sbogard08’s BodyBlog

Well, the past month has been a total roller coaster for me.  I was right on course with diet and training but then ended up with the flu….most likely swine flu.  It took almost a entire 2 weeks for me to get over it andget back to the gym.  Unfortunately, during the time I was sick I could only stomach soup, juice, and other "carb-y" things…..chicken breast an dbroccoli were competely out of the question.  The problem is I have been having trouble for the past month getting back to the disciplin ethat I had before.  A large part of the problem is the high stress levels that I am under at work recently.  We have had more than a few critically ill patients recently and my hours are L-O-N-G, and I can only get lifting in about 3x/week now.  With all the stress at work, I have been craving a giving in to the simple carbs that I had I gotten out of my system once again. 

So here I am today totally frustrated and disappointed in myself.  I refuse to step on the scale and taking pictures is definitely out of the question.  I dont doubt that I can get things back in order, I am just pissed at the fact that I do this to myself.  I have been getting up every morning at 4am, so that I can get to the gym by 4:55am to do 30 minutes of HIIT and be at the hospital by 5:45.  Because of teh HIIT, I have been largely able to keep from putting on any significant weight, but if my diet was where it was supposed to be I would be seeing some lean cuts by now. Today I realized that my scrubs are fitting now, which means that I am bigger because they are usually too big.  So, I have got to get myself together.  I refuse to be a fat girl.   I have plans to go to the Arnold in March, which is roughly 17 weeks away.  I am choosingthat as my "Show Date" for a cut.  Having a goal date helps  me to stay strict with my diet and not allow justify allowing cheats. 

So today was the last day that I will eat anything that I did not prepare and plan to eat as part of my daily meal plan.

I will get cut! 

Well, the past month has been a total roller coaster for me.  I was right on course with diet and training but then ended up with the flu….most likely swine flu.  It took almost a entire 2 weeks for me to get over it andget back to the gym.  Unfortunately, during the time I was sick I could only stomach soup, juice, and other "carb-y" things…..chicken breast an dbroccoli were competely out of the question.  The problem is I have been having trouble for the past month getting back to the disciplin ethat I had before.  A large part of the problem is the high stress levels that I am under at work recently.  We have had more than a few critically ill patients recently and my hours are L-O-N-G, and I can only get lifting in about 3x/week now.  With all the stress at work, I have been craving a giving in to the simple carbs that I had I gotten out of my system once again. 

So here I am today totally frustrated and disappointed in myself.  I refuse to step on the scale and taking pictures is definitely out of the question.  I dont doubt that I can get things back in order, I am just pissed at the fact that I do this to myself.  I have been getting up every morning at 4am, so that I can get to the gym by 4:55am to do 30 minutes of HIIT and be at the hospital by 5:45.  Because of teh HIIT, I have been largely able to keep from putting on any significant weight, but if my diet was where it was supposed to be I would be seeing some lean cuts by now. Today I realized that my scrubs are fitting now, which means that I am bigger because they are usually too big.  So, I have got to get myself together.  I refuse to be a fat girl.   I have plans to go to the Arnold in March, which is roughly 17 weeks away.  I am choosingthat as my "Show Date" for a cut.  Having a goal date helps  me to stay strict with my diet and not allow justify allowing cheats. 

So today was the last day that I will eat anything that I did not prepare and plan to eat as part of my daily meal plan.

I will get cut! 

So the past few days I have had a diet melt-down. I don’t know what happened other than I succumbed to emotional eating.  Thursday I hung out with my co-workers and my daughter to celebrate her first day cheerleading.  We had Mexican for dinner and then went out for frozen yogurt that I piled high with all my favorite toppings (including Reese’s P’nut Butter Cups).  Earlier in the day, I had already eaten a bad lunch because I had to attend a seminar where lunch was provided so that we would not leave to go get our own lunch  ( and I had left my food bag in another location); so I was forced to eat what they provided.  Naturally, it was all simple carbs and fat.  Friday I was away from home longer than I anticipated, and was caught without any of my own food on hand.  So I ended up getting food in the cafeteria at work, which is always bad.  They even put butter on the steamed veggies (which I have repeatedly told them was inappropriate; to which they reply, "that’s the way people like them").  I was on-call Friday night, and eating is the only thing that keeps my up through the night.  I was much better than what I have been in the recent past, but in order to keep from indulging in simple carbs (ie, chips and chocolate), I  purchased a bag of roasted almonds and ate more than the 1 serving (28 almonds) that I intended.  So right now I am holding about 10 gallons of water from the carbs and the salt on the almonds.  I can’t see any part of any muscle definition.  My waistline is non-existent, and I’m totally upset with myself.  To make matters worse, I have to do weight, stats and pictures today for my trainer.  I know he is going to be like, "WTH?!?"  EVERYTHING is increased from my measurements 2 weeks ago.  Oh well, gotta pay the piper. 

