BrandyTKO - Competition Prep

[BrandyTKO]

O.k. I've made the leap. I have decided to go into the competition arena. Yes, taking it all to a whole new level. It was in my thoughts for some time now, but (ulp!), I'm doing it! I am training for my first competition coming up in Spring 2010 (March, to be more precise, but no firm date yet).

A member in one of the BodyGroups I belong to has suggested that I keep a journal of my preparation and now I finally figured out how to start the thread, so here it is. It will be interesting to read back on some of this later and to get feedback from other members here.

There is a PT at my gym who competes and who is also a black belt in Martial Arts, so I felt he was a good fit for me. He has also trained other competitors. I had a few discussions with him about this subject and he was very encouraging. His name is Martin Bolduc and he recently won the Lee Labrada 12 week challenge after a serious illness where he gained alot of weight. Martin is a fantastic guy with lots of energy and positive attitude.

I have been training now for 3 weeks and he feels that in the timeframe I have until the competition I will be able to gain quite a bit of muscle. I have some, but not enough for comp yet and certainly need to be leaner, but the lean part will come closer to the competition date.

Current routine is as follows:

Day 1 - Back and Biceps (also lower abs and lower back/core)
Day 2 - Legs
Day 3 - Chest (also upper abs)
Day 4 - Shoulders and Triceps (also obliques)

These routines are always to be done in the same order, in other words, Day 1 is always followed by Day 2, etc.

All days include a 5 to 10 min warm up and no more than 20 min HIIT session. I do both warm up and HIIT on a stationery bike as I am still recovering from a 2nd grade hamstring tear that happened in a kickboxing class in March. RRRR! I feel this is 90% recovered, but have to really watch it so that I don't re-injure. That would kill the whole plan then. It has been hurting lately so I really have to be careful on the ham exercises I think. Just up the weights slowly.

Diet is pretty normal clean eating routine, with 6 small meals a day, small amount of grainy carbs (brown rice or oatmeal) twice a day, but not after around 4:00 p.m. Currently running on about 1600 cal a day, but I will have to discuss this with Martin as I think I am dropping about a pound a week and I am not sure I should be dropping any weight at all just now. Yes, I go up and down all the time in small increments, but lately the weight is going down. Yes, I weigh myself every morning first thing. I know some people don't believe this is a good idea, but it has worked for me in the past to keep me in check so that I don't think its all a breeze and I can eat whatever I want. If the weight on the scale is up and staying there for a few days, its time to review the diet.

This week I have been able to bump up my weights on most exercises. So I feel as though am making some gains. The new routine from what I have been doing in the past few months is definately making my muscles sore! All goood! I saw a quote recently that said "Pain is temporary, not trying is forever". That puts it all in perspective, don't you think?

Anyhoooo.....I have written enough here today and will post more detail on the exercises later, as well as some other exciting things that are happening.

[BrandyTKO]

O.k. I have to test this forum thread, it disappeared into cyberspace for a few days. Thanks BS.com admin and mods for fixing things up!

[BrandyTKO]

I am a bit of a fanatic when it comes to fitness. Where this was in my younger days I don't know. However, since I started to loose weight 2 years ago the bug got into my blood. Like anyone who hasn't done much exercise in the past I had to struggle with it for awhile. Now I do things to the extreme sometimes.

In March of this year (2010) I was in my kickboxing class and felt a terrible snap in my hamstring. I couldn't believe that I could possibly have just injured myself so I continued through the class in pain. Yes, denial at its finest. 10 days later I finally went to the doctor as it wasn't getting any better. Turns our I had a 2nd grad tear in my hamstring. Should have quit training the moment it snapped, should have iced it, should have seen the doctor sooner. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. This slowed me down alot, had to quit kickboxing and do only upper body workouts.

