I am looking forward to the New Year... I hope to be done with this low calorie phase mid-late January and then I will be happy to be back at full intensity.
The past 2-3 years have been tumultuous and full of huge changes, many of my own choosing, and losses.
In the past I have relied far too much on motivation from the outside - how someone else wanted me to look, how someone else expected me to perform... I was greatly motivated by trying to be 'good enough' for other people.
In the new year I hope to find my inner motivation , and remain fired up about everything, for my own reasons.
I want to train for the look that I desire, and for the sheer enjoyment I get from moving heavy weights. The exaltation that comes from beating my previous lift, the fascination in seeing a new muscle fiber reveal itself.
I want to be a superhero of my own making.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Lighter workload...
We dropped my workout intensity a bit to compensate for the low calorie intake.. its hard for me to go in and not go all out.
New pre-workout supp - Hemo rage.. liked how it felt..
Warmed up on elliptical, then with hip swings and light clean & press with plates.
Squats 10 sets of 2 reps at 80% of 1RM
really happy with the depth I am getting with my squats now. These felt good, but could tell my one hip is kinda of jacked up , uneven.
Standing Military Press 10 sets of 2 reps 80% 1RM
these felt good, we started a little heavy on the first set and then dropped it a little and it felt much better. happy with the amount of power.
It felt like half a workout..but I am doing what I am told *pats self on the head*.
New pre-workout supp - Hemo rage.. liked how it felt..
Warmed up on elliptical, then with hip swings and light clean & press with plates.
Squats 10 sets of 2 reps at 80% of 1RM
really happy with the depth I am getting with my squats now. These felt good, but could tell my one hip is kinda of jacked up , uneven.
Standing Military Press 10 sets of 2 reps 80% 1RM
these felt good, we started a little heavy on the first set and then dropped it a little and it felt much better. happy with the amount of power.
It felt like half a workout..but I am doing what I am told *pats self on the head*.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
post christmas workout
low calorie is hard, lol. I am hungry all the time and energy is something to be doled out..
yesterday we decided to rest for a few different reasons, lack of sleep due to a sick 3 year-old who was up all night being one..
Today I felt good after breakfast and we needed to get all the kids out of the house, so we piled everyone into the van to go to the gym. The kids swam while we lifted, everybody happy and worn out ;) we will do event stuff at the studio Tuesday after work.
Today we did lower body push conditioning/upper body pull power
Warmed up with supersets of leg extensions and ham curls because I have a hamstring in my left leg that feels like a guitar string. No idea what I did but it is tight!
Leg ext/ham curl 3 sets 20 per
box jumps - smallestX15, next height upX12, next height up (have never done this tall before.)X5
single leg leg press 2 sets 20 per leg
front squats 2 sets 20
standing wide grip row 6, 5, 4, 3
assisted pull-ups 3x3
mid-back row/pulldown 5X3
bicep curls w/db's 6, 4, 5
stretched.. hammie still taut but feels better.
It was a really good workout considering that the first set of single leg press felt like I had exhausted all the gas in the tank. We picked up some new pre-workout stuff to try on Tuesday, hoping it will help counterbalance the low fuel intake.
Weight is down 2 more pounds.
yesterday we decided to rest for a few different reasons, lack of sleep due to a sick 3 year-old who was up all night being one..
Today I felt good after breakfast and we needed to get all the kids out of the house, so we piled everyone into the van to go to the gym. The kids swam while we lifted, everybody happy and worn out ;) we will do event stuff at the studio Tuesday after work.
Today we did lower body push conditioning/upper body pull power
Warmed up with supersets of leg extensions and ham curls because I have a hamstring in my left leg that feels like a guitar string. No idea what I did but it is tight!
Leg ext/ham curl 3 sets 20 per
box jumps - smallestX15, next height upX12, next height up (have never done this tall before.)X5
single leg leg press 2 sets 20 per leg
front squats 2 sets 20
standing wide grip row 6, 5, 4, 3
assisted pull-ups 3x3
mid-back row/pulldown 5X3
bicep curls w/db's 6, 4, 5
stretched.. hammie still taut but feels better.
It was a really good workout considering that the first set of single leg press felt like I had exhausted all the gas in the tank. We picked up some new pre-workout stuff to try on Tuesday, hoping it will help counterbalance the low fuel intake.
Weight is down 2 more pounds.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Holiday Stress Reliever
Just needed to get in and lift.
Did Clean and Press, progressively heavier..12, 8, 8,7
Trap bar deadlifts 12, 8, 8
Stiff-leg deadlifts w db's 12, 10, 10
incline db chest press 12, 12, 8
hit the wall during the last set of chest press, nothing left. I think i just used up all the calories I have eaten in two days, lol.
Besides crapping out before I planned to be finished, it was a good, intense workout.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Did Clean and Press, progressively heavier..12, 8, 8,7
Trap bar deadlifts 12, 8, 8
Stiff-leg deadlifts w db's 12, 10, 10
incline db chest press 12, 12, 8
hit the wall during the last set of chest press, nothing left. I think i just used up all the calories I have eaten in two days, lol.
Besides crapping out before I planned to be finished, it was a good, intense workout.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday Squat Workout
My left wrist has been bothering me, so we did a squat workout with stone simulation thrown in instead of event training.
We started with the stone exercise - low cable handles, squeezing an exercise ball and lifting it up and over like a stone.
Then before Mike clarified ..we did Zercher squats 12, 10, 8
(Mike's original instructions when I asked what to do were "ball simulation, zercher squats"
Anyhow..Mike was at the gym..and says "no..I meant for you to do 5 sets of 5 for zercher squats, back squats and front squats" .... back to the rack...
I forgot my knee sleeves..so no max weight on anything..and afterwards Mike says - you used the axle for the zercher squats, right? umm, no. no wonder I hated them so much more this time. lol.
Did 2 more sets of zercher squats and then 5X5 back squats and 5X5 front squats.
The front squats felt the best they ever have, maybe because they were last and my knees decided we weren't quitting and decided to work. I have been working on depth with all my squat variations, and Mike has me working on a complete stop at the bottom "no bouncing!".
All in all a good workout (for me, Adam's back was bothering him after the first set of back squats so he quit..until Mike made him do leg press). today my quads and glutes are sore, will stretch and roll them later...and my wrist feels like I could do a pull routine tonight :)
I am down 8 lbs so far ;)
We started with the stone exercise - low cable handles, squeezing an exercise ball and lifting it up and over like a stone.
Then before Mike clarified ..we did Zercher squats 12, 10, 8
(Mike's original instructions when I asked what to do were "ball simulation, zercher squats"
Anyhow..Mike was at the gym..and says "no..I meant for you to do 5 sets of 5 for zercher squats, back squats and front squats" .... back to the rack...
I forgot my knee sleeves..so no max weight on anything..and afterwards Mike says - you used the axle for the zercher squats, right? umm, no. no wonder I hated them so much more this time. lol.
Did 2 more sets of zercher squats and then 5X5 back squats and 5X5 front squats.
The front squats felt the best they ever have, maybe because they were last and my knees decided we weren't quitting and decided to work. I have been working on depth with all my squat variations, and Mike has me working on a complete stop at the bottom "no bouncing!".
All in all a good workout (for me, Adam's back was bothering him after the first set of back squats so he quit..until Mike made him do leg press). today my quads and glutes are sore, will stretch and roll them later...and my wrist feels like I could do a pull routine tonight :)
I am down 8 lbs so far ;)
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Quotes...and calorie loading. lol
I stole this great quote from another site...
I am looking forward to Tuesday when my calories drop (I know, stupid thing to look forward to and I will be complaining about being hungry, you can be sure of that...). the past few days have been sickening, we have eaten anything and everything to prepare for the upcoming low calorie cycle. I am puffy and tired and feel gross.
I guess,in retrospect, we could've calorie loaded on clean foods...but what fun would that have been? I do think once the low calorie cycling is over I will not go back to 'normal' eating ever again. My body functions best on lean protein, good fat and vegetables. My energy levels are better, my muscles feel good, I don't gain fat, my asthma is less noticeable, my moods swing a lot less...I am not really sure why I ever get away from that eating style. It is just the lure of chewy ciabatta bread or the appeal of caramel anything..yet I am always betrayed by those sirens, my ship dashed against the rocks..I get all stuffed up and puffed up and groggy...and my stomach aches.my whole system screams "why?????for the love of clean eating, why?"
So, Tuesday I go all clean and low calorie and begin shedding the excess layers to reveal the beautiful slabs of muscle that strongman training has helped add to :) I am very excited to see my muscles again, instead of just their vague outlines under chub. This time I refuse to ever cover them up again, once I can see them I am just going to add to them, worship them, oil them up and flex them everywhere, but never again will I be lured by the false promises of sugary, fatty, processed comfort foods again.. I will look back and remember how awful I feel after a few days of excess.
SO! Get ready for the beast to re-emerge! within a few months I will again look like a superhero :)
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
I am looking forward to Tuesday when my calories drop (I know, stupid thing to look forward to and I will be complaining about being hungry, you can be sure of that...). the past few days have been sickening, we have eaten anything and everything to prepare for the upcoming low calorie cycle. I am puffy and tired and feel gross.
I guess,in retrospect, we could've calorie loaded on clean foods...but what fun would that have been? I do think once the low calorie cycling is over I will not go back to 'normal' eating ever again. My body functions best on lean protein, good fat and vegetables. My energy levels are better, my muscles feel good, I don't gain fat, my asthma is less noticeable, my moods swing a lot less...I am not really sure why I ever get away from that eating style. It is just the lure of chewy ciabatta bread or the appeal of caramel anything..yet I am always betrayed by those sirens, my ship dashed against the rocks..I get all stuffed up and puffed up and groggy...and my stomach aches.my whole system screams "why?????for the love of clean eating, why?"
So, Tuesday I go all clean and low calorie and begin shedding the excess layers to reveal the beautiful slabs of muscle that strongman training has helped add to :) I am very excited to see my muscles again, instead of just their vague outlines under chub. This time I refuse to ever cover them up again, once I can see them I am just going to add to them, worship them, oil them up and flex them everywhere, but never again will I be lured by the false promises of sugary, fatty, processed comfort foods again.. I will look back and remember how awful I feel after a few days of excess.
SO! Get ready for the beast to re-emerge! within a few months I will again look like a superhero :)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
SORRY!
I guess more to myself than anyone else, since I flatter myself thinking I have much of a following, lol.
I was sick a long time before going to compete at Nationals, I finished up a course of antibiotics a week or two beforehand and trained as much as my body could handle to prepare.
Reno was fantastic and humbling and I learned a ton and have all new goals.
The weekend started with our driving to Reno, a beautiful drive, but I can find beauty driving through cornfields in Nebraska, so... except for this one stretch in OR where they neglected to place any rest stops for I swear almost 200 miles...ohmygodmybladder.. the state will be receiving a letter about rest stop placement from me. Don't they realize how much water I drink??? and road trips mean Blue Rockstar...you get the picture.
One of our last stops before Reno was a Burger King..and there were quite a few other competitors there at the same time. I am socially awkward, so I kept to myself..I had only met one of them, once..if it had been on the way home it would've been a completely different situation, I left Reno feeling like I had made quite a few new acquaintances (a less socially awkward person might even venture to say 'friends'). So, sorry to Sara Osler and other people who probably think I am some snob..when really I am shy.
Grand Sierra resort was cool, except the cigarette smoke..and it was extra cool that the Natural Mr Olympia weekend was going on at the same time as NAS Nats. Lots of awesome physiques. We sat in the lobby a while and played "which type of competitor is that?" lets see - orange, ripped - judging by level of leanness they could be bikini, figure or fitness or bodybuilding. Giant traps, no tan..Strongman :)Very Inspiring to see them all.
Check-in was a little confidence shaking - they didn't seem to think I looked big enough. LOL. I am NOT petite. But I get there and Dione (who I had met once previously) was busy so the person with her says
"can I help you?"
"I'm here to check in"
he looks me up and down "really?" Dione turns and says "she's a competitor" turns away again.
he says " get on the scale"
"umm, they said heavywts don't have to weigh in"
I get the once over again (really. I am NOT petite, I was just under 200 lbs that morning).
"ok"
Wow. suddenly feeling very confused. lol.
I guess it maybe made more sense once I saw Melissa Garrett and Amy Wattles and Christina LaFex (spelling, sorry!) who all seemed about 6'2" or thereabouts..but still..I am not small. It was just an odd reaction.
The Athlete's mtg was funny, that is one thing I enjoy about this sport. It seems like a prerequisite to have a big sense of humor, strongmen remind me of vikings in so many ways. The quips and the back and forth smack talk..I love it. Strongmen remind me of the guys I hung out with growing up. Big and rowdy and slightly insane, perhaps dangerous but only to edible things and idiots.
Our room was on the 29th floor (I think, lol) and we could see the event area from our window. I got butterflies in my belly watching them set everything up. We went down to the event area to watch the men's events for a while..and realized no porta-potties! what? Insanity. So..start timer, walk from event area to nearest casino bathroom and back. Roundtrip less than 10 minutes..5 if I hurry..ok. But still. I think that was my only real gripe with the organization. lol. if this is my first blog entry people read they will think my world is centered around the bathroom. Only other people who drink upwards of a gallon of water a day understand..
Anyhow..we watched men for a while, some amazing athletes, I love to see them power through their events. But I also didn't want to get chilled to the bone, so we hung out in our room a lot and watched from the window.
