With this whole move coming, life is pretty stressful... I've been getting lots of awesome training in and just goofing around with different stuff... it's really been great! I am getting started into a 1 month program right away though. I feel like I need to get back to something with some structure... with a life that feels out of control sometimes, structured training feels nice.
Friday I did some bench work... needed to prove to myself I could do 135lbs raw... failed the first time, but it's in my head... so I did it to a 2bd, then to a 1bd... then to my chest... it's all in my lats... If I keep my back tight, like I should, then it's easy... and it was. Lots of board work to follow of course.
Saturday was the stairs at Heritage Ranch http://www.panoramio.com/photo/35033933 and then sled pulls... super fun stuff!! We worked hard and it was great...
Sunday was squats... 5x5 with belt - 160,170,180 no belt, 190,200 with belt... not pretty but possibly due to those stairs the day before ;) Finished with stiff leg DLs 6s, 4 sets total I think... kneeling hip thrusts with a million pounds and until forever I think... suitcase deadlifts 3x8 per side and anti rotational ab work...
Monday, August 15, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
My 10+ week and a couple more days
Okay... so the last week of training was supposed to be as prescribed warm ups, then use the prescribed weight to do as many reps as possible... but, realistically, you should get 10+... as well, a belt is okay... although I forgot when I did deadlifts
Incline bench I bumped the weight up from 70lbs to 80lbs for the last set because I think I underestimated my numbers... I believe I got 12 reps.
Deadlifts the weight was 205lbs... I did 20 reps before stopping... they were starting to get uglier at this point. Following that, I did 5s @ 225,245
Bench the weight was 90lbs and I did 14 reps. I really wanted 15, but I am not supposed to actually reach failure, so I opted to leave it at 14... not sure I could've locked out that 15th one.
Squats the weight was 190lbs. I did remember to use a belt for this... I got to 12 reps. I had just run a 5km race the night before, but that's not really a good excuse because 5km isn't very far (I did it in just over 31 min). I was struggling to keep my upper back tight by the 12th rep and the bar was starting to roll and my wrists were bending and getting sore... I was also starting to do my squat-morning, so opted to leave it at 12. Then, did a couple doubles with belt and wraps at 225, 245.
On Monday, for some recovery work on my legs, the husband and I went and ran stairs at Heritage Park... eek! It was tough... but fun and over fast... we did the "down-up" 5 times in total... long enough at the top to just catch your breath before heading down again.
Tuesday I went in and did some close grip bench work... I haven't done any close grip stuff in weeks. Did an easy 10-2 (65,75,85,95,105), then some incline DB presses, single arm pushdowns with a band, assisted pull ups, TRX inverted rows, abs... I think that's it... It was quick...
Incline bench I bumped the weight up from 70lbs to 80lbs for the last set because I think I underestimated my numbers... I believe I got 12 reps.
Deadlifts the weight was 205lbs... I did 20 reps before stopping... they were starting to get uglier at this point. Following that, I did 5s @ 225,245
Bench the weight was 90lbs and I did 14 reps. I really wanted 15, but I am not supposed to actually reach failure, so I opted to leave it at 14... not sure I could've locked out that 15th one.
Squats the weight was 190lbs. I did remember to use a belt for this... I got to 12 reps. I had just run a 5km race the night before, but that's not really a good excuse because 5km isn't very far (I did it in just over 31 min). I was struggling to keep my upper back tight by the 12th rep and the bar was starting to roll and my wrists were bending and getting sore... I was also starting to do my squat-morning, so opted to leave it at 12. Then, did a couple doubles with belt and wraps at 225, 245.
On Monday, for some recovery work on my legs, the husband and I went and ran stairs at Heritage Park... eek! It was tough... but fun and over fast... we did the "down-up" 5 times in total... long enough at the top to just catch your breath before heading down again.
Tuesday I went in and did some close grip bench work... I haven't done any close grip stuff in weeks. Did an easy 10-2 (65,75,85,95,105), then some incline DB presses, single arm pushdowns with a band, assisted pull ups, TRX inverted rows, abs... I think that's it... It was quick...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
and the kicker...