I did physio for awhile (does this work for anyone?) quit that after 6 expensive weeks and started training slowly on my own. It works. The injury got stronger in about 3 weeks. The downside still...4 months later this injury still can be painful. When you do weight training, whether its your chest day, back day, shoulders day, whatever, you use your legs to brace quite a bit, most of the time you aren't even aware of it. I don't need to mention what happens when you do legs day. Mine are like jello afterwards, but I still really have to be in tune to what is going on with that ham injury and be careful not to overload the weight and re-injure it. Even still, this past week the old "war wound" has been acting up. I'm icing it, stretching both before and after working out, but the pain is still there especially when I sit or lay down. So it keeps me moving, a good thing I suppose.

Listen to your body, if you feel tightness anywhere, do alot of stretching before and after you work it. I really believe in stretching, alot of people leave it out of their routine, but I think that it has helped heal the injury faster as well as prevent it from being injured again. If you injure and decide to go back to training. Start slowly, light loads on the injury. I'm no expert on this, but my belief is that you can't lay around and do nothing and hope the injury will just be better one day. Be active, but BEEEE CAREFUL!

[nic902]

Congrats on deciding to compete!! I'll be doing my third show in October...its an amazing and addicitve experience

I'm excited to follow your journey...Good luck and have FUN!!!

[BrandyTKO]

Thanks so much! When did you first start to compete?

[BrandyTKO]

UUUUGGGHHH! Legs day. I was tired today, but I got thru it. I did an easy 5 min warm up, a bit of stretching and then hit the weights. Despite being tired, I felt pretty strong, except that my hamstring has been sore all week and I was favouring it a bit.

-Squats on Smith Machine 3 sets of 80 lb x 12
(4 weeks ago I was doing these with 50 lbs)

-Seated Leg Press 3 sets of 230 lbs, 1 set of 240 lb all 12 reps each.
(4 weeks ago I was doing 180 on these. Managed to up the weight and still not too painful on the hamstring, but this one is a quad dominant exercise).

- Stiff Leg Dead Lift 3 sets of 60 lbs x 12 reps
(4 weeks ago started at 50 lbs so up a bit here too, was nasty on that ham injury though)

- Lying Leg Curl 3 sets of 50 lb x 12 x 9 x 8
(after the deadlifts my hams were aching, and the weak one just couldn't do more, RRR!)

- Leg Extension 3 sets of 70 lb x 12, 1 set of 85 lb x 10
(I think I can move up to 85 lb on this on next time)

- Standing Heal Raise 150 lb x 20 x 15 x 12 x 10 reps these are super-setted with seated calf raises (below)

- Seated Calf Raises 100 lb x 17 x 15 x 12 x 10
(the first set was supposed to be 20 reps not 17, but my calf and foot went into a cramp, this is all getting easier though. Probably won't move up on this next time, but maybe in a couple more weeks).

Didn't do cardio today, probably should have, but I was really bagged today. Bad Saturday night....lets just say those who hoot with the owls at night can't soar with the eagles in the morning. Will have to make some major adjustments to the hooting, gotta work on that. Meantime, this owl is going for a nap.

Seacrest out.

[nic902]

I competed in my first show last October and I just competed my second about a month ago!!!


I love that....

lets just say those who hoot with the owls at night can't soar with the eagles in the morning.

[BrandyTKO]

So did you stay at comp weight the whole time or go back up in between? How much do you go up between comps? My PT doesn't want me to loose any weight and would like me to gain about 5 lbs, thankfully, which isn't alot. But I know when it comes down to the last few weeks I'll be needing to drop a fair bit. Not sure what by BF is just now. Going to have that assessed in the next week or so. Sends waves of fear thru me just thinking about it. I really still want to be lean.

[nic902]

Nope, its pretty much impossible to be comp lean year round....as nice as that would be After my first show I let my diet get out of hand and gained more than I would have liked (13lbs)!! Since I plan on competing in October, my trainer wants me to keep it to 5-7lbs this time. The mental battle of being superlean then losing that look is definitely a struggle for me...the hardest part for sure.

[dvsness]

Congrats on deciding to compete Brandy. Welcome to Crazy World! Have you decided what organization you'll compete in? And are you doing BB, Fitness, Figure, Bikini?

