Gabrielle's Journal

[Gabrielle]

My stats:: 5'10" 160lbs about 22% bf. 42years old.
Had been bulking/maintaining and even with the extra weight, my body has changed drastically for the good since I started in July.
I am on a 3 day split~see below. I am now doing a rest day after each training day because I think I have been seriously overtraining.
I've been lifting since about the first of July. The exercises I have chosen are because I am trying to stay with compounds, but also ones that seem to work best for me, formwise. I lift to failure, mostly 4x6, then when I get up to 3x8 or 3x10 with good form, I up the weight. I have been consistantly seeing muscle growth and upping the weights pretty often. I do an ab exercise or two each lifting day.
I do very little cardio, but may add some as I start cutting.
I do yoga for flexiblilty and balance~lots of it, like 3-5 hours a week.
I walk miles and miles a week as just a function of living in the city~which I guess is some cardio.

CHEST/TRI'S
Flat Bench press
bench dips
Incline press
Cable pull downs
Incline flys
Weighted crunches
Lateral leg lifts

LEGS/SHOULDERS
squats
Leg press
Military press
SL deads
Barbell rows
Lateral lunges
Hamstring curls

BACK/BI'S
Concentration curls
Bent over one arm rows
Dumbbell shrugs
Barbell curls
Bent over two dumbbell row
Weighted hyperextensions
Cable crunches

SUPPS::
I am cycling off creatine for awhile~I saw great gains and I respond to creatine definitely. But, I want to recharge and also to see where I am at without the water weight.
I also take glucosamine and glutamine~along with iron, calcium. Pre and post WO protein also.

DIET:::
I am planning on a soild clean 50/30/20 macro-4-5 meals a day(at least, maybe 5-6, I love eating a little bit all day!) I plan on 1800cals a day to start, will lower if I need to~but I tend to get real hungry on less.
I have made my fitday public at http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=GabrielleNYC
I've just started today~10/30~feel free to look and comment!

GOALS:
Reduce bf~not sure to what %~I think I want to watch the mirror and see my progress. I am thinking that getting to 145lbs would be a good place for me.
Continue the progress with weight training. I will post my weights each training day. I love picking up more weight~so lifting heavier and getting stronger is top priority.
See the definition~I know it's there, but the body fat is in the way~I can see a 2-pack already!
I also have seriously bad balance and coordination~so I will post my progress with yoga as I go.
To start: I have finally been able to do a full, shaky wheel~or bridge~within the last week, which I probably haven't done since I was about 12!
I will take before photos and post them.
Thanks for any input~good or bad~I am excited about journaling to keep myself honest!

[Gabrielle]

Today's lifting::: went well, better form, slightly more reps on all exercises

Leg and shoulder day:::
Tai chi 90mins
squats 115lbs 1x8 95lbs2x8
Leg press 500lbs 1x10 2x8
Military press 35lbs each arm 2x10 1x8
SL deads 110lbs 3x10
Barbell rows 70lbs 3x10
Weighted Lateral lunges 45lbs 1x10 50lbs 2x10
Prone Hamstring curls 100lbs 1x10 1x8 1x4

[Gabrielle]

Today was rest day~walked about 10 miles throughout the weekend. Really feeling my legs from yesterday. Although I am still lifting the same amount since I stopped taking creatine one week ago, I seem to have much greater muscle soreness~
Diet was good today~no Halloween candy!
Tomorrow is back and bi's ~already have some ideas to improve, so will post what I do tomorrow.
I've decided that my main short term goal, after reading some comments on other posts, is that I don't care what my weight or bf is~I just want nice, well developed muscles that show. Right now, I am pleased with my gains, just want to see them!

[Borntobebad]

you are very strong

[bscrusher]

what are your goals?

why are you going to start cutting?

[Gabrielle]

what are your goals?

why are you going to start cutting?

Hi BS~as per my other thread~yep, I understand your point. It is all about the mirror and nothing else. And for me, I want the muscle development~regardless of what the scale says.
I do want to see what I have going on underneath the bf after 4+months of building. But~Maybe it is too soon to cut?

[bscrusher]

what do you mean by "too soon to cut"? do you have a competition coming up? are you sure you know what cutting is and what it is for?

maybe you just want to get more lean, that is NOT the same as CUTTING.

i suggest dropping weight and # of reps until you get your squat form right. go ahead and increase sets. make sure you are rested between sets.

i suggest doing squats in the powerlifting style. it is safer, and a more natural movement.

go to elitefitnesssystems.com for some instruction. also read articles by dave tate, louis simmons, coach john davies, and rob lawrence. also check out the t-nation site.

