Kara's Lifting Adventure

[Bytsi]

You're gonna have a blast with Power Training!

Fun weekend - that apple crisp makes me drool just reading about it!

[tkinsley]

See, you all are making me wonder just WTH Power Training is all about!

I miss my Michigan cider mill trips in the fall. I'm slightly jealous of your apple picking adventure, Kara....

[Littlemermaidklb]

Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping in. What a long day. I forgot to post what I did last night. It was a nice workout, nothing too difficult. I just worked on some form stuff and practiced some of the exercises I'll be doing in Power Training.

2 Eccentric Chinups
squats with just the bar
hang cleans
DLs
DB shoulder presses
Bench press
rev grip bench press
horizontal pull ups (harder than I expected!)
DB incline bench
seated russian twist
supine plank

Only did 1 set or so of each, except the hang cleans and seated russian twists, which i did more of. Tomorrow and Friday I will do the last 2 workouts in Bri's program, just so I can say I finished it. I might do some more practice too, as a warm up. That's all for now. Back with a pic or two in a bit... love all my apple stuff! Mmmm I hear apple crisp calling my name right now!

[Littlemermaidklb]

The infamous pyramid (with me, Bri, my sister Jenn, my parents, and my friend Megan from college)



Me and Bri




Me and mi familia... and 76 pounds of apples

[Bytsi]

Great pics - you two make an adorable couple!

[Karen411]

Kara, great pictures! You and Bri do look adorable together

[Chloe2]

Originally Posted by Bytsi

Great pics - you two make an adorable couple!

Ditto! And I love your haircut. It's exactly what I want. I have been trying to grow my bangs out for 2 years but they won't grow.

[Littlemermaidklb]

Oh my goodness I almost didn't make it to the gym tonight. I had NO motivation! I was seriously sitting my butt on the couch until I was like "Ya know what? I have GOT to get my ass out of here and go to the gym so I'm not a complete SLUG!" But I made it and actually had a pretty good workout. Here it is:

A1: Deadlifts
1x10 w/ 85
2x10 w/ 95

A2: BB bench press:
1x10 w/ 60
1x8 w/ 65
1x10 w/ 65

B1: BO BB row:
1x10 w/ 65
1x8 w/ 75
1x10 w/ 65

B2: Dips (Assisted)
1x8 w/ 50lbs assist
2x10 w/ 60lbs assist

C1: RDL:
2x10 w/ 95
1x8 w/ 95

C2: Russian twist
-didn't do them... ran out of time... plus I wanted to come back so I can watch America's next top model

[ceebee]

Great pics! You are so cute!

[Littlemermaidklb]

Thanks for the photo comments guys!

So I didn't make it to the gym yesterday because my roommate's parents are in town visiting and we went out to dinner when I got out of work and stuff, so I didn't have time. I'm going to go today though. I just feel so "meh" lately. Like I'm going through the motions but I'm not actually determined to make progress. I feel like I've lost a lot of my motivation and gotten sloppy. I really need to figure out how to get myself out of my little funk and get my motivation back! When I'm AT the gym I do well and work hard, but it's the rest of the time that I feel like I've fallen off the wagon. I know I eat pretty well, but I'm not concentrating on my food so I feel like it's all over the place even when it might not be. I just hate tracking and I pretty much refuse to do it anymore. There just aren't enough hours in the day and I don't want to waste my time counting calories. Especially since I'm not trying to lose 30lbs or anything. I try to make good decisions but sometimes you just have to live a little too ya know? Last night we went out to an Irish pub for dinner and i had corned beef and cabbage... it was yummy! And the portion was a really nice size because it wasn't too big. Then we went for ice cream. We went to Maggie Moos, which is like ColdStone. They had a new flavor of ice cream: chai tea! It tasted more like pumpkin pie, but it was sooo good. I made what I feel was a pretty good decision, because instead of getting a regular size with a bunch of fixins and syrups and stuff, I got a kids size chai tea ice cream with a few teddy grahams mixed in. It tasted like pumpkin pie and was really yummy and the portion was just right. If that was my only treat for the week I'd be really happy with it, but I've had cookies and stuff during the week too. Just 1 cookie each on two different days, but still, more treats than I think I should eat. Oh well.

I think part of my problem is that I'm having a quarter-life crisis right now too. My job is fine but it's not something I want to do forever, it was just a segway to bigger/better things. But I'm starting to rethink that bigger/better thing that I've been wanting to do for what feels like so long now. And all of my schooling has been towards something that now I'm not sure I actually want to spend my life doing! I don't know what else I would do though, so I've got a lot of thinking ahead of me. I want to stay in my current "company" long enough to be vested for the retirement that I'm already saving for. I think I lose it if I leave before then. I think three years is the requirement to be vested. I'll have to double check that. And 3 yrs seems like a good compromise because I'll have a great experience boost to my resume considering where I work. It just may not be applicable to whatever I decide to do in the future. I'm trying to think of what I like... I like animals, I like kids (sometimes, lol)... so what can I do that will incorporate one or both of those that will actually pay pretty well and still give me a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment? I want a challenge, but I also want to be able to be flexible and be able to take off if my (future) kids are sick or something. I don't know... lots of thinking. The two things tat have come to mind so fa are "be a veterinarian" and "be an elementary school teacher". But I'm not sure how I feel about those either. I've always like science and animals so the vet thing sounds good. I wanted to be a doctor for a really long time until I realized I didn't want people's lives in my hands. I don't know if I'd be able to put a dog down or anything like that though either. And with kids, I don't know if I could handle other people's out of control children. I don't know... lots of stuff on my mind recently, which may or may not be interfering with my gym concentration and motivation. *sigh*

