Doing it Right this time

[aquamarine84]

Well, my inner Taurus showed this past weekend as I stubbornly still competed despite knowing I was completely not ready. But now I've learned the ropes a little, made a few more connections, and I'm bound and determined to have the body to be a contender next year. Therefore, I'm starting Strong Curves. I'm supposed to be taking off until Wednesday, but I've been wound up like a top since I woke up Sunday morning, my ADHD has been horrible, and my body felt like it was ready to take it on, so here I am.

My backstory: I was an active kid - I played street hockey from age 8 to age 11, missing my last season due to a broken wrist and then aging out of the league, and at the time there were no girls or non-checking teams for 12 and up in the area. I was always heavy though - 180-190 most of my adult life until I became a scuba instructor and dropped to about 155 (trust me, I've worn my HRM a few times diving and it's one of the most intense exercises I've ever done). Then I had a medical condition which initially got misdiagnosed as diverticulitis. Well, between the condition itself and the antibiotics, I dropped to 120 in 3 months. Of course, a lot of that was muscle weight and that's what initially got me into weightlifting. I don't have the money for a gym membership, but I built my fairly extensive home gym with gift cards I've earned through various rewards programs.

Stage weight: 114
Weight after 2 days of 2500 calories: 115.8
Today
Superset A:
Glute Bridge 3x10
One Arm DB row: 24lb 3x8
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x10
BB Bench Press 56lb 3x8

DB RDL 28lb 3x10
Side lying abduction 15r each side
1:00 Front Plank
:30 Side plank each side

Feeling pretty good...I could have pushed myself a lot further.

[aquamarine84]

Back at it today for workout B. Back down to 114.2...but did eat a few chips at work (I'm a crew trainer at Taco Bell) that were leftover in the bin.

Superset A:
Single leg glute bridge 3X10/side
Band Lat pulldown: I stacked all my bands for somewhere between 76-125lbs resistance 3x15

Superset B:
Bodyweight Step up 3x10/side
Dumbbell Military press: 28lbs 3x12

Good morning: 56lb 3x10
Side clam: 15/side
Crunch:20 with a 5lb plate
Bicycle crunch: 15r

Abs are burning, legs are feeling it.

[PennyCentury]

I'm impressed by your dedication in building your own gym at home. I exercised just at home for years - not much strength work apart from bodyweight stuff and kettlebells, but I live in rented accommodation and don't have the room for anything more extensive really. Luckily there's a budget gym chain near me - it's £24 a month (so maybe $30?) and open 24 hours, fairly unusually for the UK.

I think it's great you competed anyway actually, though I'm a total novice and have no idea about whether there's an etiquette for these things. You'll have learned a lot, I'm sure.

[aquamarine84]

I'm impressed by your dedication in building your own gym at home. I exercised just at home for years - not much strength work apart from bodyweight stuff and kettlebells, but I live in rented accommodation and don't have the room for anything more extensive really. Luckily there's a budget gym chain near me - it's £24 a month (so maybe $30?) and open 24 hours, fairly unusually for the UK.

I think it's great you competed anyway actually, though I'm a total novice and have no idea about whether there's an etiquette for these things. You'll have learned a lot, I'm sure.

Ha, thanks....I probably could afford a gym now (I started building it when I worked a very inconsistent security job), but honestly there are a lot of days that if I didn't have it right there, a workout wouldn't happen. Besides that, I did dump roughly $1200 into competing - although those same rewards programs bought my tanning products, jewelry and a good chunk of my my makeup. When there's a will, there's a way.

Today I am just going to be foam rolling after work, maybe some light yoga. My entire posterior chain is feeling it today.

[aquamarine84]

Never actually got to foam rolling yesterday. Got stuck at work and then had to run to the store. Back at it today for workout A and really tried to push myself:
Superset A:
Glute Bridge 3x11
One Arm DB row: 29lb 3x8 (side note: Why do I bother writing things down when I forget to reference them? I was only going to increase by 1r!)
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x12
BB Bench Press 56lb 3x9

DB RDL 38lb 3x11
Side lying abduction 20r each side
1:15 Front Plank
:40 Side plank each side

The only thing I'm not liking so far is the lack of lifting super heavy.

[aquamarine84]

Today, after putting in 11,000 steps at work:
Superset A:
Glute March 3X 1 minute
Seated Band Row: Red and green bands for between 31-37lbs tension 3X12
Superset B:
Band Leg press with feet together: Red&Green 3X12
Incline dumbbell press 38lbs 3x12

Single leg BW RDL (I was REALLY dreading this one) 3x10
X-band walk: Yellow for 4-6 lbs resistance 3X15
RKC Plank 40sec
Russian twist 10r with 4lb dumbbell

No doubt about it: My glutes are feeling it.

