Stronger

We were pleased tonight. Almost a lot of weights went up. Reps went up for bench weight. :-)

Bench - 115 lbs., 5, with pause. 135 lbs., 5, without pause. 160 lbs., 5, without pause. 135 lbs., 7, with pause.
Close Grip w/ Board - 135 lbs., 3 sets, between 6 & 8. Tried 145 lbs., didn't go so well.
Smith Military Press - 50 lbs. + smith, 10. 80 lbs. + smith, 10. 90 lbs. + smith, 6.
Shrugs - 125 lbs., 10. 135 lbs., 2 sets of 8.
Shoulder Horn - 10 lbs., 27 & 20.
Band Abs.

More Confident

Didn't get so 'mental' on my tricep extensions tonight. And I also did my front raises without saying much of anything...two exercises I had a BIG problem with last week. Was a great night. I'm lovin' it :-D

Bench (Speed Drill) - 95 lbs., 1 set of chains, 3 sets of 3. 95 lbs., 2 sets of chains, 6 sets of 3. 125 lbs., 2 sets of chains, 2 sets of single reps.
Dumbbell Floor Press - 45 lbs., 4 sets of 12.
Dumbbell Floor Tricep Extension - 20 lbs., 10. 25 lbs., 10. 30 lbs., 7. 20 lbs., 10. (i think that's right)
Tricep Pushdown - 80 lbs., 10. 100 lbs., 10. 100 lbs., 6, & Brian helped w/ 2 more.
Single-Arm Front Raises - 15 lbs., 3 sets of 10.
Y, T, W - 2 sets w/ 5 lb. Dumbbells....we didn't count reps, I went as long as I could.
Medball bounces.

I don't think I missed anything. Prayers for Adam, his triathlon is this Sunday. More prayers for Brian's business endeavor, his phone call came, but the bank needed more info.

Trial and Error

Story of my life...figuring out what works best, what is most convenient, what is most practical...and then when it doesn't work the second (or third) time around, figuring out why. I am encouraged with myself because I'm not worrying about it hardly at all, which means that I'm trusting that Brian's gonna save me when I take my first nose dive. ;-) But, I think it's frustrating for Brian because, physically, he's trying to do certain things to improve my lifting, or to prevent things from happening while I lift, and sometimes it isn't working out. And I think the most frustrating part of it is that now it's getting to a point where there isn't anything more he can do, I have to figure out how and why I'm positioned wrong. He's done fantastic at finding the most stable ways to do things, but it's still up to me to know how to position myself.

There was one exercise tonight that I really hated. Unfortunately, it's probably the best way for me to do it. I felt it more where I'm supposed to than I have to this point and my elbow didn't hurt at all...so, I'm sure he'll have me do it from here on out. It's okay. Just a trust thing. It really shouldn't be a big deal, considering I have both straps on plus Brian standing behind me bracing my shoulders. Oh well. I lived to see the next exercise and felt it where I was supposed to...those were Brian's two questions, then the conversation was over. :-) He's a fast learner.

Cambered Bar Rows - 95 lbs., 10 & 4 sets of 8.
Pull-Ups - 2 sets of 10 and 2 sets of 8. These didn't go as well tonight. Brian started 'observing'...so, he noticed that i really start to swing out farther than I should, which I think has always been a problem. I was surprised it was as much of a problem from the floor...so we experimented and I think we figured it out.
Lat Pulldown - 80 lbs., 4 sets of 10 & 90 lbs., 1 set of 8 (but, not really, Brian helped me the last two).
Lateral Raises - 15 lbs., 3 sets of 10... YAY ME!! :-D
Single-Arm Cable Scarecrows - 20 lbs., 4 sets of 10...these were a problem too, and I still don't know why. This bugged me more than the other experimenting b/c I know it was my positioning and I just couldn't find quite the right spot.
Barbell Bicep Curls - EZ + 20 lbs., 1 set of 10 w/ a wide grip, and two sets w/ a closer grip.
Hammer Curls - 25 lbs., 5. 20 lbs., 10...I felt weaker tonight on these than I think I should have...but it was almost at the end, and I am much more tired today than I was yesterday from my NY trip.
Med Ball Circles & Broomstick Twists.

