Here it is...again for discussion of you helpful folks...
I'm reducing my calories a bit this month to try to lose a few. I'm pretty happy with where my body is overall, but I do want to get rid of some of the excess I've let creep on around waist and thighs.
I've come a long way in how I view myself. When I look back at pics of when I was 98-102 with little muscle, I actually like where I am now better even with muffin tops! However, even though weighing 114 doesn't "scare" me like it used to, I think I would like to be just a tad leaner. Thoughts, Opinions???
Oh, and is there ever a place you just reach and can stay there? Or do you have to keep cycling with bulking, cutting, maintaining, etc. (or culking like Karla does! ) I just want to stop having to think about it!
Did you not just do a bulk? What were the results of that? Did you realize more strength? If so probably also more muscle. All good stuff.
I have not yet done culking for a goal. We hit on it in my bulk but only for a short time period. I set out to bulk and that is what we did. I gained nearly 20 lbs!!!
You never stop thinking about it unfortunately but you can set goals that are easier than others.
You stop cycling when you are at a place where you are happy with what you got or when you just want a break from cycling. Since I know I will never be happy with what I got I set up times for maintain in my year. For me, the year goes sort of like this
Sep-Feb (bulk) - up to low 20% bf
March-June (cut) - down to 10% bf
June-Sep (maintain) - around 15% bf
That (of course) presumes no show schedule to work around.
The question for opinions about your body are not fair. I would answer that you need more meat NOT be leaner. Where are your muscles girl? A girl can NEVER have enough muscle! LOL! Seriously... when you are as lean as you are, the answer about where to go has to come from inside of you.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
the answer about where to go has to come from inside of you.
Amen. This is some gospel right here.
And it's definitely different for everyone. Because if you asked me "is there ever a place you just reach and can stay there," my answer would be yes, the day you decide to.
__________________ Just because your mother thinks you're special doesn't mean I do
Did you not just do a bulk? What were the results of that? Did you realize more strength? If so probably also more muscle. All good stuff.
I have not yet done culking for a goal. We hit on it in my bulk but only for a short time period. I set out to bulk and that is what we did. I gained nearly 20 lbs!!!
You never stop thinking about it unfortunately but you can set goals that are easier than others.
You stop cycling when you are at a place where you are happy with what you got or when you just want a break from cycling. Since I know I will never be happy with what I got I set up times for maintain in my year. For me, the year goes sort of like this
Sep-Feb (bulk) - up to low 20% bf
March-June (cut) - down to 10% bf
June-Sep (maintain) - around 15% bf
That (of course) presumes no show schedule to work around.
The question for opinions about your body are not fair. I would answer that you need more meat NOT be leaner. Where are your muscles girl? A girl can NEVER have enough muscle! LOL! Seriously... when you are as lean as you are, the answer about where to go has to come from inside of you.
Thanks, Karla. Btw, I think you look fantastic after your bulk. It'll be interesting to see a comparison between this cut and your last. I think you look a lot healthier!!! I agree...muscle is beautiful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceDiva
Amen. This is some gospel right here.
And it's definitely different for everyone. Because if you asked me "is there ever a place you just reach and can stay there," my answer would be yes, the day you decide to.
Thanks for this reminder, Tracey and Karla. After so many years of not knowing what I really wanted or for that matter of what I could really achieve, it's hard to get out of the "unknowingness." Doing NROLFW really solidified my love of lifting and the beauty of muscle. Working with Leigh during the OBM challenge was really the first time I thought through my goals for what I wanted to look like, how much time I wanted to devote to the pursuit, etc. I think that time of clarifying what the expectations of myself were in my mind was the first time that I saw my body like everyone else sees it and not seeing a distorted image like I was looking in a funhouse mirror. It was the first time I realized how much I was overtraining.
I like where I am. I'm satisfied with both my health and appearance. I love lifting and training in balance. I figure I can switch out my exercise routine every 4-6 weeks and just keep increasing in weights during each cycle. That way, by the time I'm getting to my current max with those exercises, I'll be switching out to new exercises and can build those up to their max.
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
B1 Supine Hip Extension/Leg Curls (Level 2) Sets 1-3 BW/8
B2 CableWoodchop Sets 1-3 20/8 (I used a different cable apparatus and there was no way I was doing 50 on this one!!)
C Side Plank Set 1 30s each side
I'm pretty happy with myself because I took an unintentional 2 week break from lifting. I've cleaned up my eating and the scale is moving slowly down even though I'm not eating at much if any of a deficit.
Working out feels great even when you have to drag sorry self to the gym. Hey, did any of you watch the youtube of Susan Boyle on Britian's Got Talent? It's pretty impressive.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased. I am incredibly sore from Wednesday's workout - my legs and butt are still sore! I credit that to the 2 week break and then jumping right back in hard at it. Today I felt strong for the whole workout until the planks. The goal was 60, but I was going to shoot for 90. 75 was all I had left in me!
