Day 29 - start of Phase 2

Today marks the start of the second of 3 phases in the workout plan I am currently following. The first month seemed almost too easy, since there was no cardio. Today, that changes.

I am moving to a six day split with weights and adding 4 days of cardio. So this morning, I did my weight workout (back) and then hit the treadmill for 30 minutes. Ugh....now I know why I hate running on the treadmill. In all fairness, it is a bit more interesting when you are in a room with other people plugging away at the same thing and there are tvs. Not that I watch them. But they are there. I guess I could run the track, but something about looping and looping and looping doesn't seem very nice on the knees.

I'm supposed to be starting to cut back a little on starchy carbs now. It looks like the menu shows no starch after the mid-afternoon meal. Hmmm, this ought to be interesting! I fear the next two months are going to test my will and determination. But I'm holding strong.

My clothes fit so much looser already. This gets me super pumped for what the the new year holds! I had on a pair of pants yesterday when I realized something, they used to be tight against my thighs and butt. They are now loose. So I decided to get out my "test" pair of jeans. There was an area of sag just beneath my butt cheeks where I had previously been ready to burst out. These were pants I never really wore because I felt they looked to tight. Not anymore! This is working.

In my measurements today most of it stayed the same, but my flexed bicep went up half an inch and my shoulders went up 1 inch. I am not sure how accurate the shoulder measurement is though, I need to start having Andreas measure me instead of Eden. But I'll take it! Weight is up to 112.6. Wonder what it will be in about a week?

So, the average woman who strength trains with weights 3 times per week can gain 1 pound of muscle a month. That seems like a painstakingly long time for 1 measly pound! I know the road is long and hard but I'm willing to travel it.

Today is going to be a busy day. I need to go grocery shopping, make my Halloween costume (I'm going to be a mummy), get my front porch spookified, prepare some protein for the week: chicken, chicken, more chicken. Then at 3:30 I want to take the kids to the gym for some Halloween games: bouncy houses and stuff. Quick get home to make dinner before the trick-or-treaters get here. So what am I doing blogging?????

tomatoe-tomato

Ok, ladies. When I say that you should pick up a barbell and do some weight lifting to build a gorgeous body, this is NOT what I mean.

These two obviously take steroids because women just aren't capable of building muscle that big. Even for a man to build muscle like that would require a LOT of hard work, naturally.

This, however, is more like it. I think this woman has a fabulous body. Maybe even on the thin side. But her muscles are very defined, yet still feminine, and she is tight and toned. This is the picture I have in my head of what I want to look like.

In the end, it's all about personal preference. If you want to look like a man dressed in drag, take steroids. I prefer to keep my feminine side.

And of course it's possible to take things into the opposite direction. 

My guess is that if you cared at all what you looked like, you wouldn't want to look emaciated like the poor woman on the right. But what do I know? Maybe she doesn't care.

All of these women are athletes. Which would YOU want to look like? There is a point at which you can take something too far.

Train natural. Train smart. Be healthy.

Day 26

Today my mom and I met with a trainer at the gym. She was super cute, sweet and fun. Really liked her. She told me about a variety of classes I might enjoy to supplement my current workout. One of which she said was really intense, mainly for enhanced sports training, lots of plyometrics....but it was fun. She thought I'd like it. Hmmm....maybe. I really do want to try classes at some point. But nothing until after Phase 3.

Speaking of that, today was the last workout in Phase 1. Can't believe it's already 1/3 over! Now I'll get to start adding some cardio, which is good because I've kind of missed it. I feel a little guilty not doing it but I'm happy I stuck with the program and did as I was told because it's all part of a process, no matter how against the grain we think it might sound. I knew that Phase 1 was all about building muscle and I needed to concentrate on gaining instead of taking calories away with cardio. Incidentally, my weight went up two pounds. I went down to 109, now I'm back up to 111. A 2 pound gain would be pretty normal for where I'm at in my cycle right now. It will be very interesting to see where my weight is in another two weeks. Hopefully I won't go back down to 109!

I had the trainer show me how the assisted pull up machine worked since I'd never used one before and she showed me how I could use as much or as little help as I wanted, lifting my "98 pound body". I know she said it as a joke, maybe even a compliment, but it just reminds me how far I have to go. I am tired of being skinny. I asked my mom in the locker room if she thought I looked stupid lifting weights. I mean, considering I look 98lbs and all. She said, "NO!" - but obviously she's not going to tell me, yes, Charlotte, you do indeed look stupid. "Every time I see you walk by I marvel at your physique." And that really made me feel good. Even coming from my mom, who is biased and will tell me how beautiful I look even on my worst days.

