I'm so proud of myself!

[Marcia]

If I may boast...I have decided to start weight training. I bought Tough Tape a while back and decided that the barbell was necessary. After two months of irritation I finally got a hold of a barbell and did it for the first time last night. Today I'm feeling it! I'm proud of myself because I've always shied away from weight training because "I can't do it." Well, I did have to take it easy. I think I had a little too much weight on the barbell and the pushups went too fast but I know I can now!! I'm looking forward to Cathe's rotation!!

BTW, I had to do the tall box stuff off of a normal step. I just tried to bend more. Today I feel that work in my quads?. Is that normal? Tracie Long said it work the glutes and hips. I gotta get a step stool!!

Marcia

 

[Nancy C]

Go Marcia!

Congratulations for taking the plunge into weights! Stick with it and you will be in awe of what it does for your body and self esteem

.

Do you have any of Cathe's yet? You will love them!

My 2 cents on step ups..I don't allow my knee to go higher than my hip, I keep my thigh parallel to the floor. I focus on keeping my weight and balance on the foot placed on the step and power straight up through the heel...oh yes...I feel it in my hiney

. Happy Lifting!

nancy:O)

 

[BLinda]

Quads

I seem to remember someone saying (maybe one of those FIRM 20 question sections?) that you tend to feel it more in your quads when you start doing tall box climbs. Then when your quads are stronger you can better target your butt muscles.

 

[Daphne M]

Step ups

<center><font size="1" color="#ff0000">LAST EDITED ON May-18-00 AT 04:03PM (EST)</font></center>

The most important thing is to keep your weight in the heel of the working leg (the leg that remains on the step/stool/tallbox), NOT the ball of your foot.

If the resistance is balanced over the heel, it will target the whole back of the leg -- hamstrings and calves. If you use the ball of your foot to push up the weight, you'll be relying more on your quads. Here are some tips:

Try and keep your toes curled off the floor while you're doing the tall box work -- that will keep the weight in your heels.

When you're lifting that rear leg up, imagine that you are driving the heel that is on the stool right down through the floor.

When you're lowering your rear leg, again remember to keep the weight in your heel. Don't just let the rear leg drop, resist gravity the whole way down.

Those step-ups in Tough Tape are killer! Congratulations on getting into strength-training. I started with Tough Tape almost 2 years ago and I still think this is a TOUGH workout. When I start to sweat and yearn to stop and rest, I look at Tracie Long's fabulous legs and find renewed strength.

 

[DebbieH]

Great...

..explanation of the Tall box step downs Daphne. Another thing that I found that helped me keep my weight in my heel on the box, was when I lower the other leg to the floor, I only touch down with my toes, not my heel. That way, I am never putting all my weight on that leg and all the weight stays in the heel on the box. Whew, my legs hurt (sooo good) just thinking about tall box presses!

 

[Marcia]

waiting eagerly

No Nancy, I don't have any of Cathe's. I am a newer advanced exerciser and was going to buy the PS Series when she announced the new videos. I found the rotation idea appealing, so I bought those instead. Breaking it up into segments like that makes it seem easier to handle. But I will invest in the PS Series eventually!

Marcia

 

[Marcia]

Thanks!!

I appreciate all the tips everyone has given me! I know I have a tendency to let my weight go to the ball of the foot. I'm sure that happened, especially since I was trying to bend more since I only had an 8" step and not a tall box. I'll keep it in mind! Thanks again!

Marcia