Prayers for Adam and Brian. Brian should get his phone call tomorrow, so pray it comes. :) Adam was either leaving today or tomorrow...he races on Sunday.

Deload Night

Tonight was "deload" night...which means we went light to take a break from all the heavy abuse.

Bench - We did about 5 or 6 sets of 5 and worked our way up to 105 lbs.
Reverse Band Press - There was 155 lbs., on the bar and bands hanging from the top of the power rack and looped around both ends of the bar. So, it seemed a lot lighter than 155 lbs. We did two sets of 25. I REALLY liked this drill. Felt really good in my chest and it made it easier to practice my technique.
Tricep Pressdowns - 80 lbs., 10. 100 lbs., 8. Then a 'strip set' (just found out that's what it was called tonight. lol...that's when you go lower in weight and don't take breaks between sets) of 90 lbs., 70 lbs., 50 lbs., all sets of 10.
Band Abs and Broomstick twists.

Trip to New York accomplished what it was supposed to and I had fun with my Aunt Jeanette. Need some prayers for more sponsors or some kind of funding from somewhere to continue to pay for everything. I found out in New York that there will be another sanctioned IPC meet at the beginning of the year some time, so I will have another chance to qualify then.

Continue to pray for Adam's triathlon this week. It's on Sunday. I can't remember if he's leaving tomorrow or Thursday, but pray for his traveling. And continue to pray for Brian's business endeavor that he's to hear about this week.

Miracle Muscles!!!

So, there are these really long muscles that run all the way down both sides of your back...they're called the latissimus dorsi muscles, and they are a beautiful thing!!! lol.

Brian and I are doin' awesome. He's teaching me a lot about my muscles. And he's excellent at figuring out all this stability stuff, which is helping SO much in me building muscles that I never really used before and didn't realize were there...like the lats! Wednesday we did an exercise and he held me still in such a way that it hit my lats for the first time, I think ever, and I realized that THOSE were the muscles that he wants me to use to bench with! SO, I did my drills yesterday and today on the bench and tonight's bench went MUCH better. The weight was really light b/c it was drill night, but even on drill night, the bar usually shakes when he hands it to me, and it hardly moved tonight!!!! Because I was keeping my back tight and it was helping me to stay stable on the bench when he let the weight down on me. We're still working on a few other things...there are so many rules for my paralympic meets that are so different from the 'able-bodied' meets that Brian is used to. But, we're getting closer.

I realized tonight that I still get 'just another day in paradise.' Remember that blog, right before I traded from Adam to Brian? I thought it was gonna be so tough and it was gonna be drawn out and take forever to relax and enjoy working out again. But, this switch was definitely a blessing in disguise....well, I guess it's not all that disguised now, but I mean when I was getting ready to switch and dreading it. Brian's learning what buttons to press to get more reps out of me...and he learned real fast to keep me talking even if it's short answers. lol. He knows when I'm not liking something and he just keeps questioning and talking me through it. Tonight he had to promise me he wasn't gonna let me fall forward...and he didn't, so that was major. He knew he was pushing my limit, but he made me try, and I did it, and I lived to see the next exercise. So, next time, my limit will be further...because I'm learning that I'll be okay with him. It's awesome when you can recognize your own growth. Now, I just need to start remembering to tell HIM thank you, before I leave my sessions. I never left without telling Adam. But, I realized tonight that I think I've only said it a couple of times...and he's putting his heart into this with me...and I need to start acknowledging that. We've run over on almost every one of my sessions, and I need to acknowledge all the extra time he's putting in. (Mostly because I talk too much at the end. I'll tell Brian anything he wants to know, but I'm not so fond of the rest of the gym hearing, so I usually start my story telling when we're leaving).

