For almost three years I have tried to lose weight (high of 252) and to become more fit. Health was not as much of an issue for me as fitness. I knew that if I was to stay active until my last few days in my life, I needed badly to lose my gut that was pulling against my back and hips in everything I did.
Join me below to look at the options I am exploring for the Roman Chair and how I might use it.
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
As I began to lose weight through some cardio but mainly lifting for strength, the transformation was normal. I lost predominately body fat with very little muscle loss. In fact, I may have gained a few lbs of muscle. Like everyone, I hit plateaus and stalled in dropping my weight. I'm now in my third plateau but at least I held my weight at 196-200 through the Holiday months. I decided I needed to add one more piece exercise equipment to my home gym.
There are three major pieces of equipment that I looked at before this past weekend. One is what is called the back extension or hyperextension machine. It is normally at a 45 degree angle and has a foot plate angled at a perpendicular to offer comfort and stability.
The picture below is from a Bodycraft that actually also converts to what I call a Roman Chair. Most hyperextension machines do not convert nor alter the 45 degree angle that is pictured here.
On the higher end and what I really wanted is what I call a glute ham machine. Below is the image from one of these machines.
As you can see the padding for the butt or hips is much more substantial. It also has a dual stacked rollers to lock your feet in for stability and safety.
Finally, we have what I call the Roman Chair and very similar to what I got off Craigslist yesterday.
Some people call a Power Tower a Roman Chair but I like to define it as a machine that allows bending from the waist up while to do exercises with a chair section of the Power Tower, you are holding your upper body fixed while lifting your knees or legs. All these pieces of equipment are designed to work your core.
Over a year ago I worked some on a bench similar to this video.
It looks simple doesn't it. It isn't if done correctly. This is a much better exercise for your core than crunches off the floor or mat. Less stability and more of a range of motion. Notice how the body rotates forward from both the upper body and the legs. The guy in the video is more concerned with speed because the time is limited. It is much more effective if you slowly move your knees toward your chest and then hold and squeeze your abs. Concentrate on the crunch squeeze and you can actually feel the contraction move from mid abs to lower abs. It is even more effective at lower abs when you lay back on the bench as he shows in the end.
Now I want to show you what I plan to do with my old Roman Chair that I got off craigslist. The video is of a model on a glute ham machine but I can do all these movements off the Roman Chair as well.
If you are in an office area, you may want to lower your speaker volume. For me it was too high and you don't need to alert your office staff that you are reading a blog.
Over the years, I have often had severe back muscle spasms if I lift something too heavy or sometimes just twist in the wrong way. Often I would have to go to a doctor to get a prescription for muscle relaxers or go by a chiropractor's office to have my back adjusted. I knew all these years that the problem was not in my back but in my gut. I have often commented on WHEE on how a muscle weakness or an inbalance of training can cause a problem later on. This is my prime example.
Well, now my back is much stronger from rows or "good mornings" with light weights on my back like 50-60 lbs. One great thing about strength training is that you may not lose weight as quickly as you could with lots of cardio but I have re-distributed the weight I have. My legs have always been pretty strong from genetics and not any extra work by me. My arms, chest, and shoulders...well not so much. It has taken three years as I have said but now my core has begun to shed some excess pounds and I have gone from a 40-42 waist (even below my protruding stomach) to a more normal 34-36" waist. My love handles have slowly melted away as my arms and shoulders have added strength and size. My chest...well just say it is still a work in progress.
So now I want to take my core workouts to another level. I'll start slow and will operate at first with no extra weights. Some people will grab a 25# weight plate and clutch it to their chest and perform the exercises in both a forward and backward position. I already have enough upper body weight from excess weight in my chest area that I don't need it right now.
Again, my main focus will be on my lower back to strengthen all the smaller muscles around the erector spinea. The primary one is called the multifidus muscles. Recent research has shown that these muscles don't need to be worked for strength but endurance. This means many more reps than in normal exercises. I'll probably start with 10-12 but hope to move up to 20-25 within a few months.
Before closing I want to leave you with one more exercise video from Crossfit. It is performed by one of the fittest women I have seen.
I have attended a couple of Crossfit sessions where they had classes on how to maximize the response to certain exercises. Normally, they are very science oriented. One on Nutrition that I attended was awesome.
OK, I've bored you enough for one day so let's move on. Next week, I'll plan to discuss a muscle that relates to this diary. Most everyone today is focused on the six pack abs. I'll hold on them for a few more months. Next week, Ill discuss the External Obiques and we will see how they impact our everyday movements from picking up your kid or grandkid off the floor to twisting in your chair to pick up that pen you dropped. Last night I watched some tennis from the Australian Open. Just watching a few of these athletes makes you so much more aware of how they utilize their core to do strong forearm shots or race to the net to recover from a well timed drop shot.
Prior diaries on muscles:
Triceps
Deltoids
Glutes
Pecs
Oh, I almost forgot the diary list. Please respond if you can take a diary. It certainly helps the community if more people contribute.
Scheduled WHEE diaries:
January 25
Mon PM - sheddhead
January 26
Tues AM - ???
Tues PM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 44)
January 27
Weds AM - ???
Weds PM - Edward Spurlock
January 28
Thur AM - ??
Thur PM - ??
January 29
Fri AM - ??
Fri PM - ??
January 30
Sat AM - ??
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (Kessler, Ch. 45)
January 31
Sun AM - ???
Sun PM - ???
February 1
Mon AM - NC Dem- Muscle of the Month- External Obliques
Mon PM - ???