[Gabrielle]

<maybe you just want to get more lean, that is NOT the same as CUTTING.>

Yes, that's right~more lean~I thought cutting was cutting intake of calories and burning more with cardio to reduce bf. no?
***edited to add~and lose as little LBM in the process!*****
If not, tell me how to get more lean~I'm all ears.

[Gabrielle]

Trained in this order:

Weighted hyperextensions 45lb 2x10
SLDL 110lbs 3x10
Lat pulldowns 90lbs 4x6
Bent over one arm rows 50lbs 1x10 52.5lbs 2x8
Dumbbell shrugs 50lbs 3x10
Barbell curls 25lbs 2x2
Preacher curls 40lbs 3x6
Cable crunches 100lbs 2x8 1x10


All in 45mins~an ok day, did not feel perfect form in everything. I did like the addition of the lat pulldowns. Next time, I need to start building my own barbell for my SLDL. My gym's set only goes to 110lb and I am doing too many reps at that weight.

[bscrusher]

weighted hyper-extensions is probably the worst way to start a workout.

start with dl. i suggest trying regular dl.

if you can do 6 excercises after dl, your dl session was worthless and weak.

try 1 or 2.

drop the direct ab work. most people do it wrong and it would only slow down the progress towards your goals even if you were doing it right.

cutting is something competitive bb'ers do to get ready for a competition. noobs get dazzled reading about the supposed cutting regimens of the top bb'ers and think they should do that too. the noob's rarely understand that the pro's only maintain their ripped appearance for a few hours. the process is very taxing on the body. to make yourself lean in a permanent and healthy way is a more realistic and satisfying goal for most people.

i wish you all the best in building your barbell. i really appreciate the resourcefulness of people who find a way to train right with minimal resources. a 300 lb olympic barbell set is only about 180 dollars shipped. i think that is one of the smartest things a person can buy. go on the t-nation site and the ironmind site for more info about cheap, simple training.

i do some training at a gym and some training in my backyard. you can do a similar thing. although i can't see much use for a gym with freeweights only up to 110lbs. how do you do squats?

[Gabrielle]

weighted hyper-extensions is probably the worst way to start a workout.

start with dl. i suggest trying regular dl.

if you can do 6 excercises after dl, your dl session was worthless and weak.

try 1 or 2.

drop the direct ab work. most people do it wrong and it would only slow down the progress towards your goals even if you were doing it right.

cutting is something competitive bb'ers do to get ready for a competition. noobs get dazzled reading about the supposed cutting regimens of the top bb'ers and think they should do that too. the noob's rarely understand that the pro's only maintain their ripped appearance for a few hours. the process is very taxing on the body. to make yourself lean in a permanent and healthy way is a more realistic and satisfying goal for most people.

i wish you all the best in building your barbell. i really appreciate the resourcefulness of people who find a way to train right with minimal resources. a 300 lb olympic barbell set is only about 180 dollars shipped. i think that is one of the smartest things a person can buy. go on the t-nation site and the ironmind site for more info about cheap, simple training.

i do some training at a gym and some training in my backyard. you can do a similar thing. although i can't see much use for a gym with freeweights only up to 110lbs. how do you do squats?

It may have been weak and worthless, but I can feel the work in my upper back today from the lat pulldowns. Feels great~love the pain.
My hyperextensions were at the end, I listed them wrong. Yep, I know to start with the compound moves first. I will try the regular deads.
Ok, I understand what you mean about the cutting~the water pills, etc etc.
Actually, my gym has a rack of set weight barbells that go up to 110, but tons and tons of plates~I will just have to take a barbell and put the weight on like I do for squats. It just takes time is all

[bscrusher]

g, does your gym have a squat rack or a power rack?

[Gabrielle]

Yep~about 3-4 squat racks

[bscrusher]

you've got it made.

[Gabrielle]

Dumbbell bench press 90lbs 2x6 95lbs 1x6
Tricep overhead extenstion 40lbs 2x6 35lbs 1x6
Bench dips 2x12
Cable pull downs 50lbs 2x2 40lbs 1x6
Incline flys 65lbs 2x8 60lbs 1x8
Incline press 65lbs 2x8 60lbs 1x8
Close grip bench bb press 30lbs 2x10

I supersetted the dips and the tri extensions and the incline fly and presses. This is probably the lowest volume day I have done to date, with heavier weights~at least the bench press, I could not lift at all when I got to the supersets~had to go very light for me. No direct ab work! Less than 45 minutes probably~then had a good 90min yoga class. After my PWO shake, of course! The close grip was a new one for me and it was ok~will see how everything feels tomorrow.