[aquamarine84]

Feels weird not lifting. Especially knowing I won't be tomorrow either.

Today, a short and easy yoga session:
http://www.yogadownload.com/Utilitie...4/default.aspx

Went shopping, got myself a Starbucks Iced Coffee with Almond milk (30 whole calories for the Venti!) and SF Hazelnut syrup. Glad they added that.

And then a 20 minute foam roll and stretch this afternoon.

Weight is still hovering in the mid 114-115 range. Hoping my coach ups my macros a little tomorrow. My carbs are still only at 95.

[aquamarine84]

Pictures I sent to my coach this AM:


I get a measly 10g more carbs this week.

Morning Yoga Session:
http://www.yogadownload.com/Utilitie...x#.V_Lrk7sX7s0

Was on the front counter today (a major rarity) and hit 10k steps on my lunch break (granted that occurs at 3:00pm, but still...I definitely got my cardio in).
Then:
Superset A:
Glute Bridge 3x12
One Arm DB row: 29lb 3x12
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x14
BB Bench Press 56lb 3x10

DB RDL 38lb 3x12
Side lying abduction 22r each side
1:30 Front Plank
:50 Side plank each side

I...am...spent.

[aquamarine84]

Down to 113.4 this AM...I know I shouldn't be too spooked but it concerns me a little. Today is a breakfast shift and my volunteer diving tonight. At least I get a cheat meal.

Scratch that part...nasty storm. So let's move on to workout B (But still cheating because my coach said it's OK and I really wanted to try the Cheddar Habenero Quesarito)
Superset A:
Single leg glute bridge 3X12/side
Band Lat pulldown: All bands again 3x16

Superset B:
Bodyweight Step up 3x12/side
Dumbbell Military press: 38lbs 3x8

Good morning: 56lb 3x12
Side clam: 20/side with medium resistance loop band
Crunch:20 with a 9lb dumbbell
Bicycle crunch: 120r

Definitely feel this one mostly in my hamstrings. Can't wait to get back on building calories and see where this takes me.

[aquamarine84]

I can never have a true rest day with my job. I changed out 2 sodas within half an hour (5 gallons of syrup is heavy even without sore hammies) while I've got 2 guys literally just standing and watching me. At least I got home and had enough energy to foam roll. I'm going to need it. Looks like I'm going to be getting overtime for a couple of weeks at least.

[kimm4]

Congrats and making it to your first show and I hope you enjoyed the experience. Sorry to hear you're feeling so spent. How long before you get back to maintenance?

[aquamarine84]

Congrats and making it to your first show and I hope you enjoyed the experience. Sorry to hear you're feeling so spent. How long before you get back to maintenance?

Thanks kimm...I freely admit I wasn't ready but I met some good people and hopefully I can put a better package next year. I'm going to put faith in my coach for now as far as my reverse diet. I think it's a little slow but I've also never cut down so drastically. I'm hopefully going to be using a local coach next year who's also a trauma nurse, so she's a little more familiar with those of us with on-your-feet jobs.

[aquamarine84]

So yesterday's workout got pushed to today due to having to cover a co-worker who was trying to drive from Orlando straight to work yesterday...apparently what should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive took her over 6 hours due to everyone evacuating. Well, it got me out early today which usually makes for a good workout for me:
Superset A:
Glute Bridge 3x13
One Arm DB row: 31.5lb 3x8
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x16
BB Bench Press 66lb 3x8

DB RDL 48lb 3x10
Side lying abduction 24r each side
1:45 Front Plank
1:00 Side plank each side

Definitely feel like a got a good workout.

[aquamarine84]

Something I ate yesterday isn't agreeing with me so all of today has been a struggle. Plus I had to clean the entire upstairs.

Morning Yoga: http://www.yogadownload.com/Utilitie...6/default.aspx (the 30 minute class)

Superset A:
Glute March 3X 1 minute
Seated Band Row: Red and blue bands 3X12
Superset B:
Band Leg press with feet together: Red/blue/yellow bands 3X12
Incline dumbbell press 48lbs 3x10

Single leg BW RDL 3x11
X-band walk: Yellow for 4-6 lbs resistance 3X20
RKC Plank 40sec
Russian twist 12r with 4lb dumbbell

Getting there...I may not have all my carbs yet but I think my strength is coming back. Now I just need my intestines to stop churning!

[Fiction2Fitness]

Nice work out and hope your intestines start cooperating soon.

