I am finally over my cold. Yay! I've been away from the gym for just over a week. I may just count that towards my week off and go straight into the Stage II, which is just around the corner for me.
Here's my last two workouts from this week. I tried to take a it easy and not push too hard after being away for 10 days. However, I almost blew it on the Deadlifts. I felt a weird pins and needles pain in my second set, a pain I have not felt before. I'm not sure what triggered it, I've done that weight before. I've been doing a lot of sitting the last week and have sore back by the end of the day. I guess maybe that or poor form set it off. I'll have to be extra careful.
Workout B
Deadlift
Set 1 40lbsx8
Set 2 40lbsx8
Set 3 -
Alternate
DB Shoulder Press
Set 1 15lbsx8
Set 2 15lbsx8
Set 3 15lbsx8
Widegrip Lat Pulldown
Set 1 75lbsx8
Set 2 75lbsx8
Set 3 75lbsx8
Alternate
Lunge (used 20lb dumbbells)
Set 1 40lbsx8
Set 2 40lbsx8
Set 3 40lbsx8
Swissball Crunch w/medicine ball overhead, think it was 5lbs.
Set 1 5lbsx15
Set 2 5lbsx15
Set 3 5lbsx15
Workout A
Squats
55lbsx8
55lbsx8
55lbsx8
Push ups
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8
Seated Row
60lbsx8
60lbsx8
60lbsx8
Step up (using 15lb dumbbells)
30lbsx8
30lbsx8
30lbsx8
I felt strong today and had a solid workout. My deadlifts went much better this time and no pain. whew! I made sure I didn't slack on the warm ups either.
I progressed in weight on the shoulder presses. I figured I wouldn't be able to do all three sets at that weight. But that's when those alternate sets come into play. I couldn't have done straights sets, but the long rests helped me power through all of them with good form.
I started doing the Swiss ball crunches with a medicine ball overhead. No one seemed to know how much they weighed. I'm guessing 5 pounds. They were harder but not that bad. Plus it helped me focus on form and crunching the mid-section verses flailing everywhere.
I'm sure everyone has those moments when they notice some change in their body they've not seen before. I had one this weekend when I notice a new little groove in my arm. It's the little space on the back of the upper arm created between the back deltoid and triceps. hehe I have no idea what it's called. But it made my day seeing it!
Today's Workout B
Dynamic warmup
Deadlift Warm ups
20lbsx8
30lbsx5
Deadlift
Set 1 40lbsx8
Set 2 40lbsx8
Set 3 40lbsx8
Alternate
DB Shoulder Press
Set 1 20lbsx8
Set 2 20lbsx8
Set 3 20lbsx8
Widegrip Lat Pulldown
Set 1 75lbsx8
Set 2 75lbsx8
Set 3 75lbsx8
Alternate
Lunge (used 20lb dumbbells)
Set 1 40lbsx8
Set 2 40lbsx8
Set 3 40lbsx8
Swissball Crunch w/medicine ball overhead, I think it was 5lbs.
Set 1 5lbsx15
Set 2 5lbsx15
Set 3 5lbsx15
The first of the two special workouts for stage 1 was today.
It was a quick workout but I'll be sore tomorrow no doubt!
I tweaked my left knee during deadlifts, it only got worse during the lunges, so I didn't push as hard as I could. I came home and iced it, seems ok right now.
My next w/o is on Monday. Good timing, I think it'll be good to give my knee a break for a couple days.
Somebody sew my mouth shut please! I've over eaten four days in a row. I do great up until the evening, before bed. Hours will have passed since dinner and then I'll be starving. Ugh.
I have been noticing an increase in sugar cravings. I think it's about time I went back to clean eating. I'm feeling lethargic.
My knee is feeling better. I put some icy hot on before bed last night. Mobility is good.
I've started making my dinners a bit bigger and then halving them. I eat half at dinner time and then another half before bed. That's how I've solved my nighttime hungries.
It sounds like you're not eating enough earlier in the day, so you're making up for it at night.
I was wondering if that might be the case. Any recs on upping calories? So far I've only gained 1 pound, no idea how much is lean muscle. I wasn't sure if it was time to up cals or not.
I've started making my dinners a bit bigger and then halving them. I eat half at dinner time and then another half before bed. That's how I've solved my nighttime hungries.
That's a great idea Diane. I'm going to try that. Thanks!
I was wondering if that might be the case. Any recs on upping calories? So far I've only gained 1 pound, no idea how much is lean muscle. I wasn't sure if it was time to up cals or not.
Make breakfast your biggest meal of the day - then you can taper off calories as the day goes on.
__________________
Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
I did the second special workout today. I skipped the squats. I'd rather save the knee. I had a sneaking suspicion that trying AMRAP was going to be too much for it.
