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By 256 (Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 04:58:01 PM EST) (all tags)
it's about 38 degrees in philadelphia, or in the hyperbolic scale of the natives, ONE HUNDRED degrees. i acknowledge there is something satisfying in using such inflated values to describe these obscene meteorological injustices.

the net result has been increased beer consumption accompanied by much lounging around the house in little more than a bandanna and a straw hat. chin up poll inside


beer ration and lounging notwithstanding, these past couple of months have been partly consumed by an attempt to get into better physical shape. since blowing out my knee in europe and essentially giving up cycling (i probably cycle about 20 km/week these days, compared with between two and three hundred back before my injury. and even those twenty kilometers are on a bike with eighteen speeds. eighteen! shameful) my weight had ballooned from 190 pounds to 215.

now, it's not that i'm too particularly concerned about my appearance (believe me, i've never been so delusional as to attribute what success i've had with the ladies to my rugged good looks), but still i do harbor some macho--or downright heinleinian--ideas about what makes a man, and tied up in there is a belief that he should be at least minimally fit. Strong enough to carry someone to safety, fast enough to outrun the law, and all that.

Now the problem is that I loathe exercise for the sake of exercise. Cycling was one of the few such things that I truly enjoyed and now that I can only do so much of that before my legs explode it's much easier for me to just sit around and get fat.

What I finally settled on is the 5BX program accompanied by weight lifting. Much to my surprise (having previously mocked the activity as an absurd and macho waste of energy), I discovered that I actually quite enjoy lifting weights. I have purchased a set of dumbbells and am still experimenting with a good training program.

One thing however that has particularly surprised me is how little weight i can lift in a one armed isolation biceps curl. I'm a big guy, but I can only do about ten reps at 25lbs and I can barely do three at 35lbs. Any Husites able to tell me if this is reasonable or if it is bona fide evidence that I am a girly-man?

Anyway, after about two months of 5BX, I'm back down to about 205lbs and can do a proper chin-up again (something that i for some reason think of as a fundamental boundary point beyond which one is horribly out of shape).

Quick perusal of the archives reminds me that mr and mrs blixco will be in boston jul 12-16. would any in the area be willing to put me and e up for a night or two if we rode our motorcycles into town during that window?

< Put the Documents on the Fax FACE UP | I've been a bit quiet as of late; lot's of stress and what not >

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Poll
can you do a full chin up?
- yes (more than five in a row) 41%
- yes (fewer than five in a row) 35%
- no 5%
- are you crazy? 17%

Votes: 17
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heat wave, boston visit, chin ups and biceps curls | 24 comments (24 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback
It's too hot by mmangino (2.00 / 0) #1 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 05:07:41 PM EST
I'm not looking forward to the heat when we move on Sunday.

In terms of your conditioning, that's a pretty reasonable starting point. Especially if you have decent form on your lift. I started at about the sample place and can comfortable curl a fair bit more now. Focus on doing it right and consistently and the weight will come.



aw c'mon by yankeehack (2.00 / 0) #8 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 07:26:28 PM EST
it's supposed to be 15 degrees cooler come Sunday.
****
You know what is funny? I voted for McCain in 2000 and Obama in 2008. (And let's not forget Edwards in 1998.)
[ Parent ]

Excellent. by mmangino (2.00 / 0) #12 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 07:36:14 PM EST
We're leaving Chicago at 6:00am with two big dogs. I figure it will take us about 15 hours to get there between potty breaks and a stop at Jen's grandparent's house. Hopefully it will be a little cooler by the time we get there.

[ Parent ]

well by yankeehack (2.00 / 0) #13 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 07:42:46 PM EST
given that it was what, 99, today, it's supposed to be in the mid 80s... :-P

a big ol' cold front with thunderstorms is coming through right now, as I type this, breaking the heat.
****
You know what is funny? I voted for McCain in 2000 and Obama in 2008. (And let's not forget Edwards in 1998.)
[ Parent ]

If your bicep is really, truly isolated by debacle (4.00 / 1) #2 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 05:33:29 PM EST
25 sounds about right.

