Thursday Workout...

Legs:
Reverse Lunge - 25#, 3x10
Side Lunge - 25#, 3x10
Front Lunge - 25# 2x12
Full Front Squat - 25# 3x8
Abs: 4 sets 3 way Ball Crunch (25 center, 20 left, 20 right is one set)

Feeling good... strong workout... Eating REALLY well this week... eggs and tea for breaky... cottage cheese and fruit for lunch... chicken breasts on salad for dinner... snacks of protein smoothies or beef jerkey or lite popcorn. I'm glad to be back on track after the trip to Portland and the extremely off-program weekend. I've promised progress pictures several times now, and I will be taking them tomorrow, September First. Three months from when I took the first set at the beginning of June... I'll post them all together and hopefully it will be obvious the progress that has been made... but even if it isn't... that's life.

Oh... and I made a teriyaki marinade for my chicken that rocked:

Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Fish Sauce
Brown Sugar
One clove of Garlic (crushed)
Pinch of red pepper flake

time for protein and then off to bed.

Tuesday Workout!

Arms/Shoulders:
I decided to go with short rest intervals for this workout... kept the rests right around 45 seconds between sets, definitely made a difference.
Shoulder Press - 20#dbs x10,8,6
Shoulder Death [tm] - 7.5#dbs x8,8,6
Bicep 21s - 3 sets @10#dbs
Tricep Kickback (bilateral) - 10#dbs x10,10,10
Tricep Overhead Press + 10 second static hold and pulse at the end of each set - 17.5# x10,10,10

Abs - Ball Crunch x50,25,25, Bicycle x20,20

Friday Workout

Legs (yes I know that was supposed to be Wednesday... shit happens... I'll do chest/back tomorrow!)
Front Lunge - 20#x12,12,12
Side Lunge - 20#x12,12,10
Squat - 10#(bars only)x6,6,6 (triggering muscle memory and practicing form more than anything)
Calf raise - 20#x12,10,10

We're off to p-town tonight, returning "home" to the midwest on Monday morning... its supposed to be gorgeous and we've reserved a convertable for the occasion. Chest/Back WILL be done this weekend at the hotel. Be safe and sane this weekend!

ciao!

Monday Workout.

Preface:
Generally its a good idea to work the larger muscle groups first and work your way to the smaller... its also a good idea to do your compound movements first (exercises which engage more than one muscle and joint)... but tonight I decided to see what would happen if I did bicep excercises before shoulder. My shoulders were MUCH weaker tonight than they were last week, due in part to the change in order. Shoulder Death (which I did sets of 10,8,8 last week) was the most noteable - I was only able to do sets of 8,6,6 this week with the same weight. In any case... its fun to experiment - as always YMMV.

Arms/Shoulders:
Bicep Curl 21s - 10#dbs x3 (21s are 7 reps of bottom half curl, 7 reps of top half curl, 7 reps of full range of motion... no rest between, that is one set)
Hammer Curls - 10#dbs x10,10,8
Shoulder Press - 20#dbs x10,8,6
Shoulder Death (tm) - 7.5#dbs x8,6,6 (barely)
Tricep Press - 15#db x12,12,10

Went for a 2 mile walk with the neighbor, the kids (her two and my two) and the dogs (her husky, our golden). It was a good walk, with a stop for kids to play in the fountain at the park in the middle... but nothing strenuous.

I am, however, currently wearing the BEST BATHROBE EVER! Mike got it for me for my birthday and it is microfiber on the outside and terry on the inside, and heavy and warm and DE-FUCKING-LICIOUS!!! We fell in love with these robes when we stayed at a very nice historic hotel in Jackson, WY on the way out here, and Mike tracked one down for me for my birthday. I'm also sucking down a creamsickle (OJ+Vanilla Whey Protein Powder+Creatine) and it is fantastically nummy too.

Saturday Workout...

