Kara's Lifting Adventure

[sveta]

Kara: you look be-a-uuuutiful.

[Littlemermaidklb]

Aww thanks Svet! So do you!!

[Littlemermaidklb]

So I truly think Stage 7 may be the death of me.... I don't think my legs will ever recover!

I had to go slightly out of order in the beginning since there was a guy on the BB incline bench and he had so much weight on the bar that it would have been a pain in the ass to work in with him and take all of them off and on. So I did the first set of the first 2 exercises of the big superset and the seated rows before going back and doing the incline bench.

A1: BB Incline bench:
2x8 w/ 55lbs

A2: Seated Row:
1x8 w/ 60lbs
1x8 w/ what felt like 65lbs. I used a different seated row machine and this one only has numbers, not weights on it, so I put it on number 5, or 6 I can't remember, but it was definitely heavier than the other machine.

B1: DB Squat with heels on plates:
1x15 w/ 10s
2x15 w/ 12.5s
1x15 w/ 15s
*Awkward... I hate DB squats

B2: DB shoulder press:
4x15 w/ 15s
*barely got the last few reps on the last 2 sets, but I managed somehow.. whew, rough!

B3: Step-ups:
4x15(e) w/ 5s
*This truly is the exercise from hell... I hate these with the passion of a thousand burning suns

B4: UG Lat pulldown:
2x15 w/ 75lbs
2x15 w/ 65lbs
*started getting lightheaded on the last few pulldowns... I think my internal bodyheat was too much for me at that point.. I was beat!

[GinnyLou]

Originally Posted by sveta

Kara: you look be-a-uuuutiful.

Yeah that!

Originally Posted by Littlemermaidklb

So I truly think Stage 7 may be the death of me.... I don't think my legs will ever recover!

I had to go slightly out of order in the beginning since there was a guy on the BB incline bench and he had so much weight on the bar that it would have been a pain in the ass to work in with him and take all of them off and on. So I did the first set of the first 2 exercises of the big superset and the seated rows before going back and doing the incline bench.

A1: BB Incline bench:
2x8 w/ 55lbs

A2: Seated Row:
1x8 w/ 60lbs
1x8 w/ what felt like 65lbs. I used a different seated row machine and this one only has numbers, not weights on it, so I put it on number 5, or 6 I can't remember, but it was definitely heavier than the other machine.

B1: DB Squat with heels on plates:
1x15 w/ 10s
2x15 w/ 12.5s
1x15 w/ 15s
*Awkward... I hate DB squats

B2: DB shoulder press:
4x15 w/ 15s
*barely got the last few reps on the last 2 sets, but I managed somehow.. whew, rough!

B3: Step-ups:
4x15(e) w/ 5s
*This truly is the exercise from hell... I hate these with the passion of a thousand burning suns

B4: UG Lat pulldown:
2x15 w/ 75lbs
2x15 w/ 65lbs
*started getting lightheaded on the last few pulldowns... I think my internal bodyheat was too much for me at that point.. I was beat!

Wow, that is a killer workout! You go!

[dillytl]

EXCELLENT workout Kara!

[LisaS]

Originally Posted by nutbar

Thanks, Anne! I realized after I asked that making pizza would mean turning on the oven. No freaking way until summer is over! Argh. But thanks anyway--I've filed it away in my to-try recipe file.

you can make pizza outside on the grill

[Littlemermaidklb]

Here's yesterday and today's food stuff:

Yesterday:
Cals: 1604
Fat: 37%
Carbs: 35%
Protein: 28%

Standard breakfast
plain applesauce with cinnamon
string cheese
baby carrots
chicken enchilada soup from Eating for Life
banana w/ 2tbls PB
salmon fillet w/ sauteed zucchini
cashews
protein shake with skim milk

Today:
Cals:2026
Fat: 30%
Carbs: 42%
Protein: 29%

Standard breakfast
PWO shake with skim milk
Subway 6inch Oven roasted chicken on wheat
string cheese
plain applesauce w/ cinnamon
Cashews
Papa John's Garden Fresh pizza (2 slices) on their new WW crust (nutritional info is on the website so I was able to log it correctly instead of guessing)
1/2 chicken breast
1/2c vanilla almond crunch cereal (South Beach) with 1/2c skim milk.

[Littlemermaidklb]

This stage is FLYING by! I'm half done already!
And for those of you that didn't read about my milestone that I passed last night... check it out here! Yay for reaching goals!

Ok here's the workout:

A: BB Deadlift:
2x8 w/ 95lbs
*Might be able to go up, form was dead on, but they were a little hard since it's been a while. I really wanna break 100!

B1: Static lunge w/ rear foot elevated:
4x15(e) w/ 12.5s
I despise lunges!!!!

B2: Pushups:
4x15 with Smith bar at knee height
*the last few reps of each set are so flippin difficult!

B3: BB RDL:
1x15 w/ 70lbs
2x15 w/ 75lbs
1x15 w/ 80lbs
*That may or may not be PR... I'm too lazy to look. But it's definitely the highest I've ever done at this many reps!