Bench (Speed Drill) - 105 lbs., 8 sets of 3...then one set of 2 at 125 lbs.
Dumbbell Floor Press - 45 lbs., 10. 2 sets of 10, 50 lbs.
Floor Dumbbell Tricep Extension - 15 lbs., 10. 4 sets of 10, 20 lbs. (I got really mental on these. He handed me 25 lbs., and I got really scared about the weight and had him knock it down to 20 lbs., then got all kinds of reps...I kinda wished that Brian would have pushed me through a little more...but I also am not sure that I was ready for that either. Maybe next time.)
Tricep Pushdown - 80 lbs., 10. 100 lbs., 8. 90 lbs., 10, 8.
Front Raises - 12 lbs., 10. 15 lbs., 10. (this was when Brian had to promise I wasn't gonna fall. I didn't like them, but I did well.)
Rotator Cuff, Y, T, W - 5 lbs., 2 sets of 10.
Med Ball Bounces, overhead and at chest. (Got mad at these too...got off center a little bit and it made my chair tip...but, we'll just keep working at them).

Please pray for me Sunday/Monday. My aunt and I are driving to New York to get my classifed so that I have a chance to earn ranking points and qualify at the next competition.

Pray for Adam too...his first full triathlon is a week from Sunday, so it wouldn't hurt to start prayers now. That's 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running.

OH! And please pray for Brian...he's supposed to hear about a finalization on a business endeavor this coming week.

Cranky

Tonight was an awesome night with Brian. But I'm tired and I'm cranky, because it's been that kind of week, so I'm gonna make this a little shorter. But, I do a good job lifting when I'm cranky. lol. Better lifting than Monday, although, I didn't bench.

I'm trying to get to the bottom of my mental game. I think that A) I focus on the final goal so much that it is frustrating when it takes so long to get there. And B) Brian was talking to me tonight when we were getting ready to leave about other powerlifting environments and stuff that the 'big boys' do to get themselves focused, and I think that it's much easier to get that focused when you're in that kind of environment. I know Adam is right and you have to keep yourself focused no matter where you are, especially for competition. But I am betting that when you start out in that kind of environment, it trains your brain to be focused like that, which leads to being able to stay focused no matter where your at. I'm thinkin' a few strictly mental sessions with Brian, with all his ideas he has and the stuff he knows from others would be a good thing...but that will come.

Brian's really figuring out a lot of stuff with my stability. He REALLY understands, and tries hard to understand. Tonight I did pull-ups from the floor :-) We tried that last Friday when he stayed over with me and it works really well. We made a few adjustments for my Wednesday night workouts and everything went awesome tonight. And Brian's watching my movements and figuring out when I'm unstable and figuring out why and how to fix it. And we discussed some lower back stuff tonight that he wants to start working on here and there. It's really cool. I'm very excited.

Cambered Bar Rows - 95 lbs., 10. 105 lbs., 10. 115 lbs., 8. 95 lbs., 7Pull-Ups (from the floor) - 8, 12, 10, 10.Lateral Raises - 12 lb. dumbbells, 10. 15 lb. dumbbells, 2 sets of 10.Single-Arm Cable Scarecrows - 30 lbs., 10. 20 lbs., 2 sets of 10.Lateral Pulldown - 80 lbs., 3 sets of 10.Barbell Bicep Curls - EZ + 10 lbs., 3 sets of 10.Dumbbell Hammer Curls - 2 sets of 10.Med Ball Circles and Broomstick Twists.

Square One.

See, now, to me, tonight was worse of a night than last Wednesday, when Brian thought things weren't going right. Last Wednesday the exercises didn't feel right, and we had to do some switching around, but I handled the weight. Tonight, I don't even have my numbers from the bench to post, because Brian just wanted me to 'forget about it' and we'll start again the next time. That's bad...

It's especially frustrating when it's my bench. Sometimes I wonder why I decided to compete, because at times it takes the fun out of it, and I can't just go in and lift and not have anything to think about. There's all these specifics about technique and form that need fixed.

