My Crazy Obsession with the Gym

Pretty unproductive day. Took 2 days off from lifting and was amped to get it in today…. but the gym has holiday hours (duh) and my shift at work got switched to first because nobody will be there after 5pm… so with lack of sleep and lack of food (I failed to pack food [didn’t have any cooked anyway!] when I got home… at 12am.. haha… my best friend and I can talk for hours…) and gym closing at 5, all I got in was 20min of interval cardio on the arctrainer and treadmill. I like doing ladders - think that’s what they’re called - you increase the difficulty every minute then back down 5-8 intervals into it. I still can’t wait for this last holiday to be over. Everything’s schedule is straight… nothing funky happens… routines can be put back into place.

Resolutions. I’m sure I, along with most on here, will have a lot of fitness oriented ones. I’m happy 2008 is over. A lot of good things came, but it was damn challenging to get there. Speaking of which, I’ll soon be helping others achieve their goals - back as a trainer a few days a week at the gym I worked at during school. I missseeedddd it, I missed my clients.

My brain is fuzzy and tired after 2 days of hectic. I have plans to go out - no drinking though! - but cooking and taking up residence on my couch seems much more appealing right now. I am a grandma sometimes.

No gym today… unless you count stopping to deliver coffee to my dear beautiful friend who works there, as a workout. Bad day on top of busy busy at work and no time to eat. I swear, sometimes I think it’s better to just be a cold jacka.ss than have a heart. As.sholes have it easier.

I like coming on here in the morning, as my lazy butt is waking up… reading about the people who get up soo early to do their morning cardio or workouts. Wish I could be the same! Guess my body is too adapted now to a 2nd shift schedule…. just as an aside

I have to take dreaded "start" pics soon for progress. Not sure if my protege (hehe) will take them too… they won’t make anyone violently ill, but it’s still not fun, ya know? My upper body is smoked… sore… and I’m saving a 2nd leg day for later this week during vacation, so probably only triceps and cardio today.

Chest and bi’s day. Honestly, bicep workouts are dreaded for me. I hate the pumped feeling in them… I must be weird or an alien. Chest workout was good but felt a little weak, like I was using my shoulders more than pecs: flat bench, incline smith press, incline "pulses" on the smith, cable flyes, pushups. I think it has to do with working shoulders yesterday with legs - a no-no, my stabilizers/neutralizers were probably fried as I went heavy on Sat. What else… bench crunches with a 10lbDB, cable crunches straight and for obliques, hanging leg raises.. 20min running, wanted to go longer but I was distracted - the music sucked and my hips still were tight from legs.

To people who feel discouraged at starting to lose weight or anything - the first few days are the hardest. I’ve read and spoken to so many people on here who feel this way - like I’ve eaten so badly or I’ve gained so much fat, that it’s discouraging to start because the results (visible) will be so slow or minimal…. Nope. Yes, it takes weeks to lose substantial bodyfat, but you WILL feel a million times better and look better within a few days of cleaning it up. Maybe it’s mostly mental, surely some is physical… but the point is, rewards start coming much sooner than you think.

Only got in 2… and like 1/2… meals in today, not good, can’t help it, if I’m bumming I’m just not hungry. Guess it’s better than what I used to do - eat PB or those really good sheetz muffins. Having emotional eating tendencies is not fun; when you’re bothered or anxious or whatever negative feeling is going on - it’s numbing to just munch on whatever; mindless… it distracts from whatever is going on. But then the food is gone and you’re left with the original negative deal, plus feeling badly about what you’ve eaten. If you’re like me, it’s not a salad, either. It’s almost tougher to just sit and feel what you’re feeling at that moment, instead of the aforementioned eating / numbing deal. But it’s BETTER!! It’s healthier, and you’ll be happier with yourself for doing it. It’s almost always better-feeling the next morning… no matter how tough it is to remember and believe that sometimes…

I am so glad the holidays are over… they are fun, but the cookies and off-schedules need to be finished. HAPPY to have a new Ipod and some cashola that has gone straight to workout clothing.

