Sacredwlkr’s BodyBlog

Due to transportation changes, I now have to get to the gym whenever I can so yesterday my workout was in the evening instead of first thing in the morning.  I noticed an interesting difference - I felt stronger!  It seems my body likes to have a little more fuel in it before exercise. I had been doing my workout first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to promote fat burning, but I can see the difference now having done an afternoon workout.  I used to shun afternoon workouts for two reasons: crowds (can’t stand ‘em); and scheduling.  Well, now that my schedule is more open, I will have to be more open to having an afternoon workout. 

Now, if I can just get the crowds to leave….

What a week.  Working out has been really helping me keep my head above water lately.  I’m having a hard time staying motivated to stick to my diet.  I just don’t have much interest in eating lately.  Yesterday I got in another good back workout, but I’m out of supplements and today I’m sore.  I don’t care.  I’m not stopping.  On the career level, life kinda - no really sucks right now, but I don’t care.  I’m not stopping!  Things can’t get much more stressful, but I’m not stopping!

I’m going to go cook some brown rice and thaw some chicken.

Tomorrow:  Shoulders

How many of you will stop your workout long enough to spot someone who’s going into failure on bench press with weight that’s heavy enough to injure themself?  Have you ever seen someone doing an exercise in a way that makes you cringe at the thought of the potential injury that’s just waiting for the right moment to strike?  Will you take the time to offer a little friendly advice, or do you go on with your workout?  After all, there are trainers in the gym who get paid for that, right?

It’s true, trainers do get paid to teach proper training and lifting technique, but the problem is most of them ignore members who they aren’t training.  Have you ever seen a trainer offer assistance when they didn’t have a client?  I haven’t.  Now I know it is up to the individual to find out the information about how to perform exercises correctly; risk of injury is each person’s responsibility; but, what does it hurt to offer assistance to someone who clearly has no idea what they are doing and is endangering him/herself?  Body-awareness doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people and they won’t know if they are doing an exercise correctly.  If they reject your help, then it’s on them - no harm done.

I once offered help to a young man who was doing dumbell lat rows with his back rounded - a common mistake that can lead to problems.  He looked at me as if I was crazy.  I could just see the question in his eyes, "Who the hell is this chick my mom’s age trying to coach me?"  He kind of nodded me off and I returned to my workout.  Hey, whatever - just trying to help.  Once the information is given it’s up to the individual what to do with it.  A few minutes later, he came up to me and said, "Hey thanks, good lookin’ out."

Yeah, I know some of you will say that you’ve been approached by people offering crazy training tips, myself included.  That’s why it’s good to get as much information on correct form as you can find.  But sometimes, the sharing is just about safety…nothing else.

Maybe it’s because I work in the health industry that I can’t stand to see someone yanking their neck out of alignment or jacking up their low back; or, maybe it’s because I learned by people helping me when I was just getting started and I want to give back.  I don’t know - maybe I just give a damn.

I went to do cardio today, and was so tired.  I could barely make it to 20 minutes out of 30, and just kept losing steam after that.  I quit early at 23 minutes, did a few crunches, stretched, and left.  What a drag.

I went a little light today, but still got in a good workout.  I went more strict in my form and really targeted the muscle, plus I changed up the exercises I did to promote muscle confusion.  No cardio today, so I’ll have to go tomorrow.

Shoulder warmup, light good mornings & stiff-legged deadlift.

• T-bar rows 3 x 10-12 x 80
• Dumbell rows  4 x 10 x 30,40,40,40
• Seated rows  3 x 12 x 90
• Standing Barbell curl  3 x 10 x 40
• Alt Dumbell curls  3 x 10 x 20,20,25
• Supersets 3 x 10 x 15,15,20
• Bent Dumbell rows
• Standing Dumbell rows
• Seated One-arm Dumbell lateral raise 2 x 12 x 10
• crunches 2 sets
• stretching

Thursday - Back/Bi’s, plus Saturday’s - Shoulder workout since I’ll have too much to do this Saturday with a half day of work, followed by a social event 40 miles away.

I began with 35 minutes of cardio on the elliptical w/ intervals of 1.5 to 2 minute sprints.

Shoulder warmup - rubber tubing is great for this as I can vary the resistance as needed.  I also lightly work the rotator cuff using both tubing and dumbells for 1-2 sets.  Two sets of shoulder work, followed by 2 sets of Good Mornings with the tubing; then, on to back!

• Bent Dumbell Rows - 4 sets of 8 - 12 @ 35, 40,45, 50
• Lat Pulls to the front - 3 sets 10 @ 90, 110, 120
• Seated Row on LF machine - 3 x12 @ 50, 70, 85
• Dumbell Shoulder Press (Arnold’s) - 4×10 @ 20, 25, 25, 25
• Leaning Lateral Raises - 3×10 @ 15, 20, 20
• Supersets x3
• Bent Dumbell Raises - 10 @ 20
• Dumbell Biceps Curl - 10 @ 20
• No need to work traps directly, they get stimulated with shoulder press and lateral raises very well and show a good pump.  Besides, the Levator Scapulae tend to get  strained very easily and can cause significant neck and headache pain, along with other neck muscles, caused by trigger points. 

