It seems odd to me that of all the components to my fitness regimen, it’s my weight-lifting that’s going best. When I started this several months ago, I did so with a grudging heart.
Make no mistake: I do not love lifting weights. Sometimes it’s a chore. But it’s a chore I perform dutifully and well. Three mornings a week, I’m at the gym, following my plan. I’m making slow and steady progress. There’s something faintly pleasurable in the work and the routine.
Lately I’ve been asking myself why it is I’m able to follow my weight lifting plan so well, while the other aspects of my fitness have struggled. I think there are several parts to the explanation:
- I have a plan, and I stick to it. After each workout, I come home and I draft a schedule for my next workout. When I go to they gym, I follow the schedule. If something hurts, I back off.
- I came into weight lifting as a novice. (Hell, I’m still a novice.) Other than thinking lifters were meat-heads, I didn’t have any preconceived notions. (And I was wrong about that one!)
- I stay within myself. Partly because I’m afraid of hurting myself, and partly because I simply cannot lift more, I do not push ahead. There are weeks at a time during which I make no progress, but I don’t let it bother me. Over the past six weeks, for example, I’ve done the exact same bicep routine each time I work on my upper body. I haven’t bumped the weight at all. I’m okay with that. I know that eventually my arms will be strong enough to increase resistance. I have time.
- I’m not competing with anyone, not even myself. When I lift weights, it’s all inside. It’s all in my head. I don’t get mad at myself if I have a bad day, and I don’t get cocky if a lift is easy. All I do is focus on my daily plan.
I would love to find a way to apply these principles to the other two aspects of my fitness: aerobic exercise and food. In a way, Sally’s pursuit of self-care relies upon these techniques.
Could I really apply them to other parts of my life? I’ve always been a measurer. (Just last week I talked about tracking my calories again with FitDay, for example.) Could I really do aerobic exercise without measuring every little piece of data? Could I just go run for the sake of running?
I don’t know, but it’s something to think about.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh yeah — there was no way for me to work this into the post, but I’m having trouble with my reverse-grip pulldowns. When I do upper body lifting, I do one set of 12 reverse-grip pulldowns after five sets of wide-grip pulldowns. The RGPs have always hurt a little, but lately it’s gotten worse.
RGPs work your back. But to do them, you pull down with your arms. When I pull down, the inside of both forearms hurts. It’s a sort of achey pain, but it’s still pain. I imagine that this is what carpal tunnel must feel like. So, I generally do as many RGPs as possible before I’m too sore.
Any tips? (Actually, maybe I should go watch some YouTube videos to be sure I haven’t done something funky with my form.)
If you’ve done the same routine without improvement 3x a week for 6 weeks, you’re doing something wrong. Switch up the exercise or weight/reps/sets for a bit.
-d
I think points 1 and 3 are vital.
1. Have a plan. No matter what you do if you don’t have a plan you are just mucking around and are less likely to stick with it.
3. Stay within your limits. I’ve seen it said before in the comments but in your other endeavours you always seem to forget the ‘get fit SLOWLY’ motto.
That’s why I like following running programs and having events to enter. I can tick things off as done.
Hey, Dan. Thanks for the feedback.
I alternate between upper body and lower body workouts. I do upper body 1.5 times per week, not 3 times per week.
In the past six weeks, I’ve made progress on certain exercises (I’m now using 40# dumbbells for bench presses instead of 30#, for example), but not on bicep curls. But it doesn’t bug me. I can feel myself getting stronger — I’m just not ready to move up.
Hey J.D.,
I think the best thing about your resistance training program is that you seem to be pulling some satisfaction from it. Your enjoyment seems somewhat tenuous though.
One way to make your resistance work more enticing is to use it to augment performance in some sort of “measuring stick” skill. For example, you could add some kettlebell training or a gymnastics type skill like a handstand as a goal and organize your weight training around achieving that skill. This serves two purposes. One, you are developing skill and thus keeping interest high. Two, you are giving yourself a measurable target to shoot for, making all the efforts in the gym that much more interesting (beyond being healthy and fit). There are all kinds of skill based resistance training ideas that you could use for this.
I find that keeping this “training” mind-set rather than the typical “working out” mind-set makes a world of difference.
Cheers,
Adam
I have such a hard time sticking with the weights (I have shoulder issues — which is a handy excuse)…
The running I happily do mindlessly. Weights seems like such work. You know?
IMHO, if you’re not either increasing weight or reps or sets with EVERY workout, there’s something amiss.
I run for the sake of running much of the time. I meet up with a few of my friends about 3 times a week. This morning we ran the boardwalk in New Symrna Beach, FL. We usually do this 6 mile run once a week and we get muffins at a local coffee shop right after. OK – maybe I’m running for the sake of muffins, but when I’m out on the boardwalk near the ocean – it’s just really pretty. I start running and remember when I was a kid and running was the normal pace of life. When you are cooped up in an office most of the day, it feels good to be out and feel the wind.
Bear in mind though that I’ve been running regularily for about six years and before that I crewed (rowed). There was a time when it was all about getting fit and it was a chore. It’s really been in the past couple years that I started to kick back and enjoy movement. As you get older, you really start to appreciate it – especially when other people your age start having problems doing simple things like getting off the couch.
Cheers!
Brigid
Your weight lifting approach seems very zen. Something that a man well clear of his teenage years would come up with.
Maybe there is a way of bringing that zen approach over to your nutrition and cardio pursuits.
Maybe you need to change the things that you are measuring. Instead of measuring calories, become mindful/aware of each bite that passes your lips. Is it helping or hurting your overall health goals? be honest
When you run, are you focused on running a specific pace or running freely, without pain or tightness. There are some programs out there that focus on modifying running technique that claim to work with your body’s natural mechanics.
I can’t vouch for their effectiveness, but it may be something to look into.
And regarding the reverse grip pulldowns:
The exercise puts more focus on biceps, forearm flexors and wrist flexors than a standard grip pulldown. So, the pain in your forearms is either 1. highlighting a weakness or 2. telling you that you are using too much arms and not enough back
If 1. You can put up with the pain and hope it goes away as you get stronger or add in some supplementary grip and forearm work
If 2. Instead of focusing on pulling the bar towards your upper chest, focus on pulling your elbows as far down and back as you can. This subtle difference forces your attention away from your arms. Due to our everyday movement patterns we have greater neurological control over our arms and less over our back muscles. You may need to minimize arm function and focusing on your elbows is a trick that has worked for me in the past.
Good luck
JD,
I would try tinkering with the width on the reverse-grip pulldowns, take some time away from them, or get rid of them completely if you can’t do them without ‘bad’ pain.