L-lat raise 3×20, 10, 10

arnold presses 3×10, 8,6

upright rows 4×10,8,6,6

standing lat raises 4×12,10,8,6 

shrugs 3×10

lying lat raises to failure

…this workout hit the shoulders all around pretty well, front, side back…really pumped them up…and without the help of Superpump250! 

seated row 4 set 6-10 reps

bent over row –first time using Olympic bar for these 2×10 @ 65, 2×6@ 85..85 is a PB!

good mornings 4 sets 35×2, 45×2 bb 8-10 reps

wide grip/medium grip assisted pullups 8 sets 6-10

lat pulldowns superset w straight arm pulldowns 3 sets ea 6-10 reps

one arm rows started @ #40, worked down to 10 lb to failure

Ok I have to vent now…what is with RUDE guys blocking your view in the mirror when they SEE that you are watching your form in it??  As I was finishing my workout doing rows and checking my form in the mirror, I had done about 3 sets when a guy who was using a bench near me goes up to the db rack and stands directly in front of me in the mirror where I’m looking…when he was completely aware of what I was doing…just stood there blocking me like an a**hole…I moved to another bench and gave him a glare in the mirror..since I was doing drop sets I had to go up and grab some more db’s so I stood directly in-between him and the mirror while he was in the middle of his set…the mirror that he was standing about 3 feet from as he did curls…that’s pretty close, I don’t think he had room to curl so I definitely interrupted his set…I know I shouldn’t have sunk to his level..but it was that or drop a 25 lb db on his foot!…this has happened quite a few times and it’s always a guy doing it..I don’t really see guys doing that to other guys, but I haven’t really paid attention…and I have never had a female do it…so what is up?…it is so completely rude it makes me full of "gym rage" (kinda like road rage I guess)…all I know is when I am working out, the adrenaline is going…I actually don’t see how there aren’t more fights in the gym…I totally felt like going rounds with this dude after that…especially when I am always considerate of other’s in the gym, and if I need to get in someone’s mirror space I make it quick, if at all…maybe I should take up boxing?

Cable side laterals (low) 4×6-8

Lying single arm lat raises 4×6-8

Db presses  10, 8, 2×6

Standing lat raises - drop sets to failure

BB bicep curls #35×12, #45×10, #50×6 (2)

finished with seated db curls to failure

* No cardio* 

Started with a light warmup on the treadmill, then into squats

6 sets, working up to 135lb 2×6 and then removed some weight and did a fast pace set of 8 after my legs were pretty worn out..I’ve been slow at moving up in weight with my squats since this past year I’ve had various back/knee issues that have made my leg workouts/leg progress suffer quite a bit…finally I’m getting to where I can be consistent with leg workouts and really start working on shaping them up

Next I did walking lunges with a 45 lb barbell across the aerobics room floor-my plan was to do 8 trips across..but after 3 1/2 trips total my head was pounding, I was sweating heavily and my chest was hurting, I was tiring out fast and having to stop and catch my breath!..I decided not to push too hard on this because I really felt it was due to the impending cold or whatever it is that’s trying to invade my body…so I moved on to the leg press…

My heaviest weight on the press has been 220..today I got up to 250 and did 2×6 at that weight…

Then leg extensions..first tried the legs @ 95lbs and I could only go 3/4 the way up for a few reps..then went down to 80 and continued down in weight..then one leg at a time to failure..

ANd last but not least, the bodypart I always forget to train: the calves…haven’t remembered to train them in a month, they needed to be worked today..I did standing and seated calf raises 3 sets each machine and after that I was almost limping around the gym…

After a quick few minutes walking on the treadmill to keep the legs from cramping up, I was done and glad I pushed thru the workout…I think I’m starting to earn some quad development now!

My plan was to keep the diet as clean as possible until she got here so I could indulge a little when we met up..so what did I do?..made some irresistable banana bread that I had been craving!!…AAghhhh!…so, I’m thinking, it’s ok, I will just freeze most of it so a little bit in the mornings won’t hurt me..yeah right, me and dessert in the house don’t mix…I keep refusing to get that thru my head for some reason..anyways, I had a few loaves of it on my hands, and even though I put them in the freezer I’d get them out late at night at the worst possible time, defrost in the microwave and eat some…thought about giving some away but it was tooo good to part with…I tried to just make up for the extra calories by doing more cardio…

