Mama Said Knock You Out - Rixatrix's Training Log

[rixatrix]

Ok, here we go.

I'm 24 years old, 5'5", and 189lbs at approximately 29.6% body fat. I'll be doing updated measurements this weekend for all parts of my body.

Training
I'm doing NROL4W. Currently in Stage 1, going into A6 tomorrow morning. As of my LAST workouts, here's what I'm lifting:

Workout A - 10x3
Squats - 70lbs (started at 45)
Pushups - All BW on hands and toes, barely! (started on hands and knees)
Seated Row - 70lbs (started at 50)
Step Ups - 17.5lb dumbbels (started at 10)
Prone Jackknife - 12 (ouch) (started at barely 8)

Workout B - 10x3
Deadlifts - 70lbs (started at 40)
Shoulder Press - 20lb dumbbells (started at 8s)
WG Lat Pulldown - 70lbs (started at 50)

Lunges - 12.5lb dumbbells (started at 10s - god I hate these!)
Swiss Ball Crunch - 12 (need to try hands over head)

I've been on the program since the end of January and between calipers and the scale, I see a loss of about 5lbs of fat. However, I'm not confident in these numbers as the scale fluctuates greatly and I'm not too sure of my skill with the calipers.

This week, I'm strictly eating maintenance calories. I believe I have a tendency to under eat when I'm active. Assuming my body fat measurement is correct (though I haven't done the underwater test), I've got about 132-133lbs of lean mass and 55-56lbs of fat. (Even if the body fat measurements are off a bit, this is still a good amount of lean mass for a woman.)

Maintenance calorie recommendations from the book are -
2400 calories on lifting days
2100 calories on off days

I have to make a determined effort to eat all my meals to make this calorie range, but I'm interested to see how it effects my numbers over the next week or two.

Last February, I had a good deal of success lifting according to the Body for Life lifting plan, and doing 20-mins of HIIT three-four times a week. I lost 11lbs of fat inside a month and gained a few pounds of muscle. However, I was only eating between 1500-1700 calories a day, and after five or six weeks of the above, I hit a wicked plateau. So now I'm trying maintenance calories, even if the loss is slower.

As of this week, here's what I'm eating:
Breakfast - .5c dry oats, 1 scoop whey, 1TB natural peanut butter, 20 raisins, .5c grated carrots

Snack - 1 large apple, 2 string cheese, 22 almonds

Lunch - 5oz lean ground turkey, .5c peas and corn, .5c sweetpotato (homemade "Shepherd's Pie")

Snack - 1c. 1% cottage cheese, 1 c. pineapple

Dinner - Same as lunch or 4oz. lean ground turkey on whole wheat hamburger bun, 1 slice lowfat American cheese, ketchup/mustard and cooked carrots w/ pat of butter

"Dessert" - 1c. whole yogurt with 1c. strawberries and 1T local honey (added this meal to bring up calories)

Going for the 40/30/30 split. Also, I cook ahead and plan mostly the same meals all week for ease. I switch it up every week or so to try and keep the variety.

[rixatrix]

This morning -

Workout A6, 10x3
Squats - 70
Push Ups - (toes/knees) 10/0, 5/5, 7,3 (not the best day for these)
Seated Row - 70, 75, 75
Step Up - 20, 20, 20 (up from 17.5)
Prone Jackknife - 12 / Rev. Crunch 12, 12

Food Planned -
Same as above, turkey burger for dinner (yum).

I'm at 100% compliance for the week, so I should have some good data to work with when I measure this weekend. Also, having such a pristine record for meals makes me not want to slip up, so I'm confident I'll get through today with my planned meals. The real trouble seems to be Friday night, when the boyfriend and I end up going out to eat with friends. We'll see what happens.

[marygrace]

Hi! Your workouts and diet both look really good!

I'm not sure if you are interested in Hi/Lo GI, but I often use agave nectar to sweeten things up, which has a pretty similar taste/consistency to honey, but with a very low GI. You can find it at most natural food stores, I think.