OK, now that I am done getting all that out, time to turn to something positive.  My training has not suffered.  I actually ended up doing 1 1/2 hours of cardio on Friday to make up for Thusdays dietary infractions.  I did make it to the gym yesterday when I got off.  I didn’t heve enough energy to do legs as planned, so I decided to do a general uppere body routine and did some pull-ups, then did shoulders, triceps, and biceps, followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical.  So today (which should be for rest), I am going to do legs and probably will try to get in a run tonight.

 Unfortunately, I have 2 social activities to attend today.  One of my co-workers is having an open house.  I would have passed on attending, but she eagerly informed me that she made special food for me to accomodate my diet; so now I feel obligated to attend.  I am also supposed to go see Tyler Perry’s new movie tonight with all my friends.  The movies usually aren’t a source of dietary complications, so that won’t be a big problem.

Updat pics taken this AM, so I will post them later this evening.

So I’m sittting here wondering why I have been so non-productive today.  I had lots of plans, but somehow I have managed to make it to the end of the day without accomplishing very much.  Can’t say that I’m tired or anything, I just don’t seem to have alot of motivation today.  I did get my workout in, although I skipped my cardio at the end.  I’ll make up for t tomorrow, though.  It’s supposed to be my day off, but i will go in and do 1 hour of cardio, plus some ab work.  I really wish that I could still run outside.  Those hourlong runs used to be just the ticket to clear my mind and give me time to be in my own world.  But my quest to build some quads has ended those nice runs.  I am now caught in the world of sprints and stairs, where everything most be done quickly, and little time given for things such as clearing the mind. I must now focus and channel all my energy and attention into each explosive thrust of my legs. 

Yesterday, I did legs with focus on quads.  I did more sets with higher reps and lower weight than I usually use.  Focused on really feeling the burn and completely exhausting my muscles.  Routine went like this.

Warm-Up

3-Level Box Plyo’s (Jump squat/step-up/step-over) 25/20/15 x 3 sets w/ 10#DB’s

 Legs:

Extensions 25/25/25/25

Leg Press 15/12/10/8/6

Squats 15/12/10/8

Lying Leg Curl 15/12/10/8 superset w/

Standing Leg Curl 15/12/10/10

Walking BB Lunges 60 steps x 3 (70#/50#/30#)

Single Leg Extensions 25/25/25/25 superset w/

Sissy Squats 10/10/10/10

Donkey Calf Press

Standing Calf Press

Today was shoulders.  I really think that they are startig to get some growth.  It’s so nice to finally start seeing some evidence if my abs.  That motivates me to keep pushing! Training went like this:

Standing Push Press 15/12/10/8/6

DB Overhead Press 18/12/10/8

Seated DB Lat Raise 15/12/10/6 superset w/

Bent Over reverse DB Flye 15/12/10/ 6 

Front Lat Shoulder Raise 15/12/10/6

Barbell Shrugs  20/15/15/15

Skull Crushers 2 sets

Tricep Kickbacks

Had to cut workout short because I ran out of time.  But I did triceps on Monday, so I am not too concerned.  Just wish I had gotten the cardio in.

So this morning I had to do my weigh-in.  Really trying to stay away from the scale these days because even though I know that it is not the most important factor, I still freak out when I don’t see that number going down.   Looking in the mirror before stepping onthe scale, what do I see?    My abs!  Yes, they are finally starting to re-appear.  Not only are they starting to show, but I can also see the signs of the "brings that I have been working so hard to achieve.  It didn’t matter what the sclae said, seeing my abs made my day.

Training this weekend was good.  Yesterday I went out to the Mt. Trashmore to run the stairs.  I slept a little longer than I inteded and didn’t beat the sun.  But I was determined to get my legwork in anyway.  I ended up doing 10 sets of stairs with 1.5 minute jog between each set (my version of outside HIIT).  Felt like puking when I started sprints (the sun was blazing), so I abandoned them.  To make up for the shortened sprints I donned my weighted vest to walk the mountain.  I did 2 backwards climbs and 4 sideways climbs ( 2 to each side).  My legs felt like they were going to explode by the end, but I was happy.   I just keep telling myself that the girl beside me on stage is doing twice what I’m doing, so move your butt!!!

