NorCal Girl in SoCal
When I was 16, my favorite aunt moved to Orange County, CA. I live in Northern California. Throughout my childhood we all, my whole raucous family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, lived in Northern California. You see how northern has a capital N there? Northern California. Because Northern California is its own separate space. Northern California and Southern California are separate universes within the same galaxy. People not from California may not understand this, but we are very different, NorCal and SoCal. When my aunt, along with my grandmother, moved, they may as well have left the state. So how the hell did I, a native Northern Californian end up falling in love with Orange County? And how did I end up vacationing in Laguna Beach? Let me tell you.
I remember one visit to see my aunt when I was around 25. My hair is long, auburn, wild, and unruly. I wear very little makeup. A giant tattoo of a fairy in flames dances on my right shoulder blade. I was, even then, an outspoken progressive. That woman who throws her head back and laughs with her mouth wide open in the middle of a crowded bar or a quite cafe? Yea, that’s me.
Needless to say, I stuck out like a sore thumb.
The Beach
But the beaches are a different story. Dana Point, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Ocean Beach, you name it. The beaches in Southern California are beautiful. I am most at home on the beach.
Sun lovers like me can lay on the beach, eat pizza while looking at the ocean, shop with an ocean view, and fall in love with warm summer nights and breezy fall mornings
Years later, with my own child, I wanted her to experience as a Northern California girl what it is like to visit the other side of our state. So when she was two years old, I began booking one week each year for her birthday in Orange County. This year I booked our stay in Laguna Beach, a thriving artist community with a wide expanse of shoreline.
Pacific Edge Hotel
We stayed in a two bedroom suite at Pacific Edge Hotel about a half mile south of Main Beach, where all the activity is. The hotel is right on the beach, and our room, while not graced with an ocean view, did come with a kitchen with a stove, microwave, and refrigerator. Our balcony overlooked one of two pools and a beachfront restaurant, Driftwood Kitchen, that is part of the hotel.
The room was really adorable. The flooring everywhere except the bedroom is beautiful salmon colored tile. The beds are comfortable, with soft, clean white sheets. The curtains block out the light for daytime naps perfectly. The television had an assortment of channels, and the dining room table was long and spacious.
Room service was incredibly accommodating as was the front desk. All of the people we dealt with at the front desk were friendly and bent over backward to make us happy, sending up kitchen equipment, sending over housekeeping with fresh towels, and recommending good food.
Food
Our first night in we had just arrived, late and exhausted, after four days at the Disneyland Resort. The girl at the desk suggested Gina’s Pizza. She said it was her favorite, and, bonus, they deliver. I rang up Gina’s and ordered Minestrone for Carlos, Spaghetti for Celaya, and Antipasto salad for me. The food was delicious, and it arrived quickly.
For most of the rest of our stay we cooked in our suite. After four days of junk food in Disneyland, I was delighted to cook fresh food. Happily, there is a Ralph’s right across the street from the hotel, tucked into a side street. I stocked up our kitchen our very first morning.
We did visit a fabulous little frozen yogurt shop, Active Culture, a few blocks down. The service was excellent, and the frozen yogurt was superb. We even gave Matilda a few licks off our all but empty spoons.
We also walked down to Main Beach for Starbucks and some baked goods from C’est La Vie.
Main Beach
Main Beach is just what it sounds like: it is the main beach location in Laguna Beach. It offers a volleyball net, a basketball court, a playground, and of course, an open spread of beach. There is also grass for kids to run in. I took the kids down while Carlos was at the gym (our hotel offered free passes to a gym just down the street). The girls played on the structure, Matilda ate sand for the first time (yay!) and Celaya made friends (big surprise). We then walked across the street for ice cream.
City Life
Later that night, we wandered down the street for our last dinner out, at The Cliff restaurant. The Cliff is spectacular. Laguna Beach is most well known for being an art town, and it has earned its reputation. To get to the Cliff, you have to walk from the street through art galleries and jewelry galleries that are open to the air. It is like walking through a fancy flea market. Shop owners are discussing Zuni jewelry and sculptor’s technique. Once you get to what you think must be the beach by now, you are at the hostess stand of The Cliff.
