Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

I have had several exciting physical developments. My shoulders continue to excite me as the grow and take shape. As I lift, I can actually see muscle fibers. My lower abs, while not completely flat, are the flattests they have ever been and in the right light I can see where my abs may be. The are a few veins in my shoulders and forearms that are prominent when I lift. And today: after doing staff raises I was able to see the two distinct muscles in my calves…hold on while I google what they are…I think are the medial and lateral gastrocnemius (Feel free to correct me, I am trying to learn this stuff). I have never had calves and this is a big deal for me. After seeing that, I did an additional set of calf raises becuase I was so excited! And this morning, I weighed in at 150. That is significant. While I had abandoned the idea of pursuing a particular scale weight and opting to just work towards ‘the look’, this was my first long-term goal when I signed onto BodySpace. And today, here I am–150 pounds and with plenty of other physical goals to meet: a higher tighter butt, visible abs, sculpted legs, and muscular back, defined biceps and triceps, the list could go on. LOL! I am not looking for perfection. I simply want to continue to continue to put myself first and be strong, use my ‘new body’ to try new physical endeavors (I am going to take swimming lessons with the Little One). And I want to see my physical best. What can this body do? And I want to be an example for my daughter and my family and friends. This is a very exciting place to be.

I typically have two days devoted to legs and I incorporate squats into my other workouts, but my butt has fallen flat. I’ve mentioned that it looks like two loaves of wheat bread. It could be because my bodyfat is lower, and now has to be replaced with muscle, so I have to build it up. So, this morning I planned to make it a leg day but I knew I would have time to finish, so I devoted my time to hamstrings and my glutes–this would be a new split for me. I LOVED IT! I used my ankle weights and my hooks. I know hooks aren’t supposed to be used too often because it can evenutally compromise your grip. BUT I figure on leg days the focus is on my hams/glutes. Using the hooks allowed me to deadlift alot more weight and I could really feel it in my butt. I used a 75 # bb. I could barely get it back on the rack when I was finished. The true test of whether or not today was a success is if I am sore tomorrow.

I am going to incorporate a ham/glute day 1-2 days per week. Or do something for them at the end of other workouts. I really want them to fill out, becuase my jeans are sagging back there–and that ain’t cute. I will be patient, though. I know that changes take time, especially for muscles as large as that,  and I am going to just enjoy the ride. I doubt that I will post pictures of that transformation though–at least not wearing chonies. I’ll just do biker shorts or something like that.

I found myself if Target the other day eyeing the cutest brown polka-dotted two-piece. Nothing string or anything. It had a halter top and full bottoms. I kept asking myself–could I pull that off? Could I really be so bold as to wear that? I am going to look at it, again. I think I am going to buy it. I am just going to stare at it for a few months…who knows? This could just be the personal challenge that I need for the next few months. I am already planning on getting season passes to the water park. I could plan to sport that brown two-piece while I am there.  Hmmm.

What a stark difference from this morning. It’s 8:30 p.m. and I just got back from the gym. It was packed, of course, but I went in the the mindset that I was going to do around 30-40 minutes and call it an evening, especially in light of this morning. Well, all I can say is that I owned that gym, tonight.  I seriously needed some theme music. The bench was mine. The free weights were mine. I noticed that there was a guy standing in back of me, I assumed that he wanted some free weights. There was plenty of room to go around me and get what he needed so I didn’t bother stopping what I was doing. I must have had the scary face on, because he stood there while I completed my set of one armed squat/shoulder presses (25# db)–12 reps on both arms. Everything stopped and it was all about me. I went to the cables and did my thing there. I watched a couple of dudes talk the entire time that I was working. The men at my gym are extremely social. I wonder if there is something to the fact that I am not longer ovulating but acutally on my period?–the weakness prior then the unbridled woman warrior strength! LOL!