I'm adjusting my calories to see if I can get my eating under control. I've added an extra hundred per day. I'll see how that goes.
Starting stage two on Wednesday. *gulp* Actually I'm looking forward to the change. I was getting a little unmotivated. So a change up will keep things interesting.
I tried out a couple moves today. The Front squat/push press: was stuck with dumbbells but it was good to get a better feel for the move. And I also tried the DB one-point rows. Those were hard but fun
I don't have to worry about getting bored that's for sure, maybe just falling on my ass though. hehe
Tried HIIT too. I haven't done any cardio since November. I was worried I might fall over dead 5 mins into it. But I did the full 15 mins.! So now I am convinced that strength training does give you a good cardio workout, otherwise there's no way I would've been able to keep that up without any cardio these last three months.
Good job on the HIIT! I'm with you on the sleep. I can't wait for bedtime these days! LOL How's the knee doing now?
The knee is doing better (thankfully!). I've had knee problems for years so I try to ease back on them anytime they start to hint at grief. The last thing I want it to be laid up for weeks because I messed up my knee.
Reposting my March stats here. I also added here my flexed pics. Oh and I'm standing on my toes in the March flex pics. hehehe I wanna see some definition in those legs & butt darn it!
My progress is slow but sure. I'm still in a building phase. My biggest change came in weight gain. I gained a pound in the last three weeks compared to .5 in the previous 5 weeks. I attribute it to a week off from being sick and upping my calories. Hopefully it's not all fat , maybe a little muscle in there too..somewhere..I hope...
Current Stats
Weight 113.5 +1.5lbs
Waist 27" - 1/2"
Belly 30" - 1/4"
Hips 35 1/2" - 1/4"
Thigh L 20 1/2" +1/8"
Thigh R 20 1/2" +1/8"
Bicep L relaxed 10" +1/8"
Karen and Diane thank you! My arms seem to get definition easier than the rest of me. Hopefully keeping this up I might see some changes in my legs soon.
Oh my gosh. I am so SORE today! I forgot how sore you can get from a new routine. Anyone else hurtin' from Stage 2?
Oh, man, I'm still dying and I'm in the middle of the 3rd workouts already (from Stage 2). I thought I'd be over the sore by now but, nope, I grunt and groan everytime I have to stand up/sit down or lift my arms over my head.
Hey there neighbor . . where in so cal are you from? I live near Santa Barbara. You have made great progress and I think gaining knowledge is just as important as any external changes you make. On my 'mad eating' days I increase my fiber intake with either a serving of fiber one cereal or a gnu bar (found at Trader Joe's), they really help with carb cravings and filling up issue! Really the fiber one isn't bad at all if you mix it with yogurt :-)
Hey there neighbor . . where in so cal are you from? I live near Santa Barbara. You have made great progress and I think gaining knowledge is just as important as any external changes you make. On my 'mad eating' days I increase my fiber intake with either a serving of fiber one cereal or a gnu bar (found at Trader Joe's), they really help with carb cravings and filling up issue! Really the fiber one isn't bad at all if you mix it with yogurt :-)
hth -- Toni
Hi Toni,
We are pretty close (relatively speaking ) I'm in San Diego.
I'm behind on posting my workouts. This is the latest one from yesterday.
I started out hot-to-trot but then it went miserably wrong when my left knee started hurting on the last bit of the Bulgarian Split squats. It seemed ok afterward so I continued through the workout. Got to the Reverse Lunge and almost had my knee give out on me on the fourth lunge. Lots of stabbing pain under the kneecap. So I gave up on that and finished up the workout. Had to sub regular crunches for swiss ball and had to do my prone cuban snatch straight through due to the gym being so crowded. In all ,I felt very deflated and irked afterward. It felt like a no progress day with the possibility of my knee slowing me down.
The good sign is my knee feels good today, even though it makes popping sounds if I twist too much. I'm still concerned about the BSS, maybe it's my form because it's a new move for me. But I've always had knee problems. I can't help but want to blame the special workout routines and the AMRAP "reps". That kicked off the first knee pain I've had in eight months. Next time I see AMRAP I'm going to ignore it. I'm still grumpy.
Stage 2
Workout B
Widegrip deadlift from box (I haven't started using a box yet)
10x45lbs
10x55lbs
Bulgarian Split Squat (with 10lb plate)
10x10lbs
10x10lbs
Underhand Lat Pulldown
10x75lbs
10x75lbs
Reverse Lunge from box with Forward Reach (w/10 lbs DB's)
4x10lbs
- DB prone Cuban snatch (w/5lb DB's)
10x5lbs
10x5lbs
Linear Mode