Women warmed up at 3:30ish and got our yoke height, etc.. we began at 4 with the clean and press. I was really disappointed in my performance. This was one event I have trained since I began all this in May. I had not cleaned and pressed the contest wt yet, but had come close and was hoping adrenaline would take me the rest of the way. NOPE. I could get it almost to lockout twice but failed to complete. I did clean it..lol. I am in awe of Melissa and Christina and Kristin, who made it look effortless (I am not deliberately leaving anyone out..so many amazing women did so many amazing things that day). Someday I want to be as strong as they are.
The sun went down, the temperature dropped..and we went on to truck pull. I have only practiced this 3 times, all with a fullsize truck, no rope assist. Only once weighted with the sled and some plates. lol. rope assist seemed like a good idea, except I had never done it..so I wasn't as low as I would've been without it, I think. usually I start with my hands on the ground..I moved the truck at least..but did not excel by any means. I will be training a lot heavier truck pulls in the future ;)
Third event was probably my personal best event. Yoke. The first (and only other) time I competed I had never been under a yoke, we just didn't have access to one. So we did simulated standing and marching in place under a loaded bar..and I completely bombed on it at that first event. Back to training ;) The yoke we had made is a bitch. It wobbles and shakes and jacks your spine up and I would dread the days we had to do heavy yoke work because it was so hard. I had dreaded the upcoming heavy yoke at Nationals. guess what that bitch yoke did for me? made me freaking stable and stronger than I thought, lol. I got under that big, beautiful, stable yoke and stood up and went - awesome! and ran with it :) talking to Sarge later about it, he said my training yoke is probably a lot like the chain yokes, and that it sucks but it really builds your stability and core. I will never complain again about my training yoke. lol. (that doesn't mean I won't curse like a sailor under it on heavy days).
Keg carry/Sled drag medley went a lot better than I expected - I have no kegs to train with. And except for misspent youth, I really haven't hoisted many kegs. Thanks to Sarge and his last minute tips, and all the competitors who so freely share their techniques ( I LOVE THIS SPORT ) - I picked up the keg, pulled it into my body as high as I could and did a decent run, no drops. The sled was peachy, too, four little feet instead of a big flat surface like our sled..easier drag. I almost made it but my breathing affected me too much (stupid altitude and asthma..no excuse..more cardio training in the months ahead). I was pleased though.
Stones - lol. I knew the 240 was going no where, but I taped up and tackied up and attempted it. about 2 weeks before the event we unmolded our first stone. 174 lbs.. and I have a fear I have to get over of rolling it over my face instead of putting it over the bar or onto a platform (don't have platform yet..been putting over the bitch yoke at its lowest setting). so. the 240 ain't gonna happen for a while.
IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME watching Melissa and Kristin both throwing the stone over the bar. And I have to say Erin Walterman, the lightweight champion is just freakishly strong, too. (watch her training videos, holy schmoly. )
Again, all the women there were so amazing and so strong, I don't mean to leave anyone out or offend anyone!! Like I said, socially awkward, I may look like a bulldog but inside I am that labrador who shivers and pees itself because it is so happy to see other dogs. I even managed to drunkenly fawn over Kristin Rhodes that night, after my client and her husband and my boyfiend (typo, yes but it fits so I am leaving it) all plied me with shots (add in altitude and lets say "hammered" doesn't begin to describe it. "I can tie my own boots!" half hour later "I can do it myself!" 15 minutes later they made me walk to the room in my half tied boots. Oh, I took them off so I could fall off the mechanical bull..in front of a bunch of strongman competitors who were at the nearby bar. You are welcome for the entertainment ;) ).
Anyhow - we skipped the awards event because it got kinda fubar and we were tired and HUNGRY. I wish we had gone, heard it was a blast, but I enjoyed chilling out and leaving early the next morning.
So - looking forward to some big, new goals!!!!
Dropping a weight class.
Mastering the stones.
Getting stronger on overhead portion (and clean, too) of clean and press!
More pulling, more moving heavier and heavier objects..
And become more athletic :)
easy peasey..lol
And after Reno I spent 3 weeks sick again..
So another big goal is get my asthma under control again and strengthen my immune system/avoid overtraining.
I met so many cool people..and I look forward to seeing them again at more competitions throughout the year ;)
I was sick a long time before going to compete at Nationals, I finished up a course of antibiotics a week or two beforehand and trained as much as my body could handle to prepare.
Reno was fantastic and humbling and I learned a ton and have all new goals.
The weekend started with our driving to Reno, a beautiful drive, but I can find beauty driving through cornfields in Nebraska, so... except for this one stretch in OR where they neglected to place any rest stops for I swear almost 200 miles...ohmygodmybladder.. the state will be receiving a letter about rest stop placement from me. Don't they realize how much water I drink??? and road trips mean Blue Rockstar...you get the picture.
One of our last stops before Reno was a Burger King..and there were quite a few other competitors there at the same time. I am socially awkward, so I kept to myself..I had only met one of them, once..if it had been on the way home it would've been a completely different situation, I left Reno feeling like I had made quite a few new acquaintances (a less socially awkward person might even venture to say 'friends'). So, sorry to Sara Osler and other people who probably think I am some snob..when really I am shy.
Grand Sierra resort was cool, except the cigarette smoke..and it was extra cool that the Natural Mr Olympia weekend was going on at the same time as NAS Nats. Lots of awesome physiques. We sat in the lobby a while and played "which type of competitor is that?" lets see - orange, ripped - judging by level of leanness they could be bikini, figure or fitness or bodybuilding. Giant traps, no tan..Strongman :)Very Inspiring to see them all.
Check-in was a little confidence shaking - they didn't seem to think I looked big enough. LOL. I am NOT petite. But I get there and Dione (who I had met once previously) was busy so the person with her says
"can I help you?"
"I'm here to check in"
he looks me up and down "really?" Dione turns and says "she's a competitor" turns away again.
he says " get on the scale"
"umm, they said heavywts don't have to weigh in"
I get the once over again (really. I am NOT petite, I was just under 200 lbs that morning).
"ok"
Wow. suddenly feeling very confused. lol.
I guess it maybe made more sense once I saw Melissa Garrett and Amy Wattles and Christina LaFex (spelling, sorry!) who all seemed about 6'2" or thereabouts..but still..I am not small. It was just an odd reaction.
The Athlete's mtg was funny, that is one thing I enjoy about this sport. It seems like a prerequisite to have a big sense of humor, strongmen remind me of vikings in so many ways. The quips and the back and forth smack talk..I love it. Strongmen remind me of the guys I hung out with growing up. Big and rowdy and slightly insane, perhaps dangerous but only to edible things and idiots.
Our room was on the 29th floor (I think, lol) and we could see the event area from our window. I got butterflies in my belly watching them set everything up. We went down to the event area to watch the men's events for a while..and realized no porta-potties! what? Insanity. So..start timer, walk from event area to nearest casino bathroom and back. Roundtrip less than 10 minutes..5 if I hurry..ok. But still. I think that was my only real gripe with the organization. lol. if this is my first blog entry people read they will think my world is centered around the bathroom. Only other people who drink upwards of a gallon of water a day understand..
Anyhow..we watched men for a while, some amazing athletes, I love to see them power through their events. But I also didn't want to get chilled to the bone, so we hung out in our room a lot and watched from the window.
Women warmed up at 3:30ish and got our yoke height, etc.. we began at 4 with the clean and press. I was really disappointed in my performance. This was one event I have trained since I began all this in May. I had not cleaned and pressed the contest wt yet, but had come close and was hoping adrenaline would take me the rest of the way. NOPE. I could get it almost to lockout twice but failed to complete. I did clean it..lol. I am in awe of Melissa and Christina and Kristin, who made it look effortless (I am not deliberately leaving anyone out..so many amazing women did so many amazing things that day). Someday I want to be as strong as they are.
The sun went down, the temperature dropped..and we went on to truck pull. I have only practiced this 3 times, all with a fullsize truck, no rope assist. Only once weighted with the sled and some plates. lol. rope assist seemed like a good idea, except I had never done it..so I wasn't as low as I would've been without it, I think. usually I start with my hands on the ground..I moved the truck at least..but did not excel by any means. I will be training a lot heavier truck pulls in the future ;)
Third event was probably my personal best event. Yoke. The first (and only other) time I competed I had never been under a yoke, we just didn't have access to one. So we did simulated standing and marching in place under a loaded bar..and I completely bombed on it at that first event. Back to training ;) The yoke we had made is a bitch. It wobbles and shakes and jacks your spine up and I would dread the days we had to do heavy yoke work because it was so hard. I had dreaded the upcoming heavy yoke at Nationals. guess what that bitch yoke did for me? made me freaking stable and stronger than I thought, lol. I got under that big, beautiful, stable yoke and stood up and went - awesome! and ran with it :) talking to Sarge later about it, he said my training yoke is probably a lot like the chain yokes, and that it sucks but it really builds your stability and core. I will never complain again about my training yoke. lol. (that doesn't mean I won't curse like a sailor under it on heavy days).
Keg carry/Sled drag medley went a lot better than I expected - I have no kegs to train with. And except for misspent youth, I really haven't hoisted many kegs. Thanks to Sarge and his last minute tips, and all the competitors who so freely share their techniques ( I LOVE THIS SPORT ) - I picked up the keg, pulled it into my body as high as I could and did a decent run, no drops. The sled was peachy, too, four little feet instead of a big flat surface like our sled..easier drag. I almost made it but my breathing affected me too much (stupid altitude and asthma..no excuse..more cardio training in the months ahead). I was pleased though.
Stones - lol. I knew the 240 was going no where, but I taped up and tackied up and attempted it. about 2 weeks before the event we unmolded our first stone. 174 lbs.. and I have a fear I have to get over of rolling it over my face instead of putting it over the bar or onto a platform (don't have platform yet..been putting over the bitch yoke at its lowest setting). so. the 240 ain't gonna happen for a while.
IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME watching Melissa and Kristin both throwing the stone over the bar. And I have to say Erin Walterman, the lightweight champion is just freakishly strong, too. (watch her training videos, holy schmoly. )
Again, all the women there were so amazing and so strong, I don't mean to leave anyone out or offend anyone!! Like I said, socially awkward, I may look like a bulldog but inside I am that labrador who shivers and pees itself because it is so happy to see other dogs. I even managed to drunkenly fawn over Kristin Rhodes that night, after my client and her husband and my boyfiend (typo, yes but it fits so I am leaving it) all plied me with shots (add in altitude and lets say "hammered" doesn't begin to describe it. "I can tie my own boots!" half hour later "I can do it myself!" 15 minutes later they made me walk to the room in my half tied boots. Oh, I took them off so I could fall off the mechanical bull..in front of a bunch of strongman competitors who were at the nearby bar. You are welcome for the entertainment ;) ).
Anyhow - we skipped the awards event because it got kinda fubar and we were tired and HUNGRY. I wish we had gone, heard it was a blast, but I enjoyed chilling out and leaving early the next morning.
So - looking forward to some big, new goals!!!!
Dropping a weight class.
Mastering the stones.
Getting stronger on overhead portion (and clean, too) of clean and press!
More pulling, more moving heavier and heavier objects..
And become more athletic :)
easy peasey..lol
And after Reno I spent 3 weeks sick again..
So another big goal is get my asthma under control again and strengthen my immune system/avoid overtraining.
I met so many cool people..and I look forward to seeing them again at more competitions throughout the year ;)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
What happened?
LOL..been training hard, well, except the week i was sick and overtrained..anyhow..getting stronger and starting to freak a little bit about November. Sent in my registration and reserved our hotel room...
Highlights recently - overhead press 150 lbs...
Got new shoes for truck pull - work like a charm!
Got new knee sleeves - also work like a charm!
Got the molds for our stones(maybe a little late in the game but better late than never!)
Working on recovery and trying to get stronger every workout! :)
Highlights recently - overhead press 150 lbs...
Got new shoes for truck pull - work like a charm!
Got new knee sleeves - also work like a charm!
Got the molds for our stones(maybe a little late in the game but better late than never!)
Working on recovery and trying to get stronger every workout! :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
tired
Monday Cardio...stretch, foam roll.
Tuesday - Event training
Sled pull/drag
"squat picks" (Krystin's term) standing up under weight to simulate yoke wt...
ended with 400 top wt.
pulled truck plus sled with 2 plates..shoe kept coming off. Went straight to store and got the right shoes...can't wait to try them out next time!
Wiped out...
Wednesday Lifting
Upper push power / lower pull conditioning
overhead press 12, 10, 8
single arm db overhead press 12, 10, 8
bench pre4ss 12, 10, 8, 6
single arm incline db press 3X8
triceps ext 3X12
ham curls 2X20
deadlifts 3X20
went to chiropractor today, so much better.. but still really glad tomorrow is a rest/cardio day!!! tight and sore.
Tuesday - Event training
Sled pull/drag
"squat picks" (Krystin's term) standing up under weight to simulate yoke wt...
ended with 400 top wt.
pulled truck plus sled with 2 plates..shoe kept coming off. Went straight to store and got the right shoes...can't wait to try them out next time!
Wiped out...
Wednesday Lifting
Upper push power / lower pull conditioning
overhead press 12, 10, 8
single arm db overhead press 12, 10, 8
bench pre4ss 12, 10, 8, 6
single arm incline db press 3X8
triceps ext 3X12
ham curls 2X20
deadlifts 3X20
went to chiropractor today, so much better.. but still really glad tomorrow is a rest/cardio day!!! tight and sore.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Friday Event Training
Just me and Mike today...