[Gabrielle]

Chest and Tri's nice and sore from yesterday~so fewer and heavier it is. Tomorrow is leg day and I want to study up on squat leg stance.

[imperfectly_lou]

Hi Gabrielle, just popping in to check out your journal! It is all looking really good so far :) Keep up the great work!

[Gabrielle]

Thanks Lou!

OK~went to the gym at 2pm, hoping that I could superset squats and leg press when the gym was not crowded. Got everything set up, did a superset, started the second~and, of course, some jackass decides that he MUST do leg press just then and wanted to work thru AND he was using half the weight I was. So off an on, off and on~not as effective as I hoped, although my squats were best weight and form ever. And I can really feel the work tonight.
Anyway~cause of all the time my compound work took, I had to get back to work. So I did a terrible terrible thing and went back to the gym later to do the rest. PWO shakes both times tho

squats 115lbs 4x5
Leg press 500lbs 3x8
dumbbell press 35lbs each arm 3x8
Barbell rows 70lbs 3x10
Lateral raises 20lbs each arm 2x8 25lbs each arm 1x10
Weighted Lateral lunges 50lbs 3x8
Prone Hamstring curls 110lbs 3x6 1x8

The supersetting was good, just difficult to set up at my gym. I will have to go early or late on leg day.
The lateral raises were new to me, and I think I had my elbows bent too much on the lift, so I will have to drop the weight next time probably to get the form right. And I think I am not keeping the barbell close enough to me when I lift it for the barbell row.
No direct abs, no cardio~will maybe do some abs tomorrow,maybe. And will be doing lots of walking this weekend along with some yoga and a martial arts class.

Food intake is good~I eat constantly. My favorite meal is my late dinner ~the local health food salad bar goes on sale at 8pm, which is when I am about done for the day~so I go get a HUGE salad with lots of chicken and fish, tons of veggies and munch into the night.

[Gabrielle]

Ok~supersetting squats and leg press makes my ass hurt!
Really feeling it today~now it is starting to siink in, this idea of 3 day split over 6 day. Did easy fighting tai chi today and walked to chinatown for my Saturday dried sweet potato binge~about 8 miles without stopping, no big deal, but going up and down off undereven curbs, potholes, steps etc etc~I realize how much stronger my knees are since I started really lifting weights 4 months ago. The entire structure of my knees seemed to have visably changed with some significant muscle top bottom and sides. Overall, my body has way more muscle than ever in my life and it is noticable everywhere. There is still jiggle on my ass, some on my stomach and thighs~but even the fat parts have far better shape than ever in my life~even when I have weighed 30lbs less than I do now(I'm 5'10 and 155-160.) Then I ate 900-1200 calories a day and was the stairmaster princess. I swear to god~it is amazing.

[Gabrielle]

Made an executive decision that I will make the weekends rest, both days, and devote them to yoga and martial arts. So that means weight train on MWF~continue my three day split. Two hours of yoga today, kinda cardio because one of my yogis devoted the day to marathon speed yoga, in honor of the NYC marathon today!
Food continues to be good~staying at about 1800-2000 each day with 50-30-20 or so, which is just right for me

[Gabrielle]

Improved my bench press, and all these weights felt pretty easy, so I will go up next week.
I supersetted the dips and overhead extensions and the incline flys and presses.
I got everything done but the abs in 30mins~so I feel like I didn't do enough. Maybe my bench press could be alot heavier, so I will add 10 or so next time just to see.
The tri overhead extensions were difficult even at this weight. It will be interesting to see what I feel tomorrow.
Then I was bored so I did the ab work later in the day. Put a 10lb weight between my knees on the lateral lifts~

Dumbbell press 95lbs 1x8 2x6
Tricep dumbbell overhead extensions 35lbs 1x3 30lbs 1x4 1x5
Bench dips 2x12 1x20
Incline flys 65lbs 3x8
Incline press 65lb 3x8
Close grip bench press 30lbs 2x10 40lbs 2x10
Cable pull downs 50lb 2x5 40lbs 1x10
Weighted lateral leg lifts 10lbs 3x15
Decline weighted crunch 35lbs 2x15
Cable crunches 80lbs 2x10 90lbs 1x8

[Gabrielle]

Good complete rest day today. Diet was good. Chest and tri's reasonably sore from yesterday. Think that I can see more definition in my quads today. Trying to decide whether to restart creatine this weekend. It will be 3 weeks since I stopped and it would be about time to cycle back on.\
Tomorrow is Back and Bi's!

