Last week saw me do my first couple of lifting workouts comprising all 7 movements I'll be working on. Those movements are as follows:
Squats
Deadlifts
Bench presses
Shoulder presses
Curls
Bent rows
Lat raises
The lat raises are different from deltoid lifts in that my arms are slightly bent inwards, requiring the lift to come more from the lats than the deltoids. I'd imagine there's also some rhomboid and possible rotator cuff involvement. Whereas, deltoid lifts pretty much just work the deltoids, and my shoulders are already pretty large, so in the interest of muscle balance I went for the lat raises.
Here's what I learned from my two lifting sessions last week: I'm not lifting nearly heavy enough. I messaged my go-to lifting advice guy on the MDA forums and asked him if these workouts were supposed to feel easy and fast (they've been taking me ~15-20 minutes), and he said no, and went on to outline the following basic rules:
1. If I require less than two minutes recovery between sets, I'm not lifting heavy enough.
2. If at the end of my third set, I feel like I could do another set, I'm not lifting heavy enough.
3. If I'm just pumping through sets relatively unbroken, I'm not lifting heavy enough.
4. Doing 4-6-8 reps of truly heavy loads is better than 6-8-10 of fairly heavy loads.
Conclusion: I am not lifting heavy enough AT ALL. So with this in mind, I went into yesterday's session keeping the above rules in mind. I realized the difference between what I thought was heavy and what's actually heavy when I played around with different weights on the bar and pretty easily deadlifted a set of my max load from last week--80--without breaking a sweat. It was difficult, don't get me wrong, and required effort, but it was the kind of effort that I've usually put into weights, i.e. "I can do this for several sets and will be pleasantly sore tomorrow". I realized that I have to completely change my idea of what's possible to lift when I'm aiming for max loads.
This time, when I loaded the bar for my first deadlift set, done at max load, I took a shot in the dark and loaded 32 more pounds than last week's "max", to hit 112. This was a very different feeling. I felt ALL the muscles in my body tensing and straining to lift this weight, and I couldn't just do 4 reps like bam-bam-bam-bam-done. I had to pause, take a breath, reposition, and really gear up--really focus on my form and visualize lifting the bar--for each rep. I did the 4 reps successfully, i.e. without failure, and I think that while I made a breakthrough in my concept of "heavy" lifting, I STILL could have lifted more weight. Next week my deadlift will start at 125. I really need to pinpoint what my one-rep max is for each of these moves.
Yesterday, all told, I did deadlifts, shoulder presses, and bent rows, increasing max loads from last week on all three moves--not really impressive, since I wasn't actually lifting my max last week. Shoulder presses were still the hardest. I did 2 minutes recovery between each set, and all told, the workout took me 32 minutes, not including warmup. This is closer to the 45-minute goal, but still falls short, which means--yes--I didn't lift heavy enough. There is such an unexpected learning curve to this, I kind of can't believe it. Lifting heavy things: harder than it looks.
Since it was a lifting day, it was also a low fat-high carb day. I'm starting to get more used to the massive carb intake, but it is WEIRD and HARD trying to regulate my fats, and I usually end up pretty hungry in between meals. My first meal was at around noon and was a Big Ass Salad with spinach as a base and all kinds of vegetables and fruit, some egg whites and a couple of baked chicken breasts, and honey-mustard dressing I made myself (honey, brown mustard, and vinegar--easy and fat free). Along with this salad was fat-free cottage cheese with frozen pineapple and berries. Then for after my 3pm workout, I made this "pumpkin pudding" an MDA-er told me about, with a can of pureed pumpkin, vanilla whey powder, cut up fruit, honey, and cinnamon. I was supposed to eat this, along with two baked sweet potatoes and a pound of cooked ground turkey, as my post-workout meal. I made it through the pumpkin and half of one sweet potato before I was stuffed. I then had pho with the EMS crew for dinner--a perfect workout-day meal, due to the simplicity of broth, meat, and carby rice noodles--as long as I order the kind with leaner cuts of steak. Due to skipping the sweet potatoes, my carbs only hit 174 instead of the goal 200, but my fat was right at 30g, so I did good. I cannot tell you, though, how mind-bending and annoying it is to switch my dietary paradigm twice a week. And I hate having to keep track of fat intake. But overall, it's not as miserable as it was when I started.
Today is a rest day. Tomorrow is my HIIT/sprint day that I'm not supposed to do but that I feel strongly about keeping up. I'm going to do hill sprints for 10 minutes, then a 12-minute bodyweight circuit. We'll see how it affects my Friday lifting session. I have a feeling it will be just fine.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Heavy Lifting Experiment
Forgot to update again, for more than a week! I suck. I did do all my workouts as planned. I was good. Just not good about updating.
Anyhoo-- 30-day challenge is (almost) over, and I felt like moving on to something more interesting (with goals, because I am insanely goal-motivated). Enter HEAVY LIFTING.
I'm not going to lie and say that youtubing Women's events at the Crossfit Games didn't partly inspire this. Those ladies just look so awesome lifting those bars. But also, I wanted to shake up my workout routine, as well as see the effects of such a different style of workout. In my time as a fitness junkie, I've done "typical" 30min steady state cardio/30 min light weight lifting; no results. I've done endurance training for the marathon; NEGATIVE results, and I'll probably never do that again unless I'm raising money for something. I've done HIIT workouts; good but not great results. So now I'm going to move on to a heavy lifting program and see what that does to me. I like experimenting.
