Reclaiming My Health, Life, Vanity, & Sanity

[JK000]

Hello! Starting this journal for support and hopefully some fun banter along the way!

About me: 42 years old. Married to wonderful guy. Beautiful 17 year old daughter. Precious pitbull ( I LOVE my dog). Currently unemployed. Not really looking for a job. Hubby don't care. Neither do I.

History: Have always been active. Loved biking and swimming as a kid. Dancing and hiking in my 20's. Discovered weight training in my 30's and wondered how I ever survived without it.

Health: Developed chronic pain in 30's. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Tried many drugs. Became a couch potato. Packed on 50 lbs.

Currently: Decided to try the gym again after years of being afraid (because of the RA). Started very slow this past Nov. Discovered the weight training actually HELPED my pain - like, tremendously! So now I am not on any medication and my rheumatologist is fine with that. She told me that it is possible I was overly stressed out (which I was) and the exercise is giving me an outlet, which is reducing my symptoms because stress can trigger RA flares.

Joints that cause issues - right knee, left shoulder. I've pretty much had chronic pain in all the major joints, but right now I'm only dealing with these two, and so far I can work around it. The knee has actually shown a lot of improvement in the past several weeks.

Goals: I still need to lose 50 lbs. I have lost several inches since starting back at the gym, but my diet is bad so I haven't lost any scale weight. I would like to keep progressing with the weights, very slowly and as my body allows. I need to do more cardio. I would like to find something fun so it doesn't suck so bad. I also want to look better and feel more confident. This extra weight is a real drag.

Training: Currently doing and upper/lower split routine 4 times per week. Using the stair mill for cardio. I am doing a very slow progression, so I don't increase weight often. I usually increase reps. I'll do one extra rep each session. If I'm stuck on a weight, I'll decrease the rest between sets and keep the reps the same. Basically, I'm trying to milk every last drop of progress from each weight that I can get. This allows my joints plenty of time to adapt. When the reps get too high, that's when I bump up the weight and start the whole process over.

I don't have a picture yet. I'll post one at some point. Maybe after I lose a few pounds, lol.

Here's today's workout:

Lower Split
3 sets for each:
Bridges, clams - bw x 20
Squat - bw x 15
Front squat - 45 x 9
SLDL - 50 x 13
Leg Press - 50 x 13
Leg Curl - 50 x 11
Back ext - bw x 10
Cbl curl - 30 x 12
Incline curl - 10 x 10

Stair mill - 10 min intervals

Notes: I do biceps on lower day to even out the number of exercises. I am doing front squats because back squats hurt the shoulder. Everything felt fine today. The front squats were maybe a tad hard on my knee, but I think it will be fine.

Happy Friday!

[Partyrocking]

Welcome and Happy Friday!

[JK000]

Thanks for stopping by!

[JK000]

I've been trying to figure out Bodyspace this morning, and maybe it's just me, but that user interface is clumsy as hell. It reminds me of the new user interface on Hulu, which I also don't like. I prefer Hulu's old interface and have considered cancelling Hulu because the interface bugs me so much. I suppose it's just a preference thing. I like things to just cut to the chase. For example, yesterday I was shopping, and I get to the check out in a clothing store, and the first thing the checkout girl asks me for is my email. I tell her I don't want to give it out. Then she asks for my phone number. I tell her I don't want to give it out. Then she asks for my name. Really?! What happened to the good ol days when people would just take your damn money? Now they want a freakin bio with it.

Anyways ...

My plan today is to try racquetball. There are courts at the Y and I thought it might be a fun form of cardio, or at least something I could learn to enjoy. Upper body split is also on the schedule. My poor dog needs a walk at the park. She's been cooped up for a week due to the weather.

Foodwise, I did good yesterday. Protein shake, tuna, Salsarita burrito bowl, cottage cheese, fruit, coffee and cream. I need to cut back on the sodium, though. MFP sodium intake was crazy high, like 5000 mg.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Welcome!

