Re: Reaching the high point

[Guest guest]

The most intense muscle soreness comes from doing something totally

new and challenging. Increasing the weights doesn't result in too much

additional soreness, but if you totally change the exercises, the

order, and/or the type of resistance, you'll be shuffling and wincing

again in no time.

For example, somebody who has been doing a lot of seated machine leg

exercises will really feel it if they stand up and switch to walking

lunges or single leg squats using free weights. Somebody who's been

doing regular bicep curls would definitely feel it if they switched to

preacher curls or hammer curls. Anything that changes the angle, grip,

foot position, range of motion, etc. will make things challenging

again.

Check out the exercise and muscle directory for new ideas:

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html Just click on a muscle group

to the right and it will take you to demonstrations of dozens of

exercises that work that particular body part.

4 weeks is the longest you should keep the same routine. If you feel

like you're in a rut, change things sooner. I never do exactly the

same workout twice.

> During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in agony.

> When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs without

> feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now four

> and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind of

> feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my workouts as

> well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am pushing

> myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an extra

> exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle soreness the

> following day a possible indicator that you used them hard enough?

>

> dea xx

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Great stuff! They protein rocks are by far my favourite snack.

Jade Ward

SPOILT by J

0421 848 110

Reaching the high point

>

> During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in agony.

> When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs

without

> feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now

four

> and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind of

> feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my workouts

as

> well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am

pushing

> myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an

extra

> exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle soreness

the

> following day a possible indicator that you used them hard enough?

>

> dea xx

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm really scared just looking at many of those exercises, .

Are there exercises which are better to pair up together? Like, if

you are doing a dumbbell exercise should you stay with a second

dumbbell exercise? It's hard to know what to combine sometimes.

Thank you for the information and link to the directory, it will be

an enormous help as I do feel in a bit of a rut. It's easy for me to

lose momentum, so it will be really good to start something new. I

feel very intimidated/nervous/scared of cable exercises for some

reason. I'll probably continue to avoid those for awhile. Looks like

I can't avoid lunges any longer. :/ No doubt I'll be posting in a

few days requesting information on how to alleviate muscle

soreness

All the best

dea xx

> > During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in

agony.

> > When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs

without

> > feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now

four

> > and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind of

> > feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my

workouts as

> > well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am

pushing

> > myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an

extra

> > exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> > enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> > reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle

soreness the

> > following day a possible indicator that you used them hard

enough?

> >

> > dea xx

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

>

Don't underestimate the power of body-weight exercises.

When's the last time you did a push-up? Start out girly-style (on your

knees) then switch to full body when it gets too easy. Vary the position

of your hands--narrow or wide shoulders, and hands pointing in or out.

Does your gym have a Gravitron (pull-up assist) machine? If so, use it!

The two variations of palms-in and palms out will do amazing things to

your arms and back. Work your way up to doing totally unassisted

pull-ups; it's a big ego trip!

Don't forget squats and lunges with progressively heavier dumbbells in

your hands. A google search will give you tons of variations for both of

these.

Naomi

******

> During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in agony.

> When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs without

> feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now four

> and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind of

> feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my workouts as

> well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am pushing

> myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an extra

> exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle soreness the

> following day a possible indicator that you used them hard enough?

>

> dea xx

>

>

[Guest guest]

It doesn't really matter how you pair up the two exercises as long as

you're doing something new. There's no reason to stick to all

dumbbells on a particular body part, or all machines. It's better to

mix things up whenever possible. Like maybe you do machine leg curls

for your hamstrings and then stand up and do barbell deadlifts for the

high point, or vice-versa. Try to think of the variety as creative

instead of overwhelming. :-)

> I'm really scared just looking at many of those exercises, .

> Are there exercises which are better to pair up together? Like, if

> you are doing a dumbbell exercise should you stay with a second

> dumbbell exercise? It's hard to know what to combine sometimes.

> Thank you for the information and link to the directory, it will be

> an enormous help as I do feel in a bit of a rut. It's easy for me to

> lose momentum, so it will be really good to start something new. I

> feel very intimidated/nervous/scared of cable exercises for some

> reason. I'll probably continue to avoid those for awhile. Looks like

> I can't avoid lunges any longer. :/ No doubt I'll be posting in a

> few days requesting information on how to alleviate muscle

> soreness

> All the best

> dea xx

[Guest guest]

has a great point!!

Mixing up your routine is a wonderful thing, as you body can become accustomed

to a routine if you do it the same day in and day out. Surprise your body now

and then.

Regards,

Jess

Skwigg wrote:

It doesn't really matter how you pair up the two exercises as long as

you're doing something new. There's no reason to stick to all

dumbbells on a particular body part, or all machines. It's better to

mix things up whenever possible. Like maybe you do machine leg curls

for your hamstrings and then stand up and do barbell deadlifts for the

high point, or vice-versa. Try to think of the variety as creative

instead of overwhelming. :-)

> I'm really scared just looking at many of those exercises, .

> Are there exercises which are better to pair up together? Like, if

> you are doing a dumbbell exercise should you stay with a second

> dumbbell exercise? It's hard to know what to combine sometimes.

> Thank you for the information and link to the directory, it will be

> an enormous help as I do feel in a bit of a rut. It's easy for me to

> lose momentum, so it will be really good to start something new. I

> feel very intimidated/nervous/scared of cable exercises for some

> reason. I'll probably continue to avoid those for awhile. Looks like

> I can't avoid lunges any longer. :/ No doubt I'll be posting in a

> few days requesting information on how to alleviate muscle

> soreness

> All the best

> dea xx

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[Guest guest]

Ok, sounds good , thanks so much.

dea xx

> > I'm really scared just looking at many of those exercises,

.