I'm trying to gain weight and I've discovered how hard that actually is. People probably think gaining "weight" is pretty easy, a fun prospect even. Just gobble down cheeseburgers, fries, pasta, soda, cake, cookies and potato chips every day. But that's not going to help me put on the weight I want. And it's going to make me feel pretty lousy too. In truth, I think gaining weight is going to be just as hard as losing. It's funny to think that I am trying to gain weight, yet, there is still fat that I want to shed. It's pretty ridiculous actually, but we can't change how we are made. Women store fat in their hip, thigh and butt area to protect babies, to keep the human race alive, so it's only logical that it would be the last place you take it off. The body will fight to hang onto it. I just have to convince my body that I am done with the baby thing and it can let go of it now. I've done my part to populate the planet.

I have learned to be patient through this whole experience. And it's nice to know that while body building grows muscles and shapes a body into a pleasing composition, it also has many other benefits. I have learned discipline, consistency, determination, motivation, self-love and most importantly, patience. I really needed help with that one. That is a skill I'm sure will take me a lifetime to perfect. But for now, I think I am doing better than ever using the patience it will take to succeed. Once I finally accepted that nothing was going to give me the results I wanted quickly, I was able to fall into a steady groove that will take me all the way to success. I'm hoping that the 8 month time frame I have set for myself will be enough.

I've stuck to a high protein diet over the past 26 days, and have had no cheat meals, snacks, desserts, etc. of any kind during that time. There were moments when I felt weaker than I was in the beginning but I used a technique I found worked for me in those situations. When I feel an urge (like when contemplating ordering pizza) I use my inner voice and say "I know that pizza tastes good and I really want to eat it now, but will it help me get to my goal?" It has been a very successful tool.

Eventually, maybe at the end of Phase 3, I will have my body fat measured at the gym, to see how accurate my home measuring has been. I know they use calipers too, but I think they have many different spots on the body that they measure, not just above the iliac crest.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my workouts for the last two days:
(yesterday) Legs
extensions - 10 X 3 @ 80lbs (oooh burn!)
wide squat - 10 @ 60lbs/ 8 @ 70lbs/ 8 @ 70lbs
leg press - 10 X 3 @ 90lbs
single leg kettle bell deadlift - 10 X 3 @ 40lbs
lying leg curl - 10 @ 35lbs/ 8 @ 40 lbs/ 8 @ 35lbs
seated leg curl - 10 @ 25lbs/ 10 @ 25lbs/ 6 @ 35lbs

(today) Shoulders/Abs
seated db press - 10 @ 15lbs/ 6 @ 20lbs/ 10 @ 15lbs  - weight is per arm
rear delt cable flyes - 10 @ 45lbs/ 10 @ 45lbs/ 10 @ 30lbs
db front raise - 12 @ 8lbs/ 10 @ 10lbs/ 10 @ 10lbs/ 6 @ 8lbs - weight is per arm
seated arnold press - 10 X 3 @ 12lbs - weight is per arm
db lat raise - 10 X 3 @ 8lbs - weight is per arm
seated bent over delt raise - 10 X 3 @ 10lbs - weight is per arm
crunches - 10 X 3
roman chair - 10 X 3 (love this thing!)
oblique twist machine - 10 X 3 @ 30lbs - each side

And I tried the assisted pull up machine just to see what it was like. I had it set at 8 (which I think means that it is assisting with 80% of my body weight and I'm doing the rest) and it seemed like it was a good number to start. Something I would be able to do 3 sets of 10 reps with.

misery

I sort of feel like a huge whiner lately. I've been sick over a week and in pain since Monday's workout, when will it end?????

I had legs day on Monday. For some strange reason, doing seated and standing calf raises, SHREDDED my calf muscles and I LITERALLY can not walk. Ok, sure, I can walk, but I have to be hunched over with my knees together and I look like a freak. Or, I can tip toe. Those are my only two options. I can not stand straight up, the stretch just kills my calves. I would have thought it would be gone by today.

My family was very concerned at first, now they just laugh at me. I actually contemplated peeing my bed last night because the thought of getting up and walking to the toilet scared me. I thought I was going to have to crawl to the bathroom.

And of course today was legs day again. So I hobbled into the gym.....very.....slowly. Trying to mask the fact that I was in an enormous amount of pain. The more walking I do, the better it feels anyway. My husband told me I was crazy. "you aren't going to the gym, are you??" he asked this morning as I was getting my clothes on. "You're sick and crippled." Well, I did go, I just didn't do any calf exercises. They just assisted on things like seated ham curl.