The prices are shockingly reasonable for a fancy restaurant overlooking the beach. We ate dinner on a chilly night, and tall heating lamps with flames shooting up in enclosed glass kept us warm. I had carnitas, Carlos had chiles rellenos, and Celaya had a hot dog. Carlos and I both ordered a beer as well. Our bill came in under $100 with tip. You can’t beat that.
After dinner, we strolled further downtown and meandered in and out of art galleries. We visited Wyland gallery where the artist was actually in house for the night, discussing his latest works. We then headed down to the Kush gallery where Celaya pondered metaphor on canvas.
Finally, I forced my family to hang out in a cute little shoe shop with me while I picked up a couple of deals that I couldn’t resist.
Exercise
I am a runner. When I am too lazy to run, I walk. I like to be outside, and I like to be active. For this reason, if for none other, Laguna Beach is a stellar location. I ran on the beach during our stay. I ran up and down stairways to secret coves. I ran from high tide as it forced me closer to break walls and beaten collections of rocks. By the time I ran/walked the one mile stretch of beach, back and forth for two miles, my legs felt like jelly. Running on the beach is quite the workout.
Spoiled Queen
I also took the opportunity while we were on vacation to get a pedicure and a haircut. I love to check out local services, especially salons, while I am visiting a new town, and I was not disappointed in Laguna Beach.
My daughter and I paint our toes together as a regular weekend mother daughter ritual, but she had never been to a salon for a professional pedicure. Because this trip was really all about her turning five earlier in the year, I booked us mother daughter pedicures at the salon across the street from our hotel, Luxe Elle.
Pedicures
The women treated us like royalty. We soaked our feet in mineral softened warm water foot baths. They gently scrubbed and primped our toes. We were offered drinks on silver trays, and Celaya, of course, spied candy in wide clear glass container. She was indulged. Her pedicurist even painted pretty, delicate butterflies on the nails of Celaya’s big toes.
The pedicures were simple. I found the salon easily. It was beautiful inside and out. It is very important to me to be surrounded by beauty whenever possible. I believe aestheitcs are an important part of how we feel, so if I spend money to get my toes done or my hair cut, I want my surroundings to be beautiful, comforting, warm, and inviting. Luxe Elle delivered.
My haircut was another matter. On my first day out running, I ran past at least ten salons, in a one mile radius. How to decide? I reverted back to my own aesthetic. I wanted to be drawn to the salon. I wanted it to be beautiful from the outside, and I wanted to walk in and feel welcomed but also a little fancy.
One salon, about a half mile south of the hotel caught my eye: Vogue. I walked in, sweaty from running, my hair, that hadn’t been cut since before I had my baby ten months ago, up in a topknot on my head.
Haircut
“Hi!” the front desk girl chirped with genuine welcome. She didn’t look me up and down, she didn’t blink. She was friendly. When I asked if she had any appointments that week for a haircut she looked in her book and asked me “do you want to get your haircut right now?”
“No. No no no no.” I responded.
Then I laughed. No. I was gross and sweaty and hadn’t showered in two days.
No. I wanted to get my haircut and walk out feeling fabulous, not like there was some fabulous woman’s hair on a dirty, sweaty body.
I made my appointment for our last day in town.
Hairsylist
Danielle is easily the best hairdresser I’ve ever been to. She was warm and friendly, she was talkative and inquisitive, authentic and engaging.
I confessed to her that as much as I am a proponent of self care, I take care of my skin, my toes, my sleep, my exercise, my diet, I am horrible about my hair. I get it cut twice a year, maybe, and I mostly wear it up. Then, quite ashamed, I admitted that I wash my and my daughter’s hair with a cheap shampoo.
She recommended Bumble and Bumble Gentle shampoo and conditioner because she said it would work for both me and my daughter. She also sold me Bumble and Bumble Don’t Blow It, which she said I could apply to my hair right out of the shower. I am a wash and go woman. I don’t want to spend time styling my hair. But I want to be able to wear it down without it looking like a hot mess.
I have been using all three products for over a week now, and there is a noticeable difference in my hair. I feel like I love my natural hair for the first time in my life. I always knew this was possible. I always knew the right products would do this for me. But I have just never met the right stylist to make the right match for me. I wear my hair down all the time now, and it looks and feels like silk.
If you are in the area, and you need a haircut, go see Danielle at Vogue Salon in Laguna Beach. I know I’ll plan my next haircut with her in March when we go back.
