Gotta take it easy

Today is supposed to be rest day, but I did some light cardio because I'm not feeling so good. Light exercise is supposed to help. I think I'm going to take the next cycle easier.

The heat here is really killing my energy levels.....ahhh!!!!

Testing my bench press

I've never tested my bench press. But it's getting to the point at which I want to gauge improvements in my upper body strength. I want to aim for a goal rather than just do random upper body exercises during each cycle. So today, I built up to a 65 lb bench press. It's not horrible. In fact, it's a pretty good start! My goal is to eventually bench 1x my bodyweight.

The annoying thing about bench is that I need a spot, at least when I'm pushing it a little. It wouldn't be a pretty sight if I dropped the barbell on my chest, errr.....more painful for women than men.

Why is spinning so exhausting?

I've never been able to last past 30-40 min in a spin class. I used to hate how it makes my ass hurt (not from the exercise, but from the seat), but I don't feel that now. So WHAT is it about spinning that makes me pant only 5 minutes in? Is my resistance tougher than others? Are my quads relatively weak? I mean, I watch 70 yr old women spin joyously for 60 min, so why can't I? To be honest, I have to take a few more recovery breaks than allowed just to MAKE the 30 minute goal.Well, if anyone knows what my problem is, please share.

Today was quad day, and I did those one legged squats again. I am beginning to see a little definition in my quads!

Air conditioned gym

Today, I worked out not only to exercise, but to also enjoy the wonderful air conditioning. Frankly, I didn't want to leave! haha

Cycle 6 - Ham/Glutes
1 mile warm up jog

Romanian DL - 8x115,7x120, 6x125, 5x130, 4x135, 3x140, 2x145, 1x150
Swiss ball ham curl - 2x8
2 mile tempo run

One Legged Squats...OY

I was lucky to get my workout done overlooking a beautiful spa garden this morning. Rancho Bernardo Inn is so pretty! It certainly made those painful one legged squats more bearable. I squatted down to a low bench, so not only did it recruit a fair amount of leg muscles, it also recruited some serious stabilizer muscles. Yay for the abs!

I'm almost done with my 5th cycle. Good thing I keep a log, or else I would've lost track by now. Because I wasn't going to work out at my home gym for 2 days, I modified the strength routine slightly. I did weighted walking lunges yesterday, which made my legs a bit sore.

I also swam a little. Swimming, for me, burns a serious amount of calories. Why? Because I am BAD at it - the most inefficient swimmer around. I hate putting my face in the water and I hate it when water goes up my nose. So I basically tread water to move around. It's fun! But I get tired pretty quickly.

Beach Day!

Another cycle has come and gone. Yay for rest day! I try not to sit on the couch for rest day unless I'm really sore. And lately, I haven't been sore for too long. I don't know whether that is a good or bad thing.

On the next cycle, I'm going to emphasize reps more than weight to change it up a little. I feel like my muscles have gotten used to my routine since I'm not seeing a lot of gains like I used to. But then again, it might just be that I need to really build new muscle and not just activate previously unused ones. I don't even know if that makes any sense.

As for today, we're hitting the beach and attending some open houses on Coronado Island. Fun! I still have to wear my glasses, which kinda sucks, but I can deal with it. Better safe than sorry!

Blind in the gym

Because of my eye infection, I can't wear my contacts. So I had to wear my glasses to the gym this morning. Well, my glasses are a lower prescription and old, so I couldn't see as well. When this guy tried to ask me whether I wanted the fan turned to me on the treadmill, I had a hard time hearing and seeing him amidst the noise and blurriness (mind you, i took off my glasses to run...which means I'm not far from blind at this point).

Today is the start of my cycle 4. I warmed up on the treadmill for a slow 1 miler. I find that if I go too hard on the treadmill before my weight session, I lose a lot of energy. But if I go too slow or short, I'm not properly warmed up. So 1 mile at 5mph seemed to do the job.

Ham/Glute Routine:
1) 3x6 Single Leg Deadlifts (i'm trying to do more unilateral moves these days to make sure both my legs are equally strong) with 2 18lb kettlebells
2) 4 warm up sets on the Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
3) 4x3x135lb (RDL) *putting 45 lb plates on the barbell is so frustrating!
4) 3x8 ham curls on the Swiss Ball

2 mile run to cool down

I read in a magazine that heavy lifting (meaning sets with reps under 5) actually IMPROVES your VO2 max more than lifting moderate weights. Isn't that interesting?

Resting Days are so nice

I sometimes wonder whether I should have more of them, to let my muscles recover more. But I am also pretty conscious of not pushing it when things hurt, so I guess it's alright. Tomorrow begins cycle 4...wow.