Had a great back and abs workout friday - it sucks not being able to lift as heavy! My stabilizers are weak from lots of non-usage in the past months They give out before my lats do. Yesterday was legs … 2 straight hours of legs, it was amazziinggg. Laying leg press w/ glute lift, quad extensions, quad extensions w/ glutes off seat, calf raises, single-leg bench squats, 1/2 squats with wide feet on smith machine, wide normal squats, laying smith machine single leg press… and some military presses, lateral DB raises and reverse flyes. The diet has been going well too, I feel better already after 2 days totally "on".

Sat down with my "project" (heehee, the guy I’m helping) and answered his Q’s. I think all the structure of planned eating / cardio / lifting is going to be a big change for him, and keeping track of everything that he does or does not do. But this kind of structure is good, I think it translates into other areas of someone’s life… besides the end result is totally worth it. Diets are more fun than training people almost… anyone know of any good certifications out there? The only one I know of is by ACE.

Merry christmas / happy holidays! This is one expensive holiday… and I even have a smaller family… but I guess everyone is in the same boat. I can’t wait for the holiday to be over actually, Fri 26th can’t get here fast enough. Mayyybe 2 good workouts a week since turkey day, due to shopping baking cooking visiting gifting and working. How do people do it? I can’t resist homemade biscotti… I can’t lie. It needs to go.

I’ve already started a cutting phase, my friend nate is waiting until the 2nd to begin his.. guess new year’s is too hard to pass up. We’ll be taking "start" pics on the 2nd and weekly? bi-weekly? ones from then on. I’ll probably put them up on here, he wants to do the Muscletech contest and I think he needs to create a profile anyhow.

 He asked me to write a diet out for him, so I hope it works - it should, the math is correct. I had never seen an initial cut diet for a guy before that’s twice my weight - so while the numbers and volume might look nutty to me, they’re OK in his/other’s eyes. Hopefully his girlfriend is ready for some crabbiness in the upcoming months. My diet is easy…. somebody else made it for me heehee. If anything, I slack on getting it all in…

1 - 1/4C oatmeal w/ 1scp protein powder

2 - 1C broccoli/cauliflower + 4oz 93% lean turkey

3 - 1/4C corn/beans + 1C broc/caulif + 4oz 93% lean turkey+ 2Tbsp lowfat salad dressing

4 - 1/4C oatmeal + 1scp protein powder OR 4oz turkey

5 - large salad + 1Tbsp EVOO + 1Tbsp lowfat dressing + 4oz turkey

It’s a LOT of food. I suck at getting it all in. Funny how when you’re fatter, you don’t feel / want to eat it all… then as you lean out you can’t eat enough. The start is the hardest part. It’s almost riding on blind faith that it will work, for the first few weeks.

As in sissy squats. Can you be too short to do them? I switched my normal leg routine for Monica Brant’s (video on page) and had trouble with that lift. The pad behind the calves was too tall… that and I think the one at the gym is in need of repair, it’s wobbly / uneven on the bottom. The 1-leg bench squat is tough on the glutes… tried those after some laying smith machine single leg presses and had a hard time keeping my lower half stable for abs. Bodyweight leg day is not for babies.

Turned a girl on to having muscles at the gym! Yay! LOL really, I rarely hear girls saying they want to have muscle or "look like me" (I’m no hulk or anything but still bigger than most I guess). We have our first workout tomorrow, back and shoulders. Told her I’d help her with making a training schedule and whatnot. I really think she’ll do amazingly - she’s very petite and lean. Plus she’s excited about learning to lift

Got possibly the best news today, if it comes through. What is it about carbs that they are so easy to forget to eat on the weekends? I always get in the first meal but the rest are an afterthought. Maybe it’s because I’m relaxed and not work-stressed, so my energy doesn’t drop as hard during the day as in the week, as a reminder to eat that oatmeal.