/end rant

[Bytsi]

Ah Kara... you are in a completely normal state right now... I think it's hard to finally finish school and then wonder if you are actually doing something you WANT to be doing. So much time spent "getting there" and now you're "there" - and then... now what?

FWIW, I worked in my chosen field (after college and grad school), then took some time off when my 2nd child was born... by the time I was ready to go back, I decided to do something else. I was very lucky in that we could afford for me to go back and do a different grad degree! Of course, even now, I sometimes question if I made the right choice(s) along the way, but... my point is - what you're pondering happens to LOTS of people... and it's NEVER too late to change your mind.

Your plan (3 years) is sound... hang in there. A lot can change (maybe for the better too!) in 3 years...

[ceebee]

I agree with Bytsi. What you are going thru is SO normal. Starting work after college can feel anti-climatic. It can happen after getting married too. There's so much distraction with planning the wedding that real life afterward can seem kind of ho hum Same thing if you ever build a house too.

Your plan of working til you are vested is smart. It'll give you time to explore your options too. When I graduated college, I planned on making partner in a professional firm and never really even thought about having kids. Now here I am a housewife and I'm content. You just never know what doors will open (exit in my case)in your professional life.

Food wise, my approach is kind of relaxed, but if you are eating well almost all the time, then having a cookie a few times a week isn't that big of deal. Just don't let it knock you off the wagon. But if you are trying to "get in and get out", I see what you are saying.

Your workouts are looking good, especially for a "slug" Even though you aren't feeling super motivated at the moment, you are still doing well. Hang in there.

[Chloe2]

Kara, are you still planning are starting Power Training? I think beginning a new program will help you with the "blah" feeling on the exercise front.

It sounds like your 3 year plan at work is a sound one. And Bytsi is right, a lot can happen in 3 years. Just hang in there and keep all your options open.

[Littlemermaidklb]

Thanks girls! It helps to know others go through the same stuff. I talked to my parents about it a little bit yesterday as well. It threw them for a bit of a loop, but they said it comes down to what will make me happy. So we shall see. Bri's family says they can see me as a nutritionist or something. It's an interesting idea. I have no desire to work in a hospital though and plan meals for old people. But Bri's dream is to design and own a sports rehab type of facility that is also a gym/fitness/nutrition center. So if that happens then I'll think about it and we can co-own it and I can run the nutrition side of things. That's lightyears away from now though so I've got oodles of time to think.

And yes Chloe, funny you should mention it, I started Power Training tonight. It was a rushed workout because I left later than I should have and had to get back for dinner (roomie's mom is making us dinner, so I can't say no to THAT!) I got through almost all of it, and didn't push it with teh weights too much until I'm more familiar with teh movements. I'll do the core stuff tonight since I didn't do it in order to get back in time.

Power training Full Body fitness routine Week 1
A1

High pull (from hang position)
1x5 w/ 45
3x5 w/ 55
*form is just ok on these. I don't really like them, but I tried power cleans and I liked those so I might switch, but I don't want to do those on both A and B days so I have to find another one I like.

Front Squat:
2x10 w/ 55 *ouch on the wrists!!!
Back squat 1x10 w/ 55, 1x10 w/ 65

1-leg RDL:
4x10 w/ 45
*balance is all over the place but it got better as the sets went on... I think I can improve on this one.

Pushups:
3x10
1x6 *form went to crap

Bent over DB alternating rows:
1x10(e) w/ 12.5s
2x10(e) w/ 15s
1x10(e) w/ 17.5s
*liked these a lot

Pushpress:
2x10 w/ 45
1x5 w/ 45
*hahahahahha um... no. This one is NOT workin out for me, must change it

1-arm chinup
*wasn't working out with the machine they have.. so did regular assisted chins
4x10 w/ 60lbs assist

[Bytsi]

Workout looks good! I don't often have access to the assisted chin machine, and of course the day I did wasn't a unilateral day... one of these days I'll be able to do the 1-arm chinups with it...

Don't forget you can always do the 1-arm db snatches just like in NROLW for the explosive move... Glad you liked Power Training so far!

[ceebee]

Glad you started your new program. I want to follow in your footsteps and do Power Training someday too.

Your idea of working as a nutritionist in your own fitness center sounds awesome. You've got lots of great ideas