My "I wish I knew sooner how magical lifting was" journal

[fitmomoftwo77]

Hi everyone,

I currently have a cold and I haven't worked out in 3 days. Feels like 3 years! In all this free time, I've been exploring more of this site, and I think keeping a journal on here is a fun idea! I assume I can write about whatever, right? Let me know if I get out of line : )

So I'll start with a look back at my journey thus far...

I'm 37 years old, mom of two (10 and 4, both girls). I work full time, plus a one hour each way commute. I'm married to a wonderful man, but unfortunately his work keeps him away from home during most of our waking hours, so much of the home life child-rearing stuff falls on me. All this to say, I STILL make working out a priority in my life. It hasn't always been this way though. Do I feel "mommy guilt" from time to time? Yes, but at the end of the day, I'd rather set an example of health and fitness for my daughters that being overweight and complacent. And my kids LOVE the playrooms at the gym : )

Initially, I started out around 185 pounds 2 years after my youngest daughter was born (I was 210 before the delivery). I started out running. I always loathed running. I mean, I would see people out running and say "ugh, how do people do that?" But I wanted an efficient way to burn calories, being a busy mom of two. So I hit the pavement and increased my milage over time. Signed up for a couple races. Never anything more than 10K. I lost about 20 pounds running over the course of about a year. I didn't really change too much with my diet during this time, but I've always eaten pretty well. After the first 20 pounds came off, I started getting into HIIT. I SUCKED at it at first. I followed this girl named Melissa Bender pretty religiously for a good 9 months. She does a lot of 15 minute workouts that are 50 sec work, 10 sec rest. Some dumbbell work too. In the beginning, I couldn't even do the jump back part of a burpee, never mind the push up! But, I stuck with her and busted my ass 5-6 days per week for 15-30 minutes at a time, usually coupled with some running.

HIIT is what REALLY changed my body. I felt so amazing being stronger and improving my performance with melissa bender's workouts. I got to the point where I was able to keep up with her for most exercises. It was then I felt like I wanted to go to the next level so since Bender had given me a little introduction to weights with dumbbells, I wanted to get into the weight room.

I joined a gym and the first time I stepped into the weight room, my intention was to do some squats! Didn't know what a squat rack was. Didn't know what a Smith Machine was. I went right for the fixed bars, saw the EZ bars and got very confused and briskly walked out of the weight room and over to the treadmills : ) I texted my dad, who has been lifting for about 25 years, and said "what are those ziggy zaggy bars for?!" When he told me they are for arm work, I took a deep breath, went back in to the weight room and grabbed a straight bar. I did some squats : )

I asked my uncle, who is a trainer, what program he would recommend. He said he has heard good things about "The New Rules of Lifting for Women", so I immediately downloaded a copy to my kindle app. I read it cover to cover before getting started. I immediately fell in love. Yes, it was scary as hell going into that weight room day after day with mostly bros, but I just ignored everyone else and focused on my form. I had the trainers show me how to do things or check my form when I wasn't sure and I just kept plugging away. Yeah, when I first started in the squat rack I totally squatted backwards. For weeks : ) But I kept at it. I did the program in about 5 months and now I'm onto the New Rules of Lifting Supercharged. I'm about a month and a half in, and I'm loving it!!

I guess that's enough for a first entry : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

Today was my first day back at the gym since Sunday. So 4 days off due to a cold. I did my usual Thursday night bootcamp class and it felt good! I'm looking forward to getting back in the weight room tomorrow night after work. I'm about a week into Basic Training IV from The New Rules of Lifting Supercharged. Here's what I have set up:

Back Squat - 4 x 10 - I'll go for 145# tomorrow
Standing Semi-Squat Cable Row - 4x10 - 70# each side
Split Squat RFE - 4 x 10 - 25# plates in each hand
Single arm Cable Chest Press - 4 x 10 - go for 60# each side, but my left side gives out so I may have to do 55
RDL with Row 2 x 10 - 105#
Side Plank with top leg lifted - 40to60 seconds each side x 2

My "Metabolic" Section is 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for two sets, counting reps and trying to improve set to set, workout to workout. I do:
Jump Squats
Tall Kneeling Cable Row (50#one side each set)
Jumping Jacks
Jacknife Push ups

So that's the plan for tomorrow. My theory being if I put it down here, I gotta get it done, right? That's all for now : )

[serinebean]

I am in! I am a new mom of a 7 month old, and am going to learn how you balance things.

Haha! Yeah, now that you have it planned out for all to see, it will be done

[fitmomoftwo77]

Well, my intended workout from above didn't really go as planned tonight. I thought I'd be able to progress with my weights, but since I hadn't lifted in 5 days. But, I was stagnant from my previous workout for most exercises. Oh well, I got in there and did the damn thang, despite not being able to get to the gym until 9pm due to my husband's late arrival home from work. Boo! Yeah, I yawned a lot, but it's the only "bar" I'm closing down these days!

So here's what I had planned, and next to it I'll write what actually went down

Back Squat - 4 x 10 - I'll go for 145# tomorrow - nope! My warm ups felt heavy, so I stayed at 135# - I got 10 reps in for 3 sets, but bailed after 8 on the last set because I felt like I was losing form

Standing Semi-Squat Cable Row - 4x10 - 70# each side - I did my first two sets of 10 at 65# each side! then moved to 70# for the last 2 sets of 10 and got 'em all in, so yay! Does anyone else use frowny faces and smiley faces on their workout logs?

Split Squat RFE - 4 x 10 - 25# plates in each hand - done. I really should've gone to 30# db's but the plates are so much better on my grip strength. Or lack thereof....

Single arm Cable Chest Press - 4 x 10 - go for 60# each side, but my left side gives out so I may have to do 55 - hahaha, yeah, that was quite the dream. I did 50# each side 4x10

RDL with Row 2 x 10 - 105# - ended up doing 95# 2 x 10

Side Plank with top leg lifted - 40to60 seconds each side x 2 - 40 sec each side x 2

My "Metabolic" Section is 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for two sets, counting reps and trying to improve set to set, workout to workout. I do:
Jump Squats - 15, 15
Tall Kneeling Cable Row (50#one side each set) - did 45#, ended up 10 reps for each set
Jumping Jacks - 24, 27
Jacknife Push ups - 6.5, 6 - of all the different exercises I do, I am super self conscious on this one. I feel like I look like a goon who doesn't know how to do a damn push up! Don't know that I will use these in my routine again.

So that's how today went. Normally I don't lift on consecutive days, but I may lift again tomorrow depending on how my body is feeling. If not a lift day, then I will be doing intervals on the treadmill - 8 mm x 1 min, 9 mm x 2 mins for 30 mins.

