I'm going to chime in on this one. The actual specific goals are always in the
tracking post, but here is a snippet of Bracken_Joy's.
Participant | Goals |
Bracken_Joy | - 1 set/1 deadlift 200lbs (Stretch: 270lbs)
1 set/1 back squat 135lbs(Stretch: 200lbs)Achieve proper and comfortable front rack position- 1 set/1 strict pullup
|
This actually reminds me, from your journal and you busting out pull ups at the Meetup you hosted, should I mark that goal off, or is there something else to be done (does it need to be stricter)?
Big_Owl and SoccerLounge, I love the enthusiasm, and the face punches are definitely a good response if what you are addressing is a case of excusitis. In this particular instance, that is not the case, though (I think). I'm going to address a few things as far as my understanding of the situation goes, and we might get even more valuable feedback. IMO, the most valuable thing that was stated in response was challenging the idea of long workouts = good workouts. As described, that is most definitely not always the case.
What would you guys do? 5 pulls ups, a lap of lunges, call it a day? Would that even do anything? =P
So IME, and based on the feedback received, the answer to whether that would do anything is a resounding yes!! As a matter of fact, in the
goal description post, there is Tabata, and that is only a 4 minute workout. It's more HIIT, and I haven't actually done it, but it appears to capitalize on the idea of short workouts being of value. I don't remember off the top of my head who put that as their goal, but maybe they can chime in with their experience of it all.
2. Time for a not-so-humble brag...I'm willing to bet my body looks better than 99% of the people on this forum (again, by my bodybuilding criteria). There's genetics...but the point for saying that is whatever I'm doing is working, and would probably work for you.
It was a statistically unfortunate fact that you managed to write this in response to someone who is in that 1%. :D I did love your description of why you workout, and I want to use that verbiage and shift it to include my mirror lust statement. It reminds me of some of the stuff that Mark Sisson (Mark's Daily Apple) said about working out, and how his workouts are all about embracing his inherent laziness. He wants to look good, and he wants to accomplish that with as little effort as possible (i.e. efficiency).
Here are my constraints:
1. I can't make noise. I have an outdoor home gym, and 5am is not an acceptable time to drop weights. I have a pull up bar, a yoga mat, and could conceivably pull out the barbell but set up can't always happen, if husband is parked in the carport at the time.
2. I can't be *too* sore, because I have to be able to reposition a 75lb+ client, and haul over 100lbs of gear in a little cart, etc etc. Very physical job.
3. No time for showering before work, so I can't get *too* sweaty.
What would you guys do? 5 pulls ups, a lap of lunges, call it a day? Would that even do anything? =P
First things first, I'll address these constraints, and a bit of stuff that has been posted about here and in other places in regards to this. In this particular instance, BJ isn't providing excuses, as she's kicked ass this entire year, and had a routine that worked quite well. But my understanding is that her schedule has shifted, and the constraints are things to keep in mind, for the following reasons.
BJ does lifts that involve dropping the weight from above her head. I can't remember what they are called, but I did watch a video she posted that kind of showed how freaking loud that is. Couple that with the fact that there has been 'complaints' from neighbors regarding the noise, and it's just a proactive constraint, and will give an idea as to where her frame of mind is when it comes to working out. The olympic style lifts are kind of her default.
With the soreness section, instead of maybe needing to carry someone because nobody else can, her entire job is being in a position where she is the one who may have to do that, every day, so I think it's more about erring on the side of caution. As a healthcare worker who literally has people's lives in her hands, she'd rather have a workout that is too easy, and sacrifice some potential gains, than to go too hard and put her clients at risk because she was greedy.
I don't know about the shower thing, because framed in another way, I could see it as an excuse, although I do agree with M
2 about sleep being a huge part of things too. This is mostly colored by my issues with sleep though, so if you don't have issues with it, I could see waking up a bit earlier.
All that being said, I'm actually with SS on this one. I think going through some of the bodyweight progressions would be a good alternative. You most likely aren't going to feel the nice burn like you do with your lifting (that only happens at the very beginning, and only if you haven't done anything else), but there will be a good impact to your bottom line strength. Maybe do a set of some pistol squats since you can do those. Doing the bodyweight exercises slowly reduces the sweat as well, and the time spent will be less overall.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong with my assumptions here. It may be that Big_Owl was right and you were being all whiny and excusy :P, or I viewed the constraints as exactly what they were, but got the understanding screwed up. I usually assume the best about people in this thread, even though IRL I assume the worst.