B4: DB bent-over row:
4x15 w/ 20lb DBs
*I feel a tad stuck here... I want to go up in weight, but the last 3-4 reps of every set is a struggle, so I think I'm better off staying put at this weight...

Side note:
I'm off to Virginia this weekend to look at apartments! Hopefully I'll be moving mid-July. My background should be done sometime in the next couple weeks and once that's done I'm fairly certain I'll be starting soon after. They told me they usually have 90 day deadlines with the backgrounds and 90 days from when my polygraph cleared is sometime next week I think... so I'm hoping! This whole process is so frustrating, I can't wait to be done with it!

[missjane]

Kara, how is that WW crust....sounds good!! Good nutritional stats?

I love Papa John's pizza....it's one of the things I've really missed!

[Littlemermaidklb]

It's not bad for pizza you order in... Stats are:
for 1 slice of WW garden fresh pizza ( has lots of veggies)
cals: 270
fat: 9g, (2.5g saturated)
carbs: 39g (6g fiber)
protein:11g

so unless you're doing low carb (which I think you still are if I remember right) it's really not that bad! (And you need something fun for those carb-up days anyway!)

[foodfromafar]

Woohoo on the pushups!!!

[kfisherx]

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE PUSHUPS GIRL!! What a great reward to all the hard work you have been doing. I don't know what I enjoy the most about this adventure. The amazing strength or the fabulous bodies. It's all good!

[nutbar]

Originally Posted by Littlemermaidklb

And for those of you that didn't read about my milestone that I passed last night... check it out here! Yay for reaching goals!

Congrats! That's an incredible milestone!

Originally Posted by missjane

I love Papa John's pizza....it's one of the things I've really missed!

Oh, man, I haven't had Papa John's in years now -- none around here. Mushroom and tomato pizza dipped in buckets of their garlic butter sauce. Ack! I just gained three pounds typing that!

[Littlemermaidklb]

I did this workout yesterday but the site was down and I couldn't log it.
It was a pretty terrible workout in my book. First off, I couldn't even do the BB squats.. some idiot was hogging the single solitary squat rack. And yet again, because I must go to the only Planet Fitness that allows meatheads, he was using an astronomical amount of weight and it would have been way too much of a pain in the ass to work in with him. So I figured I would do a cycle of the other 4 exercises then go back to it... well he never got off that squat rack the whole time I was there! Ugh. And I do believe that set the tone for the rest of the workout...

B1: DB squat on plates:
4x15 w/ 20s (technically a PR but I think I just picked too low of a weight last time)
*didn't do them with my heels on plates. I didn't feel any difference between the two ways of doing them though so I'm not sure what those plates are supposed to do.

B2: DB shoulder press:
4x15 w/ 15s
*these get so rough by the last set!

B3: Step ups:
2x15(e) with 5s
*I still freakin hate these and I never get any better at them. So since I feel like I haven't done core work in a while I subbed planks for the last two sets of step-ups. 1x90sec, 1x75 sec (Damn, these are hard... I was doing 2 minutes one not too long ago, but stop doing them and they got sucky!)

B4: UG lat pulldown:
2x15 w/ 75lbs
2x15 w/ 65lbs

I think I have a rut that I go through every couple weeks. This is one of those times. (warning... whiny bitch-fest coming up... feel free to stop reading now) I know I've made strength gains and I know my body must be changing... but I feel like I look exactly the same as when I started. The food is definitely the hardest part for me and getting that in line without being completely and totaly obsessive is so hard! I don't want to be someone who weighs her food or tracks calories everyday. ( I don't weigh but I do track). And when I go out, even though I tell myself to behave, I usually end up cheating, even if it's not terrible, it's definitely cheat-worthy. I don't feel like I do it often, but I feel like the times that I do completely negate everything I've been working so hard at. My past few workouts haven't felt up to par either. I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm really stressed with the last few weeks of classes or something, but I just really need to get a grip! Why is being healthy so damn hard sometimes?!?! I'm not going to give up because I'm better than that... but sometimes I definitely feel like it.

Ok... rant over.

On another (much more exciting, less whiny) note: I found an apartment in Arlington, Virginia this weekend! My roommate and I will move in on August first! I've also been talking to my point of contact for my job and she said the background should be done this week or next and I will get an official notice at that point. So it looks like I'll be home for most of July, then moving south! It's pretty far from home (at least a 6 hr drive) but I'll still be about 3 hrs from Bri which is do-able. (Though we've done these drives before and 95 is Satan's A$$hole!) I'm thinking about taking the train to see him instead of driving because I am the least patient driver ever.. I get SO PISSED when I'm stuck in hours of pointless traffic. Anyway, I need to get back to studying for the final from hell tomorrow. Having this site under maintainace yesterday actually really helped me with that! lol.

[GinnyLou]

Hi Kara,
So, you have meatheads who take up the squat rack, too? I don't mind sharing the darn thing and even being patient, but it seems like the really chatty dudes and the ones who rest for 5 minutes between each set get there right before me.
As for the rut, I think we all go through this, but I can tell you that you do not look the same and you have stuck with this workout and I find that hugely impressive. Pick your chin up, Chica.

[Karen411]

Originally Posted by GinnyLou