I see some people log their nutrition here too, so I guess I'll do that. Over the past 3 mos I've been doing a bulk of sorts. It's started out as "went a little over board with the eating on vacation and am having trouble reining it in, so let's try this bulking thing everyone is talking about". For me, I was visually pretty lean at 145# and 5'7" and since I'm fairly new to lifting (started NROLFW at the end of February), I thought why not see how much muscle I can put on before I dial it back in. So for the past 3 mos I've been staying in the 2500-3000 kcal range. Prior to that I was in the 2000-2300 range. I know a lot of people around here are very meticulous about the calories, and the fact that I speak in ranges probably makes you cringe, but it's what works for me. I don't have an aspiration to compete in bikini comps or anything like that, so I shoot for 147 of protein and fat and carbs fall in line. I DONT eat crap all day long. I'd say I'm 80% whole foods and 20% "crap" - generally this comes in the form of a yummy ice cream treat at the end of the night . And my body seems to be responding nicely to this for now. I've put on about 5 pounds in 3 months while lifting regularly 3-4 days per week. I do HIIT usually one day, sometimes it's a run day, a boot camp class one day, and yoga one day. So I put in work . Running and yoga are my rest days, usually with one nothing rest day (I'll forgo the running/HIIT day if I get 4 lifts in). I'm definitely a bit softer looking than I was in the summer, but my arms, shoulders and back still have nice definition. So I think I'm gaining some muscle with all of this! My abs are definitely not nearly as visible as they were, but I'm fine with that because they'll still be under there when I unwrap this So I plan to keep this "incidental bulk" up until around 155# or the end of December, whichever comes first. My clothes aren't any tighter yet, so it's good! Definitely a bit of a mind eff, though. Seeing myself losing some definition and eating all this food.....but I keep telling myself that when I hit 38 years old in April, my body is gonna be even better than when I hit 37 . And since I was much fluffier not too long ago, this is nothing

Wow, that got reaaaalllyy long! Anyone still reading?! Anyway, here's what I ate today:

2313 kcals
66 fat
299 carb
151 pro

This is the lowest intake I've had in a couple weeks.

Goodnight!

[fitmomoftwo77]

Went to the gym and killed my lifting routine this morning! I wasn't sure if it was going to be a run day or a lifting day, especially since I just finished lifting at 10pm last night, but I woke up feeling great, so lifting it was! Typing, walking, and pretty much existing is difficult right now, but in the best way : )

Here's what went down. This is New Rules of Lifting, Supercharged Basic Training IV Workout A:

Sumo Deadlift w/ Bar: 4 x 10 - 155# I felt pretty badass with the 25kg plates. This is a 14# increase from a week ago, so it felt great.

Dumbell Bench Press; Flat: I did two 30# dumbbells, intent was 4x10, but I got 10, 10, 9, and 11. Sad face by the 9. It is progress though because last time I did 10, 10, 9.5 and 8. I asked a guy for a spot on the last set because I didn't trust myself not to drop a weight on my face. Luckily I didn't. I did 11 the last set because about halfway through the guy told me I was dropping too low at the bottom, so I was trying to correct that. Now I know for next time, but the range of motion feels really short. Not sure if he's knowledgeable enough. Perhaps I'll get a second opinion on my form next time.

Single Leg RDL: holding one 30# DB on same side as lifting leg: 4x10 each side; made a note to increase to 35# next session

Triangle Handle Standing Lat PullDown: 4 x 10; 75#

Oblique Mountain Climbers - 30 reps x 2 sets

Push Up and 1 Arm Row: used 2-20# DBs, holding them the whole time - big time core challenge since they are round ended DBs - I got 2 sets of 12 in; again, an improvement from previous week when I got 12 an 8, so happy face near that one : )

My Metabolic work, again 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for max reps x 2 sets went like this:

Glute Bridge: 13, 14

One Leg Lifted Push Up: 9, 9.5

High Knees: 32, 33

Dumbell 3 point Row: 35# DB - 10, 10

Alright, I'm gonna try to shower now, but I'm seriously like Jello-body right now! Tomorrow is a charity bike ride I'm doing with my 10 year old, so we will be doing the 5 mile course. I never ride my bike, so this should be interesting. Other than that tomorrow will definitely be an off lifting day. I may do 15 min HIIT in the evening depending on what DOMS has in store for me : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

Today's workout was a 5 mile charity bike ride that I did with my daughter. It was a great day and we were able to surpass our fundraising goal! It wasn't so much a workout for me, but I like to show my girls the importance of fitness and health. So for a 10 year old, the 5 miles was a big deal : )

The ride was sponsored by numerous restaurants in our area, so we were well fed at the finish line! Chicken marsala and steak and even some cheesecake : ) Yum!

I've definitely gone over my usual intake for the day, haven't plugged everything in yet, but today was a big eatin' day : ) I'm definitely not someone who uses a food scale or anything like that for measuring my food. I can see the utility in that method if you are struggling to get your body to do what you want it to, but my body has been responding nicely with using regular old household measuring devices, etc. I also don't want to set that kind of example for my girls with counting every gram that goes into my mouth. Sometimes there can be a fine line between disordered eating and "fitting your macros" and I don't want my girls to have to try to interpret that line themselves when they look at behaviors that I model. They don't pay attention to me plugging my foods into my phone or if I'm measuring a tablespoon of PB. But if i was weighing on a scale, they'd probably take notice. It's all about balance and this works for me. May I actually be eating 150 kcals over what I think I am? Perhaps, but my body is doing what I want it to and my girls aren't learning that gram scales are required for eating healthy. So sometimes the result is the better indicator of right vs wrong than the method.

Hmmm, don't know how I got on that tangent, but I guess that's the beauty of journaling, right?

[fitmomoftwo77]

Hey all! I got in an hour long yoga class tonight while my daughter had swim team practice. It wasn't strenuous yoga, just my once weekly stretching session. For my lifting days, I always start with the same warm up (as written into NROLSC) and always the same stretching post workout (lots of down dog and pigeon). But it's nice to get in a nice long session once a week on a rest day. Tonight told me that my IT bands are pretty tight again, so I need to make a better effort to hit the foam roller a bit more frequently. It hurts so damn bad, but feels so good afterwards : )

I will be lifting in the morning tomorrow - 5 am!! It's awful, but it's the new system I have to follow because my daughter's 5th grade homework is taking soooo long to correct and work with her in the evenings that I could no longer go to the gym after work like I used to. So, despite HATING the morning with a fiery passion, I gotta get training in, so I do what I gotta do! So it is lifting at 5 to get to work by 7:45 ish - i have an hour commute. I guess it's about an hour 20 min if you count how long it takes me to get from my gym to the train on morning training days! Eep! I will say though, it's nice to get it out of the way. I still feel like something is missing at night though : )

So tomorrow with be my squat day with a bunch of cable work, as posted above from Saturday. This will be the first time doing heavy back squats at 5 am, so I'm not feeling too confident about my ability to progress my weight at all. I've really stalled out at 135 over the past few weeks. I think it's a mental hurdle. But a hurdle I'm not sure I can tackle at 5 am and stay safe : ) I'll play it by ear and see how I'm feeling. 4 sets of 10 is a lot of squats, so I have to remind myself that my weight may not progress as much, especially since I haven't hit my full 10 reps for all sets yet.

Hope everyone has a great night!

