I'm glad you are tracking...that's a huge step in moving yourself towards your goals.
If those were my numbers, I would be concerned about the carbs. My suggestion would be the night before, to plan for next day so you can make sure to get the carbs lower.
I know the carbs are too high... I tried to sit down today and planfor the coming week, but I don't usually do that and therefore I'm not very comfortable with it yet. My roommate is trying to do this plan with me so when she gets back from the weekend at home we'll go food shopping. Interestingly enough, I'm sure my carbs are actually WAY down from before I started this whole thing... I was eating pasta almost every night for dinner, hehe. I put veggies and chicken in it, but it's still a lot of carbs. Other than chicken and protein itself, what's something else I can add to almost anything to up my protein intake? (I don't like beans... so that's a slight problem)
Kara, your workouts look good. No advice on the protein, especially since you've already gotten great pointers. But, I did want to say that your before pics are what I want my after pics to look like. (We are the same height and I'm 9 pounds heavier than you and I'm -1 # since the challenge began.) Anyway, keep up the good work.
Thanks Karen! My weight can vary by 5lbs in either direction on a day to day basis, lol, or at least it used to. My highest was about 140 or 142 and I dont think I looked tooo much different, btu i felt heavier if it makes any sense. Anyway, thanks for the sweet comments!
I asked my bf about the protein too... (he used to be a personal trainer and is now getting his doctorate in physical therapy)... he said to look more at the grams than the actual percentages, and when I did that I found that my protein intake isn't as bad as I thought... I'm averaging about 1g/pound of BW, which I think is what I'm supposed to be shooting for. I'll post the gram amounts for last week later.
As for today's workout:
28Jan08 Workout 4A
Tried to do my version of a dynamic warm-up, lol... not sure how I did, but I'll work on finding an actual warm-up I like.
Squats:
1x12 of 50lbs
1x12 of 55lbs Pushups:
1x12 at 45degrees
1x12 at ~40degrees
Seated Rows:
2x12 at 50lbs
Step-ups:
2x12 at BW
Jack-knives:
2x10 with BW
Notes:
-2nd set of squats was more difficult, I couldn't get all the way down to parallel, so I will stay at 50 next time.
-Push-ups felt pretty good... I used the Smith machien this time and don't know what the exact angle was but I think I'm getting a little lower to the ground, not much though.
-Rows felt good, stayed at 50lbs for both sets. Had to wait for teh 2nd set since 2 peopel decided to cut in front of me and use it, but whatever
-Step-ups I went back down to BW to check form and try to stop cheating. As someone on one of the threads so accurately put it, I am like Bambi learning to walk when it comes to these... I need to try to lessen the wobbly-ness of my knees.
-Jack-knives: I like these, they were a little rough today since my balance seemed off, but they feel good.
-Overall, I feel like my workouts are good, but I don't sweat as much as I think I should. Actually I didn't start sweating/breathing heavy till the 1st set of jack-knives. But I'm doing as high a weight as I can with good form on every exercise so I don't know why I don't feel more "spent". After my workouts I feel good, but an hour later it feels like I didn't do anything.... not sure why that is...
Hehe, glad you girls approve of the boy! Now you see why I have to start lifting... so I can look even half-way decent standing next to that fine specimen, hehe.
Anyway, I said I'd post actual grams of fat, carbs, and protein since the percentages might be off, or something. I also realized I didn't put my shake in for last monday, so I added it now, which changes that day a bit.
Here it is: Monday:
Total cals: 1818
Fat: 59g
Carbs: 211g
Protein: 111g
Tuesday:
Total cals:1375
Fat: 49g
Carbs: 188g
Protein: 67g
Wednesday:
Total cals:1736
Fat:47g
Carbs:215g
Protein:140g
Thursday:
Total cals:1666
Fat:54g
Carbs:220g
Protein: 84g
Friday:
Total cals:1498
Fat:39g
Carbs:179g
Protein:126g
Saturday:
Total cals:1412
Fat:51g
Carbs:137g
Protein:119g
Sunday:
Total Cals:1606
Fat:59g
Carbs:165g
Protein:121g
Today:
Total cals:1772
Fats:70g
Carbs:165g
Protein:129g
I'm getting just around 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, but I'm slightly short. I'm thinking of doing a double shake after workouts... my protein is only about 18g per scoop. Is this a good idea?
