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.
Seriously--I keep saying, I'm scared of even starting it. I am a wuss at high reps...
I'm glad you're enjoying your rest week. I've been following along but haven't had time to post between "work" trips.
I'm back! I took Monday and Tuesday as complete rest days and yesterday was supposed to be my riding lesson but it got rained out. I had the Stage 7 workout log with me so I went to the gym and did Stage 7, WO 1 (or 7, since it's my second round through it.)
Despite the gym being JAM PACKED full of student (*weeps*) I still managed to get in a decent workout. I don't have my log with me today but I finished all my sets and I'm still able to knock out six full-body pushups in a row, which is good for me! I felt pretty strong.
My weight has been all over the place for the past week because of the time of month - 128, 128.8, 129, bleh. This morning it was back to 126.6 and I was so happy to see that number again. I just want things to stay in that general range, or if it goes up, I want it to be from muscle gain.
Today I have a work retreat and I found out the afternoon snack is going to be ice cream. That's nice and all, but ugh. These are some serious food pushers and I know i'm going to get comments when I whip out my healthy snack.
Hey, it wasn't just two days! I took Friday - Tuesday off from the weights and did a couple of bike rides over the weekend. That's it! So that would be FIVE DAYS away from the weight room.
I just came home from Stage 7, WO 8! Aside from the part where I felt like I was in some kind of exercise purgatory, it went really well. I subbed in negatives for the lat pull-down and did FOUR GOOD ONES! Instead of one good one and three sad-frog-hanging ones! It was serious progress for me.
Last night was my riding lesson and we got to do a little bit of jumping. On my first approach my horse jumped the 12" rails as if it were a three foot wall and I lost a stirrup and almost fell off, but thanks to my new mutant grip strength I held on and managed to stay in the saddle. The second time I was ready for him and it went much better. I love the riding.
I just came home from Stage 7, WO 8! Aside from the part where I felt like I was in some kind of exercise purgatory, it went really well. I subbed in negatives for the lat pull-down and did FOUR GOOD ONES! Instead of one good one and three sad-frog-hanging ones! It was serious progress for me.
Last night was my riding lesson and we got to do a little bit of jumping. On my first approach my horse jumped the 12" rails as if it were a three foot wall and I lost a stirrup and almost fell off, but thanks to my new mutant grip strength I held on and managed to stay in the saddle. The second time I was ready for him and it went much better. I love the riding.
Yay on the progress!!! And LOL on the frog-hanging description!
The riding lesson sounds like fun. The "mutant grip strength" made me laugh, but I'm glad you held on...
Hey, GREAT job on the first month--definitely more definition in your arms and shoulders. (That's the dork pics, lol!)
Thanks! I've definitely gained some upper body strength.
Other milestones: I did two hard mountain bike rides this weekend and was amazed at how much better my hill-climbing has gotten. I was riding stuff in the middle ring that I've never even attempted before and was feeling strong. I also finally got up the nerve to ride across this:
It's a very narrow cement bridge with a nice 10' drop into a little bit of water and a whole lot of rocks. I've been walking it for years and yesterday I just went for it. Nothing to do with weight training, but still an accomplishment!
So, last night I did S7, WO9 and it went REALLY well. As usual I forgot to bring my log in with me, but here's what I remember:
Deadlift: 85/6, 95/6
Static Lunge (did not elevate foot)15/15, 15/15, 15/15, 15/15
Push Up (all on floor) 7, 8, 6, 6
Barbell Romanian Deadlift: 50/15, 60/15, 70/12, 60/15
Dumbbell bent over row: 15/15, 20/15, 20/15, 20/15
I know the pushups look puny, but I did EIGHT IN A ROW. This is such a huge deal for me! I was over the moon. I kept my elbows in an everything. No cheating!
I went easier on the lunges because I'd done so much mountain biking over the weekend and really wanted to concentrate more on upper body. I couldn't elevate my foot because all the steps were inaccessible. (This drives me crazy, by the way. They keep all the steps in the aerobics room and you can't get in there if a class is in session...which is from 5pm-8pm nearly every evening. ugh.)
Wow on that bridge! I'd be nervous WALKING over it (of course my fear of heights wouldn't help...)
No kidding. It makes me a little nervous just looking at the picture .
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amblus
I know the pushups look puny, but I did EIGHT IN A ROW. This is such a huge deal for me! I was over the moon. I kept my elbows in an everything. No cheating!
That's GREAT !
You made great progress this month--keep up the good work!
Yesterday was a rest day for me and was also apparently an "eat everything that crosses your path" day as well. Ugh.
