Welcome 2009!
I decided my old log was getting a bit stale, I had some severe lack of motivation towards the end of 2008. But it's a new year and time for a new log! And time for me to get stronger! I made a lot of progress in the first half of 2008, but then leveled off at the end. This year I'm going to work on getting stronger and more fit overall.
I'll be taking my starting pics and stats today and will post them later. (Though, my boyfriend does a more accurate job so I may have him re-do it when he's here next weekend.)
For now... time to outline some goals for this year!
1- Must work on fixing this glute-activation issue I have. When I do squats or deads, my glutes aren't activating the way they should. I think all those years of dance have trained me to keep weight on my toes. I need to really start focusing on form and hopefully that will wake up my rear end. For all the glute stuff I've been doing, I haven't seen much of an improvement in that area and I think this is why, so that's priority number 1, especially because my knees (hips?) tend to rotate inward and it's giving me very achy knees.
2- Deadlift 135 by the end of the year. I started 2008 off using just the bar and worked up to a high of 115 for a few reps. Then I pretty much stayed out of the gym from Thanksgiving to Christmas and when I tried deads again 3x5x95 was ROUGH! So I have some work to do to catch back up to where I was, but then I'd really like to work on getting those big girl plates on the bar!
3- Finally get 1 chin up or pull up unassisted. I got a chin up bar for Christmas, so I will be able to work on this at home rather than the gym.
4- Find something active outside of the gym that I enjoy.... and can afford. This one is tricky because there are SOOO many things I would love to start taking up... ballroom dancing, martial arts, tennis, etc. But they all cost money and with my LASIK surgery next week putting a bit of a strain on my budget, this could be difficult. Oh yeah, and the whole "finding the time" thing... also could be an issue. But I do not want to come home from work and be a couch potato. So I'm going to work on this.
5- Lower my bodyfat % a bit. I'm measuring by those 1-site calipers. So it may not be 100% accurate, but it's close enough for me. I haven't checked it since November 1st or so, and with all those holiday pig-outs it could definitely have gone up since then. I think last I checked it was around 22 or so. But I'd like to get down to 20, maybe 19. I do NOT want to look emaciated, but I'd like to be leaner than I am now. I'm not bad off, but I'd like more of an athletic build. Like I've told Bri a billion times (because he yells at me when I talk about losing fat) I don't mind my size... I just mind that it jiggles. If I could build enough muscle to stay roughly this size, but lose the fat around it so I don't jiggle when I walk, I would be very happy.
Now for my non-fitness-related "resolutions":
1- Be better at staying in touch with friends. Bri and my parents are pretty much the only people I call on a regular basis. I need to be better about calling my friends just to chat and catch up.
2- Be tidier. I am never going to be "neat-freak" status... but I do need to take better care of my bedroom and do the dishes more often, lol.
Well, that's all for now... I'll be back later with pics/stats
Kara, very well thought-out goals and resolutions. Good luck in 2009 rocking your goals and balancing all the demands in your life. I'm looking forward to following your continued progress!
__________________ 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
Plan for the challenge at this point:
1- do my new workout plan that Lost Dog helped me with
2-work on chinups in spare time
3- try to be more consistent with my nutrition. I'm going to try writing down what I eat, but I won't actually count cals, that's too anal for me.
Congrats on already being able to do chin-ups when you got the bar--it took me forever!
Which body fat site did you use that came close to the measurements you had done? I'm just curious because I have tried a few and have gotten some that are close, but a lot that put me at ~10% higher than what I most likely am, according to what Leigh guesses. Right now my method is to take a few that are close and average those out.
Looking forward to seeing your workout plan. Very nice goals!
Hey Karen, I use this one. For the "hips" measurement though I use my butt measurement. But it probably depends on what sites you use to measure. I measure my hips at the hip bone which isn't the widest part... however my "butt" measurement is the widest part of my hip area, so when I use that, it comes out pretty darn close.
And I can't do chin-ups unassisted yet... but with a theraband tied around the bar I was able to get 1.5, lol. It's a work-in-progress
Kara, very well thought-out goals and resolutions. Good luck in 2009 rocking your goals and balancing all the demands in your life. I'm looking forward to following your continued progress!
Ahh, first workout of the new year and the first one to go in the spiffy new log!
Warm up:
YTWL 3x10 with BW only
SHELC 3x10
BB hang cleans: 3x6x55lbs
Hip extension: 3x12 BW only, focusing on glutes
Bench press: 8x55, 8x65, 5x65
Reverse lunges: 3x10(e) with 25s (um, OUCH!)
Those lunges darn near killed me. But in a good way I suppose
Then when I got home and got some random stuff done I tried chins again. Got 1 good one, followed by one not very good one. I think I need a slightly stronger band, but I do't have any, so this will have to do. I'm going to give it another try tonight. I figure, if I keep trying every other time I walk past my doorway, I've got to make progress right?
