The Real-Life LGBT Outlaws of the American West and Writing Queerness Back to Historical Fiction

Here’s the setup of my soon-to-be-published novel, The Best Bad Things, in a nutshell: The year is 1887, and in the wild west of the Washington Territory, a hard-boiled, rule-bending Pinkerton’s detective goes undercover to infiltrate a smuggling ring. The detective’s name is Alma Rosales. She’s Latinx, she’s gender-fluid, and she’s queer. One of my writing friends and I fondly call her the “manic pixie butch stud.” I’m kind of in love with her — and I hope you’ll love her, too.

When drafting The Best Bad Things, I often thought of this piece of writing advice: “write the book you want to read.” I kept a mental list of characters and craft I loved in other books. The lyric prose of literary novels. The twisty plots and red herrings of mysteries. The rich world-building of historical fiction. Women who defied expectations and made their own rules. And queer characters — lots and lots of queer characters.

I wanted to read a book in which a queer woman was the main character, and was surrounded by other queer people. Where the main character’s queerness was not the focus, but rather an accepted facet of her life. I wanted to read a book in which queer folks were not merely there to provide a body count. As the Bury Your Gays trope reminds us, all too often the storylines of queer characters end in misery or death. I see a parallel here with stories about women “behaving badly,” where the female character’s story arc consists of her realizing she must change her ways: she must conform or perish (and sometimes perish anyway); she must stop straying outside the bounds of femininity. All this ties into queerness for me. Queer women are often villainized and categorized as behaving badly — not because we’ve done anything wrong, but because we aren’t conforming to societal expectations about sexuality and gender, and sometimes physical presentation.

Of course, because The Best Bad Things is fiction, I was able to push the boundaries of “behaving badly.” Alma doesn’t just blur gender lines and delight in her queerness. She and the other characters do quite a few bad things. And I found so much pleasure in writing about them: a cast of queer folks competently navigating the criminal underworld, pursuing their physical and sexual wants, breaking laws. I love Alma’s story because she is a fierce queer woman who does not apologize for her desires — and she is not punished for pursuing them.

Though they are my favorite to read, books (in any genre) that feature queer main characters constitute a fraction of what is available. One of the many effects of this lack of representation is that the queer experience, in itself, becomes mysterious — certainly to straight people, but also to queer folks, especially those who are not out, or are still learning about themselves, or are seeking affirmation through fiction that they are not singular in their experience of the world. I can only recall a handful of novels I encountered through school and afterward that explored the queer experience, even obliquely. As a late-blooming gay (not even out to myself until my late twenties) I clung to these stories, loved them even when they were frightening, or sad, or from the perspective of male-identified characters, because the little glimpses into queer lives held such power for me.

The mystery of the queer experience extends even more so to historical fiction. The overwhelmingly straight, cis, and white historical record has obscured or erased much of queer history. With The Best Bad Things, I intentionally chose a place, time, and combination of genres (western and noir, in particular) where queer people, women, and people of color have usually been stereotyped or written out entirely. But of course there were queer people in the 1880s American West — we just don’t hear about them as much as the popularized, white macho cowboy/outlaw narrative. And of course there were queer people of color in the West, including those who were there before white colonizers. Alma is Mexican-American, with roots in Southern California. Another central character, Delphine Beaumond, is a Black queer woman who leaves the South for the West Coast in the aftermath of the Civil War. I wanted to center and empower Alma and Delphine in a story where their presence is perhaps unexpected but also completely plausible and necessary.

In researching for the book, I dug into stories of women (and some men) in the west in the late 1800s who defied social norms when it came to money, presentation, or sexuality. Not all of them were queer, and most of them were not criminals, but all were accused of behaving badly — or even outright law-breaking — because they didn’t conform. Mary Ellen Pleasant was a Black woman who came to San Francisco in the 1850s. Starting with a boardinghouse, she built herself a fortune and a social network in San Francisco high society. She was active with the Underground Railroad before coming west and filed a pair of lawsuits that ended segregation on San Francisco streetcars. In response to her various successes, she was accused of practicing voodoo and, later, of murder. Jeanne Bonnet (fictionalized in Emma Donoghue’s novel Frog Music) was a pickpocket in 1870s San Francisco who often wore men’s clothing, and was frequently arrested for her male attire. Jack Bee Garland (also known as Elvira Virginia Mugarrieta and Babe Bean) was a Mexican-American writer who lived in Stockton, California at the turn of the century; Garland was assigned female at birth but lived as a man; he too was periodically arrested for wearing men’s clothing. Other queer or trans people, about whom very little is known — sometimes, even their names are lost — appear in historical materials. The Jefferson County, Washington, coroner’s records contained this entry from Sept. 14, 1913: “The body of an unidentified woman, age 55-60, dressed in men’s clothing, her breast tightly bound and her hair cropped short, was found floating in Discovery Bay. There were several cards with Seattle addresses but no money in her pockets. Believed to have fallen from a passing steamer, she was still unknown when buried by the county.”

Each of these small bits of history made me hungry for more information, and brought home how many stories — especially those about queer folks — have been lost, compared to those few that have survived. In writing The Best Bad Things, I wanted to fill in some of those gaps. I wanted to imagine queer people where they must have been, in shipyards and customs offices and coastal boom towns. I wanted them to be in love, to be gender outlaws and survivors, to triumph. The longing for these kinds of stories helped shaped my book and Alma’s journey. In turn, my hope is that other queer readers searching for a portrait of the past that includes them will read The Best Bad Things and find a place where they can belong.

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Leave a comment about your favorite queer historical figure and be entered to win an advance copy of THE BEST BAD THINGS! Three readers will be randomly selected to receive copies of the book. Comment by Monday, September 10, to be entered to win.

Seattle 2018-08-23: Seattle Game Night: August Edition

Venue: Raygun Lounge
501 E Pine St.
Seattle, Washington
98122
United States

Event Date: 2018-08-23
Start Time: 07:00 pm
End Time: 10:00 pm

Host: Katrina Carrasco

Description: It’s the monthly Seattle ‘Straddlers game night, summertime edition! Come to Raygun Lounge with your own favorite games or borrow some from Raygun’s library. The venue has drinks and snacks available. Hope to see you there!

Accessibility Info: Raygun is at street level, with no stairs.

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/211306446394103/?notif_t=plan_user_joined&notif_id=1533597485456818
RSVPs are encouraged to ensure we reserve enough table space. You can RSVP at the link below!

Muscle Up: How to Get Bigger and Stronger, One Deadlift at a Time

One of my fitness goals for 2018 is to build up muscle mass, especially in my arms and back. However, this has been one of my fitness goals since about 2013. It’s difficult for me to put on muscle mass, and over the years I’ve tried a few different sports and combed through many training resources in my efforts to bulk up. I’ve noticed a few things in that time: 1) There is a baseline assumption in most fitness resources that men want to get bigger and women want to lose weight, meaning there are very few resources tailored for women and AFAB non-binary folks who want to get bigger. 2) Gender panic is incredibly pervasive in workout culture. “Don’t worry, you won’t look masculine!” shriek fitness articles for women — which frames female masculinity as a negative trait while also erasing those of us who would like to look more masculine. (And I won’t even get into the infantilizing language in women’s fitness articles, other than to say not one piece written for men would use the words “tummy” or “booty.”)
That’s a lot of nonsense to wade through when you’re just trying to build impressive deltoids. So, this article is for Autostraddle readers who want to bulk up.

Disclaimer: I’m not a certified trainer — I’m a lifelong athlete and fitness geek who’s learned a lot through trial and error. Here, I’ll share my 5-year quest to get bigger and stronger, what has worked and not worked for me, and some tips and advice from fitness professionals. Use this article as a springboard for your own research and training experiments. I hope it helps on your journey to muscled splendor!

What Kind of Exercise Should You Do?

Part of the challenge of getting buff is figuring out which type of exercise gives you the most results. Another part is evaluating where you’re starting.

I spoke with Nathalie Huerta, owner of Queer Gym in Oakland, whose credentials include a degree in Sports Medicine from the University of San Francisco, and Personal Trainer and Sports Specialist certifications from NASM. She describes the path to muscle mass for a beginner: begin with a focus on range of motion and mobility work; then weight loss, if desired; then building up cardiovascular and muscular endurance; then more cutting down body fat; then building strength; and, finally, bulking — putting on lean muscle mass. Huerta says this process goes “from hardest to easiest to hardest,” and notes that the key component of bulking is good nutrition. If you’re somewhere in the middle of the training spectrum — say, at the building-strength phase — Huerta says bulking will still take a lot of effort. “Bulking is a full-time job,” she says, “you’re eating all day to fuel muscle growth.” I’ll dive into what foods best fuel your workouts later in the article; first, let’s talk about what exercises will get your muscles pumped. Here are some combinations I’ve tried over the years.

Powerlifting & Olympic Lifting

Big compound lifts — the powerlifting “Big 3,” or squat, deadlift, and bench — are considered staples when building muscle mass because they are highly efficient: each lift works multiple muscle groups (as well as stabilizer muscles), encouraging simultaneous growth in all those groups. Olympic lifting combines some of the foundational movements of powerlifting (specifically, the squat and deadlift) with explosive full-body movements, and is comprised of two lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. Powerlifting and Olympic lifting are two different sports, with different competitions and events, and female athletes are a growing force in both disciplines.

Powerlifting and Olympic lifting will certainly make you stronger, but they won’t necessarily make you bigger — at least not right away. Kristin Newman, MS CSCS and Athletic Director of Speed Power Strength in Oakland, explains: “When someone starts to lift for the first time, they’re going to find they get stronger without necessarily putting on size. Much of these ‘newbie gains’ are due to our bodies becoming more efficient at coordinating our muscle contractions to move weight … so for the first six months, your body doesn’t have to build muscle to get stronger, it just has to get your muscle fibers working better as a team.”

The full-body, muscle-coordinating movements of powerlifting and Olympic lifting can also quickly reveal the weak spots and muscular imbalances in your body. The squat looks simple yet is an incredibly complex movement, requiring strength and coordination between multiple parts of the body. Some people will take to squats naturally and be able to make fast progress. Others (like me) will hit a not-that-heavy weight where form falls apart, and spend the next 3 years tinkering with supplemental lifts, mobility work, lifting shoes and so on — none of which will help push past that plateau.

Despite my struggles with form and mobility, I continued to powerlift, but it was disheartening to work so hard and not see muscle growth. I loved lifting — hitting a big deadlift feels awesome — and I also thought it was the only avenue to big muscle gains. (That’s what most of the fitness resources I found were claiming, anyway.) What I was ignoring was the fact that powerlifting is a sport — and, just like any sport, it will suit some body types better than others. It wasn’t optimal for my 6’-tall, long-limbed, carrying-lots-of-old-athletic-injuries body. And that’s OK! Once I stopped being stubborn about that, I was able to find other primary activities that better suited my body, while keeping my powerlifting favorites (deadlifts and overhead press) in my workouts — and also continuing to squat and bench to the best of my ability.

It’s also worth mentioning that my struggles with powerlifting could have been addressed through coaching. I never worked with a coach; I had trouble finding ones in my area who primarily worked with women, and one (male) trainer I found told me I should focus on jogging instead. Additionally, as a lifting beginner, I cobbled together my own programming in a way that probably wasn’t the most effective and included a lot of trial and error.

Recently, however, lifting is gaining popularity and the number of gyms offering coaching programs is growing — it’s more likely than ever there’s one near you. “Buying coaching essentially buys you time,” Huerta says, explaining that if you go it alone (like I did) you have to piece together information and weed out the good from bad. A coach will do that work for you. Huerta recommends semi-private training (in small groups of 4-8) as the best way to get coaching at an affordable rate.

In summary, my two cents here is: Give powerlifting or Olympic lifting a try! If you fall in love with lifting, that’s awesome! Find a programming style you like — and a coach, if that’s in your budget — and get swole! (You can read up on powerlifting basics here.) But if you invest time in lifting — at least a year, to get past that 6-month strength-over-size window Newman mention — and are not seeing growth, don’t give up and think you can’t put on muscle mass. Instead, explore what other exercises might work better with your body.