Not a bad workout...but we both lacked motivation, lol.
Warmed up with the middle tire...5 flips, that was silly, it is so light now..
Big Tire 2 flips, 2 flips, then 3, then 5 and then 5 more :D not easy but beat last week by 2 in a row :D
we did yoke walk light - working on speed and smoothness of gait, by the last pass i had improved my speed/smoothness quite a bit. We were using about 300lbs.
I think my oomph was less than stellar for a few reasons, my right quad was feeling really sore/knee tight... and my diet was pretty low carb all week (though I have been eating tons of vegetables). So we talked about that and decided if i was going to keep leaning out while training (silly, I know) I should carb cycle so I have my high carb days the day before event training.
On Thursday I did 30 minutes moderate cardio and used the foam roller and stretched. I need to get to the chiropractor, my hip is jacked up...back feels out of alignment..anyhow.. all week my food has been super clean and I have been getting to bed on time and better on my vitamins and supplements :) tonight was pad thai :)
Tomorrow should be a lifting day, will see how my quad feels, maybe just do upper body conditioning.
Not a bad workout...but we both lacked motivation, lol.
Warmed up with the middle tire...5 flips, that was silly, it is so light now..
Big Tire 2 flips, 2 flips, then 3, then 5 and then 5 more :D not easy but beat last week by 2 in a row :D
we did yoke walk light - working on speed and smoothness of gait, by the last pass i had improved my speed/smoothness quite a bit. We were using about 300lbs.
I think my oomph was less than stellar for a few reasons, my right quad was feeling really sore/knee tight... and my diet was pretty low carb all week (though I have been eating tons of vegetables). So we talked about that and decided if i was going to keep leaning out while training (silly, I know) I should carb cycle so I have my high carb days the day before event training.
On Thursday I did 30 minutes moderate cardio and used the foam roller and stretched. I need to get to the chiropractor, my hip is jacked up...back feels out of alignment..anyhow.. all week my food has been super clean and I have been getting to bed on time and better on my vitamins and supplements :) tonight was pad thai :)
Tomorrow should be a lifting day, will see how my quad feels, maybe just do upper body conditioning.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday/Wednesday
Tuesday I worked out with Jackie , Upper body /pull/power and DJ joined us for lower body/push/ strength (and sort of conditioning). Had a good workout did:
Wide pulldowns
single arm seated rows
face pulls
cable bicep curls
leg extensions
leg press, doubles and single leg
bulgarian split squats
ball squeeze w knees and band adductor
Today I was all by myself (wahh)
I dragged the sled - first few passes i did both ways with out stopping, when it was heavier i dragged it one direction, added a plate and rested before dragging it back. I ended with 7 plates on the sled, my shoes were rubbing my toes, the gravel underfoot was loose, i wasn't motivated by myself, so i pulled it half way, stop and jerk.. and thats all i had in me. Adam thinks maybe I did 8 plates last weekend :( oh well, next week I will be stronger.
I worked on clean and press form. I started with dumbbell hip ext swings and band hip ext. Then I worked my way up to 130 lbs for 6 reps ;) A little form clean up goes a long way. Previously I have stalled at 120, something about the 10's on top of the yellow bumpers psyches me out. today i just did it, and then it was so good, I went up another 10 lbs :) Personal record!!!! 160 no longer seems so daunting :)
I finished with two really lame sets of deadlifts. I was tired and hungry and just done.
Wide pulldowns
single arm seated rows
face pulls
cable bicep curls
leg extensions
leg press, doubles and single leg
bulgarian split squats
ball squeeze w knees and band adductor
Today I was all by myself (wahh)
I dragged the sled - first few passes i did both ways with out stopping, when it was heavier i dragged it one direction, added a plate and rested before dragging it back. I ended with 7 plates on the sled, my shoes were rubbing my toes, the gravel underfoot was loose, i wasn't motivated by myself, so i pulled it half way, stop and jerk.. and thats all i had in me. Adam thinks maybe I did 8 plates last weekend :( oh well, next week I will be stronger.
I worked on clean and press form. I started with dumbbell hip ext swings and band hip ext. Then I worked my way up to 130 lbs for 6 reps ;) A little form clean up goes a long way. Previously I have stalled at 120, something about the 10's on top of the yellow bumpers psyches me out. today i just did it, and then it was so good, I went up another 10 lbs :) Personal record!!!! 160 no longer seems so daunting :)
I finished with two really lame sets of deadlifts. I was tired and hungry and just done.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
bad week...time to focus
The whole last week was pretty much a loss as far as training. I felt ill all week and my strength was crappy. friday morning I finally trained,warmed up with dumbbell swings, band hip extension.. did presses overhead, did deadlifts, benched. strength was really not there.
We had a lot of photography work, too. so a little wiped out. I am resting & recuperating and getting geared up to hit it come Monday.
Mike pointed out it is 10 weeks til nationals! yikes! Ok. time to get really strong!
We had a lot of photography work, too. so a little wiped out. I am resting & recuperating and getting geared up to hit it come Monday.
Mike pointed out it is 10 weeks til nationals! yikes! Ok. time to get really strong!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Thursday/Friday
Thursday lifting - Upper/pull/strength, Lower/push/conditioning
First i spent some time with DJ working on my explosive hip extension to improve my clean and press form. i have been muscling the weight up til now..so i have to learn to really pop it from my hips or I won't get the 160 up...
Then I Worked out with Jackie ;), with DJ pushing us on..
Narrow lat pulldown 80X12, 90X12, 100X12
wide seated row 70X12, 90X12, 100X12
Standing BO row w rope 100X12X3
bent over DB flyes 12.5X12X3
One leg leg press sledX20, +20X20
single leg ext 35X20X2 (crunchy...eww)
glute kickback w band 2 sets 20
Friday afternoon Event stuff - Jackie, Mike and I
I am bummed out because my first run was my best as far as flipping the tire and Adam hadn't arrived yet to tape it. First time through I flipped the big tire 3 times in a row without pause, nice and strong. That made me HAPPY :)
We did sled drag/tire flip back to back. First time dragging the sled backwards as opposed to pulling! Different!
we did about 5 passes, dragging the sled about 100 ft and then sprinting to the tire and flipping it 3 times.
we added a plate each time, I ended with 7 plates and 3 flips..not pretty flips but i got them...
I might post the video, lol.
I was actually really pleased with the progress from last week to this week. I figured it out and i am much more confident about the big tire. Now I have to learn to trust leaning backwards while dragging the sled....
Saturday we worked a wedding alllll day, sunday we had more photography appointments and today is labor day..gym closed.. so..3 days of recuperation, going to hit it hard tomorrow ;)
First i spent some time with DJ working on my explosive hip extension to improve my clean and press form. i have been muscling the weight up til now..so i have to learn to really pop it from my hips or I won't get the 160 up...
Then I Worked out with Jackie ;), with DJ pushing us on..
Narrow lat pulldown 80X12, 90X12, 100X12
wide seated row 70X12, 90X12, 100X12
Standing BO row w rope 100X12X3
bent over DB flyes 12.5X12X3
One leg leg press sledX20, +20X20
single leg ext 35X20X2 (crunchy...eww)
glute kickback w band 2 sets 20
Friday afternoon Event stuff - Jackie, Mike and I
I am bummed out because my first run was my best as far as flipping the tire and Adam hadn't arrived yet to tape it. First time through I flipped the big tire 3 times in a row without pause, nice and strong. That made me HAPPY :)
We did sled drag/tire flip back to back. First time dragging the sled backwards as opposed to pulling! Different!
we did about 5 passes, dragging the sled about 100 ft and then sprinting to the tire and flipping it 3 times.
we added a plate each time, I ended with 7 plates and 3 flips..not pretty flips but i got them...
I might post the video, lol.
I was actually really pleased with the progress from last week to this week. I figured it out and i am much more confident about the big tire. Now I have to learn to trust leaning backwards while dragging the sled....
Saturday we worked a wedding alllll day, sunday we had more photography appointments and today is labor day..gym closed.. so..3 days of recuperation, going to hit it hard tomorrow ;)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday...event stuff
pulled the sled - sprinted until it was too heavy (about 4-5 passes all the way down the court and back) last pass was sled plus 8 - 45lb plates at a slow haul...
simulated stones with low cable handles and swiss ball, 3 sets of 5 reps, picking it up, getting into my lap and lifting it up and extending.
clean and press 120 for reps. need to work on explosive hip movement so i am not muscling it up....
RDLs with 100lb plate getting it up and into my lap and lifting it up and extending.
It doesn't look like that much when I type it up but it was a really good workout.
simulated stones with low cable handles and swiss ball, 3 sets of 5 reps, picking it up, getting into my lap and lifting it up and extending.
clean and press 120 for reps. need to work on explosive hip movement so i am not muscling it up....
RDLs with 100lb plate getting it up and into my lap and lifting it up and extending.
It doesn't look like that much when I type it up but it was a really good workout.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday
Upper Pull/ Conditioning..Lower Push/ Power
Assisted pull-ups with black band - 25, 25, 20 superset with:
Squats 185X3, 205X3, 205X3, 205X3, 205x3
did sets of 15 ball crunches between every superset
Bent over db rows 15'sX25 3 sets superset with:
overhead db lunges 15'sX10 per leg 3 sets
15 per side oblique ball crunches in between every set
standing cable row w/rope 60X25, 70X25 for 2 sets superset with:
hip/thigh ext 3 sets 12
15 reverse crunches between sets
Hammer curls 30X6 3 sets
Ez bar curls big bar plus 40X6, 6, 5
whew! biceps were sore from saturday still!!!!!! lol
but all in all it was a good workout :)
Assisted pull-ups with black band - 25, 25, 20 superset with:
Squats 185X3, 205X3, 205X3, 205X3, 205x3
did sets of 15 ball crunches between every superset
Bent over db rows 15'sX25 3 sets superset with:
overhead db lunges 15'sX10 per leg 3 sets
15 per side oblique ball crunches in between every set
standing cable row w/rope 60X25, 70X25 for 2 sets superset with:
hip/thigh ext 3 sets 12
15 reverse crunches between sets
Hammer curls 30X6 3 sets
Ez bar curls big bar plus 40X6, 6, 5
whew! biceps were sore from saturday still!!!!!! lol
but all in all it was a good workout :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday Event Training
Warmed up flipping the medium tire. Worked on flipping the big tire, got it up and over a few times...oof. Hoping weekly attempts will get stronger and faster.
240lbs stone is the smallest Mike has...so..my first ever attempt..lol. I moved it a little...going to get tacky and see how much of a difference that makes before deciding if I should get molds and make some smaller stones to work up to the 240.
I just watched an amazing video of Kristyn picking up a 250lb stone. wow. she makes the 185 pick and load look easy, too..
240lbs stone is the smallest Mike has...so..my first ever attempt..lol. I moved it a little...going to get tacky and see how much of a difference that makes before deciding if I should get molds and make some smaller stones to work up to the 240.
I just watched an amazing video of Kristyn picking up a 250lb stone. wow. she makes the 185 pick and load look easy, too..
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday's workout
Worked out with jackie today :) her goal is to get stronger for powerlifting competitions.
Thursday's workout was upper body push/explosive power and lower body pull/strength.
We did it all wrong, according to mike, lol.... oh well, at least we did it! My previous days like this were superset upper/lower, with not a lot of rest..s that's what we did...guess we weren't supposed to..oops
superset 1: Incline db press 5X3/ RDL's 4X8
superset 2: Closegrip bench (2 boards) 5X3 / hip ext w band 4X8
superset 3: bentover cable flyes 5X5 / leg curl 4X8
increased the weights each set..not a bad workout..looking forward to event stuff on saturday! :)
Thursday's workout was upper body push/explosive power and lower body pull/strength.
We did it all wrong, according to mike, lol.... oh well, at least we did it! My previous days like this were superset upper/lower, with not a lot of rest..s that's what we did...guess we weren't supposed to..oops
superset 1: Incline db press 5X3/ RDL's 4X8
superset 2: Closegrip bench (2 boards) 5X3 / hip ext w band 4X8
superset 3: bentover cable flyes 5X5 / leg curl 4X8
increased the weights each set..not a bad workout..looking forward to event stuff on saturday! :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Chicken Fingers
Cut Up boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray a baking sheet with Pam.
In a gallon size plastic bag, mix together:
1/2c chickpea flour
2 tbsp secret spice blend (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&¬e_id=155042727839468&id=259189504101#!/note.php?note_id=155042727839468)
dash of Prudhomme's poultry magic (http://www.amazon.com/Prudhommes-Magic-Seasoning-Blends-24-Ounce/dp/B0000CDBRA)
dash cayenne pepper
Shake chicken pieces in seasoning bag to coat, place on sprayed sheet, spray top with light coating pam. Bake 15 minutes.
Yummy.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray a baking sheet with Pam.
In a gallon size plastic bag, mix together:
1/2c chickpea flour
2 tbsp secret spice blend (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&¬e_id=155042727839468&id=259189504101#!/note.php?note_id=155042727839468)
dash of Prudhomme's poultry magic (http://www.amazon.com/Prudhommes-Magic-Seasoning-Blends-24-Ounce/dp/B0000CDBRA)
dash cayenne pepper
Shake chicken pieces in seasoning bag to coat, place on sprayed sheet, spray top with light coating pam. Bake 15 minutes.
