Thanks everyone! I finally feel like I know what I need to do now, and what I am doing has actually been working. Even though losing will be slow, I just feel like I am better control of it all now. To top it off, for some unknown reason I was digging in the back of my closet and found some old pants. So I tried them on and ta-da they fit! Now I can't remember exactly when they are from, but they are Hollister. like, OMG LOLZ. I know I am wayyyy too old for Hollister, you can't really see the tag so its all good. I also found an old pair of Abercrombie size 6's. They are just kind of ugly so I probably won't ever wear them, but I got them on.
Oh yeah , my workout last night! I was in such a rush to get this done because I had this thing for work I had to be at. But I did it all and just when I think I am getting used to the stage 7 workouts....nope! Still kicked my ass.
Stage 7 Workout 4, Round 2
Barbell Squat:
8 x 85
8 x 85 - meh, went down because I wasn't feeling 100% and didn't want to push it too hard and these were still not easy!
Alternating Sets
Dumbbell Squat w/Feet on Plates:
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
DB shoulder press:
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
Step up:
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
Lat Pulldown - sub negative chin up:
1 x BW
1 x BW
1 x BW
1 x BW
Yep, totally tired and sweaty after this. My cold is getting better but has moved into my lungs so breathing is a chore. Its not bad though. My quads are sore already today. Quadoms.
Kinda sucked with food last night but I am pretty sure I didn't go over on calories. We had this beer making event for work. A team of us went to this mircro brewery and brewed up some beer. It was fun! But I didn't get a chance to eat anything before I got there. I wasn't hungry at all but I did have a few things. Small pork sandwich and part of a soft pretzel. And a few tiny glasses to sample some delicious beers. I don't know what they were called but comparable to an Anchor Steam and Newcastle. So I am feeling a little puffy today from all the carbs and probably sodium.
Hooray for a holiday weekend! My little bro is all moved in at college so I am going to check out his place tomorrow. I am so excited to have him in the same city as me.
I finally feel like I know what I need to do now, and what I am doing has actually been working. Even though losing will be slow, I just feel like I am better control of it all now.
In the end, being in control is the best thing that can happen, no matter the weight loss speed.
Feeling better each day, but still not 100% in the morning. Anyway, I put off my workout until last night instead of yesterday morning because of this.
Stage 7 Workout 5, round 2
Alternating sets
Incline bench:
8 x 60
8 x 60
Barbell bent over row:
8 x 55
8 x 55
Alternating Sets
Static Lunge w/rear Foot Elevated:
15 x 15's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
Push Up:
15 x BW - feet on step on all
15 x BW
15 x BW
15 x BW
Rom. Deadlift:
15 x 65
15 x 65
15 x 65
15 x 65 - this is a new high for stage 7 - I can feel it today
Dumbbell bent over row:
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
Legs were super shaky after this. Butt and hammies are sore today, as well as my shoulers from the push-ups and bench. Good sore though.
Today we did some shopping and bought some new furniture from Ikea. Always fun to put together. Those crazy Swedes!
Went and saw my bro's dorm room and the campus yesterday. He is really excited about everything. He showed me the weight room where I know he will be spending lots of his time and it was really nice. I was jealous! The college athletic facilities are always so awesome and the weight rooms there are so dedicated to strength and performance unlike most commercial gyms I have been to. Maybe I can sneak in a workout there with him sometime!
Tomorrow I hope to get in a walk with a friend I haven't seen in a while and hit the trails on my bike! One more stage 7 workout left on Tuesday then its time to start NROL Fat Loss. As hard as stage 7 is, I might go back to it. I seem to have made the most progress body look wise during this stage. Could have been lost of factors, but I know I worked harder in this stage then any of the others.
Ok well I have a lot of logs to catch up on today! Gotta check out the challenge thread but won't be able to until tonight.
Anyway, yesterday I went on a 6.5 mile walk with a friend. It was soooo hot and humid I think I sweated away a few pounds. The heat should finally be gone today and highs will be back into the 70's this week. Before I know it it will be in the 20's. Boo.
Also, I seemed to have pinched a nerve/pulled something? I have no idea how either - it happened when I was carrying some groceries into the house. Not heavy ones or anything. Its on my right side mostly at the top of my butt. It hurts when I bend over or do any kind of "romanian deadlift" type movement. I should be able to get my lifting in tonight - might have to skip the deadlifts though. Boo. Why does this crap happen to me? Just when I am making good progress. I took a prescription naproxen this morning and so far all it has done is make me hungry. Grrrr.