It'll come back...I know....that's what you all want to say to me. It just feels like I'm having the same conversations repeatedly and I can't figure out how to stop doing what I'm doing so that I don't have to have them anymore. And I KNOW that most of the problem is because mentally I don't let things go when I get frustrated, but I don't know how to fix that, and I don't understand how everyone else makes it sound so easy and I have such a hard time figuring out how to do it. I always think I'm focused, if you asked me, I'd say I was and I'd believe it. But, as soon as I miss reps, every single one of my trainers starts layin' into me about 'the mental game'. Brian says I'll learn, it just takes practice...but I don't even know how to practice the mental part, and I've always run into a wall when I ask people's advice on it...it's like it's something that can't be learned, you just have to have it.

Well, anyway, Adam taught me long ago that I have to shrug the bad days off, and that's just what Brian talked about all night tonight...so, I'll attempt it again. I know I really have to refocus my whole life on my training...I think the whole trainer switch unraveled me. But, I'm comfortable and it's going much better than I could have expected or asked for. So I need to re-ravel myself I guess.

Brian has some video he wants me to watch and said he has articles I can read...maybe that stuff will lead to more stuff. I've never been good at searching for things in particular subjects, but Brian seems like he's been doing this for his whole life, and he has a wealth of knowledge about the things I can read and the stuff I can try. I just have to give it time...my other favorite conversation :-P Yep, I'm well aware that I'm very hard on myself, and that I've only been at this for a year...but, a year isn't an excuse to me to not be able to lift weight that I've already lifted before.

I don't know what Brian loaded on the bench for me to attempt tonight, but I'm pretty sure he stripped it clear down to 135 lbs. to just do reps. I've been doing 135 lbs. since January...it's not all that impressive anymore. :-/

Close Grip Board Press - 135 lbs., 3 sets of 4
Dumbbell Military Press - 40 lbs. & 45 lbs., sets of 10. 50 lbs., 5.
Shrugs - 95 lbs., 10. 115 lbs., 10. 125 lbs., 10.
Same Band Abs - 3 sets of 25.
Shoulder Horn for Rotator Cuff - 10 lbs. 3 sets of 20? I can't remember if it was 20 or 25.

Working Out Kinks.

Well, we still have a lot to learn. But, we're doing well. Brian stayed a lot later with me tonight than he had to (or than he's paid for)...but I think it was a big benefit and I'm very grateful. We experimented and got some new things figured out so that next Wednesday goes better (in the way of exercise) than it did this week. We also figured out some ab and lower back things to do for future reference. I'm getting more and more concerned with my upcoming competition, so I'm not too worried about my abs right now. I want my bench up....yesterday. lol. But, I do this before every competition...on any day that isn't heavy. My drill days with Adam always drove me nuts in the month or two before my competitions because if there isn't weight being stacked on the bench, my brain thinks I'm not progressing. I know that's not true, but, it's just a mental game that I have to get past. Now Brian talks so much about my future bench and all the weight, and I have to train my brain to concentrate on what he's teaching me instead of being concerned about getting it up NOW. I'd love to be up to a competition lift of 180 lbs. by October...but, all I can do is go in and keep working.

Anyway, it was a very good night again. Things are gonna be wonderful...they already are. We have fun and talk, and then get serious when it's time. I'm getting pretty good at laughing one second and being completely focused the next. Had a couple things that made me mad tonight, not getting as many reps as I thought I should...but, ya just have to shrug it off and keep going. Nothing that made me uncomfortable though, or want to stop talking. Brian's pretty much taken care of most of that. He's eliminated my chair from most exercises, which is awesome. Now, we have to figure out how to eliminate my shoulders from taking over all the exercises that they shouldn't!!!!! So, that was most of our experimenting tonight.

Speed Drill on Bench Press (no chains tonight) - 95 lbs., 8 sets of 3. Brian says I'm improving on this.
Floor Press - 45 lb. Dumbbells, 2 sets of 10. 50 lb. Dumbbells, 2 sets of 8.
Floor Dumbbell Tricep Extension - 2 sets of 8 w/ 20 lbs., 1 set of 12 w/ 15 lbs., 2 sets of 8 w/ 20 lbs.
Cable Tricep Pushdown - 60 lbs., 10. 80 lbs., 10. 100 lbs., 2 sets of 8 (this one really made me mad...I pretty much quit on #8 last set, it wasn't coming).
Rotator Cuff Work - Y, T, W, 5 lbs., 2 sets of 30.
Med Ball Bounces - above head, and at chest - 2 sets of 30 seconds each.