Boxing + Weight Training

I had a lot of fun with this exercise combination. Boxing helped me get leaner, allowing more muscle to show, and get faster. Because my boxing gym had a partial weight room, I was able to keep up a basic lifting routine of squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses (though scaled-down in weight, as I often lifted right after boxing workouts). Our training drills focused on core and upper-body strength, and boxing itself comes with such an adrenaline rush — executing a great punch combination feels almost as good as doing a big deadlift. After 1.5 years at my boxing gym, I was in great shape overall, but I had not put on much muscle mass.

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilders focus on developing muscle mass, so if bulking is your goal, bodybuilding could be a good fit. You can follow bodybuilding training programs on your own to meet personal goals, or you can choose to train with the goal of participating in the figure competitions that are run worldwide by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB). I asked Kalli Youngstrom, nutritionist, personal trainer, and IFBB figure professional, about the best places to start if you’re interested in bodybuilding and figure competitions. “Bodybuilding.com is a really great resource for beginners,” she says, “and I always recommend reading first-hand experiences when it comes to competing. Ensuring that you hear the good, bad, and ugly is important when it comes to making an educated decision to step on stage.”

It’s worth noting that competition culture can be heavily gendered: female figure competitors usually wear jeweled bikinis, heels, and big hair. If this is something that fits your gender expression, and you’d like to compete, then learning about IFBB events and prepping for competitions can be a great motivator for your training. For me — especially as I’ve begun to identify as more masculine-of-center — competition culture doesn’t feel comfortable. So, rather than train to compete, I combine some aspects of bodybuilding training with other sports and activities that I enjoy. This gives me the benefits of muscle gain while allowing me to focus on other primary activities. (I’ll cover this in depth in the following Build Size and Strength section.)

CrossFit

CrossFit has been the programming that resulted in the most visible changes to my body. It incorporates many of the movements I love from powerlifting and Olympic lifting, so I get my heavy-weights fix, while also including high-intensity interval training (HIIT)-style cardio, which keeps me lean enough to show off my muscles. I don’t have to mess around with programming (all workouts are designed by the gym), and I have coaches on hand to ask about technique and how to best modify exercises, if needed.

“Coaches on hand” is a crucial point: I believe I’m seeing results in CrossFit because of the exercise itself but also because of coaching guidance (what Huerta recommends, and what I lacked with powerlifting). If you’re serious about putting on muscle mass, it might be worth it to work with a coach in whatever sport you choose — even if it’s just while you’re getting started — to set up a strong foundation and programming structure.

I’m really loving CrossFit right now, but there are some barriers to entry: it’s expensive (the most expensive gym I’ve ever had, and I prioritize spending on my fitness), and it’s important you land at a reputable gym. While traveling recently I decided to check out some local CrossFit gyms for drop-in workouts and, oh my, it was not pretty. If you try the CrossFit option, do your homework and make sure you’re going somewhere with good coaches and a commitment to safe workouts.

Build Size and Strength

Apart from the coaching question, why has CrossFit been my best bet so far in my quest to build muscle? I think the answer (which I wish I’d understood sooner — but that’s why I’m summarizing my 5-year learning experience for you in one handy spot!) has to do with training for muscle hypertrophy, or growth, as well as training for strength.

When I think of muscular hypertrophy I think of bodybuilding: training with high reps at lower weights to specifically focus on building muscle size. Of course, you’ll build strength with high reps/lower weights (HR/LW), but that’s not bodybuilding’s main goal. (Another form of this is called high-volume training, where you train with many sets for longer periods of time.) By contrast, the low-reps/heavy-weight (LR/HW) programming of powerlifting or Olympic lifting is focused on strength rather than size.

To concurrently build strength and size, build a routine that includes elements of HR/LW and LR/HW programming and best suits your fitness interests and abilities. If you’d like to focus on lifting, for instance, “combin[ing] bodybuilding with powerlifting and Olympic lifting … is a very healthy way to approach strength training,” Newman says, noting that the benefits of this cross-training go beyond increasing muscle mass. “High-rep exercises as seen in bodybuilding programs are very good for joint health,” she explains. “Tendons and ligaments don’t get great blood flow, so training for ‘the pump’ helps your joints get stronger and sturdier, protecting you against injury as you get stronger in your main lifts.”

This article by Mike Robertson on Bodybuilding.com explains each type of programming in more detail, and also lays out a training plan that switches between the two every 4-6 weeks to keep your body from settling into a plateau.

CrossFit programming also combines both styles of training, which may account for my marked increase in muscle mass since joining my gym. In a CrossFit workout we might combine burpees, pushups, and dumbbell snatches in a short but intense session (the HR/LW component). We also typically do strength work before workouts — focusing on building up to personal records, or PRs, in lifting staples such as back squats, deadlifts, and overhead press (the LR/HW component).

The takeaway here: Whichever exercise you choose, HR/LW programming will help you build muscle mass. LR/HW programming will help you build overall strength. Combining the two should get you on the path to bigger muscles. “I love ending my training with a circuit of single-joint, high-rep, bodybuilding-type movements,” Newman says. “I want to be strong and look like I’m strong.”

It Starts with Food

So! You have a workout plan in mind, and you’re ready to fuel it. Great! To build muscle mass, you’ll probably have to up your calorie consumption. Here are a few things to figure out:

• How many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight, and how many you need to start adding mass. There are many calorie calculators online; try a few and compare results to determine your intake goal.
• How much protein to consume. Protein is essential to muscle repair and growth, and most lifting plans recommend 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
• How (and if!) you’re going to track your daily intake. Apps like MyFitnessPal are popular because they do a lot of the tracking work for you; you can also find nutrition information for foods from popular restaurants and grocery chains, and scan the barcodes on some food packaging to quickly input the food’s information.

If tracking your calories sounds triggering or otherwise bad for your mental health, consider these options:

• Macros. Many athletes prefer the macros approach, where instead of tracking calories you track grams consumed of carbs, fats and protein. Here’s a macronutrient calculator along with an explanation of how macros work.
• Choosing a nutrient to track. Let’s say you don’t want to track calories — you just want to make sure you’re getting enough protein. To do so, keep a tally of the protein you’ve consumed during the day, choose protein-rich snacks if you’re falling behind on your daily goal, and try to eat enough food in general. If, over time, you’re not building muscle, add in a few more snacks or meals to your daily routine.

For my own tracking, I keep an old-fashioned Excel spreadsheet (I’m not really an app person): I mostly care about calories and protein, and I tend to eat prep meals or favorite foods, so it’s easier for me to maintain my own food journal that tallies daily calories and grams of protein consumed. You can even get really old-fashioned and track by hand in a journal. The key is to pick the method that will be easiest for you to stick with.

How to Structure Your Meals

For your body to have a consistent supply of nutrients (in order to be actively repairing and building muscle throughout the day), most resources suggest eating 4-6 small meals a day. “I recommend focusing the majority of carbs pre- and post-workout and keeping fats and fiber lower in these meals to encourage quicker digestion,” Youngstrom says. “For the remaining meals of the day I prefer a good balance of protein, fat, and fiber from non-starchy vegetables.” For a pre-workout meal, she says, a favorite is “plant-based protein, oatmeal, and fruit,” and suggests something like “chicken and sweet potato or rice for post-workout.” For athletes who are bulking and have a hard time gaining muscle mass (otherwise known as “hard gainers”), she also recommends “an intra-workout carb drink … [for] extra calories and carbohydrates.”

What About Supplements?

Other than basic protein shakes (pea protein isolate with almond milk is my favorite), I have not waded into the fruit-flavored waters of supplements. In my estimation, if I’m eating a balanced diet with fresh whole foods, I shouldn’t need extra nutrient boosts. That being said, there is a booming market for supplements, with different products claiming to help with everything from rapid post-workout recovery to boosted muscle growth.

“The only two supplements I have continuously used and recommend to people are a good protein powder and creatine monohydrate,” Newman says. Creatine is a supplement that is reputed to increase your body’s ability to perform high-intensity workouts, and therefore promote faster muscle gain. “Don’t waste your money on expensive creatine with fancy additives,” Newman says. “Pretty much any creatine monohydrate will do.” She also recommends fish oil or glucosamine/chondroitin supplements for joint health, if needed.

Do you have a product that’s made a big difference for you? A brand you recommend? Let us know in the comments!

How the F@%$ Do I Eat So Much Protein?

Ah, protein. Muscles demand it! This is something I’ve consistently struggled with over the years. Following the 1-gram/pound formula, I need to be eating 175 grams of protein a day. Some days I don’t hit my protein goal. On the days I do meet my goal I usually:

• Have eaten animal protein in at least two meals
• Have consumed two protein shakes
• Have eaten at least one protein bar

I’d prefer to not eat meat or fish every day, but it’s usually the only sure-fire way to hit my protein goals. Rxbar protein bars, which are additive-free and made with egg whites and nuts, are one of my daily go-to snacks. For protein powder, whey, soy, and pea protein are popular options. Other great protein sources include cottage cheese, yogurt, fish, beans and eggs. If all of this sounds expensive, yes, it can be. What helps me keep costs down is meal-prepping: buying ingredients in bulk, making 10-12 meals at once, and refrigerating or freezing them for later.

Bulking & Cutting

“Bulking” and “cutting” are terms from the weightlifting world. For instance, competitive bodybuilders will “bulk” by calorie loading and working out hard to build mass (adding both muscle and fat) and then, pre-competition, they will “cut,” lowering their caloric intake (while still exercising in order to retain muscle) to strip away some of their excess fat. The third part of bulking and cutting is maintenance: instead of endlessly pushing your body to build muscle — which will eventually lead to overtraining and fatigue — maintenance acts as a reset period in which your body can adapt to its newly built muscle mass.

A “clean” bulk is when you track your food intake and eat to meet your goals. For instance, with the macros calculator linked above, you can input a goal of “Muscle Gainz” and it will calculate your macros with bulking surpluses in mind. If you’re using the calorie-tracking approach, adding about 300 calories to your maintenance levels is considered a good starting place for a bulk.

A “dirty” bulk, on the other hand, is more of a free-for-all approach to nutrition: you’re aiming to overload on calories and can do that however you want — pizza, ice cream, fried chicken, you name it. Dirty bulks are generally considered a bad idea by coaches and fitness writers: you’ll be better off in the long run, they say, if you’re working hard in tandem with fueling your body with a well-rounded healthy diet.

The key takeaway from the bulking/cutting model is that it takes a lot of nutrients to build muscle mass: if you’re lifting heavy but not getting enough calories, you won’t build as much muscle as you could — and you’ll get really tired, really quickly. This is important to keep in mind because it’s not productive to have competing goals. Meaning: If you want to add muscle and lose fat simultaneously, you may be fighting a losing battle. Bulking up means eating more (especially protein, complex carbs, and fats) and probably putting on some fat along with your growing muscles. You can cut later if you want to — and don’t forget the maintenance phases for recovery. It’s also worth noting that a bulk/cut/maintenance cycle shouldn’t be considered a permanent way to eat and train, but rather a plan for when you’re actively building muscle mass.

More Training Resources

As lifting has become a more popular activity, the how-to resources available online have continued to improve and diversify. You’ll occasionally have to wade through some of the gender panic and baby-talk I mentioned in the introduction, but there is good information out there. Here are some resources I’ve found particularly helpful:

• Bodybuilding.com: Recommended by Youngstrom, and a favorite resource of mine, this site provides good workouts and nutrition information, with many articles tailored for female athletes.
• Ask a Swole Woman: This Hairpin column is a favorite for readers of my Gym Class series. Presented in a question-and-answer format, Casey Johnston’s column gives readers a solid foundation to build strength, and tips and information for the journey.
• Meg Squats: Meg is a lifter and offers a variety of resources about nutrition and training through her website, Instagram, and YouTube channel.
• Starting Strength: This was my original programming when I started powerlifting; there’s a website with instructional videos, plus a training manual you can purchase. The big lifts are comprehensively described to keep you as safe as possible. While there are some AFAB-specific tips, most of the information is geared toward young cis men.
• Reddit Fitness: This is a general fitness resource. My friend Kelly, a powerlifter, recommends r/XXFitness, which is geared toward women; she also recommends r/Powerlifting and r/Weightlifting, and notes the community is generally courteous toward female and non-binary athletes.
• Facebook: I never thought I’d be recommending Facebook for anything (I am a noted Facebook curmudgeon). But one of the best things you can do when starting a new routine — lifting, boxing, CrossFit, or whatever activity you love — is find others who share your goals, whether that’s on a social-networking site like Facebook or through a group activity site like Meetup.com. Especially for women and queer folks, many fitness spaces can feel intimidating or unwelcoming. Connecting online with a likeminded group of queer powerlifters, for instance, will give everyone in the group a place to compare training notes, talk about protein-shake blenders, celebrate each other’s PRs, and maybe even meet up in real life (if possible) for workouts. Build your bulking community!