So, after 2 days not following his diet, I am officially back up to 66.3kg... nothing like wasting 15 days manipulating water just to end up back where I started :( It feels like a huge waste...
I am back on normal PN again, not hungry, and happy...
Sunday I took a rest day although it wasn't really much rest since we were doing house stuff.
Monday was a holiday, so we took the kids on a 4km walk at the Kerrywood Nature Centre. It was nice...
Back to normal training tonight with incline bench. I will try and get in an easy 2km on the treadmill after since I am committed to running a 5km on Saturday in Calgary in support of kidsport.
I am back on normal PN again, not hungry, and happy...
Sunday I took a rest day although it wasn't really much rest since we were doing house stuff.
Monday was a holiday, so we took the kids on a 4km walk at the Kerrywood Nature Centre. It was nice...
Back to normal training tonight with incline bench. I will try and get in an easy 2km on the treadmill after since I am committed to running a 5km on Saturday in Calgary in support of kidsport.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Update on the diet
This diet has been a bit of a bust... I mean, not terrible, but definitely not as good as I'd hoped for the 'pain' and annoyance of the diet.
I lost several inches in the last few weeks, mostly in my stomach, which was no surprise considering last time we measured I was pretty bloated (we did measurements the day after day 1 - which would be day 2, then... LOL).
My weight, though, is not great.... I was at 64.8kg. So, like 1.5kg lost in 15 days... again, not bad, but nothing I wouldn't be able to achieve with a more moderate approach and following basic PN.
My husband has had even less progress in 15 days. Frankly, we'd both be happy with this kind of progress if we'd just followed something like PN... but when you're hungry 3 of every 5 days and adding cardio intervals in several days and not taking rest days, I'd really have hoped for better.
I lost several inches in the last few weeks, mostly in my stomach, which was no surprise considering last time we measured I was pretty bloated (we did measurements the day after day 1 - which would be day 2, then... LOL).
My weight, though, is not great.... I was at 64.8kg. So, like 1.5kg lost in 15 days... again, not bad, but nothing I wouldn't be able to achieve with a more moderate approach and following basic PN.
My husband has had even less progress in 15 days. Frankly, we'd both be happy with this kind of progress if we'd just followed something like PN... but when you're hungry 3 of every 5 days and adding cardio intervals in several days and not taking rest days, I'd really have hoped for better.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
no glowing reviews from me!
Well, I am almost done cycle 3 of Joel Marion's new Xtreme Fat Loss Diet... sounds great in theory and I thought, what the heck... I figured I would give it a try while I am not following a strict PL program. He claims you can lose up to 25lbs in 25 days (5- 5day cycles). I don't want to give the details, because he makes a living selling his stuff, but basically, he has each day designed to modify what you eat (or don't eat) with a specific plan to create the utmost caloric deficit for fast fat loss. I never expected to get his BEST results... I am doing my own training, but am definitely adding in extra cardio (intervals) and haven't taken a darned day off exercise since I started.
Here's been my weigh ins thus far:
Day 1 Cycle 1 - 66.3kg (see why I wanted to try)
Day 1 Cycle 2 - 64.5kg... now, I'm thinking, wow, Joel is really onto something here... this is fantastic!
Day 1 Cycle 3 - 65.9kg... HUH?? Now, I am a female and realize that I could have been retaining some water this weigh in, but even if I am retaining water, this means I am retaining at least 1.5kg of water (that's a lot of water) but then, if just 1.5kg water, that I haven't lost anything this week...
Here I am Day 5 of Cycle 3, water should be gone, official weigh in day is tomorrow and I am at 65.1...
Okay, so yes, I am down from my last weigh in day, but after almost 3 full cycles of this program I am down just over 1kg?!?! You tell me, do you want to do a highly restrictive eating program and not take a single day off the gym for 15 days to lose 1kg? NOT ME! I realize I wouldn't be getting elite results because I'm not doing his 2-3 a day workouts... but some days I am doing 2 and I train hard... I'm not a wuss in the gym. In the same respect, when I'm taking in 1200kcal in shakes one day, fasting another (consuming maybe 250kcal in BCAAs at most!), 1400kcal on my moderate carb day... There is no reason why I should have to do the extra workouts to see more than 1kg loss in 15 days...
