woot woot!!!

which one is it?

I'm going to my first in June- I had to turn down the Febuary one- oh well.

What are you expecting to pull?

have you practiced the lifts at all? (talking to the girl at my gym the bench was the hardest for them- wrists need to be UBER straight- and the pause at the bottom seems to take forever!!!)

YAY and are you doing a program to peak??

so excited for you!!!

WOOT WOOT YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

Live in your stretchy pants!!!! The bulk is a PITA but you won't regret it!!! Can't wait to see how you do!

coaching is super important. There are on line coaches that arent' too expensive, but if you can find one in person, thats the way to go. A real good one. I have to drive an hour and 15 minutes one way to the coach i am using. she's 20$ for a couple hours, which i think is cheap for what i'm getting. I live in the woods, so any time we want anything we have to drive into town. Its worth it. I see her once or twice a week and then come back to my home gym and work on it.

What do you mean by arch? The only lift i have an arch is my bench, i arch my back, but its just to get my body angled so that i can push with my legs also, it doesn't hurt or anything. Actually when i go past my limits i'll start to feel it in my back and then i stop , its too much i know i need to work on the other muscles so my back doesn't start kicking in too much. And when i do feel my back start to pinch, i'll try and shift my push into my legs more, or just bail on the lift. I dont like to take chances with my back ever cause yeah it will be a long time healing.

yeah- I'd like to be able to go once a month- or maybe twice if I can swing it- for 20 bucks an hour or two I'd be there 2x a month. There is a place that does evals for 160/180 for 2 hrs and that seems a little steep to me. I'm not unwilling to pay- but that seems high.
And I'm certainly not unwilling to drive- especially for once a month or so.

Yes- bench- arch- that. I just find when I get a good arch I don't feel as efficient and then I have back problems the next day- it doesn't hurt while I'm doing it- but the next 3 days I'm paying. Gotta find a happy medium- the more I do it- the better it gets- but the more I do it- the more aggitated my elbow gets and then I can't bench- bad trade off. I've been practicing uber light with only one or two sets for technical work to try to get a better arch to push.

Man lucky you- 20$ I'm totally jealous!!!

YAY congrats!!!!

Good job on your lifts!!! That's fantastic!!!

On to the next question- where did you get your singlet from- I need to start shopping- mine's the 8th of June I think!

edit- I missed youre reply to my questions

[/quote]160 for 2 hours is way too much. i paid for a few privates with my current coach, it was 75 for 2 hours. I had a private for each lift and then i went into a small group of 2 or 3 people , and thats 20 for the workout.

If the bench arch is hurting you, you might be doing it wrong? ARe you up on your lats , i engage my lats deep and dig them into the bench, my shoulders are pinched together, thats where the power for the lift comes from, your lower back shouldn't be involved at all. My butt barely touches the bench, my entire core solidly engaged all the way through my legs. This power lift position is a hard one to get into , and when i'm benching to build muscle, i am on the bench totally different, i only get up in that arch for the power part. Do you use a weight belt? you can't really see an arch in this picture, but this is as arched as i get, abnd my butt is not resting on the bench, i'm tight all the way through my legs, my butt is touching the bench becuase thats the rules, but its engaged and i'm holding it up . Some people get a way bigger arch, i can't go any more than this or it will hurt my back . A coach might also be able to help you get your arms positioned so it doesnt' hurt your elbows . Squeeze the bar, bend the bar on the way down, spread it on the way up, those kinda tips and makign sure your arms are tucked and spread at the right time. [/quote]

I don't mind paying a little bit- but I mean- I just dropped 100 for about 4 hrs of dance work shops from a teacher from Sweden whose visiting- so to me almost 100 an hr was a little much.

I don't think I'm really wrong- I just feel like I am not really used to it- and I have bigger issues with hips than anything.
I definitely have lats pulled and everything is tight- I push hard enough to get butt cramps LOL- I think the angle is just something I"m not used to and my back isn't what it used to be.
I've been focused on training that for now to get better.

Been talking about a coach- or someone for sports medicine physiotherapy.

I have work to do that's for sure.