Straining vs not straining

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Solon Aquila
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Straining vs not straining

Post by Solon Aquila »

Greetings,
I'm very very new to the course and I'm having some troubles. The primary trouble is that there's a lot in the world that other people pick up on without a problem and I have trouble grasping unless I get very basic information. So I may not be getting the same 'information' when reading how to do the exercises as other people get when they read them.

I've been riding a bicycle daily for over a year, and started pressing it over this summer. I can do 15 miles in an hour and remain always in my top gears, so I'm not completely out of shape. I was able to get there in part by pushing myself on the bike, but then.. on a bike you're never really pushing as hard as if you were, say, trying to lift 150 lbs, you know?

I started the program a couple of weeks ago and instantly ran into trouble with phrases like 'until tired' and 'don't strain'.

I start with the dips and noticed very quickly that while I could do 5 or 6 (breathing right and all), after stopping for 10-15 seconds, I could only do 2 or 3 the second time. Well, I'm not Mr. Atlas, so I figured I'm just building up. I decided to do one set of dips at the start, then repeat that one set at the end, after all of the other exercises (week 1).. still much fewer on the second set than on the first.

Over a week I reached 12 dips on the first try, but never that many on the second set. Now my first set has dropped back to 10. When I'm doing the last few dips my arms start to shake and I can't seem to 'make' them push the way I've been able to make my legs push on the bicycle. I'm figuring that the 'shaking arms' thing is a sign that I'm straining.

I need to build up slowly, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how.
My idea is:
Start with 2 or 3... do it slow, breath, and basically feel at the end like I didn't really do much work. Pause 10-15 seconds, do another set and rest 10-15. Repeat as long as 2 or 3 doesn't make me breath heavily, no arm shakes, nothing like that. As soon as it feels like I'm straining at all, stop and call it good. Proceed with the rest of the exercises.

I'm game to try it if you guys think it may help.

Also, I was tempted to try such an 'easy' regimen on waking, lunch, dinner, and sleep.. perhaps pushing a very little bit 3 or 4 times a day will help me build up to being able to use a more advanced circuit like the one described in this post:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13#p64

I'm concerned about pushing myself and over-working, but neither do I want to not push at all and get nowhere.

Any help would be appreciated,

Solon
SPEARHEAD
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Re: Straining vs not straining

Post by SPEARHEAD »

In my experience, you'll eventually get to the point of doing all that you can do and still be trembling. If you reach the point that you can't push yourself all the way up then you are straining. Take it almost to that point and no further. You will know at the bottom of each rep whether you can go up the rest of the way. When you think you can't do it without straining, then your set is finished. Set weekly performance goals but don't be too ambitious. Have a minimum and maximum goal. I think if at the end of the week you can do 7 more dips than at the start of the week you have done well. For some people 3 would be a success. It all depends on the individual. You'll have to find your own limitations yourself, but you can do it. If you can increase your reps by one a day you're doing well. I think you should be able to increase by 4 reps a day, but there's been times I was only able to increase by only one a day. Don't worry about not being able to do as many reps in the second and third sets as in the preceding ones. That's my experience too. It's normal. And I made progress too. You could try this experiment: Do one set to failure, take the total and divide by 3 and that number will be how many reps you aim for in all three sets at the start the next time you work out, and build from that from then on. It works for me. As for Atlas saying to perform the exercise until you're tired only, I think he's referring to doing them until you feel that burning sensation. I never feel that with the dips though. I always try to take them to within one rep of doing them before failure (the not being able to complete the set). Eat right and sleep right and you should make excellent progress, but be patient and don't try to force growth on yourself. Your body has its own natural rhythm that you'll need to respect if you want progress. It may not be as fast as some. On the other hand it may be faster. I hope this helps.
combat crew
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Re: Straining vs not straining

Post by combat crew »

HI SOLON,
WELCOME TO THE FORUM. AND CONGRATULATIONS ON STARTING THE DYNAMIC TENSION COURSE.
YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED.

WITH YOUR DIPS, I WOULD DO 8 DIPS THE FIRST SET, THEN WAIT FOR ONE MINUTE OR EVEN TWO. THEN DO ANOTHER 8 DIPS AND WAIT ANOTHER ONE OR TWO MINUTES, AND DO YOUR FINAL SET OF 8 DIPS.

THE CIRCUIT TRAINING I WOULD SAY IS FOR WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE FULL COURSE.
AS YOU SUGGESTED, DOING BITS THROUGHOUT THE DAY ALSO HELPS.

TRY AS BEST YOU CAN TO STICK TO THE COURSE.
YOU ARE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS, SO KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, SOLON.

ALL THE BEST IAN
GLEN
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Re: Straining vs not straining

Post by GLEN »

Don't worry so much about numbers. It's not necessary to constantly be setting new personal records. Just make a habit of doing the exercises regularly and eventually the improvements will come. Relax.
scythe
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Re: Straining vs not straining

Post by scythe »

guys.....returned to the forums after a while (not without great success though !! just finishing my 3rd DT course round ) and must say that threads like this one make me poud to be a DT man.
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