Back on stage - This is what 45 looks like

[kimm4]

Well well look what we have here. Go get it!

[sy2502]

Well well look what we have here. Go get it!

[sy2502]

Yesterday afternoon I went to a little weekly 15 min stretch class my company organizes for all departments (because they worry about lawsuits from all the people they crippled with RSI). There's also a 30 min foam roller class on Mondays, but I missed it this week.
Then later in the evening was shoulders, abs, and calves:

Heavy dumbbell shoulder presses (a frackload)
Heavy dumbbell lateral raises (another frackload)

Decline sit ups (a bunch)
Cable crunches (another bunch)

Seated calf raises
Standing calf raises

I have come to the conclusion my calf muscles aren't really attached to anything, kind of lights on but nobody home, because nothing has happened in that region. Ever. Not even a subatomic particle of calf muscle to be found. And boy have I hammered those calves over the years... all I get is very sore arches of my feet, nothing much else.

Also one of my colleagues was back from vacation and brought to a meeting a bunch of assorted cookies, and I am happy to report I did nothing more than silently drool, but did not touch them. On the other hand, the other day, somebody left a tray of brownies in the break room so after everybody finished them, I admit I stole a microscopic crumb of brownie. Oh the sweet chocolaty taste of brownie... at least I think that's what it was, the crumb was so small it was hard to tell...

[sy2502]

Mid week weigh in: 135lbs, right on track.

Yesterday was my cardio day, an hour of hills while watching the Food Channel LOL.

[Partyrocking]

Good job avoiding the work goodies. They are many people's downfall.

I wish I could offer some sage advice on the calves. I got mine by being a fat kid growing up.

[sy2502]

Good job avoiding the work goodies. They are many people's downfall.

I wish I could offer some sage advice on the calves. I got mine by being a fat kid growing up.

I hate when people say "it's genetics" as a way to justify their half assed efforts to grow a body part, but I am pretty close to claim "genetics" about my calves at this point.

[MissKB]

Mid week weigh in: 135lbs, right on track.

Yesterday was my cardio day, an hour of hills while watching the Food Channel LOL.

I don't know how I ever did cardio before without Netflix

[sy2502]

I don't know how I ever did cardio before without Netflix

Do you have anything good to watch to recommend?

[Echo814]

I have come across some good training posts about calves. I'm in the don't really need to do much camp, but these might help Not sure if you incorporate any of these techniques but never hurts to share.

https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle...e-calves.html/

http://revivestronger.com/2016/09/29/bigger-calves/

Hmm, Netflix... We watch all the Marvel shows, Dare Devil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and will soon move to The Defenders.

[MissKB]

Do you have anything good to watch to recommend?

Depending on your taste in shows - I loved Mindhunters, Shameless, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, People vs OJ, Criminal Minds

[Fiction2Fitness]

I miss watching food network during cardio. Wish they had machines at the gym with that option. Made it so much better when could watch food.

[Partyrocking]

I usually watch crime shows like Poirot or Murdock. When I'm pretending to be smart, I watch Planet Earth.

[sy2502]

Depending on your taste in shows - I loved Mindhunters, Shameless, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, People vs OJ, Criminal Minds

I loved both Mindhunters and Stranger Things! I also watch Black Mirror occasionally: since every episode is self contained, I can watch it whenever.

Yesterday was chest and biceps, and the little gym at work was very busy so I stuck with the equipment I could get my hands on and did lots of sets of those exercises.

- Barbell chest presses
- Incline cable presses
- Incline DB biceps curls
- Standing DB biceps curls

30 mins of cardio.

I do my cable presses by putting a bench between the arms of this machine:



I like it because it gives the freedom of movement of dumbbells, but you don't need to struggle to hoist them up, you don't need a spotter, and you get constant tension throughout the movement.

For biceps, I only use dumbbells because I tend to have periodic bouts of RSI induced pains in my arms and sometimes I have to adapt the weight accordingly. Right now I don't have any, but I use DBs anyway.

In my standing curls to avoid swinging and swaying I angle my arms so that the palms are facing as much off the sides of my body as possible.

Yesterday I had no hunger to speak of, I had my 450 calories lunch, then by 5pm when it was time to workout I realized I hadn't eaten anything else, but I didn't want to eat, so I didn't. After working out I forced another 400 calories down my throat just because I had to, but then I didn't want any dinner. So around 9pm I forced another 300 calories down just to at least get triple digit grams of protein in me before bed. So yeah, losing weight by forcing myself to eat 1150 calories is an interesting way to go about it...

[sy2502]

2 weeks down 12 more to go!

Weight this morning: 134.5lbs so right on track like clockwork (I just jinxed myself, didn't I?).
Saturday I took a day off from working out, I had a gift card for a nail salon so I went there and got some "me time" in. Yesterday was a beautiful day and took advantage to put a few hours of yard work in. This morning I am so sleepy I don't know that it will be interesting to get anything done.

