Lady_Quadzilla’s BodyBlog

I am the Lead Trainer at the brand new Anytime Fitness in West St Paul, MN! Lead Trainer sounds more important than it really is. It just means I am their first trainer, I don’t know that it really means I will have any different powers of position than any other trainers they hire…but it sounds good, right?

I am looking forward to being in the gym environment again, especially this one - it is a beautiful facility. Being there will help me stay on track, too.

I entered the Meltdown challenge at theelitephysique.com for some extra motivation, too.

Anyhow - up late and thinking I will go back to bed now

I have been working out all week - I just haven’t been online! I finally biked to th egym - it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be - 9 miles round trip. So, I biked there on Tuesday, worked back and hammies and biked home. That felt good! Monday I worked chest and abs and calves….had a good workout. Been getting up every morning and doing 20 minutes cardio and alternating Pilates and yoga. Yesterday I went for a long bike ride - the weather is just beautiful for biking right now.

So - I don’t want to jinx it by talking about it tooo much, but I might have a job…I interviewed yesterday…I will know later today, most likely…then I will either be crowing or bitching, lol, depending on the outcome

Wedding anniversary today - 13 years! Wow. I got up and did cardio - 20 minutes elliptical, and yoga. Later I went to the gym and had a pretty decent chest/calves/abs workout.

Went out for dinner and had coconut shrimp and a little lobster pizza, mmmmm.

Halo 3 release party tonight - probably not going to get much sleep…but it should be fun!

I hate Fridays - there is no end in sight, lol. I am tired and hungry and crabby. No getting around it. I have tried to change my mindset about it, tried to view it as some spiritual challenge, tried to act like a fasting yogi - all calm and philisophical - but F’ing A I am hungry! Ghandi eat your heart out (no pun originally intended, but even heart sounds good on Fridays)… my daughter razzed me because I was sorting beads and held up a seahorse shaped bead to show my husband - he says "Sea Horses are really wierd" my response "Yeah, but I wonder if they would taste good?".

Here is Fridays workout:

I got up and did 25 minutes cardio and AM yoga.

At the gym - Arms
warm-up elliptical & light tri presses
Close grip bench 130X12,140X12:), 150X10
skullcrushers 45X12, 50X12, 55X8 nice set
tri pressdown 110X12, 120X8, 120X7..not so nice set, LOL
seated db curls 25’sX12, 30’sX6, 30’sX6 hard today
BB curls 45X12, 50X12, 55X9

Didn’t do PM cardio because Saturday is leg day!!!!! Saturday is my favorite day for a lot of reasons - let me list a few:

1. Tomorrow I get oatmeal for breakfast - Yay! and brown rice during the day - oh, and my favorite - a freaking 6oz baked poatao. I will weep when he takes away my baked potatoes, lets hope that isn’t for a looong time

2. On my second day of really low carbs  I always feel kind of calm and lighter in being. Friday’s crabbiness has given way to the feeling of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (didn’t know oatmeal could shine so brightly )

3. Leg Day - my favorite! I love heavy leg work. I also love that Leg day means no cardio! Not that I really dislike cardio that much, but on my 2-a-days plus workout days I just never even get a chance to feel normal, LOL. I spend the day either completely grubby and sweaty or in the shower. No point in putting on make-up or trying to look nice, just going to get sweaty again in a few hours anyhow. On Saturdays I come home from the gym, legs wobbly and shaking, sit for a few minutes contemplating the fact that Brian just tried to kill me, and then shower for the first and ONLY time today, do my hair, put on make-up, wear casual clothing instead of gym wear…ahhh. Human again.

Saturday - Legs with Brian
warm-up 3 min elliptical, leg extX100lbs
Leg ext 120X12, 140X10, 160X10 dropX10 dropX10 whoa
Smith squats - narrow - 90X12, 110X10, 110X10 (finally making progress )
Shawn squats superset with wall sits, no rest (I hate Brian) 3 sets 15 Shawn squats, 2 wall sits inbetween - 30 sec with 25 pounds. Did I mention I hate Brian?
Sumo squats 30X12, 35X12, 40X12

Wow - I am thinking I will be pretty miserable every time I have to sit down on MOnday, maybe even as early as Sunday… I will know by bedtime how sore I am gonna be…You know you are in trouble when you lie down and you feel your muscles tighten and get painful, then in the middle of the night you roll over onto your quads and holy hannah, you are not looking forward to trying to get out of bed in the morning!!! But my legs keep growing, so I am all for it .