Nic, I can't fathom stayin 5-7 lbs over comp weight. I think I lose that much in water alone drying out! Remember, you can't improve and add muscle without adding some weight. Being that lean year round is not healthy for females.

[BrandyTKO]

O.K. I tried to multi-quote here, not sure how to do that. I'll figure it out eventually.

nic902 - Yes, I completely agree, you work hard all year to be lean and then you can't maintain it, it sucks. Would just like to stay uber lean all the time.

dvsness - I am going to be competing in the FAME show. I am aiming for Figure, but my PT says we will see what I look like closer to the date, maybe do BB instead or as well. He says that by the last few weeks before the comp I'll "hate everyone", LOL! I guess that's a warning, but somewhat expected. Hopefully I can maintain some composure and not wing out on everyone around me.

[BrandyTKO]

Chest Day:

Legs day, thankfully, does not include any abs/core work. Legs day is hard enough and totally gases me out. Hopefully this will become somewhat easier, but not so easy that I'm not getting results. ANYWAY....on to today's chest workout.

10 min warm up on stationary bike (I use the bike as it seems easier on my ham than anything else). Did you know that the elliptical and the stairmaster tighten up your hamstring muscles (shorten them) and you have to really make sure you stretch them alot afterwards? My PT told me that, I won't take credit for his words of wisdom.

- Flat (incline) Chest Press - 30 lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 12 reps, 4th set of 8 reps.
(The weight on this is up from 25 lb dumbbells last week WOO HOO!)

- Incline Chest Press - Hammer-strength Machine - 60 lb x 12, 60 x 8, 60 x 8, 50 x 12
(I tried. Was doing 50 lbs for 3 sets of 12 last week and added 10 more on the 4th set, had to drop it down to 50 today on the last set. RRRR....I'll get this!)

-Decline Crunch - 3 sets of 25 - and not all the way up, only until body is parallel to floor OUCH! O.k. this one was killing my back the last couple of times AND I had to take small pauses around the 15th rep. Today is the 3rd week of this exercise and it is finally getting easier. I made it to 25 the first set, not easy, but do-able, same with second set, 3rd set struggled and had to pause at 19. Not so much back pain in this, only at the end of the 3rd set really. YAY, Progress! I HATE this one, so get it over with early.

- Frank Press - 15 lb x 3 sets of 12 (up from 10 lbs last week).
My PT calls it the Frank Press cuz he doesn't know what it is called, LOL, but the guy he saw doing it is named Frank. Too Funny. In this exercise you stand holding a DB straight arm down in front of your leg (right arm, right leg) palm facing centre body, then raise the arm across your body keeping it straight, this is to attack the pecs. If you put your free hand on your pec, you can feel 'em working and if you are hitting them right.

- Touch Toes with Dumbell - 15 lb x 3 sets of 25
This exercise you lay on your back with db rested in hands, palms up, raise upper body and legs and the same time (basically weighted V-ups). Getting easier, first time I did this my ribs felt bruised for a couple of days, but good pain.

- Chest Fly Machine - 60 lb x 3 sets of 12
This one hasn't improved much except my weak left shoulder (rotater cuff issue, I think) is not so painful when I do it, getting stronger and the last set was easier this week.

Finished off with 20 min HIIT on stationery bike 1 min moderate 1 min hard. Stretch and I'm outta here.

Tomorrow morning I get body composition analysis. Oh this oughta be fun, I get to find out I'm fatter than I think. I am NOT looking forward to this. Oh, and my weight is still up from the weekend's misbehavior, so the timing is perfect! Grrrrrr!

Th-th-th-that's all folks!

Train hard, have fun!

[ms_proteinshake]

I did Fame in March in BC here! Came 4th!

Your off season plan looks good! I wouldn't try dropping weight till the new year. You'll want to focus on getting muscle now.

Are you doing Figure?? If so, you'll really need to focus on gaining muscle right now versus leaning out.

[nic902]

Congrats on deciding to compete Brandy. Welcome to Crazy World! Have you decided what organization you'll compete in? And are you doing BB, Fitness, Figure, Bikini?

