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All posts tagged barbell

You Don’t Know Squat

Posted by Splashfit on December 18, 2013
Posted in: Motivation, Technique, Uncategorized, Workouts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

girl lift“To tell you the truth, you girls are scaring me to death.”  This is the response I got today when I asked the dude behind the counter at our local gym, to spot me for a  barbell back squat.   Say what?    Yes, I suppose it would be much more lady like for us to bandy about with little 2 pound dumbells and ankle weights, all while sticking to the elliptical, treadmill, and nautilus machines like good little girls should.

Lifting weights and training is something that I absolutely love to do.  I’ve been a gym rat since I was in my twenties. I studied this in college, I am not a neophyte with regard to all things gym related.  Today, when faced with “Mr. Scaredy Pants,” I felt like I stepped back into the 1950’s or ventured into some para-military organization where women are to be coddled, resented and not encouraged.    It shocked me when I received negative feedback about my efforts, and I have to admit to having just a little bit of an emotional meltdown.   I was trying to push my envelope, and I got slapped down… and it made my head steam.   What was it I was just saying about checking my ego at the door?  It is one thing to be corrected by a coach who is supporting me to be my best; it is quite another thing to be chastised by somebody who dishes bad advice and clearly does not want to see a lady pushing heavy weight.   The first really does put my ego in check,  but the second, well it just flat out makes me mad.

Back_SquatI had the bar loaded up with 135 pounds.   As I was preparing to squat, instead of standing ready to help should I fail,  the “dude” was taking the weight off the bar.   I stopped and said, “dude, don’t take the weight.”  I tried to squat again… and yet again, said dude is NOT SPOTTING me, he is taking the freaking weight.  Really?  WTF, dude, can you just spot me?  “I don’t want you to touch me or the weight unless I ask you to”.   He says to me, “stare at the ceiling”  you won’t do this lift right unless you are staring at the ceiling.   Again… WTF?   This is contrary to what I have been taught.  At this point, I have to just smile, nod, pump out a few reps and get away from “front desk dude”.

If you have questions about where to look during a squat, just perform a quick google search regarding squatting and staring at the ceiling, and this pretty much makes my point:  Looking at the ceiling during a squat is a DON’T!

“Where You Should NOT Look During Squats. NOT at The Ceiling. Hyper-extending your cervical spine increases risks of spinal discs injuries. It also shifts the weight to your heels which can make you lose balance, and it will make you lose hip power.”   (Stronglifts.com)

Not only is this guy not spotting me correctly, but he is giving me bad technical advice.  

From another website:

Doug Berninger is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), holding a Master’s degree in Kinesiology from Bowling Green State University.  In an article titled, “5 Misconceptions in the Squat” Doug goes on to say:

“Squatting Misconception 5  –  Look to the Ceiling When You Squat

I’ll make this quick. Think about sitting in a chair and tilting your head to the ceiling as hard as possible. Hurt a little? Exactly! Why would you do that with a load on your back? Yes, you do want to have your eyes up because the body follow the eyes, but your head position can, and should, remain relatively neutral. This is more spine-friendly, while still allowing your posture to remain intact.”

Back to the gym…

It is really difficult for me to focus on executing the correct form when “front desk dude’s” hands and arms are in really bizarre places. All I can do is watch the “wonky” way he is not spotting me.  Seriously dude, slap me across the face if I ever have a relapse in judgement and decide to ask you for a spot.

I’m not entirely sure why my emotional response to this lack of support was so strong , but perhaps it is because  training is one of the few things that I have in my life that is mine; that I love; and that makes me feel alive.   I have been making progress in a forward direction and it feels great.   I am excited to go to the gym and push my limits. I am excited to see where I can go. So, perhaps with that in mind, it is easier to understand my less than glowing feeling toward some misogynistic neanderthal who is trying to send me back to aerobics class. It absolutely rubbed me hard in the wrong way.

I’ve been training at the Crossfit Box in a nearby town, and I was having a bit of a dilemma deciding just how often  I should make the trek to the box, and how often should I be satisfied to train at the gym that is just a few blocks from my house.   Judging from the response we got this morning at my local gym, it seems that more often than I initially imagined, I will be making the 45 minute trek to the Crossfit Box .

Emotions once again in check, I must remember that this is life.  We all experience ups and downs.  We all experience joy and sadness, gain and loss, failure and success.  Having embarrassed myself with the intensity of my emotions this morning, I did “suck it up”.  I apologized to those in the nearby vicinity and explained that I was also experiencing a loss in my personal life, and that my emotions were out of line for the situation.   I left the gym in tears this morning, and I have to admit to feeling very ridiculous and not strong.

