Done and dusted - Deadlifting 100kg

So I'm pretty proud of myself tonight,

had a real good workout, and on the way there felt like doing some deads 

(deadlifting :)

I can't take credit for that beautiful lady above, that's not me

but every word written is true

I train hard, as hard as I can on the day for my energy level

and tonight as Metallica's 'When the bell tolls' was blasting out the speakers on full I deadlifted 100kg!

yay! ~ BIG smile ~ 

       ~ BIG song and dance~

though I was not dressed as lightly as the beautiful lady above, hell no - this is Scotland, this is winter, it was 6 degrees outside!

so I had on my T, trackie daks and warm sweatshirt. Just until I broke a sweat....

(my only witness to the feat was the mirror :)

I did a post on deadlifting a couple months ago, and I can now do reps easily on 90kg

oh okay, I can do 4 reps, then 4 more, then another 4 then 3 then yadda yadda... you get my drift,

and I'm happy with that. I like my progress, I like to take my time, go slow, at a pace that suits me

It's been so good to deadlift, totally THE best exercise I have ever done and it is such a powerful movement to do, feels incredible. 

I really am in heaven when I'm doing it! ha ha! 

(em... what's she on??! is she really talking about deadlifting...!!?)

and if I don't indulge too much in all the tasty xmas treats out now, then I may just stay lean enough to sport a nice pair of pins like Rachel, above

and I could be the proud owner of a tush to be admired... perhaps..

though tonight, as a lil' reward I treated myself to some chocolate slathered profiteroles, yuu hhhuu mmmmeee. 

They only come in packs of 12 (sheesh! really?)

so, 9 down, 3 to go... 

So I remember before, going on about how good deadlifting is for you, and it really is - it has transformed me like nothing else

my core is now pretty damn strong 

I am sure I could wrap myself around that big thingy above just like that pretty lithe lady (what IS that thingy?? for martial arts I reckon? I thought they used logs of iron, as in Kickboxer...)

and my arms are coming along just fine

though not as big as this impressive lady above, 

what a nice pair of delts she has too, and check out that chain around her waist! cool eh? so tough! 

I will be making myself a dip belt with a nice 1/4inch chain on it, since I do dips with a 15kg plate (not too bad, I do sets of 6 at 10/12 reps)

didn't wanna spend $50 plus postage on that one, though I am sure it is worth every cent, will see how I go stitching one up, rather liking the chain, all that metal *mmm*

and maybe if I keep up my deadlifting and my weighted dips, and weighted chins, then one day I will have a nice pair of guns like this pretty lass!

Such a beautiful girl eh? 

beautiful smile! 

I love smiles :) did I mention that before? so LOVE smiles :)

okay, so I'm finished blowing my own trumpet, patted myself on the back enough, texted my mate to brag about my lift... was congratulated then promptly put in my place :) heh heh

maybe these new hares I made will bring a little smile to you?

(yeah, that's the hand that gripped the bar that had 100kg on it...)

they are looking forward to scampering around your xmas tree! which one do you love?

omg!!! forgot to say - saw my first xmas tree tonight on the way home from the gym! wow! totally love xmas trees and that all sparkly stuff

these little pals are in a Scandinavian floral pattern (came from a Norwegian tea towel, nuff said!)

and then when I got home and looked up at the stars, as I always do - omg!! I saw THE biggest, sparkliest star I have ever ever seen, like ever!

It was to the left hand side of Orion the Hunter, and em, I reckon it could be Sirius, the dog star, and the brightest star in the sky, because it was so bright! it was like the sun!!

alrighty, not as bright as the sun, but nearly as...

hmmmm, then again, maybe it is Venus?? 

all this star navigation stuff is a lil' confusing for me - will have to ask my brother, he will know for sure, he studied the stars and knows where they all live in the sky, I merely admire them as they glisten away

aaah :) so many things to LOVE!

little carrot covered hares perhaps? 

perfect for the centre piece decoration on the xmas table

(that little chap has a home to go to already, I'll have more hopping by in the next few days)

so LOVE the stars

so LOVE my gym

so LOVE deadlifting

so LOVE my strong body

... I could go on and on and...

so here I am - a 'selfie', taken a month or two ago. 