[aquamarine84]

Thanks Fiction...finally feeling better finally. Didn't finish cleaning before the cable guy came in to install our new boxes. Fortunately he didn't say anything but I also didn't get my usual Sunday foam rolling in. Oh well...check ins tomorrow and therefore my macros should increase a touch.

[aquamarine84]

Vent #1
My coach knew last week I had stopped all cardio because I've been on the front counter more often than not lately...meaning I usually hit 10k steps during lunch. Today "cut back cardio by 5 min." How? At the very least, I'm 100 calories away from my old maintenance now. I'm sure my true maintenance is higher since I figured that before I started working at TBell but at least I'm closer.

Vent #2
So I was actually on the drive thru window today. Somehow we ran out of large bags and this customer has a 14 item order...so it doesn't fit in one column on our computer and we had to split it between several small bags. So the manager tells me I have another bag coming. Customer drives off, he hands me the next order and says that finishes it, I ask why he told me I still had one more bag and he proceeds to chew me out for not clearing the order...that I was being told wasn't finished. Granted I should have been counting but seeing as the order was split I was having a little trouble. But...a bad day at work makes for a good workout!

Progress pics:


Superset A:
Glute Bridge 3x14
One Arm DB row: 31.5lb 3x9
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x16
BB Bench Press 66lb 3x9

DB RDL 53lb 3x10
Side lying abduction 26r each side
2:00 Front Plank
1:00 Side plank each side

[Fiction2Fitness]

Nice work and glad you're feeling better. Hard with a job on feet to cut back if there is no other cardio but work. Sucks on the other job stuff. It's frustrating when have the chaos going on and a little mishap occurs sometimes but to get all the blame is a pain too as an order like that required team effort I'm sure. I don't always have good luck with drive-thru as a customer but wouldn't cause a hassle. Funny thing, I had to order no cheese and our order wasn't big since it was just me and my sister. Got the tacos that had no cheese written on the wrapping, but there was cheese in both. Not sure who messed up there but oops.

Just gotta shake it off. ;-)

[aquamarine84]

Thanks Fiction...yeah, you get the wrong people doing that job and all heck breaks loose. That one's an easy mistake if there's 3 people on the line - stuffer hands expediter already wrapped taco and says "these have no cheese".

On the front counter today except for the last hour when I was on the line...12k steps and over 1500 calories burned according to my Fitbit (which historically tends to be a little lower than actual) by the time I got home. Am I crazy?

Single leg glute bridge 3X13/side
Band Single arm Lat pulldown: All bands again 3x8

Superset B:
Bodyweight Step up 3x13/side
Dumbbell Military press: 38lbs 3x9

Good morning: 66lb 3x12
Side clam: 20/side with heavy resistance loop band
Crunch:20 with a 14lb dumbbell
Bicycle crunch: 22r

Can't say I still don't miss the heavy weight/low rep scheme still but I think it's paying off.

[aquamarine84]

Major screw up today was grabbing the wrong plates for RDLs...I actually intended to go heavier, not lighter...so I added an extra set. $h!t happens.

Superset A:
Glute Bridge 3x15
One Arm DB row: 31.5lb 3x10
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x18
BB Bench Press 66lb 3x10

DB RDL 48lb 4x12
Side lying abduction 15r each side with light resistance loop band
1:00 Front Plank with 25lb plate
:20 Side plank each side with 25 lb weight.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Ah, the plate mishaps, they do happen. I've done the lighter, heavier on on accident and the uneven as I miss a small plate on one side. Okay, the uneven happens more than the others, my bad. I like my fitbit to see the steps I take but haven't actually paid attention to the calories it claims get burned in the day. Figure it's probably not the most accurate method of tracking such, but interesting to see where my steps land. When I was working and training for the 10k it wasn't uncommon to be around 20,000 steps in the day. Without cardio I get over 10,000 steps usually just from work.

[aquamarine84]

Yeah Fiction...but I like it better when i accidentally lift heavier, especially when I realize I can lift that much . That's how I cracked 100lb bench last year. But I definitely made sure I got all my weights and bands right today.

Anyway, I got my morning yoga in yesterday and had every intent to get workout C done...and then ended up pulling a 13 hour shift. So much for less cardio, but I will say I will work night shift every day of the week now. I get to do so much more.

