My Crazy Obsession with the Gym

This actually doubles as my workout journal… I’m not lugging a book and pen while I lift, so I’ll type it on here and can check quick what I have left to do for the week.

Friday: just cardio. Was super-amped (thank you, new music on Ipod and RedLine) so did 35min of sprinting after work… 5min warmup @ 6.5mph, then alternated songs doing 6.5mph and 7.5mph…. I was a drippy, happy mess afterwards. Diet was 110%… getting HUNGRY already. Guess I might have to increase the food (currently following my 4wks out diet) for 1 - heavy lifting and 2 - being at 11wks??? I will  be adding in 1/4C starch to 2 meals next week to see how that goes.

Today: chest, bi’s will be placed to Sunday. Started with power cleans - went up in weight from 5lb plates to a 10lb one on each side… 3×10… started to bother my knees a bit. Incline DB press, 30lbx 10-8-6-6-4… not hard, but I can’t go heavier since I don’t ahve a spotter and my left shoulder is unpredictible - I’ve had it drop on me before, ouch. Flat bench, 60lbs x 3 x 10. Cable rotations and woodchops, 20lbs each with 3 sets of 15 rotations per side. Cardio, 20min moderate-intense, my legs were GASSED from Thurs and Fri so I was huffing and puffing with the elliptical resistance only at 8 or 9. Sheesh.

Tomorrow will be abs, biceps… maybe some shoulders and deadlifts throwin in with some snatch high pulls. I am growing to LOVE them. I want to run again, but maybe I will just bike…. I can’t go nutso on cardio yet, especially with a MUCH stricter food intake and harder lifting than ever before in my prep.

I want to put some new pics up (been saying this forever, yes… I am just camera shy) especially because I feel I’ve kept gaining size and am more symmetrical… plus I have enough time now that if it’s noticed that something is off, I can work on correcting it.

Going out for a bar ownership anniversary party tonight… this week I WILL only have one, maybe… I could go hardcore and not have one at all. My newest non-gym related obsession? Cleaning my car. Bought new wax and cloths and carpet cleaner and spray and all these things to make it shiny and purdy and newer….. that’s the virgo in me coming out. Cleaning.

Back on RedLine… man, I misseddd it!!! Took 2 around 6pm last night at work -  by 8pm I was flying, I could not stop moving or my hand s haking. So obviously my tolerance is wayyy down since taking 4-5wks off of the stuff. But I felt like a madwoman at the gym (legs & shoulders):

snatch high pulls, 15lbs ea. side + bar, 3×10

hanging leg lifts, 3-4 sets to total 50reps

squats, bar + 70lbs: 10-8–6-64

single leg lunges on smith, 50lbs, 2×10, 1xmax

military press on smith, 50lbs x 10-8-6-6-4

DB lateral raises, 12lbs 3×10

leg extns, 50l;bs x 25reps

angled leg press, sled + 50lbs x 30reps

shrugs, 70lbs 3×10

Biked 4miles pretty hard afterward, got it done in almost 11mins, I like to crank up the resistance. I wanted to go longer for cardio BUT, I needed to get groceries or else I would not be eating today. I am superpsyched to do the show, can’t wait this weeekend to sit down and plan out the next mon th or 2 of it.

Not too major. Got a very es-special piece of mail from my former trainer / now NABBA judge couple, who trained me for my first show yearssss ago when I was just 20/21. He’s promoting or judging the NABBA show May 23rd… want me to go… which is 4wks sooner than the USBF. OH WELL, I can do it, it’s still 12wks - a full show prep, away. If I can do nationals in 8wks…. this will be cakee….

I just have to get my butt super-organized and dedicated NOW, instead of "relaxing" into it over the next 4wks. At least this year I can get 2shows in back-to-back.

Later

Not too major. Got a very es-special piece of mail from my former trainer / now NABBA judge couple, who trained me for my first show yearssss ago when I was just 20/21. He’s promoting or judging the NABBA show May 23rd… want me to go… which is 4wks sooner than the USBF. OH WELL, I can do it, it’s still 12wks - a full show prep, away. If I can do nationals in 8wks…. this will be cakee….

I just have to get my butt super-organized and dedicated NOW, instead of "relaxing" into it over the next 4wks. At least this year I can get 2shows in back-to-back.

Later

Doubled at the gym yesterday. It was supposed to onnly be AM cardio, buttt… there was a special reason I had to make an appearance in the evening and chose to do lifting last night as well instead of on tues

Back and tri’s: barbell snatches 3×10, crunches (cable, plate, decline w/plate, all 3 sets to get to 50reps) t-bar row (the v-grip) 55lbs x 10-8-6-6-4, pullups/chin-ups to total 25, skullcrushers 40lbs x 4×10, bench dips x 25, straight bar lat pressdown 35lb x 10-8-6-6-4 (it’s soo awkward), straight bar tricep press 40lbs x 10-10-10..hmm… single DB rows 25lbs to failure each arm, hyperextensions on row 70lbs 3×12 superset with oblique crunches where you hang your upper body off of the bench; good stretch. In the AM it was 25min cardio, 10 on bike and 15 running.

