SuperSlow Update: The Fourth Sheet

By Diana Hsieh

Last Friday, I completed my fourth sheet of SuperSlow training, i.e. another 16 sessions. If you've not read my prior posts on SuperSlow, check out:

This last sheet was something of a bear, but let's see how I did. (Click to enlarge.)

Here's a summary of my progress on various movements, starting from Session 48 from Sheet 3 to Session 64 on Sheet 4. All the machines are Nautilus, except the the lower back and the torso rotation. As before, only Leg Press and Lower Back are done every session; all other movements are done every other session.

With this sheet, we decided to allow the leg press to take a back seat, given all the progress that I made in Sheet 3. So I did it last every session, which was insanely hard. I was focused on making progress on my lat pull-down, hip adduction, and hip abduction.

Every week:

LP: Leg Press: 280 to 285 lbs. My trainer moved my seat forward, and that just killed me. For the past few sessions, I've been extending my legs less (due my my knee popping down once), and that's increased the difficulty too.
LB: Lower Back: 178 to 182 lbs. My weight on this machine is ridiculously high for a woman, so I'm not pushing myself too hard on it at present. Still, it's the sole machine that I don't hate!

Every other week:

CR: Calf Raises: 300 to 305 lbs. Progress is hard to make on this movement, because the heels are just moving a few inches up and down. Still, I can see better definition in my calves, and I expect to be up to 310 lbs soon.
Hip AB: Hip Abduction: 85 to 95 lbs. I've made some, but not much progress. It's really hard, and I might be near my max weight.
Hip AD: Hip Adduction: 105 to 115 lbs. Again, I've made some, but not much progress. I might be near my max weight with this machine too.
Lower Back (see above)
Bicep: Steady at 50 lbs: Hrmph. I didn't realize that I made no progress on this machine. My times aren't great either.
Tricep: Steady at 85 lbs: Again, no progress. Boo!
Ab C: Ab Crunch: Steady at 20 lbs. I'm okay with that.
Leg Press (see above)

Every other week:

PD: Lat Pull-Down: 115 to 130 lbs. I'm really happy with my progress on this machine, particularly after being at 115 lbs for the whole of Sheet 3. You'll see that my trainer accidentally increased me by 15 lbs, but I was able to do it! (We kept 10 lbs of that increase.) Sometimes, a mistaken weight increase is a great way to make progress.
CP: Chest Press: 65 to 70 lbs. I've struggled to make any progress on this machine, so I'm very happy with a 5 lb increase. My times didn't really justify the increase, but sometimes an increase when stalled can get me out of a rut. I've done okay with 70 lbs, so I think that was the right decision.
Row: Row: 55 to 60 lbs. I alternate between pulling and a 2 minute static hold. I hate this machine, and I'm still having trouble with my form. But hey, a little progress is good!
LE/LC: Leg Extension: Steady at 70 lbs. I wasn't able to make much progress on this machine due to its later placement in the workout. I'm okay with that. (LC is a 90-second Leg Curl of progressive intensity against a stable frame.)
Lower Back (see above)
Rot T: Rotate Torso: 50 to 40 lbs. My trainer dropped my weight to work on form, and I think that was helpful.
Leg Press (see above)

I can't quite recall what my trainer and I decided to do on the next sheet. We've moved a bunch of machines around, yet again. Leg press is at the end of every other workout, and I think it's in the middle of the others. The lat pull-down is still early, I think. For more than that, you'll have to wait for my report in 16 weeks.

Overall, I'm still really happy to be doing SuperSlow. It's the most difficult half hour of every week, but I just need that half hour to keep in great shape for the sports that I love -- horseback riding, skiing, and snowboarding. Plus, my injury risk is negligible. I love that.

P.S. If you decide to try my SuperSlow gym (now TruFit Health) in south Denver, please tell them that I referred you!