Nic, I can't fathom stayin 5-7 lbs over comp weight. I think I lose that much in water alone drying out! Remember, you can't improve and add muscle without adding some weight. Being that lean year round is not healthy for females.

Oh, yeah I know....but since the next show isnt too far away, I dont have much time to make serious gains, I'll be saving that for over the winter

I was down to 108 @ show time and I'm trying to maintain @ 115...but I have been snacking a bit much

[nic902]

Your off season plan looks good! I wouldn't try dropping weight till the new year. You'll want to focus on getting muscle now.

Are you doing Figure?? If so, you'll really need to focus on gaining muscle right now versus leaning out.

I agree w/ ms_proteinshake....I think gaining muscle should be your main focus right now, you've got a few good months to make some nice gains!!!

[BrandyTKO]

I did Fame in March in BC here! Came 4th!

Your off season plan looks good! I wouldn't try dropping weight till the new year. You'll want to focus on getting muscle now.

Are you doing Figure?? If so, you'll really need to focus on gaining muscle right now versus leaning out.

Do you live in BC or did you travel here for the show. A lady in my gym who also does comps (she's done 3 or 4 I think) says FAME is a good one to start with. Sort of made me give a sigh of relief. Yes, I am aiming for Figure; but my enter Muscle (bodybuilding) if I get to that level by comp time, or do both. I am happy to report my muscle mass has gone up. More on that in my post below.

[BrandyTKO]

O.k this will be a bit of a long post as it was my body composition analysis day as well as details on Shoulders/Triceps day.

If you have ever had your body fat measured, it can be a completely confusing and frustrating process. There are sooo many ways to measure it and each one gives a different result. The most accurate measure, I am told, being the water immersion test. However, most of us don't have access to this device let alone the desire to fork over the cash for the test, rather expensive I gather. We have a Tannis scale in my gym which I don't really trust, I refer to it as the "Lying Machine". There are so many variables that affect this device such as whether you have had coffee to drink, not enough water, ******t room temperature, all sorts of silly things that effect this machine's measuring results. Even my gym admits it is a few pounds higher that most people's weight scales at home, so ultimately I come out of there depressed and beating myself up for not getting the results I thought I'd be at and not trying harder. I have managed to suck this attitude up and blame the Lying Machine a bit, even though it isn't more than 3 lbs out. Reality BITES!

I asked my doctor one time which instrument of measurement he felt was more accurate. After we got past the discussion that I wasn't aiming for a low bodyfat percentage because of an eating disorder and I told him what I was up too.....he said that you just have to pick one means of measuring and stick with it. Probably the best advice I have heard on this. There are several different caliper methods which all gives varied results (I have tried them all, one had me at 15% another at 28% on the same day).

So back to the Lying Machine, which is likely the form of measure I will be going with from now on. Last time I had this test done was January 30/09. So here is the comparison:

Jan 30/09 July 15/09

Weight 138 lbs 135 lbs
Lean Mass 100 lbs 107 lbs
Fat Mass 38 lbs 28 lbs
Body Fat 27% 20%

I can live with that, would like the BF% to be lower, who wouldn't, but everything is going in the right direction. I was really surprised that my lean mass had gone up 7 lbs. A difference of only 3 lbs in total body weight, yet 10 lbs loss in body fat. ALL GOOOD!!!

On to Shoulders/Triceps Day:

As an aside I have to say that some of the machines I work with in my gym are in an area with a huge domed glass roof and next to a swimming pool. Makes for a very warm, humid environment and one can easily get a good sweat going. I like the sweat, makes me feel like I am accomplishing something, and so "manly" ha, ha.

- Military Press on Smith Machine 3 sets of 12 x 20 lbs (up from 10 lbs last week)

- DB Shrug - 3 sets of 25 lb x 12 - not sure I really want to build huge traps, is this a good thing for women? I have tight neck muscles as it is, this isn't helping, but I do them.

- Tricep Dips (1 set to be done to failure) 1 set of 35.

