elyse's college-grad promise fulfilling log (NROL4W)

[elyse]

Hi all

I'm Elyse. I'm 21, and have been graduated from college for almost a year. I took Judo for most of college, and would lift on/off (mostly off, ha) due to my erratic college schedule. I swore to myself that once I graduated and had a steady job and a normal schedule, I'd go to the gym regularly and fix up my diet.

I'm Lisa~'s daughter, so I've picked up a lot from her, and never had any really terrible eating habits or learned any lifts wrong. (Best mom ever!) It's been awesome having her to ask questions to and get advice, but I wanted to post here to get some accountability as well! (Now I've set the bar really high for myself, huh? haha)

I bought NROL4W and have started tracking what I eat on Fitday. I never really ate THAT badly but I definitely underate so this is a pretty big jump in calories for me. I'm doing pretty good but I could definitely get more protein in there!


INFO
5'4"
125lbs
Need to get a tape or something for measurements, as I'm not totally sure. I fit really well into my 29" jeans (they sit on the hips, not waist), but I'm definitely skinny fat. Will report back when I can find some measuring tape or something.

NROL4W STAGE 1 WORKOUT A
warmup

Squats
15x20 (way too easy)
15x40 (still too easy - gotta go up!! oly bar next time!)

Push-ups
15x60* angle (off the bench press bar - easy)
15x30* angle (off a bench - did all 15 but was very difficult. starting here next time)

Lat Pulldowns
15x45
15x45 (perfect - last few weren't full ROM, difficult but doable)

Step Ups
15x10/bw
15x10
I started holding 10lb DBs. Felt weird, so I put them down and tried it with BW, but I had difficulty not using my trailing leg, and my knee fell in a lot. Went back to the 10s, and had better form. Need a higher bench to use, this one didn't have my leg quite parallel to the ground. Also need to watch some videos. Lisa~ says (and I know she is right) that my glutes are probably not strong enough. I am really tight in my glutes/hams (can't come close to touching my toes) so this is something I really want to work on.

Prone Jackknife
2x15
2x15
Need to check my form on these - felt really easy. Probably had too much leg on the ball.


DIET

NROL4W puts me at ~1900 nonworkout days and ~2100 workout days. I'm gonna give this (or close to it) a try for a while, as I know I've been undereating and I'm not really sure where exactly I need to be. I want to lose the fat I've got, esp. in my thighs and stomach but I'm not really looking for fat/weight loss per se. My main goal is to get strong! The pudge will go with that (at least that is the plan) Which means my diet is key so I am going to try to do really well!

breakfast:
2 egg omelet with ham, bell pepper, tiny bit of cheese, half a small (not ripe enough, sigh) peach, milk

snack:
peanut butter and banana (probably overdid it on the PB)

lunch/snack
tuna and some crackers, apple

snack
cottage cheese, strawberries

pwo/dinner
orange/peach/mango juice + protein power
brown rice, black beans, tomatoes, carrots/snap peas/baby corns/red bell pepper strips, ~10 shrimp, tiny bit of cheese

~2200 (35% fat, 43% carbs, 23% protein according to fitday)

Need to get in more protein.. still trying to work the kinks out of this, because I've just started. This seems like more food than I need, but then again I'm used to eating maybe half this much, so I am going to keep at it for a while and see how it goes. It's definitely not perfect.


My motivation is really high right now so I'm hoping to stay on a roll and get a good schedule going. I want to do floor pushups and chinups!

[foodfromafar]

Welcome, Elyse! Great first workout! I'm pretty new, too. I'm just finishing up Stage 1 and that's pretty exciting!!

[elyse]

Thanks! Congrats on finishing Stage 1! I'm headed back in on Friday (is it Friday yet??) and I can't wait. I know I can go up/do better on almost all the exercises in Workout A.

[Bytsi]

Welcome Elyse!

[DanceDiva]

Hi Elyse,
Your log title caught my eye because I have a soon-to-be graduating college daughter. I think it's wonderful that you have caught the weight-lifting bug early. Wishing you much success. And I am too jealous that you have access to Lisa~.

[Littlemermaidklb]

Hey, welcome! We're very similar in age and stature... I'm 22, 5'4, 135lbs so we're just about the same :-)
Your first workout looks great! Right around where I started in January. Now that I've started lifting heavier I realized I was underestimating myself at first with the big lifts (squats... I started at 30... I've more than doubled that now, lol), which I think a lot of us do. You're gonna do great, especially with Lisa~ as your mom! Best of luck! :-D

[elyse]

DanceDiva,

I think I'm pretty lucky to have her as my Mom too I grew up eating healthily and never learned any terrible eating habits, or lifting habits for that matter. My biggest issue is just willpower and motivation. It's hard work!

