Hey Pinky, I got my troy lite!

L

lisaLD

Cathlete
Pinky,

I just posted a reply under the "Got my Troy Lite" thread, but I wasn't sure if you'd see it there. I had told you that I would let you know how I like my new barbell.

So far it's great. As I said in that reply, I'm going to be able to increase my weight for lower body, which hasn't been something that anyone else has mentioned. I don't know when, if ever, I would have been able to do that with the Firm barbell. I was almost struggling with 40 lbs with it, and with the Troy Lite, 40 lbs was not hard at all. I noticed some improvement with upper body, but not as much yet as some people seem to have. It may just be because I'm coming back first from the bronchitis and then the migraine (they wipe me out).

Anyway, I would really recommend the Troy Lite, especially if you have a Firm barbell now. Also, as I mentioned on the other thread, if you don't want or need all of the plates in their prepackaged set, it's cheaper to buy the pieces separately.

I hope you're doing well! Talk to you later!
 
Oh wow! Hey, thanks LisaLD! I got my own thread!:) Have you used your TL doing barbell curls? My biggest problem with my current barbell is that I can't get through all the bicep curls in PS. But I can do it with a pair of 15-lb. dumbbells. I know it's how my wrists are positioned, but if you're liking your TL a lot, you might notice a difference doing bicep curls with it than with any other barbell. And please educate me here, is 40 lbs. with the Troy Lite really 40 lbs.? It's that "Lite" definition that make me wonder. Thanks for taking the time to write to me.

Pinky:7
 
Pinky,

Wow, I'm impressed that you can do the bicep curls with two 15 pounders. I haven't tried that. Anyway, I had previously been able to do all of the curls with a 27.5 lbs barbell. This morning, I did 30 lbs for the first set, did about 4 reps of the second set with 30, and then went to 27.5. On the negative curls I did the same kind of thing. I did the first set and the beginning of the second with 27.5, and then had to go to 25. I think I'm just getting back to speed (I actually had to use 10 and 8 lbs for the first and second sets of alternating and concentration curls. That was disappointing for me, I usually do either 12 and 10, or 10 and 10. I don't know if I just maxed out on the first set of barbell curls, or again, if I'm just pushing too hard too soon. I felt okay afterward the workout though.)

The unloaded barbell is 5 lbs. That might be why it's called "Lite". I put 35 lbs of plates on it to make it 40 (2 5's, 2 7.5's, 2 10's).

Hey, I may ask Cathe about this, but I'm curious on your opinion on my experience this morning. Do you think it's better to go as heavy as possible in the beginning of the bicep work with the barbell, and then go with whatever weight I can do on the rest (even if it winds up being 8 lb dumbbells on some sets), or do you think it's better to sort of even things out, going a little lighter on the barbell so I can go heavier on the dumbbells? I know if I want to increase my strength I need to push myself, but I also know that the barbell and the dumbbells hit the muscles different ways, so I don't know if I'm missing out by having to go lighter with the dumbbells. Again, next week, when I'm a week back into working out, I might not even have this issue, but I've wondered about it before, anyway. Thanks!
 
Hi Pinky!

Just a guess, but from looking at Troy's website it appears that they mostly do big ol' beefeater manly humongo barbell sets, you know? Like, with 150 to 300 pounds of plates. "Lite" refers to the capacity of the bar (80 lbs) and the poundage included in the set -- like Diet Coke, see? :)

If you are still working with just a thicker bar, you have GOT to splurge on this -- it really has made even more of a difference than I had hoped it would!

http://e4u.deltait.com.au/sport/sport23.gif Kathy S.
 
Hi LisaLD, I myself would be interested to see what Cathe would say about how you do your curls. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with switching to a lower weight in the middle of a set when you need to. Cathe actually did this in one of the workouts in the S&H series. Was it during the tricep workout? Me, I usually go as heavy as possible for the first or first two sets then lighten if I feel I need to for the next set. Just my personal preference. This way I don't have to stop what I'm doing to change my plates. Unless I'm using dumbbells since these are easy to change.

Don't worry on having to go lighter with the dumbbells as long as you know you're working out your biceps to the point of fatigue. I know I can handle a 15-lb. dumbbell with concentration curls (2 sets of 8 reps is enough for me) if I do them SEPARATELY from Cathe's workouts. BUT when I'm doing PS, it's down to 12 or 10 because those barbell curls and negative curls really fatigue me right away.

Happy curling!:7

Pinky
 
RE: Hi KathyS!

Hey Kathy, thanks for educating me about the Troy Lite. This is definitely something to consider and save for. Hmmm, I think I know what I want for Christmas...

Pinky:)
 
Pinky,

Thanks. Yeah, I've done concentration curls with 15 lbs, now that you mention it, but I don't remember how many sets or reps it was, and it definitely wasn't with a Cathe workout! I'm happy that in PUB, I can do the pyramids w/ 8, 10 and 12! Do you have that workout? What weight do you use?

I think this morning, I was pleased to do the set with 30 lbs, but then felt like I went backwards with having to go lower with the dumbbells. My muscles were definitely fatigued though. There are sometimes when I do a set and feel like I could have gone heavier. That definitely wasn't my experience today, so I guess I should be happy!

I will post my question to Cathe. I'll try to be more concise though!

Thanks, again, for your help!
 
Lisa,

I'm impressed that you can do the pyramids with 8, 10 and 12. Because although I've done the same, about half the time I do that workout I go down to 5, 8 and 10. Those PUB biceps feel almost like S&H biceps. And since it's the last muscle to get worked out in PUB, I'm so tired by that time, so during those days when I'm not feeling so hot, I have to lower. In Power Hour, Cathe says that some days are better than others, when you can lift heavier for much longer. I find that very true. There are just days when it seems like all the planets have aligned to grant me all the strength and stamina I have been wishing for. And there are days when the vibes are bad and despite my best efforts, I get sloppy. I'm learning as I go along to just take things in stride, listen to my body, and be aware when I'm pushing it BEYOND the max.

Pinky
 
RE: Hey Pinky, one last thing...

Pinky,

You'll get a kick out of this. I came home from work and was setting up for my workout tomorrow morning (PS CS&T). I was thinking about trying to lift more than 40 lbs over my head, and thought I'd give it a try with 45. I got it up to my chest and over my head. When I went to lift it back over my head it was a push. I thought, oh well, I guess I'll go to 42.5 first. I started to take some of the plates off, to get it to 35, and realized I didn't have 45 lbs. on it, I had 50! Wow. I had read on the forum in the past about people using 50 lbs. for leg work and was amazed. I'm not saying I could actually do the leg work with 50 lbs, but getting it over my head is the first step! It just goes to show, you have to pay more attention when you go to a new barbell that doesn't weigh the same as your old one (maybe that's part of the mind part of mind and body?)

Thanks for your words of wisdom, above. I know that I need to learn to be more accepting of when I don't meet all my expectations for myself. Have a good night!
 
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