MissLadyJ's Pilgrimage Through Unconventionality

[missladyj]

Hello. Just moved my thread over from the Keto section. My goal is to lose fat and gain an insane amount of functional strength.

I will be sculpting my body with a Paleo / Primal diet, Convict Conditioning (old school advanced progressive calisthenics), and am looking to start incorporating kettle bells and Olympic lifting soon.

Have decided to track macros / calories for my diet and am using this thread: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981 as an influence. Am now going with 1600 calories a day, 180g protein, 80g fat, and 40g carbs (was previously on 1300, 65% fat, 30 % protein, and 5% carbs diet).

I have been on a low carb diet for 7 weeks now...have lost 19lbs (198 to 179) and 6.5 inches from my waist. I don't notice a huge difference in the pics I am posting to compare progress from after 1 week of training to the end of 7 weeks, but my stomach is considerably flatter and I'm finding it much easier to move around and be active. My clothes also fit better .

Am aware that many people don't agree with paleo / primal, but I'm not here to argue about that. I do appreciate advice, constructive criticism, and even sharing of other people's experiences.









**By the way, here's my current workout schedule...will be adding more as I go.**

Monday - Pushups / Leg raises
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Pullups / Squats
Thursday- Rest
Friday- Handstand Pushups / Bridges
Saturday- Jump rope (HIIT)
Sunday- Rest



Will be logging my workout and diet everyday. I fasted today so only a workout post for now:

[moore93]

[missladyj]

nice

[bullrider_IL]

in for rep trading

[missladyj]

Thanks for subbing up bull

[cnh57811]

Herro

[missladyj]

Herro

Nice to have you again

[cnh57811]

Imma be doin this with some more cheesecake tonight....

[missladyj]

Imma be doin this with some more cheesecake tonight....

[img]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnb1e77aGy1qc24th.gif[img]

looool...i bet you will, it looked damned good . will be making some soon...

[VictoryWon4Him]

Wow, you go girl!! Congrats on your weight loss and your consistency with meeting your goals. That's all it takes ... Hard Work + Nutrition = Achieved Goals. Obviously you know what you're doing since you lost so much weight already and you're keeping it off. Don't worry about what others agree or disagree with ... do what works best for you and your body. As long as it's working for YOU, keep on going and you'll love the progress you make as you continue to sculpt your bod. Continue to train with INTENSITY! Best of luck to you OP!

[missladyj]

Wow, you go girl!! Congrats on your weight loss and your consistency with meeting your goals. That's all it takes ... Hard Work + Nutrition = Achieved Goals. Obviously you know what you're doing since you lost so much weight already and you're keeping it off. Don't worry about what others agree or disagree with ... do what works best for you and your body. As long as it's working for YOU, keep on going and you'll love the progress you make as you continue to sculpt your bod. Continue to train with INTENSITY! Best of luck to you OP!

Thanks for the support and the kind words. Posts like that help keep me motivated... no excuse to stop with so much inspiration around. Appreciate you stoppng by

[missladyj]

Workout - Tuesday (yesterday)
~~~~~~

Rest





Didn't mean to be so low on calories / macros...was due to a combination of being busy, working late, and not being very hungry. I've gone over requirements a few times so it probably evens out in the end. I'll be sure to not have too many days like that though, want to at least meet protein.

[cnh57811]

Knee tucks can kiss my a$$.


That is all.

[missladyj]

Knee tucks can kiss my a$$.


That is all.

You ain't never lied!

[missladyj]

Workout - Wednesday
~~~~~~

Vertical Pullups: 3 x 30

Jack Knife Squats: 3 x 20

Feeling the burn in the forearms. Last time I did 2 x 50 for pullups but had to take many breaks and probably forced too many reps. Also only did 2 x 10 for jack knife squats and struggled a bit so glad to see an improvement already.


