crlgrl’s BodyBlog

Leg with feet together at the bottom of the sled 20 reps and right into front squats with feet together for 20 reps. I don’t really feel these until after 10 reps or so which means if I stopped at 12 I’d really be missing out. Next set was BB deadlifts and Sumo squat for 4 sets. And the grand finale, a tri-set of DB walking lunges, roman chair and kick backs!!! I could definitely feel this work out and have no doubt I will be sore tomorrow!!

The weather was so great here yesterday. It got up to 68 degrees with very little wind and lots of sun. It really amazes me just how much the weather affects my moods. My friend, Christy and I, decided to take advantage of the warmth and her recently healed back and do some outdoor cardio. We decided to go to the park which has a mile and a half climb to the entrance. The work was great but the company was better! We always have a good conversation. Christy is a therapist so I am just waiting for her to figure out I’m mental, JK(: After our walk we sat on top of the hill and looked down over the town and watched the hawks circle overhead. It was very uplifting!!

Today will be leg day in the gym, yipee!! I know I’ve mentioned it before but several years ago I used to think that lifting as heavy as possible would give me the best body. I would work out with 10 45 plates, I think thats 500#’s or so, on the leg press. Now I’ve learned from experience that a lighter weght with a faster pace is better for me to get the burn that tells me I’m working the desired muscles. The leg press to me is good to use everyonce in a while but I think it is one that some use for pride reasons because you can push so much weight on it. I know not everyone shares the same opinion as me but I don’t want to be super muscular. I appreciate all types of physiques but I have decided that I prefer me with a tight, toned, curvy build. Some people seem to think their opinion is the only one; they see any opinion that is different as an indication that their opinion is being called "wrong". I’m not saying my opinion is RIGHT, just right for me and if you don’t happen to share that opinion…good for you. I want the freedom to make my own choices so I try to give others the freedom to have their own. I see peoples blogs all the time putting down others because of plastic surgery or not wanting to be a super muscular female or wanting to be one, to me that is just a person with low self esteem who can’t handle anyone’s opinion that is different than their own, because if it’s not the same, they must be saying I’m wrong. Wouldn’t it be boring if we all had to be the same?!?

Enough rambling for now! Enjoy your Monday!!

Seated machine press for 5 sets about 20 reps; really attempting to get the blood pumped to the delts. V-ups on a bench with a 5# DB in between my feet. One handed lateral raises with 15# DB, I go until I can’t lift anymore and then I pick up 8# DB’s and go until I can’t lift anymore and then I pick up 5# DB and rep until failure. Man, these really get ya!!! I did decline sit ups after each set. I did front raises with 10# DB’s, one hand at a time. I don’t really work on my anterior deltoids too hard because they tend to get worked when I do chest and I see alot of people who are over-developed in this area that end up with bad symmetry due to under developed posterior delts. Sometimes I skip them altogether on shoulder day. I did bent over rear DB raises with 8#’s for 4 sets. I also did hanging legs raises and ball crunches with a 15# DB. It amazes me how much concentrating on my shoulders and tweaking movement, even a small amount, can get the muscle burn that I desire. For instance today doing front raises, I turned my wrist slightly outward at the top and it made a huge difference. Shoulders and back are the two muscle groups, for me, that require a good mind/muscle connection. I feel like I got a good one today!

P.S. My husband told me last night that he was going to start going to the gym, so we know what that means……..sexy time. (Yes, that was my Borat imitation) (:

I’m pretty satisfied with my arms. I don’t want to add any size to them, so my work outs now are just geared towards maintenance and refinement. I started of with BB 21’s, if you have never done this exercise it is a must do for biceps. I supersetted this with dips with a weight plate on my lap. Next set of exercises was hammer curls and tricep pressdowns. Then it was standing bicep cable curls and DB kickbacks. I also did crunches on the stability ball with a 15# DB overhead.

So yesterday was back and chest and the day I was planning on attempting my 5 pull ups but 3 guys were using the rack I needed. ): I blew off some time to see if they might finished but after 15-20 minutes, I just gave up and worked out. For back I did seated machine rows back to back with bench press for 4 sets of each. Lat pull downs with push ups for 4 sets. Seated cable rows with the short Dhandle bar and incline flyes for 4 sets. DB pull overs on a stability ball with pec dec for 4 sets. Today will be arms, I think.