Where I’m at Now

Though I’m still chasing bigger biceps, my efforts to this point have not been in vain: especially with my recent switch to CrossFit as my primary activity, I’ve seen increased definition in my shoulders, upper arms, and back. I no longer fit into dresses I purchased 4-5 years ago because my lats have grown too wide. (Happily, I’ve been dressing more MoC lately, so I don’t miss those dresses too much.)

I’ve met several women recently who love climbing and bouldering, and I’m excited to give that a try next. Excitement has been an important constant in my bulking quest: I love working out, getting stronger, and trying new sports, so even when I get frustrated with my progress, I’m still having fun — and that’s the best part.

As I noted at the start of the article, my mission to get bigger muscles is an ongoing learning experience. If you have any tips or personal stories, I’d love to see them in the comments!

Seattle, WA 6/16: Seattle Pride Picnic

Venue: Cal Anderson Park
1635 11th Ave
Seattle, Washington
98122
United States

Event Date: June 16, 2018
Start Time: 1:00 pm
End Time: 5:00 pm

Host: Katrina Carrasco

Description: Happy Pride, everyone! Let’s get together for a picnic to celebrate!

Suggested items to bring: food/snacks to share, a blanket to sit on, games you’d like to play with the group, your favorite rainbow-decked outfit & accessories.

How to find us: I’ll bring a large Autostraddle logo poster & on the day of the event, I’ll update the Facebook page with where in the park we’ve set up. Fingers crossed it stays sunny for us in the park. Hope to see you there!

Accessibility Info: Cal Anderson park is a street-level outdoor park with green spaces and paved paths; there are some stairs but ramps are also available to access the green spaces.

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/591279867910344/
You can RSVP at the Seattle Autostraddlers’ Facebook page. This attendance estimate will be helpful for those bringing food/snacks to share.

Relearning How To Dress Myself From The Closet I Came Out Of

My closet contains a timeline of my adult life. There’s the old sports gear from back in college, rowing shirts with my university’s name embroidered on the collars. A red silk scarf I picked up on my post-college travels. The shirt I wore to interview at my first professional job. The pajamas I was wearing when my ex-husband proposed. The dresses I danced with him in, over the course of our ten-year relationship. The heels I tripped in after too many gin and tonics, again. The sweater I had on when I told my ex-husband, through tears, that I thought I might be gay. And the dress I had on when the email came through that our divorce was finalized.

It can be hard to put some of these things on. Some of them don’t feel like mine, anymore. A married, straight woman’s clothes. A hard-drinking, desperately sad person’s clothes. A stranger’s clothes.

My gym gear is comfortable, still. It’s just what I wear, what I’ve always worn, to move around — cotton to absorb my sweat as I run, or lift, or box. I love sweating. I love feeling strong. My body still feels like mine, at least. So that’s a place to start.

Just before my 33rd birthday, I worked up the courage to come out to my mother. On that same birthday, I got sober. Last year, just before turning 34, I divorced my ex-husband, moved to a new city, came out to friends and family, started dating my first girlfriend, and sold my first novel. Now I’m just about to turn 35, and I’m still shaken up by so much change in so little time. My life is almost unrecognizable from what it was two years ago.

With all these changes comes possibility. Here I am, in my mid-thirties, with the chance to reinvent myself. How often in life does one get such an opportunity? Such a fresh start?

I try to frame things that way — in the light of the possible — because, as with any big change, there’s also fear and uncertainty. It’s like staring at the first empty page of a new manuscript, knowing the book could go in any one of a million directions, and being stupefied by that openness, that lack of constraint.

One of the biggest ways this anxiety has manifested is with my physical presentation. I feel the need to do something to the outside of my body to mark the tremendous shift I’ve experienced inside — to somehow match my inner self to my outer self. But I’m not sure who my inner self is anymore. There’s a sense of total dislocation. I made some abrupt and large and lasting changes in my life, and now the questions — Who am I? What am I doing? What do I want? — seem impossible to answer. Maybe they were always impossible to answer, but I’d been in a long-term relationship long enough that I assumed they were settled.

I’ve figured out some new answers to these questions I’d forgotten about. I know what I want: to be part of the queer community, and be seen by others in that community. Not just in queer spaces, but out in the larger world. Maybe that’s why I’ve become so fixated on my appearance — it’s the simplest thing to change. And yet, there are so many options. I could be high femme! I could be hard femme! I could be a softball lesbian (a term I recently encountered that pretty accurately describes me)! I could be soft butch! I could cut off all my hair! Oh shit, what if I cut off all my hair?!

One of the things I love most about queer culture is how it challenges the idea that masculine and feminine identities are fixed opposites. My attraction to butch and masculine-of-center women is a large part of what woke me to my own queerness. And as I’ve started to get comfortable in that queerness, I’ve realized my desire for MoC women is partly a case of, do I want her, or do I want to be her? I’m fascinated and afraid in equal measure by my own capacity to inhabit masculine qualities. I wonder, if I were younger, would I also be braver — more willing to try a new haircut, a new wardrobe, a new way of being seen in the world. But maybe I’ve never been brave that way: I learned very early on that my face was something to be hidden.

I was born with a birthmark that covered almost half of my face. Despite several surgeries around age seven, I was left with a lot of scarring. I was also awkwardly tall and painfully shy, far happier with books than with other kids, who didn’t miss a chance to tease me. All I wanted was to be pretty. To be normal. I was an outsider, but I wanted to be accepted in. To make up for my scars, I learned to act as girlish as possible. To make up for the little jump people gave when they saw my face, I learned to raise and soften the pitch of my voice.

When I was a teenager, I grew even taller, and had broad shoulders and a flat chest; I was often playing sports and wearing gym clothes, and already getting called “sir” by people before they heard me speak. My efforts to perform femininity took on a new intensity. Around that time, my mother decided I was old enough to wear makeup and short dresses, which gave me some new tools in my “I’m a girl!” arsenal. I noticed how people — my peers and adults alike — treated me more nicely when I wore lipstick, when I slumped my shoulders to take up less space. I consumed far too many magazine articles about sex, cosmetics, and what men wanted in a woman. I didn’t particularly like boys, but I was encouraged to find a boyfriend. When I finally brought one home, late in high school, I was praised. And that made me happy: I just wanted to be a regular girl.

The older I got, the easier the performance of femininity became. My voice found higher registers on its own. I giggled a lot. I didn’t leave the house without makeup on. I also drank a lot, and often, because that’s what fun girls did.

In my late twenties something changed. I started to find confidence in my height, my strong body. And as I stood in the mirror getting more and more comfortable looking at myself, I also got more and more certain I was queer. I would look at myself and understand that truth and then wonder how a woman who’d only been with men and had met and married a wonderful man could be gay?

I started to find butch women in movies and books and queer erotica, and they captivated me. But in those precious few portrayals, butches were paired with femmes, and that dynamic left me hopeless. Based on what I watched and read, femmes were petite, curvy, pretty women. How could I be femme if I was too tall, too broad-shouldered, too strong-jawed? How could I be femme with my flat chest and scarred face? The butches I saw in fiction didn’t want a woman like that. The one dynamic that was presented to me led me to believe I couldn’t exist in queer spaces. So I stayed in the closet, in the dark of my own doubts and insecurities.

But the quiet certainty of queerness didn’t leave me. I thought, sometimes, I’d go crazy if I couldn’t touch another woman (I never had). I thought, sometimes, that hunger, that desperation, was what made me so sad — why I’d drink until I blacked out and woke up with my eyes swollen with crying. Sometimes, after showering, when I felt clean and new, I’d stand in front of the mirror with a bare face and slick my hair back. Put on a sports bra and undershirt and some jeans, hook my thumbs into the belt loops. Set my shoulders back, broad and strong. And I’d think, is this what I have to do to be gay? Is this how I have to look?

I felt so naked. So unprotected. It was frightening.

I could only look at myself like that for a minute or two before I had to turn away.

I hold onto an image of myself driving a rusty blue pickup truck, wearing a flannel shirt and jeans and a cowboy hat, my hair cut short, with one arm balanced on the rolled-down window and country music on the radio. (Note: I don’t really know any country music.) I drive past a cute woman and wink at her and she thinks I’m cool, she thinks, “Wow, she’s so butch.”

Another part of me truly enjoys “girly” things: pink and glitter and painted nails and lipstick and heels and dresses. These things make me happy — just me, just for myself, not in service to a social performance. Sporting perfect cat-eye swoops of eyeliner gives me a diva’s confidence. Show me a piece of clothing covered in gold sequins and I will covet it.

Could I drive around as that suave cowboy-hatted person, but then also go out salsa dancing in a little red dress and sparkly heels? The answer, of course, is yes in the simplest sense: I could do both of those things. But is one of those people really me?

I want to get comfortable with the flow of my own energies: I want to accept that I some days I’ll wake up preferring a MoC presentation, and some days I’ll wake up wanting to stomp out into the world with flawless makeup and heeled boots. I especially want to accept that some days I might feel like inhabiting both energies — a men’s denim jacket and button-down shirt, and eye makeup for the gods — and be comfortable with blurring gender-presentation lines, even though I know people might double-take in confusion.

It’s a terrifying prospect. I learned early on that a double-take led to staring and staring led to being laughed at and pitied.

Two years into this journey, I finally cut my hair — not all off, but pretty short, and the experience wasn’t nearly as scary as I’d built it up to be. I’ve been phasing new clothes into my closet as my budget allows: Timberland boots, some men’s shirts, a nice leather belt. Next up is a shearling-lined jean jacket, an important piece of my imagined cowboy aesthetic. I’ve been less likely to reach for my dresses, lately, but I’m hesitant to give them away. It’s exciting, and new, but I want to allow myself time to equalize before shedding all my old things.

My closet contains a timeline of my adult life. Now, at last, my inner self and my outer self are allowed to match.

Seattle, WA 2/23: February Game Night

Venue: Raygun Lounge
501 E Pine Street
Seattle, Washington
98122
United States

Event Date: February 23, 2018
Start Time: 6:00 pm
End Time: 10:00 pm

Host: Katrina Carrasco

Description: Come get your game on at the monthly Seattle ‘Straddlers game night, the February edition! Bring your own favorite games or find the perfect one to rent at Raygun. See you there!

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1557531754294257/
No RSVP needed, but if you’re planning to attend you can RSVP at this link to help make sure we save enough table space.

Winter Gym Class: CrossFit, for Those Who Want It All

Where I live, in rainy Seattle, it’s cold and wet and blah outside from November to May. My favorite way to warm up and shake off impending hibernation is to exercise. Last fall, I tried something new and joined a CrossFit gym. This workout has it all — cardio, weightlifting, rowing, kettlebells, and more — and you can do it indoors. It’s the perfect activity to get you through the winter weather and beyond!

Intro to CrossFit

CrossFit, according to the program’s official website, is “constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity … reflect[ing] the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more.” Because workouts are intense, they are also quick, with athletes attempting to finish a prescribed set of exercises within a time window or in the fastest time possible. Televised events like The CrossFit Games showcase the strongest competitors (and give the sport a heavily muscled, high-school-sports aura). CrossFit has its critics, who claim the combination of heavy weights, complex lifts and an emphasis on speed set participants up for injury. Throw in a focus on food (some CrossFit gyms push the Paleo diet), and the sport can seem overly intense at best and fanatical at worst. And I must admit: I used to be one of the haters. Especially coming from a powerlifting background, it just didn’t seem safe to combine big, challenging movements like deadlifts or squats with a ticking clock.

So why is CrossFit the topic of this Gym Class? Well, I finally tried it for myself and realized it’s really, really fun.
I came to CrossFit with 15+ years of athletic experience, primarily in basketball, rowing, and powerlifting. I love trying new sports, but CrossFit classes were my first experience with combining several of my favorite activities into one well-planned workout. Despite my sports background, I still have so much to learn that’s particular to CrossFit, so my curiosity is engaged each class. Each workout of the day, or WOD, can be scaled in difficulty, so I leave every class feeling like I gave 100 percent. Add in the community aspect of the sport — my gym is big on friendliness and supporting each other during workouts — and I was hooked after my first week. If you’re looking for a physical challenge, a supportive team environment, and variety in your workouts, I think you’ll enjoy CrossFit, too.