Diet
~~~~~

Calories: 1575, Fat: 70g , Protein: 165g , Carbs: 42g

[Serpentarius]

Do you still have cravings for high carb food since starting all of this?

[missladyj]

Do you still have cravings for high carb food since starting all of this?

The first week I did....then they went away. But every time I cheat I have to battle the carb cravings again for a day or two. I had a bag of skittles yesterday...now I'm fighting the desire for a big a$$ sub sandwich >.>.

Just realized I forgot to write you back. I'm at work checking this a lot so I forget!

[cnh57811]

I'm fighting the desire for a big a$$ sub sandwich >.>.

Sub 1
Missladyj 0

[missladyj]

Sub 1
Missladyj 0

lol! pretty much....but losing never felt so GOOD

[missladyj]

Workout - Thursday
~~~~~~

Rest

GTG Pushup Total: 15


Workout - Friday
~~~~~~

Wall Handstand: 1 x 42 sec, 1 x 48 sec

Short Bridges: 2 x 50

GTG Pushup Total: 15


Comments
~~~~~~~~
Had a better workout on Friday last week, but I'm a bit sore from the squats and vertical pullups I did on Wednesday. You might notice that I did not list my diet...I decided to stop counting. I did fine losing weight on paleo without counting and I'm just about tired of all the logging and obsessing over numbers. Going to see how it goes for the next couple weeks with a more laid back approach.

Also, you'll see that I included GTG (Grease the groove) totals for pushups. Just a couple weeks ago I could do 1 or 2 max...ever since using GTG training (random sets of a couple pushups throughout the day) I've increased my max to 10. Am considering replacing pushups with Chinese wall squats for GTG since I'm interested in building some hip strength. Will be especially useful when I start using kettlebell training along with CC in a week or two.

[cnh57811]

Good luck on the non-counting venture. I'm sure you'll be real concious (sp?) of what you are eating and probably still drop lbs pretty easily.

[missladyj]

Good luck on the non-counting venture. I'm sure you'll be real concious (sp?) of what you are eating and probably still drop lbs pretty easily.

Thank you . I will def do my best..can't mess up the progress. Being fat sucks!

[bullrider_IL]

Workout - Thursday
~~~~~~

Rest

GTG Pushup Total: 15


Workout - Friday
~~~~~~

Wall Handstand: 1 x 42 sec, 1 x 48 sec

Short Bridges: 2 x 50

GTG Pushup Total: 15


Comments
~~~~~~~~
Had a better workout on Friday last week, but I'm a bit sore from the squats and vertical pullups I did on Wednesday. You might notice that I did not list my diet...I decided to stop counting. I did fine losing weight on paleo without counting and I'm just about tired of all the logging and obsessing over numbers. Going to see how it goes for the next couple weeks with a more laid back approach.

Also, you'll see that I included GTG (Grease the groove) totals for pushups. Just a couple weeks ago I could do 1 or 2 max...ever since using GTG training (random sets of a couple pushups throughout the day) I've increased my max to 10. Am considering replacing pushups with Chinese wall squats for GTG since I'm interested in building some hip strength. Will be especially useful when I start using kettlebell training along with CC in a week or two.

progress is looking good! Can definitely see some progress especially in the midsection!!!

[missladyj]

progress is looking good! Can definitely see some progress especially in the midsection!!!

Thank you! Feels good that it's paying off and actually noticeable.

[broad.stance]

Workout - Wednesday
~~~~~~

Vertical Pullups: 3 x 30

Jack Knife Squats: 3 x 20

Feeling the burn in the forearms. Last time I did 2 x 50 for pullups but had to take many breaks and probably forced too many reps. Also only did 2 x 10 for jack knife squats and struggled a bit so glad to see an improvement already.


