Tonight was my leg workout, which I have whined so terribly about in the past.
I did it.
I got through it all. I did every rep of every exercise, even all of the damn lunges.
I'm so stupidly pleased with myself that I had to tell Shelby, because I've whined to him about it in the past. (And I got back a "good job!" from him. Yes, I need positive reinforcement or I don't do as well. I am apparently a 5 year old.)
Wooo!
(As a side note, Shelby has increased my food intake, so I'll be having a helluva lot more carbs from here on out. Yay!)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Phase 2 - Week 3
(Because I am lazy, this is the copy and paste of my weekly check-in email to Shelby.)
CURRENT WEIGHT: 174.75
LAST WEEK’S WEIGHT: 179
CURRENT WEEKLY CARB ROTATION: On the first M day of M/M/L/M/L/M/L (Matching the lifting schema)
CURRENT CARDIO (durations and intensity): Alternating between intervals or steady state on my L days.
HOW TRAINING/STRENGTH GAINS ARE GOING: Oh, this week sucked. The emails earlier in the week were inspired by Sunday, when I Could. Not. get through my lifting. I started three times (with meals in-between) but there was just no go juice to be had, and I was too dizzy to do any single leg work. I did most of my leg routine on Monday, instead, and even there, I got two lunges in and my knees made it clear I would not be continuing. It has been pretty cold here, which apparently really adversely affects my joints, making my knees easily angered. (I moved all necessary equipment into the house, so I wouldn't be working in the 20F gym for legs, but have since moved back outside.) I found that doing 10 minutes of cardio before lifting helps warm me up enough to get through, whereas previously, just moving around in a more or less related fashion to what I'd be doing in the workout (band work and such) was sufficient. And when I say it is cold, it got to 49F in our bedroom on Monday night. We've corrected that situation, but I think the house was like a really crappy terrarium, and I, as the lizard, just wasn't movin' real well. I know, you told me to add in extra meals if I was extra crabby or crashy, but by that point, most of the crashy times had already passed, and I was just in the doldrums. My pull day was reasonable, and my DL went up, but that's about the only bright spot in my lifting week.
DEVIATIONS: I had one additional meal on Wednesday prior to lifting, since there was no way I would get through the workout without it. Since it counts as "deviant", I had my period for the second time in two weeks at the beginning of last week. As previously noted, my body occasionally pulls this crap, but that means the 179 weigh-in was still PMS'ing, thus the dramatic drop between last week and this week. Also, I managed to somehow slightly bruise my left side, just under the ribs, which makes doing any core work rather unhappy. I skipped abs yesterday, since just sitting in a chair is sore on my abdomen. Maybe the cat is punching me in my sleep, since I don't remember any other violent encounters that would do this.
OTHER: Today (and yesterday, before I ate) I've been a bit dizzy when I stand up. It goes away post-meal. As per Daven's observations, in the evenings starting around 6PM, I stop having any energy and tend to just sit in a lump for the rest of the night. Though I know I should at least be stabilizing, if not gaining, I can't help but be pretty pleased with today's weigh-in. This is officially the lightest and thinnest I've been as an adult, and in so much better shape than I was the last time I was near this. The size 10 jeans I bought near the end of phase one are now baggy in the bum and loose around the waist, which is amusing.
OTHER INFORMATION YOU DON'T ASK FOR BUT I TRACK ANYWAY:
Starting Bust (Underbust/Overbust): 40.25/47.25
Current Bust: 37/43
Net Loss: 3.25"/4.25"
Starting Waist (Narrowest part/At navel): 35.25/37
Current Waist: 30.75/31.5
Net Loss: 4.5"/5.5"
Starting Hips (Across the worst of the gut/across the bum): 45.5/45.5
Current Hips: 39.5/40.25
Net Loss: 6"/5.25"
Starting Weight: 215
Current Weight: 174.75
Net Loss: 40.25 (Not to mention the 10 lbs I lost between May and when I engaged you initially.)
175 was my personal internalized goal, so I'm really happy to reach it. However, now I'm going to turn into Oliver Twist and hold out my bowl, asking for more gruel, please. :)
Pics: http://s802.photobucket.com/albums/yy306/braveharlot/December%205%202010/
CURRENT WEIGHT: 174.75
LAST WEEK’S WEIGHT: 179
CURRENT WEEKLY CARB ROTATION: On the first M day of M/M/L/M/L/M/L (Matching the lifting schema)
CURRENT CARDIO (durations and intensity): Alternating between intervals or steady state on my L days.
