This post is inspired by my new workout routine. It isn't really new as I have been doing it for 16 weeks now. This routine has taught me to focus and to push myself like I had never done before and that took me to a new level. This plateau busting is one of the things that triggered me to stop posting in my old log and on this board every day in fact. I had become a new person in the gym and that gave me mixed feelings. Mostly I felt alone. As my body changed and people started to recognize that I was different, it caused me to rethink what I was doing. Now I am more comfortable with what I have become and have found strength through this acceptance. This article sort of reflects this introspective time for me and also describes exaclty how my every workout is now.
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I am alone even in the crowded gym, the laughter, the talking, the music that is always there all are white noise to me. I am one with my work, with the cold iron with the sweat dripping from my brow, with my body. When I am very quiet and very focused, I go inside myself and I can hear my muscles tearing, the tissue rebuild begins and I am happy.
One set finished and I collapse to a bench. My body shakes without control. I set the timer for my rest. My heart pounds in my throat I am too weak to move. My rest times are not wasted in idle chatter or watching the TV on the wall. I stare without seeing, I plan, I breathe, I focus or I will not make the next press, the next pull, the next PR. I pick up the weight and start another set. My workouts, like my breath have a rythym that I must keep to stay alive to stay uninjured to make the best progress.
When it is over I come back out of this strange world and I look around. The gym is hopping alive. I was never alone. There are a lot of people working out together and laughing and joking around. The girls with the little pink dumbells, the guys doing bicep curls with their hips, trainers balancing clients on bosu balls, the rows and rows of people mindlessly doing cardio....
And sometimes I will spot another sitting quietly, body shaking, focusing and breathing, starring without seeing, unaware of the surroundings. I then realize that there are more people like this out there and I feel even less alone...
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
So I'm not a weirdo...well, at least I'm not alone. You describe my workouts or at least the focus and other worldliness of them if not the intensity! Thanks for sharing. I am not alone.
Karla,
You've got a bit of the "Motivator" in ya. Truly great thoughts. You sum things up so well. wow!
LOL! Nobody will ever replace you though John. I actually write a motivator column for the Portland Guitar Society newsletter every quarter. I can whip it out when I wanna...
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcoy777
Great post. You rock!
So do you!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodfromafar
So I'm not a weirdo...well, at least I'm not alone. You describe my workouts or at least the focus and other worldliness of them if not the intensity! Thanks for sharing. I am not alone.
No you are not and for me that was an important realization. Often in the gym we are alone in a crowd but we are not alone completely. We are connected and there are others. We are not freaks... Well, okay maybe a little but we are not alone in our obession and freakiness!
Tonight at the gym I had nearly finished my workout. I am on the next to the last workout of my bulk. Next week is week 8 which is supposedly a rest week and then the transition and cut will begin....
I was doing crunches on a bench and in front of me was a lady (probably my age) doing squats. She was not in the cage but rather just by a rack. Her form was okay (more like power lifter than olympic) but her left toe pointed out significantly more than her right toe. When she had finished her set, I told her what I had seen. She thanked me and walked away to get her water. I thought I had offended her. Then she came over to me and said she was surprised that I cared enough to help her. She told me how she has watched me squat many, many times in that gym and with the big plates too. She thought I always did it so beautifully. She kept saying how surprised she was that I would talk to her and help her. I complimented her on the effort that she put into learning the squat because it was really quite good otherwise and we then had a pleasant chat. A nice end to the workout. And a very nice way to end my bulking program (legs).... I am truly not alone!
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
What a nice way to end your bulk. I usually don't talk to anyone at the gym because I am in a zone, too. I think you see in others the same intensity that you have yourself. I know I do. The few guys I see actually working hard take notice of me working hard, too. (not many girls doing anything other then curls/tricep extensions) At least I think they do.
Have a great rest week. Looking forward to following along for your cut!
This post is inspired by my new workout routine. It isn't really new as I have been doing it for 16 weeks now. This routine has taught me to focus and to push myself like I had never done before and that took me to a new level. This plateau busting is one of the things that triggered me to stop posting in my old log and on this board every day in fact. I had become a new person in the gym and that gave me mixed feelings. Mostly I felt alone. As my body changed and people started to recognize that I was different, it caused me to rethink what I was doing. Now I am more comfortable with what I have become and have found strength through this acceptance. This article sort of reflects this introspective time for me and also describes exaclty how my every workout is now.
