.stumptuous.com) suggests doing negative pullups, basically standing on a bench, grabbing the bar, lowering yourself to the ground, lather rinse and repeat, as prep for learning chinups.

But I wonder if there isn't something to the theory of frame size and etc. I'm little but I'm SOLID, and even when my strength is good, I'm nowhere near being able to do a pullup. The weight-assisted machine has the bars too far apart, and it makes my shoulder do scary grinding noises. :(