HOW TRAINING/STRENGTH GAINS ARE GOING: Oh, this week sucked. The emails earlier in the week were inspired by Sunday, when I Could. Not. get through my lifting. I started three times (with meals in-between) but there was just no go juice to be had, and I was too dizzy to do any single leg work. I did most of my leg routine on Monday, instead, and even there, I got two lunges in and my knees made it clear I would not be continuing. It has been pretty cold here, which apparently really adversely affects my joints, making my knees easily angered. (I moved all necessary equipment into the house, so I wouldn't be working in the 20F gym for legs, but have since moved back outside.) I found that doing 10 minutes of cardio before lifting helps warm me up enough to get through, whereas previously, just moving around in a more or less related fashion to what I'd be doing in the workout (band work and such) was sufficient. And when I say it is cold, it got to 49F in our bedroom on Monday night. We've corrected that situation, but I think the house was like a really crappy terrarium, and I, as the lizard, just wasn't movin' real well. I know, you told me to add in extra meals if I was extra crabby or crashy, but by that point, most of the crashy times had already passed, and I was just in the doldrums. My pull day was reasonable, and my DL went up, but that's about the only bright spot in my lifting week.
DEVIATIONS: I had one additional meal on Wednesday prior to lifting, since there was no way I would get through the workout without it. Since it counts as "deviant", I had my period for the second time in two weeks at the beginning of last week. As previously noted, my body occasionally pulls this crap, but that means the 179 weigh-in was still PMS'ing, thus the dramatic drop between last week and this week. Also, I managed to somehow slightly bruise my left side, just under the ribs, which makes doing any core work rather unhappy. I skipped abs yesterday, since just sitting in a chair is sore on my abdomen. Maybe the cat is punching me in my sleep, since I don't remember any other violent encounters that would do this.
OTHER: Today (and yesterday, before I ate) I've been a bit dizzy when I stand up. It goes away post-meal. As per Daven's observations, in the evenings starting around 6PM, I stop having any energy and tend to just sit in a lump for the rest of the night. Though I know I should at least be stabilizing, if not gaining, I can't help but be pretty pleased with today's weigh-in. This is officially the lightest and thinnest I've been as an adult, and in so much better shape than I was the last time I was near this. The size 10 jeans I bought near the end of phase one are now baggy in the bum and loose around the waist, which is amusing.
OTHER INFORMATION YOU DON'T ASK FOR BUT I TRACK ANYWAY:
Starting Bust (Underbust/Overbust): 40.25/47.25
Current Bust: 37/43
Net Loss: 3.25"/4.25"
Starting Waist (Narrowest part/At navel): 35.25/37
Current Waist: 30.75/31.5
Net Loss: 4.5"/5.5"
Starting Hips (Across the worst of the gut/across the bum): 45.5/45.5
Current Hips: 39.5/40.25
Net Loss: 6"/5.25"
Starting Weight: 215
Current Weight: 174.75
Net Loss: 40.25 (Not to mention the 10 lbs I lost between May and when I engaged you initially.)
175 was my personal internalized goal, so I'm really happy to reach it. However, now I'm going to turn into Oliver Twist and hold out my bowl, asking for more gruel, please. :)
Pics: http://s802.photobucket.com/albums/yy306/braveharlot/December%205%202010/
Friday, December 3, 2010
Fuh-fuh-fuh-friiiiiiday
This week has kinda sucked. My energy levels have been crappy, and I got a second go-round with my cycle in two weeks, just to mess with me even more. There have been multiple emails back and forth with Shelby, and he's told me to eat an extra protein meal if I am totally crashed out.
I did the crashy thing on Wednesday, and had an extra meal (though, with carbs, too, since I was starving) right before lifting. I got through the workout, but had to hold steady (or drop a bit) on a couple of weights, which is frustrating.
Today is DLs, which I always dread. Hopefully I'll get through them without my knees protesting too much.
I'm still losing a bit of weight, despite the fact that this is supposed to be a gaining cycle. I keep telling Daven that I am not fooled, and that I'm still leaning down. My arms and shoulders look better than they ever have. The one downside is that my skin is getting loose again, which isn't very visually wonderful. Hopefully it'll tighten up again in the future.
I did the crashy thing on Wednesday, and had an extra meal (though, with carbs, too, since I was starving) right before lifting. I got through the workout, but had to hold steady (or drop a bit) on a couple of weights, which is frustrating.