After spending SHITLOADS of time scouring Leangains, reading Starting Strength, and lurking on the MDA forums in threads about lifting, I've come away with some good advice and feel confident in starting a dedicated program. However, I don't want to give up HIIT metcons completely, because I do have Tough Mudder coming up and I'll need that cardio conditioning. Doing HIIT while heavy lifting is basically sacrilege, so I'm definitely going AMA by retaining at least one HIIT session a week. Whatever, we'll see how it works out.
As far as diet goes, I'm not changing much; I already basically do the Leangains-style 16:8 fast-feed schedule, just naturally. The only difference is that I'll be adding in carb cycling on the heavy lifting days. So, on lifting days, I'll be eating around 200g of carbs (still no grains, though; this will be sweet potatoes, bananas, white rice, etc) and very low fat (below 50g), while on normal days I'll be doing my usual high fat-low carb deal.
I'm doing two lifting workouts (reverse pyramid style) and one HIIT + hill sprints workout per week, with two days of low level activity (walking and yoga), and two days of complete REST. That will probably be the hardest part--at first I devised a schedule of 5x/wk workouts, alternating HIIT and lifting, but the experts on the MDA forums shot that down REAL QUICK. Apparently with lifting, less is more, and rest is the most important part. Still, the idea of just 3 workouts a week, and basically no cardio, freaks the shit out of me.
I'll be really interested to see how this new style of eating/working out affects me. I know from experience that I tend to build muscle and strength really quickly, but I've never really done much in the way of real lifting, nor allowed myself the carbs to make recovery/strength building really effective. So, we'll see. It'll be an adventure.
Yesterday's workout was my first lifting workout. I following Starting Strength's A workout, which was squats, deadlifts, and presses. I was quickly told by MDA peeps that this was wrong and very ineffective and actually dangerous, doing squats and deadlifts same day. So that won't happen again. But anyhoo, here were my loads:
Squats: 60, 60, 80, 80, 80 (as you can see, I wasn't RPT'ing yet. Also, I think I could have done more weight, but I don't have a squat rack so I'm basically limited to what I'm physically able to lift into squat position. That'll change as soon as I get to Texas and have gym access.)
Deadlifts: 80, 90, 90, 100, 100
Presses: 50, 60, 60, 50, 50 (60 was my fail point; I outright failed the third rep on the third set).
Today is a rest day. Woo! Fasting till noon, then low carb/high fat rest of the day.
Tomorrow I'll be starting the lifting schedule for real, with squats, bench press, and curls, all done RPT-style. Then next Monday I'll be doing deadlift, shoulder press, bent rows, and lateral raises. That'll remain the split from here on out unless I decide I don't like it for whatever reason.
I actually have not yet eaten today. I need to go get food. I've been too busy. RESTING. Haha. No but seriously, I'm already a sore monster from yesterday. And it feels different from my usual soreness. It's like full-body OW.
Anyhoo-- 30-day challenge is (almost) over, and I felt like moving on to something more interesting (with goals, because I am insanely goal-motivated). Enter HEAVY LIFTING.
I'm not going to lie and say that youtubing Women's events at the Crossfit Games didn't partly inspire this. Those ladies just look so awesome lifting those bars. But also, I wanted to shake up my workout routine, as well as see the effects of such a different style of workout. In my time as a fitness junkie, I've done "typical" 30min steady state cardio/30 min light weight lifting; no results. I've done endurance training for the marathon; NEGATIVE results, and I'll probably never do that again unless I'm raising money for something. I've done HIIT workouts; good but not great results. So now I'm going to move on to a heavy lifting program and see what that does to me. I like experimenting.
After spending SHITLOADS of time scouring Leangains, reading Starting Strength, and lurking on the MDA forums in threads about lifting, I've come away with some good advice and feel confident in starting a dedicated program. However, I don't want to give up HIIT metcons completely, because I do have Tough Mudder coming up and I'll need that cardio conditioning. Doing HIIT while heavy lifting is basically sacrilege, so I'm definitely going AMA by retaining at least one HIIT session a week. Whatever, we'll see how it works out.
As far as diet goes, I'm not changing much; I already basically do the Leangains-style 16:8 fast-feed schedule, just naturally. The only difference is that I'll be adding in carb cycling on the heavy lifting days. So, on lifting days, I'll be eating around 200g of carbs (still no grains, though; this will be sweet potatoes, bananas, white rice, etc) and very low fat (below 50g), while on normal days I'll be doing my usual high fat-low carb deal.
I'm doing two lifting workouts (reverse pyramid style) and one HIIT + hill sprints workout per week, with two days of low level activity (walking and yoga), and two days of complete REST. That will probably be the hardest part--at first I devised a schedule of 5x/wk workouts, alternating HIIT and lifting, but the experts on the MDA forums shot that down REAL QUICK. Apparently with lifting, less is more, and rest is the most important part. Still, the idea of just 3 workouts a week, and basically no cardio, freaks the shit out of me.
I'll be really interested to see how this new style of eating/working out affects me. I know from experience that I tend to build muscle and strength really quickly, but I've never really done much in the way of real lifting, nor allowed myself the carbs to make recovery/strength building really effective. So, we'll see. It'll be an adventure.
Yesterday's workout was my first lifting workout. I following Starting Strength's A workout, which was squats, deadlifts, and presses. I was quickly told by MDA peeps that this was wrong and very ineffective and actually dangerous, doing squats and deadlifts same day. So that won't happen again. But anyhoo, here were my loads:
Squats: 60, 60, 80, 80, 80 (as you can see, I wasn't RPT'ing yet. Also, I think I could have done more weight, but I don't have a squat rack so I'm basically limited to what I'm physically able to lift into squat position. That'll change as soon as I get to Texas and have gym access.)
