Some observations re: MIS--UB

[debmac]

Just finished doing Power Circuit cardio circuit segment, followed by MIS UB. Great workout! Here are my thoughts!!!

1. THANK GOD on the 2nd set of crazy eights, Cathe finishes out with only 4 of the "up on one, glide down 3"'s!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eight of those on the 2nd time around would be so impossible...and I only used a 25 lb bar for biceps!!!!! How on earth does she use 35????? And for all of the hammer curls, I only use 8 lb. dumbbells. On most body parts I can use the weights that Cathe uses....but on biceps I am so much lower. What's up with that?
2. Whenever I do triceps dips off the step with the barbell on the lap, on the last rep of each set I pretty nearly end up sitting on the floor----how does Cathe and the cast all land so neat and strong back on the step again???
3. I hate upright rows!!!!! They just kill me! I love the overhead presses, though.
4. During the 2nd set of barbell chest press, when Cathe says "4 more", then does 2 extras----aaargh!!!!! those 2 extra ones kill me every time!

Have a great weekend!
Debbie

 

[wendyloo]

Debbie...

I use a 25 lb. barbell for biceps, too, and 8 (sometimes 10) lb dumbells for biceps. I have improved in how much weight I can lift in other areas, but these have remained consistent for a long time. I have a friend who has always been able to lift much more than me with her biceps, but I've always been able to lift more with my shoulders than she can. (Of course we want to trade ;-) ) Peoples bodies are just built differently. I'm hoping that when I get off my current rotation and go back to training each body part twice a week, I will see some improvements in strength (bicep wise).

Same here on the tricep dips off the step. And I think my triceps are pretty strong, but I have to bring my leg back to help me hoist my quivering self back up onto that step!!!

Love it, though
Wendy

 

[debmac]

Thanks, Wendy

You made me feel better about my lagging bicep strength! There was a day when I used to use a heavier barbell, but when I finally got honest about it, I realized I was using my back, shoulders, who knows what else, to curl that barbell up. I finally figured this out when I tried doing barbell curls standing up against a wall, to see how much of my body was staying up against the wall during the curl, and how much was moving forward away from the wall to help me "cheat". So now I am sticking w/the 25lbs and using perfect form, and only using the biceps muscle, and wow it is heavy enough for now!!
Debbie

 

[lorrie]

I hear ya! Those crazy 8s are my biggest challenge. The odd thing for me is that biceps with the barbell are so much tougher than with dumbbells. I, too, seem to have maxed out at 25lbs on the barbell (Cathe must be bionic to use 35lbs! ;-)). With dumbbells, I can almost keep up with Cathe. I use 12lbs for hammer curls and 15lbs for concentration curls. But no matter what I try I can't increase on the barbell. I do better on the PS barbell curls because there is no crazy 8s. When I first did the CTX crazy 8s I had to decrease to 20lbs!

Believe it or not, I actually like the tricep dips, they're one of my favorites! The barbell overhead presses in MIS are also harder for me than overhead presses with dumbbells. Hmmmmm. Guess that barbell will keep me challenged!

 

[srmohler]

MIS

I have noticed the same thing about the weights in MIS. I can stick with the same weight that Cathe uses for legs/chest/back/triceps, but for shoulders and biceps, I'm a quite a bit weaker. I use a 25 lb barbell for both of those. The upright rows, overhead presses and Crazy-8's are killer. Maybe it's because those muscles are much smaller, but Cathe looks so tiny and I don't see how she packs such strength into such small muscles! Are all of the background exercisers using less weight than she is?
Sandi M.