Aw, thanks. I wish he was mine, but alas, I just borrow him for lessons.
Okay, so I took photos when I started this in February and again last week for the new challenge, so I thought it would be interesting to see them side by side:
The changes are subtle, but I can definitely tell a difference in how I feel. Also, my butt is a little higher and my abs are flatter. You can't tell in the pictures, but my quads look better too. It's enough to keep me working at it!
Last night I decided to loosen up the muscles and do a little cardio - I did a ten minute warmup on the elliptical, 15 minutes of HIIT on the stepmill, a 4 minute mid-paced cool-down and then I walked on the treadmill to really cool down. I did a bunch of stretching and then hobbled home.
Today my DOMS are still pretty bad but it's GORGEOUS outside and I have a half-day today, so I'm going for a mountain bike ride.
Tomorrow will be Stage 7, WO 2, so I'll report back on that. I really like that BeesKnees is subbing in chin-up negatives for the lat pulldown so I might try that too!
Just got caught up with your log...great progress, weight wise and pictures-wise! Don't despair about the pushups--I really think some people are just naturally good at them. I could do over 30 when I had my first fitness test a couple years ago, never having worked out or anything. So why? Who knows? Not from my hard work or perseverance! Keep working at them and you'll keep improving. But you already know all that...
On the mtb front, I love it as well, but don't get out hardly at all b/c of kids, time constraints, etc. Then I hurt my knees and purposefully stayed off. We do downhill biking at our ski area, which is also really fun, although I do mostly the xc/downhill mix trails. We've got a 50 mile bike marathon (MASS Super Series) tomorrow (no I'm not riding, I'm coordinating...) It should be fun though.
I can also see many changes in those pictures. Without sounding weird, you have a great body and the workouts are only improving it! Love the biceps picture and the one of you on your bike.
__________________
Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
Monday: last Stage 6 workout
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: Stage 7, WO1
Thursday: 20 min HIIT on the stepmill
Friday: short mountain bike ride (45 minutes)
Saturday: Stage 7, WO2
Sunday: mountain bike ride (about 1 1/2 hours)
Today is a rest day because I've still got a little soreness in my hamstrings and lots in my shoulders (due to the sixty freaking shoulder presses I did on Saturday). My second Stage 7 workout went pretty well, overall. I subbed in a really good negative for the first set of lat pulldowns, but then did the rest of the sets at written. I did my step-ups with 15-20lb dbs, and did all my shoulder presses with 15's. I'm feeling it. I was really tired afterwards and all my aspirations of doing HIIT afterwards went right out the door. I went home!
I just still have this mental thing where I feel like I need to do cardio with every workout. I need to get over that.
I just still have this mental thing where I feel like I need to do cardio with every workout. I need to get over that.
Yep. Me too. I don't feel complete without it still. I tried to run on after Thursday's WO2, but it just wasn't happening. Up until stage 7 I had been doing HIIT twice a week after lifting. So far I just haven't had anything left afterwards. I will get back into it after stage 7 though.
Yeah, I attempted to do some HIIT after Saturday morning's workout and it just wasn't going to happen. I was on the stepmill for all of two minutes and then realized I was being stupid to force myself to do it when I was clearly DONE.
I know what you mean about cardio. For me ST is exercise and Cardio is stress relief. I can't skip my cardio! I don't feel like a nice person when I'm not doing cardio!
Last night was my third Stage 7 workout and I'm definitely feeling it today, but not nearly as much as I was the first time I did it. My legs are definitely tired, but I don't have crazy bad DOMS, thankfully.
Tonight was supposed to be my horseback riding lesson but that's been postponed, so I may do an easy bike ride instead.
Here's last night's action:
Stage 7 Workout 3
Barbell Deadlift: 65/8, 85/6
Static Lunge rear foot elevated: 4 sets@ 15/15 (I learned my lesson last time with the 20lb dumbbells.)
Push Up: (split is floor/30 degrees) 6/6, 5/5, 5/5, 6/5. So, not great, but I'm getting there! At first I was disappointed but, as kfisherx pointed out, duh! I couldn't even do two of these a few stages ago. 6 in a row on the floor is big progress.
Barbell Romanian Deadlift: 50/15, 50/15, 60/15, 60/15
Dumbbell bent over row: 20/15, 25/12, 20/15, 20/15
After I was finishedI tried (again) to do some intervals on the stepmill but I was done. This workout completely wears me out.
Weight update: I do weigh myself from time to time 1st thing in the morning and this morning I was 126.6! Definitely working its way down a bit. I started at 128 in February and went up to 130-131 for a while before dropping back down. I'm hoping this means I've managed to gain muscle and lose a bit of fat. Woo.
Hey nice job on the workouts and on the weight trend! You guys really need to get over the cardio thing. It really is not a great thing for lifting goals and your body's recovery. You should make it a goal to do 2 weeks of less cardio and more lifting just to see how much better you feel. It has made me feel tremendous in comparison and easier to lose weight too. When you are constantly doing cardio it is harder to stay on track with diet.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Oh, you're totally right. I should just have my weight workout days be completely focused on weight lifting and not worry about feeling that I need to fit cardio in too.
That said, I really do enjoy my cardio, mainly in the form of mountain biking and spinning. I don't so much enjoy intervals, but at least they are over quickly.
Today would have been my #4 workout for Stage 6, but I found a weird tumor thing in my cat's ear, so I'm going to the vet instead. Poor kitty.
Friday is my usual rest day so I'll be doing #4 on Saturday.
Oops, sorry to leave you hanging! My kitty is fine - the vet didn't seem concerned and said the bump was too small to bother with, but to keep an eye on it. Yay for that!