Deadlifts: 80, 90, 90, 100, 100
Presses: 50, 60, 60, 50, 50 (60 was my fail point; I outright failed the third rep on the third set).
Today is a rest day. Woo! Fasting till noon, then low carb/high fat rest of the day.
Tomorrow I'll be starting the lifting schedule for real, with squats, bench press, and curls, all done RPT-style. Then next Monday I'll be doing deadlift, shoulder press, bent rows, and lateral raises. That'll remain the split from here on out unless I decide I don't like it for whatever reason.
I actually have not yet eaten today. I need to go get food. I've been too busy. RESTING. Haha. No but seriously, I'm already a sore monster from yesterday. And it feels different from my usual soreness. It's like full-body OW.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Long weekend update
Whoops, entirely forgot to update over the long weekend. Lots of working out was had, as well as some good food. Recap:
Saturday I did Week 2 Day 4 on Bodyrock, the Bringing Sexy Back workout. It was tough and good, though again, unmemorable. I keep waiting for another workout as awesome as the punching bag one from last week. I think the main thing I took away from this workout is that the Star Toe Touch Abs are wicked hard and work interesting muscles, so I'll probably bring that back in the abs lineup more often, and also that I am still incapable of doing box jumps.
Seriously.
It's driving me crazy. I just CANNOT make my feet leave the ground at the same time. It's a mental block thing. And it doesn't make sense, because I can tuck jump higher than the damn "box" I'm trying to jump onto! Gah. BOX JUMPS ARE MY EVEREST.
Moving on: Sunday. Gasp, people, I took a rest day. I KNOW. TWO IN ONE WEEK. WHAT. THE FUCK. But really, I think all this extremely clean eating and extremely disciplined working out is making me more attuned to what my body is thinking/feeling, and Sunday, after taking a hilly 1.5 mile walk with my mom and River, and then running around all day doing errands/cleaning/moving out our Christmas tree/etc, I plopped down on the couch around 7pm and just did not feel like squeezing in a workout before dinnertime. Usually I can always make myself do it, especially since it's just 12 minutes I have to devote. So when my brain is just NOT HAVING the idea of a workout, I know it's probably a good day to just take a chill pill.
The other nice thing about eating extremely cleanly is that when you do get to the end of your day and can't squeeze in a workout, it's less "Oh crap, now those brownies are gonna just pile the fuck on my spare tire", and more, "Guess I'll sacrifice any strength gains I would have made, I'll have to really push it tomorrow". AKA, I'm not concerned at all that by not working out I will put on weight. Way less pressure.
K, so, moving on--Monday! That's right, it was a lovely long weekend. Yesterday I walked River and proceeded to veg the rest of the day away in front of my computer. It's so rare that I get a day off. But I did have my rescue shift at 6, and I felt kinda bad for just sitting around the whole day, so I pushed the shit out of my workout. It was great. I did Week 2 Day 5 on Bodyrock, which was a 600 rep challenge called Glory to the Booty. I fucking love the names they come up with.
Shallow note: I love what Lisa was wearing in this workout video. The little cutoff wife beater--so cute. Obviously, way too sexy to be practical in a gym setting, but she looked awesome in the video.
The 600 rep challenge was this:
100 High Knee Skips
100 Lunge kicks (50 each leg) using the Pink Sandbag
100 High Knee Skips
100 squats using the Pink Sandbag
100 High Knee Skips
25 Straight Abs
25 V Abs Left
25 V Abs Right
25 Bicycle Abs
Saturday I did Week 2 Day 4 on Bodyrock, the Bringing Sexy Back workout. It was tough and good, though again, unmemorable. I keep waiting for another workout as awesome as the punching bag one from last week. I think the main thing I took away from this workout is that the Star Toe Touch Abs are wicked hard and work interesting muscles, so I'll probably bring that back in the abs lineup more often, and also that I am still incapable of doing box jumps.
Seriously.
It's driving me crazy. I just CANNOT make my feet leave the ground at the same time. It's a mental block thing. And it doesn't make sense, because I can tuck jump higher than the damn "box" I'm trying to jump onto! Gah. BOX JUMPS ARE MY EVEREST.
Moving on: Sunday. Gasp, people, I took a rest day. I KNOW. TWO IN ONE WEEK. WHAT. THE FUCK. But really, I think all this extremely clean eating and extremely disciplined working out is making me more attuned to what my body is thinking/feeling, and Sunday, after taking a hilly 1.5 mile walk with my mom and River, and then running around all day doing errands/cleaning/moving out our Christmas tree/etc, I plopped down on the couch around 7pm and just did not feel like squeezing in a workout before dinnertime. Usually I can always make myself do it, especially since it's just 12 minutes I have to devote. So when my brain is just NOT HAVING the idea of a workout, I know it's probably a good day to just take a chill pill.
The other nice thing about eating extremely cleanly is that when you do get to the end of your day and can't squeeze in a workout, it's less "Oh crap, now those brownies are gonna just pile the fuck on my spare tire", and more, "Guess I'll sacrifice any strength gains I would have made, I'll have to really push it tomorrow". AKA, I'm not concerned at all that by not working out I will put on weight. Way less pressure.
K, so, moving on--Monday! That's right, it was a lovely long weekend. Yesterday I walked River and proceeded to veg the rest of the day away in front of my computer. It's so rare that I get a day off. But I did have my rescue shift at 6, and I felt kinda bad for just sitting around the whole day, so I pushed the shit out of my workout. It was great. I did Week 2 Day 5 on Bodyrock, which was a 600 rep challenge called Glory to the Booty. I fucking love the names they come up with.
Shallow note: I love what Lisa was wearing in this workout video. The little cutoff wife beater--so cute. Obviously, way too sexy to be practical in a gym setting, but she looked awesome in the video.