After the banana bread incident, things just got worse from there and pretty much everyday I was eating something like pizza, donuts, cake, whatever I craved I kinda let myself have…everday I’d be craving something unhealthy which isn’t usual for me–I’d NEVER have made progress this past year if I had to battle those old familiar daily cravings…it started to scare me…I knew that a couple months ago these cravings weren’t an issue…yes I’d have the occasional break in my diet where I ate unhealthy for a couple days but I wasn’t constantly craving junk food daily like this…I wondered if I was just done and this is as far as I was gonna transform…but this isn’t where I want to be so it really bothered me..and so I was spending more and more time doing cardio just to keep my weight stable and from jumping up…it finally came to a head when I made peanut butter cookies and ate the ENTIRE batch in two days by myself!…( then I thought back about what ingredients I had just devoured: a whole BLOCK of butter, 1/2 scoop of white sugar, 1/2 scoop of brown sugar, white flour, 1/2 a cup of peanut butter, etc..all in 2 days..pure extra calories and fat above and beyond my regular daily caloric intake–oh my)…at least they were gooo-ood, I gotta say I do bake really well!…the reason I’m sharing this with you is because I want you to understand how badly I have managed to go off track and lose control of my eating…but moving on…

I’ve shattered your image of me now, haven’t I????  lol

Well, obviously this pattern had to stop…the other day I happened to read Ava Cowan’s blog about Gaspari’s Mitotropin she’s currently taking…I remembered that I actually have quite a few samples of it myself…back when I tried the Gaspari CytoleanV2 it made me more hungry and carb crazed, the opposite of what it’s supposed to do…so I was a little leary about the Mitotropin as well, which is why the samples have just been sittin in my cupboard…until this past SUnday…Ava looks great and if she says they work for her-hey I thought I might as well give it a shot!

I can say with much relief that yes it does work…these past 4 days I have lost the crazy carb cravings (FINALLY!! wondered when I would see the end of them!) and the "night-time" cravings for junk…my appetite is back under control…the Mitotropin does seem to lift the mood and give you some energy as well..but not shaky too much caffeine kind of energy…I’ve managed to get back on the clean eating wagon and get my calories under control…no more visions of donuts or cake or pie dancing in my head everyday that I have to constantly fight off!!!!!….I am so relieved…this is a product I would definitely buy and recommend!

bench press 4x= 10, 8, 6, 4

dips 3x=15, 12, 10

incline bench 4x=10, 8, 6, 4

incline db flyes 3x=12, 10, 8

lying tricep ext 3x= 8, 6×2

decline db chest press 4x=12, 10, 8, 6

bench dips (with a 10lb plate on stomach)

bb pullovers (using 30lb bar) 4x=15, 12, 10×2

flat bench chest flyes 3x to failure 12,10,8

 Started with the bench press and I’ve noticed that I haven’t really progressed in that one…well, I haven’t really gone up in weight for awhile on it, so I’ve tried to go around that by doing more reps at the heaviest weight I could do…but yesterday I decided I wanted to take it to the next level, and in order to do it I would have to enlist some help…I finally got over myself and asked a stranger if he would spot me…it’s the first time I’ve EVER asked anyone for a spot…(that’s growth in itself..lol) but I will asking be from now on…with his help I could really put everything I had into those last reps where it really counts without having to stop at 85% effort that I usually do, so I have the strength to rack the weight and avoid dropping it on myself…he also spotted me on my inclines…

If you have ever done decline db chest presses you know that having someone hand you the dumbells (since you are basically almost upside down) is also necessary if you want to go as heavy as possible…I asked another guy next to me if he would hand me the db’s…only 1 problem…at that point I had done a set with 20’s and a set with 25’s…so both sets of db’s were laying on the ground next to me…I wanted him to hand me the 25’s so I didn’t twist my arm out of socket trying to pick them up while practically upside down…he handed me the db’s when I was ready…but first I saw he had a 20 in his hand and reminded him, I want the 25’s…he put the 20 down and picked up a 25…at least I thought I saw him look at the db and do that…I did my set, stood up and noticed…he had handed me one 25 and one 20!!!  D’OH!    

Hadn’t even noticed the difference in weight when doing the set, but who needs even chest muscles anyway?..lol   

Son of a mother’s lover!!!

