WEG's Journal - Starting Over (Sort Of)

[whatevergirl]

It seems like I'm always starting over with lifting, at least from a consistency standpoint. I love running, and when I get focused on it, I lift less. For the past six months, I've been focused on running and some p90x type classes, with two days per week of lifting, but there's no plan that I follow, and I feel a little unorganized at the gym. So, I've decided to pick up 5x5 again, I like this program and followed it a few years ago, and within 90 days, I saw strength gains that I never really saw when lifting without a plan. So, I'm starting over in a way, going to follow 5x5 for the next 90 days, and continue focusing on running, as well. Hopefully, I can maintain the balance. Thinking a journal will help me stay on point.

So this marks week 1, 5x5 goes three days per week, bench/squat/DL - today will be the third day of it for this first week. My schedule will be Tues, Thurs, and Sat for 5x5, Sunday for accessory lifts, Monday and Wed for runs - but I will be running or doing some cardio on the days that I lift. I like jump roping now, so that's been my cardio of choice when not running.

Heading to the gym, have a great day, all!

[whatevergirl]

Because I'm just starting back to this, and being consistent with lifting in general, I don't have a lot of room to play with the percentages in this program. But, have to start somewhere. So today, took all the exercises up 5 to 10 lbs, where I could.

DL:
5x75 - Warm up
5x90
5x90
5x90
5x90
5x90
Drop set - 15x75

Squat:
5x65 - Warm up
5x85
5x85
5x85
5x85
Drop set - 20 x 70

Chest:
Flat bench:
5x65
5x70
5x70
5x70
5x70
Drop set - 15 x 55

20 minutes of jump roping, following
20 minute run on treadmill, steady state

*PWO shake - NitroTech (by MuscleTech) Chocolate (this is new to me, so far I like it) - mixed with spinach, kale, banana, peanut butter, ice and blueberries.

Tomorrow, an accessory day planned with a longer run. Happy weekend, y'all!

Song playing at the gym today, I like it.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

Great start of a log!

I never mixed spinach in a protein shake.
How did that taste?
How much did you put in there?

[whatevergirl]

Great start of a log!

Thank you for stopping in!

I never mixed spinach in a protein shake.
How did that taste?
How much did you put in there?

It has honestly no taste. Kale, when I use it, has a taste, but I like to use both. I pack the spinach into the cup first, about one full cup, and then I add almond milk, or water...then, the protein powder, banana, blueberries, etc. It turns your smoothie completely green, but I like that. lol

[WolfRose7]

Liking the simplicity.

In on the strength Gainz

[whatevergirl]

Liking the simplicity.

In on the strength Gainz

lol thank you for coming by


Today, gym workout will be accessory work/upper back, with jump roping and a run planned. I've been making egg fritattas lately, and they are so good and low carb. Simply take a cup cake tin, and mix in a bowl, eggs, bacon (or whatever you like), kale or spinach, with light salt and pepper - and pour the mixture into each cupcake slot in your cup cake tin. I'd use paper cups to avoid sticking to the pan. They are sold frozen too, but they have more salt that way. Really easy to make and you can have breakfast for your whole week ahead.



Positive thought for the day: ''Just do you.'' That's such an overused saying, but it's true. I find that I just avoid negative people anymore, and keep looking forward, and staying true to my life.

Edit to add, I'm having to use a different image hosting site because photobucket and other sites don't work here, anymore. For some reason this pic is appearing sideways. --_--

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

Did you bake the frittatas?
What temp and how long?
They look great.
Thanks

[whatevergirl]

I had a great day at the gym, and ended up purchasing my own jump rope afterwards so I can have options on off gym days for cardio. An observation about jump ropes in general, though. Why are they designed for someone who is 8 feet tall? Seriously, it's like...not all of us are 8 feet tall, so for us smaller people who have to shorten the rope before we use it, it's a little annoying. /end of mini-rant

Today:

Week 1 5x5, day 4 - accessory lifts

WG Lat pull downs:
55x12
55x12
55x12
70x8
55x12
Drop set: 50x15

Seated Cable Rows:
55x12
65x12
70x6
65x12
55x12
*no drop set

Bicep curls:
5 sets of 15 using 30lb preset bar
2 sets of 10 - 1 15 lbs db's

OH Shoulder Press/standing:
5 sets of 12 using 30 lbs
2 sets of 7 using oly bar (45 lbs?)

Abs:
3 sets of 40 situps
2 sets of 15 each side,standing ''wood chopper'' using cable - set at 15 lbs

Tricep push downs
3 sets of 15 @ 70 lbs

Cardio:
20 minutes jump roping (interval sets)
2 mile run outside

*Bought AminO Energy today, for the bcaa's. I'm only going to use it as a recovery tool, not as a PWO stimulant. My sleep has been amazing over the past month, and don't want to mess it up by taking this product too often, like I did in the past.

*Dinner will be grilled chicken with grilled asparagus and a kale salad.

[whatevergirl]

Did you bake the frittatas?

yes

What temp and how long?

If you make the frittata as one big ''pie,'' then 50 minutes roughly on 450 degrees. If you use the cupcake tin idea, then about 40 minutes, 350-400 degrees.