The 600 rep challenge was this:
100 High Knee Skips
100 Lunge kicks (50 each leg) using the Pink Sandbag
100 High Knee Skips
100 squats using the Pink Sandbag
100 High Knee Skips
25 Straight Abs
25 V Abs Left
25 V Abs Right
25 Bicycle Abs
My time: 20:00 ON THE DOT. I think I was more thrilled at finishing with an exact time than I was to finish the workout (not that I'm OCD, in fact quite the opposite, but it was cool to punch the timer button and see a round number). Hah.
This was a tough one. The lunges were by far the hardest part and took the most time--I found that where I was flaming out was in balancing and keeping proper form (90/90, knees over ankles not toes). Holding the sandbag made balancing really difficult. I found it a little easier to switch legs on each rep and just count like "one/one, two/two, three/three" than to do 50 reps in a row on one leg.
The squats were also difficult, but only by way of strength--form and balance were way easier. I ended up splitting up the squats into 4 set of 25, doing 25 high knees after each set. This made the amount more manageable (I mean, are we serious--100 weighted squats?!).
The V Abs KILLED ME. I could only pop out like five at a time. PAINFUL. Will practice those.
After I finished the 600 Rep Challenge, it was time for another of Sean's Weighted Time Trials. This one was cool in that it was only two moves, and the aim was to pop out as many as possible in 3 minutes each. So I did 3 minutes of Bicep Curls and 3 minutes of Bent Rows, and I somehow managed to get exactly 41 reps on both moves, which I found funny. I figured I would far surpass the rows with my bicep curls, because my biceps are pretty strong. Doing either move with that 35lb sandbag was no joke, yikes. I was definitely just popping out sets of 5-7 reps, collapsing for a few seconds, then starting again. I'm actually amazed I broke 30 reps on either of them. It was hard.
Today my arms are SORE. But hey, people, not only do I definitely see some results in the mirror, I also just FEEL way fitter and stronger than I did two weeks ago. Last night climbing on/off the ambulance and carrying bags, it was really apparent. Also, going up stairs is becoming a total breeze.
The quest to attain a pullup continues. I'm on Week 2 of Recon Ron. They're getting easier, but I'm still nowhere near taking my foot off the chair (I'm doing one-legged assisted right now).
Will update later with tonight's workout.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Day 11
Back in the saddle. Today was a double workout because it was one of Sean's time trials. I actually did the time trial first because it started with sandbag swings and that seemed like a good warmup.
Sean's Time Trial:
3x:
15 Sand Bag Swing
15 Sand Bag Up Right Row
15 Sand Bag Press
15 Sand Bag Squats
2x:
Sean's Time Trial:
3x:
15 Sand Bag Swing
15 Sand Bag Up Right Row
15 Sand Bag Press
15 Sand Bag Squats
Yeah, if you're nitpicking here, the one Sean laid out was a little different. But I did a few of the Squat Jump Presses and Lunge Press Side Turns and it just wasn't working out--the sandbag was too heavy for me to be able to do 15 without killing myself, but I didn't want to have to dismantle the bag and change the weight for every move, because that's obnoxious and wastes time (and it's a time trial!). So I scaled the workout slightly to be doable with max effort, and with the full 35 pounds in the sandbag I usually use.
This time trial was pretty good. Pure weight training. I especially liked the upright rows, which incorporated an abs element by having me pick the bag up on one side of my body, row it, then put it down on the other side, then repeat, switching sides every time.
Time: 13:04. Getting faster with these things!
Next, I did Lisa Marie's Hot Wild Ones workout, which was a good workout but unremarkable. Very typical Bodyrock moves, 10:50sec x12.
Next, I did Lisa Marie's Hot Wild Ones workout, which was a good workout but unremarkable. Very typical Bodyrock moves, 10:50sec x12.
2x:
Sandbag Clean & Press - 10, 10
Squat Leaps - 18, 21
3 Tier Push ups (I did regular pushups because... I'm a wimp) - 13, 16
Leg raises - 25, 18
Sandbag Squat & Press - 14, 16
Handstand - -10sec, -15sec
Squat Leaps - 18, 21
3 Tier Push ups (I did regular pushups because... I'm a wimp) - 13, 16
Leg raises - 25, 18
Sandbag Squat & Press - 14, 16
Handstand - -10sec, -15sec
As you eagle-eyed readers might notice, yes, I changed two of these moves, too. I like to get a solid ab section in, hence the leg raises, and I'm really trying to get a handstand this year, hence practicing.
I really pushed this workout, forcing myself to keep going hard until the beep, even though on certain moves (the squat leaps and the squat & press) I thought I was going to collapse in exhaustion. All my moves showed respectable numbers, except, for some reason, my handstands, which I just could not hold tonight. Tired shoulders? I don't know. I've been doing the Recon Ron pullup protocol the last few days, so maybe that's having an effect on muscle fatigue.
Delicious dinner tonight, even though Giant screwed me by not having any spaghetti squash. I got acorn squash instead, roasted it, and filled it with meaty tomato sauce that I simmered for an hour on the stove. Yumzors. For a special treat, I made an apple and a pear chopped up and sauteed in butter with cinnamon and walnut pieces, and some whipped cream from scratch. I didn't add sugar to any of it, so it was still technically not terrible. And DELICIOUS.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Rest Day
Yes indeed, people, we've finally run straight into the tired/achy/fatigued wall that is Special Lady Friend, so thank goodness I haven't been slacking on workouts lately, because I need a rest day. This was suspected when I was woken from sleep at five in the morning with the existential pain of unhappy reproductive organs, necessitating a large dose of aspirin and lots of laying around moaning; it was then confirmed when I began climbing the stairs as usual at work (I have a no-elevator-allowed rule and work on the fifth floor) and made it through two flights before muscle burn and general fatigue forced me to take a breather. For reference, usually I clomp up the stairs at a steady pace with no breather required. So yeah, this was a strong indication that the bod needs a Sabbath.
