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LG's *first* Journal
- Thread starter localgirl
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OneBreath
Elite Mentor
localgirl said:- Last week of ECA-
Up to 3x per day
Still running Var- Noticable strengths gained, a lot of vascularity, none- very mild sides. 3 weeks left of cycle.
Stats: 137.lbs
25.3% bf
Started fasted cardio this morning. Omg, is it ever hard to drag my as* outta bed that early & then to start jumping rope.. VERY HARD.
I feel amazing now though. Only managed to pull of 10 min. of jumping rope. Anyone have any good interval advice on this. I seem to be able to jump hard for about 40-60 sec. before I gotta take a breather.
Fueled up w/ a protien shake after & some creme of wheat for breakfast. Changed up my meal plan for the week. Incorp. carbs early in the day, cut them off @ 2-3pm.
Meal 1- Creme of Wheat 3 tbsp./ 1 tbsp. flaxseed/ 1 tsp. wheat germ/ 1 tsp. brown sugar splenda ( for flava!)
Meal 2- Protien Shake w/ mixed berries 1 tbsp. Flax oil & 4 egg whites
Meal 3- Grapefruit/ 4oz. salmon, 1 cup sweet potato & 4 asparagus
Meal 4- Protien Shake - 2 hours before gym
Meal 5- PWO
Meal 6-egg whites & 1 whole egg/ 1 cup spinich ( I eat dinner really late, hense the low cal meal)
I drink water continuously throughout the day.
I'll keep ya'll posted on how well this works out for me. Fingers crossed.Im ready to see some more changes.
Great journal. How is the jumping rope going? Its the king of cardio as far as i'm concerned. What you want to do is get an interval timer. This is what i use:
http://www.gymboss.com/
Based on what you do now, start with something like 35 seconds work / 25 seconds rest for 14 intervals. Then each week add 5 seconds to the work, subtract 5 seconds from the rest, and add 2 intervals.
In 4 weeks you will be up to 20 minutes total with 50 seconds work and 10 seconds rest. It will be tough but attainable.
Then you can switch up to something like 6 minutes work / 1 minute rest. The fact that you will be able to do this will blow your mind. I remember when i first started i would count how many jumps i could complete before i missed. The first time i hit 1,000 was like a major life accomplishment lol.
Good luck, your avi and enthusiasm are really inspiring.
localgirl
New member
I actually kinda gave up on the jump rope- got lazy.. I know.. 
I am definatly determined enough though to pull it off- so I'll try that tomorrow morning* the intervals seem attainable.
It just gets so frustrating when its 5am, and you miss a jump.. lol
and I feel like throwing my fist at something!! Hahah, actually quit funny how aggervated we can be by ourselves!
I'll post tomorrow how it goes!
Welcome back 5 am......
I am definatly determined enough though to pull it off- so I'll try that tomorrow morning* the intervals seem attainable.
It just gets so frustrating when its 5am, and you miss a jump.. lol
and I feel like throwing my fist at something!! Hahah, actually quit funny how aggervated we can be by ourselves!
I'll post tomorrow how it goes!
Welcome back 5 am......
OneBreath
Elite Mentor
Jumping Rope Basics
Below are some of the things I’ve leaned in the past 3 years of jumping rope. I had to learn for martial arts. It is part of our physical fitness test as well as a tool to cultivate rhythm, balance, footspeed, and coordination.
If I attempted to learn just for fitness, I would have likely gotten discouraged and just hopped back on the elliptical. Hopefully this can help you guys get past that initial phase.
Rope: get the lightest rope with the most speed. It should have thin handles and a PVC cord. Stay away from leather, actual rope, etc.
This is what you want:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=9108
This is what you don’t want:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=32081
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=32082
Jumping surface / footwear: This is like the delicate yin yang balance of the Tao. You don’t want a hard surface and hard soles or a soft surface and soft soles. Here are a few of my favorite combinations.
- studio floor / chuck taylors (I have no sense of fashion!)
- wooden deck / chuck taylors
- really hard surface (e.g. sidewalk) / running or cross training shoes
- carpet / socks (no bare feet, misses will sting your toes!)
Body like Water: You want to keep your ankles, knees, and hips as loose as possible. Don’t lock out your knees or hips at any time. Keep constant flexion in those. And only tighten during the landing and spring of the jump. During the spring, your ankles, knees, and hips should work together, don’t put too much on either separately.
Your wrists need to always stay loose and relaxed. You can aid this by holding the handles loosely in your fingers with stability given by the thumb (thus the thin handle recommendation). Visualize your wrists doing all of the work of actually moving the rope. This will help when your shoulders start to BURN!