You're better off doing isolation curls standing, though. It's easier to isolate your biceps that way and it also works your trunk muscles (and, doing them the other way puts undue strain on your elbow). Make sure you circumflex, too.

"I'm very responsive to certain stimuli, and pain is pretty much at the top of that list." - BadDoggie



might could do by ana (2.00 / 0) #3 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 05:35:48 PM EST
to mix a few dialects. The putting up thing, I mean. I guess we should start making detailed plans.

"And this ... is a piece of Synergy." --Kellnerin


So I was reading... by dark nowhere (2.00 / 0) #4 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 06:33:42 PM EST
Strong enough to carry someone to safety, fast enough to outrun the law [...]

and I thought, shouldn't the law fit that ideal too? Then I thought, nah, I like the idea of Biggs1 and Wedge being the archetype here.

1: Or Vicks, if you prefer.

I am not your dupe account.


When I was 30 by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #5 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 06:42:03 PM EST
I could do 10-12 reps of 60 pounds with a standing dumbbell curl. 13 years later? I can do 20 reps of 20 pounds.

Sigh....

--
Has anybody seen my clue? I know I had it when I came in here.


Isolation curls by blixco (2.00 / 0) #6 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 06:54:15 PM EST
are tough. Arm strength is only minimally generated by the bicep; most "big arm" mofos concentrate more on their triceps, top of the shoulder, and the total arm. I think the averages I used to see were between 35 and 80 pounds, depending on the person doing the lifting.

I used to use free weights to combine and not isolate, but at my biggest, my 1RM for that exercise was 70 or 75 pounds depending on the day and time. At that time, though, I was benching over 300 pounds, and using 120 pounds on dumbbell flys, so I always felt a little ridiculous working my biceps.  Like, hey, I can almost lift this phonebook! while I'm in a gym surrounded by roided-out yuppies.  You don't want to be the weak one in that room.  They'll eat you alive.

So, yeah.  Fuck that; too much injury possibility for me.  Plus it fed into my addictive side, and I ended up spending inordinate amounts of time at the gym.

I'm doing all bodyweight stuff now, and it is working nicely, though it is way more work than my weightlifting days in both time and total effort.  Back when I was weightlifting I'd hit one part of my body per gym visit.  Now I hit everything every goddamn workout until I can't move. It sucks.  I hate it.

In re: Boston, I'd offer our floor, but Laurea insists this is her vacation too, and not just a HuSi meet.  I guess I can understand that.
---------------------------------
"You bring the weasel, I'll bring the whiskey." - kellnerin


roided out yuppies by MillMan (2.00 / 0) #14 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 08:02:50 PM EST
I was always fine being the "weak" one. Most of the roided out yuppies were completely insecure with their bodies. I wasn't.

When I'm imprisoned as an enemy combatant, will you blog about it?
[ Parent ]

Did you bring donuts to the gym? [nt] by debacle (2.00 / 0) #23 Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 09:24:29 AM EST
[not more than three]
"I'm very responsive to certain stimuli, and pain is pretty much at the top of that list." - BadDoggie

[ Parent ]

i do mostly do body weight workouts by 256 (2.00 / 0) #17 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 08:43:59 PM EST
which is what the 5BX is all about of course. I started supplementing with the weights in a large part because i noticed that my regime had resulted in a visibly noticeable increase in the size of my deltoids and triceps, but not in my biceps and forearms, which left me looking sort of lopsided in the mirror: big shoulders, spindly arms.

perhaps part of it is that for the first four weeks, i was unable to do even a single chin up, that being i believe the body weight exercise that best targets the biceps.
---
I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni
[ Parent ]

You all picked by ad hoc (2.00 / 0) #7 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 07:05:48 PM EST
the one weekend I'm out of town so, no, I can't put anyone up. Regardless of the level of clothing or buffness.
--
The three things that make a diamond also make a waffle.