You sound like me. I'll be doing really well and then something silly/stupid will happen and I'll hurt myself. It really sucks! Doing everything except the deadlifts is still better than doing nothing though!
How's your commute going? I've seen that there's all sorts of riots and whatnot out there.
Hope the hip/back/butt is feeling a bit better by now... I always hurt myself, so I understand the frustration... Hardest part for me is NOT doing stuff to make it worse, just having the patience to let something heal...
Hi Bree - I had to say hi as I see you are in MN - and when I read a bit of your log I got nostalgic! I lived in mpls my whole life (usually suburbs), and moved to CA (NorCal - SF suburbs) only 4 years ago with my hubby to be at the time. I miss family and SOME parts of the seasons, but the weather here is fantastic and I quickly got used to no snow!
We still have a home in Maple Grove and a lake home in Alexandria - I see your brother played hockey there, so I am sure you've been there! I love Alex! We have a ton of family in Mpls, so we're back pretty regularly.
Also, I went to UMD for college, so we played NDSU I am pretty sure - I graduated college in 92, though, so I am a BIT older...Drat...
Finally, I JUST started NROL Break In today - did you write you were going to do NROL next? I might have that wrong. Can't say much, first day, but I liked it. I just came from Turb Training and got second place in the recent challenge, but put on a few lbs in the past month since it was over! Eeeek! I am 5'7", too, and hope to see the 130's in my lifetime, but, since 143 was 14% BF for me, I don't hold too much hope of that at this point...I just want to maintain around that mark, which I think I can do...
I had a leftover lean beef patty and mashed cauliflower with a half serving of Laughing Cow Light Cheese - I felt like I was eating a good old Scandinavian casserole! I loved it!! I am going to work on this and add mushroom and some brocolli and i think it is going to be my new staple. My low carb days are usually devoid of much fun food, so this could be a bright spot!
I got married in May 07 - so I get the stresses of wedding planning. We should have eloped, in hindsight! If i had ONE picture that was as cute as your avatar, though, it would have been worth it...! I don't think I did...
Had to say hi - too much in common!
__________________
"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."
How's your commute going? I've seen that there's all sorts of riots and whatnot out there.
Hey Christina, commute was fine so far. I get to work around 7 though so I think I miss most of it. And the rioting stuff was a little scary to see on the news. Its sad it has to get so violent. There were 283 arrests the first day!
Quote:
Hope the hip/back/butt is feeling a bit better by now... I always hurt myself, so I understand the frustration... Hardest part for me is NOT doing stuff to make it worse, just having the patience to let something heal...
Thanks Bytsi. Well I did my workout and it seems to be ok. More of an annoyance then anything. I talked to my Dad about it and he seems to think its mroe of a pulled or stress ligament in my tail bone area. (Hes like this body guru - he knows everything! He used to work in medicine...long story) First thing he asked was if I had done something new or harder and I guess I did do higher weight on the RDL's, but that was on Saturday. I know my hammies were tight and maybe the combination just tightened it all up. Anyway, I am just going to keep stretching!
Quote:
Hi Bree - I had to say hi as I see you are in MN - and when I read a bit of your log I got nostalgic! I lived in mpls my whole life (usually suburbs), and moved to CA (NorCal - SF suburbs) only 4 years ago with my hubby to be at the time. I miss family and SOME parts of the seasons, but the weather here is fantastic and I quickly got used to no snow!
We still have a home in Maple Grove and a lake home in Alexandria - I see your brother played hockey there, so I am sure you've been there! I love Alex! We have a ton of family in Mpls, so we're back pretty regularly.
Also, I went to UMD for college, so we played NDSU I am pretty sure - I graduated college in 92, though, so I am a BIT older...Drat...
Finally, I JUST started NROL Break In today - did you write you were going to do NROL next? I might have that wrong. Can't say much, first day, but I liked it. I just came from Turb Training and got second place in the recent challenge, but put on a few lbs in the past month since it was over! Eeeek! I am 5'7", too, and hope to see the 130's in my lifetime, but, since 143 was 14% BF for me, I don't hold too much hope of that at this point...I just want to maintain around that mark, which I think I can do...