Stay in Laguna Beach
Go. Stay in Laguna Beach. Eat the food, run (or walk) on the beach, sit in the sun, shop in the shops, gaze at the art, and frequent the salons. I love Laguna Beach. I am already planning my summer trip for a three or four day weekend in Laguna Beach for Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach’s summer art festival and show. Because if you love art, and you love the beach, there is no better place to spend your free time than Laguna Beach.
Sounds like a fabulous place to visit! I can’t wait to see more of SoCal someday.
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So take your time be protected when you start getting
up there in weight be certain to have a spotter.
Dumbbell presses may interact extra stabilizing muscular tissues, whereas bench
presses allow for larger overall weight utilization. You’ll find yourself recruiting muscle teams other
than the precise muscular tissues intended to be focused by the exercise.
There is a pure arch in your back that should be there while
performing this press train. When you strive hard to push your again into the bench, your
shoulders will naturally roll ahead.
They get shoulder pain from flat benching however appear to tolerate
incline benching well. In All Probability as a outcome of a extra efficient
pressing angle by which extra of your chest muscle fibers can help.
One Other factor might be the slightly shorter vary of motion of the flat bench press.
The dumbbell press provides a greater range of
movement than the barbell bench press. This makes it nice for each beginners and experienced lifters.
Muscle growth is the goal of bodybuilders, however everybody can profit from muscle mass, which declines with age.
The major movers of the bench press are the pectoralis major, anterior deltoids
and the triceps. The objective of bench presses is to strengthen and improve the dimensions of
these muscular tissues, as nicely as to improve stability for pushing movements.
In most circumstances, when we take into consideration urgent power, we
think of horizontal pressing AKA the flat bench press. Nevertheless, the incline bench press and decline
bench press may also be great for bettering our capacity to
press from different angles. Regardless Of suggesting that the majority lifters begin with the flat bench press, the decline bench press sometimes “feels” the simplest to perform.
You’ll normally work via a smaller vary of movement with this variation.
The larger the angle, the extra the exercise will engage the shoulders.
After those 2 weeks, you can start to use progressive overload by
lifting heavier dumbbells and reducing reps. Let’s clarify- it’s
ok if you’re a thin newbie to lift gentle and in high rep
ranges of 15+ per set when you first begin training.
Note- lifting heavy is recommended for muscle growth (hypertrophy), but the
weight should also be mild sufficient so that you just can lift it with a gradual and managed
type. Bench urgent with dumbbells is compound by nature, and these sorts of workouts
work best in decrease rep ranges. In truth, beginners often discover
the dumbbell bench press exhausting due to this easy however often-missed form cue.
Consequently, this can make the dumbbell bench press difficult and could be a cause why your power requirements are below
average. 5– At the of your set, both lower the weights to the ground or,
with your arms bent, just sit again up and return to your beginning position. Alternatively, in case you have spotters close by, allow them to take the weights from you.
This will rely on your health level and this system you’re following.
These three type cues will assist you to to lift extra weight, develop
a stronger bench press, and build greater pectorals utilizing your dumbbells.
Drive your toes into the bottom for the whole length of the dumbbell press.
This offers nearly all of the stability required to bench
press heavy dumbbells. I have a question concerning the flat bench press vs a
bench press with dumbells. The stability ball bench press will increase core and rotator
cuff activation. You’ll need to concentrate on maintaining each the weights and your physique secure.
Keep one weight down in your chest and press the other weight up to arms’ size.
For these aiming to construct muscle mass, incorporating a better volume of
sets and repetitions can be beneficial. A frequent method is to carry
out 3 to 4 units of eight to 12 repetitions, with a
weight that is difficult yet allows you to keep correct form throughout every set.
On the other hand, if growing strength is your primary objective, you would possibly concentrate
on fewer units (about 3 to 5) with decrease repetitions (4 to 6) at a heavier
weight. It’s important to allow for adequate
rest between units, typically 1 to 3 minutes, to make sure muscle recovery and optimum efficiency on subsequent units.
Girls can benefit from the flat bench press as it
helps to strengthen and shape the chest muscular tissues.
The mixture of shoulder joint horizontal flexion, shoulder girdle abduction,
and elbow extension is essential in all ahead reaching, grabbing,
and pushing actions. The dumbbell press is also important in baseball and softball batting
and in facet arm throwing. The flat bench press permits you to raise
heavy weights, selling power gains within the chest, shoulders,
and triceps. Regular practice improves total pressing energy, which interprets to raised performance in different workouts and day by day actions.
