Attack mode

Ok, so I checked out this blog as per a reader suggestion and it was a fantastic motivator. On my off weight training days, I've been on the recumbent bike.

I have to admit. I don't like it. Not at all. Intervals are deadly and steady state is awful. I start out with intervals and it sucks. After about 10 minutes of intervals (because I can't take much more) I go to steady state. I'm on the thing for an hour. It's a constant burn in my legs, quads mostly. Then I start to feel it in my butt. And it really is unpleasant. But I've always said, I'll do whatever it takes. And so I'm trying this.

Maybe even worse than the hour long burn is the fact that when I am done and I stand up, I have two giant sweat circles on my butt cheeks. It's not subtle either. Embarrassing! Not to mention my back all the way down is drenched, so I look like a sweaty pig walking out of the gym. I could feel it but didn't realize how bad it was until I got home and Hanna said, "Why is your butt all wet?" I looked in the mirror and oh dear Lord! You mean I was walking around in public looking like this? Haha. Oh well, I don't go there for a fashion show. I usually look like hell when I'm done.

I've started my new supplements. The day I got my Yohimebine in the mail, I was so excited to start taking it so I took one that afternoon. And I was awake a lot that night. Stupid. So yesterday I took it in the morning and I was fine last night. I don't feel any side effects from it either. I was a little nervous because of the warnings for people who are easily anxious but so far so good! I'm also trying a mulberry supplement because it is supposed to help stabilize blood sugar and help free you from sugar addiction. I'm really hoping it works because I'm in need of some help in that area again.

I shared on facebook the other day a great post by Darla of Stay Healthy Fitness. She talked about her need for recovery time and that since she is nearing 50, she doesn't want her workouts to be so intense anymore. I think that's smart. I also don't see the need to kill yourself in the gym every single day. I think that people who do this are a bit nuts. I have been there. And it certainly didn't help me with my goals. I probably burned a lot of calories but it didn't help the shape of my body much. Just made me skinny. Muscles need time to recover.

I just have to quote her here because I loved this:

"What is the purpose…the point…really…do I need to lift enormous amounts of weight to put extreme pressure on my spine, joints, tissues, and grunt until I pop a hemorrhoid…YIKES… do I need to prove something to someone…NO, NO and NO. It is not my goal to further injure myself, or put myself at risk of re-injury. My goal is to take care of my body, nourish it with healthy foods, and REST when my body says…for goodness sakes Darla…lay the hell down already. "

And that is smart, really. I mean, unless you are a powerlifter or something, lifting crazy amounts of weight isn't necessary. I mean, what do I care what I'm deadlifting or squatting compared to the man next to me in the gym? If I was lifting heavier weight than him, what difference would that make to me? The only thing I care about it being fit, not outlifting some random dude at the gym. Sure, you need to create stimulus for your muscles to grow and heavy lifting has it's place. But you aren't going to be able to raise weight consistently at every workout. There is a point when you just can't. So what do you do?

You increase your training volume. A good way to do this is instead of pushing the weight up and up and up, is add more sets. It's easier to make progressions this way. So right now, I'm lifting the same amount of weight, same number of reps (generally) but I increase the number of sets I do. Then, after about 3 workouts (since I alternate between two different full body training routines, this takes about 2 weeks) I can move up the weight and lower the sets again.

For me, I reach a high amount of weight quickly, then get stuck there FOREVER. So I'm thinking, I have to increase weight, I have to....or I just won't progress. But when I simply can't, what do I do? I'm not going to risk injuring myself or put more weight on the rack and use poor form just so I can think I'm progressing. The way I've been able to solve this is adding more volume. It works better for me.

As far as split training goes, I'm on the fence. I know that people who are trying to build mass prefer it. And after summer, I will probably make the switch. But since I'm taking these supplements to get after my alph-2 receptors, I want to make every effort to get all I can out of them. That means, stressing every muscle in my body and creating a metabolic environment where my RMR is increased for a couple of days after my workouts. This results in much better fat burning and hormonal response from my training. As opposed to just a couple of small muscle groups. I'm still in attack mode when it comes to that fat.