Thursday is just the beginning of the roughest 3 days of the week. It is probably just harder because I was off it for a week….but Thursday I was tired and had a headache all day. I realized at the end of teh day Wednesday that I hadn’t eaten as many carbs as I should have, so I am one day additional lower carb than i am supposed to be. Oh well, I will live I have enough ’stored energy’ to live on for a while, LOL.

Thursday high-point - got my new orthotics from the chiropractor!!!! i start breaking them in today, looking forward to feeling more functional in my feet and legs!

I also started doing a very short yoga routine after my AM cardio and that has made my energy levels increase, I think (I know, headcase!).

On Wednesday morning I did 30 minutes random program level 6 on the elliptical, Wednesday eveninig I did 45 mins hills program on the bike and followed up with rotator cuff exercises.

On Thursday I was really tired…got up and did 20 min hills level 12 on elliptical and AM Yoga dvd

At the gym - a good shoulder workout:
Warm-up elliptical 3 minutes, light presses
Overhead DB press 35’sX12, 40’sX12 , 45’sX8 (easier than last time)
BB overhead press, standing 75X12, 80X10, 85X8 tough
lat raise, seated 12’sX12, 15’sX10, 15’sX10
pecdec rear delt fly 70X12, 80X10, 85X7
BB shrugs 135X12, 145X12, 155X10
superset with hanging crunches 3 sets 15
DB Shrugs 60’sx12, 65’sX10, 70’sX8
superset with oblique crunches on the BOSU 2 sets 15 (and I am fried :O )
Had a killer headache most of the day, not sure why, but I didn’t do m y pm cardio because of it and because I couaght in a storm and my schedule got off…excuses, excuses….

Low carb fatigue is kicking in - looking forward to Sunday

I rode the bike for an hour last night while watching The Biggest Loser - got my heart rate up doing intervals whenever they were running or something I would find myself peddling as fast as I could, LOL.

Had a good day, food wise yesterday - except for the turkey skin….I baked a turkey breast for dinner and I couldn’t stop myself from eating the extra crispy skin parts.. I guess in the future I will remove the skin while it is still raw and disgusting, no chance of my eating it in that state!

I woke up hungry today, took my thermo and did 30 minutes on the elliptical, thinking about breakfast the whole time, LOL. Maybe my metabolism is up - I am getting hunrgier again. Time to increase the veggies and fiber. And water! That turkey was salty - it was on sale, but it was the injected kind. Next time I am getting an au natural turkey breast, I can feel the sodium in my system and I am sooo thirsty today. It also tastes kind of wierd with the sodium solution in it.

Today I don’t lift - good thing too, my chest, tri’s and lats/traps/upper back are all sore! Good job! I will do cardio twice and I will do some yoga or flexibility work and some rotator cuff rehab work.

Oh my gosh!!! There is a new Viggo Mortenson movie out this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!VIGGO!

Anyhow - obviously I am up and spastic today

Got up and did 30 minute hills program on the elliptical (Playing Halo), I have dragged my hubby into morning cardio now. I am so proud of him - he was down to the gym only 3 minutes later than me

Last night I rode the bike for an hour at low intensity - this is taking place of walking until my feet are better. I have new soft orthotics on order and expect great improvemnts! I want to get back to walking so I can start walk/jog/run intervals again. My dogs will appreciate it, also.

 Going to work Back and Hammies today! My wrist is a little better today so i think it will be a good workout. I am working on finding a workout partner - there is a posible woman who is also a bodybuilder - I am hoping someone turns up soon. I really am at the point where a partner would be the best thing…otherwise I need Brian every workout and that is not affordable. I just need to have the occasional spot and the additional motivation ain’t bad either! If the one woman doesn’t pan out I guess I will put up a note on the bulletin board at the gym…but then it is like training partner roulette, LOL.

Well - time to put the recycling out!

