*waves*

[mongrelheart]

Hello all! Delurking :)

This is my fitness journey so far:

Joined Bally's. While I'm not a big fan of that place, it did change my life, as I got a free session with a personal trainer who introduced me to the weight machines & helped me see there was a world beyond the treadmill.

Kept up with the personal trainer for a while. Then I discovered The New Rules of Lifting and Stumptuous.com, and found out there was a world beyond the machines.

Worked out on my own for a while using NROL.

Heard about Crossfit and joined a "Box". Did Crossfit for about 2 years, enjoyed it although I wasn't always the most consistent worker-outer until this year, when I decided to get more serious, cleaned up my diet, quit skimping on sleep, & stopped effin' around (as much).

Anyway that's me in a nutshell. Nice to meet you all :)

Comments

[laurashapiro]

Welcome!

[mongrelheart]

Thanks! :)

[yarngeek]

Heya!

[mongrelheart]

Hi there! :)

[daedala]

*stares at icon*

Sorry, you said something? :)

[rydra_wong]

Hi and welcome! I'm not a Crossfitter, but they're usually the only ones in the free weights room doing the same lifts as me. *g*

[mongrelheart]

Heehee! It *is* rather hypnotic isn't it ;)

[mongrelheart]

*waves* w00t for the free weights room! Also, I dig your icon :)

[rydra_wong]

Free to nab, if you want it; it's part of a set I made here that has some other weights-related icons in it too.

[mongrelheart]

Ooh, those are awesome! *snags a few*

[chaostheory635]

i'm on a similar trajectory! (started at the Y; occasional personal training; Stumptuous & NROL4W...now crossfit!)

i'm learning Oly lifts now...the dude who owns my local box has a HUGE strength bias and is a kick-ass lifting coach :)

[rydra_wong]

Ooh. At the moment, I'm eyeing the Olympic lifts from an admiring but cautious distance; I've got as far as trying hang cleans with the bar, but that's about it.

Though I realized on my last gym session that I have to learn to jerk press, because my overhead squats (love them) have run up against the limit of the (extremely low) amount I can military press overhead: I might be able to squat with a bit more weight, but I can't find out unless I can get it up there somehow. *g*

[weirdquark]

Is there a way you could start with your arms straight overhead by squatting under the bar to pick it up or something? I've discovered that I can do a TGU holding more weight over my head than I can press. Not many times, and my form gets kind of shaky, but if my arm bends slightly from straight, I can push it up again when I can't push it up from my shoulder.

I lift at home, so I'm going to need to improvise a squat rack soon -- I'm thinking the backs of two chairs -- so I can squat under it to pick up the bar, because I've pretty much reached the limit of what I can hoist to my shoulders. Especially if I have to put it over my head for a regular squat rather than a front squat.

[rydra_wong]

Dunno. I'm thinking it might not be a good idea: if I racked the bar low enough to squat under it and lift it from there, I'd then be waaay forward in the rack and not in a good position to ditch the bar safely if I needed to (without it bouncing back of the vertical rails into my face). I have had to ditch the bar from a OH squat on a couple of occasions, and it's unnerving.

And I need/want to learn to jerk press anyway. So, I suspect that's the safest way to go.

FWIW, I've heard of people using saw horses as cheap substitute safety rails at home.

[weirdquark]

Hello!

I started NRoLfW a few months ago and am about to start stage 4. It's awesome. I did a circuit of weight machines at the gym back when I was in high school, but didn't get into it -- the circuit was long and kind of boring and not designed to get me stronger so much as being a 'balanced workout' with cardio/swimming. (I miss the rowing machine though. You raced a computer and every few minutes a helicopter would drop another stick figure into the computer's boat to make it harder for you to stay ahead of it.)

No one ever told me to use free weights back then. Not that I remember the weight room having much.

[mongrelheart]

Awesome!!! Where is your Box? I'm at Windy City Crossfit in Chicago.

[mongrelheart]

Hi there! Way to go on the NRoLfW!

Yep, I remember those type of weight machine circuits. A lot of sitting and isolation exercises, at least in the one I used to do. Rowing machines are awesome though :)

*waves*

[mschaos]

I need to get myself a copy of that book. I like lifting weights, I like it rather a lot.

also, welcome!

[mongrelheart]

Saw horses sound like they'd work well.

I came across this DIY squat rack; a little more involved but still way less $$ than the fancy "real" kind.

Re: *waves*

[mongrelheart]

Thanks! And yep, it's a great book :):)

Re: *waves*

[mschaos]

and ordered! should have it the next couple days and I hope to get started next week

Re: *waves*

[mongrelheart]

Yay!!!

[daedala]

Yes. :)

I'm currently not-doing NROL4W (as opposed to not-doing anything else, ahem), and when I start up again and finish that, my plan is either NROL4A, crossfit, or a nearer-my-house kettlebell group which I suspect is probably very crossfit-like.

If you'd be interested in posting about crossfit, I bet a lot of people (not just me) would be interested. Crossfit is interesting-yet-scary.

[mongrelheart]

Cool! I didn't know there was a NROL4A, had to look that up. Best of luck with your future plans, whichever one you decide to do!

I'd be happy to post about my experience with Crossfit. It's not that scary! I'm really stoked because I recently got my sister-in-law to join her local Box in Missouri :)

[daedala]

I by no means intend to say you ought to do this, but I, at least, would find more information on the mechanics of attending useful. Like how early to show up, what to wear, what to bring, what to do with crossfit gyms that don't have showers, how you're likely to feel going home (for example, if I bike there, would I be able to bike back?), how it works socially -- I'm sure it varies by gym, but do they tend to be chatty? judgy? nice to newbies? macho? etc. -- how things get modified for people who aren't as strong or have crappy mobility, do you go every day or is a few times a week ok, how I can turn my cats into medicine balls as you have apparently done.... :)

Er, that's all I want to know about crossfit. :) I've never even belonged to a real gym, so it's the details that scare me more than the exercises, which look simple (though not easy).

[mongrelheart]

Those are all great questions :) I'm going to put together a post, & will definitely incorporate all those things in there.

how I can turn my cats into medicine balls as you have apparently done.... :)
Heehee, they gotta earn their room & board somehow...