Exercise & Fitness IV

[Minaku]

:lol:

Pussy exercises? Do you mean kegels or do you mean lame bullshit exercises? Either way...

I was under the impression that the Stego approved of nuts? (but not granola).

Thanks for reminding me to do my kegels, which I will now call pussy exercises. All other exercises that do nothing for you have been demoted to wuss exercises. My first Pilates session was, I thought, lame and bullshit-y, and then I found someone who was willing to work me as hard as I wanted to work. Then I loved Pilates.

[Nichole]

I love to hear about peoples hikes. I love hiking and am trying to do as much as possible this summer. I did one Saturday morning, but got out a little to late. Had to cut the hike a little short because it got too hot. My poor dog doesn't like the heat. I think from now on this summer all hikes are going to have to be early morning.

I want to get into trail running but need some better shoes first.

[cjfshaw]

Hooray for trail running, its badass. Does anyone here ever kayak?

[Angalin]

Yoga Sucks! I'm SO DAMN SORE! AHHHHH!

:lol: Which kind? Also, have been remiss in saying I was sorry to hear about the banned lifts. However, it looks like you might have found a replacement source of exercise-related agony. ;)

[Stego]

What kind? Beginner easy wussy Yoga! It was a beginner class for some sort of Yoga.... it was about 8 billion degrees in the studio. They said that was part of it. I said 'holy shit, it's hot in here.'

I must admit, I'd feel like a douche going to a pilates class. I have no idea what a pilates class consists of, but I'm sure I'd feel like a douche. I certainly felt like a douche in the yoga class where I made a puddle on the mat that would take longer to swim across than the English Channel. I kept waiting for someone to ask me if I piddled.

I Drive a Cadillac CTS, and I imagine that's the only one you're going to get me in.

Kegels... I must admit, I'm not a fan. In my experience, women will do those for a while, then try to get your junk in a head lock and tear it off. Ladies, your vagina is perfect just the way it is. Don't fuck with perfection.

Capo- Those are your Latissimus Dorsi. They are supposed to be sore after pull-ups, as they are the main muscle group you are training. You might want to consider an anatomy book, mate.

[Lord of Oop North]

What kind? Beginner easy wussy Yoga! It was a beginner class for some sort of Yoga.... it was about 8 billion degrees in the studio. They said that was part of it. I said 'holy shit, it's hot in here.'

I went to a beginner class once (I have been meaning to go back), and I said the exact same thing. It was unreal.

I think I might have added 'Where's the A/C?' and got a reply of laughter from the class.

[Minaku]

Oh God, you guys went to hot yoga? That is what hell must be like. 105 degrees, you still have to exercise. Fuck that. I'd rather punish myself with kettlebells.

I feel like a bit of a douche walking into my Pilates studio with their organic cotton this-and-that and lavender-and-lemon sprays and aluminum bottles, but my trainer worked me into a sweat and made me cuss at her for an hour straight, so I'm good. I don't like mat classes because I don't feel like I'm pushed hard enough. At any rate, when you go for a one-on-one likely you'll be on the machine, and they'll casually mention to you that the medieval torture device in front of you is fantaaaaastic, it's called the Reformer, and you'll be spending most of your time on it doing things like 100s and teasers and shit. You'll be like okay, that's cool, it's a sliding bench held with springs to a wooden frame, and then you realize that you're only pulling like, half your weight doing those exercises. Damn, you tell yourself later, I need to fucking lose this weight!

Anyway, that frivolity aside, there was a blog on the NY Times lately that's been echoed in other news agency about how strengthening the core may not help the back as much as previously thought. After reading the article I'm thinking that of course we want to exercise all core muscles equally, since it's not just the frontal abs that support weight but the obliques, lats, and butt. I have definitely had the emphasis on hollowing out and scooping the abs in Pilates, which is kinda weird, I always have to be reminded to keep that active (roll-ups, hello). Seastarr, can you shed any light on this?

I need to do my Kegels not because I want to kill weak men with my vagina, but because I don't want to piss myself accidentally while coughing or sneezing while pregnant. Very important.

