Pump hard……. Pump often

I’ve never trained shoulders before because I’ve seen women who train shoulders and they look like a man. Personally, I’m not a fan of women with big shoulders. So I didn’t want that to happen to me. But then I looked at my progress pictures I could see my shoulders sloping or beginning to hunch over. I’ll be 40 this summer so I’m guessing age is starting to have an impact on my posture and I’m not letting that just happen. One of the reasons I train with the weights is to keep my body’s posture and muscles in the best shape possible.

So Tuesdays will be shoulder day.

I did the shoulder press machine. Good grief were my shoulders weak. My max weight on the machine was 45lbs. But it’s a start and that should improve my stance when I take my progress pictures.

I was looking at my earlier progress pictures and noticed how much tighter my abs looked. I was hitting the ab machine pretty hard. I stopped the machine because I thought it would make my ab muscles bulky. Lately I’ve been doing sit ups but tonight I brought back the ab machine into my workout. That should bring that stomach back into check.

Last night I started taking green tea extract and 100mg B6 vitamins to aid in weight loss. Got those tips from a pro bodybuilder on BodySpace.

Time to eat some pinto beans and a protein shake then off to bed. Trying to get to bed earlier as I realize it is important in bodybuilding.

Alisa

I was thinking the other day "it would be cool if there was like a MySpace for bodybuilders".

Well after searching the net for web pages for something unrelated (bodybuilding competitions) I stumble upon probodybuilding dot com thinking it was just a site about pro bodybuilding information. I started looking at the their sub sites much like how BodySpace is a sub site of Bodybuilding.com and saw a subsite titled MuscleSpace which was described as an active fitness community.  Sounds interesting enough so I clicked on it and then click on a profile picture and low and behold it looked like a MySpace page! I’m like huh?? Seriously it looks like a MySpace page except all the friends are bodybuilder types. So I’m thinking is this really an active place and people there have like 100 friends. Ok, that’s active.

The community is probodybuilding dot com/community

I have to type out the url because for some reason when I just type out the url address it shows up on my blog as a bunch of stars like *******
If you like MySpace and you love BodySpace then MuscleSpace is like the merging of the two.

Pretty Cool.

Alisa

Yesterday after I took those updated progress photos I stared in disbelief. You would think I would not be in shock since I see myself every day but something about a picture puts what you see in the mirror into reality.

Clothes can be bought in the right cut and color to flatter any figure so I look good when I go out. But when I’m standing in a sports bra and workout lycra pants ain’t nothing flattering about that stuff. Everything just shows …..as is.  So I was a bit down on myself especially when I’ve been in the gym so much and so hard for the last couple of months. I expected better results.

But I got some great compliments from my BodySpace friends and some great advice from hbat464.  So I’ll tweek my diet and add the suppliments that were recommended and hopefully in a month I’ll have some improvement.

Thanks!

Alisa

It’s been a year since I took progress pictures and I knew I backslide in the summer of 2008 and didn’t get my fitness routine back on track until January 2009. I knew I had gained back 17 pounds and my goodness it shows. Even though I’m working my butt off in the gym (and sore as I write this) I still have a lot of work to do.

I know I’ve tightened up since January so good grief I’m glad I didn’t take pictures then. But the camera takes a picture of exactly what’s in front of it so it is what it is. 197lbs worth of it too. No need to sulk…just more cardio and work more on cleaning up my eating. Now that I know what I’m working with I can get more focused.

Getting in shape is sooooo much work. When I look at the very fit men and women in the gym I’m amazed at the results they have attained. I know that my ultra fit body is under that extra weight since I hit the weights hard. I know my fit body is in there somewhere. Gotta get that body fat off me though.

Alisa

It’s Sunday and most people are not in the gym. Perfect.

The gym equipment is free and available for immediate use. Gotta love that.

Today was leg day and I hit legs hard. Eight sets on the angled leg press with a max weight of 230lbs. Four of my eight sets were at 230lbs and I was very happy with that. I added the hack squat to my routine.  Not sure if I will continue with that exercise though. That’s a lot of stress on the knees I’ve noticed.  I put a 45 plate per side. Next week I’ll lower the weight and see if that is more comfortable after four sets. Because my knees were like WTH???

Hit the hamstring machine and inched up the weight from last week. I’m always paranoid when doing the hamstrings that I will pull one and wake up the next morning in horrible pain and not be able to walk.  I did that once and it was horror. So I baby my hamstrings. I’m sure I could pump more weight that I do but I’m a big chicken when it comes to hamstrings. So I take it extra careful. Hamstrings and lower back are two areas I don’t want to risk making sore. I can handle sore muscles everywhere else but those two places.

Rounded out my days routine with exercises for the quads, more sit ups and 20 minutes on the stairmaster. Needed some cardio today.

Tomorrow is all about cardio. I like to split my 40 minutes cardio into two sets of 20 minutes on different machines.  But Mondays are so packed in the gym I just get on one machine and cling to it for 40 minutes.

What is is about Mondays in the gym? Did everyone party all weekend, eat massive amount of junk and roll into the gym on Monday with the mindset of working off damage from the weekend? Must be. That’s why I don’t hit weights on Monday. The weight area is a mad house on Mondays.

Alisa

Saturdays are my day for chest and back workout. Had a GREAT workout. Hit the weights so hard for two hours I was too exhausted for cardio. And that was a first. My bench is getting better every week. I benched 100lbs for two sets this week which is better than last Saturday. Getting stronger every week.  I did four exercises for chest for a total of 16 sets and five exercises for back for 20 sets.  I added a new back exercise today so I’m excited about that. I did 8 sets of situps which rounded out my routine today.