I had a leftover lean beef patty and mashed cauliflower with a half serving of Laughing Cow Light Cheese - I felt like I was eating a good old Scandinavian casserole! I loved it!! I am going to work on this and add mushroom and some brocolli and i think it is going to be my new staple. My low carb days are usually devoid of much fun food, so this could be a bright spot!
I got married in May 07 - so I get the stresses of wedding planning. We should have eloped, in hindsight! If i had ONE picture that was as cute as your avatar, though, it would have been worth it...! I don't think I did...
Had to say hi - too much in common!
Hi Karla! Thanks for stopping! I love "meeting" fellow Mn folks. We do have a lot in common - do you make it back here much? I spent a decent amount of time in Alex....but my bro is all done with juniors now so I won't be going there anymore. Well not in the winter anyway, but the summer is the best time to be there. Congrats on your wedding as well - and thanks about the picture. I did get some fun ones but as sad as it sounds, I look better now then I did a year ago in all those photos.
I quickly checked out your blog and wow - you look amazing! It is soooo encouraging to hear you were 143 and 14% BF. Congrats on taking second place, too. I used to get so obsessed with being in the 130's, but my body is slowly starting to change and although I have lost some pounds lately, I want to focus on how clothes fit and how I look in the mirror. Its such a struggle to get rid of that scale weight mentality.
Oh and as of today I am officially done with NROL4W and will be starting NROL Fat Loss 1. Can't decide if I sould do the break in or not. Since my lower back/butt is hurting I might just ease into it with those.
Final Stage 7 workout....ta da! I did it twice. It can be done And I am not even scared to do it again someday. Well not that scared.
Stage 7 Workout 6, Round 2
Barbell deadlift:
10 x 65
10 x 65 - yes I am aware of how wimpy this is. This movement - bending over/folding in half is what hurts my butt the most, so I went light.
Alternating Sets
Dumbbell Squat w/Feet on Plates:
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
DB shoulder press:
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
15 x 20's
Step up:
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
15 x 15's
Lat Pulldown - sub negative chin up:
1 x BW
1 x BW
1 x BW
1 x BW
Well that's all she wrote. Tonight I am going to crack open my brand new NROL book while I watch Andy Roddick (yum) win tonight at the US Open And do some serious stretching for this strange butt/tail bone pain.
And since I am done with New Rules for Women, I did put together a little photo imagery of my befores and afters. I am working up the nerve to post it. Maybe in a couple days - I have been so inspired by everyone in the challenge and how brave for posting and for how encouraging everyone is for each other. That sentence did not make sense. Anyway, point is I will be posting the pics soon.
Kinda sucked with food last night but I am pretty sure I didn't go over on calories. We had this beer making event for work. A team of us went to this mircro brewery and brewed up some beer. It was fun! But I didn't get a chance to eat anything before I got there. I wasn't hungry at all but I did have a few things. Small pork sandwich and part of a soft pretzel. And a few tiny glasses to sample some delicious beers. I don't know what they were called but comparable to an Anchor Steam and Newcastle.
HOW DID I MISS THIS??
That sounds like a lot of fun - what is it you do for work that they'd take you to make beer?? Are you hiring? The styles would be a Steam Lager and an English Brown Ale.
I'm looking forward to the pics - I'm impressed you did stage 7 twice. I had enough of the 4-set deal I couldn't bring myself to do it again.
__________________
"If 'toning' is the goal, strength is the method." ~ Mark Rippetoe
Thanks Celeste. The pain is a little better today. So at least its not getting worse, right? And I will hopefully get to the pictures tonight.
DM - Yes it was a lot of fun to see how it all comes together. I have been to breweries before but this is on a much smaller scale obviously. Its kind of a long story why,a client we work with is doing this promotion with all of their clients. What is funny is ee actually might be hiring soon! Are you an architect? In October we will get to go sample our hard work and have some to take home. The beer we brewed is called Highlander Scotch Ale. Our boss chose it - I don't beleive I have ever had a scotch ale before. He is quite the conossieur. He has two taps in his house and orders his kegs from Europe! I would be in trouble if I lived there
Scotch ale is yummy, and they're pretty easy to brew (hard to mess up, basically). It will be fun to taste the product in October! The lavender really adds a nice sweet touch without making the beer taste floral.
I'm not an architect, though I like taking pictures of buildings if that counts.