[cjfshaw]

Capo- Those are your Latissimus Dorsi. They are supposed to be sore after pull-ups, as they are the main muscle group you are training. You might want to consider an anatomy book, mate.

yeh it appears as though you're right. I didn't know they wrapped around to the side of your body I thought they were just on your back and something else was over on the sides above the obliques. Whatever, you live and learn. I never felt it here when I did them before though, only since I started doing dips/pushups have I felt it there. Usually its in my back.

[Stego]

yeh it appears as though you're right. I didn't know they wrapped around to the side of your body I thought they were just on your back and something else was over on the sides above the obliques. Whatever, you live and learn. I never felt it here when I did them before though, only since I started doing dips/pushups have I felt it there. Usually its in my back.

Push ups aren't doing anything to you with regards to this soreness. They are the recumbent bike of upper body exercises. You will likely only get sore from them if you do not do any chest/tri/ab work at all. Dips, however, could be hitting a part of your lats you have never worked before. Particularly if you are going straight up and down and not leaning forward to focus on your pectorals.

It's natural for you to be sore when using muscles in a new way.

[cjfshaw]

Push ups aren't doing anything to you with regards to this soreness. They are the recumbent bike of upper body exercises. You will likely only get sore from them if you do not do any chest/tri/ab work at all. Dips, however, could be hitting a part of your lats you have never worked before. Particularly if you are going straight up and down and not leaning forward to focus on your pectorals.

It's natural for you to be sore when using muscles in a new way.

You know, I try to lean forward in order to hit the chest, as I've heard dips are great for the chest . But I always feel like it is only hitting my shoulders and triceps. I imagine this is because I am not doing it right, not leaning forward enough or something but I don't mind because I need a good tricep/shoulder workout anyway, lol. I tried to tape myself to observe the way I moved and see if it looked like the various examples I've seen online, but my only way of recording was to use my phone's camera which is terrible. How far forward are you supposed to go? Whenever I try (I've only been doing them for about 3 workouts now) I feel like my head is forward and my legs are back but my body is closer to perpendicular to the ground.

[Stego]

Well, no matter what angle you do dips at, it's good for you. So relax there.

The heavier you are, the harder it is to lean forward. The weaker your wrists/forearms are, the harder it is to lean forward. Just try your best if that's what you want to hit. (I find crossing my legs up behind me helps me lean forward.) I'd also try some dumbbell bench press if you want to isolate your chest.

[seastarr]

Anyway, that frivolity aside, there was a blog on the NY Times lately that's been echoed in other news agency about how strengthening the core may not help the back as much as previously thought. After reading the article I'm thinking that of course we want to exercise all core muscles equally, since it's not just the frontal abs that support weight but the obliques, lats, and butt. I have definitely had the emphasis on hollowing out and scooping the abs in Pilates, which is kinda weird, I always have to be reminded to keep that active (roll-ups, hello). Seastarr, can you shed any light on this?

Ok. I'm not your most normal pilates teacher, I admit, so don't take what I say as the be all and end all of pilates instruction by any means. There's plenty of controversy about how to engage your belly and your "core" and different schools of thought on the matter. I tend to side-step the issue, because I am not strongly attached to there being only one way of doing ANYTHING. Generally, I try to find pain free ways of working. So if the back hurts during a roll-down, we experiment with different modifications to make the back feel good with a roll-down. There's lots and lots of tools to find the pain free way.

I dislike the notion of "core." It means very little to me. I prefer the more classical pilates notion of "center", which is a sensation that shifts from exercise to exercise and does not exclude engagement of the back, or any muscles really from your hips to your shoulders . Movement puts demands on muscles. Every exercise is a full body exercise. Focusing on the "core" to the exclusion of the limbs is silly. Focusing on the limbs to the exclusion of the trunk is equally silly. We are not robots. The entire body participates in any exercise. You have control over how the body participates. Basically, that is what Pilates is all about to me.

