ArmdandFabulous’s BodyBlog

What’s the significance of that?? Time to review, re-organize, recommit to the goal…that’s the name of my game…after admittedly falling off the fitness wagon this past week, I am back on ready to burn thru some calories and build some more muscle….I have my work cut out for me, as I probably consumed about 1,000 cookies the past few days…but in my defense..they were extremely good, and worth being bad for!!!  Christmas is only once a year…I will continue to remind myself of this on Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc when treats abound….!!!

I had a great back workout today…first ran 2 miles

single arm rows  3 sets with 25 lb dumbells

bent over rows using incline bench  50 lb barbell ( I thought I was using a 30 lb one until I put it away and noticed it was 50..wow, that was an awesome realization, I’ve never used a 50 lb barbell to date for anything…!

lat pulldown

seated row

mid back row machine

30 mins HIIT on eliptical machine

HA!!! cookie calories are NO match for me..grrrrrrrrrrrr!!

This past week I re evaluated my eating plan and figured out that I haven’t been eating enough calories to make anything happen for me since my body has basically been in "status quo" mode…I’m tired of using the word plateau so I thought I would use something else to describe it… I did a little research and have changed my meals to include more calories (still eating clean) and it seems to be working…to add to that, I changed from running for all my cardio to HIIT on the Precor machine, or Eliptical…I’m thinking about adding a 2nd cardio session a few times during the week, I just haven’t  figured out which days…I’m hoping these changes will get me up to losing 1.5-2 lbs a week, while still adding muscle…

Another change I made is I am now working different body parts separately, so my weight training will go from 3 days a week to 6 so I can target the areas a little more….this ends up shortening the total time I am spending working out at one time which I’ve heard is better for muscle development than long workouts…

Today I worked Chest:

10 min warmup on treadmill

4×10  chest flyes with dumbells..to exhaustion

4×10,8,7,7 pushups with feet on bench (decline)

3×10 chest press machine

30 mins HIIT on Precor

The snow is now only up in the mountains surrounding Vegas, and the sun came out and today was one of the most clear, crisp,  gorgeous of days…I definitely notice a difference in my outlook when the sun is not out, just not as happy I guess, I don’t see how people can live in areas that get a lot of snow…I’m definitely not up for all that…I’m glad it didn’t last long!

I didn’t make it to the gym yesterday, so I missed a workout, in the words of Homer Simpson, D’oh!!!

But I was back at it today and I worked on Back/Bi’s….first ran 2 miles…then went on to the weights

Bent over rows………….3×10

Hyperextension Machine.2×10.. first time I tried these, and I didn’t want to do to many, my lower back is still sore from my last workout

Barbell curls………………2×10

Dumbell curls…………….alternated 15, 12, 10lb dumbells to exhaust biceps

Lat pull down…………….4×10

Seated row………………3×10

Low back machine………2×10

Lat pull down (narrow)..12×10..(3 different machines)  the 25lb plates (2) that I built up to were "light" to me today, and felt more like 10 lb plates!!!…..so I went up 20 lbs today on this one…..yayyyyyyy, progress!!   

Mid row machine………..4×10

That’s right people, the universe has lost it’s damn mind, along with all the people in it ….I am in Southern Nevada, LAS VEGAS to be exact, aka "the desert", where it is 110-120 from June to October every year with humidity of 0-15 on average, and it is currently snowing as if this were the Colorado Rockies or somethin over here…Now, we’ve had snow here in the lower elevations before (rarely), but only whispy flakes and they never stick for more than 1-3 hours from 5am to 7am when we are sleeping (so we never get the real experience or "snow days" and all that implies )…but this is the real deal happenin right now…unbelievable!!!

I still have to get my workout in, I hope it doesn’t freeze…we are talkin’ bout VEGAS here, the WORST place to drive cuz we are spoiled and only used to the sunniest of driving conditions and dry roads…yet we STILL have traffic accidents up the you know what…IN THE BEST ROAD CONDITIONS possible…can you imagine the traffic trouble this is gonna cause….ay caramba!………sigh………I am shaking my head, I don’t even wanna drive out there!!!!

