I'm Bringing Sexy Back (shes been gone too long) NROLW
This is a pre post post. I have only just bought the book and am so ready to get started! I live in the UK and this weekend is a long one as Im of to Paris to spend a few days with my best friend who has flown over from Australia, so no point starting this after all the indulgences are over with!
A few starting stats, Im 35, 5'11 and weigh 75kg, dont know how much that is in pounds. My other main sport is running which I do twice a week with a running group. My main goal is to lose body fat and build muscle so I dont ache when I get older, or get stooped shoulders. Anyway, this is supposed to be a training log, not a diary so I shall post back with before pics and my first workout.
well I started today yay! I underestimated it after reading o other peoples reactions to stage 1 being quick, and not so taxing. It was quick but very taxing. I did all the exercises, and used a barbell instead of dumbells as the dumbells in my gym are too heavy too lift. My gym is split upstairs and downstairs. all the cardio stuff is upstairs with the barbie dumbells and machines, and all the barbells and free weights are downstairs.
so, did all the sets and reps required, and found the step ups with a barbell quite tricky, and could feel my abs locking up to stabilise so they got a workout too. could not do the jack knifes, so ended up doing modified push ups on them, then hope to work up to the knifes from there. must say i got a few odd looks, but who cares, i dont see anyone upstairs lifting the barbie weights with any sort of physique or real strength.
cant wait to progress with this, so i can lift some proper dumbells
Well I should get around to putting my stats on here, so I have something to compare myself with month to month
height 181 cm
weight 165 lb
bust 101 cm
waist narrow 81
waist belly 90
thighs 58 each
hips 100
body fat 27%
my goal is to drop body fat, 20% is my goal, not too concerned at what weight i will be then, would rather look fit than skinny
so, workout B stage 1, it felt easier than workout a, maybe because there wasnt as much hassle with getting barbells loaded, and boxes to step on, i used dumbells and the lat machine.legs are still feeling tired from tuesdays workout so didnt lift too much, put lots of effort in to the presses and pulldowns.
deadlift, 5 kg dumbells 2x15
shoulder press 5kg 2x15
lat pulldown 4 and then 5 on the machine 2x15
lunge 5kg 1 x 15 1x12
swiss ball crunch 2x8
im aware that im lifting as much with my shoulders as my legs, and my legs should be stronger but they felt tired today, so hopefully next week i can lift stronger
Hey there! I'm only 1 workout in front of you. I also had a problem with those crazy jacknives. One lady even offered to hold my legs on the ball! Any way today I actually did 14 of them.
Good luck I will check in next time.
im glad this site was crashed,and not my computer! i did workout A number 2 yesterday
squat olympic bar no weights 2x15
seated row 2x 15 5 on the machine stack
pushups at 50 degree, feeling better with those now
step ups barbell no weight 2x 15. i actually did them right this time, ie i did the same leg for the whole set, before i kept changing legs between reps, duh...
jack knifes 3 in total, by the time i get to them i am just wobbling all over the place, so i stuck to 2 x 10 of swiss ball crunches.
i think im getting stronger, i can pick up my dog now, like a dead lift and carry her up and down the stairs without too much straining. she is 17 years old and a bit incontinent and falls down stairs, so im glad im strong enough now to help her out!
i pick up my bike tomorrow from the bike shop, i decided to give it a service and use it around town instead of just hopping in the car to do piddly little errands, and the price of petrol is ridiculous now anyway.
i had my period this week and it was a lot heavier, and a bit painful, the only thing i have done differently is alter my diet and lift heavy weights, so i am curious to see what happens next month. i am having really bad bread and honey sandwich withdrawls, they are my favourite things and protein shakes and salmon with broccoli dont quite cut it. oh well..
stage 1 workout b
i did the exercises right this time, and felt a huge difference. this time i used the barbell for deadlift instead of the dumbells, and stood up to do the shoulder press instead of sitting down.
deadlift 2x15 olympic bar no weight
shoulder press, these felt tired today, so did 2 x12 4kg
lat machine 2 x15 4 and 5 on the stack
lunges 1x5kg 15reps 1 x 15 6kg
swiss ball, someone else was using it so i had to do an alternative of situps with a medicine ball held out in front of me with straigt arms, they still hurt my abs!
