alice-on

So, the only bar at my school's gym that is at least 7' is this barbell that is specifically for dead lifts and has these 45lb bumper plates attached to it. I don't want to take them off because I'm pretty sure they are there as some sort of rule specific to this gym. Now I'm kind of disheartened by the idea of the bars I've been using for squatting and benching not being 45lbs.

I have some friends that react kind of like yours to my fitness lifestyle, but I've made a group of friends that could care less what I eat or whether or not I drink.

I've heard before that some barbells are actually 35lbs, and I keep meaning to ask a person on duty but every time I think of it they have gone somewhere. Someone told me that the silver ones might be 35 and the rusty looking ones are 45... Anyone have any idea?

Because that one person said to make an update For the first 2 weeks I was only able to do one arm workout outside of my twice a week marital arts class. My arms and legs from the drills and stances were getting a pretty hard core workout, despite having been in already great shape. It's a class at my school that is called "karate" but we mostly do taikwondo, with some judo thrown in. Then, into the 3-4th week I got less sore and was able to to my regular gym routine of arm day, leg day/karate, rest day, arm day/karate, leg day with some biking back and forth to school thrown in during the week. Now, though, the classes have gotten more intense and I am only able to do 2x a week arms at the gym, 2x a week karate, and no biking because these classes have become more intense than my previous leg routine. I'm thinking this will be a cycle. 2 weeks of hell with not much weight lifting, 2 weeks of adapting with the return of the weight lifting, over and over, which sounds like a good thing. Hope this experience is helpful to anyone currently strength training that wants to start a type of martial arts training.

Being the only girl in the free weights area can feel weird sometimes, but for the most part I feel really awesome for doing it. Some woman feel self conscious about it, but if I ever catch a guy glancing at me I know it's because what I'm doing is awesome, not because I'm being judged for not lifting as much as he probably can. One thing I like people to know is that the guys in that area are almost always really nice and helpful. When I first started I couldn't lift some plates a guy had left on the smith machine, so I asked the closest guy that was resting if he was using the machine, and since he wasn't I told him I couldn't lift the plates off and could he help me. He happily obliged and said sorry for whoever had rudely left them there. So don't be scared if you ever have to ask a guy for help. Now, though, I can take off those 50lb plates no problem, and I feel really bad ass when I get to do it in front of the guys.

Thanks guys. Being expensive isn't that big of a deal because I don't have to use it every day, it's mainly a supplement for days that I don't eat enough protein from my meals.

Just developed an intolerance over the past couple of years, and finished off the very last of my Optimum Nutrition (with bad results, of course) but I wanted to finish it out. Now that it's gotten worse, I'm finally biting it and completely doing away with gluten foods. Any fellow gluten intolerants/celiac having people with success finding a protein supplement?

I totally get what that guy was saying. I didn't really read the pointers because I'm already heading towards my own "singularity", though I think I will need to find a better word for it. Something to do with Newtons law that an object in motion stays in motion (until acted on by another force, but that's usually if I catch a cold or need to study for a mid term, I'm not counting those). I new I could relate when he said he can't stand still on escalators. Working out gives me a purpose that is unique from my other daily task. There's clean, school, errands, but working out is this special time. It's for ME, truly, like none of the others, and I get from it all that I put in every time.

When I click "add pictures" it brings up a black box with a scroll bar that leads to more blackness. I'm stumped.

Thanks! I'll go read those now! I'm sure the weight training part will be useful, since getting info/advice from those that have successfully done both is what I'm after.

I miss the good ole times. I will definitely update when I find that perfect tweak of out-of-class training that is not only sustainable but also compliments the requirements of my, style still unknown, TKD class.

Ha, I swear, having a "full plate" is in my genes. Both my parents also squeeze all the physical activities into their time, despite us living in separate areas of the country almost all our lives and not learning this behavior from anyone around us. It's in our blooooood.

Do you mean, specifically, Steve's beginner full body workout? Or a general one? I love Steve's, and can see that being a good alternative to the lifting for the moment. I'm all good for now on the sleep and nutrition front (even though I get up at 4:45 4 days a week, bike to school, lift/do karate, do school, bike back, drink all the waters, eat all the proteins and veggies, I still have to take a sleep aid at night and fall asleep around 11) and take wed (well, I still bike on this day)/sat/sun off completely. But it's good to hear that you had the same issue, but your body became used to it. That encourages me to try cutting my gym time in half, and if I still have the same problem in two weeks, cut it out and stick to body weight stuff at home until I can tell that I've gained enough strength from class to bring it back to half then full. Thanks!

Oh, neat! I didn't know the history, but originally assumed taekwondo was a kind of karate. I got confused with the comment "Well which is it, karate or taekwondo?" and thought, oh, silly me, they're not the same. He's slowly teaching us words in Korean, and we will have a written test at the end of the year on it.

I looked up horse stance, we did that today! We stayed in that posture for most of the class, doing front and side punch drills, he let us out about 5 times for a minute or so, then right back. I was able to handle it pretty well, though I wasn't quite where we are aiming to be yet. Tomorrow would be my regular leg day, but biking to school will probably cut it. We'll have to see.