(was for an artist's profile for my paintings actually) (real professional huh?)

Still got a little way to go with my guns eh?

I'm not into singlets (yet) or tight shorts or revealing stuffs. The most I do is turn my sleeves up, that's my vanity taken care of.

oh - forgot to boast (again!) - I now do shrugs on 170kg!!!

yeah, really! 170kg!  I do 3 sets of 6/8 reps  not too bad eh? I warm up with reps on 120kg, then 140kg, then 150kg

okey dokey, 
showtime is now officially over :)

I have warm ups to do....

good form = strong Deadlifting

I've been deadlifting for over 4 months now

not the, em, Terminator way though :)

and I can lift 2 reps on 90kgs no probs. Will be 95kg any day now, then soon 100kg...

I am fortunate to be under the careful guidance of one of the super nicest boys in the gym. He keeps me right when my form goes to hell, and I get a little eager with the poundage.

Deadlifting is totally addictive! 

and if you spend any time in the gym lifting free weights, and like to go heavy, then you will be in love with deadlifting for sure.

before Arnold took up bodybuilding, he did power lifting, and deadlifts are a staple of powerlifters.

They build strength and tremendous muscle mass and are a real boost in your weight training programme.

This article here - Deadlift 101 - from Arnold's website, explains all about the correct form to use.

However, reading about 'terms' is one thing and applying them in the gym is another. It's always good to have someone watch over you. In most cases it is essential to building and maintaing good form.

The things that have stood out for me the most so far in my short time of lifting is to -

- always lock my arms out on the bar 

- keep my tush down

- use my hams and glutes to start the lift - and to feel the energy drive down thru my heels into the floor - this really is a mind/feeling game, and I make sure to do this every time cos I wasn't doing it before, and I see and feel the difference now

lifting is such a cerebral activity - it all starts in your mind, and I like to quiet my mind before every big lift

but, as you know, I'm not a big girl - still just as svelte and tiny as before, though my curves are from muscles, and as much as I love to lift as heavy as humanly possible there is no way that I will ever be more than the wisp I already am (see above.... :)

(my muscles are earned thru blood, sweat and tears, and no, I have no idea how big my biceps are :)

and whilst I might drool over my hero Arnold

in his tight white singlet

I am not the type of girl to want to look like a man - I merely want to be as strong as one (heh heh)

after all, what's the point of pushing yourself to the limit if you can't have a little bit of competition, a little bit of fun? even if you don't tell anyone

~ my baby hares have fun all the time, and yes, they are competitive too, like all babies

though they are not really into gyms (yet)

they are competitive over their toys, and playing games and birthday presents and .....

talking of birthdays - a couple of the boys in the gym just had birthdays so I rustled up a grey hare card for each of them, and baked some cookies!

ofcourse the cookies were in the shapes of Hearts, Reindeers and Rabbits - my 3 most favourite things

(they tasted rather like cardboard and weren't 'man-size' ones - may have to do something about that next time! (- the size, not the taste!))

anyway, it's coming to the end of summer, the weather has been rather nice, amid a few showers 

and unlike Arnold's bike, mine has a thick coating of dust on it. (about 6 years of dust to be precise) 

I much prefer to run though the last couple of days me and my asics have been soaked thru in brief showers out on the running track as I get my kms in

*yawn* 
what's all this activity going on around here?
keep the noise down eh? 
I'm enjoying the last of the summer ....the summer, em, .....
*zzzzzzz*

Sexy Hot stuff! - a man's touch at The Leverets Nest

I go to my local cinema, Cineworld, every Orange Wednesday with my mum to catch the latest flick and I always enjoy the pre-movie trailers and the ads.

Lately it's been the new Diet Coke ad, with some lean dude mowing the lawn who gets wet and has to take his shirt off and ... you all know the story I'm sure...

and so I thought to myself - 

if coke-a-cola use sex to sell their brown sugary drinks, surely I can use a lil' bit of hot stuff to sell my hares huh?!