My hams are still sore from sunday, my girl happened to be there too so we went even harder… love working with similarly motivated people. You do more! After months andmonths, I think I am finally getting sick of eating turkey… or maybe it’s becaues I spend a lot of time at work and eat it COLD since I don’t have enough time to heat it up… mmm cold turkey and broccoli, how wonderful.

Surgery consult next week! Soo excited. Watch, I’ll get really amped about it and she’ll be booked until May or June. Maybe she can go in and fix my shoulder too while she’s at it… same general body area heeeheee.

Legs: squats 90×10 4 sets, deadlifts on smith 110×10 for 3 sets, lunges 50lbsx10reps 3 sets, laying leg press 80lbsx15 reps, decline leg lifts, reverse crunches, cable crunches, weighted bench crunches w/10lb db , leg extn (toes straight, out, butt of seat) 50lbs x 25 reps 4 sets…. db overhead press 30lbs x 10 4 sets, cable lateral raises 10lbs x 8-10 3 sets, rear delt flyes 55lbsx max for 3 sets.

I am pooped. went to a 21st bday last night… all my good intentions went flying out the door an hour into it. Have to let loose sometime, right? We and she all had fun, and I dropped $100 on 2 rounds of shots… maybe 12 shots total. Going out is tooooo damn expensive. I was feeling pretty good and quite silly chatty, I don’t remember much of what I said but I’m sure some of it was absolutely goofy and senseless. All that mattered was we had fun, were safe, and I did not get dizzy during legs this morning.

Strength has already gone up noticeably within the 2 weeks of training differently - score! Haven’t really done cardio - I’m not too concerned with it at 4mos out, but I want to start getting it done to 1) get used to doing it early again, 2) so I can increase my carbs next week and not get fatter [help puto n more muscle] and 3) start leaning out more - even a little bit - to make the next few months easier.

Tired. It’s naptime.

June 21st: USBF. Never competed for them before, but NABBA gets crazy with all their 13? mandatories and they seem really picky about hand/body placement, etc…. I think USBF only has a stage walk and quarter turns, plus my nutritionist tells me that they like a rounder, fuller look. It’s not  a National show either, so I should be a little more competitive… would be nice to place higher than 3/4 or 5/11. I have a little over 4 months, so I’m using the next one to get back into the habit of eating consistently, and lifting super-heavy. Usually I’d be geeking out already about being lean enough and all the other stuff that goes with a show.. but I’m not feeling too pressured yet. It’s like, "Ok, time to do cardio and lift and blah blah…" Maybe I’m finally getting used to it.

Did legs Mon: snatches 3×10, squats 10, 8, 6, 6, 4, deadlift on smith 4×10 (love it on here rather than just with the barbell… my hams / glutes are still fried 200%), lunges on smith 2×10, leeg extns 25, reverse hack squat 4×6…. and a bunch of weighted reverse crunches. Oh, shoulders: DB press 30lbs 4×8, lateral raises 15lbs 3×10, shrugs 70lbs x 3×12. OWW. Then I ran also. Tues was just running and 3×10 of power cleans.

Surgery consultation on the 2nd. Sort of apprehensive, I don’t know if I’ll have to be put under or if it can just be local anesthetic - don’t want to miss work. Don’t want to miss lifting either! I think I’m also going to ask about breast augmentation too, it’s about time to get so me real facts on the procedure and results / aftermath so I can get a real timeframe as to when to do it. I’m tired of being flat, it’s nice to see pecs when it’s show time but I would rather feel more like a girl in tiny tops or a bra. I’m the only one in my family like this, I can still wear the ones I had when I was 13… not big at all. Maybe it’s from playing sports through high school and college, and anorexia in H.S., surely doing shows and eating lean all year doesn’t hehlp either.

The boy is trying to teach me to do a kipping pullup… I’ve given up on "real" pullups. I can do the kip… just not get all the way chin up over the bar. I think it’s my L shoulder - I can feel it stop "working" when I get halfway. Damnit.

Still trying to reorganize my schedule to work with 2nd shift. My body refuses to get up before 8am now, I think I’ve completely adapted to my shift by now which sucks. Why can’t I go on 5 hours of sleep refreshed??? don’t know how I’m going to do it, especially with double cardios coming in a month or so - I’ve even thought about going to bed at 9 when I get back from work, so I can get one cardio in around 6am and the other in around 9 before work. Doable? I don’t think I have many options at this point.