Slept in this morning (much needed) so no yoga, but workout C with the help of BeautyStrong Pre-Workout:

Superset A:
Glute March 3X 1 minute
Seated Band Row: Red and black bands 3X12
Superset B:
Band Leg press with feet together: Red/black/yellow bands 3X14
Incline dumbbell press 48lbs 3x11

Single leg BW RDL 3x12
X-band walk: Green for 6-10 lbs resistance 3X20
RKC Plank 50sec
Russian twist 14r with 4lb dumbbell

Just took a power nap...most of this workout is getting a little too easy I think, but I don't know if lack of sleep is screwing with me today

[aquamarine84]

Weight was down to 113.8 yesterday and 113 today...frustrating to say the least. Wish I'd been doing this for prep. My stomach was almost perfectly flat this AM.

In any case, I went to bed at 9pm last night, and while I tossed and turned for a while in the wee hours of the morning, I didn't get up until almost 6. At least I'm caught up there. Did light yoga this morning (that doesn't count as cardio, does it?) and then just spent half an hour on my foam roller. Feeling pretty good today. If my calculations are right, I should be back up to my old maintenance tomorrow.

[IrishLassie78]

I always lose weight when I start reverse dieting. It's kind of infuriating isn't it? It's like, where was this a month ago when I was trying to lose?

[aquamarine84]

I always lose weight when I start reverse dieting. It's kind of infuriating isn't it? It's like, where was this a month ago when I was trying to lose?

If it hadn't been 3 weeks already, I wouldn't be as concerned. I could blame Saturday morning on dehydration...don't get me wrong, I loved working night shift but I didn't get a chance to touch my water bottle from dinner until I started closing the lobby. Not Sunday. But, back up to 114.8 today. This is why I weigh in daily. Got some more carbs, feeling darn good and decided for this last week of this cycle I was going to push it a little harder:

Superset A:
Glute Bridge 3x16
One Arm DB row: 34lb 3x8
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x20
BB Bench Press 71lb 3x8 (this was my 4x5 max at the end of prep so that makes me happy)

DB RDL 68lb 3x10
Side lying abduction 20r each side with light resistance loop band
1:15 Front Plank with 25lb plate
:30 Side plank each side with 25 lb weight

[aquamarine84]

Today was my "cardio" day...scuba diving, cleaning tanks at the aquarium just to keep active on my certification. We were on the deep side, meaning more hovering and therefore sucking down my tank in 30 minutes. I've yet to find a reliable HRM for diving so I still don't know if this means more calories burned, but as usual once I'm out of there, I definitely feel it. Then (vent of the day), I go to get gas on my way home and my card gets declined. Apparently somebody bought plane tickets with it, so I am cash only until my new card comes in. And my boss is at said gas station's convenience store. Not a good day personally.

[aquamarine84]

Busy day today...we managed to pull off the second busiest lunch hour since my store opened...local high school had a bunch of homecoming activities and they got out for lunch. Then I got stuck late because we were trying to catch up. But...still managed my workout this time!

Single leg glute bridge 3X14/side
Band Single arm Lat pulldown: All bands again 3x9

Superset B:
Bodyweight Step up 3x14/side
Dumbbell Military press: 38lbs 3x10

Good morning: 76lb 3x12
Side clam: 25/side with heavy resistance loop band
Crunch:25 with a 14lb dumbbell
Bicycle crunch: 25r

Feeling good but I think I'm going to bed early.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Yay for surviving the rush. Great workout too! Understand the want for sleep with all that going on. Nice to get some relax time in too.

[aquamarine84]

Thanks Fiction...it actually got worse yesterday because the school was out again and we were a person short. At least it meant I got to work the line, which is what I wanted to do when I took a fast food job. But it also meant I had to stay an extra 2 hours and no workout yesterday (which I probably shouldn't have anyway)

On that note, I am SO glad to be almost back to bulking because these rolled chicken tacos are the death of a sub-maintenance diet. We're fighting over them when they expire.

I can't say today felt like the greatest workout but I made progress.

Glute Bridge 3x17
One Arm DB row: 34lb 3x9
Superset B:
BW Squat 3x22
BB Bench Press 71lb 3x9 and I had zero reps left in the tank

DB RDL 68lb 3x11
Side lying abduction 25r each side with light resistance loop band
1:30 Front Plank with 25lb plate
:35 Side plank each side with 25 lb weight...barely. Form was getting sloppy.

I should at least have tomorrow off of work so I have more to put into my workout. I also talked with my boss and I may be transitioning to more night shifts, so that at least means I can get my workout done before work.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Sucks on another rough day but nice that you got things done. Oddly, we have hired more people so it hasn't been as short staffed yet today I worked overtime. Not sure how that equated but eh, it happens. I workout after work on late shifts but I stuck at getting myself to the gym before hand when I can sleep in and be lazy. Great for those that can get it in at other times. It is nice to have it done though so hopefully that works out for you.