If you want a double shake I think it would be fine, but protein wise I think you are getting plenty. Its okay to be a little under 1g/1lb unless you are an elite strength athlete.
Today's workout was.. just OK I guess. After steadily incresing weight on pretty much everything I had to stay at pretty much the same weights as last time on a lot of the exercises.
Deadlifts:
1x12 of just the bar for warm-up
1x12 of 55
1x12 of 60 (up 5lbs from last time)
DB Shoulder press:
2x12 with 12.5lb DBs
Latt Pulldown:
2x12 of 60lbs
Lunges:
2x12 with 10lb Dbs in each hand (up from 10lbs total last time)
Ball crunches:
2x12 with 25lb plate to chest (up 15lbs from last time... they were way easy)
Notes:
-Deads feel like I'm finally doing them right. Went up 5lbs and my legs could definitely feel it... but my grip is terrible! I'm gonna try a mixed grip next time and see if it helps.
-Presses were fine. I probably should have tried a couple with 15s for the 2nd set, but I'll do that next time.
-Lat Pulldown was rough today. Last time I did the 2nd set at 65lbs and it was rough, this time I did 60lb for both sets and it was pretty rough. I guess I'm stuck at this weight for a little while.
-Lunges started to get better so I went up in weight and used 2 10lb Dbs instead of a 10lb medicine ball. They felt good... but I feel the quad of my non-working leg more than I think I should... any ideas why???
-Finally got the ball crunches to a fairly challenging weight. Actually the roughest part was holding the 25lb plate to my chest, but my abs could take it.
Nutrition-wise I've been doing a little better. I've been trying to get my calories up a bit and my protein intake isn't too bad. There's always room for improvement, but I'm workin on it
Hehe, glad you girls approve of the boy! Now you see why I have to start lifting... so I can look even half-way decent standing next to that fine specimen, hehe.
Kara, I can definitely understand this. My DH is 6'0" and 170#, so all I wanted out of my second pregnancy was not to pass him in weight. I didn't, but I was on complete bed rest for 6 months and I was very worried that I would. I can also understand a desire for personal improvement even though everyone else tells you that you're fine or perfect or whatever . I think you're doing very well at your workouts and working with your nutrition, so keep up the good work!
Pushups:
(The angle of these is hard to approximate, so I'll just say how high the bar was from the floor)
1x10 with bar at crotch height (couldn't figure out how to put that any nicer... lol)
1x7 at mid-thigh height, finished set at crotch height
1x5 at mid-thigh, 1x5 at crotch height
Notes:
-The seated row machine didn't have those hlaf-plate things so I had to jump up to 60lbs. It was a bit rough but I managaed.... until my right wrist starting hurting really bad. I have no idea what's wrong with it. So I tried 60 again for the 3d set and got 8 but my wrist was killing me so I dropped back to 50 for the last 2 reps.
-Step-ups are the devil! I think I'm starting to get better at not cheating, but they are still rough and my knees wobble... so it looks like I'm stuck at BW for a while...
-Couldn't eek out the last 2 on teh 3rd set of Jack-knives. I can't tell in the mirror how high my butt is getting when I do these.. I'm sure I'm not even close to vertical, but I sure do feel it in my core. Also... and this is just my screwed up anatomy I think.... my hips pop on every single rep I do of these. I've had this problem for a while, which is why I don't do abs on the floor where your legs are straight cuz it bothers my hips.... any idea what's wrong with them??
As far as nutrition I think I'm getting better all the time. I'll post this week's fitday data on Saturday or Sunday.
__________________ It all starts with the mind, but the thoughts, the intention aren't enough. Action needs to come next. Dream it, believe it, plan it, execute it, celebrate it. - Wendy
Friday 2/1 (workout)
Total cals: 1880
Fat: 61g, 29%
Carb: 199g, 39%
Pro: 151g, 32% (hit macros almost exactly! yay!)
So here's my issue: The book says I need 1900 on non-workout days, and 2200 on workout days... I got close to 2200 once, but that was a day where I had a not-so-good-for-me dinner, lol. When I eat healthy and often, I can't seem to get as high as I need to in calories. I also still have problems with my carbs being high... but I feel like I don't eat a lot of starchy carbs... I have toast or an english muffin with my eggs in the morning, and sometimes a tortilla with lunch, but I've tried to cut out most of teh starchy stuff... I realized apple juice has a bunch of carbs in it, but I love apple juice in the morning with breakfast.