The incline bench press primarily targets the upper chest, extra particularly
the clavicular head of the pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and triceps.
Moreover, the incline bench press recruits the forearms, lats,
traps, rhomboids, and rotator cuff muscles.
Particularly, the barbell bench press is doubtless one
of the Massive Three in competitive powerlifting,
alongside squats and deadlifts. This is because
with squats, deadlifts and bench press, you’ve a transparent
image of total complete physique energy. As such, the bench press is taken into account the final word higher physique exercise.
Another difference is the muscles, and more particularly, the pec fibers
that every variation will help prepare. A giant cause for utilizing
flat, incline, and decline bench presses is
they can be great for biasing the different muscle fibers of the pec main. If you’re
only going to do one bench press exercise for your chest
muscle tissue, the flat barbell bench press might be the better choice.
It works both your upper, center, and lower pecs in a protracted vary of motion, and is proven effective for building a
big chest.
Another cause why dumbbells are nice is that they permit
for a fair greater vary of motion, which is part of the rationale why they have such nice muscle activation. One of the advantages of dumbbells relates again to the purpose of stability.
As A Result Of dumbbells require more stability, you’ll be working your muscles in another way, which is nice for hypertrophy, and you’ll
be better focusing on your stabilizer muscle tissue to a higher degree.
No one desires to be the lifter with super-built-up
upper pecs but lagging lower pecs that lack mass and girth.
When unsure, use all three variations strategically
to train the completely different pec fiber
divisions. By urgent from completely different angles you’ll enhance
your pecs’ power capability and talents as a complete and be better suited to produce urgent pressure in a wider range of contexts.
To perform this exercise correctly, start by mendacity flat on a bench, feet planted
on the ground for stability. Maintain a dumbbell in every hand at
chest degree along with your arms bent. Push the weights upward in a managed motion until your arms are fully extended, then slowly
lower them again to the starting position. When partaking
within the flat dumbbell bench press, several muscular tissues
are referred to as into action. The pectoralis major is the primary muscle labored, with the clavicular
head being more lively than in a normal bench press as a
result of angle of the press. The deltoids and triceps brachii
play secondary roles, assisting with the press and
lockout on the prime of the movement. Additionally, the core muscles, including the
rectus abdominis and obliques, are engaged to
stabilize the physique throughout the train.
Should you are feeling any shoulder pain during the bench press,
exchange the weights and end the motion instantly. Lifting
from an incline emphasizes the anterior deltoids of the
shoulder. You can carry out bench presses in a selection of methods to fulfill your health
stage and goals. Bench presses assist restore muscle stability for athletes
who primarily use pulling muscles. The barbell bench press, deadlift, and squat are competitive lifts in powerlifting.
As you are sitting put your arms in entrance of you as if you are driving a race car and flex your abs
like you are trying to twist up like a sort of rolly-polly bugs.
Then try to swing up your knees and while you are doing all this see what happens to your thoracic backbone and the way much management you’ve over your scapula.
From the seated position to the setup, with apply, may
be accomplished in a single easy motion. Poor vitamin is amongst the most common the cause
why pecs won’t develop. For more details, you can try my other post on choosing the perfect weight to carry.
Nevertheless sooner or later you might hit a plateau that’s if you want to switch it
up and maybe start with dumbbell flat presses then possibly do barbell incline press and decline press.
Both the incline dumbbell press and the flat bench press are effective workouts for building
a robust, muscular chest. By understanding the benefits and downsides of each exercise, you’ll find a way to choose the one
which finest aligns with your particular person objectives and talents.
The incline dumbbell press is designed to extend chest power and dimension,
so it is typically included in a well-rounded, intermediate power training program.
If you split up your weekly workouts by body half, embrace this chest exercise in your higher body or
chest day, after workout routines like pushups or the flat bench press.
The flat bench press is a cornerstone exercise in weight training and bodybuilding, renowned for constructing upper body
energy and muscle mass.
Most of the time, individuals are speaking concerning the
barbell bench press. After all, it’s a basic chest train, and it’s additionally the second lift contested within the sport of powerlifting.
This really is dependent upon your fitness objectives and your workout program.