[fitmomoftwo77]

It was a small victory that I got my tired behind out of bed to get to the gym by 5am this morning, but I did it! Upon arrival I realized that today's planned workout typically takes me an hour and 15 min including warmup and that just wasn't going to work with me getting to the train on time to make it to work. So it gave me extra incentive to hustle and limit my breaks. This lead to a great sweat fest : ) I'm don't typically take long breaks, but I've been known to only get in one set of squats per song with straight rest in between. So I modified today. I hustled through my warm up and cut it down to 7 min from the usual 10 and I combined the squats and the single arm cable chest presses into a superset to save time, because usually I do those individually. I also ended up cutting my RFE lunges down to 3 sets instead of 4, but I increased my weight. All in all it turned into 55 minutes of straight work, almost no rest. Felt great afterward.

Back Squat - 4 x 10 - I stayed at the 135#, but I got in all 10 reps on all 4 sets, so : )
Standing Semi-Squat Cable Row - 4x10 - 70# each side - I'm gonna stay at this weight another session, I kept slightly rotating my torso, so I need to firm up my form before moving on.
Split Squat RFE - 3 x 10 each side - 30# DB in each hand - god I hate holding dumbbells
Single arm Cable Chest Press - 4 x 10 - 55# each side
RDL with Row 2 x 8 - 105#
Side Plank with top leg lifted - 40 seconds each side x 2

My "Metabolic" Section is 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for two sets, counting reps and trying to improve set to set, workout to workout. I do:
Jump Squats - 17, 16
Tall Kneeling Cable Row - 45# each side, 11, 11
Jumping Jacks - 27, 26
Jacknife Push ups - 6, 7 - again, these are just ridiculous

I am gonna be so sore tomorrow. I planning a rest day for tomorrow, but if I feel good tomorrow night and if I have time, I will squeeze in a quick 15 minute HIIT workout.

For my nutrition, some work people put some free pizza in front of me when I was absolutely starving and I ate every delicious bit of it. My coworker said, "ugh, this is going straight to my ass". I said "I hope so" : ) Right now I'm sitting at 2459 kcal 161 pro/280 carb/ 85 fat. I'll probably go home and eat some egg whites with cinnamon and vanilla extract. Delish : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

Dear Diary (hahaha),

I really wasn't feeling a workout today, but I did make myself change into my workout gear and get about 30 mins of HIIT in. I did two Bender Fitness workouts. I had to pause the video shortly after starting because my quads were sooooo tight I had to hit the foam roller for a bit. That definitely helped. But it was nice to do some Bender for a change of pace. She is truly responsible for getting me in shape initially about a year and a half ago. I was doing about 30-45 mins of her workouts 4-5 days a week for about 8 months. I suuuuucckkkeedd at first but I stuck with it and I got better and better over time. Then I started feeling confident enough to get into the weight room, so I really owe this internet stranger a lot : ) Now that I don't do this type of workout all the time, I've definitely slowed down a bit from where I used to be at, but overall I can still keep up.

For my fuel, I'm at 107g fat/137 pro/ 298 carbs and 2497 kcal's. I'll probably still eat something else tonight before I go to bed. I need to get some more protein in.

Tomorrow is my boot camp class at my gym that I do for a change of pace. It's nice to actually interact with some of the people I always see around the weight room, but don't speak to because I am always a "headphones in, world out" kind of person while I'm weight training. I always assumed no one paid attention to me, since I don't really pay attention to anyone else, but a lot of the people in the class have told me that they are impressed when they see me training, which is a great compliment coming from some of those people!

Have a great night!

[fitmomoftwo77]

Catch up time.

Thursday I did my boot camp class and it was a fun circuit they had set up. I like to outperform the dudes, so I was able to do that on most of the exercises : ) Haha.

Yesterday ended up being a "listen to your body and take a rest day" day. I fell asleep on the train on the way home and then when I had to carry my groceries in, you would've thought I was lifting boulders, I was so exhausted. But I hadn't taken a true do nothing at all rest day all week, so it was warranted. I usually count my yoga on Mondays as a rest day too.

So today it was back to lifting. I was feeling good going into it. A bit hungry so I ate some PB on a sandwich thin and that was enough to get me through the workout. Today was my "sumo deadlift day" or Basic Training IV Workout A from NROLSC. All the racks were taken when I got to the gym, so I did my sumo deadlifts in the middle of the workout, which I think hurt my ability to increase my weight from last time. I typically always want to do my deadlifts and squats first, but alas, a busy commercial gym won. Here's what went down:

I superset the following 4 exercises together:

Dumbell Bench Press; Flat: I did two sets of 30# DBs where i got 10, then 8. Then I lowered my weight to 25# where I did my last 2 sets for 10 reps each. Last time I did this workout one of the randoms at the gym spotted me and told me I was going to deep, so I asked one of the trainers today to help me. He set my range of motion was fine, because I'm more flexible so I should be pulling back as far as I can without locking out, but on my push I need to not move the dumbbells together. This is where I realized I needed to decrease weight because I guess I was taking tension off the muscle by bring the DBs close together in the air. So now I pretend there is a bar between them and I don't move them in. That was harder, hence the weight decrease. Form is always first thought!

Single Leg RDL: holding one 35# DB on same side as lifting leg: 4x10 each side; 5# increase from last time

Oblique Mountain Climbers - 30 reps x 2 sets

Push Up and 1 Arm Row: used 2-20# DBs, holding them the whole time - big time core challenge since they are round ended DBs - my first set I got 12, second set I could only push out 10

Superset the next two:

Sumo Deadlift w/ Bar: 4 x 10 - 155#

Triangle Handle Standing Lat PullDown: 4 x 10; 75# - will increase to 80# next time

My Metabolic work, again 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for max reps x 2 sets went like this:

Glute Bridge: 13, 14 (same as last time)

One Leg Lifted Push Up: 9, 10: 0.5 improvement : )

High Knees: 32, 33 (same as last time)

Dumbell 3 point Row: 35# DB - 11, 10 (1 rep improvement)

Tomorrow I will go for a 3 mile run in the morning, I'll see how I'm feeling to decide if it will be sprint intervals or steady state. I *should* do the intervals.

For food, it's only 4pm, so I'm just gettin' started : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

Last night ended up being a late night, so intervals did not happen this am! I did get my butt out of bed and ran a slow 9min per mile 5k though 😳. Awful. But, I guess it's better than nothing, right? I have a family party for the rest of the day, so my food won't be the best. Last night we also went out to eat at a burger restaurant, so I'm definitely going over my macros this weekend. I'm ok with that though because I weighed myself at the gym yesterday for the first time in awhile and I'm only up 4 pounds from when I started this "bulk" in July/august. So I guess that's a good rate of gain. And I've been lifting like a boss the whole time, so some of it is muscle . My glutes are really enjoying the extra cals but of course there is some fat coming with it.

The plan for tomorrow is yoga after work. Then back lifting bright and early Tuesday morning at 5 am 😁. Unfortunately my "longer" workout is once again falling on my early morning workout day, so I'll be super setting like a maniac.

[fitmomoftwo77]

Hi everyone,

I haven't had a chance to actually sit down at my computer to journal. My day to day internet browsing is via iPhone or iPad, but I can't stand journaling on those devices. I can type on my mac so much faster. So, alas, here I am. Today was a complete rest day. On Monday I did my yoga class, but it was a sub and she was pretty awful. She was like an evangelical preacher, but in yogi speak. And there was no flow to the class.