Mr. Pilates called his method Contrology: the science of controlling the body, mindful motion, changeable and adaptable. He developed sequences of exercise to develop this control, and equipment to facilitate uniform development of the muscles, which helped address the imbalances of strength and flexibility that are often part of of injury and pain.

The notion that Pilates is just to strengthen the "core" is something that personal trainers and people with little experience in the Method often say about it, but center is simply one aspect of what Pilates offers. It seems like what the Times blog was talking about was a tendency in people to say: "abs are good for the back, and scooping is good for the back, so I need to do lots of scooping and ab work to help my back." Alas, nothing in the body is ever so simple!

For a lot of people, back trouble comes from having a weak or unstable back. So that might be what they need to work on. For others, it might be hamstring or glute tightness that is the main problem. Others might have very strong right side obliques, and very weak left side obliques (people with scoliosis, say), and such an imbalance could be causing the forces of motion to put strain in the back. Every body is unique, and every injury requires its own analysis. Blanket statements about how to address back pain are not useful in practice, because therapy for pain is ALWAYS individual.

There's nothing wrong with scooping---that's just short hand for engaging the transverse abdominal muscle. Its useful for stabilizing the pelvis and spine, and doing inverted positions. You use it when you need it. Likewise there's nothing wrong with engaging the rectus abdominal muscle, which flexes your trunk, crunches, and provides a sort of armor for your soft belly area. There's nothing wrong with using your erector spinae muscles, your trapezius, your lats, anything! If you've got it, you should use it, and you should know how to use it. That's all Pilates is, linking sensation and engagement to your brain, so you can call upon your muscles deliberately instead of just going to the same old tired patterns of unconscious use. And it's fun.

PS Mat rocks. The trick is to do it fast and fluid, with every transition between exercises becoming an exercise itself. I would personally just learn the advanced sequence and do it on your own, because the group class setting can be slow if there are people who need a slow pace in the class, you know? Something for you to look forward to after the baby comes! Pop the little one in a basket on the floor beside you, and you can jam.

ETA: very interesting grammar

[cjfshaw]

The heavier you are, the harder it is to lean forward. The weaker your wrists/forearms are, the harder it is to lean forward. Just try your best if that's what you want to hit. (I find crossing my legs up behind me helps me lean forward.) I'd also try some dumbbell bench press if you want to isolate your chest.

Ha, well I imagine that being too heavy is not the problem, although I have been gaining weight, slow but surely about a pound every two weeks.

My wrists/forearms are actually a known weakness, which I am trying to correct. The wrist thing I really don't know what to do except to try to get them used to the added pressure but applying said pressure more often. When I first started capoeira my wrists killed me, especially after bridge and handstand days. But over time the pain lessened. In order to work the forearms I've been doing pullups with a narrow overhand grip and hanging from my pullup bar with my fingers.

I actually found that same thing about crossing the legs on probably my third set. It really helps to balance.

As for the dumbbell press, the dumbbell is the smaller one used for stuff like concentration curls and skull crushers right? And the barbell is the bigger one used for stuff like bench press, deadlift, and squats? I always get them confused :stunned: .

[OctopusArms]

Ha, well I imagine that being too heavy is not the problem, although I have been gaining weight, slow but surely about a pound every two weeks.

My wrists/forearms are actually a known weakness, which I am trying to correct. The wrist thing I really don't know what to do except to try to get them used to the added pressure but applying said pressure more often. When I first started capoeira my wrists killed me, especially after bridge and handstand days. But over time the pain lessened. In order to work the forearms I've been doing pullups with a narrow overhand grip and hanging from my pullup bar with my fingers.

I actually found that same thing about crossing the legs on probably my third set. It really helps to balance.

As for the dumbbell press, the dumbbell is the smaller one used for stuff like concentration curls and skull crushers right? And the barbell is the bigger one used for stuff like bench press, deadlift, and squats? I always get them confused :stunned: .

A dumbbell is one handed. A barbell is not. So, yes, you're partly right, though I tend to do skull crushers with a barbell (though not an olympic barbell, which is what you'd traditionally see for squats and stuff).