Chest/Back:
Chest Press - 20#dbs x10,10,10
Fly - 17.5#dbs x10,10,8
Bent Over Row - 17.5#dbs x10,10,10
Upright Row - 15#dbs x10,10,8
Dresser Pushup - 3x10
Weighted Fly Stretchdowns - 10#dbs 30,20,20 (ow-fuckin-ch)
Abs:
100 Crunches 4x25
80 Bicycle 4x20

We also went for a long family bike ride today... I'd estimate about 3 miles total, but rather slow... just havin fun with the kids. Now that Nate is a two-wheeler (no training wheels for this 4 year old!!) he wants to go everywhere on his bike. Its pretty cool because there are lots of parks within riding distance... and today we put the bikes on the bike-rack and drove to a park that has a path across the Fox River. It used to be a train tressle, but its now a foot/bike bridge. It was good fun.

Mike asked me today how long I'd been working out since I started back up again. I told him it was about 3 weeks... his response: "I should work out for 3 weeks, cause its made a big difference in you already."

:D

The scale isn't moving (still fluctuating between 182.5 and 184), but I'm not worried... its just one tool for measurement. Another (my size 12 skirts and pants) are beginning to fit again. I REALLY should have taken better "before" pictures... but maybe I'll have the guts to do some progress pics here soon... maybe.

I start school on September 6th!! So freakin ready!!!

Wednesday Workout... (but on Thursday)

Legs:
Warmup - jog stairs 4x
Walking Lunge - 25#x12,12,10
Side Lunge - 20#x12,10,10
Full Squat - unweightedx5,5,5
Calf Raise - 15#x12,12,12
ABS: Short PBall Crunch x50, 4count PBall Crunch x15, Floor Crunch w/ 8# Medicine Ball x 15, Double Crunch w/8# Medicine Ball x15
Stretch

Monday Workout.

Arms Shoulders:

Shoulder Press - 17.5#x10,8,8
Shoulder Death (tm) - 7.5#x10,8,6
Bicep 21s - 10#x3
Hammer Curls - 10#x10,10,8
Tricep Press - 15#x10,8,8
Tricep Kick-back - *7.5#x12,10,10
*go heavier next time
ABS: Physio ball full crunch - 30, PB short crunch, - 30, PBw/8#MB Twist Crunch - 30.

You didn't see me post a workout last Friday... mostly because I spent 18 total hours on Thursdy and Friday doing this:

Laying 328 sq ft. of solid bamboo flooring in my bedroom

(ignore the drain-rat picture... and at the end are some random pics of some shoes and a dress I picked up for a wedding I'm going to in a couple of weeks... the important part is in the middle).

Anyway... since I could hardly move after the flooring work (and acording to caloriesperhour.com burned nearly 5000 calories) the trainer gave me a pass on the chest/back and arm/shoulder work that I missed last week. I'm not even calling it a missed week because... well... have you ever installed hard-wood flooring?? GAH!!!

Wednesday Workout...

Legs (plus punative, abbreviated arms/shoulders)
warmup - jog up/down stairs 3x
Walking Lunges, 3x10 carrying 20#
Side Lunges, 3x10 carrying 15#
Calf Raises, 3x10 carrying 10#

Interspersed Arms Shoulders:
Shoulder Press - 3x12, 10#dbs
Bicep curl 21s - 2x21 @ 7.5#dbs, 1x21 @ 10#dbs
Tricep Press - 2x12 @ 7.5#dbs, 1x12 @ 10#dbs

No abs yet, but I'll do 'em tonight before I crash... installin' a bamboo floor in my bedroom tomorrow... I'm STOKED!! Wish us luck.

Comments, Ugh...

Sorry about the comments being closed on the last few entries, I have MT set to do that by default. I keep forgetting to open them when I post, so I'll try to be more consistant doing that from now on.

Mojo - KICK BUTT!!! You'll be surprised how much difference upper body weight lifting will help... and you will have some muscle memory which will help you maintain good form. Light is where to start for sure!

I haven't posted my arm/shoulder workout yet because I haven't done it yet. I'm going to do my legs today and make-up arms/shoulders this weekend... its been a busy couple of days.

So much going on with school... signing up for an accelerated CNA program at the university (October is going to suck!)... meeting with the academic adviser for the Accelerated BSN program at the university. Getting the kids caught up on their shots, getting Val registered at school... Its not an excuse not to exercise, tho... and I am changing my mindset now to disallow for excuses like this.

I will meet my goal of 3x lifting every week in August. Failure is not an option.

My feet are suited to cycling.