Yesterday was my 5am gym time. Obvs I was super tired, but a strange part of me likes the challenge of getting up and getting it in that early. I only do that one day a week, so it's kind of a novelty. Here's what I did:

Back Squat - 4 x 10 - it was a baaaad squat day. I just couldn't get my head into it. I ended up once again staying at 135#, only getting in 10, 9, 8, 10 reps. My legs are certainly feeling it though!
Standing Semi-Squat Cable Row - 4x10 - 70# each side - I think I really improved on my core stabilization from last time...not as much torso rotation. I think I will plan to stay at 70# at least to start my next time doing with workout.
Split Squat RFE - 4 x 10 each side - 30# DB in each hand - got in my 4 sets vs the 3 I did last time
Single arm Cable Chest Press - 4 x 10 - 60# each side - this is a 5# increase from my previous session of this workout
RDL with Row 2 x 8 - 105# - no progress here
Side Plank with top leg lifted - 50 seconds each side x 2 - 10 second increase from last session

My "Metabolic" Section is 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for two sets, counting reps and trying to improve set to set, workout to workout. I do:
Jump Squats - 17, 18 (1 squat increase)
Tall Kneeling Cable Row - 50# each side, 10, 10 - i got one less rep in on each set, but I increased the weight 5#
Jumping Jacks - 25, 25 (decrease from last time both sets)
Jacknife Push ups - I decided to do just regular push ups because I really feel ridiculous doing the jackknife...so I got 13 and 11 reps in

I got mocked a bit by one of the "bros" at the gym. That hasn't really happened since I first started out in the weight room. I got pushed around a little bit then. But since this morning workout time is fairly new to me, I'm "new" all over again. So I had myself set up at one of the (many) cable stations. I was nearing the end of my workout and I was doing supersets with the squatted rows at the cables with the RFE lunges two stations over just to put my rear foot on the edge of the machine that was 6 inches off the ground. So I saw the aforementioned "bro" walk over to the cables where I had my stuff (water bottle and I actually had a mat there from when I was doing my side planks) looked at it and asked the guy in the squat rack next to the cables if he was using them. Squat guy said no and I said, that's my stuff, I'm using that. He looked over at me (I was still lunging while this was going on) and he smirked at me and just shook his head then looked down at the weight stack and audibly chuckled at himself. I felt very judged and belittled. So I said, "that was rude. Did you need those particular cables?" He was totally surprised that I called him out. He was at one of the 4 other cable stations that were completely open at this point and he then started stumbling over his words and was all "no, i can go here". I said "yes, you sure can". I totally didn't break my lunge set during the whole time : ) But seriously, why do people think that just because you aren't pulling as much weight as they are that your workout doesn't count? Hopefully that dude isn't a Tuesday morning regular.

Tomorrow is boot camp again. I need to hit the foam roller hard before I go because I am so sore from yesterday.

My nutrition has been ridiculous the past couple days. I'm still only up 4 pounds from when I started bulking, but I've really taken the eating to a whole new level. Here's the stats:

Today: 2974 kcal 120 pro/366 carb/132 fat - it's been awhile since i haven't hit my protein goal and i've done it twice so far this week.
Tues:2669 kcal 178 pro/318 carb/95 fat
Monday:2906 kcal 158 pro/356 carb/102 fat
Sunday: 3498 kcal 132 pro/429 carb/142 fat - this was the family party day. I knew this would be ugly, but not this ugly!

I've prepped better for tomorrow, so hopefully i'll get my macros straightened out.

[fitmomoftwo77]

I got a nice lifting session in last night. I didn't perform quite as well as I would've liked, but I got it in. It was NROLSC Basic Training IV Workout A. I only have one more session of workout B left and then I'm onto a new program. I started writing it up last night - it's Hypertrophy next and it's a lot more complicated than the Basic Trainings. But after 6 times at each of these workouts, I'm ready to move on! Here's what I did last night:

Sumo Deadlift w/ Bar: 4 x 10 - 155# On my last 2 sets my grip strength was giving up a bit so I had to pause for a couple seconds and shake it out after 6 reps, then I cranked out the last four. So I got all my reps, but with a break : ) There was also a girl doing endless amounts of rope trip work at the cables next to me starting at me and it was freaking me out. I gotta work on staying in my own head. But she was not subtle.

Dumbell Bench Press; Flat: I did two 30# dumbbells, intent was 4x10, but I got 10, 10, 9, and 10. Sad face by the 9. I felt confident this time to do all my sets without a spotter, so that was good.

Single Leg RDL: holding one 35# DB on same side as lifting leg: 4x10 each side

Triangle Handle Standing Lat PullDown: 4 x 10; 80#

Oblique Mountain Climbers - 30 reps x 2 sets

Push Up and 1 Arm Row: used 2-20# DBs, holding them the whole time - big time core challenge since they are round ended DBs - I got 12 on my first set, but 9.5 on my second.

My Metabolic work, again 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for max reps x 2 sets went like this:

Glute Bridge: 15, 16

One Leg Lifted Push Up: 11, 11

High Knees: 34, 32

Dumbell 3 point Row: 35# DB - 11, 10

My nutrition hasn't really improved much, as I had hoped for. But not too shabby. Yesterday I had 2979 kcals in; 189 pro/ 383 carb/ 89 fat. There may or may not have been some brownie and ice cream action happening : )

I'm working this weekend, so I doubt I will be able to get in a lifting session. The weather is great right now, so I think tomorrow I'll try to go for a run before I go in to work. Today will be a rest day.

[fitmomoftwo77]

I had to switch my days up this week because I worked the weekend, kids activities, etc. So on my usual yoga night, I lifted because I didn't get any workouts in all weekend. Not even a 15 min HIIT. So I did my FINAL Basic Training IV Workout B. I think my time of "Newbie Gains" is over which is why I'm not progressing as quickly with my weights as I used to. I was really sticking with Lou's suggestion of "increase weight every workout", but recently as my weights have gotten heavier, my progression has slowed. I guess that's normal though, right? Otherwise people would out lift the capacity of weights at the gym in a couple years, right? I also wonder if the fact that I'm a bit heavier myself (still steady at 150-151) if that is slowing me down as well. I'm definitely still challenged at these weights, that's for sure!! Anyway, here's the workout:

Back Squat - 4 x 10 - I ended up once again staying at 135#, and I got 10, 10, 10, 9. I am definitely going to failure. And to when I don't feel safe anymore. If my knee starts to turn in, that's my last rep. My legs are certainly feeling it though!
Standing Semi-Squat Cable Row - 4x10 - 70# each side - minimal torso rotation at this point
Split Squat RFE - 4 x 10 each side - 30# DB in each hand - God, I hate these! My last set I actually just did static lunges with the weights in hand because all of my areas of elevation were being used and I was over it!
Single arm Cable Chest Press - 4 x 10 - 60# each side - I was feeling really weak here for some reason, especially on my left. I only got 9 reps out for 2 of the sets on that side. Each rep was a struggle though overall. Not sure why.
RDL with Row 2 x 8 - 105# - no progress here
Side Plank with top leg lifted - I got 40 seconds on each side the first set and 50 seconds the second set. Going into it I was hoping to get to 60 seconds for both sets, but my booty was cramping up after the squats and RDLs so that was my limiting factor.

