Bittersweet

Well, today decided to combine itself into being my very favorite kind of day and my very least favorite kind of day, all in one. :-/

Brian and I sat and talked for an hour all about training and what happens in cycles and why it isn't as easy as just loading more weight on the bar and how you get a carry over from other exercises and how you peak from that carry over and before you peak, then you're in the valley. It was absolutely awesome. I loved it. My brain doesn't think like that. I don't understand all the technical science stuff. So, I love listening to him and learning more about it...the more we talk about it, the more mentally sound I think I'm getting with everything because it really does help to know that stuff. I never believed him when he would tell me that before. I just wanted to go lift. However, it's a huge help to know what to expect and when.

The downfall was that this whole conversation took place after 170 lbs. absolutely refused to come up off my chest. I'd lower it but there was absolutely no press at all. It just stayed down. :-( I was very frustrated (that's putting it tactfully). I've been so much better mentally this past month. I'm not worried about weight anymore after handling that 185 so well in Cincy. So, I don't know what the problem is. But, I do feel better than I normally do after a bad day like that, since we talked for so long and in detail of so much of the training stuff. Brian said he wasn't sure what's going on either....but the more he talked, I think he has a pretty good handle on it. I think he panics like me, but he's better at hiding it than me. It's not a very comfortable thing to watch (or to be the one it's happening to) someone get buried by something 20 lbs. lighter than what they are capable of lifting!! But, I think that he's watched me enough that inside he really knows that I'll recover soon. We just got away from doing my competition stuff.

It'll be A-OK. I'm getting better at handling days like this...pretty soon, we'll both automatically know that neither one of us did anything wrong....it's just a matter of my insanely habitual body needing to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over (well, you get the point). But, ya can't do that all the time and also stay healthy. So, I have to understand that my transition times take longer than a lot of people and that I always suck during that time. As soon as I can wrap my brain around that, I'll be able to take it all in stride. Understanding the training is helping a great deal with that. :-)

Mom & I set up at Springtime in the Village today for my Chinese Auction. The weather was very icky so we didn't get a great turnout. There were some that came and supported me though, and I'm very grateful. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!!

Medium Grip

Today we did competition pause with a medium grip. It felt very odd because my elbows flared more with my grip more narrow. But, It was good :-) We're still talking about all the stuff from the seminar that was almost two weeks ago. It's amazing how much information one of those things covers in just a couple of days. It's pretty impressive, actually. This weekend is the chinese auction fundraiser that I'm having in Columbiana at their event Springtime in the Village. My cousin Darlene has also made a whole lot of items for me to sell at my table, and Mom is setting up her Tastefully Simple stuff, and one of my aunts is making snack bags for me to sell. It should be a really good event!

Medium Grip Pause Bench - 135 lbs., 155 lbs., 165 lbs., 160 lbs., all singles.
Lateral Pulldowns - 70 lbs., 80 lbs., 90 lbs., 100 lbs., 110 lbs., all for 5...These felt GREAT today!!!!!! I did SO well with them
Flys - 25 lbs., 3 sets of 10.
Blackburns - 5 lbs., 2 sets of 10.
Side-lying Sidebends - 3 sets of 20 on each side. ...no bands today.

<3 Stretching <3

Sport Form

Today we started a 'sport form' week, which will simulate a competition at the beginning and at the end of the week. Today didn't go super great, but, it's been some time since I've lifted at maximum effort...about a month or so. So, Friday should go better.

Competition Bench - 135 lbs., 155 lbs., 2. 165 lbs., 170 lbs., 165 lbs., all for 1.

Cambered Bar JM Presses - 65 lbs., 75 lbs., 85 lbs., 105 lbs., all for 4.

Cambered Bar Rows - 75 lbs., 95 lbs., 105 lbs., all for 4.

Back Raises - 3 sets of 8.