OH! Brian found a place for me to get weighed :) He's taking me to the vet. lol. Hey, whatever gets the job done..they have a wide scale that I can sit on, and they said yes, so, that works for me. And I forgot to mention another sponsor came on Wednesday...I need to make sure I acknowledge those. I wouldn't be able to do this without them.

Everyone please keep Adam's family in your prayers. I found out when I went swimming yesterday that his grandpa died this week. :( He wasn't around (obviously)...but one of my friends was there working out and informed me of the goings' on that I was missing.

"The" Moment.

Well, I only had to wait to get 'the' moment till my second week...not the second month!! It took me forever to believe that Adam really "got" what I was feeling with my instability and how scary it is on certain exercises. I'm sure he understood before I knew he did, but it took him a while to talk to me about it (probably because it took me so long to talk to him about things). But, then there was a time, somewhere in January (I'm pretty sure), he finally said that he lifted his legs when he worked out to see if I was going to be able to do something. That was "the" moment. I knew he understood to whatever extent that he was capable of understanding, without actually being placed in the situation.

Tonight Brian thought we got off to a rough start...but it's just what I needed to truly switch my mindset from "New Guy" to "My Trainer". First exercise, I knew he was paying attention to stability, and it isn't even an exercise that I normally have stability problems with! Just about every exercise tonight, he said something or did something that got my attention and I realized that he's catching on quick to what he needs to watch for, what my reactions are, where my stability is normally off, etc. He even told me tonight that he knows 'that look' in my eye now. I know all of you aren't surprised because everyone thinks I'm an easy read...but, he picked up WHY I had 'that look' in my eye. He even noticed some small movements tonight, that didn't bother me...but at least it let me know that he's picking up on EVERYTHING. It REALLY loosened me up. He kept asking and asking every time I looked unsure, making sure that I kept talking. And it actually got to making me laugh when I came to doing bicep curls w/ an EZ bar...I knew it was going to be unstable...but I felt safe. He put me on a seat instead of in my chair, and strapped me in and I knew he was aware of what could happen. He also said at one point "You aren't getting mad are ya?" And I really was...but it made me smile and I relaxed.

I'm sure there will still be a moment here or there...but that's just what I needed to start feeling safe with him. He's really in this with me and it feels good. He lets me use wraps that he has, and he is always thinking about equipment that might make things more stable. We're starting to find a balance between something not being my favorite exercise, and we really shouldn't do it because it doesn't work the right muscles. I'm learning how to explain things so he knows if something isn't right or if it's normal sore stuff. I think I'm breaking him a little of playing it so safe :-) We're having a good time and laughing. He has a good idea of where I can go to weigh myself too. So that will be really nice if it works out okay.

Anyway, I'm going on and on. It's just a relief that it happened so quickly this time that I don't have to be so worried while I'm training. Here's my workout:

We tried Barbell Rows, I think 3 sets we tried them...and something just wasn't working right. My grip was bad...it was bothering my fingers. We tried same weight as last week. Then we switched to 45 lb. Dumbbells for 3 sets of 10.
Half Pull-ups - I think we did 3 or 4 sets of 15 tonight.
Single-Arm Scarecrows - This he put me on a seat and strapped me in, so that we didn't have to deal w/ my chair moving. We started w/ 20 lbs., 2 sets of 10, and then did a set at 30 lbs. We might have done more sets...not quite sure.
Lateral Pulldown didn't feel right tonight either...but we tightened my strap and I did better. I think we did a set of 10 at 80 lbs., and then we backed off to 70 lbs., because it wasn't working exactly right, but we did 3 sets I think at 70 lbs.
Barbell Bicep Curls, I think it was 10 lbs., on each side, 4 sets of 10.
Hammer Curls - 20 lb. Dumbbells, 2 sets of 10.
Med Ball Circles and Broomstick twists.