Ugh, I'm hungry and I don't know what I'm in the mood for. I kind of want pasta, but I shouldn't. Hmmm.. such dilemmas
Kara, thank you. 1.5 chin-ups with a theraband is still really good--that's probably equal to a lighter assistance band, not the super-giant hold 300 pounds assist bands that I started out with.
Looks like you got a good workout in. Lunges with 25s is hard!
HealthCentral is the one I use for tracking BF changes, too. I have no idea if it's anywhere near accurate for me but it gives me a stable place to input measurements and track the overall trend. Glad to hear it's fairly accurate for you, though!
I think in switching over to your new log yesterday I forgot to wish you a Happy New Year! And best of luck with your goals through this coming year.
Thanks Anne! Same to you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Libellula
Happy new year to you as well!
Thanks! Welcome to my new log
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karen411
Kara, thank you. 1.5 chin-ups with a theraband is still really good--that's probably equal to a lighter assistance band, not the super-giant hold 300 pounds assist bands that I started out with.
Looks like you got a good workout in. Lunges with 25s is hard!
Thanks Karen. I think I might tie another light theraband around it and use both so I can do more than 1 at a time. We shall see. And yeah... my legs are quivering today from those lunges yeterday!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nutbar
*subby wubby*
HealthCentral is the one I use for tracking BF changes, too. I have no idea if it's anywhere near accurate for me but it gives me a stable place to input measurements and track the overall trend. Glad to hear it's fairly accurate for you, though!
Yeah, Bri found it and told me it was pretty accurate. Though when you mistakenly put in a "waist" measurement when it asks for "wrist" measurement, you get all sorts of screwed up data!
So I'm going to try to be better about posting food in here as well as workouts. Everyone says diet is 80% of the problem, but I HATE counting cals and what not. I figure if I can at least put the foods I'm eating, It'll keep in a line a bit without me having to go crazy.
Here's yesterday's stuff:
1. 2 eggs OE, WW english muffin with Smart Balance, cup of OJ
2. Starbucks Chai tea latte with skimmilk (which is actually not that bad! I was suprised... MUCH better than the white chocolate mocha I used to get)
3. banana with PB
4. Turkey Meatloaf and 1 string cheese
5. TJ Apple cinnamon oatmeal with milk
6. 2 egg omelet with spinach and 4 oz mozz cheese. (yeah, that's a lotta cheese.. I like cheese, lol). Hot tea with one splenda.
Oh yeah, and one week from yesterday is my LASIK surgery! January 9th = new eyes for Kara! I am sooo excited
Plan for today...
-Check out a place near me that is very close and offers tennis lessons, but they don't have a website. I figure I'll stop by and check it out to see if it's something I can add to my schedule. I really want to take ballroom dancing, but since my roommate just had another big money issue her car, and I'd like to take the lessons with her, it seems that one is still not gonna happen for a bit. So I'm hoping tennis lessons aren't too expensive because I'd really love to get better at it.
-go food shopping, yet again
-go to the bank
-do metabolic circuit workout at home and try some more chin-ups (BTW I got 3 last night once I put another theraband on the bar and used it with the other one!)
-make a crockpot dinner for the first time. It's my roommate's and I told her I'd set it up while she was at work. On the menu is some type of beef fajita casserole type thing. Sounds pretty good, and fairly healthy, so I'm excited to see how it turns out.
Hey Kara - I saw your post in Caitedid4's journal about photobucket and choosing the photo size...wanted to answer you here, too!
When you choose the photo from your hard drive (or wherever it is) you can also choose the size. I wouldn't worry about the resize in Paint - just go ahead and upload the original photo and change the size in Photobucket:
holy crap I had no idea I could do that! That's awesome! Thanks so much Tracey!!
I'm currently planning out my food for the week. It's been a while since I'm done this officially. Tonight is crockpot beef fajitas with the roomie and her bf. Tomorrow I'm going to make mom's vegetable soup, which is awesome! But I'm adding chicken to it too to get protein in. The recipe (for just veggies) says to throw it all in a pot, cover with water and cook for 3 hours... so how do I add chicken to that? Do I cook chicken separately and then add it in at the last minutes? Or do I put raw chicken in there since it cooks for 3 hours? Or do I cook the chicken separately and add it in when there's still about an hour to go so it takes up the favor? Any suggestions are welcome!
I'm trying to come up with dinner ideas for the week and haven't had any flashes of brilliance yet. I think when Bri is here on Friday I want to make that chocolate bean cake again. I tried once but I forgot to smack it on the table to get the bubbles out and it made for a strange consistency. But other than that it tasted great! So I might try it again.
Any good dinner ideas floating around out there? I could use some inspiration!
