Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

This morning I hit my back with some lat pull downs, seated rows, straight-armed pull downs (cable), lat pull down (cables with rope attachment), and back extensions. I also did hanging knee raises, weighted crunches (machine and cables) and did some seated and standing calf raises. I am finding that the seated calf raises are causing some bruising on my thighs. So, I’ve had to decrease the weight and do more reps. It just takes a little bit longer to get that warm sensation. It was a great workout and I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Tonight, I am cooking brown rice, baked chicken with this really good curry sauce from Trader Joe’s, and tons of brocolli. I gonna pack those up in my tupperware along with some cottage cheese and a few pieces of fruit, and a handful of nuts and I’ll be good to go. Until tomorrow…

I had to laugh. If it wasn’t in a gym context, that comment could be a bit racy. LOL. So, for the past few weeks, the trainer at my gym (the good one) and I have been acknowledging each other . While at the cables doing some flyes,yesterday, he comes up and says, "I’ve watched what you do and I have things that I think will make you even better." Do tell, I’m thinking. He tells me that he’s been thinking up some routines for me. I’m thinking, This is good. Maybe this is a good time to kick it up a notch. I’ve noticed that the woman that we works will does alot of stuff with body weight, plyometrics, and he has her all over floor, on benches, jumping rope–everything. I am going to call him today and see if I can even afford him. I think the chance of me working with him weekly are slim to none, though.

I have been been getting to the gym in the early mornings and getting to work on time. So, I am happy to say that they 4:45-5 a.m. thing is working for me. I think I went into this with a "by any means necessary" attitude. I didn’t try to talk myself out of it; I just tried to make it work. I think I was partly motivated my fear, too. I have been thinking alot about iamstr8tfire’s blog about being average. The more that I work towards my goal and practice the habits that go into getting there, I’ve come to realize that I am not average. Doing this actually makes me unique, at least within my circle. I am beginning to give myself a little more credit. It does take alot of discipline to eat well and workout most days of the week. And it is definitely a trial of your patience as you wait for changes. I keep old issues of M&F Hers and Oxygen in my bathroom (doesn’t everyone?) and when I look at those pictures, now, it’s a very different feeling. With hard work and consistency I can actually have a body that is very close to some of the women in there. Now, it just just a matter of when not if; and that really is up to me isn’t it?

Today, I worked on legs and it was excellent. I lunged until I couldn’t lunge anymore, but had to cut it short to get home and hlep my husband get our daughter ready. He was taking her to a baseball game. That meant a few more hours of sleep for me (yeah!) and some study time. This morning I weighed in at 163; I am going to see where I stand at the end of next week before I post that, though. A little more knowledge and a whole lot of support have done wonders.

I got a full eight hours of sleep last night. I meant to just lay in the bed for a minute and I don’t remember what happened. I woke up briefly, a little disoriented, and asked my husband where our daughter was. He told me she was asleep and that is really all I remember. So, I was able to get up this morning with few problems. I worked primarily on my back with ab work in between sets, then did calves. I was was so tired that my daughter had crawled into bed with us at around 2 a.m. and I had no idea. I just woke up to her soft breathing and angelic face–I love that!

I decided to make today a rest day instead of Wednesday, because I was up doing homework until midnight. Unfortunately, I was wide awake at 4:45 and woke up to my neighbor hacking his guts out. Gross. So, I ended up struggling to get back to sleep for over an hour. Man, I could have gone to the gym. Oh, well. Today’s meals are mediocre, at best. But I’m not complaining. I am going to eat those suckers every few hours as planned. It seems like every 3 or 4 weeks there is something new that I discover about my body. Like last week, I realized that I can actually see the car seat when I drive. My thighs don’t cover the entire seat anymore. When I was wearing a skirt and sitting on the floor (it was during our assembly) my thighs had some volume and were full. Also, my face has slimmed down tremendously. I still have my big cheeks, but I have a chin, now. It’s really neat to experience those changes.

Sometimes that’s all you need. I had just had 30 minutes this morning so I had to make it count–I got on the stairmill. I wanted to get off after 20 minutes, but got the full 30 minutes in. I am going to do a nice long stretch tonight and make sure I get up early so I can get my full hour tomorrow. On my way out of the door today, I began to think about time.On average, I will spend 1 hour during the week (M-F) with one day off=4 hours. And an average of 1 1/2 hours per day on the weekends=3 hours. That’s 7 hours a week. Then, I spend 1/2 hour (Sunday-Thursday) cooking and packing my lunch for the following day. That’s 2 1/2 hours; that’s less than 10 hours per week. And I can easily waste that much time watching TV or on the internet for no particular reason.

