Sacha, a pvc is handy to have around for warm-ups, and for practicing movements...sometimes when I am learning a new lift, like when I was trying to learn the squat clean after doing power cleans for so long, the pvc helped bridge the gap...I'd do a few with the pvc, get it right, then go back to the bar. I use it every day, too, for shoulder ROM (pass-throughs, mostly) and some OH squats, to loosen everything up after a warm-up of running or rowing. When you can, hit the local home improvement or hardware, and have them cut you a 5' piece of 3/4" diam. pvc pipe...you'll love it! In the meantime, you can steal the handle off a broomstick, if you have one that unscrews from the broom head. You can still move on to the oly bar if you feel ready for that, but you'll like the lightweight stick for a lot of things, I think. CFMom looks great! I like that they have several options for levels/reps/rounds. Have fun with it! I hope you'll be feeling better soon.

Rabbit, thanks for that. I just thought, if it could be helped with dietary changes, or if his diet could be aggravating the problem, that might be an avenue to explore. I might mention it to my sister, so she could check into it further, since she'd know more about it than I do.

Well, I didn't get to sleep too early last night, so didn't wake till 6 this morning, but it still gave me a little time to drink my tea and eat breakfast, so that's good enough for me. The scale is coming right back down to normal, now that I'm eating POP, which is a relief. I knew it would, but it still helps to see the proof, KWIM? I'm feeling better, too, without the carb roller coaster effect. Going for another POP eating day today. I'd better get this show on the road, and get to the gym. I might practice the squat snatch today, in my warm-up. I hope we'll be doing back squats soon. I don't love them, but it's been a while since we did them, and I really could use more practice and coaching on that one. Have a great day, peeps!

Thanks for the info jamsk8r, turns out I spoke to soon anyways. I did the workout (warmup of 2 rounds of 250m row, 10 squats @ Oly bar, 5 good mornings @ Oly bar, 5 presses @ Oly bar) but when it came to doing the snatch for the first time, there was NO WAY I could do it with an Oly bar, LOL. Me being cocky. Luckily, DH had a broomstick prepared for me already (I saw it peeking behind the door, he's a smarty pants that way).

Snatches sure are a lot harder than they look!

Dang - I lost my post because I hit the back button... Poop.

Sacha - I use a pvc pipe for new moves and warmups/ROM movements as well, also on suggestion from Cheryl. I actually have two - one is empty, and the other one is set to be filled with sand if I ever get off my hiney and do it. No coffee? I knew that there was an overriding reason I haven't had kids, there it is!

Cheryl - sorry the CF didn't work out for the boy. It is good, though, that he asked about trying again when more kids sign up!

Rabbit - 9pm is late for Zumba. I'm not sure how coordinated I would be that late.

I did another Women's Health workout yesterday - I am such a slave to the 'new' thing. This one is day one of the Belly Off Club plan. I liked it - about 50 minutes, my HRM said is burned 450 calories. I don't know if I'll like the other days as much, so might make my own or try one of the ones from last week for other days. I also danced around my garage for about 15 minutes, which was fun. I've never really been able to dance, but I move a lot easier now so it seemed to flow easier. Today is a cardio day, either treadmill or elliptical when I get home. DH is home sick, so I might go home a little early and check on him.

Good day everyone!

Last night's workout went really well. I did all 5 sets - though I substituted lat pull-downs for the BB corner press - in the evening the gym is too crowded for me to tie up a doorway with an Oly bar.... Turns out I had the wrong page out and I did Day 2 instead of Day 1. Oh, well, I'll do Day 1 tomorrow and be back on track.... Tonight is cardio - not my favorite. At least I have some new music on my iPod.

Pat - oops! Tonight is cardio for me, too. Not really looking for too it either. I did find that my iPhone has a 'genius playlist' feature and have discovered that I am really motivated by songs like Bootyliscious, Lady Marmalade & Proud Mary.

Stupid question for those that use barbells - do you count the weight of the bar into the total weight? I have been doing some exercises with the empty 7' olympic bar that came with my new exercise set and I think it weighs 45lb by itself.

Sacha, that warm-up is like a workout all by itself. I'd have been too wiped to do the heaving snatch balance with a bar, myself. The snatch is tricky to learn, like the squat clean, but I am loving them both, the more I do them. I did not get to practice the squat snatch this morning, so I'll shoot for it in tomorrow's warm-up, maybe. I never know what the workout will be until I get there, so I can make my plans, then I may have to adjust them according to what the workout is, or how much time I have.

Shannon, I've never been a dancer myself, except on skates. Can't dance on shoes to save my life, lol. I'll have a look at your workout after I finish this post...I'm glad you're back in the exercise routine, though...sounds like you're having fun and experimenting with new things.

Pat, what is a BB corner press?

Hey Mel, or anybody, really, what do you think about so-called "strength programs", like I've seen some that are supposed to help you up your 1RM. I guess Starting Strength is one, with the 5x5, for example? I was talking to the power lifter guy at our gym, and he said back when he was competing, they would do things like rack pulls, to get the body used to finishing the heavier weights, and he said that translated to pulling heavier from the floor, over time. I'm just thinking of my deadlifts, mainly, and wondering if there's more I could be doing to build strength in that lift. I figured Mel might know, since she did the bench competition before.