I forgot on Monday to put in that we did the rotator cuff exercise with 10 lb. dumbells. And we also did a grip exercise with 5 lb. plates (and after my terrible grip tonight, I think we need to do it more.) I didn't note on either Monday that the Close Grip that we do is with a wood board on my chest, so that I don't come down all the way...hopefully it's teaching me to push through that deadspot I have. We didn't do lateral raises tonight...I'm going to have to ask him about that. I knew something was missing at the end when I counted up my exercises because I knew there should be 8 and there were only 7...but I couldn't remember what the other one was.

I promise once I get going here and I'm in the habit and used to everything that I won't be so sketchy on what my sets and weights were. I just needed to get used to things.

Breathing Easy.

Tonight went SO well. We're finding a groove already. Makes me feel really good about the whole thing. There is a lot for me to change in my benching setup and lift-offs and such, but it'll come. I'm really trying to pay attention to the stuff that Brian is very insistent about...I'm trying to consciously change them, even though I'm so used to other techniques, cuz I can tell he really thinks it is going to be important in the future. But it's SO hard to remember everything once you've done something one way for so long.

Anyway, same routine as last Monday. :-D Brian wanted to do back work...mostly lats. But, I was on the bench warming up, and I think he could tell I wanted to bench...so we did :) I was excited. Bench is why I work out! I love it. He said he gets 'a little careful' sometimes. haha. We'll see how it goes. If I need more back work then we will rotate...he actually knows what I SHOULD be doing. I just know what I LIKE to do. lol. But, at least I got to do it for tonight :)

I totally forgot to have Brian show me my workout for tonight, to remember it to blog it. But I think I can get most of the way through. And, if I REALLY screw it up...Brian checks my blog every day, so he can comment on it to straighten me out. Everyone say hi to Brian, okay? None of you have actually commented on my blog page since my second entry...so it'd be very nice of you to welcome "The New Guy."

I ended up at 155 lbs. for my bench. I got 5 on my 4th set (I think). I don't know how much we went up each time. I know I got 10 with 135 lbs. on my 5th set. I did triples on my first three sets and got them all.
Then we did Close Grip and I really can't even guess how much. I paid no attention...I'm assuming not much more than last week. 3 sets of 10.
Smith Military Press - Started with 70 lbs. (plus whatever the smith weighs) and ended at 80 lbs., 3 sets of 10.
Shrugs - Pretty sure we started w/ 25 lbs. on each side and went to 35 on each side. I think I did 10, 8, 8.
Same band abs as last week - 3 sets of 20. Then some Rope Wrist Curls, and I used 10 lbs., tonight instead of 5!!! AND He had me turn my hands the opposite way and wrap the rope that way...it felt REALLY weird.

Brian's starting to fire out some of the usual trainer comments...ya know, about not complaining and just doing stuff. It made me laugh...makes it feel more like I've always been there and it's just the way it's supposed to be. I'm looking forward to more. Maybe he'll even earn himself a t-shirt like Brent's that says "Because I'm the trainer....That's why!" lol.

Oh! Can't forget to count my blessings. One of my sponsors helped out again, since I have to get my new gym membership covered and such. Very excited and appreciative of that.

Mixed Emotions

Hey everyone. Sorry I didn't get a chance to blog last night. I was having a little rougher time, so I had to decide what exactly to say.

I'll first say that in the way of Brian pushing me it was very good :-) He picked some weights last night that I wouldn't have picked. But, it worked and felt really good. I am really liking my workout set ups. It's much different, and feels odd at times to mix up the muscle groups. But, I'm liking it.

But, last night was probably the hardest time I had all week with starting over with someone new. And my communication skills really started to go down hill. I was proud of myself for making it through the entire week though, before that happened! There were a few extra things we did last night that still make me uneasy and scare me...and, I guess the hardest thing is that when you're starting with someone new, there isn't the trust built up that is there with the one that's been there all along. It will be fine though. I'll talk to Brian before I go back on Monday, to explain some more stuff. And, in a month or two, I won't even blink an eye...just like before.

