Amy’s BodyBlog

Came straight here to the gym at 4:00 p.m. Worked bis and tris similar to what I made the hubster do yesterday. LOL.

SS of:

3 Sets: Incline Db Curls (15lbs) x 8 + Face Down Bench Kickbacks (12 lbs) x 8

3 Sets: Barbell Curl (30lbs) x 8 + Db O/H Press (30 lbs) x 8

3 Sets: Overhand EZ Curl (20 lbs) x 8 + Skull Crusher (20 lbs) x 8

3 Sets: 21’s (20 lbs) + Single Arm Tricep Push Downs (20) x 8

3 Sets: Hammer Curls (20lbs) + Bench Dips

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Wrists hurt. . .that’s o.k.

Mood was pretty up today despite having *very* sore legs. Yesterdays workout killed legs that are otherwise recovering from a 4 mile run that I really wasn’t prepared for. Prepared or not, I’m going to do it again tomorrow. (The run.)

I was a little annoyed today when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror working out. I wish I didn’t look so damn puffy and I WISH this fat would come off. Thyroid issues or not, I’m getting RE-HE-HE-HEALLY sick of this shit. It’s annoying the crap out of me. I hate working this hard and still looking like a fluffball. I’m totally sick of it. ARGH!!!

This could all change tomorrow. I mean. . .I might wake up and look in the mirror and have a "skinny day."

My step-son told me about this race for charity at Ft. Bragg later this year. You run the obstacle course. I was talking to my dad about it and was told that the monkey bars there ROLL when you try to cross them. . .so forearm strength is going to be critical. It’s supposedly in June, so. . .I have until then to condition my upper body to drag my ass across monkey bars. YIKES!!!! (He’s sitting here right now reading this over my shoulder and it’s getting on my nerves. LOL. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.)

The lady that’s supposed to be working with me on my thyroid issues isn’t following through, either. I was supposed to get another test kit on Saturday and she still hasn’t followed up w. it. How can I take the test if I don’t have the kit???

Alright. . .that’s all for now.

I haven’t BodyBlogged since May 31!!! WHAZZUP WITH THAT???? Oh, right. I’m super busy at work.

Let’s see if I can break this down. .

Last Thursday I ran my ass off. 4 miles, which is really far for me.

Sunday afternoon, I did a quick and dirty version of my Saturday Superset Leg War.

I did:

3x ss of Leg Extension/Leg Curl

3x ss of Lunge w/ bar, squats w/ bar, deadlifts w/ bar

3 x ss of Walking Lunges w/ 40lb weight vest; climb stairs w/ 40 lbs weight vest; step ups on bench w/ 40 lb weight vest

That’s all, but I worked hard. I would’ve liked to have thrown in a heavily weighted front squat, reverse lunges in there, but oh well. What the hell. My legs were beat from the run a few days before.

Trying to help my husband put some size on his bis/tris/delts. He’s over 50, so I’m wondering how I’m going to get him pumped up. Nutritionally, he eats well. But I’m wondering about supplements. . .Any ideas are appreciated. (If anyone reads this.) They say that past 30, it’s hard to gain. I don’t want to believe that. He’re really fit and has a good base of muscle. (Practicing martial arts for over 30 years.) But I want to help him sharpen up hus gunzzzz. Ha ha ha.

Hope that anyone reading this is healthy and well! I’ll have real pics up soon, so I can show progress from the fatty pic. LOL.

 xoxo

Amy

I kicked my own ass so hard today. . .I haven’t made my legs shake like that in so long. Crazy.

It went like this:

First Superset - Performed 4x

Lunges w/ Bar across back = Across room x2

Squats when I get to the mirror = 12

Front kicks to air = 10x each leg

SECOND SUPERSET - Performed 4x

Leg Curls = 35 lbs (SO weak. I know.) x 15
Leg Extension =  60 lbs x 15

Sumo Squat = 35 lbs x 15

THIRD SUPERSET - Performed 4x

Climb Stairs w/ 40 lbs weight vest.

Lunge from Stairs to Bench at Mirror (Room Length) in 40 lbs weight vest.

Step up on bench wearing 40 lb weight vest (12 each leg)

Bagwork:

Kicks, R leg only: 2 minutes

Kicks, L leg only: 2 minutes

Kicks, Both Legs: 2 minutes

Punch, L arm only: 2 minutes:

Punch R arm only: 2 minutes

Punch Both arms: 2 minutes

Punches and kicks: 2 minutes

I felt soooooooooooo great when I was done. Absolutely DRENCHED in sweat. Felt GREAT.

I may keep this one for a few more weeks and throw some deadlifts in.

Tonight is a cardio night, but I’ve started adding pushups, pull ups and body-weight only lunges to my cardio days. I don’t know why. I just get bored doing the same thing over and over. LOVE it, though.

Work was particularly stressfull today, so I’m sure this exercise is going to kick up my endorphins and make me feel like a happy human being again.

Hormone levels are great. Blood sugars have been awesome. I’m eating every three hours like clockwork and it’s just rocking right along. Feels good today!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to teach a cardio class tonight, and by the time I got around to the weight room for myself, I’d run out of time and the studio was packed with M/A students. ARGH! I managed to snag a few dumbbells and do the following:

Db Bicep curls: 20lb x 8; 4 sets

Db Tricep O/H Press: 35 lb x 8; 4 sets

Dips to burn them out for the remainder: Bodyweight/12

Db Shoulder Press: 25 lb x 8, 25 x 6, 25 x 5 and 20 x 12.

