April's Journal [Archive] - Bodybuilding.com Forums

aprilai

12-30-2004, 08:33 PM

after lurking around these forums for a while now, i decided i'll post a public journal here so i can seek more advice to improve myself (fitness and mentality).

age: 16
height: 5'0
weight: 103lbs
goal: lower body fat while maintaining/gaining muscle mass AND train for swimming
bodyfat: 23%

i'm currently an enrolled college student at a community college. i had my first bodyfat testing in the beginning of the fall quarter at 18% bodyfat. as the weeks passed by i started stressing over my classes and gorged on the bakery goodies my mom brought home everyday. she works for a bakery, and receives free goodies often. i started to eat at least 2 muffins or slices of pie most evenings while studying for my classes and justified my binging on how it's unlikely i'll gain weight since i worked out 5-6 days a week. after 2 months i gained 5 lbs (at first i dismissed them as probably muscle mass) but i had my body fat tested again and was at 23%. i was really disappointed with what i've done to myself.

right now i swim for a high school swim team. our season ends in february. we usually do 3 days of 1.5hrs practice and 2 days 1hr practice, but since it's the winter break right now, we only do 1hr sessions.

the following routine is for this week:

monday: 1hr swimming practice (morning), 30 mins pilates in the evening

tuesday: 1hr swimming, 20mins low intensity cardio (bike or eliptical)

wednesday: (just started this weight lifting routine this week)
3x5 SLDL
3x5 upright rows
2x8 military press
3x6 external and internal rotations
3x18 standing calf raises
3x6 bent press
3x15 rope crunches

thursday: 1hr swimming practice

friday: 45mins-1hr yoga
3x6 windmill
3x6 saxon side bend

saturday: rest

sunday: 45mins yoga
3x6 side bends

My Diet:
I'm currently consuming anywhere from 1300-2000 cals a day. My calorie intake naturally zigzags. i find it hard to keep my cals near the same everyday because on some days i'm more full or hungry than the other days. this is something i'm trying to work on right now, since i think it could be what's hindering my progress.

aprilai

12-30-2004, 08:38 PM

arrgh, i hate the moment after i finished eating the coffee cheesecake, especially that i ate it as a postworkout. i seriously need to exercise good self-control again, which makes me wonder how the hell i managed to do so well before.

to make up for the overeating today, this is my menu for tomorrow. hopefully i can follow it through!

12/31/04 FRIDAY

9AM: 1 cup Kashi Crunch cereal, 1 cup soymilk, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 2 glasses green tea, 1 fish oil, 1 multivitamin

12PM: 4 oz steak, 1 cup spinach, 5 carrots, 1 cup broccoli, .5 TBSP sesame oil, 2 glass green tea

2PM: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup milk, 1 fish oil, 1 glass green tea

4PM: 3 oz steak, 1 cup spinach, 5 carrots, 1 cup broccoli, .5 TBSP sesame oil, 1 glass green tea, 1 fish oil

7PM: 1.5 scoops Designer Whey protein, 1 cup milk, 1 tsbp cinammon, 1 fish oil

Total: 1191
Fat: 31 283 25%
Sat: 8 71 6%
Poly: 2 19 2%
Mono: 6 57 5%
Carbs: 124 389 35%
Fiber: 26 0 0%
Protein: 111 442 40%

aprilai

12-31-2004, 10:27 AM

1. get my knee fixed (torn ligamenet)
2. run a 5k race
3. maintain at 15% bodyfat
4. powerlift at 125% body weight
5. get 2100/2400 on the new SAT
6. maintain a GPA above 3.5
7. volunteer at a medical clinic
8. play more tennis
9. do a handstand walk
10. finish reading walden and thucydides' books
11. decide my major
12. make peace with everyone in my family

VanillaBean_21

12-31-2004, 11:12 AM

ChristinB916

12-31-2004, 11:15 AM

Yeah if you eat MORE of the right foods... the ones that you eating now... you probably won't crave sweets as much even if they are right in front of you. It works for me anyways!

VanillaBean_21

12-31-2004, 02:13 PM

Yeah if you eat MORE of the right foods... the ones that you eating now... you probably won't crave sweets as much even if they are right in front of you. It works for me anyways!

I never crave anything. Eating clean foods helped eliminate my cravings.
One time I was making cookies and kept picking at the chocolate chips. I thought they tasted so good. Then I had Natural PB and toast and it was so much more statisfying and even tasted better! My body has adapted to healthy foods now.

JLB04

12-31-2004, 03:12 PM

I never crave anything. Eating clean foods helped eliminate my cravings.
One time I was making cookies and kept picking at the chocolate chips. I thought they tasted so good. Then I had Natural PB and toast and it was so much more statisfying and even tasted better! My body has adapted to healthy foods now.

There's that Peanut Butter again :) its addicting!

VanillaBean_21

12-31-2004, 03:26 PM

There's that Peanut Butter again :) its addicting!

I could probably sit down with a jar and devour the whole darn thing!

bscrusher

12-31-2004, 04:04 PM

i am glad to see you are starting to get smart.

i have a few suggestions, and questions.

after lurking around these forums for a while now, i decided i'll post a public journal here so i can seek more advice to improve myself (fitness and mentality).

age: 16
height: 5'0
weight: 103lbs
goal: lower body fat while maintaining/gaining muscle mass AND train for swimming
bodyfat: 23%

i'm currently an enrolled college student at a community college. i had my first bodyfat testing in the beginning of the fall quarter at 18% bodyfat. as the weeks passed by i started stressing over my classes and gorged on the bakery goodies my mom brought home everyday. she works for a bakery, and receives free goodies often. i started to eat at least 2 muffins or slices of pie most evenings while studying for my classes and justified my binging on how it's unlikely i'll gain weight since i worked out 5-6 days a week. after 2 months i gained 5 lbs (at first i dismissed them as probably muscle mass) but i had my body fat tested again and was at 23%. i was really disappointed with what i've done to myself.

right now i swim for a high school swim team. our season ends in february. we usually do 3 days of 1.5hrs practice and 2 days 1hr practice, but since it's the winter break right now, we only do 1hr sessions.

the following routine is for this week:

monday: 1hr swimming practice (morning), 30 mins pilates in the evening

tuesday: 1hr swimming, 20mins low intensity cardio (bike or eliptical)

wednesday: (just started this weight lifting routine this week)
3x5 SLDL

master the regular deadlift first.

3x5 upright rows

drop the upright rows.

2x8 military press

ok.

3x6 external and internal rotations

what is that?

3x18 standing calf raises

good, try sets of 10 reps instead of 18, and try the donkey calf press if you have access. also a standard legpress machine can be used for heavy calf press, it takes the strain off the shoulders.

3x6 bent press

what do you mean by "bent press" and where did you learn that?

3x15 rope crunches

cut rope crunches down to 5 reps per set. do not train more than 2 days in a row.

thursday: 1hr swimming practice

friday: 45mins-1hr yoga

3x6 windmill
3x6 saxon side bend

really? so where did you learn those old school iron lifts? those are GREAT exercises. do them with strict form, and do not dilute their powerful effects by overtraining or by doing so much training that you can not apply high intensity to those lifts. if you are doing those old school lifts you have absolutely no need for rope crunches or any other direct ab work.

if you are doing bent press you are wasting your time by doing miltary press on the same day.

saturday: rest

sunday: 45mins yoga
3x6 side bends

what do you mean by side bends?

My Diet:
I'm currently consuming anywhere from 1300-2000 cals a day. My calorie intake naturally zigzags. i find it hard to keep my cals near the same everyday because on some days i'm more full or hungry than the other days. this is something i'm trying to work on right now, since i think it could be what's hindering my progress.

it is very refreshing to see someone doing those old school full-body lifts. they are going to make you VERY strong.

why don't you do squats or lunges?

if your progress seems hindered it is because of overtraining. cut the volume of your training down to the bare bone and increase intensity. cut out all the cardio and yoga to start, it is not making you a better swimmer or improving your strength or muscle mass, it is only preventing you from recovering, use that time to sleep.

limit your exercise outside of swimming practice to...

bent press
saxon side bend
windmill
deadlift
squats or lunges
calf press

there is no need to do all of these, i think 2 to 4 will be plenty for a while.

do not do squats and deadlift in the same session.

if you must do swimming on monday, tuesday and thursday, do your lifting on friday or saturday only. i suggest saturday, so you can come to your lifting session fresh, apply a high level of focus and intensity, and then recover before your next swim practice.

yes, that is only one day of lifting a week. now you can really apply some high intensity to your swimming practice and your lifting, and accelerate your progress in both. keep your lifting session under 45 minutes.

during your regular swim season i suggest doing very short lifting sessions of one set. these can be done on days you have a short practice or no practice. you can do a number of these short sessions per day. you have to be ULTRA disciplined about not cutting into your recovery.

if you really want to make a dramatic change in the shape of your physique, you will have to give up swimming.

aprilai

12-31-2004, 04:32 PM

for the past two days i've been feeling like ****. the relationship between my family and i are getting impassive. i know my family cares for me a lot, but they are being too overbearing. they care for me so much that they always think of what's the safest and 'best' thing for me instead of what makes me happy.

i really hope my parents would just give me some goddamn air. somehow they don't support my beliefs and actions. i dont' even know why they don't trust me. it is not as if i'm not prudent and do stupid things.

i am starting to feel the tinge of depression again. i hate falling in and out of it like no other. i also hate being sad over the things i can't control.

since i'm in a torpor lately, i feel really feeble. nothing tastes good anymore. hell, i don't even feel like eating or exercising. i''ve resolved to sleeping as a solution.

i'm looking forward to the winter quarter. once my classes start, i don't have to think about anything but studying and working. my eating and activities will resume and i won't feel so insipid like now.

bscrusher

12-31-2004, 04:34 PM

sorry to hear that a.

what do you mean by "powerlift at 125% body weight"?

aprilai

12-31-2004, 04:41 PM

sorry to hear that a.

what do you mean by "powerlift at 125% body weight"?

i want to do the powerlifting moves [bench press, squats and deadlifts] at 125% my body weight. right now my deadlifts and squats are at 90%, but my bench presses are only at 75%. i rarely bench press, so i'm going to start doing them more. usually the reason why i don't bench press is because there's no one to spot for me.

aprilai

12-31-2004, 05:06 PM

master the regular deadlift first.
do you mean the conventional or sumo style? and what is the difference?

drop the upright rows.
oops...i just noticed that i meant bent rows, not upright rows. but if you don't recommend that, then what's a better alternative? i picked up the upright rows from coach davis' article on complex training.

what is that?
these:
http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Subscapularis/DBInternalRotation.html
http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Infraspinatus/DBLyingExternalRotation.html
i hear they are crucial for swimmers to prevent injury.

what do you mean by "bent press" and where did you learn that?
coach davis' article on ab exercises http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=205abs

really? so where did you learn those old school iron lifts? those are GREAT exercises. do them with strict form, and do not dilute their powerful effects by overtraining or by doing so much training that you can not apply high intensity to those lifts. if you are doing those old school lifts you have absolutely no need for rope crunches or any other direct ab work.
coach davis =D i read your posts on referring to coach davis and so i looked him up. he has a lot of really good information. thanks for referring to him by the way!

if you are doing bent press you are wasting your time by doing miltary press on the same day.
i don't know much about where else the bent press hits. since i did the military press and bent press on the same day, i can't tell the difference. does the bent press hit the trapezius as well? i feel it on my lower back and abs a lot.

what do you mean by side bends?
coach davis' article on real abs

why don't you do squats or lunges?
i am planning to do squats next week. i tried doing the hack squats that day, but after doing two reps, i figured my form was wrong and decided to just do deadlifts and look up on the hack squats again. about the lunges, i forgot to include them in...i did 3x8 of those elevated one legged lunges. i'm not sure of what it's exactly called.

cut out all the cardio and yoga to start, it is not making you a better swimmer or improving your strength or muscle mass, it is only preventing you from recovering, use that time to sleep.
would it be fine even if i keep the yoga for flexibility?

during your regular swim season i suggest doing very short lifting sessions of one set. these can be done on days you have a short practice or no practice. you can do a number of these short sessions per day. you have to be ULTRA disciplined about not cutting into your recovery.
what specific type of exercises?

bscrusher

12-31-2004, 05:14 PM

i see, great goal.

for a female to be able to bench 125% her body weight is rare.

the dl and squat are a lot easier. you may find your self able to squat twice your body weight rather quickly if you can get your knee healed right.

having multiple goals is not a bad idea necessarily, but realize this, if you have athletic goals that do not compliment each other, like powerlifting, old school lifting, swimming and tennis. the progress of each, or at least some of these goals, is going to be rather slow.

enough people are becoming enthusiastic about old school functional strength lifting these days that it is almost a sport on it's own. obviously if you concentrated on old school lifting and powerlifting, they would compliment each other and progress in both would proceed quickly. if you did a LITTLE old school lifting to increase power for your tennis stroke, that would work too.

however if you tryed to COMPETE in both tennis and powerlifting, that would not work very well. there is not enough time to devote sufficient attention to each. the time you spent training for tennis would slow down the progress of your powerlifting goals. after a certain amount, the time you spent on powerlifting would slow down the progress of improvement on your tennis game.

so far you have not mentioned any PHYSIQUE goals. if you do not have any, that's fine. it's just that most people who post on an bodybuilding forum want to change the way they look.

i think you should really try to simplify your training goals. pick one primary and one secondary. you are about to be plenty busy when you go back to school. the more you simplify your goals the more focus and QUALITY work you can devote to each.

aprilai

12-31-2004, 05:34 PM

bscrusher

12-31-2004, 05:53 PM

whoa! great post!

do you mean the conventional or sumo style? and what is the difference?

conventional or wide stance is not much different. they are both quite different from the sldl however. the sldl must be done with less weight and it puts more stress on the lower back. the sldl puts PROPORTIONATELY more stress on the hams and glutes, but not more ACTUAL stress because you do more weight in the conventional dead. it is much more difficult to do the sldl correctly than the regular dl, so people should master the regular dl before doing sldls.

oops...i just noticed that i meant bent rows, not upright rows. but if you don't recommend that, then what's a better alternative? i picked up the upright rows from coach davis' article on complex training.

i really like john davies teachings, but i do not like upright rows or bent over rows much. if you are doing deadlifts, you have no need of bent over rows. if you are doing old school over head lifts like the bent press, you have no need of upright rows. upright rows have been shown to cause injuries quite often and any benefit you might get from them is not worth it in my opinion. there are PLENTY of better shoulder exercises.

these:
http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Subscapularis/DBInternalRotation.html
http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Infraspinatus/DBLyingExternalRotation.html
i hear they are crucial for swimmers to prevent injury.

ok.

coach davis' article on ab exercises http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=205abs

coach davis =D i read your posts on referring to coach davis and so i looked him up. he has a lot of really good information. thanks for referring to him by the way!

alright, you are welcome!

i don't know much about where else the bent press hits. since i did the military press and bent press on the same day, i can't tell the difference. does the bent press hit the trapezius as well? i feel it on my lower back and abs a lot.

well, niether the bent press nor the military hit the trapezius very much. the military hits mainly deltoid and tricep.

the bent press hits the core muscles, deltoid, and tricep. if you do it with a barbell there is an intense grip and forearm effect.

coach davis' article on real abs

i am planning to do squats next week. i tried doing the hack squats that day, but after doing two reps, i figured my form was wrong and decided to just do deadlifts and look up on the hack squats again. about the lunges, i forgot to include them in...i did 3x8 of those elevated one legged lunges. i'm not sure of what it's exactly called.

by hack squats do you mean the machine, or barbell hacks? if you have body building goals, do not try to do squats, barbell hacks or lunges in the same session. each one needs all your concentration. if you can do barbell hacks or lunges after squats that means your squat session was worthless and weak. if you are doing functional strength, you can do those lifts together. just do not tire out your central nervous system and get sloppy.

would it be fine even if i keep the yoga for flexibility?

flexibility for what? figure out how much flexibility you REALLY need and do the appropriate pneumo-muscular stretching. it should take up a few minutes after your lifting or after your swimming. do spinal decompression too.

what specific type of exercises?

if you do heavy deadlifts and bent press for 45 minutes on saturday, that will make you very strong, and it will compliment your swimming.

another good choice would be squats, dls, and bent press.

if you keep it simple and keep it a good complimentary mix of the compound freeweight lifts, you can not go wrong.

bscrusher

12-31-2004, 06:28 PM

i'm not planning to compete in powerlifting or tennis. tennis is more like just a hobby that i want to improve at. the powerlifting goal is for strength purposes. i want to be stronger than i am now. i know that i can be a lot stronger if i have more time [hence, a year should give me enough time]. my weakness is my upper body, and maybe i might not be able to bench press at 125lbs, but as long that it's above 90lbs, i'm satisfied.

my physique goal is to lower my body fat without losing muscle mass. that's it. i know that if i can powerlift more than now, my physique will be more muscular.

i'll revamp my goals in the order of most important to least important:

1. make peace with everyone in my family
2. get my knee fixed (torn ligamenet)
3. maintain at 15% bodyfat

#3 is the kind of goal that is a recipe for disappointment. instead formulate a goal that has to do with how you look, no numbers. then form a BEHAVIORAL goal that will get you moving in that direction.

4. maintain a GPA above 3.5
5. get 2100/2400 on the new SAT

those are #4 and 5? why are they not #2 and 3? or #3 and 4?

6. powerlift at 125% body weight
7. run a 5k race
8. volunteer at a medical clinic
9. decide my major
10. play more tennis
11 finish reading walden and thucydides' books
12.do a handstand walk

ok, honestly, that is a mess.

big question...

why are you doing swimming 3 TIMES A WEEK AND SWIMMING IS NOT EVEN ONE OF YOUR TWELVE GOALS?????

hmm... now i have to think about how to accomplish #1 first.

let's say you choose "powerifting" as your primary athletic goal, and "play more tennis" as your secondary. if you train correctly for powerlifting you can play a few games of tennis, say, 2 days a week without cutting into your strength. also you will be hitting the ball harder and your foot speed can improve also. if you are smart about your diet and recovery, you will become more lean, at no cost to your strength or tennis game.

you may find that powerlifting will help you gain the strength to walk on your hands, especially if you keep doing some of those old school overhead lifts.

the 5k race does not go with powerlifting very well. these two goals are uncomplimentary. any training for one will slow down the progress of the other. that does not mean it is impossible to be very strong on the powerlifts and fast in the 5 k. it only means that your training for both will proceed at about half the possible speed.

if you train for both powerlifting and the 5k, you may be in awesome shape for tennis, but if you actually PLAY any tennis your powerlifting progress will stop for maybe 3 days and your 5k progress will stop for at least one day, depending on the volume and intensity of the games.

progress in athletic goals is laid out in training days and recovery days. if you skip a training day or a recovery day you do not progress for that day at least. if what you do during that skip day is strenuous, you must add a recovery day or two to that skip day.

aprilai

12-31-2004, 06:40 PM

by hack squats do you mean the machine, or barbell hacks? if you have body building goals, do not try to do squats, barbell hacks or lunges in the same session. each one needs all your concentration. if you can do barbell hacks or lunges after squats that means your squat session was worthless and weak. if you are doing functional strength, you can do those lifts together.

i mean the barbell hacks. i tried it for the first time and i didn't feel i did it correctly. i'm planning to go for functional strength instead of bodybuilding.

flexibility for what? figure out how much flexibility you REALLY need and do the appropriate pneumo-muscular stretching. it should take up a few minutes after your lifting or after your swimming. do spinal decompression too.

flexibility so that i can still do splits. i know yoga is not exactly the best exercise to stretch out, but i find yoga to be really relaxing on my muscles. and what type of spinal decompression stretches do you mean? do you mean the ones where you hang on the pull up bars?

aprilai

12-31-2004, 07:11 PM

When I said i want to be at 15%, I primarily want to lose the fat on my lower body. i know i can't spot reduce. when i was at 18%, my thighs had a lot less fat then now. even though i have muscles on my legs, they are covered by fat and so they don't have a nice defination.

i organized my goals on what i'll work on first. some of the last goals are just side-goals i plan to do last out of interest. about the swimming, i actually swim 5 days week on off-break weeks. thanks for reminding me about the swimming...since i'm already working on it i forget to seek higher goals.