- Lateral Raise (dumbbells) 10 lb x 12; 10 x 12; 10 x 12; 10 x 10 and for left weaker shoulder only 10 x 8

- Front raise (dumbbells) 10 x 12 (1/2 way up); 10 x 12 (all way up); 10 x 12 (1/2 way); 10 x 12 (1/2 way, left arm only). With the left shoulder if I go from bottom position all the way to the top with arm raised above my head I get pain and a clicking in my left shoulder on the way down. You have to keep your arm straight (no bent elbows) in this and my elbow wants to bend on the left or it clicks. My PT has suggested that I only take this exercise to half way up (shoulder height) for this reason. I keep trying to do the all the way up one, but it isn't really happening yet. I suppose I should go see a doctor as to what's up, but it seems pretty minor so ...nah.

- Lateral Raise (lying face down on bench) - 4 sets of 8 lb x 12.

- Close Grip DB Press - 3 sets of 12 lb x 12. Not sure if I am supposed to use one DB or two on this (I can't remember much about this one) I use 2 and it works. In the BB.com exercise demo they use a barbell which is good because you have to keep your hands close together and elbows close to body, works the triceps.

- Oblique Crunch with Leg Raise - 3 sets of 15 each side. Nice and painful! Lay on meaty part of your hip/butt and raise straight legs at same time as upper body. On already sore abs today I was really feeling this one.

- One Arm Pushdown with rope/cable - 3 sets of 20 lb x 12

Today I hurt and that was before the workout. Did a 10 min pre and post-workout spin on the stationery bike at a steady pace. Tonight I am going to kickboxing class so that will be enough cardio for today.

Nuff said.

[ms_proteinshake]

Do you live in BC or did you travel here for the show. A lady in my gym who also does comps (she's done 3 or 4 I think) says FAME is a good one to start with. Sort of made me give a sigh of relief. Yes, I am aiming for Figure; but my enter Muscle (bodybuilding) if I get to that level by comp time, or do both. I am happy to report my muscle mass has gone up. More on that in my post below.

I live in Vancouver. Yes, Fame is awesome---lots of fun. I also did WBFF. I'm not interested in going into Figure though---I do Fitness Model instead. I'd have a hard time putting on the mass for Figure.

You could always do Kelowna next spring for Figure if you want to go the provincials route.

[ms_proteinshake]

ps. I've never tested my bodyfat cause of the reasons above. Not even for contest prep. Just do measurements---most accurate. And you can tell when your getting leaner---you start seeing more cuts/definition. Don't stress over a bf% number. It doesn't really matter anyway---its how you look in person.

[nic902]

As long as you SEE and FEEL the progress you are making then I wouldnt even worry about the bf% scale...they are way off. I have one and it would drive me crazy cause the numbers would vary so dramatically from one day to the next. Use measurements and pictures to gauge how things are working for you, not that silly 'lying machine'

[BrandyTKO]

Yes, it is interesting, I have had a few other people comment on the results from the "Lying Machine" including one member here who said it gives completely different readings for men and women. She accidentally put in that she was male and it gave her a BF reading of 5% and when she put in that she was female it gave her a BF of 20%. So how can you really trust what that is saying. Anyway, it is what they have at my gym and my PT will likely be wanting to measure me on that from time to time. The nice part is that if it one day reads I am at 10% then it probably means I am lower than that. It just bothers me that there are so few accurate ways to measure this. However, at the same time, I am with you all on this, it is more a matter of measurements (in girth) and in general overall appearance that count in the end.

[BrandyTKO]

O.K., final (4th) day of fitness routine and then I will be a little more short winded in my loggings of this nature, unless something really spectacular happens like I squat 400 lbs or do 100 unassisted pull-ups (my nemesis - I really have some inane desire to master this one and pump out dozens of them, so far 6 unassisted, RRRRR!).

Back and Biceps Day:

I did the core exercises first to get them done.