They look great.
Thanks

Thanks! Give them a try.

[whatevergirl]

Monday, and I've decided to change my attitude towards this day. lol It's amazing the tone your day takes, just by changing your mindset. Granted, I'd love for it to be the start of the weekend again, but it's a choice to be happy...every single day. Not always easy, but it's true.

Lunch for today - kale and brussel sprout salad, with red cabbage, asiago cheese, grilled chicken and lemon/vinegar dressing. It's pretty good, but raw brussel sprouts are new to me. (My pics always show side ways, not sure why) --_--




So, I decided to look up jump rope cardio workouts, and there's a ton of them on youtube. I found this woman's videos, and doubtful I'd ever get to be as fancy as she is with the jumps (in some other vids), but still pretty cool how versatile jump roping can be, and good for heart health.

Here's a beginner workout, if you're interested.



Today is cardio only, going for a planned run, and probably will jump rope for 15 minutes, before.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

yes

If you make the frittata as one big ''pie,'' then 50 minutes roughly on 450 degrees. If you use the cupcake tin idea, then about 40 minutes, 350-400 degrees.

thanks!

[whatevergirl]

Preworkout - recovery drink taken two hours before workout - AminO Energy (also can act as a mild PWO stimulant but not using it for that) - 2 scoops



Half hour before workout - 1 scoop MuscleTech/NitroTech Chocolate protein powder, spinach, kale, almond milk and 1 teaspoon natural peanut butter

Workout:
25 minutes of jump rope, intervals/sets of 70 rotations

2.10 mile run outside - Pace: 19:55 minutes

50 sit ups, and 3 planks
15 push ups

Notes/observations: My run was slower than I'd have liked, but think the jump rope outside in the heat fatigued me a little? Idk. Tomorrow is 5x5 day, but lighter, so I'll try to add a longer run in after lifting. I do love this jump roping though, wow. It's an amazingly challenging cardio workout if you keep up a good pace.

Believe you can, and you will.

[whatevergirl]

The gym wasn't very crowded tonight, but the areas that I needed always seemed to have that one guy who never leaves the flat bench and squat area. I'm thinking of joining a larger gym, maybe an LA Fitness where there's a number of benches and squat racks, because this gym is small. I love it, it's close to my house, but it's small.

Anyway, had to improvise the flat bench for incline and use db's and instead of using the oly bar for DL's, I used a preset bar of 80 lbs. Wasn't the end of the world, considering that tonight in the 5x5 plan, it's a lighter/active recovery day, where you lift the least out of your three days. I don't have that much room to play with in terms of the percentages, since this is my second week. I cannot WAIT to see where I am in 90 days. I feel like I could lift heavier now, but because I haven't been doing these specific lifts consistently for the past 6 months, I want to progress without injury.

So, tonight:

Deadlifts:
Warm up - 10 x 80
5x80
5x80
7x80
7x80
7x80
Drop set - 15 x 80

Squat:
Warm up: empty bar - 15 reps
5x65
5x75
5x75
5x75
5x70
Drop set: empty bar - 15 reps

Incline Bench: (total weight = both db's)
5x30
5x40
5x40
5x40
5x40
Drop set: 15 x 30

Cardio - 30 minutes jump roping

Abs - 50 sit ups, 50 leg raises, 25 captain chair raises

Nutrition: I don't think I ate enough today, just was busy at work, and tried to snack on a few almonds, and then get my pre work out shake in, but just didn't feel all that hungry.

Thought of the day: Mental health is as important as physical health. Your emotional and mental well being can affect your health in ways that even if you are taking care of yourself physically and nutritionally, stress can cause a lot of health issues in your life. I've picked up meditation and yoga over the past few years, and it's been truly amazing. It's great to learn how to balance from a physical standpoint, but yoga and meditation (separate or together) can bring healing to your mind, and balance you mentally. So, if you have a lot of stress in your life, fix it, because it will cause you problems if you don't. #findyourzen

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

ON Amino Energy looks good!

[whatevergirl]

ON Amino Energy looks good!

It's really great tasting, and a good product for recovery, and if you want to take an extra scoop or two, you can get a pre workout stimulant out of it. It's not harsh like some pwo stims, which is nice about it.

[whatevergirl]

Ten minutes of warm up with jump rope

Then, 5 mile run, and my pace was faster, by a few seconds, and I'm attributing this gain to jump roping. I think that doing HIIT a few times per week, can really help to improve overall cardio stamina.

Distance: 5.01 miles
Pace: 46:33 minutes

Afterwards, had a kale, peanut butter, blueberries and chocolate protein shake (Nitrotech) I don't use a full scoop on cardio days, but I like protein shakes after cardio.

Parting thought for the day...

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

Wait... you ran 5 miles?
I would die.

Like the quote!

[whatevergirl]

Wait... you ran 5 miles?
I would die.

lol I think a lot of people hate running because they view it as just another form of cardio, but it can be really fun, and some days, it feels like therapy

Like the quote!

Me, too...it's different.

[whatevergirl]

When you eat better, you feel better.

