I have been struggling with my protein a little lately, too. My carbs are usually good carbs, but I'll admit there are days when I eat some crackers or something. All within my limits, but still I know what you mean.
Sorry about the rut...those times are tough! Maybe your body just needs some extra rest right now. This is cold/flu/general ucki-ness season, right? I hear you about not wanting to leave home after being out for so long. I wouldn't want to, either! Too bad you can't break up your day with a lunchtime workout or something. Maybe you should give the morning time slot a try, see how it feels? It's just so dang hard to stick to a workout when it's scheduled for your low-energy time.
I see you got out to the gym anyhow--!!! Hurray!
Yup I got there! And I always have great workouts on the days that I almost didn't go... funny how that happens.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dillytl
Yay you for going to the gym!!! And look - I even see a PR in there!!!
I tried!
Quote:
Originally Posted by beesknees
Wow - those curtsy lunges are awesome!
I have been struggling with my protein a little lately, too. My carbs are usually good carbs, but I'll admit there are days when I eat some crackers or something. All within my limits, but still I know what you mean.
Thanks! I like those lunges much better than regular lunges. I feel them in my glutes a lot more.. which is my problem area so its all good
Holy crap batman! Today has cemented in my mind how badly out of shape I am aerobically! I looked back at Celeste's post and did something vaguely resembling her circuit. Only got through it twice and thought I was gonna die! Dang I need mroe aerobic (and probably anaerobic) work!
20 bw squats
10 burpees
15 jumping jacks
10 bw lunges each
10 more jumping jacks
damn.
as torturous as this is... I need to do it more often!
Update time! BF% is not done with calipers since Bri isn't here, but I use the healthcentral site which has been pretty accurate as far as I can tell. However, I realized I used the wrong hip measurement last month, so I changed it and re-did it for that month as well, so my beginning BF% is actually a little higher than I posted in the challenge thread.
Stats:
Keep in mind, I measure in centimeters then convert in inches, so that's why the decimal seems so precise, lol. I'm not actually measuring to the 0.01 decimal spot! lol.
BF chart
Pics!
While the measurements all went down a little bit, I don't see anything in the pics. Could be that Ifinally changed the camera angle and now it's not looking up at me, but i don't know. I really didn't expect to see much progress this month, and there really isn't. My weight was kind of all over the place the past few weeks, but it settled right back where it usually is for picture day, so that works. Apparently got rid of the holiday bloat I had going on, judging by the scale, but like I said, no real progress other than that this month. But I am making February my month! (It will be my b-day after all!) I'm going to do some more cardio and track my food and really push myself on my workouts. I'm hoping to see better changes next month (even though it's a short month, lol)
Facepulls:
10x27.5 (55 on the stack, but I'm positive it's wrong, so this is essentially a guess, lol)
8x30
8x30
6x27.5
1-leg RDLs:
10x45
8x55
8x55
6x60
1-arm DB bench press:
10x22.5
8x25
8x25
6x27.5
Squat: 10x65
8x65
8x65
6x65
*Ugh, these are frustrating me more and more every time. I'm trying to keep weight down to work on form and it's making them harder, so I didn't increase the weight from 10 reps to 6. I don't know if I'm overthinking the squat or what but I feel like I'm all over the place with it anymore. Bah!
BB shoulder press:
10x25
8x35
8x35
5x45
*these are sooo hard at 45! 35 feels great though. Wish there a bar set to 40.
renegade rows:
3x10xBW
Ugh! I do NOT like these!
On another note... I changed my avi, but when I was google-image-searching little mermaid pics I came across one of a little kid in an Ariel costume... it reminded me that I was Ariel one year for halloween when I was little, so when I call my mom tonight I'm going to see if she can find one of those pics and scan it and send it to me
Hi! You're making great progress in the challenge so far! As far as your workouts, what seems to be the problem with your squats? What are you working on with your form?
My glutes are stubborn and don't like to engage
I also don't get down low enough without my butt tucking under, or "dumping" as my bf called it. I have a hard time pushing my weight back and sitting back rather than keeping my weight towards my toes. My knees don't shoot out over my toes or anything, but it all just feels... off lately. I'm not describing it very well
When my bf visits next weekend I'll see if he can take a video for me...
And I've taken a look at the squatRx videos and it's a lot to think about... which makes me think I'm OVER thinking it now. It's just frustrating.
It may be just a flexibility issue right now and it might help to do some glute activation work prior to doing squats too. Posting a vid would help for sure. Until then, just keep the feeling of the arch in your back and the hips tight while you're squatting to avoid tucking at the bottom and don't go down any further until you gain in flexibility. Do you stretch at night?
Getting squats right is really difficult! Keep at it.