I am going to go soak in my whirlpool tub with some Epsom salt and pray that I will feel normal tomorrow. I've got shoulders and abs tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it.

Day 24

First...

http://thearffadventure.blogspot.com/2011/10/yummy-muesli-recipe.html  click this link if you are interested in a nutritious recipe for muesli

Second...

I killed my chest and triceps today at the gym. The fact that my left arm seems to have limited mobility made it even worse. I am really wishing I never got that damn flu shot. But I toughed it out. Here's how the workout went today:

push ups - didn't do them. I really need to get past my insecurities. I was too embarrassed to do them. Even though I'm really good at push ups. I don't know what it is with me. I will have to do them tonight. I'm far too sore to attempt them now.

Incline DB press - warmed up with 10 reps, 15lb dbs. Set went 10 reps, 20lb dbs/10 reps, 20lb dbs/6 reps, 20lb dbs

Flat bench flyes - 10 reps, 12lb dbs/10 reps, 15lb dbs/10 reps, 12lb dbs

Decline flyes - 10 reps, 10lb dbs/10 reps, 12lb dbs/10 reps, 12lb dbs

Bench dips - 10/10/8

Tricep extension machine (luv this thing) - 10 reps, 20lbs X 3

Lying EZ bar tricep ext. (just bar, no weight) - 10 reps X 3 - arms were shaking here

DB Tricep kickback (single arm) - 10 reps, 8lbs/10 reps, 8lbs/8 reps, 10lbs/6 reps, 8lbs - arms are toast!

Overhead tricep extension - 10 reps, 10lbs/10 reps, 12lbs/8 reps, 15lbs

Cable tricep extension (supposed to have been single arm but there was NO way, even on the lightest weight, I couldn't even do one rep my arms were so done), using both arms - 10 reps, 20lbs X 3

And done! I can barely lift my coffee mug to my mouth right now. Oh mama!

I definitely notice that I work much harder at the gym. I can easily focus, I take my time with every rep and I am feeling it! I've never been happier to step outside my comfort zone. It's still intimidating working out next to men because I am so small. But as I'm working out in front of the mirrors I am able to really see how defined my arms are and how tiny my waist is! Even my hips seem smaller in those mirrors! I'm not really as full of myself as I sound. It's just nice to get a little boost of confidence like that once in a while. For the first time in.....well.....ever, I was happy with what I saw. It's truly something special when we can finally look into a mirror and not pick apart every flaw.

Day 23

This friggin' sore throat has really got the best of me. I finally went to the walk in clinic yesterday to make sure I didn't have anything nasty like strep. Well, the good news is I do not have strep. However, they seem to think I have seasonal allergies. I'm not so sure I agree since days before I got my sore throat and lost my voice, the same thing happened to my daughter. Only she was lucky to only have to deal with hers for about 2 days. Anyway, I came home afterwards and crawled into my bed and slept for 2 hours. That felt great! I got some cough syrup with codeine to help me sleep and I think it did a good job. I am still coughing today and probably still only functioning on 80%.

Then I decided to get a flu shot as long as I was there. The shot didn't hurt at all but the hours afterward were SO PAINFUL! I've never reacted to a shot that way before. I could hardly move my arm and it was way worse than any muscle soreness I've ever felt. Almost like a constant muscle burn. NOT fun. I'm glad Emma got the mist now that I know how the shot feels.

Whining aside, I went to the gym this morning. We timed it perfect so that I could give Hanna a ride to school on my way. This is going to work out so great. And I know you were asking about this, Amanda, the reason I decided to join the gym is due to all the cable exercises coming up, especially in phase 3. Cables provide constant tension on the eccentric and concentric movements which is why Jamie uses a lot of them in her workout plan. So I figured that to make the most out of this 12 weeks, I either need to purchases a "home gym" or join a gym. I am SO glad I joined a gym instead!!

There is so much awesome equipment there, I will NEVER get bored. The time goes by so fast too. These last two days that I've been there, when I get to the end of my list of exercises I think "already??" and I just want to keep going...haha! But my muscles are just exhausted by the end so I couldn't even if I wanted to. Today was about an hour, start to finish. I spent a little extra time looking around for the right equipment but mostly it was pretty fluid from one machine to the next.