Also, and I posted this somewhere else too... I have issues tracking things that don't have actual labels on them... like recipes. Someone sugested sparkpeople, and I will look into it, but what do I do about marinades??? Obviously the entire marinade is not consumed... so putting that in as a recipe of something I ate would throw the numbers higher than they're supposed to be... So what do I do with this? Ignore it? Thanks!
Also... and this is just my screwed up anatomy I think.... my hips pop on every single rep I do of these.
Yep, me, too. It's more towards the inside of the hips, rather than the outer part, for me. I've no idea what causes it but it drives me crazy and is really distracting some days.
marinades.
1) ignore it
2) just assume some arbitrary part of it to count (like 1 tbsp)
3) one time, get really detailed about it and measure the marinade (I'd weigh it) before you add the meat & again when you take the meat out and assume the difference stuck to the meat - and divide by number of portions. Then just reckon that as a % of the original and count it that way.
03Feb08
So I rearranged my lifting schedule slightly to make my off-week after stage 1 coincide with a conference I'm going to, so This week I'll be at the gym 4 days, instead o three... but I think I'm ready to handle it!
Superset of DB shoulder presses/Lat pulldowns Presses:
3x10 with 15s
Pulldowns:
2x10 @ 60lbs
1x10 @ 65lbs
Superset of Lunges and Ball crunches Lunges:
3x10 with 10s
Ball crunches:
3x10 with a 10lb dumbell (did the long arm versino... much harder than holding a plate to your chest!!!)
-I tried the mixed grip on the last set of deads... not sure I like it... Guess practice makes perfect though. Upped the weight to 70! It felt good on the legs but I started to feel it in my back again, maybe it's just cuz it's higher than I'm used to.
-Upped the weight on the DB presses to 15lb DBs.. felt good, a bit rough, but good!
-Upped weight on lat pulldowns by 5lbs on the last set, felt good!
-Lunges... I still hate them
-Ball crunches with the 10lb DB at longarm... harder than I thought!!! Definitely feels like a challenge now!
On a completely different side note... How do I get the link in my signautre to be words instead of the URL? I know how to do it in AIM, but on here the hyperlink thingy is different...
Thanks!
On a completely different side note... How do I get the link in my signautre to be words instead of the URL? I know how to do it in AIM, but on here the hyperlink thingy is different...
Thanks!
this is how mine looks in the 'edit your sig' window:
I am not a huge fan of American football, but was glad to see the underdog win. The Mannings are from New Orleans, La where my hubby was born and raised. So needless to says he was happy about the Giants' victory.
I tried the mixed grip on the last set of deads... not sure I like it... Guess practice makes perfect though. Upped the weight to 70! It felt good on the legs but I started to feel it in my back again, maybe it's just cuz it's higher than I'm used to.
The mixed grip takes a little getting used to - keep at it!! If you started to feel it in your back, you might want to re-check your form - be careful!!
Today's workout was crap... first of all there was big burly man hoggin the one single solitary squat rack.... so I used dumbells for squats... not fun, my grip gave out before my legs did. And that just seemed to set the tone for the rest of teh worout... oye
Squats:
2x10 with 25s
1x10 with 20s
Pushups (Couldn't do superset because big burly man's buddies were hoggin the smith machines so I had to just bang them out)
1x10 with bar at crotch height
2x5 at thight height, finished with 2x5 at crotch height
Seated Rows: (Not supersetted like I said)
1x10 @ 50lbs
1x8 @60, finished at 50lbs
1x5 @60, finished @50lbs
Superset of step-ups and jack-knives:
Step-ups: (used the lower steps since they were available and the big burly men were buggin me... I think the step was about 10 inches... much lower than the bench I was using before)
3x10 with 7.5lb dumbells
Jack-knives:
1x12
1x10
Then did 1x10 of Ball crunch since my balance was crap today.
. (We are the same height and I'm 9 pounds heavier than you and I'm -1 # since the challenge began.) Anyway, keep up the good work.
. I didn't even know he had pics here. (I am having a hard time keeping up with the Women's Challenge logs and have hardly seen any others.)
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