That fooking ab cruncher

[Camille]

Ye gods. The time is upon me where years of rowing crew no longer pay dividends and I now have to work out to stay in shape. Boohoo! Let me preface that by saying I have always done something of a cardiovascular nature (no, no THAT) on a daily basis...but the weight stuff was not something I touched. When I rowed Crew, it was a joke that my arms were the weakest. I don't have much flesh there at all so trying to build muscle was hard. Really hard (hence sweeping rather than sculling)...but I have long powerful legs that made up the difference.

In the gym, I find the leg press relatively workable. I lift about 120kg in sets of 8. I don't know the names of all the equipment but whilst I can work the arm weights where you pull the weight down behind you on a pulley (whilst sitting) I can only manage 40kg. On the one where you push the weights forwards with your arms I can only manage 25kg Pathetic isn't it? And I struggle at that.

The bloody abs machine kills me though. I thought I had broken my abs yesterday lol. WTF? That was NOT my finest hour.

What weights do you struggle with in the gym...or what equipment do you hate the most there? Also, for the yoga/pilates lovers, as well as creating a strong core, do you also just rely on those classes for keeping toned? I have never taken a yoga or pilates class and should..if for no other reason than building my core. I'd love to hear peoples thoughts on either/both....

Cheers!

C x

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by Camille

what equipment do you hate the most there?

The front door.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

The front door.

Try the Back door PJ....I heard it only cost an extra hundred

[Naomi4u]

Originally Posted by WTF

Try the Back door PJ....I heard it only cost an extra hundred

Originally Posted by Camille

What weights do you struggle with in the gym...or what equipment do you hate the most there? Also, for the yoga/pilates lovers, as well as creating a strong core, do you also just rely on those classes for keeping toned? I have never taken a yoga or pilates class and should..if for no other reason than building my core. I'd love to hear peoples thoughts on either/both....

I'm a runner. My idea of exercise is treadmill, ab circle pro and xbox kinect (lol) )))
I just started the ab circle pro and I love it.

[Guest050715-1]

Since I'm of German heritage, I build muscle so quickly I look like a Russian potato farmer's wife if I hit the weights to hard so I stick to three pound weights to tone my arms and legs as I do aerobics or speed walk outside.

Another thing I do, when I feel really motivated is Bikram yoga. You have to be really motivated because it ties up several hours of your day. The class is 1.5 hours and you are in 105 degrees F so you sweat profusely. So then you have to shower, make-up, dry my long hair, curl my long hair and THEN face the day. But, trust me, it will rip your body. I have to be careful not to get to ripped.

But here's the best part. I must have the weakest abs in all of Texas, but the Bikram will give you nice, trim tummy with a line down the center

[London Rayne]

Originally Posted by WTF

Try the Back door PJ....I heard it only cost an extra hundred

Extra $200 for MOI lol.

I don't deal with gyms anymore...have all that crap plus a tanning bed right in my abode. I bought the ab lounge and love it. I also use a regular exercise ball and hold a weight on my chest and do it that way. As for weights...love em, especially squats and lunges. Booty work is my fave!

P90X and even better...Insanity, will kick your azz!! I threw up the first time ha ha. That should take the weight off lol.

[coast_encounter]

I used to do full workouts but because of time restraints, I have just been doing cardio lately. I mainly use the elliptical machine. Does anyone remember the Gazelle ? That Tony Little ruined it for me with that ponytail. :-)

[Ed Highlight]

Originally Posted by Camille

What weights do you struggle with in the gym...or what equipment do you hate the most there? ... I'd love to hear peoples thoughts on either/both....

C x

12 oz. curls are the toughest for me...as I usually do what's called a strip-set with decreasing weight for each rep...10 oz. curl is next followed by 8 oz., etc., etc. When the can is empty, I go back to 12 oz. and start the whole process again...when all the "weights" are gone, I can't drive to the gym.....hence the struggle.....

[BreastLuvr]

Originally Posted by Camille

Ye gods. The time is upon me where years of rowing crew no longer pay dividends and I now have to work out to stay in shape. Boohoo! Let me preface that by saying I have always done something of a cardiovascular nature (no, no THAT) on a daily basis...but the weight stuff was not something I touched. When I rowed Crew, it was a joke that my arms were the weakest. I don't have much flesh there at all so trying to build muscle was hard. Really hard (hence sweeping rather than sculling)...but I have long powerful legs that made up the difference.

In the gym, I find the leg press relatively workable. I lift about 120kg in sets of 8. I don't know the names of all the equipment but whilst I can work the arm weights where you pull the weight down behind you on a pulley (whilst sitting) I can only manage 40kg. On the one where you push the weights forwards with your arms I can only manage 25kg Pathetic isn't it? And I struggle at that.

