Perils of Big Thighs and Bridesmaid Dresses

[Clinos]

Joined gym, started Baby Got Back.

Rack pull 5x5 started at 95# and worked up to 125#
Bent over row 3x8 @ 75#
Bench 5x5 70-85# but only managed 2 at 85
Incline DB bench 3x8 @ 20# ea
Seated Calf Raise 3x12 @ 50#
Weird oblique twist thing 3x10 @ 12#
Cable crunch 3x10 @ 35#

Good to see you back in the game!

[Fiction2Fitness]

Sounds fun. Like that it includes rack pulls, though I have to use stacked plates cause the safeties at the rack don't go low enough for me. I might have to check it out, just out of curiosity. Don't really know much about the program.

[mavd]

Day 2
Was supposed to do 5x5 squat. Didn't even know where to start so I statted at bar and did 5, then added 5 and did 5 until I burned out. That happened at 95. So that's a total of 11 sets of 5. I can do more weight.
Leg press 3x8@130
Was supposed to leg curl. Knee said no. Did Single leg RDL instead. 3x12@12#
Ez bar curls 3x10 (bar plus 15#, don't know the weight)
Hammer curls 3x12 with 12# DBs
Walked the 0.7 miles to/ from gym as warm up and cool down.
Then proceeded to spend 3 hours meal prepping on my feet. Still need to make 2 dinners and then breakfasts. But my legs gave out so I'm updating from the hot tub 😥

[mavd]

Good to see you back in the game!

Thanks!

Sounds fun. Like that it includes rack pulls, though I have to use stacked plates cause the safeties at the rack don't go low enough for me. I might have to check it out, just out of curiosity. Don't really know much about the program.

I freaking love rack pulls. Luckily my new gym has the kind of racks that have pin holes all the way to the ground. Actually, this place has, I kid you not, 11 squat racks. And 7 of those are outside which is freaking awesome. I love that I can lift outdoors in the fresh (city) air!

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I woke up at 4:30 am randomly so I decided to check out one of the group fitness classes at 6. It was called "Core and More". I'm sure you can imagine the "Core" (i.e. 30 variations of planks and reverse crunches). The "More" turned out to be lots of lunges, which my quads and @$$ didn't really appreciate after yesterday's squat-fest. Anyway, I worked up quite a sweat, half the class was outside (again, loving this aspect of the gym), and I will probably feel it in the abs tomorrow.

I am going to attempt to switch to AM workouts. I love the energy I feel all day and having the evening to relax. I extra love when I wake up without an alarm for it so that I don't feel like I'm punishing myself.

So my breakfast, lunch, and dinner plan right now is 100% Whole30 approved. I still don't think I'll commit to Whole30, because trivia nights and I'm pretty sure I'd have to kick the diet soda habit. I've also been avoiding the scale like the Black Plague of Doom. And I'm not in the mood to calorie count. So for now, I'm going to just get back into the swing of lifting regularly, eating mostly healthy stuff in reasonable amounts, and look for visible improvements. I'll probably get fed up with lack of progress in a few weeks and commit to cutting again. Maybe.

[mavd]

Day 3 of Baby Got Back:

Well, this is going to be embarrassing.

Routine said 5x5 weighted chins. At my thinnest (which also coincided with peak fitness) I could do about 4 body weight pullups in a row. So I went with assisted. I also completely spaced and did palms out instead of palms in which I believe is what was expected. Anywho... started with 30# assistance since cocky. Yeah, no. Went to 45, nope. 60? Barely one. 70? 3 sets of 5. Had to drop to 80 for the last 2 sets. Which seems reaaaaaallly off because I can still do 1-2 palms in chin ups unassisted and can lift more than my BW-80 for lat pull downs easily.

High Hammer Row: 3x8 @100#. And that was easy. Should've done way more weight, but the Hammer machines are all outside and it's raining and windy and I was like eff this (actually, it still felt nice to be outside but I stepped in a puddle and my feet were soaked and I was crabby af about it).

Shoulder warm-up: Bent over lat raise 5 @ 5# DBs and 5 @ 10# DBs

OHP.... this is where it gets embarrass again.... This by far has always been my worst lift because my right shoulder is very unstable due to the s****osis and hypermobility. I think I mentioned at the beginning of this log that I had a rather catastrophic dislocation a few years back... it was doing OHP with DBs, shoulder popped out, hand locked up, elbow touched opposite shoulder behind my head before the DB dropped out of the hand.... yeah... it was ugly. And very painful. Anyway..... I think at peak strength I was up to 5x5 at 65# and had only ever attempted to 1RM at 80# (was successful). So I went back to 45#. Managed 4 full sets of 5 but failed on the 5th rep of the last set.