<3 Stretching <3

Never Ending Leverages

So, today I busted out 6 triceps extensions with 20 lb. dumbbells. Then Brian gave me 25 lbs., and it buried me. That's happened before. So, I asked him if I could try it one arm at a time. That didn't work. So, he went back and got the 20's. But while he was exchanging them I analyzed how I was moving when I tried one arm. When he came back over, I told him to throw a chain across my belly....to give me something to push against, so my lower back/pelvis didn't come up. He looked at me rather strangely. But, he grabbed a chain and as he put it over me, he said it did kind of make sense. haha. It felt a lot better, but, it was hard to tell with the 20's. So, he got the 25's again and I actually got 3 reps out of them!!!!!!!!!! We were shooting for six, but, atleast I was able to do something with them! Made me real happy. I might have him try an additional chain next week. I'm still thinking about it, myself, and trying to process all of it. But, I was pretty excited that it worked, at least a little!!!

Pin Presses with Chains - I'm not sure how much chain we used this week....I'm gonna assume it was the same as last week and say 50 lbs. 110 lbs., plus chains, 5 sets of 3. 125 lbs., plus chains, 1 set of 2. 145 lbs. plus chains, a single.

Dumbbell Extensions - 20 lbs., 3 sets of 6. 25 lbs., 1 set of 3.

Facedown Lying Laterals - 10 lbs., 1 set of 12. 12 lbs., 2 sets of 12.

Shoulder Horn - 8 lbs., 3 sets of 15.

Chopes, 30 lbs., 2 sets of 12.

<3 Stretching <3

Soreness

I think the only time I have ever had lats as sore as the last two days is back when I first started to lift.....And it feels great!!!!!! :-) I'm thinking I must really be learning how to bench press!!! Activating those lats!!! haha. Something is definitely working because I felt like I was better able to hold myself back a little when the Rows got heavy today. Brian still had to pull alot to keep me upright but I definitely felt a difference in my strength of holding myself. Brian came up with a fantastic way to do sidebends. I lay on my side on the leg curl machine & he puts two straps around my legs. Then he held a band over top of me and I curled up....like a crunch but on my side!!!!! It worked out super duper well. It felt real good.

Low Rows - 70 lbs., 80 lbs., 90 lbs.(2 sets) 80 lbs., 6 reps a piece.

Cable Scarecrows - 30 lbs., 10. 40 lbs., 9 & 10.

Chinups - 4 sets of 8.

Biceps Curls - 12 lbs., 2 sets of 12.

Side-lying Sidebends - 2 sets on each side of 15, one set without a band and one with.

<3 Stretching <3

Talking a lot about all this training program stuff. It's so awesome :-D

Weird Stuff

BONUS BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOOOVE Bonus blogs because it usually means something very excellent!!!!! Brian did cardio with me today for the first time in almost a year and it was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad he had time again. It actually gave me some ideas of doing a few more things on my own, and it started my brain thinking about what I could rig up to do some of the other stuff on my own. haha. It also put a different spin on cardio for me after this weekend. One thing I heard over and over from Jeremy, the guy that did the deadlifting stuff this weekend, was that no matter what exercise he's doing, he does his best to mimick his deadlift movements. I thought that was really great and it puts a whole new light on any workout exercise that I'm doing. It really makes me feel like I'm always improving my bench no matter what I do. I've always kind of known that, but, this way of looking at it gives a direct link from each exercise to the bench press. Brian reminded me a couple of times today on some exercises we were doing. It made me enjoy the cardio more because I didn't just think of it as trying to get my weight down or maintaining my weight. I thought of it as actually practicing my bench press with every movement I did. (Plus it's always easier when Brian is there with his comments and the stuff he comes up with to do).

I didn't know he was going to work with me. It was a great surprise. I started out just doing suicides across the aerobics room. Then he came out and said "You wanna do some weird stuff?" I know I smiled from ear to ear when I looked up at him. We did some rope work, where he holds one end & I pull myself back and forth from end to end. But, he actually held it down under my arms instead of overhead so that it worked my lats more. It worked pretty well. I'm weaker that way, so, it was good to work on it. Then he gave me one of the sand bags and I had to do a triceps extension behind my head and then press it in front. It was kinda scary. My back was pretty weak trying to hold it in the air and I was pretty wobbly...but Brian walked all around the room to set other things up while I was doing it & my chair never tipped, so it was okay. haha. We did some supersets with those two for a while.

