Haiku is too easy

[flexagon]

A rather boring cold October day.
I should have worn my jacket. Now I see.
I told the cats don't shed until Friday
But do not think they're listening to me.

At work, I didn't get much done today.
I'm lonely now that all my friends have quit.
A little progress would help to allay
this feeling that I'm sort of faking it.

Then yoga -- by a strange coincidence
we worked on straddle-ups in class. And though
I meant to post of something else for once
I'm working on them still, and now you know.

All day I loved and hated life, in turns.
I want to quiet my brain, but still it churns.

Comments

[flexagon]

the weight stuff I'm most into is... well, geez, I'm pretty boring when you get down to it. I do almost entirely free weights and/or body weight now, to make sure I use my stabilizer muscles (the only machine I still use is to give me any mechanical advantage is the lat pulldown machine, to warm up for pullups). Dumbbells instead of a bar whenever possible for the same reason. I hit all the major muscle groups. I have upper-body and lower-body days now, but haven't felt the need / found the time to split it up beyond that. Most things I do 3 sets of.

upper body:

lat pulldowns, then actual pullups
military presses
bench presses
bicep curls
side bends with weight in 1 hand (I always laugh when I see people doing it with a dumbell in each hand... don't they realize that defeats the purpose?)
abs, if I think of it... usually leg raises at the dip station, or just holding a low plank for 60 seconds or whatever. I know lots and lots of ab exercises. If at the dip station, try an L-sit.
triceps I used to do dips, but now yoga hits my triceps plenty hard.

lower body:
squats... 5 sets, light, more, more, MORE, light.
hamstring curls
back extensions, aka hungry caterpillars because it looks to me like a caterpillar waving its body around looking for food :)
calf presses
more leg raises at the dip station

then, after either of these I will stretch and do a few handstands.

[nevers.livejournal.com]

very interesting. why bench presses as opposed to pushups? also, do you do bicep curls to help your pullups, or for definition? also curious about the hamstring curls.

the one thing i think would help me with weights is squats. i used to have such powerful legs when i was dancing, and i've lost out that. i am SO RIDICULOUSLY SORE from pushing off for and landing a dozen front handsprings on tuesday. and stronger legs will also help me as a base. but squats, ugh, i just can't get myself to do them.

haha, clearly I could talk about this for a long time

[flexagon]

bench presses: they are heavier/harder than pushups, at least for the pecs. Pushups are good ab work, and obviously a more whole body exercise, but I like the heavy, heavy weights squishing me into the bench. I like knowing my chest is strong.

bicep curls are just for having strong biceps, not for any other cool move -- some of my friends call them beach muscles, but it's funny, they never say that when i'm helping them move boxes in and out of their apartments. :)

hamstring curls... well, I have heard that they're not as useful for other activities as other exercises that use the hamstring to move the hip joint. I like them though. They've made my knees feel more stable in positions where I'm holding a leg out behind me and straight, which used to (and sometimes still do) feel sort of dangerous/wobbly around the knee. If I were strong enough to do glute ham naturals instead, I probably would; but I'm not, and I do back extensions, and yoga, both of which use the hamstring to move the hip.

I highly recommend squats. Warning though: they felt awful to me for four months straight before finally, the seventeenth week, I loved them. So, only if you plan to stick with them. Also, they don't do a damn thing for jumps since they teach you to move fastest in the middle of the movement and slow again at the end.