sblandrus’s BodyBlog

1 hour of cardio (I cheated and ran for 20…;)) Then I worked on back and shoulders….it was good, but I need to write a new plan…I am kind of in between lifting programs…Oh well, nice day. Thank goodness no more snow!!!

So I did indeed end up going to the gym yesterday, and it was a GREAT arm workout, and I am definitely feeling my leg workout from two days ago (thanks Erin!!! aka trackfiend)…but this morning I looked in the mirror…and, my god!!! I think I have lost more fat!!! I am seeing a LOT more definition in my legs, and overall my legs look sizeably smaller!!! I really felt like I overate on christmas, and felt like crap because I ate so much sugar and carbs (I’m on a keto diet if you don’t know, ckd to be specific), however, I think my body needed that extra calorie boost because I SWEAR I am leaner than I was a few days before christmas!!! I am going to weigh myself tomorrow morning first thing….which may or may not be helpful as I may have gained a bit of muscle over the past couple weeks….I’ll keep ya posted

So, yesterday was my first day back at the gym (after a 5 DAY hiatus!) and it felt SOOOOOOO good!!! I ran on the treadmill for about 25 min, and that felt great, then I did some leg work.  I wasn’t able to finish my leg workout, because the gym was about to close, but it was a good workout, nonetheless.  Today it is snowing (a-freaking-gain!!!) and my prospects for going to the gym are looking a little slim, however, I do have to go to work, and the gym is on my way home, so as long as it’s open, I should be able to go.  It is really hard to keep a good momentum going when this snow is slowing me down. I guess this is a good time to build a good home workout, and work on my dedication!!! So, I got a kinda generic hip hop abs video (not the original, my brother couldn’t find the one they sell on tv) it was fun, but it was really short. Maybe I will just order the real one off television, I heard it is a killer workout!!! Plus, the one I have doesn’t have any popular songs on it, just a beat with music.

I will settle for maintenance.  I’ve been kinda bummed lately about the weather, we have got some massive amounts of snow (3 feet and counting!!!) and getting to the gym has been a struggle the last week and a half. Although it’s not been impossible, I have a lot of stuff that I’m trying to get finished for the holidays (presents, cooking etc.), so life’s been a little hectic lately.  I finally decided, though, that I would just maintain through the holidays, no need to stress myself out over making progress, because it’ll only be a week or so that I will be back at it full force.  And, I know you’re not supposed to settle, but I’m trying to be realistic here. No hard feelings….wait, what? lol.

make it stop!!! I don’t even want to drive to the gym, the roads are so bad I hate this. This is probably the most de-motivating thing ever….snow keeps you from going out, and makes you just want to eat more…

Anyway, I’m doing some home workouts, and doing a couple things from the fit channel…and keeping a close eye on the hand-to-mouth.

Ok, so I know it isn’t this bad…but don’t we all feel like this at one time or another??
So, I’m feeling a bit discouraged today, and this happens every once in awhile….I am just really frustrated with the lower half of my body. Progress down there is slow at best, and that’s really the only part I actually care about!!!!  Yeah, I like having a muscular back, and I like my abs etc., but it is the lower half of my body I’ve been battling with for SO long.  After awhile, it is hard for me to keep the faith that I have what it takes to get the definition I want SO BADLY down there…UGH!!!  If only my thighs weren’t just SO FRIGGIN HUGE!!!! I can hardly stand it!!! That last layer of fat is SERIOUSLY impenetrable!!! I’ve never seen definition on the hamstring area, and very little on the quads…even when I’ve been in "really good shape"…never.  It is hard to imagine the possibility of something you’ve never seen.  Maybe if I want it bad enough, I can will my body to lose that last bit of fat….I really do believe that you can will things to happen in your mind….we’ll see.

Someone forgot to roll up their windows…….

We’ve got tons of it. 2 feet and counting.  The bf was sick yesterday, so I stayed home to take care of him, I was feeling guilty for not going to the gym, so I just did some plyos instead….GOOD workout. Then, come to find out, "gym is closed due to adverse weather conditions."  Other than that, I was getting cabin fever yesterday. Thank god they plowed the roads today!

I have been contemplating the hip ad/abductor machine (or the thigh master, if you prefer the privacy of your own home ) and its effectiveness for the purpose most women use it for (because I have NEVER seen a male use this machine), and these are my thoughts:
So, we all agree that there is no such thing as “spot reducing”, as in you cant target the fat in certain areas by building muscle directly under it, right??? All we can really do to lose fat is a.) build more muscle in general to burn more calories at rest etc, b.) do enough cardio and c.) eat the proper amount of cals/macros to produce a sufficient deficit to shed unwanted fat.  Therefore, if these women want to lose the inner/outer thigh fat, which  in basically means they want to REDUCE the size of these trouble spots….WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU DO AN EXERCISE THAT WOULD BUILD MUSCLE IN THESE AREAS?????  I mean, granted, I know these women are not going to build pro body builder muscle by doing these exercises, but it really is just sending them in the opposite direction of where their goals are (again, to REDUCE the size of inner/outer thigh area).

This brings me to my conclusion: Unless a woman’s goal is that her thighs would rub together from all the mass she has created in her inner thighs every time she takes a step, this exercise is useless to women, and maybe (I don’t know how male physiques are judged in a bb competition) it might be useful to a man who needs mass in those areas and can’t get it by ANY OTHER exercise.  So, aside from these two exceptions, the ‘thigh master’ is obsolete.

Am I way off base??? ‘Cause it makes sense in my head. 

Whoa. I just woke up from the longest sleep.  It is now 11 am, and I went to bed at like 11:30 last night.  I think I was fighting an illness, because my stomach hurt SOOOO bad this morning and last night, and it was out of the blue.  So, I called my clients this morning, and had to cancel with them because I was feeling so awful, and then I slept till 11. Wow. I feel really drained right now.

Slowly, but surely, I am still dropping body fat, which is exciting I just weighed myself yesterday, and I came in at a whole 128 pounds!!!! WAHOOO!!! I’m kickin’ it in the 120’s baby!!! It feels SOOOOO GOOD!!!! I thought 130 was a big deal, but 128 feels awesome.  And I’m not one of those people who relies solely on what the scale says, I always take a good look in the mirror too and I’ve noticed three things:

#1 When I do my favorite "hamstring flex", the skin right behind my knee is tighter, and less ‘wrinkled’, and I am seeing more hamstring action
#2 Veins are FINALLY beginning to show through on my forearms, and that ONE vein, Idk what it’s called, but the one that goes straight down the front of the bicep, you know the one, is just starting to p e e k through (if you can’t tell I’m ALL about vascularity, lol!)

AND #3 Ladies, you know about this esp, after you get a ’six pack’ that last little slab of fat around the belly button…yup, that is almost completely obliterated too!!! YAHOOO!!

Oh, and I just thought I’d mention, I now weight 12 LB LESS than I did in high school…how ya like them apples??

(Alright, I admit it, I like to brag about that one )