Then Brian busted out the huge 12 lb. med-ball. Now, I just have to tell you all that when I was little, my grandpa would try to work with me on catching little tennis balls and such in the living room and I would duck or flinch every time. I don't like things flying toward me at a high speed (or what to me is a high speed. haha). The most I've ever used with Brian is 8 lbs., but that's for wall bounces. He's used a 6 lb. ball for me to lay on my back and throw up at him, but, I've never touched a 12 lb. ball. Today he strapped me in a chair & we threw this ball back and forth for about 10 minutes. As if that wasn't enough for me to adjust to, then he told me to get on the floor and WE DID use the 12 lb. ball for him to drop at me while I was on my back and me to catch and throw back up at him. He said "Ready?" I said "Are you kidding me? That's 12 lbs!!!" He said "Do you want lighter?" Well, then I feel challenged, so of course I'm not going to say yes. But then, again, he said "Ready?" I said "No.", put my hands up and he let it go. I did super well though!!!!!!!!!!!! I did drop it toward my face one time and Brian said "You dropped that one! That's not my fault!!" haha. Then as we were getting done, he said "You trust me don't ya?" I wanted to say DUH!!!!!!!! But i just said a very firm, assured "Yes". lol. Then he had me do some backward wheeling across the room a few times. I actually wasn't near as bad at it as I thought I'd be.

All in all I did 30 minutes of cardio today and honest to the Good Lord it felt like 10. It was awesome & so much fun. Very refreshing. Now I have some tricks up my sleeve that I'll have to try on Saturday when he's busy training downstairs ;-)

Training Talk

We didn't do Back Raises today :-(...we started a bit late and we talked quite a bit about the seminar this weekend and questions I had about it. But, that always makes an awesome day to me, so it made up for missing back raises. :-) I really never cared much about my training...until I started to learn a little. Now I want to learn more and more and more. Love talking training. I also end up realizing that I understand a little more than I thought...it's just different terms that are being thrown around for the same idea.

Brian said I looked strong today :-) I haven't been logging very well what RPE's we've been using (for those of you that pay attention to that). Today for bench we did sets of 4 at a 9 (meaning I had one left over)

Competition Bench with 75 lbs., of chains - 95 lbs., 110 lbs., 125 lbs., 115 lbs., all for 4.

Cambered Bar JM Presses - 70 lbs., 80 lbs., 90 lbs., 100 lbs., all for 6.

Shrugs - 100 lbs., 3 sets of 12. :-)

Lateral Raises - 12 lbs., 3 sets of 12. ~ I actually REALLY enjoyed these today...very much. Brian lightened them up a little from what we used to do, because I didn't ever really get my arm straight out, then it would pull my shoulder forward. But, today, Brian held me from behind (cuz I was strapped to the bench from shrugs) & we used the lighter weight and it worked great and it felt really great.

<3 Stretching <3 Love stretching.

And again I say....

There's a saying that's humoring me tonight because it's reminding me SO much of how I'm acting. Did anybody's mother ever say "If I told you once, I've told you a thousand times?" Or "How many times do I have to tell you?" I feel like that's what God has been looking down saying to me....(and Brian too, in his own subtle way. And probably my parents. haha) I only worked up to 135 lbs. today on the bench but when I sat up, the pro that was there teaching the bench part of the hands-on session of the seminar said "She should be teaching the class." He threw out something about my elbows but said it's just a preference and I bench almost identical to how he benches.

SO, NOW to write ALL this down and who has said what to me over the past 6 weeks and COMPLETELY engrain it into every nook & cranny of my brain by the time the next meet comes!!!!!! Seriously....how many more times do I need to be told that my bench is perfect, I just need to bench? Let's hope NONE!!!!

Brian and I did some lat work while the rest of the crew went over deadlift. Here are the numbers:
Cambered Bar Rows - 75 lbs., 10. 85 lbs., 10. 95 lbs., 2 sets of 8. 85 lbs., 10.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows - 35 lbs., 2 sets of 12. 2 sets of 10.
Lat Pulldown - 70 lbs., 10. 80 lbs., 10. 90 lbs., 7, 8.