Today is DLs, which I always dread. Hopefully I'll get through them without my knees protesting too much.
I'm still losing a bit of weight, despite the fact that this is supposed to be a gaining cycle. I keep telling Daven that I am not fooled, and that I'm still leaning down. My arms and shoulders look better than they ever have. The one downside is that my skin is getting loose again, which isn't very visually wonderful. Hopefully it'll tighten up again in the future.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Arrrgh.
Yesterday's lifting didn't happen. Even bringing the necessary equipment (pretty minimal; leg day involves a lot of BW or lightly weighted exercises for me at this point) into the house so I could be warmer didn't help. I was dizzy during the beginning of the Bulgarian squats and just didn't have the juice.
Today, I tried again. Still indoors, but after 10 minutes on the bike to try and warm up a bit. That did help, and pointed out to me that I really miss doing my morning cardio. It got me going and improved my mood immensely. I'm going to add a little bit of steady state back in in the mornings, just for mental focus reasons.
I got through the Bulgarians, slowly, and the BW box squats, but only two reps of the lunges and my knees informed me that this motion was not happening.
My mood has been pretty horrible today. I think it's a combination of numerous factors; diet, job ending "sometime" and other stuff that I don't feel like putting in a public arena. Nothing dire, but little things that add up to overwhelm me when I'm low on resources.
Today, I tried again. Still indoors, but after 10 minutes on the bike to try and warm up a bit. That did help, and pointed out to me that I really miss doing my morning cardio. It got me going and improved my mood immensely. I'm going to add a little bit of steady state back in in the mornings, just for mental focus reasons.
I got through the Bulgarians, slowly, and the BW box squats, but only two reps of the lunges and my knees informed me that this motion was not happening.
My mood has been pretty horrible today. I think it's a combination of numerous factors; diet, job ending "sometime" and other stuff that I don't feel like putting in a public arena. Nothing dire, but little things that add up to overwhelm me when I'm low on resources.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Two-fer
I did my leg workout yesterday, rather than Weds, with the suggested substitution of Bulgarian squats (it is like a lunge, with your back foot raised, and then you squat, with most of your weight on the front leg. BECAUSE THIS WAS BETTER THAN THE GLASS-PACKED KNEES, THAT'S WHY.). Though it took me a little while to get used to the motion (I have no sense of balance, and only used a 12" block rather than the bench so I wouldn't fall the hell over), I finally got it down, with some guidance from Daven.
Oh. Dear. Sweet. Gods.
4 sets of Bulgarian, decreasing reps, increasing weight. 15 bodyweight, 12 at 5 lbs, 10 at 10 lbs, 8 at 15 lbs. This sounds terribly wimpy, and it is, but I had never done the motion before. By the end of the first set my legs were vibrating. By the time I was done with that, I wanted to sit down and never move again. Which meant it was time for squats! Of course it was. My form on squats is...suboptimal, so I'm currently just practicing at BW to a 16" box so that I can get the motion down. I tend to lean forward too much, which, with weight on one's back, is a bad idea, so, form first!
By the time I got to the walking lunges, I wanted to just die. I got 7 steps with each leg before I sat down in the middle of the driveway, because I couldn't stand up any more. I declared lunges to be done and eventually was able to get back up again. Did a set of hamstring curls and called it done. (Yay, I can use the leg extension thing for something!)
Today, I hurt. Oh, I hurt. I move so slowly that you'd think I was 80. I've felt reasonably good twice today, and both times were after some steady state motion; my cardio this morning and a walk this afternoon. The rest of the time I whinge around the house and whine about stairs.
Oh, and today I got to lift again. The only really noteworthy portion of that was that I was learning to do dips, which I did with the assistance of a big-ass rubber band. Again, form first. The strength will come. By the end of the second set, it felt ridiculously easy, as I finally had fallen into the right motion. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to do them without giant rubber bands, but I'll take it slowly. After the dips, it felt like someone had set my upper triceps on fire, which was very exciting.
Now? Now I'm tired and still sore and still whiny, so I'll take my whiny offline. Tea will be consumed and we'll finish watching Chronicles of Riddick. Can't wait to see how bad the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) will be tomorrow. Thrilling stuff.
Oh. Dear. Sweet. Gods.