Littlemermaidklb, thanks Good to see someone else my age around here. I'm SURE I'm underestimating myself in a lot of my lifts, because I know I was doing more than that a few years ago (not that I ever went really regularly, but even still). I just want to ease in a little and make sure my form is right.

STAGE 1 WORKOUT B

Warmup
Lateral Lunges, Squat-to-Stand, Jumping Jacks, some other random stuff.. It was raining and cold when I came in so it took me a while to feel warmed up.

Deads
BW warmup
45 (bar) 2x15
used risers to get the height.
I could probably go up here but I'm not as confident in my deads form as I am in my squats (I know I can go up next time there!)

DB Overhead Shoulder Presses
10sx15
10sx15

Widegrip Lat Pulldowns
60x10, 45x5
60x7, 45x8
I can do the 60lb with good form for a bit, but after a while I can't bring it down past my chin, ha. Finished up with the 45

Alt. Forward Lunges
10sx15 each side
10sx15
(my notes: "owwwww")
I tried to get to 90* in my knee on all of these; in a few I'd get lower and that's when I'd really feel it.


Swiss Ball Crunches
15
15 w/ 6lb medicine ball
I know it says to do 8 but I need to make these harder. Next time I'm going to try the long-arm variation and a heavier medicine ball. Or just do planks, haha.

I also did some russian twists and tried 2 negative pullups. I can lower myself controlled but can't even BEGIN to bring myself back up! I figure I'll do a few each time I could do them in middle school, I want to do them again!!


I ate great yesterday, right on target. I'm behind today (~1100 right now). I guess I just wasn't hungry. Going to try to have a big dinner because that's pretty far behind on a workout day, but I don't want to forcefeed myself, either. I have discovered that I don't mind cottage cheese anymore (I used to feel nauseous - that texture, eugh ). I also had grass-fed steak, locally grown cauliflower and peas for lunch. It tasted and felt awesome, especially when all my coworkers were eating canned soup and hot pockets - blegh. (On the coworker note, I've got one of them who was/is on WW (lost 15lbs) to buy NROL, so hopefully he will be in the gym soon.. yay!)


I'm also going down to Boston tomorrow to meet with Ian Kay and get some tips on my form, and if he has the stuff, hopefully get some measurements. I feel pretty confident but it can only help, and I want to be doing this right!


Feeling really proud of myself today.. if I can make my (formerly unmotivated) self go to the gym after a really frustrating day at work, in the cold, in the rain, on a Friday night, I can totally keep this up!

[Bytsi]

Your workout looks great! Seeing coworkers eating junk always reminds me of how far I've come...

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by elyse

I'm also going down to Boston tomorrow to meet with Ian Kay and get some tips on my form, and if he has the stuff, hopefully get some measurements. I feel pretty confident but it can only help, and I want to be doing this right!


Feeling really proud of myself today.

I'm so proud of you! And smart move to get in a session with Ian. He's a great trainer. It'll be worth the drive into Boston, I'm sure!

[gregl515]

Welcome!

[elyse]

I had a personal training session w/ Ian Kay yesterday in Boston. Ian is super nice and spent a ton of time with me. Thanks Ian!!

Here's what we went over (not necessarily in this order, but to be done in this order for my workouts):

Foam rollers, for my quads (front and side). 20-30 seconds on each part, to loosen it up since I'm (predictably) very quad dominant. Painful, but in a good way. Ian said it was to break up the fascia, "like the saran wrap on meat". Yum.

Hip Flexor Stretch (one knee on ground, foot on a bench; other foot on the ground in front like a lunge. sit up, squeeze butt to stretch out my quads) and Neck Stretches (tilt to side, arm behind back; chin tucked 2nd time). The first for my hips - when we were doing squats, I was having trouble getting really low because I felt it in my left hip (not painful, just tight). The second because I have REALLY tight traps and neck. Felt REALLY good.

Toe Touch Progression - for really tight hamstrings, etc. I can't come close to touching my toes! Elevate toes on something, feet together, knees locked. Towel between knees and squeeze it when it gets to the hurting point when I'm trying to touch my toes. He said to do ~10 reps between my other warmup exercises. These hurt - my legs are SO tight.