Thanks for the input Jill! Strange that it could be a flexibility issue... I was a dancer up until about a year a half ago. So if anything my hamstrings are too flexible. Ya know, the whole kick-yourself-in-the-face thing. I did some glute bridges prior to that workout but I definitely have a problem with getting them to fire during squats. I also did the 1-leg RDLs prior to the squats, which should have helped. I will try to think about "keeping the hips tight". It's so weird, I thought I had fixed this the last time Bri was up here, but apparently I'm all screwed up again. I will work on it today a little bit with my broomstick handle and the mirror, lol. What stretches would be good for helping to fix my problem?
Thanks again for the input!
Oh my goodness Tracey, your new avi cracks me up! hehe. I will try to see if she can find a good one. It was time for an avi change though, hadn't changed it since I joined last January!
Update on my goals, and trying to figure out my "official" goals for the Open Challenge.
Here's what my original goals were from the first post of this log: 1-Must work on fixing this glute-activation issue I have. The program Bri has me on is supposed to help with this. I will try to find more glute activation exercises to do though prior to my workouts. Might need to add some stretching in there as well.
2- Deadlift 135 by the end of the year. Well, still not anywhere close to this, but I've been doing some form work here too. I used to bring the bar down till it touched the floor, even with the smaller plates on it. But I recently stopped doing that and am only going down to the point where the bar would be if the big plates were on it. It's a little strange because it's not really a dead stop that way (no power cage with something to rest them on, so it's kind of a hang-deadlift) But it's getting better each time. So far.
3- Finally get 1 chin up or pull up unassisted. Well I did my first unassisted chin-up! It likes to hide from me sometimes though, sometimes I'm able to do it, other times it's elusive, but I am working on it on my off-days.
4- Find something active outside of the gym that I enjoy.... and can afford. Well my roommate told me recently that she can finally afford to take ballroom dancing with me! So next time classes start we will hopefully be signing up!
5- Lower my bodyfat % a bit. Slow and steady with this one. The overall trend is down I think, but I haven't been tracking food or anything so it's been slower than it should have been. I recently started tracking again so I'm hoping to see some improvement here. I also am going to try to be compliant with doing something active on my non-gym days, since I have it in my head that if it's not a gym-day, it must be a rest day, as in Kara does nothing! lol. So I need to get better about that!
OK... so all that being said, here are my official goals for the Open Challenge:
1- 5 consecutive unassisted chinups. Currently can only do 1.... and sometimes I can't even do that!
2- Work on shoulder prehab/rehab and glute activation on my off days, as well as chin-ups, push-ups, and some type of metabolic circuit or aerobics (treadmill), and stretching. Shooting for 2-3 days a week, 90% compliance or better. Currently doing this randomly, whenever I feel like it, so it's not very consistent.
3- Drop my bf% from around 24% to 20% while maintaining lean mass.
Scale weight hovers around 130 currently, and bf% (per health central) is 24% (One-site calipers are done sporadically when the bf visits)
4- Increase my DL from 95lbs (6-8 reps) to 120lbs or more. My ultimate goal is to get to 135lb for my DL, but I don't know if that's do-able in a couple months. It is my goal for the year though. Currently at about 95lbs for 6-8 reps with good form.
5- Participate in something active outside the gym. Currently not doing this, but am looking to get in to ballroom dancing lessons with my roommate. Now that her finances will allow it, we'll be looking to start the next set of classes that starts after we check the place out on one of their "free fridays".
6- Track food for at least the month of February, may continue in to March.
I only just recently started tracking again and I HATE it! But I know that it will help me reach my goals faster, especially the bf% goal. I need to find an equation to determine what calorie levels I should be aiming for, but once I do that I should be able to work at a slight deficit and still throw around some good weight at the gym. Looking for 75% compliance or better with this.
Thanks for the input Jill! Strange that it could be a flexibility issue... I was a dancer up until about a year a half ago. So if anything my hamstrings are too flexible. Ya know, the whole kick-yourself-in-the-face thing. I did some glute bridges prior to that workout but I definitely have a problem with getting them to fire during squats. I also did the 1-leg RDLs prior to the squats, which should have helped. I will try to think about "keeping the hips tight". It's so weird, I thought I had fixed this the last time Bri was up here, but apparently I'm all screwed up again. I will work on it today a little bit with my broomstick handle and the mirror, lol. What stretches would be good for helping to fix my problem?
Thanks again for the input!
Hmmm, well I'm far from expert in this area. However, I'm also very flexible (years of figure skating and later yoga) and I still had some issues in the beginning with over-flexibility in some areas and tightness and weakness in others. It could be the same with you. I notice that you live in Northern VA? You should drop Manuel a PM (he's GQArtGuy). He has helped me with my squat and olympic lifting mechanics a LOT and he is in the DC area. Maybe you could schedule a session with him at some point and he could totally get you on the right track. He's da bomb and a super nice guy (he just seems sorta scary ).
