Hey Everyone

I'm here. Mostly lurking. I've been really busy this week. I interviewed with the owner of the gym on Friday and sat in during their team meeting. He has offered me the opportunity to join the coaching team however there is a period of time before I actually get to touch a client. There are some videos, shadowing other trainers, orientations and an NASM certification I need to get out of the way. I've already got my ACSM but the owner perfers to have all his people with the same certs and I have six months to complete it after I train my first client. No pressure really but I'm going to begin soon since so much of the ACSM is already fresh in my memory. So yep, been a little busy but it's been the good kind.

Cheryl, I couldn't imagine doing those movements on skates. I've watched the hang power clean video you posted about a year ago. I remember wanting to try it but knowing that without a coach I would be doing it incorrectly. and everyone else in the gym wondering what the I was trying to do over there makin' all that noise. You must be having a BLAST doing this Cheryl. ~sigh~ My name is Lydia and I'm a CrossFit addict. I should look into the journal as you suggested.

Pat: EMT! What haven't you done in your town. I know what it is, you really live in that town all by yourself right?

Mel: I hope your back is beginning to feel better through your therapy. Are you feeling improvement?

Nelie: Good luck with your training. We've had some beautiful running weather the last few days as well as cycling. I just haven't been able to get out there on my bike yet. Soon. Soon.

Okay. Long week and I'm wiped out. I need to get dinner ready so I can call it a day.

Oh, wait. Cheryl, you asked about my workout last week. I recall a lot of movements that required scapula contraction before the movement was executed. Let me just comment on how freaking hard it is to do bb rows to your chest when you have to pull your shoulder blades down and tight together first. Yeah. Makes a big difference. I can lift so much more when my form slips and I allow my back to round a little.
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-perfor...per-technique/

And wow. I was sore the next morning. But, it's working. I do feel more of an inclination to draw my shoulders back and down even when I'm not lifting. Another one of those surprise side effects of gettin' stronger.

Pulling my scapula back is a lot of what my PT is about. I think my form is good on back exercises, but I tend to do a lot more super heavy chest exercises and have created an imbalance. I still have numb fingers and a tingling arm, but no more scapular or neck pain. So I guess it's an improvement

Lydia, I'm really surprised that they want you to do a NASM cert with an ASCM cert! You have what is considered the gold standard certification! If you test fairly soon, I'm sure it will be a breeze

I have to find some continuing ed credits for my certification which expires this November if I don't get cracking! I don't think they'll take my recently acquired credits in taxation and estate planning!

Oven timer is beeping.... gotta go!

Mel

Lydia, you've guessed my secret!! It is a small town, just under 6,000, and I actually live about 2 miles outside the city limits. The EMT stuff was all volunteer, though I did get paid some for the classes I taught. I really enjoyed it as I had originally gone to college as a nursing major though I switched majors before I changed. Didn't lose my interest in medical stuff though.

It snowed about 1/2" overnight, and there's some swirling around this afternoon, but not accumlating. Spring, I demand spring! I talked to my sister in Massachusetts this afternoon. I'm visiting her the week after next, and so far there's no spring there either, though the temps are warmer, but still only in the 40's, and cloudy. Sigh. Maybe it'll change in the next 10 days?

Glad you're feeling some better Mel. I assume that your tingling arm/fingers are not carpal tunnel?

Okay, back to finishing tax stuff so it's off my plate.....

Today was such a beautiful day!! I went for a run around our lake, after a nap on our deck Yesterday, we went for a walk around the lake and then I did a workout video last night (30 day shred).

Running certainly is getting easier as I'm able to go longer without a break. My left quad is bothering me a little so I have to figure that out. Maybe just overdid it a little. Hills are a bit tough on it

Mel: I'm so glad to know your back pain is subsiding.

I think that my chest is proportionally stronger than my back as well. It kind of surprised me that I had difficulty pulling it back as well during my lifts. I've been doing a lot of activation exercises to help with this problem. It's making a difference.

About the certs. I know! It's why I chose the ACSM. I did do some comparison between the two. With the ACSM I can do risk stratifications like nobody's business. However, what I'm missing is really looking at form and being able to determine weak areas of the body based upon the persons movement. From some of the things that I've read the NASM will address these issues for me. I really don't mind the extra studying, it can only reinforce what I already supposedly know. What I do mind is the cost of another cert.

Pat: Small town girl here too. Population 4,000. Can you imagine! In Ohio, a community smaller than the one you are running?! Gosh, I really didn't even live in the community itself. I was still twelve to fifteen miles out of town/village. Uhm, yeah, a village. The "outpost" from the village which was about four miles from my home had a bar, a church with an elementary school, a tiny brick IGA, and a feedmill. Man, talk about a time in my life when I REALLY could have used a laptop and high speed internet access.

Back to work. Have a great evening everyone!

I saw the WOD and think I'm going to go buy a medicine ball I've been wanting one but wasn't sure why. Not sure what I'm going to hit it against yet though... don't think my husband would appreciate me hitting the house or the walls.