Most beginner power packages will contain keeping the same rep vary and
growing the intensity over time, with intensity typically being the weight load.
However, intermediate and superior lifters and packages will likely need to mix up rep and cargo ranges.
The bench press clearly does a fantastic job of constructing these
muscles.
Make the exercise tougher by switching out your dumbbells
for a set of kettlebells. Due to the uneven weight distribution of kettlebells (the “bell” portion weighs
more than the handle of the equipment), it requires more stability and control to perform the train accurately.
This train will help you develop the baseline power required for the motion while additionally starting to interact the stabilizing
muscles of the shoulders with out isolating each shoulder independently.
Beginners should be succesful of do 1 rep using around 45% of their physique weight (both dumbbells combined).
Intermediates should be succesful of carry approximately 90% of their
physique weight, and advanced lifters approximately 130%.
Be that as it might, you might be following a program that
solely has you hitting bench press once a week and in addition overhead
press as soon as per week. You may be at a extra advanced stage where
you want extra time for restoration between periods, so coaching bench press once a week
is greatest. General, the identical is true for alternating dumbbell chest presses as nicely.
Maintaining your legs up like it will significantly increase the demand in your core stability, which in flip
permits for greater ranges of energy. That said, because you can’t drive force from your feet, you won’t
be capable of carry as a lot.
Focus on sustaining proper alignment and warming up adequately before the exercise.
Don’t miss our Chest Exercise Library, the place you’ll discover detailed guides, efficient exercise plans, and skilled tricks to
push your gains to the next degree. Structure your coaching in accordance with your health stage, guaranteeing sufficient
relaxation between units and exercises. From the smallest daily actions like selecting something off the ground to enjoying sports
and even swimming, having sturdy chest muscle tissue are essential.
Permit enough time for restoration between workouts to stop overtraining and promote muscle restore.
Increase the load or the number of reps steadily to problem your muscular tissues and stimulate development.
There are many situations if you need to know how it transfers from
one exercise to another.
All 6 are equally very important, however right now we’ll just concentrate on push, and thus, bench press, as BENCH PRESS is the KING of
PUSH. In order to excel on this important motion pattern,
it’s essential to be taught every thing you can about it.
There isn’t a definitive rule, but some recommend performing the incline press first
as a end result of it’s tougher. Beginning with the
tougher train can ensure maximum effort is
applied when you’re freshest.
The strength gained from flat bench press transfers
to on a daily basis actions and sports. It helps with pushing movements, corresponding
to opening doors or pushing objects, and improves athletic
efficiency in sports like basketball, soccer, and tennis.
As Quickly As you know how to do dumbbell
bench press, it is important to try totally different variations of this train. Rotating your exercise plan is an efficient way to improve your efficiency by targeting the same muscular tissues differently.
The floor press is a bench press variation carried out mendacity on the ground, limiting the vary
of motion to emphasise the triceps and reduce shoulder pressure.
If you might be nervous simply ensure you have a spotter there or perhaps even use the smith machine even though that still will not convert nicely to barbell press.
To start, an athlete ought to choose a weight that they can control for 3 units of eight repetitions.
Athletes can adjust the amount of weight up and down primarily based
on the variety of sets and repetitions. One of the dumbbell bench press
challenges is lifting the dumbbells to the suitable location. Not Like the barbell bench press, you can not rack the burden between units.
A compound raise exercises multiple muscle teams concurrently.
The dumbbell bench press is doubtless certainly one of the finest chest workout routines
for constructing mirror muscular tissues, the ones you check out
in your reflection.
This is as a result of the dumbbell press requires every arm to raise
its dumbbell independently, which requires extra
energy. This action is extra challenging to manage and finally
ends up using more of the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder.
Choosing a lighter weight helps ensure you’ll find a way to full the exercise safely.
This exercise is in any other case performed in the same means because the
incline dumbbell press, but you’re urgent kettlebells with every hand,
quite than dumbbells. The greatest angle for an incline
dumbbell press is about 30 levels.
Here is the diagram from earlier again, but this time with anterior deltoid muscle exercise added.
Make sure the path of the bar isn’t too low—over the mouth and
neck region—when racking or unracking. Transfer the load to and from
the rack together with your arms extended,
not low across the neck and face. Once you’ve got completed your desired
reps, place the bar on the rack.
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