M&M's Training Journal

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerful Women
41

Training looks awesome. I’m glad to see that your training partner is still chugging away with you!

You had mentioned that M2 got a knot in her shoulder, I know it kind of seems unrelated, but this probably means that her scapulae aren’t retracting properly. With this in mind, I would use more assistance on the chin-ups making sure that the upper back doesn’t round and have her think about driving her scapulae into her back pockets. Also this means she probably isn’t doing push-ups properly. Instead of on her knees, have her do them to a slightly raised bar in a power rack or on the smith machine. Focus on the chest up, with full scapulae movement, while squeezing the core and glutes tight. This will all help her strengthen the muscles around her scapulae so that her upper traps don’t take over when she overhead presses (causing painful knots)! Hope this helps!

42

[quote]sbmart2 wrote:
Training looks awesome. I’m glad to see that your training partner is still chugging away with you!

You had mentioned that M2 got a knot in her shoulder, I know it kind of seems unrelated, but this probably means that her scapulae aren’t retracting properly. With this in mind, I would use more assistance on the chin-ups making sure that the upper back doesn’t round and have her think about driving her scapulae into her back pockets. Also this means she probably isn’t doing push-ups properly. Instead of on her knees, have her do them to a slightly raised bar in a power rack or on the smith machine. Focus on the chest up, with full scapulae movement, while squeezing the core and glutes tight. This will all help her strengthen the muscles around her scapulae so that her upper traps don’t take over when she overhead presses (causing painful knots)! Hope this helps![/quote]

I’m pretty familiar with the correct positioning of the scapula myself and have had her contract and depress her scapula while raising her arms up and down directly straight infront of her to learn to move her arms while keeping the scapula retracted. Her pushups are actually great. She’s holding her core straight, her head is in line with her spine the whole time, her scapula are retracted and depressed, and her chest is nearly touching the ground with each one. The chins were what killed her. We weren’t expecting such a drastic drop in strength and kept lowering the weight (she was able to do nearly ten of the first weight with decent form last week). Thanks for the response.

43

mmm hash browns. sounds pretty good, actually, in the ‘earn your carbs’ sense. i should perhaps think about that… or about making them with sweet potato, even.

44

Alexus- you should try the regular cardio thing. It’s pretty awesome to see extremely fast changes in appearance while not really doing much with diet.

M1: 30 kettle bell swings
1/2 mile run
X3 rounds+30 kettle bell swings and 300 meters in 20 mi

M2: hiked up a mountain for five hours and allegedly ate everything in her house when she got home.

We just returned from watching a movie at a friends house and are planning a brunch event for the morning. Right now the sun is coming up and the birds are singing. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

45

Alexus- you should try the regular cardio thing. It’s pretty awesome to see extremely fast changes in appearance while not really doing much with diet.

hmm?
i’m trying to bulk.

sounds like a good day. lots of kettlebell swinging!

46

The KB swining and running malarkey sounds rather Crossfit-ish. And tiring. Very tiring. Do you do the running on a track or on a treadmill?

47

[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
The KB swining and running malarkey sounds rather Crossfit-ish. And tiring. Very tiring. Do you do the running on a track or on a treadmill?[/quote]

Psshh. Crossfit just put their name on an old idea, which happens go be great for those interested in cardio training for fighting.

I run on a track. It’s actually built on the top layer ofthe giant rec center at the college i’m attending and overlooks the basketball court where all the young, hot guys run around trying to figure out who has the bigger penis. It’s actually kind of inspiring because I know that they can see me and it discourages slacking.

48

Alexus- Fair enough. Hope that goes well.

49

this M1 M2 shit has got to go. you need names.

good title for the log, but its too much for me to keep track of while im reading.

you can be bananas and she can be pajamas

or

you can be malaria and she can be malaysia.

just a thought.

50

Hiking <3

51

thanks. my main goal is to squat more (in order to clean and snatch more) and i think it will help if I can add some muscle mass to my glutes / quads / hammies. think i’m still a little lower bodied muscularly atrophied, too, in my recovery from breaking both legs :frowning:

also… um… cardio interferes with my smoking. sad, but true.

your rec center sounds pretty cool to train in.