Which is too bad, because the Bodyrock workouts for today look stellar. I'll just pick them up again tomorrow, and then my workout week will run through Sunday.
Edited to add: This post does not mean that I'm doing nothing today; I took River on a two-mile hilly walk this morning and will be doing at least a 60-minute yoga session this evening. I'm also working through the Ron Record pullup protocol and will be doing Day 2 (already half done).
Last night I made a sirloin tip roast, which I'd never done before. It came out great. I also marinated kale in coconut milk for a few hours, and when sauteed with bacon and onions it became the most creamy, smooth, delicious kale ever. Great trick.
Which is too bad, because the Bodyrock workouts for today look stellar. I'll just pick them up again tomorrow, and then my workout week will run through Sunday.
Edited to add: This post does not mean that I'm doing nothing today; I took River on a two-mile hilly walk this morning and will be doing at least a 60-minute yoga session this evening. I'm also working through the Ron Record pullup protocol and will be doing Day 2 (already half done).
Last night I made a sirloin tip roast, which I'd never done before. It came out great. I also marinated kale in coconut milk for a few hours, and when sauteed with bacon and onions it became the most creamy, smooth, delicious kale ever. Great trick.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
30 Day Challenge - Day 9
Day 9... woo. I was tired and my muscles felt pretty fatigued today, but I pushed through with both workouts regardless.
First workout: Domino Workout. The moves and my reps are below. I changed a lot of the moves because for whatever reason, they just weren't working me:
12x 10:50 sec intervals - 2x through circuit:
1. Box Jump + 1/2 Burpee (Alternative sides) - 6, 4
2. Lunge & Swing using the Pink Sandbag - I changed this to straight up sandbag swings because I could not for the life of me figure out how Lisa Marie was lunging and swinging at the same time. My reps: 10, 18
3. 3 point jumps + R & L Knee to Elbow (I added a pushup as well) - 4, 4
4. Knee-to-elbow hops (I changed this because the absence of an Ugi was really making the move pointless) - 20 each side, 20 each side
5. Leg raises - 20, 25
6. Handstand (Changed this because I'm working on my handstand) - Full time, 10sec off (meaning I came down with 10sec left on the clock for fear of collapse)
This workout was... okay. I dunno. I was pretty tired and not really into it, and then it just felt like a lot of the moves were simultaneously too hard and also not doing anything. I wasn't feeling it.
Second workout was one of Sean's Time Trials. This was way more straightforward.
For time, 3x through:
50 Skips
15 Pushups off of the Swiss Ball alternating legs
50 Skips
15 Wide Pushups (I did plank jacks because... woof too many pushups)
50 Skips
15 Sandbag Squats
50 Skips
15 Elevated chair dips (feet up)
50 Skips
I ended up doing this only twice through because it was KILLING me and my form was starting to go. It was really good, though. Unlike the prior workout, I got into it and was pushing each set. The sandbag squats were really hard, especially when I did them overhead, i.e. holding the sandbag with straight arms overhead. I actually dropped the bag a couple times. And I mixed up the skips by pretending I was doing double-unders for some of the sets. Twas fun. And strenuous. I got two rounds in 13:58.
I'm tired.
First workout: Domino Workout. The moves and my reps are below. I changed a lot of the moves because for whatever reason, they just weren't working me:
12x 10:50 sec intervals - 2x through circuit:
1. Box Jump + 1/2 Burpee (Alternative sides) - 6, 4
2. Lunge & Swing using the Pink Sandbag - I changed this to straight up sandbag swings because I could not for the life of me figure out how Lisa Marie was lunging and swinging at the same time. My reps: 10, 18
3. 3 point jumps + R & L Knee to Elbow (I added a pushup as well) - 4, 4
4. Knee-to-elbow hops (I changed this because the absence of an Ugi was really making the move pointless) - 20 each side, 20 each side
5. Leg raises - 20, 25
6. Handstand (Changed this because I'm working on my handstand) - Full time, 10sec off (meaning I came down with 10sec left on the clock for fear of collapse)
This workout was... okay. I dunno. I was pretty tired and not really into it, and then it just felt like a lot of the moves were simultaneously too hard and also not doing anything. I wasn't feeling it.
Second workout was one of Sean's Time Trials. This was way more straightforward.
For time, 3x through:
50 Skips
15 Pushups off of the Swiss Ball alternating legs
50 Skips
15 Wide Pushups (I did plank jacks because... woof too many pushups)
50 Skips
15 Sandbag Squats
50 Skips
15 Elevated chair dips (feet up)
50 Skips
I ended up doing this only twice through because it was KILLING me and my form was starting to go. It was really good, though. Unlike the prior workout, I got into it and was pushing each set. The sandbag squats were really hard, especially when I did them overhead, i.e. holding the sandbag with straight arms overhead. I actually dropped the bag a couple times. And I mixed up the skips by pretending I was doing double-unders for some of the sets. Twas fun. And strenuous. I got two rounds in 13:58.
I'm tired.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
30 Day Challenge - Day 6
Technically it's Day 8, but it's Workout 6. Anyway.
