That's what a trainer once told me, jokingly, but he knew my weakness for cheese.
Anyway, after lurking and posting for a little while, I'm finally introducing myself. Howdy!
Some stats: 29 yrs old, 5'7. Today's weight = 151.6. My weight range recently has been 151-154. That's down from a weight range of 156-159 when I began NROL4W a few months ago.
I'm really looking forward to the upcoming challenge. I'm hoping that it will help me stick with weight lifting for the long run. Although I think of myself as a fairly active person, I have a bad habit of starting and stopping things before I get the benefit of any particular activity. Sometimes I quit because of stress or schedule, other times because of boredom. Lifting is way too beneficial to risk quitting it.
I'm also looking forward to getting to know other people on this forum by participating.
I'll try to get pics up soon.
So, today I just finished stage 4 of NROL4W. I'll be finishing during the challenge, I guess. That's kind of amazing. During the last 3 stages, I'm going to try to take my nutrition more seriously, which has been the hardest part for me. The fat just isn't going to go if I'm not eating right.
Today's workout:
Wide Grip Deadlift: 3x8@ 105 lbs (grip has been a limiting factor; had to take a break during last set).
BSS: 3x8 w/ 35 lbs plate
Underhand pulldown: 2x8 @ 105; 3rd set was 5 w/ 105 and 3 w/ 100. That made me mad.
Reverse lunch from box w/ forward reach: 3x8 w/ 20 lbs dumbells. This was actually a step backwards. I did these before w/ 22.5 DBs but decided my form wasn't good, so went back to 20s.
DB prone Cuban snatch: 3x10 w/ 10 lbs DBs. Finally, I did all of these w/ good form. Feel like I've been trying to do this weight FOREVER.
Ball crunch: 3x10 w/ 12 lbs medicine ball held w/ arms straight back
Reverse crunch: 3x10
Lateral flexion: 3x10
Cobra: 3x 120 seconds.
I actually skipped HIIT today b/c I'm going swimming later today and can do my intervals in the pool. I haven't done a swim sprint in a while, so it should be interesting.
I felt good about this workout today (except for the last set of pulldowns). I'll just conclude by giving some indication of where I was when I started this program: my first deadlift in this program was at 50 lbs, which I thought was really tough, and I hated deadlifts. Now it is probably my favorite exercise and to have more than doubled the weight I can move makes me feel really proud.
Evie, your before photo is beautiful and your after photo will be beautiful and stronger .
On that deadlift, have you ever tried facing one hand forward and one hand backward? I've never done it, but I saw where some people suggested it could help with your grip. Anyone here have any experience with that?
Oh, by the way-- your lat pulldowns, even at the lowest weight, matched what these two guys at my gym were doing last weekend!
Evie, your before photo is beautiful and your after photo will be beautiful and stronger .
On that deadlift, have you ever tried facing one hand forward and one hand backward? I've never done it, but I saw where some people suggested it could help with your grip. Anyone here have any experience with that?
Oh, by the way-- your lat pulldowns, even at the lowest weight, matched what these two guys at my gym were doing last weekend!
Thanks! I'm blushing.....
The grip suggestion is a good one. I'll have to try that next time I get to deadlifts. But not sure when that will be. I'm supposed to be doing my 'rest' period between stages right now, but am half-considering doing that last workout again tomorrow....
Hello there. I said it in my log, but I do love the title. Quesadillas were definitely one of my weaknesses (although with a lower calorie dinner tonight I did have one for lunch).
The next step is to take the link for that picture and when posting, click on the little mountain, then copy in that link. Your picture will now appear in the message. Well, assuming that's what you're going for. And I agree with Sally, you're starting from a good place. Good luck in the challenge.
Hello there. I said it in my log, but I do love the title. Quesadillas were definitely one of my weaknesses (although with a lower calorie dinner tonight I did have one for lunch).
The next step is to take the link for that picture and when posting, click on the little mountain, then copy in that link. Your picture will now appear in the message. Well, assuming that's what you're going for. And I agree with Sally, you're starting from a good place. Good luck in the challenge.