Yummy.
Brief workout...and food!
Still nursing my foot (pulled something pulling DJ's truck on Saturday)..but its is a lot better today.. I fit in a half hour workout between clients today...
Warmed up and did clean and press with the axle (clean every rep) 120lbs for 10-12..I always lose count when I am by myself, then I just pressed 135 as many times as I could from the rack.
Eating was good today, though I find I am hungrier lately.. taking full advantage of Mike saying not to be ketogenic...
5:30am 1 peach (omg ripe peach), 1 plum
1 1/2 scoops chocolate whey in cold coffee w splenda and tbsp Udo's perfect oil.
8:15 sugar snap peas and hummus
10:30 salad ( bib lettuce, red lettuce, a little bleu cheese, some dried cherries, almonds slivers, balsamic vinaigrette)
chicken, green beans and peanut butter
2pm-ish..ice cream drumstick (umm, ok, maybe not on the plan..)oh..and lets be honest..small handfull tortilla chips. Hungry but being lazy.
6pm baked chicken strips (in chickpea flour/spice mix coating ,mmmmm)
artichoke, dill sauce
small yukon gold potato, smart balance, lowfat sour cream
I am a little overboard on the fats today but most were good fats... if I am hungry again before bed I will have some eggs.
Throughout the day I had a gallon of water (half crystal lite).
Energy levels pretty good this morning but drained by the end of the day. more mental/stress fatigue than anything. Hopefully some situations get resolved soon...
Warmed up and did clean and press with the axle (clean every rep) 120lbs for 10-12..I always lose count when I am by myself, then I just pressed 135 as many times as I could from the rack.
Eating was good today, though I find I am hungrier lately.. taking full advantage of Mike saying not to be ketogenic...
5:30am 1 peach (omg ripe peach), 1 plum
1 1/2 scoops chocolate whey in cold coffee w splenda and tbsp Udo's perfect oil.
8:15 sugar snap peas and hummus
10:30 salad ( bib lettuce, red lettuce, a little bleu cheese, some dried cherries, almonds slivers, balsamic vinaigrette)
chicken, green beans and peanut butter
2pm-ish..ice cream drumstick (umm, ok, maybe not on the plan..)oh..and lets be honest..small handfull tortilla chips. Hungry but being lazy.
6pm baked chicken strips (in chickpea flour/spice mix coating ,mmmmm)
artichoke, dill sauce
small yukon gold potato, smart balance, lowfat sour cream
I am a little overboard on the fats today but most were good fats... if I am hungry again before bed I will have some eggs.
Throughout the day I had a gallon of water (half crystal lite).
Energy levels pretty good this morning but drained by the end of the day. more mental/stress fatigue than anything. Hopefully some situations get resolved soon...
Sunday, August 22, 2010
blog slacker..lol
I have been a little demotivated lately, for a lot of non-gym related issues and some gym-related issues..anyhow.. I have been working out, sporadically. this week I did some kickboxing, some running, on Thursday I did this workout :
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/randy-couture-expendables.htm
and today I got to work event stuff with DJ Guereca and Matt...
We Yoke walked first. warm up with just the yoke (120lbs)X100 feet and back, then yoke plus 100 for 100' and back (for some reason I got to go both directions, whereas the guys walked it down and the other walked it back.hmm. well, except the last walk I did, I only went 100" with it). Then I did yoke plus 180 for 100' and back.then yoke plus 280 for 100' and back. final walk was yoke plus 320 for 100'.
Farmers walk - can I say HOW HAPPY i am this is not in the nationals events? lol I did handles, then handles plus 25's on each end, then handles plus 45's on each end, which sucked and I dropped it once and then a plate flew off and I tanked it onto my left knee, and then the guys said, get up, keep going, so I did and I finished the 100 feet. (With the previous weights I made it down and back).
After that we hooked up the harness and pulled DJ’s truck 100 feet and pushed it back. Whew!
I was hungry and hoped we were finished, but they had a better idea…so we put everything away from outside and went inside to do a simulation of powerstairs. I did two passes, 2 steps forward and 2 returning, with 200 pounds and on the last pass I FIGURED it out. Lol. Easy peasy now.
Done now, right? No… DJ wanted to do log press. I can’t press the log yet, so I did clean and press with the axle for reps. I went a little too light, so I did about 10 with the axle plus yellow bumpers plus 5”s on each side. Next week I will push it harder. Event weight is 160. I think I can get it. I am actually happy that it is clean every rep because I am stronger when I pull off the ground and press rather than clean once and press for reps.
All in all a good workout and I am getting geared up to really focus on good workouts, good recovery, good nutrition from now until November!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/randy-couture-expendables.htm
and today I got to work event stuff with DJ Guereca and Matt...
We Yoke walked first. warm up with just the yoke (120lbs)X100 feet and back, then yoke plus 100 for 100' and back (for some reason I got to go both directions, whereas the guys walked it down and the other walked it back.hmm. well, except the last walk I did, I only went 100" with it). Then I did yoke plus 180 for 100' and back.then yoke plus 280 for 100' and back. final walk was yoke plus 320 for 100'.
Farmers walk - can I say HOW HAPPY i am this is not in the nationals events? lol I did handles, then handles plus 25's on each end, then handles plus 45's on each end, which sucked and I dropped it once and then a plate flew off and I tanked it onto my left knee, and then the guys said, get up, keep going, so I did and I finished the 100 feet. (With the previous weights I made it down and back).
After that we hooked up the harness and pulled DJ’s truck 100 feet and pushed it back. Whew!
I was hungry and hoped we were finished, but they had a better idea…so we put everything away from outside and went inside to do a simulation of powerstairs. I did two passes, 2 steps forward and 2 returning, with 200 pounds and on the last pass I FIGURED it out. Lol. Easy peasy now.
Done now, right? No… DJ wanted to do log press. I can’t press the log yet, so I did clean and press with the axle for reps. I went a little too light, so I did about 10 with the axle plus yellow bumpers plus 5”s on each side. Next week I will push it harder. Event weight is 160. I think I can get it. I am actually happy that it is clean every rep because I am stronger when I pull off the ground and press rather than clean once and press for reps.
All in all a good workout and I am getting geared up to really focus on good workouts, good recovery, good nutrition from now until November!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A shout out to...
All my clients who make me so proud when they stick to their routine and their eatiung plan and get fabulous results, and all the people who keep plugging along when their body is mulling things over and it feels like a plateau, and to my beautiful daughter who has made summer so happy for me and is doing so great here, working out and eating healthier and enjoying a smaller pants size :) and to my boyfriend, adam, who shows up and does the workouts with me, even when he doesn't want to (unless he pulls his adductors.sorry, honey)...
and to all the people who eat chicken and vegetables day in and day out to achieve a specific look...
and to all the people who are positive and upbeat...
thanks for making life beautiful and worth showing up and being present for :)
and to all the people who eat chicken and vegetables day in and day out to achieve a specific look...
and to all the people who are positive and upbeat...
thanks for making life beautiful and worth showing up and being present for :)
HMMMM
Mike says no ketogenic diet. lol. he says if I am dropping wieght without really trying, just keep it up..I guess he is right but it never happens fast enough, does it?
I got my cardio in today..and this morning I did pilates reformer with my clients, felt so good to stretch and lengthen everything!
I stepped on the scale, expecting to be heavier since its the middle of the day..and it was lower..so curious to weigh in in the morning and see if I have dropped 2 pounds since saturday... :)
I got my cardio in today..and this morning I did pilates reformer with my clients, felt so good to stretch and lengthen everything!
I stepped on the scale, expecting to be heavier since its the middle of the day..and it was lower..so curious to weigh in in the morning and see if I have dropped 2 pounds since saturday... :)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
blogging falls by the wayside..
been training hard, all new to me. I get my routines from Mike and do as I am told and I get stronger each week :) Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I lift with different types of intensity and goals each day, and interval cardio after each..Tuesdays and Thursdays I do recovery cardio, long low intensity and stretch and foam roll. Saturdays I do 'event' stuff..Sundays I rest rest rest.
I have lost 10 lbs since weigh-in at the competition June 12th without being terribly strict..probably just because I am doing cardio again. My knees are feeling better and better...
I decided I am going to try the cyclical ketogenic diet, supposedly my strength will stay up using medium chain triglycerides for fuel...we shall see.I really want to lean out before my 40th birthday but I also really want to stay strong strong strong...
I am feeling really strong and really good the past week, my clean and press has gone up and improved, i am starting to get the hang of the snatch, I yoke walked strong on Friday...
Mentally I am feeling happier than ever, having my daughter here for the summer and now we are arranging for her to come and stay for the school year ;) This makes my universe complete. The only big , jagged hole in my heart has been her absence.
OK..feel like I have updated :) Always of two minds - is anyone reading? is it just narcissism? do i have anything of importance to impart? IDK..
I have lost 10 lbs since weigh-in at the competition June 12th without being terribly strict..probably just because I am doing cardio again. My knees are feeling better and better...
I decided I am going to try the cyclical ketogenic diet, supposedly my strength will stay up using medium chain triglycerides for fuel...we shall see.I really want to lean out before my 40th birthday but I also really want to stay strong strong strong...
I am feeling really strong and really good the past week, my clean and press has gone up and improved, i am starting to get the hang of the snatch, I yoke walked strong on Friday...
Mentally I am feeling happier than ever, having my daughter here for the summer and now we are arranging for her to come and stay for the school year ;) This makes my universe complete. The only big , jagged hole in my heart has been her absence.
OK..feel like I have updated :) Always of two minds - is anyone reading? is it just narcissism? do i have anything of importance to impart? IDK..
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Chill Week
Okay, Sunday my arms were a little tired, back a little sore getting in and out of car but nothing terrible.
Monday, a little achey when handing clients weights, did half hour of cardio...
Tuesday..lol. The cushion that inflammation and shock must've finally worn off.. shoulders pretty sore, hammies really tight..biceps sore..low back stiff and sore.. did half hour cardio and an hour on the pilate's reformer.
Thank goodness I decided to take Wednesdays off for the summer! today I can prep meals and relax (well, other than taking my two pups to get spayed) and recover.
I have also been sleeping more. I have made it my focus this week to cut out alcohol, wheat and dairy. I am down 5 lbs from Saturday ;)
Talked to Mike yesterday and he said no lifting for a full week. Cardio is fine (whew), stretch, foam roll..maybe find my friend Megan , who is a masseuse...
I read an article today, insane. It is about how many calories are in some popular drinks. I am not a fancy coffee or fruit drink person but I know a lot of people who live for their daily iced double caramel mocha whipped creamy venti or whatever. here's the link..check it out... the worst offender has 131 grams of fat! in a 'beverage'! Nuts.
http://eatthis.womenshealthmag.com/slide/worst-beverage-america?slideshow=184612#title
I stick with coffee,splenda...water...diet pop..crystal lite (diluted..too sweet) or home-brewed teas... I always have one or two different kind of teas brewing in the fridge, My favorites right now are :
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/iced-teas/acai-mango
and
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/holiday-teas/candy-cane-lane
I am excited to drop weight and excited to start training for my next goal :)
Monday, a little achey when handing clients weights, did half hour of cardio...
Tuesday..lol. The cushion that inflammation and shock must've finally worn off.. shoulders pretty sore, hammies really tight..biceps sore..low back stiff and sore.. did half hour cardio and an hour on the pilate's reformer.
Thank goodness I decided to take Wednesdays off for the summer! today I can prep meals and relax (well, other than taking my two pups to get spayed) and recover.
I have also been sleeping more. I have made it my focus this week to cut out alcohol, wheat and dairy. I am down 5 lbs from Saturday ;)
Talked to Mike yesterday and he said no lifting for a full week. Cardio is fine (whew), stretch, foam roll..maybe find my friend Megan , who is a masseuse...
I read an article today, insane. It is about how many calories are in some popular drinks. I am not a fancy coffee or fruit drink person but I know a lot of people who live for their daily iced double caramel mocha whipped creamy venti or whatever. here's the link..check it out... the worst offender has 131 grams of fat! in a 'beverage'! Nuts.
http://eatthis.womenshealthmag.com/slide/worst-beverage-america?slideshow=184612#title
I stick with coffee,splenda...water...diet pop..crystal lite (diluted..too sweet) or home-brewed teas... I always have one or two different kind of teas brewing in the fridge, My favorites right now are :
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/iced-teas/acai-mango
and
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/holiday-teas/candy-cane-lane
I am excited to drop weight and excited to start training for my next goal :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Awesome weekend! We got to Seattle Friday evening in time to weigh in at Trapper's Sushi, which smelled fantastic and if we hadn't had car-weary two year old and nine-year old kids with us we would've definitely eaten there...
We met up with my boyfriend's sister for dinner at a place called The Counter. You build your own custim burger. It was realllly good,I had organic hormone-free beef with lots of veggies and bleu cheese and chipotle aoili and some awesome sweet potato fries. the kids were satisfied as well with mini-burgers and custom cheeseburgers. the skinny fries were a hit with them, too. (yes, I know, the diet started today..lol)
We went to Green lake recreation area and played on the playground and chased ducks and enjoyed the weather before heading back to find our hotel and settle in.
I went to the airport at 10:30pm tp pick up my daughter, who I have for the summer (Yay!), and then we finally got to go to sleep!
Up and at 'em for oatmeal and protein powder and almond butter on the way to the event site for the rules meeting at 9am. nervous!
