Let us resume (or continue) the heavy lifting

[Ororo]

^^ Hey Dovechild, did you pick a gym?

I lifted yesterday after not lifting for 2 months due to arm injury. It felt pretty good . I don't want to prolong these sprains healing (but I am). At least, they are always getting better.

I'm focusing on paused squats exclusively to work on form. I will be happy if I can do 160 with paused squats. I was repping that weight for 5 or 6 reps a few months ago.

[Dovechild20]

Greetings Ororo!

Yep, I picked the gym that has everything but can get crowded. Shortly after I posted, I changed my work hours to earlier in the day, so now I go to the gym before work which is perfect because there is hardly ANYONE in there at that time of day and I get my training in first thing in the morning which i love.

So, im currently lifting on the 12 week Starting Strongman program and its going pretty good. I have signed myself up for my first strongman/woman competition on Aug 15! Im really nervous, but really excited! I have so much work to do, so Im really trying to dial in my focus and my recovery.

Ive also been doing yoga everyday which has REALLY helped me with mobility, aches, pains, and body awareness. I can see it helping me in my lifts already.

Ororo, you still here? How are your trainings going? What kind of belt do you have? Im in the market for my first belt, im most likely going to go with the Inzer lever belt.

[Ororo]

^Dovechild, that's so cool you're doing a strongwoman contest! That's something I have been wanting to do for a long time, now!

Congrats on choosing a gym. I have a lever belt by Grizzly, who is a Canadian company. It's a great belt and very tough and rigid. You can massage it to make it more comfortable, but it will still give great support.

As for my lifting, I have been trying to get myself out of this workout break. I sprained my elbow and shoulder in jiu jitsu and took 2 months off. I have been lazy since it has been feeling good enough to lift, which is about 3-4 weeks now. I was lifting twice a week and doing 3-5 x 5 of overhead KB press, back squats, deadlifts. I was also doing some chin up negatives at home.

I actually bought a 10 pass Groupon for a yoga studio. I will be starting on Monday. I want something to help wi th jiu jitsu and flexibility and injury prevention. What kind of yoga are you doing?

[Dovechild20]

I am doing mostly hatha yoga with some vinyasa thrown in there. Even though i have a pack of classes that i have yet to use up at a studio, the majority of my practice is at home via youtube, which i LOVE! It has helped me so much , especially with aches, pains and past injuries (notably, my pulled hamstring). I am really hoping that the yoga helps with my mobility and helps prevent more injuries. I dont really look to yoga for any other real physical fitness so i tend to keep in the hatha yoga space versus vinyasa or hot yoga.

I hope your elbow and shoulder are feeling better, injuries and pains suck so much when you wish you could be out there getting it in the gym.

[Ororo]

Hey, Dovechild, are you still lifting? Did you do the strongwoman contest? How did it go? I just resumed lifting at an Olympic lifting center near my home. Much of the reason I was so consistent with lifting when I began was that I had a team ans a coach. This place has very knowledgeable coaches and a competitive team that I may tryout for some time next year. I have had two classes so far and will be back on Monday. Really enjoying it so far.

[Dovechild20]

Hey Ororo! Sorry so late, but yes Im still lifting, but have had a long break due to my father becoming ill. My strongman competition went well, i didnt win anything but i also didnt lose anything either. It was so fun just to see what my body could do so i definitely want to keep competing.

How is Olympic lifting going? Is it as technical as it seems? One day I want to try Oly lifting, just gotta find a place to get trained.

[Ororo]

Hey Dovechild, sorry to hear about your father's illness. I hope he is doing well now.
That's so cool that you competed in Strongman! Congrats! that's something I am interested in doing, too.

Olympic lifting is so technical. Even just with the bar, my coaches are correcting so many big and little things. If your form is off by a bit, it can make the difference between making the lift or not. That's part of why I am attracted to it - the challenge of mastering something so technical. It's fun so far and I'm getting better at it. They have me adding some weight to my front squats. Gotta work on keeping my elbows up.