Losin' the weight....Leigh Peele Style!

[dillytl]

How's the knee doing? Any ETA on when you can get back to steppin??

[stephanie932]

Originally Posted by dillytl

How's the knee doing? Any ETA on when you can get back to steppin??

Well, Leigh doesn't want me doing anything but treadmill work for the next few weeks. I'm pretty sure it's just to see what my knee can do before I start twisting and turning doing cardio from DVDs. I'll just keep thinking that when I DO finally get to do some steppin' it will be pure bliss.......LOL



Speaking of Leigh, this was her favorite comparison photo from this week's check-in.



The thing that strikes me the most is my hips and butt!!! They are actually getting smaller! My triceps are still flabby, but I think I do see little bicep muscles starting to form.......lol And, the best part......I snuck a peek at the scale this morning (SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!) and I'm now down 10.6 pounds from when I started! Yippeee!!!!!!




AND..........I'm so proud to announce that Leigh has me back to doing workouts!


Soooooooooooo, here's my workout for today. Boy, am I fried. I never thought I'd be this worn out, but I truly am. I guess coming off a 2-week recovery I should have expected feeling like this. I'm still very shaky and quivery and I've been done for about 30 mins. I don't think I lost too much strength. I did move down in the weights but knowing that the last rotation only had me doing 8 reps and now I'm doing 15, I'm not disappointed at all.


3 Rounds of 15 reps of each exercise w/ a 2 minute rest between rounds. I followed this up with my Flexibility/Repair work.

Wide Stance Deadlift - 55/15, 55/15, 55/15
Bent Over Dumbbell Rows - 15(e)/15, 15(e)/15, 15(e)/15
Incline Dumbbell Press Unilaterally - 15(e)/15, 15(e)/15, 15(e)/15
Plank Progressions - 1:00 total made up of 30secs. regular; 15 secs. right leg up; 15 secs. left leg up (I did this for all 3 rounds....I couldn't make it to alternating to the arms......definitely have to improve on these)
Alternating Hammer Curls - 10(e)/15, 10(e)/15, 10(e)/15
Leg Up Crunches - 5/15, 10/15, 10/15


So the hardest exercise??? The progressive planks......OMG are these killer for me. I notice that I'm holding my breath, so I know that isn't helping me any. I'll keep working on them.....my abs could sure use them!!!

[Bytsi]

The thing that strikes me the most is my hips and butt!!! They are actually getting smaller! My triceps are still flabby, but I think I do see little bicep muscles starting to form.......lol And, the best part......I snuck a peek at the scale this morning (SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!) and I'm now down 10.6 pounds from when I started! Yippeee!!!!!!

Congrats on everything!!!! I see everything you mentioned (nice guns!), but also look around your middle - the area between bra and shorts is definitely smaller too! Great pics!!!!!!!!

[foodfromafar]

Stephanie, fantastic photos!! And congrats on getting back into workouts!!

[dillytl]

HOLY COW STEPHANIE!!!!!!

WOOOOT-WOOOOOT You are looking AWESOME!!! You are making some amazing progress there! And all that with a bum knee!!! You should be extremely proud of yourself!



Great job on the workout! Leigh had me doing those plank progressions too - OMG they are SUPER TOUGH!!!

[Silly Sally]

Wow, Stephanie, I'm so proud of you! Your middle has made incredible changes already.

I feel so much better having read this - it seems NRL4W is working for you, VERY WELL!

Nice work, welcome back, and congratulations.

[LWilson212]

Stephanie your pictures look fantastic! Look at that skinny little waist! Great work.

[missjane]

Steph, this should show everyone that DIET is key!! Nice work!

[UConnJulie]

Great progress Steph ... and yes, definitely goes to show that diet is KEY!!
More proof that Leigh is amazing!

[stephanie932]

Originally Posted by Bytsi

Congrats on everything!!!! I see everything you mentioned (nice guns!), but also look around your middle - the area between bra and shorts is definitely smaller too! Great pics!!!!!!!!

My middle is smaller from the back! LOL I'm developing a bigger muffin top, which Leigh explained may happen because of the release of fat. Thanks so much for the congrats!

Originally Posted by foodfromafar

Stephanie, fantastic photos!! And congrats on getting back into workouts!!

Thanks, Pauline! I'm soooooo happy to be able to get back to them.

Originally Posted by dillytl

HOLY COW STEPHANIE!!!!!!

WOOOOT-WOOOOOT You are looking AWESOME!!! You are making some amazing progress there! And all that with a bum knee!!! You should be extremely proud of yourself!



Great job on the workout! Leigh had me doing those plank progressions too - OMG they are SUPER TOUGH!!!