Sorry. by ana (2.00 / 0) #24 Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 03:14:12 PM EST
Also, hoping you're aware of this.

"And this ... is a piece of Synergy." --Kellnerin
[ Parent ]

i can do by aphrael (2.00 / 0) #9 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 07:31:23 PM EST
10 reps at 25; i can even pull that out to three sets.

i can do 1-2 reps at 30.

If television is a babysitter, the internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.


chin-ups by spacejack (2.00 / 0) #10 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 07:31:55 PM EST
Even when I'm in the worst shape, being a featherweight I can usually do a few. Did you install a chin-up bar? What kind?



yeah by 256 (2.00 / 0) #15 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 08:25:07 PM EST
that's the thing about chinups and why they're a bad general metric. i'm a big dude. even if i were in peak shape (which i've never been), i'd probably still weigh 180 pounds, which means that chin ups are probably going to be harder for me than for someone like, say, ni.

i bought and installed this bar. it's pretty no frills, but it doesn't complain at all even with a dude my size reefing on it.
---
I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni
[ Parent ]

Yeah, by ni (4.00 / 1) #16 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 08:40:56 PM EST
one of those "More than 5"s was me. Although the molding around my door made a terrifying cracking noise when I tried to verify that, so I backed down.


"These days it seems like sometimes dreams of Italian hyper-gonadism are all a man's got to keep him going." -- CRwM
[ Parent ]

speaking of by spacejack (2.00 / 0) #19 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 09:11:30 PM EST
You should see ni's new place, it's pretty swank. It looks like a beatnik writer's apartment from the early 60s. He could have parties in there like in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

[ Parent ]

as for chinups by aphrael (2.00 / 0) #11 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 07:33:30 PM EST
in high school i could do zero. i was a gangly 137lb weakling with no muscles.

today, i weigh 177, but i can do 3 sets of 10 chinups with a 40 lb assist ... so i can lift what i couldn't lift then, and i can do 3-4 unassissted chinups.

this was a massive ego boost for me.


If television is a babysitter, the internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.


You need by tuscoops (2.00 / 0) #18 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 09:10:33 PM EST
This.

Not that I've tried it....but it looks like fun and/or torture....and that's what matters most.



out of shape by iGrrrl (2.00 / 0) #20 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 10:17:37 PM EST
Gah. Last summer I'd got up to 20 pushups, not the girly ones, and I'm back down to ten. Need to get back into shape for winch grinding duty, raising the main sail, and all that. In my burly roadie days I could do 20 chin ups, hands in either direction. Now? One. Oh woe.

Also, I could arm-wrestle ana for you, and maybe win. They're closer to the T. OTOH, I have your marked up manuscript on my desk, where it's been for oh, six months. Still want it?

"I don't have time for martial law, I have to get to the gym!" zarathus


it seems by 256 (2.00 / 0) #21 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 10:41:56 PM EST
unlikely at best that our brief stopover in boston would occasion a trip on the yacht, but were it to happen, i'm pretty capable at pulling on ropes when told to.

and as for that contest, i would happily shout and pound on the table and bet shiny american dollar coins (on whom would have to depend upon a fresh sizing up at the venue).

and yes, please, i want it. much has changed since then, but much has also stayed the same and what has stayed the same no doubt warrants some changing (and perhaps some of what has changed would do to change back)
---
I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni
[ Parent ]

Ten reps at 25 is great for your size . . . by slozo (2.00 / 0) #22 Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 10:48:48 PM EST
. . . assuming you are using perfect technique and isolation. I would guess more than 98% of people cheat on this, but it depends what you are going for.

The more you isolate, the better the definition obviously - but I thought you were married now . . .



heat wave, boston visit, chin ups and biceps curls | 24 comments (24 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

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