I took my daughter and some of her cabinmates from the recent field trip to see the Hannah Montana movie today. It was actually surprisingly good for what it was. Overall a great day!
I know everyone has one at one time or another - a hurdle or multiple hurdles that interfere with working out. My biggest hurdle is just plain busy-ness. It's so easy to be overcome by unavoidable events in my schedule and then just be too tired or too unmotivated to workout.
I'm really proud of myself lately for kicking myself in the tail and getting to the gym - today especially. I went today and really pushed myself in spite of being tired and feeling overextended.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
BFS Fall Phase 1 Workout B-8
Warmup - 6 minute on treadmill
A1 Front Squat Sets 1-4 55/5
(Some guy stole the squat rack to do shrugs while I was off doing step ups so I subbed Toe In Pull Throughs for Set 5 90/5)
A2 Step-Ups Sets 1-5 10e/5
B1 Supine Hip Extension/Leg Curls (Level 2) Sets 1-3 BW/10
Hey there Pauline. I think your pictures look great. And as the others said, it's kind of up to you where you go next. I think enjoying yourself, lifting and improving, in the end is likely the thing that's going to bring you the most pleasure. Sounds like life is busy as well, which isn't always a bad thing.
Hey there Pauline. I think your pictures look great. And as the others said, it's kind of up to you where you go next. I think enjoying yourself, lifting and improving, in the end is likely the thing that's going to bring you the most pleasure. Sounds like life is busy as well, which isn't always a bad thing.
Thanks, Anne. I'm really focusing on the enjoying myself in working out; it helps a lot if you love doing what you're doing!
Oh yeah the business thing... I feel ya on that and I am a completely single person. I cannot imagine doing this with a family. One of the things that I have done is I joined a 24 Hour gym and this allows me to workout whenever I can. Sometimes I am travelling and get in at 11:00PM and go straight to the gym. I have also built a fairly decent gym in my home to do workouts there. Anything to make excuses less viable.
Congrats on sticking with it despite the business btw. Just keep focusing on the end goal....
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Pauline, great workouts! It's hard to workout when busy-ness is the problem, since you're usually so tired from the busy-ness. I think you made nice progress, fwiw, but agree that the answer has to come from you.
Thanks, Karen and Karla! I'm keeping on, keeping on! Last workout of BFS Fall Phase 1 today. Then I have to decide what to do until I begin OPT Remix. I think I'll make next week a rest week... I'm scheduled for a trip to the beach with my sisters on Memorial Day weekend, so it might be better to begin OPT Remix after that. Have to think about it.
Thanks, Karen and Karla! I'm keeping on, keeping on! Last workout of BFS Fall Phase 1 today. Then I have to decide what to do until I begin OPT Remix. I think I'll make next week a rest week... I'm scheduled for a trip to the beach with my sisters on Memorial Day weekend, so it might be better to begin OPT Remix after that. Have to think about it.
That's the thing about doing a dedicated fat loss program right now. Even though I've technically made a decision, I'm still actually torn between OPT Remix, OPT, and just having a plan with workouts and target calories a little higher than OPT.
Pauline, how do you feel about Huge in a Hurry? I saw in someone else's log that you were interested in that, too, I think? Maybe will work for feeling more "normal" like we were discussing?
Credit where it is due... My new AVI from your idea!
Thanks, Karla. Your avi cracks me up!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by beesknees
Hey Pauline! Just catching up. Your workouts look great. Did you decide on OPT?
My beach vacay is exactly 3 weeks away! Yikes. New found motivation today.
I'm doing the workouts in OPT Remix with the recommended deficits, but I haven't decided on whether to follow the carb part yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karen411
Pauline, how do you feel about Huge in a Hurry? I saw in someone else's log that you were interested in that, too, I think? Maybe will work for feeling more "normal" like we were discussing?
I haven't seen it, but I'm very interested. Yes, that was me who remarked on it!
Had a great time at the beach! It was so relaxing and I returned home with a 3 lb for the week, so I was happy. Now I just need to get my sorry self back to the gym...
Ok, I've been mia for too long. I am in the process of simplifying my life which includes simplifying my eating plan and my workouts as well! I'm sticking to a basic 2-3 day a week lifting routine and mainly just tracking calories and not stressing about macros though I do make as many good protein choices as possible. I'm actually in a deficit at the moment to shed the last few pounds to get to what I've decided is my sweet spot. Though I use the scale daily for weight trending, my real gauge is how my clothes fit - particularly my shorts/pants/skirts. Things are just a bit snug at the moment and shedding 3-5 pounds will make all the difference! That on top of getting back to the gym regularly. We've been living in a party atmosphere since school got out 4 weeks ago! Time to get back to the grind. Hope your summers are all going well. I've been reading logs but not posting a lot. I've missed you all!!!
) I just want to stop having to think about it! 
Linear Mode