Bench Press (with chains) - 115 lbs., 9 sets of 2. This was to work on my speed...to help me learn to be more 'explosive', so that I quit getting stuck half way up. It was light...but, have to start light to build speed.
Dumbbell Incline - 40 lbs., 12. 45 lbs., 12. 50 lbs., 12. 55 lbs., 8. 60 lbs., 8.
Front Raises - 15 lb. Dumbbells, 4 sets (?) of 10
Skull Crushers - I know we started with 30 lbs., on the EZ bar. We went up, I think to 40 lbs., but it was too heavy, so we went back down. 5 sets of 10.
Cable Tricep Pushdown - This was really cool!! Adam and I tried to do this and couldn't figure out a way to make it work...but Brian had me sit on the seat of another piece of equipment and he strapped me to it and it worked!!!! - 70 lbs., 80 lbs., 90 lbs., 10 reps each. 100 lbs., and 90 lbs., 8 reps.
Rotator Cuff work - 5 lb. Dumbbells, laying facedown on an incline, I squeezed my shoulder blades together and pulled my arms up in the shape of a "Y", then "T", then "W". We did two sets of these and neither one of us counted I don't think. He just let me go till I was tired.
Med Ball - 6 lbs., bouncing it off the wall above my head and then in front of my chest and catching it for 20 seconds at a time, two sets of each.

So, that completes Week 1 of "The New Guy". I'm very pleased...except with myself and my reactions. But, I'm doing better than I did the first time I had a "New Guy". I'm likin' the gym...Brian has introduced me to A LOT of people. They're nice and he's already bragged about me quite a bit (so I hear), so it broke the ice for me and they all know I can hold my own.

Wisdom & Experience VS. Tenacity & Invincibility

Okay! So far so good...except for one area. He said he was gonna push me and get after me to dig deep....but, this week he's been letting me pick my weights quite a bit. I know, I know, all of you are saying "Chelsi, lay off the guy, it's only your second session." I know that we're getting to know each other, and that he's still figuring out weights on new things, just like when I switched from Brent to Adam...it took quite a while to find exactly where I was on everything. But, I really hope when it's all said and done that he doesn't give me so many outs. I wish I had the confidence in me that everyone else has in me. Tonight, as we were leaving, and I mentioned about getting to pick my weights so much, he said "But, I don't know how you are feeling and you aren't going to be lazy...I know better." I had this same complaint about Adam when I started with him. I was very worried that he wasn't gonna push me hard enough because he wasn't an in-your-face guy like Brent was. But, somewhere in our months together, there came a time that I would flat-out refuse to do something, and he would flat-out refuse to give in to me...because he knew I was perfectly capable of doing it.

I think that my problem is that I am so used to challenge that I really don't like to not be challenged. Brian is coming from a point of view of "When you push too hard, you get hurt, and if you get hurt, your career is over." And, my point of view is "If you don't push hard enough, you'll never know what you could have achieved. Nothing's easy, and I expect some very hard falls...but I'll get back up." I know he knows more and I know he knows all the potentials of what 'could' happen to put an end to my goals. But, I guess I've never been one to dwell on the 'could happens'...at least not physically. I always got yelled at when I went to camp, for not taking care of my legs the way I should...but they're fine..they made it through. :-) And no one would have expected me to bench 180 lbs., at the end of my first year...but I did.

I'm sure that we'll find our happy medium. I'm sure he'll learn how to tell how I'm feeling and when I probably could have gone 5 more reps when I didn't, or know how to read my face to see when I'm just nervous, but I probably could handle more weight. Even tonight, I started doing a wrong form because my chair was moving, and I realized that I had to tell him that's my reaction when I feel unstable...but he knew for the next set that as soon as my elbow dropped he had to steady my chair.

It's all a part of the process and I've been down this road before...and I know it will all turn out fine. I think this was the point about 7 or 8 months ago that Adam began to lecture me about doing it for me. One way or another I'm going to have to feel challenged, and if Brian is going to leave it all up to me, I'm just going to have to make sure I make decisions that I wouldn't have made on my own before. If I want it done, I have to make sure I get it done, even without someone coaxing me to push a little harder. We'll find our unspoken lingo, our own balance with reading each other. I'm just talking out the nerves, just like I always do ;-) (And, yes, Brian, I know you are going to check my blog. However YOU are comfortable with pushing me, we will make it work.)