Thanks! *Big smiles!* I was under the impression that people were having trouble attaching pics so I just didn't bother trying. I'll monkey around w/ it more this evening.....
And on the quesadillas, is there anything better than bread and cheese, especially when coupled with salsa? Friday nights are my cheater Mexican food nights and I am really looking forward to it this week!
BTW, I like both cats and dogs. I just don't currently have a dog-- 2 cats and a boyfriend are enough to take care of!
I'll put my pics up for real when I am not at work sometime soon.
Soooo... yesterday I got a food scale. I've been tracking my food for a while, but I just wasn't sure about how accurate it was. It is more interesting to weigh my food than I thought it would be. Also made me realize that I need a new food tracking program. I've been using "Lose it"-- an iPhone app-- which is ok. At least, the caloric and nutrient info for a food is pretty accurate, but it doesn't allow you much precision in terms of how much you are eating. For example, I can measure hard boiled eggs in terms of whole eggs and 1/8 increments of a whole egg. Grams would be better, but I can't do that. The difference between the program and the scale measurement was about 10 calories-- not much, but it makes me wonder how off my tracking has been this whole time. What do other people use to track/measure their foods? I did sign up for SparkPeople, but I find it really annoying. Any suggestions?
I use thedailyplate.com. Love it. I've tried SparkPeople in the past, but I didn't like it either. I find TDP to be much better. AND there's an iPhone application that you can download which syncs with the website.
I just get a ledger book- the kind that acountants use (the one that's about 9 1/2" x 6") and use the columns in there to write up my food journaling.
Its working out pretty well so far.
I've tried a few of the food tracking apps but like Fit Day the best - it has the most functionality in its free version and a much more user-friendly interface that TDP. TDP's database is good though, as is CalorieKing's, both available for free. Calorie King also has quite a good tracker but it is not free. You can get a week's free trial if you want to give it a go. It's only $45 to buy it if you want to.
Well, thanks y'all for the suggestions. I'll just try a few and see what I like.
Ok, so exercise. I did do my swimming on Saturday. I'd forgotten how tough a swimming sprint is. Yowza. On Sunday I spent most of my day at work and didn't do anything. Yesterday I walked for about 20 minutes-- not much, I know, but a little something is better than nothing. And today I totally cheated on my off week and did a little lifting today. It was sort of the very abbreviated version of my last workout, mostly to see if I could go back and conquer the DLs and underhand pulldown. I just did:
DL-- 3x8 @105 successfully and w/o my grip giving out. Yippee!!!
BSS-- 3x8 @ 35
underhand pulldown-- 2x8 @105, 1x7@ 105. Just couldn't get that last one, but did better than last time.
Then I skipped the rest of the workout and did 10 minutes on the treadmill and called it a day. I had intended to do some more cardio, but I just didn't have much energy today-- I think it is a combination of the wicked allergies I'm having right now and that I didn't eat enough yesterday. Well, maybe I'll just do something mellow tomorrow, like walking or yoga.
And I have a toothache today. It's so weird. In an article I was reading before bed last night, a woman described a toothache she had. So when I woke up in the night with my tooth hurting, at first I thought, "oh you're just dreaming because you were reading that stupid article." Alas, no, my teeth are being wacky. I've had sensitivity in my teeth for the past few days, too. Maybe I am grinding in my sleep?
Ok, gotta go post my stats on the challenge sign up thread......
Your before pics look great. And I use Daily Plate as well.
3rd, and I agree... your before pics look great. I use SparkPeople myself, but set up my husband on FitDay and have to say I like it better. Haven't tried any of the others.
And I have a toothache today. It's so weird. In an article I was reading before bed last night, a woman described a toothache she had. So when I woke up in the night with my tooth hurting, at first I thought, "oh you're just dreaming because you were reading that stupid article." Alas, no, my teeth are being wacky. I've had sensitivity in my teeth for the past few days, too. Maybe I am grinding in my sleep?
That's one possibility, but it could be your allergies - if you are a bit sinus-y you can get pain in your dental sinuses (it sucks, I know, just when you think it can't get any worse!!!)