I have noticed my cardio capability declining a little bit. Surprisingly not as much as I thought - that's probably because I do at least 20 min of cardio with any strength workout. 1-2 interval trainings a week. I see a lot of lifters give up cardio because they think it sacrifices muscle gain, so they either don't do it or maintain a relatively low HR (120-130) where you're only burning fat. For my heart's sake, I'll give up a bit of muscle. I doubt it's much anyway.

We tossed around a football in the ocean waters yesterday, and it is so much more fun than doing it on sand!

155 lb Deadlift!!!

So today was my actual hamstring day and I pushed my limit again! 155lbs! I love hamstring days because I feel like the deadlift is where I made the most gains, and CAN make the most gains. No issues with knee joints or weak upper body muscles. woohoo! So I'm doing about 1.25 my body weight, which I'm stoked about. My goal is to get to 1.5x body weight.

On another positive note, Kevin hit his bench press max of 225!!!

NEW DEADLIFT PR!

So I managed to deadlift 145 lbs yesterday! (I know it was upper body day, but I felt really pumped watching Kevin deadlift that I gave it a try). My last PR was 125, so this was a substantial increase.

Upper body was not so bad yesterday, except that my lat pulldown felt SO hard. I had to reduce the load to 60 lbs. What a bummer. Today is a rest day so I just did some light cardio. Will go see Time Traveler's Wife today =)

Tomorrow brings Cycle 3!

Upper Body Day!

So this is my upper body cycle 2. Which means...I get to do NOTHING tomorrow since it is rest/yoga day. =) I have trouble getting strong on my upper body - Kevin says it is because you recruit fewer muscles doing upper body than you do lower. It just takes awhile. Maybe it is also that I hate pushups and pullups, so I SLACK. lol.

My glutes are a little sore from squats yesterday, but not nearly as sore as last time. I'm going to roll my ass on a tennis ball to massage the soft tissue like I saw a trainer do on youtube last night.

But my stomach is in cahoots since I ate a lot of wheat and a bowl of ice cream yesterday - both of which make me a bit sick, esp. the lactose. So I'm going to give my digestive system a huge break for the next 2 days. One day, I need to get my food allergies tested like my sister did, because it is very clear that I have a lot.

Upper Body (Cycle 2):
YTWL - 2 sets to warm up
Seated cable row - 4x6x60
Lat pulldowns - 4x5x75
Push ups - 4x8 (no knees!)
Shoulder raises (front, side, and upright rows) - 4x6x8lb db

No cardio today - maybe just a night walk

O...the SQUAT. =(

I've just started following a program where I go 3 days of heavy lifting followed by one day of rest. Day 1 is Hamstring/Glute, Day 2 is Squat/Glute and Day 3 is Back/Chest/Shoulders. Of these 3 days, I hate squat day. I'm constantly worried about my knee joint and my upper thigh gets soo sore!! Hopefully, this passes. On my last 3 day cycle, the squat day really killed me because i did a lot of step ups with 20 lb dumbbells on a high bench. This time around, I'm doing more bodyweight squats to take it easy because I'm still a little bit sore.

Here's how it goes - On odd number cycles, I really push it with the lifting. On even number cycles, I step back a bit on the lifting and emphasize the cardio more. This is so I give my muscles adequate time to rest and rebuild.

Squat Day (Cycle 2):
Back Squats - 1x5x45, 1x5x55, 1x5x65 (warm up sets); 3x3x85
Bulgarian split squat - 2x6xbody weight warm up sets); 3x6x12db each hand
Cardio - 20-30 min elliptical; 10 min incline powerwalking

To lift...or not to lift

Ok. After years of running, ellipticalling, and lifting moderate weights, I've decided to try out heavy lifting and see what the hype is all about. I want to feel strong. I want to look cut. And I want some serious results. I've actually been doing this for about 4 weeks and have not been able to find ANY novice female bloggers on this topic, so I'm going to pioneer the effort (or at least try to find others who are doing the same). Let me caveat that I'm NOT a fitness or health expert - just a moderately active 26 yr old woman trying to navigate her way around the world of lifting without a trainer.

My boyfriend is elated that he finally drilled into me the effectiveness of heavy lifting for fat loss. "Trust me, women don't have enough testerone to bulk up." Sigh. Ok. Scientifically, I understand. Though what REALLY sold me on heavy lifting is that you burn a ton of calories in the 48 hours AFTER your lifting routine. It wasn't just 10 or 20 calories, it was A LOT. =) So when I agreed to try heavy lifting, I asked him if he would train me. After all, he knows his s***, is free, and knows about all my joint woes. The only thing he doesn't know is probably how to train a girl. But that's alright. But a week into it, I realized my fierce independence did not mesh with his bossiness in the gym. So I'm training myself! Done deal =) I will try out different training routines and eating plans. All self-developed with the aid of research/trainer experience out there.


Goals:
1. Reduce bodyfat %
2. Eat more protein
3. Eat less processed foods and gluten