52

I vote bananas n pajamas!!

:smiley:

53

[quote]alexus wrote:
thanks. my main goal is to squat more (in order to clean and snatch more) and i think it will help if I can add some muscle mass to my glutes / quads / hammies. think i’m still a little lower bodied muscularly atrophied, too, in my recovery from breaking both legs :frowning:

also… um… cardio interferes with my smoking. sad, but true.

your rec center sounds pretty cool to train in.

[/quote]

Hey! Cardio and working out in general interfere with my drinking…and that’s one of the reasons I do it.

My rec center is awesome! It has a pool, 40 person hot tub, 5 squat racks, an olympic lifting platform and bumper plates, two dumbells sets up to ov 100lbseach, two floors of weight machines, four basketball courts, an upstairs track, racketball rooms, and any equipment you want (stop watches, belts, ab wheels, etc) for free check out (just turn in at end of day), and two kettlebell sets up to over 100lbs. I’m a lucky bastard :slight_smile: .

And to top it off, in the summer this town is deserted and the only people who bother using the rec center are hardcore, muscle-bound athletes. So the eye-candy is off the charts and inspiring. Plus, you don’t have to fight for equipment.

54

[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
I vote bananas n pajamas!!

:smiley: [/quote]

I really wish I knew what you were referencing.

55

[quote]CBear84 wrote:
this M1 M2 shit has got to go. you need names.

good title for the log, but its too much for me to keep track of while im reading.

you can be bananas and she can be pajamas

or

you can be malaria and she can be malaysia.

just a thought. [/quote]

Lol. We’re both doing biology (she’s getting her masters and I’m finishing up my bachelors) so that disease idea is kind of appealing. On our log’s birthday, we could even get plush microbes from this site to celebrate www.thinkgeek.com :smiley:

I’ll find out what disease she wants. I’m not the biggest fan of malaria, but we’ll figure something out by the next post.

56
57

Mom in md- I’m viewing this site on my ipad and whatever you just posted isn’t showing up for me to watch. Apple isn’t compatible with flash technology, so I can’t view just about any video that’s posted on this site.

58

Your cardio rocked yesterday hon.

I feel M2’s pain. Long steady state cardio makes me undo all that work with the hunger that I feel.
I just want to EAT.

59

I just returned from an awesome evening with M2. We baked 3lbs of halibut, brocolli, made cobbler, and watched “Dinner with Shmucks” which may be even more hilarious than “anchorman”. My fav quote of the night: “Anything is possible. You can even drown yourself in a tea cup if you just find one big enough”. On that note, here’s what we did today:

A. Max reps each set with one minute in between for three sets deadlift:
M1: 125lbsx12, 125lbsx15, 125lbsx15

M2: today was her first deadlift ever! The form is still not spot on; she’s lifting slightly with her right side more than her left, has to be constantly reminded to keep the bar close to her legs, and keeps sagging her knees in. However, she’s keeping her chest up, shoulders back, back flat, and moving with her hips instead of her ankles/knees. Also, she lifted 100lbsx5x3sets and it didn’t phase her in the least! I’m a little jealous because I struggled with 95lbs when I started. The only reason she didn’t lift more today was because I want her to work on form more with an easy weight.

B. Leg curls
M1: 80lbsx10, 85x10, 85x10, 85x9.5
M2: 75x10, 75x10. 75x10, 75x10

C. Step up on 24inch box
M1: 20lb dbsx 15 reps per legx 3 sets
M2: first set no weight, then two sets of 15 reps per leg with 15lb dbs. She was really struggling in the end on these.

D. Back extensions
M1: this is my least favorite lift. I injured my back a while ago while working with a trainer and while this exercise doesn’t injure it, it does rely on the muscles that are now extremely weak. I can barely do what m2 can on this one and my muscles have that terrible tired burn the whole time.
2 sets with no weight, one with 10 lbsx 15 reps
M2: same.

M2 is picking up the strength side of things much faster than I ever did and I can only take a little consolation in the fact that I can kick her ass at the exercises that require a little more endurance, such as the step ups and speed skater squats.

60

Nikki- Thanks.

Mom in md- I got on my Dad’s computer earlier today and watched that video. Very cute!