Jumping: This is possibly the most important thing to know as a beginner. Doing the same jump over and over will wear you out quickly. For instance, the first time you jump you are likely to just jump straight up and down with both feet. This is the easiest jump but you won’t last long doing only it. I was lucky enough to learn this from a boxer who showed me ways to alternate jumps to keep going longer. Your first priority should be to learn a small handful of jumps and practice alternating. Here are the basics:
- 2 feet jump (described above)
- 1 foot jump (jumping on 1 foot of course)
- Skiing jump (2 feet landing side to side like you are snow skiing)
A Simple Jump Set: practice this without a rope first, you want to get the feel of the rhythm and counting before adding the frustration of a rope. Once you have the footwork down, practice a few times again with your hands out and wrists rotating (simulating the rope)
- 2 feet jump 10 times
- 2 jumps left foot then 2 jumps right foot (count 1, 2 on the left / 3, 4 on the right) for 12 jumps
- Skiing jump 10 times
- 1 jump left foot then 1 jump right foot for 10 jumps (count 1 on the left, 2 on the right, imagine yourself running)
- 2 feet jump 10 times
- 1 jump left foot then 1 jump right foot then 2 jumps left foot ….. then 1 jump right foot 1 jump left foot and 2 jumps right foot. (count 1, 2, 3, 4 then 5, 6, 7, 8) do this for 32 jumps. This one is my favorite, once you have it down you are set!
That’s a total of 64 jumps, chances are you are at 30 seconds!
Frequency: Jump 4 days a week but don’t go more than 2 days in a row without a day of rest. When you first start it will be a major shock to your calves. Keep them stretched. Try the intervals as suggested and don’t be discouraged if you can’t make the full progression each week. If you can’t, simply try upping the work OR lowering the rest if needed instead of doing both. Do however keep adding the 2 intervals. If nothing else, just add the 2 intervals.
Below are some of the things I’ve leaned in the past 3 years of jumping rope. I had to learn for martial arts. It is part of our physical fitness test as well as a tool to cultivate rhythm, balance, footspeed, and coordination.
If I attempted to learn just for fitness, I would have likely gotten discouraged and just hopped back on the elliptical. Hopefully this can help you guys get past that initial phase.
Rope: get the lightest rope with the most speed. It should have thin handles and a PVC cord. Stay away from leather, actual rope, etc.
This is what you want:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=9108
This is what you don’t want:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=32081
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=32082
Jumping surface / footwear: This is like the delicate yin yang balance of the Tao. You don’t want a hard surface and hard soles or a soft surface and soft soles. Here are a few of my favorite combinations.
- studio floor / chuck taylors (I have no sense of fashion!)
- wooden deck / chuck taylors
- really hard surface (e.g. sidewalk) / running or cross training shoes
- carpet / socks (no bare feet, misses will sting your toes!)
Body like Water: You want to keep your ankles, knees, and hips as loose as possible. Don’t lock out your knees or hips at any time. Keep constant flexion in those. And only tighten during the landing and spring of the jump. During the spring, your ankles, knees, and hips should work together, don’t put too much on either separately.
Your wrists need to always stay loose and relaxed. You can aid this by holding the handles loosely in your fingers with stability given by the thumb (thus the thin handle recommendation). Visualize your wrists doing all of the work of actually moving the rope. This will help when your shoulders start to BURN!
Jumping: This is possibly the most important thing to know as a beginner. Doing the same jump over and over will wear you out quickly. For instance, the first time you jump you are likely to just jump straight up and down with both feet. This is the easiest jump but you won’t last long doing only it. I was lucky enough to learn this from a boxer who showed me ways to alternate jumps to keep going longer. Your first priority should be to learn a small handful of jumps and practice alternating. Here are the basics:
- 2 feet jump (described above)
- 1 foot jump (jumping on 1 foot of course)
- Skiing jump (2 feet landing side to side like you are snow skiing)
A Simple Jump Set: practice this without a rope first, you want to get the feel of the rhythm and counting before adding the frustration of a rope. Once you have the footwork down, practice a few times again with your hands out and wrists rotating (simulating the rope)
- 2 feet jump 10 times
- 2 jumps left foot then 2 jumps right foot (count 1, 2 on the left / 3, 4 on the right) for 12 jumps
- Skiing jump 10 times
- 1 jump left foot then 1 jump right foot for 10 jumps (count 1 on the left, 2 on the right, imagine yourself running)
- 2 feet jump 10 times
- 1 jump left foot then 1 jump right foot then 2 jumps left foot ….. then 1 jump right foot 1 jump left foot and 2 jumps right foot. (count 1, 2, 3, 4 then 5, 6, 7, 8) do this for 32 jumps. This one is my favorite, once you have it down you are set!
That’s a total of 64 jumps, chances are you are at 30 seconds!
Frequency: Jump 4 days a week but don’t go more than 2 days in a row without a day of rest. When you first start it will be a major shock to your calves. Keep them stretched. Try the intervals as suggested and don’t be discouraged if you can’t make the full progression each week. If you can’t, simply try upping the work OR lowering the rest if needed instead of doing both. Do however keep adding the 2 intervals. If nothing else, just add the 2 intervals.
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