Things You’ll Need

• At a CrossFit gym, all equipment is provided, but you can get a head start with:
  a jump rope
• good cross-training shoes (I like Nike Metcon 3s)
• a timer

Basic Technique

Typical CrossFit workouts are short (12 – 20 minutes) and intense. Workouts usually feature strength-building exercises in combination with bursts of cardio (jumping, sprinting, rowing, and so on) to keep your heart rate up. When you join a gym, you’ll follow that gym’s WOD plan. This is something I love about CrossFit, in comparison to weightlifting or general training on my own: I don’t have to do any planning in advance to prepare for workouts. I just show up, gather my equipment for the WOD, and get ready to work when the coach starts the clock.

To do a WOD “Rx” is to do it with the prescribed weights, activities and reps; there are different Rx standards for men and women for each workout. For example, a WOD might be 4 sets of 20 pullups, 20 box jumps (Rx box heights are 24″ for men and 20″ for women), and 20 pushups, for time (meaning, as fast as you can complete the exercises). But any WOD can be modified, or “scaled,” to make it doable: I might tackle the example workout by doing my pullups with an assistance band, a 16″ box, and pushups with knees down when my strict pushups fail. Think of the WOD as your workout template, always adjustable to your fitness level; your coaches will outline how to safely scale each exercise before the WOD begins.

At the end of each WOD, you record your time (or how close you got to finishing). This way, you can track your progress as you get faster, stronger, and closer to doing full-Rx workouts.

Training & Sample Workouts

For this sport, it’s best to work out at a CrossFit gym, where you’ll benefit from direct coaching, good-quality equipment, and a team mentality that makes even the toughest exercises fun. I won’t provide sample WODs here; they vary by gym, and many activities should be done with a coach, for safety. Instead, I’ll focus on how you can best prepare if you want to walk into your new CrossFit gym with some basic skills in place.

A good gym will welcome athletes of any level, from total beginner to experienced CrossFit pro; don’t feel like you can’t do CrossFit if you can’t do a pushup! But also know you will be doing lots of pushups (scaled, as needed), so if you start working on them now you may feel more comfortable when you see them as part of a WOD.

Bodyweight Exercises

Ah, the dreaded pullup and pushup. I’ve hated these since failing the junior-high Presidential Fitness Test (the one with that weird sit-and-reach flexibility board). Pullups and pushups — which rely heavily on upper-body strength — can be especially challenging for women, but they are staples of CrossFit programming. So I’m working on them, and so can you!

Pullups:

If you’re just starting with these, try working up in weight on the lat-pulldown machine. Another good way to progress is with banded pullups: loop a resistance band over the pullup bar, hook your feet into the band, and practice good form in that supported position. Work your way towards using a band with less support.

Pushups:

To progress with these, think about your body in a vertical position (easiest) descending to a horizontal position (hardest). A beginner can start with wall pushups: standing arms’ length from a wall (vertical body), put your hands on the wall, lean forward until your chest touches, and push back to extended arms. When that’s too easy, descend: get your body into a 45-degree position (maybe with your hands on the edge of a desk) and do pushups; descend further (maybe with your hands on the bottom step of a staircase) as you progress, until you can do a pushup on the ground. Or, another modification: on the ground in pushup position, keep your knees down during the movement.

Jumping

Jumping is a key part of many WODs, and often what provides the heart-rate-boosting cardio portions of workouts. To prepare for CrossFit workouts, get comfortable with a jump rope: try intervals (1 minute jumping rope, 30 seconds rest, and repeat without breaks), and see if you can attempt some double-unders, which show up frequently in WODs. Another common exercise is the box jump, where you jump up onto a 20”-tall box. You can practice the movement with smaller platforms (as long as they’re safely stable) like stairs or benches. Start with 10″ jumps and see if you can work your way up. (Note: My gym has 16″ boxes for beginners, and I’m still working my way up to the 20″ box! There’s no shame in scaling exercises — the point is to push yourself to your own personal-best workout.)

Jogging

Most WODs (if they feature running) only include short sprints. But improving your overall cardio fitness is beneficial to most any exercise program. A steady-state 30- to 45-minute jog once or twice a week will be good cross-training for fast-and-intense CrossFit workouts. Throw in some sprints (30-second, 1-minute, and 3-minute sprints are a good place to start) to work on your speed and recovery. (Often, a run is the “break” in the middle of a tough WOD, so the more comfortable you are with running, the better you can use mid-WOD runs as recovery time.)

Barbell Skills

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about my CrossFit gym is learning to practice Olympic lifts — the snatch and the clean-and-jerk — and the various building blocks that make up those movements. Barbells are core parts of many WODs, and most gyms give the option of using a women’s bar, which is thinner to allow for proper grip if you have smaller hands.. If you’re looking to build some barbell skills, check out the Gym Class on powerlifting for a basic introduction. The squat and deadlift transfer particularly well to CrossFit (and are even featured in some WODs), and being comfortable with the barbell will help you as you learn the more explosive lifts like the clean, snatch, and push-jerk.

Rowing

Rowing is included in WODs as a heart-rate booster: at my gym, we usually row for calories, which means a strong, controlled pace to reach a calories-burned goal as fast as possible. The Gym Class on rowing has lots of tips for how to use the erg machine safely and understand the machine’s display of pace/calories/time/etc. The most important thing to remember on the erg is: use your legs. That’s where your power comes from (not your back or arms). Ask a coach for help any time you think your rowing form could use adjustment; the coaches are there to keep you safe.

HIIT

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a big part of what makes CrossFit WODs so tough and so effective. You push to max effort but it’s only for a short time, and some WODs include rest intervals. You can prepare for HIIT-style workouts with running sprints, rowing sprints (see the rowing Gym Class for a sample HIIT workout), or intervals of a bodyweight exercise like burpees. Yep, get used to burpees — they are a popular component of WODs.

Good-to-Know Tips

With this sport, choosing your gym (or CrossFit “box”) will be very important. Your gym will be the center of your workout community, so you’ll want to choose a place with a clientele that makes you feel comfortable and coaches that help you feel safe and competent in your workouts. Here are some things to look for in a gym:

• Schedule: What times are classes offered? Can you make at least 3 per week, reliably, to get in the habit of attending?
• Equipment: A good gym will have well-kept barbells and plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, rigs for pullups, a weight room with racks for squats, erg machines, and boxes for jumps. The equipment is constantly used, so it doesn’t have to be spotless, but it should be sturdy and serviceably clean.
• Coaching Style: When learning so many new movements (especially those that involve heavy weights), it’s critical that you trust your coaches to guide you through the learning process and provide a safe environment during workouts. There’s pushing you to work hard and pushing you to work too hard, and if you feel that a coach is being reckless, aggressive, or rushing you into performing certain exercises, pay attention to that feeling! I chose my gym because the coaches are well-trained (with several certified weightlifting folks on staff) and I liked the friendly vibe of the place.
• Onramp Training: My gym has a mandatory 2-week onramp course for all members who are new to CrossFit; in onramp, you work with a group of fellow beginners to learn safe technique for all the basic exercises in WODs. I think this is a great policy and one you should look for in a gym. Another perk my gym offers that I recommend: every week, there are classes labeled “beginner friendly” on the schedule, so those who are new to the gym can feel more comfortable as they continue to learn beyond the onramp course.
• Groupon Is Your Friend: This is a standard Gym Class suggestion for trying a new activity — get a Groupon deal and try it for a limited time (and for less money!), so you can see if you like the exercise, the people, and the location before paying full membership dues.
• The Paleo Question: Some gyms push Paleo-style eating. My gym is not run that way — the focus is on workouts and building community. However, my gym does offer optional Nutrition Challenges a few times each year, so athletes who want to track their progress (either cutting weight or adding muscle) while also tracking their eating can do so in a competition-style event. It’s fun if you want to try it and not an issue if you don’t. Make sure your gym has a philosophy that matches your own in terms of nutrition-tracking.

WOD Time!

Five months into my membership, my CrossFit gym has become a place I look forward to going each week. I’m making progress on my Oly lifts and getting better at pullups, and I love hitting new benchmarks that show I’m getting stronger. If you’re looking for a challenge and a great workout, give some of the skills in this Gym Class a try and then check out your local box!

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Winter Gym Class: Learn to Play Basketball, the Gayest Sport of All

“I am not throwing away my shot. I am not throwing away my shot!” Are you at a Hamilton performance? No, you’re in the last 30 seconds of a championship basketball game, in possession of the ball, with one chance to shoot and break the tie to win! (Just typing that is making my palms sweaty.) But hit rewind—before you can make that winning shot, you have to practice the basics. Welcome to Gym Class, the basketball edition.

Introduction to Basketball

College women first played a modified version of basketball in the 1890s. Women’s basketball built popularity (and became more like the men’s game) over the next 80 years, and was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1976. The WNBA was founded in 1996 (coincidentally, the year I started high school and joined the basketball team … oof, it’s been a while!). Though sports franchises in general have not always been allies of our community, that’s starting to change—recently, the WNBA has been making an effort to reach out to LGBTQ+ folks and support important nonprofit organizations. One of the highlights of my first year in Seattle was attending WNBA games and cheering for the Storm, my new home team. So much talent on the court! So many queer people in the crowd! At a game benefitting Planned Parenthood, I wore my pink Tomboy Femme shirt in a sea of pink shirts and held my girlfriend’s hand and felt right at home. If you have the chance to go to an WNBA game, check it out and support the league. And if you’re interested in learning to play, this article will help you get started. Though the WNBA season takes place over the summer months, basketball is a winter sport on high school and NCAA calendars—so it gets a spot in the winter Gym Class lineup.

Things You’ll Need

• Basketball
• Court

Basic Terms & Positions

In the U.S., an NCAA women’s basketball game consists of four 10-minute quarters; recreational leagues may have a different game structure. Each team has five players on the court. Each half of the court is marked with the three-point line, the free-throw line, and the “paint” (the rectangle of space around the basket).

If you join a coached team, your coach will assign you to the position for which you’re best suited. If you want to join a non-coached recreational team, or develop your skills for a specific position before trying out, or simply feel prepared to drop in for a pickup game at your gym, the following list will help you choose a position or two based on your strengths.

No. 1: Point Guard

ROLE: The team leader, in charge of calling plays and bringing the ball up the court. Can be a smaller, faster player. IMPORTANT SKILLS: Ball-handling, passing, reading the court to call appropriate plays.

No. 2: Shooting Guard

ROLE: Similar to the point guard, with more of a focus on scoring. IMPORTANT SKILLS: Speed, ball-handling, shooting from the perimeter.

No. 3: Small Forward

ROLE: The Jack-of-all-trades position, capable in every area with the ability to drive to the basket. IMPORTANT SKILLS: Ball-handling, shooting both inside and from the perimeter, defense, rebounding.

No. 4: Power Forward

ROLE: This player focuses on aggressive offense and defense near the basket. IMPORTANT SKILLS: Rebounding, quick on defense, good shooting inside.

No. 5: Center

ROLE: Usually the tallest player on the team, with a focus on guarding the basket (defense) and making inside shots (offense). IMPORTANT SKILLS: Rebounding, blocking shots.

Training & Technique

These skills will be useful no matter what position you play, but the different positions have different strengths. Refer to the previous list for suggestions on where to focus: guards ought to spend time on ball-handling skills, for instance, while power forwards and centers might devote extra practice to rebounding. There are tons of drills out there, so to get you started I’ve listed each skill set with one drill. Build on these with other drills that are relevant to you.

Basic Shot Stance

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. You can either square your body to the basket or stand slightly angled away; try both and see which gives you more control and range. Keep your eyes on the rim of the basket. Your legs provide a lot of power, so bend them as you prepare to shoot. With your palm under the ball (and your other hand at the side of the ball for balance), form an L-shape with your arm so your elbow is under the ball. Jump, extend your arm and snap your wrist forward as you release the ball. On the follow-through, keep your arm extended and your fingers pointed toward the basket. If you’re more of a visual learner, check out some of the shot-technique videos available online. Or review this step-by-step list of how to set up your shot, with accompanying photos.

