Baf- I joke about starting to smoke so that I could eat more not seriously, though! IMO, that was the BIG LIE (by omission) in the French Women Don't Get Fat book. Adding more activity is a great idea. I'm sure your students would love tp start each class with a 8-10 set series of Tabata squats!
Do you remember the leg crank series? We do 20 body weight squats, 20 alternating lunges, then 20 jump squats. Rest. Repeat.
What are you maintenance calorie levels? Maybe you can find a way to "bulk up" you food and lower the calories a bit without feeling that you are eating less.
I did alter my form and used a wide stance and a wide grip for the overhead squats. I was watching myself straight on in a mirror and noticed that my feet were more turned out than normal. I tried to straighten them, but everything went haywire then. I'm definitely going to add that to my "wacko and olympic lifts" day.
I try to really mix up my stance with squats. I'll use the smith machinefor very narrow stance squats which really isolate the middle head of the quad, and do very wide and/or plie stance single dumbbell squats to hit the outer sweep and inner. My new favorite is one legged with the non-working leg heel resting on the working knee. I do these with a ball and a wall and some dumbbells.
With a heavily loaded bar, I do plain vanilla squats or box squats.
After doing cardio this afternoon, I felt too woozy to lift. I think the lab vampire took a few too many vials of blood this morning. It's going to make it hard to get all my lifts in this week. I have a doc appt tomorrow at lunch time, so will miss lifting then too
Rabbit- my ds is 17 and a 1/2 and hasn't outgrown that attitude. I'm hoping a lightening bolt hits him pretty soon...figuratively speaking!
Baf- I joke about starting to smoke so that I could eat more not seriously, though! IMO, that was the BIG LIE (by omission) in the French Women Don't Get Fat book.
Ha. I know you think you're kidding but really, wouldn't you be tempted to take up smoking if you got to eat an extra 400 calories a day?!?!? Cigarettes are so delicious! 400 calories is lots! I don't know that I'd have gone to the trouble of quitting if I'd known something like this was in the works! Grumble, grumble. I thought the weight-gain from quitting had to do with sitting around eating chocolate in a manic attempt to make food feel like a cigarette (which is what I've been doing all week, as my newly pudgy tummy will testify). I just don't know how long this crazy eating goes on before I nip it in the bud and start getting everything back under control. Right now I'm like a 4 year old with ADHD and a ginormous appetite. Nothing is normal.
But, exercise turns out to be the absolute best thing ever. I'm so very, very glad that I have become fit in the last year and developed a LOVE for exercise so that I'm able to do exercise now that I need it for my sanity. If I were horribly unfit I'd be completely screwed.
This rambling, psychotic post suggests to me that I need to bust out another 4 minute tabata workout. I'm a wreck.
Very interesting reading about everyone's squat adventures - lol! I am not yet ready for OH squats myself. My squat is by far my weakest lift - I really struggle with form. Today was actually squat day for me (I do box squats usually) & it was by far my most solid day to date. I am no longer rocking at the bottom & think I may actually be able to drop the height of my box soon (I'm just at/or slightly above parallel now but by removing one riser I'd be comfortably below parallel). I should be able to start putting some real weight on the bar soon as well. Damn form has taken me 7 months to master!
My big PR today was that I did full out push-ups!!! First time in my life 2, 3, 2 & then finished out the sets with girlie push-ups. Just think how many I'll be able to do when I finally hit my goal weight!!! Lol
It was a good day in the gym despite this exhaustion I still haven't been able to shake.
Congratulations, LG! Very cool feeling to do big boy pushups.
Don't sweat the squats. I couldn't even begin to try them until I was under 200 pounds due to balance issues (just couldn't balance all that excess weight). Then I started with a broom handle until I got the form down. They're probably the hardest exercise to master, form-wise, but once you get the form right, you'll have it for life.
Just wait till you get to your goal weight on squats too -- you'll be the Queen of Squats! In fact, a normal weight makes everything in (and out!) of the gym so much easier.
My OH squat adventure gave me sore muscles where I've never had them before! They're definitely going into my routine too, but I'll play around with the stance. I think they'll be a lot easier if I let my knees and feet do what feels natural -- go wide and turn out.
I'm under doctor's orders to take it easy today after a minor medical procedure yesterday so am thinking of what I can do at the gym that doesn't really count. I'm not supposed to elevate my HR or blood pressure but I really don't want to take a day off. I'm thinking a little bike and some shoulders?
