In Just Seven Days (And Six Hot Nights)...

[serinde]

Today, I adventured the gym's weight machines, after a 12-minute warm-up on the elliptical. (It is interesting to note that, at least according to the amazing electroscopitron, I move at a much higher speed walking on the elliptical than I do running on a treadmill. To the tune of 3mph, at that. Fallacy somewhere, I fancy.)

My arms are feeble. I knew this. But they are really, really feeble.

Some Press Thing I Forget, Next To The Pull-Down: 2 reps of 10, at 2#
Lat pull-down: 3 reps of 10, at 25# (lats {duh}, biceps, deltoids)
Shoulder ("incline") press: 2 reps of 10, at 2# (deltoids, trapezius, triceps)
Dip Assist: 1 rep of 10, with 100# of counter-weight (triceps, biceps, shoulders). Barely.

That latter device is an interesting one. It can be used for both chin-ups and for -- Well, imagine being a kid on line at the amusement park, and you're in the cattle chute corralling the line, yeah? And you're bored out of your skull so you put one hand on the rail on either side of you, and you lift your feet off the ground so you're held up between the railings just by your arms. Now, instead of fucking around, start doing push-ups. That's a "dip". So, what the assist machine does is, instead of having a dip or a chin-up be strictly Your Arm Strength Vs. Your Body Weight, it provides some counter-weight so you have, well, an assist. (It is backwards of what I expected, 'cos I didn't think it through: I set the weight to the second-lightest thingie, like I did for everything else, and had an amusing episode of Fail.)

What is driving my sudden pumping of iron is the fact that I am too goddamn feeble to do a single, solitary chin-up. (You could say weight is a factor, aheheheh. Except that I could not do this at my thinnest--size 6--in high school, either.) (Did I mention how, even at that thinnest, I was still convinced I was overweight? Not to the crazy anorexic point, but just sorrowfully resigned? Because I always had been, and because my boobs were still huge. But enough about my body image issues.) I don't want to be some scary body-builder, I don't even want to be ripped, but I want to have some basic level of tone and fitness in my arms and upper body.

I was fine at the time, although did less than I thought I was capable of because I know how this works, but now I am full of the ache and the ow.

Comments

[erinfinnegan.livejournal.com]

I've never been about to do a chin-up or pull-up, ever, in my entire life, not even one - not even when I was a little kid.

I was size 12-14 in high school and convinced I was not overweight, but rather, there was a vast conspiracy and that's why no clothes fit me correctly. I've discovered more recently I was just wrong; Yes, I was overweight, and now that I'm thinner the larger sizes fit just fine. I have been wearing women's jeans for several years after wearing boys jeans/pants from about 1996-2002.

Here is a 4-minute arm workout you can do at home:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0_5Yt-j9Alo

Also: Huzzah! Weight lifting! Women who lift weights feel better about themselves and their appearance - there's science to prove it. Excertion releases endorphines. Exercise for the endorphins instead of the weight loss. If you're happier you'll eat less.

[damned-colonial.livejournal.com]

Errr, women generally can't do chinups/pullups unassisted unless they are pretty fucking highly trained. Which is why, for instance, military entrance tests don't require them to do them, and substitute something easier instead. It's one of those post-puberty body geometry things where we get fucked over.

Here's something I had bookmarked on the topic: http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=51

"Pullups are also darn hard for the average woman to do. Most untrained females who are older than 10 and heavier than 50 lbs can't do them. The good news, though, is that most trained women CAN do them. It just takes practice, patience, and time."

[syringavulgaris.livejournal.com]

...!

Apparently, my high school gym teacher failed to get that memo. I want to go back in time and engage in a bit of kicking.

[nancaurelia.livejournal.com]

But... but... Linda Hamilton in the 2nd Terminator movie... I guess she gave us unrealistic goals.

Weight training is good for weight loss too. More muscle makes for a higher metabolism. (Even tho you might gain a tiny bit at the beginning, you could notice a reduction in size.) Excellent plan.

[fivetonsflax.livejournal.com]

Good for you.

I am full of ow too, after starting up Yong Mu Do and going running with Suzanne. Tomorrow I go to YMD again ...

[must-sew-faster.livejournal.com]

I hated the thing where the gym teacher boosted us up into a chin up position, and then 'timed us' for as long as we could hold on. I was like, "Um, just let me fall, OK?"
This was a stupid test...I have very little hand strength. My kids have no hand strength. I am incapable of drawing blood with a syringe because of this as well. Also, my finger tips dislocate easily. But my arms are strong. I could bench 80 pounds in 10th grade. So why did they make us hang?
Stupid gym teachers.

[lillilah]

I pulled a muscle under one of my arms trying to do a chinup once. As for upper body strength, I recommend yoga that focuses on sun salutations (http://www.yogasite.com/sunsalute.htm) - or just doing sun salutations by themselves. I have found that it does a better job for me than lifting weights did. I started doing one and worked my way up.

BTW, the chick who played Vasquez in Aliens was a professional bodybuilder. As others have said, girls don't have that much luck with chinups.