Posted on 02/24/2006 9:54:35 AM PST by screaminghurl
5' 10". Other than that... no good.
Partnering is the ballet class in which the boys/young men get to learn how to partner the girls.
There are about 10 boys in the class, including my two (who are the youngest in the class), and as many girls. All of the girls are advanced enough to be wearing pointe shoes nearly all of the time, so they must be in Ballet IV or V.
Anyway, the boys are learning how to walk with, hold, turn, and lift the girls. Primus and Secundus love the class so much that they are willing to substitute Sunday afternoon swim practice for the Wednesday practice, just so that they can continue with the partnering class.
The lure of young, athletically fit, nice girls is, I suspect, a powerful motivation for attending class.
The girls are relieved to have enough boys in the class so that each of them gets a "full-time" partner. Primus and Secundus each have lovely partners. Secundus' partner is especially glad to have a partner that is her size. All of the other boys are much taller than she is so, when they lift her, she practically goes through the ceiling!
The instructor, a man, is fabulous! He's very down to earth and matter of fact about how the "men" are supposed to handle the girls. He shows the boys exactly how to hold the girls; how to balance them; how to turn them; and how to lead them. This is especially important in ballet, as trust between partners keeps both of the dancers from getting hurt during turns and lifts.
It's also fun to watch the boys. With an age range of 10 years old to 15 years old, you can see which of the boys are completely comfortable with girls and which ones are not. (Neither Primus nor Secundus have a problem with getting their hands on a girl!)
There is one boy, who is shy about it, and he is short-changing his partner unintentionally. She can feel his uncertainty and, therefore, doesn't trust him enough to hold her. I hope that the teacher corrects the problem soon.
Anyway, the boys love the class and I think it's a great opportunity for them to interact with girls under supervision, so I'm willing to let them take the class for as long as it is offered.
I'd be sorely disappointed if you were up to good! How's your day going?
Dunno... Just seems like another day so far.
How're the results of your workout coming along? Are you getting to where you wanted to be?
ask Primus and Secundus - they laughed themselves sick over it.
Fascinating! One of my friends from high school has two sons in ballet. I think they're 11 and 8.
I wasn't supposed to be here today, but I clicked on the link when I really intended to look for e-mail from my mother! So now I'm gone ...
According to Secundus, I was staring at the computer (he gave a very unflattering demonstration, btw) and you walked into the kitchen. Apparently, I did not hear you enter the kitchen and was understandably startled when you let out an ungodly belch. Secundus' rendition of my surprised reaction wasn't very flattering, either.
Is that what you remember and why are we even discussing this now?
Hi and Bye!
Welcome, Squirrel King!
I hope you enjoy your stay here. We have a lot of fun and the sky is the limit. Er...actually, it's Mars, this time.
The kitchens are open 24/7 and so are the bars if you're so inclined!
Tendinitis is getting me too. I thought the problem was mainly with heavy weight, but it turns out that repetition is getting me too. Even at lower weight. It's the dumbell military press that is getting me. Something about the grip with my right hand is causing excessive strain on that ONE tendon right where it hits the elbow.
On a plus side, the glucosamine/chrondroitin supplement I've been taking has completely gotten rid of all that joint pain, especially in the knees, that I was feeling there for a while.
EEEeeeYOWCH! Is there anything else that you can do to prevent a possible re-fracture? I mean, is lifting heavy weights necessary to achieve your goals? (What are you're goals?)
Not crazy about the tendonitis either. Last summer I was working my triceps and something snapped in my left forearm (on the top side). Felt like a rubber band being pulled back and released. It's taken close to 6 months for it to heal. It was torture to rotate my hand or wrist. Driving was a real treat!
Otoh, glad to hear that the supplement is helping. I'm a big fan of glucosamine.
Question for you: I've reached the point for the "seated abs crunches" where I cannot pull the weight up (with my arms) into position on the bowflex. If I had a spotter, I could continue to increase the weight, but I don't have a spotter. Any suggestions? I settled for doing more reps at the weight that I could handle, but that'll only do for me for a short while.
So far, no trouble with my knees. I checked previous workout logs, and I'm lifting more weight now than ever before, so I'm taking that as a good sign.
As for goals... I want to get back to a point where I feel like I'm looking pretty good again. About another 20 lbs should do it. Although, if I start bulking up again, I may need to modify my diet after all.
For abs, unless you are planning on doing powerlifting, keep the weight low and the reps high. You don't want to build up the ab muscles if you just want them toned up. I made that mistake. Now I have slabs of rock hard muscle that actually stick out further than my rib cage. Especially with a bit of fat covering them. Although, with the weight I'm dropping right now, I'm just starting to see abdominal muscle separation. Could be that by the time I drop those other 20 lbs, I'll be back to a six-pack. If anything, crunches on a decline bench are all you really need. If they start getting to easy, stop and hold at the top. Concentrate on contracting just the abs muscles. Hold for a couple seconds,then back down. Remember to keep breathing through the top of the contraction. If you can do 50 3-4 count crunches, you won't ever need to do more.
I'm still only lifting about 60% of what I used to. I haven't gone over 500lbs for any of the bigger things, and I'm not even doing deadlift. I'm also not doing any single joint exercises, like bicep curls or triceps extensions, only multi-joint.
I'm thinking of switching up the routine though. Just to keep things from getting stale. Shock the muscles for a few months by hitting them differently, then coming back to this. The problem being the limitations of the gym I'm working out in. Only so much you can do with selectorized equipment and limited floor space.
Just a bone?! Jeeze Louise, DC! Lemme know what the doc thinks, please? It'd be interesting to get his take on it.
Thanks for the tips re: the ab crunches. The bowflex has an inclinable bench, so I might just switch to that. Thanks! I'm feeling much happier, now.
You're using your work gym? I suppose that does limit what you can do.
I'll be shocking my muscles with learning the breastroke and, eventually, the fly. In addition, I'm throwing in some belly dancing. That's fun!
Your the best, keep it up.
(Just keeping it going....)
Yeah, gotta run back to a thread you posted just to feel good about yourself, don't you.
Decline. So you are crunching uphill. Technically, you don't even need that. Flat on the ground. Maybe put a pillow under your hips, although... that might give the Hubby ideas...
Yeah. I have talked them into picking up a good quality decline rack and some more 45's. Now if I can just get them to pick up 6-8 100's as well... Oh yeah... and a Hack Squat/Hip sled. Yum...
As long as you are burning more calories than you eat, you should be losing weight. The idea of toning just one area of your body is a myth. However your body first added the weight is pretty much how it'll come off. The juice to power your abs doesn't come from the fat stored just in your abdominals. It comes from just plain old where ever.
As with everything though, the key is to just get started. Get up. Do something. Anything really. Once you are up and moving, then you can worry about things like diet and nutrition...
That's my story and I'm sticking too it... ;-)
Oh, I know how the blubber went on and how it's going to come off. I'm just excited that I'm still motivated to keep at it. Seeing results helps to keep me motivated.
I understood, too, about the ab crunches. Doing them "uphill" is what I had in mind.
As for nutrition, the body isn't going to let loose of the stored energy in the fat, if it's convinced I'm starving. I just don't notice being hungry, so I don't eat. I really am making an effort to eat enough of the good calories to let my body burn the fat off. I have until April to lose this batch of 10 lbs. (I started this round 3 weeks ago.)
Are you sure the pain is bone-related, not tendon-related? I'm assuming that you have enough experience with both to be able to tell the difference.
Anything exciting on tap for the weekend?
yup. Never ceases to amaze me what I hear around here.....
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