ArmdandFabulous’s BodyBlog

Monday: 500 pushups 1hr 39 mins

Tuesday: 1000 squats 1hr

Thurs: 250 pullups (assisted) 30 mins…various weight, did as many as I could each time at one weight, then added more "assist" to it..after 50 I was questioning whether I could make it to 250 assisted even..my arms were hurting already..but I made it!

…well since this is the first supplement I have ever taken, I have no experience with cycling off of them and I need some suggestions on how to get thru it and still get my workouts in…why am I cycling off of it you ask?…I have been using it now for about 4-5 months and feel it’s time to take a break from it… I have been using it pretty much everyday…in fact, I even stopped drinking coffee in the morning and have been using Superpump instead since I can’t stand coffee without sugar (the real stuff-I don’t use the artificial stuff) and creamer…soooo….I am wondering if any of you have tips, suggestions, info on this subject…I have questions…such as, should I just try to avoid all caffeine for 2 weeks (or longer) to fully "reset" my adrenal glands…I’m a little scared to do that because yesterday was my first day without any Superpump and my workout seemed to suffer…it was shoulder/tricep yesterday and normally working shoulders is my favorite workout, but midway thru I noticed that I didn’t have my usual mojo and had to work harder to keep my intensity up for the workout…I made it thru but that was only day 1….another question…how long does it take to cycle off something like this..I was thinking 2 weeks, but should it be more like 4 weeks?…thanks, any personal experience stories, info, suggestions on this are appreciated

SUperpump250 does it again…another fantastic workout…

one arm rows 2×10 25lbs 1×8 45lb..3×7 50lbs..(first time using a 50lb db for this-woot!)

lat pulldown (superset w/seated rows) 1×8 110lbs..1×6 120lbs..1×6 115lbs..1×6 110lbs..1×6 100lbs

seated rows 1×8 90lbs..2×6 80lbs..2×6 70 lbs

bent over lat row machine (superst w/t-bar row machine) 4×35

t-bar row machine 4×45

another seated row machine (single arm reps) (superset w/iso lat machine) 1×8 ..70lb..2×7 60lbs..1×6 50 lbs

iso lat mach 1×4 ..100lbs..1×6 90lbs… 2×6 80lbs..

nautilus narrow lat pulldown..1×7 90lbs.. 1×6 80lbs.. 2×6 70 lbs..

bb bent over row superset w incline reverse flyes  2×6 55lb..2×6 50lbs

incline reverse flyes 2×8 12lbs..2×8 10lbs..1×8 8 lbs

I planned to get a bicep workout in as well with bb curls, cable curls, etc..but my biceps were too tired for all that plus my right elbow/forearm was wiped out (carpel tunnel beginnings?..I hope not!)..so I just went for single db curls to finish off biceps..

straight arm pulldown (superset w 20 lb db curls) 2×9 80lb.. 2×9 70lb..

20 lb db curls.. to failure 4×5, 4, 3×2…then 15’s to failure, 12’s, 10’s…8’s..and finally 5’s..whew I’m  t  i  r  e  d now!

This workout was a little longer than what I have typically been doing…I’m still figuring out what works best for me as far as long vs short and to the point wkouts…I know some say keep it to 1hr or a little less, and I have been doing that for the past few months, but when I first started lifting I didn’t try to stay within that and my workouts were longer, and I saw progress a little more I think…so I am going back to that for a little bit…to see what happens…but honestly the Superpump250 is really my source of raaaaaaahhhhwwrrr to have the mojo to do all this..I had more than usual today…I looove Superpump…lemon burst flavor..mmmmmm…

Before I go I wanted to say man it is a sad day when you lose not just one but TWO icons from our time….Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett…may you both R.I.P

squats 65×10(wmup)..115×6, 135×6, 145×12, 135×6, 125×6, 115×9

stiff legged deads 65×6..3 sets..grr lower back was starting to spasm so I couldn’t lift heavier…

butt blaster 4 sets (forget what weight on these)

kickback machine 4 sets

leg extensions 4 sets to failure

good mornings (to loosen lower back that was starting to tighten up on me)

calf raise machine 4 sets 195×13, 210×13, 245×12, 225×15 

leg presses 180×15, 200×13, 220×12, 250×9, 250×8

…this is the first time in a long time I have really gotten my quads sore…while I was doing the squats I felt like I was really gonna pass out, even though I was focusing on my breathing since that is important too…I even did cardio today hoping to loosen the muscle up and ease the soreness but they only got more sore!