The Yoke Walk was the first event...I have never been under the yoke, only tried to simulate it with the axle bar..definitely not the same. The other heavyweight female went up first. I think I got a little psyched out because it looked hard when she did it and she was more experienced and bigger than I am..lol. I sucked. I made it a whopping 3 feet, 6 inches. I don't feel terrible, my competition made it 10' 8" and the best distance for women was 48'3" by Kristin Vytlacil. She is amazing. I was shaking like a leaf approaching the yoke. not good. gave it my best. That's all I can say.
The tire flip went better, at least I have flipped a tire once. And we got a little break, our tire was supposed to be 600lbs but Grant couldn't acquire one that weight so ours was 470lbs instead. shucks, right? I flipped it farther than Kristin but not as far as Sarah, but not even a foot less..so I feel I was competitive in the tire flip ;) quite happy. And I must admit I reallllly like flipping thevtire. I think I would do it even if I didn't continue training for strongwoman events. Dork.
Farmer's Walk was embarrassingly bad. I won't even say how far I got. The two other woman smoked it all the way down and around the cones. I made it off the launch pad..lol. crappy. Oh well, had only done it once and with completely different handles. Mike had predicted this would be my worst event and he was right! And.Adam ran to get the kids lunch and completely missed it, so there are no pictures, well, I haven't looked on the official site for the event..bet there are some sorry ass pictures there. lol
Clean and Press was my best event. I got one less rep than Kristin and only 4 less than Sarah. I just need to improve my staying power for the reps and keep building up strength.
The keg load was a surprise! I have never done it. Kristin gave me some quick tips one how to approach it..I got the first two kegs up with no real problem, beat my competition by a few seconds.. Kristin smoked us both by getting 3 kegs up in the allotted time :) She is, again, awesome.
The best thing was the atmosphere. The competitors all cheer each other on, it is friendly, everyone was helpful and encouraging. The only jerk was the guest announcer, but hey, I guess that's kind of his job.
We stayed and got my trophy and then went to obtain food we could eat whilst icing my knees and back....
I am proud and I am so thankful to have so many friends and family members who support me and believe in me no matter what new craziness I decide to get into..
My new quest is to drop 40lbs and compete as a middleweight at the nationals in Reno, Nevada in November!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Getting EXCITED!!!
Just booked the hotel for the weekend! My wrist and knee wraps came in the mail today!!! I am as ready as I can be. Just rest and a little cardio, some light lifting to stay flexible for the rest of the week.. :)
I pick my daughter up Friday night at the airport, so she will be with us in Seattle all weekend, so excited and happy!
Hoping to get better sleep all week, last night I woke up at 2am thinking about all life's big questions and couldn't fall back asleep..grrrr.
Made the decision to take Wednesdays off at work so I will have more time with my daughter this summer and more downtime to just enjoy summer period. That alone should help with sleep. :)
I am looking forward to getting leaner after next weekend. I am feeling so big and uncomfortable but not wanting to diet before this event. (EXCUSE!!!) anyhoo..looking forward to a summer of grilled lean protein and vegetables!
I pick my daughter up Friday night at the airport, so she will be with us in Seattle all weekend, so excited and happy!
Hoping to get better sleep all week, last night I woke up at 2am thinking about all life's big questions and couldn't fall back asleep..grrrr.
Made the decision to take Wednesdays off at work so I will have more time with my daughter this summer and more downtime to just enjoy summer period. That alone should help with sleep. :)
I am looking forward to getting leaner after next weekend. I am feeling so big and uncomfortable but not wanting to diet before this event. (EXCUSE!!!) anyhoo..looking forward to a summer of grilled lean protein and vegetables!
Friday, June 4, 2010
HOLY SCHNIKIES!
Got to flip a tire for the first time today..one week out from competition. I have been watching youtube videos on how to do it and how NOT to do it, which was helpful. The tire we flipped today was between 200-300 lbs. EASY PEASY :D I love it! really fun. I am hoping the event wt (600 lbs) isn't too much harder. I think the flip is mostly physics.
I also got to do the walk with the Farmer's Walk handles today. OMFG they suck. lol. I warmed up with just the handles..70 lbs per hand. not a problem. Then we added wt... 120lbs per hand. Whole 'notha level. wow. Its a question of do you squish the flesh of your hand and fingers towards your palm or towards your fingers? OUCH either way... Made it about 2/3rds of the way down the 100ft before my first drop. Then I got the turn around and art way back before my second drop.
Then we added weight....160 lbs per hand. Event weight. OMFG its heavy!!!!! lol. duh. did I think it would be light? It is a STRONG man competition.
I made it part way. drop. made it a few more inches, drop. made it part way thru the turn (which, in my newbie opinion, is the hardest part) and Mike said just carry it back without finishing the turn...made it part way dropped it, made it the rst of the way, almost to the finish line. Done.... holy schnikies!
I am at home, legs up, icing my knees and shins and considering icing my hands, lol.
One week to the event. I am stoked but a little trepidacious (i think i just made up a word), this will be an awesome learning experience and I am having a blast training for it ;D
Mike says one more light workout and a few interval cardio sessions next week but then no more before the event.
Tonight I will book our hotel :) woot woot - making sure it has pool and hot tub!! and an ICE MACHINE!
I also got to do the walk with the Farmer's Walk handles today. OMFG they suck. lol. I warmed up with just the handles..70 lbs per hand. not a problem. Then we added wt... 120lbs per hand. Whole 'notha level. wow. Its a question of do you squish the flesh of your hand and fingers towards your palm or towards your fingers? OUCH either way... Made it about 2/3rds of the way down the 100ft before my first drop. Then I got the turn around and art way back before my second drop.
Then we added weight....160 lbs per hand. Event weight. OMFG its heavy!!!!! lol. duh. did I think it would be light? It is a STRONG man competition.
I made it part way. drop. made it a few more inches, drop. made it part way thru the turn (which, in my newbie opinion, is the hardest part) and Mike said just carry it back without finishing the turn...made it part way dropped it, made it the rst of the way, almost to the finish line. Done.... holy schnikies!
I am at home, legs up, icing my knees and shins and considering icing my hands, lol.
One week to the event. I am stoked but a little trepidacious (i think i just made up a word), this will be an awesome learning experience and I am having a blast training for it ;D
Mike says one more light workout and a few interval cardio sessions next week but then no more before the event.
Tonight I will book our hotel :) woot woot - making sure it has pool and hot tub!! and an ICE MACHINE!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Just been busy!!! Still training!!!
Sunday I did an 'auxiliary' workout Mike gave me. Adam worked out with me :)
It was triple sets of :
Bridges
dumb bell single clean and press
pull-ups
lateral band walk
overhead squats
Hi row
band walk backwards
clean front & squat w axle
reverse hyper on swiss ball
It made us really sweaty! lol.
Monday holiday & rest..
Tuesday workaholic and tired
Today - Heavy day again :)
I got 320lbs for my last set of deadlifts today :)
My clean and press was really good with the event weight :D
I stood up and simulated yoke walk with 400lbs, stood up under 490lbs..
DJ is getting the yoke walk tomorrow or friday and has the farmers walk handles now, I am going to flip the tire and do farmers walk and yoke walk on sunday :) then the only thing I will be unfamiliar with is the keg carry & lift. I have to talk to Mike about that...
Getting a little nervous about it all but I am really looking forward to the event!!!!!
It was triple sets of :
Bridges
dumb bell single clean and press
pull-ups
lateral band walk
overhead squats
Hi row
band walk backwards
clean front & squat w axle
reverse hyper on swiss ball
It made us really sweaty! lol.
Monday holiday & rest..
Tuesday workaholic and tired
Today - Heavy day again :)
I got 320lbs for my last set of deadlifts today :)
My clean and press was really good with the event weight :D
I stood up and simulated yoke walk with 400lbs, stood up under 490lbs..
DJ is getting the yoke walk tomorrow or friday and has the farmers walk handles now, I am going to flip the tire and do farmers walk and yoke walk on sunday :) then the only thing I will be unfamiliar with is the keg carry & lift. I have to talk to Mike about that...
Getting a little nervous about it all but I am really looking forward to the event!!!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday/Wednesday
Tuesday i did cardio and my knees didn't flare! woo hoo!!!! I did 15 minutes on the new elliptical that has the stairstep motion.
Wednesday..I was waiting to get my workout routine from Mike but he was busy so i just repeated Mondays worout..except I deadlifted 315lbs by accident the first working set bc I added wrong.
I cleaned and pressed my event weight today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also did 100lb plate carries around the track, getting about a third way around between rest periods.
Followed it up with cardio 15 minutes again on same elliptical.
Oh so nappy now!
Wednesday..I was waiting to get my workout routine from Mike but he was busy so i just repeated Mondays worout..except I deadlifted 315lbs by accident the first working set bc I added wrong.
I cleaned and pressed my event weight today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also did 100lb plate carries around the track, getting about a third way around between rest periods.
Followed it up with cardio 15 minutes again on same elliptical.
Oh so nappy now!
Monday, May 24, 2010
LOVING IT!
Okay. Spent all day yesterday making food for the week. Clean food ;) Chicken breast, sweet potatoes, rice, veggies, made turkey chili, made some good carb 'cookies' for breakfasts..feeling ready to get bigger and stronger and feel really good :)
Today I got to work out with Mike Kromer and his wife Lisa ;) It was really awesome. Mike just points and says "you are going to lift this" lol. I deadlifted 295lbs for 4 sets of 3. Mike yelling at me for shrugging. I have to learn to lock my shoulders back and not shrug the weight up after I stand up. lol.
We practiced the clean and press. I am no longer afraid of the yellow bumpers :D Mike was thinking I should 'continental' the weight up. I wasn't comfortable with that, so he suggested I powerclean from the floor..lo and behold that did the trick, i got the bar up no problem and pressed it for 8 i think. working weight today was 104 or 106..lol I couldn't do the math in my head. lets see bar 35, 2-33 plates, 2 collars, 2-2.5 plates. I guess it was 110 or 111lbs. 10 more pounds I will be at event weight.
Then we practiced lifting the weight for the yolk walk. we started with 215, just lift and stand for a 5 count. then 305 lift and stand for 5 count, then 395 lift and stand for 5 count, then 445, lift and stand for a 5 count. then my final lift was 535. I attempted it, nothing, then set myself up again and stood up under it..not quite a full 5 count, lol. thats heavy! and my event weight will be 565!
I reallllllly love this stuff! i can't wait to try the tire flip and really do the farmers walk and yoke walk. I am feeling really confident and Mike is a good coach. He said i am incredibly strong :) I just need technique. I am like a kid, I have no clue as to what equipment, what weight to attempt, what technique is..lol.
I came home and ordered my wrist wraps and my knee wraps. exciting to have some new gear :) feels so "official". I have a belt Adam gave me..that came in handy today. i have never used a belt or straps/wraps like this before. I am not sure I like the wrist wraps, very stiff and confining, but I guess I will get used to them.
http://www.prowriststraps.com/
Mike also told me to go buy flat shoes. If I try to yoke walk in my shoes they will roll. So I am off to sports authority to get some converse or similar :)
Today's meals so far:
5am
2 breakfast "cookies"
1 1/2 scoops whey in water
7am
4oz sweet potato
4oz chicken breast
11:40 (late..i know, i was LIFTING at meal time!)
4oz tilapia
1/2c rice
1/2c green peas
hoisin sauce
okay - going to go buy the right kind of shoes :)
Not sure if I posted the event info or not...here it is :
http://nastrongmaninc.com/upcoming/upcoming_item.asp?UpcomingID=511
Today I got to work out with Mike Kromer and his wife Lisa ;) It was really awesome. Mike just points and says "you are going to lift this" lol. I deadlifted 295lbs for 4 sets of 3. Mike yelling at me for shrugging. I have to learn to lock my shoulders back and not shrug the weight up after I stand up. lol.
We practiced the clean and press. I am no longer afraid of the yellow bumpers :D Mike was thinking I should 'continental' the weight up. I wasn't comfortable with that, so he suggested I powerclean from the floor..lo and behold that did the trick, i got the bar up no problem and pressed it for 8 i think. working weight today was 104 or 106..lol I couldn't do the math in my head. lets see bar 35, 2-33 plates, 2 collars, 2-2.5 plates. I guess it was 110 or 111lbs. 10 more pounds I will be at event weight.
Then we practiced lifting the weight for the yolk walk. we started with 215, just lift and stand for a 5 count. then 305 lift and stand for 5 count, then 395 lift and stand for 5 count, then 445, lift and stand for a 5 count. then my final lift was 535. I attempted it, nothing, then set myself up again and stood up under it..not quite a full 5 count, lol. thats heavy! and my event weight will be 565!
I reallllllly love this stuff! i can't wait to try the tire flip and really do the farmers walk and yoke walk. I am feeling really confident and Mike is a good coach. He said i am incredibly strong :) I just need technique. I am like a kid, I have no clue as to what equipment, what weight to attempt, what technique is..lol.
I came home and ordered my wrist wraps and my knee wraps. exciting to have some new gear :) feels so "official". I have a belt Adam gave me..that came in handy today. i have never used a belt or straps/wraps like this before. I am not sure I like the wrist wraps, very stiff and confining, but I guess I will get used to them.
http://www.prowriststraps.com/
Mike also told me to go buy flat shoes. If I try to yoke walk in my shoes they will roll. So I am off to sports authority to get some converse or similar :)
Today's meals so far:
5am
2 breakfast "cookies"
1 1/2 scoops whey in water
7am
4oz sweet potato
4oz chicken breast
11:40 (late..i know, i was LIFTING at meal time!)