4 sets of Bulgarian, decreasing reps, increasing weight. 15 bodyweight, 12 at 5 lbs, 10 at 10 lbs, 8 at 15 lbs. This sounds terribly wimpy, and it is, but I had never done the motion before. By the end of the first set my legs were vibrating. By the time I was done with that, I wanted to sit down and never move again. Which meant it was time for squats! Of course it was. My form on squats is...suboptimal, so I'm currently just practicing at BW to a 16" box so that I can get the motion down. I tend to lean forward too much, which, with weight on one's back, is a bad idea, so, form first!
By the time I got to the walking lunges, I wanted to just die. I got 7 steps with each leg before I sat down in the middle of the driveway, because I couldn't stand up any more. I declared lunges to be done and eventually was able to get back up again. Did a set of hamstring curls and called it done. (Yay, I can use the leg extension thing for something!)
Today, I hurt. Oh, I hurt. I move so slowly that you'd think I was 80. I've felt reasonably good twice today, and both times were after some steady state motion; my cardio this morning and a walk this afternoon. The rest of the time I whinge around the house and whine about stairs.
Oh, and today I got to lift again. The only really noteworthy portion of that was that I was learning to do dips, which I did with the assistance of a big-ass rubber band. Again, form first. The strength will come. By the end of the second set, it felt ridiculously easy, as I finally had fallen into the right motion. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to do them without giant rubber bands, but I'll take it slowly. After the dips, it felt like someone had set my upper triceps on fire, which was very exciting.
Now? Now I'm tired and still sore and still whiny, so I'll take my whiny offline. Tea will be consumed and we'll finish watching Chronicles of Riddick. Can't wait to see how bad the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) will be tomorrow. Thrilling stuff.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Lifting - Day 3
First off, it is retarded that blogger causes the interface to post if you accidentally hit enter in the Title field. Yay for empty posts! Morons.
Secondly, I am a bit peeved.
We purchased a leg extension bit for our bench so that I could move on to the Next Phase (TM) of the workout. I hadn't used one in many many years, but didn't think much about it.
Until I tried it with no weight.
*extend*
*crreeeeeeaaak go the knees*
*brow furrows*
Hmm...
*allow legs to retract in a controlled fashion*
*knees go CRACK creak pop ow*
Oh, shit.
I identify within three reps that this is not something I can do. I can probably use it for hamstring curls, but the main motion that it was intended for? Yeah, no dice. There's a great investment for you. :P
I grumbled and bitched, and though Daven was doing his own workout, he suggested I try doing leg presses, since it would at least be something.
I was supposed to be doing 4 sets with reps steadily decreasing as the weight went up. Yanno. A pyramid.
I got through 14 of 15 reps at the first weight, and by the second weight my knees had decided that no, fuck you, we aren't working anymore. I got 3 whole reps before I had to stop my workout entirely and come inside.
So. That's fucking irritating. I've emailed Shelby, and hopefully he'll have an alternative.
Oh, and to add injury to other, differenter injury, I scraped a chunk off of my shin when I was getting out of the leg press machine. It burns like crazy, and I wonder if there is a god of shins I should be aware of and start making little sacrifices to, because I have beaten the everliving hell out of my shins since I moved here. A brief recap of injuries:
- June: Fell in an 18" deep hole and nearly broke my left leg. Got a massive bone bruise out of the deal and a limp for quite a while.
- August: An inauspicious month. I was unloading the leg press when one of the handles slipped off and it scraped a big whack of skin off of my right calf and smashed my left foot. Shortly thereafter, I was pushing a wheelbarrow across the pasture when it got caught on a clump of grass. The wheelbarrow stopped. I, unfortunately, hadn't gotten that message yet and walked full speed into the metal back, again damaging my right shin bone.
- September: Wore Cute Boots (TM) to the airport to pick up Daven. Found out they had a "decorative" metal tab on the front that had the sole purpose of slowly skinning your shin bones. Though I barely walked around in them, and I had put on band aids just in case such a thing were to happen, I still ended up with nice gouges out of my legs.
I apparently had shed enough blood that October wasn't too painful, and now I'm back to having some missing skin.
Please, shin gods. Please stop punishing me. I don't know what I did, but I get that you are angry. A sign of how to behave better would be nice. Unless you're just bloodthirsty bastards who demand blood.
...OK, so, that got a little off-topic, but long story short: Need a new main motion for legs. Hopefully Shelby will get one to me and I'll be able to re-try this tomorrow. Sigh.
Secondly, I am a bit peeved.
We purchased a leg extension bit for our bench so that I could move on to the Next Phase (TM) of the workout. I hadn't used one in many many years, but didn't think much about it.
