LilMogul’s BodyBlog

Changing things up. I was getting good results but was feeling worn down. I was doing two heavy leg days and required too much recovery time (2 days each) that was interfering with my goal of 5 days cardio. (My goal is to drop BF and build legs).
So I am going to do:

SUNDAY- 1 go hard or go home leg day. (Squat, lunges, Deadlifts, Hyperextension Leg Lifts, Bav. Squats, Glute Kickbacks, Leg/ Calf Presses) Can do rowing machine if needed. (Protein shake before / after + carbs)
MONDAY & TUESDAY- 2 days leg rest (no leg cardio- I can do the rowing machine if I need cardio, which will be a little lighter on my legs).

WED thru SAT- Any cardio. Stairclimber on Wed & Friday to cover both cardio and challenge leg muscles. Light weight / high rep leg extensions & curls to strengthen knees.

Any Two core days (Back & Abs) Woohoo!!!! Bought a medicine ball!!!!
Any Two Arm & Shoulder days high rep to failure, low weight.
Still clean eating, protein shakes, after workout carbs, cottage cheese before bed, etc.

Although I have been eating clean all week, I have not worked out in at least 10 days. First stalled during travel and then coming down with the worst sinus infection I can remember. Today, most of the head pain is gone, but I still have difficulty breathing. So tonight I will take a long walk and do an arm workout. Tomorrow I will get back on the rower and treadmill. No intensity cardio for now.

After work went home tired (2 hrs sleep the nite before due to 14 1/2 hour drive) and feverish. Woke up this morning with painful sore throat. Decided to try teaspoon of cayenne in heated V8 juice. Wow, immediately brought down the swelling and soreness. Ahem, nice side affect, it "cleaned me out" immediately too, so I weighed in at 122.5lbs. lol!

So it will be a day of hot cayenne juice and honey & lemon green tea at work and I will see how I feel tonight.

Okay, so this weekend was my big trip to see my BF graduate from Navy bootcamp. I have been working out, and I was looking forward to showing off my hard work in the cute navy and white dress I bought. Prior to the trip I got a mean case of prickly heat rash around my neck, chest and shoulders. After a couple days of it not going down I talked to my pharmacist, who suggested a Benedryl topical gel and/ or capsules. I bought both. I immediately started applying the gel and that night took a benedryl, and started using Gold Bond after reading up on prickly heat on the internet. The prickly heat started to clear around my neck and shoulders, but within a couple days I noticed a different kind of rash that appeared to be spreading down my arms and torso. It was clearly hives - not prickly heat- so I got the benedryl gel back out and became religious about applying it. I figured it must have to do with the iron i had taken a week before on the night I got the prickly heat. Or maybe it was the calcium tablets I had introduced to my diet. I had stopped taking both and drank lots of water. During the 14.5 hour drive I noticed the backs of my legs were burning up and the rash on my arms was intensifying. I didn’t want to take away from my BF’s experience so I never mentioned this to his family. I called my doctor who wouldn’t administer a prescription sight unseen and said they could only recommend I go to a hospital. I decided my eyes and throat were not swollen shut and, hey hives usually disappear in a day or so, I would just slather on more Benadryl. The morning of my BF’s graduation I awoke to two legs resembling cauliflower dipped in chili powder. My glutes, which I had been working on and looking forward to showing off, were a swollen dimpled red itchy mess! I endured the graduation. BF told me I looked beautiful- if only he knew!  Afterward, I looked into hospitals and opted instead to pick up  some Aveeno bath packets and Aveeno Intense Night Itch Relief Lotion. Felt like a dream. When I woke up in the morning it actually seemed a tad better. Since the night lotion was so oily and heavy I threw my Benedryl gel into my handbag before we went out for the day. Whenever I itched, I slathered it on. By the end of the day the cauliflowers were in full bloom again down to my ankles and I couldn’t wait to soak in the Aveeno, apply my Night lotion and go to bed. I took a Benedryl capsule for good measure.

I shot up in bed when it finally hit me. I am allergic to the (Benedryl) ALLERGY medicine!!!! I panicked that I would die in my sleep or something because I had just taken a pill, and again contemplated the hospital. I have had such horrible experiences with hospitals and doctors and decided I would still wait and see. Yes, my hospital experiences were THAT bad.

YUP, the cauliflowers were still there the next morning but I went the day without any Benedryl gel, only using the Aveeno (yes, I was oily and not in a good way) and it started clearing up! Today the itch has eased up a lot and the swelling has gone down. Only red blotches remain and they are a much lighter shade of chili powder.

As for other disappointments, I also did not eat entirely clean (breakfast was oatmeal and raisins and yogurt, I drank a lot of water and ate occasional salads and granola bars; but lunches and dinners included Chinese veggies without the rice, a McDonalds fish filet and a burger king grilled chicken sandwich)

And I did not workout in the hotel gym even once during the stay.