1. make peace with everyone in my family
2. get my knee fixed (torn ligament)
3. maintain a GPA above 3.5
4. get at least 2100/2400 on the new SAT
5. swim the 50m in 35secs or less.
6. perfect the butterfly.
7. define lower body.
8. powerlift at 125% body weight
9. volunteer at a medical clinic
10. decide my major
11. run a 5k race

Side goals:
12. finish reading walden and thucydides' books
13. play more tennis
14.do a handstand walk

bscrusher

12-31-2004, 07:57 PM

"You can't ride a dozen horses with one ass, so trying to attain superiority in all the traditional measures of fitness simultaneously is a recipe for disaster."

that is a quote from the new article by eric cressey on t-nation.com, check it out.

so, swimming, swimming, leg definiton.

to speed up your 50m you must improve technique in the 50m.

to perfect the butterfly you must swim, and be coached on, the butterfly.

the 50m and the butterfly are both fast swims, so speed and power are the keys here. they are anaerobic events.

if you do squats. and/or barbell hacks, and/or lunges, with a "strength only" protocol on staurday, that will make your legs more defined. it will most likely speed up your 50m.

if you also do bent press on saturday. that will be a good full body session, and the strength you build with the bent press should improve the speed of your 50m as well.

spinal decompression is done hanging from a pull-up bar. see this thread.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=379290

if you just LOVE yoga, go ahead and do it, but don't kid yourself. if there is ANY stress in this yoga class it will set back the progress of your swimming goals by one or two days with each class. if the class is one of those rare classes that is very slow and mellow, and more about meditation and breathing, rather than sweating and straining, that will be more in the nature of active recovery. that would be a good thing, and would not hold back your swimming progress.

why do you want to do splits?

when you enter the regular swimming season i think you will have to cut your lifting down by about 25 - 50% in volume and spread it out in one set sessions that are at least 1 hour apart.

when your swimming training is maximized it will be skill training, conditioning, and rest. anything that is not swimming training and conditioning, or rest, will make you slower.

there are a lot of sources on the web on swimming conditioning and training. do some research, keep it simple, and don't overtrain.

imperfectly_lou

01-01-2005, 01:05 AM

Welcome to the journal section April! :) I am really impressed by how much reading and thought you have put into things. I'll definitely be checking out your journal regularly!

Emma-Leigh

01-01-2005, 03:20 AM

Welcome!

Workouts look great - good luck with everything. I'm with Lou, I hope you don't mind me watching in...

:D

aprilai

01-01-2005, 10:39 AM

of course i don't mind! i'm glad instead.

if you also do bent press on saturday. that will be a good full body session, and the strength you build with the bent press should improve the speed of your 50m as well.

so are you suggesting that i do 2 weightlifting sessions a week? one long one at full recovery of 3 sets and one short one after practice of one set?

aprilai

01-01-2005, 11:12 AM

9AM: 3/4 cup oatmeal, 3/4 cup skim milk, 1/8 cup raisins, 1 dried strawberry

12PM: 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup barbequed duck, 1 cup spinach, 1 cup broccoli, 5 carrots, soy sauce

3M: 4oz burgundy marinated round tip steak, 1green bell pepper, 1 cup cauliflower, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 small onion, 1 garlic clove, string beans

6pm: 2 scoops designer whey, 1 cup silk soy, 1 tbsp cinnamon

source grams cals %total
Total: 1455
Fat: 49 444 32%
Sat: 12 111 8%
Poly: 10 92 7%
Mono: 13 119 9%
Carbs: 147 502 36%
Fiber: 22 0 0%
Protein: 108 431 31%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

like most of my menus, i'll probably tweak it as the day goes by. just an outline.

workout:
today i'll be doing some yoga. since it's new years, i doubt my school's gym will be opened, so i'm just going to do some yoga at home. i'll also be doing my supposedly workout from friday, since i didn't do it yesterday.

3x6 windmill
3x6 saxon side bend

bscrusher

01-01-2005, 02:51 PM

of course i don't mind! i'm glad instead.

so are you suggesting that i do 2 weightlifting sessions a week? one long one at full recovery of 3 sets and one short one after practice of one set?

well, sort of. for now you only have 3 practices a week, so i think you would be best served by one 45 minute lifting session on saturday. that is all the lifting you need for the week.

during the regular season, with 5 practices a week, i don't believe you will be able to recover from a session like that. i suggest keeping at least one of your rest days as a true, total rest day. do your lifting in a 20 minute session on one of the days you do not swim. you can also do lifting one set at a time, occasionally, at times during the week when you feel strong. only do one set at a time and if you do more than one set, leave about a half an hour, or an hour, between the sets. this is a tricky way to lift, you have to be very alert and disciplined about your recovery.

whether you improve in the 50m is in many ways dependant on the wisdom of your coach. i am not a swimming coach, but there are certain principles that apply to all athletic endeavor. i hope you read that eric cressey article.
one important thing, that i have never seen or heard of a highschool coach doing, is separating skills training and conditioning training. in fact, i have never seeen a highschool coach with any plan at all. you must be fresh and strong for each. if you try to learn your skill while tired, you will learn it WRONG. if you try to do conditioning while tired, you will be teaching your body to go slow.

p.s. i love that you are doing things like the windmill and the saxon side bend. i think it's going to take me a while to stop smiling whenever i see that. also you will soon be one of the stronger athletes around. look up arthur saxon's "two-hand-anyhow".

aprilai

01-01-2005, 06:42 PM

since next week is the regular season, i'm going to have to do 20 mins of weightlifting. i've never done that before...usually i tend to do mine for 45mins.

Monday: 1:45hrs swimming

Tuesday: 1:15hrs practice, spinal decompression

Wednesday: 1:45hrs practice

Thursday: 1:15hrs practice, spinal decompression

Friday: Meet

Saturday: 1hr diving, spinal decompression, 20 mins weights:
3x3 bench press
3x3 hack squats
3x3 bend press
3x6 external and internal rotations
3x10 one legged standing calf raise

Sunday: rest

if i find myself any time to spend, i'll try to sneak in 30 mins of yoga. all of my yoga sessions are basically used for stretching purposes.
right now i'm using dumbbells for the bend press. hopefully i can strengthen up to use the barbells! balancing them is so much harder -_-;;.

bscrusher

01-01-2005, 06:48 PM

wait a minute. what are your ramp up protocols for the day before a meet, and what are your recovery protocols for the day after a meet?

having a big workout day after a meet is a bad idea.

doing anything beyond a few starts and checking of technique, is a bad idea for the day before a meet.

if you do ANYTHING strenuous on the day before the meet, that will make you slower.

...

aprilai

01-01-2005, 06:54 PM

um, what do you suggest? i've never heard of doing them before. my coach doesn't suggest anything but "carbohydrates before your meet," and a few reminders on swimming techniques.

bscrusher

01-01-2005, 07:02 PM

that is so WEAK, and unfortunately, very typical. if you want to swim faster in the meet, and your coach will not develop a pre-meet protocol, just do not go to swim practice on the day before the meet. use that time to rest, you will be much faster.

if you can get access to another pool, do a few starts, and maybe one full on 50m, CONCENTRATING ON CORRECT FORM, and preferably with someone to coach you. do not make yourself tired. stretch, and go rest as much as you can until the meet.

on the day after the meet, rest or do active recovery.

active recovery is some gentle, non-strenuous activity that stimulates the body, but does not stress it. a low intensity yoga class is good, so is a leisurely walk or swim.

aprilai

01-01-2005, 07:18 PM

i'm quite hesitant about what squat form to do. the only squat i've done so far is the back squat. i'm not sure which squat type is the best for strength. i've read about the overhead squat, but since i haven't mastered the other squat types, i don't think it would be a good idea.

which squat form do you recommend for strength? would the hack squat serve it? when i try to squat to the floor instead of parallel, my knees always go pass my toes though. would parallel squats have the same effect as floor squats?

aprilai

01-01-2005, 07:47 PM

oh! i weighed myself this morning since 2 weeks ago, and i'm at 101lbs. i hope the 2 lbs were fat.

this is just a body measurement:

DATE 10/12/04 -------> 12/26/04

wrist : 5.25 inches----> 5.16 in
Chest : 31 ------------> 31.25
Waist : 24.75----------> 24.49
Hips : 33 -----------> 33
Thigh : 19.5 ----------> 21.73
Calf :13.5 ---------> 14.25

hmm...i'm surprised my calves grew that much. i remember how i used to HATE my calves so much because of how big and out of proportion they are to the rest of my body. but now i'm glad that they have the potential to grow so muscular- even though it means that i won't look so good with knee length clothing.

oh sigh.

bscrusher

01-01-2005, 07:50 PM

to keep your shins vertical in the atg squat is something we all STRIVE for, but few actually accomplish. i have never seen even a world calss olympic lifter in the atg position with shins exactly vertical.

the best squat for building strength is the box squat, as taught by louis simmons and dave tate. for now, master the regular parallel squat. you must do that before commiting to the box, or other variations.

strength in the atg position will not help you much in swimming, so that type of squatting should be a low priority. the big and fast strength gains start with the conventional parallel squat.

the overhead squat is another AWESOME old school lift. master the parallel squat, the atg squat, and the push press and military press first, before you attempt the overhead squat. also use a power rack or a spotter for safety.

p.s. large, well developed calf muscles are the most beautiful thing on this planet. thank your lucky stars that you have them. be proud, and show your lovely calves to rest of the world whenever possible. you will find that the strong and the intelligent agree with me.

...

aprilai

01-01-2005, 08:39 PM

what is atg??

when you say regular parallel squats, do you mean the back parallel ones?

bscrusher

01-01-2005, 08:48 PM

atg means "ass-to-grass", that's when you go all the way down untill you are sitting on your heels.

regular parallel squats means back squats with a barbell.

p.s. do spinal decompression, and other stretching type activities, as the LAST physical endeavors of your day.

aprilai

01-02-2005, 10:33 AM

so when should i weightlift?

bscrusher

01-03-2005, 04:55 AM

on saturday.

aprilai

01-03-2005, 01:51 PM

after the loss of appetite for a few days where i consumed around 1200-1450, i am starting to see some results from the low calorie diet. my legs and abs look leaner than before.

before i used to consume around 1800-2000 but wasn't losing fat. now i pretty much know why. since i've been trying to lose fat for so long now, the change is kind of making me want to continue eating at 1200-1400. i know the intake is too low to gain muscle mass, but it's so darn tempting. it's getting kind of hard for me to up it higher as well. i'm starting to see 1800 as too much food.

i think i'm going to start a diet depending on workout routine now. since today is my long swimming day (1hr 45mins) i'm going to try to consume more carbs and proteins than usual. unfortunately i consumed too much fat instead of carbs and protein today though...anyway, on my off days i'll just take in less cals. does anyone find this effective?

aprilai

01-03-2005, 05:32 PM

i'll try to keep track of my food journal as much as i can once school starts tomorrow...i probably won't have time to keep track in fitday everyday though.

this is the most food i've eaten this week, and i feel so full.

9AM: 1 20 grain bread, 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, soy sauce, 3/4 cup skim milk

10:30AM: 13 almonds, 6 walnuts, 13 honey roasted peanuts

1PM: 2 twenty grain bread, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 8" banana, 1 nectarine, 1 persimmon

2PM: 1/4 mooncake, 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1/4 scoop Designer Whey, 1/4 cup skim milk

5PM: (postworkout) 1 medium sweet potato, 6 cubic inches turkey meatloaf

7pm: 1 serving tuna

Total: 1764
Fat: 63 568 35%
Sat: 11 97 6%
Poly: 17 149 9%
Mono: 21 191 12%
Carbs: 194 624 38%
Fiber: 38 0 0%
Protein: 111 444 27%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

*makes note to self* don't eat any desserts before swimming practice! i can't believe i did it again after the last time i told myself not to eat so much within 1hr of practice -_-;;

bscrusher

01-04-2005, 01:02 PM

not eating enough will also make you slow.

aprilai

01-07-2005, 07:54 PM

i have been eating back to my old diet of 1800-2000cal. after being off the keto diet i've decided to start a weekly carb cycling diet to control my carbs more and improve my diet. last month when i tried out the keto diet i had great improvements when after i got off it.

January 8-January 16: low carb, high fat, high protein
40-45% fat
5-10% carb
40% protein

WORKOUT:

Sat: morning- 1 hr swimming practice (depletion workout)
evening- 20-30 mins weights:
3x3 bench press
3x3 back squats
3x3 bend press
3x6 external and internal rotations
3x10 one legged standing calf raise

Sun: rest (or i might just do a few laps to practice my lungs capacity for long swims)

M: practice

T: practice

W: practice
20mins weight lift:
3x3 bench press
3x3 back squats
3x5 saxon side bends
3x3 windmill
3x6 external and internal rotations
3x10 leg press calf raises

TH: practice

F: stretching yoga
15mins weights: 3x18 rope crunches
3x10 one legged calf raises
3x6 tricep extensions

Sat: practice

Sun: off

newntrying

01-07-2005, 08:52 PM

aprilai

01-07-2005, 10:04 PM

I love swimming. I used to swim laps in university (recreationally). Do you compete?

I read about the Keto diet in another section is it worth trying when I am ready to lose my bf? What kind of improvements did you see?

yeah i do compete, but not for a university.

the keto diet is worth trying but it doesn't work for everyone. i was on keto for 2 weeks because after the second week, i couldn't control the carb cravings anymore. while i was on it, i only lost 1lb of fat, which is almost 1% bodyfat for me. i was surprised that i only lost 1lb in 2 weeks since i kept my diet at 1800-2100, but later i figured it must've been my workout routine that hindered my fat loss. during that time i also noticed that my skin cleared up A LOT. the only bad parts were that i was losing strength and my endurance was weaker.

after i was off keto, my skin remains clear and my energy levels jumped up higher than before even though i ate less carbs than i used to (around 100-150). i also lost 2lb after about 2-4 days off it. my legs (which stores most of my fat) looked leaner so i'm assuming they were mostly fat loss. my endurance for swimming is also much better than before i started, but i can't definately be sure if it's just extra practices i had than the diet.

aprilai

01-08-2005, 04:42 PM

OLD Total: 1404
Revised:
Total: 1548
Fat: 95 859 57%
Sat: 24 214 14%
Poly: 34 306 20%
Mono: 29 261 17%
Carbs: 52 147 10%
Fiber: 15 0 0%
Protein: 128 510 34%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

9am: 2 eggs, 1.75 tbsp butter, 1 jalepeno orange pepper,

10AM: 1/4 cup walnuts

11am: 11 almonds

2pm: (postworkout) 1/4 large banana 1.5 scoops designer whey, 1/4 cup oatmeal

3pm: 7 mussels, 1 cup broccoli, 4 almonds, 1/4 cup walnuts

6pm: 1 can tuna, 3 cups spinach, .5 tsp sesame oil,

8pm: about 20 medium shrimps

Sat: no practice today.
45mins weights:
3x3 bench press
3x3 back squats (smith machine)
3x3 hack squats
3x5 bend press (EZ bar)
3x8 external and internal rotations
3x10 one legged standing calf raise

i ended up doing longer than i thought...it's so hard to keep the minutes less.
today was my first day of doing barbell squats in 3-4 months and when i did the back squats on the smith machine, i did not feel much from it. the weights were heavy enough, but i felt no brutality from it like how i do with deadlifts...i'm not sure if it's because i was using a smith machine or not. since i didn't feel much, i decided to try out the hack squats and it was SO much harder (it was at the same weight as the back squats). i believe i have the right form down for the hack squats...when you squat up with the bar it rests on your butt right? it was an awkward movement so i'm not sure if it was totally correct.

this is my first week off from SLDL. i miss my deadlifts but i can't come back to it until i get my squats down first.

oh! and i did the bend press with an EZ bar for the first time. the EZ bar is probably not the best selection for the bend press since it's kind of out of balance but it was soo much harder than with a dumbbell. i'm not strong enough for the regular barbells yet, so i'll just use the EZ bar.

one question though: when you do the bend press of 3x5, does it mean that you do 3x5 on BOTH sides (left and right arms) or you just do a total of 3x5 with both arms (left, right, left) ??

imperfectly_lou

01-08-2005, 05:08 PM

Hi there April :) Hope you are having a good weekend!

If you are going to go low carb, I would recommend you try and get much more protein than that... I would aim for about approximately 50% protein, 30% fat and 20% carbs

aprilai

01-08-2005, 08:21 PM

hi lou =)

i'm doing a weekly carb cycling diet. today's the beginning of my low carb week, which i'm trying to shoot for below 10%. whenever i go above 40g of carbs it kicks me out of ketosis, so i try to keep my carbs below 30g as often as possible. unfortunately today i had too many nuts! but god, the walnuts are so addictive! next time i have to keep my carbs mostly in my postworkout shake and vegetables instead.

oh well, it's great to eat whole eggs instead of eggwhites for a week. i'm starting to really like the lifestyle of carb cycling instead of keto. i found keto too strict to follow.

i agree with you that i need to eat more protein...somehow 1400 seems really low to me since i used to eat at 1800+, but now when i try to eat at 1800, i just feel so bloated and stuffed!

edited to say: nm! it's no longer 1400 but 1500

aprilai

01-09-2005, 02:00 PM

no swimming today, just all rest!

it was snowing and i'm kind of tired of walking outside in the cold. especially that i'm so sore ALL over (yay!). the only parts of me that aren't sore are my calves and hamstrings and that really bothers me...the squatting makes my quads sore like hell but i miss the hamstrings pain i used to get from SLDL.

the calves is usually not a big deal. i don't often feel much from it the other weeks anyway, but they still grow.

aprilai

01-09-2005, 07:01 PM

ahh! i screwed up my 2nd day of low carb and ate 1 and a half 6inch cookies with skim milk.

darnit. i really need to control this BAKERY crap craving. ahhh...why does my mom have to work at a bakery, it makes it SO much harder to control when she always bring home the goodies everyday.

talks to self: it's okay, you only had 75g of carbs with a total of 1800 cals. you just need to do some light aerobic tonight for 20 minutes and start new again tomorrow. after all, tomorrow is another day.

bscrusher

01-21-2005, 02:48 PM

ahh! i screwed up my 2nd day of low carb and ate 1 and a half 6inch cookies with skim milk.

that sounds crazy.

try to write and talk like a sane person, that will help you to think and feel like a sane person.

darnit. i really need to control this BAKERY crap craving. ahhh...why does my mom have to work at a bakery, it makes it SO much harder to control when she always bring home the goodies everyday.

talks to self: it's okay, you only had 75g of carbs with a total of 1800 cals. you just need to do some light aerobic tonight for 20 minutes and start new again tomorrow. after all, tomorrow is another day.

do not try to micro manage every calorie you ingest that is also crazy.

eat the cookie and make peace with it, or better yet, eat some protein. if you are still hungry after that, eat some fruit or a salad, and then realize that the reason you are hungry is because you are not eating enough, so increase the amount of food you eat.

trust me, to get all worked up over a half a cookie is INSANE. don't do it. if you can not help yourself from feeling insane, reach down, grab some courage, and ACT sane, you will feel much better.

p.s. carb cycling is not appropriate for you, it will make you slower and there is no beneficial effect.

drop the smith machine.

bscrusher

01-22-2005, 01:10 AM

you look great aprilai, a body transformation follows this sequence.

#1) gain muscle mass

#2) lose fat

not the other way around.

"cutting" is for people who are competing in bodybuilding shows, not for people who want to be lean for a lifetime.

take care of that knee, my understanding is the healthier the knee is going into the surgery, the faster and more complete the recovery will be.

aprilai

01-22-2005, 10:40 AM

can you suggest a workout plan for me?

bscrusher

01-22-2005, 11:06 AM

do you mean a plan for when the swimming season is over?

post your commitments and goals for the post-swimming season.

aprilai

01-22-2005, 11:10 AM

yes, after the swimming season.

now that i've stopped counting calories, i find eating healthy a lot easier than before. i dont' always have to splurge a whole meal on just crap. my diet is becoming a lot more intact now.

right now i want to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass. after i've lost a good amount of body fat, i want to gain muscles, especially building up my upper body for symmetry. my lower body is a lot bigger than my upper body right now, and it also stores a lot more fat.

oh, and i can go to teh gym 5 days a week.

bscrusher

01-22-2005, 11:40 AM

you look great aprilai, a body transformation follows this sequence.

#1) gain muscle mass

#2) lose fat

not the other way around.

april read this quote again, and maybe one more time, until you think you know what it means, then post an explanation of what you think it means, because i can not tell what you think it means, and until you understand that quote the way i understand it, you are getting nowhere.

if you can go to the gym 5 days a week that is wonderful.

go 3 days a week.

now you will have 2 days to work on some other fun project.

aprilai

01-28-2005, 10:35 PM

my interpretation of the plan is that i gain muscle mass, eat enough to feed the muscles, while maintaining that caloric intake and let the metabolism and activity burn off the fat.

i've tried gaining muscle mass and eating enough [anywhere fluctuating between 1800-2100]. i gained a lot more mass, but did not lose as much as i expected. my upper body had great results, but my thighs only got bigger that it gave my legs a "fat" look instead of defined hard look i'm trying to attain.

bscrusher

02-05-2005, 01:04 PM

you have got it right april.

here is the thing. you have to keep doing things right for A LONG TIME.

perhaps your genetic code says that your body wants to hold on to a certain amount of fat. if you are intelligent and persistent you can slowly burn away this fat and change your body's idea of what a healthy level of fat is.

if you want definition in your legs. you MUST do heavy squats. heavy deadlifts and lunges will help too.

aprilai

02-06-2005, 10:21 AM

how many calories should i be eating?

i'm 5'0 and 101lbs, about 20% body fat (the last time i measured was several months ago, so it could be lower because i feel a lot leaner than before)

right now i've upped my cal intake from 1600 to 1800.

bscrusher

02-06-2005, 11:58 AM

i am going to make a suggestion.

don't count calories.

you are already very fit and lovely. counting calories is for people who really have a problem and can't get healthy, or high level competitors who are cutting. you are niether of those.

eat enough healthy unprocessed food so that you are never hungry.

never stuff yourself, eat many small meals a day, 6 -8.

it works, and with all the time you will save you can finish your phd.