4oz tilapia
1/2c rice
1/2c green peas
hoisin sauce
okay - going to go buy the right kind of shoes :)
Not sure if I posted the event info or not...here it is :
http://nastrongmaninc.com/upcoming/upcoming_item.asp?UpcomingID=511
Friday, May 21, 2010
Attack of the allergies!
Thursday and Friday sore sore throat, sneezy, itchy :( poivre poivre pussycat.
I didn't lift or do cardio either day..saving my wrists for Sunday when I get to meet the equipment and practice for the first time :) Very excited, hoping my head gets unstuffed by then!
I didn't lift or do cardio either day..saving my wrists for Sunday when I get to meet the equipment and practice for the first time :) Very excited, hoping my head gets unstuffed by then!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Alone..again..
Starting to think DJ hates me.. :(
I warmed up with a few laps, did light set of circuit and the practiced the clean, and pressing, trying to work up to heavier weight.
My hands and feet hurt so bad by the time I got home I took some ibuprofen and napped... hopefully they recover and get stronger...
I warmed up with a few laps, did light set of circuit and the practiced the clean, and pressing, trying to work up to heavier weight.
My hands and feet hurt so bad by the time I got home I took some ibuprofen and napped... hopefully they recover and get stronger...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tuesday....
The longest day...
I worked all morning, i love training my clients and teaching gravity :)
Before teaching my Pilate's reformer group, I did an hour of pilate's for myself, stretching out my hammies and shoulders felt sooo good after yesterday's brutality.
I am home having a meal..and thinking about what I need to accomplish this next month. Get stronger, learn the lifts...and it would be nice to get a little leaner, too. So i decided its time to buckle down again foodwise, nothing too crazy but all clean. I will start logging my food Monday, once I have had the weekend to prepare my meals and get all lined up nutritionally.
Back to work tonight to train clients :)
Tired, got to bed earlier last night and I am more tired than usual. grrr.Hate how that works. I think if I am consistent with bedtime it will get better but it is so hard...
I worked all morning, i love training my clients and teaching gravity :)
Before teaching my Pilate's reformer group, I did an hour of pilate's for myself, stretching out my hammies and shoulders felt sooo good after yesterday's brutality.
I am home having a meal..and thinking about what I need to accomplish this next month. Get stronger, learn the lifts...and it would be nice to get a little leaner, too. So i decided its time to buckle down again foodwise, nothing too crazy but all clean. I will start logging my food Monday, once I have had the weekend to prepare my meals and get all lined up nutritionally.
Back to work tonight to train clients :)
Tired, got to bed earlier last night and I am more tired than usual. grrr.Hate how that works. I think if I am consistent with bedtime it will get better but it is so hard...
Monday, May 17, 2010
Wreaking Havoc on my own...lol
DJ and I had some confusion about training time today..so I worked out on my own...
I hauled out the axle bar, which is about 4" around I would guess, very hard on the grip, hate it but love to hate it, and put the skinny practice bumpers and some 10's on and did the circuit through to warm-up.
Then I attempted to do 105 lbs for the clean and press..it sucked. so then I did about 88-90lbs clean and press, better, threw in some bent over rows, some deadlifts, some SLDLs, some front squats. more cleans, some overhead presses..I just kept kinda of cycling through the different moves..
Then I put the 100 back on and got the clean :D and pressed it 10 times before having to drop it. I have decided that part of the attraction of the powerlifting is that you are allowed to drop the bar, lol. I love it. I don't do it on purpose and I don't do it every time, but after cleaning and pressing and front squats my grip is shot and it happens. BOOM, bounce! lol.
Did I mention I LOVE POWERLIFTING? lol it is the most fun I have had in a while and the most challenging and humbling and rewarding...
I finished off with floor wipers and a few chest press from the floor, but after the second set of floor wipers my arms were done, no pressing.
I am happily exhausted!!!!
Floor wipers - give them a try! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQLtfH9clx4
I hauled out the axle bar, which is about 4" around I would guess, very hard on the grip, hate it but love to hate it, and put the skinny practice bumpers and some 10's on and did the circuit through to warm-up.
Then I attempted to do 105 lbs for the clean and press..it sucked. so then I did about 88-90lbs clean and press, better, threw in some bent over rows, some deadlifts, some SLDLs, some front squats. more cleans, some overhead presses..I just kept kinda of cycling through the different moves..
Then I put the 100 back on and got the clean :D and pressed it 10 times before having to drop it. I have decided that part of the attraction of the powerlifting is that you are allowed to drop the bar, lol. I love it. I don't do it on purpose and I don't do it every time, but after cleaning and pressing and front squats my grip is shot and it happens. BOOM, bounce! lol.
Did I mention I LOVE POWERLIFTING? lol it is the most fun I have had in a while and the most challenging and humbling and rewarding...
I finished off with floor wipers and a few chest press from the floor, but after the second set of floor wipers my arms were done, no pressing.
I am happily exhausted!!!!
Floor wipers - give them a try! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQLtfH9clx4
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Weekend...
Lazy Saturday...cleaned all day Sunday. That should count for something! every surface that could be swept & mopped is and the laundry is done and the pantry is reorganized...and I even made a real dinner. LOL.
Tomorrow I work out with DJ again :)
Tomorrow I work out with DJ again :)
Friday, May 14, 2010
FRIDAY! :) Optimism springs anew!
I did some chest this morning because I feel like everything I am doing with DJ and strongman is so back/leg dominant. Definitely felt like my shoulders were a bit tired out so I kept it a little light. Inbetween sets I did farmers walk with dumbbells. I tried to start walking with 100's but they tip and hit my wrists, so I bumped down to 50's and did a few laps.
Flat bench 135X12, 10, 8
Incline bench 45sx12, 50'sX10, 55'sX8
decline cable flye 20X15, 30X12, 40X8
No cardio because my legs hurt so much this morning i took 4 ibuprofen after i woke up.
First appointment with DR Gib Garberg today. Awesome. He thinks all my knee issues will resolve with lots of stretching, some changes in my squat stance and lots of icing. YAY! he doesn't seem to think it is structural except maybe a meniscus in my right knee. SO..I should be able to do cardio again soon! Yahooey! I really like his adjustment style and the fact that he is big and muscular and knows weight lifting is an added perk :) so glad Mike Kromer sent me his way!
Hoping DJ gets the yoke and torpedoes for farmers walk this weekend so we can start specific training!!!!!!
Flat bench 135X12, 10, 8
Incline bench 45sx12, 50'sX10, 55'sX8
decline cable flye 20X15, 30X12, 40X8
No cardio because my legs hurt so much this morning i took 4 ibuprofen after i woke up.
First appointment with DR Gib Garberg today. Awesome. He thinks all my knee issues will resolve with lots of stretching, some changes in my squat stance and lots of icing. YAY! he doesn't seem to think it is structural except maybe a meniscus in my right knee. SO..I should be able to do cardio again soon! Yahooey! I really like his adjustment style and the fact that he is big and muscular and knows weight lifting is an added perk :) so glad Mike Kromer sent me his way!
Hoping DJ gets the yoke and torpedoes for farmers walk this weekend so we can start specific training!!!!!!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Clean and Press!
Today's workout was the circuit I did Monday again and then practicing heavy clean and press.
I cleaned 100lbs and pressed it 8 times before laughing because my legs were shaking, which made me drop it. :p
The event weight I have to clean is 121lbs. I am going to keep working towards cleaning heavier than that so that cleaning and pre4ssing that amount is easy peasy.
I tried doing some cardio before my training session, the new elliptical/stepper aggravated my knees... the arc trainer aggravated them worse, the treadmill was ok..but my calves are still pretty tight/sore from hiking sunday and jumping rope tuesday.. Tomorrow I think I will haul out the step and just do my crazy self step/plyo cardio. Odd that it doesn't seem to flare my knees up. I also have my first appointment with new chiropractor tomorrow - yay!
I cleaned 100lbs and pressed it 8 times before laughing because my legs were shaking, which made me drop it. :p
The event weight I have to clean is 121lbs. I am going to keep working towards cleaning heavier than that so that cleaning and pre4ssing that amount is easy peasy.
I tried doing some cardio before my training session, the new elliptical/stepper aggravated my knees... the arc trainer aggravated them worse, the treadmill was ok..but my calves are still pretty tight/sore from hiking sunday and jumping rope tuesday.. Tomorrow I think I will haul out the step and just do my crazy self step/plyo cardio. Odd that it doesn't seem to flare my knees up. I also have my first appointment with new chiropractor tomorrow - yay!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Whoops! Life got busy!
I have been lifting though! Oh and I hiked the mountain at Multnomah falls on sunday :)
Let's see - I started learning the big olympic lifts from DJ, a trainer at the club I work at.
We started with the clean..I learned some important things that day..lol
1) my forearms are not flexible enough..
2) I have to use technique and not just muscle up the bar..lol but muscling up wt is what I do!!! :p
3) Olympic lifting is FUN and KICKS ASS!!!! :)
On Monday I did an actual training session with DJ :) wow. we did this circuit 4 times thru:
6 reps each nonstop:
Deadlift
Stiff-legged Deadlift
Bentover row
Clean
Front squat
Overhead Press
Squat
Good Morning
Then I started learning the snatch...lol. I was doing okay with the other lifts until this..I have a lot of work to do.. DJ just shakes his head..I look like I am trying to do jumping jacks with a barbell.
That evening Mike Kromer is sitting at the trainer's desk and says "do you want to do a strongman competition?"
I pipe up "YES!"
LOL..I just found out last night what it entails. Keep i mind I have never done any of these movements..the competition is in one month..here are the events and wts - I will be a heavyweight woman...
YOKE WALK
LW Women: 385 lb empty Yoke
MW Women: 485 lbs (empty Yoke + a 25 lb plate on all 4 pegs)
HW Women: 565 lbs (empty Yoke + a 45 lb plate on all 4 pegs)
LW Men: 665 lbs (empty Yoke + a 45 lb plate + a 25 lb plate on all 4 pegs)
HW Men: 745 lbs (empty Yoke + two 45 lb plates on all 4 pegs)
TIRE FLIP
LW Women: estimated 400 lbs
MW Women: estimated 500 lbs
HW Women: estimated 600 lbs
LW Men: estimated 700 lbs
HW Men: estimated 850 lbs
AXLE PRESS FOR REPS (clean once only)
LW Women: yellow 15 kilo plate + Axle= 99 lbs
MW Women: yellow 15 kilo plate + 5 lb plate on each side + Axle= 109 lbs
HW Women: blue 20 kilo plate on each side + Axle= 121 lbs
LW Men: red 25 kilo plate + yellow 15 kilo plate on each side + Axle= 209 lbs
HW Men: green 50 kilo plate on each side + 5 lbs on each side + Axle= 263 lbs
FARMERS WALK (1.5" smooth handles/oxygen tanks with low pick)
LW Women: Empty handles= 120 lbs in each hand
MW Women: Empty handles= 140 lbs in each hand
HW Women: Four 10 lb plates + empty 120 lbs handles= 160 lbs in each hand
LW Men: Four 25 lb plates + four 5 lb plates + empty 120 lb handles= 240 lbs in each hand
HW Men: Four 25 lb plates + four 10 lb plates + empty 140 lb handles = 280 lbs in each hand
KEG LOADING (all four kegs will be 15 ft away from the platform)
LW Women: 100, 115, 130, 150 lbs
MW Women: 115, 130, 150, 180 lbs
HW Women: 150, 180, 200, 220 lbs
LW Men: 180, 200, 220, 250 lbs
HW Men: 220 250, 270, 290 lbs
BOY OH ..I better get real strong, real fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday I jumped rope for intervals, I jump as long as I can then I walk a lap around the gym and repeat for about 20 minutes. Knees not terribly happy but not total flare up.
Wednesday I rode recumbent bike/elliptical thing for half an hour..my heart rate never got above 93..hmmmm. knees didn't want to push any harder though..so I will take the calorie burn and not worry too much.
Tomorrow is another session with DJ. We are going to start using the Axle so i get used to cleaning it and i am going to work on farmer walks later in the day I think, if my grip isnt shot from DJ's workout.
I am LOVING lifting with a purpose and learning new lifts!!!!!!
Let's see - I started learning the big olympic lifts from DJ, a trainer at the club I work at.
We started with the clean..I learned some important things that day..lol
1) my forearms are not flexible enough..
2) I have to use technique and not just muscle up the bar..lol but muscling up wt is what I do!!! :p
3) Olympic lifting is FUN and KICKS ASS!!!! :)
On Monday I did an actual training session with DJ :) wow. we did this circuit 4 times thru:
6 reps each nonstop:
Deadlift
Stiff-legged Deadlift
Bentover row
Clean
Front squat
Overhead Press
Squat
Good Morning
Then I started learning the snatch...lol. I was doing okay with the other lifts until this..I have a lot of work to do.. DJ just shakes his head..I look like I am trying to do jumping jacks with a barbell.
That evening Mike Kromer is sitting at the trainer's desk and says "do you want to do a strongman competition?"
I pipe up "YES!"
LOL..I just found out last night what it entails. Keep i mind I have never done any of these movements..the competition is in one month..here are the events and wts - I will be a heavyweight woman...