This week I hope to fully heal and get back on the program.

ab lab 15min

captains chair 2 sets of 20

rower 20 min HIIT 5 intervals 180 cal

delt row 50 lb 3 sets of 8

lat row 50 lb 3 sets of 8

shoulder press 15lb 2 sets of 12

lat pull down (?lb) 3 sets of 8

pull ups 3 sets of 6

tricep dips 3 sets of 8

bb lunges 30 lbs 3 sets of 8

bb squats 30 lbs 3 sets of 8

glute kb 82.5lb 3 sets of 8

standing glute hyper 50 lbs 3 sets of 8 (ea side)

leg ext 55lbs 3 sets of 8

leg curl 50lbs 3 sets of 8

single leg press 75lbs 1 set of 8 (ea side)

leg press 120 lbs 3 sets of 8

calf press 120lbs 3 sets of 8

seated calf raise 50lbs 3 sets of 8

back ext w/10lb plate 3 sets of 8

Stairclimber 25 min level 5 (still) 140 cal

Today will have to be a rest day because I head to Philly after work. I have to make tomorrow count because its my last day before the ride to see my BF. Overall, I feel good. Wish I could have accomplished more with my arms and a bit of below belly button fat. Outfit is adorable. I am gonna TRY to eat my usual clean, but I know his family will bring me DOWN!

Treadmill- 25 min HIIT Hills level 15/ walk @3.8 (160 cal)
Rower- 15 min (144 cal)

25 min rower HIIT 6 sets 200 cal
Glute Kickback 72.5lb 3 sets 8
Leg Extension 45 lb 3 sets 8

Leg Curl 55lbs 3 sets 8

Leg Press 120lbs 3 sets 8

Single Leg Press 1 set 8

Calf Press 120lbs 3 sets 8

Standing glute hyperext. 50lb 3 set 8
BB Lunges 3 sets 8 30 lbs

BB Squats 3 sets 8 30 lbs

Captain Chair 20 lifts

Ab Crunch 2 sets of 40 (50lb)

Back Extension 2 sets 8 (10lbs)

Treadmill 30 min 150 cal (HIIT, hills/15, walk 3.8)

I’m better than yesterday (thanks everybody!) and also got in a good workout last night. My M&F Hers issues were at the house along with 2 letters from my BF so I am on top of the world today. I didn’t think my online order went thru for the mags because I didn’t get a confirmation and there was an error. So I ordered Oxygen, which I guess I will get soon. So great- twice the motivation! My BF complimented me PROFUSELY on the pics I have been sending- yes, he wants a pic or two a day when I can, lol- so I went to the gym SUPER pumped up. Apparently, 2 more of my letters arrived while he was writing to me and there was an ‘OMG!’ and other animated phrases as he told me his faves. I cannot wait to see him next week.

Last night workout:

Rower- HIIT 25 minutes (5 cycles)

Ab Crunches 1 set of 40 / 2nd set 30

Captains Chair 25 reps

Pull Ups 3 sets 6

Tricep Dips 2 sets 8

Back Extensions 2 sets 8

Delt Row 3 sets 8

Lat Pulldown 3 sets 8

(no time for shoulder press cuz gym was closing in 30 min)

Climbed Stairmaster 20 min level [still kicking my butt at 5… ugg ]  / cool down 5mins

Ate clean:

Oatmeal/ Banana

Snacks- 1 oz cheddar cheese; cashews; avocado; carrots

Banana (I usually have an apple but there were so many bananas in the bunch, trying to eat before they go bad)

Pre-Workout Strawberry/ Blueberry Rice protein shake (I broke my blender)

After workout (10:30)  1/2 sweet potato; 1/2 cup cottage cheese w/ honey & cinnamon

Mmmmm….today I snuck out for lunch and grabbed sashimi!!! Woohoo!

Tonite I am really counting on that ability other bb’ers talk about: Getting in the gym and forgetting all my worries. The last few days have been kinda heavy for me- not health or life threatening and the fam is ok, thanks (so I do know that I am blessed). But I have some pretty heavy issues I am grappling with and deadlines and all that good stuff so I have anxiety like nobody’s business.

So tonite I will punish my arms and core and do at least 45 mins cardio at the gym. I hope I have enough energy to bring it home for an honest free weight session. I need to wear myself out so I can finally sleep a full night. I have gotten 12 hours total the last three nights because I have also been working on a website crisis and the middle of the night is the best time for me to get techs on the line to focus on my site issues (created by them!).

This too shall pass, right?

OMG.

That was my toughest session with a trainer ever.

I have mild asthma and a low threshold for high endurance/ high heart rate combo. Remember when I crawled humbly out of spin class after the first 15 min (most of which was warm up)? So usually, about a third of the way through a training session I am pale, gasping for air and dangerously lightheaded. Until a few weeks ago I couldn’t even workout long enough in a target zone to see what it was like for me to sweat. Now I am marveling at my sweat. That feeling of a bead rolling down the center of your back. Trying to wipe my face with my shirt and sneaking a paper towel up to the space between your bra and your skin (is there any etiquette for wiping your sweat in a gym when you don’t have a towel?)
Don’t get me wrong: Today I was gasping for air, my face was a crazy shade of red, I was sweating something nasty. But I was hardly lightheaded, did not take extra breaks and pushed myself to complete every exercise and move to the next. He got my heart rate up to 174 doing jumping lunges, where you switch your feet mid air. Throughout the workout he was telling me that he is pushing me harder than most, and that some of these moves he doesn’t do in his first sessions but he could see I could handle it. I was like, really? Am I handling it? Really?

Sure, I bet you say that to all the girls.