separately

[solarbird]

Weightlifting is paying off quickly. It's been too long, and I've missed it. It makes me feel all liquidy. Right now, I'm two days on, one day off, doing two slow reps of a bunch of different weight exercises. When I can do 15 and 15 (reps), I consider myself to have achieved a weight; when I can do 15 and 20, I move up to the next weight.

I've been going about three and a half weeks. Every category has advanced, some by a lot. (I set starting weights with a trainer.) Some lifts have gone up literally 50% - I think that's more re-limbering than muscle gain, but it's some of both, I can definitely feel it.

The gym is a mix of Widowmaker purple and Overwatch gold. I am not even making this up, it's just true. Mind you, that's also UW purple and gold, and I figured that was why those colours, but turns out they're based in New Hampshire or something? So it's entirely unrelated and coincidental. But I like it, it's in walking distance, and I kind of pretend it's a joint Talon-Overwatch facility in some AU. I'm from the Talon side, of course.

Also, Zarya is in my head a lot, mostly saying, "STRONG." Fitness goals. I WANT TO HUG YOU LIKE BIG FUZZY SIBERIAN BEAR! Not there yet, but closer than I was. XD

Comments

[ossobuco]

I'm excited that you're lifting! Zarya is also my fitness goals (the ol' tumblr "life goals or wife goals" applies so very much) though it may be a long time before I'm back at the gym.

Do you have a favorite exercise? I looove the squats. I also did a lot of hip adduction, with the dream of someday crushing a watermelon with my thighs.

[solarbird]

I like variety specifically - I don't really have any sort of single favourite exercise, beyond "weight machines" (vs. free weights which are okay, and things like treadmill which 550% are NOT okay). I'm entirely on weight machines at the moment as I get a baseline strength level built back up.

I guess the one I dislike is the vertical shoulder press, but that's mostly to do with "can't get that fuckin' number to move up again it's only advanced once" and not anything related to the exercise itself.

I also like hip adduction, tho' the "watermelon with my thighs" thing didn't occur to me. But I like it. XD

[ossobuco]

I haaate the shoulder press. It's really uncomfortable for me for some reason! My arms just don't like that angle. Plus, same for me, I just could not build strength.

Once you get to this point--one of my old lifting buddies recommended using dumbbells rather than bars when possible. You may end up doing less weight at first because you're having to stabilize a lot more and using more peripheral muscles, or something like that. I'm told it can make for better form on the hell that is the shoulder press, too, since you don't have to worry about knocking your head with a bar.

[solarbird]

I've never actually done bars - when I say freeweights I mean dumbbells. I will probably try bars just to do it if I get that far!

But my shoulder vertical press is my lowest weight at like 35 pounds right now, and last week was 15 (set 1) and 11 (set 2) reps, so, yeah. It'll be a bit. XD

What I'm trying - and what helped on chest press - is doing as many as I can, resting a minute, then doing 6 verrrrrrry slooooooowly. Hopefully I'll see something from that!