<3 Stretching <3

I absolutely had so much fun this weekend. The lectures yesterday were awesome & very interesting. Lots of interaction went on even at those sessions. The guys hung around and answered even more questions than they answered during lecture. Today was training day. I learned a lot, even about the squat and deadlift forms. I had a great time watching everyone else and seeing what I could pick up in my own head before the pros would give their critiques on people. I hung around long enough to be able to watch them train & watch Brian train. That's one of my favorite things & I haven't been there for that in a very, very long time. I gained a lot of little cues to remind myself of how to do things in my setup or during my actual press. I also got some ideas of how to think about benching even when doing other exercises. And I spoke with the guys about the mental stuff too. Then they invited me to dinner, as well. We laughed and had a great time. It was such a great weekend. I couldn't have asked for better. I'm so glad that Brian held the seminar. It was a fantastic experience.

RTS Seminar

Brian is holding a Reactive Training Systems Seminar Saturday and Sunday. I really can't wait! It's gonna be a great time. Mike Tuscherer, John Bogart & Jeremy Hartman are going to be giving the lectures & training with us throughout the weekend. I'm very excited about it!!!!!!!!

Pin Press with Chains - 100 lbs., plus 50 lbs., of Chains, 7 sets of 3.
Dumbbell Triceps Rollbacks - 20 lbs., 25 lbs., 20 lbs(3 sets) all sets of 8.
Facedown Lying Laterals - 10 lbs., 3 sets of 10. (We used a heavier weight for a first set, but, Brian wasn't happy with the form, so we went to lighter weight....That's also why we went back down in Rollbacks)
Shoulder Horn - 8 lbs., 3 sets of 15.
Chops - 30 lbs., 3 sets of 12, each side.

<3 Stretching <3

Pain in the #@#$%

Well, Side Bends didn't work so well today. I really don't understand what changes from one week to the next to make some of these exercises work and then all of a sudden not work. We ended up with something that seemed to work for today. We used the floor cables instead of the high cables. But, who knows about next week. It's all about leverages & strapping & foot placement. It takes more of a brain to train me than most people realize. But, Brian said let him think about it for a bit, so I'm sure if the low cables don't work out next week, he'll have something else to try.

Low Rows - 70 lbs., 12. 80 lbs., 90 lbs., 100 lbs., 90 lbs., 6 for all. (Well, really 5 1/2 on 100 lbs.)
Cable Iron Cross - 30 lbs., 10. 40 lbs., 8. 30 lbs., 10.
Chinups - 4 sets of 10.
Biceps Curls - 15 lbs., 3 sets of 12.
Side Bends - we did about 4 sets total, all different ways. Most of them were sets of 15.

<3 Stretching <3

Monday = Weak Day

Atleast for the next few weeks it does!!!! Mondays is going to be a love/hate bittersweet relationship for a while. We are working on JM Presses to bring up my triceps strength & it was pretty hard. We also re-worked back raises, which I'm also weak at, but, it went better than when we first tried them.

Competition bench w/ 75 lbs. of Chains - 95 lbs., 105 lbs., 115 lbs., 110 (2 sets) all for 4.

Cambered Bar JM Presses - 65 lbs., 75 lbs., 85 lbs., 95 lbs., all for 6. I did these with a safety squat bar at the Seminar last weekend. I was very weak and Shane highly recommended me to start doing them. He said they could bring up my bench very quickly. But Brian doesn't have a safety squat bar. We tried them last week with a regular bar, but, it was too much thinking & I had a little bit of a rough time getting the concept. So, he came up with the idea of using the cambered bar!!!!!! Worked super well, in my opinion.

Shrugs - 95 lbs., 3 sets of 12. <3 My saving grace of this cycle! <3

Back Raises - 5 sets of 5. I hung off the end of a decline bench. The leverage was much better and I was able to get myself much higher because my legs were on a downward slant. They didn't seem as hard. And as of currently, I don't have any broken blood vessels in my face :) SO! I think we hit a jackpot. I'll know for certain in the morning.

<3 Stretching <3

Using chains twice a week is really gonna help me with stability. I swayed a lot to the right today. But, every time I felt it, I tried to squeeze myself tighter. So, it's gonna be good.

All this Monday stuff is gonna help me improve. You're only as strong as your weakest link. So, working on the weaknesses can only make me better.

