Cha-cha-cha-changes

Went through some old binders of mine and found some interesting photos of myself circa 2005. I was doing this 6 week workout regimen called "Slim in 6" and I had taken some before pictures. Here's one of them:

I was totally grossed out by this picture when I saw it. I still had a pretty thin upper body but certainly no abs. And look at those hips! According to measurements back then, my thighs are each 3 inches smaller now.
You should see the backside view.
¡Ay, caramba!

Here is a current photo:

What a difference!!

How do you train?

I've been thinking ahead to how I want to train after I hit my goal. Because that's what I do. It's part of my problem, I need to focus on just being. Still, it's good to at least have an idea of what I will do. I'm thinking I'll probably go back to heavy lifting. I definitely want to keep most of my movements compound but I do want to throw in some extra isolation moves.

How do you train right now? Do you use mostly compound movements, isolation movements or both? Do you utilize supersets? Drop sets? Do you do circuit style? Split training days or full body training? One of the BEST things about weight lifting (as my 1st choice of exercise) is that there are literally thousands of ways to do it. There are so many factors involved, so many variables you can change, it's impossible to get bored. And if you like to get your heart rate up and sweat, you don't just have to do cardio! Here's an interesting fact for you, I sweat more during a lifting session than I do during a cardio session (unless I'm doing HIIT). I work hard!

Terminology:
A drop set is a reduction of weight between sets with no rest. Example: doing a set of shoulder presses with 30lb dumbbells, then right away down to 25lb dumbbells, then right away down to 20lbs dumbbells. This will toast the muscle. Good luck raising your arms over your head to wash your hair that day!
A superset is two exercises performed back to back with no rest in between.
A circuit is when you perform a serious of exercises in rotation. Usually at a faster pace with no rest period until the circuit is completed.
A compound movement is an exercise that recruits multiple muscle groups.
An isolation movement uses just one joint or muscle group.
Split training is a method that divides training the whole body over a number of days.
Full body training trains the whole body in one workout.

I personally like full body workouts, 3 times per week. I've done 4 or 5 day splits in the past, but I never feel like I'm getting enough of a workout, especially on arm days. That's just a mental block, I suppose. I'm the type of person that feels like if I don't sweat and pant and pray for death, I'm not working hard enough. This is not always the case. Some days I don't feel like working that hard. But most of the time, that is my mantra.

There are upsides and downsides to both types of training (full body vs split). How you train [should]  directly reflect what you are working towards. In other words, you might train differently to build muscle than you would to lose fat. Or you might not. It depends on what you respond better to.

No matter if you are doing full body days or split days, you should always incorporate compound movements. Stimulate growth using as much muscle as possible. They also tend to get your heart rate up and make you sweaty ;)

But I've read that you don't necessarily have to lift heavy to failure for muscle growth. Studies show that lactic acid burn triggers growth hormone to be released. In other words, if you are doing high reps of leg extensions, you are going to feel an incredible burn from lactic acid, which will trigger this growth hormone, and eventually make your quads more defined (in theory). And you can't do high reps with heavy weight. Or you shouldn't, because you'll burn out quickly.

You can still achieve a lactic acid burn with heavier weights though. Doing drop sets and supersets will give you that burn.

Supersetting a compound movement with an isolation movement is probably a good way to utilize both training techniques. Especially if on the last set of the isolation movement you crank out as many reps as possible. You'll get a good burn, a good pump AND you'll be working you're whole body.

Superset a supinated bent over row with bicep curls or a deadlift with hamstring curls, for instance. You could easily produce a good full body routine that way. I think I just figured out my 'after goal' routine ;)

Here are some good compound movements:
1) Bench Press
2) Squat
3) Deadlift
4) Clean & Press
5) Military Press
6) Bent Over Row
7) Dips
8) Pull ups
9) Push ups

Pure Protein

I got my protein powder in the mail already! I ordered it two days ago!