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I had way to much energy to let it go to waste, so I wne to the gym to do some abs and extra armwork.  One of the new supps that I am taking causes me to sleep like there is no tomorrow, so I feel as though I have a whole lot more energy lately.  So here is how raining went:

Abs

Hanging/Captain’s Chair Leg Raises 4 x 20

Rope Crunches 4 x 25

Weighted Cable Crunches 4 x 25 (per side)

Bench Rope Pullovers 4 x 20

Shoulders:

Front DB Raise 12/10/4/8/10/12/15 (Ran the rack)

Leaning Lateral DB Raise 10/12/15/18

Reverse Flye 10/12/15/20

Triceps:

Skull Crushers 4 x 10

Tricep Kickbacks 4 x 12

Tricep Rope Pressdown 4 x 10

Dip 4 x 10

Pushups (Decline alt w/flat) 5 x 12

Decline Bench Sit-ups in b/w sets of Pushups

So now I am off to the beach with my daughter.   Have to prepare my meals before we leave because I don’t want to end up getting hungry and eating Dairy Queen with my daughter.  It’s so easy for me to justify cheating on my diet when I don’t have my meals on hand.

Happy Labor Day!

Had a good pump in the gym today.  Today was the third day with the new supplements.  Not sure if there is a big difference, although I am making steady gains in lifts/weight load.  This may all be naural, although I can feel an increased focus.  For whatever reason, I didn’t have much trouble pushing past the points where I normally would exhaust.  I tried to focus on really engaging the intended muscles and holding/squeezing at top of the contractions.  Needless to say,  my bum is really screaming right now.  Hope I’ll be able to get up those stairs tomorrow when I go out to do Saturday morning sprints/stairs. I did do the box combo (jump squats/step overs/step ups @ 3 heights) that  figure competitor Titone did in her training legs video (it’s on my home page). I didn’t use any added weights b/c it was my first time, but my legs were definitely screaming at the end.  I will definitely keep these in my heavy legs rotation.  May even do them on ab/cardio day.

So, here is how today’s training went:

Abs:

Hanging Leg Raise 3 x 15

Ball Pikes 3 x 15

Decline Weighted Crunches 3 x 25

Legs:

Squats 15×2/12/10/8/6/15 (shoes off, feet 2in further apart each set)

Lying Leg Curls 15/12/10/8/6 (superset w/)

Standing Single Leg Curls 15/12/10/8/6

Weighted Hyperextensions 15/12/10/8/6

Box Squat Combo (jump squat/step-up/step-over @ 3 levels)  15/12/10 x 3

Stiff Leg Dead Lift 12/12/10/8

Adductor/Abductor/Plie’ Combo 25/25/20 x 4

Cardio:

30 minutes on incline treadmill (alt forward walk/backward jog)

I leftt he gym feeling pretty good.  Tomorrow supposed to be HIIT (sprints/stairs/mountain walk) only, but I think that I may go in to do some extra shoulder/tricep work.  I wasn’t feeling so hot on Wednesday, so I think my workout was not up to par.  I suppose my body really did need that rest yesterday.

Happy Taining!

Although it took everything in me to take a day off, I did not go to the gym today.  Funny thing is I still got up early this morning and had to go through ten reasons why it was OK for me to miss a day in the gym.  Probably picked up my gym bag, looked at my journal, and then put them back down at least 5 times.  I am actually on vacation this week, so one would think that I would be sleeping in as much as possible.  But I just feel so guilty when I don’t go to the gym, almost as though I am a slacker.

To keep myself busy I made some protein zucchini loafs. They are not on the diet that my trainer gave me, but I had some left over zucchini and I hate to throw food away.  I’ll probably just substitute them for my post-workout meal (chicken breast and sweet potato) and make sure that I am getting comparable macros.  I also decided to finally cleanout my closet.  I have a walk-in closet full of clothes that I no longer fit.  So I have finally decided to get rid of them.  I need to stop pinning up my old pants and adding new holes to my belts.  One of my co-workers said that I reminded her of her grandad with my huge pants and belt pulled beyond tight to keep my pants up.  Well at least the BI’s keep my shirts fitting well.  Since I usually wear scrubs everyday, my clothes have not been very important, so new ones have not been a priority.  I know that I will never fit them again, so it’s time to clean house.

Well, I just wanted to check in.  Tomorrow is heavy legs (hams), so I need to get some rest (all this resting today has tired me out).

 Planning to update pictures and stats this weekend.