============================== =====================
I am alone even in the crowded gym, the laughter, the talking, the music that is always there all are white noise to me. I am one with my work, with the cold iron with the sweat dripping from my brow, with my body. When I am very quiet and very focused, I go inside myself and I can hear my muscles tearing, the tissue rebuild begins and I am happy.
One set finished and I collapse to a bench. My body shakes without control. I set the timer for my rest. My heart pounds in my throat I am too weak to move. My rest times are not wasted in idle chatter or watching the TV on the wall. I stare without seeing, I plan, I breathe, I focus or I will not make the next press, the next pull, the next PR. I pick up the weight and start another set. My workouts, like my breath have a rythym that I must keep to stay alive to stay uninjured to make the best progress.
When it is over I come back out of this strange world and I look around. The gym is hopping alive. I was never alone. There are a lot of people working out together and laughing and joking around. The girls with the little pink dumbells, the guys doing bicep curls with their hips, trainers balancing clients on bosu balls, the rows and rows of people mindlessly doing cardio....
And sometimes I will spot another sitting quietly, body shaking, focusing and breathing, starring without seeing, unaware of the surroundings. I then realize that there are more people like this out there and I feel even less alone...
And sometimes I will spot another sitting quietly, body shaking, focusing and breathing, starring without seeing, unaware of the surroundings. I then realize that there are more people like this out there and I feel even less alone...
Wow. Powerfully written, Karla. I actually held my breath...
__________________ ~Sally Who are YOU to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, faboulous?!? Actually, who are you NOT to be?
Karla, way back you mentioned a zero calorie caramel dip. At least I think that's what it was. Can you share the details if you know what I'm talking about? TIA!
Missed your posts, Karla. I need your focus in my head.
It's great to have you back Sally. So glad to read that your training continued over the past year.
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Originally Posted by Espi
Beautiful post, Karla. I know you are quite the motivator.
Thanks Espi. You ain't so bad yourself you know...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chloe2
Karla, way back you mentioned a zero calorie caramel dip. At least I think that's what it was. Can you share the details if you know what I'm talking about? TIA!
Walden farms carmel dip. In fact Walden farms makes all this zero cal and zero fat food like syrup and bbq sauces and really they are quite good. They ain't the real thing but they are better than nothing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
Just saying Hai!
Hai right back at ya friend! Hope you aren't too seasick right now.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Well it is officially over. I posted my final bulking workout to Alan last night just before I went to bed. I did 16 weeks of his ridiculous you-looked-like-an-athlete-so-I-thought-Id-challenge-you workouts. (This phrase btw was his reply to me at the beginning when I asked him if he was fucking insane for designing the workouts he did for me) During this time I gained around 11 lbs under his care and a total of 17 lbs. I know that 5 of that is water (stuff) and I am hoping that 7 is LBM. If I am correct I will only have to diet down 5 or so fat lbs to get to where I was in BF% when I was 118lbs. That would be so bad-ass! Of course we will never know until the cut reveils what the athlete and coach team has really done. We should know by early May what we have done.
The counter and sales girls at the gym all congratulated me on the completion of this goal (they are all following along and watching me grow). They took pictures for me to be able to look back on at a later date. I would post them but I can't find the chord for my camera. LOL!
Today started my rest week. It could not happened at a better time for me. Besides these very intense workouts from Mr Aragon, I recently became a trainer and got very busy with this new part of my life. In addition to starting a few of my own clients, the past 7 weeks I have been training a dear friend's clients for him while he was gone and unable to do this for himself. He is back now and I can relax finally. It was very intense and my confidence was shaken a lot but I somehow managed it. I got confirmation last week that he did not lose even one client through this extended absence! And finally my job at Intel got just super intense so I had to kick it up there too. Schedules are slipping, parts are missing, Mommy I need this, etc, etc... I was firing on all cylinders for long periods of the day throughout the past 8 weeks and some days I was not sure I had the energy to go on. But I somehow did.... Today, I feel a great sense of accomplishment on all fronts. There is still much work to do in all of these areas, but today I take a rest and enjoy the little things in life....