YOKE WALK
LW Women: 385 lb empty Yoke
MW Women: 485 lbs (empty Yoke + a 25 lb plate on all 4 pegs)
HW Women: 565 lbs (empty Yoke + a 45 lb plate on all 4 pegs)
LW Men: 665 lbs (empty Yoke + a 45 lb plate + a 25 lb plate on all 4 pegs)
HW Men: 745 lbs (empty Yoke + two 45 lb plates on all 4 pegs)
TIRE FLIP
LW Women: estimated 400 lbs
MW Women: estimated 500 lbs
HW Women: estimated 600 lbs
LW Men: estimated 700 lbs
HW Men: estimated 850 lbs
AXLE PRESS FOR REPS (clean once only)
LW Women: yellow 15 kilo plate + Axle= 99 lbs
MW Women: yellow 15 kilo plate + 5 lb plate on each side + Axle= 109 lbs
HW Women: blue 20 kilo plate on each side + Axle= 121 lbs
LW Men: red 25 kilo plate + yellow 15 kilo plate on each side + Axle= 209 lbs
HW Men: green 50 kilo plate on each side + 5 lbs on each side + Axle= 263 lbs
FARMERS WALK (1.5" smooth handles/oxygen tanks with low pick)
LW Women: Empty handles= 120 lbs in each hand
MW Women: Empty handles= 140 lbs in each hand
HW Women: Four 10 lb plates + empty 120 lbs handles= 160 lbs in each hand
LW Men: Four 25 lb plates + four 5 lb plates + empty 120 lb handles= 240 lbs in each hand
HW Men: Four 25 lb plates + four 10 lb plates + empty 140 lb handles = 280 lbs in each hand
KEG LOADING (all four kegs will be 15 ft away from the platform)
LW Women: 100, 115, 130, 150 lbs
MW Women: 115, 130, 150, 180 lbs
HW Women: 150, 180, 200, 220 lbs
LW Men: 180, 200, 220, 250 lbs
HW Men: 220 250, 270, 290 lbs
BOY OH ..I better get real strong, real fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday I jumped rope for intervals, I jump as long as I can then I walk a lap around the gym and repeat for about 20 minutes. Knees not terribly happy but not total flare up.
Wednesday I rode recumbent bike/elliptical thing for half an hour..my heart rate never got above 93..hmmmm. knees didn't want to push any harder though..so I will take the calorie burn and not worry too much.
Tomorrow is another session with DJ. We are going to start using the Axle so i get used to cleaning it and i am going to work on farmer walks later in the day I think, if my grip isnt shot from DJ's workout.
I am LOVING lifting with a purpose and learning new lifts!!!!!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Back on it and feeling positive!
Didn't do morning cardio, as I suspect my elliptical flares up my knees. I think i am going to set it up so I can do kickboxing dvd's at the studio in the morning first thing.
Went to Gold's with Pam again today, we did the second upper body routine from the 12 week plan..it still doesn't feel like enough volume..I think we will add in or just change to a split like I have been doing.. I like Gold's equipment and it will be pretty cool once it has expanded into its full space. As it is right now it is crowded, you can barely unrack a wt plate without accidentally loading it onto the guy next to you's bar. lol But that kind of challenge is good, it makes you dredge up exercises as alternates. we couldn't get on an incline bench for db presses so we did incline presses on a ball. They don't have an assisted pull-up station so we did 'aussie' pull-ups, which i usually do on the smith but we made do with the power rack...
All-in-all a decent workout. I stayed after and rode the recumbent bike for half an our to fulfill my cardio quota for the day. jury is still out over whether that made my knees any worse.
Anyhow - the workout was this:
Incline db press-to-flye on ball 35'sX12, 45'sX12, 60'sX10 (some boys had the 55's)
"Aussie" Pull-ups 3 sets 12, 12, umm 10?
lateral db raises 10X12, 15X12, 15X12
superset
triceps rope ext idk the wt
single cable curl idk the wt funky cable setup
Thanks, Pam!
Went to Gold's with Pam again today, we did the second upper body routine from the 12 week plan..it still doesn't feel like enough volume..I think we will add in or just change to a split like I have been doing.. I like Gold's equipment and it will be pretty cool once it has expanded into its full space. As it is right now it is crowded, you can barely unrack a wt plate without accidentally loading it onto the guy next to you's bar. lol But that kind of challenge is good, it makes you dredge up exercises as alternates. we couldn't get on an incline bench for db presses so we did incline presses on a ball. They don't have an assisted pull-up station so we did 'aussie' pull-ups, which i usually do on the smith but we made do with the power rack...
All-in-all a decent workout. I stayed after and rode the recumbent bike for half an our to fulfill my cardio quota for the day. jury is still out over whether that made my knees any worse.
Anyhow - the workout was this:
Incline db press-to-flye on ball 35'sX12, 45'sX12, 60'sX10 (some boys had the 55's)
"Aussie" Pull-ups 3 sets 12, 12, umm 10?
lateral db raises 10X12, 15X12, 15X12
superset
triceps rope ext idk the wt
single cable curl idk the wt funky cable setup
Thanks, Pam!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
blech
did am cardio yesterday. half hour, low level, good intensity, lots of sweat. paid all day with knee pain. setting appointment with dr soon.
today..nauseous and shaky. something has been going around at the gym... yesterday i attributed nausea to taking vitamins on empty stomach..today it has persisted all day. canceled afternoon and evening clients and workout :( sorry Pam.
hoping soup, rest, sleep will add up to better by tomorrow AM!
hate these little set backs.
today..nauseous and shaky. something has been going around at the gym... yesterday i attributed nausea to taking vitamins on empty stomach..today it has persisted all day. canceled afternoon and evening clients and workout :( sorry Pam.
hoping soup, rest, sleep will add up to better by tomorrow AM!
hate these little set backs.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Leg day..favorite day of all :D
Got up at 4 and did 30 minutes cardio on elliptical. kinda worried that the elliptical is what is aggravating my knees... hmmm.
Met Pam at Gold's again to work legs and abs :)
Squats after warm-up - 135X12, 155X12, 165X12
Db stiff-leg deadlift 40'sX12, 50'sX12, 60'sX12
Leg ext/ham curl superset 70&85X12, 85&100X12, 100&130X12
Standing calf raise 25X15, 35X12, 45X12
Reverse leg raise crunches, with twist 3 sets
ball crunches 3 sets... abs still sore from doing "annie" last week! lol.
Felt good, a less grueling leg day than I have been doing, but thats the point of this routine. It builds as we go. Thats not to say the sets of 12 weren't intense. We still worked hard and I am sure I will be sore, sometimes I think a little lighter means a little better quality of movement..my ass is starting to feel it already.
Tomorrow is day off from lifting, I will do cardio twice.
Diet has been awesome (lol 2 whole days of awesome, lets not get too excited shall we?) but I love this plan, except the amount of protein is not something my stomach can handle, so I am cutting out a little each meal and adding a small protein meal at the end if the day.
lay down for a nap today and..didnt need it. thats different. i must be getting more sleep lately :)
Met Pam at Gold's again to work legs and abs :)
Squats after warm-up - 135X12, 155X12, 165X12
Db stiff-leg deadlift 40'sX12, 50'sX12, 60'sX12
Leg ext/ham curl superset 70&85X12, 85&100X12, 100&130X12
Standing calf raise 25X15, 35X12, 45X12
Reverse leg raise crunches, with twist 3 sets
ball crunches 3 sets... abs still sore from doing "annie" last week! lol.
Felt good, a less grueling leg day than I have been doing, but thats the point of this routine. It builds as we go. Thats not to say the sets of 12 weren't intense. We still worked hard and I am sure I will be sore, sometimes I think a little lighter means a little better quality of movement..my ass is starting to feel it already.
Tomorrow is day off from lifting, I will do cardio twice.
Diet has been awesome (lol 2 whole days of awesome, lets not get too excited shall we?) but I love this plan, except the amount of protein is not something my stomach can handle, so I am cutting out a little each meal and adding a small protein meal at the end if the day.
lay down for a nap today and..didnt need it. thats different. i must be getting more sleep lately :)
Monday, April 26, 2010
First day new routine
Felt Pretty good, not sure it will be enough volume for upper body but Brian says do it for 4 weeks and see how it goes.
Got up at 3:15 and did 30 minutes cardio. knees not too happy about it later. idk what to think about that.
Worked out at the ne Gold's gym with Pam at 11:30 :)
Upper body
Bench Press 2 warm-ups then 135X12, 140X10, 140X9
bent over bb row 95X12, 115X12, 135X10
DB shoulder press 30X12, 35X10, 35X10
skullcrushers 40X15, 50X12, 50X10
db curls alternating/supinating 20X12, 25X12, 25X12
I will probably do some cardio tonight after work, depends on how good of a nap I have.
OK. 3:15 is really catching up with me! Nap time!
Got up at 3:15 and did 30 minutes cardio. knees not too happy about it later. idk what to think about that.
Worked out at the ne Gold's gym with Pam at 11:30 :)
Upper body
Bench Press 2 warm-ups then 135X12, 140X10, 140X9
bent over bb row 95X12, 115X12, 135X10
DB shoulder press 30X12, 35X10, 35X10
skullcrushers 40X15, 50X12, 50X10
db curls alternating/supinating 20X12, 25X12, 25X12
I will probably do some cardio tonight after work, depends on how good of a nap I have.
OK. 3:15 is really catching up with me! Nap time!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday is big prep day
I love getting all my ducks in a row.
I spent a majority of my day today prepping meals for the week. Here are all the things I cooked:
Breakfast -
per batch :
4 egg whites (1/2c egg product)
4 whole eggs ( i used 2 regular and 2 omega eggs)
to some I added salsa verde, 2 tbsp and to others just chile garlic hot sauce or garlic pepper. mmm I made six batches.
I roasted 3 pork sirloin roasts :
Maple glazed pork roast
preheat oven to 400.
while oven preheats, rub roasts with McCormicks grill mates sweet and smoky rub.
line a shallow roasting pan with foil.
place roasts on pan.
bake 30 minutes.
brush with sugarfree maple syrup and bake another 30 minutes or until done through.
cool and portion out into the amounts you need.
meanwhile, on my Cuisinart griddler I am grilling turkey burgers - yummmm
Turkey Burgers -
2 lbs extra lean ground turkey
1 med yellow onion minced, here i am thinking a slap chop might be a good investment as i cry my way through mincing
2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tbsp poultry magic seasoning (recipe said Mrs. dash but I didn't have it)
2 tsp garlic powder
recipe also includes red or green bell pepper , 1/2c chopped but i don't like bell peppers!
preheat grill, brush with a little oil, then divide burgers into your portion amounts. shape into patties, place on grill. spray the back of a spatula with nonstick spray and flatten burgers out. cook 5 minutes a side or until done through.I like turkey burgers because they are easy to heat up in the microwave and eat while I drive....
this made 5 servings for me on my current plan.
I also cut up a pre-cooked turkey breast and put my amounts into tupperware with the amount of avocado allowed on my plan and some garlic salt & pepper. yummm that made 4 meals...
I am thawing out tilapia, which will go on my cuisinart grill. sprinkled with some sort of mixed seasoning.
I weighed out and divided up the rest of the baked chicken I had in the fridge - that went in containers with french cut green beans and almond butter and creole seasoning. yummm.
Tomorrow I start AM cardio and a new lifting routine. very excited! :) I am sooooo reday to be back in my peak physique shape!
I spent a majority of my day today prepping meals for the week. Here are all the things I cooked:
Breakfast -
per batch :
4 egg whites (1/2c egg product)
4 whole eggs ( i used 2 regular and 2 omega eggs)
to some I added salsa verde, 2 tbsp and to others just chile garlic hot sauce or garlic pepper. mmm I made six batches.
I roasted 3 pork sirloin roasts :
Maple glazed pork roast
preheat oven to 400.
while oven preheats, rub roasts with McCormicks grill mates sweet and smoky rub.
line a shallow roasting pan with foil.
place roasts on pan.
bake 30 minutes.
brush with sugarfree maple syrup and bake another 30 minutes or until done through.
cool and portion out into the amounts you need.
meanwhile, on my Cuisinart griddler I am grilling turkey burgers - yummmm
Turkey Burgers -
2 lbs extra lean ground turkey
1 med yellow onion minced, here i am thinking a slap chop might be a good investment as i cry my way through mincing
2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tbsp poultry magic seasoning (recipe said Mrs. dash but I didn't have it)
2 tsp garlic powder
recipe also includes red or green bell pepper , 1/2c chopped but i don't like bell peppers!
preheat grill, brush with a little oil, then divide burgers into your portion amounts. shape into patties, place on grill. spray the back of a spatula with nonstick spray and flatten burgers out. cook 5 minutes a side or until done through.I like turkey burgers because they are easy to heat up in the microwave and eat while I drive....
this made 5 servings for me on my current plan.
I also cut up a pre-cooked turkey breast and put my amounts into tupperware with the amount of avocado allowed on my plan and some garlic salt & pepper. yummm that made 4 meals...
I am thawing out tilapia, which will go on my cuisinart grill. sprinkled with some sort of mixed seasoning.
I weighed out and divided up the rest of the baked chicken I had in the fridge - that went in containers with french cut green beans and almond butter and creole seasoning. yummm.
