[poodle984]

I’ve decided to start a training log, since we’ve been encouraged to in the women’s August challenge. Constructive criticism & support is very much appreciated!!
The brief story of Poodle:

I’ve been overweight all my life, but was pretty active all through junior & high school. I started lifting in Jr. High with the girls’ weight lifting club, and I loved it. I started getting healthier and working out my freshman year in college. When I turned 20, I was extremely happy with my body. I’d lost around 45 pounds, was very strong, and at my smallest clothing size ever in adulthood. Shit happened, I let myself go, whatever. It sucks but that’s where I’m at now. Since I turned 21 (I’m almost 24 now,) I have gained 5 pounds… which doesn’t sound like much. BUT, I’ve also gone from a size 18 to a 26 (at the most. Currently down to a 24.)


One day, I told my dad how confused I was by this. And he said, “Well, you used to be a lot stronger and have a lot more muscle mass. Its just changed to fat now.” Seems so obvious a conclusion now So I started being more active and whatnot, but not really working out hard. Sometime around this time I realized that the back wasn’t liking supporting the ho ha’s, and lifting hard again came across my mind. After arguing about it with friends for 3 months, and finally listening to The Boy, I bought New Rules of Lifting for Women. I started doing the program, but screwed up my knees doing squats immediately, and then kind of left NROL for a while. Thanks to Squat Rx I realized that I was basically doing everything about squatting wrong, so no more knee pain!

(Side note on The Boy, because I’m sure he will come up in my log… close friend, ex boyfriend, very smart, well informed body builder who is my personal cheerleader especially with regards to my fitness goals. Great for me in that respect because he knows what my mental hang-ups about fitness are, knows what really bothers me about myself, isn’t afraid to tell me the truth, etc.)

I’m kind of a pansy though, and am very intimidated by the act of physically going into the weight room. Once I’m there I’m good. But I’m overcoming that. I’m looking forward to this challenge because I’m one of those people who need to be held accountable, and I feel so much better when I’m lifting with any kind of regularity.


In the last 6 months I’ve made a lot of pretty major positive life changes. I’ve finally come to the realization that things don’t happen overnight, and that life’s a journey and not a destination. My life can be summed up by a couple of song lyrics.

“Lookin’ back at my background tryin' to
figure out how I ever got here.
Some things are still a mystery to me
While others are much to clear.
I'm just livin' in the sunshine,
Stay contented most of the time..” –Migration by Jimmy Buffett

And “I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on” – Running on Empty by Jackson Browne


(And sorry, that wasn’t as concise and brief as I was shooting for!)


Goals for the challenge:

• Be consistent- With working out and with eating healthfully
• Eat enough protein and veggies.
• To not be disappointed when I look at my formerly killer legs in the mirror anymore
• Do a real live push up from the floor
• Be stronger & lose some fat!

Foreseeable Challenges of the Challenge:

• I’m a chronic under-eater. I usually eat once a day. And its not that I even eat THAT terribly for that one meal… the rest of my caloric intake is made up of pop
• Overcoming the mental hurdles to actually go into the weight room
• I’m a broke ass college student. I think it’s going to take a lot of careful planning to eat enough and healthfully.
• Being too sensitive to friends who think women who lift are crazy and want to be androgynous amazons.

Beginning stats and pics to be added soon.
Thanks for stopping by!