1st time through S&H C&B and have form questions

[susan p2]

I just did S&H chest and back for the first time and have a couple of form questions:

1) my back is my strongest body part. Although I usually know to start with HALF the weight Cathe uses most body parts, I can match her weights on back exercises for some reason. Here's the problem: My little auxiliary muscles give out too soon!! For instance, doing dumbbell lat rows, my rear delts are SCREECHING at me before my lats really even get very warm! Is there something wrong with my form that is engaging my rear delts too much, or are they just too wimpy for my lats (is that like "too sexy for my shirt"?? hmmmm too wimpy for my lats too wimpy for my lats too wimpy for my lats hmmmm.....)

2) does going slow make you SHAKE more? I found that I was shaking more at a lower level of fatigue. Usually I don't start to shake till my muscle is almost numb, and doing S&H I start to shake much earlier! (don't worry, I'm not shaking to a point that compromises my form! I'm a member of the "educated crowd" ya know!)

3) During supine planks, I notice that Cathe and her crew have their fingers pointed toward their toes. This is VERY awkward for me. . . I do them with my fingers splayed outward, pointing toward the outside walls. Is that OK? Also, I feel supine planks TREMENDOUSLY in my butt and hams, but not much at all in my back! Prone planks I feel VERY much in my back/abs/around my ribcage, but not supine ones. So is this a form issue of some kind?

It just occurred to me that it must be kind of hard to answer form questions on the internet. After all, you can't SEE us! So just give it your best shot. Thanks to Cathe, and to any of the educated crowd who might choose to jump in with their insights!!

 

[KimberlyH]

or are they just too wimpy for my lats (is that like "too sexy for my shirt"?? hmmmm too wimpy for my lats too wimpy for my lats too wimpy for my lats hmmmm.....)

Thanks, SusanP ... now I have that song stuck in my head.

During supine planks, I notice that Cathe and her crew have their fingers pointed toward their toes. This is VERY awkward for me. . . I do them with my fingers splayed outward, pointing toward the outside walls. Is that OK?

Since I haven't done S&H yet, this is the only question I'll take a crack at, and my answer is based on the supine planks from CTX Kickbox. Anyway, Cathe says "it's not necessary" to have your fingers pointed toward your toes. I'm sure the same is true for S&H supine planks.

I'm starting a two week S&H upper body rotation at the end of the week. I'm having foot surgery tomorrow, so it's back to seated upper body. Sigh ...

 

[susan p2]

Poor Kimberly!! What is up with your foot? It wasn't THAT long ago (a year or so?) that you had knee surgery!! Honestly, your doc is going to get an overuse injury just from operating on YOU, does he know that?

Thanks for the info on the fingers, and I hope you are able to enjoy the S&H upper body rotation while you're recovering. I almost started a PS rotation, which I haven't done in ages, and decided to try S&H instead for a couple of weeks before kicking off another long-term rotation of any sort, whether I decided to go Firm or Cathe. I like S&H although I'm only doing two sets instead of three to get started with it.

I'll be thinking of you tomorrow! Let us know how it goes. And instead of counting backwards from 100 as you go under, you can be humming "too sexy for my shirt too sexy for my shirt too sexy for my shirt" (which has got to go down in history as one of the STUPIDEST songs known to man! )

 

[KimberlyH]

Thanks, Susan!

I'll keep the 2 sets instead of 3 idea in mind when I try it out. I have to admit, I'm a little intimidated by these tapes, but it's time to try them. After two weeks, I'm going back to a PS rotation. They're my all-time favorite.

My husband thinks I should get frequent flyer credit for all the surgery I've had on my lower half! You're right, it was a little over a year ago (October 2000) when I had the left knee surgery, and that was after having the right knee surgery in July, 2000. This time, it's a morton's neuroma in my left foot that's causing a lot of pain when I walk or put any weight on the ball of my left foot. It's a pretty simple procedure--I actually had one on the right foot and had surgery on that about ten years ago. I get to wear the funny shoe for two weeks, and I hope to be back to normal within a three or four weeks.

Sounds like a good time to try S&H, huh?!

 

[Kath]

RE: Thanks, Susan!

Hey, I have Morton's Neuroma too. Two orthopedists didn't know what it was, finally I researched it and filled them in. (pass the m.d. degrees, please). It's so common. Wide shoes seem to make it not a problem for now, but what is the surgery like? I think I got mine from running in shoes that were too narrow.

 

[KimberlyH]

Hi Kath!

Hello, fellow morton's neuroma sufferer! I just had the surgery this afternoon, and right now, my foot feels pretty swollen and still a bit numb from all the anesthesia they pumped into it. I have the vicodin right here by my elevated foot in case I need it.

I saw a podiatrist who instantly knew what it was. Tight shoes can cause and exacerbate them, especially high heels. My last pair of cycling cleats were pretty tight, so I think that's what caused mine, although I had one on the right foot removed about ten years ago, so I guess it was just a matter of time before the left one caught up!

My podiatrist told me that he could treat it with cortisone shots, but the only way to completely get rid of the pain was to surgically remove the nerve. I tried one cortisone shot and that lasted for about two days, so I just decided to get rid of it for good.

So far, so good ... but it *has* only been five hours.

P.S. Cathe, I did Rhythmic Step as my last weightbearing exercise for a while--had a blast! Thanks!

 

[susan p2]

Just bumping hoping for an answer to the strong lats/weak rear delts dilemma. . . Hoping there is an exercise I can substitute that works those lats without engaging the rear delts so much, or a form pointer that will help me keep the rear delts OUT of the picture!

Kimberly, hope you are doing well! You are such a veteran! And Kath, sounds to me like you DO deserve an honorary MD. Funny how often we have to take charge of our own health care, particularly with women's issues or exercise-related issues. They just don't seem to be things that the average doc spends much time boning up on.

Hope Cathe and the educated crowd don't mind my little nag!

 

[susan p2]

Just did S&H legs and shoulders for the first time! Liked it! Used 8 lb then 5 lb on the rear delt raises. yeeoch! I did an abbreviated version (only two sets per exercise) because the kids were due home from school soon. . . so, I AM working on those rear delts! And in the meantime, uh (bump!) anybody got advice on the lat problem? hehe. (the squeaky wheel gets the grease but I only want to be very GENTLY squeaky, not obnoxious!)

 

[kellyeli]

Hi Susan!

Ok, this might be of no use, but for me, I find the key to doing all weight lifting exercises properly is visualization. The lat row is actually one that I figured out on my own long ago (as opposed to others that I got right here!). Ok, I picture myself getting onto a bus and pulling my self up with my arm (ok, so this works better when you are doing single arm rows, but we know how to adapt, right?), you know, hanging onto that bar they always have there? Hope this helps somewhat!

Elizabeth Kelly