Happy Birthday sumire! You're a machine - those are pretty much all the exercises that hurt the most. I tried pistol squats in my living room the other day and fell down promptly - maybe one day! You're a big inspiration to all of us who want to get leaner and stronger. :D Enjoy the day!

^^ Yeah, F pistols! haha I am an athlete by sheer force, not by nature. I can't do pistols to save my life.

I did, however, do a rediculous amount of pullups yesterday! Between my pre-CrossFit workout, and then the Unit WOD, I did about 100 yesterday morning. Surprisingly, I'm not sore!

Happy Birthday sumire! :)

OMG ladies! I did something crazy...I joined another gym! I got kind of annoyed at the one I've been a member of for a long time because I can't lift weights like I usually do anymore. They merged with a yoga studio so the stupid yoga classes are during the time I would come and lift weights.

I'm going to stay a member of both gyms though. I like the first one and I've been a member for 8 years! This second gym is just machines and weights, so I'll probably go a couple times a week. Plus it's only $25 a month.

So I went and lifted some weights there today. I looked pretty lost around the machines but I'm going to avoid them anyway, LOL. There were no women in the weights area and all of the guys were staring at me. I felt so awkward at first and then I said f*** this! let them stare! ;) and I did some deadlifts like a boss.

OK, ladies. I have a couple of questions about weight lifting and I think this could be the best place for it. My brother got a set but it's nothing like I've seen before. I don't now if I would describe it as dumbbell or not. But this is what it looks like: It's a long bar with the two weights (5lbs each) strapped together in the middle with clips, I guess you could call them. You hold at each end and lift. I have been using that the last couple of days. I aim to do 12 - 15 sets of 20 repetitions each time.

So, would lifting this kind of weight have any benefit to me? Would I be better getting regular looking dumbbells.

Any idea what the weight is even called? Is it just another type of dumbbell?

For lifting what I'm doing is lifting it slowly with pressure up to my chest and slowly back down for 20 reps. Usually take a few seconds to get some water or just to take a break before I start again. Would this is the right way of lifting weights? I don't think I could just do 12 - 15 sets in a row without even taking a couple of seconds before doing it again?

The first day I did it, my arms and shoulders were sore by the evening and the following day and same with the second day. Today, I'm not feeling any pain from it. I could be sore in the morning but nothing yet. Would this just be getting used to it? Always thought you would feel pain no matter how long you have been doing it.

Regarding weight loss, what is weight lifting good for? And in particular the weight I'm using (whatever it is called :p). All over the body? Stomach area? Just the arms? I'm worried all it would do will cause me to gain muscle in my arms and nothing else.

Thanks for the help. :)


And a Happy 30th Birthday to you sumire!!! Hope you're having a wonderful day.

Dreamer, I have no idea what that device is as I am a total novice. But some benefits of weightlifting that I have personally observed in only doing twice/week lifting sessions are:

*Better functional strength
*Build a butt when you don't have one
*Leaner overall body
*Lose inches even if you don't lose weight
*Tauter midsection + everything gets SMALLER (except shoulders)
*All-body exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts etc work ALL YOUR MUSCLES - you can get visible abs without doing "abs" exercises
*My favorite part - you can eat more without gaining weight :P

Today I did my regular arms routine + some kettlebells stuff. Hoboy that burns! Maybe I'll do kettlebells twice a week in addition to the usual. Couldn't hurt. It seems harder to hurt yourself with them too as they are so fluid-motion-oriented.

Thank you so much for that, krampus. I'm not so sure either. I should try get a picture if I can locate my camera! Definitely liking those benefits you have listed, especially about eating more. :D Think I'll need a few weeks before I do all-body exercises. I tried doing some push up's a few weeks ago and was awful at them.

krampus: Thanks! :o I have to say, I'm stoked to see you tearing up the weights, too. :D

JossFit: Nice pullups!

sontaikle: UGH yoga studio. :p The first time I worked out on the "boys' floor" (university gym, so they are boys ;)), I felt so awkward, thinking they were all staring. I told myself to chill & that I was just imagining things, and over time I became more comfortable as I decided that no one noticed me after all. Recently, though, I've been forced to acknowledge that, contrary to my assurances, they are actually staring and noticing. So now I'm back to working through the awkwardness. :dizzy: Ladies who lift heavy really do stick out like a sore thumb in most gyms, I guess. Sad to say.

Dreamer2012: Whatever weight you're lifting, you'd be well off looking for a beginner weight training program to go with. A little structure goes a long way with newbie results.