Until I tried it with no weight.
*extend*
*crreeeeeeaaak go the knees*
*brow furrows*
Hmm...
*allow legs to retract in a controlled fashion*
*knees go CRACK creak pop ow*
Oh, shit.
I identify within three reps that this is not something I can do. I can probably use it for hamstring curls, but the main motion that it was intended for? Yeah, no dice. There's a great investment for you. :P
I grumbled and bitched, and though Daven was doing his own workout, he suggested I try doing leg presses, since it would at least be something.
I was supposed to be doing 4 sets with reps steadily decreasing as the weight went up. Yanno. A pyramid.
I got through 14 of 15 reps at the first weight, and by the second weight my knees had decided that no, fuck you, we aren't working anymore. I got 3 whole reps before I had to stop my workout entirely and come inside.
So. That's fucking irritating. I've emailed Shelby, and hopefully he'll have an alternative.
Oh, and to add injury to other, differenter injury, I scraped a chunk off of my shin when I was getting out of the leg press machine. It burns like crazy, and I wonder if there is a god of shins I should be aware of and start making little sacrifices to, because I have beaten the everliving hell out of my shins since I moved here. A brief recap of injuries:
- June: Fell in an 18" deep hole and nearly broke my left leg. Got a massive bone bruise out of the deal and a limp for quite a while.
- August: An inauspicious month. I was unloading the leg press when one of the handles slipped off and it scraped a big whack of skin off of my right calf and smashed my left foot. Shortly thereafter, I was pushing a wheelbarrow across the pasture when it got caught on a clump of grass. The wheelbarrow stopped. I, unfortunately, hadn't gotten that message yet and walked full speed into the metal back, again damaging my right shin bone.
- September: Wore Cute Boots (TM) to the airport to pick up Daven. Found out they had a "decorative" metal tab on the front that had the sole purpose of slowly skinning your shin bones. Though I barely walked around in them, and I had put on band aids just in case such a thing were to happen, I still ended up with nice gouges out of my legs.
I apparently had shed enough blood that October wasn't too painful, and now I'm back to having some missing skin.
Please, shin gods. Please stop punishing me. I don't know what I did, but I get that you are angry. A sign of how to behave better would be nice. Unless you're just bloodthirsty bastards who demand blood.
...OK, so, that got a little off-topic, but long story short: Need a new main motion for legs. Hopefully Shelby will get one to me and I'll be able to re-try this tomorrow. Sigh.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Workout 2. Ow.
So. Deadlifts. I haven't done those since...ooh...the beginning of 2008.
Ow.
I am a wimp. I have a feeling that is going to be my mantra. I'm sure I will go up quickly in DLs, once I get my form down on them.
The "ow" is actually not what you'd expect...it's my abs. They hate me. I did swiss ball crunches this morning after my cardio, and apparently Daven has done a good job in training me to contract my core when lifting, because dude. I feel like I've been punched repeatedly.
I took a second dose of the energy pill immediately after the workout, since I had the feeling I was going to crash out again. I think I'll have an easier time remembering to take that dose on this plan, since it is evil and makes me fall over. (Not as badly as Daven. He literally fell down after two of his sets of front squats.)
After one of my (wimpy) sets of ez bar curls, all I could do was repeat "fuck you. fuck you. fuck you." over and over again for about a minute. I was trying to say anything else, but that was all I had left of a vocabulary.
Fun side effect of the day: After lifting, my delts were rock hard for the better part of an hour. C'mon, blood flow! Make those suckers grow!
Ow.
I am a wimp. I have a feeling that is going to be my mantra. I'm sure I will go up quickly in DLs, once I get my form down on them.
The "ow" is actually not what you'd expect...it's my abs. They hate me. I did swiss ball crunches this morning after my cardio, and apparently Daven has done a good job in training me to contract my core when lifting, because dude. I feel like I've been punched repeatedly.
I took a second dose of the energy pill immediately after the workout, since I had the feeling I was going to crash out again. I think I'll have an easier time remembering to take that dose on this plan, since it is evil and makes me fall over. (Not as badly as Daven. He literally fell down after two of his sets of front squats.)
After one of my (wimpy) sets of ez bar curls, all I could do was repeat "fuck you. fuck you. fuck you." over and over again for about a minute. I was trying to say anything else, but that was all I had left of a vocabulary.
Fun side effect of the day: After lifting, my delts were rock hard for the better part of an hour. C'mon, blood flow! Make those suckers grow!
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