October 24, 2003
Soreness and Hindsight
Some words of wisdom for you.
Men have more testosterone than women. We all know this - it makes them physically stronger than the female sex. I failed to remember that last evening.
Tuesday and Thursday evenings were Noggles-working-same-body-parts nights at the gym. On Tuesday, we worked our chests, and here I'm smart - I KNOW I'm not as strong as he is. Really, I do. We worked free weights - barbell that night. Put on the Heather weights, took them off, put on the Brian weights, blah blah blah. From incline to flat to decline presses and then pec flyes with a machine. This went well, but the disparity was apparent. I worked up to 60 or 65 pounds on the flat press, don't remember (bar plus 7 1/2 on each side or bar plus 10s). Brian's considerably stronger than that with his chest.
So, fine. Where I get into trouble is legs. My legs can really take some punishment, and, well, I tried to keep up with him. And, for the most part, I did. Mostly, er, ow.
We did a leg press machine, plate loaded. Started at 220 pounds - 15 reps I think. Then just kept adding 20 and slightly dropping reps. Up to 240. Up to 260. Knees back to almost touching chest. Then Brian jumped to 280, and, on my 4th set, I stayed at 270 and squeezed out 5 reps before I declared the legs to be jello. Then we went and did another press, an angled one (more emphasis on quads and thighs). Less weight here, but three solid sets at something like 180, 200, and 220. That's guessing, but I'm sure it's close and may be low.
Then hamstrings, calf muscles, and quads. We both wobbled out of there.
A day later, I can tell I'm going to be sore like I haven't been in weeks tomorrow. Was it worth it? Hell yeah. (Plus, now you know I can lift more than the average dude with my legs but definitely not my chest). Actually, about two weeks ago, I had a guy comment exactly that to me - that I was lifting more weight than him. I never know if that's true incredulity or general flirting, but I smile and am nice but curt (if that's possible) and serious still the same. All business at the gym unless I'm actually working with Brian, and then I loosen up a bit.
And, ladies, if you're fearing you'll bulk up if you lift heavy weights - don't. Remember this pic?
Tomorrow's agenda is my back, and probably no bike ride.
hln
Posted by hln at October 24, 2003 09:52 PM | Anecdote | TrackBack
Hehehe. Thanks for sharing about your workout! Always good to read motivating stuff. Lifting can be painful, but the burn's so good...{g}
If you keep up with the leg press I bet you can double your current max. I've gone up to 515 pounds on the leg press; I know that guys can do like, a thousand. Chestwise, I max out at 70/75. Sigh.
You probably already know this, but if you're ever looking for more challenge with the same weights, free weights plus spotter will challenge your whole range of motion.
:)
Posted by: S at October 25, 2003 10:47 AMI'm a big dumbbell fan, so most of my work is done with those. But, I really hate having weight across my back and squatting - that seems so unnatural even still, but sometimes I do it anyway.
515 - wow. Nice. I bet if that weren't my 4th set, I could up it some, and it wasn't until the last two reps that it was a serious challenge.
hln
hln
Posted by: hln at October 25, 2003 12:48 PMDumbbells rock. :)
I can only go so heavy with dumbbell squats, though, so yeah, the hated barbell it is.
I picked this up at the gym watching another gal do it--but I roll my towel over the shoulder pad on the Smith bar. Really helps me go less shoulder, more squat.
515 was a dependably heavy limit. It was nice knowing I could leg press 1.5 linebackers, but I accidentally tried 530 thinking it was 500 and darn near crushed myself before I hooked the stops. {g} I'd have to work up to it now that I've been out of the gym for several months.
Can I ask Why you're doing four sets and going heavier each time, though? Just curious.
Posted by: S at October 26, 2003 12:52 AM