I don’t know if it is a pre-menstrual symptom, but  my energy was low this morning. So low, that I went ahead and slept. The plan for today is to see how I feel tonight and do a short workout-maybe 30-40 minutes, no rest. If that doesn’t seem like it is going to be an option, then I will go ahead a workout tomorrow. It will still be 5 days this week, that I will have made it to the gym, which is great. But, like most people, I like to feel on top of my game. But I also want to take care of myself. I work at a school and people are dropping like flies. I pride myself on my strong immune system and gold star attendance (nerd, I know), so I am trying to find a balance between addressing the problem and the usual ‘get it done’ way of being (at least as far as the gym is concerned). I am sure if I were to plot by blogs there would be some sort or pattern to be found. At least we are coming up on a long weekend, so I can catch up on some sleep.

It is funny to think about the things that can get you off of you game. I wasn’t particularly focused this morning because I lost my gym ID. Pretty silly. This is what I kept thinking about: When I joined the gym you get a card and you keep a copy of your ID in a plastic sleeve. At the time, I had a color copier that I just had to try, so I had a color copy of my ID (driver’s license) in the plastic sleeve and the gym ID. I noticed on Sunday that I didn’t have my IDs. I got into the gym on Monday and Tuesday but I was thinking about the inconvenience of getting a replacement (because the morning staff are allowed to do anything dealing with money, membership, or anything. You are lucky to get a slight acknowlegement by some of them. Then, I was thinking what if someone steals my identity. This was probably on my mind because my husband has been talking about getting LifeLock–a service that notifies you if someone tries to use your identity in any way they are immediately prosecuted. It’s about $100 a year. So, that was on my mind. Well, my ID was at the front desk, and I felt relief and wrote GYM ID on that color copy in permanent ink. Ah, PMS…

Well, I got my 2 tubs of ON (Vanilla and Chocolate), chronium picolate, and SuperPump in my veiny (LOL) hands! I am going to try to SuperPump on a weekend. That way if there are are issues, specifically stomach issues, I can be at home instead of at work and work that out in private. I am planning on using the SP on leg days to see how it supports my workouts.

As for me, I feel great. I have been playing with the protein pancake recipe. It’s been a morning staple for me. Instead of putting in blueberries, I used bananas and some sliced almonds that I had in the cabinet. I usually add cinnamon for flavor and color, but this time I added nutmeg. I also added one yolk. I don’t know what made the difference, but they were good! The consistency was a little different, too. I am definitely going to rock that for a while. I have some canned yams so I’ll be using those at some point when I am craving more carbs. The recipe that I have made about 8 small cakes, so that is enough for breakfast and a couple for lunch. And, I am going to have to take one for my co-worker–I think she’ll like them, too.

I thought I was having ‘pumps’, but I think I was just swollen. I now think, nay–I KNOW–I experienced a pump yesterday and today. My skin felt tight. And my forearms were plump and there were veins running up my arms. I was supersetting lat pull downs and bicep curls and Billy said, "Uh oh, we’re getting some vascularity going". I was so proud. He smiled and said, "You’re getting everything you wanted." "And more." I replied. Ah yes, it was a tender moment. My goal, now, is to keep the next 4 weeks clean (with the exception of a cheat meal once a week) and really make some dramatic changes on next month’s progress pictures. I want the outline of some abs, just a dip here or a recessed area there. I just need to stay focused. I’ll take it week by week, rep by rep, set by set. That is really all you can do, right?

The protein pancakes are wonderful. They make great snacks. I cook them the night before, then refrigerate and eat them over 2-3 workouts. Just 20 seconds in the microwave and they are ready to eat. The syrup makes you feel like you’ve had a treat!

One of the trainers at the gym (Billy calls him Fat Boy) has been biting Billy’s moves big time. Billy was further annoyed by the fact that this same trainer tried ’snitched’ and tried to have him removed from the gym for training. I would be annoyed, too. The dangerous part is that while he has taken some moves, he really doesn’t have the understanding that goes behind them. He rarely coaches his clients or gives them guidance. He just counts–if that.