A while back I mentioned that I thought maybe squats were hurting my knees…after leg days, my knees would feel tight and creaky, which I had never experienced before so I figured it must be from the combo of lifting weights and doing cardio more often…I tried to stretch a little better before any lifting or cardio, but still it got pretty bad and I ended up almost pulling a hamstring…It started to get worse when I got a pain behind my knee while running one day…never had knee problems before, didn’t know what this was, and I thought it would be ok if I just finished the run because it was just annoying, not really painful…by the end of it, I got this twinge of pain behind the knee, that also pulled on the front of my knee…I thought I pulled my hamstring, and the knee was actually swollen when I went home and looked at it…it ended up being a pulled ilitibial band which is very common for any kind of athlete to experience at some point during training… 

CRAP!…after that happened I had to ice the knee, rest it,  and definitely couldn’t do any cardio…I took about 3wks or more off of cardio because I couldn’t put any pressure on the knee other than walking–and I had to stop doing squats, lunges, any leg weightlifting for a while …but eventually my knee got well enough for me to do cardio again, running was still a little challenging…I used to run at level 6.0, before the injury, but had to start back at 5.3…after about 10 mins of running I would get "warning" pains in the back of the knee and had to stop and stretch before attempting to run anymore..this went on for looong time…I worked up to being able to run 4 miles again, without too much pain, but couldn’t really increase speed…and the day after a run or heavy leg day, the creakiness was back…it was so annoying and I wondered if my knees would ever be back to normal..one day I mentioned the issue to a trainer at the gym and he educated me on foam rollers…he showed me how to use one and it has changed my training life…the next day after using it I felt NO knee pain at all while doing cardio, and that was a first ever since the initial injury…about 4-5 months ago!!!!

The trainer explained that the muscle was knotting up in my leg and pulling on the knee, which brought on the pain..and he said you can’t get to most of the knots with regular stretching…so with the foam roller I cold "roll" out the knots like rolling pie dough with a rolling pin basically…apparently having knotted up muscle in the legs is almost unavoidable at times so if you do any kind of athletic training, you NEED a foam roller…I bought one (only $15.00 at Wal-Mart) and I can feel the knots in the legs after I do squats or lunges, or after an intense cardio session…I just roll them out and the pain is gone!…I’ve had my foam roller for only 3 weeks and I have increased my running speed and distance, and the knots are getting fewer and fewer…(I use it before and after I workout–only takes a few minutes)

Hope this helps you if you are having knee issues–I just wish I had found out about it sooner!

Here are a couple links about what it is and how to use it:

http://www.fitlink.com/what-is-a-foam-roller

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/self-myofascial-release.html

P.S.  You’re welcome!!

These past couple months I have still been able to do db bicep curls, but not with the same amount of weight as I used to..the wrist would act up if I tried to go too heavy…and I would "test" the wrist weekly as I attempted barbell curls but every week would come to the same conclusion: NOPE, not happenin!..the wrist would hurt like I was injuring it all over again…so I’d put the barbell back in frustration wondering when and if I would ever be able to do my barbell curls again :(…

Because of the limited range of motion my bicep workouts have pretty much just been doing db drop sets to failure on the day I work my back at the end of the workout…I felt like my biceps were getting a good workout doing the back exercises so I didn’t worry about them too much…but then I started to notice that my bicep vein I was so proud of had stopped popping out…and that was something I was so glad to see developing back when I started out..it was a real sign of progress to me…so I’ve just been waiting for my wrist to heal so I could get that vein popping again!!

So this week I didn’t do any extra bicep work after my back workout, and even gave them a few days to recover before working them on their own yesterday hoping to get them progressing again…well, not totally on their own, I also did legs yesterday…and as usual, I attempted a bb curl with a 25lb and…what?…no pain?…not even a little twinge of wrist pain?…get out!…no way, I must be dreaming this…yep, the wrist was ok to do bb curls again!!!  FINALLY!! yay..that made me so happy

It made me so happy that I overdid it…I alternated between leg/bicep sets and everything was going good…I did bb curls, standing cable curls, and bicep isolation db curls…by the time I got to the db isolation curls, I had already done enough and I should have stopped…as I was finishing up and doing drop sets to failure, I noticed that instead of feeling the burn, I wasn’t feeling much at all..by the time I got down to 6lb db’s I felt like there was no muscle in my bicep, the exercise didn’t burn as it usually did and I didn’t feel any pump in it at all…when I got home I checked out my biceps, no usual pump from the workout and they looked smaller…

*Sigh* Oh well, another lesson in my fitness journey : the importance of knowing when to stop!

So the moral of the story is:  DO your HIIT!!