LadyStarlight

02-06-2005, 12:21 PM

aprilai

02-16-2005, 10:12 PM

thanks for visiting!

ladystarlight-yes, i also find #1 to be the easiest and hardest thing to do sometimes.

this is my measurements after 1month and a half.

16
Sex F F
Height 59.49 in ---> 60.51 in

Weight 103 lbs ----> 103 lbs

Neck 11.81 in --->11.50 in

Shoulder 35.98 in ---> 36.73 in

Chest 29.76 in ---> 30.51 in

Waist 24.49 in ----> 24.00 in

Abdomen 29.25 in ---->27.99 in

Hips 30.00 in ----> 30.00 in

Thigh 21.73 in ---> 22.01 in

Knee 12.52 in --->12.24 in

Calf 14.25 in --->14.25 in

Ankle 7.24 in ---->7.52 in

Wrist 5.16 in ----> 5.51 in

so far i have lost neck fat[i didn't know it was even possible!], also from my waist, abdomen and wrist, while gaining about half-1inch on my shoulders, chest, ankle, wrist and thigh. hopefully the thigh part is entirely muscle mass, because i really don't want to gain anymore fat. my pants are actually tighter on me, so i don't think i lost thigh fat.

good thing is, my weight is still the same!

aprilai

02-26-2005, 08:37 AM

after a few weeks of experimenting, i've changed my routine to a 3-way split instead of a 4. the 4 was TOO exhausting...i barely had the same energy to do the military press.

Mon: Chest, triceps, biceps, abs 1,

Tues: calves, 20mins HIIT

Wed: back, shoulders

Thu: 20mins HIIT

Fri: legs, abs 2

Sat: OFF

Sun: OFF

my diet is good as well, may be a bit too high in sodium considering all the marinated meat. i'm actually drinking 1+gallon a day now, and i go to the bathroom every waking hour, which bothers the people i go out with a lot!

i've cut out dairy and wheat products. now i replace my carbs with fruits, vegetables and oats, which i can eat all day long. so far my calves are looking a lot leaner [i tend to store fat in my lower body] so i know if i continue with this the stubborn fat will melt away.

yesterday when i picked up some south beach diet recipes, and they are awesome! they have a lot of healthy recipes in there, just need a bit more modification. if no one has checked them out yet, i highly recommend to!

sillyvent

02-26-2005, 09:20 AM

hey girl! did u completely cut out dairy? you need a little dairy for fat loss....
I don't have a lot of dairy, but I do eat 4 servings of protein pudding within a week which has 2 cups of skim milk....

aprilai

02-26-2005, 09:30 AM

hi sillyvent!

yes i've completely cut out dairy. it was a staple in my diet before. cow's milk has too much hormones and homogenized, so i decided i'll cut out dairy again [did once before on a keto diet, and really helped clear my skin] to see how things go.

oh, and how do you make your pudding? it sounds yummy. i think i might try some protein jello and see how it tastes for a night snack when i haven't met my protein requirement.

edite to ask: why do you say that you need dairy for fat loss?

sillyvent

02-26-2005, 09:40 AM

you get those sugar free packets and add 2 cups of skim milk and one scoop of whey...then just follow the directions. you can also buy protein pudding if you want. it is a tasty little treat- i suggest keepin a little bit of dairy if you are looking for fat loss.

Ravenous_T

02-26-2005, 10:04 AM

You don't need dairy for fat loss.

What are you doing for PW protein?

sillyvent

02-26-2005, 11:46 AM

You don't NEED it, but for a lot of females diary helps out the process. I didn't have diary in my first diet, but I do now and I can see the difference- also depends on your body and how you react. I just noticed that you need reconstructive knee surgery. I had that surgery when I was 16 and then I had to have microscopic a year later. What happened?

aprilai

02-26-2005, 08:38 PM

i've scheduled a knee reconstruction for this summer. the recovery would require me to stay home for several days and a few more inconveniences that would cost me since i have school. the knee was injured last march during a hurdle, and i REALLY damaged it more by running excessively.

my PW meal is 1 scoop whey w/ 1/2 cup oats and sometimes a fruit.

aprilai

02-26-2005, 08:55 PM

so i planned out my diet for tomorrow and the following week. it makes it so much easier to follow through for convenience sakes.

Feb 27, 2005-March 5, 2005

Sunday:

meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, 1/2 banana
meal 2: 1/2 cup chickpeas 2 fish oils
meal 3: 1 plate stir fry turkey/beef vegetables 2 fish oils
meal 4: 1/2 grilled chicken breast w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter, spinach and arugula salad 2 fish oils
meal 5: 1 turkey burger, cup cole slaw, cherry tomoatoes and salad 2 fish oils
meal 6: 1 scoop whey, 1 tbsp flax seed
snack: 1 apple

Monday:

meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, 1/2 banana
meal 2: shake, 1 pear, 1/4 cup oats
meal 3: 1 plate stir fry turkey vegetables, 2 fishoils
meal 4: 1/2 grilled chicken breast, salsa, cole slaw, spinach and argula salad, 2fishoils
meal 5: hors d'vors: 4 ham slices, 12 artichoke spears, 2fish oils
meal 6: 1 scoop whey, 2 tbsp flax seed
snack: shake

Tuesday:

meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey
meal 2: 1 orange, 1/2 scoop whey
meal 3: 1 plate stir fry turkey vegetables, 2 fishoils
meal 4: 1/2 grilled chicken breast, salsa, green beans, 2 fish oils
meal 5: 4 eggwhites, tomatoes, cucumber, cole slaw, 1 slice ham
meal 6: 1 turkey burger, assorted salad
snack: 1 shake

Wednesday:

meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, 1/2 banana, 2 fish oils
meal 2: 1 apple, 1/2 scoop whey
meal 3: 1 scoop whey, 1/2 cup oats
meal 4: 1/2 grilled chicken breast, salsa, green beans, 2 fish oils, 2 fish oils
meal 5: eggwhite fritata: 4 eggwhites, tomatoes, cucumber, cole slaw, 1 slice ham 2 fish oils
meal 6: 4 eggwhites, 1 cup assorted vegetables 2 fish oils
snack: protein pudding

Thursday:

meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 fish oils
meal 2: 1 fruit, shake 2 fish oils
meal 3: 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, 1 turkey burger 2 fish oils
meal 4: 1/2 grilled chicken breast, salsa, spinach, arugula salad, 1/2 pear, 2 fish oils
meal 5: hors d'vors: 4 ham slices, 12 artichoke spears, 2fish oils
meal 6: 4 eggwhites, 1 cup assorted vegetables
snack: 1 shake

Friday:

meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, 1/2 fruit 2 fish oils
meal 2: 1/2 cup Hi-Lo cereal
meal 3: shake, 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1 fruit, 2 fishoils
meal 4: 1/2 grilled chicken breast, salsa, spinach, arugula salad, 2 fish oils
meal 5: 1 turkey burger salad
meal 6: 4 eggwhites, 1 cup assorted vegetables
snack: 1oz walnuts

Saturday:

meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, 1/2 fruit 2 fish oils
meal 2: shake, 1/2 cup oatmeal 2 fish oils
meal 3: 1 plate assorted vegetable chicken stir fry, 2 fishoils
meal 4: 1/2 grilled chicken breast, 1/2 cup snap peas, 2 fish oils
meal 5: shake 2 fish oils
meal 6: 4 eggwhites, 1 cup assorted vegetables 2 fish oils
snack: 1 egg

tomorrow's cooking and packaging day! i look forward to cooking every weekend ^_^

imperfectly_lou

02-27-2005, 03:42 AM

Wow, you are organised! I'm impressed! But it doesn't look like much food to me?

aprilai

02-27-2005, 07:31 AM

lou, i just plugged in the quantities for today and monday, and added 1/2 can of tuna for today. today's ratio is:

Total: 1744
Fat: 53 475 29%
Sat: 11 95 6%
Poly: 8 75 5%
Mono: 10 94 6%
Carbs: 147 467 28%
Fiber: 31 0 0%
Protein: 177 710 43%

Monday:
Total: 1790
Fat: 47 422 24%
Sat: 13 119 7%
Poly: 6 52 3%
Mono: 8 73 4%
Carbs: 165 531 30%
Fiber: 33 0 0%
Protein: 198 790 45%

the other days' numbers should be around that, so that's about 1800.

sillyvent

02-27-2005, 08:49 AM

Ouch! Be careful after you get the surgery and are doing rehab....make sure to do everything the therapist says. I slacked....so now my bad leg is a bit shorter than the other and I can tell when I get older it will cause me some major problems!!! Good luck! :)

aprilai

03-04-2005, 02:22 PM

a few days ago i got my wisdom tooth removed [ouch!] and my menu entirely changed. most of the food i eat now are shakes, oatmeal and other mushy, liquidy food.

it reminded me of sillyvent's protein pudding recipe, and so i made it with a few changes:

1 large sliced/mashed banana
1 scoop whey
1/3 cup soymilk/water
1 tbsp flax seed meal
cinnamon to taste

add whey, water/milk, sliced banana into a tall glass. microwave for 2 minutes. add flax seed and cinnamon, stir.

sillyvent

03-11-2005, 07:56 AM

So you made protein pudding...good! You can also buy it- stallone's makes a good vanilla and choclate. I made my last batch with cookies n cream whey and vanilla sugar free pudding mix and of course the 2 cups of skim milk- it was hella good!!! :) I hope you heal up- getting your wisdom teeth out sucks!!

Jennifer-Lynn

03-11-2005, 10:08 AM

I just took the time to read through your journal....You have great Pics! So much to work with...sounds like your doing great, keep up the hard work.

aprilai

03-11-2005, 07:14 PM

sillyvent - my wisdom tooth is healing already! now i can finally chew food instead of sipping. -_-;; hmmm...cookies 'n cream pudding sounds delish. i'll need to get some different flavor wheys instead of vanilla and chocolate all the time.

JL- thanks for stopping by!

today i started a new routine, based on bscrusher's mass protocol and a bit of the "one lift a day" program. i decided to give it a try, since bscrusher emphasized it so much before.

Fri:
conventional deadlift - 40lbs warmup -2x15
- 80lbs [was getting too light]-4x5
- 110lbs [testing out how much i can push out of this] -1x2 [so it was pretty bad...]
SLDL -80lbs -3x5 [too light]
-90lbs -3x5

total sets: 11
this was so messy...next time i'm going to up it to 85 or 90lbs and just do the lifts.

bicep curls - 35lbs - 6, 6, 6, 4, 4 [was trying to push it for the last 2 sets but couldn't]

my legs and back are so exhausted now. strange thing is that it's not the type of exhaustion i used to get from a hard leg day but more like the type that i'll wake up in pain tomorrow!

terracotta

03-11-2005, 07:38 PM

aprilai

03-11-2005, 07:56 PM

terracotta- i've read a bit on Max-OT before, but decided not to, because i am still quite a beginner [only trained correctly for 3-4 months now] so i want to try bscrusher's doctrine for awhile and see how the results go.

yesterday i had my cheat meals and now i feel much better to get back to a good diet routine. let's see what my cheal foods were yesterday....:

chicken katsu w/ white rice and ranch dressing
2 bananas w/ 3 tbsp peanut butter, 1/4 cup raisins
1 chocolate peanut butter pria bar
8 tamarind nut candies

terracotta

03-11-2005, 07:59 PM

SC1

03-11-2005, 08:47 PM

Hi! I haven't read through your journal before, but just saw it and thought I'd give it a look. It's been a great read so far. You have done so much research. I love the link to coach dave's ab article. I think I'm going to try a few of those exercises myself.

Are you still doing the bent lifts or the windmills?

aprilai

03-12-2005, 10:15 AM

terracotta- the Max-OT program definately sounds interesting. i'll keep in it mind ^_^

SC1- hi girl! thanks for coming =) i stopped doing the bent press and windmills for awhile now. i find that i can get the same trap and core emphasis by doing deadlifts. this morning i woke up so sore on my traps and rear delts! those areas were not what i expected to be hit so hard. i don't feel anything on my quads though, but that's okay. it'll be stressed enough from doing squats next tuesday.

imperfectly_lou

03-12-2005, 11:00 AM

Looking great April! I hope the wisdom teeth are feeling a bit better, ouch!

aprilai

03-13-2005, 02:37 PM

hi lou =)

today was chest/triceps day.

chest press- warmup -15lbs-2x15
bench:
65lbs -4x6
70lbs- 2x4
65lbs- 5x6
total bench sets: 11

flys- 20lbs -8, 8, 6
bench dips - 3x10

i just started waking up at night to drink my whey shake...arrgh, it tastes especially nasty and i don't know why. maybe tonight i'll keep it in a thermos to keep it warm instead.

aprilai

03-13-2005, 02:52 PM

Black Bean Sweet Soup

soaked black beans
splenda
a lot of water

cook soaked black beans in as much water as you want the thickness of the soup to be. sweeten with splenda.

this sounds weird, but it tastes great! watch out for the fiber though...it'll give you mad gas for a day or two.

aprilai

03-15-2005, 07:35 PM

Squat: (warmup)bodyweight- ATG 2x8
45lbs 2x6
55lbs 1x6
/end of warm up
65lbs 3x6
70lbs 2x6
75lbs 2x5
50lbs 2x6
65lb x5, 4

seated calf raises: 80lbs 3x10

alternating step up hops: 12lbs 2x8 each leg

length: 25-30mins

my legs were burning. i could barely walk out of the building. it was a great workout but i forgot to do some spinal decompression!

aprilai

03-18-2005, 08:46 PM

i've been busy with finals lately...i forgot the exact weights for some of these exercises. i think i wasted too much energy on my warmups for thursday instead of the actual workout...need to not do that anymore. thursday's workout was also messy, since i was testing out my performance on doing the pullups and push presses on the same day.

Thursday's Workout

warmup:
clean and press- 2x10
deadlift-2x8
military press-2x6

assisted pull ups- 40lbs-4x6
push press -45lbs-3x5
bent over row - 50lbs- 4x6
bicep curls - 35lbs- 6, 5, 6, 4

Friday's HIIT
15mins
15 secs fast
1:30mins slow

my diet is getting off track right now. i have too many meals with fat from the nuts and carbs from dried fruit and cereal. most of the reason is because i ran out of meat and i don't want to consume anymore whey since i already have 3-4 of them for my meals of the day. the nuts and dried fruit were so good for night snacks...but i just overdid it by eating like cups of them. i'm going to write a food menu and stick it to my refrigerator to remind me of the APPROPRIATE proportions and better food choices in the kitchen.

have a great weekend everyone!

StlBarbie

03-19-2005, 05:26 AM

Hi Aprilai!!!

You are doing a great job! How are finding the effect of the deads on your core? Your black bean soup sounds awesome ... I did get a little worried when I read the last sentence though .... not sure I can cope with the "fiber
effects"! ;)

Have a fun weekend!

aprilai

03-22-2005, 11:32 AM

my abs feel GREAT after doing the deads. the only other supplemental ab exercise i use now is the hanging leg raises or the reverse crunch on my shoulders/chest day.

i haven't posted for awhile now, since i had finals...yesterday was deadlift day. since i don't see or feel much involvement on the traps for the past 2 weeks, i added the assisted pull ups on my deadlift day to work the traps more.

deadlifts:
warmup - 45lbs - 2x10
65lbs x 8
75lbs x 6

95lbs- 4x6
90lbs -6x5

total DL working sets: 10

assisted pullups - 60lbs-4x6
barbell curl- 35lbs -2x6

my bis were burning after this so i couldn't continue anymore

Krissypoo

03-22-2005, 11:55 AM

Just curious as to why you do so many deadlifts. What changes have you seen in doing them?

Also, you list your pounds for assisted pullups. Are those how many pounds assistance you use?

aprilai

03-22-2005, 05:01 PM

i'm following a modified version of the "one lift a day program." basically i keep my lifting session 20-30mins, very little cardio [only once a week for 20mins max or 20mins HIIT], reps of 5-7 for mass and under 1 min rest period between each set. the routine is tough, since you are doing a lot of sets with heavy compound lifts.

so far i am getting really good results for my entire body, although i do think i am still doing too many exercises. i am going to take off the barbell curl and do the pull ups with the DL only.

as for the assisted pull ups, yes, they are the lbs of assistance that i use. it's kind of disturbing to know that last week i used 40lbs of assistance and this week i had to use 60lbs...hmm...it must be the deadlifts.

oh, my diet is getting SO off track right now. i want to continue this bulking diet and routine for another month, and start cutting down. i am finding myself eating junk food and just constantly eating! i thought i can just not make a diet log of my food, and just eat "normally" without worrying about the exact portion of my meals, but it's getting so hard. i'm starting to cheat more and more each week. argh.

how do you guys bulk?

aprilai

03-22-2005, 06:44 PM

okay since i've been SO offtrack with my diet i decided to come back with calculating [and i really dislike calculating my meals like this]. i am hoping to do this for just another week to let me get back to the groove of clean bulking for awhile then just eat w/out calculating again.

i also started creatine loading today. takin' about 21g creatine a day, split into 2 doses. i feel kinda bloated right now, but i think it could be from all the sugar i ate at starbucks!

oh and i also added dairy into my diet, since i LOVE cottage cheese, and since i remove it when i lean down, might as well eat all the cottage cheese i want when i'm bulking! so far i haven't noticed any breakouts, and my skin is still clear...so if i start breaking out i might remove it again or try to find out the reason to my breakout [prolly hormones].

3/23/05

meal 1: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, 2 strawberries, 12g creatine,

meal 2: 1 rosemary low carb wrap, 1 egg, 3 eggwhites, 2oz chicken breast, 4 tbsp salsa, 2 tbsp chilis, some lettuce and 1/2 tomato

meal 3: tuna stew: 1 can tuna, 2 plum tomotoes, 1/4 cup tomato paste, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 onion

meal 4: 1am [postworkout] 1 scoop whey, 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1 nectarine, 12g creatine

meal 5: 4am: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 scoop whey

meal 6: 7am: 1 plate beef and broccoli stir fry [~6oz beef, 3 cups broccoli], 2 fish oils

meal 7: 10am: 1 serving pudding, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 2 fish oils

midnight meal: 1 scoop whey

snack: 1 red delicious apple

source grams cals %total
Total: 1951
Fat: 40 361 20%
Sat: 10 86 5%
Poly: 5 44 2%
Mono: 9 83 5%
Carbs: 199 630 34%
Fiber: 42 0 0%
Protein: 214 856 46%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

since i've been gaining some fat lately i am going to stick with 2000 cal for now and up as i feel the fat gain is more minimal than that past 2 weeks.

aprilai

03-26-2005, 12:24 PM

Jennifer-Lynn

03-26-2005, 04:02 PM

Hi April - That's great about your workout today! Feels good to have a good one doesn't it, especially when its a legs day.

So how is the diet going are you still having cravings? Are you able to go a whole week without caving in? Also have you taken your measurements from your last ones yet?

terracotta

03-26-2005, 04:23 PM

today's workout was awesome, i actually increased up to 95lbs! and i didn't know i could before. i was hesitating when i loaded on the weights...but the reps went fine, so next time i'm going to up it to 100lbs and see how that goes =)

duration: 33mins

squats- warmup:
45x10
50x10
55x8
65x6

75lbs-3x5
85x5
90x5
95x5
85x5
80x5
75x5
55x5

total working sets: 10

SLDL - 75lbs-4x5 [going to drop this and replace for good mornings instead...it felt too taxing on me]

calf raises -70lbs- 3 secs contraction -3x10

cool down - jumps off box -1x10

spinal decompression

wow.. tired just reading that. Good mornings are for your lower back. I don't think you need to do good mornings since you do conventional deads.

The SLDL are for your hamstrings. So if you want to replace them do lying leg curls.

edit: I thought total sets for squats was supposed to be 10? Including the working sets? It seems a bit much.

aprilai

03-27-2005, 05:45 PM

hi jen! diet is going great, i don't have any cravings anymore. in fact, i'm actually getting bored with food. i've never imagined myself saying that! but i don't have much of an apetite for food anymore, but i still make sure i eat every 2-3 hours. i've lowered my calorie intake from 2000 to 1600-1700 now 'cause i was gainin' fat too fast at 2000. the midnight shake really helps suppress my appetite...i've noticed that my metabolism is a lot faster now that i added the midnight meal this past week. i've also got off that 'muscle mass routine' and decided to just try a combination of cardio and weights for gradual fat loss and muscle mass gain. only swimming 30mins 2x a week now though, since cardio machines bore me without my music.

terracotta - i thought good mornings are primarily for your hams...i might be wrong, so i'll keep the SLDL then =) the working sets are the ones excluding the warm ups. for my next squat day i think i'll lower the working sets to 8 and increase the intensity, since i'm starting to add cardio in...dont' want to reach a burn out.

terracotta

03-27-2005, 05:50 PM

aprilai

03-27-2005, 06:01 PM

good mornings are primarily for your lower back. Romanian deads are primarily for your hamstrings. I put the link to them in my first post of my journal. Romanian deads are awesome. They are all I do for hams.

