It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A! (Salome1980's log)

Salome1980 · 04-09-2008, 04:53 PM

Yeah, my title is totally cheesy and unoriginal, but hey, the YMCA is my third home so I thought it was appropriate. Welcome to my training log! I've been lurking for a while but decided it was time I finally posted something. So here it is!

First the basics: I’m 27, female, 5’8”, 169 lbs and in the middle of trying to lose 40 lbs. I’ve lost 18 lbs since last September by eating a mostly healthy diet, lifting weights and doing a mix of low and high intensity cardio, but I still have 22 lbs to go. I'm not new to lifting but my workouts were getting stale, so I bought NROL4W hoping the program might help me mix things up a little.

I started Stage 2 on Monday and in the immortal words of Keanu Reeves…whoa. Workout B wasn't so bad but I swear the front squat/push press combo in Workout A nearly killed me. Anyway, let's get to it:

Current measurements:
Body fat – 25%
Bust – 35”
Waist (natural waist) – 29.5”
Waist (at navel) – 31”
Hips – 39.75”
Thighs – 21.5”
Upper arm – 10.25”

April 7, 2008: Stage 2, Workout A1
- Front squat/push press – 2 x 10 with Oly bar only (I’ll be doing these with no added weight for a couple of workouts until I get used to the movement)
- Step-up – 2 x 10 (30 lb DBs)
- Dumbell one-point row - 2 x 10 (1st set 15 lb DBs, 2nd set 20 lb DBs)
- Static lunge, rear foot elevated - 2 x 10 (15 lb DBs)
- Push-up - 2 x 10 (military)
- Plank - 2 at 60secs each (45 degree)
- Cable horizontal wood chop - 2 x 10 (1st set 20 lbs , 2nd set 25 lb )

April 9, 2008: Stage 2, Workout B1
- Wide-grip deadlifts from box – 2 x10 (115 lbs)
- Bulgarian split-squat – 2 x 10 (25 lb plate)
- Underhand grip lat pulldown – 2 x 10 (1st set 80 lbs, 2nd set 100 lbs)
- Reverse lunge with front reach – 2 x 10 (20 lb DBs)
- Prone DB Cuban snatch – 2 x 10 (10 lb DBs)
- Swiss ball crunch – 2 x 10 (1st set bodyweight, 2nd set 10 lb plate)
- Reverse crunch – 2 x 10
- Lateral Flexion – 2 x 10
- Prone Cobra – 2 (1st set 30 secs, 2nd set 60)
15 minute HIIT on the Stairmaster

Since I’m trying to lose weight I’m not following the diet recommendations in the book. I used this calculator to determine my caloric requirements and based on my stats, I require an estimated 2670 calories to maintain my weight. So I’ve been eating anywhere from 1800 – 2700 calories daily and I think that’s a perfect range for me right now; I have enough energy to complete my workouts and I never feel hungry. I’ve only lost 3 lbs since starting NROLW but considering I had plateaued for nearly 2 months prior to that, I’m pretty happy with my results!

Salome1980 · 04-11-2008, 12:03 PM

Today was weigh-in day for me and I was so excited because I figured with all the hard work I've been doing I was sure to lose a little something, right? Wrong! In fact, I gained weight and am now at 171.5lbs. Grrrr. This sucks and I guess it’s officially a plateau because I’ve been bouncing around between 169 and 172 lbs for the past 6 weeks. I know I shouldn't let this get to me and I should be happy I'm gaining strength and seeing a decrease in my measurements and body fat percentage but I can't help but get a little pissed that I haven’t seen a REAL loss on the scale for nearly two months now. When did I become such a slave to the scale? I used to never weigh myself but now I'm so scale obsessed I actually make my boyfriend hide the scale from me, otherwise I'd be on it six times a day. Obviously, I know this is irrational and unhealthy behavior but I can't seem to stop!

April 11, 2008: Stage 2 – Workout A2
Front squat/push press – 2 x 10 (Oly bar only)
Step-up – 2 x 10 (30lb DBs)
Push-up – 2 x 10 (BW)
Static lunge with rear foot elevated – 2 x 10 (25lb DBs)
DB one-point row – 2 x 10 (1st set 20 lb DBs, 2nd set 25lb DBs)
Plank – 2 x 10 (BW)
Cable horizontal wood-chop – 2 x 10 (30lbs)

Cardio: 30 min interval workout (not HIIT)

The front squat/push press combo was much easier today but boy these REALLY get my heart rate going! I went from 130 to 175 bpm (about 85%) of my max after only four reps which I found pretty impressive. The movement still feels a little awkward but I guess I’ll get used to it after a while.

As far as food goes, I’ve decided to start logging my daily intake again, which is something I haven’t done for 5 months. I did it for one month when I decided to make a serious attempt to lose weight but stopped because I felt it made me a little too fixated on food. But I think now would be a good time to revisit the practice, at least for a few weeks so I can try to break this plateau.