Nutrition is getting better, havent had any bread for two days now! am almost looking forward to my first organic beef burger with salad and no bread tonite.. tried porridge with water and protein powder, it was disgusting, even my dog wouldnt eat it... so back to muesli and yogurt
I did Stage 1 B workout 3 yesterday and feel really stiff in my biceps, which is weird as i havent felt it there before. It must have been the increased weight with the lat pull down.
deadlilft 2 x 19kg, still had to put the bar down between each rep
shoulder press 12x6kg, quite tough, so 6 reps then 15 second break then the other six
lat pulldown, 12 x6 12x 5 felt quite tough too
lunges 12x6 12x7kg, these felt good, lilke I could do more reps by the end of the set
2x12 swiss ball sit ups, so easy compared to those dam jacknifes..
diet was ok, muesli, shake chicken and stuffed peppers for dinner, though i did have a few cheese and salami rolls and some chocolate for lunch. but i did manage to stop after 4 squares with the chocoalte, it actually tasted too sweet for me.
Yeah I only like milky sugary porridge. When its made with water its pretty gross.
I like my oats in milk too. Try fruit or berries for the sugar.
Puree the fruit in part of the milk, pour into the pan, wash down the blender with the remaining milk (a trick to maximize), pour that in and then cook up your porridge in that.
i like this, i love raspberries in porridge so will give that a whirl. youre looking fine for your age, can I ask how old you are ( guess I just did) ?
big mistake, weighed myself and Im two pounds up from last week i know, its only 2 pounds and could mean anything, but im like a kid with a brand new toy, im so excited by lifting weights and getting stronger i thought there would be an immediate decrease in cms and lbs. almost felt like adopting a very british habit and having a cup of tea, a biscuit and a lie down.. but I went to the gym and im so glad i did, i really feel much better now.
Squat
1x12 20kg
1x12 30kg
pushups 2x12 below hip height on smith machine
seated row 1x12 4 1x12 5
1x10 jack knifes
1x10 swiss ball sit ups, making my way up to doing two full sets of jack knifes
protein shake handful of nuts i'm beginning to respect my body now, and also realise i am never going to be like the bodies on the cover of shape magazine, and thats almost ok with me, after obsessing for so many years. i just want to get stronger now, and decrease the body fat. i can feel myself getting stronger,but the diet thing needs to be whipped into shape. i ate four choc chip cookies yesterday on the way home from work in the car, crumbss everywhere and i felt like an addict. gotta get my head around this food equals comfort thing, or start an addiction for tuna and egg whites instead
I just responded to your post about starting a new progress thread. After reading your log it looks like we have a lot in common. My main sport is also running, but I am sidelined with tendonitis in my IT Band. I couldn't sit still, so I decided to start lifting so I wouldn't keep gaining weight. I am shorter than you, but am also 27% body fat and wanting to get to 20%. I am also feeling very strong and making great progress, but a little freaked out that I'm up in weight.
[. I am also feeling very strong and making great progress, but a little freaked out that I'm up in weight.[/quote]
Hopefully this is just a phase as we build muscle,,Maybe I'll stick to weighing myself once a fortnight instead of once a week, I get too reliant on what the scales say, I should go by strength instead but there is such a psychological boost when you see those numbers come down..
I went running on Friday after a month off. I run with a womens running group who go on Monday and Firday, but both my kids have sport and scouts on those nights so it has been a logistical nightmare juggling them, work, my husband and incontinent dog with all that,, so on Friday i just had to go. My legs felt a bit weaker, though the heart and lungs were ok. But saturday morning, I really felt it in my adductors so doing weights was out of the question, I still feel a little sore this morning so will now have to wait til tuesday to lift. I think I will stick with lifting twice a week and running once a week and see how things go.
Off to watch my son play cricket today, mighty yawn....
well I'm not up to posting an underwear before shot, so might be brave enough to do that when I finish in December. Id like to be leaner in the top half, and stomach area, and get the body fat down.
Went to lunch today, a roast dinner, very nice, now Im off to watch Italy play Spain in the soccer, very exciting stuff (slightly stifled yawn..)
deadlifts
1x12 bar
1x10 25 kg, managed to do at least half a set with the bar tapping the floor instead of putting it down completely between sets. deadlifts felt tough today, I had a sweat when I finished and I am not looking forward to the next stage of 3x10. but I can feel Im slowly getting stronger
shoulder press
1x12 6 kg 1x10 7kg these were okay
lat pulldowns
1x12 5 1x12 6, must find out how much the increments on the machines is
lunge 2x12 7kg
swiss ball situps 2x10, these feel so much better than those jack knifes.
trying to subsitute cow dairy for goat at the moment, my sinuses keep getting blocked up and i have mild hay fever so will be interested to see what effect cutting out the cow does. having mad cravings for chocolate. i can almost picture myself walking into the supermarket and buying it, but i will be strong, chocolate wont make me feel better, and wont make me feel great in my clothes..