 Guys, if you’re going to do trap work, make sure to get regular massages to prevent and alleviate trigger point pain.  If you’re already getting headaches, find a good deep tissue specialist who knows how to work trigger points.

What a day and a sense of accomplishment!  I kicked a$$ on cardio and got a good pump.  I sweat out a ton of water, but I carry a half gallon with me in the gym to keep from getting dehydrated.  I can’t wait to see some definition come in.

Yes! Yesterday I worked legs well enough to be sore today.  I’ve got that soreness that means that the muscle has been properly worked/torn down and is now in the repair/growth phase.  Whooo-hooo!

Not bad for someone who has to avoid squats.  …for now… 

This blog goes with my beginning pics - they show what I’ve lost and hope to regain.

In 1996 I had a heart attack…at the age of 35.  It was completely unexpected as I had no family history of early heart attack; and, as an African-American female under 60-65, with no family history, it was nearly unheard of to have a heart attack at that age.  In fact, the doctors were nearly convinced I had been doing drugs (cocaine, amphetamines, or some other stimulants), which I’ve NEVER done!

For anyone wondering what it’s like, I had just finished a good chest workout in my garage.  I had failed to notice the pain in my chest as heart pain, as I was heavily working my chest.  Once I finished my workout, I went in and took a break before hitting abs.  I was on the phone with a friend and kept feeling transient pain in my chest, back, and neck.  I couldn’t really localize it because it seemed to move, and I assumed it was muscle cramping.  I ended my phone call to stretch my pecs to alleviate the cramping.

Once I began to stretch the pain intensified from a dull, moderately uncomfortable ache; and soon I felt as if an elephant was standing on my chest - no lie!  As I questioned what was going on, I felt a jolt of pain and tingling rush down both arms into my hands, especially on my left side.  "What the hell?" I asked myself.  I rolled onto my back, lying on the floor and realized that my breathing was very shallow and rapid, and that I was feeling lightheaded - I was hyperventilating. I focused on slowing my breathing, covering my nose and mouth in an effort to control my breath.  And, as a first-aid measure, I elevated my legs by putting them up onto my recliner.

My job required that I have CPR and First Aid training, so I recognized my symptoms as a potential heart attack, but rationalized them away thinking, "I’m not sweating, so it can’t be a heart attack."  No sooner than I said that to myself that water began to pour out of me and in seconds, I was drenched.  Now I was really scared!  Not only did I have the crushing pain, but that was accompanied by a sharp, piercing pain that went directly through my heart to my back with each breath.  I called 911 at this point.

Interestingly, the paramedics’ EKG machine showed a normal sinus rhythm, however, in the emergency room, the doctor took one look at their EKG and said that I was having a heart attack, right then!  YIKES!

Nearly 5 years later, I finally found a doctor who could explain why I’d had the heart attack.  I had a condition known as PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome), which causes metabolic dysfunction, some of which include: insulin resistance, diabetes, high cholesterol, reproductive problems, weight gain and depression.  My cholesterol was through the roof, but only one artery was involved.  Thankfully, it didn’t kill me, though it was close.

I now have two coronary stents, have undergone four angioplasty procedures, and have to take a handful of drugs every morning, which quite frankly frustrates the hell out of me.  I hate taking pharmaceuticals - to me, they only cover up symptoms and prevent the body from returning to homeostasis.  I’ve recently found some research which suggests that Vitamin C and Lysine can combine to help the body eliminate cholesterol; and repair and prevent vascular damage.  I found articles supporting this here: http://www.cqs.com/cvd.htm and http://www.drrathresearch.org/about_drrath/rath_scientific_discoveries.html.

So, though I continue to have some heart issues, I’m determined to reverse as much of the damage done by PCOS as possible, and get back to my ideal weight and body composition. 

Let the journey begin!

Life is getting the best of me today.  I went to bed and woke up with back pain, which has been an ongoing battle for the past couple of years.  I’m determined to achieve my goals regardless, but today is a down day and I’m feeling overwhelmed & depressed; and pretty damned tired.  It’s an effort to get in all my meals since I don’t have any interest in eating right now.  I’m going to have to force it.  I hope tomorrow will be better - it’s leg day.

Oh, how I love working shoulders!  I don’t know why…maybe it’s the burn; maybe it’s the growth I see; or maybe it’s the feel of the muscle working to capacity; but it’s DEFINITELY a combination of all three.  And they’re getting stronger, too! I’m up to doing 25lb dumbell lateral raises - yeah!