Okay I did not technically rest at all today. I was up at 4:00AM for a flight to CA. 7 hours of high pressure meetings and a flight back to OR. In my car at 6:30PM and eating pad thai by 7:00PM. Practice the guitar and now it is seriously time for a rest. LOL!
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Phew, and you call that a rest day.. rest my friend!
You'll probably be noticing aches and pains now that you didn't notice before.
Hopefully you won't have the same munchies I was having after 4-5 days out of the gym.. ever had those before? Turning to food for endorphins as a replacement for exercise endorphins?
Oh, and I'm sure you will not really have gained 5 lbs of fat, though who knows you might be right. P-ratio is pretty set for most people, though hopefully, starting at a low end of bf% range (but not too low), P-ratio can be favourably influenced.
You'll probably be noticing aches and pains now that you didn't notice before.
Hopefully you won't have the same munchies I was having after 4-5 days out of the gym.. ever had those before? Turning to food for endorphins as a replacement for exercise endorphins?
Oh, and I'm sure you will not really have gained 5 lbs of fat, though who knows you might be right. P-ratio is pretty set for most people, though hopefully, starting at a low end of bf% range (but not too low), P-ratio can be favourably influenced.
So far no aches and pains. In fact my body feels really relaxed. There near the end my joints were always achy. Now I feel great. But it is only day 2. LOL! I am instructed to eat whever I have hunger so if the munchies come, I will eat. I seriously do not believe I have the emotional eating thing so much so don't think I will be eating too much over. Last Rest week I dropped weight so I am eating a bit more than my hunger tells me to right now just so I don't screw up the transition phase. I am pretty sure I have 5 lbs of fat on me from this one and I am hoping for 7lbs of muscle gain. That would be a very respectable bulk. If I can be at 125lbs in May and 11-12% then I believe I can make the show stage in 2010.
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Originally Posted by Celestialmom
Subbing to your log, Karla--how do I manage to miss things like this?!
This board moves so fast. I always miss good stuff.
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Originally Posted by stingo
Sounds like you've earned your rest week. Enjoy.
Thanks Tom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by realcdn
So now comes the cut? Best of luck!
Yep. Cut into May and then transition into a maintain phase or (culk) phase. Then in Sep begin strength and serious bulk again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dillytl
Enjoy your rest week!! Looking forward to following along during the cut!!
I'll try to post better details as I know that the cut phase is far more exciting for most folks.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
I'll try to post better details as I know that the cut phase is far more exciting for most folks.
Maybe I'm weird but the whole process fascinates me. Plus it's fun to see you so totally rocking it!
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
Rest week went well. I did get antsy but there were NO issues with aches and pains or anything like that. My body feels grateful to me and ready to go back to work. I am excited to begin the cut and wondering what the plan will be for me and this phase. I had a discussion with Lyle McDonald (on his forum) RE my last cut. I bought his book last year for my cut and was going to use the fat loss protocol as soon as I hit a stall in my weight loss. I never hit a stall so never got to use the technique. Additionally I ended up losing a lot of LBM. Anyway, I posted on his forum that I never got to use the protocol and why and he deduced that I needed to rework my diet this time and do a cyclic approach. He pointed me to a book he wrote on this subject and subsequent diet. I find this a fascinating theory and hope he is right because it gives me great hope that there is a different and better way to do this cut. Alan has already told me that it will be different and better but still it is nice to know what I did wrong and why it will be better. I will have this discussion with Alan at some point but for now I am going to let him steer the boat and observe his expert skills in action. I am very excited and waiting for his answer today on what to do tomorrow to enter into the transition phase of this.