Solo Drills

Agility: Line-touches: A staple at my team practices, these work on your speed and coordination. Starting from the baseline, run to the free-throw line and touch it, then without pause run back to the baseline and touch it. Repeat to the half-court line, the opposite free-throw line, and the opposite baseline. The whole thing is one repetition.

Dribbling: The Maravich Series is a sequence of ball-handling and dribbling drills. A couple drills from the sequence are figure-8 dribbles (stand in a wide squat and practice dribbling the ball around your ankles in a figure-8) and single-leg dribbles (while standing in a lunge, dribbling in a circle around your front leg). Your focus should be on quick hands and getting used to controlling the ball while it’s in motion.

Inside shooting: Layup practice: Starting from the three-point line—at the top of the key and off to one side—dribble in for a layup, rebound, dribble out to the other side of the perimeter, come in for the layup, and repeat for several sets. This will help you practice both right-hand (coming in on the right of the rim) and left-hand (coming in on the left of the rim) layups.

Perimeter shooting: Starting from one baseline, take a shot from the three-point line. If you make it, move to the next spot a few feet up the court (still on the three-point line). If you make that, move on again, tracing the three-point line around the court. Choose a penalty for when you miss, such as returning to the start position and having to shoot everything again, or line touches.

Endurance: Good running conditioning will help you keep up with a fast-paced game. Add a 3- to 5-mile jog into your training schedule, at least twice a week.

Partner Drills

Rebounding: To practice reacting quickly to a missed shot, have your partner take shots from around the court and be ready under the basket to rebound. Switch off so you each get a chance to rebound.

Passing: Practice these basic passes with a partner, standing farther and farther apart to increase difficulty. Chest pass (from your chest to theirs, no bounce); bounce pass (the ball should bounce one time between you, arriving at waist-height for the receiver).

Defense: The two primary types of defense in basketball are man-to-man (where you defend a specific player) and zone (where you defend an area and guard players who come into that area). To practice man-to-man defense, partner up and trade off on offense and defense. On offense, your goal is to get close enough to the basket to shoot; on defense, focus on quick feet, staying low (which allows you to move faster in any direction) with good balance, and staying between your opponent and the basket.

Inside shots under defensive pressure: Stand facing away from the basket (as if you just received a pass from the perimeter). With your partner guarding you closely from behind, practice different ways to get open for the shot: fake them out with a half-turn to the left, then pivot right and quickly shoot; or pivot and dribble around them; or half-turn but then step forward and a little farther out to take a jump shot; and so on.

Good-to-Know: Ball-Handling Rules

There will be a lot more to learn once you join a team, especially involving the physical parts of the game (once you have teammates to practice with, you can work on contact-heavy skills like boxing out, tough defense and taking the charge). Here are some basic ball-handling rules to get you ready for your first practice. Breaking these rules is a violation, which results in your team losing possession of the ball.

• Don’t dribble, pick up the ball, and dribble again. When you receive the ball, you can dribble, pass, or shoot. BUT, if you dribble and then hold the ball with both hands, you can’t dribble again and you’re stuck in place. If you do dribble again it’s a double-dribble violation.
• If you’re moving with the ball, you must be dribbling. The traveling violation happens if you a) carry the ball without dribbling or b) pick up your pivot foot after dribbling.
• Don’t hang out in the paint. On offense, a player spending more than three seconds in the paint will be called for a three-second violation.
• Don’t step out of bounds while in possession of the ball.

She Shoots, She Scores!

I hope this Gym Class got you pumped to try out some dribbling drills or play HORSE at your local rec center. (Or at least revisit the Hamilton soundtrack? Dancing in the living room is good cardio.) As always, let me know if you have questions, and get in touch for a pickup game if you’re in the Seattle area!

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Winter Gym Class: Get In, We’re Going Snowshoeing

Welcome to the Winter edition of Gym Class! Let’s kick off this season with my favorite (and widely underrated) snow-based sport: snowshoeing. Because I have poor balance and am very tall, skiing and snowboarding have never been high on my list of recreational activities. Instead of fun ways to spend a weekend, I saw them as (fun?) ways to fall faster and harder, or maybe hit a tree! Hmm. For a long time, I thought my winter outdoor activities would be limited to snowball fights, building snowmen, and drinking hot chocolate while waiting for my friends to finish on the slopes. (TBH these are perfectly good options.) But then I tried snowshoeing, and it felt like the snowy cardio challenge I’d been hoping for all my life.

Introduction to Snowshoeing

Snowshoes were first developed in Central Asia to allow traveling and hunting in deep winter snow. Early versions were modeled on snow-dwelling animals, including designs based on bear paws, snowshoe hare paws, and beaver tails. In the Americas, Native people developed the wood-framed, webbed design that modern snowshoes mimic with lightweight, man-made materials. Nowadays, you can rent snowshoes at most ski resorts and at outdoor outfitters such as REI. Snowshoeing is a great way to enjoy the beauty of a fresh snowfall. It’s suitable for most fitness levels and, for safety reasons, it’s best to snowshoe with a partner, so it makes a great winter date!

Things You’ll Need

• Snowshoes (if renting from a ski resort, call ahead to check availability and pricing)
• Ski poles or trekking poles
• Waterproof boots
• Snow-appropriate clothes (similar to what you’d wear for skiing/snowboarding): waterproof, non-cotton layers; gloves; sun protection, including sunscreen, hat, glasses; extra shirt and socks to change into after
• Day pack with water, snacks, and safety supplies

Basic Technique

Snowshoes have a wide frame, to help you stand on the snow instead of sinking in as much, and bindings, where your boots attach to the shoes. On most recreational snowshoes, the binding is “rotating”—attached to the frame at the balls of your feet, so your feet can stay flat under you even if you’re on a slope and your snowshoe frame is tilted up. This lets you walk more comfortably; the mobility of the frame also helps shed snow buildup as you move around.

To begin

Choose a flat, packed-down area. Snowshoeing is basically just walking with large shoes, though you may need to adopt a slightly wider stance than usual and pick up your knees a bit more in deep snow. Snowshoes have crampons on their undersides to give you traction and help prevent slipping. Your ski or trekking poles help you maintain balance. After you’ve walked around a bit and gotten used to how your feet feel in the shoes…

Move to a few small slopes

When you’re walking uphill in snowshoes, think about keeping your weight on the balls of your feet. Plant the front of your foot on the slope and plant your poles ahead of you, too. If you’re climbing in powdery snow, you can kick the front of your boot into the snow: this is called a “kick-step,” and it digs your toes (and the crampons on the binding under them) into the snow, allowing you to step up. Use your poles for balance and lean forward. When going downhill, think about keeping your weight in your heels. Dig your heels in with each step, and keep your knees slightly bent. If you start to lose your balance on the way down, sit back into the snow. Use your poles to help you get back up again. (Note: Some snowshoes do not have heel crampons, which affects your downhill technique. If renting, it’s a good idea to ask the rental office about the specific shoes you’ll be wearing and any tips they have for those shoes in particular.) Once you’ve practiced a few ascents and descents …

Try a trail that combines flat areas, small hills, and fresh snow

And you’re off! For your first excursion, plan for a “15 minutes out, 15 minutes back” length. Snowshoeing is a good workout, and you may get fatigued more quickly than you expect. If it’s a super-easy half hour roundtrip, then tackle a longer trail. Otherwise, take a well-deserved hot chocolate break. While out walking in areas with fresh snow, remember that it’s easier to walk in someone else’s footsteps than to be the one making the trail. Trade off with your hiking buddy as to who’s in the lead so you can share the work.

Planning Your First Trip

To get started, check out the ski areas near you and see which of them a) offer snowshoe rentals and b) have some designated snowshoeing or cross-country skiing trails. Also check if they allow snowshoeing on ski runs. On my first snowshoeing trip, my friend and I did a practice loop on a snowshoeing trail, then decided to walk up the mountain to the ski lodge at the top (#overachievers). We walked up ungroomed ski runs, mostly, and didn’t pass too many folks. But a few times we had to cross busy groomed ski runs to get to another section of ungroomed trail, and it was a little scary (think running across a busy street). On ski slopes, the downhill person technically has the right of way. But when snowshoeing this is not always the case. On ungroomed trails, skiers have the right of way—it’s easier for a snowshoer to pause and step out of the way than it is for the skier coming downhill to do the same.

Another etiquette tip: If you are sharing a trail with cross-country skiers, try to avoid disturbing their trails and tracks. Make your own path through the snow without damaging theirs.

Other than ski areas, where can you snowshoe? Suggestions range from national and state parks to Sno-Parks to anyplace with snow. Snowshoes.com has a search function where you enter your ZIP code and get a map of nearby snowshoeing locations. For your first experience, stick to a well-mapped ski area or Sno-Park (preferably one with a few designated snowshoeing or cross-country ski trails). This way you can focus on getting comfortable with your snowshoes, and not have to worry about getting lost or being far from help if you need it.

Check the weather before you go — a clear day will give you the best chance to enjoy your surroundings while walking — and don’t forget to bring a warm, dry change of clothes for the drive home.

Safety Considerations

Unlike most Gym Class activities, snowshoeing may take you into the backcountry or onto sparsely populated trails. Cell reception may be spotty. If you’re not sticking to a ski area, there will not be ski patrol. Here are some tips to keep you safe.

• • Take a friend. Enjoy the winter scenery together, commiserate on long ascents, share snacks, help each other if one of you falls down.
  • REI suggests taking a small emergency kit whenever venturing into the outdoors: here’s a full breakdown of their “Ten Essentials.”
  • If you’ve gone out a few times in ski areas and want to try a more remote location, leave your trip plans with someone not going on the excursion. Have a map and compass (part of the Ten Essentials), be knowledgeable about winter dangers such as avalanches, and study up on cold-weather hazards such as hypothermia. Take care of yourself out there!

Good-to-Know Tips

• It’s difficult to walk backwards in snowshoes; if you have to backtrack, turn around to do so.
• If walking in fresh snow, use your poles to check for obstacles (rocks, roots, etc.) ahead of you in the snow as you walk.
• Remember to bring (and drink) plenty of water. Between the dry, cold air and sweating as you exercise, you will be losing a lot of water, so be sure to put it back.

Into the Wild

I hope you have so much fun exploring the outdoors this winter! And if you fall in love with snowshoeing, you can progress to snowshoe-running. I truly did not know this was a thing people could do, but there is video evidence of smiling joggers bouncing through snowdrifts. There are even special snowshoes for it. O modern world!

Gym Class: A Beginner’s Guide to Gym Workouts

When the weather outside is frightful, it’s the perfect time to work out indoors! If you’ve always wanted to try a commercial gym, or have a membership and don’t know where to begin—well, come on in to Gym Class and let’s get you started! Most fitness centers have a similar setup, with a variety of cardio equipment, weights machines, and free weights. Some facilities will also offer things like studio space (for yoga and other guided classes), spinning bikes, saunas, and hot tubs. I’ll give you the tips you need to get a well-rounded workout at a basic facility. If you can also relax in a hot tub after, that’s awesome—enjoy.

Things You’ll Need

• A gym membership (or trial pass, to see if you like the place)
• Workout clothes: choose something you’re comfortable in that allows you freedom of movement
• A journal to log your workouts and progress

Basic Technique

The most important piece of workout equipment is your journal. If you take a few minutes at home and write down your workout for the day (or your workouts for the whole week), it gives you a firm plan to follow at the gym. Just walk in, start your warmup, and then follow your plan. This will help you to not feel overwhelmed by a busy room with many options. Also—especially as you’re just starting out—it’s important to track your work so you can watch your progress and consistently push to challenge yourself with higher weights, more reps, and so on. Later in this piece I provide a sample template for one week of workouts. Use it as a building block to start creating a fitness plan that incorporates your favorite activities and feels best for you.

Here are the components of a well-rounded session at the gym. You can expect a typical session to take about 45 minutes, including your warmup. If you’d like to add cardio to your routine, I suggest doing so at the end of your workout.

Warmup

Begin your workout with a 5- to 10-minute warmup. This can be on whatever cardio machine you like (treadmill, elliptical, rower, stationary bike, etc.). Keep your effort low: you’re just waking up your muscles and getting your heart rate going a little. For example, a comfortable walking pace for me on the treadmill is 3 mph; for a warmup, I’d walk at that pace with no incline for 10 minutes.

