Jumping in with both feet

[Velogirl]

Ok, so here I am, lurking and reading, being silently inspired by all you women who have taken this challenge and continue with it. My partner and I bought the book (NROL4W) after checking out the first version from the library. What a treasure we found in that first book. We were thrilled to find the women's version. We've been reading blogs like stumptuous.com (Mistress Krista is my idol) and gubernatrix trying to find a better workout.

In February my partner started the workouts while I was on a business trip in California. I so wanted to bring the book with me so that I can try to get Alwyn to sign it since I was going to be near his place for a day. I can be such a geek with stuff like that.

Anywho, I started when I returned to find my partner LOVES the program. She was able to show me the exercises and how to perform each one with good form. Off to a good start. I have to say, it is so nice to go to the gym, plan in hand, with someone to help you out.

Stats for me:
Female, age 41
5'7" 160#
32.8% Body Fat*
102.4 lb. Muscle Mass*
* Last two reading from body weight/fat scale

More on the actual workouts to come...

[dillytl]

WELCOME!!!!!

[Velogirl]

The workouts started on Feb 26. I've missed two since starting but have made sure to do two every week.

26-Feb Stage 1 W/O A
Squat: Set 1: 32# 15 Set 2: 32# 15
Push-up: S1: 60 degree 15x S2: 60 degree 15x
Seated Row: S1: 50# 15 S2: 60# 15
Step-Up: 20# 10x S2: 20# 15x
Prone Jacknife: S1: 8x S2:9

Initial start with learning how to accomplish all exercises with good form. Felt like a fool doing the Prone Jacknife. Second set I had to be sure my shirt was tucked into my shorts otherwise I was giving quite a show to the boys in the gym!

28-Feb W/O B
Deadlift: S1: 45# 15 S2: 45# 15
Shoulder Press: S1: 16# 15 S2: 16# 15
Lat Pull Down: S1: 55# 15 S2: 55# 15
Lunge: S1: BW 15 S2: BW 15
Crunches/Swiss Ball: S1: BW 15 S2: BW 10x, 2K Ball 10x

So that's the start of a beautiful me! Wait, a HEALTHY beautiful me. Instead of posting everything I've done since then, I'll post the last workout I've done, along with what was done later in the day.

15 Mar: WO #4 A
Squat: Warm up: 45# 10, S1: 50# 10, S2: 50# 12
Push-Up: S1: 45 degree 12, S2: 45 degree 12
Seated Row: S1: 70# 12, S2: 70# 15
Step Up: S1: 20# 12 (6" riser) S2: 20# 12 (12" riser)
Prone Jacknife: S1: 10 S2: 12

Since Lisa (partner) had started the program before me, she is at the 3 sets stage. I had time to kill while waiting for her to finish so I decided to do a 10 minute HIIT run. I'm not sure how "highly intense" it was, but I did get through it.

After the morning workout, partner and I went home to take care of dogs and start on the yard work. Holy hell, we moved logs and stacked them into piles, raked wet leaves, blackberry stalks and debris and lifted the piles onto a pickup. We ended up having a second workout that was almost as strenuous as the morning workout.

Today is supposed to be a rest day. Haha. Man I'm hungry.

[kfisherx]

Hey welcome to the logging. It sounds like you really are jumping in with both feet. How is your body responding to this? Are you sore yet? We all got huge appetites when starting this program. It seems to kick up the metabolism in many of us.

[bigDman]

good luck, Log looks nice. Ill be watching

[Velogirl]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Hey welcome to the logging. It sounds like you really are jumping in with both feet. How is your body responding to this? Are you sore yet? We all got huge appetites when starting this program. It seems to kick up the metabolism in many of us.

Thanks Karla, yep, the body is really sore. More this weekend than last few weeks. Too much done in the yard. Usually, I'm fatigued but don't feel as if I've over done it. Maybe that means I need to up the weights.

I've noticed my appetite has increased a great deal. We've been logging our meals every day and the calories keep piling up. It's crazy. I think I eat more than the guys I work with and they race bicycles!