Much to my dismay, after arriving at the gym yesterday I discovered that my iPod was missing.  After replaying the previous night, I remembered that I left it in the bathroom after I finished my cardio.  Went to the desk to check if it had been turned in, but no such luck.  So yesterdays workout was definitely a long one, as there was no music for me to get lost in to distract my mind from the pain of a leg (Quads) day.  I felt each and every one of those extra extensions at the end of my workout.

So training went like this:

Abs:

Rope Pull-downs 3 x 25

Cable Side Bends 3 x 25 (each side

DB Weighted Bench V-Ups (3/15)

Legs:

Extensions 4 x 25

Leg Press (feet close) 5 sets (15/12/10/8/6)

Squats 7 sets (shoes off)

Lying Leg Curl 4 sets (15/12/10/8) superset w/

Standing Single Leg Curl 4 sets

Walking Barbell Lunge 3 x 30

Leg Extensions 2 x 25

Standing Calf RAise 4 x 20

Donkey Calf Raise 3 x 15

Cardio:

25 minutes on Incline treadmill Immediately Post-weights

30 Minutes Stairmill Intervals (130/30:65/90)

When I arrived home from the gym, my new supplements had come in the mail.  I was so excited that I wanted to go back to the gym just so I could use them immediately and see if I felt anything.  I did end up going back for evening cardio, but no weights.  I received a free fat caliper with my order, so now I will be able to include BF% in my measurement updates.  I am going to try to keep a really good log with regular updates about the new supplements.  I will review in about 2 months to see if there was really any affect from the addition.  Luckily I have a journal for the past year, so I can luck back at how my weight, measurements, and pictures progressed with my previous 2 cuts and compare to this time around.

Well, it’s time for me to head to gym.  Have to hit these shoulders and triceps today.  Planning to take my daughter school shopping today, so I need to get back home early.  Shopping with my daughter is always a joy.  She is 15 and hates everything that I pick out (her usual response is, “that would look nice on you, but I don’t think it’s something that I would wear”).  But the minute one of her friends says that the same outfit is cute, she absolutely has to have it. Oh, the joy of a teenage daughter.

Happy Training! 

This morning I woke up bright and early with the intention of doing sprints for AM cardio (HIIT).  Unfortunately, it was raining and continued to do so all day.

I made it to the gym this evening to do Back and biceps.  My enery wasn’t the best, as today is first day of TOM.  I made it through all of my lifts though and did soem intervals on stairmill with weighted vest afterward.   There are a couple of girls at the gym who atre training for upcoming local OCB show in October.  Everyone assumes that I must be training for the show because I tend to go pretty hard in the gym and I am very focused.  I don’t really do a lot of conversing.  I go to the gym to workout, not socialize.    I usually keep my hat pulled low over my eyes to decrease the chance of making any eye contact that might invite someone to start a converstion.  Well I forgot my hat today, so got pulled into a few conversations.  A few asked if I was training for a show.  One girl (whose physique I totally admire) asked if I was training for a show because she sees how hard I work.  I told her that I actually didn’t plan on competing again until next year because I am trying to put on some size.  She said that remembers seeing me train for the show that I did earlier this year and how lean I was.  The funny thing is she said that I am her motivation because she thinks my physique is awesome; yet , I look at her and get motivated to work harder because I think her body is amazing.  It’s just funny how we as women are never quite satisfied with ourselves, yet there is always someone else who wishes they could be in our shoes. 

With that, my training went like this today:

Back/Biceps

Pull-ups 4×2 (un-assisted)/2 sets assisted

Bent Over BB Row 4 sets (superset w/)

Straight Leg Dead Lifts 4 sets

One Arm DB Row 3 sets  (superset w/)

Lying Bicep Cable Curls 3 sets

Wide Grip Pull-Down 4 sets  (superset w/)

Close Grip Pull-Down 4 sets

One-arm Seated Row 4 x 15/12/10/8

Double Seated Rows 3 x 15

BB Bicep Curls 4 x 15/12/10/8

Hammer Strength Bicep Curls 3 x 15 (superset w/)

DB Hammer Curls 3 x 10

Leaning Bicep Cable Curls 3 x 10-12  (superset w/)

Bench Push-Ups 3×15

Cardio:

12 minutes Incline Treadmill w/weighted vest (machine stopped working)

25 minutes Stairmill Intervals (30:90 seconds)

 Completely wiped out by the end, but I still feel good.  There is something about that post-workout burn that just gets me hyped up.  Maybe I’m crazy, but I love it!