I can feel my butt getting sore already from todays work out!!!!! I did fast pace today with moderate weights. Leg extensions with front squats; I don’t see any body else do these at my gym but they really make my quads burn. Next was hamstring curls and good mornings (another one no one else does). I finished up with a tri-set of cable kick-backs, roman chair and walking lunges. GR8 leg work out, esp. the glutes!!!!

I’m pretty sure I will get my goal of 5 un-assisted pull ups!!!! I could really feel a gain in strength and just felt light today. I’m going to try and take my camera and get a video, but I’m not promising anything in that area, never tried videos before. After 30 pull ups and 10 under hand pull ups, I did Lat pull downs with the D-handle bars, bent over BB rows, Kneeling cable lat pull downs and machine rows. I also did 21’s and Standing cable bicep curls. Abs was crunches on the ball with a 15# DB and V-ups!

Just wondering how this works, but last night I was purusing the folks profiles that had posted new pics and stuff and looked at someone stats that weighed 150 some odd pounds but their stats said they had a 28 inch waist?????? I have my waist down as 28 inches. So to be sure I measured again and yep, mine is 28 inches. So the quandry, I weigh 122#’s this AM and if this person weighs 150 something, how in the world do they have a 28 inch waist also?????

I went in to the gym today and did my 2nd leg work out of the week. Usually if I get 2 work outs in a weeks time I’ll do one heavy and one lighter but the room with the leg machines was full of creepers so I just did another light one. I did 1 legged extensions 4 sets for each leg. Step ups with 15# DB’s for 4 sets. Cable hamstring curls for 4 sets and cable kick backs for 4 sets. My son Landon asked to go with me today so I was totally excited!!!

I went in to the gym yesterday to wrap up the parts I hadn’t gotten that week, which was triceps and decided to throw in some lower abs and do some pull up work. I set up my pull up contraption and did about 40 or so of them during the work out. I can def. tell that I am getting stronger on these and will see how many I can do in the coming week. For triceps I did DB overhead press with 30# DB this is a very easy weight for me and I pumped out about 25 or so for 4 sets. I did cable press down with the V bar with 70 and 80 #’s for 4 sets. I did close grip bench press with 45 and 55 #’s for 4 sets. Finished up triceps with 1 arm overhead extensions to the side with a DB for 4 sets. For abs I did V ups with 5# DB in between my feet, hanging leg raises and reverse curls on an incline bench. A few hours later I went and ran bleachers. All in all a good wrap up!!!

Yesterday, I had to go to a meeting at noon and an orthodontist appt. at 4:00, so I decided to go to a gym in the "big city" to kill some time and use some new equipment. I really shouldn’t complaing about my gym too much, it’s not that bad. Unless, you like things like heat/air conditioning, soap, toilet paper, broken equipment that gets fixed instead of just a sign that says DO NOT USE. It has the basics and I work out there for pretty close to free. The town I live in has a population of about 8-10,000 and only one gym, so I’m just happy to have that. The town I had appt. in is about 80,000 people and has about 10 gyms. My sister and I had lunch after my meeting and I went to the hospital gym where she is a pharmacist. This gym is so nice and clean, with no broken equipment. The people, though, are just the same. You had your older crowd doing weird exercises that they learned back in the day. You had your lady-looking-for-love, with her big hair-do, full make-up, matching outfit and LOTS of stinky perfume. The big guys slinging heavy weight with poor form and grunting and banging, so as to not draw any attention to himself. (: But, at least, they were different old, stinky, big people so it was interesting. I did delts and chest. My gym doesn’t have a seated lateral raise machine so I was glad to get to use one for a change. Someone was asking me about my lift #’s today and I don’t really lift for numbers I lift for a good pump so I usually use a weight that I can pump out 15-20 reps. I super setted all shoulder lifts with a chest exercise. So after each set of laterals I did the pec dec. Next I move on to up right rows with a 55# BB and another chest press machine with my palms inward. Then I moved on to front, lateral, rear delts with DB’s and a plate for the fronts. I start with laterals and then front raises and then bent over rears one right after the other. (WOAH, feel the burn) I like doing my front raises with a plate when I do chest because I feel like it brings my chest into it too. Then I did incline BB chest press and burned out on the lateral machine. My delts are a little sore today which is a rare occurance! Today, back at my gym with the chicken wire ceiling, I’ll do some pull ups and triceps.