The bloody abs machine kills me though. I thought I had broken my abs yesterday lol. WTF? That was NOT my finest hour.

What weights do you struggle with in the gym...or what equipment do you hate the most there? Also, for the yoga/pilates lovers, as well as creating a strong core, do you also just rely on those classes for keeping toned? I have never taken a yoga or pilates class and should..if for no other reason than building my core. I'd love to hear peoples thoughts on either/both....

Cheers!

C x

Camille, this will be an unusual answer for a guy, but I struggle most with bench and shoulder press movements; the problem is a sticking point in my range of motion for those particular exercises. You didn't specifically ask for it, but I will offer the following thoughts with respect to weight training:

(1) London is absolutely correct with respect to using squats and lunges as the foundation for working your glutes. Find someone who can teach you how to perform a straight-legged deadlift (also known, with slight variation, as a Romanian deadlift) and that will further help to shape and firm your derriere, as well as your hamstrings and lower back, which, collectively, comprise the all important "posterior chain."

(2) If you have't been weight training for long, don't lament the amount of weight you can handle per se. Use a weight for which you can perform the desired number of repetitions but one which you can truly feel in the targeted muscle groups.

(3) If I understand you correctly, you were a former competitive athlete, so you will be far less prone to do this, but don't succumb to the "I'll get too muscular if I lift heavy" train of thought adopted by so many women. Barring pharmaceutical assistance, you probably don't have the hormonal profile to do so without years of hard, consistant training. Muscle adds shape and functional capability to the human body and, in my humble opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than an athletic female physique.

(4) For the purposes of avoiding strength imbalances and reducing injury risk, think of muscles as working together as antagonistic pairs. For example, the biceps functions to bend the elbow while the triceps elongates; the triceps straightens the elbow as the biceps relaxes.

(5) With respect to ab training, one movement that I particularly love is called a cable or pulley crunch. Ask one of the trainers at your gym to show you how to do this one. Since the lower back muscles (spinal erectors) work in opposition to the rectus abdominus (the proverbial six-pack), I would highly recommend an exercise commonly called "hyperextensions" for the lower back. Again, ask one of the trainers at your gym to show you how to do this one.

(6) If you truly want to get the best "bang for your buck," whether it be for the purposes of building muscle, burning fat or both, emphasize the heavy multi-joint exercises such as bench and shoulder presses, rowing movements, chins/pullups and deadlifts for the back, and, as previously noted, squats or leg presses for the legs.

I hope that this has been of some help. My undergraduate degree was in wellness & fitness, so I always enjoy discussing exercise protocols.

[London Rayne]

You know breastlover...I really like your attitude and appreciate all of your informative posts. You never have anything bad to say about anyone, and it's no wonder you're from TN....my atf place to visit. You my friend, are very representative of what true gents from the country are like.

[BreastLuvr]

Originally Posted by London Rayne

You know breastlover...I really like your attitude and appreciate all of your informative posts. You never have anything bad to say about anyone, and it's no wonder you're from TN....my atf place to visit. You my friend, are very representative of what true gents from the country are like.

Why thank you very much, ma deuh (syrupy thick Southern enunciation for "my dear"). We do, indeed, like to think of ourselves as the last bastion of antebellum Southern gentility. I am probably old enough to be your father but I have little doubt that I would thoroughly enjoy your company, should circumstances ever permit us to meet. Oh, I do meet your specific anatomical requirements as well (wink, wink). Finally, as someone just four dissertation chapters shy of completing my Ph.D., I find intelligent, well-educated women to be very, very sexy. Always a pleasure chatting with you. You may be a firecracker, but methinks that, beneath that sometimes mercurial exterior, beats a heart of gold, one that houses a value set with which I am largely in accordance.

P.S. On behalf of all gentlemen from the Volunteer State, we would like to thank you for contributing to the ambiance of our humble abode. I know that, based on your reviews, many of them are as fond of you as you are of them.

[coast_encounter]

I think this pic says it all BreastLuvr and London.. :-) Happy St. Paddy's day guyz..

[Naomi4u]

Lmfao. I was gonna say GET A ROOM GUYS!

[London Rayne]

Well that was very sweet of you. I see a Kenny Chesney concert in our future lol.

CC and Naomi....zip it! I can't be a biaaatch ALL the time lol.

[BreastLuvr]

Lesson to the wise: don't mess with London when it comes to Tennessee men. She genuinely appreciates us and the feeling is most definitely reciprocal. Now returning to your regularly scheduled programming . . .