Bigger & Bigger

Last night I went to Pittsburgh to accept the Second Wind Award from the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. The Pittsburgh chapter was started by DDan Marin, Sr., and this was it's 25th year of having a scholarship/awards banquet. Igot my picture taken with Dan Marino (the Miami Dolphins Dan Marino), Bruno SanMartino (the wrestler) & John Rosato (a football coach for 25 years at Duquesne). It was really an awesome night. I made a lot of great connections of people who are willing to help out with supporting my training needs. The dinner was wonderful. Everyone was very cordial and pleased to meet me.

This dream of mine just keeps expanding and getting bigger and bigger.

Bruno was a super fantastic guy. He said to me "I set a world record in bench press in the 1950's, benching 565 lbs. with a two-second pause." This guy is my hero for specifying the two-second pause. I'm the only one I know that does that. I think it's fantastic that he was so strict in his sport to be able to become that strong.

Today's Numbers:
Cambered Bar Rows - 65 lbs., 12. 85 lbs., 95 lbs., 85 lbs., sets of 8.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows - 35 lbs., 40 lbs., 45 lbs., sets of 8, each arm.
Pullovers - 35 lbs., 40 lbs., 45 lbs., setse of 12.

<3 Stretching <3

I'm not sure if I made note of it in my blog when we started to stretch differently but I've been laying over a decline bench and hanging my legs for Brian to stretch me. We started that a few months back. When I came home from my meet, I didn't have near the trouble with spasms that I normally do when I'm away for that long, not being stretched. I had spasms that woke me up pretty early in the morning, but they weren't continuous all night. I've had less and less spasms since then. I didn't have any trouble when I went to Cincinatti last weekend. I felt pretty tight when I came back but no spasms. And the last couple of weeks, there hasn't been but maybe a twinge of pain in my hip when Brian stretches me. Certain positions will cause a couple of spasms here and there, but, not anything close to what they used to be. I think the traction must have done some serious good for something that maybe was pinched or not in place or something. There's a spot on my lower back that was hurting quite a bit for some time, but even that isn't as bad as it was. It's still awfully tight, and when Brian twists far enough, he can get a reaction from me, but it's taking him twisting farther before the reaction. The only thing left is the hump by the right side of my rib cage, because I've sat crooked due to my scoliosis. But, we've been working on that, and I really believe that it will get better too :) We just keep coming up with bigger and better ideas and ways...just like the rest of my journey!

Little Behind.

I completely forgot to blog on Wednesday. Sorry guys. I have been sick with a sinus infection & I've been trying to stay caught up on things at home. Only went to one appointment on Tuesday and one on Thursday. I was home the rest of the day, trying to get better. I'm on the mend. Have coughing jags at times but I'm able to breathe out of my nose now! YIPEE! haha. So, here are the numbers from Wednesday and Friday.

Wednesday:
Low-Rows - 60 lbs., 12. 70 lbs., 80 lbs., 90 lbs., 6. 83 lbs., 6.
Cable Iron Cross - 30 lbs., 4 sets of 10.
Chinups - 3 sets of 10.
Cable Side Bends - 50 lbs. I have no idea how many reps. It's the first time we tried them, I think. Either that or it's been months since we did them. So, I just went till I was tired. It was probably aroun 15 reps. And we did each side like 3 times.
Curls - 15 lbs., 2 sets of 12. 1 set of 11.

Friday:
Pin Press w/ Chains - 90 lbs., w/ 50 lbs., of chains, 6 sets of 3.
Dumbbell Triceps Extensions - 15 lbs., 10. 30 lbs., 5 sets of 10.
Facedown Lying Laterals - 15 lbs., 10. 20 lbs., 2 sets of 10.
Shoulder Horn - 8 lbs., 3 sets of 15.
Chops - 20 lbs., 12 each side. 30 lbs., 12 each side.

<3 Stretching <3

I'm doing a Tastefully Simple fundraiser right now. Taking orders until the 18th of April. Then April 29th & 30th I'm having a chinese auction at Springtime in the Village in Columbiana. I'm going to accept the Second Wind Award from the American Italian Association Sports Hall of Fame, tomorrow in Pittsburgh. And I should find out next week if I got my Challenged Athletes Grant. Thanks to my sponsors who responded to me again this year with your donations. It's greatly appreciated!!!!!!