He also gave me tips on my deads and squats and pushups. Tucking my elbows in closer on the pushups = owww.

Deadlift:
Feet closer together than on a squat.
You tilt forward at the waist, rather than squatting back.
Keep your chin tucked, but your chest up.
Your arms should be like hooks: firm and unbending.
Push hard through yoiur heels, squeeze your butt hard at the top.

Squat:
Feet should be shoulder width apart, toes turned out about 30 degrees.
The bar should be flat against your upper back, rather than your neck.
Keep your thumb close to your fingers, rather than wrapped around the bar.
Your wrists should be straight, not bent under the weight of the bar.
Begin by pushing your butt/hips backwards, then bend your knees.
Just like the dealdlift, keep your chin tucked.
From the bottom, squeeze your butt and push through your heels.

Push-Ups:
Keep your shoulder blades in your back pocket... so that your neck doesn't scrunch.
Elbows close to your body.

I was also having trouble with my Step-ups, because my knee would fall inward pretty badly. He had me use a band around my knee (attached to a pole or something) so that it pulls me knee in and activates the opposite muscles. Worked GREAT. I was working really hard to keep it straight. I can get about half a full ROM here; I have to push off a little and at a certain point going down it just fails, but I know I can improve on these fairly quickly.

He also made the prone jackknives harder for me, haha. Toes on the ball, butt higher (more like a pike). "Like a plank and a crunch at the same time!"

We also did Wall Slides and YTWLs, again for my back/neck. I should definitely incorporate these in at bodyweight even though they don't come up in Stage 1, just because I really need to work my back and focus on that area. I have terrible posture and these helped me think about that area a lot.

We did the practice deadlifts with the bar+25s, which is more than I was doing before. Will have to start there next time.

I'm a little sore today actually! Mainly in my back, which is from the wall slides and YTWLs. My legs feel less sore, just getting accustomed, I guess. My left arm was feeling REALLY tight all night and this morning. It's not a muscle, at least not one I can activate. It hurts between my shoulder and elbow, on the back, when I lift my arm over my head (the Y motion or the top of a wall slide). It's not painful, it just feels really tight, so I've been trying to stretch it out a little during the day. I'm wondering if its a tendon or something that just got pulled a little too hard yesterday.

I'm going to be up bright and early tomorrow morning to go to the gym with a coworker. He's been on Weight Watchers and lost 15lbs but got interested when I had my NROLW book at work and bought NROL so good for him I'm trying to start going in the morning before work instead of after; it feels so good after a workout I'm hoping it will make me more alert and feel better at my desk all day. I don't mind going after work, as long as I don't go home first, but I have time in the a.m. so I'm gonna try that! Will report back tomorrow

[Phaedrus49er]

Sounds like Ian gave you some good stuff, corrective for now but stuff to continue doing well into the future. Keep it up.

[foodfromafar]

That'll be such a big help for you, Elyse! There are a couple of things I'm wondering about that has me searching for a NROLFW-friendly trainer locally.

[elyse]

Ben, yep, a lot of corrective stuff but I really need it. Sitting at a desk/hunched over my laptop in college for years hasn't helped me any. I hate my back/neck be sore, and having terrible posture. Boo on that!

Pauline, where are you located? I loved meeting with Ian, and I'd do it more often if I could. I used to go now and again with my mom but we're so far away now that doesn't really happen.

[Ian Kay]

Glad you had a good time yesterday, Elyse! It was great to meet you.

Just a quick note: the deadlifts we did were the bar+10's, not 25's. They are plastic weights that allow you to pull from normal plate height but without the extra pounds. Just didn't want you to slap on 25's next time and wonder why it was suddenly so difficult!

I'm not exactly sure what's ailing you on the left arm. Sounds a bit like triceps... perhaps something that strained on the pushups when you pulled your elbows in closer. Another possibility would be subscap... I've seen and felt that pain pattern before. Hope it goes away soon!

[elyse]

Ian, thanks for the edit re: 10s/25s. I remembered you saying 25 for some reason. I'll have to look and see if the gym I'm going to has them.. they probably do but I don't remember them off the top of my head. I hope so!

My arm doesn't really hurt, it's just tight. Its already almost better tonight, so I'm hoping by tomorrow morning it's gone altogether It is my triceps but it doesn't feel like the muscle, if that makes any sense. I can't make it hurt more/less by doing anything involving my triceps. I did a pushup and it doesn't feel like it's that motion, either; it feels like the Y or wall slide motion. *shrug No big deal, just was wondering.

Thanks again