Upright lat raise: 3x8@10# DBs

Calf raise (on leg press) 3x10@240#

Then, routine called for weighted ab work. I did enough ab **** yesterday so I decided to do medicine ball slams. 3x10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These have all been pretty short workouts. 25-35 minutes tops. I should add HIIT or SS or both at the end but so far I haven't been in the mood. I don't really like to spend 90 minutes in the gym. When I was super serious a few years back I did two-a-days, cardio in the morning and lifting at night. I don't hate the idea but I'm not going to push myself that far right away as to avoid burnout. I am going to go to yoga tonight though, I haven't even done that in a month (holidays).

[mavd]

I followed through with yoga last night. Even though every muscle in my body begged me not to. I'm ready to be done with the "everything hurts and I'm dying" stage of a new routine. I really don't understand people who enjoy DOMs. Like seriously.... I can know I pushed myself without having to use the handicap stall so I can pull myself off the toilet.

This morning's workout/Day 4:
RDL - 5x5 at 95-105-115-125-135#
Good Mornings (I effing hate these MFers) - 3x8 at 45-50-55#
Split squat/rear leg elevated (forgot the name of this?) - 3x15 at body-weight
Single arm skull crushers - 5x5 at 17.5# (yay for halfy DBs)
Cable tricep pushdown - 1x12 at 20#, 2x8 at 25#

Also used the sauna for about 10 min after to try to help the DOM situation. Really enjoying the AM workouts, although to manage that I'm going to bed at like 9:30 which makes me feel a little lame. Oh well. Tomorrow is a rest day, and I'm going to actually rest. Well, I'll probably walk to/from trivia (3.5 miles round trip) but otherwise, rest.

Another thing to note: Yesterday I was bloated worse than I've ever been in my life. It's not that time of the month. I didn't eat anything to trigger it. I'm not one of those girls who has a flat belly in the morning and a distended one at night generally. But even before dinner yesterday I looked, well, pregnant. So weird. Only thing that's changed recently is the IUD removal, so maybe the lady bits are adjusting to their new freedom? Who knows.

[MoEcho]

*wave* Getting it done in here I see.

[mavd]

*wave* Getting it done in here I see.

Trying to, anyway 😂

Did the "MMA Fitness" class. Meh. Worked up a sweat and all but it's mostly just high rep low weight circuit stuff. I think I'll do the spin class on my next Friday instead.

[mavd]

Week 2 Day 1
Rack pull 5 reps at 95-115-135-145-150
Row 8 reps at 65-70-70
Bench 5x5 at 75
Incline DB bench 12 at 22.5, 6 at 25, 6 at 22.5
Seated cable row 3x12 at 70
Cable fly 3x12 at 15
Cable crunch 3x10 at 40
Back supported leg lift 3x8
Seated Calf Raise 3x12 at 50


Yes I benched less this week. No spotter and I'm a chicken. Tried to hit the accessories harder to make up for it.

[mavd]

(Yesterday) Week 2 Day 2
Squats warm-up 3 at 45# and 3 at 65# then 5x5 at 95/100/105/110/115#
Leg Press 3x8 at 160#
Still a no on leg curls so 3x12 single leg SLDL at 12kg (on a happy note, the machine I couldn't figure out last week is now labeled as broke, so maybe I'm not a complete idiot)
Bench curl 5x5 at bar+20#
Hammer Curl 3x10 at 12# DBs
Walked to/from gym (0.7 mi each way) as warm-up/cool down
Then, hit the hot tub for a bit before deciding to take a walk around down town (total walking at 6.3 mi for the day).
Followed walk around town with trip to KC BBQ, the place from the piano scene from Top Gun. Undid all form of diet for the week. YOLO.


I now hate myself for saying YOLO.


Today was "Rest Day" so I did the "Core & More" class again this morning. Apparently, New Years resolutioners are already trickling out because the class had maybe 12 ladies last week and this week, just two of us. That was pretty nice, actually, because when I told her that pikes on the slidey-things were working my quads more than my core she switched it up. Last week was glute/quad heavy in the "more", this week, it was back. I'm not mad.



Also, treated myself to a new pair of Bose over-the-ear wireless headphones this weekend. I'm hard as fvk on headphones, and I burn through cheapies in about a month. Figured, go for quality and a 3 year accidental damage warranty. Used them in the gym on Sunday, a little warm but good quality sound really adds to my lifting. And Pandora now has a "Dubstep Lifting" channel which was instant love.

