Lifting on Saturdays is interesting. I stayed up a bit later than normal last night, so I didn't get up too early this morning. As I was starting my workout, the kids woke up and joined me. My daughter likes to play on the power rack and my son was telling me how they do some things similar to my warm-up in PE class at school. Later on, I got out the mini-barbell for him. It is a really short (~3ft) standard bar that I think I had tried for some Cathe DVDs a long time ago. I didn't use it much because 3ft is simply too short for big people. Anyway, at one point, he put a few pounds on it and was doing some high pulls and rows. He also weighed himself and we talked about how his weight compared to some of the weights I was using. (He's 49# and my daughter is 33#.)
I tested out the resistance of my cable station. The overhead one has 8# resistance unloaded, but the wide lat bar is 12#, so no wonder it falls when I unload the machine without hooking the bar in! The lower station has 6-7# of resistance.
Today's workout was the second round of Stage 6, B4 from New Rules of Lifting for Women. The protocol went to 4 sets of 4 reps. I like getting to low rep schemes because I can really lay on the weight and test myself.
Stage 6B4-2
Warm-up - FBB (10:15)
Reverse Lunge, One DB at Shoulder - 1x4@27.5#, 3x4@30#
DB 2-pt Row - 4x4@45# (this is getting to the limit of my dumbbell bar!)
DB Push Press - 4x4@30#
Hip Thrust/bridge - 1x4@35#, 1x4@40#, 1x4@45#, 1x4@50# (subbed for back extension)
Hanging Leg Raise - 4x4 (shoulders in sockets, slow raise and lower, subbed for incline reverse crunch)
Showing posts with label pulleys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pulleys. Show all posts
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Stage 4 complete! ... and a word on pulleys
Stage 4 of New Rules of Lifting for Women is complete!
I did only 2 sets of the last four exercises and I'm saving the intervals for another day.
Here are my weights:
Wide Grip Deadlift: 2@110#, 1@115# - not from box, since I'm already at a deficit
Bulgarian Split Squat: 3@30# - did I really do the second set??
Underhand Lat Pulldown: 2@5x105#/3x100#, 1@4x105#/3+1x100#
Rev Lunge from Box: 3@25#ea
DB Prone Cuban Snatch: 3@15#ea - tried 20# and it wasn't gonna happen
Swiss Ball Crunch: 2@28# overhead
Reverse Crunch: 2@30deg bench
Lateral Flexion: 2xHanna3
Prone Cobra: 2@2min
Now I'm due for a week or so break, then I'll be on to Stage 5!
Cable Stations and Pulleys
There was some question about the cable systems and what you are actually lifting, so I'm going to attempt to explain here. Pulleys can be used to create mechanical advantage (remember that?? levers and the like?). But the way they are set up changes how you pull the weight. The setup affects the amount of tension in the cable (i.e., the weight you pull) and the distance you pull the cable relative to how far the weight stack moves.
If you are using a simple one-pulley system, e.g., my lat pulldown station, the weight you pull is the same as the weight selected in the stack. In this setup, the weights will travel the same distance that the lat pulldown bar travels. See the diagram below.
In a two-pulley system, e.g., the cable station I use for woodchops and rows, the extra pulley creates a mechanical advantage, much in the same way using a lever would. The tension in the cable is half of the amount of weights I have selected. In return for having to lift less weight, I have to pull the cable twice as far. This actually works well for weightlifting because you want more pulling distance on some exercises. For example, when I do cable woodchops, I move about 5 or 6 feet from one side to the other. But, the weight stack only needs 2.5 to 3 feet of moving room to accommodate this exercise. I've seen people move a lot more distance than that for other exercises on this machine. See the diagram below.
Although, there are other ways of setting up pulley systems, you should be able to tell what you are using by examining the cable machine. I was the only one in the weight area today, so I snapped a few quick pictures of the cable machines I use. Note how the top of the weight stack differs as well as how the weights are reported on the sign on the machine. Sorry for the horrible quality of the pictures. I was using my cell phone, which has no flash!
I did only 2 sets of the last four exercises and I'm saving the intervals for another day.
Here are my weights:
Wide Grip Deadlift: 2@110#, 1@115# - not from box, since I'm already at a deficit
Bulgarian Split Squat: 3@30# - did I really do the second set??
Underhand Lat Pulldown: 2@5x105#/3x100#, 1@4x105#/3+1x100#
Rev Lunge from Box: 3@25#ea
DB Prone Cuban Snatch: 3@15#ea - tried 20# and it wasn't gonna happen
Swiss Ball Crunch: 2@28# overhead
Reverse Crunch: 2@30deg bench
Lateral Flexion: 2xHanna3
Prone Cobra: 2@2min
Now I'm due for a week or so break, then I'll be on to Stage 5!
Cable Stations and Pulleys
There was some question about the cable systems and what you are actually lifting, so I'm going to attempt to explain here. Pulleys can be used to create mechanical advantage (remember that?? levers and the like?). But the way they are set up changes how you pull the weight. The setup affects the amount of tension in the cable (i.e., the weight you pull) and the distance you pull the cable relative to how far the weight stack moves.
If you are using a simple one-pulley system, e.g., my lat pulldown station, the weight you pull is the same as the weight selected in the stack. In this setup, the weights will travel the same distance that the lat pulldown bar travels. See the diagram below.
Single Pulley Setup Diagram
In a two-pulley system, e.g., the cable station I use for woodchops and rows, the extra pulley creates a mechanical advantage, much in the same way using a lever would. The tension in the cable is half of the amount of weights I have selected. In return for having to lift less weight, I have to pull the cable twice as far. This actually works well for weightlifting because you want more pulling distance on some exercises. For example, when I do cable woodchops, I move about 5 or 6 feet from one side to the other. But, the weight stack only needs 2.5 to 3 feet of moving room to accommodate this exercise. I've seen people move a lot more distance than that for other exercises on this machine. See the diagram below.
Double Pulley Setup Diagram
Although, there are other ways of setting up pulley systems, you should be able to tell what you are using by examining the cable machine. I was the only one in the weight area today, so I snapped a few quick pictures of the cable machines I use. Note how the top of the weight stack differs as well as how the weights are reported on the sign on the machine. Sorry for the horrible quality of the pictures. I was using my cell phone, which has no flash!
Single Pulley Setup
Note: No pulley attached to weight stack
Note: No pulley attached to weight stack
Single Pulley Weights
Double Pulley Setup
Note: Pulley attached to weight stack
Note: Pulley attached to weight stack
Double Pulley Weights
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