Went to a well recommended podiatrist today to get some treatment for my incredibly painful feet... we talked about the right shoes for my foot geometry, about having high arches and the complications they cause when trying to find shoes. He prescribed a pretty strong anti-inflamatory (NSAID) called piroxicam and took casts of my feet for new orthotics as the old ones have broken down significantly... I didn't even ask how much its going to cost... *sigh*.

Then I mentioned running... that I haven't been able to do it, that I love it and want to get back to it...

and he said, "You have great feet for cycling."

Its not that I can't or shouldn't run... its just nearly impossible to find shoes that will properly support my arch so that the inflamation can heal and not recur... he asked that I not run *at all* while we're getting the inflamation under control... *sigh*.

Looks like I'll be getting a lot of time in the saddle for the next month or so... I'm trying not to be depressed by this, I can't change my arches... and I will be able to run again, eventually... and cycling is a lot of fun, and a good workout... hell, I've already got the feet for it! ;)

I wish he would have just given me the cortizone shot... but he didn't want to unless it was necessary.

I have good feet for cycling.

guess I'd better get my ass on my bike... I'll post my arm/shoulder workout a little later.

Friday Workout

Chest/Back:
DB Press - 17.5# 12,10,8
Bent Over Row (bilateral) - 17.5# 12,10,10
Fly - 12.5# 12,10,10
Upright Row - 12.5# - 12,10,8
Weighted Fly Stretchdown - 7.5# 3x20seconds
Medicine ball Crunch - 40
Physio ball 3way crunch - 2x30

PLUS a BONUS: 9 mile ride at an average of 14.6mph for an additional 400 calories or so. I took a gorgeous route out along Lake Winebago, but holy damn was there a headwind comming back in. I was able to keep spinning for the entire ride, less the stop at the 4.5 mile ride to drink, adjust helmet and turn around. I wasn't expecting that, I figured I'd have to coast at some point, but despite the FUCKING BURNING in my quads I kept spinning... and at a pretty good pace too... got up to 20.1mph on one slight decline with a tail-wind... that felt cool... but that was an incline with a head-wind comming back into town. Ah well, can't be perfect, eh? The really nice thing about this road is that there are NO TRAIN TRACKS to cross, its fairly level (good for starting back up) and its easy to add a mile or so each ride until I'm up to 20 or so per ride. I'm stoked. I'm SO gonna be skinny again. ;)

Friday Weigh In...

I am suffering from major (and I do mean MAJOR) DOMS today... legs are such fascinating pieces of machinery... and mine hurt.

Morning weigh: 183. Consistant downward trend is what I'm going for... and it seems to be happening. Having a trainer to answer to is helping a LOT. I'm not a person who can do somthing half-assed. I'm a bit of an absolutist. But when I get somthing in my head... it gets done.

For instance: Went to dinner with my inlaws last night... when we arrived at the restaurant they'd ordered margaritas for both Mike and I and they were waiting on the table. I didn't drink mine, begged off that I was too dehydrated from the pool earlier, and gave it to my Father in Law. No alcohol means no alcohol.

Mojo: lifting anything that isn't a fork counts! I'm so glad you'll be getting your tube out on Tuesday, can't wait to hear how you're doing!

M: The babies weren't mine, I was a gestational surrogate for dear friends, but thanks! My boys are 8 and 4 and love to ride their bikes along with me when I run, which hopefully I'll be able to do again next week!

Wednesday Workout...

Legs:
warmup - jog up/down stairs 3x
Walking Lunges, 3x10 carrying 20#
Side Lunges, 3x10 carrying 15#
Calf Raises, 3x10 carrying 10#
Abs - 3x30 crunches, 2x20 slow bicycle
STRETCH.

My legs are SO not used to this... SO. NOT. USED. TO. THIS.

;)

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday... I celebrated by vowing (after last night) not to drink any alcohol for the rest of the month. Its an important step in aiding the weight-loss as well as generally a good detox... alcohol is empty calories... tasty empty calories... but empty, none the less.

Anyone care to join me?

Second birthday vow is to get in 3 weight-lifting workouts every week for the remainder of the month. Even if I do NOTHING else... I will lift. I need it. I love it... its who I am, and thus I will feed the iron-beast.

Again... anyone? Takers? COME ON... you KNOW you wanna!!! Lets finish the summer off right! Even if I can't run... I can still get strong... and so can you!