I don't see how you need more than 6 working sets for squats.. if you are doing so many sets you may want to consider doing half of them narrow stance and half wide stance so there you are altering the angle of attack ;)

thanks for the tip. will do next week ^_^

terracotta

03-27-2005, 06:32 PM

narrow stance is slightly wider than shoulder width (otherwise balance is hard) and wide stance is sumo (I think this is what you have been doing)

aprilai

03-28-2005, 03:57 PM

got my car so i can go the extra miles to my school's gym with the full equipments!

duration: 30mins

warmup
3x6 E-Z bar overhead squat [working on these! they're awesome]
1x6 30lbs military press

military press
35x6
40x6
45x6
50x4
45x6
40x6
35x6

windmill
3x5 15lbs each side

cuban press [added these for my rotary cuffs...starting to feel them strained during flat bench pressing]
3x6 25lbs bar

seated calf raises
3x10 70lbs- 3 secs contraction

spinal decompression

aprilai

03-29-2005, 05:07 PM

i increased my calorie intake from 1600-1700 to 1800 range now. i was getting hungry at 1600 and 1700 too often...also added 1 tbsp flax seed meal to my midnight shake to curb over the night.

aprilai

03-30-2005, 07:06 PM

i actually planned to do deadlifts today, but after 2 warm up sets of deadlifts, i didn't have the attention or feeling to do it so i switched to rowing...i think it's because i didn't get enough sleep the past 2 nights. i'll need to go to sleep earlier now!

duration
20mins

deadlift-warmup
70lbs -2x8

Bend over row
50lbs - 4x6
60lbs- 1x4
50lbs -3x6

assisted overhand pull up
60lbs assist. -2x6
50lbs assist. -x5, x4

incline E-Z curl
E-Z bar + 19lbs - 4x5

does anybody know how much the E-Z bar weighs??

about 6hrs later i went to play some tennis with a friend. i haven't played tennis for a year now! my right forearm is sore, i think my grip is really undertrained since my forearm is already sore so quickly. i'm going to add some forearm training soon.

taifighter

03-31-2005, 05:11 PM

well hello gorgeous ;)

the pics look great! You have a beautifully built upper body, I love your waist! And I want your abs!! man! (cute belly ring too)

keep rocking those squats girl, you are going to have awesome legs.
I'd recommend occasionally splitting up your squats from your deadlifts. Deadlifts are excellent for the back. Throw in some hack squats, or my personal fave, one-legged squats on the smith machine. Grrrreat for the glutes and inner thighs!!

And good idea raising your cals. remember..you want to keep your metabolism up and feed your muscles at all costs. You should NEVER feel fatigued and hungry ..those are signs your body is eating that precious muscle you built!!!

aaanyway, enough of my jibber jabber...you are looking so good april!!! keep it up!!!!! :)

Paichka

03-31-2005, 08:04 PM

aprilai

03-31-2005, 08:24 PM

hi tai and paichku =)

i do split up my deadlifts and squats, except for the SLDL, that was for my squat/legs day.

my lower body is a lot out of proportion compared to my upper body - damn genetics. i've tried dieting down to get rid of the fat, but then finally realized that the best way is to just do something correctly for a long period of time, and let the stubborn fat melt away. my lower body actually responds well to weight lifting, except that it's not visible underneath the fat.

i don't have a problem with being hungry anymore. i've also stopped counting calories unless its a new recipe i just whipped up , just eat every 2-3 hours, and have about 20g protein with every meal. so i end up eating about 8 meals a day. i think it's best to just eat every 2-3 hours even if you're not hungry. i think i'm getting this diet down ^_^

funny thing is that i'm starting to be bored with food now - i would never have imagined myself saying that before! of course i try to break my monotonous meals and whip up something different.

oh and also after 2x of killing my homemade protein bars [i was testing out a new recipe] i've finally got the right one! will post it later after i calculate its breakdown.

Krissypoo

04-01-2005, 05:23 AM

Looking great, April! I see the one lift a day program is doing you well. I think I may try a similar powerlifting program after another month or so on my program. Do you feel that you are gaining significant strength? In any event, you look great! Keep it up!

I'm waiting for that protein bar recipe... :)

taifighter

04-01-2005, 10:25 AM

Tai,

I have a question that maybe April will also find relevant -- when should you eat and when should you ignore being hungry? Like, is being hungry ALWAYS a sign of actually needing more calories, or is it sometimes just thirst, or just a craving?

-- Sunny

PS -- April you are cute as heck. Your torso and upper body are well-proportioned and you have a GREAT waist. Adorable belly-ring too...I had to take mine out before coming out to Iraq. :-( Tai's right, split up your squats and your deadlifts...SLDLs are good for your hamstrings but they're also great for your back...one of my favorites is the plie squat -- great for your inner thighs and glutes. :-)

hey sunny...
I'm not sure but I will speak from personal experience. When I was a borderline vegan eating 1500 calories a day, I was CONSTANTLY STARVING. And even though I ate very little meat, I didn't really eat many grains either. I was on a low-fat, low-carb diet that left me hungry after every meal I ate. Once I started adding protein, FAT (!!) and high fiber grains, I started to finally feel full. I could go 3-4 hours with eating. And it was then that I could start to differentiate between true hunger and cravings, or thirst.

Like April said, if you eating meals with the right ratios of fat/carbs/protein, enough calories and eating frequently, you shouldn't get hungry. If you DO, start to examine how many calories your taking in...then the amount of carbs/fats. If your carbs are low, you need fat to compensate. In general, a diet too low in fat will NOT leave you feeling sated.

For me, hunger is now a flutter in my stomach, I almost start to feel queasy. I get a little light-headed, and it tends to come on suddenly. If I let it go on, it becomes a dull ache in my stomach that gives me a headache.

Thirst on the other hands is a feeling in my throat and upper abdomen. Not the same as the queasy feeling but I still feel something in my stomach. If I start to feel that, I chug a lot of water. If the feeling persists, then I eat something.

Cravings for me are weird...I usually don't get cravings for something until I think about them. I see a commercial for cereal, and I go from not hungry to wanting a bowl of Lucky Charms. That feeling however, isn't as sudden as true hunger. It like, grows the more I think about it. If I start obsessing over how much I want a bowl of cereal, how I SHOULDN'T have a bowl of cereal, how good a bowl of cereal would TASTE (usually when I'm TRULY hungry, I don't even crave food or think about taste, I just know I need food).
I identify cravings by what I'm thinking and feeling when they hit. Am I feeling stressed out and suddenly can't get the taste of peanut butter out of my mouth? Probably a craving. Is it 4 hours since breakfast and I'm feeling light headed and grumpy...but not really thinking about food? I'm probably hungry.

I know, this all has to sound retarded. But I messed with my body and food for so long that I truly have to ask myself these questions now. "Knowing" what hunger is doesn't come naturally to me. I'm getting better at it every day though!! But it has taken me a long time of LISTENING to my body and thinking about what i wanted and why for me to differentiate between hunger and other stuff.

Now, I structure my meals and eating so I should NEVER get hungry. I eat every 3 hours, a 350 calorie meal with 50%C-35%P-15%F. I may eat more on a leg day or if I'm especially active. If I start to feel hungry NOW, I try to figure out why. Is it because I didn't sleep enough (Fatigue increases appetite) or is it because I did an extra 20 minutes of intense weight lifting?

Oh man, I'm gonna stop now. I hope what I've written has made sense :(

aprilai

04-01-2005, 04:36 PM

thanks guys =)

tai: of course that made sense! and wow..that was really inspiring...

oh, and i'm sorry i didn't understand what you meant about really splitting the deadlift and squats- i thought you meant i did conventional deadlifts on squat day. i understand now, and i'll start doing the romanian deadlifts on my deadlift day, and maybe replace the deadlift with front squats or lunges.

kris: i definately feel that i've gotten stronger. since the program is focused on one exercise, it really removes any other exercises that are redundant. give 2 weeks a try and you'll feel the difference!

i just tried my protein bar recipe...it doesn't taste good, but i like it for its nutritious value and that it's portable so i can carry it with when i go places [sorry kris! your protein bar recipe is DELICIOUS, but it just melts in my bag >_<]. also it's lowfat, so i can eat it for pre or post workout. i think it would taste A LOT better with a banana and chunks of dried fruits.

Low Fat protein bar

5 scoops whey
2 cups milk
2 cups oats
1 packet SF pudding
7 eggwhites
1/2 tbsp canola oil
suggested: 1-2 bananas, 1/2 cup dried fruits

mix all ingredients in a bowl. coat a non-stick spray on a baking tray. pour mixture into the baking tray and bake at 350 degrees for um...i forgot the time but the mixture should rise up high and be only semi-soft.

without the banana and dried fruits:

209 cal
4g fat
23g carb
2.5g fiber
22g protein

aprilai

04-01-2005, 08:02 PM

i decided to add a new ab program to my routine, since my ab muscles underneath feel underdeveloped:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=DCA4ADF80FD9E9F76CB9D828D0 AE9EC1.titan?id=576447
i'm going to see how it goes for a few weeks and drop it if it didn't work well.

duration:[/url] 34mins

[u]conventional deadlift: warmup
70lbs -2x8
80lbs-1x6

95lbs - 2x6
105lbs-1x6
95lbs -2x6

sumo style deadlift:

95lbs - 2x6
105lbs-1x4
95lbs - 2x6

serratus crunch: 10lbs ea hand - 4x10

swiss ball crunch: 4x12

4hrs later...stretch

aprilai

04-10-2005, 05:14 PM

i TOTALLY blew this weekend with so many cheats... i went 1200 calories over maintenance yesterday and probably the same for today. not sure what made me want to cheat badly like this. i think it's from some evil voice in my head telling me that i could get away with it. whatever it is, i certainly DO NOT like that voice and i'm going to start fresh again tomorrow.

here is a basic meal plan i decided to write clearly in pen and paper to remind myself from now on:

meal 1: oats + fruit + whey / potato + whey, 2 fish oils, multivitamin, calcium citrate
15-25g protein, 20-35g carb

meal 2: [preworkout] oats/rice/fruit + protein
10-20g carb, 10-20g protein

meal 3: [postworkout] oats + fruit + milk + whey
25-35g protein, 30-40g carb

meal 4: ~6-8oz meat + vegetables

meal 5: ~5-8oz meat + vegetables

meal 6: ~4-6oz meat + vegetables/1 serving dairy, 2 fish oils

meal 7: 1/2 cup cottage cheese + whey/ 1 tbsp nut butter, 2 fish oils

meal 8: 1 scoop whey, 1 tbsp flax
meat could be seafood

going to stick this in front of my fridge to remind me each time i go by the kitchen. it should come easy and fast to me after a week of getting back on track.

This week's goal: follow the diet's plan, even on the weekends!! even if you're out with friends, carry the homemade protein bars and whey shakes. eat ONLY the whey protein bars and whey shakes unless there are non-greasy vegetables and meat available.

will update next week if i accomplish it!

Krissypoo

04-10-2005, 05:19 PM

Glad to see you back! I wondered what happened to you...

Don't stress about the cheats. You work hard, and you can't mess up all that hard work in 2 days. You're already headed in the right direction again.

aprilai

04-10-2005, 05:38 PM

thanks kris! i really appreciate the support =) i wanted to stop this journal for awhile, but now i decided to continue with it for the support here [and it's also so addicting to read the journals!]

since i had SO many carbs and calories this weekend, i'm going to take advantage of the extra calories and deadlift tomorrow.

arose70

04-11-2005, 06:14 AM

Hi Aprilai! I was also wondering where you have been...good to have you back:) Thanks for the comment in my journal, that was such a nice thing to read early this morning! Your meal plan looks great, that's a good idea to do deadlifts tomorrow with the extra cals....I would never have thought of that! Just think, this is a new week and a fresh start! Have a great one!!!!

aprilai

04-11-2005, 03:58 PM

thanks arose =)

duration: 35mins

deadlift day
warmup: 50x10
60x8
80 - 2x6

95 x 6
115 x 5
120 x 4 [yay!!]
115 x 5
105 x 5
95 x 6

45d donkey calf raises: 3 secs contraction - 3x10 (90/110/120lbs)
need to increase weight up higher next time

rope crunch: 50lbs - 3x12

2 incline reverse crunch - x10, 8, 6
i forgot to do 4 sets instead of 3, must do that next time.

3x spinal decompression

it has been 9 days since i've deadlifted, and i felt really refreshed from the longer break, so i think i'll try to deadlift every 11-13 days now to be more refreshed. lowering the volume of the working sets also really helped, so i'm just going for 7 sets max now. no more 10 -)

aprilai

04-12-2005, 01:31 PM

since i just HATE doing aerobics, i decided to try out mike mahler's high octane cardio. i did tweak it a bit to fit me. i should be expecting faster fat loss by doing this, since it's like a circuit training, and my body loses fat well on circuits.

high octane cardio:
duration: 35 mins
5x5 mins eliptical rotated between each move, ramp 10, 130-160spm

50 bodyweight parallel squats

12 push presses 12lbs ea hand - 140-150spm

20 bench crunches, 25 bench twists

40 lunges

aprilai

04-13-2005, 08:03 PM

i'm taking a weightlifting class at my cc right now. it's a lot of fun 'cause i get to train and get credit for it. the instructor is a personal trainer and she's really nice, but she was making us do push up tests today. i pushed out 28 and afterwards my triceps were pretty weak. i wasn't sure whetheri should bench afterwards, but i did anyway and treated the pushups as a warm up.

bodyweight pushups: 28

duration: 30mins

flat bench :
warmup - 65lbs - 3x8

working sets- 75lbs x5, 5, 4
my shoulders felt strained after the 3rd set, i think it has to do with the flat bench because i dont' feel the same way with the incline and decline. i'm going to split up my total flat bench sets to do the decline and incline next time.

swiss ball pec flys : (post-fatigue)
25x6
20lbs - 3x6

incline db bicep curl:
12lbs - 2x10
15lbs - 1x10

hanging leg raises: 1x10
my form was off so i just stopped doing it, will have to work on this sometime...

serratus crunch: 12lbs - 3x10
arms were SO tired, i couldn't pull out another set, so next time on a heavy arms day, i'm not going to do this

swiss ball crunch: 4x12
post-fatigue, these are working nicely

StlBarbie

04-14-2005, 06:19 AM

You can't do any better than getting college credit to WO!!!
Great WO!!

aprilai

04-15-2005, 12:45 PM

4/14/05
yesterday i played some tennis with a few friends, no other workout. i cooked some food at their house and they loved it :) healthy nutritious food. although i ate more, probably anywhere between 2100-2300 since we ate at red robin later at night. the little slip ups are fine with me, since having them makes me relax more into this lifestyle.

4/15
squat day

i thought my back recovered since the deadlift day, but it didn't...so i was weaker and didn't do as many sets.

duration: 40mins
i took a bit longer than usual because a few people in my class asked me some questions during my sets [grr] so i talked to them. i think i give out a 'mean' look often while i train because my friends in my class don't approach me. lol, but that's a good thing, since i don't want to get interrupted.

warmup
overhead squat : 30x6, 4
25x4

working sets
back squat
90x5
95x5
100x5
95x5
90x5
my knees started to roll at 100lbs, so i know my form was off. going to need to know what to do for that...

walking lunges: 25lbs - 4x8

bench dips x12, x10
+5lbs - 2x10
i don't think i'm putting enough resistance on my triceps, that's probably why they're not growing... it's probably time to switch up the bench dips now, i think i'll replace them with skullkrushers or regular dips.

cable seated external rotation: 20lbs - 3x8

rope crunch : 50lbs - 4x12

2L incline reverse crunch - 2x10, x8, x6

3x spinal decompression
i always feel better with these spinal decompressions afterwards...

a guy asked me after my last ab exercise why i work so hard...lol. i replied to him that you need to work hard to progress. it would've been better if he asked after my last set instead.

aprilai

04-16-2005, 10:05 AM

for the past 2 days i haven't been including in my midnight meals because my daily calorie intake were high...that could probably be the reason why i'm not recovering fast enough... also for this past week the midnight meals that i DID take (mon - wed) i removed the flax seed meal 'cause it was adding too much fat to my diet. that could also be the reason why ...

april 14, 2005
diet: i had carbs late at night (around 9PM, only a french fry and from other carb sources) my sleep wasn't peaceful. late night carbs do really interrupt my sleep.

april 15, 2005
didn't get my milk + whey + creatine + oats postworkout meal in, because my milk EXPIRED. sick. i gagged so i threw away the drink. i had ~5g creatine later at night, but it was with a +fat meal.

aprilai

04-17-2005, 04:33 PM

General physical preparedness

warmup
1min jump rope
1min rest
x4

Jumping jacks
Shuffle splits
Vertical hopping
Slalom jumping

1min each, 1 min rest in between sets, x3

duration: 20mins

terracotta

04-17-2005, 05:09 PM

aprilai

04-18-2005, 11:43 AM

hi terracotta :) i actually modified the routine to elliptical. the original routine is with jump ropes, but i wanted to switch between high and low impact work.

today i didn't feel like training...i haven't recovered fully yet and still feel week and awkward in my knees. so i just did isolation work, even though it's not what i like.

arms

warm up
flat bench - 55x8
60lbs - 2x6
2-meter jumps x4

dips: x5, x4, x3

skullkrushers: 30lbs- 3x8

incline bicep curl: 15lbs ea - 4x8

45d donkey calf raise: 160lbs - 3x10
180lbs - 1x10
next time i'm sticking with 180lbs, since 160lbs was too light. i also started taking my shoes off for the donkey calf raise and i can feel that it puts more emphasis on the calves without the interference of the shoes.

oh! and i tried doing barbell roll outs...omg, these are so hard, so i couldn't do them correctly. i'm going to ask my class instructor on it.

aprilai

04-20-2005, 07:51 PM

warmup
overhead squat : 25lbs - 2x8
30 x 6

working sets
back squat : 85lbs - 2x6
80x6
75x5

walking lunges: 20lbs - 4x10

rope crunch : 60lbs - 3x12
50x12

2L incline leg lift : 10, 8

16mins on elliptical

i'm adding aerobics back to my routine. preferably i would not use the elliptical but it's more convenient at the gym that way.

i'm also thinking of changing my routine, since with the strength training program, i can't eat under 1800 without fatiguing a few weeks in. i also havne't noticed any fat loss yet.

edit to add: the lifting and aerobic sessions are separate.

aprilai

04-22-2005, 09:59 PM

ah i'm kinda lazy to type this out...been quite busy and tired lately. not getting enough sleep. i got my body fat tested with calipers yesterday by the gym instructor from my class. she's so sweet! she didnt' charge me, and going to email me the results tonight...

i feel like ranting more than displaying it neatly today...

duration: 30mins

db bench press - 25lbs each - 4x8
decline bench - 65lbs - 4x6
swiss ball pec flys - post fatigue 3x6
45d calf raise - 200lbs - 3x10
side bends - 20lbs - 4x12
swiss ball crunch [postfatigue] - 2x12
spinal decompression

aerobics: 15mins on the elliptical.

my weightlifting wasn't so great, i'm sure it's prolly because my calorie intake is like zig zagging...some days i feel like eating less. tomorrow my sister is coming to seattle from boise! i'm so excited, i havent' seen her for over a year now. she's coming to celebrate my birthday :) we'll be eating out prolly for the 4 days she comes here, so that's A LOT of greasy and salty foods for me. she wants to go out for a buffet tomorrow evening [ah buffets are so evil -_-;;] so this prolly a cheat week for me...especially that next saturday i'm having a birthday party with my friends and they're expecting LOTS of food.

after my birthday i'm planning to do carb cycling...i think it'll help me get leaner, since i want to REALLY lean down more for this summer, then either go for maintenance or go for strength training [i love strength training :heart:] and eat at 2000 cals since at 1800 i had these annoying weekly overeating day...so psychologically disturbing.

have a great weekend everyone!!!

aprilai

04-23-2005, 07:39 AM

the instructor sent me my results:

Lean Weight = 84.27 pounds
Fat Weight = 16.73 pounds
Body fat = 16.56%
weight: 101lbs
height: 5'1.5"

that's actually somewhat lower than i expected! i was thinking more of 18%. ah oh well.

i was talking to my 'net personal trainer and i'm not going to mess with my diet...going to manipulate my training as much as possible and let it take me to my goals. will give updates on what i decide to do later on!

oh and it's SO sunny and beautiful outside, and it's only 7:40AM! i need more sleep...going back to sleep now =D. have a beautiful weekend everyone!! it's certainly beautiful here

Krissypoo

04-23-2005, 07:43 AM

aprilai

04-23-2005, 08:09 AM

thanks kris! i just dug up the past half year's results, and here they are:

