amysuds’s BodyBlog

Yes, I am very sore today, as I figured. This morning I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes and feel much better now. I’m a little confused with my weight lately, it goes up and down like just a few pounds.So I’m going back to basics and made sure I kept my heart rate around 130 through my whole walk. Need to save the muscle! I was so bored though, my brain is telling me to "go faster slacker"…and I actually have to force myself to not speed up. So this afternoon, I’m going after my lats again, with 12rep sets .Maybe a little nap first!!

Today I did my high rep / med weight sets. Thankyou Buffmother for the videos! I followed many of her exercises today and incorporated Jschott65’s sprints. Yup, muscles were shaking today. Hoping to tighten up these legs/glutes more. Also, I added some of Jenny Lynn’s leg routine today from her videos. It is so cool to be able to find and receive support here!

I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now and I really don’ t know. Someone asked me today what my body goal was. I didn’t have an answer. I have some small personal goals, but the big one is still a question to me. I love working out because it makes me feel good. I had a scare a year ago. I went for my routine exam and my doc felt swollen lymph nodes under my arms.So she had me come back in a month to recheck. Still there..so I go for a mammogram. They find nothing. Then my doctor sends me to a blood doctor who then sends me for a CT scan. I am scared now I might add. They found no tumors(thankyou God)..yet found I have multinodular goiter and a cyst on my liver. So..with that being said, I am sent to a gastro doc and endo doc. Now meanwhile..I feel other lymph nodes..neck and groin are also swollen..not painful though. All these docs tested and cleared me basically. Yet, these things are still swollen. Not huge like to be biopsied, but large enough for me to constantly feel for and wonder. As I get on that treadmill, I am thinking more on the lines of -ok ….all toxins, please leave my body via sweat!!!   Ultimately..the muscle I gain and weight I lose are bonus, I really want to be healthy most of all. My drive comes from my fears I guess.But I am excited about 163 total cholesterol,HDL 54,LDL 96 and triglyceride 64. Maybe there are other people out there like me..???? I am in this for life!!

Today is a great day..I finally did some sets of 3 pullups. I am currently doing gironda sternum chins version. This has been such a challenge for me for so long. I look forward to doing standard wide grip pullups someday. All the tips I got from my friends here sure are helping! Off to do cardio!!

Today was heavy leg training day and I pushed hard. The last few weeks I have steadily increased the weight successfully. Today I completed 100lb smith squats, a personal achievement for me. I started my routine with the toughest sets, of course. About 10 weeks ago, I was doing squats ,roughly 60 lbs, and my hip gave out. Now I know the machine has a catch to help prevent me from getting injured.The bar came crashing down with me underneath in pain. Two things became apparant to me that day. First, I am running a risk without a spotter because I work out alone. Secondly, it dawned on me that my core; including the hip complex, is weaker than I thought. So I took a break from focusing on heavy weights and seriously paid attention to core exercise. The way I see this is if I have any weak links in my whole body, I will have trouble advancing at the stage of development I am at. So I feel proud today, I wasn’t afraid to keep trying. And YES….my max is increasing. I am keeping the promise I made to myself and making core training numero uno for me!!

Everyday I hope to be able to tell my friends "I DID IT"….just one real pullup. Not the palms- in version, which I can do. It seems like the more I do them that way, the bigger my biceps get when I flex them anyway. I will continue to try my lastest body trick and keep doing negatives with my weighted vest on…hoping my body will get really confused about what I weigh! So off I go, down to my weight playground!  Any tips out there would be great. I also might be fighting with a weak link ..I have moderate carpal tunnel on both sides with muscles under my thumbs basically shot!

In my personal quest to achieve my best physique, I honestly am on permanant information overload. I can’t help myself. I read and study about all aspects of the body daily.  Time and time again, the topic of stretching is mentioned. Yes, I typically go through the motions. Every week I have been seriously trying to increase my flexibility. Instead of throwing my hands up on muscle imbalances, this approach is sneaky and working. For example, my glutes have been tough to develop or I should say return to their youthful appearance. By stretching my hips, quads, hams, IT band repeatedly,and consistently, those muscles are starting to work together. Together being the key word. Not just a synergist doing all the work. I am seeing improvements rapidly, actually. I have also noticed my range of motion is smoother. Oh that boring stretching. Shame on me for not trying this sooner. How will I ever regain some gymnastics moves being all tight through my back? And maybe my lats will actually step up and give my biceps a break. I am now an avid stretch-a-holic!

I had to try this, seeing as I love to find ways to impact my body naturally. So I noticed in a magazine that bread was a topic of concern. I’m not talking white, I mean like wheat , multigrain etc. I guess some do not eat this? So for the past three weeks I have eliminated it completely. I got my fiber from veggies and fruit. This is my note to self… it had no impact on my weight or energy levels. It also did not seem to change my body water %. I figured I better write this down, and keep better notes on all the things I do. I am trying to get the best body I can without bulking up and dieting down. My body couldn’t handle the stress of that!

It’s been almost a year now since I had the basal cell carcinoma removed from my neck. With spring and summer approaching, time to think sunblock. I know the type I had is no big deal, virtually 100% curable. Yet I am left with the reality of having 50% chance of more in the next few years. Honestly, I believe mine was a result of tanning beds. I never liked them anyway. So anyone reading this, go get a screening of your skin….many lives have been saddenly taken from skin cancer. Yet we all love to display our hard work and tanned skin makes it look oh so good. I know I do!!!