House was on marathon today from 3-11. It was fabulous.

Took Saturday as an easy day, tri’s and running and a little abs. There is something relaxing about running, no? It’s not my favorite and gets monotonous on the treadmill, but it stretches everything out. I needed an easy day too, work and appointments this week brought on a lot of long nights and troubleshooting… I was drained. BTW, I hate technology. When it’s working it’s fantastic, but when a superimportant program decides to crash at work, it messes everything up for weeks.

I saw one of my top 2 (or 3) gym peeves yesterday. Wearing a weight belt while doing arm exercises on the machines. What is it needed for?? He was not doing enough weight to need it either. Does it make guys feel more macho or studly to slap on a piece of leather around their waists? The majority of men I’ve seen use a weight belt, on machines or otherwise, aren’t even lifting heavy enough to require one. They’re not doing anything but weakening their core…. so that one day when they take off the belt and go to lift up a box in the basement, they can’t do it or injure themselves. Exaggerated but you get my point.

11 days until christmas. Went shopping last night with Nate, helped him buy for his girlfriend and he helped me buy for my….. sister. He had more of a clue than I did. Lucky boy got to eat at Sonic! The commercials make that place look great. We ended up watching House all night together… just different locations. Amazing how being great at your job means you can be an ******* and get away with it.

Had an opportunity to go out, but nobody was meeting up until 11:30 and I was too tired by then. I guess I’m out of the party stage, just a month ago I’d go out at least once on the weekend. For what? To be at the same places with the same wasted (sometimes obnoxiously) people who were there the week before? To be extra tired the next day? I kinda feel like a loser or the only 24yr old not wanting to party, but it doesn’t fit in with my life. It’s not g oing to help change my body back, and it’s going to waste precious weekend hours on a hangover. Nope.

Funny when you know exactly what you want, and you won’t deviate or settle for anything less or do anything that is not in the direct path to achieving that.

Must have done something good to my legs Sun. They are still crazy sore, sitting - bending - and stepping up are probably funny to watch. It’s a nice feeling, huh?, being really sore. Didn’t do too much last night, supposed to be back/bis and cardio…. but work was very  busy and all I ate was a turkey burger. That is a recipe for weak and nauseous at the gym. I got in bent barbell rows, cable curls, ab v-ups, hanging leg raises, lat pulldowns and a 10min sprint before I had to quit.

Tis the season, and a lot of people are making a list. New Ipod, crosstrainers, and cards to gnc and target (best inexpensive and cute workout clothing everrr) are all I can think of. All things used at the gym! Is it that way for everyone? I should ask for the ability to pop out of bed at 6:30am bright and energized, how do some people do it on so little sleep? That would be sweet.

It was absolutely freezing this weekend… and windy. It was like a giant meat locker in the gym, didn’t even get sweaty even though I was layered up and lifting legs. Even some of the people on the treadmill had long sleeved t-shirts on. At least the cold is tolerable lfor 30seconds after a workout before you cool off enough to feel the cold.

Sat was shoulders and tri’s, dips, military press, lateral raises, shoulder combo, rear delt press, skullcrushers, bench situps, hanging leg raises, decline reverse crunch. Sunday was legs… legs are soo much fun: wide smith squats, deadlifts, straight quad extensions and quad extensions where you turn your toes out so your feet are in a "V", standing and donkey calf, laying leg press w/ ass off the back pad, weighted laying leg raises…. crap I forgot to do the smith laying leg press. I told myself I would do some cardio later when I went back into the gym to do a name/gift exchange with some of the girls who work there… yeah right. At least I can say I half-way tried, one of my buddies was there and we just gabbed for that hour.

Can’t for the life of me, wake up before 8am. No matter how early I get to sleep. Maybe because I know I can still sleep in and get away with it?? I’ll have to soon if my rehire goes through at another gym. I’ll be training 6am-10:30 like I used to during the week. I love it, it was fun but…. waking up early??? At least the coffee place next door has good coffee.