Today was Back and hammies and was a good workout! One of those excellent workouts where you can feel the crunching contraction of every muscle Growth has to follow!

Warm-up elliptical 2 minutes. I skipped the pull-ups to see if it made any difference in my workout performance…

BOR reverse grip warm-up barX15, 110X12, 115X10, 125X8, 130X8
closegrip pulldown 10X12, 120X10, 130X7.5 bleah, but they were GOOD reps
wide cable row (this was easy today, maybe because Brian showed up, LOL) 10012, 105X10, 110X8
seated leg curl 120X12, 140X10, 160X8 holy hannah! Why does this machine go up in 20 pound increments??????
SLDL, slightly limited ROM (sneaking ina little extra range of motion, naughty me) 165X12, 175X12 , 185X12 yeah, baby
back ext 10#X15, 12 and 12 (back was a little toasty at this point)
I stretched out a lot - really happy about the feel and numbers today

Flew out of bed this morning (ok, stumbled) and put on my cardio clothes and did 20 minutes on the elliptical. I am obsessed with getting a sword trophy in April. I am so hyper about it, my family can barely stand to be in the same room as me…

It is cool to see how many people are setting their sites on the Heartland Classic - sounds like it is really building momentum.

Now I just need to keep this manic high going for 7 months, LOL.

Here was my workout today..felt good but not the best.

Got up and did 20 minutes on the elliptical this morning…

I hit the gym and did Chest/Calves/Abs, I was a little disappointed in my lifts but I guess I am still a little fatigued/sick, so I will take what i can get this week

Warm-up 3 min elliptical, 2 sets push-ups (my left wrist was being funky, so I was having issues)
Db incline press 45’sx12, 50’sX10, 50’sX7 wrist issues
Flat bench press 115X12, 125X8, 125X9 dang wrist again. I switched to a no-thumbs grip and that helped, but i didn’t want to go any heavier because of the way my wrist was twinging, WTF?
Flat db flyes 30’sX12, 35’sX10, 40’sX8
Standing calves 3 sets 130X15 extra squeeze at the top
superset with 3 sets bicycle crunches, 15 per side
Seated calves 80X12, 85X12, 90X12 at least that improved
superset with reverse curls 3 sets 15

Gonna ride the bike later. Food is all cleaned up again today I am going to win a sword in April!!!!!!

Well, the universe often has different plans than we do for ourselves, huh? I have been sick with a head/chest cold for about 2 weeks now. And when I am sick I eat, LOL. Something psychological about needing fuel/calories to supply germ-fighting cells or something (I know, HEADCASE). I trained for a few days the first week, but it was exhausting and my trainer said to rest. I hate resting, I hate being sideline and I hate sitting on the couch so much.

Anyhow - It is Saturday and I am feeling a little sassy today, so I think I am on the mend. Good thing, because I have to help reroof the garage today. My hubby will do most of it, but I have to help get the packs of shingles up onto the roof or something.

I woke up motivated this morning, not sure why. Maybe because the new shipment of protein powder arrived, maybe because after 2 weeks of slackage my jeans still fit comfortably (whenever I miss even one workout, I expect to wake up at 255 lbs again). But my energy is surging again and I feel firmer and springier. 

It is so cool to have Nadine here, and Joy, too. I think having the support and someone else who is striving towards similar goals is so motivating. It also makes me realize that people are watching, so I had better keep moving forward.

Monday I will get back to lifting and cardio.  My muscles feel all jumpy and restless, so I am hoping to have a stellar week full of personal bests, LOL. Hopefully I won’t be too disappointed.

Got my haircut and my nails done yesterday, what a girly-girl. I really like how my nails look at the ends of my muscular forearmsthat sounds wrong, at the ends of my muscualr hands didn’t sound right either, I hope you know what I mean, LOL)…makes me feel like I am getting ‘there’. There being the bodybuilder look I covet. Now, when my nails look nice when I run my hands over my defined abdominals, I know I will be there My hair feels wierd. It is so long, I haven’t had it this long since I was pregnant with my daughter. I got bangs yesterday, so now I look sort of cleopatra-ish…feels like a wig. I love having a marine style flat-top, but have been told it is not that flattering, imagine that so I am growing it out. It is strange how hair can make you feel different. I always felt really strong and brash with short hair. I am having a hard time adjusting to this long stuff - it is always tickling my neck, always getting in my eyes, kind of bugs me on the maintainence end of it all…but there is a certain feminine pleasantry to having it. I am such a dork, I will stand in front of the bathroom mirror and do the Charlie’s Angels slow head turn/hair flip. LOL. Anyhow, babble babble, that is me. I look forward to being a stunning muscualr brunette

Well - here I am. A few warnings :

I ramble.