LOL, Tracey........I love those little smilies!! As far as the planks, how in the heck do you balance on just one arm???? I'm hoping that over the weekend when I do that group of exercises again, that I can do the arms, even if it is just a little bit.

And.........I just felt the need to tell you that I just dropped another $55 on tea. I had to order MateVana AGAIN! So, I got a pound of that (had to get the discount, ya know ) and some Pistacio Apple Pie and Orange Rooibus.....LOL

Originally Posted by Silly Sally

Wow, Stephanie, I'm so proud of you! Your middle has made incredible changes already.

I feel so much better having read this - it seems NRL4W is working for you, VERY WELL!

Nice work, welcome back, and congratulations.

Sally.......Thanks for all the kudos......BUT.....I'm not doing NROL4W. I hired Leigh Peele and she has been setting up my program (both nutrition and workouts) for the last month based on the equipment I have. I was doing NROL4W but then realized I had to have the whole thing planned out for me......not just exercise.

Originally Posted by LWilson212

Stephanie your pictures look fantastic! Look at that skinny little waist! Great work.

Thanks, Leah! I don't think I've ever been told that I have a "skinny little waist"......I have a lot more to go......but, I'll take that compliment when I can get it!

Originally Posted by missjane

Steph, this should show everyone that DIET is key!! Nice work!

Thanks, Jane! It's so, true about diet.........but, I also know how important the exercise is. I just hope that this shows others who can't do the exercising right away or are injured that they can still make progress. I counted the days I've exercised in April, and with my knee problems, it's only 9......so, if you can be disciplined enough to line up your foods, you're winning over 1/2 the battle.

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

Great progress Steph ... and yes, definitely goes to show that diet is KEY!!
More proof that Leigh is amazing!

Yep, Julie.........I think she is amazing and so great to work with. She listens to what you have going on and comes up with solutions for you. Thanks so much for your kind words.

[stephanie932]

Today's workout:

50 mins. on the treadmill at a 3.5% incline.

2 mins. fast walking; 2 mins. slower walking aiming for 70%-80% max heart rate

40 mins. at 146 avg. heart rate (~ 76%)

10 mins. warm-up & cool-down

Followed with Flexibility/Repair work




Leigh is giving me exercises that will fire my glutes. And working 45 mins. on the TM at 3.5% the whole time.......has surely fired them!!!!


I just learned that one of the problems I have with my knees is that I'm knock-kneed. Man, how do you never realize that? If you look at my pictures you can definitely see how much they turn inward, even from that back photo. The stuff I'm reading on the internet isn't promising......it's even down right scary......double knee replacements, lots of arthritis.....ughhhhh.......I don't want to think about it, but it's really helping me understand why Leigh has me working so hard to get my glutes involved in the exerices she has me doing.

[dillytl]

As far as the planks, how in the heck do you balance on just one arm???? I'm hoping that over the weekend when I do that group of exercises again, that I can do the arms, even if it is just a little bit.

It's HARD AS HELL!!!! The first couple times I ended up putting the one arm down, then picking it back again, over and over, for the time specified. It's NOT easy - just do the best that you can - believe me you'll still feel it!

And.........I just felt the need to tell you that I just dropped another $55 on tea. I had to order MateVana AGAIN! So, I got a pound of that (had to get the discount, ya know ) and some Pistacio Apple Pie and Orange Rooibus.....LOL

LOL - I LOVE the MateVana! I buy bigger quantities of that every time I get tea. Hmmmm..haven't tried the Orange Rooibus yet.....guess I need to go spend MORE $$$$ (have yet to try the Almond Biscotti!)

[Silly Sally]

Originally Posted by stephanie932

50 mins. on the treadmill at a 3.5% incline.

Leigh is giving me exercises that will fire my glutes. And working 45 mins. on the TM at 3.5% the whole time.......has surely fired them!!!! .

Wow. You are well on your way to the bootie of my dreams! (No, not THAT way, I mean, oh, heck, you KNOW what I mean!!!)

Originally Posted by stephanie932

I just learned that one of the problems I have with my knees is that I'm knock-kneed. Man, how do you never realize that? If you look at my pictures you can definitely see how much they turn inward, even from that back photo. The stuff I'm reading on the internet isn't promising......it's even down right scary......double knee replacements, lots of arthritis.....ughhhhh.......I don't want to think about it, but it's really helping me understand why Leigh has me working so hard to get my glutes involved in the exerices she has me doing.

I don't see knock-knees... Are you sure about that diagnosis? I used to coach a truly knock-kneed kid and hers bumped together when she ran; the knee caps were truly turned inward. I don't see that with you. Maybe you just have what my grandma called "peasant knees"; a little thicker there? I've got those, too.

[MuscleMom23]

WOW STEPHHHH! YOu go grrrrrllll!

Way to keep it up. YOu must be super thrilled!