Spent the evening going to dinner with family and friends and had a healthy meal of Japanese stir fried vegetibles. Now its 10:30 and craving something sweet.  Took the advice I read on the Bodybuilding.com forums to drink tea that is naturally sweet. Did that and it works. I’m still hungry so it must be time for a protein shake for the night.

Bodybuilding in my book is 50% your diet and right now I have to keep reminding myself so I don’t down a bunch of late night carbs.

Always staying strong physically, mentally and emotionally.

Alisa

Since I have a car and now have the freedom to expand my workouts during the weeknights, I’m trying to add weight training one day in the middle of the week. Before all my weight training was on the weekend. Keeping the weekend training and adding a weekday as well. Adding biceps, triceps and a light leg routine to Wed or Thur is what I’m trying out.

Tonight. Biceps- 4 sets with the 50lb ez barbell, 4 sets of curls with two 20lb dumbbells and eight sets with the 40lb ez barbell.  Could not find the 30lb EZ barbell ANYWHERE to do my triceps. Somebody hid it or it’s in the aerobics room or some other place it should not be sitting. Why don’t people just re-rack the weights? It’s not hard. Just gave up on that search and skipped the triceps. Will hit them on Sunday. I did 8 sets of sit ups and 8 sets of leg press on the angled leg press machine. Didn’t do my max weight on the leg press which is 230lbs.  Did 4 sets at 90 lbs and 4 sets at 180lbs. Just enough to work the legs but not exhaust them.

No cardio and just went home. Since I went to dinner before the gym with my BF and his parents and ate a veggie burger (took off the top layer of the bun) I really wanted to focus on weight training to burn some of those calories from that flour (bread).

And my sister is in town and my whole family will be going out to dinner all weekend. I’ve got to stay focused on making wise food choices.

Alisa 

My sister is coming into town and the family is going out to dinner a lot this weekend. I need focus to eat clean.

Did not go to the gym yesterday and made it a needed rest day. My legs feel better this morning.

Ever notice when you buy a new car that all the cars you see aftwards are the same color as you own?

Lou Ferrigno is on the cover of Muscular Development and Iron Man. He’s 57 years old and looks cut and big.  Talking about the incredible in Incredible Hulk.

I’ve got the MD maganzine. I need to buy Iron Man today.

Saw the pictures of a 67 year old body builder named Robby Robinson. Amazing to be that built at that age.

Alisa

I still need to upload my stats from Monday which was leg day. I’ll get to it.

What I forgot to mention in my previous blog post is that on Monday I actually helped someone on a piece of gym equipment. I don’t remember the exact piece I just know it worked the back muscle group. I was watching this lady on a piece of back equipment and she had horrible form. She was not using the back muscle group to execute the motion. She was using her arms.  Her biceps might have been getting a good stretch (weight was too light for any type of workout) but her back didn’t do jack. I just watched her and wondered if I should say anything. By the time I thought I should interrupt she was done.  Then she got on the next piece of equipment. Worked the same muscle group just from a different angle. This time she was using her abs to work the motion as she was rocking through her reps. Yes rocking. I knew then I had to say something. I couldn’t stand it anymore!

I taped on her shoulder and mentioned she should try holding her body still and using the back muscle to pull the weight.  I didn’t have the good sense to get on the machine and actually show her the motion. Duh. But after she tried a few different techniques and asked if this was better she got the hang of it. She needed to increase the weight which would reduce that desire to rock through her reps.

She thanked me and I felt good about helping someone. I’m just glad I didn’t get brushed off!

My exercise last night was all about cardio. 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the bike. Then 8 sets of sit ups.

Alisa

I normally do not go to the gym on Monday evenings because the last time I went on a Monday evening I felt like I was at a social club whose theme was fitness and they thought it would be cute for people to dress up in exercise gear and socialize at an actual gym. That’s how Monday’s are at my club. One big social network. Seriously, this gym has a reputation for Monday nights. I’ve gone to another location and people were talking about Monday nights at this place.

That’s great if you like a little cardio with all your socializing. Or a few reps while you kick it with your boy.

Personally, I like to get to the gym equipment without playing musical chairs. Or not having someone’s armpit in my face because there is barely any room to walk.

But since I missed out on my Saturday workout I did that on Sunday and therefore my Sunday workout (leg day) was done tonight. Monday night.

I’ll post the stats tomorrow as I’m too tired to do all that collecting of data. But here are some highlights of what I saw at the gym.

Grow men trying to pump weight that’s obviously too heavy while their buddies cheer them on to see how quick they hit failure.  Reminded me of a bunch of guys at a bar with shot glasses and each one cheering the other on as he manages to chug down one more shot of liquor without passing out.

A man wearing white workout tights with red and blue stripes. Seriously, he was a walking American flag.

Women who walked into the weight area (that’s where all the men are remember) and they do nothing but talk to each other and never do a single exercise. Just standing around the men and yapping. Straight up dance club maneuver.

People who felt that the gym equipment were lounge chairs.

And my personal favorite. The guy who pumped seven or eight 45lb plates per side on the leg press (I can’t remember the number but as many as that bar can actually hold) that decides once he is finished to announce how freaking strong and awesome his legs have to be by pulling every single plate off the bar and then DROPPING them on the floor in a perfect vertical row on each side of the leg press. WTH??? Seriously, he had all his plates laid out perfectly on the floor. I guess for all of us to admire his Herculean leg strength. He literally walks away for a few minutes and only then does he return to re-rack the plates. I had front row seat to this madness as I was on the leg press right next to his.

I’m off to bed people.

Alisa