> > Are there exercises which are better to pair up together? Like,

if

> > you are doing a dumbbell exercise should you stay with a second

> > dumbbell exercise? It's hard to know what to combine sometimes.

> > Thank you for the information and link to the directory, it will

be

> > an enormous help as I do feel in a bit of a rut. It's easy for

me to

> > lose momentum, so it will be really good to start something new.

I

> > feel very intimidated/nervous/scared of cable exercises for some

> > reason. I'll probably continue to avoid those for awhile. Looks

like

> > I can't avoid lunges any longer. :/ No doubt I'll be posting in a

> > few days requesting information on how to alleviate muscle

> > soreness

> > All the best

> > dea xx

>

[Guest guest]

Hey Dea,

I personally LOVE free weights vs. machines. They both have

pros & cons (what doesn't?) however, I really feel and see a

difference quicker with free weights. I always feel it! The

webiste gave you has pretty much all the exercises out there.

You may want to check out Kathy 's Lift Weights to lose weight

video. She has a bunch of different moves that are really good,

like her one-legged squats! I use the same moves and then just

adapt them to the BFL workout. They don't feel like they are doing

much, but then you really feel it the next day!

And ! You have the BEST websites! Thank you so much for your

personal website also, it's awesome!

Yvette

>

> During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in agony.

> When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs

without

> feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now

four

> and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind of

> feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my workouts

as

> well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am

pushing

> myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an

extra

> exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle soreness

the

> following day a possible indicator that you used them hard enough?

>

> dea xx

>

[Guest guest]

Naomi,

I got into great shape using body weight/cardio only for abs, legs, butt and

back. I used small weights for my arms. I did pushups this weekend and man I

am still sore today! You have a great point, bodyweight works!

Regards,

Jess

DRAGONMAMMA wrote:

>

Don't underestimate the power of body-weight exercises.

When's the last time you did a push-up? Start out girly-style (on your

knees) then switch to full body when it gets too easy. Vary the position

of your hands--narrow or wide shoulders, and hands pointing in or out.

Does your gym have a Gravitron (pull-up assist) machine? If so, use it!

The two variations of palms-in and palms out will do amazing things to

your arms and back. Work your way up to doing totally unassisted

pull-ups; it's a big ego trip!

Don't forget squats and lunges with progressively heavier dumbbells in

your hands. A google search will give you tons of variations for both of

these.

Naomi

******

> During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in agony.

> When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs without

> feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now four

> and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind of

> feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my workouts as

> well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am pushing

> myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an extra

> exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle soreness the

> following day a possible indicator that you used them hard enough?

>

> dea xx

>

>

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

Thanks so much Yvette. I did some lunges last night just to try and

improve my form since I am not overly comfortable with doing them.

My legs were quite sore today, but tolerable. I can't manage to do

squats properly yet, I don't know what I am doing wrong but I can

never get my back straight. A couple of years ago when I was going

to the gym, I did them with a fitness ball which I quite liked. I

might try and do them that way if I can't get the hang of doing them

with dumbells etc. Anyway, I like free weights as well, and as

always I really appreciate your suggestions. Thank you so much.

All the best

dea xx

> >

> > During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in

agony.

> > When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs

> without

> > feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now

> four

> > and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind

of

> > feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my

workouts

> as

> > well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am

> pushing

> > myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an

> extra

> > exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> > enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> > reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle

soreness

> the

> > following day a possible indicator that you used them hard

enough?

> >

> > dea xx

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you Naomi. I hadn't yet thought about body weight exercises.

At this stage I doubt I could even do 1 push up, but I will try to

integrate some of these exercises into my workouts. I'm not sure

what a gravitron machine is based on your description but there is

something at our gym that might be that. I'll check it out tomorrow.

As I was saying to Yvette, my legs are sore today after doing some

lunges yesterday. It does feel good in a masochistic sort of way

It would be nice if others shared their workout routines I think, I

wouldn't mind just compiling some as a resource.

Thanks again and good luck with your own fitness goals.

All the best

dea xx

>

> >

> Don't underestimate the power of body-weight exercises.

>

> When's the last time you did a push-up? Start out girly-style (on

your

> knees) then switch to full body when it gets too easy. Vary the

position

> of your hands--narrow or wide shoulders, and hands pointing in or

out.

>

> Does your gym have a Gravitron (pull-up assist) machine? If so,

use it!

> The two variations of palms-in and palms out will do amazing

things to

> your arms and back. Work your way up to doing totally unassisted

> pull-ups; it's a big ego trip!

>

> Don't forget squats and lunges with progressively heavier

dumbbells in

> your hands. A google search will give you tons of variations for

both of

> these.

>

> Naomi

> ******

>

> > During my first couple of weeks of BFL my whole body was in

agony.

> > When I came out of the gym I could barely walk down the stairs

without

> > feeling extremely wobbly and having to hang on to the rail. Now

four

> > and a half weeks later, I am struggling to replicate that kind of

> > feeling again. Now my muscles usually feel fine after my

workouts as

> > well as the following day, which makes me wonder whether I am

pushing

> > myself hard enough? Sometimes, I feel frustrated and will do an

extra

> > exercise for the same muscle group just to make sure that I did

> > enough. When weight training, how do you know for sure that you

> > reached your highpoint on the last two sets and is muscle

soreness the

> > following day a possible indicator that you used them hard

enough?

> >

> > dea xx

> >

> >

>