Link

IIIIIII forgot to add the youtube link for my 185 lb lift!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLO-FInFIg8

SweattShop

This weekend was absolutely incredible. I got to talk to, ask questions to, and lift with 3 world record holding female lifters plus one of their trainer's. It was amazing. The seminar was held at the Sweatt Shop in Cincinnati, by Laura Phelps Sweatt and her trainer/husband Shane Sweatt. Amy Weisberger was there and so was Kara Bohigian. I promise if you google any of them, you will surely be impressed. They all came out of Westside Barbell...and we had some Westside guys to spot and critique us as well.

They were such great people!!!!! Very supportive and encouraging. Very down to earth. They said my bench setup & technique is perfect!!!! (Hmmmm......where have I heard that before?!?!?!) AND they DID NOT have to tell me to 'just go do it' because I just went and did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hit a PR of 185 lbs. yesterday when we benched!!!!!!!!!! It was SO amazing!!!!! It was smooth and clean and I'm sure it would have counted. I held it long enough, and I didn't even feel like I truly maxed out. I don't think I could have done any more that would be passable in Paralympics but I do think I could have gotten more up in the air :-) Everything they suggested as far as training programming goes, Brian has already done with me and it's on the list to circle back around to. They did come up with some good suggestions for new exercises for me to try.

Today I have a sinus infection and Brian wanted to wait to see what I came back with before he started a cycle with me. So, we tried a couple of the suggested exercises and we mostly talked. It was a great day :-) I love days like today. It's not reasonable to expect them very often because we hardly lifted a thing...but, I'll definitely take them when I can get them. Brian got on a roll explaining training methods to me and this, that and the other, and I think he probably talked for 40 minutes or more.

Even though I've always blogged that I love those days, something in me particularly appreciated today. I think it's because I was down with the best this weekend and they told me everything that Brian has told me 1,000 times. It kind of re-opened my eyes to appreciate what I have backing me up. When I was benching and they were talking about my arch and my form, I told them I've been with Brian a year and a half and they said "That's amazing. That's not very long." I told them, he's the best and should be down there with all of them. They told me to make sure I bring him next time. So, it gave me an even deeper respect and appreciation to listen to Brian as he spoke and explained things today.

Wednesday will be back on track with a cycle starting. Today the diet started back up. Oh, the competition life!!!

Perfect Timing

I'm headed to Cincinnati this weekend to an all-women's powerlifting seminar, headed by Laura Phelps Sweatt. Youtube her and you'll be impressed. :-) She's one of the best in the world. This comes at a great time for me to really get in my head about my technique and lifting abilities to get prepared for my next competition. Not to mention having some female interaction about the sport....which I think I'm more in need of than I realized. I'm getting picked up by one of my powerlifting Facebook friends tonight and I'll be back Sunday sometime later. It should be a really great weekend. I'm looking forward to it very much.

I also have been wanting to have a chinese auction for a fundraiser but didn't have an even to hold it at. So, I was searching around for a place that would allow me to have some kind of fundraiser for a cheaper rent. I called Columbiana Chamber of Commerce and found out that the Springtime in the Village is coming at the end of the month and the Village is allowing the merchants to set up a table for free!!!!!!!

God has such perfect timing when we wait on Him.

Today went well, I think. I felt kind of unsteady. But, Brian said it look great and it didn't look unsteady most of the time. It felt good...it wasn't heavy and I was engaging my lats a lot more than usual. I think I felt unsteady because I am still getting back into my groove. But, it still felt good. I still think too much. But, I'm working on that too. I think I'm making progress in that area as well.

Competition Bench - 115 lbs., and 135 lbs., I don't know how many sets we did. I did about 5 per set....we'll say 8 sets?
Flys - 20 lbs., 4 sets of 12.
Dumbbell Triceps Extensions - 15 lbs., 3 sets of 12.

<3 Stretching <3

I'll be benching Sunday in Cincinnati. I'll blog Monday after I train with Brian again.