April 21, 2005
Lean Weight = 84.27 pounds
Fat Weight = 16.73 pounds
Body fat = 16.56%
weight: 101lbs
height: 5'1.5"

December 2004
Body fat = 23%
Lean = 79.31
Fat mass = 23.69
Weight = 103lbs
Height = 5'0

October 12, 2004
body fat = 18.86%
Fat = 18.29lbs
Lean = 78.701
weight 97lbs
height 5'0

going by the numbers, so far i grew 1.5"!! and i thought i'd never grow anymore ;p i've also gained 5.569lbs of lean mass and lost 1.56lbs of fat since october 2004. now if i'm comparing the results from dec 2004 then i've lost 6.96lbs of fat and gained 4.96lbs of lean muscle mass. still, the results are most dramatic in the past 4 months, must be because i'm finally doing things correctly!! i'll prolly have to owe to it to the program i did at the end of march...since i've felt the most significant change this past month than the 3 months before that...being too fickle, jumping from routine to routine and diet to another really stalled my progress.

before i was contemplating about taking fatburning supplements...but nahh, i'm just going to continue doing this right and keep my budget low.

my current daily supplements are:
multivitamin <---- going to check if it has tar and dump it out if it does today
calcium citrate <---- same thing as above ^
fish oil 240/200 EPA/DHA
whey protein
~4-5g creatine monohydrate
3 tbsp chinese herbs for my asthma

maat

04-23-2005, 03:52 PM

Congratulations on the good results and in your progress.
keep up the good work ;)

aprilai

04-26-2005, 03:19 PM

yesterday was my deadlift day...well the training day sucked. there are too many factors that could affect my training yesterday. i didn't get enough sleep over the weekend, ate out most of the time because my sister was over and she wanted to eat out, didn't take my supplements and no creatine.

warmup
sumo style deadlift - 75lbs - 2x8

conventional dl - 90x6
95x5
100x5
110x5
115x3
115x4

bar dip x6, 5, 5, 3

45d donkey calf raise - 200lbs - 3x10

here is my training routine for this week:

M: deadlift, tris, calves

T: OFF

W: military press, bis, abs, HIIT/aerobics (also my birthday! turning 17)

Th: high octane cardio

F: squat, calves, abs

Sat: my birthday get-together with friends!! cake, bbq, seafood and lots of fun

Sun: windmill, HIIT swimming

aprilai

04-26-2005, 07:02 PM

i started counting again, 'cause i want to be anal about the foods i eat. i even bought the food scale for this, instead of just gauging everything by eye ;p

6AM: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, da vinci, 2 fish oils, ~5g creatine

9AM: 1/4 cup oats, 1/2 large mango, 1/2 cup skim milk

12PM: 1 scoop whey, 1 large banana

2PM: 2 cups spinach, 1.25 cups mix salad, 2.5oz broiled chicken breast, 1/4 large mango

3:30PM: 1 pork meatball

5PM: 3 cups mix salad, 6cubic inch vietnamese deli ham, 2 fish oils

8PM: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 scoop whey, 2 fish oils

midnight: 1 scoop whey, 1 tbsp flax

Total: 1501
Fat: 36 22%
Carbs: 135 33%
Fiber: 17
Protein: 161 45%

that's less than i usually eat, but i'll get my diet back on tomorow =)

terracotta

04-26-2005, 07:47 PM

aprilai

04-27-2005, 08:33 PM

hehe, terracotta, you're right on. this is only the 2nd day and i've already stopped counting halfway through the day because of how busy things are getting...school is keeping me busy. applications to fill out...midterms and tests this week and next's. i'm just going to eat most of my carbs earlier in the day and taper it down.

i tested out my multivitamin and it turns out that it contains coal tar!! i took that multivitamin for over a year! anyway i'm on the lookout for new supplements. once school is less busy i'm going to research on coal tar and the chemical properties of my multivitamin's ingredients to make sure that there are no other factors affecting my experiment with the pill :D also i have some research on glutamine to do. just finished this article:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=3B945408740DDEEC74D2301ACE B17A74.titan?id=461188

don't know what to think about glutamine yet, so i'm going to have to research on it more, its validity and see if it can work for me. i'm considering BCAA's, so more research on that to make sure i don't waste my money! so much research, hopefully i can conclude in less than 2 weeks.

my stress levels are kind of high right now, dunno what to do with it then continue with things.

military press day
45mins

warmup
power clean - 25lbs -2x10, x8
30x6

military press - 45lbs - 5x5, x4

incline db bicep curl - 15lbs - 3x10

rope crunch - 60lbs - 2x12
50x12

leg lifts - 3x10

spinal decompression

5mins 10% incline walking, 3mph

15mins moderate- high intensity elliptical

should've done spinal decompression after aerobics but whenever i try to do that i forget!
okay gotta run and study now.

Ivey_Itch

04-28-2005, 05:22 AM

Great Stats! Congrats on the lower BF! Great workouts too!

aprilai

04-28-2005, 07:16 PM

thanks ivey itch =D

high octane cardio
duration: 30mins

5 mins elliptical between sessions 130-160spm

15 bodyweight pushups

50 parallel squats

20 bench crunches, 10/10 twists ea side

15 25lbs barbell push press

aprilai

04-29-2005, 09:29 PM

squat day

my weightlifting and computer programming classes were cancelled today, so they threw me off my eating schedule and training time.

warmup
ATG overhead squat - 30lbs -x10, x6
40x6

working sets:
90x5
95lbs - 3x4
after this a guy told me my form was off - so i just stopped. i'm going to check it over when i have more energy next week.

walking lunges - 25lbs - 4x6

45d calf raises - 200lbs - 3x10

rope crunch - 60lbs - 2x12, x8

2L incline leg raises - x10, x8, x6

spinal decompression

i don't think i can squat and deadlift the same week with this routine anymore. not recovering fast enough even with sufficient fuel. also my back is slammed so bad after deads and then military press...i think i'll just switch squats with bench. my squat form needs correction, so i'm doing it first thing next week.

anyway on my diet...i still need to perfect it. i suck with proportion control. my goal for the next 2 weeks starting next monday is to set my limits and stick with it. the reward after the 2 weeks if i succeed is to buy new workout clothes! it's getting so hot over here, and i'm always wearing sweatpants which just makes things steamier!

terracotta

04-29-2005, 10:21 PM

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=542EA68F9F09D6377EEAE105FB 93AB94.hydra?id=459884

that's the link to part 2 of the glutamine article. Here is something interesting. it appears it helps improve synthesis when on a corticosteroid treatment. This iis the ingredient in preventative asthma medications (such as pulmicort). So if you are on one of those it could help.

A recent study from the journal "Metabolism" shows that glutamine injections following glucocorticoid (ie catabolic steroid -such as cortisol) treatment can increase protein synthesis in the gastrointestinal system of dogs.(16) Unfortunately, nonoxidative leucine disposal, a measure of whole-body protein synthesis, remained unchanged in the glutamine treated group.

There are a dozen ways you could interpret these findings, but at least we can say that glutamine supplementation may improve protein synthesis in some tissues following gluccocorticoid treatment. In fact, glucocorticoid treatment is one area where glutamine supplementation may really help!

Another study with rats supports this contention, again using corticosteroid administration.(14) Although glutamine infusion had no effect on muscle protein synthesis in the rats not receiving cortisol, there was a beneficial effect in the glucocorticoid treated rats. In fact, glutamine infusion actually attenuated more than 70% of the muscle wasting caused by the cortisol injections!

here is another consideration.. but it only applies to people on low carb diets.

The other time that glutamine supplementation may be beneficial to bodybuilders is when on a low carbohydrate diet. Glutamine can not only be converted to glucose, but may also have an anapleurotic effect.(5) In other words, it may replenish metabolic intermediates, in this case, ATP (especially important when you're lacking carbs). This is another article unto itself, so I'll leave it at that for now.

the rest of the article(s) went over correlation versus causation. Outside of the two things above the article cited studies showing no improvement over placebo effect.

rockstarsar

04-29-2005, 11:04 PM

200 lb calf raises? Incredible work! I think I'm going to subscribe to your journal, since I'm close to your height and weight, and your body fat is what I would like to eventually attain, after I put on more muscle weight.

:) Btw, I'm 15 years old, 5'2", 91 lbs, and around 19% body fat.

aprilai

04-30-2005, 08:00 AM

terracotta - oh yes i've read part 2 before. it's quite an interesting read about the low carb diet effect. starting next week i'm going to add in L-glutamine and a new multivitamin. going to take the multivitamin 2-3x a week only. BCAA's is out of the question now, since they're so expensive and i don't think a jobless student can afford to keep up with that! my grocery expenses are already higher than i'd like o_O.

rockstar - hehe welcome and thanks :D

May 2-8, 2005 routine

M: squat, lunges, dips, multivitamin

T: OFF

W: bench, pec flys, abs, calves, 20mins elliptical, multivitamin

Th: high octane cardio

F: bent over row, lat pulldown, bis, abs, 25mins elliptical

Sat: external/internal rotators, swimming HIIT, multivitamin

Sun: OFF

imperfectly_lou

04-30-2005, 08:12 AM

Congrats on the lower BF April! Well done!!!!!!!!!!!

aprilai

05-01-2005, 09:11 PM

thanks lou :D

after today, i dont' think i want to train over the weekend... on the weekends all i want to do is sleep more, rest, shop, hang out, do hw and nothing else. so you can guess that i didn't do my HIIT-swimming today! anyway, this is going to be new routine for next week:

May 2-8, 2005 routine
M: squat, lunges, dips, external/internal rotators, multivitamin

T: high octane cardio

W: bench, pec flys, abs, calves, 25mins elliptical, multivitamin

Th: HIIT

F: bent over row, lat pulldown, bis, abs, 25mins elliptical

went to supersupplements and bought this multivitamin: http://supernutritionusa.com/womens.blend.html
and L-glutamine.

aprilai

05-02-2005, 06:51 AM

i forgot to post a picture from last saturday. i'm the one in the white tank

terracotta

05-02-2005, 07:38 AM

Wow. You are so cute! I love that tank too.

aprilai

05-02-2005, 05:56 PM

thanks terracotta :D

the personal trainer in my gym checked over my ATG overhead squat form and it's fine. although i do need a bit more work on the back squats because it feels like my stabliizer muscles are weak, especially my right knee needs work.

duration: 35mins

warmup
back squat- 45lbs- 3x3 [these were to test my back squats form]
ATG overhead squat - 30lbs - 2x6
40x5
50x4

back squat - 90x5
95lbs -2x5, 2x4, x3

total squat sets: 6
dunno why but i feel weaker now. i think my right knee is the problem. i'm going to watch it during my lifts to check that it's in alignment.

romanian deadlift - 70lbs - 4x6

walking lunges - 25lbs - 2x6
30lbs - 2x4

bar dips - x7, x5, x4, x3

took my multivitamins this morning and postworkout with 5g creatine and L-glutamine. going to take another one prebed.

aprilai

05-03-2005, 11:28 AM

high octane cardio:
duration: 35 mins
5mins warm up
5x5 mins eliptical rotated between each move, ramp 10, 5 resistance 130-160spm

50 bodyweight parallel squats

15 push ups

50 bench crunches

15 20lbs push presses

aprilai

05-03-2005, 02:29 PM

i had a lot of beans today...feel really gassy and bloated so i thought i'll count since i have some time on my hands right now. today i woke up VERY hungry, but that's like most mornings. maybe i should take L-glutamine before bed too.

6:30AM: 2 cups cooked pinto beans sweet soup, 1/2 scoop whey

9AM: 1/2 scoop whey

11AM: [postworkout] 1 scoop whey, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup oats, 5g creatine and L-glutamine

1PM: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk

2:30PM: 2 cups cooked pinto bean sweet soup

6PM: 3 cups mix salad, 1 cup spinach, 3oz cooked round beef, 2 fish oils

9PM: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 scoop whey, 4 fish oils

midnight: 1 scoop whey

Total: 2072
Fat: 29 260 14%
Sat: 8 72 4%
Poly: 4 33 2%
Mono: 7 67 4%
Carbs: 264 773 43%
Fiber: 71 0 0%
Protein: 192 767 43%

wow 71g fiber, i haven't had that much fiber since...the last time i ate black beans!

aprilai

05-04-2005, 06:05 PM

didn't take my multivitamin, and didnt' do my 25mins elliptical either. after doing 6:30mins of elliptical, my legs couldnt' go on anymore so i stopped immediately. going to cut down to 3 cardio/HIIT sessiosn a week now.

warmup:
flat bb bench - 45x8
65lbs - 3x4

db bench - 25lbs - 4x6
pec flys on swiss ball - 25lbs - 3x6
incline curl - 15lbs ea - 4x8
45d donkey calf raises - 200lbs - 3x10
rope crunch - 60lbs - 4x12
2L incline leg lifts - 2x10, x8, x6
6:30mins elliptical

going to do some dynamic & static stretching soon.

Krissypoo

05-04-2005, 07:29 PM

wow 71g fiber, i haven't had that much fiber since...the last time i ate black beans!

I'm not even going to say anything! LOL

great workouts! Are you still going to do High Octane cardio and just cut back or something else?

aprilai

05-05-2005, 05:07 PM

hi kris! i'm going to keep high octane cardio and HIIT, but cut back on the postweights aerobics.

okay, i totally screwed up that 2 weeks goal of mine, which is to control my proportions. i counted today, since i cheated BIG time, and it's only 5PM...

Total: 2771
Fat: 117 1052 39%
Sat: 25 221 8%
Poly: 20 182 7%
Mono: 61 553 20%
Carbs: 259 930 34%
Fiber: 27 0 0%
Protein: 187 747 27%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

that is about 700-900 cals over my usual intake...the fats are so high because of the nuts that i had. i only went 4hrs w/out food and i got SO hungry, i couldn't control myself and ate like 8 servings of nuts with cottage cheese and sf jam... i didn't cheat on bad foods, which makes it less worse, but the proportions are WAY off.

perfecting my diet is my biggest challenge. i can follow the AM carbs and PM protein + fats easily, but i still struggle at controlling the proportions when i'm hungry and go bezerk.

going to keep my midnight shake, since it usually helps to curb my appetite...

Krissypoo

05-05-2005, 05:12 PM

The high octane cardio sounds interesting...I've always wanted to ask :)

Don't feel so bad. You ate clean and you always eat well. One day won't kill you! Just keep it clean and within reason tomorrow. Have you tried eating every 3 hours instead of 4?

terracotta

05-05-2005, 09:22 PM

It looks to me like you are having an awful lot of whey. Maybe your body just wants more whole food.

aprilai

05-07-2005, 12:02 PM

i usually eat 2-3 hours apart, but when i'm in the middle of some activities without food then the timing is usually 4 hrs apart...i'll be posting my diet daily now to help me stay on track with my proportions and food quality. won't be counting, since being me, i'll just flake out by the 2nd day! hopefully this will make me be mroe aware of my diet.

friday's rowing day:
duration: 55mins
warm up
deadlift -50lbs - 3x8
plyometric jumps

bent over row - 50x6
60lbs - 3x5, x4

lat pull down - 60lbs - 2x8, x5

side bend - 20lbs - 2x12 ea side

swiss ball crunch - 4x12

donkey calf raises - 200lbs - 3x10
20mins elliptical

saturday's HIIT-swimming
skipped my thursday HIIT so i'm doing it on saturday instead. i think i like this more because i get to do it in the morning and won't skip it.
duration: 20mins

warm up
100m crawl stroke
100m backs stroke

25m sprint
25m slow
25mins rest period
x6

cooldown:
100m crawlstroke

tried going for 7 intervals, but tired out, so i'm going to be working on reducing the rest period and increasing the intensity of the sprints instead.

abbs

05-07-2005, 07:34 PM

Hi Aprilai, great pics and you look so cute, such a sweet smile!

Im going to be swiping your back advice for briar and changing the order of my back workouts and put lat pulldowns after bent over rows. My energy has been flagging a bit on the rows after doing deadlifts and pulldowns so i will see how it goes. Thanks!

And 16.56% body is awesome! Im hoping to get to that by summer. It seems like you dont have much leaning up to do at all! Well done :)

abbs

05-07-2005, 07:36 PM

PS: how often do you do HIT? do you do other cardio too? ive never tried swimming for HIT, sounds hard work but fun!

aprilai

05-07-2005, 08:14 PM

abbs - hi =) i do HIIT once a week, even though 2 sessions are optimal. the HIIT swimming is my favorite, since it's low impact and so fun to do!! besides HIIT i do high octane cardio by mike mahler. it's also another type of GPP, so it doesn't really cut into my recovery. i also do one 20mins elliptical session postweights a week. so far the cardio works good for me. i particularly like the circuit style HOC.

today's diet:
5/8/2005
8am:2/3 banana, 1/2 scoop whey
10am: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey,~5g creatine & l-glutamine, 1/2 lrg banana
12pm: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 orange & large grapefruit, 1/4 cup cc
2pm: ong choy, 8-12oz cooked chicken thighs with bones
5pm: ong choy, too much vegetarian stir fried mushrooms, carrots, beets, vegetarian ham, 1/2 can tuna, 1 tsp relish
9pm: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 tbsp peanut butter

my diet still needs work - i'm slowly learning to control my proportions again. i don't understand how i managed to control them so well before and now i don't. starting at my 9pm meal, i will no longer eat while watching tv. everything will be in babysteps again.

May 9-15, 2005 Training
M: deadlift, tris, calves, abs, multivitamin

T: high octane cardio

W: bench, flys, lunges, calves, 20mins elliptical

Th: OFF

F: power clean, lean away lateral raise, windmills, janda situps, bis

Sat: HIIT-swimming

first time doing janda sit ups...will be practicing the form before friday!

aprilai

05-08-2005, 07:19 PM

i actually planned to take progress pictures this weekend, but i'm starting to notice some fat [hopefully bloating...] on my abs so i think i might've gained some from the past month's bad diet.

my goal now is to perfect my diet. today's diet is good so far!

5/8/2005
8am: 1/3 banana, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 scoop whey, ~5g creatine
10am: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 whey, strawberries, da vinci syrup, 1/2 large grapefruit
12pm: 1/2 cup cc, 1/4 cup grapenuts, 1 dried apricot
3pm: 1 cup vegetarian stir fry mushrooms, beets and carrots, 1 can tuna, 1 tsp relish
6pm: 5 eggwhites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup FF cheddar cheese, boiled cabbage and bok choy
9pm: 1/2 cup cc, 1 tbsp PB, ~5g l-glutamine
night: whey shake

VanillaBean_21

05-08-2005, 07:24 PM

I never realized we were the same age. :) Do you find it hard to fit in all your eating while at school? On blue days(we have blue and white days) I have 10m break at 9:10..THEN Lunch at 10:40. Stinks becuase I don't have another chance to eat until 2:30..By then I'm starving!

Just wanted to say keep up the good work. Your diet looks good! Just be consistent with it.

aprilai

05-09-2005, 09:38 PM

vanillabean - right now i'm taking 4 classes with a 1hr break in between my 3rd and 4th class, so that's usually when i eat my 2nd or 3rd meal. usually i just pack something that's easy to carry during break, like a shake, oats or fruit, so it's not hard for me to time my meals.

deadlift day

warm up
dynamic stretches
conventioanl deadlift- 80lbs - 2x6
95lbs - 2x6

conventional deadlifts - 115x5
125x5
130x5
125x5
115x5
lat pulldown - 60lbs - 4x6
45d donkey calf raises - 200lbs - 3x10
decline crunch - 4x12
leg lift - x12, x10, x4
3x spinal decompression

8am: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 whey, strawberries, multivitamin
11am: (postworkout) 1/2 cup oats, whey, 1 cup skim milk, ~5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine, multivitain
1pm: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk
3:30pm: 1 can tuna, 1 tbsp relish, broccoli
6pm: 5 eggwhites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup FF cheddar cheese, broccoli
9:30pm: 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 tbsp cashew butter, 1 tsp SF pudding mix 2 fish oils
night: 1 whey shake, 3g l-glutamine

aprilai

05-10-2005, 07:50 PM

high octane cardio
duration: 30mins

warm up: 5 mins jump rope
rotated by 1 min jump rope

50 parallel squats

15 ?lbs push press [cant' remember if it was 25lbs or 30lbs...]

rotated by 5mins elliptical 120-160spm, ramp 10, resistance 5
20 pushups

50 bench crunches
5mins cooldown

5/10/2005
7am: .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, 2 fish oils
9am: .25 cup oats, .5 whey
11pm: (postworkout) .5 cup oats, whey, .5 cup skim milk, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
2pm: .5 cup oats, .5 cup skim milk
5pm: 1 can tuna, 1 tbsp relish, ~2 cups boiled spinach
7pm: kim chi, .5c skim milk
9pm: 1 cup cc, 1 tbsp PB, 1 tsp SF pudding, 2 fish oils
night: whey shake

this is less than i normally eat but i'm feeling comfortable eating about this much, so i'm just going to stick to it

aprilai

05-11-2005, 08:46 PM

i'm eating more foods everyday:
5/11/2005
7am: .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5 large banana 2 fish oils
10am: .5c oats, .5c skim milk
12pm: (postworkout) .5 cup oats, whey, 1 cup skim milk, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
3:30pm: 1 bowl carrot white beet soup, potatoes not eaten ; 2 beef meatballs, 1 prepared beef teriyaki piece, [3oz cooked meat total] boiled ong choy
5pm: bowl carrot white beet soup, 2 meatballs [~1oz]
6pm: 5oz chicken breast, 1 bowl soup, 1 cup ong choy
9pm: 1 cup cc, 1 tbsp PB, 1 tsp SF pudding, 2 fish oils
night: whey shake, 3g l-glutamine

this reminds me that i can't stay at below 1800.