DOMS is an unforgivable b*tch. It has been sooo long since I’ve made myself really truly sore… that waking up today was downright painful. Even reaching for a coffee cup sucked. Today is legs/shoulders and cardio. I’ll put that up later.

I think all this pain is messing with my brain (dreaming of werewolves and black bears terrorizing a pharmaceutical prep lab… righttttt).

It amazes me how many people commute considerable distances for a job and/or to workout, on here. It might not seem like a major distance, but after 8 or 9 hours, a half hour drive plus traffic possibly really adds onto your day. THEN you have to get your  butt in there and train! That’s love, hehe. Talk about preparedness and discipline, surely those 2 have to be there to succeed.

Going to a plastic surgeon early in March to get some fake boobs…. j/k, I wish!… actually, to get some scars removed. I hope it’s something I can get done then go to work afterwards. My dad’s been in the hospital since thursday, he had a kidney removed (and is fine now)… so there are a lot of Dr things going on right now! Thankfully he will do better now that it’s removed, but it’s just strange seeing someone who was always so gung-ho, be weakened and have to just rest. Enough on that.

As an aside - I had mentioned that I wrote out a diet / training program for my gym buddy….. it WORKED. hehe! I am so happy it did, I never wrote out a full diet for anybody (that they followed) so it feels good to know I’ve gleaned some useful knowledge. He’s very happy with it (and saved some cash… clean eating and prepacking saves $!!) though he’s sick right now, he promises to get back onto it when he feels better.  

Soooo I was put on a strength training program. Dynamic warmups like iron crosses, plank rows, kettlebell swings, olympic lifts and crazy compound workouts with no reps greater than 10, and most in the 6-8 range, some pyramids from 10 reps down to 4. Did the first - back and tri’s, yesterday… I am killed. After leaving the gym I could barely hold my phone to my ear, my arms were so sore and pumped.

The idea behind it is, I’m given a ton of options for my warmup and olympic lifts to do before the actual workout. I get to choose one, then when I repeat the workout the next time, I have to choose another. For the lifting, he gave me basic movements like "row" OR "rotation for abs" or "tricep presss", etc, and I get to choose what machine / DB / barbell / attachment, etc, to use, and I have to get the reps and sets in. Then the next time I do the workout, I have to choose a different tool to do the lift… comprende? It’s only 3 days of training with weights, and 4-5 of cardio… it’s hard for me to be OK with only 3 days but as long as it hurts I’ll do ok.

It’s soooo nice outside! I am going to RUN, I can’t wait. This weather needs to just last, screw winter. Everyone’s mood improves with the warmth and sunshine.

Went out with my girl last night… we are both hurting today. Not from drinking, she doesn’t and I only had 2. Just dancing and her doing legs and my doing legs the day before and cleans.

Today is just cardio… maybe some abs… but monday is legs/shoulders and my traps / midback is roasted. Woohoo!

As an aside - I had mentioned that I wrote out a diet / training program for my gym buddy….. it WORKED. hehe! I am so happy it did, I never wrote out a full diet for anybody (that they followed) so it feels good to know I’ve gleaned some useful knowledge. He’s very happy with it (and saved some cash… clean eating and prepacking saves $!!) though he’s sick right now, he promises to get back onto it when he feels better.  

Soooo I was put on a strength training program. Dynamic warmups like iron crosses, plank rows, kettlebell swings, olympic lifts and crazy compound workouts with no reps greater than 10, and most in the 6-8 range, some pyramids from 10 reps down to 4. Did the first - back and tri’s, yesterday… I am killed. After leaving the gym I could barely hold my phone to my ear, my arms were so sore and pumped.

The idea behind it is, I’m given a ton of options for my warmup and olympic lifts to do before the actual workout. I get to choose one, then when I repeat the workout the next time, I have to choose another. For the lifting, he gave me basic movements like "row" OR "rotation for abs" or "tricep presss", etc, and I get to choose what machine / DB / barbell / attachment, etc, to use, and I have to get the reps and sets in. Then the next time I do the workout, I have to choose a different tool to do the lift… comprende? It’s only 3 days of training with weights, and 4-5 of cardio… it’s hard for me to be OK with only 3 days but as long as it hurts I’ll do ok.

It’s soooo nice outside! I am going to RUN, I can’t wait. This weather needs to just last, screw winter. Everyone’s mood improves with the warmth and sunshine.

Went out with my girl last night… we are both hurting today. Not from drinking, she doesn’t and I only had 2. Just dancing and her doing legs and my doing legs the day before and cleans.

Today is just cardio… maybe some abs… but monday is legs/shoulders and my traps / midback is roasted. Woohoo!