Remember this thing:  Just because somebody is sitting behind the counter at the gym does not necessarily mean that they can dish out good advice on anything.  If something seems “out there”, please check for accuracy.  It is always shocking to me that in a business where clients can vote for you or against you with their dollar, that said business will not do everything in its power to encourage your dollar to stay with them.    So, while I don’t enjoy driving an extra hour and a half to and from my workouts, the support and encouragement that I receive while at the gym with the less desirable location, will in the end, be getting my vote and my dollars.

Given the choice, would you go to a place where you were criticized, shamed, and discouraged?  Or would you go to a place where you were lifted up, challenged and encouraged to go further, dig deeper,  and get stronger?   Yep, me too.  sumoSo, ladies, stand up with me and dare to scare the poor chauvinists in the gym.  Maybe we don’t know squat, but I do know where I will  get the most value for my dollar.

Check Your Ego at the Door…

Posted by Splashfit on December 9, 2013
Posted in: Motivation, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

1dizzy1There is nothing sweeter than the taste of success, and conversely one might say that failure is a bitter pill to swallow.  Almost anybody who is alive and breathing has seen meme after meme extolling the virtue of succeeding via “getting up one more time than you fall down”, “never giving up”, blah, blah blah, blah blah…   and while these virtues are completely and totally true, when I am in the midst of scraping myself up off of the floor, it is sometimes very difficult for me to keep my eye on the prize and not want to scream and rip and tear these stinking “susie sunshine platitudes” into shreds.  After all, we are all chasing that elusive little sparkle called success.   I have found that in the process of moving forward, I sometimes need to wallow in the feelings of a bruised ego, I have to feel embarrassed, and I have to doubt my ability to ever succeed.   While these feelings are not very pleasant at the moment they hit me, I have to say this out loud:  They are a normal part of the process of getting from failure to success.

girl liftFor the past three weeks, I have been attending a Crossfit class, three days per week .   This class is basically an introduction to Olympic Lifting, as well as to the intensity that has become associated with a Crossfit workout of the day or (WOD).   I have no problem with the intensity, in fact, I LOVE IT! However, some of the Olympic lifts are giving me out and out terrors. There is one little  lift that is absolutely kicking my ass. Yes, folks, my “snatch” sucks eggs.    This lift involves pulling a barbell from the ground, and throwing it up over your head, locking out your arms, and dropping into a squat underneath the bar.   Now, when practicing this lift for form with a piece of pvc pipe, it’s all sunshine and butterflies…. add the barbell, and my form goes to “H E Double Toothpicks”.  In fact, when I tried this lift on my own at my gym the other day, I absolutely could not execute this lift with proper form.

Today in class, we worked on this lift.   When it came time to add weight, although I was scared, I grabbed a lightweight barbell and gave it a whirl.    I actually had slightly better results today than I did last week; however, when we were in the midst of an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) workout, and the coach told me to put away the barbell and go with a pvc for the remainder of the workout, I have to admit that my ego took a serious lashing. I like to believe that I have my ego in check most of the time, but I have to admit that as I was swapping out the barbell for the lighter piece of pvc pipe, the color of humiliation and embarrassment was rising on my cheeks.  Ouch.  Was the coach right to do this?  Absolutely!   Was my form going to crap?  Yes it was… Does that mean it didn’t sting?  NO, I have to tell you that it stung plenty.

So, I pick myself up, dust off my bruised ego, and carry on. I almost left the gym without incurring further damage to my already deflated self esteem, when after the workout, the coach took me aside and said that he wanted to work with me on my lunge.   One  big thing that is emphasized in Crossfit and Olympic lifting, is external knee rotation.  I don’t have it. I have never used it, and it is a constant challenge to remember to push my knees outward. I know that the coach is trying to help me, and he has a lot of good information and helpful advice, but today, I just felt spanked.  I felt not good enough. I felt unsuccessful.

In the car on the way home, I found that I was berating myself.  I should have done this. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have said this. I should have kept my mouth shut about that.  I had just come from a good workout and a great learning experience, I should feel great.  Yet, I was allowing myself to become lost and wallow in the negative.  (Does it sound like I’m whining?  Here is where this post is going to change…)

cryingSometimes, in order to get beyond the self doubt and self pity, I just have to allow myself to wallow for a short time.  Eventually, the absurdity of my emotional response will creep into my awareness, and I somehow manage to shake it off and move forward.  So, what do you think? Will I let this little emotional meltdown derail me?   Will I go home and eat cookies and ice cream to soothe my battered ego?  Will I decide that I’m not good enough and quit trying altogether? Absolutely not.   Will I go back to the Crossfit gym on Monday with renewed energy and enthusiasm ready to give it one more try?   Yes, I absolutely will.