Today was shoulders/back and this is what I ended up doing:
hammer strength lat pull  10@70lbs/6@70lbs/5@60lbs/12@60lbs
wide grip lat pulldown 10@50lbs X 3 & one narrow grip 10@50lbs
seated narrow grip cable rows 10@40lbs X 3
t-bar cable pull (which was supposed to be a t-bar row using BB...oops) 10@50 X 3
back extension machine 10@55lbs X 3
DB curls (supposed to be BB) 10@30lbs/8@30lbs/8@30lbs/4@24lbs/4@20lbs - poundage is 'total', meaning 30lbs would be 2 - 15lb dumbbells
incline DB curl 8@24 X 3 - (2 - 12lb dumbbells) wish I could have gotten 10 reps here
alt hammer curl 8@12lbs/8@10lbs/10@10lbs/5@15lbs - this poundage is per arm
also added extra pumps for my left arm because it is much weaker than my right: 4@10lbs/10@5lbs

When I'm doing the hammer curls, my right arm could keep going a few more reps while my left arm is struggling to get the weight up. It's a big discrepancy in my opinion. Gotta strengthen that left arm. Of course the left arm was my 'shot' arm too.

I'm not super happy with my workout results today, simply because I haven't made any strength gains from last week but my aching arm might have contributed to that. At least I didn't have shoulders today - that would have been bad!

I'm eating SO MUCH protein that if I don't start growing some muscles soon, Imma be pissed! LOL. Seriously, all this eating eating eating is wreaking havoc on my digestive system and while I think it's getting a tad better, it's still a nuisance. Some days, I am hungry when it's time to eat, but I don't even want to eat because it feels like that is all I do. And I get tired of protein protein protein. Of course I'm craving stuff like bread and cheese BIG TIME lately. Last night, I almost ordered pizza. I felt THAT crappy. I didn't want to cook, Andreas was working late, I felt horrible. I was on the website, ordering and I finally said, "NO". And I walked away. I knew if it was in the house, I would have eaten it. I wanted it so bad but I WON! I beat my mind. I beat my craving. And I am so proud of myself for powering through a tough situation. This is real, baby!

Day 22

Today was my first day working out at the gym. Oh. My.

I think my weight bench has been deceiving me because I couldn't lift the same amount of weight at the gym. Which REALLY made me want to cry. Because the poundage I'm using is pretty pathetic. That explains why I have hardly any muscles, I guess.

(all exercises are 3 sets of 10 this week)

I was so excited to hit the squat rack that I didn't even notice it wasn't first on the list. Oops. That's ok. I got there, loaded the bar with with 80lbs. Um...no. That felt just way too heavy. I couldn't get low. So I went down to 70lbs. That was really tough. I eventually just had 50 on the bar so I could get down as low as I wanted and still be able to push back up again. I probably should have done at least 60 though. Live and learn.

For leg extensions, I was up to 80lbs. So I started cranking out reps and suddenly...it got really really hard. My quads were burning like crazy! It was really unbelievable. But, not really any surprise considering when I do extensions at home my bench wobbles back and forth and is at a different angle.

Instead of walking lunges, I tried the leg press for the first time ever (not counting orientation). Fun! I think I was on 80lbs with that too. I tried 90 but that felt like it would be a bit much for 3 sets.

Hamstring curl. I was teetering between 35 and 40lbs. I got to try the curl machine where you are sitting upright instead of lying on your belly. THAT was HARD! The proof that my hamstrings are weak was like a bright neon light flashing over my head. Pathetic!

I did single leg deadlifts with a 40lb kettle bell. I really liked that. It seemed a bit easier for me to do the single legs with the kettle bell than the barbell. Pleasantly surprised. But I worked up a good sweat from it!

Then after all this was done, I did standing and seated calf raises. I hate calf exercises. They seem utterly useless and annoying. Although I wouldn't mind having some calf muscles. By this time, I had wobbly jello legs so the raises were hard. Seated I did 70lbs but standing, I started at 50 and ended up at 25lbs. Ouch.

I was going to do shoulders too, to make up for a sick day I took last week but my mom was with me and I figured she didn't want to go on the bike another 40 minutes. So, I'll just take the skip and try not to feel guilty about it.

My mom came with as a guest today and left with a membership! I am so proud of her. I just hope she will learn to feel comfortable enough with the equipment that she won't need my help eventually. Not that I don't like to help her, but when I'm working out, I want to be focused on MY game, not worrying about her.

So, that was how my first gym experience went, more or less. It was a tad busier than I expected but I got over it. It will get easier every day, I'm sure. People there are super nice and helpful. It's going to be like a second family. I'm grateful.