5/11/2005
warmup
dynamic stretching and balancing
some step aerobics
flat BB bench - 45x6
65lbs - 2x6

working sets:
incline DB bench - 20lbs ea - 2x6
25lbs - 2x6
swiss ball pec flys - 20lbs - x6, x4
~18in step up lunges - 15lbs - 2x10
20lbs - 2x10
standing calf raises - 115lbs x10
donkey calf raises - 180lbs - 2x10
20mins elliptical
3x spinal decompression

bad workout day...i felt much weaker. it must be the step aerobics. the weightlifting instructor decided to do some step aerobics today, so that TOTALLY changed my training and diet schedule... of course i didn't do the step aerobics and just sat around most of the time.

aprilai

05-12-2005, 07:29 PM

7am: .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5 large banana, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
10am: .5c oats, .5c skim milk
12pm: .5 cup oats, .5 cup skim milk
2pm: 3 bowls green soup, 4oz cooked beef meatballs, 4oz cooked salted pork, 2 eggwhites
5pm: .5c cc, .5oz cashews, 1 tbsp SF apricot jam
9pm: .5c CC, 1 tsp SF pudding mix, 6 fish oils

i so did not get enough sleep today. woke up VERY groggy, and my brain was dead during class. so i paid back by eating more and scrunching up my meat protein at 2pm. my fat intake is probably higher than usual for today. also forgot to take my fish oils so i'll have to scrunch it up at 9pm!

stress levels are pretty high at this time... although i did get midterms over with, this year is almost ending and i need to make summer plans and do well on the new SAT. darn, i really need my 9hrs of sleep!! can't function properly like this.

..now if only can remember what my instructors lectured about....

edit: forgot my eggwhites ;p

Krissypoo

05-12-2005, 07:35 PM

5pm: .5c cc, .5oz cashews, 1 tbsp SF apricot jam

That sounds yummy!

Get some rest, you! Lack of sleep quickly takes a toll on your body and we don't need that! Especially at the end of the year...FINALS! :D

aprilai

05-13-2005, 01:55 PM

^_^ i had an extra half hr of sleep and i feel SOOO much better. it feels wonderful!

duration: 35mins

warmup
dynamic stretches
clean & press - 30x8
40lbs - 3x6

military press - 45lbs - 3x4

lean away lateral raise - 8lbs - 3x8 ea side

windmill - 15lbs - 3x6 ea side

janda sit ups - 3x6

flags x6 (practicing form)

3x spinal decompression

i decided to not do powercleans for working sets and did clean & press for warm up sets instead. my form needs a lot of work so i'm not going to add more weight until my form is decent enough. i think i spent too much time practicing my form on the clean&press that i wasn't prepared for the military press that's why the performance was worse than last session's

aprilai

05-13-2005, 11:58 PM

7am- .75c oats, .5 whey, .5 cup frozen blueberries, multivitamin, 2 fish oils
11am- (postworkout) whey, .5c oats, 1.25c skim milk, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine, multivitamin
1pm: .5c oats, .5c skim milk
4pm: 5oz marinated chicken breast, cooked ong choy
7pm: 3oz cooked beef, 2-3c cooked mustard greens, 2 fish oils
10pm: 1c cc, 1 tbsp PB, .5 tbsp SF pudding mix, 2 fish oils
12am: 3g l-glutamine

bahh~ i need more sleep!!

kjimenez

05-14-2005, 01:54 PM

I will never forget those all nighters from college! Those are tuff on the body make sure you get as much rest as you can. Its important to keep those muscles rested. ( Its easier said than done hehehehe) but you know what I mean =0) Thanks for the comments on my journal it made me feel better and abbs pics were funny to look at. =0) ....LOL I CAN IMAGINE YOU FLIPING THAT MAN OFF (HAHAHA LOL THANKS FOR THE LAUGH I NEEDED IT TODAY)

Keep up the good work and Ill make sure I check how you are doing. Im reading =0) Take Care, best of luck with finals! Its easy for me to say because Im done with college but those were times you will never forget and actually miss someday (ok maybe not so much) but you will work for the rest of your life and not go to school and study like you are now-so try to make the best of it and enjoy it at the same time....

Briar

05-14-2005, 02:29 PM

Yep i have pulled a few all nighters, oh the pain. They def take a tole on your body. If you are having to do this dont worry to much about what you eat. Your body will be needing what ever it can get to get things running.

Lots and lots of luck with your exams, im just on hols at the moment with 6 assignments to do OMG!!!!! Then back to uni for exams before i jump on a plane to LONDON!!!!!

I would have to say i dont miss school as i am loving uni to much and i enjoy every min of it as i am doing something i really want to do, where as school you kinda have to do!!!

aprilai

05-14-2005, 03:05 PM

didn't get as much sleep last night! but that's okay...i was up late doing some assignments. i dont' have finals yet -) i'm on a quarter system at my cc. but i'm not so looking forward to those finals...maybe besides the nice warm sun in june. may in seattle is humid but still gloomy.

kat - i'm glad it made you feel better! :D

briar - good luck with the assignments, you'll rock the exams.

today's workout:
5/14/2005
HIIT- swimming
duration: 25mins

warm up:
100m crawl stroke
25m breast stroke
25m back stroke

25m sprint
25m slow
x6

25secs rest per interval

cool down:
100m crawl stroke
100m back stroke

i was very dehydrated during the HIIT so i tired out fast. need to bring more water next time.

aprilai

05-14-2005, 06:40 PM

5/14/2005
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5c frozen blueberries 2 fish oils,
8am - 1 aplet &cotlet piece [50cals, cheat]
10am - [post HIIT].5c oats, .5c skim milk, .5c blueberries 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine, calcium citrate
12pm - .5 cup oats, .5c skim milk, 1oz strawberry
2pm - ~5-6g cooked chicken, 2oz cooked shrimps, herb salad, hoison and spiracha chilli sauce, 4 peanuts
5pm - 3oz cooked beef, 1oz cooked shrimps, broccoli, carrot cabbage stir fry, spiracha sauce2 fish oils
9pm - 1 cup cc, 1 tsp SF pudding, .5oz cashews 2 fish oils, calcium citrate

will be working on not eating so much protein in one meal.

kjimenez

05-15-2005, 09:30 AM

Looking good! Great job considering the lack of sleep and hectic schedule you are doing great both with your diet and working out! Its sooooo motivating.

Go girl,
CIAo
KAt

aprilai

05-15-2005, 08:21 PM

today i had my cheat meal. SUSHI!!! i LOVE sushi. mmm. this week i've had 2 cheat meals : 1 aplet and cotlet piece [although it's more like a snack] and sushi. mm.. there were tuna sushi, sashimi, california rolls, tempura... i'm going to working on having only one cheat meal a week. since i'll be out with friends the whole day next friday i'll have my cheat meal that day.

today's diet:
5/15/05
7am - .5c oats, .5s whey, 4oz strawberries
9am - 1 lowcarb rosemary wrap, .5 large banana, .5c cc
1pm - 15 rolls sushi
6pm - 3oz pork, 1 eggwhite, 1tbsp sweet green bean soup, bowl of mustard green soup, 2 fish oils
8pm - 1cup cc, 1 tbsp PB, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp SF pudding mix 2 fish oils
midnight - 1 scoop whey

today is a very sedentary day, mostly light house chores and some walking. my meals were placed so far apart because i was out for awhile.

this is next week's routine:

May 16-22, 2005
M: clean & press, cuban rotation, lean away lateral raise, barbell curls, ab wheels, decline crunch, multivitamin
PM high octane cardio

T: high-octane cardio

W: squat, goodmorning, step up lunges, skullcrushers, calves, multivitamin

Th: OFF

F: bench, flys, janda sit ups, russian twists, flags, calves, 20mins moderate elliptical

Sat: HIIT-swimming

i'm switching most exercises. shoulder work is on my top priority right now because they are underdeveloped compared to my legs, back and chest.

edit for: fixed routine

aprilai

05-17-2005, 06:02 PM

my back hasn't recovered since last week, and it feels uncomfortable so i decided to not do HOC. going to see how it recovers this week as i lower the volume of my training.

yesterday's training:
may 16, 2005
clean & press day

duration: 45mins
warm up:
dynamic stretches
clean & press - 25x8
30x8

clean & press - 40lbs - 4x6, x5
cuban rotation - 25lbs - 3x8
lean away lat raise - 8lbs - 1x8 ea side
10lbs - 1x8 ea side
bb curls - x6, x4, x3
ab forward wheels - 4x6
decline crunch - 4x12

5/16/05
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, 4oz strawberries 2 fish oils, multivitamin
9am - .5s whey, .5banana
11am - [PW].5c oats, .5c skim milk, da vinci syrup, 1s whey, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
1pm - .5 cup oats, .5c skim milk
3pm - 2oz chicken, 1 broccoli floweret [broccoli was too old...tasted gross]
5pm - 3oz cooked chicken, green beans
6:30pm - 5eggwhites, 1 egg, .25c FF mozarella cheese, 1tbsp mango salsa, 2 fish oils, multivitamin
8pm - 1 cup cc, 1 tsp SF pudding, 1tbsp PB 2 fish oils, multivitamin

5/17/05
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, 1/2c blueberries 2 fish oils, multivitamin
9am - 1/4c oatmeal, 1/4c skim milk
10:30am -.5c oats, .5c skim milk, da vinci syrup, 1s whey, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
1:45pm - .75 cup oats, .5c skim milk, 1/4c blueberries, strawberries
4pm - catfish, shrimps, broccoli, green beans & carrot stir fry
6:30pm - shrimps
9pm - 1 cup cc, 1 tsp SF pudding, 1tbsp PB 2 fish oils, multivitamin

aprilai

05-18-2005, 01:19 PM

bench day
duration: 45mins

warmup:
flat bench - 55x8
65lbs - 2x8

75lbs - 3x6, x4
swiss ball pec flys - 20lbs - 4x8
russian twists - 6lbs - 3x10 ea side
flags - x10, x6, x3
swiss ball crunches - 2x10, x4
45d calf raises - 200lbs - 3x10

didn't do 20mins postweights elliptical because i already took too much time with the weights... i'll be swimming later this afternoon. people were using the swiss ball and calf machine so i had to wait.

aprilai

05-18-2005, 09:15 PM

didn't swim today, was too busy studying for math i didn't have time looking at the clock. when i did the pool has already closed. only had 4hrs of sleep last night, and amazingly i don't feel like a walking zombie. although i am worrying about overtraining right now.... i'm starting to feel the first signs of overtraining: fatigue, lack of motivation, loss of appetite, and slow recovery rate... this weekend i'll need to do research on periodization and maybe lower the volume of my training more next week. this week has already been low volume, only 4 training days.

5/18/05
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5c skim milk, 1/2c blueberries 2 fish oils
9am - .5s whey, .5banana
11am - [PW].5c oats, .5c skim milk, da vinci syrup, 1s whey, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
2:30pm - .5 cup oats, .5c skim milk, strawberries
4pm - ~5oz cooked pork, bi soup
8:30pm - 1c cc, 2 tsp SF pudding, 1tbsp PB 4 fish oils

rockstarsar

05-18-2005, 09:51 PM

Hey! I just noticed you're only 5 feet! Thanks for posting in my journal, anyway. You really eat 1800-2000 calories? Obviously you have more lean mass than me, but still ..that's really encouraging for me to hear. :) I had to slink off the bench as well, when I tried the dragon flags. And the BB rollouts - I workout at home, and the first time I rolled out, I underestimated how difficult it would be (after all, it's only my bodyweight) and got stuck ..I couldn't roll back up! Had to watch it after that. I ended up belly flopping on the floor, clinging to the BB!

Looks like everything is going great! I've been interested in those Da Vinci syrups, despite the fact I'm trying to get off artificial sweeteners. Are they thick or runny?

aprilai

05-19-2005, 10:06 AM

hi sarah! i'm around 5'1 actually...last time i was measured i was told be to 5'2 but then when i remeassured myself i'm 5'1, so that last BF% of 16% is inaccurate. i've noticed that when i eat less than 1800 for a day i recover verry slow [prolly the reason why i'm so sore now] and if i go under 1800 i get major cravings by the end of the week and overeat on the weekends. i counted before for the first few days on the amount of foods, but then stopped after getting used to the amount and can ballpoint how much i eat now. i'm kind of surprised how much the women on here can eat less than me even though they're much bigger.

BB rollouts are fun! but i can only do them on knees. i use the ab wheels instead, it's pretty effective. the da vinci syrups are really runny, not thick at all. i don't think the price is worth its taste... you can smell the flavor but the taste is like splenda to me, except it costs more. i bought 3 bottles last time, so i'm just going to use it up and just use splenda instead.

aprilai

05-19-2005, 08:35 PM

today i've confirmed that i am overtrained. all the syndroms i had [twitching, insomnia....] makes it certain. i'm going to try to back off next week... need to talk to my net trainer though.

had my cheat today instead of tomorrow...wasn't feeling so good throughout the day so the cheat was motivating. went out to eat at an indian restaurant. so yum! it's strange how the things i crave for are usually foods like chicken curry or teriyaki. i'll eat clean tomorrow even though i'll be out with my friends. that might be hard, but if there's no option i always have salads!

5/19/05
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5c skim milk, .25c cc 2 fish oils, multivitamin
9am - .5c oats, .5c skim milk, multivitamin
12am -.5c oats, .5c skim milk
1:30pm - ~2cups cooked basmati rice, daal lamb, 3 naan breads
8pm - 1c cc, 2 tsp SF pudding, 1tbsp PB 4 fish oils, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
midnight - .5s whey

postedit: my rotator cuffs hurt... i think it's from the flat bench pressing. yesterday i thought i would give flat bench pressing another try and see how it works out since i've improved my form. guess flat benching isn't for me. will just do decline and incline since i don't have trouble with them.

terracotta

05-19-2005, 08:41 PM

today i've confirmed that i am overtrained. all the syndroms i had [twitching, insomnia....] makes it certain. i'm going to try to back off next week... need to talk to my net trainer though.

had my cheat today instead of tomorrow...wasn't feeling so good throughout the day so the cheat was motivating. went out to eat at an indian restaurant. so yum! it's strange how the things i crave for are usually foods like chicken curry or teriyaki. i'll eat clean tomorrow even though i'll be out with my friends. that might be hard, but if there's no option i always have salads!

5/19/05
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5c skim milk, .25c cc 2 fish oils, multivitamin
9am - .5c oats, .5c skim milk, multivitamin
12am -.5c oats, .5c skim milk
1:30pm - ~2cups cooked basmati rice, daal lamb, 3 naan breads
8pm - 1c cc, 2 tsp SF pudding, 1tbsp PB 4 fish oils, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
midnight - .5s whey

oh you poor thing! Take a week off! Maybe consider making half of your cardio lower intensity when you come back to it?

aprilai

05-20-2005, 07:53 AM

oh you poor thing! Take a week off! Maybe consider making half of your cardio lower intensity when you come back to it?

yeah, that's what i'm planning for next week. next week will just be resting. i'v been training intensely for about 8 weeks now i think, so it's about good time that i need that week off. since i have a weightlifting class, during that class period i'm just going to do VERY low intensity cardio like walking on the treadmill. my last training session was last wednesday, so my plan is to do 2 HIIT sessions next wednesday and friday. then starting two mondays later i'm going to go back to basics.

oh btw terracotta, before you gave me the advice of consuming less whey since i was having problem with overeating later in the day - well it works! also turning off the tv while eating works too :) thanks!

terracotta

05-20-2005, 08:37 AM

yeah, that's what i'm planning for next week. next week will just be resting. i'v been training intensely for about 8 weeks now i think, so it's about good time that i need that week off. since i have a weightlifting class, during that class period i'm just going to do VERY low intensity cardio like walking on the treadmill. my last training session was last wednesday, so my plan is to do 2 HIIT sessions next wednesday and friday. then starting two mondays later i'm going to go back to basics.

oh btw terracotta, before you gave me the advice of consuming less whey since i was having problem with overeating later in the day - well it works! also turning off the tv while eating works too :) thanks!

I'm glad the whey thing worked for you. I'm sure increasing your oats helped too. I find oats very good at filling me up.

aprilai

05-20-2005, 06:38 PM

5/20/05
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5c skim milk, .5c blueberries 2 fish oils
9am - .25c oats, .25c skim milk
11am -.25c oats, .25c skim milk, 1s whey, 5g creatine, 3g l-glutamine
1:30pm - .5c oats, .5c skim milk, strawberries
4pm - greasy bbq duck, boiled bok choy and lettuce
6pm - 1.25c cc, 1 tbsp apricot jam, 2 tbsp PB, 1oz cashews, 4 fish oils
8pm - .5 cc, 1 tbsp apricot jam, .5oz cashews
9pm - .5 cc, 1 tbsp apricot jam, 1tsbp PB

postedit: meals edited

aprilai

05-22-2005, 11:27 AM

i feel rested now, and can get back to business tomorrow. the tabata method is new to me... and i'm kind of scared but excited to try it out tomorrow. it sounds pretty puke hard...

May 23-29, 2005

focus on STRENGTH
Mon: shoulders/back, bis, calves, tabata
Tues: OFF
Wed: legs, tris
Thurs: OFF
Fri: chest, abs HIIT

Shoulders, bis, tabata
3mins rest
3x3 clean & push press
4x4 incline curl
45secs rest - 2secs contraction
6x4 45d donkey calf raises
tabata

Legs, tris:
3mins rest
3x3 overhead squats
3x3 RDL
6x4 45d donkey calf raises
3x3 weighted tricep dips

Chest, HIIT:
3mins rest
3x3 incline bb bench
30-45secs rest
4x4 ab wheels
4x4 flags
HIIT on elliptical

rockstarsar

05-22-2005, 11:40 AM

What's the tabata method?

aprilai

05-22-2005, 11:47 AM

the tabata method was created by a japanese doctor who named it after himself. the procedure is that you do as many repetitions as you can in 20 secs with a compound lift, suggestively the front squat and thruster, rest 10 secs and repeat 7 more times for a total of 4mins. it's a fat loss training program.

VanillaBean_21

05-22-2005, 11:58 AM

Emma-Leigh

05-22-2005, 12:52 PM

What's the tabata method?
You can do it with lots of things - eg: An example of a tabata squat (http://www.crossfit.com/cf-video/sample2tabata.wmv)

Lots of fun!

PS: Tracy - I got your PM... Sorry about the delay but I'll try to answer it today - I have been really busy!

aprilai

05-23-2005, 11:56 AM

cool video emma! i'm surprised the guy didn't use weight though.

vanilla - if you're planning to do it have someone to time you. it helps a lot because after the first few sets you won't be able to keep track anymore. tabata is also good as a conditioning tool.

so today i did tabata...omg i collapsed on the floor after repeating it 5x and i only used 30% of what i can do with back squat. it was a great workout overall. since this is my first time doing the BB front squat, i had a lot of trouble wiht balancing the bar without it wobbling, especially after doing it 5x!!

duration: 34mins
3mins rest-
clean & push press
50x3
55x3
50x3

incline curl - 20lbs - 4x4

45secs rest - 45d donkey calf raises
200x4
220lbs - 5x4

tabata:
front squat - 30lbs
15
15
14
14
10
10
6
total reps: 74

my legs feel like jello right now.

aprilai

05-23-2005, 12:57 PM

the challenge:

1 - Challenge for 4 weeks
2 - Eat my normal diet, carbs and protein before 2pm, greens, protein and fat afterwards
3 - that'll depend on how i feel!
4 - the biggest challenge for me is to stabilize my diet. no cheat meals for the next 4 weeks. since most of my cheat meals are eaten at restaurants, by the end of 4 weeks, i should save at least MEGA BUCKS[$50, lol]. with that money i'm going to buy a new supplement!!

Megin

05-23-2005, 12:59 PM

so today i did tabata...omg i collapsed on the floor after repeating it 5x and i only used 30% of what i can do with back squat. it was a great workout overall. since this is my first time doing the BB front squat, i had a lot of trouble wiht balancing the bar without it wobbling, especially after doing it 5x!!

duration: 34mins
3mins rest-
clean & push press
50x3
55x3
50x3

incline curl - 20lbs - 4x4

45secs rest - 45d donkey calf raises
200x4
220lbs - 5x4

tabata:
front squat - 30lbs
15
15
14
14
10
10
6
total reps: 74

my legs feel like jello right now.