…but I’m not complainin, no pain no gain right? .. I just hope I can tear the muscle up this well on next week’s leg day! raaaahrrrrrwwwww

…My favorite cardio form has been put on hold due to the knee issue but I am happy to say that I am slowly getting back into it…in the past couple weeks I have steered clear of running and basically only used the stairmaster to work up a sweat…which is ok, but because I love to run, doing the stairmaster has been tough and really made me miss running!!…whenever I attempted to run these past few weeks I could feel the back of the leg tightening up and some pain in the knee, so I couldn’t do it very long at all…less than 5 mins and I would have to stop…so I have been waiting for the time when I could get back to it…and finally I ran 3 miles!

..I think the injury I have is an Iliotibial band pull, which can take a loooong time to heal (I know, I know I should have seen a Dr.–but the pain was manageable and it felt better pretty quick–just not 100%, and I anticipated paying $$$ to hear that I needed to use the RICE method to heal it, which I already know)…it’s usually do to overuse or trying to increase running speed in a short period of time–which was exactly what I did…I was "changing up" my running routine and trying to run faster, in a shorter period of time to see how my body would respond to that instead of the long, steady pace I usually run in…it isn’t healed completely but I have learned that some stretching of the hamstring/inner and outer thigh go a long way at loosening it up, and make it so I can run again!…I had to stop every 10 mins because that’s when the tightening/discomfort would start up, but after each time I stopped and stretched, I could run another 10 mins…ooohhhh this makes me soooo happy

This is the lowest I have been yet since getting serious about my goal of 135…Even though there hasn’t been a lot of loss showing on the scale, I have noticed things changing regardless…like my hips..finally losing the little extra fat on them, which kinda makes me look less curvy…more long and lean…never been long and lean before…even though it’s my body and I see it everyday, it is still kinda shocking..but in a good way…and it looks like finally my legs/thighs are leaning out a bit and I might start seeing some muscle that has been hiding under the extra layers!..really excited about that…and I need new shorts since all of the old ones are too big now, so I tried some size 6 ones on, but they were just a little loose on me…so it looks like I am heading into size 4 territory…now ThAT is crazy, for me at least…I didn’t buy the shorts yet since I wasn’t sure what size to get, I plan on losing more weight and didn’t want to buy the 6’s and then have them too big in a few weeks…wow…this is kinda scary…I’ve never seen myself this small my entire life…

I was actually able to do one finally–yay!!…last week I attempted one but didn’t feel like my knee and leg were up to it so I just cut that one short, but yesterday I did an entire leg workout, in fact it was the best leg workout I have done in a long time because everything hurts today! even gluteys which are hard to get any result from since I have so much padding back there or something..lol

The butt blaster machine and kickback (not sure name of it) machine were two that I hadn’t tried before, but decided to give them a shot and they are what really kicked my booty..I was sweating bullets after doing those 2…I also did squats on the smith machine, but I think I may give that a rest and just go for the machines that target the glutes, hams, quads for a couple weeks to see if I get any results with them…I also did stiff legged dead lifts which I had been wondering when I could do again since my knee pain originated from the hamstring…and the ham’s were fine on that too..yayaaaa!

At the end of the workout I did the "step" exercises I mentioned in an earlier post, and I did walking lunges with 25 lb plates…4 sets of each..I know this was a good workout because normally I can walk-lunge the entire length of the gym, and last night I could only take about 13 steps max for a set and my glutes/quads were demanding that I stop the madness!!

…and last but not least..today I weighted in at 147!…but dang the "brownie batter" blizzard from Dairy Queen commercial has been on lately and it seems to be calling my name….hmmm

…yesterday I was able to do 50 mins on the treadmill, and then I ran/walked 2 miles and the knee was fine! I was still "aware" of the area that I have the knee injury, but it didn’t pull again or anything…I listened to my body and stopped when my knee told me to…soo happy to be able to do that much cardio again…I think I will give it a rest today although I would really like to do more cardio since I can now, but I am gonna take it slow…

I know I was gonna stay off the knee a few more days but I decided to try the treadmill out without any running and I was able to do 50 mins on it!! Yay…it was so nice to get a good sweat going…the knee feels fine today too!…I wonder if it could handle a light leg workout today…

For some reason I don’t have the ability to add "people who inspire me" …have they not updated everyone’s profile with this new feature?…I asked the "help" blog but no response…when I go to "edit" the inspirational people area in my profile, it just says that I haven’t chosen any yet….aaaaaaaarrrgh…

I wanna add my shout out’s to the peeps who have inspired me too like everyone else!!!