I want to make weight training a part of my life but I'm taking things very slowly. (I couldn't do a 1 hour resistance training work out 6 times a week right now haha.)
Yesterday I did 2 sets of 20 squats (a couple hours apart) and today my legs are SORE! If it wasn't so funny it would be sad.
I'm trying to start slowly, going to the gym 2 - 3 (more like 2 now ) times a week and doing some squats and (very easy) variations of push-ups at home (almost) every day. Well, unless my muscles are really sore, I don't think I'll squat today.
I'll probably lurk more often than not, to get some motivation. But I wanted to say hi anyway.
I'm also working on my squats. I think one thing that keeps me back are my tight hamstrings. I'm working them though. My squat is getting oh so much better.
Hi LWL, are there any fruits or veggies that you have found to be counter to your plan? I woke up today realizing that in my attempt to incorporate more protein I"m not getting the fruits and veggies and want to try harder. So, anything you avoid? I'm allergic to apples (so probably pears too), but like everything else. Do you all eat bananas, grapes & carrots? Other than that I like oranges and broccoli which I haven't heard anything negative about.
Well, I'm back sigh from the Beautiful Bahamas! Yesterday morning I was on the beach enjoying a frozen lemonade and today, here I am, back at work.
It was a great trip - the weather was lovely, the people were nice and a good time was had with good friends. Now for the food I certainly ate and drank more than I do at home but I wouldn't say that I went crazy. And I did run 5k twice (outside, early AM with a lovely tropical breeze), played tennis, went kayaking and tried out their circus school where I managed to somehow do a perfect knee hang and backflip dismount on my first try! How? I have no idea and I was scared to death but enjoyed it anyway!
Now it's back to reality. I liked reading all of the recent squat posts and I want to be inspired but I have an odd problem lately with a pinched nerve in the groin area. It's all a bit bizzare and it causes weird symptoms, one of which is the feeling of bee stings in my thigh if I squat too much or too low. Not fun - still trying to work out how to fix it!
Hi to everyone...gotta get some work done, I suppose.
OK, after all this talk I'm going to try the OH squat tomorrow as i do my NRWL 1B workout, as an extra. But NOT I guess with a loaded bar. I'll surprise the kids by adding a broomstik to the pile of iron on the 2nd floor landing between our bedrooms.
Mel - so I'll have to go with this for a minimum of 1 and half years more ? Send the lighting stroke over the altlantic once you are done with it!
hey everyone, its been a long time since i have last checked in. I am starting a new weight training program. I was just wondering, should i be taking a protien drink only on the days i exercise or on all days.
Lifegurad- i know what you mean, i hate cardio with passion. I just put on some music and before i know it i am done.
Fran, I don't know of any fruits/veggies that are counter to my plan except of course those I don't like! Bananas a little higher in carbs/calories - and around here in price! Lately we've been eating fresh oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, apples, pears, along with home-grown frozen raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb (DH only - I can't take all that sugar). Same with veggies - if I like it, I eat it! This weekend I cooked parsnips for the first time - really good! I also got a huge bok choy in my CSA box last week, and I've been trying to incorporate it into everything - the thing has a life of its own!
I don't eat grapes much because of the price, though I like them. I never eat watermelon (ick!) and not much other melon because they're either underripe or expensive - or both. Same is true of blueberries - in fact most berries. We stick with the raspberries and strawberries we grow. We also grow currents, but those get made into jelly.
I too hate cardio although there are some things that make it better, like watching a good show on tv (I have lots of Dvds).
I couldn't do cardio for very long (read: more than 2 - 5 minutes ) without TV. My gym has a small TV for each cardio machine, which is great - if I start watching something interesting, time flies!
not seriously, though! IMO, that was the BIG LIE (by omission) in the French Women Don't Get Fat book. Adding more activity is a great idea. I'm sure your students would love tp start each class with a 8-10 set series of Tabata squats!
I couldn't even begin to try them until I was under 200 pounds due to balance issues (just couldn't balance all that excess weight). Then I started with a broom handle until I got the form down. They're probably the hardest exercise to master, form-wise, but once you get the form right, you'll have it for life. 
but I'm taking things very slowly. (I couldn't do a 1 hour resistance training work out 6 times a week right now 
haha.)
LG!!!
and today, here I am, back at work. 
) without TV. My gym has a small TV for each cardio machine, which is great - if I start watching something interesting, time flies! 