[MissKB]

Ah! I can't wait until the weather here is warm enough for me to want to go outside for extended periods of time congrats on being on track w/ weight!!

[sy2502]

Ah! I can't wait until the weather here is warm enough for me to want to go outside for extended periods of time congrats on being on track w/ weight!!

Oh thank you so much!!! Today I was hitting a bit of a "why the heck am I doing this, again?" moment. You know the "why do I even bother, I am not going to win chit anyway, who am I kidding" phase of competition prep. So thank you so much for the support, it means the world!

[sy2502]

So this isn't prep related but I thought I'd share it anyway.

I have had digestive problems my whole life, since I can remember, I have been to every doctor and never got answers. Finally they called it Irritable Bowel Disease, and sent me my merry way.

I spent hours over several months digging through the National Institute of Health Library for medical papers. Eventually I found a whole class of genetic metabolic disorders that had a number of things in common with what I experienced. They come in 3 main categories:

- Carb metabolism, where either your liver can't store glycogen as well, or your body has trouble using it for fuel.
- Fatty acid metabolism, where your body doesn't produce enough chemicals to properly break down the fatty acids.
- Amino acid metabolism, where the body can't break down one or more of the essential amino acids.

Anyway the thing they all have in common is that while incurable, they respond to high doses of vitamin B. Each disorder responds to high doses of a different vitamin B. It's very difficult to take too much vitamin B to the point it's toxic, so while I don't want to self diagnose, I thought why not, I don't have anything to lose by taking vitamin B complex, which is good for me anyway.

I have been taking it for a few months now, and all I can say is that I went from having severe stomach distress almost every day to having it maybe once every 2 weeks, and it's usually on Monday if I forget to take my vitamins over the weekend.

Obviously not being a doctor, I wouldn't dream to recommend a treatment to anyone else, we all make our choices about our bodies. I am just mentioning it, and maybe somebody will find it useful.

[ProYeo]

"why the heck am I doing this, again?"

For YOU!

For the experience!

So we can cheer you on!

[sy2502]

For YOU!

For the experience!

So we can cheer you on!

You are the best!

Yeah I am pretty sure self doubt is part and parcel of competition prep, when it comes it's better to just acknowledge it and wait for it to move on. I don't know if you experienced it too, I know that if I was to step in the Arnold stage I'd have some major impostor syndrome but that's just me.

On a side note I have already started to get cranky, which is odd because I am not hungry, so what the heck am I cranky about? Monday night I snapped at my poor husband a couple of times, I feel so sorry for the guy, he didn't deserve it. I have had a couple of b*tchy moments at work too, I have to watch my mouth a bit better (and my fingers on the keyboard).

So yesterday the gym was busy again, so I grabbed a bench and managed to do almost everything on that one bench (you need to be creative when you go to a small, crowded gym):

- DB shoulder presses (my shoulders were BURNING like crazy after all of those)
- Decline bench sit ups (different variations)
- Standing calf raises (off the foot of the bench, one foot at a time, holding a 55lbs DB)
- Side shoulder raises (feel the burnnnnn!!)
- Dragon flags (not just hard as phuk but they look so frigging cool)
- Seated calf raises.

[ProYeo]

You are the best!

Yeah I am pretty sure self doubt is part and parcel of competition prep, when it comes it's better to just acknowledge it and wait for it to move on. I don't know if you experienced it too

Oh absolutely! That's one of the reasons I keep hiring my coach. I've done a good amount of shows, so I know how to get on stage by now. But prep is madness, I need the sanity my coach provides!

[sy2502]

Mid week weigh in, and still 134.5lbs, I'll weigh myself again every day this week, and if I am still not losing anything, I'll have to adjust something. I don't have much room for errors in 14 weeks prep, so I can't waste even one week.

[Plateauplower]

You are the best!

Yeah I am pretty sure self doubt is part and parcel of competition prep, when it comes it's better to just acknowledge it and wait for it to move on. I don't know if you experienced it too, I know that if I was to step in the Arnold stage I'd have some major impostor syndrome but that's just me.

On a side note I have already started to get cranky, which is odd because I am not hungry, so what the heck am I cranky about? Monday night I snapped at my poor husband a couple of times, I feel so sorry for the guy, he didn't deserve it. I have had a couple of b*tchy moments at work too, I have to watch my mouth a bit better (and my fingers on the keyboard).

So yesterday the gym was busy again, so I grabbed a bench and managed to do almost everything on that one bench (you need to be creative when you go to a small, crowded gym):

- DB shoulder presses (my shoulders were BURNING like crazy after all of those)
- Decline bench sit ups (different variations)
- Standing calf raises (off the foot of the bench, one foot at a time, holding a 55lbs DB)
- Side shoulder raises (feel the burnnnnn!!)
- Dragon flags (not just hard as phuk but they look so frigging cool)
- Seated calf raises.