Maybe it would’ve been better for me to just work on one muscle? I’m not sure. I’m just working back into all of this, so I guess it’s better than nothing? Ugh. Doing pushups at home. 

I did the absolute WORST thing for my body and mind yesterday - I skipped a planned workout.
I felt like shit when I arrived home. I’m hating my job, annoyed with certain aspects of my life. My dog is sick with some kind of ear issue. . .poor little fella. All I wanted to do was snuggle up on the sofa with him. It was 5:00. The day was BEAUTIFUL. I could’ve done anything - gone swimming, rollerblading, running. But all I did was sink into that depression, eat cherries and stare at the t.v. screen.

I’m spending a lot of time getting conflicting information about food, supplements, etc. It’s all very overwhelming. Everyone seems to think they have the panacea for my fat problems these days. So far, nothing is working. I’m still eating VERY healthy every three hours (with the exception of the cherry binge. . .ha ha ha does that make them "binge" cherries?"), I’m working out (except for yesterday). The fat is just NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

 Even my husband is at a loss. Right now, I’m working with a natruopathic physican who had a lab take 3 vials of my blood and run various tests. My thyroid is sluggish and apparently, I’m not absorbing my foods properly. She’s got me avoiding certain foods (ESPECIALLY dairy and wheat), and chowing down on others. (All lean protien, veggies, fruit.) I’ve lost 4 pounds, but she says that’s just water and waste.

I’ll keep working at it. I just ended up really depressed yesterday. I know better. The only way I can stay OFF of anti-depressants is to keep eating right an exercise DAILY - even if it’s just to go for a walk. So basically, yesterday, I "didn’t take my medicine." LOL.

 I hope today is better. I’m so exhausted, but I have a friend I’m committed to working out with, so I’ll have to show up. I’ll just put one foot in front of the other. . .(sigh)

With the weight I push around, lord knows that when this fat drops off, I DO have an ass kicking bod underneath! LOL!

I’m here again. Overweight and unhealthy. I’ve spent the past two years fighting medication induced weight gain, a neck injury and a screwed up metabolism. Now that I’m off the medication, healed from the injury and know what I’m dealing with (thyroid issues), I’m back to square one.

Despite the fact that no progress has come of it other than to keep me sane, I have been working out regularly, so if the latest "fix" for my problems happens to work, everything that is laying dormant under the fat is going to look SMOKING hot when it’s revealed. I think. I hope.

Two years ago, I was put on a strong anti-depressant and told that it would NOT cause weight gain. Despite the fact that I gained pound after pound after pound, my doctor INSISTED that it wasn’t the meds. She said that I must be eating too much. I brought her a diary of what I was eating and she pretty much accused me of omitting information. I’ve never felt so humiliated and embarrassed in my life. Finally, she prescribed to me AMPHETAMINES. Which, to be honest, made me feel really great and productive, but still. . .no movement on the weight front. She tested my thyroid and said it was fine.

Another year, more pounds and another thyroid test later, I finally dumped her and came off of the medication. Effexor is a terrible drug. Yes, it did it’s job. It snapped me out of  suicidal depression and kept my head above water for a while. But the problem was that I was being told that I needed to increase the dosage. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

I found another doctor who re-diagnosed me with bi-polar II rather than depression and he titrated (funny word, huh?) me off of the Effexor.

Oh.

My.

Effing.

Gawd.

Was that ever a horrible experience. I was warned that I would suffer physical withdraw symptoms akin to a drug user coming off of drugs. Two days after they cut the dosage in half, I thought I was going to crawl out of my skin. I had "medicine head’ and felt like I was a balloon, bouncing off the walls. I couldn’t concentrate at work, I was irrationally angry, I was terrified all of the time. I had vertigo, tremors,what can only be described as "ice-cream" headaches, and basically felt like I had the flu the entire time. It took SIX WEEKS for me to go down to zero dose. . .and almost another 6 weeks after that to clear the stuff out of my system completely.

Coming off of that was like coming out of a fog. It was easy to be "happy" on Effexor because, frankly, it makes you so stupid that it’s easy to forget anything that troubles you. You don’t "think" about anything. You’re just "la la la." It speaks well for the strength of my vanity, though, to see enough through the fog to know that I was not satisfied with my physical appearance and lack of previously possessed strength.

While I was on Effexor, I stopped and started so many diets, so many exercise programs. I paid through the nose to fail, fail and fail again.

So here I am - square one - where I seem to end up SO many times. I’m unmedicated and while at this point, I’m VERY motivated, I don’t know how long that will last. My depression has a way of sneaking in and killing my drive while I’m sleeping or something. Or, a person will give me the smallest amount of criticism, and BOOM, down I go. "Why bother? Why even try?"

What’s different this time? Well, my consciousness for one thing. I am AWARE that my mind/hormone/body chemistry tells me one thing and that whenever I feel unmotivated, the LAST THING ON EARTH THAT I NEED TO DO IS STOP MOVING. I must remind myself that even when I feel so low, that it is my JOB to put one foot in front of the other and keep going; no matter how slowly.

I am also working on controlling my depression with strict diet, supplementation and exercise. Cross your fingers for me, please?

Now, I’m off to dig around on the message boards and see what interesting things I can learn about.

xoxo

Amy

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