I have only tried the Meal Replacement so far. I'm not sure that the flavor is a favorite. It's very different. The aftertaste reminds me of halva. And if you don't know what halva is, you've come to the wrong place to find out. I have NO idea how to describe it properly. It looks like a hunk of cheese, swirled like a marble cake. Has sort of a grainy texture. Is very dense. Sweet, but not not really. It's just a very odd dessert. If your curious, you can get it in the grocery store. Ours is on the same shelf as the Cheese Whiz. (Ew. Don't even get me started on how nasty that $&!t is!)

Or maybe the aftertaste is like tahini (sesame paste). Which is probably why halva came to mind. Some halva has tahini in it. I used tahini to make vegan cheese once. Once. (Johnny Dangerously fans? Anyone?) Also hummus. Hummus is amazing.

Anyway, I feel it's going to be an acquired taste.

I may order from Prograde next, just to compare flavors. But it might have a similar taste being both are flavored with Stevia, and that can have a bitter or odd sort of aftertaste. It's definitely something I'm used to though because I've substituted stevia for sugar in many things for many years now. I started back when practically nobody knew what stevia was. I couldn't buy it in stores so I had to order it online. Now, it has really caught on, which was a wish of mine back in those days. I used to always complain, "why don't companies start replacing harmful synthetic sugar substitutes with natural stevia in their products???" - just ask my husband, haha. These days, stevia is pretty available.

So that's the skinny on OnlyProtein. I can let you know what I think about it after I've been drinking it regularly.

BAZINGA!

Do I think I've lost any fat yet?

Yes, yes I do.

Compared to this picture, taken a few weeks ago:

I think I look leaner.

 9 and 1/2 more weeks to go!

Has there been progress?

It's been almost 2 and 1/2 weeks since I started my 12 week timeline. Count down to summer; shorts, bikinis, cute little dresses, etc. My goal is definitely starting to scare me a bit, but my motivation is an 11 out of 10 right now (that's high!) and I don't plan on backing down anytime soon.

I started at 118.2 and as of today I weighed 112.2. This doesn't mean I've lost 6lbs of fat but I'm hoping at least 2lbs comes from fat. That would mean I'm right on track.

Honestly, I don't know how I feel about being back down to 112. I was very excited to see 118, thinking I was packing on muscle. I just hope it wasn't all water and bloat or worse....fat!

I've read that you lose fat in the reverse order of how you put it on. So, for us women, that means that it "goes straight to the hips" and unfortunately it is the last place it comes off. Trust me on this. I KNOW! Anyway, supposedly when you lose fat, your body sheds it from internal organs first, which is why it takes a little longer to show up on the outside. Now that I know this, I think it's made me a little more patient. Whereas before, I would get frustrated, seeing the scale go down, yet not really seeing much improvement in the mirror. This is why the scale is not THE way to track progress. The tape measure is where you're going to see the change.

My tape measure is telling me I'm losing from my waist and abdomen (not my arms, thank goodness) and my lower body. I've only seen barely 1/4 inch loss on each thigh and around the hips. BUT, a loss is a loss, I'll take it!

Today, I felt really tired and winded during my workout. I believe that it may have something to do with my lower calorie intake. I'm afraid I'm going too low. I'm still tracking daily on MyPlate and my net calories (total calories after subtracting calories burned during exercise) are hovering just above 1,000. And yesterday it was even below 1,000. I'm trying not to overthink it. I feel good, I'm not craving or crabby, I feel fed (even over fed at times) so it can't be that bad. Although I did eat more after today's workout. And I plan on bumping up my calorie intake today to boost my leptin levels. Hello meatballs and mashed potatoes!

Protein Powder

I usually just get my protein powder from GNC. Their brand of 100% whey protein (chocolate is my favorite) is the only kind I've ever used. I have a Gold Card so every first week of the month, I go and stock up on my supplements and whey protein to save money. But after reading various blogs, I have come to find out that not all whey protein is created equal.