Hey there!!
Wow, how was that tabata workout. I am actually considering adding it to my next leg workout- it looks great! Exactly what I am looking for...the endurance part that builds muscle.
Great workout!!

Quick q. if you don't mind.
You posted in my journal the idea of using heavier weight for less reps. The prob. is if I pick up a higher weight, I honestly can't do more than 5 reps- but if I rested for 30 secs in between sets I could do 5 reps for a countless number of sets. That is why I am confused. I am not seeming to max out very easily (does that make the slightest bit of sense?)
Anyway, thanks for your suggestion none-the-less. I guess I really need to work on grip strength!

IronMaiden1522

05-23-2005, 01:13 PM

Hey April,

Just checking in and saying hey. your workouts look awesome! are you still using creatine? how is that going?

aprilai

05-23-2005, 01:16 PM

Hey there!!
Wow, how was that tabata workout. I am actually considering adding it to my next leg workout- it looks great! Exactly what I am looking for...the endurance part that builds muscle.
Great workout!!

Quick q. if you don't mind.
You posted in my journal the idea of using heavier weight for less reps. The prob. is if I pick up a higher weight, I honestly can't do more than 5 reps- but if I rested for 30 secs in between sets I could do 5 reps for a countless number of sets. That is why I am confused. I am not seeming to max out very easily (does that make the slightest bit of sense?)
Anyway, thanks for your suggestion none-the-less. I guess I really need to work on grip strength!

the tabata workout was TOUGH! i just collapsed on the floor and laid there for several minutes before i could manage to wobble up. i don't think you should try doing it after a leg workout...especially if you're planning to squat. if you're planning to add something to your workout you'll need to remove something or else you'll overtrain your body.

i think the problem is not in grip strength but more in your training style. if you're not doing circuit-style training then you should be resting at least 45secs between sets. before when i was looking for more mass gain i rested 1min, but now that i'm more into strength training i rest 3mins between sets. i think your routine can improve a lot if you simplify it by using big compound lifts and increase the intensity with 2-3mins rest period between sets. especially that you're training for an endurance type of event, it's important that you keep your strength optimal.

jenny - i'm off creatine this week. it's been 8 weeks since i've been on it. so far i don't notice any strength loss. still taking l-glutamine though, even though i so HATE the taste of it.

IronMaiden1522

05-23-2005, 02:42 PM

jenny - i'm off creatine this week. it's been 8 weeks since i've been on it. so far i don't notice any strength loss. still taking l-glutamine though, even though i so HATE the taste of it.

So have you hah any noticalbe muslce gains? Any bloating? I am really thinking about trying it.

aprilai

05-23-2005, 08:24 PM

jenny - i really recommend creatine. i did notice strength gains, not sure about strength loss right now because my body is still saturated with it. i don't see any problem with bloating as long as you're drinking at least a gallon of water and not eating too much sodium. bloating is also temporary.

5/23/05
7am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, strawberries, da vinci
9am - .5s whey, 2 dried apricots
11am -[postworkout] .5c oats, 1c skim milk, 1s whey, 3g l-glutamine
1:30pm - .5c oats, .5c skim milk
3:30pm - fried king mackerel, cabbage/lettuce soup, 2 fish oils
7pm - tomato chicken, broccoli
9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 2 fish oils,
midnight - .5s whey, 3g l-glutamine

Krissypoo

05-24-2005, 06:39 AM

Megin

05-24-2005, 02:54 PM

:eek: That tabata looks like murder! I know that you had to have been pouring with sweat and your quads must have been on fire! You totally kicked butt on that workout!

I started taking your advice and drinking whey in the middle of the night. Eventhough I wake up to drink it, I don't feel like I am starving in the AM and I fall back asleep really. The last few times that I have done it has not been on purpose, but I do it because I am awake and I think of it. I may start doing it...it hasn't messed up my sleep yet. What other benefits have you noticed from drinking whey at night?

Yes, I have heard of this as well. It is still a very debatable issue though. Some people really enjoy waking up and drinking the whey and falling back asleep. I have heard of great gains that way as it keeps up your metabolism...

HOWEVER:
The flip side of the arguement is that you need your body to go into that REM state which is only achieved after a good amount of time after falling asleep. That is when your muscles grow. Waking up everynight disturbs it and your body does not fully recover, even if you don't feel tired the next morning.

I don't know the right answer, but it would prob. be good to do this every other night or something, space it out and mix it up. Getting the best of both worlds I guess. Also, there are time released Whey protein mixes out there that will last up to 7 hours. Again, not sure how on the benefits of those either.

Sorry to cloud up your journal, but I was just checking into this subject the other day!!!

aprilai

05-24-2005, 04:10 PM

hey kris! one of the best benefit i saw was a metabolic increase. it also helps me from overeating during the day and waking up starving. before i started it, my usual bedtime meal easily curbed my appetite for breakfast, but after i started to drink the whey i night, i woke up hungry all the time. i think this shows that it fired up my metabolism.

megin - no worries! i know the REM state is very debatable to people, but the key to nighttime eating is that you should be waking up so mindless to consume the meal that you have no idea what you're doing but just drinking it. the REM state is obviously very imporant, but if you're in a light sleep stage at that time then it wouldn't be hard for you to fall back to where you left off. meal prep should also be done to ensure that you won't be spending too much time thinking about what you're doing. i mix my shake ahead and when i wake up to go to the bathroom (which is usually around 12-2am) i'll just shake it up and drink.

right now i'm only taking in .5s whey, but i think i will increase it up because i'm still waking up with curls in my stomach. i noticed most satiation when i consumed 1s whey and 1tbsp flax seed meal though, but that was a bit too much fat for me.

5/24/05
7am -
.5 cup oats
.5 scoop whey
blueberries

10am -
.5c oats
.5s whey
.5c skim milk

1:45pm -
1.5c fried brown rice with peas, carrots and eggwhites
shrimp & caulflower stir fry
1 tbsp mango salsa

4pm -
tomato chicken
asparagus
1 fish oil

6:30pm -
6 eggwhites
slice FF american cheese
soy sauce
2 fish oils

9pm:
1c cc
1tbsp PB
1tbsp SF pudding
3 fish oils

midnight:
.75s whey
3g l-glutamine

IronMaiden1522

05-24-2005, 04:14 PM

April your diet looks great! No more bakery foods??!! :)

aprilai

05-25-2005, 04:17 PM

no more bakery foods jenny :) thank god!

my quads are still really tight and sore from last workout but i did my legs workout today anyway. was in a hurry this morning too, so i forgot my preworkout shake and just consumed half of my PWO. i'm gonna start keeping track of my HR. found out my parents had one of those blood pressure thingies that calculates HR as well. my instructor decided to do some "agility tests" in the middle of my workout, so it prolonged my workout time.

morning HR: 61bpm

duration: 50mins
warm up:
parallel BB front squat - 45x6
overhead ATG squat - 30x6
40x4
45x4 [was actually gonna use this as my working set but it was too light]

overhead ATG squats - 55lbs - 3x3

RDL - 80x3
90lbs - 2x3

dips - 5lbs added x3
8lbs added -2x3

45d donkey calf raises - 220lbs - 2secs contraction - 6x4

aprilai

05-25-2005, 06:39 PM

i'm experimenting with my diet layout right now...need to find the clearest way to display my menu so that i can read easily.

5/24/05
7am -.5 cup oats,.5 scoop whey, .5c blueberries, multivitamin

9am - [preworkout].25c skim milk, 2 dried apricots, .5s whey, ~1.5, g l-glutamine

11pm - [PWO].5s whey, .75c skim milk, .5c oats, ~1.5g l-glutamine multivitamin

1pm -1.5c fried brown rice with peas, carrots and eggwhites

3pm - tomato chicken, caulflower & shrimp stir fry

6pm - 3oz cooked chicken breast, asparagus, spiracha sauce, 2 fish oils, 3 tsp metamucil

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp cashew butter, 1tbsp apricot jam, 3 fish oils, multivitamin

night- .5s whey, 3g l-glutamine

Briar

05-25-2005, 06:59 PM

A few suggestions i hope you dont mind

7am -.5 cup oats,.5 scoop whey, .5c blueberries, multivitamin
GOOD (THATS WHAT I HAVE) :D

9am - [preworkout].25c skim milk, 2 dried apricots, .5s whey, ~1.5, g l-glutamine

YOU SHOULD REALLY HAVE CARBS IN THIS MEAL TO GIVE YOU ENOUGH FUEL FOR YOUR WORKOUT. I WOULD FLAG THAT WHOLE MEAL AND HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL GIVE YOU ENERGY TO PERFORM YOUR BEST! I HAVE OATS AGAIN AT THIS MEAL BUT YOU COULD HAVE TUNA AND RICE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. DONT HAVE FATS IN THIS MEAL EITHER JUST CARBS AND PROTEIN.

11pm - [PWO].5s whey, .75c skim milk, .5c oats, ~1.5g l-glutamine multivitamin
GOOD

1pm -1.5c fried brown rice with peas, carrots and eggwhites
HOW ARE YOU FRYING THE RICE?????? IS IT HOME MADE SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT GOES IN IT?? YOU COULD ALWAYS HAVE SOME TUNA OR CHICKEN HERE AND MAYBE HAVE OATS AND EGG WHITES PRE WORKOUT.

3pm - tomato chicken, caulflower & shrimp stir fry GOOD MAYBE INTRODUCE SOME FATS ARE YOU COOKING THIS IN OLIVE OIL, IF NOT TRY ADDING A TEASPOON!!

6pm - 3oz cooked chicken breast, asparagus, 2 fish oils, 3 tsp metamucil
NICE I LOVE ASPARAGUS, DOES IT MAKE YOUR PEE SMELL TOO!!!!!

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp cashew butter, 1tbsp apricot jam, 3 fish oils, multivitamin
IS THE JAM SUGAR FREE??

night- .5s whey, 3g l-glutamine
YOU PROB DONT NEED THIS IF YOU HAVE THE CC AND CASHEW BUTTER AT 9PM BUT THEN AGAIN IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH LONGER YOU ARE UP FOR??

HOPE I HAVENT STUCK MY NOSE IN BUT JUST THOUGHT I WOULD PUT MY 2 CENTS WORTH IN :D

aprilai

05-25-2005, 07:20 PM

hi briar! of course i don't mind :) you're so sweet.

7am -.5 cup oats,.5 scoop whey, .5c blueberries, multivitamin
GOOD (THATS WHAT I HAVE) :D
lol yes i've noticed that :) i get these blueberries frozen 'cause they're fast, cheap and good.

9am - [preworkout].25c skim milk, 2 dried apricots, .5s whey, ~1.5, g l-glutamine

YOU SHOULD REALLY HAVE CARBS IN THIS MEAL TO GIVE YOU ENOUGH FUEL FOR YOUR WORKOUT. I WOULD FLAG THAT WHOLE MEAL AND HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL GIVE YOU ENERGY TO PERFORM YOUR BEST! I HAVE OATS AGAIN AT THIS MEAL BUT YOU COULD HAVE TUNA AND RICE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. DONT HAVE FATS IN THIS MEAL EITHER JUST CARBS AND PROTEIN.
i was running in a hurry in the morning, so i left my preworkout shake at home. the dried fruit and skim milk provides sufficient carbs (i think about 15-20 carbs). it's true the meal is not optimal, but it's a nice change from oats and/or fresh fruits.

1pm -1.5c fried brown rice with peas, carrots and eggwhites
HOW ARE YOU FRYING THE RICE?????? IS IT HOME MADE SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT GOES IN IT?? YOU COULD ALWAYS HAVE SOME TUNA OR CHICKEN HERE AND MAYBE HAVE OATS AND EGG WHITES PRE WORKOUT.
it's definately homemade. i am too much of a bum to order out and wouldn't even know where to get fried brown rice. lol. i like my carbs + protein before 2pm. maybe i should post the fried brown rice recipe. hm. good idea.

3pm - tomato chicken, caulflower & shrimp stir fry GOOD MAYBE INTRODUCE SOME FATS ARE YOU COOKING THIS IN OLIVE OIL, IF NOT TRY ADDING A TEASPOON!!
i leave the cauliflower and shrimp stir fry to my mom :)

6pm - 3oz cooked chicken breast, asparagus, 2 fish oils, 3 tsp metamucil
NICE I LOVE ASPARAGUS, DOES IT MAKE YOUR PEE SMELL TOO!!!!!
LMAO. that's never happened before - er if it is true i don't notice ;)

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp cashew butter, 1tbsp apricot jam, 3 fish oils, multivitamin
IS THE JAM SUGAR FREE??
of course :) although i should buy a new flavor now, apricot flavors are becoming repetitive.

night- .5s whey, 3g l-glutamine
YOU PROB DONT NEED THIS IF YOU HAVE THE CC AND CASHEW BUTTER AT 9PM BUT THEN AGAIN IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH LONGER YOU ARE UP FOR??
i take this around 12-2am. usually wake up to drink it. it helps me from hunger pangs in the morning and satiating for the whole day.

aprilai

05-26-2005, 06:03 PM

in the afternoon i was craving for more of that chicken salad...massively. then halfway through my 6pm meal i went to ask my mom if she put any sugar in the salad, and she said she did. garrR, no wonder why i felt some cravings. i don't think i can trust her cooking anymore. time to make everything by myself. geez, and she wonders why i don't eat most of her food. she puts additives, sugar, salt in so many things!

5/26/05
8am -.5 cup oats,.5 scoop whey, .strawberries

10am - .25c skim milk, 2 dried apricots, .5s whey, ~1.5, g l-glutamine

12pm - 1.5c fried brown rice with peas, carrots and eggwhites, green beans in oyster sauce & oil, 3 pork cubes

2pm - vietnamese chicken salad

6pm - vietnamese chicken salad

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 2 fish oils, multivitamin

night- .25s whey, 3g l-glutamine

IronMaiden1522

05-26-2005, 06:09 PM

Maybe ask her to sub the sugar for splenda?!!

aprilai

05-27-2005, 11:54 AM

i've told her that many times, but she never remembers it... only when she cooks and i'm around she would do so. edited from last night:

5/26/05
8am -.5 cup oats,.5 scoop whey, .strawberries

10am - .5c oats, .5c skim milk

12pm - 1.5c fried brown rice with peas, carrots and eggwhites, green beans in oyster sauce & oil, 3 pork cubes

2pm - vietnamese chicken salad

6pm - vietnamese chicken salad

7pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 1tbsp cashew butter, 2 fish oils

8pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, .5s whey, 2 fish oils,

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 2 fish oils

so i had a LOT of cottage cheese and nut butters yesterday, but that's okay, at least it's clean.

aprilai

05-27-2005, 12:54 PM

i left my gym shoes at home, and had to wear flip flops to the gym with socks. since i couldn't do HIIT on the elliptical w/ flip flops, i decided to do tabata with just socks on.

chest/abs/tabata
duration: 40mins

warmup:
2mins rest
incline bench - 45x8
60x6, x4

75x4
70lbs - 2x3
pushups - 20, 15

20secs rest:
ab wheels - 5x5
dragon flags - 5x5

tabata - back squats, 30lbs
1. 33
2. 21
3. 11
4. 10
5. 12
6. -
7. -
8. -
total : 87

okay i confess.. i got SOO excited doing tabata the first set that i put all out effort the first time and then my performance dwindled. the first set, i thought, damn, 30lbs, that is so light, i should push at least 30reps out of this. anyway...i think i shouldn't have gone so crazy over the first set, because i just collapsed on the floor after the 5th set and had a bad headache for the next 2hrs. my mind's still not clicking correctly right now. lesson learned: don't go crazy doing tabata!! i'm only going to do this once a week for sure.

aprilai

05-27-2005, 08:36 PM

don't know if i should consider that i cheated today on the challenge...but i ate 1/3 of a large cold honeydew in the evening because i was getting a headache and wanted something refreshing to boost my energy. after finishing the honeydew i was more energetic and took a 2hr nap.

i'm noticing some puffiness lately. hope it's not fat! Eek! not sure what it could be, but i'm eliminating milk and the SF jam, replacing it for some jackfruit and cottage cheese instead. if that doesn't get rid of it then i'll simply go down the list and eliminate anything that's most processed.

5/27/05
8am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5c blueberries

9am - .5s whey, .5 large banana, 3g l-glutamine

11pm - [PWO]1s whey, 1c skim milk, .5c oats, 3g l-glutamine

1pm - .5c skim milk, .5c oats

3:30pm - tomato chicken, asparagus

4:30pm - 1/3 large honeydew

7pm - ong choy, pork, 1eggwhite, 2 fish oils

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 4 fish oils

night - whey, 3g l-glutamine

aprilai

05-29-2005, 11:57 AM

went to watch star wars 3 yesterday. hayden christensen is hot! then went shopping for some shorts! now i have shorts to wear in this hot steamy weather while sweating playing tennis.

yesterday's diet was not so ideal because i was out for awhile and forgot to carry a meal. i also pretty much carb loaded earlier on the day from carb cravings. had no idea why but gave in to it anyway. at least they were clean! anyway... i know what i said about eliminating skim milk but then i found a carton of skim milk in my fridge so i figured i'll just finish the carton up and then eliminate it afterwards.

working this morning was some bodyweight GPP in my backyard.

5/28/05

7am - jackfruit

9am - .5c oats, .5s whey, strawberries, multivitamin

10am - strawberries

11am - .75c blueberries, .75c oats, 2/3c skim milk, strawberries, .25c grapenuts, .25c cc, .25 large banana, multivitamin

2pm - bean sprouts, .5c cc, 1tbsp SF pudding

9pm - lots of BBQ shrimps and beef.

today's diet:

5/29/05
8:30am - pre GPP - 3g l-glutamine

9am - .5 cup oats, .5 scoop whey, .5c skim milk, strawberries, multivitamin

11:30am - honeydew, .5c cc, SF pudding mix

1pm - .5c oats, .5c skim milk, .5s whey, honeydew

3:30 - .5 large tomato, can tuna, asparagus, 2 fish oils

6pm - 5eggwhites, 1 whole egg, slice FF american cheese, soy sauce, ong choy, 2 fish oils

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding mix, 2 fish oils

night - whey, 3g l-glutamine

aprilai

05-29-2005, 12:34 PM

next week's training:

May 30-June 5, 2005

Mon: OFF
Tues: back/shoulders/bis 20mins elliptical
Wed: chest, calves, abs, tabata
Thurs: OFF
Fri: legs, tris, abs, 20mins elliptical

back, Shoulders, bis
2mins rest
3x3 conventional deadlift

90secs rest
4x6 bent over row
5x3 incline curls
3x6 lean away lat raise
3x6 cuban rotations
total sets: 18

20mins elliptical

Chest, calves, abs tabata:
90secs rest
4x6 incline bench
2 sets pushups

30secs rest
4x6 45d donkey calf rasies

20secs rest
3x10 decline crunch
4x8 flags
total sets: 17

tabata

Legs, tris, abs:
2mins rest
5x3 weighted dips
3x3 RDL

90secs rest
4x4 walking lunges

30secs rest
4x6 45d donkey calf raises

20secs rest:
3x10 rope crunch
2x15 swiss ball crunch
total sets: 21

edited

aprilai

05-31-2005, 11:15 AM

decided to exchange the isolation shoulder exercises for push press instead. i was also running out of time and didn't feel like doing more cardio.

duration: 45 mins [warmups included]

2mins rest
conventional deadlift - 135lbs - 3x3

90secs rest
bent over row - 45lbs -3x6, 50x6
push press - 40lbs - 4x6
incline curls - 20lbs - 4x4
total sets: 15

12mins elliptical - ~moderate intensity

aprilai

05-31-2005, 11:52 AM

morning HR: 55bpm

5/31/05
9am - 5 cup oats, .5c skim milk, .5c blueberries

11pm - [PWO]1s whey, .5c skim milk, .5c oats, 3g l-glutamine

12pm - .25c oats, .25c skim milk

1pm - .5c skim milk, .5c oats

3pm - 1can tuna, cooked spinach

5pm - 1can tuna, cooked spinach

7pm - 5eggwhites, 1 whole egg, cooked spinach, 2 fish oils

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 4 fish oils

night - whey, 3g l-glutamine

felt like calculating today:
Total: 1752
Fat: 37 330 20%
Sat: 7 61 4%
Poly: 7 61 4%
Mono: 10 86 5%
Carbs: 163 534 33%
Fiber: 30 0 0%
Protein: 194 777 47%

hmmm...i should try to eat more carbs...and less protein.

aprilai

06-01-2005, 11:21 AM

didn't do tabata today, 'cause i haven't recovered enough as i thought i would from yesterday's lifting. also my arms are pretty fried today, especially that they gave out before my chest did during the pushups.

duration: 45mins [including 10mins balance test]
warmup:
incline BB bench- 45x8

90secs rest
incline DB bench - 25lbs ea - 4x6

45secs rest
push ups - 20, 9
10mins balance tests

30secs rest
45d donkey calf raises - 200lbs - 4x6

20secs rest
flags - 4x8
decline crunch - 3x10
5mins elliptical cooldown

aprilai

06-01-2005, 05:33 PM

i love cauliflower stir fry....