[mavd]

Fiction2Fitness kind of inspired me to dredge up some old measurements and such. It must've been January 2012 that I realized my weight had gotten out of control. Actually, what I recall happening was me rolling over to one side and realizing my stomach followed in it's own time. Didn't take measurements then but I did the classic MyFitnessPal/2 hours of cardio/1200 calories thing for about 5 months. In May, I got to my goal weight without my goal body (shocking) and discovered the world of lifting. I'm going to post a few highlights from MFP, only stored hips and waist measurements there.

January 2012:
Weight: ~170#
Pants size: 12 (and they were getting tight)

May 2012:
Weight: 143#
Hips: 37"
Waist: 29"
I recall being in about a size 8 at this point.

March 2014 (lowest weight recorded)
Weight: 130#
Hips: 38"
Waist: 25"

May 2015 (leanest I've ever been, around when my avi pic was taken)
Weight: 135#
Hips: 35"
Waist: 25"
Quads: 19.5"
All of my size 4 pants could be pulled off without unbuttoning, but I didn't stay this lean long enough to replace the wardrobe.

Current:
Weight: 152# (waaaaah I seriously put back on all the weight lost for the wedding!)
Waist: 28"
Hips: 41" (omfg what!? lol)
Quads: 22.5"
For comparison... my size 4 pants are all on the snug side and my 6's fit pretty well.

So um, my @$$ is currently out of control. Honestly, when I'm fluffly like currently it fills out quite nicely. So I think it looks pretty good. But still, I would really like to whittle the figure back to a 26" or so waist, and wherever that leaves the butt I'll probably be happy. I really should get the weight closer to 140, because that really helps me with back pain. As for muscle content of the new weight from 2015.... I trained pretty consistently from May 2015-July 2016, but I have to admit it was spotty at best from July 2016-July 2017, the intense again for wedding prep (although lower weight/higher rep due to gym restriction), then practically nil from October to a last week. So I doubt I have any gains to show even if I manage to get back to a similar level of leanness as the avi pic. Which actually really isn't the goal. I looked good, but I didn't have much of a social life.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Those are quite the changes. Maybe I should have kept track of pant sizes too though some of them depend on the type of pants. That is quite the change for the hips but still envy the waist measurements. We always want something else, I suppose. I just would like my stomach measurement to be smaller than the hips and/or chest.

[MoEcho]

^^ Ditto that. Good idea on the pant sizes. I may just steal this...

[mavd]

Week 2 Day 3
Assisted Pull-up (palms out, wide grip) 5x5 w/ 70# assistance (10 better than last week)
High Hammer Row 3x8 at 110# (up 10 from last week)
OHP 1x5 at 45#, 3x5 at 50#, 1x4 at 50#, then 1x1 at 45# for my pride
Superset A:
Lying pullover 3x10 at 10/15/20# (never done these before, didn't know where to start)
Standing side laterals 3x8 at 10# DBs
Superset B:
Calf raise on leg press: 2x12 at 240#, 1x12 at 200# (had to take breaks at 240 so dropped)
Medicine ball slam: 1x10 at 14#, 2x10 at 20#

Workout doesn't specify to superset but it saves time. I was reaaaaaally dragging this morning but once I got to the gym I feel like I had a solid workout. Most of it was outside, at 6am, with a reported temp at 53* :-D

[mavd]

Those are quite the changes. Maybe I should have kept track of pant sizes too though some of them depend on the type of pants. That is quite the change for the hips but still envy the waist measurements. We always want something else, I suppose. I just would like my stomach measurement to be smaller than the hips and/or chest.

Yeah 41 inches is the highest I ever measured my hips. Well, I measure at widest which is a solid 3 inches below my hip bones. Even pre-wedding crash diet I think they were only 39. Not really sure what happened.

I'm genetically inclined to hourglass shape thankfully, but lifting has definitely emphasized it. Still, all fat goes pretty much straight to my butt, thighs, and (to my disgust) upper arms. The reason that I was ever even at 35" hips was that I was probably rocking sub-18%BF at that point.

^^ Ditto that. Good idea on the pant sizes. I may just steal this...

I mostly remember this because I lost 30 pounds and just 2 pants sizes, then I started lifting and lost a 1-2 sizes without dropping a pound. It's kind of a useless measuring stick for some because of vanity sizing, but I really only buy pants from 3 places (White House/Black Market, Lucky Brand, Calvin Klein) so it's more consistent.