I ask and answer my own questions.

I will probably bore or annoy you….

I really don’t care.

I think of this blog as a way to sort out all the crap that goes on in my head while training and dieting and trying to recapture and improve the physique i had and let go.

My background - I am 37 now, wow. But I feel stronger and healthier than I have in a longtime and I think female bodybuilders improve with age.

I grew up in the 80’s - a time of partying and not caring about the future because we were al going to die in a nuclear war. That said , health was not a priority. I abused my body with many substances and didn’t ever really give fitness a second thought.

In my early twenties, I got tired of the party scene and decided to improve myself. I started reading Muscle & Fitness and started working out. At that time I wanted to look like Cory Everson, but I also would walk out if the gym and have a ciggie and on the weekends I would head to the bar for quite a few beers (guess I wasn’t THAT tiredof the party scene). But I did quit doing drugs…and I started trying to eat healthier.

As I got more and more into lifting, I got less into the beer and smoking. I started thinking about what sort of education I might need to be a trainer. At the time there were no programs that I knew of, so I started taking Nursing courses in nutrition and Biology classes at the community college as I could afford them. I continued to lift and do cardio - my body was changing. But at the time I was doing an hour of lifting and an hour of cardio, nearly every day. So I was not making the best gains but I was shaping up.

Anyhow - I met my husband-to-be around this time and at first we worked out together, but more and more we got back to partying.

By the time I was 30 I was miserably out-of-shape again. I had my daughter when I was 24, lost a baby the follwing year and sank into a depression. I went from a fairly fit 135 to a very out-of-shape 190.

A local business school started a new program called Health and Exercise Science - it was exactly what i had been trying to create on my own previously - a little nutrition, anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, it covered all the subjects I had been looking for when my goal had been to become a trainer. My husband had just finished a degree program and was going to start working full-time on that career - so I stepped and announced that i had had it - It was my turn to go to cschool and do what i rerally wanted to do.

The program was a 2-year plan. I had many of my general classes already from the Community College, so it took a little less time. By 2001 I had graduated at the top of the class, become a Certified Trainer, and found employment at a major health club chain. I competed at 145 lbs that November. I was in better shape than I had ever been before.

Fast forward to now… between now and 2001 I started a business with someone I thought I knew (she ditched out very quickly), I sank back into depression, drinking and illness, gained a lot of weight after dealing with pneumonia and bedrest (excuses, excuses) and ended up at 255 lbs and near suicide.

Last October (2006) I put my foot down and told myself that ‘enough is enough’. I thought long and hard about what I was teaching my daughter byexample and how most of my depression was due to the compromising of my own ideals and goals.

I started working out again with crazed intensity and in January 2007 hired a trainer who has competed a lot and kicks my ass and keeps me from overtraining.

So far I have lost 55 pounds and I intend to compete either this November in the Northstar or next April.

I have learned to relax a little - put less pressure on myself so I keep my sanity - and I am no longer overtraining, so i am seeing good muscle gains and gradual fat loss.

Right now I am on a carb cycle where my carbs taper from high on Sunday to very low on Friday/Saturday. This works well when i adhere to it

Things I struggle with:

 - staying on my diet - I like food! I like gourmet food and I love to cook! I am working on making diet versions of things I crave, so far so good. But I have wheat and dairy allergies so when I binge I tend to binge on bread and cheese…which can cause a 10 pound weight gain nearly instantly, LOL.

 - My mental state fluctuates horribly - I am still trying to convince myself that my goals are worthwhile and that I am an athlete. Some days I have a lot of confidence and feel that I am doing great - other days I am convinced that I am totally delusional and that is when I tend to binge…

Anyhow - this blog will mostly be my arguements with myself, my training highs and lows and my ramblings