A deadlift is called a deadlift because you are lifting it from a dead stop on the floor. That's the correct thing to do -- lifting from the floor for each rep.
thanks, I was wondering if I was doing it right, and it seemed so hard to keep going by just tapping it on the ground and then heaving it back up again.. every time I lift I feel like my body is becoming more comfortable lifting, it felt so awkard in the beginning.
random diet stuff, I had scrambled eggs (2) with one piece of toast and it made such a difference to my energy and hunger levels. usually with muesli and yogurt I get the munchies but not today. have decided to clean up my diet now. I will have been doing this for a month next week and there hasnt been much difference weight wise, just strength. and i know its because of all the extra stuff i eat in between meals, the food i have with the kids when they have dinner and then the extra food i eat with my husband in front of the tv. getting the exercise habit has been so much easier than getting the good food habit.
I need to change the way I think, from putting myself down and building myself back up with chocolate and bread, most of all I dont want my kids to get in the habit of associating food as a cure for boredom, stress, whatever..
why is it when you have all the knowledge in the world about nutrition it doesnt make a difference until you decide you want to be healthy more than you want an instant hit of junk? enough philosophy, pass the celery..
A deadlift is called a deadlift because you are lifting it from a dead stop on the floor. That's the correct thing to do -- lifting from the floor for each rep.
That's exactly right. I usually flex my hand open just a bit between reps on the dead to make sure my grip is right and to keep me from doing a "touch and go."
I went from 2 sets up t 3 sets of each exercise and I really felt it by the end, I was covered in sweat and it felt good! Im still fairly new to lifting properly(ie outside of a circuit class) so every time im learning. By the time I got around to the stepups my legs were feeling v shaky so only managed 8 reps on those.
Squat
1x10 bar
1x10 30 kg
1x10 35 kg
pushups at mid thigh height 3x10
seated row 1x 28.5 kg 2x8 35kg
prone jacknife
these did me in, wobbling everywher
1x10 jacknife
1x12 swiss ball situpps
1x12 swiss ball situps
food is getting better, muesli, I couldnt face eggs today, protein shake with banana and milk, ham cheese and salad sandwich nectarine, lamb and spinach curry for dinner. feel so bad for Turkey today, they lost the semi final to germany, they so deserved to be there..
I have an evil cold that has come out of nowhere, so no training this week. I did go for a run on Friday night which was about 40 minutes, felt good, then woke up on Saturday morning feeling more tired than usual and horrible on Sunday. So thats ok, it must mean I'm on the mend now..
Its frustrating though, I was getting stronger and feeling good, but there must have been a mighty bug out there. Will have to start my lifting where I left off
Be careful and make sure that you are adequately healed from your cold. I didn't earlier this year and I ended up feeling all weak and nasty for well over a month.
__________________ 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
I still feel like a bottle of glue - claggy... I dont normally believe in mind/bdy stuff but I am tending to think that way. this cold has come out of nowhere, I was really starting to feel good health and fitness wise. My dad died 6 months ago, and as it was in Australia I wasnt able to fly out to see him before he passed away, just made it there to the funeral. So i think I have buried all my grief and guilt and all that stuff and then I think it has hit me, been feeling very sad all week which is unlike me. but ive let myself feel sad and now im beginning to feel a lot better, but not up to running and lifting heavy things yet. Looking forward to starting the new challenge in August.
have been lurking all week, havent done anything much, still coughing and wheezing a bit. i did some ss cardio, just walking for an hour twice this week then knocked myself out mowing the lawn. i did purchase leigh peeles FLTS and have been reading it every spare second I get. a lot of what she says makes sense, at the end of the day less calories and more of the right exercise is how to lose fat, why is it so hard? I definitely think that lawn mowing is the perfect HIIT, especially as my garden is on a 45 degree angle. so max hrate for 20 seconds then easing it down pushing it downhill maybe exercise should be about that more, more functional stuff like gardening, washing the car and house work but I guess that is all NEAT at the end of the day.
Managed to last all week without chocolate, which is great for me, i even have chocolate in the fridge but havent been tempted,have been eating clean and i havent had the cravings for stodge.
my plan now is to keep on walking, do some running, then in four weeks time im off on holiday, so im figuring i will devote myself to the OPT and knuckle down for 12 weeks, which should see me through the next womens challenge..
I'm Bringing Sexy Back (shes been gone too long) NROLW
gotta get my head around this food equals comfort thing, or start an addiction for tuna and egg whites instead
getting there
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