[Velogirl]

Originally Posted by bigDman

good luck, Log looks nice. Ill be watching

Thanks Paul.

[Amblus]

Welcome! It looks like you're doing really well.

[Velogirl]

Two days of "rest" and back to the gym. Not really a rest when, on Mondays and Wednesdays, I also train in and teach 4-5 year olds Tae Kwon Do. Plus, tackling blackberry bushes in the back yard is no rest day. Tonight, on the 1/2 mile walk to our local community center that has the gym, the partner and I pass by a field with a father and his 8-ish year old son getting ready to set off a rocket. We stop to watch and the rocket jets off into the wild blue. We cheer but quickly quiet down as it lands about 3 blocks away on the other side of a building. The boy just stares. Dad says, "That's gone buddy!" Way to go Dad.

On to the workout:

I left my latest sheet at home that had my last set of weights and reps so I wasn't sure where to start off at. My memory threw some numbers in my head and I noted them on the sheet. As I sit here, I find my original sheet and see I wasn't too far off. Not bad.

Stage 1, WO B #4

Deadlift: W/U 50#/12 S1: 55#/12 S2: 65#/12
Shoulder Press: S1: 12# ea/12 S2: 15# ea/12
Lat Pull Down: S1: 70#/12 S2: 70#/12 (These seem to be so difficult to get pass this weight!)
Lunge: S1: 12#ea./15 S2: 15#ea./15
Crunches: S1: 10#/15 S2: 10#/15 (Didn't realize I was only supposed to be doing 10 reps)

I can tell that I have not had enough to eat today. My head hurts and I felt cranky right after walking out of the gym. My calorie tracking says less than 1450 calories. I can so feel a difference when I don't eat enough. Mmm... big fat chicken and black bean burrito waiting for me.

[Velogirl]

Rest day today... which means that I get to play, er, teach little ones Tae Kwon Do. A bunch of punches, kicks and tumbling and loads of games. A short rest between teaching my class and attending my own class gives me enough time eat the banana and two chocolate chip cookies my 17 year old son made the other night. Train in my class, then home for dinner.

Tomorrow I start the second phase of Stage 1 with 3 sets instead of 2. Oh lucky me!

[Velogirl]

Wow, it's been forever since I've logged any workouts. But I have been working out. Which is good. Yet work has been hectic. Which is bad. But I got a promotion. So that's good.

Thursday 20 Mar: Stage 1 - WO A5

Squat: S1: 50/12, S2: 55/10 S3: 60/10 (Didn't realize I was only supposed to do 10 reps until after first set)

Push Up: S1: 45 degree bench/10, S2: Same, S3: Same

Seated Row: S1: 70/10, S2: 70/10, S3: 55/10

Step Up: S1: 20lb/10, S2: 20lb/10, S3: 24lb/10

Prone Jacknife: S1: 9, S2: 12, S3: 12

Tonight is TKD night with LisaC.

[Velogirl]

So the motivation has slipped to an all-time low these past couple weeks. I do not see any changes yet (at least not the ones I'm wanting to see) and my workouts hadn't been fantastic with being sore/hurt/whatever. I know all the reasons for staying in the program: You'll look fantastic, think of all the things you'll be able to do, You'll be healthier, yada yada yada. I want to look in the mirror and see that my stomach is an inch or 4 smaller. I want to see my thighs not jiggle. I want I want I want. I really can't stand all this yammering going on in my head. I keep going on because I have the best partner in the world who wants me to succeed at this and see me be happy with myself. So she decided to go back and do a few of the workouts again with me. We weren't on the same track... she had started before me and I missed a couple workouts that put me back further. I didn't want to get discouraged and neither did she, so here we are, ready to keep going. I'm waiting for her to get home and changed so we can walk over to the gym. I made a platform on the back patio to do some little "jump ups" on as a warm up. The better I get, the higher that platform goes.