My "Metabolic" Section is 20 sec work, 10 sec rest for two sets, counting reps and trying to improve set to set, workout to workout. I do:
Jump Squats - 18, 18 (1 squat increase)
Tall Kneeling Cable Row - 50# each side, 10, 10 - same
Jumping Jacks - 27, 28 (2 and 3 rep increase respectively)
Jacknife Push ups - I decided to do just regular push ups because I really feel ridiculous doing the jackknife...so I got 13 and 10 reps in, which is one less push up than last time.

I felt great after the workout. My quads are really feeling it today. Tomorrow will be my first day of a new phase of NROLSC. I'm moving onto Hypertrophy I week 1. This phase is a bit more confusing than previous because the number of reps and sets changes each time you do that workout and it is even set up differently between the A workout and the B workout. But as usual I'm ready to move onto another phase because I'm over this last one. My plans for Hypertrophy I Workout A are:

Side Plank with Bottom Leg Knee Tuck
Plank and Pull Down

4 Sets of 6 Reps of Each:
Barbell Sprinter Step Ups
Dumbbell Flat Bench Press (i'm doing these back to back because this seems like a good hypertrophy exercise)
Romanian Deadlift
Dumbbell 3 Point Row - I liked doing these during my metabolic section of the previous phase, but it was 20 seconds timed for reps. Now I'll be going for weight advances and reps

The wrinkle in this phase is he wants us doing "complexes" - 3 steps. So for workout A I'm going to try Clean, Front Squat, Push Press. I've never done the Clean, so we shall see how it goes. I usually wear gloves while I lift (because I hate calluses), but I feel like I probably should't wear them for that part. He wants us doing 3-4 sets of 8 reps. I imagine I will have no weight on the end of the barbell. Tune in tomorrow and find out if I hurt myself with this : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

Today was my first day of Hypertrophy I Workout A of NROLSC. I think I set up a nice little workout for this portion.

Barbell Sprinter Step Ups: 4 x 6 each leg using 60# barbell
Dumbbell flat bench press: 4 x 6 - 30# - I really wanted to go to 35#, since during my previous plan I was doing 30# x 10 reps, but I thought I would save that for the next time I am at the low rep workout
RDL: 133# x 6 reps for the first set, 153# x 6 reps for the last 3 sets. I was taking the plates all the way to the floor on this, which typically I only go down to mid shin. I'm not really sure which is the correct method, so I need to look into that more tonight.
Dumbell 3 point row: 45# 4 x 6

Side Plank with Bottom Leg Knee Tuck: 30 sec each side x 2 sets
Plank and Pull down using 50# on the cables: 2 sets of 10 reps

As I said last night, I was nervous about the clean, front squat, push press, mostly because of the clean. I started with just the bar and I felt good doing it and it felt light, so I threw a 10# plate on each side. I was able to get my first 8 reps in, but my second set I only got 6. My forearms really suck, and that was limiting me. I ended up backing down to 55# total on my last two sets and got 8 for both. Maybe I'm slow and special, but I was having trouble concentrating on my lifts and keeping count at the same time!

This took me about an hour to complete. I did warm up sets for a lot of the exercises. Tomorrow is boot camp and not sure when I'll get another lift day in. Maybe if my kids get done trick or treating I will get a late night session in Friday. Friday nights are actually my favorite because no one is around! I weighed in at the gym today and it was reading 149# after about 3.5L of water and two meals. So the bulk continues! It really is tough looking so much softer than I'm used to, but I can see the promise of what's going on under there after a nice pump : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

So I have a couple workouts to log I suppose. On Friday I did Hypertrophy I Workout B for the first time. I will be going through each of these 6 times. As I previously stated, this section of NROLSC is different from the previous ones in that the reps and sets changes each time I do the workout, but the exercises themselves remain the same.

So Friday I was to do 3 sets of 12 reps of the 4 main moves:
Forward Lunge with Barbell: 40# fixed BB 3 x12
Dumbbell Standing Shoulder Press: 20# DBs 3x12
Inverted row: I was 6 pegs up from the bottom of the smith machine for the first 2 sets, got all 12 reps, then I moved down to 5 pegs up and got 12, but I had to break after 9, then did the last 3.
For my squat, my intent when I wrote the workout was to do the overhead squat because I've never done those, but I quickly realized I did NOT like the feel of them. Even out of the rack - I tried doing them with the 20# fixed weight BB and I was wrenching my lower back. And because it doesn't feel like a functional move to me, I decided to just go back to regular barbell squats. I mean, when are you going to be in a squat holding something heavy straight up over your head? I know I never do that. So I did 95# x 12 for the first set and then 115# x 12 for the last 2 sets. Anyone else never do overhead squats?

Core:
Cable 1/2 kneeling Static Hold: 35# 2 sets of 30 sec on each side
Swiss Ball Jackknife: 2 x 15

Combination:
Burpee w/ push up
Row, Row
Press
Using 2-15# DBs 3 sets of 8

Even though I modified the squats, I felt good during this workout. Yesterday was a total rest day because I had a ton of family obligations that took up my whole day.

Nutrition:
Thursday: 2670 kcals; 157 pro/ 348 Carbs/ 87 Fat
Friday: 3352 kcal; 134 Pro / 408 Carbs / 155 Fat Wow, bad day : )
Saturday: 2808 kcals; 137 Pro / 414 Carbs / 125 Fat Repeat bad day : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

My workout today was my second go round of Hypertrophy I Workout A. Today was 2 sets of 20 reps of the 4 main moves.

Barbell Sprinter Step Ups: 2 x 20 each leg using 30# barbell for the first set, 40# barbell for the second
Dumbbell flat bench press: 2 x 20 - 20#
RDL: 2 x 20 111# - thanks to KIMM for the insight on RDLs I kept my range to below the knee; I didn't think i was going to be able to pull this weight for 20 reps, but I was proud that I did it!
Dumbell 3 point row: 2 x 20 25#

Side Plank with Bottom Leg Knee Tuck: 40 sec each side x 2 sets
Plank and Pull down using 50# on the cables: 2 sets of 10 reps - I should have increased my weight here, but for some reason I forgot to. Oops.

Combination:
Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
I did 8 reps of 55# for the first 2 sets and then I increased to 60# for the second 2 sets of 8 reps. The clean is what limits my weight, I think because of my stupid forearms. Is this a common issue?

My nutrition is on point so far today. I weighed in at the gym this morning and it said 152#, so I have 3 pounds left of my arbitrary max bulk weight. I'm not outgrowing my clothes yet, so I may reevaluate my max once I hit 155 and assess if I can keep going. My tummy is the worst. It's kind of nice to have some boobs back though : )

Tomorrow I am planning to run a 5K in the morning and then yoga at night. I have a rare weekday off, so I'll take advantage. Have a great rest of your Sunday!

[fitmomoftwo77]

Today was a grrreeeaaatttt day at the gym! I felt like a boss. Low reps agree with me. There are smiley faces all over my paper. Here's what I got in. I'm definitely abandoning all overhead squats.