Tomorrow is back/triceps/abs. I am going to go ahead and cook and iron while it’s early. I am really feeling like red meat, so that’s what I’m going to cook.

I decided to do a lighter leg day today. That means that I worked my lower half twice within a week’s period, which is what I want to do. The leg workout earlier in the week had me sore for about 4 days–woo! Instead of starting with lunges, I went straight for the leg press. I used two 45# plates, I’ve been working up to this so I was pretty happy. Several months ago I was using heavier weights and my thighs were getting big, but not in the way that I wanted. I had alot more body fat so my legs weren’t getting shaplier, just bigger, and making it harder to get in my pants. I think I am at a point, now, where I can integrate some heavier weights, but still keeping my reps pretty high. I like to do 15-20+. I did my calf raises doing 30+ reps. It’s just convenient to use the same machine. Then, I did some leg extensions @ 105#/12 reps for 3 sets. I felt my glutes alot doing the leg presses so I did something a little different for me–lying hip thrusts (which I supersetted with the leg extensions). I’ve got my back going in the direction that I would like, so I am going to see if I can lift and inflate the glutes. I put a 45# plate on my stomach, pushed up through my heels as far as I could go, and squeezed my butt. I felt self-concious, at first. Afterall, you look like you are humping a weight plate–vigorously. But, when I felt my entire butt burn that was enough motivation to put the blinders on and keep going. I did about 5 sets of 15-18.

One day at a time, one workout at a time. Well, I am off to study for a few hours.

This morning I was up at 7 for my workout. It felt like a treat, since I’ve gotten up at around 5 a.m. this week. I killed my shoulders, did abs, and ran 2 miles on the treadmill at 5.5 mph. I am really enjoying the body that I am in, now.

This week has gone by so fast. I decided to make yesterday a rest day and get an extra hour sleep–good for growth. I snoozed one too many times this morning and only had 30 minutes. I decided to get on the treadmill. I was going to run, but I had a knot or something over my left butt cheek and couldn’t. I walked on an 11% incline at 3.3 mph. It was a ‘gentle’ workout. I got a good sweat going and feel good about getting the day started right. My legs are still a little sore from the last leg workout on Monday. But I think I’ll be able to get one more workout in by the end of the week. I plan on taking some progress pictures after my lady time is over. I can’t wait to see if there is anything noticeable different.

I sometimes feel like a crazy person while I am getting ready to go to the gym. It’s 4:50 a.m. and it’s dark. I get dressed, use the restroom, and swish some mouthwash in my mouth without turning on the light. My husband has the covers up over his ears and for a brief second I am so jealous. I want to crawl back in bed. After I search for my keys, trip over my gym bag, and head out the door I am groggy, but begin to feel a bit better.  Once I pull up to the gym, that’s when I realize that there are people waaa-aay nuttier than I am–how early did they have to get up to get there? Today, I did chest and abs. It was an okay workout, I’d give it a 7. Still working on the water situation. Just can’t seem to drink enough.

I got to the gym at exactly 5:00 a.m. I snoozed twice but I got there. I did back, abs, and shoulders. I did lat pull down with 100# for 8 reps/2 sets, my first time doing that! I had to do it all without my music–aaarg!

Recently, I have been craving carbs. I had been cutting out carbs after 4:00 p.m. I think my body needs a bit of a change. Tonight, for my 7 p.m. meal I had 1/4 cup of brown rice with my chicken and spinach. And I feel alot better–no cravings. I think I am going to do this for a few weeks and see what happens. It’s such a small change, but it’s made a big difference. I don’t feel like eating a whole box of cereal, followed by a loaf of bread, and a box of crackers. Before bed I’ll have a protein shake.

Eating has been a bit of a challenge, I had to sneak my second meal. But whatever it takes to keep feeling good. I don’t know how I ever managed to eat just 2 or 3 meals a day. Now, if I go more than 3 hours my body lets me know its time to eat. I feel light-headed and even a bit nauseous, sometimes. The extra planning the night before really seemed to help today:

• packing each meal in a separate container, eliminating the need to prep @ work
• packed my lunch the night before
• ironed my daughter’s clothes for the week
• ironed my clothes the night before
• packed all of my bags

I’ve said that I needed to do these things, but didn’t do them. Now, that I have I am a convert. So, I am off to pack and iron.