[rixatrix]

Originally Posted by marygrace

Hi! Your workouts and diet both look really good!

I'm not sure if you are interested in Hi/Lo GI, but I often use agave nectar to sweeten things up, which has a pretty similar taste/consistency to honey, but with a very low GI. You can find it at most natural food stores, I think.

I haven't been too concerned about GI stuff...I just try to keep my foods clean and eat a fruit or vegetable with everything.

I eat the local honey because I can get it at the Farmer's Market and having it every day in the summer seems to help with my allergies. (This hasn't been scientifically proven, definitively, but I see improvement.)

Is the agave nectar expensive? I have some Stevia around somewhere...

[GinnyLou]

Hi there!
I love LL and that song. I have it on my workout playlist. LOL

Your numbers look good and I am glad you started a training log, that I can peek into from time to time.
Keep up the good work!

[rixatrix]

Originally Posted by GinnyLou

Hi there!
I love LL and that song. I have it on my workout playlist. LOL

Your numbers look good and I am glad you started a training log, that I can peek into from time to time.
Keep up the good work!

Thanks GinnyLou! (Eeyore moment - Thanks for noticing me...)

That song is a total inspiration. When I go in to the weight room I feel like I have to act tough to hold my own. You definitely can't go into the squat rack, surrounded by big, beefy guys, and say, "Is anyone using this?" You gotta act like, "Back up, son! This is my world." So, needless to say, I've been listening to a lot of macho music.

I figured I'd get a log going because none of my friends or family are really into this...well, I have an aunt who used to do bodybuilding contests, so she's around. But I just wanted to share progress and accountability here. These forums and the people who participate in them are just fantastic.

Love your avatar, btw! One of my favorite Marilyn pictures.

[MuscleMom23]

AAAhhhhh you started a log! Good for you! (I just started one now).

Good I can visit and comment .

[marygrace]

I eat the local honey because I can get it at the Farmer's Market and having it every day in the summer seems to help with my allergies. (This hasn't been scientifically proven, definitively, but I see improvement.)

Is the agave nectar expensive? I have some Stevia around somewhere...

Local honey sounds nice. I wish I had access to more local stuff! Anyway, agave is more expensive than honey I think, but still not crazy expensive. About $5 for a bottle that I guess is comparable to the size of one of those honey bear bottles. Unlike Stevia it isn't calorie-free though.

[rixatrix]

Originally Posted by MuscleMom23

AAAhhhhh you started a log! Good for you! (I just started one now).

Good I can visit and comment .

Awesome! Nice to see ya here. =o) Where in Michigan do you hang around? I'm in Kalamazoo.

[MuscleMom23]

I am between Lansing and Detroit . In the boonies I might add LOL!

[rixatrix]

Man, I used to have so much energy, just a week or two ago. And now, during the day, I'm fine. But by 8pm, I'm bushed! And I've been sleeping like a baby for 9 1/2 hours every night. Not that I'm complaining, I love the quality of sleep, but coupled with long hours at work lately, I'm not getting much else done! This is one of those times I'm glad I haul my butt out of bed at 5:30 to hit the gym and get it out of the way.

[rixatrix]

Workout B6, 10x3
Deadlifts - 75, 75, 75
Shoulder Press - 22.5, 22.5 (9), 22.5
Bent over rows* - 45, 55, 65
Lunges - 12.5, 15, 15
Swiss-ball crunch - 12 (arms over head), 12 (plus 10lbs over head), 12 (10lbs)

*So, funny story...when I went to do the Lat Pulldowns, the cables were gone. I stood there staring at them for a while, trying to figure out what was going on - I thought maybe the cables on the other side were somehow switched up - until a Y Staff member came over and told me they were taken down because they were fraying. Yikes. So I did some bent-over rows, but they didn't feel quite as good. Still, better than nothing.

I upped my calories this week to "maintenance" - and I put it in quotes because Cassandra acknowledges it's just an estimation, not a law. Upon weigh-in this morning, I found I'd gained a bit. Went from 188.4lbs last week (at 29.6% bf) to 191.2lbs this morning (still at 29.6% bf).