Also, no reason why you can't get started on bodyweight exercises now! I'm sure you can manage squats and lunges. As for pushups, check out this article below. Use the method described under #2 to make pushups easier and progress toward doing them on the floor. (Don't bother with the from-the-knee pushups described in #3!)
http://www.stumptuous.com/mistressing-the-pushup

Today's workout: back extensions, single-leg back extensions, 2-point dumbbell rows, underhand grip lat pulls, windshield wipers, core rows (also seen these called renegade rows, I think? they're hard!).

Felt a little burned out this morning. Ready for a couple of days of recovery time.

Just found out I'm going to have to go out of town for a week soon to help a relative recuperate from surgery. I just took a week off lifting in May and don't feel I need/want another yet, so I went looking for a good list of (fairly advanced) bodyweight exercises. Found the article below and thought I'd share!

http://jasonferruggia.com/top-20-bod...scle-strength/

That is an awesome share... thanks! I am going out of town for my wedding/honeymoon in two weeks, and up until the wedding I will have a couple of days in Vegas and will need to stay on plan. The hotel has a gym but you never can tell what it's really going to be like...

Yep, renegade rows suck! We do a move called "man makers" that incorporate them;

-Start standing with 20 lb dumbbells in each hand (or whatever you like)
-Drop to a pushup position on the DBs and do 5 pushups
-Do 5 renegade rows on each side
-Jump your feet up to your hands/DBs
-Clean the DBs up to your shoulders
-Do 5 shoulder presses

That is one rep. :)

JossFit: You're welcome! YAY wedding/honeymoon! :) And thank YOU for the "man makers"-- I am so filing that in my memory banks. :D

Oh tell me about it... I'm soooo excited! Two weeks from right now I'll be waking up married! Probably hungover, but married! :)

Yesterday I went to the beach with my fiancé and some friends. I think my new biggest motivation is definitely how I look. This is the first year in my life I've worn a bikini and while I definitely don't have the body for a little string one (darn loose skin) I seriously think I was rocking my high waist one. I even walked around a couple of shops and just my bikini top and a pair of shorts and I felt pretty great. I don't think I ever thought I would be doing that my life!

Haven't visited my new gym much since I can go early to my main gym to lift during the week. I won't be able to continue when school starts, but the new gym opens up at 5:30 so I can go there and then head to work.

The past few days have been bad for bulking, but I've at least hit maintenance :p I think I've gained up a solid five pounds (keep clocking in at 112ish) but the clothes still fit like they did when I was 107ish. That must be a good sign!

sumire thanks for the link! I'm definitely going to be doing some of those since I'm on summer break right now :D

JossFit good luck with your wedding! I bet everything will go awesome and you will look beautiful!! :)

Krampus - As promised, here are some of the specifics of the Kettlebell WODs I like to do once a week (I would use them more often, but my favorite gym doesn't have them and it requires me to go to a super busy, smelly gym filled with gawking men and ding-bat women);

I generally do 12-15 reps of each exercise with no rest (If I can help it) and then give myself about 60 seconds before starting the circuit over again. I complete it 4-5 times, and then generally finish up with a really intensive ab workout.

I will pick 5-6 exercises for the circuit, and switch them up each time I do the workout so that I'm not boring my body or my mind. Some of my staples are; Swings, cleans, rows, push presses, lunges, windmills, turkish get-ups, goblet squats, Plie squats, high pulls, upright rows, and curls.

Here is an example (I did this last Saturday);

Kettlebell Swings - 15 x 45 lb KB
Kettlebell Rows - (Bent at the waist, one side then the other) 12 x 45 lb KB
Kettlebell Cleans - 15 x 35 lb KB (each side)
Kettlebell Shoulder presses - 15 x 25 lb KB in each hand
Kettlebell Goblet Squat - 20 x 65 lb KB
Turkish Get Ups - 5 each side, 15 lb KB (LOL these suck!)

I did that circuit 4 times, and then did a giant circuit for abs (Swiss ball pikes, swiss ball pass, side dip planks, single arm planks, seated twists, and crunches)

Thats it! Its a fast, down and dirty WOD and it gets your heart really pumping. Normally after lifting weights I will do maybe 10 or 15 minutes of moderate cardio (elliptical, rowing, biking) just to cool down and burn a few extra calories, but most of the time I am smoked after a KB WOD and don't need it.

Here is a good link of some KB exercise descripions as well; http://www.mikemahler.com/online-lib...exercises.html