Fitness Bitchfest

Hmmm I haven't seen that leave me alone aura at the gym from you :-~

:- :-

BF 1. People who do not wipe down equipment after they are done

BF 2. "Chatters"... I'm here to work out. How many "have a good workouts" do I have to say before they get the hint.

Putting Halloween candy in buckets prepping for tonight and somehow couldn't resist 6 pieces.. shit.

Cold - Between the cold weather and sinus cold, I am missing my road biking and my cardio is down to nothing!

FBF - rain (again today) is making the bike thingy workouts impossible. Forecast is for more rain the next couple of days.

Moving is one hell of a workout. Tomorrow the last of the heavy stuff washer and dryer to the new house. We have a solid wood king bed and end tables. Just the end tables are close to 150lbs each.

Hiring someone to move the bed itself and the main office desk. Way to heavy even for this modest manly stud!

AC inadequate gyms! Although I got a good wo sweat going today, the gym was a bit too sauna like... Shed the LS after the warm up and first set!

I have danced all my life, but the real trick is that I've been lifting weights since I was 13. My father thought girls, especially tiny ones, should be strong.

Ya Ya remember i am married to an athletic woman who used to dance in the ballet as a amateur. My daughter played high school and college water polo so i know how strong a woman can be.

Feeling inadequate, old man? It would be worse if you could see me lifting. Even with a fair amount of muscle, I'm still pretty small, because I have a tiny frame. And freakishly strong legs. ;-)

Definitely a man

njny, I am a grumpy old so and so and I spent too much time at powerlifting gyms to have much patience for people with bad gym manners. Not that powerlifters don't have their own stuff - the grunts, groans, yells, and dropping of weights - but the equipment always got wiped down and put away, and people not only understood working in but would voluntarily spot you. And nobody's bad form irritated me.

Now I just go to mid-morning, when I'm one of the few people there (it's a really small gym).

I don't think I've ever seen that sort of leg machine. I'll have to change gyms when I move, so maybe the next place will have one.

That would surprise a few people, including me, but I'll be sure to doublecheck the next time I take a shower. Really, though, I think I would have noticed before now.

I couldn't do it now. I haven't powerlifted in more than 10 years and even then my squat topped out at a fraction under 1.5 times my body weight, unless I used a Smith machine, which kind of defeated the purpose. Now I back squat a little over 3/4 of my body weight, less on front squats. I probably won't add a lot more weight, because I'd rather continue to squat to parallel with good form without stressing my joints.

LOL Msmolly you are a man, with a woman's profile. Pressing three times your body weight on a leg press is smoothing only a strong man can do. At the Las Vegas athletic club we have some women who preform in acts that are very strong who can not do that much weight.

njny, thanks for the information. The last time I used a leg press was 2005 and we might or might not be talking about the same thing. This one was plate loaded, so you stacked your own weight plates, climbed in at a weird angle and things moved. I stopped doing it when I realized I was pressing more than three times my body weight and was so bored that I was looking around at what other people were doing while knocking out three full sets. The kicker was that I couldn't quite squat 1.5 times my body weight, using essentially the same mechanics, because that's an unstable weight and because I was squatting to parallel, something I wasn't managing with the leg press.

The gym I go to now has power racks, free weights, kettlebells, dumbbells, benches, steps and boxes, bosu balls, yoga balls, and a variety of bars, plus (I think) three pieces of cardio equipment and one cable machine. Oh, and weighted ropes. That's pretty much it. It's kind of old school.

I do all machines now for safety reason. Its to hard for find someone to spot me when using free weights. Leg presses keep your knees in excellent shape and works your thighs really well.Its a great way to keep your legs toned and strong.

There is a back machine that does a great job on your lower back.

It's safe, but relatively pointless. I know some people like machines, but I am not one of them. You can lift more weight, but that's more about bragging rights than functional benefits. There is nothing I'm going to do in life that a seated leg press will improve, no matter how much I can press.

Compound lifts with free weights work more muscles, small and large, and recruit pretty much everything in order to maintain good form. Plus balance. And I will need to be able to pick things up from the ground from now until I die, so there's a point to doing deadlifts.

Instead of doing dead lifts do leg presses on the machine. dont release the safety bar and do all the weight you want. This is the way i work out with 630 lbs for my legs. Very safe

Thanks for the thoughts, chezde. I think a Smith machine would be even worse though, because it takes out the challenge of instability and I'd need even more weight. In any case, it's power racks only and powder is against the rules. I was mostly just bitching out loud, but you got me thinking.

I wonder if I can talk the gym owner into getting a fully knurled bar, because that would solve my problem. Thanks again.

GG, try doing them on a Smith Rack if your gym has one. You can set the safety bars as well. Also, gloves with wraps might help, but if you don't like them, (l'm not a big fan of them), a small amount of corn starch powder in the pocket is another trick.

FB - I can't figure out how to do deadlifts to failure. The biggest kettlebell my gym has for sumo deadlifts is 70 pounds, which isn't quite like air, but will take way more reps than is sensible. Using the bar, I'm limited by having small hands that can't wrap and too much hot yoga to build up calluses, so above 120# my hands lose their grip too easily.

Also, I'm a cranky old person and I remember when gyms had chalk.

Take extra potassium. I take two potassium pills in the morning with a multi vitamin. And two potassium pills before i go to bed.
If you work out and sweat a lot you need the extra potassium to stop the cramps.

I had severe ankle cramps that woke me up this morning! Never had them in my ankles..that hurt!

"back to basics "

Good news! You got that right and sometimes that's half the battle. You got this.

Still not well enough today to hit the gym today...dammit.