Yesterday I did indeed end up doing the sandbag workout I had outlined, because Bodyrock didn't get the workout up until late at night. I find it's generally easier to just work a full day behind on that site so I'm not waiting for their workouts. Anyway, the sandbag workout was good and hard, and I still felt sore from the day before, so last night I was REALLY sore. Then on my EMS shift we ran constantly and I got a whole two hours of sleep. I dragged myself back at 630 this morning and crashed until noon, whereupon I woke up and squeezed eight hours of work into six hours. Fun.
Tonight I did Day 6 - Turn Me On, which was AWESOME! It was brutally hard, yet also somehow so fun that I didn't want to slack or take breaks. In the video, Lisa Marie keeps saying how fast her heart is beating, and man, I felt like mine was hammering out of my chest. That last set of situps had me pouring sweat and breathing so hard, and when my gymboss finally beeped the ending, I collapsed and just lay there gasping. Then afterward I went to do fix dinner for myself and my mom, and my heart rate stayed elevated for the longest time! I felt this incredible sort of high. It was fantastic. What a great workout.
The workout was really innovative, I thought, because the geniuses at Bodyrock had the idea of hanging the sandbag from a hook on the wall and using it as a punching bag. I was skeptical at first, but holy crap, this worked GREAT. The workout was a circuit for four moves, done 3x through, at 10:50 intervals for 12 minutes total. The moves and my reps for each move were:
2x Burpee + Tuck Jump / 10x straight punches: 3, 3, 2.5
2x Burpee + Tuck Jump / 10x hook punches: 3, 3, 2.5
2x Burpee + Tuck Jump / 10x combo punches: 2.5, 2.5, 2
2x door touch situp + 2x bag touch situp: 6, 6, 5
As we can see, I was pretty winded for that last circuit. Holy crap. I was huffing and puffing and sweating like crazy through this workout, and yet it really just felt awesome. I'll be bookmarking this as a favorite for the future.
Sean had a workout up on the site too, and I think we were supposed to do both today, but like I said, I've been pushing it really hard and my sleep was all messed up, so I only did the one. Maybe I'll double up tomorrow.
I've continued the great food streak; I still haven't crashed or binged or anything, and I'm two days out from my special lady friend, so that's a huge accomplishment, if I do say so myself! Tonight I made an incredible dinner. I slow-roasted a pork tenderloin all day until it pulled apart really easily, then I mixed the pulled pork with some chopped celery, onions, walnuts, and dried cranberries and stuffed the mixture into portobello mushroom caps. I baked this for a while, then stuck a scoop of goat cheese on top of each mushroom and broiled it until it was toasty and golden on top. We ate these stuffed mushrooms with garlic-rosemary mashed cauliflower and roasted brussels sprouts. It was incredible. All the ingredients for this meal, btw, came to about 12 bucks, and it fed two people. Let's be clear: IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE TO EAT REALLY WELL.
I finished off the pumpkin pie for dessert. I did the math on that pumpkin pie recipe, btw, and an eighth of the pie (one normal-sized piece) comes out to 16g carbs, 9g protein. Seriously, for a dessert, you cannot beat that. That's awesome.
Yesterday I did indeed end up doing the sandbag workout I had outlined, because Bodyrock didn't get the workout up until late at night. I find it's generally easier to just work a full day behind on that site so I'm not waiting for their workouts. Anyway, the sandbag workout was good and hard, and I still felt sore from the day before, so last night I was REALLY sore. Then on my EMS shift we ran constantly and I got a whole two hours of sleep. I dragged myself back at 630 this morning and crashed until noon, whereupon I woke up and squeezed eight hours of work into six hours. Fun.
Tonight I did Day 6 - Turn Me On, which was AWESOME! It was brutally hard, yet also somehow so fun that I didn't want to slack or take breaks. In the video, Lisa Marie keeps saying how fast her heart is beating, and man, I felt like mine was hammering out of my chest. That last set of situps had me pouring sweat and breathing so hard, and when my gymboss finally beeped the ending, I collapsed and just lay there gasping. Then afterward I went to do fix dinner for myself and my mom, and my heart rate stayed elevated for the longest time! I felt this incredible sort of high. It was fantastic. What a great workout.
The workout was really innovative, I thought, because the geniuses at Bodyrock had the idea of hanging the sandbag from a hook on the wall and using it as a punching bag. I was skeptical at first, but holy crap, this worked GREAT. The workout was a circuit for four moves, done 3x through, at 10:50 intervals for 12 minutes total. The moves and my reps for each move were:
2x Burpee + Tuck Jump / 10x straight punches: 3, 3, 2.5
2x Burpee + Tuck Jump / 10x hook punches: 3, 3, 2.5
2x Burpee + Tuck Jump / 10x combo punches: 2.5, 2.5, 2
2x door touch situp + 2x bag touch situp: 6, 6, 5
As we can see, I was pretty winded for that last circuit. Holy crap. I was huffing and puffing and sweating like crazy through this workout, and yet it really just felt awesome. I'll be bookmarking this as a favorite for the future.
Sean had a workout up on the site too, and I think we were supposed to do both today, but like I said, I've been pushing it really hard and my sleep was all messed up, so I only did the one. Maybe I'll double up tomorrow.
I've continued the great food streak; I still haven't crashed or binged or anything, and I'm two days out from my special lady friend, so that's a huge accomplishment, if I do say so myself! Tonight I made an incredible dinner. I slow-roasted a pork tenderloin all day until it pulled apart really easily, then I mixed the pulled pork with some chopped celery, onions, walnuts, and dried cranberries and stuffed the mixture into portobello mushroom caps. I baked this for a while, then stuck a scoop of goat cheese on top of each mushroom and broiled it until it was toasty and golden on top. We ate these stuffed mushrooms with garlic-rosemary mashed cauliflower and roasted brussels sprouts. It was incredible. All the ingredients for this meal, btw, came to about 12 bucks, and it fed two people. Let's be clear: IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE TO EAT REALLY WELL.