So far, nutrition today:

* Black coffee, 2 spinach and turkey bacon frittatas this morning for breakfast
* Mid morning snack - 25 almonds
* Lunch - kale salad, with grilled string beans and cubed steak
* Mid-afternoon snack - egg whites with spinach and small piece of whole wheat flat bread
* 2 scoops of AminO Energy, grape flavor
* so far, seven 8 oz glasses of water

*Now, time for a pre workout shake - chocolate Nitrotech, half banana, blueberries, 1 teaspoon peanut butter and almond milk - Tonight is 5x5 (medium) night.

*Not sure what to have for dinner, probably an egg white veggie omelette.

Really trying to commit to eating 5-6 small meals per day, as it keeps me stay satiated throughout the day, and my metabolism at its best.

Happy Thursday, all!

[Adam16121]

Hey, what are you using to measure how far you run outside? I'm in the market for a device that does that accurately.

[OT2000]

Strong micronutrient dense choices you are eating. Cant go wrong with lots of greens and berries.

[whatevergirl]

Hey, what are you using to measure how far you run outside? I'm in the market for a device that does that accurately.

Hi Adam, there are reasonably priced to expensive Garmin devices out there you can purchase, or you can ...download ''map my run'' on your phone. I love that app, and feel it's all I really need. It tracks distance, pace, maps your run literally including street names so you can save the routes, saves your workouts, and a lot more. You can even find routes that you wish to run with it. I started using it over a year ago, and love it.

[Adam16121]

Hi Adam, there are reasonably priced to expensive Garmin devices out there you can purchase, or you can ...download ''map my run'' on your phone. I love that app, and feel it's all I really need. It tracks distance, pace, maps your run literally including street names so you can save the routes, saves your workouts, and a lot more. You can even find routes that you wish to run with it. I started using it over a year ago, and love it.

Will try out the app, thanks!

[whatevergirl]

Strong micronutrient dense choices you are eating. Cant go wrong with lots of greens and berries.

True, I love adding spinach, kale, etc to my protein shakes now. Thanks for stopping in!

Will try out the app, thanks!

You'll really like it, I think.

[whatevergirl]

Today is a medium day of week #2 in the 5x5 plan I'm following. ''Medium'' meaning, it's heavier than the light day, but not as heavy as I'll be lifting on Saturday. Eventually, when I have more room to play with percentages (as I consistently lift stronger each week), the idea is to lift 80-85% of my 1 rep max, on Saturdays (the heaviest day) But, for now, I'm just working on building a good split, and I'm really liking this so far. It is really working well with my running, and adding jump roping has been a plus.

Tonight, in order:

Back squats:
Warm up: just bar/12 reps/very low
75x5
85x5
85x5
85x5
85x5
Drop set: just bar - 15 reps

DL's:
Warm up: just bar/15 reps - fast
85x5
95x5
95x5
95x5
95x5
95x5
Drop set: just bar/20 reps/fast

Chest press machine: (too many people ''in line'' for the one flat bench in the entire gym ) That's okay, though. I like the chest press machine.
Warm up: 25x15
30x5
30x5
30x5
30x7
35x5
Drop set: 25x15

*Jump rope - 1 set of 70 rotations between above exercises, totally 3 sets.

*Easy pace run - 2 miles


*Dinner - I had some leftover cube steak from lunch, and so I made scrambled organic eggs, with that cubed steak. Perfect!

Tomorrow is a rest day, with a small cheat meal planned, I'm thinking though of doing some yoga with a friend. We'll see!

[whatevergirl]

Happy Friday, my favorite day of the week.

Today's a rest/recovery day, but I might go to a yoga class with a friend later. Also planned is a ''cheat'' meal. I don't think that cheat meals should be a crazy anarchy of eating anything you wish during one meal of whatever day you choose, but it should be something that gives you a little indulgence, to keep you from feeling entirely deprived. I tend to follow a diet where sugar, white flour, and artificial processed foods are eliminated. Pizza is usually my favorite cheat meal. I found a video by a guy who explains how your cheat meals should ''work'' for you, thought it was pretty interesting. I don't agree with everything he says, because I don't believe in ''dieting.'' But, it teaches some parameters for cheat meals so you don't go overboard and ruin your eating plan.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

so you have a Garmin
had a FitBit for almost two years now
very happy with my Surge, but curious how a Garmin would be different

[whatevergirl]

so you have a Garmin
had a FitBit for almost two years now
very happy with my Surge, but curious how a Garmin would be different

I don't use a Garmin anymore and haven't for a few years. I'd say the main difference would be that the Garmin can withstand swimming, while yours can't. And both have different looks, so it depends on the look you want. Garmin is a trusted name, and honestly, I think that is why a lot of people love that brand. I have friends who love the fitbit though who used to swear by Garmin, so ... but the Garmin has some better (more advanced) data tracking methods than the fitbit.

I have been using MMR now for my runs, and I'm fine with it, the only drawback being, I have to hold my phone while running. I need one of those arm bands, but there's something about them that I don't like.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

I see.
I missread a post above.
Was in a hurry.
Got it.

[whatevergirl]

I see.
I missread a post above.
Was in a hurry.
Got it.

No worries. Have a great Friday!