I was to do 4 sets of 6 reps of the 4 main moves:
Forward Lunge with Barbell: 75#BB 4 x 6 - started out with 95#, but my form was crap, so I deloaded.
Dumbbell Standing Shoulder Press: 25# DBs x 6 for the first two sets and then I moved up to 30#for the last two sets...got all 6 reps in both times : )
Inverted row: I was on the lowest peg of the squat rack for the first two sets of 6, then I dropped it off the pegs onto the spotter things for the last two sets of 6 and got them all
Barbell Squats: 145# x 6 for the first two sets then I slapped some 2.5s on for the last two sets to get to 150# and got 6 for each : ) Squatting my body weight was a goal, but I couldn't mentally get past 135#. So today, I just went right to 145# knowing that I only had to grind out 6 reps. But I did them well, so I went for my body weight : )

Core:
Cable 1/2 kneeling Static Hold: 40# 2 sets of 30 sec on each side (increased 5#)
Swiss Ball Jackknife: 2 x 18 (increased 3 reps per set)

Combination:
Burpee w/ push up
Row, Row
Press
Using 2-15# DBs 4 sets of 8 - this is an additional full set of 8 from last time : ) These were probably the most difficult part of my workout. And they were the last thing I did. The press at the end for the last 3 reps of each set were BRUTAL!!! But I cranked them out. And after I got done with the 3rd set, I wanted to OWN those dumbbells, so I did the fourth set. And I smiled after it was all over. I haven't had a great workout like this in awhile! It was even better because I wasn't pressed for time, but I got it done in about 65 min including warmup.

The next time I do this workout I will have to do 2 sets of 20, so lots of deloading : )

Tomorrow will be a rest day. Depending on how I'm feeling, I may do this HIIT workout http://www.benderfitness.com/2014/10...eight.html?m=1 It's been awhile since I've done a Bender workout and I miss them! Thursday is boot camp class.

I weighed in again today and I was 149.3 at both my dr office (annual physical) and my usual gym scale. So I guess my nutrition hasn't been as off the rails as it has felt? My doctor was funny because she wanted to recheck my weight as she didn't believe I was pushing 150. She said she would've thought I was 20 lbs lighter looking at me in my clothes. I wouldn't go that far, but it was entertaining : )

[fitmomoftwo77]

I ended up keeping Wed as a full rest day. No HIIT. Yesterdays boot camp class was intense and very squat heavy. So I'm really happy that my squat day didn't fall on today! I had a decent workout. Todays prescribed Hypertrophy I Workout A was 3 sets of 12 reps for the 4 main lifts.

Barbell Sprinter Step Ups: 3 x 12 each leg using 50# barbell for all sets. One of the few things I hate about my gym is it's lack of boxes for step ups. As in, they don't put any boxes in the main area. They have them upstairs, but they are locked up except for use during classes (like my bootcamp). And I really don't like doing barbell step ups on the benches because they are too cushy so my ankles wobble too much. They have some of those "stepper" set ups, but even most of those have disappeared. I was only able to locate 4 of the stacks, and that just wasn't high enough. I really need 4 on each side at least. So I ended up doing one set with the little stacked stepper and then the last two sets I did at the spotter part of the bench press area. Sorry for the rant - just annoying.

Dumbbell flat bench press: 3 x 12 - 25# - I figured if I used 20# for 20 reps and 30# for 6 reps, 25 should be decent for 12 reps. And it was. I wouldn't have been able to push 30 up 12 times.

RDL: 3 x 12 133# - these felt great!

Dumbell 3 point row: 3 x 12 35#

Side Plank with Bottom Leg Knee Tuck: 40 sec each side x 2 sets
Plank and Pull down using 50# on the cables: 2 sets of 10 reps - I remembered to increase weight this time : )

Combination:
Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
I did 8 reps of 60# for the first 3 out of the 4 sets. I only got 7 reps on my third set because i almost dropped the bar on my 6th rep and my hands were off after that, so I got the seventh in and decided to stop and reset. Hopefully I'll move up to 65# next time I do this, but my forearms are still a problem.

I'm still weighing in at 149 consistently, so I guess I will up my calories a bit more. I'm definitely growing though. My sports bras are starting to get tight and making it a bit difficult to breathe at times, so I think my upper back is growing nicely! I haven't been measuring, but probably should. I have been taking pics.

Tomorrow I will probably lift again, squat day. I have a 5K race on Sunday, which is usually a lift day for me, so I'll swap the days out. Hope everyone has a great Friday!

[fitmomoftwo77]

It was a decent training weekend. Yesterday I lifted Hypertrophy I Workout B.

Forward Lunge with Barbell: 40# fixed BB 2 x 20
Dumbbell Standing Shoulder Press: 20# DBs 2 x 20
Inverted row: I was 3 pegs up from the bottom of the squat rack. I got all 20 reps on both sets.
Back Squat: I didn't really know how much weight I'd be able to squat for 20 reps, as I've never done high reps on a back squat before. So I did 89# x 20 for the first set and it was tough, but I finished all the reps without much struggle at the end. So I added 10 pounds and did the last set of 20 at 99# - I had to grind out the last few reps on this, so it was good.

I may end up going through this Hypertrophy I workout A & B for an extra session, because with the rep range being so varied and me not really knowing how much weight I can handle in the higher and lower ends of the rep range spectrum, I feel like this first time through all 3 was really practice. Now the next time I do the 20 rep range workout, I know where to start, so I won't be "wasting" a set at less than my max exertion. Essentially I will be going through each rep range twice if I do the prescribed 6 sessions per workout, but I may go through each one a third time.

Core:
Cable 1/2 kneeling Static Hold: 45# 2 sets of 30 sec on each side
Swiss Ball Jackknife: 2 x 20 - prescribed rep is 10, but I've increased reps progressively each time I've done this workout.

Combination:
Burpee w/ push up
Row, Row
Press
Using 2-15# DBs 4 sets of 8 - once again, these were murder on my shoulders for the last 2 or 3 reps of each set. People were staring at me while I was doing them. I don't usually notice other people at the gym, but when I stood up, people were watching. It was a bit creepy.

I ran a charity 5K this morning as my workout for the day, then raked leaves all afternoon : ) Since I lifted 3 days in a row (boot camp was weight heavy this week), it was definitely time for an "off" day. Tomorrow is supposed to be yoga, but I'll see how I feel. I may actually just lift instead.

We went to the cheesecake factory for dinner tonight and I didn't hold back. I'm not one to do "cheat meals" and "cheat days", but if I were the type, today would qualify as all of the above : ) I'm very vascular right now though.

[serinebean]

I am glad you stood up for yourself! Its not about the weight you pull/push its about your form, rep/tempo etc...what a knuckle head.

Glad to see you are growing and succeeding! Your journal is a good read!

[fitmomoftwo77]

I am glad you stood up for yourself! Its not about the weight you pull/push its about your form, rep/tempo etc...what a knuckle head.

Glad to see you are growing and succeeding! Your journal is a good read!

Thanks so much! Good to know someone is reading my ramblings : ) And luckily I haven't run into that dude again.