I finished off the pumpkin pie for dessert. I did the math on that pumpkin pie recipe, btw, and an eighth of the pie (one normal-sized piece) comes out to 16g carbs, 9g protein. Seriously, for a dessert, you cannot beat that. That's awesome.
Monday, January 9, 2012
30 day challenge, days 4 and 5
Hoo boy, I am SORE. I expected as much after two straight days of doubled-up Bodyrock, but man. Bodyrock is effective.
Recap of Saturday:
Did Bodyrock Day 2 workout
Did Bodyrock Day 3 workout
Did Sean's Time Trial
Now, yesterday:
Did Bodyrock Day 4 workout
Led 90-minute Moksha class (I did the whole practice because I was teaching total newbies, so it was just as intense as usual)
Did Bodyrock Day 5 workout
You'll notice that I did not do Sean's Time Trial for Day 5, simply because I was too dang tired after two workouts and a 90-minute Moksha session. But at least I'm all caught up! Hooray.
Today I plan on doing Bodyrock Day 6 if they post it in time (I have to squeeze in my workout before my rescue shift), and if not, I planned this workout last night:
Recap of Saturday:
Did Bodyrock Day 2 workout
Did Bodyrock Day 3 workout
Did Sean's Time Trial
Now, yesterday:
Did Bodyrock Day 4 workout
Led 90-minute Moksha class (I did the whole practice because I was teaching total newbies, so it was just as intense as usual)
Did Bodyrock Day 5 workout
You'll notice that I did not do Sean's Time Trial for Day 5, simply because I was too dang tired after two workouts and a 90-minute Moksha session. But at least I'm all caught up! Hooray.
Today I plan on doing Bodyrock Day 6 if they post it in time (I have to squeeze in my workout before my rescue shift), and if not, I planned this workout last night:
20:40, 15 rounds
3x through:
Sandbag clean, press, pushup
Handstand (hold handstand for 40 sec)
Fireman's carry squat and switch (sandbag)
Handstand
Sandbag swing
Abs Tabata:
Alternating hanging Vs and laying leg lifts
That'll end up being about 20 minutes including cooldown. And I LOVE my sandbag, so I actually kinda hope Bodyrock doesn't get the workout up in time, although if they don't it means I have to double up tomorrow (for me it's all about doing ALL the workouts, even if I do other ones, too).
I will also be taking River for a walk. I need to start getting more serious about the whole Move Slowly aspect of Primal living... usually I just take River to the dog park because it's better exercise for her, and then I don't have time for a walk.
Food last week was exemplary. I am on a really hot streak right now. This site is really helping me stick to the low-carb cut-mode diet discipline, as well as motivating me not to skip workouts. This Saturday was supposed to be my cheat day, and I didn't even feel like cheating! I had a cookie at my dad's house and just kind of left it at that. Then last night, I still didn't feel like cheating, but I did want some kind of dessert, so I made Primal Pumpkin Pie and had a slice with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream. All told, it was about 20g of sugar, and it didn't give me a sugar rush or anything. Very good choices. Usually on my cheat days I stuff myself with shit.
I will update later about what workout I end up doing.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
30-day challenge day 2 and 3
Yikes. So, work got squishy this week. All I was able to do the past couple of days was long walks with River and a 60-minute yoga session yesterday. So that meant that today and tomorrow, I have to catch up on 4 days of the 30-day challenge.
I'm doing just fine so far, incidentally. This morning I did Day 2: Good Feeling Workout, which was pretty cardio-heavy and really good and hard, with 12 10:50 sec intervals for 12 minutes total. I'm not going to type out all twelve moves and all my reps for each, because each move is like three parts! They've been really into these mashup moves lately on Bodyrock and while they definitely keep things interesting and never boring, it is REALLY hard to not only remember what each move is, but to remember the order and what comes next. I spent a while watching the video through a couple times and writing down each move in my notebook before actually working out. Then, after doing a couple of intervals at 10:50, I decided that I'm just not in shape enough to hold form and still give it my all for 50 seconds with only 10 seconds off. So, I changed the intervals to 20:40, which was way better. I could push hard to the end and still retain my form. The workout was TOUGH and I was totally beat afterward.
This evening, after doing all my errands and random Saturday stuff, I did Day 3: International Love Workout, as well as Sean's weighted time trial workout. Again, I'm not going to type out all the moves and my reps for each, because it was more of the same very complicated mashup moves. Any move that requires the dip station, which I don't have, I modify, doing the move hanging from my pullup bar either straight arms or in a chinup hang.
Sean's tossing out these weighted time trials about every other day, so I've decided to do them. This one was:
Low Jacks Press
Single Arm Lateral Raise/Lunge
Firemans Lift x 30 (15 each side)
Single Arm Press Lunge
I'm doing just fine so far, incidentally. This morning I did Day 2: Good Feeling Workout, which was pretty cardio-heavy and really good and hard, with 12 10:50 sec intervals for 12 minutes total. I'm not going to type out all twelve moves and all my reps for each, because each move is like three parts! They've been really into these mashup moves lately on Bodyrock and while they definitely keep things interesting and never boring, it is REALLY hard to not only remember what each move is, but to remember the order and what comes next. I spent a while watching the video through a couple times and writing down each move in my notebook before actually working out. Then, after doing a couple of intervals at 10:50, I decided that I'm just not in shape enough to hold form and still give it my all for 50 seconds with only 10 seconds off. So, I changed the intervals to 20:40, which was way better. I could push hard to the end and still retain my form. The workout was TOUGH and I was totally beat afterward.