I have been shopping a bit this week. This is something that I never take the time to do and since I have all this time I decided to fill in some gaps in my wardrobe. I also added a netbook to my personal toys. Last night I went to Nordstroms to find a nice black, long dress coat. It is pretty cold here so I am wearing a coat and a nice fleece jacket pullover as well. The pullover was so bulky that I could not really see how the coat looked on me. So I pulled it off. What I saw in the mirror made me gasp out loud! My lats were HOOYGE, pulling at my t-shirt and my biceps were stretching against my t-shirt sleeves too. Holy crap! In the gym, next to all the guys, I always feel like I am small but standing there in the ladies dress section in blue jeans and t-shirt I totally flipped out. For a long moment as I stood there and looked at what I had done to myself, I wondered if I had gone too far and how long it would take to go back. I never really resolved my feelings in the store but today I am comfortable again with my body and how I am moving forward in this. This bulk phase definately redefined who I am and how I see myself and how I look. Body recomp is a funny thing. You have this picture in your mind of what you want to be and look like, but when that picture starts to show in the mirror it is always somehow unsettling. It is like "you" are no longer "you"....
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Well, clearly Alan's gotten you results that you didn't even realize til yesterday. You of course were following the plan to make it happen too. Nice job.
__________________
Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
From what I understand, Alan is not a big fan of hyooge refeeds, so it seems most likely he'll have you do carb cycling = do more frequent but much smaller refeeds, more or less like you've done in your bulk, but of course with an overall deficit instead of a surplus.
Body recomp is a funny thing. You have this picture in your mind of what you want to be and look like, but when that picture starts to show in the mirror it is always somehow unsettling. It is like "you" are no longer "you"....
*nods* I've been experiencing a lot of this. I often have the feeling that I am looking at somebody else's arms or face. I find myself staring at mirrors not so much out of vanity as in an attempt to try to make sense of this image in the mirror and connect it to myself.
And there is definitely a feeling of loss at times even though the changes are ones I set out to make. I even had a friend express this saying "I miss Jennifer." (Not what I wanted to hear but an honest reflection of feelings.)
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
I even had a friend express this saying "I miss Jennifer." (Not what I wanted to hear but an honest reflection of feelings.)
Maybe she meant it literally, like she tried to punch you but you're smaller now so she missed. It happens. That's why I usually only throw down with large people.
__________________ Megaloi -- My Blog
"Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers."
- Mignon McLaughlin
From what I understand, Alan is not a big fan of hyooge refeeds, so it seems most likely he'll have you do carb cycling = do more frequent but much smaller refeeds, more or less like you've done in your bulk, but of course with an overall deficit instead of a surplus.
Don't know to tell you the truth. He replied to my request for info and stated that he will potentially have me doing some weird non-linear thing even during the transistion. I don't know. He said to chill for at least another day and wait for the plan.
I took the opportuntity then to drop the little bomb on him about how the nice weather is going to cause me to do shit like take 50 mile bike rides and 10+ mile runs. I felt like I had to come clean on that because we had a nice day the other day and I nearly got suited up for a run. It's prolly best that we figure out together how that will work in this plan and with my goals. If you are to believe Leigh Peele, I ought to be able to feed it and still keep to my goals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stingo
Well, clearly Alan's gotten you results that you didn't even realize til yesterday. You of course were following the plan to make it happen too. Nice job.
You know on some level I knew it. All my friends have been talking about how wide I got in the chest and they all call me "beefy" or "beefcake" now. And of course I see myself in the gym. I just don't look at myself very much in civilian clothing. I did not realize how tiny that shirt was on my frame. 17lbs of weight is a lot of weight on a tiny frame. The other place where the weight gain is very noticable is on my backside. I have HUGE glutes in comparison to the summer.
So yeah... Significantly improved results from my first bulk. I never would have even begun to think I could have done this and I know I could not have done it on my own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CloveApple
*nods* I've been experiencing a lot of this. I often have the feeling that I am looking at somebody else's arms or face. I find myself staring at mirrors not so much out of vanity as in an attempt to try to make sense of this image in the mirror and connect it to myself.
And there is definitely a feeling of loss at times even though the changes are ones I set out to make. I even had a friend express this saying "I miss Jennifer." (Not what I wanted to hear but an honest reflection of feelings.)
I can tell that you totally get it too. I mean I stood and just stared into the mirror for a very long time yesterday. It wasn't in vanity but to get to know who the person was that was starring back at me. And I could not believe how poorly my shirt fit me. That shirt was big on me this summer. I cannot tell you what order the emotions ran through my mind but shock and regret were definately in there. I was also a bit embarassed and at the same time a little proud of myself. There is NO doubt now that this chick is a bodybuilder.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
I can whip it out when I wanna... 
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