I’m hungry…again…

January 13

I’ve done it. I’ve placed my order and my SP250 is in the mail. I am really excited about it. Between the early meal and this extra boost I am excited to see what can be accomplished over the next 12 weeks or so. While trying to get ready for church this morning, I ran into the very frustrating, but motivating, problem of what to wear. I am at that point, again, where I don’t have any bottoms. My tops are okay. They are either knit or mediums. But I only have 3 pairs of jeans that I can wear. My husband said, ‘Why don’t you just buy pants that are a little too tight". It makes sense. I am just hesitant because I don’t want to wear tight pants and I am just unsure of where my body is going, so I like to dress the body that I have now. Sounds like an episode of ‘What Not to Wear’–dress the body that you have, love the body that you have, etc. etc. In the passed two days I have scarfed down 4 slices of cake. Ah, but this time I was prepared. I looked at the calendar and sure enough that time is close. So, now the plan of action is: get the rest of the cake out of the house. I am going to send it with my husband to his job.

Literally, I didn’t sweat much today. It was weird becuase on the spectrum of workouts today’s workout was intense. I was focused. I was working for those final reps, my rests were short, I was a supersetting mad woman–and I didn’t sweat. The best part was that my forearm had visible veins! It was crazy–I was (relatively) veiny! I focused on chest and shoulders. Here is it to the best of my memory (I was just movin’!): incline chest press(20#), front/side side raise; chest press/flye, bb curl (40#)/db curl (20#); kneeling tricep dip to shoulder press (10#); shoulder press + v sit and some other ab stuff. I did everything for 15-20 reps and 3 sets. I wanted to do some hamstrings, but my hour was up. I could have gone on and on! Plus, I was so hungry! I couldn’t believe how hungry I was. All I could think about was getting home to a nice (small) stack of protein pancakes! That is how it has been and I am assuming it will continue to be as I get more MUSCULAR! I absolutely love the look of muscles on woman. I know alot of women who just want to lose weight and be smaller versions of themselves. I want a completely different body.

I did legs this morning, I was going to do back but I just felt like really digging in and doing something more intense. I warmed-up, did the leg press (70, 120, 170#) pressing/pulsing/calves. Then I did deadlifts/front,side raises/shoulder presses. After that some leg curls to fatigue. I wanted to do hamstrings, but it was time to go. I ended it with 10  minutes on the treadmill @ 6.5 mph. I had been taking Lipo 6 and it really gave me a boost to work hard. I am taking a break, and the first few workouts after stopping weren’t as strong. But that could have been due to other factors as well–fatigue, poor sleep, needing to recover, etc. I had a banana 1/2 an hour before working out. I didn’t make my pancakes. I’ll make some tonight. But I didn’t experience any dizziness, at all. It’s looking like eating at 4 is definitely the way to go for me. My co-worker loves the pancakes. I am so proud of her. She has decided to reduce/eliminate processed foods. So, when I told her about the protein pancakes she was really excited. Here is something that is good, healthy, low fat, high in protein. I brought her some and she loved it. We call them Living Pancakes, actually. I am going to take some progress pictures this weekend.

I have to hit my chest and arms this weekend. I think I’ll just do chest and triceps on Saturday with 20 minutes of cardio at the end and biceps/shoulders/abs on Sunday, and again, a longer cardio session at the end.

I saw that pbolton1 had mentioned walking on a 15% incline on another profile, so I decided to give that a try after my 30 minutes of hard elliptical. I loved it! I aimed for 10 minutes. I wanted to stop after 5, but I kept at it. I just need to practice squeezing my butt–that takes coordination. My legs are still sore, but not nearly as bad as yesterday, so I know the cardio did it’s thing. It was a good workout although I had a mind/body fight–no connection here. The mind was willing, but the body was putting up some pretty good arguments as to why I should stay in bed. The mind asked the body how she like wearing those size 8 jeans. The body  said got to movin’. Tomorrow, I’ll work shoulders, back, and calves. And I’ll throw some abs in there for good measure.

I am happy to report that the husband, in addition to starting his own business, is taking his health more seriously. He just couldn’t let me be all sexy by myself, now could he? He says he wants to feel better. I tell him all of the time I feel so good. I can’t curl a 30 pound dumbbell, yet, that is what I was carrying everyday.

Well, it’s Taco Night tonight. I’m about to eat up!