Okay, so, obviously I know there's a break in period when going up in calories, and people hold onto water, and I know I didn't gain three pounds of fat in a week of eating a couple hundred more calories a day. But I'm weighing my options, because I do have a lot of fat to lose.

Options:
1) Keep calories the same, exercise the same, and evaluate after another week.
2) Keep calories the same, do 20-minute HIIT sessions Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
3) Lower calories by 300 (2100 lifting days, 1800 every other day), coupled with either option above (same exercise or add HIIT).

Right now, I'm leaning toward option 2. And if I'm not doing any better after an honest week of that, option 3.

I've eaten 100% clean since Monday. I want to have a full five days worth of untainted data to plug in.

My big concern is that trying to lose fat and get stronger are opposing goals and if I pursue them both, I won't do well at either. That's something to think about, I guess. But! I suppose I won't know how my body will do at the workouts on fewer calories unless I experiment and try it for myself. If I did cut calories, I might keep them the same on workout days and lower them more on off-days (and effectively zig-zag calories without a lot of additional thought).

I'll think about it more this weekend and start fresh with my new game plan on Monday.

[marygrace]

I think option 2 is a good idea, I would probably pick the same. I enjoy doing intervals, probably because the duration is pretty short, and its definitely worth it to me if I get to eat a little bit more. I usually do them three times a week as well, sometimes four if I've got some time.

[rixatrix]

Originally Posted by marygrace

I think option 2 is a good idea, I would probably pick the same. I enjoy doing intervals, probably because the duration is pretty short, and its definitely worth it to me if I get to eat a little bit more. I usually do them three times a week as well, sometimes four if I've got some time.

I like the intervals, too. I get so bored doing cardio. Even in front of the TV...music is the only thing that really helps.

But I'm toying with the ideas of lowering calories a bit and zig-zagging - eating maintenance on lifting days and lowering them more on the other days - while doing the intervals. I think I'm going to give it a try, unless it starts hindering my lifting workouts. We'll see! I've got around 30lbs to lose, and I'd love to see some of that gone before summer. You know? I've been hearing good things about zig-zagging.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by marygrace

I'm not sure if you are interested in Hi/Lo GI, but I often use agave nectar to sweeten things up, which has a pretty similar taste/consistency to honey, but with a very low GI. You can find it at most natural food stores, I think.

Glycemic Indexing is losing it's validity under current scrutiny. A recent study showed people who ate a high GI diet lost more fat with less variance among the subjects than the other group that ate a low GI diet.

A lot of the things we've based ideas on are falling apart under current technical resources and thinking.

[kfisherx]

Originally Posted by rixatrix

I upped my calories this week to "maintenance" - and I put it in quotes because Cassandra acknowledges it's just an estimation, not a law. Upon weigh-in this morning, I found I'd gained a bit. Went from 188.4lbs last week (at 29.6% bf) to 191.2lbs this morning (still at 29.6% bf).

Okay, so, obviously I know there's a break in period when going up in calories, and people hold onto water, and I know I didn't gain three pounds of fat in a week of eating a couple hundred more calories a day. But I'm weighing my options, because I do have a lot of fat to lose.

Okay so you didn't gain 3 lbs of fat for sure because your bf fat % remained the same. I would say that you gained some water and muscle though. That is a good thing. What you do next is really a matter of what your goals are in this program. I too have some fat to loose but am wishing to come out of this program with more muscle mass as well as fat loss. The option for me is to eat more and allow the weight to go up but keep the bf% around the same. So far I have put on more than 5 lbs and it is starting to show all over my body with my muscles. The reason it makes sense to do it this way if you want to have more muscle mass as an end result is because this new muscle will work with my body when I begin the cut and help burn the fat.

If your main focus though is on fat loss with some amount of tone then start a nice cut (lower those cals) and get it over with as soon as possble. Then you can re-evalutate your goals. If you are gaining muscle btw, it is likely the case that your cals are higher than maintenance anyway or you are understimating how much you are eating.