Did my Stage 7 #4 workout on Saturday and it went really well, even though I felt like I was going to die. Stage 7 wears me out. I don't have my log with me today but I'll try and post my numbers this evening.
Dumbbell bent over row: 15/15, 20/15, 20/15, 20/15
When I finished the last set I literally sat down on the floor for a while and stared at the wall until I felt human again. After I recovered I did some reverse crunches on the bench and then crawled home!
So, Thursday is workout #6 and then I have to decide what to do. I'm going to need a rest week fairly soon but I'm loathe to do it yet because in another week or so the students come back and then all hell is going to break loose at the campus gym. I'd really like to get as many workouts in as possible before that happens.
So, I think I might try to finish out the second six Stage 7 workouts, take a full week off, and then do stage 6 again. After that I'll decide if I want to do the whole thing over or buy NROL and try that.
This morning I'm a bit sore, but no crazy DOMS! I think the rest of my week is going to look like this:
Today: mountain bike ride
Tomorrow: Stage 7, WO #6
Friday: rest
Saturday: Stage 7, WO #7
Sunday: mountain bike ride
I never talk about food much, do I. I'll admit I've totally slacked off when it comes to tracking and macros and that kind of thing. I think I do okay, but I could probably do better. Here's what I ate yesterday:
Breakfast: old fashioned oatmeal with cranberries and milk, coffee w/ skim milk
snack: a peach, a Kashi waffle
Lunch: white bean salad (white beans, parmesan, zucchini, green beans, basil) with tuna, cucumbers and tomatoes w/ balsamic vinegar, unsweetened iced tea, three tiny Tootsie rolls.
snack: half an apple sliced, two tablespoons of peanut butter
PWO: half a cup of chocolate skim milk
dinner: chicken curry over jasmine rice, sauteed zucchini and squash, half a glass of white wine, two tiny Tootsie rolls.
Your food looks good even though you aren't tracking. Are you seeing results physically? If I remember right, you don't really want to lose much, just build muscle.
Your food looks good even though you aren't tracking. Are you seeing results physically? If I remember right, you don't really want to lose much, just build muscle.
Yeah, I'm not trying to lose much, more just trying to maintain and feed myself properly. I was down a bit last week but now I'm in PMS mode, so instantly up two pounds! Happens every month.
Okay, so I finished Stage 7, WO 6 tonight and I am...tired. SO tired. I was tired halfway through and finished it even though I just wanted to lay down. I'm physically tired but also a bit mentally tired too- I started to get all doubty and pissed off about it. You know, "why am I doing this to myself?" This usually means I need a break, so I'm going to take the next 3-4 days off, I think, unless I magically feel better by Saturday. Friday is almost always a rest day for me so I'll see how it goes.
Still tired. I'm muscle-achy but fighting the idea of taking tomorrow off. I'm going to do it anyway because yesterday's workout was brutal! I might do an easy bike ride or spin class instead, but I might also try and force myself to just take another complete day of rest. No more weights until next Tuesday!
Despite the mental/physical fatigue, I'm still fighting the idea of resting. What am I so afraid of? I know I'm not going to gain fat or lose muscle over the course of a couple of days but I'm just so conditioned to keep moving, that more is better and even more than that is really better!
Despite the mental/physical fatigue, I'm still fighting the idea of resting. What am I so afraid of? I know I'm not going to gain fat or lose muscle over the course of a couple of days but I'm just so conditioned to keep moving, that more is better and even more than that is really better!
I am my own worst enemy sometimes.
Sigh... we are so alike
You've seen my log... you get it... TAKE A BREAK!!!!!!! GET SOME REST!!!!!!!
i think you're selling yourself a bit short on the changes you've made - love the bikini!
we're all our own worst enemy. we like to feel like we're in control of this process, but we're not. if we can't learn to listen to our bodies, then we're really missing a vital piece in the process. you've worked hard and you've made great progress. you deserve a break.
i think you're selling yourself a bit short on the changes you've made - love the bikini!
we're all our own worst enemy. we like to feel like we're in control of this process, but we're not. if we can't learn to listen to our bodies, then we're really missing a vital piece in the process. you've worked hard and you've made great progress. you deserve a break.
Oh, thank you! That's really nice of you to say. I did a couple of bike rides this weekend but haven't touched a weight since last Thursday! I'm probably going to start again tomorrow, but it depends on how I feel.
Here's my Stage 7, WO 6 (from last Thursday):
Barbell Deadlift: 75/8, 85/8
Dumbell Squat (heels on plates): 15/15, 20/15 x3
Dumbbell shoulder press: 15/15, 20/10, 15/15, 20/6 - 15/9 (I couldn't finish the set with 20's so I switched back to 15's)
Step-up: 10/15, 15/15, 15/15, 15/15
Underhand-grip lat pulldown: negative chin-up, 60/15, 60/15, 60/15
Just checking in! I'm thinking I might take today off as well and start the weights up again on Thursday. I'm really quite enjoying the time off and I want to be excited about lifting again. My workout last Thursday was so hateful that I don't want to go there again.
I keep flip-flopping on this, but I'm still not quite sure if I'm going to do the second 6 workouts of Stage 7 and then repeat Stage 6, or the other way around. I never really got close to doing a chin up and I'd really like to try again. Hmm.
Hey, I bow down to you for doing a second set of stage 7 no matter when you do it . I flirted briefly with doing stage 7 twice right up until I finished the second workout of the first time through. After that all I wanted was to be done with it for good.
You've made great progress and I can see a difference in the pictures! I'm looking forward to seeing your progress through this challenge.
Maybe a walk will suffice.
Poor kitty.
. I flirted briefly with doing stage 7 twice right up until I finished the second workout of the first time through. After that all I wanted was to be done with it for good.
Linear Mode