Exercises

When planning your workout, think about your exercises in terms of large muscle groups. I categorize the primary groups as:

• arms
• chest
• back
• core
• legs

You can choose to focus on one group per workout (example: leg day, with several leg- and glute-focused exercises; arms/chest day; core day), or you can structure your workouts to include one or two exercises for each group. In this Gym Class, the sample workouts will be of the one-of-each variety. I like this structure for beginners because it helps you get comfortable with moving around the different areas of the gym, and it also won’t get you so sore in one muscle group that you can’t go in for your next workout. (Sometimes it can be hard to walk after a heavy leg day.)

Sets and Reps

Doing an exercise multiple times is called doing “reps” (repetitions). You do reps in “sets.” A good place to start for most of the exercises here is three sets of 10 reps. This number is easily adjusted (maybe you want to do eight reps per set, or four sets per exercise), but 8-12 is a good target range for reps: if you can’t do eight reps in a row, the weight you’re using is probably too heavy; conversely, if you can easily do more than 12 reps in a row, the weight is probably too light.

Where to Start and Measuring Progress

When you first try an exercise, you’ll need to figure out an appropriate starting weight for your body. Let’s use single-arm dumbbell shoulder-to-overhead press as an example. In this exercise, you start with a dumbbell at your shoulder, press your arm straight up overhead to full extension, then return the dumbbell to your shoulder. That’s one rep. To figure out where you should start, have a variety of dumbbell weights nearby. Try a few reps with 5lbs. If that’s super easy, try a few with 8lbs. Still super easy? Move to 10lbs. Maybe that starts to feel more challenging. Can you do an unbroken set of 10 reps with 10lbs? If not, drop back to 8lbs. In this way, settle on a weight you can do for three sets of 10 reps. Make note of the weight in your journal, and the next time you try the exercise, see if you can do a bit more. Maybe you do two sets at 8lbs, and your third set at 10lbs, and start working toward all three sets at 10lbs that way. You want to do a little more each workout, whether that’s increasing weight or adding another rep or two to your sets.

Machines Versus Free Weights

There are pros and cons to all the equipment in a gym. The weight machines can help you maintain correct form and better target specific muscle groups, but they don’t work the stabilizer muscles or allow full range of motion in the way dumbbells or barbells do. On the flip side, it can be easier to injure yourself with free weights if you’re not using proper form. But please don’t be scared of the free weights! Dumbbells provide a great workout, and I absolutely recommend including them in your routine. If you’re also interested in using the barbell, check out my Gym Class on powerlifting for tips on including the bar in your workouts. Finally, bodyweight work—pushups, lunges, bodyweight squats, and so on—does not require equipment but should be considered an important part of your fitness routine.

Cardio (optional)

If you’d like to include cardio in your gym visit, try a 20- to 45-minute session at the end of your weights session. Aim for maintaining 60-70% of your maximum effort for the full session: this is called steady-state cardio, and it’s beneficial for building up endurance and aerobic fitness. Note: While adding cardio may help you burn fat more quickly, be aware that it may also impede muscle growth. Keep your fitness goals in mind while planning your workouts: if your goal is to add strength and muscle mass, you may want to avoid frequent, sustained cardio sessions.

Stretching (optional)

At the end of your workout, it can be relaxing to find a floor mat and give some love to sore spots. Don’t lie down while your heart rate is still high; take a few minutes to walk around, catch your breath, and ease into your stretching/cool-down time.

Training & Sample Workouts

Here’s a sample week of workouts. Take rest days between workout days; these allow your muscles to repair and recover, which is important part of the strength-building process. I’ve linked to descriptions or videos of each exercise, or to pictures of each machine to help you find it in the gym. If you’re not sure which machine to use, ask a staff member to help you find the correct one for the listed exercise. (Note: 3 x 10 means three sets of 10 reps.)

Monday
Arms: 3 x 10 side dumbbell lateral raises
Chest: 3 x 10 chest butterfly machine
Back: 3 x 10 lat pull-down machine
Legs: 3 x 10 bodyweight squats
Core: 3 x 10 Russian ab twists (advanced: hold a medicine ball or plate to add weight)

Wednesday
Arms: 3 x 10 side dumbbell bicep curls
Chest: 3 x 10 push-ups (modification: keep your knees on the ground, or use a raised surface like a bench)
Back: 3 x 10 seated row machine
Legs: 3 x 10/side bodyweight lunges (advanced: hold dumbbells at your sides)
Core: 3 x 30-second planks

Friday
Arms: 3 x 10 dumbbell overhead press
Chest: 3 x 10 dumbbell bench press
Back: 3 x 10/side dumbbell rows
Legs: 3 x 10 leg press machine
Core: 3 x 10/side bicycle crunches

These workouts are just a small sample of what you can do with bodyweight, dumbbells, and weight machines. When planning your weekly workouts, mix and match as you like to keep things interesting. If you’re not sure which exercises target which muscle groups, look online for ideas. Or spend some time wandering around the weight machine area at your gym: most machines have stickers on them showing which muscles they target, so you can start mentally organizing machines in groups (glutes, chest, back, etc.) and more easily slot them into your workout plan.

Good-to-Know Tips

• Try a different piece of cardio equipment for your warmup each day or week, so you get used to using all of them.
• If available, use your gym’s free training session to help you get acclimated (but be aware it can come with a sales pitch for paid training sessions).
• Ask for assistance when trying new machines—even experienced gym-goers need to be shown how to use new equipment.
• Safety first! Don’t push so hard you can’t go back for your next workout, and if you feel pain during a workout, stop and check in with your body.
• Eat plenty of protein and complex carbs to fuel your workouts and aid muscle growth and recovery.

You’ve Got This!

Have a great time exploring your gym, and let me know if you have questions. I’m happy to give advice on workout plans. Also, I’d love to hear about your progress if you begin a training program. Let’s get stronger together!

Seattle, WA 1/12: Winter Game Night

Venue: Chocolati
8319 Greenwood Ave N
Seattle, WA
98103
United States

Event Date: January 12, 2018
Start Time: 7:00 pm
End Time: 10:00 pm

Host: Katrina Carrasco

Description: It’s the January edition of a new monthly Seattle ‘Straddler event: game night! For those of you who made it to the Holigays party, we’ll be at the same venue, but with some different games. Bring your own favorites to play, too!

This is a sober-friendly event. Chocolati has yummy coffees, hot chocolates, and snacks.

At the meet-up we can figure out a venue & date for the February game night based on attendees’ preferences.

Hope to see you there!

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/137622190283004/
No RSVP needed, though you can RSVP on the Seattle Autostraddle FB group to help me estimate how much space to save for our group.

Holigay Gift Guide: Perfect Presents for Sporty Queers and Gym Rat Gays

’Tis almost the season for gift-giving! Here are some suggestions for the fitness-focused cuties in your life. Many of the items listed here come in multiple colors and styles to suit your gifting needs. They’re organized by price range (shipping costs not included) with a note about which sports they match best. For stocking stuffers, think elastic headbands, trial-size protein powder, or an iTunes gift card for updating a favorite workout playlist. Happy shopping, and enjoy the benefit of all those post-exercise endorphins!

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$5 – $10 Range

Let’s start with some small-but-mighty items. A workout journal is perfect for anyone who tracks their progress and personal records. This one has waterproof paper, which will help it stand up to sweat and last longer in a gym bag. For someone who’s into contact sports — boxing, rugby, derby and more — consider a mouthguard case. (True story: When I got my first mouthguard for boxing, I carried it around in a plastic sandwich bag. It was gross. Don’t let your favorite athlete go the sandwich-bag route.) This ventilated case will keep a mouthguard clean, and it has a carabiner clip to easily attach to a workout bag. A jump rope is a portable, affordable workout staple. This brand can be adjusted to work with heights from 4’9″ to 6’6”, and would suit CrossFit athletes, boxers, and general fitness fans. Wrist wraps are another winner for boxers and MMA fighters: they provide hand and wrist protection and support. Everlast is a well-known brand with a basic array of colors, but if you’re looking for something a little more eye-catching, other brands offer a more adventurous selection. (There are also 120″ wraps, but the 180″ ones create more padding and therefore more protection.)

$10 – $20 Range

Kicking off this category is one of my personal favorites: Beasty Chalk. This liquid chalk keeps grip strong even when palms get sweaty. Bonus: It can be used in gyms that don’t allow loose chalk. The Gorilla formula is best for powerlifters and Olympic lifters, and the Monkey formula is best for CrossFit athletes. Give the gift of warmth and protected shins with these super cute Queer Pride knee-highs from Sock Dreams! They’ll be loved by powerlifters, Olympic lifters, soccer and derby players, bikers … probably everyone, honestly. Resistance bands are great for exercise on the go, whether that’s a quick morning bodyweight routine at home or getting workouts in while traveling. These bands fold up into an included carrying pouch so they’re easy to pack. For the hot yogi in your life, consider this yoga mat towel. It fits on top of a yoga mat, helping absorb sweat and prevent slipping. (Pair it with a 5-visit studio pass for an even fancier gift.) A valve-top water bottle is most excellent for exercising because you don’t have to touch the lid to open it, so whatever is on your hands mid-workout—sweat, dirt, chalk, general gym funk—doesn’t end up on your mouth. Finally, the Wiccy Magic Muscles Massage Bar from LUSH is specially made for post-workout relaxation. It’s scented with warming cinnamon and peppermint oils, and has whole adzuki beans embedded in the bar to give it a pleasing texture. And it’s vegan and cruelty-free! Give it to someone you’d like to massage.

$20 – $40 Range

For cycling fans and bike commuters, these fun and festive lights will doll up a bike for the holidays. The LED strings weave through the bike’s wheel spokes and are super bright to increase safety on nighttime rides. Foam rolling is really good for sore muscles and improving mobility, but can also be really painful, so maybe give this foam roller to your ex? Just kidding! There are multiple lengths available, but the 36″ roller is big enough to do it all: back, shoulders, legs, and more. The Magic Bullet blender will take care of morning smoothies and post-workout protein shakes. This sparkly AF gym tote may not be the most practical accessory, but it’s probably the shiniest. Big enough to carry a water bottle, headphones, and a towel, this drawstring tote will be on-brand for the sporty queer who loves all things glittery and sequined. And a cute gym-ready tank top will always be appreciated by someone who wants to show off their muscular shoulders. This shirt has a holographic unicorn shouting TRAMPLE THE PATRIARCHY. You tell ’em, unicorn.

$40 & Up

What to get the person who loves working out but hates fighting traffic to get to the gym? At-home workout equipment, like this adjustable dumbbell set. The dumbbells can be loaded together to about 20 pounds each, or a single dumbbell can be loaded to about 35 pounds. Another option for multipurpose home workouts is a kettlebell: this one is 26 pounds, with other sizes available. Converse are some of the best shoes for powerlifting, and these are part of the Converse Pride Collection. As the Converse site notes: “All net proceeds from the 2017 Converse Pride Collection will support LGBTQ youth organizations.” Boost someone’s shoe game and help queer kids: win-win. Last but not least, here’s a present most athletes will love: a 1-hour massage gift certificate. A sports or deep-tissue massage is geared toward improving athletic performance; or, choose a gentler form of massage and give the gift of pure relaxation.

Seattle, WA 12/8: Hot Chocolate & Board Games!

Venue: Chocolati
8319 Greenwood Ave N.
Seattle, Washington
98103
United States

Event Date: December 8, 2017
Start Time: 7:00 pm
End Time: 10:00 pm

Host: Katrina Carrasco

Description: It’s the Holigays in Seattle! Come enjoy snacks, games, and good company. Chocolati cafe has hot chocolate, truffles, coffee, and desserts. I’m going to bring Cranium, Scattergories, cards, and a few other games. (Feel free to bring your favorite game, too!) No need to RSVP — drop in whenever during the evening. I’ll put an Autostraddle logo on our table so you can find the group. Hope to see you there!

RSVP: No need to RSVP!

Gym Class: Power Up with Powerlifting

Greetings, Gym Class! Blend up a protein shake and get ready to set a new personal best. It’s just you and the barbell, baby. Today’s article is all about powerlifting.

Introduction to Powerlifting

Powerlifting consists of three major lifts: squat, deadlift, and bench press. Should you choose to compete, you will be testing your strength in these three lifts in competition with other people in your weight class. Do you have to compete to be a powerlifter? Hell no! All that matters is putting in the time and sweat to set your personal record (PR) on a lift, and then putting in more time and sweat and crushing your old record. Rinse and repeat, set new PRs. Awesome.