- Reverse Crunch - 3 sets x 20 reps (boring)

- Captain's Chair Leg Raises (bent knee) - 3 sets x 15 reps (also boring)

- Back Extension - 3 sets x 20 reps (this one hurts my back, and not in a good way, I don't think I should be doing this, but I'll give it a couple more weeks and then will likely be switching up the routine and hopefully eliminating it. I used to do these holding a 25 lb plate, but since the ham tear it has been weaker, back and ham tissues are somewhat related or connected I am told)

- Assisted Chin-up (medium grip) - 60 lb x 20; 60 x 5. - I started at 70 lb on this a few weeks ago (the higher the weight the less work you have to do) I really want to own this one. Had to do a brief 10 sec. pause at 15 rep and then finish, then I did another 5 reps (all I could muster) just for good measure. I am only supposed to do 1 set of 20. One of these days......!

- Dead Lift (bent knees) - 3 sets of 60lb x 12 (started at 50 lb 3 weeks ago and bumped it up to 60 lb last week, progress!)

- Bent Over Row (barbell) - 3 sets of 50 lb x 12 (started at 20 lb 3 weeks ago and bumped it up to 50 the following week, I think that I was still at tail end of flu when I started and quite weak, hence the large jump in this).

- Hammer Strength Machine - 3 sets of 70 lb x 12 (I don't like this one very much, but I feel it is getting easier, last set was hard and I barely got the last few reps out, but maybe in a couple of weeks I can up the weight)

I think I have to switch biceps work to the beginning of my routines next time. By the time I get to these I have pretty much burnt them out.

- Seated DB Curls - 15 lb x 12, 15 lb x 6, 10 lb x 6, 10 lb x 12, and 10 lb x 8 (for weaker left side only)

- E-Z Bar Curl on Preacher Bench - 10 lb x 12, 10 lb x 10, 10 lb x 9 (my notes in my binder on this exercise say "last set NASTY!") - I always feel like such a dweeb taking off someone's 25 lb plates and adding my two 5 lb plates and then grunting and straining away on it. Don't look at me, MYOB!

Friday (today) will be legs day then tomorrow off, Sunday going for a very strenous hike up the side of a steep mountain called the "Grouse Grind". That will be enough of a workout and I don't think I can manage legs day and the "Grind" back to back. It will be my first time this season out on the "Grind". My friend and I usually go once a week. Killer cardio and legs workout, but such a feeling of accomplishment when you have finished it. Oh and a nice view too at the top of the mountain, 3000 ft up.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

[BrandyTKO]

And....we're back to legs day. Nothing spectacular to report except that I did incline leg press at 270 lbs. That's 3 - 45 lb plates on each side of the machine. I that too much? I don't know, it didn't seem too difficult at the time. Of course my quads are telling me about it today.

Had a few odd things happen yesterday and if anyone has some feedback on this I'd appreciate it. I had a couple of waves of nausea in the gym yesterday. Went home and was supposed to go out in the evening. About 20 minutes after arriving at my destination I felt awful, nauseous, achy all over, headache, tired and loss of appetite. I came home and went straight to bed. Please tell me this is a flu bug and not overtraining. I still feel lousy today and had a piece of watermelon as it is the only thing I think I can swallow. The thought of protein of some sort makes me feel sick. I am going to have to get some protein in there somewhere as I don't want the muscle I am trying to build to waste away. Anyway today was a planned rest day and that is exactly what I will be doing.

[nic902]

Its good that you are taking a rest day...either way if its a flu bug or overtraining, you have to listen to your body. Make sure you get plenty of fluids to stay hydrated and if you cant eat anything, make sure you at least have some shakes to keep something in your body. Rest up...hopefully you'll be good as new in the morning

[BrandyTKO]

Well, THAT was weird! The sickness only lasted a day. I slept most of the day and drank a couple of protein shakes to keep up the protein intake and then mostly water the rest of the day. Started to get hungry by dinner though and felt 100% better the next morning. I talked to a few other people in our circle here and a couple of them have had the same thing recently. Fortunately it last only 24 hours or so. I did drop 1.5 lbs though, but who knows that could just be water. I try not to freak out about 1 or 2 lb weight fluctuations.