Diet
~~~~~

Calories: 1575, Fat: 70g , Protein: 165g , Carbs: 42g

Had to check your keto log to be sure, but it looks like you either breezed past the shoulder stand squats or decided to skip the progression standard phase. I've read a few other CC blogs and see a lot of both; people will knock out 200 reps the first day or get to the point of eff-this. One guy on the Dragon Door forums reported it took him four months to get through it - four months! - that's sixteen or more sessions with most programs from the book. It's cool if you moved past it. I'm three weeks in on Good Behavior and going to give myself a little more time to meet the progression standard for this exercise. The stage seems to work more on upper back flexibility, core strength, and balance. Though were I see it tie in with later stages is how the legs are able to work and fall independently thus revealing the side lacking flexibility, and the side driving up more during top-loaded squats.

I was reviewing all the power moves, and is it just me or does it make more sense after wall handstands (step three of handstand push ups) to perform jackknife pushups and handstand pushups with the feet supported and the body in an L-shape, so you're initially moving a lower percentage of total body weight before moving on to step four of the series? Seems like a gentler way to build up shoulder endurance and strength because you're able to progress to a full range of motion before going back to partials with the body fully inverted. The jackknife is described in this post at BeastSkills, but I'll include a video. The two movements are at 0:20 and 0:41.

[missladyj]

Had to check your keto log to be sure, but it looks like you either breezed past the shoulder stand squats or decided to skip the progression standard phase. I've read a few other CC blogs and see a lot of both; people will knock out 200 reps the first day or get to the point of eff-this. One guy on the Dragon Door forums reported it took him four months to get through it - four months! - that's sixteen or more sessions with most programs from the book. It's cool if you moved past it. I'm three weeks in on Good Behavior and going to give myself a little more time to meet the progression standard for this exercise. The stage seems to work more on upper back flexibility, core strength, and balance. Though were I see it tie in with later stages is how the legs are able to work and fall independently thus revealing the side lacking flexibility, and the side driving up more during top-loaded squats.

I was reviewing all the power moves, and is it just me or does it make more sense after wall handstands (step three of handstand push ups) to perform jackknife pushups and handstand pushups with the feet supported and the body in an L-shape, so you're initially moving a lower percentage of total body weight before moving on to step four of the series? Seems like a gentler way to build up shoulder endurance and strength because you're able to progress to a full range of motion before going back to partials with the body fully inverted. The jackknife is described in this post at BeastSkills, but I'll include a video. The two movements are at 0:20 and 0:41.

[video=youtube;TFBdxDSdcA0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFBdxDSdcA0[video]

You caught me, I skipped the progression . Reason being...I was getting too impatient with the exercise. I did 2 rotations of the shoulderstands and was a little annoyed to find that I was struggling more with fatigue in my back and arms rather than legs. Felt virtually no strain / discomfort in the legs. I can see where it helps too though so was going to try and stick with it...but then I had a glaring issue...being upside down with chin tucked towards chest does not work out quite so well when you have large breasts lmao! Very awkward, uncomfortable. I am pretty good at doing deep squats already and am doing well with the jack knife squats, so figured I'd make an exception.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about going from wall handstands to jack knife pushups. It does seem much more gentle...I might actually have to consider those instead since females tend to be a bit lacking in upper body strength. Have you heard of the book 'Overcoming Gravity'? In case you haven't, it's an exhaustive reference to body weight exercises and is relatively new (2011 I believe). The great part about it is the author shows you how to design a complete, tailor-made workout program according your goals / abilities. I think CC is an amazingly well thought out book, but am starting to wonder if I might benefit from something more customized. Going to read through this other book and give it lots of thought before deciding, but am extremely impressed with it so far. The several chapters on injuries are worth taking a look at alone.

[broad.stance]

You caught me, I skipped the progression . Reason being...I was getting too impatient with the exercise. I did 2 rotations of the shoulderstands and was a little annoyed to find that I was struggling more with fatigue in my back and arms rather than legs. Felt virtually no strain / discomfort in the legs. I can see where it helps too though so was going to try and stick with it...but then I had a glaring issue...being upside down with chin tucked towards chest does not work out quite so well when you have large breasts lmao! Very awkward, uncomfortable. I am pretty good at doing deep squats already and am doing well with the jack knife squats, so figured I'd make an exception.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about going from wall handstands to jack knife pushups. It does seem much more gentle...I might actually have to consider those instead since females tend to be a bit lacking in upper body strength. Have you heard of the book 'Overcoming Gravity'? In case you haven't, it's an exhaustive reference to body weight exercises and is relatively new (2011 I believe). The great part about it is the author shows you how to design a complete, tailor-made workout program according your goals / abilities. I think CC is an amazingly well thought out book, but am starting to wonder if I might benefit from something more customized. Going to read through this other book and give it lots of thought before deciding, but am extremely impressed with it so far. The several chapters on injuries are worth taking a look at alone.

Ha! You just made a very strong case for women to skip that step. There are alternatives like the supported shoulderstand over a chair, but that still wouldn't help in your case. Also, setting up for that movement is a bit of a production.

Thanks for pointing me to Overcoming Gravity. I'm primarily using CC as a supplemental program, but this book sounds like a good resource on improving technique and injury prevention which I'm always interested in.

[missladyj]

Have not been feeling so well the past few days. Saturday and Sunday were pretty much rest days anyway, so it wasn't a big loss. I did miss my convict conditioning workout yesterday unfortunately, but I made up for it a little bit today.




Check out what I managed to pick up from Walmart:








Practiced with it for a bit as suggested by Pavel Tsatsouline in Enter the Kettle Bell (has a DVD too). Want to make sure I have the technique right and build up joint strength. Seriously underestimated how difficult working with a kettle bell would be!

Am loving this exercise called the 'get up'. You basically start by lying on the floor, but your arm of choice is locked straight up in the air holding the kettle bell. You then work your body to a standing position while keeping everything tight and breathing properly...elbow locked the entire time. Is considered a 'pressing' exercise and can definitely tell. Parts of my back that I haven't felt in a long time are sore only from practicing a few reps. Have to move in stages to get the kettle bell up and it can be pretty tough, even with just 25lbs. My man is using a 35lbs kettle and had similar difficulties.

Going to start doing the basic moves / swings and work my joints up to being strong enough to do workout sessions. Am very impressed already.



Oh, and I took a few pics yesterday showing the tone that's currently in my arms...






Feeling pretty good about it. I can see / feel myself getting stronger so motivation is kicking in a bit more . I'm definitely someone who needs to see results to be excited about something!

[missladyj]

Workout - Wednesday (yesterday)
~~~~~~