Great work, glad your on track. Stairs for cardio *might help calves, stay on your toes. Save the b*tchy for the gym, use it to your advantage to leverage the equipment you want to use. Stop with the self-doubt, positive thinking. Know your going to win, because you are gonna out-work all those other b*tches

[MissKB]

Mid week weigh in, and still 134.5lbs, I'll weigh myself again every day this week, and if I am still not losing anything, I'll have to adjust something. I don't have much room for errors in 14 weeks prep, so I can't waste even one week.

This is so stressful and I'm not even you! Lol! Do you do any type of refeed or anything in your process?

[sy2502]

Great work, glad your on track. Stairs for cardio *might help calves, stay on your toes. Save the b*tchy for the gym, use it to your advantage to leverage the equipment you want to use. Stop with the self-doubt, positive thinking. Know your going to win, because you are gonna out-work all those other b*tches

Would rep, but on spread. Thank you so much for the support!

This is so stressful and I'm not even you! Lol! Do you do any type of refeed or anything in your process?

Not yet, after all this is only the 3rd week of diet, it seems a bit early for my body to already freak out. It's also true that, as most people on prep, I am experiencing a certain difficulty going to the bathroom, so it may be that, as my hubby puts it, all I need is a good chit (always the romantic, that guy...)

Also I had stomach upset 3 days in a row, which is unusual since I started megadosing vitamin B and that may have thrown the fluids out of whack. My stomach problems present as follows:
- Starts feeling like too much stomach acid. But no amount of antiacid makes any difference.
- Pain moves down to the entire stomach and depending on the severity of the attack, sides and even back.
- My belly swells like a balloon, and I mean freaky, like the alien is about to burst out.
- The pain reveals itself for what it is, that is extremely painful cramps. If I am driving I need to pull over immediately. Depending on the severity of the attack I may start cold sweating, shaking, and have come close to passing out.
- The pain lasts about 3 miserable hours, then abates all by itself.
- The following day I feel like I was repeatedly punched in the gut. Or like I did a million crunches.

Doc gave me a muscle relaxant specific to the muscles of the gut and if I take it at stage 1 when it feels like heartburn, I am going to be fine. Oh did I mention I had an attack at my last competition? Yeah that was perfect!

[sy2502]

Mid week weigh in, and still 134.5lbs, I'll weigh myself again every day this week, and if I am still not losing anything, I'll have to adjust something. I don't have much room for errors in 14 weeks prep, so I can't waste even one week.

Weighed myself again this moring: 135.5lbs. Since I am pretty sure I didn't eat 3,500 calories over maintenance yesterday, something is definitely afoot and it's not about me getting fat. So I won't freak out just yet, let's see what the coming days bring.

Yesterday was chest and biceps.

- BB bench presses: absolutely killed it, PR and everything. So pleased with it!
- Incline presses
- Pec dec

- Seated incline DB curls
- Standing DB curls

30 mins of cardio

I find soups are great on prep, the extra liquid goes a long way in keeping the stomach full, so yesterday I made a batch with

- 1 Leek
- 1 clove of garlic
- Fresh turkey sausage cut into bite size pieces
- Kale
- Cannellini beans
- Fat free chicken stock

[mavd]

Definitely don't sweat the pound. Do you monitor sodium intake? Chicken stock and sausage tend to both be on the high side for sodium, so it's likely just a little water retention spike.

[MissKB]

Definitely don't sweat the pound. Do you monitor sodium intake? Chicken stock and sausage tend to both be on the high side for sodium, so it's likely just a little water retention spike.

I was going to say this, as well! Congrats on the bench PR!

[sy2502]

Definitely don't sweat the pound. Do you monitor sodium intake? Chicken stock and sausage tend to both be on the high side for sodium, so it's likely just a little water retention spike.

If it's water, maybe I should sweat that pound.

Sweat it off, I mean

[Plateauplower]

If it's water, maybe I should sweat that pound.

Sweat it off, I mean

That's great it means you are gonna see another scale drop. I always weigh daily around the same time and track my intake especially closely when dieting. EVERYTIME I have a "real" scale loss it is preceded by a slight uptick in scale weight. The theory is as the fat comes out of the fat cell to be used, the fat cell will suck up water to equalize the pressure/fill space, before expelling that water and shrinking. Water being heavier (more dense) than fat, causes the scale weight to increase slightly. I can almost promise you will see a new low in the next day or two. I'm down 25+ lbs from Jan 1 and have seen an uptick precede almost every single new drop that is sustained (and obviously there have been many ). I even eat nearly the same thing all week (I cook my protein in bulk, so each week I'll eat the same thing then change things up the following week) so I'm pretty confident that this is a real "thing". Its science

Can read about it on Lyle McDonalds article
https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-lo...ishy-fat.html/

That link...

[HomeGymChains]

Very impressive! Very inspirational!

Thanks for the post about vitamin B complex for metabolic disorders.