Falling down is part of succeeding.   There is no sweetness to a success if there is not a series of failed attempts and growing experiences that lead to that pinnacle.   So, did I fail today?   In some ways I did.  I failed. I could not execute the movement as directed. However, here is the takeaway message from this day:    I absolutely did succeed today. I felt the emotional let down of not achieving a goal, but I learned.   I felt some shame and some embarrassment, but it will not stop me. I will use it as a tool to inspire me to learn.   I will shake it off and I will try again. I am open to learning and I constantly strive to keep my ego in check and remain teachable.

I would love to hear from anybody who has suggestions on how to healthfully overcome negative emotions.   This is the hardest part of my battle.   Writing down my thoughts and feelings helps to take the “crazy” out of the dark recesses of my mind, and allows me to view my thought processes in the light of day.   Admitting to you, and to my support group that my ego took a bashing, while it may not seem a prudent thing to do,  completely took away the power of that negative emotion.

For me, this is not just a lesson for “Crossfit”, this is a lesson for life.  As I prepare to enter the final week of this Crossfit class, I am choosing to focus on what I can learn, and as always,  I will try to remember to check my ego at the door.

The Bear

Posted by Splashfit on November 6, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized, Workouts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The Bear

Power Clean,  Front Squat, Push Press, Rear Squat, Push Press, and done… sounds easy right? HA!   This series of exercises comprise “The Bear” or “The Bear Complex”    I’ve always included Power Cleans and Push Presses in my workouts. This complex seemed a wonderful little way to jazz it up a bit and increase the difficulty of the exercise.   I am not wrong about that; however, this is harder than it looks.

girl liftInspired by watching you-tube videos of this exercise, I decided to give it a go myself.   As there are no mirrors anywhere, I decide to set the video camera to film myself and watch my form.   I walk up to the bar, squat behind it, and with a nice strong flat back, I grip the bar and take a deep and cleansing breath.   1…. 2…. 3…. GO!  In slow motion, here are the elements of the complex as I performed them:  Deadlift, check, shrug, check, drop and catch, check, front squat, check, push press, check…. and this is where things started to get ugly.    As I attempt to bring the bar behind my head in order to perform the back squat and the push press from behind my neck, it seems that my big old gigantic head has absolutely no intention of getting out of the way.   I was able to complete a couple of shaky repetitions; however, I had only completed three rounds, when as I dipped my knees  with the bar behind my neck  and powerfully exploded my hips and my shoulders up for the push press, my head was instantly filled with the resounding clang of the barbell smashing into the base of my skull.   Lord have mercy!    Don’t forget, I had video of this, and it is not pretty!

From what I understand about Olympic lifting (which admittedly is not a lot), technique and form play an enormous role in successfully and safely completing the lifts.   When I was studying training in school, we touched on Olympic lifts, but never really focused on correct form.   It became very very clear to me today, that I don’t have it, and I need help.

For some time, I have heard tales of Crossfit workouts and Crossfit gyms, or “boxes” as they are called.     As I daily scour the internet, searching for new and interesting twists on old exercises to incorporate in my workouts, Crossfit comes to play more often than not.     A different and high intensity approach to fitness, the Crossfit gyms don’t have machines, rather the focus is more towards combining  Olympic lifting, powerlifting, gymnastics, running and rowing to create a workout that is always different, functional (the way your body naturally moves), and always intense.

My sheer and utter failure at performing “the bear complex” sent one message to me loud and clear, I need instruction.   If I want to be able to do these more intensive complex movements, I need coaching on form and technique.    It bears mentioning, that there is no Crossfit box in my town.   I had always assumed that the closest gym was in Spokane (nearly 3 hours from me).

I need to go to Seattle next week, and I have decided to contact a gym while I am there.   I got online to find the gym closest to my parents house, and I made an amazing discovery.   There is a Crossfit gym in Chelan.   While this is not in my town, it is just about 30 miles away.   This is completely doable.

I have decided to go.  I will check it out for myself.    I must admit to being just a little bit afraid.   The doubts and excuses run rampant through my mind. This crazy internal dialog is going something like this: “Will I be the oldest person there?”  “Will I be the only one who can’t do a hundred pullups or handstand pushups?” “What if I cannot do any of it?”  “What if my knees and shoulders hold me back?”   “What if they laugh at me?”

Take a deep breath.   My fears are not reality.   They are phantoms of what might be, but also what might not  be.    Here in town, they call me “Ms. Fitness”, but I am human.  I am a real person, with fear, anxiety, weakness, and a bit of an ego.   They say that you cannot change what you do not acknowledge.   Here I am.   This is me.   I will take the first step.