Tomorrow I start AM cardio and a new lifting routine. very excited! :) I am sooooo reday to be back in my peak physique shape!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Saturday..lazy lazy
Hmmm. Adam left for Seattle today and with him went my motivation.or maybe its just PMS. I am crabby and puffy and tired and just want to sleep
It's gorgeous outside and we spent a few hours at the park, swinging and climbing the fake rock..does that count as cardio? lol. I think tonight I will go to bed early and tomorrow I will resolvedly start my onslaught of AM cardio.
It's gorgeous outside and we spent a few hours at the park, swinging and climbing the fake rock..does that count as cardio? lol. I think tonight I will go to bed early and tomorrow I will resolvedly start my onslaught of AM cardio.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Ab Article I wrote a while back..
________________________________________
Abdominals......
We all have them... the most commonly asked question I get is “how do I get six-pack abs”?
First off..you have six pack abs, they are just usually concealed by fat. Seeing your sixpack is primarily a matter of long-term dedication to a clean diet with enough of a calorie deficit to burn bodyfat.
Ab development? this is debatable.. some of the guys I know who compete and have the most insane abdominals, when asked how they work their abs, will give you a geeky-shy smile and say "I don't "....Other guys swear by really complex, really high volume ab work...how much is genetics? How much do you need to work them? Should you work them with weight? Should you do traditional ab movements or is 'functional training" really all its cracked up to be?
My opinion on ab work is that you should tailor it to your goals..just like any other workout. If you are a mid-50's golfer who just wants a better golf swing..you should be doing rotational standing ab movements..there is no need to be doing weighted kneeling crunches or hundreds of those silly 'machine' crunches (don't get me started...if your 90 year-old grandma can walk up, put the whole stack on and do 4 sets of 50 crunches..the machine isn't doing shit for your abs...get off the goddam machine!!!!) If you are a bodybuilder who wants them to pop out more you want to work them with some weight from every angle imaginable. If you are an athlete you should work them functionally with your sports movements...
Most importantly...what I try to impart to my clients is that EVERY EXERCISE YOU DO IS A CORE MOVEMENT. (go back and reread that..I'll wait.....) Every time you start a movement in the weight room, your first thought should be to pull up your pelvic floor, pull your abdominal girdle in (strong but not so tight it makes your back sore), and use your abdominals to transfer weight and power the way they are supposed to. The same thing goes for cardio. Try running, just running without thinking (again...go ahead, I will be right here.....). Okay..now try running with your abs recruited. Feel how they lift and roll your hip girdle, feel how they absorb impact, feel how involved they are with the way your body transfers the power and movement while you run...(yes, I will wait here..again...)...Hopefully you get my drift here... The thing my clients hear most during every session is "check in with your core" " recruit your core" "tighten your core" whenever a movement starts to get a little fatigued-looking or sloppy, I cue them to re-check their core and we get a few more good clean reps...It doesn't matter what you are doing, the abs should be working.
I rarely use flat abdominal floorwork with clients. If they cannot possibly perform functional core work or corework on the ball we will resort to traditional floor work, but first they have to learn neutral spine (where you have a small space under your low back that stays there throughout every movement). We all grew up being taught to press our lowback into the floor during ab work...but think about it..when do you EVER do anything in that posture in real life? Why would a fetal spine position ever be beneficial? Its not, so why develop abdominal strength in fetal position? Keep that space under your lowback..it will make your lumbar muscles have to work and will strengthen your ENTIRE core instead of just developing the rectus abdominus and hip flexors..
Preferably we do standing abs like woodchoppers, with med balls or cables or bands, swiss ball ab exercises, pilates type movements, movements that apply to real movement patterns they might encounter during daily activities.
So...how often??? abdominals are muscles..so I don't believe every day is beneficial..unless you are mainly after endurance...you want those abs to be able to crunch forever (for what?ummm, not sure but 200 crunches a day has to count for something, somewhere, right?) I think every other or every third day is plentiful...especially if you are recruiting them all the time during your workouts and daily activities, those puppies should be getting plenty strong all the time, as you learn to control and recruit them constantly. And of course, there are my buddies who don't ever work them directly..and have awesome abs ...I guess I don't stress too much about getting in a ton of ab work.
You want a really good ab exercise? tighten up your abdominal girdle and tie a piece of string around your waist. just comfortably, not tight. that string will make you work your abs all day, boy-o...do you need to do more?
So..thats my .02
:) hope its helpful instead of just more confusing....
Abdominals......
We all have them... the most commonly asked question I get is “how do I get six-pack abs”?
First off..you have six pack abs, they are just usually concealed by fat. Seeing your sixpack is primarily a matter of long-term dedication to a clean diet with enough of a calorie deficit to burn bodyfat.
Ab development? this is debatable.. some of the guys I know who compete and have the most insane abdominals, when asked how they work their abs, will give you a geeky-shy smile and say "I don't "....Other guys swear by really complex, really high volume ab work...how much is genetics? How much do you need to work them? Should you work them with weight? Should you do traditional ab movements or is 'functional training" really all its cracked up to be?
My opinion on ab work is that you should tailor it to your goals..just like any other workout. If you are a mid-50's golfer who just wants a better golf swing..you should be doing rotational standing ab movements..there is no need to be doing weighted kneeling crunches or hundreds of those silly 'machine' crunches (don't get me started...if your 90 year-old grandma can walk up, put the whole stack on and do 4 sets of 50 crunches..the machine isn't doing shit for your abs...get off the goddam machine!!!!) If you are a bodybuilder who wants them to pop out more you want to work them with some weight from every angle imaginable. If you are an athlete you should work them functionally with your sports movements...
Most importantly...what I try to impart to my clients is that EVERY EXERCISE YOU DO IS A CORE MOVEMENT. (go back and reread that..I'll wait.....) Every time you start a movement in the weight room, your first thought should be to pull up your pelvic floor, pull your abdominal girdle in (strong but not so tight it makes your back sore), and use your abdominals to transfer weight and power the way they are supposed to. The same thing goes for cardio. Try running, just running without thinking (again...go ahead, I will be right here.....). Okay..now try running with your abs recruited. Feel how they lift and roll your hip girdle, feel how they absorb impact, feel how involved they are with the way your body transfers the power and movement while you run...(yes, I will wait here..again...)...Hopefully you get my drift here... The thing my clients hear most during every session is "check in with your core" " recruit your core" "tighten your core" whenever a movement starts to get a little fatigued-looking or sloppy, I cue them to re-check their core and we get a few more good clean reps...It doesn't matter what you are doing, the abs should be working.
I rarely use flat abdominal floorwork with clients. If they cannot possibly perform functional core work or corework on the ball we will resort to traditional floor work, but first they have to learn neutral spine (where you have a small space under your low back that stays there throughout every movement). We all grew up being taught to press our lowback into the floor during ab work...but think about it..when do you EVER do anything in that posture in real life? Why would a fetal spine position ever be beneficial? Its not, so why develop abdominal strength in fetal position? Keep that space under your lowback..it will make your lumbar muscles have to work and will strengthen your ENTIRE core instead of just developing the rectus abdominus and hip flexors..
Preferably we do standing abs like woodchoppers, with med balls or cables or bands, swiss ball ab exercises, pilates type movements, movements that apply to real movement patterns they might encounter during daily activities.
So...how often??? abdominals are muscles..so I don't believe every day is beneficial..unless you are mainly after endurance...you want those abs to be able to crunch forever (for what?ummm, not sure but 200 crunches a day has to count for something, somewhere, right?) I think every other or every third day is plentiful...especially if you are recruiting them all the time during your workouts and daily activities, those puppies should be getting plenty strong all the time, as you learn to control and recruit them constantly. And of course, there are my buddies who don't ever work them directly..and have awesome abs ...I guess I don't stress too much about getting in a ton of ab work.
You want a really good ab exercise? tighten up your abdominal girdle and tie a piece of string around your waist. just comfortably, not tight. that string will make you work your abs all day, boy-o...do you need to do more?
So..thats my .02
:) hope its helpful instead of just more confusing....
Friday workout
Yesterday I did chest with Adam. I get Adam as a workout partner every once in a while because our schedules just don't match up most of the time. he is by far my favorite workout partner. Anyhow, we did (wt approximate bc I didn't write it down..lol):
Flat bench
(warm-ups 95X12, 115X12) 135X12, 155X8, 165X6 finally getting back up on my bench, shoulder feeling good! I hit 205 at the lift-a-thon last October with my shoulder not at full health Its feeling good and my first becnh goal is 200 for reps. That would be cool.
DB incline press 40'sX12, 50'sX10, 55'sX8
Band press standing black band 3 sets 12-15
chest and shoulders were DONE by then. But I sw that we got new jumpropes at the club so I mad Adam join me in the crossfit workout "Annie"
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_SpealDoesAnnie.mov
Legs and abs and chest sore today! lol
Today, Friday.. Not enough sleep (ever..ever..ever) but i had an hour of time with no clients so I did 'light' back day. I have issues with light workouts..I don't seem capable of not increasing the weight..lol.
Medium grip pulldowns 60X15, 8-X12, 100X8, 120X6 ishy
I superset with cable bent-over rows, narrow overhand grip, handle to hips
80X12, 90X12, 100X12, 110X12..idk maybe its too easy of an angle or maybe I just had hidden energy rserves I was unaware of.
One arm db rows 40X12, 50X10, 50X10 back tired.
I superset with lying underthe smith rack doing pulls to the bar, wide grip.
Spent some time hanging upside down from smith bar, doing the kinds of tucks and hangs kids do on the monkey bars..lol. fun :)
Went home after work and napped :)I feel like next week i will get the cardio on track, my goal being 3 times next wek. I did cardio..once this week besides the jumprope workout. My knees are recovering still and really feeling tight from jumprope but I think in a day or so they will be fine.
Foodwise I am low low carb right now, lots of protein, good fat, veggies, just trying to do an 'induction phase' into contest dieting. most likely will phase into a carb cycle in two weeks.
Its all coming together. My biggest obstacle is getting enough sleep so I have the energy for the cardio and lifting. I have been better about bedtime this week, with last night being an exception. Its a work in progress.
Today's mood - tired but optimistic :) I am working on maintaining a bright, positive outlook - focused forward, evolving continually.
Flat bench
(warm-ups 95X12, 115X12) 135X12, 155X8, 165X6 finally getting back up on my bench, shoulder feeling good! I hit 205 at the lift-a-thon last October with my shoulder not at full health Its feeling good and my first becnh goal is 200 for reps. That would be cool.
DB incline press 40'sX12, 50'sX10, 55'sX8
Band press standing black band 3 sets 12-15
chest and shoulders were DONE by then. But I sw that we got new jumpropes at the club so I mad Adam join me in the crossfit workout "Annie"
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_SpealDoesAnnie.mov
Legs and abs and chest sore today! lol
Today, Friday.. Not enough sleep (ever..ever..ever) but i had an hour of time with no clients so I did 'light' back day. I have issues with light workouts..I don't seem capable of not increasing the weight..lol.
Medium grip pulldowns 60X15, 8-X12, 100X8, 120X6 ishy
I superset with cable bent-over rows, narrow overhand grip, handle to hips
80X12, 90X12, 100X12, 110X12..idk maybe its too easy of an angle or maybe I just had hidden energy rserves I was unaware of.
One arm db rows 40X12, 50X10, 50X10 back tired.
I superset with lying underthe smith rack doing pulls to the bar, wide grip.
Spent some time hanging upside down from smith bar, doing the kinds of tucks and hangs kids do on the monkey bars..lol. fun :)
Went home after work and napped :)I feel like next week i will get the cardio on track, my goal being 3 times next wek. I did cardio..once this week besides the jumprope workout. My knees are recovering still and really feeling tight from jumprope but I think in a day or so they will be fine.
Foodwise I am low low carb right now, lots of protein, good fat, veggies, just trying to do an 'induction phase' into contest dieting. most likely will phase into a carb cycle in two weeks.
Its all coming together. My biggest obstacle is getting enough sleep so I have the energy for the cardio and lifting. I have been better about bedtime this week, with last night being an exception. Its a work in progress.
Today's mood - tired but optimistic :) I am working on maintaining a bright, positive outlook - focused forward, evolving continually.
Where I Stand Now...
I miss having an online journal and the interaction of a fitness board but, for personal reasons, I chose to step out of the online fitness community for a while.
I find facebook not the right place to blog workouts and musings on fitness, etc. I decided that I would start my blog and those people who are interested in following my progress can follow and those who don't care don't have to watch :)
My current goal is to get into the best competition shape for bodybuilding that I have ever been in. I am 30 pounds up from competition weight. I have been lifting heavy and trying to add mass..and neglecting cardio for the most part :(
I have a tentative competition date in July, but if I am not shredded by then I will choose the next available local competition.
So...with that said.. I will be blogging my workouts and sometimes my food, sharing recipes, bitching about dieting and cardio, being a hyper spazz and a cranky tired old lady.. feel free to comment!
I find facebook not the right place to blog workouts and musings on fitness, etc. I decided that I would start my blog and those people who are interested in following my progress can follow and those who don't care don't have to watch :)
My current goal is to get into the best competition shape for bodybuilding that I have ever been in. I am 30 pounds up from competition weight. I have been lifting heavy and trying to add mass..and neglecting cardio for the most part :(
I have a tentative competition date in July, but if I am not shredded by then I will choose the next available local competition.
So...with that said.. I will be blogging my workouts and sometimes my food, sharing recipes, bitching about dieting and cardio, being a hyper spazz and a cranky tired old lady.. feel free to comment!
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