So enough whining. Here is my last workout:

Stage 1 6A

Squat: WU: 45/8, S1:55/8, S2: 65/8, S3: 75/8
Push-Up: S1: 8 on bench, S2: 8 on floor (no knees), S3: 8/Foor
Seated Row: S1:55/8, S2: 70/8, S3: 70/8
Step Up: S1: 20#/8, S2: 24#/8, S3: 24#/8
Prone Jacknife: S1: 15, S2: 15, S3: 15

Food has been a bit of an issue for me. I want to make sure I'm eating enough but I don't want to overdo it. And I want to be sure I'm eating the right kinds of food. I may go back to tracking everything. I think that was the biggest issue for me... taking the time to track it all.

Not home yet. More jumping!

[Silly Sally]

I'm with you on the tracking - I dont' have time. I think we all KNOW what to eat, and about the right portion sizes, and just need to be diligent about our choices. I've read on here that you can eat as often as you want, as long as you eat "clean". I think that's probably right. Brings back memories of Susan Powter. Maybe we should all shave our heads?

Keep on!

[Velogirl]

Yesterday's workout was the last of Stage 1 Workout A for me. LisaC and I put to rest squats, for now, having frustrating discussion about form. I don't want to to go atg, she keeps telling me to bring my butt lower. I just want to be sure I'm not rounding my back and not folding forward into a good morning. Back stays flat but I know I need to work on folding over. I'd rather stay more upright than have my butt go lower, as long as I'm still parallel to the floor. That being said, this is how the workout went:

Squats: WU: Empty bar/8, 65#/5, S1:75#/8, S2: 70#/8, S3: Bar/8 ("discussions in between)
Push up: S1,2&3: Floor/8 (These feel so good to be down on the floor, no knees, going down 'til the bill of my hat hits the floor)
Seated Rows: S1&2: 85#/8, S3:70#/8 (Better form and more range of motion at 70#, 85 seemed to not feel as good, but I did do them)
Step Up: S1,2&3: 16#/8/Bench
Prone Jacknife: S1,2&3: 15 (These surprise me, I start out sharp and feel great, but when I get to 12 I start getting tired. My balance is soooo much better than when I first started these. Just need to make sure my shirt is tucked in!)

Tuesday is our last Stage 1 workout. I feel as if I already had a rest week so most likely just the day off in between will suffice. I do know that when we do deadlifts I also want to do a few squats for form. I have to remember to bring the camera to video us in the gym with weights so we can critique it at home and leave the banter out of the gym.

As soon as I download the pics from the camera, I can post my "before" pictures. I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not, but putting it out there and saying that I vow for something to happen at the end of the 6 month commitment to the program will keep me accountable for my actions and results. A list of stats will follow.

[Velogirl]

Yeah!!!! I got back on the bike and actually did a ride with LisaC and it didn't rain on us. WooHOO! Those of you living in Portland, OR know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I've decided that since my bike rides are part of my weight loss training, I am going to post them here.

If anyone in the PDX area wants to get together for either a road or mountain bike ride, drop me a line. I'd love to ride with new people.

Anyway, here's the ride. Not much, but after a winter of only looking at my bike, it's something!

Time: 1:01':05
Distance: 13.36mi
Max: 22.2mph
Average: 13.1mph
No cadence yet. Have to adjust computer sensor for next ride.

My goal during the week is to ride on the trainer for at least 15-20 minutes when the S.O. gets up for work early. That should give me time to start the coffee and ride for awhile as she gets ready. Longer rides on the weekends. She and I work out Tu-Th-Sa which leaves Sunday open for longer bike rides. Thank gawd it isn't football season right now. That's a decision I hate to make!

[Silly Sally]

Originally Posted by Velogirl

Yesterday's workout was the last of Stage 1 Workout A for me.

Congratulations!

[Velogirl]

Done with Stage 1. We finished the last workout last night and I hit triple digits on the deadlifts. Last set was 8 @ 100 lbs. The rest of the workout looked something like this:

Deadlift: S1: 8@85, S2: 8@9