I fell in love with powerlifting four years ago. My friend Kelly had started lifting and raved about it to me: how challenging it was, how good it was to feel so strong. I’d used a barbell back in college, when I did some basic lifts for rowing-team training. But the free-weights area of my gym — with its huge plates, huge dudes, and chorus of grunting — had always felt intimidating.

Powerlifting made me feel at home among the free weights. The sport gave me a clear training plan to follow: what lifts to do, how many of each, even what order to do them in. Studying up on the lifts gave me confidence that I was using the equipment properly. And getting in the squat rack, day after day, helped me remember I had just as much right to be there as the big guys around me. Four years in, I’m stronger, healthier, and still chasing new PRs. I hope to pass the lifting love on to you!

Things You’ll Need

– Hard-soled shoes. Converse are great. Avoid running shoes, or others with a squishy sole. A thick-soled shoe puts a cushion between your feet and the ground, taking away some of the power of your lift.
– A small notebook. Before going to the gym, figure out which lifts you’re doing that day, how many reps to do, and the weights for each rep, and write it out in your notebook. Your workout will be as easy as following the written plan.
– Comfortable workout clothes. I prefer a T-shirt and leggings to lift.
– Chalk. Lifting chalk keeps your grip strong (especially for deadlifts) when your palms are sweaty.

Basic Technique

In this section I’ll introduce you to The Big Three: the squat, deadlift, and bench press. There are tons of resources online that get into the mechanics of these lifts. So I’ll keep things brief here, and encourage you to study up as much as you need before trying the lifts for yourself.

Squat

Set the barbell on your upper back, bringing your hands as close to your shoulders as possible to trap the bar in place. Step clear of the rack and stand with your feet a little wider than your hips, toes pointed slightly out. Take a deep breath and tighten your core, then drop down until your hip crease is below the top of your knee. Still holding your breath and keeping your spine straight, return to standing. (Note: Squat racks either have fixed or adjustable weight rests — where the barbell sits before you unrack it — and safety rails. Take time during your first session to familiarize yourself with the rack. If it’s adjustable, figure out which settings work for you and note them so you can set up efficiently for your next workout.)

Deadlift

Grip the bar that’s resting on the floor with a flat back and your arms perpendicular to the floor. From this stable starting position, pick up the barbell and stand to an upright position with knees locked and shoulders back. (The power here is coming primarily from your legs and glutes, not your back.) Return the bar to the floor.

Bench Press

Unrack the barbell and hold it at arm’s length. Bring the bar down so it touches your chest, keeping your elbows out at a 45-degree angle from your sides. If you wear a sports bra, aim to have the bar touch just above the band of your bra. Push the bar back up. (Safety note: When benching, make sure you wrap your thumbs around the bar. This will ensure the bar can’t slip out of your grip and drop onto your face. Ouch.)

Supplemental Lifts

In addition to the big three lifts, take some time getting to know the following exercises. Adding them into your routine will help you get a comprehensive, full-body workout: overhead press; barbell and dumbbell rows; pull-ups and lat pull-downs; core exercises such as planks, Russian ab twists (RATs), Turkish get-ups, bird-dogs, and hanging leg-raises.

Training & Sample Workouts

Each week, I do three powerlifting workouts and two to three cardio workouts. Cardio workouts don’t have to be in the gym! You’re aiming for 30-45 minutes of an elevated heart rate. You can do that by walking or jogging on a treadmill, but you can also take your dogs for a walk, go for an urban hike with friends, swim, play basketball, go dancing… Anything to get you moving around and feeling good.

My powerlifting workouts are adapted from the Starting Strength method (see the Tips & Resources section for more on this): Workout A is squat, bench, row; Workout B is squat, deadlift, overhead press. Week 1 would be A – B – A, Week 2 would be B – A – B, and so on, switching back and forth. Take a rest day between each workout. This is a typical week:

Monday: Squat, bench, row, band-assisted pull-ups, core work
Tuesday: Rest day, 30 minutes walking
Wednesday: Squat, deadlift, overhead press, core work
Thursday: Rest day, 1 hour hiking
Friday: Squat, bench, row, band-assisted pull-ups, core work
Saturday: Rest day, 2 hours dancing
Sunday: Rest day

Here’s a beginner-level workout, again following the Starting Strength programming. It includes warm-up sets, mid-weight sets to get your body in gear, and then work-sets, where you’re really pushing. 5×45 translates to 5 reps at 45 pounds. This is an easy place to start because the unloaded barbell weighs 45 pounds. So you just use the bar for these sets! Work-sets are in bold:

Squat: 5×45, 5×45, 5×45, 3×55, 2×65, 5×85, 5×85, 5×85
Deadlift: 5×95, 5×95, 5×95, 3×105, 2×115, 5×135
Overhead Press: 5×45, 5×45, 5×45, 3×50, 2×55, 5×60, 5×60, 5×60

When you first begin, practice every lift with the unloaded bar. Make sure you feel steady and safe before adding any weight. It may take a few workouts for you to put plates on the bar, and that is absolutely fine. Especially with a lift like the overhead press, where you’re using the relatively small muscles of your shoulders, 45 pounds will feel like a lot. If it’s too much, you can work up to the barbell with dumbbells or smaller fixed-weight bars.

Once you feel ready to start adding weight, follow your selected training plan’s method of progression. Each training plan will have different ways to calculate your work-sets and how to build up to them. As a beginner you can build strength and set new PRs quickly. You’ll also learn a lot about your body — where you are naturally strongest, and where you’ll need to focus extra attention. In my case, I’m tall with long limbs and pretty good flexibility. This helps my deadlifts but is not great for squats. I still struggle with squats and I’ve been lifting for years! A big part of this sport is being stubborn and not giving up on reaching new PRs, even when it’s been a while since you set a new personal best.

Good-to-Know Tips

Before you begin, choose a training program.

You don’t have to stick with the program forever, but choosing a plan and following it will build discipline and consistency. I chose Starting Strength as my initial program. The Starting Strength book breaks down the mechanics of each lift with photos and form tips. It also covers how to plan your workouts and weight progression. Other training programs include Wendler’s 5/3/1, the Texas Method, and StrongLifts 5×5. You could also choose to work with a coach.

Note: Starting Strength (like most guides, unfortunately) is heavily tailored for young cisgender men. There are some pointers for AFAB folks, but they’re not the target audience. Soak up all the knowledge you can while keeping in mind that your center of gravity, your flexibility, and your muscle-building capacity may all be different than what is assumed as “normal” in training manuals.

Train with a lifting partner.

It’s nice to have a workout partner spotting you on tough bench-press sets. Also, at many gyms the free-weights area may not feel welcoming or easy to enter. A workout partner can help you establish your space, figure out stuff like how to adjust the squat rack to your body, and take video of your lifts as you fine-tune your form.

Up your protein intake. Feed your muscle growth with lean protein, good fats, and complex carbs. There are plenty of nutrition guides online if you want to tailor your eating to suit your powerlifting. If you’re having trouble building muscle, you’ll probably need to add calories (with a focus on calories from lean protein) to your diet.

At a new gym, use your free training session wisely. Sign up for this session after you’ve explored the free-weights equipment and tried the lifts a few times. If you use your training session on your very first gym visit (or first time with the barbell), the trainer will likely spend 30 of the 50 minutes walking you around and explaining each piece of equipment. A better idea is to explore the floor yourself, try the lifts, and then meet with a trainer with a list of specific questions. Example: “I’ve been working on squats, but I’m feeling a little shaky at the bottom. Can you go through a few sets with me and help me troubleshoot my form?”

Choose a gym with good lifting equipment.

You’re looking for a squat rack (preferably two or three — and not Smith machines), bumper plates for deadlifts, and a deadlift platform. You should also ask about their chalk policy; some gyms strictly forbid chalk use.

Ease Into It

If you love the sound of powerlifting, but want a middle step before jumping into the squat rack, try doing a few weeks of a bodyweight circuit. This will help you build up strength and improve your mobility in preparation for powerlifting. You can do bodyweight circuits at home. Start with 20 minutes of the circuit three times a week, adding reps or small weights or time to increase intensity as you get stronger. Nerd Fitness has a great beginning bodyweight workout with modifications suited for most strength levels.

Let’s Do This!

Ever since my friend Kelly passed the gift of powerlifting to me, I’ve wanted to share it with others. I hope this article gives you the tools you need to try it. If you have any questions about resources, form, or programming, I’m happy to help. Let’s get stronger together!

Gym Class: Ready, Set, Row!

Good morning, sporty people! It’s just before sunrise. The birds are starting to sing, there’s still a cold freshness in the air, and your girlfriend has stolen all the blankets … but that’s OK because you’re up and pulling on your sweats, ready to get on the water. Yes, in this installment of Gym Class, we’re going to talk about rowing. In addition to the basics, I’ll give you a brief rundown on safety and proper form, introduce you to the erg, and provide some sample workouts. Ready all, row!

Introduction to Rowing

One of my favorite parts of rowing is being out on the water to see the sunrise. Not all teams practice in the wee hours, so don’t despair if you can’t deal with early workouts. But as a non-morning-person myself, I will say that witnessing a gorgeous dawn more than makes up for crawling out of bed at 4:00 a.m.

There are lots of options when it comes to boat (or “shell”) size. Boats can hold 1, 2, 4 or 8 rowers, plus the coxswain in some cases. In college I rowed in an 8+ sweep boat, and I still prefer that configuration. (Starboards forever!) If you’re looking for a solo activity, a single scull might be best for you. And you can also avoid the water altogether by rowing indoors on an erg machine. But I think you’ll make it out for a sunrise or two if you fall in love with the sport.

Things You’ll Need

– An erg machine
OR
– A boat, and possibly teammates
– For clothes, you’ll want tight-fitting leggings or shorts, a comfortable top, and socks. If rowing outside, wear layers so you can stay warm as you’re getting started and post-workout.

Basic Technique

Rowing is a full-body motion, but your power comes primarily from your legs. This is the most important thing to keep in mind! Don’t haul away with your arms or, worse, your back. Think: leg drive.

On an erg or in a boat, the motion of the rowing stroke is the same. Hand position will change depending on whether you’re working out on an erg (erg handle), sculling (an oar in each hand), or sweep rowing (one oar that’s port or starboard). The stroke can be broken into four parts: catch, drive, finish, and recovery.

Using the erg machine as an example, here is the basic stroke, starting from a dead stop:

• Sit up straight and gently pull the handle to your torso. You want the handle to touch above your diaphragm; an easy way to remember this, if you’re a person who wears a bra, is that the handle should touch at the band of your bra.
• With straight legs and back, extend your arms. Once the handle passes your knees and your arms are fully extended, allow your legs to bend while keeping your arms straight.
• At the end of your range, bend your torso forward (with a straight back!) to get a few more inches. You’re trying to get the handle as close to the erg flywheel as possible. This is the catch: Your body is compressed like a spring, ready to generate power. On a boat, you’re in this position right as your oar goes into the water.
• The drive: Remembering leg drive, push against the footrests. For this first powerful part of the stroke, your arms and back aren’t doing any work: all your force is coming from your legs. Hello, quads! Once your legs are flattening and the handle comes back over your knees, you can give a quick pull with your arms.
• At the finish, you lean back slightly for a last bit of length and bring the handle back against your torso. On a boat, this is when your oar would leave the water.
• The recovery is just like the beginning step, leading with the legs toward the erg flywheel. Except now you’ve got momentum, and you can start to add rhythm and power to your strokes. The drive should be quick and powerful; the recovery is a space to breathe and, well, recover. (A slower recovery will lower your stroke rate, which I explain in the next section.)

The Erg Machine

Whether you choose to row on the water or solely indoors, you’ll probably be spending lots of time on the erg machine, or erg. The erg is an indoor rowing machine with a sliding seat that closely mimics the mechanics of on-water rowing. Most commercial gyms have at least one erg. Erg machines are made by Concept2; check out the company’s website for a great variety of rowing tips, workouts, and resources. Here’s how to set up an erg for your workout:

First, get comfy on the seat and adjust the footrests. The footrests move up and down to accommodate different heights (taller, set lower; shorter, set higher). Concept2 suggests they are at a good setting when, at the catch, your knees are up near your armpits.

Next, check the damper setting on the flywheel. This is the lever (set from 1 – 10) on the side of the flywheel that controls how much air goes into the flywheel cage. A higher number is not necessarily better. For training, a good setting to use is around 5. This post explains the damper wheel in more detail.