Anyway, today I was going to do my next Stage 7 workout but the sun is shining and my mountain bike is restless. Taking into consideration that it's supposed to rain all weekend, I think I gotta go with the bike tonight.
I just have to tell you that I love your frog picture and Bytsi's hamster ones. I laughed out loud and when I'm trying to do my pullups, I think of you guys!
Your doing great with your progress. LOVE the pictures of you mountain biking.
On Saturday I did Stage 7, WO 10 and it made me want to die. Something about four sets of 15 step-ups just makes me want to burst into flames every single time. Somewhere around set two I start making deals with God and set three makes me lose all hope in humanity. By set four I'm just mad. Everything else went fine, tried to go up in weight on my shoulder press (from 15lbs to 17.5lbs) but couldn't get in all 15 reps.
I continued to do negs in place of the lat pulldown and that's going really well. I'm excited to repeat stage 6 after this to see if I can manage a chin up before I start a new program.
On Sunday I did a mountain bike ride, but it didn't go terribly well. I was feeling pretty sore from Saturday and I didn't have a lot of energy. I also crashed on a rocky section so my legs look really pretty. Wah.
This week:
Monday: rest
Tuesday: Stage 7, WO 11
Wednesday: riding lesson
Thursday: Stage 7, WO 12 (!)
Friday: rest
Saturday: Stage 6, WO 1
Sunday: mountain bike ride
I always love reading your descriptions of stage 7 - I could have written them myself. It didn't take me long to decide that the step ups were the worst part of the whole thing. Still doing them now in Break In of NROL. I think its because they take so long. When I get to 10 reps I want to poke my eye out because there are still 5 more.
But high five on finishing stage 7 twice! Sorry you had a fall....I am notoriously known for my random bruises. My husband will say, in horror "what is that from?" and I don't even know its there half the time.
I hate Stage 7 so much. HATE. HATEY HATE. But! I have one more workout and it's tonight. If I complete it, I'm officially a better man than Lou. Ha.
My Tuesday night workout was a bit disappointing - it led with chest press and I had to do it flat because the incline was being used. Add to that: every f'ing thing was being used. The gym is SO crowded and the students just love to load up bars and wander away so you don't know if they're in-between sets or just too lazy to unload the plates. It drives me crazy. Several times I was resetting something only to have some guy run up and say he had another set. Well maybe you should, oh, I don't know, STAND NEXT TO THE EQUIPMENT? Grah.
Anyway, I did the chest press and it completely killed my pushups. Last week I managed 8 pushups in a row and this week could barely do 5. So frustrating. Everything else went okay, but I have this weird sharp pain in my back between my shoulder blades that I'm worried about. I feel it when I'm squatting with a bar and when I'm deadlifting.
In happier news, I had my riding lesson last night and it was great! I got to canter for the first time and it went pretty well. Love the riding lessons.
It's official - I am a better man than Lou. I completely 12 completely hellish Stage 7 workouts! Go me. I'm glad that's over because counting to 15 is too freaking hard.
I think I'm going to repeat Stage 6 one more time (I really, really want to do a damn chin up) and then I'm going to take a few days off before starting Power Training. Woo!
Today is a rest day and I'm struggling with what to have for lunch. I ran out of bring-from-home options so I have to eat out. I rarely make great choices when faced with delicious bad choices, you know? Ugh.
You too huh? Nice work! I agree, counting to 15 is way to much work.
And yes, I too am not good at making the "right" decision when faced with decisions when it comes to food. For me though, its being aware of it now and at least I am thinking about it rather then just pulling the trigger on something crappy. On that note, you can't go horribly wrong with some kind of salad with protein like chicken and lots of veggies, dressing on the side, and all that jazz.
It's official - I am a better man than Lou. I completely 12 completely hellish Stage 7 workouts! Go me. I'm glad that's over because counting to 15 is too freaking hard.
Thanks! I've definitely gained some upper body strength.
Other milestones: I did two hard mountain bike rides this weekend and was amazed at how much better my hill-climbing has gotten. I was riding stuff in the middle ring that I've never even attempted before and was feeling strong. I also finally got up the nerve to ride across this:
It's a very narrow cement bridge with a nice 10' drop into a little bit of water and a whole lot of rocks. I've been walking it for years and yesterday I just went for it. Nothing to do with weight training, but still an accomplishment!
It's official - I am a better man than Lou. I completely 12 completely hellish Stage 7 workouts! Go me. I'm glad that's over because counting to 15 is too freaking hard.
CONGRATULATIONS ! Hope the lunch and the weekend went well for you, too.
. 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.
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