Chest day:

Same as above, but I was feeling a little weaker today, probably post "flu???" thing.

-Flat DB Chest Press - 4 sets of 30 lb x 12 - the last two sets were hard
- "Frank" DB Press - 4 sets of 15 lb x 12 (may up the weight on this next time)
- Decline Crunch - 3 sets of 25 (these aren't getting much easier, dag nam it!)
-Incline Chest Press on Hammerstrength - 4 sets 60 x 12, 60 x 6, 50 x 6, 50 x 12 (I think I lose form on this with 60 lb had to drop down to 50)
- Weighted V-Ups - 3 sets of 25
- Chest Fly on Machine - 4 sets (weight up 5 lbs) 65 x 12, 65 x 12, 65 x 8, 65 x 7

20 min HIIT post workout, stretch and we're DONE, give me five!


-

[BrandyTKO]

Its good that you are taking a rest day...either way if its a flu bug or overtraining, you have to listen to your body. Make sure you get plenty of fluids to stay hydrated and if you cant eat anything, make sure you at least have some shakes to keep something in your body. Rest up...hopefully you'll be good as new in the morning

Thanks, your comment confirmed my thoughts that I really had to take in some protein, which I did. I might have over trained last week a bit, it might have been a part of it, or it might have just been a bug or both. Who knows. Anyway its over and I'm back at 'er. Had to miss out on doing my hike on Sunday, was still a little woozy, so I missed a good cardio session, but I'll make up for it.

[nic902]

YAY! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better....I wouldnt worry about missing the cardio, I'm sure things are still moving right along

*HIGH 5*

[BrandyTKO]

YAY! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better....I wouldnt worry about missing the cardio, I'm sure things are still moving right along

*HIGH 5*

We always beat our selves up, don't we, for missing a little cardio session or an entire workout, but in the space of a year or even a few months that one missed session isn't really going to amount to much of a difference. As long as we don't make one or two missed workouts into several weeks of missed workouts, we will keep progressing. Just got to get back in there and do your thang, be consistent and persistent!

Thanks for the high 5!

[BrandyTKO]

Shoulders / Tri's day

- Military Press on Smith 15 lb x 12 for 3 sets, 15 x 10 for 4th

- Lateral Raise with DB 10 lb x 12, 10 x 12, 10 x 10, and 10 x 8 for left only

- Front Raise with DB 10 x 12 for 4 sets (last set HARD), 10 x 8 for left only

- Bent over Row laying on bench 7.5 lb x 12 for 3 sets (couldn't find 8 lb DB's, DRAT!)

- DB Shrug - 3 sets of 25 lb x 12

- Close Grip DB Press - 4 sets of 12.5 lb x 12 (no 12 lb weight around either, still no problem with this one, where do the weights disappear to, people????)

- Tricep Dips (to maximum) 35 (want to get this up to 40)

- 1 arm pushdown on cable - 20 lb x 10 for 3 sets, 20 lb x 7 (have been doing 12 reps before and see in my notes I was supposed to be doing 10, oh well I'll either up the weight next time and do 10 again or keep it the same and try to do 12, either way I think I got a break on this one today)

- Oblique crunch with leg raise - 3 sets of 15 (each side, dang that hurts!!)

Still the clicking and pain in the left shoulder....hmmmm. Guess I'll pile up a bunch of silly ailments and add this one to the stack when I see the doctor next time.

Tonight (Wednesday) supposedly kickboxing. I'm kinda losing interest in this. Might just have a rest day with some other cardio activity. Tomorrow Grouse Grind hike at 7:00 a.m. and then if I am not completely spent I'll hit the gym afterwards, oh, better take a snack so I have some energy for that. At least I won't have to do any cardio afterwards.

Protein shake after cardio and before weights do you think or take along a carb + protein snack like I would normally do pre-workout and then my usual protein shake afterwards? Maybe both. Will probably need some potassium and electrolytes after the hike. Banana and gatorade would be best option.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Brandy

[push_it]

Do you do cardio before you lift weights? (looking at protein shake question)