That's one possibility, but it could be your allergies - if you are a bit sinus-y you can get pain in your dental sinuses (it sucks, I know, just when you think it can't get any worse!!!)
Arrrgh! I bet you're right. I hate allergies. They just keep getting worse and worse. The past 2 years have been really bad. First, I developed eczema in my elbow creases. Then my ears started itching like crazy. Now my teeth?!? And this is all on top of headaches and sinus stuff. Sheesh. I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and see an allergist.
Needless to say, I felt like ca-ca today from the allergies so I haven't done any exercise at all. I hope I feel better tomorrow, as I was hoping to start into stage 5. We'll see.
Since I'm not logging on exercise, maybe I'll log on nutrition:
breakfast-- cottage cheese and peaches, coffee (yes, I use cream and sugar, but in small quantities).
snack-- power bar (don't usually eat these, but it was all I had at work today)
lunch-- big green salad topped w/ garbanzos, 1 boiled egg, tofu, pecans, dried cranberries, and some balsalmic vinegarette.
snack-- nonfat, plain greek yogurt
dinner-- haven't had it yet, but will have chicken breast and steamed broccoli.
And I've had 4 glasses of water so far today, which means I'd better get chugging......
Hope you're feeling a bit better. Best tip for sinuses? Tiger balm. Just kidding, kind of. Not the best tip, but it does help. Temporarily. It really is great stuff. Gets rid of DOMS, clears out sinuses, takes the itch out of bites. And no, I don't have shares in the company, but maybe I should!
Thanks for popping in to my log. Goodluck with the challenge. We are close to the same age and height, I am curiouse to see how our different body types respond to some heavy lifing.
Switching up your grip on the deadlifts is definalty the way to go. I couldn't finish a set untill I started doing this.
So I did my first workout of stage 5 yesterday. I just did 3 sets of exercises b/c I was pressed for time. Here's my workout:
1-arm DB snatch -- 3x4 @ 25lbs
DB single-leg RDL -- 3x4 w/ 30 lbs DBs
BB bent over row -- 3x4 @ 75 lbs
DB sinlge-arm overhead squat -- 3x4 @ 25/12.5 lbs
DB incline bench press -- 3x4 w/ 30 lbs DBs
Plank -- 3x 120 seconds
Rev. woodchop -- 1x4 @ 50 lbs; 2x4 @ 55 lbs.
Thoughts: DB snatch is harder than I remember it being in stage 3. Maybe it's just b/c I haven't done it in a while.
On the single-leg RDL, I found that my left leg balance was not as good as my right leg balance. I'll probably stay at this weight until I'm equally balanced on both sides.
I could have gone heavier on the squat, I think.
Bench press kicked my butt!
I did a lot better on the plank than I have been doing. I think in phase 4, planks are harder b/c they come right after pushups, which use a lot of the same muscles. I had been really discouraged about not feeling like I was improving on these, so I was pleased that I could stay up the entire 120 seconds on all of them. Form could be better, of course (sometimes I cheat and stick my butt up for a few seconds; am trying to break myself of this habit).
Well, I'm not expecting to lift again until Tuesday. But I thought it was better to go ahead and start stage 5 b/c my work schedule is going to be crazy for the next few weeks, so it will take a while for me to get through this stage.
Another exciting thing was that my weight yesterday was 149.6. It's the first time I've weighed less than 150 in ..... years. I really couldn't say. I'm sure my weight is way back up again today, since I had my cheater dinner last night (usually it is on Friday). But it's still exciting.
Another exciting thing was that my weight yesterday was 149.6. It's the first time I've weighed less than 150 in ..... years. I really couldn't say. I'm sure my weight is way back up again today, since I had my cheater dinner last night (usually it is on Friday). But it's still exciting.
I am excited for the DB snatch. It was by far my favorite exercise. I think by the end of stage 5 I was doing it with 45lbs DB! You can really add weight fast with that one!
Put the quesadilla down....
yikes!
.
But I thought it was better to go ahead and start stage 5 b/c my work schedule is going to be crazy for the next few weeks, so it will take a while for me to get through this stage.
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