Vertical Pullups: 2 x 50

Jack Knife Squats: 2 x 15

GTG Pushup Total: 6

Turkish Get Ups: Right: 2, Left: 1 (left wrist is soooo weak)


Comments
~~~~~~~~

For the first time, was able to reach 50 straight reps with Vertical Pullups. Feel like I could have squeezed out another set, but I also practiced kettle bell swings, the halo and Turkish get ups beforehand so my shoulders were pretty tired. That's also why I did 6 measly pushups lol. Think I need to start putting in more work throughout the day in the pushup department though. Feels good to be increasing the volume of my workouts, even if it's slowly. Excited to see where I will have worked up to a few months from now.

Also decided to take a pic of my legs so I can have a reference for later. Have some pretty firm legs for a 'big girl'.

[missladyj]

Workout - Thursday - yesterday
~~~~~~

Rest

Workout - Friday - today
~~~~~~

Wall handstand: 1min 32 secs

Straight Bridges: 2 x 10

GTG Pushup Total: 30

Turkish Get Ups: Right: 2, Left: 2

Kettle bell swing: 20


Comments
~~~~~~~~

Feel good about my workout today...especially getting in 30 perfect form, well controlled pushups . Not all at once of course, but still more than I've ever done. Also happy about how long I was able to hold my handstand today. Barely reached 1 minute before...looks like I'm getting more comfortable / strong.