[MoEcho]

ha ha! I buy all my jeans at Old Navy!! Mens. The women's jeans make my butt look like J-Lo

[mavd]

ha ha! I buy all my jeans at Old Navy!! Mens. The women's jeans make my butt look like J-Lo

If I can pull Old Navy or Gap jeans over my thighs, they're literally 8 sizes too big at the top. I learned from my disastrous bridesmaid dress encounter that the circumference around both thighs is larger than the widest part of my hips :'D

(edited to add: I don't mind J-Lo butt. I like J-Lo butt. Bring on the J-Lo butt!)

[mavd]

Had a bad night. Didn't go the gym this morning. Will go after work instead.

For reasons I'd rather not get in to, I think I'll be spending as little time in my apartment as possible for the next few weeks. I think it's a good time to go ahead and start two-a-days, cardio in the AM and lifting in the PM. I think tomorrow there is a 6am spin class I'm going to check out.

[mavd]

My mood is ****. My diet is ****. My workout was ****.

W2D4
RDL 1x5x95# 4x5x135#
Superset A
Good morning 1x8x65 2x8x70#
Skull crusher single arm 3x10x15#
Superset B
Walking lunge 3x12x10# DBs
Triceps push down 3x12x20#

Again, superset was not specified but whatever. Supposed to be hammy day but RDL and GM booth feel like they were hitting lower back instead. Had to talk myself into not quitting constantly starting from second GM set.

[mavd]

Did the spin class this morning. Made proats for breakfast as to attempt to eat enough protein for the day. Kind of in a "just get up and grind through" place right now.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Sorry to hear things are down right now. Hopefully you can push through and everything improves soon.

[mavd]

Saturday - W3D1
Rack Pull 5x5 95/135/140/145/145#
Row 3x8 75/75/75#
Bench Press 5x5 65/70/75/80/80
Incline DB Press 3x8 20/22.5/22.5#
Seated Calf Raise 50# for 15, 12, 12 reps
Russian twists with 10# plate 3x12

Sunday W3D2
Squats* 5x5 at 65#
Leg Pres 3x8 at 160#
SLDL* 3x12 at 20#
Bench Curl* 5x5 at bar+25/25/25/20/20#
Hammer Curl 3x15 at 10#

* I went on a 3 hour motorcycle ride through fire access (i.e. dirt) roads through the local mountains. My back, knee, and hand were pretty stiff from that and it was apparently worse than I realized. I tried to use the weird safety bar for squats (it goes behind your neck but then there's bars that come out to grab on to....) which is I think 75#. I'd never used it before so when I failed to hit depth at just bar I thought it was just an awkward weight distribution. So then I switched to a regular bar and tried to warmup at 65 and struggled to hit depth there. Back reaaaaaaally hurt. This also turned out to be a problem for my single leg deadlifts, because I couldn't stabilize and balance. Grip was giving me a challenge on the curls. So, moral of the story, lift before long, athletic rides.

Also, woke up at 5am for my "Core and More" class but my back was still in pain so I figured better take a real rest day today to recover. Maybe I'll go for a walk after work.

Diet this weekend was absolute **** and there was a quite a bit of drinking (had a pizza and a bottle of wine while binging the new season of "Grace and Frankie" on Friday then did bottle service at a bar with some friends on Saturday).

In healthier news, I caved and got a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer around Christmas, and bought a spiralizer and veggie slicer attachments last week. Made some zucchini noodles for lunches this week and sliced up some cucumbers for healthy snacking. Also read that you can use the blending paddle to shred chicken, so I popped my slow cooker Thai chicken in this morning and it worked like a charm! Saved me oodles of time over shredding with a fork.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Does sound rough on the back. Hope it's feeling better. I've seen pictures on instagram of the other bar but forget what it's called since the commercial gym I use doesn't have such.

The mixer sounds fabulous. I want one of those some day when I have a kitchen that's big enough. Ours is small and with three people each having their own things, just not enough room.

[mavd]

Does sound rough on the back. Hope it's feeling better. I've seen pictures on instagram of the other bar but forget what it's called since the commercial gym I use doesn't have such.

The mixer sounds fabulous. I want one of those some day when I have a kitchen that's big enough. Ours is small and with three people each having their own things, just not enough room.

Yeah it takes up a bit of real estate and I don't exactly have a big kitchen. But it's fun and, I'll admit, a pretty display piece too :*)

[mavd]

Yesterday I ended up doing a Video On-Demand spin class at home (32 min). My knee was feeling really stiff and I thought the repetitive motion might loosen it up. I wasn't wrong.