[fitmomoftwo77]

I have a lot of catching up to do since I haven't logged a workout in awhile. I'm gonna go ahead and backlog here just so I keep my records consistent.

11/11 - Hypertrophy I Workout A was 4 x 6 for the 4 main lifts - still my favorite rep range.

Barbell Sprinter Step Ups: 4x6 each leg - I did 70# x 6 for the first set, 65# for the second set, and 75# for the third and 4th set. I switched to a free barbell set up after the first set because it was too difficult for me to get the fixed 70# bar up and off, so I was able to keep the weight heavy but use the rack to load and unload.

Dumbbell flat bench press: 4 x 6 - I wanted to go for 35# so I got myself a spotter and got six reps. But I didn't feel safe to do it on my own for the last 3 sets, so I just did 8 reps of 30#. I didn't want my spotter to wait around for me to do all my sets. Especially since I was supersetting these with the Sprinter Step Ups. I always work out alone, so I just have to grab someone or a trainer.

RDL: 4 x 6: I did 155# for the first 2 sets, then increased my weight to 165# for the last two sets. These are my favorite.

Dumbell 3 point row: 4 x 6 - 50# - I supersetted these with the RDLs

Side Plank with Bottom Leg Knee Tuck: 40 sec each side for the first set; 45 seconds each side for the second set
Plank and Pull down using 60# on the cables: 2 sets of 10 reps - weight increased again

Combination:
Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
I did 8 reps of 65# for 4 sets : )


11/12: I lifted Hypertrophy I Workout B 3 x 12.

Forward Lunge with Barbell: 3 x 12 each leg; 55# fixed BB
Dumbbell Standing Shoulder Press: 20# DBs for 12 reps on the first set, then increased to 25# for 12 reps on the last two sets : ) Supersetted with the lunges
Inverted row: I was 3 pegs up from the bottom of the squat rack x 12 for the first two sets, then I dropped the bar to 2 pegs up and got the last 12 reps : ).
Back Squat: 135# 3 x 12 I gave myself smiley faces for all those sets because it was TOUGH!!

Core:
Cable 1/2 kneeling Static Hold: 50# 2 sets of 30 sec on each side
Swiss Ball Jackknife: I did 15 for the first set and 20 for the second set.

Combination:
Burpee w/ push up
Row, Row
Press
Using 2-15# DBs 4 sets of 8 - got 'em all and they still sucked.

11/14 - Hypertrophy I Workout A was 2 x 20 for the 4 main lifts - I hate this rep range. My bootcamp class the night before was squat and overhead press heavy, so this workout sucked.

Barbell Sprinter Step Ups: 2 x 20 each leg - I used the 45# free barbell set up.

Dumbbell flat bench press: 2 x 20 - I used 25#. Supersetted with Sprinter Step Ups

RDL: 2 x 20: I did 111#, noted to myself to increase weight next time

Dumbell 3 point row: 2 x 20 - 25# with a note to myself to increase weight next time. I supersetted these with the RDLs

Side Plank with Bottom Leg Knee Tuck: 45 sec each side for both sets
Plank and Pull down using 60# on the cables: 2 sets of 10 reps - no weight increase.

Combination:
Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
These sucked. After boot camp the night before, I had to take a bunch of steps back on weight for this combo. I did just the bar x 8 for the first set. 55# x 8 for the next two sets, then I increased the weight to 60# for the last set, mostly because I was pissed off since the last time I did this workout, I was using 65#, but I was only able to get 5 reps. My wrist popped and it hurt really bad, so I just called it a day. We shall see how I do with this next time. The wrist thing was weird.

Now we are up to this morning. I lifted Hypertrophy I Workout B 4 x 6 - yay!

Forward Lunge with Barbell: 4 x 12 each leg; 80# in the squat rack.
Dumbbell Standing Shoulder Press: 30# DBs 4 x 6. Supersetted with the lunges
Inverted row: No pegs on the squat rack. Got six reps all 4 sets
Back Squat: 155# 4 x 6 I gave myself smiley faces for all those sets because it was TOUGH!! I had my husband record my last set. It looks better than it felt. I'd upload it, but I have no idea how. I thought I was going to crumple on the last rep, so my form sucked on that one, but good for the previous 5.

Core:
Cable 1/2 kneeling Static Hold: 50# 2 sets of 40 sec on each side (increased 10 seconds from last time - it sucked)
Swiss Ball Jackknife: 2 sets of 20 reps : )

Combination:
Burpee w/ push up
Row, Row
Press
Using 2-15# DBs 4 sets of 8 - got 'em all and they still sucked.

Tomorrow will definitely be yoga. Then deadlift day on Tuesday bright and early. It's getting so cold here that it is getting harder to leave my warm house Hope everyone had a fit and fabulous weekend!

[fitmomoftwo77]

Yesterday's workout was a 5am arrival at the gym and I did Hypertrophy I Workout A was 3 x 12 for the 4 main lifts - less painful than 20 rep sets, but still no my favorite. The 5am time slot is nice once it's over, but brutal to get going. Especially now that it's 10 degrees in the morning...Anyway, here's what I was able to crank out.

Barbell Sprinter Step Ups: 3 x 12 each leg - I did 55# for all sets. I like my new method of doing these with the free barbell that is attached to the seated overhead press station because I can get the barbell on my back, then walk around the back and do the step ups on the spotter step. Supersetted with the flat bench press

Dumbbell flat bench press: 3 x 12 - I used 30# DBs for these, which were tough, but felt good. Last time I did this rep range I used 25# and I noted above that I definitely wouldn't be able to get 30# up x 12, so yay!

RDL: 3 x 12: I used 141# for all sets - 8# increase from last time. I probably could've went a little higher, but using the bumper plates that are weighted in kg always messes me up : ) Gotta do that higher level math while lifting.

Dumbell 3 point row: 3 x 12 - 35# - No weight progression here, but I tried 40 and wasn't feeling it, so I dropped back. I supersetted these with the RDLs

My usual Combination exercise is the :Clean, Front Squat, Push Press, but my wrist issue that I had last time I tried this was there again, so I immediately stopped. Then I had to try to think of a new combination exercise, but it was 5:30 in the morning so my brain just couldn't come up with anything on my own. So I ended up doing some instagram booty exercise. Hahaha. I put a 40# fixed weight barbell on my hips, rested my upper back on a bench and lowered my butt to the floor, then raised back up to reverse table. I guess it's like a glute bridge, but just not fully on the floor. So I did 12, 12 and then I was going to AMRAP the last set and I got 20 before falling on the floor : ) Not a combination exercise by any means, but it was something : )

Side Plank with Bottom Leg Knee Tuck: 45 sec each side for both sets. Improvement
Plank and Pull down using 60# on the cables: 2 sets of 10 reps - no progress, but I did these last and was SPENT!