I'm sore this morning from my run but managed to walk the pups for a mile. Oh and I don't think I mentioned it but my battery died on my HRM during my run. I really wanted to cry because it was a different path and I wanted to know the distance and I was doing intervals. Luckily, my husband was walking the dogs on the same path (opposite direction), so I boogied to meet up with him and stole his watch. Of course I just realized I was a dork because I forgot that I need to recharge it. Yesterday, I thought I had to buy a new battery for it, now I just have to find the recharge station, wherever I put it.

same for me. both at home and at work.

Ooh, Nelie, I am liking the wallball WOD. If you have a bag of sand, I've heard you can make about an 8 lb ball with an old basketball, cut a slit, use a funnel to fill it with sand, duct tape over the slit. I'm thinking I will make one of those, though having a real one (or two) would be super cool. I love them a LOT for doing squats, because it takes the guesswork out of whether I'm going deep enough, so I can concentrate on my form and just cranking out the reps. At home, I use my laundry basket, upside down, which is just a rubbermaid tub that's about the right height, but a real medicine ball would be the bomb. Definitely go for it if you can buy one...you can do the wall ball, cleans, squats, I don't know what else, but they're fun to play with! What about hitting the local schoolyard after hours and bounce it off their brick walls?

Lydia, thanks for the link on the BB row. I wondered about that, because you see a lot of big guys doing those with a rounded back, spread shoulder blades, and it seems like back angles were all over the place. Good to find out how to do them right. I didn't know that about the lift starting from the floor every time. Speaking of certs, I really want to do a Crossfit cert some day, at least the level 1, just cuz it's chock full of good info and actual hands-on practice. It's spendy, but if I could afford the cost, I'd do it just for my own education. There's a cool CF gymnastics cert now, too, that I'm putting on my wishlist for "maybe someday" when I might be in good enough shape to take full advantage of that one. Wish they weren't so freaking expensive, but at least if you're a trainer, you have a chance to earn that money back.

Mel, I hope the PT is able to fix those numbness issues!

I've been practicing the kipping pull-up progressions, and feel like I finally made some headway yesterday. I started with a box for support, practicing the swing for a few reps, then swing and jump (with straight arms) a few times, then swing/jump/pull the chin over the bar, then swing/jump/pull/push away at the top (trying to get propelled back into that straight arm swing). That went well, but going from there to no support (minus the box) is too big a leap for me, and I end up deadhanging and pinching my shoulder joints, especially when I'm tired.

So, I was thinking about the ring rows, and how it gets harder if you step forward with the feet, and wondered if I could use that on the pull-ups. I started fooling with stepping farther and farther forward, and that definitely makes it harder, so I've been doing those. Then, I brought the box and my feet back under the bar, and started trying them with one foot on the box, and trying to do the kip with my other leg, and that is working, though I need more practice to get the kipping action coordinated. Still, I feel like I'm getting closer, and maybe I can use the one legged trick to master the pull-ups with the band. My trainer doesn't want to give me a bigger band for assistance, and I just have not been able to get over the bar with the one she gave me, so maybe if I can add a little kip with my free leg, that will propel my weight up a little more. Anyway, hopefully am making progress there!

My sister called today, and she's hoping to squeeze in a workout at the Y after work, so I told her I'd like to go along, since I need to get some practice in today.

You just decribed the town my cousin lives in to a T. Anywhere close to Utica, Ohio?

I am finally back to lifitng tonight. The only exercise I've gotten in 5 days in mowing the yard. I can't wait. I've fixed DH a gyminee account so he can track his own food. Yeah right, who am I kidding, I'll be doing the tracking for the next few weeks. At least I can load my favorites into his profile, so that cuts down the set-up time. Does anyone else have a gyminee profile?

After catching up on the posts, I want to go skating now. Maybe DSS will let me take him this weekend. He's getting old enough that it's not cool to hang out with me anymore. But I bet if I offer him the choice between skating and yardwork, we'll go skating.

Cheryl,

I ran around this evening trying to find a medicine ball. Heaviest I could find was 12 lbs and it was $50!! I ended up buying a basketball for $4 and plan on buying sand sometime soon.

Oh and I was perusing Amazon and found a 15 lb medicine ball. Not cheap of course ($48.71) by GoFit. I really like other GoFit products I have like my kettlebells so I ordered it. Free shipping too!! Poor UPS guy.

Nelie, has he ever asked what you have in these boxes?

I also had no idea how much these things were.

Sand sounds like a good idea to me too. Gives me a whole new respect for that twenty pound med ball that hovered over my head during my bosu squat exercise today.

Lydia,

The dog food is the worst! 50 lb boxes and what not. UPS guy just goes with it I guess.

It's how they work out! I have this little wirey guy who delivers large boxes of books to the library - without a dolly! The UPS guy - who is bigger - hates it when we have boxes of tax forms. Sometimes he's too macho for the dolly - other days he takes the help.

I figure if I get laid off I can be a UPS guyette

nelie- I missed your medicine ball posts in time. I bought Mine a (of all places) Tuesday Morning and TJ Maxx for about 10 dollars each! Unfortunately, I also usually end up in the purse dpartment and spend a whole lot more

Cardio done, legs at lunch.

Mel: You find the best deals!