W3D3 (this morning)
Assisted wide grip pull-up 1x4@60#, 1x4@65#, 3x5@70#
Hammer High Pull Down 3x8@115#
OHP 1x5@45#, 1x5@55#, 1x3@60#, 2x5@55#
DB Lat Raise 3x8@12.5# ea
Calf Raise on Leg Press 3x12@140#
Abs - Mountain Climbers from Bosu 3x8 (yeah this was really hard)
Recovery - 15 min sauna

Tracked calories yesterday for grins and jollies. Was at 1850 and 90g of protein. Not ideal but not terrible considering I had cookies at a work meeting and three hotdogs for dinner (don't judge.... or do... whatever... they were tasty).

Still going to do yoga tonight.

Also, going out of town this weekend through Mon. Generally I have a rest day on Thur and Fri, lift Sat and Sun, rest Mon. I think I'll do a day pass somewhere over the weekend and lift on Mon after I get back.

[mavd]

Didn't do yoga yesterday. Was feeling stressed and basically just wanted to curl up in pajamas and chill. So I did. I also was scheduled to lift this morning at 5 am and I turned my alarm of and slept an extra 3 hours instead. Had a medical appointment at 9am today and it didn't really go well... basically all my moping the last week or so is going to continue. And now things also hurt. Trying not to get too down or too worried about it but let's just say I'll be happy in a week when my results are back.

And I really should've lifted this AM because I think I'm going to be too sore from the procedure to lift this evening. At least I'm working from home for the day.

[mavd]

Yesterday I told myself I would do spin this morning and lift after work. I slept like crap and when my alarm started going off at 5am I as like hell naw. Turned it off, set a new one, but before I could fall back asleep I dragged my @$$ out of bed and went to class. Glad I did. It was a beautiful sunrise this morning and we set the bikes up so we could all watch it over the city skyline. We'll see if I'm up for lifting after work, if not, I will go tomorrow as I don't work and I don't leave for my trip until Saturday morning. Most of the pain from yesterday is gone.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Sucks with the sleeping issues and pain but nice that you were able to get up and enjoyed the sunrise along with the class. Have fun lifting whether it's today or tomorrow, either one.

[mavd]

Had to work late yesterday, so lifting didn't happen. Went today instead and decided since I'll be on a plane half of tomorrow I should destroy my legs.

W3D4
SLDL with deficit 5X5 @95/115/125/135/135#
Leg press high foot placement 3x8@160/170/180#
Walking lunge with 22.5# KBs 3x12
Single arm skull crushers 5x5@20#
Triceps rope push down 3x12@20#
Glute bridge hold with 40# 20 sec on/10 sec off for 4 min
KB Swing 33# 20 sec on/ 10 sec off for 4 min
20 min on the stairclimber
Recovery: 20 min in sauna

Last week everything hit the low back instead of hammies so I added the deficit to the SLDL and kept my legs much closer together which definitely helped. Also swapped the Good Mornings for the press and added the glute bridge for maximum burnout. Workout took around 1.5 hours but it was enjoyable and I had nothing better to do.... Well except pack and clean.

[mavd]

I am not sure how I escaped the Midwest without being massively overweight. It was so cold in Missouri this weekend I swear I did nothing but eat heavy foods, drink booze to stay warm, and wrap myself in blankets on the couch. Oh, how my blood has thinned.

Okay that's a bit exaggerated. I walked about 3 miles total on Sunday, but countered that by spending 4 hours in a bar watching the NHL All Star games and drinking beer.

This morning - W4D1
Rack Pull 5x5 135/155/165/170/170#
Row 3x8 75#
Bench 5x5 65/75/80/80/80
Pullover 3x10 15#
DB Incline Bench 3x8 20#s
Plate press 3x10 5#s
Russian Twist 3x8 10#
Calf Raise 3x12 50#

Absolutely stunning sunrise as I lifted outside this morning. I'm paying a ridiculous amount to be a member of this gym but I swear days like this make it worth it.

My parents are coming to visit in a week. My mom is currently trying to drop weight for a wedding she's in so hopefully the diet and exercise won't be completely derailed. Should be able to finish Week 4 before they arrive, not sure if I'll attempt Week 5 while they're here or just do spin/yoga/lap swimming with my mom since that's the kind of stuff she likes. We also have some cool stuff planned like a whale watching tour on an antique sailboat and a horse drawn carriage wine tour of Temecula. Should be fun!