Here's my workout everyone:

Barbell Rows - 70 lbs., 10. 75 lbs., 10. 80 lbs., 10. 85 lbs., 10 & 9.
Half-Pull-ups (from a lying down position, up to chest touching bar) - 5 sets of 15. We used a band across my chest to add more resistance.
Single Arm Scarecrow (these kinda reminded me of a backwards fly) - 20 lbs., 10. 30 lbs., 2 sets of 10 (this is the one that got a little unstable. But, we know how to fix it now...I actually TALKED to him about it right there...are you all proud of me?? lol).
Lateral Pulldowns - 80 lbs., 3 sets of 10.
Lateral Raises - 10 lb. Dumbbells, 10. 12 lb. Dumbbells, 10.
Dumbbell Curls - 20 lbs., 2 sets of 10 and a set of 8.
Hammer Dumbbell Curls - 20 lbs., 2 sets of 10.
Broomstick Twists for two minutes, twice.
Med Ball Circles (arms above my head) 1 minute, 2 sets of small circles and two sets of big circles.

He's really coming up with some good abs for me. I think that's one of the reasons that I like so much that he stays with me the whole time. There are only so many abs I can do when I'm by myself...and frankly, they were getting somewhat old. But, with him there, I was able to do the seated crunches on Monday, and I think he's gonna come up with some more as well. He's a good experimenter...not afraid of my chair...VERY good thing :-) We're getting there. Doing real well.

"The New Guy"

DRUM ROLL PLEASE..........

It went really really well. Better than I could have asked for. It will obviously get better as I get to know him and get more comfortable with him...but it went awesome for a first night. It was a lot different of a routine, I did shoulders and chest...never done those together. And I also did traps, and I've never done those, period. But, it felt good. Actually, compared to what I'm used to it doesn't really feel like I did much of anything :) But, he has his own reasoning behind what he's doing with me, just as both of the other two have also. So, as long as he knows what he's doing, I have no complaints...I just gotta go do what I'm told. lol. He has my percentages figured according to what my max should be, so my numbers will increase every week. Tonight was very very light!!

Bench Press - 105 lbs., 5 reps. 120 lbs., 5 reps. 135 lbs., 11 reps.
Close Grip Board Press - 135 lbs., 10 reps. This was a little too heavy for my tris...my elbows flared out which was not good...not the right form. So we went down to 115 lbs. (I think), and did, I think, a set of 10 and a set of 12.

Next was Smith Military Press...this is the 'assisted' machine, that Adam says is not the 'Smith' machine...but everyone calls it the 'Smith' so, I say that's what it is. lol. Besides, there are no circuit machines at this gym, so I won't have to differentiate anymore between the two. We started w/ 25's on each side, then 30 lbs., then 35 lbs., all sets of 10. He said he isn't sure how much the bar weighs on this Smith...in Boardman it's the same as the barbells...but anyway, I'm sure it's close.

Shrugs - We started w/ 115 lbs., and I did a set of 10. But, it was too heavy for me to do any more full sets...so we went to 95 lbs., and I did two more sets of 10. I'm very excited about these...I've never done shrugs before.

Then I did a Rotator Cuff exercise with a weird looking contraption that kinda looked like twisted up bicycle handles. You put it behind your neck and then lay your arms on it for some support and start arms parallel to the floor with your elbows bent and your hands out in front and go straight up. Anyway, used 5 lb. dumbbells for a set of 20. Then did 10 lb. dumbbells b/c the 5's were too light, and did two more sets of 20.

Then some Abs. I held a band that was hanging above my head and crunched forward, sitting on an incline bench. It was very good. I was glad we figured that out. I wasn't sure about leverage...but we figured it out. That was 3 sets of 20.

So, that's it for tonight. It was pretty cool having someone there the whole time too. I am very excited. I think it's gonna be a very good thing. And I think by next post I'll actually have switched over in my brain and will refer to him as "Brian" instead of "the new guy'. lol. ;)