05.19.08
More BJJ lifting fun
Last week during warmups at BJJ, we added two body lifts. In the first, your partner sits in front of you, back to you; you squat down, lock your arms under his arms/around his chest, and squat up. Lift him up 5x, then lock your arms around his waist, and carry him down the mat; set him down; repeat. In the second, your partner faces you; grab one wrist and the same-side leg and lift him on your shoulder (fireman carry). Lift 5x; on the 5th, carry him down the mat; set down; repeat.
The first night I did them, I got stuck with a ~190-lb guy. He had no problem with me. I could barely get him off the floor! For the carrying part, I had to switch with someone else because I couldn’t lift the first guy’s feet off the ground. In the fireman carry, I grabbed a slightly lighter guy. (But only slightly! He’s dense…)
I was trying more for speed that first night, to keep up with the guys. I sacrificed a bit of form, which was bad–all week my back has hurt a lot. It’s been a week of stretching, warm showers, ibuprofen, and pain. And BJJ around all of that. Yes, I’m nuts, I’m sure.
The second night, our coach felt bad for me, I think, having to try to lift the really big guys, so he put me with the smallest guy on the team, ~145lbs. That was almost doable =P. We only did the first lift, but I really really focused on my form. The next morning, my back didn’t hurt any more than it already did, so that’s a good sign.
The carry part of that first lift really hits your glutes and hamstrings. (The second night, my glutes and hammies were seriously close to cramping. They be working hard.) Push your hips out in front so that the majority of the weight is resting on your hips/abs and down. You don’t want that weight on your back. Your arms and back should just be along to stabilize your partner against your body. Pull your shoulder blades back and in to keep your back from rounding. (Do the same on the fireman carry, too.)
If you don’t have a willing partner of liftable weight, you can always make one: sandbags (here or here), weighted to order. Have some fun with your lifting.
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01.30.08
NROLFW, Stage 1, A3
I’m losing track of days, and it’s easier to identify which stage and workout I’m on, anyway. So…there.
I’ve started getting up and eating, then taking another half hour or so to wake up. I’m still obviously not all that awake, though: this morning I did 2×15 on squats, and it’s supposed to be 2×12. Doh.
I got to use my power rack this morning for squats, finally! However, the rack is for Olympic bars, and the bars we have are (much, much) shorter. So loading the bar was a trip. But, oh the difference the rack makes! No more clean & press that wears out my shoulders. I’ve been watching some of the Squat Rx series, though, and I think my form needs some work; I think my glutes are doing hardly any work. Lazy bum 
I have the safety bars set at almost the lowest position because I do full squats. My dad complained again today that I have them too low (i.e., he doesn’t want me to do full squats). I so wanted to point out that he was hardly doing quarter squats over on his side, but I bit my tongue. We have this argument every time I squat. I don’t even want to convert him anymore. But how do I at least convince him to let me be?
I still feel like a wimp when I look at my weights; they’re low, and when I try to increase them, I can’t. Tried 50 lbs on the squats: got 5. (Granted, that was more than 200% of what I did last week, but still…I want to do that and more.) Tried 25 lbs on step ups: got 3. On the rows and pull downs (now using the pulleys on the power rack), I’m not yet used to how much weight I can use. And to fuel all my inadequacies, I see other ladies’ online training logs and they’re throwing out much higher numbers.
Patience. Must learn patience. Now.
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