From Russia with Tough Love!

I am not an official promoter of Muscle Milk products, but I just have to give it a plug here. Yesterday I didn’t have a chance to eat anything before my evening workout. I needed to go heavy on shoulders and HAD to have some serious fuel. With my watching my carb intake and sugars this shake was perfect! So, if you want some extra oomph in your workout, this is a great choice.

Day 5 of this 5-day routine was CHEST. I also added abs workout. I am changing my initial 5 day cardio back to every other day HIIT. I just hate sitting on a bike or walking on a treadmill (or doing elliptical) for and hour or more. I’d rather give all I got in 20 minutes:)

Here’s how the workout looked today (had to do Friday’s workout on Saturday this week):

Eats were clean and within needed cals/day. Surely, enjoyed that sirloin steak for dinner!

Thursday was an off day. Back on the track today. And it’s a BACK day! I’ll kick off wit 5 sets of Wide-Grip Pullups. 8-10 reps each set. Will try my darnedest not to use a spotter.

Thursday - Back

(morning) 20 minutes of HIIT cardio

(evening) - back routine

I am pretty much OK with the size of my back. My goal here is to master pull-ups, chin-ups with body weight, striving for perfect form. Mind<—>Muscle connection  is a beautiful thing….

Stairs should be banned! It was a leg day today;) I am so tired my eyes are closing as I am writing this. Here’s what my hubby and I did:

Wednesday - Legs+Butt

(morning) - 1 hour of bike (13 miles), while sippin’ on a protein powder shake.

(evening) - leg routine

Glutes are hurting gooood right now. Must have done it right tonight….

Should have started recording it on Monday, but was so dog-tired…..Now, this is a weight-gainer’s routine that almost had no cardio. I adjusted it to my needs. Since I am injesting plenty of protein I will be safe in doing this much cardio (5 days/week) without loosing muscle mass. I am a girl that gains mass easily while loosing fat the hard way. My cals would be 1500-1800 with P40/C40/F20 ratio.
Hubby is NOT doing that much cardio. His goal is strictly gaining mass. I need to make sure he eats ALL DAY LONG:)  Yesterday I made brisket in crock-pot with some new potatoes. He inhaled it after the workout!
Anyway, here’s what Monday and Tuesday looked like:

Monday - Shoulders
(morning) - One hour on a bike while having 1 scoop of protein powder and a cup of coffee. 12 miles. Was ’swimming’ in my own sweat by the end.

(evening) - Met up with hubby at the gym (this routine calls for heavy weight, so we’ll be doing the whole thing together) and did this routine:

I think I finally got the form for Upright Rows! Wanna steadily increase the shoulder caps for that rounded shape.

After lifting we also did HIIT for 20 minutes.

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Tuesday - Arms
(morning) - Protein shake. Coffee. One hour on bike.  13 miles. Gotta love sweatin’ !

(evening)

Preacher curls had me crying! On the bright side I could dip for 12 reps! Yessssss! And scull-crushers are getting easier.

Who said that bodybuilder’s (or a health-conscious person’s) dishes must be dull-looking? I cooked up myself a shrimp dish that looked and tasted great! But before I go on, I must mention that I used the freshest ingredients, that in my opinion made all the difference in the world. I got them at a local produce market called ‘Hillbilly’s Produce Market’. Awesome produce at very attractive price.)

Most folks would use pasta instead of potatoes. That’s cool. I’ll use that next time. This time I had some tasty new potatoes left over.

So, what went in:

1 med. yellow tomato (don’t know the name) - chopped roughly

13 jumbo shrimp (frozen, precooked)

2 med. white NEW potatoes cubed finely

Spices: Tony’s and Tobasco

Garnish: green onions

In a saute skillet (with some olive oil in it) combine tomatoes and shrimp…season to taste and let saute on med. high heat for about 7 minutes, turning shrimp over couple of times.

In the meantime microwave potatoes and cube them. Then either throw them into the skillet with tomatoes and shrimp or reserve then on your serving plate. That’s what I did. I just added the tomatoes and shrimp over the potatoes later.

It came out nice’n’spicy hot — just the way I like it! Took some pix for you, too.

I was diagnosed with    Chondromalacia patella 3 years ago. Now, I don’t even think about it anymore. I am officially off of my anti-inflammatory meds. Working out and gradually building quads and hamstrings drastically reduced the discomfort. 2 years ago one of my ‘unattainable’ goals was leg-extensions machine. I slowly started with no weight at all, not doing the full range of motion. Now, I amaze myself by doing 100lbs for 15 reps on the same leg-extension machine and squatting my body weight for 12 reps! The key here is taking your time and constantly listening to your body!

I’d like to share some helpful info with people who are in the same situation now and their training is hindered by this condition. I hope you will be able to have victory over    Chondromalacia.

Medicine.net gives a short and succinct article about chondromalacia.

The authors of the article state “Generally, full squat exercises with weights are avoided.”. I will have to agree with that. Full squat could be done after your muscles have been significantly strengthened, but with weight that could be squatted 10-12 times.

Stretching and strengthening the quadriceps and hamstring   muscle groups is critical for an effective and  lasting rehabilitation of chondromalacia patella.  “Quad sets” are the  foundation of such a program.  Quad sets are done by  contraction the thigh muscles while the legs are straight  and holding the contraction for a count of ten.  Sets of 10  contractions are done between 15-20 times per day.

I wish you all safe training. Stay healthy!

By popular demand my training plan (for May-June 2007) and for my diet check out my daily Eats.
Use Nutrition Calculators Article to calculate your daily food intake. Then eat a little under your daily nutritional needs to loose fat (subtract about 100cals), while lifting weights and doing cardio activity. You goal is not just to loose weight, it’s to loose FAT while gaining muscle. So, don’t cut your calories too low.
MAY-JUNE routine
MONDAY
Legs’n'Butt
Abs

TUESDAY
Morning  - LISS cardio
Evening - Chest and Triceps
WEDNESDAY
Abs and HIIT

THURSDAY
Back and Biceps

FRIDAY
Abs and HIIT

SATURDAY
morning - LISS cardio
Evening - Shoulders

SUNDAY
rest

I mix up exercises to keep my workouts fun. And I also believe in periodization. One week I’ll do heavy weight (4 sets of up to 6 quality reps)….and another week I’ll train the same muscle group with more reps (10-12) and lower weight. Keep your body guessing!
Stay healthy!

~Natalia

Got mine today from www.ProWristStraps.com! I got them in 2 days. Very fast service. Kudos to them.

Since I had a back day today they came in handy for pull-ups, pull-downs and one-arm rows. With them I was able to handle more weight without my form suffering. I guess I still have the  ‘girlie’ grip;)

Anyway, hope y’all had a great workout. I can already feel my back starting to burn….. “Burn, Baby, Burn!”

My eats today.

I think I am almost where I want to be with my abs. Funny, as soon I am nearing the end of my goal I put the bar higher and make up another challenge for myself. It’s a vicious cycle, I tell ya!

Hit the chest and triceps with:

flat BB press (I am up to 115lbs with the bar)
incline DB press

pec deck

dips

scull-crushers

rope cable pushdowns

10 minutes of HIIT

My eats today.