I haven't tried to figure out much on bodyspace. I mostly stick to the forums on my laptop. I haven't played racquetball in a very long time. Hope you had fun if you tried it out. and mmmm sodium... I don't watch mine much but do occasionally have the high day that often includes good ol' ramen packets, aka sodium in a cup/bowl pending the brand chosen.

[JK000]

Welcome!

I haven't tried to figure out much on bodyspace. I mostly stick to the forums on my laptop. I haven't played racquetball in a very long time. Hope you had fun if you tried it out. and mmmm sodium... I don't watch mine much but do occasionally have the high day that often includes good ol' ramen packets, aka sodium in a cup/bowl pending the brand chosen.

Thanks for the welcome! Yeah, bodyspace is lame. Going for less sodium today - part of the reason it was so high was the burrito bowl - restaurants seem to add tons of sodium to dishes.

[JK000]

Well, I achieved most of what I set out to do today.

Workout:

Upper Split
3 sets for each:

Standing MP - 30 x 13 (90 sec)
BB Row -40 x 13 (90 sec)
Bench - 55 x 12 (90 sec)

Int/Ext shoulder rot - 12

Facepulls - 60 x 13
Lat PD - 70 x 10
Chest press mach - 40 x 12
Pushdowns - 60 x 12

Stair mill - 15 min intervals
racquetball - 30 min

For upper days, I always do standing mps, bb rows, and bench. The other exercises vary, depending upon what's available and if I want to try something different.

Played racquetball with my girlfriend, and it was definitely fun, but very low intensity. She is my age and single, and having boy troubles as of lately, so we spent a lot of time chatting about that. Makes me glad I am not single, lol. My husband is not perfect (neither am I), but I can live with his flaws and imperfections. And we are very good friends. I have tried to stress that to my gf many times - to make sure the guy is someone she likes to be around and hang out with ... outside the bedroom.

Spent the remainder of the afternoon meditating and then taking a nap. My poor dog did not get to the park, but tomorrow for sure!

[JK000]

I had a good day. Went to the gym, shopping, got my nails done. Hands feel pretty. Down 2 lbs on the scale. So far, so good.

Workout:

Lower Split:
3 sets for each unless noted

Bridges, clams x 20

Back squat 45 x 10 - 1 set
Front squat 45 x 10 - 3 sets
Str leg DL 50 x 14 - 1 set
65 x 10 - 2 sets
Leg Press 70 x 10
Hip ab 80 x 11
Hypers bw x 10
Cbl curls 30 x 15 - 1 set
40 x 11 - 2 sets

Stair Mill - 20 min intervals

Tried back squats but they're a no-go with shoulder. Any movement where my hand is behind my head with resistance hurts. Can't do oh tricep extensions either. Not sure what is going on. I don't recall injuring it. But I'm fine with front squats. They present their own challenges and I feel like I can progress with them for quite a long time. The stair mill was hell. It always is! I try to keep heart rate between 170-180 and that's not hard for me to do on the stair mill. I played a bit of racquetball afterwards, but not for long, I was tired.

Today's eats: coffee & cream, protein shake, tuna & mayo, chkn brst, brocc, cauli, cheese, sugar free cocoa, coffee and cream.

Still napping during the day. A lot of my pain symptoms have been dramatically reduced since starting weights, but the fatigue hasn't budged. I'm hoping my energy increases as the pounds drop.

[Partyrocking]

If you have lifting straps, you could try doing back squats with them. It would be like a make shift safety squat bar.

The stair mill is the devil. There's a trainer at the gym I go to who gets on it for an hour at a time; she never looks tired. I'm convinced she's a robot.

[JK000]

If you have lifting straps, you could try doing back squats with them. It would be like a make shift safety squat bar.

The stair mill is the devil. There's a trainer at the gym I go to who gets on it for an hour at a time; she never looks tired. I'm convinced she's a robot.

Haha, yeah there's a guy at my gym who literally runs on it for an hour! He's drenched in sweat, though. Still, I doubt he is human!