__________________
"If 'toning' is the goal, strength is the method." ~ Mark Rippetoe
And the rioting stuff was a little scary to see on the news. Its sad it has to get so violent. There were 283 arrests the first day!
With any luck, it'll be like the DNC--the first night we had about 100 arrests, and then it all calmed down afterwards. There were still protests, but nothing got out of hand.
Congrats on finishing up NROLW. I'm so impressed you went through stage 7 twice! You're a better person than me. I didn't even make it through once! It made me way too pukey.
Did about 52 minutes on the bike. It is definitely fall today! Its about 70, no clouds. Perfect day to be outside. In fact the low for tonight is 47. I like fall.
Ok well here it is. My journey through New Rules of Lifting for Women. My body has changed in the past 6 months, but most of those changes have come in the past two. I think its a reflection of what I have learned here about eating more then anything.
Ok stats - the big reveal:
March '08:
Age 26
Ht: 5'7"
Wt: 153
Chest: 35
Waist: 28.5
Hip at widest part: 38
Hip at hip bone: 36
Thighs 6" above knee: 21
Arms: 11
BF% according to cheap ass tanita scale: 28.5%
August 28th '08:
Age 26
Ht: 5'7"
Wt: 145
Chest: 35
Waist: 27.5 -1
Hip at widest part: 36 -2
Hip at hip bone: 34 -2
Thighs 6" above knee: 21
Arms: 10.5 -.5
BF% according to cheap ass tanita scale: 25.5% -3%??*
*I am pretty skeptical of the tanita that I didn't pay much for
And the photos. Here is my disclaimer. One, the angle and lighting are different making it hard to compare exactly. And two, don't be alarmed I have bruises everywhere. I don't know where they come from. I run into things all the time! I think the one on my thigh look like a Mac apple. Ha ha.
My take - based on how my pants are fitting I would say the area I saw most loss is my hips, love handles, and thighs. My chest has gotten smaller but what do you do. Overall based on what I have done lately I am encouraged for the next 6 months!
Ok well here it is. My journey through New Rules of Lifting for Women. My body has changed in the past 6 months, but most of those changes have come in the past two. I think its a reflection of what I have learned here about eating more then anything.
Ok stats - the big reveal:
March '08:
Age 26
Ht: 5'7"
Wt: 153
Chest: 35
Waist: 28.5
Hip at widest part: 38
Hip at hip bone: 36
Thighs 6" above knee: 21
Arms: 11
BF% according to cheap ass tanita scale: 28.5%
August 28th '08:
Age 26
Ht: 5'7"
Wt: 145
Chest: 35
Waist: 27.5 -1
Hip at widest part: 36 -2
Hip at hip bone: 34 -2
Thighs 6" above knee: 21
Arms: 10.5 -.5
BF% according to cheap ass tanita scale: 25.5% -3%??*
*I am pretty skeptical of the tanita that I didn't pay much for
And the photos. Here is my disclaimer. One, the angle and lighting are different making it hard to compare exactly. And two, don't be alarmed I have bruises everywhere. I don't know where they come from. I run into things all the time! I think the one on my thigh look like a Mac apple. Ha ha.
My take - based on how my pants are fitting I would say the area I saw most loss is my hips, love handles, and thighs. My chest has gotten smaller but what do you do. Overall based on what I have done lately I am encouraged for the next 6 months!
I will attach them....I am so bad at teh interwebz. I think it might actaully be an issue with snapfish.
Great improvements - abs are getting ripped!!! And I swear I thought that "apple" bruise was a tattoo or something - it looks just like the "apple" logo!!! Wow!!!
See, now you've joined the scary group that post headless shots. Congrats! I'm with Bytsi I see a difference in your abs.
My odd bruise had faded by picture taking time. I couldn't figure out what it was, but it was the edge of the power blocks (but showed up like a triangular shaped bruise).
It took a lot of guts to put those out there. Like I said, I haven't made giant progress, but mentally I am in a place where I feel I am on the right track.
Tonight is the first break in workout of NROL. I am excited to get back to some nice basic, but challenging lifts. Haven't decided if I am going to re-introduce HIIT yet or not. I didn't do any for the past month of Stage 7. I think I will wait and see how I feel after the workout. Hopefully I won't have any energy left for it
And do some serious stretching for this strange butt/tail bone pain. 
Linear Mode