I did a full rest day today. My whole foods also added a peanut grinder where they had almonds mixed with chocolate chips, so obviously I had to have that and I ate about 1/2 cup with a spoon. It was soon delicious! Thank god for bulking : )

Speaking of bulking, I'm weighing in around 152# now, so 3# away from the weight I set for myself to stop bulking. I said either 155 or after the holidays. Neither of these "goals" initially correlated with anything other than I didn't want my weight going above 155 and if I couldn't get there by the holidays, then I would cut. However, if I run this hypertrophy program one more time, that is about 2 more weeks. Then I have about another 2 months worth of hypertrophy workouts and they are going to be some lower rep, so higher weight. I'm thinking I may want to continue with bulking at least until I get through those so that I get the most out of them? I really don't know. The next section after hypertrophy is entitled strength and power, but they are 8, 10 and 15 rep range. I definitely don't want to be bulking until spring, for shallow aesthetic reasons, but I can probably last through the end of hypertrophy III. Then peel away these layers slowly over 3 or 4 months before summer. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[DieselsMom]

Subbed.

Good work in here.

On the bulk side of things - how do you feel that is what I would go by, if your feeling good still at 155 why limit yourself because of a # on the scale and make it work for you until you decide when your starting your cut in the spring - I totally get the aesthetic reasons we all want to look good during summer

[fitmomoftwo77]

Subbed.

Good work in here.

On the bulk side of things - how do you feel that is what I would go by, if your feeling good still at 155 why limit yourself because of a # on the scale and make it work for you until you decide when your starting your cut in the spring - I totally get the aesthetic reasons we all want to look good during summer

Thanks so much . Great compliment coming from a hard working gal like yourself!! That's good advice to just go with how I feel. I haven't started outgrowing my clothes, so that's good. And shocking actually. I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm still wearing a size 2 or 4 at the weight I am now. Because the last time I weighed this much I was wearing 8's and 10's. So I think the bulk is working but I definitely have my moments where I'm like a kid who found her Christmas presents early and I just want to unwrap them and see what's in there!! Haha! But I know it will spoil the surprise, so I refrain. Thanks for the sub

[fitmomoftwo77]

Ugh, so this post is going to be a mommy vent of sorts. So if mommy vents annoy you, proceed with caution. But I'll start off with the good.

Wed was a full rest day (1 of 2 this week, unfortunately - more on that later). Thursday was boot camp and it ended up being primarily an upper body heavy class. Which didn't bode well for me doing my typical supercharged workout on Friday, since it was a lot of shoulder presses. I just wouldn't have been able to do it effectively/safely considering how sore I was from bootcamp (in a good way). So I decided to go off my program (haven't done this in a very long time) and just did a "leg day". I ended up throwing some push-up sets in there too, just because I wanted to see how they felt and I ended up doing about 60 in between the leg work. Which led me to believe I probably could've worked through my usual program, but what was done was done. Here's what I did:

Leg Press (hip width stance): 140# x 10 reps for one set, then I increased to 180# for 3 sets of 10 reps. These weights are just the weight of the plates I put on. Not sure what weight the apparatus itself contributes. I never do these.

Back Squat 4 x 6 - I did 155# for all sets, which is the same weight I used the last time I did these in my supercharged program, but my form was much better on these for all reps and sets. I almost crumpled during my last set last time, so I consider "not almost crumpling" to be an improvement : ) One of the guys at the gym who is really nice and in the past I've asked to spot me came over and told me my form looked great.

I also did 3 sets of push ups between squats.

Good Mornings: I used a 95# barbell and did 4 sets of 10. 3 sets of 10 push ups in between.

Glute Bridge on the Bench Thingy - still not sure what these are called, but I did them the other day and liked them so I thought I'd do them again. This time I used a 50# fixed weight BB and did 3 sets of 10.

Single Leg RDL with 2 25# dumbbells 3 x 10. I haven't done these in awhile and they were tough, but I didn't go down to 20# DBs which I really really wanted to do the entire time : )

I supersetted the last two exercises and I ran out of time before I had to pick up one of my daughters. This took me about an hour.

My legs are still feeling that workout. I have to foam roll today for sure.

So now comes my mommy rant portion of the show....My older daughter does swim team, which conveniently practices at my gym, so I typically get to workout while she practices. But meets are on Saturdays and it's a travel team. And meets are llloooooonnnnngggg. Yesterday's meet was a little over 5 hours. So i knew Saturday was going to be a no exercise for me day. And I helped with the meet, so I was on my feet the entire time. Not good after aforementioned leg day : )

Today my aunt was supposed to take the kids to the movies while my husband is at the football game (season tix) and I was going to go to the gym and do my supercharged workout that I should have done Friday. However my 10 year old didn't bring home the project she was supposed to work on for school so her punishment is she can't go to the movies. Which is also my punishment because now I can't go to the gym with the kid's room being closed already. And with the husband at the game, he probably won't get home until close to when my gym is closing, so I won't get it in today. Had I realized this earlier in the morning or last night, I would've gone before husband left for the game. Grrrrrrr.....Then tomorrow night, because she didn't bring the project home to work on this weekend and it is due on Tuesday, she is going to need to do the whole thing tomorrow night in addition to her regular homework. Which means no gym for me again. I should clarify that my husband is always at work until 9 or 10pm (or later) and every Saturday. So all of this always falls on me. And then during football season, many Sunday's are all me as well because of the season tix. I'm seriously cranky right now and I need to workout but I can't. Feeling a bit like a caged animal. I thought I'd feel better after writing it out, but I don't : (

I think what I'll end up doing is doing a Melissa Bender workout (HIIT), some foam rolling, and if hubs gets home in time for me to get to the gym, then it'll be a bonus. Congrats if you've made it to the end of my rant. And sorry : )

[JenSTL4]

Count me IN Great work going on in here!

I love the name of your journal. I feel the exact same way! My DH told me for years to start lifting heavier weights instead of my cardio-type DVDs and using baby weight dumbbells for my P90X workouts. I so wish I would have started this 10-15 years ago!

I agree with DM about the bulking. Go by how you feel instead of a number. Easier said than done, I know. Seeing the numbers go up and up is scary! I'm trying to ignore the actual number on the scale and just make sure it is going up at a reasonable pace.

Sorry that you weren't able to get your workout in today. Doing your HIIT will be great at releasing some of the frustration with your daughter tho And hopefully hubby will come home in time for you to go tonight!

[fitmomoftwo77]

Count me IN Great work going on in here!

I love the name of your journal. I feel the exact same way! My DH told me for years to start lifting heavier weights instead of my cardio-type DVDs and using baby weight dumbbells for my P90X workouts. I so wish I would have started this 10-15 years ago!

I agree with DM about the bulking. Go by how you feel instead of a number. Easier said than done, I know. Seeing the numbers go up and up is scary! I'm trying to ignore the actual number on the scale and just make sure it is going up at a reasonable pace.

Sorry that you weren't able to get your workout in today. Doing your HIIT will be great at releasing some of the frustration with your daughter tho And hopefully hubby will come home in time for you to go tonight!

Thanks for your kind words 😀. I did get my HIIT workout in http://www.benderfitness.com/2014/11...-time.html?m=1 But I got a terrible headache in the middle of it, probably related to too much coffe/not enough water for today. I muddled through the workout and did break a sweat, but it didn't feel good. At least I got something in. I'm just gonna call it a day (it's 3pm- haha). Thanks again for posting in my journal and following along

[HanL90]

I'm in too!

I've just caught up with your journal and subbed. Thanks for posting in my journal