Chicken can get stringy in a soup. I definitely wouldn't put it in raw. I usually season and bake the chicken breast separately (covered, to keep it moist), then chop/shred it and add to the soup when it's done. At that point I'm usually freezing it, so by the time it's frozen, thawed, and reheated it merges in well enough.
You look great! I was looking at your measurements and weight and thinking they aren't that far off from mine, but man, yours sure are distributed differently. I think if my pics looked like yours I'd be calling myself done! I don't blame you for not wanting to get anal about counting cals--you look like you are really just at a point where you want to fine tune and not really get anal about anything, unless you are planning to compete. A little diet tweaking here and there along with your continued strength training should get you to your bf goals in no time.
Thank you Kathy, that's so sweet! I have no desires to compete, but I've also been told that when you're in the "fine-tuning" stages, you have to be MORE anal! I'm not sure how I feel about that! I did really well the first half or 2008, then with getting a new job, moving out of state, and trying to settle myself into the real world, I kind of just maintained and didn't progress anymore. I think I'm ready to start making it a priority again but I have to be careful to not drive my bf crazy, lol. He's under the impression that I look great as is and so I should really not have to worry about it and live a little. When I started tracking and stuff he thought I was going over the top. But in truth, I don't want to be anal either... I want to be able to go out to dinner and not have it feel like I derailed my food for the day, ya know? That's how I am now, but I've been pretty lackadaisical too. I'm just sure where that happy medium is between going crazy to lose these last 5lbs of fat or so, and being happy and un-stressed when it comes to food. I mean, if I do what I've been doing, I'll probably just stay the same. Which is good that I shouldn't really gain any fat, but bad because I won't be losing any either. I'm just worried if I do kick it up a notch to lose the last few lbs, then go back to my maintaining phase of things, that I'll go right back up to maintaining where I currently am. Bah... this should be so easy, but it's so not.
Anyway, after all that rambling... thanks again for the compliments! You're a sweetie!
I do know what you're saying about getting more anal when you're fine tuning. I think that is true to a point. But I was just thinking that keeping your eating clean, maybe small adjustments, as long as you are continuing to progress with your lifting you are going to get stronger, add more muscle and recomp will happen, just at a slow pace. This is happening for me. I haven't been great with food tracking for a few months, but I'm still lifting hard and I see the changes in my ab area little by little. It isn't happening as quickly as maybe I would like, but there is a difference. With some serious effort in the next few months, I'm hoping to speed things up. So I think you can NOT be anal, enjoy life, but still recomp at a slow pace if you're not in a big hurry...as long as you aren't enjoying life TOO much .
Ya know, now that I think about it, maybe this month would be a good one for me to track food again. Just to re-focus my mind and get out of the Holiday pig-out mindset. I could probably stop after this month, and knowing I don't have to do it forever will maybe help me keep at it. I feel like I've been almost too lazy recently, so maybe being anal for a short time will kick-start my focus... and maybe some results along the way! Hmm... I'll have to go track down that fitday log of mine, lol.
SO excited for you to get LASIK! I had it in 2000, then again in 2001 (sigh...) but it was still worth it - I'm 20/20 or 20/25 8 years later and LOVE it.
Plus, since I couldn't deal with contacts, I can finally wear cute sunglasses!
Oh, and I have a MAJOR Sbux addiction, but I order an under-200-kcal drink and it IS worth the cals to me, so I work it into my plan for the day
hehe, I'm not addicted (yet) but I got a giftcard from the office holiday party so I figured I'd use it!
Food for today:
1. 2 eggs OE, WW eng muffing, OJ (this will almost never change, lol, I'm a creature of breakfast habit!)
2. vanilla almond crunch with 1% milk
3. 3 pumpkin protein cookies (not as good as they sounded... oh well)
4. guacamole with chips
5. 2 small beef fajitas made in the crockpot with onions and bell peppers and salsa... mmm! delish! topped with shredded cheese, tomatos, and a dab of guacamole.
6. will be having hot tea in a bit, and maybe a snack later, not sure yet
Great goals Kara! I think you look great BTW. Very cool about Lasik. I have good sight fortunately but I think dealing with glasses and contacts all the time would get real old and I would definitely want to get it, too!
Thanks girls! Lib, which company do you work for? I'm getting mine done with LasikPlus in the northern VA area.
So I forgot I also had a gladd of lemonade earlier... it was crystal light mix in water, so I think it's one of those 5 cal thingies, but I figured I'd add it.
I did my shoulder pre-hab stuff today. Man are my shoulders effed up. My left one especially does all sorts of things, ugh. I also did 2 sets of 4 chin-ups with my 2 therabands on my bar. The sets were hours apart, but I was able to get them in. 4 in a row is tough though! I can't wait until I can do these myself unassisted!
Time for a stronger Mermaid!
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