I was going to start ordering my protein powder from Prograde. I already get a few items auto shipped to me from them so I thought, why not. But, then I heard about Only Protein. I went to the sight to check it out. In terms of price it was actually even a little cheaper than Prograde. The protein grams in one serving is slightly smaller than what I'm using now (18g vs. 20g), but the calorie content is also lower. And the really cool thing is there are no fillers.

It's organic, hormone-free, pollution-free whey from New Zealand grass fed cows.  It has 3 types of protein so muscles get an immediate feed, a medium feed and up to a six to seven hour feed. There are no artificial sweeteners, they use cellulose free fiber, quick digesting enzymes and inulin, which is a pre-biotic.

click to go there now - Only Protein

However, Prograde's protein powder is also hormone-free, gluten-free, no artificial sweeteners, only 2 carbs and 24g protein (although that is in 2 scoops which will make the container empty quicker, which means you spend more). However, I don't know how big the containers are in comparison to the Only Protein containers. It probably wouldn't take much to find out, but I'm too lazy.

click to go there now - Prograde Nutrition

I've been using protein powder to supplement my healthy lifestyle for a number of years now, but I'm fairly inexperienced in the different brands out there. I'd be interested in hearing what you use and why you like it. Feel free to comment!

Oh, by the way, I had to share this with you because I found it to be INCREDIBLE. I have discovered a way to eat chocolate ice cream guilt free. Yay! My summer won't be ruined! Here's how: in a bowl, mix a scoop of protein powder with unsweetened almond milk (pour slowly, you don't want much) until it's about the consistency of a runny pudding. Put in freezer for a bit. And BAM!

Here's a tip though, I've only tried this with vanilla whey powder and I really dislike the vanilla flavor. So I add 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder & a bit of xylitol before I pour in the almond milk. It comes out the perfect consistency of ice cream with a rich chocolate flavor that I would compare to chocolate frosting. I can't wait to try it with chocolate whey!!

plan for success

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success." ~ Stephen A. Brennan

How do you plan your workouts? Do you even have a plan? Or do you haphazardly throw things together while you are at the gym?

I sometimes follow guided routines, or workouts that are generated by fitness experts. But there are times when I write my own workouts. Either way, I am never at the gym without my notebook that has my plan of attack all written out.

Having a plan is one of the keys to success (I think). It gets you mentally prepared and helps you just focus on what you need to do at the gym. There is a lot of importance put on sets, reps, poundage, rest periods, etc. That can get pretty difficult to keep track of from workout to workout if you don't keep a log. After all, how do you know if you are progressing if you don't know what you were lifting last week, or last month?

And what about the actual exercises? Do you train your whole body equally? I think a lot of times, we tend to focus on the things we most want to improve (as we should) but we shouldn't forget about the importance of creating a good overall balance.

I used to be so focused on growing my hamstrings that I think I probably ended up working them too much most of the time. Yes, that is possible. Or so I've read. Training a muscle hard is one thing. Over training is another. It's counterproductive. It also can create imbalances that can actually end up causing problems later on.

I've heard that a typical scenario in men is that they are so focused on growing "mirror muscles" or the muscles they see in the mirror (chest, biceps, abs) that they completely neglect to balance it out with back exercises.

I try to prevent this as much as I can these days, now that I know it can be harmful. I work my back as much as my front. But if there was one muscle that I am guilty of neglecting, it's my calves. I have tiny calves and could give a rat's ass about it. But I know that I need to train them. And if they were more muscular, I'd look more balanced.

Also, changing the exercises in your routine can really do wonders for strength. To give you an example; I was mostly using lat pulldowns but switched it out for pull ups and I've noticed a significant increase in the amount of weight I can now use for lat pulldowns. I hadn't done a pull down for a good few months and I went to do one the other day because the pull up bar was in use and I was supersetting so it needed to be done asap. And I was AMAZED at how my usual weight seemed so light and I had to keep moving the pin down lower and lower!

It isn't really about how much weight I can lift, I'd much rather focus on hypertrophy than strength. Although it is nice to see the progression, knowing that lifting heavier is what is going to stimulate that muscle to grow. If it's not challenged, it's not growing. And I don't train to remain the same!