Otherwise, maybe you can take pics/videos and PM them to UConnJulie and she can help figure out where your weaknesses are. I do some general stretches every night that cover pretty much all areas. I have particular tightness in the hips and quads and my upper back. I used to have glute firing issues but they seem to have sorted themselves out.
Haha scary? Hmm.
Are you also in this area? If so, where do you train? I have yet to find a gym that has all that crazy oly stuff. I actually go to Planet Fitness but that's because it's the most affordable. Anyway I will try to drop Manuel a PM later. Could you give me a ballpark of how much a session with him would cost?
Thanks!
I live in Detroit so I can't help you with gyms in your area. Definitely drop Manuel a note. He would know all the places in your area for sure. No, I joke about him being scary...he's not at all.
Kara, I am seeing nice changes in your challenge pics. When you are so close to goal as you are the changes happen slower and so it gets frustrating but look at the curve from your rib cage to your hip. The sweep is deeper and longer. That is what you want to see!
I will be following with interest in how you fix your squat issues. I had to rework mine over the past year as well. I think it is something we constantly improve upon. Will you be attending the summit?
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Unfortunately I can't swing the cost of attending the summit. I would love to go though. Brian would probably be interested too, he's more technical than I am with the anatomy and everything (though I'd love to take an anatomy class, but that's another story). But since he's still in school full time and doesn't have time to work he can't go either. Maybe next year we can both swing it! I'm hoping... it seems like so much fun!
And thanks for the compliments I couldn't see any changes in my pics, and I didn't really expect to. Compliance was just meh last month, but I'm hoping to get back up to speed this month.
Jill, wow, didn't realize you were over in Detroit. Did Manuel help you via videos/pics? I will drop him a note later when I figure out what to say
Kara, I'm over flexible in my hamstrings and hip flexors. I need to work on my quads and I'm to foam roll them every night along with the IT band. I have that exercise in my log to do before I squat, too. I was doing Rippetoe's 'squat to stand', but that's not what I need, according to my coach, so she showed me that stretch/squat thing in my log. I'll pick her brain some more on Tuesday.
Wow I just spent way too long reading about poor posture and stuff in Eric Cressey's articles. Talk about information overload! I definitely need to do some things to fix my posture and with that, my shoulders. But I don't even know where to start! I'm already on a new program that is supposed to help with this stuff, but Cressey has a whole program up directed specifically towards this. I went in to find some stretches and exercises I could do at home on my off days to work on it and now my brain is in hyper drive.... need to come back later and look at it with a clear head. Bah... this stuff is all so interesting, but it's a hell of a lot of info!
Hey, Kara, you made me laugh with the bw "torture sessions"! They are horrible in a good way...lol!
I know what you mean about the information overload. I did the same thing, and printed out several articles about posture and shoulder stuff to set up a program of stretches and exercises to do on my rest days...they're still sitting on my desk. Ho hum, I'll try HARD to get to them soon!
Food for yesterday and today (computers acted up last night so I couldn't post, and today we had a power outage this morning so I couldn't have anything for breakfast except cereal and a snack was a granola bar, so carbs are through the roof again since I had no stove, no microwave, no nothing!)
Yesterday:
Calories 1,739
Fat 32.6g 17%
Carbohydrate 221.7g 50%
Protein 144.0g 33%
*finally a day with good protein intake!
I need to find a good evening snack that's full of protein but still satisfies a sweet tooth. I used to have cereal, but with my carbs so high already that's a bad idea. I'm thinking some greek yogurt is in order, but I need to sweeten that up with something. I will figure it out.
Oh hi Celeste, you must have posted while I was! Definitely let me know what you come up with for stretches and what not.. I'm sure mine aren't good enough!
And thanks about the new avi!
Kara, my fave late night snack is chocolate protein powder, natural peanut butter, and some frozen blueberries. Put it in a bowl and add a little bit of water and mix well. Keep adding bits of water until it's the consistency of sludge kinda. Then, I mix in a glob of cool whip. Sounds kinda gross, but it's really good!
Sounds.... interesting.... but good! The problem with my protein powder is that there are as many carbs in it as protein. Bri said it's great for post workout, which I'm sure is true, but it's not helping me get my protein up without raising my carbs at the same time. Oh well... maybe I will get another protein to cut it with or use non-post-workout to raise my protein number.
For some reason, I thought you were using Nitrean. Not sure how it would taste with a carb/protein powder......I have one with carbs, but don't like it for a shake. May have to try it with my sludge concoction once I am back on carbs to see if it works.
I did use Nitrean for a while... then it ran out and Bri bought me this. I may order some nitrean again though. I did like it. Actually I had a soy one between Nitrean and this too, so I almost forget what nitrean tastes like!
Linear Mode