[Gabrielle]

SLDL 130lbs 3x8
Lat pulldowns 90lbs 1x8 1x6 105lbs 1x6
Bent over one arm rows 52.5lbs 3x8
Dumbbell shrugs 52.5lbs 3x8
Barbell curls 40lb 2x6 50lbs 1x2
Preacher curls 30lbs 2x6 40lbs 1x6
Cable rows 60lbs 2x6

Power yoga----1 hour

Went up 20lbs from 110lbs on the deads~yea! Really felt it and was a little afraid I had gone too far, but yoga took care of any muscle strain. All the other lifts were good. Realized that I should do bi's first as the lifting for my back tired out my bi's~duh! The cable rows were an experiment. I think I may add them as a superset with the lat pull downs.
Diet remains soild~50/30/20, or often 50/25/25 or something similar~protein is always at 50-55%. Eating 1800-2000 clean calories each day, eating 5-7 meals a day.
I've lost 2.5-3lbs without really doing anything different except lower my calories just a bit and lifting heavier and smarter, meaning more focus on resting and eating right. Virtually no cardio!

[Gabrielle]

All is well~my back feels great! I was a little worried that I had strained it with my increase in SLDL weight, but all is well today. Feel the work in my lower, mid and upper back. I think the stretching afterwards in yoga makes a big difference. Plus I am a believer in glutamine, which I eat straight morning, postwork out and at night.
Diet is good, had a cheat bite of macaroni and cheese and some back bean type sauce on my lunch chicken and almost couldn't get it down. I have just gotten so used to my bland, natural food. yum
I can see the ever so slight evidence of a 4 pack~it will be awhile before it's really there, but it's coming!

[Gabrielle]

supersetted:
squats 115lbs 3x6 1x4 and
Leg press 500lbs 3x8

dumbbell press 35lbs each arm 2x10 1x8
Dumbbell upright rows 3lbs each 1x6 25 1x10
Lateral raises 15lbs each 3x8

Prone Hamstring curls 110lbs 1x8 2x6

I was so tired yesterday from week of hell at work, napped and then got to the gym late. Felt pretty weak.
Because I was there so late, I was able to set up the squat rack and leg press to superset and did 3 supersets perfectly~at least my best to date. It was great! I was screaming and actually got dizzy at the end. Thanks BS for the suggestion.
I will probably go up on the squat weight after one more at 115lbs. I noticed how comfortable the bar feels on my traps now as opposed to when I first started.
My lateral lifts for shoulders: had to go way down on the weight as I realized that I had been bending my elbows too too much. It was quite a difference. Now, I am only bending slightly~hope this is right. I am feeling it for sure.
Diet has been a little sloppy~over the last few days. Not as much variety as I like to keep it.
Slept a solid 8 hours last night. This is a big issue for me. I have a very fragile sleep pattern and I know how important this is for my goals. I am using ZMA, which really really does help.

Tai chi today. Walking the city~nice cool sunny day. AND my weekend dried sweet potato binge in chinatown!

[Gabrielle]

Dumbbell press 95lbs(47.5 each) 2x10 1x8
Tricep dumbbell overhead extensions 35lbs 1x10 40lbs 2x10

supersetted:
Bench dips weighted 25lbs 3x10
Close grip bench press 40lbs 1x10 50lbs 1x8 1x10

supersetted:
Incline flys 65lbs total 1x10 2x8
Incline press 65lb total 1x10 2x8

Cable pull downs 80lb 2x6 1x6

Big cheat meal last night~nothing but junk, started with a couple of drinks. Lesson learned: Jack Daniels tells me to eat crap! Oh well~~~~~I am not even putting it in fitday, it was a mess(kinda fun tho!)
Tried to lift heavier on the press~could not get the weight up. I believe that if I can't get a weight in place without help, I can't own the weight. Did a few more reps however. Experimented with cable presses~not bad. Good increase in cable pull downs. My tricep work was much improved. Did weighted dips for the first time, very good.

90 min yoga class afterwards

[Ivey_Itch]

dear god your strong! lol... i feel like a wimp now!!! :) keep up the great work!

[JLB04]

I have to agree with Ivey! You lift some serious weights....that is awesome!

[Gabrielle]

ah shucks! thanks!
doesn't seem like all that. My squats are still bad~but I just love lifting!

[Gabrielle]

Yesterday and today are rest days. I've had to change my schedule around a bit to accomodate the first holiday events. I can tell already that while eating clean is not such a problem, avoiding alcohol will be tough over the holidays~I will just have to be real careful with it. It is not so much the calories that I am worried about, but even a couple of glasses of wine interferes with my sleep.
Oddly enough, in spite of the cheat day, or maybe because of it~I have continued to lose weight. I am going back to 2000 a day because I don't want to be losing more than a lb. a week and risk losing too much muscle. I can see much more definition in my arms, but I am still not happy with the amount of muscle I have~so even considering dropping the leaning out idea altogether and go back to eating more. I'll decide soon. Have still not started my creatine back again~maybe this weekend. Have not lost any strength since I stopped taking in almost 3 1/2 weeks ago as far as I can tell. Wednesday will be back and bi's day!