This evening, after doing all my errands and random Saturday stuff, I did Day 3: International Love Workout, as well as Sean's weighted time trial workout. Again, I'm not going to type out all the moves and my reps for each, because it was more of the same very complicated mashup moves. Any move that requires the dip station, which I don't have, I modify, doing the move hanging from my pullup bar either straight arms or in a chinup hang.
Sean's tossing out these weighted time trials about every other day, so I've decided to do them. This one was:
Low Jacks Press
Single Arm Lateral Raise/Lunge
Firemans Lift x 30 (15 each side)
Single Arm Press Lunge
Basically you do 15 each for time. Sean's sandbag was at 20 pounds, and he was really huffing and puffing and struggling, so I reduced my sandbag to 15 pounds and... it was too easy. I think I did something wrong. I don't know. Anyway, it was still hard, for sure, but I got through it in 6 minutes 18 seconds, and other people on the site were taking way longer. Was I supposed to do repeats of the circuit? I don't know. Weird. I think I'll just keep my sandbag at 35 pounds for the next trial.
Speaking of: I got a sandbag! I fricking LOVE it. Like, I REALLY LOVE it. A lot. It's awesome. I can't believe I've gone this long without one. Definitely my new favorite toy. Also, I've discovered that the little padded cylindrical stools from inside my mom's leather ottoman work reasonably well as a replacement for the Ugi, which I refuse to shell out 150 bucks for, I just refuse.
Tomorrow I will be doing Day 4, Day 5, and another of Sean's time trials, plus I'm doing a 90-minute yoga class. WOOHOO EFFORT
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Second workout = a world of no.
Somewhere along the way of a salon appointment and pub quiz, I picked up a monster headache and am now trying to assuage it with tea before I fall asleep. However, I ate basically not a single carb today, so I think this is okay. I'll do two workouts tomorrow.
The reason I'm being so ridiculous about carbs right now is basically the same sentiment Arwen expressed, i.e. it will be easier to lift, pull, and drag myself through this Tough Mudder if I'm lifting, pulling, and dragging fewer pounds. We're in serious cut mode here. No carbs, no dairy. Bam.
The reason I'm being so ridiculous about carbs right now is basically the same sentiment Arwen expressed, i.e. it will be easier to lift, pull, and drag myself through this Tough Mudder if I'm lifting, pulling, and dragging fewer pounds. We're in serious cut mode here. No carbs, no dairy. Bam.
Goddamn I am inconsistent
About updating this blog, that is. I've been pretty consistent with workouts, although I did have to take about four days in a row off while I traveled around the PA/NJ area visiting Grandparents over the new year weekend. These four days also constituted a Lost Weekend as far as eating, because one simply cannot refuse the Italian dinners and Christmas cookies thrust upon one by elderly, loving grandparents who only have so many years left to stuff their grandchildren full of carbohydrates.
Bodyrock is doing a 30 Day Challenge right now, and although I'm a couple days behind because I didn't notice it until today, I'm going to be joining in. I just completed the Fit Test (we do one before the challenge and one after and compare results), and here's where I was at:
10:50 sec intervals
Squat jump - 26
Pushups - 15
Burpees - 9
High knees - 87
Switch lunges - 30
Tuck jumps - 18
Straight abs - 20 (these are just your basic crunches)
I feel I would have been able to knock out significantly more reps of the later exercises if I weren't so freaking winded from the earlier intervals. I mean, obviously I can do more than 20 crunches in 50 seconds. But breathing became an issue.
Later tonight after I return from Pub Quiz I will be squeezing in the Day 2 workout, which looks hellish, but I'm excited because I finally procured a sandbag! I filled it with 35 pounds of sand, because that's what Zuzana and Lisa-Marie use and they are like half my size so I figure I can do it too.
Eating today has been good. I did bulletproof coffee in the morning, and for lunch had leftover roast chicken, mashed cauliflower (this was amazing and I want to eat it all the time), and a single leftover bacon-wrapped asparagus. I also had some spinach with feta, cranberries, and olive oil. Oh, and some of that coconut turmeric tea I think I wrote about earlier that I'm obsessed with. The end. Off to shower now. I'll be back later.
163 days till Tough Mudder!
Bodyrock is doing a 30 Day Challenge right now, and although I'm a couple days behind because I didn't notice it until today, I'm going to be joining in. I just completed the Fit Test (we do one before the challenge and one after and compare results), and here's where I was at:
10:50 sec intervals
Squat jump - 26
Pushups - 15
Burpees - 9
High knees - 87
Switch lunges - 30
Tuck jumps - 18
Straight abs - 20 (these are just your basic crunches)
I feel I would have been able to knock out significantly more reps of the later exercises if I weren't so freaking winded from the earlier intervals. I mean, obviously I can do more than 20 crunches in 50 seconds. But breathing became an issue.
Later tonight after I return from Pub Quiz I will be squeezing in the Day 2 workout, which looks hellish, but I'm excited because I finally procured a sandbag! I filled it with 35 pounds of sand, because that's what Zuzana and Lisa-Marie use and they are like half my size so I figure I can do it too.
Eating today has been good. I did bulletproof coffee in the morning, and for lunch had leftover roast chicken, mashed cauliflower (this was amazing and I want to eat it all the time), and a single leftover bacon-wrapped asparagus. I also had some spinach with feta, cranberries, and olive oil. Oh, and some of that coconut turmeric tea I think I wrote about earlier that I'm obsessed with. The end. Off to shower now. I'll be back later.
163 days till Tough Mudder!
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