So, does this mean it is 110-120 right now in the polar regions of the world?????…NO wonder the icecaps are melting and the polar bears are losin their homes and almost extinct…can you say:   W to the…  T …to the…  F?

*update…there have been 60 car accidents so far around town…

Ok, so I mentioned earlier how cheat days weren’t working out for me because I was never craving anything on the day I planned right?? Well, I changed that and it is working! I still only allow it one day a week, but I do it when I get a craving..this way works much better for me so far…today I decided I wanted pizza, so I got a medium 14" pepperoni and I am happy to say that I was actually hungry for it when I picked it up and….I..ate..it..ALL!!!…..My appetite didn’t quit on me after one or two pieces like it has been, so I felt like I was having a "real" cheat day and it was awesome!…..I was stuffed, fat and happy after that :)

And before that I did 50 minutes of cardio, 30 on the eliptical then ran 20 on the treadmill, walked 20…I am trying to change my cardio since my body is used to the running…I didn’t know the eliptical burned about the same amount of calories as running…I could never make myself stay on it because I got bored and just wanted to run but I have to change my routine since I have plateaued…grrr 

Today was leg day and I added more sets and more weight to my usual quad workout…here’s how it went down:

5 min treadmill warmup

leg extensions       1×20, 4×10

leg curls                1×20

squats                  5×10, 8 

leg press               5×8

walking lunges w/25 lb plates          50 reps…to failure, I teetered and almost fell on the last one, lol!

deep body- squats   20 (no weight)

5 minutes treadmill walk stretch out

Today there were some loud men in the gym hootin and hollerin (I know, who uses those words-lol, but it’s really the accurate description of what they were doing…)and I caught their enthusiasm and excitement, and it really pumped me up too, and made me work harder..they were cheering each other on, and it was a fun change from the usual quiet way my gym is when I’m working out …I wonder if they are there every Monday??? 

Ok, I slacked off and did not workout today, so I thought I would at least share a recipe I came across in Self magazine…

Beat 5 eggs then add 2 diced tomatoes, 1/2 diced onion, 1/2 cup feta and 4 slices cooked and chopped turkey bacon, salt and pepper to taste..

Divide mixture among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray and bake at 375 until golden, about 11 minutes…that’s it! so easy..

* You can make these ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator to take with you for breakfast on the go!!

I made some but haven’t tried them yet, I substituted the feta cheese for cheddar, and the turkey bacon for ham…

Well the knot is sticking around, but yesterday I decided I would try and see if working out was possible yet…first I ran 2 miles, then I did a chest/shoulder/tricep workout…I figured that the exercises might loosen it up, and they did…I didn’t lift as heavy as I normally would, but I tried a couple new things and all in all got a pretty good workout…

today is cardio day so I can definitely do that

The aching shoulders subsided but morphed into two giant knots in my neck today…I woke up with a stiff neck and tried to put a heating pad on it, which helped a little, but after that it came right back…so obviously not a good idea to do my chest/shoulder/tricep workout today as planned…so instead I thought maybe a little cardio wouldn’t hurt…I ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes, hoping to "work it out" of my neck, but it started throbbing…so I had to stop…it’s bumming me out..I was in such a good mood a couple days ago, but now, not so much…..

I’m gonna say my prayers that this thing is gone tomorrow!!! 

Today was supposed to be my chest/shoulder/tricep day but I woke up with the sides of my neck and top of shoulders killing me with their aching…this blinsided me because nothing up there hurt after my last workout on Monday, and no pain yesterday, then today out of the blue I feel like I did 1,000,000,000 shrugs with 100 lb weights or something!…….I put an icy hot patch on my neck and it is helping but I decided it wouldn’t be smart of me to try to workout…I hope to be back at it tomorrow, since I have a new workout plan I want to try…..

So….I don’t have any workout info to talk about….and no exciting stories to tell….so I guess I will end here!

Hope everyone’s Christmas shopping is going well!