6/1/05
7:30am - .5 cup oats, .5c yogurt, .5 Large banana

9am - .5s whey, .25c oats

11pm - [PWO]1s whey, .5c skim milk, .5c oats, 3g l-glutamine

1pm - .5c skim milk, .5c oats

4:30pm - 4 eggwhites, 1 whole egg, 1slice FF cheese, cucumber, cat herbs, 1 kiwi

5:30 - cauliflower, celery and carrots stir fry

7pm - 4 eggwhites, 1 whole egg, 1slice FF cheese, cauliflower, celery and carrots stir fry2 fish oils

9pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 4 fish oils

night - whey, 3g l-glutamine

Total: 1899
Fat: 40 362 20%
Sat: 9 79 4%
Poly: 8 73 4%
Mono: 11 102 6%
Carbs: 222 738 41%
Fiber: 37 0 0%
Protein: 170 678 38%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

i'm working on increasing the carbs and lowering protein...usually i hit 200g/day for protein. need more carbies!

IronMaiden1522

06-01-2005, 06:18 PM

Lots of cauliflower!! i love it too!

aprilai

06-02-2005, 09:47 PM

^ especially in stir frys! made me go to the bathroom 2x -_-;;

today's diet is VERY bad. i only ate 3x today, unless you include my random snackings on trail mix. -_-a i'm not even going to post the diet, it's too shameful! i really didn't have time to eat...or even the energy to. i was running around campus and studying. i'm on my mini break right now. tomorrow i have 2 tests and another one the end of this week. EEK! i'm worried about it, even though i'm only in a community college and not taking anything drastic like university's finals!! i also woke up early this morning and didn't get enough sleep. so i'm taking sleeping pills but i should really find a better sleeping pill than using acetaminophen. now more things on the shopping list to buy.

kjimenez

06-03-2005, 02:27 AM

Your work-outs look good. Im gonna take some notes from your journal...Im still learning myself.....=0)

I know what you mean about those cheat meals also eating what other's make (like our mothers) I had to sit my mom down and told her I wouldnt eat her food unless she was honest about what she put in it. Since then she has been a great sport about it =0) But what I do is cook my food at home then take it wherever Im gonna eat. I even take it to my friends house when we have a dinner or something. I just put my food in a plate like everyone else and call it 'Kats menu' LOL they all laugh =0) but it makes other realize how important it is to you to eat a certain way, every 3 hrs. =0)

Once you get yourself to follow a diet for some time and notice the gains and the drastic changes you will be less likely to cheat. But it wont happen from one day to the other (although that would be interesting) it takes time. Its hard but before you cheat pull out that journal, or drink lots of water, or I like to think the food is rotten' that keeps me feeling YUCKY and I dont even bother. its hard and everyone is differnet but you can do it girl! Say no to cheat days, but I know Im rambling here and I know you are doing great on the diet and the work outs! Keep up the great work. Im reading =0)

kat

aprilai

06-03-2005, 01:27 PM

thanks for dropping by kat!! i'm glad you're back!!

i do the same thing as you when hanging out with friends...but if we're going out to a restaurant i chip in extra money for a salad and plain fish/chicken/steak. my close friends are used to me doing this now, so it's no problem! sometimes i even cook healthy foods at their houses and they like it ^_^.

i just finished taking 2 tests, so i feel much more relieved!! anyway, i forgot to do my weighted dips...mind was too cluttered. i will be doing it soon. my hip flexors are also very tight lately because i've been spending too much time sitting on my bum all day. need to stretch them more.

duration: 45mins (including warmup)
warmup:
20 push ups
front squats - 45lbs - 2x6

2mins rest
3x3 - 80lbs - RDL

60secs rest
3x6 - 30lbs - lunges

20secs rest
4x6 -200lbs - 45d donkey calf raises

20secs rest:
3x10 - 60lbs - rope crunch
3x10 swiss ball crunch

5mins 6mph cooldown

total working sets: 16
total reps: 111

got my bodyfat tested...will post later and my dips workout!

aprilai

06-03-2005, 02:06 PM

warm up:
back squat - 45x8
DB presses - 25x10
tricep dips - 5x5

dips - 8lbs - 3x3, 2x4

i love dips =)

April 21, 2005
7 site test:
tricep - 18
subscap -10
x - 19
chest - 9
ab - 19
supra - 13
thigh - 7

misc:
bicep - 7
calf - 8

Lean Weight = 84.27 pounds
Fat Weight = 16.73 pounds
Body fat = 16.56%
weight: 101lbs
height: 5'1"

june 2, 2005

tricep - 19
subscap - 11
x - 12
pec 11
ab - 14
supra - 12
thigh - 5

misc:
calf - 3
bicep - 6

weight: 103
height: 5'1

arm: 10.15inches
chest - 29
waist - 25
hip - 34.5
thigh - 24.05
lean - 84.86lbs
fat - 18.14 lbs
BF% : 17.6%

dunno why it says my BF% is higher than 2 months ago, because i certainly don't feel fatter. i'm on my period right now, which could probably be the problem and also i ate a lot of salty and fibrous foods the day before. also when i measure my waist it's usually 24inches -_-a

IronMaiden1522

06-03-2005, 03:29 PM

Where did you get your info from? mybodycomp? Because I dont find it too accurate. Its says I am 20%bf and when I got it done I am actually 17%. So if that was it then dont let it discourage you.

Krissypoo

06-03-2005, 03:33 PM

It may well be your period. Don't fret...just try to measure when you aren't on your period. You have been eating clean and working hard...it probably just water weight.

aprilai

06-03-2005, 08:26 PM

the person who measured my BF uses calipers. she's been measuring my BF for awhile now and quite professional...i'm going to get it retested again this tuesday! i use mybodycomp to track progress on my own though, and they always give me 18% so i know it's very inaccurate

today's diet:
6/1/05
7:30am - .5 cup oats, .25c yogurt, .25c cc, .25 Large banana

9am - .5s whey, .25c oats

11pm - [PWO]1s whey, .5c skim milk, .5c oats, 3g l-glutamine

1:45pm - .5c skim milk, .5c oats

4:30pm - vietnamese salad with white beet, herbs, carrots, jelly and onions

6pm - 2 eggwhites, 1 whole egg, 1slice FF cheese, .5 wheat pita, .25c FF mozarella cheese, salad, salsa, .25c yogurt

8:30pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 4 fish oils

night - whey, 3g l-glutamine

kjimenez

06-04-2005, 06:29 AM

Others are right You have been eating pretty clean and working out, I wouldnt stress too much over it. Get it done somewhere else, also it might be water weight. You know more than anyone you have been eating healthy and working out dont let it get to you, its just a percentage......besides 18 is still better than mine =0) keep up the good work and dont get discouraged! =0)

Great job....
Kat

aprilai

06-04-2005, 10:03 PM

you guys are right, i'm going to see how my next testing turns out. if it turns out higher then my last testing must've been wrong. but either way, i'm still making progress!

workout: went outside for some sprint intervals. damn it kicked my ass! i haven't ran for more than half a year now and running again outside is sooo nice. anyway, these sprints weren't real HIIT because i didn't put all out effort.

20-25secs sprint
45secs-1min walking
x6

diet:
7am - .5 cup oats, .25c yogurt, .25c cc, .25 Large banana, multivitamin

9:30am - .5c skim milk, .25c oats

11:30pm - .5c skim milk, .25c oats

1:30pm - 6 california sushi rolls

4:30pm - [post-sprint] .5 wheat pita, 2 eggwhites, .5 whole egg, 1tbsp salsa, 2 slices FF american cheese, LARGE garden salad

8pm - 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 1tbsp SF pudding, 3 fish oils

10pm- .5c cc, 1tbsp SF pudding, 3 fish oils

kjimenez

06-05-2005, 12:33 PM

Thats the attitude to have!Good girl, you are doing great and working hard.

Dont you love how your friends are supportive about what you are doing. Being in Italy makes me miss my friends so much more, ( I always do) but more so since my friends here in Italy dont quite understand what Im doing..I have to keep explaining it to them, and they still offer me Pizza and yummies =0) its hard but Ive gotten used to it. Anyhow its great your friends are supportive that's the best feeling ever. My friends back home stop at GNC before we go eat at a restaurant when we are traveling just in case the restaurant doesnt have anything I can eat. I love them for it. Ok Im rambling...sorry

Your diet and workouts look good. Im gonna take some ideas from it. =0) if you dont mind =0)

aprilai

06-05-2005, 02:44 PM

no prob kat! i take some menu ideas off of sillyvent too - she has some yummy combinations for food. your friends sound so sweet!! my friends still offer junk foods like cookies to me, and when i don't eat the foods they cook or offer they look at me like, "what??? you're not eating??" but then it's all fine because eventually they get used to me rejecting their offers.

6/5/2005- Sunday
7am: .5c oats, .5c FF plain yogurt, 1c triple berries

9:30am: .5 WW pita, .75 large banana, 2 tbsps PB

1:30pm: .75c brown rice, 3.5oz tilapia, 2tbsp mango salsa, broccoli, ongchoy in olive oil

4pm: 4oz chicken breast, cauliflower stir fry, 2 fish oils

6pm: 3.5oz tilapia, garden salad, 2 fish oils

9pm: 1c cc, calcium citrate, 2 fish oils, 6g l-glutamine

night: .5s whey

June 6-12, 2005

Mon: legs/tris/abs
Tues: OFF
Wed: chest/calves/abs/
Thurs: 10mins incline walking
Fri: back/shoulders/bis
Sat: sprint intervals

Legs, tris, abs:
2mins rest
6x4 weighted dips
5x5 atg squats

60secs rest
3x6 lunges

20secs rest
3x8 45d donkey calf raises

20secs rest:
4x6 flags
3x6 ab wheels
total sets: 24
reps: 133

Chest, calves, abs tabata:
90secs rest
10x3 incline bench
2 sets pushups

30secs rest
6x4 45d donkey calf rasies

20secs rest
3x8 side bends
3x12 decline crunch
total sets: 24

back, Shoulders, bis:
2mins rest
10x3 bentover row
4x6 supine row
3x8 push press
3x4 incline curls
3x8 lean away lat raise

tabata

total sets: 23
total reps: 114

aprilai

06-06-2005, 11:40 AM

my legs haven't recovered enough for me to do legs today, so i decided to work chest instead. anyway, this week is high intensity, next week i will go light. yesterday i played tennis for an hour, and it was fun.

90secs rest
incline bench -
75x3
65lbs - 2x3
70lbs - 7x3

60secs rest
wide armed pushups -2x15
incline curls - 20lbs - 3x4

alternating side bends - 10lbs - 3x8

20secs
decline crunch - 3x12

5mins cooldown
total sets: 21
total reps: 132

this week routine is now:

Mon: chest/bis/abs
Tues: OFF
Wed: legs/tris
Thurs: 10mins incline walking
Fri: back/shoulders/abs
Sat: sprint intervals

aprilai

06-06-2005, 11:52 AM

from dawn's challenge:

Waist: 25''
Flexed left bi: 10.6''
Flexed right bi: 10.5
Unflexed left bi: 10.15''
unflexed right bi: 10"
Left thigh: 22''
Right thigh: 22''
hips: 30"

i want to lose an inch or so of fat from my thighs and increase arm size. i have puny arms!! waist and hips aren't a concern. but it'll be nice if they're leaner. i was a 24in waist before, would like to be there again but i doubt i will, more like they'll increase!

sillyvent

06-06-2005, 12:14 PM

24" WAIST......whoa! You are a tiny little thing! I thought I was small! ;) Have any pics?

aprilai

06-06-2005, 06:37 PM

i have some pictures on page 4 or 5, those were taken 3 months back when my when my waist was still 24" but had a lot of flab to lose :D i'll be taking progress pictures this weekend though!! can't wait.

anyway, i know i'm adding milk back to my diet. i love it too much to cut it out, and also i believe it has fat loss benefits :D.

6:36 PM 6/6/2005
7am: .5c oats, .5c FF plain yogurt, rasberries

9am: [preworkout].5s whey [forgot carbs today], l-glutamine

11:15am: [PWO] 1s whey, .75c oats, .5 large banana, l-glutamine

1pm: .25c oats, .25 large banana

3pm: .75c brown rice, 2.5oz tuna, salad, soysauce

5:30pm: 3.5oz cooked marinated chicken breast, cauliflower, celery & red pepper stir fry, 2 fish oils

7pm: 3.5oz cooked marinated chicken breast, salad, 2 fish oils

9pm: 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, SF pudding mix, 2 fish oils

night: .5s whey,

IronMaiden1522

06-06-2005, 07:48 PM

your meals always look really good! 24" waist! Wow, thats great, cant wait to see pics (not in a perverted way!! HEHE :D)

aprilai

06-07-2005, 07:04 PM

thanks jenny! i just bought some salmon for the first time in 6months and it is SO good. no more boring canned tuna until my salmon runs out now!

6:36 PM 6/6/2005
7am: .5c oats, .5c FF plain yogurt, .5 large banana

10am: .5c oats, .5 grapefruit

12:30pm: .5c oats

3pm: .5 pita, 1 slice FF american cheese, .25c FF mozarella cheese, 3oz cooked chicken breast, 3c kaboocha squash, 2 fish oils

6:30pm: 7oz salmon, cauliflower, celery and red pepper stir fry

9pm: 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, SF pudding mix, 2 fish oils

night: .5s whey, 6g l-glutamine

terracotta

06-07-2005, 09:07 PM

Is there a limit to how much fish oil you should get in one day?

aprilai

06-08-2005, 12:14 PM

terracotta - the recommended dosage is 3g of EPA/DHA a day, and the optimal range for "safety" is about 3-4g of EPA/DHA. most fish oils have a standard of 30% EPA/DHA, so you'll have to take about 10 fish oil pills to get to the recommended dosage. my fish oil pills have almost 50% EPA/DHA, so i only take 6 pills. eating fatty fish is better than taking the pills, since it increases plasma concentration, but then you'll have to eat a lot of them regularly.

Legs, tris, abs
2mins rest
dips - 8lbs - 6 x 4
atg back squats - 85lbs - 5 x 5

60secs rest
lunges - 30lbs ea - 3 x 6

20secs rest
45d donkey calf raises - 200lbs - 3 x 8

20secs rest:
flags 4 x 6
ab wheels 3 x 6
total sets: 24
reps: 133

Krissypoo

06-08-2005, 12:22 PM

Wow, April! You have strong abs! I can't even do one real flag right now...only negatives. Great workout! :)

aprilai

06-08-2005, 01:08 PM

thanks kris! the first time i tried doing them i could barely pull out a rep...i'm still working on the tension/breathing part of the exercise.

last night i slept through my night shake...so i woke up at 5am STARVING. i thought i could try to go back to sleep and ignore it but couldn't, so i decided to go for my morning oats and then to campus early.

6/8/05
6:30am: .5c oats, .5c FF plain yogurt, .5c blueberries, multiitamin

9am: 1/3c oats, .5s whey

11:15am: [PWO] 1s whey, 2/3c oats, .5 extra large banana

1:30pm: 1.25c brown rice, 1 kiwi, 1tbsp salsa, 2oz cooked chicken breast, cauliflower, celery and red pepper stir fry

4pm: .5 pita, 2 slices FF american cheese, 2oz cooked chicken breast, salad, 2 fish oils

6:30pm: 4oz salmon, cauliflower, celery and red pepper stir fry

9pm: 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, SF pudding mix, 3 fish oils

night: .5s whey, 6g l-glutamine

Total: 1924
Fat: 37 18%
Carbs: 228 43%
Protein: 173 38%

edited

IronMaiden1522

06-08-2005, 05:40 PM

What are flags? Do you have a link?
yeah I get sick of tuna, i have been having more salmon too. i just bought a big slice of smoked salmon and its sooo good.

aprilai

06-08-2005, 08:46 PM

jenny, emma made a topic detailing the procedure very well:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=497719

aprilai

06-09-2005, 04:56 PM

active recovery:
10mins walking on 15% incline, 3mph

one short circuit of:
lunges
25lbs hang pulls
push ups
atg squats
x10

6/9/05
8am: .5c oats, .5c FF plain yogurt, .5c blueberries, multiitamin

10am: 1c brown rice, 1.5oz cooked salmon, .25c garbanzo beans

1:30am: 1c brown rice, 1.5oz cooked salmon, .25c garbanzo beans

2pm: cauliflower, celery and red pepper stir fry with shrimps and mushrooms

4:30pm: .5 pita, 1 slice FF american cheese, .5c FF mozarella cheese, 2 tbsp mango salsa

7pm: 4oz salmon

9pm: 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, SF pudding mix, 3 fish oils

night: .5s whey, 6g l-glutamine

IronMaiden1522

06-09-2005, 06:14 PM

Those flags look super hard, I am going to have to try!

aprilai

06-10-2005, 06:38 AM

enjoy them jenny! i really like them.

i got my BF% tested yesterday.

bodyfat 15.86%
lean = 85.82#
fat = 16.17 #

i'm going to go with this reading instead of the last one. so far i'm getting leaner and losing fat. weE!

Krissypoo

06-10-2005, 06:49 AM

aprilai

06-10-2005, 01:17 PM

thanks kris!

back, Shoulders
duration: 43mins

1:30mins rest
bentover row w/ static holds
50lbs - 2x4
60lbs - 8x3 - light, increase weight next session

supine row 4x6

*push press - 40lbs - 3x8

lean away lat raise - 8lbs - 2x8

* lower right lat discomfort after push press, similar to after cleans and press. will double check form and ease back w/ lighter weights for 2 weeks and see if the discomfort disappears

freakeefranky

06-10-2005, 05:37 PM

hey congrats on the BF% impressive!

terracotta

06-10-2005, 05:52 PM

wow april! Good job with the bf! I'd love to see new pics of you.

IronMaiden1522

06-11-2005, 09:45 AM

Wow april, congrats of the bf%!!! And nice pics, your bi's look huge!! Oh yeah love the bikini too!

aprilai

06-12-2005, 06:46 AM

thanks jenny! i'm still waiting for them to grow...hopefully they'll grow once i start a mass program this summer!

this is my lighter week. i'm going to use it to work on form and cool off a bit.

6/13 - 19, 2005

Mon: legs, shoulders
Tues: bodyweight GPP
Wed: chest, tris, calves cardio
Thurs: sprint intervals
Fri: back, bis, cardio

legs, shoulders

4x6 atg back squats
3x10 push press
3x10 cuban rotations
3x12 donkey calf raises

total sets: 13
total reps: 120

chest, tris:
4x10 flat bench press
3x10 push ups
3x10 close grip bench press
3x8 dips
3x10 donkey calf raises

total sets: 16
total reps: 154

back, bis, calves:
4x8 conventional dl
3x10 seated rows
3x10 good mornings
3x10 low pulley curls

total sets: 13
total reps: 122

terracotta

06-12-2005, 10:13 AM

Wow April! You look great. Your bf has gone down a lot since the prev. pics and your abs are coming through good.

I hear you about the biceps! I wish mine would grow faster. It seems they are behind my triceps.

aprilai

06-13-2005, 11:19 AM

today is high carb day. i'm going to be carb cycling before entering the V-Diet once finals are over this thursday.

Mon: high
tues: no
Wed: low
thurs: high
Fri: begin V-Diet

june 13, 2005 - high carb

8am: .5c oats, .5c FF plain yogurt, .5c blueberries

11:30: 1c FF plain yogurt, .5serving triple berries, .25c oats

2:30: .5c oats, 1serving whey, 4g l-glutamine, .5c skim milk, 5.8g BCAA's

4:30: 1.5c black beans, .75c brown rice, 3 tbsp salsa

7pm: 2oz salmon, 1 whole egg, 5 eggwhites, broccoli 4 fish oils

meal 7: 1c cc, 1tbsp PB, 4 fish oils

Total: 1841
Fat: 34 18%
Carbs: 244 48%
Fiber: 38
Protein: 144 34%

irongal18

06-13-2005, 01:08 PM

hi! I had a question... do u mix the plain yogurt, oats and berries together? are the oats raw when u eat them? thanks, im looking for recipe ideas

aprilai

06-13-2005, 02:39 PM

irongal - i mix the ingredients together. i microwaved the oats first though, and then add them to the mixture with dashes of cinnamon and splenda. there's a study showing that cinnamon increases insulin sensitivity and reduces triglyceride as well as cholesterol levels.

today was legs, abs and shoulders day. don't know why but today's workout kind of sucked. i lifted lighter than before but i was going into an energy rundown. i'm not sure if it's because of my dirty dieting last weekend or my body's just exhausted...my back also felt VERY strained during the squats. i hope i didn't damage it or something!! it's been feeling uncomfortable.

duration: 30mins

atg back squats - ( eyes closed )75lbs - 4 x 6
overhead lunge - 45lbs - 1 x 8 ea side [practicing form]
push press - 45lbs - 3 x 6
lean away lat raise - 7.5lbs - 1 x 8 ea side
flags - 3 x 6
barbell - 25 x 25 [i think this is a bad time to add in the 100reps program]

5mins elliptical cooldown