The erg screen helps you keep track of your workouts and progress. The most important numbers on the display are your workout time, your stroke rate (the number of strokes per minute, or spm), and your split (how long it will take you to cover 500 meters at your current pace). Aim for an spm range of 20 – 30 (more about this in the following Training section). Raise and lower your spm by changing your stroke recovery; you want your drive to be consistently quick and powerful. A slower recovery will lower your spm but allow you to maintain power and a good split. In high-spm sprints, your recovery will be faster. As you get used to the rowing motion and build strength and endurance, aim to improve your split: getting it lower equates to moving faster on the water.

Training

Used with proper form, the erg is a great piece of equipment for cardio workouts that suit any exercise plan. You can add 20 minutes of rowing in after a weightlifting workout, or swap rowing for the treadmill to mix up your gym time. And if you choose to focus exclusively on rowing, you’ll want to keep things interesting when training off the water. Here’s a warmup and three different erg-based workouts to build upon.

Warmup

To get settled on the erg, I like to break up the stroke. These movements are slow and very low-power. Bring the handle to your torso. Keeping your back and legs straight, move only your arms for 10 strokes, from torso to full extension and back. Then, add in your back, hinging at the hips, for 10 strokes. Finally, bring your legs into play, so you’re completing the full stroke. Once your whole body is engaged, move to low-medium power for 2 to 5 minutes.

Steady-State

A steady-state workout develops cardiovascular fitness and endurance. You can row anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, aiming for a slower spm and medium power (a split you can sustain for the whole workout, or around 60% of your hardest effort). A good spm for steady-state workouts is around 22 – 24. Make a playlist with beats that match your target spm and settle in for a long, controlled row.

Race Training

The international rowing distance for races is 2,000 meters. For female Olympic rowers, this distance can be covered in about 6.5 minutes. But that’s the result of years of training! A better gauge for a beginner on the erg is to row 2,000 meters with good form and then start trying to beat your own best times. As you practice more, get stronger, and your body learns the movement of the stroke, you’ll start whittling down your 2k record. Eight minutes is a good time to aim for as a new rower. Maintain an spm of 28 – 34 when race training.

HIIT Training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) combines steady-state pace and 2k-test intensity. Plan for a 20-minute workout and start at steady-state pace and power. Then, 5 minutes in (or sooner, depending on how you structure your intervals), work up to a burst of power with 20 strokes at your max split. After the power strokes, return to your steady-state pace without a rest. In 5 minutes do another power-20. Repeat twice more. To make this more challenging, decrease the rest time to 3 or 4 minutes.

Good-to-Know Tips

Get your protein. Eat to feed your workouts and make sure you’re consuming enough protein to build muscle and enough complex carbs to fuel longer, endurance-heavy rows.

Protect your back. Rowing is leg-dominant, but it will work your core, back, and arms, too. Doing targeted strength training will help keep your back safe on the erg and on the water. Strengthen your core with exercises such as planks, Russian ab twists (RATs), Turkish get-ups, bird-dogs, and hanging leg-raises. For the lower back, try hyperextensions, supermans, and bridges.

Plan a budget. Boathouse and rowing-club memberships can be expensive. Groupon is a good way to find a deal on a month-long membership or other short-term situation, so you can try out the team or boathouse. Or just take the leap and join a local team! Expect to pay around $65 – $100 a month for membership fees, which usually cover use of boathouse facilities and boats. Coaching fees may be extra, but if you’re new to rowing you may appreciate professional guidance while learning on the water.

Wow, I really wrote the word “stroke” a lot in this article. Have fun, be safe, and as always I’m happy to help with your training questions. Also if you’re near Seattle and want to start a queer 8+ team, get in touch!

Gym Class: Put Up Your Dukes, We’re Boxing

Hi there, Autostraddlers! This series will help you get started with your new favorite sport. Today, pop in your mouth-guard and put up your dukes! This Gym Class is all about boxing.

Introduction to Boxing

The “sweet science” started to take on its modern form in late-1600s England, when it was known as bare-knuckle boxing or prizefighting. From the start, there were female fighters. They were often sex workers or poor women hoping for prize money. The women sometimes fought stripped to the waist, in brutal matches that involved eye-gouging, scratching and biting. (For a well-written, fascinating glimpse into the life of a fictional female boxer in Georgian-era England, check out Anna Freeman’s The Fair Fight.) These fights were all about the spectacle, and female fighters like Elizabeth Stokes, who fought in the 1720s, were treated like novelties rather than athletes.
It wasn’t until the 1900s that women’s boxing clubs began to form, despite intense resistance from men. And it was not until the 2012 Olympic Games that women’s boxing was recognized an Olympic sport. Today, female boxers still have a lot to battle outside of the ring. The young American boxer Claressa Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with a bright future. But as outlined in Jaime Lowe’s terrific NYT article, “Women Have Been Boxing in the Shadows for Too Long,” it’s been difficult for Ms. Shields to find financial support and sponsors because our society still has a problem with strong women. Lowe writes: “For a woman to admit that she likes aggression, relishes controlled rage, thrives on ferocity and enjoys the feeling of gut-punches, well, that is unfathomable, or it seemed so to the Team U.S.A. reps. They had no idea how to sell her.”

If all this is enough to make you want to punch something, you’ve come to the right place! In this article I’ll go over what you’ll need to get started, what to look for in a gym, and some basic workouts.

Things You’ll Need

– Most boxing gyms provide gloves and punch mitts, but they are usually well-used — and smell like it. If you try a class or two and love it, consider buying your own gloves (and possibly mitts)
– Hand wraps or athletic tape (optional, but good for wrist safety)
– Hands-free water bottle (with a straw or valve cap) so you don’t have to touch the lid with dirty hands
– Mouth-guard (required if sparring)

Basic Technique

Here’s a quick description of boxing’s key punches. To begin, get into a basic fight stance: hands up at your mouth, chin lowered, elbows tight against the torso, left foot (lead foot) forward and right foot (rear foot) back. Aim your jabs and crosses for your opponent’s mouth; your hooks at the side of their jawline; and your uppercuts at their chin or torso (for body shots). When punching, keep the non-active hand up at your face for protection; return your active hand to your face immediately after a punch, as well.

Note: I’m describing these punches for right-hand-dominant people. If you’re a lefty, or “southpaw,” you will perform these in reverse: your fight stance reversed (right foot forward), your right hand for the jab, your left hand for the cross, etc.

Jab: A quick punch with your left hand. Meant to keep your opponent away and give you space to move or set up other punches. Step forward with your lead (left) foot as you extend your left arm straight out for the punch, then pull it back quickly to your body and bring your rear (right) foot forward to return to your fight stance.

Cross: A power punch thrown with your dominant right hand. This is move recruits your hips and torso, giving more force to your punch. From a basic fight stance, bring your right hand past your face and straight out, pivoting on your back foot towards the left and using the movement of your body to fuel the punch. Pull your hand back quickly and return to your fight stance.

Hook: A power punch. I learned to hook with my left hand, but you can technically use either hand. The strength in this punch comes from leg and torso activation. For a left hook, bring your left elbow up from your hip as you twist your torso to the right, keeping a flat wrist and your elbow behind your fist. After the punch, bring the left hand back to your face and resume your fight stance.

Uppercut: This punch can be thrown at your opponent’s chin or torso, and is powered by your shoulders. The punch travels up your body (often from a lower level, meaning a lower stance with bent knees) rather than the forward motion of jabs and crosses or the swing of a hook. To throw a right-handed uppercut, lean to your right slightly and then spring out of that position, driving your hand upward toward your opponent’s torso or chin, and using the power of your body uncoiling to give strength to your punch. Return to fight stance.

Training and Sample Workouts

For this sport, I recommend you join a gym so you can learn with the guidance of a coach. As with most other specialty gyms, there are usually Groupons or trial membership deals that let you try a facility to see if it meets your needs. Sure, you can train solo at your regular gym; done with proper form, a heavy-bag workout is great cardio. But if you want to do more than hit the bag — and you want teammates to train and maybe spar with — you’ll want to join a gym.

And here’s an important safety note: When you are a beginner — and especially as you’re working on proper form — do not throw punches with all your strength. Most of all, do not throw punches with all your strength at the heavy bag! Most bags are very hard. The small bones of your wrist are no match for 100 pounds of leather-wrapped sand. Focus on speed and good technique, and you’ll still work up a sweat. Once you’re more familiar with punching you can start to add force to your heavy-bag and partner workouts.

Punch Pyramids

These are a great cardio burst, and endlessly adaptable. You can include any exercise in between punch sets — burpees, lunges, pushups, sprints — so the punch pyramid can be changed to suit whatever kind of workout you want to have that day. For this example, let’s use burpees. (I know, I hate them, too. That’s why I force myself to do them.)

Jab-Cross (2)
Burpee
Jab-Cross Jab-Cross (4)
Burpee
Jab-Cross Jab-Cross Jab-Cross (6)
Burpee

… And so on up to 20 punches, then back down to two.

A full punch pyramid with burpees will take you 3-5 minutes. Try to do it all in one go, without breaks, and then start to work on speed. If you want to go full-on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with these, do a fast pyramid, then a slow jog for 5 minutes, another pyramid, another jog, and repeat for a total of four full-speed pyramids and four recovery jogs.

“Drill on the Board”

Most practices, my coach had us perform this series of punches to warm up. It’s a great way to work on your basic punches and start to build muscle memory. You can do this drill alone on a heavy bag or with a partner. Try doing this rotation without breaks for 5 minutes. Make sure to start in your basic fight stance and move your feet with each punch. Step forward with the left foot for jabs (then bring the right foot up, too, to return to fight stance); pivot on the ball of your right foot for crosses. You should always be moving between punches — it’s a good time to practice bobs, weaves, and keeping your guard up (your hands at your mouth). To mix things up, throw in some hooks and uppercuts.

Jab
Double-Jab (two in a row, quickly)
Triple-Jab (three in a row, quickly)
Cross
Double-Cross
Triple-Cross
Jab + Cross
Cross + Jab
Double-Jab + Cross
Cross + Jab + Cross
Jab + Cross + Jab
Repeat from start

What to Look for in a Gym

Cleanliness. Boxing rings and wrestling mats can be gross, soaked in sweat and grime from bare feet. Look over the facility and make sure it’s somewhere you’d feel OK working out. Also look at things like the gym’s Yelp reviews. If anyone says a place is uncommonly dirty, or mentions ringworm or staph, proceed with caution.
Female-to-Male Ratio. If you are a female-identified person, you may feel more comfortable in classes that include a few other women, or perhaps working with a female coach. Attend classes in the time blocks that work for you to get a sense of the gym’s demographics before committing to a long-term membership.
Coaching Focus. Some gyms specialize in training fighters. Others are more about community and fitness, and still others combine the two. If you want to train to fight, look for a coach with a successful team of boxers, and speak to some of them about their training regimen and the coach’s style. If you just want to box for fun and exercise, make sure your coach supports you and will take you as seriously as an athlete as other, more fight-focused clients.

To Fight or Not to Fight

Maybe you already know you want to train to get into the ring competitively. Awesome. Get out there and win some titles with Autostraddle’s blessing!

If you’re not sure you want to fight (or know for certain that you don’t), you can still enjoy boxing. As mentioned above, many coaches and gyms focus more on the fitness side of the sport than the competitive side.

At my gym, boxing classes were offered in two back-to-back sessions: an hour of conditioning first, then an hour of technique. Conditioning classes were cardio-heavy, intense blends of jogging, HIIT drills, punch-pyramids, and lots of ab work. Technique classes eased up on the pace to focus on attacking and evading with good form. Technique classes also usually involved sparring (aka the part when you’re most likely to get clobbered by your partner).

If you’re interested in fitness-focused boxing, check to see if your prospective gym offers the equivalent of conditioning classes: a space to get all the physical benefits of boxing training — including the satisfaction of throwing lots of punches — minus the sparring component.

And in This Corner …

I hope this article has you excited about boxing — and confident enough to give it a try. It’s one of my favorite sports and I’d love to see more women in the ring. I want to give a big thank you to my coach Jimbo Slice at Alive MMA in Portland, Oregon. Jimbo ran an awesome program that was welcoming to everyone, at all stages of training. The two sample workouts here were staples of his programming, and I still use them today as a fun and challenging part of my fitness routine.