[bcrank]

good work keep it up and keep me posted u r strong john

[Gabrielle]

Almost didn't get to the gym tonight~have a touch of a cold~but got myself there and increased my deads quite a bit and did ok with the rest. I still cannot to a regular deadlift. Not much else to journal~just another liftin' day!
This week has been poorly scheduled and I actually should be doing legs tomorrow, but may wait until Saturday.

SLDL 155lbs 3x6
Bent over one arm rows 52.5lbs 3x10
Dumbbell shrugs 52.5lbs 3x10
Barbell curls 50lbs 2x3 1x5
Preacher curls 40lb 2x2 50lb 1x3 1x2
Cable rows 90lbs 1x6 1x8
Lat pulldowns 75lb2x8 60lbs 2x8

[Gabrielle]

Yesterday was a rest day~I have a damn cold. It was supposed to be leg and shoulders day, but hopefully that will be today. I have missed out on my yoga this week, but ya know, I bet I'll be able to do even more next week when I am feeling better and rested. I hate colds!!!
My last back day~Thursday~was great. I feel the work in all parts of my back today. Heavy on the deadlifts is very good. I have to build my own barbell to get that much weight(130) or use dumbbells which seemed ackward.
Diet is staying around 2000 each day. I don't care if I eat this much forever and just let the muscle build up and burn more calories~then lose the fat slowly just with my improved metabolism. I just feel too crappy on less food.

[Gabrielle]

squats 115lbs 3x6 1x4 and
Leg press 500lbs 3x8 1x6

dumbbell press 35lbs each arm 3x10 1x9
barbell upright rows 40lbs 1x10 50lbs 1x10 60lbs 1x8
Lateral raises 20lbs 1x6 15lbs 2x6
Prone Hamstring curls 110lbs 3x8
Lateral lunges 50lbs 3x10

I had very bad cold~so frustrating. I should have rested more.
My leg day was ok, not very strong squats. I have a pulled muscle in my hip that didn't affect my squat, but it was hard to stand on the leg with the weight. I think I will be at this squat weight for awhile until I really feel like I have the squat down. Some better shoulder work. I KNOW I have to give up the barbell rows~but my lateral raises are so weak! I just have to be ok with that dang little weight. No more barbell rows~it is just an ego thing.
Diet is good~ate a few too many easy foods, bars etc over the weekend, I know this was due to needing comfort food for my cold. Nothing serious.
Restarted creatine yesterday. I miss the quick recovery that it gave me.
Chest and bi's tonight~unless I need to rest. Will decide later.

[Gabrielle]

I haven't written for a few days because I have nothing much to report. My cold turned into a stomach virus and then a minor UTI along with a pulled muscle near my hip joint. So I am out of commission. I have not taken a more than a couple of days off since July, so I am going to try to rest a full week or at least until I feel 100%
Diet is fine, had a good Thanksgiving cheat and now back to normal!

[Emma-Leigh]

I haven't written for a few days because I have nothing much to report. My cold turned into a stomach virus and then a minor UTI along with a pulled muscle near my hip joint. So I am out of commission. I have not taken a more than a couple of days off since July, so I am going to try to rest a full week or at least until I feel 100%
Diet is fine, had a good Thanksgiving cheat and now back to normal!

I hope you feel better soon! Relax and rest up!

[MontyV8Girl]

Hey strong lady :) Love your journal!

[Gabrielle]

Thanks for the well wishes!!

Well, necessity is the mother of invention~I have this annoying hip muscle pull and I have taken 5 entire days off primarily because picking up and carrying the free weights to do upper body work was aggreviating the injury something fierce.
So...and if I was more experienced, I would have thought of this sooner.... I did a cable and machine workout for my chest and tri's. I have no idea how these weights stack up next to my free weights. I just did what I could to failure. Not crazy about the cable, didn't like how shaky it felt. It will be interesting to see how I feel muscle soreness wise tomorrow. Did a bit of walking and the pull does seem to be getting much better. It was nice to be back in the gym!

Cable press 60lbs 1x4 50lbs 1x10 1x8
Cable flies 40lbs 3x8
Cable pull downs 40lbs 3x8
Incline press machine 60lbs 2x8 50lbs 1x6
Cable tri extensions 20lb 2x8 1x6
Seated dip machine 90lbs 3x10