The CF Report follows:
------------------

What did I say this morning? Today was:
Back Squat
5-5-5 (with same weight for all three sets)

Last time we did this was July 2nd, and I used 105 for all three sets, which was a PR. Curiously, every time we've done back squats, since I started, anyway, we've always done this same rep scheme, three sets of 5. No sets of 3, or 3RM or 1RM. I'll have to ask my trainer why that is.

For my CF warm-up, I did a 500 meter row, pull-ups, and a set of hip extensions and sit-ups on the GHD. Oh, and the 50 abmat sit-ups for the challenge I'm doing...this is starting to get tough to get through without breaking up the set, since my abs are getting no rest days...whose stupid idea was this?

For the WOD, I did this:
warm-up sets of 5 @ 45-65-85-105
feeling a little nervous at this point, but decided to go up 10 for a good PR
115-115-115
these were work, for sure. I was sharing the bar with another gal who was using 125 for her working sets. When she was done, I decided to try her 125# to see if I could get a rep with that. I figured this would give me a boost of confidence for next time, just knowing I could squat 125 at least once. It actually felt pretty good, so I did 3! She decided to do the same, and went for 135#, which is 5# more than her bodyweight, so now she is feeling confident that in a month or so, she could do three sets of 5 with her bodyweight. It was a great lifting session!

Cheryl - here's a link BB Corner Press

The only corner I can find at my gym that has enough room around it to accommodate the Olympic bar is adjacent to a doorway and I pretty much take up most of the space. I can do this in the mornings when there are only 4-5 people in the gym, but in the evenings there are a lot of folks who want to go through this doorway!

Where is Alena these days? Did I miss her saying she was going away? Or did she get rolled up with her old carpet?

Shannon, missed your post while writing my novel. Yes, you count the weight of the bar, and it should weigh 45#, but you can find out with the bathroom scale: weigh yourself, grab the bar, weigh again, subtract and the diff is the weight of the bar, or should get you close enough. Some of the econo barbells might weigh only 40#, so you might just want to check yours on a scale, so you know for sure.

I have the Starting Strength book, DVD, and the baby room is still a Squat room, haha. It is an incredible program if you follow it properly. I increased deadlifts from 115lbs to 190lbs. Highly recommended.

I just got this from a trainer at my gym... I'm definitely going to be starting it soon!

Starting Strength is an excellent book and the DVD is probably the single best DVD for learning the core lifts that I have ever seen. I think this is the first program for people when they determine they want to get stronger.

After a good strength base is built, I really like Maximum Strength by Eric Cressey.

I have been doing Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 program for about 4 months and I have seen steady increases in my lifts.

Once you get into the advanced category, I'd recommend picking up the Westside Book of Methods by Louie Simmons.

Hi people,

You guys are an inspiration! So many thing to find out for my whome workouts.
Still busy reading the Venuto book, and I'm in the workout section now. I need some more research since i do not know all the moves he describes. But an interesting insight in the relation between weight-reps-effect of the workout wrt building endurance or buildding strenght.

WO today and yesterday: biking to work. I did not make it to zuma class yesterday. 9 pm is too late for me to get out of my house and go to the gym. besides, I usually go to bed at 9.45. I'll have to do some of the zuma wo that I have at home.

Tomorrow I'm off work and it'll be a lifting day again!

Have a reat day all,
rabbit

I'm baaaack!

Two sleepless nights left me in a complete zombie-like state by yesterday afternoon. I managed to make it through work (didn't press the send button on anything, tho) but was afraid to go to crossfit for fear of killing myself or someone else. I slept like a brick last night and was able to do a ripping cardio session this morning. After work, I'm going to try to manage a haircut and crossfit...should be almost doable!

When I was training for strength, I did 5-4-3-2-1 with long rests between sets. 2-3 minutes or as long as I could stand.

Cheryl- rack pulls will help a lot with increasing your standard deadlift, but won't do much for the sumo high dl, if that's the one you were looking for. I'm not a fan of heavy shdl's because of the upright row motion and the potential for rotator cuff injury, but crossfit sure likes it!

Got to scoot-

Mel

I have the starting strength book but didn't know there was a DVD!

I had karate last night which is oh so fun. We are thinking about going 2x week but have to figure out how to fit it in. If they offered weekend classes, it'd be easy but since they don't, it is a bit of a stretch. I am a little sore from last nights workout too.

Oh and I have a strange pain in my shin. It has been going on for a couple days. I have to look it up. It hurts whenever I move my foot although sometimes I guess I don't notice it so it doesn't hurt a lot. It is just a strange dull pain.

Mel, I'm just thinking standard DL. We don't do the SDLHP very often...just for FGB and the occasional metcon, but it's always light, like 55# for women. I've noticed some gyms go heavy with that one or thrusters, but I don't think my trainer sees that as a really bright idea, and I tend to agree with him and you. The only things we go heavy with are the OH presses, jerk, back squat, snatch, clean, deadlift, front squat occasionally (but mostly cover that with cleans)...I think that's it.

Thanks all, for the info. I'll ask my trainer what he recommends, too, and go from there. Gotta run right now, but I'll check in later. I'm running a little late today, so trying to decide whether to go in this morning, or just wait for the afternoon class.