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.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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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