Well, I happen to workout 6 days a week in an excellent free weight gym with serious athletes and they spot for me when I am benching 60+kgs, or decline pressing 70kgs, and give me the best advice ever on my deadlifts, which were an easy 13 reps on 80kg last time (will be 90kg next week for sure)

anyway, you get the picture - they are all super nice to me

and so, one of the super-nicest ones kindly said yes to me, he would hold my hares and humour me, as I took snaps to spice up my etsy shop a bit :)

Baby hare Adair was so excited! 

his blue coat perfectly matched the rack and he was held as gently and tenderly as a newborn

and Baby hare Fergus was thrilled at being in the gym because his eyes are the colour of the walls and he wanted to meet my friends too, 

(he was about to win the arm wrestle but I missed the shot)

plus, Fergus' coat is slightly tatty with threads fraying as it was once the lining of a jacket, and the gym is also a bit careworn with it's chips and dents and all that - and Ferg loved that - and me too!

Adair and Ferg had a few words about who was the strongest baby, as they eyed the impressive arms they were held in

slightly leaner Ferg said appearances had nothing to do with it, just look at Annette, scrawny but strong,

and 

more robust Adair said - well, big weights means big muscles - just look at our new friend here

Baby hare Fighter was more than pleased because his dinosaur filled coat matched the cam pants and boots of his new pal, as they discussed the tastiest protein intake

Fighter said that he had only tried the occasional ear wig and ant that had crossed his path, after all he was a hare and hares are meant to be vegetarian

mind you, the ant was tasty he said, but he's not told anyone yet....

Mother hare Vortexa, on the left, and Mother hare Matrexa were so delighted to see inside my gym, 

and em, to be pressed tight against the chest of their special new friend

(the bench had some drool on it afterwards, so I made them wipe it up, as that's only gym protocol...)

Matrexa oohed at the huge weights, then spotted the mirror and started to groom her coat

but then her eye caught sight of the amazing tattoo on her new friends arm, and my, my she sure had some compliments to give him, 

because, she went on, did he know that her coat is from an upcycled tea towel that came from the Northern Territory in Australia where Annette grew up? and it's of an Aboriginal painting of a crocodile

very beautiful he said, and well - did you know that mine comes from the New Zealand Maori warriors?

oooooh sighed Matrexa, purring with delight

well what about my beautiful coat too, barked Vortexa, 

and she was about to make a big scene 

when she too received many flattering compliments about her markings and had her fur stroked attentively

much purring followed

(Vortexa is a gift for a very lovely lady in Texas, so won't be going into my etsy shop)

then finally when my new model's hand had nearly fallen off with all the patting and the hares were content 

I gave him the tiniest hare of the day - 

now you see me!

now you don't!

ha ha, isn't that the best ever hide-n-seek!

this is my Drive Safe with Baby Hare and the little hare was so happy to meet someone who shares the same great taste in fabrics!

and for such a tiny hare she kept a good conversation and wanted to know all about his wheels, what was the harepower, did it have mags, what was its zero to 60 and did it have ......

horsepower he corrected her, 

oh, blinked the tiny hare, pretending not to hear .....

then it was time for the ring wearing man to brush up on the rules of marriage with my postcard set, 

namely the postcard about giving during games time (perhaps it can be applied to monopoly or various card games, though personally, when playing those type of games I take no prisoners :)

'remember marriage is a game that must be played on a 50/50 basis - give and take - bear and forbear'

but ofcourse, tough men already know the roolz :) and have nothing to prove

so it was onto my Grey Hare Card next.

ready to ship and with an assortment of grey hares on the front, celebrating another year of your life, as you add yet another grey hair to your head....

and not necessarily another candle to an ever increasing cake circumference....

you must be joking Annette! - this is what you do outside the gym - cutting out hares for a living?

and I thought you had a serious job.....

... right, thank god that's over!

I'm thirsty after all that gym-bunny stuff

got anything for me to drink?

- and remember - real men drink real coke!

ha ha :)

thanks SO much to my awesome model!!!

yay - he's the best :)

and so much better than the diet coke dude