Except, if the science is flawed. Now, I'm not a nutrition expert, so the science sounded good to me... but maybe it's all hype... not sure... and I'm not going to pay JM to design my nutrition privately.
Frankly, I will see where I fall tomorrow at my official weigh in, and take some measurements. Maybe I am losing inches and in that case, I will come back and update my log to sing JM's praise... because I realize my training could be contributing to huge weight retention as the muscles heal and repair (more than he accounts for with his exercise recommendations).
I have a few other people I know that are doing this program as well, and I will ask how they are doing... if they are achieving success, then maybe it's just me... maybe I messed it up somehow... maybe my kcal are too high or I'm not exercising hard enough. But, at this point, my more "moderate" approach to weight loss, using Thib's Carb Cycling Codex and the AMAZING PRECISION NUTRITION, has yielded significantly better results without the hunger and accompanying b*tchiness...
Here's been my weigh ins thus far:
Day 1 Cycle 1 - 66.3kg (see why I wanted to try)
Day 1 Cycle 2 - 64.5kg... now, I'm thinking, wow, Joel is really onto something here... this is fantastic!
Day 1 Cycle 3 - 65.9kg... HUH?? Now, I am a female and realize that I could have been retaining some water this weigh in, but even if I am retaining water, this means I am retaining at least 1.5kg of water (that's a lot of water) but then, if just 1.5kg water, that I haven't lost anything this week...
Here I am Day 5 of Cycle 3, water should be gone, official weigh in day is tomorrow and I am at 65.1...
Okay, so yes, I am down from my last weigh in day, but after almost 3 full cycles of this program I am down just over 1kg?!?! You tell me, do you want to do a highly restrictive eating program and not take a single day off the gym for 15 days to lose 1kg? NOT ME! I realize I wouldn't be getting elite results because I'm not doing his 2-3 a day workouts... but some days I am doing 2 and I train hard... I'm not a wuss in the gym. In the same respect, when I'm taking in 1200kcal in shakes one day, fasting another (consuming maybe 250kcal in BCAAs at most!), 1400kcal on my moderate carb day... There is no reason why I should have to do the extra workouts to see more than 1kg loss in 15 days...
Except, if the science is flawed. Now, I'm not a nutrition expert, so the science sounded good to me... but maybe it's all hype... not sure... and I'm not going to pay JM to design my nutrition privately.
Frankly, I will see where I fall tomorrow at my official weigh in, and take some measurements. Maybe I am losing inches and in that case, I will come back and update my log to sing JM's praise... because I realize my training could be contributing to huge weight retention as the muscles heal and repair (more than he accounts for with his exercise recommendations).
I have a few other people I know that are doing this program as well, and I will ask how they are doing... if they are achieving success, then maybe it's just me... maybe I messed it up somehow... maybe my kcal are too high or I'm not exercising hard enough. But, at this point, my more "moderate" approach to weight loss, using Thib's Carb Cycling Codex and the AMAZING PRECISION NUTRITION, has yielded significantly better results without the hunger and accompanying b*tchiness...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
still... just having fun
It's been nice to just do what I want and train... I am beginning to feel ready to get back into more serious training but for now I'm okay trying to drop some fat. I'd really like to get down to 62kg before I move so I can turn around and focus on putting on some decent strength before Westerns. No better place to make strength gains than at Unparalleled :)
Squats the other day were 5x10 @ 150, incline bench yesterday was 1x5@55,1x5@60,1x5@65, 3x10@70... of course, accessories are added... plus some additional cardio (mostly intervals) for now.
Squats the other day were 5x10 @ 150, incline bench yesterday was 1x5@55,1x5@60,1x5@65, 3x10@70... of course, accessories are added... plus some additional cardio (mostly intervals) for now.
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