scouter99 transformed

Tonight I worked legs and I have to say that I rocked them.  My knees didn’t hurt so bad tonight and I definitely took advantage of it (skipped the squats, why push it??).  

Highlights:
1.  did barbell steps ups (on a HIGH step- 24 inches) with a 75lb barbell on my shoulders for 6 reps (did 2 sets prior with 45 and 55lbs).

2.  Did the leg press machine with 220lbs for 5 reps!  that was my FIFTH set, 75, 100, 130, 190 then 220!

3.  Almost made myself pass out from walking lunges.  Did 120 of them with 30lbs SUPER slow and low (back knee almost touching the ground on each step).

When my knees cooperate I LOVE leg day!  I also did some killer plyos as well.

Oh- and my biceps are STILL super sore.  Thank you negatives!

Just have to pop in and say KAWABUNGA!!!  I totally rocked my chest workout today and achieved a personal record on all but 1 of the exercises I did (check out my workout tracker to find out more)!

I tried to bench 135 and couldn’t do it- but I DID bench 130!  135 here I come!

Now I’m gonna have to give my upper body some time to recover.  Between my totally KILLED and DEAD biceps to what is sure to be a very sore chest I think I see a leg day in my future.  BUWAAAAHAAAHAAA!

Then do negative curls.  Holy shit do my biceps hurt this morning!  They hurt last night even- only hours after I trained them!  I’m gonna have to try doing negatives for all my muscle groups!  I

I’m so freaken excited about this!

I love a challenge.  No matter what I do- I always have to do it with gusto and to the best of my ability.  I was born competitive and whether it is competing against someone else or myself- I really hate to lose.  That tendency has only gotten worse with age.  This, my friends, is a true double edged sword, though.  See- I really hate to lose.  If I do lose one of two things happens.  Either I work harder to make sure I DON’T lose a second time, or I don’t do it again.  This is my reaction to something that I am not good at and don’t foresee ever being good at (like golfing).  That is definitely something I dislike about myself and therefore am working on it.  I will not allow myself to be either a loser OR a quitter.  BTW- I don’t consider something a loss if you try your hardest and work your hardest and put your best effort out there.  Well- it is a loss for ME- but it is still somewhat a win, especially if you try again.  Some of you will understand what I mean.

The point to all this?  Over the years I have felt that one of the things I am not very good at is liking my body.  I have always hated my body.  From as young as I have memories I didn’t like the way I looked.  I was always too tall and too big.  My nickname in elementary school (given to me by the BOYS) was Jolly Green Giant.  There was a girl in my class who was very mean to me and she would pinch the fat in my tricep area when I would raise my hand if the teacher wasn’t looking.  In High School the only time I didn’t hate my height or body was on the basketball court.  There I dominated and that was in large part because of my height and my strength.  The time spent on the court was so short, though, that the majority of the time I really hated my body.  

So I have spent many years trying to change the way I look.  I have dieted, read everything I can get my hands on, tried more than a few different diet pills over the years, but haven’t really had much success.  I would lose a few pounds just to gain back more than a few.  Total fricken roller coaster.

Then- I discovered the iron.  Better than anything I’ve ever tried lifting weights has begun to do something to my body that I only dreamed about.  I have muscles.  Visible freaken muscles!  I feel strong.  I feel sexy (some of the time- working on that too).  But most of all… the most hated part of my body is actually shrinking!  I can see it, I can feel it.  My stomach is finally shrinking.  When I am lifting in the gym the whole world disappears.  It is just me and my muscles and the iron.  Everyday is a competition with myself.  How much more can I lift today than last time?  How many more reps can I do?  How many more exercises?  What can I try that I’ve never tried before?  Then- when I see a "boy" lifting weights I have to see if I can do better than him.  There are many "boys" in my gym.  I can outlift many of them.  

Today I had a great bicep/tricep workout!  It really rocked.  A few highlights….

1.  I did true negative bicep curls with 75lbs.  2 sets of 6.  Thanks to my baby for pushing me (push me harder next time, hon).
2.  After I watched a "boy" do tricep cable press downs with 80lbs I had to go do them with 100lbs- AND DID 5 OF THEM (after doing 12 at 80lbs and 10 at 90lbs)!
3.  I did 5 chin ups at only 40lbs less than my body weight (after doing 2 other sets of chins at 54lbs less than my body weight).
4.  I hit the weighted dips hard again and did 3 sets- one set of 10 with a 45lb plate on my lap and two of them with 70lbs on my lap for 6 reps, dropping immediately to 45lbs to exhaustion as soon as I couldn’t push up with the 70 anymore (again, thanks to my baby for the assist on that).

So- today I salute the iron and all that it has done for me.  May we continue to have a long and prosperous love affair.  I am thinking until death do us part.

For many years now I have had the desire to have a strong muscular body that I can be proud of but lacked the execution necessary to attain that body.  I wished it so, dreamt about it, read articles about how to achieve it, made lists of plans on how I was going to achieve it, even did the workouts in a somewhat driven but not completely full out engaged way, but it always came down to execution.  I made the plans but did not execute the plans.

This is the difference between then and now.  Then: desire without execution.  Now: desire AND execution come together in a beautifully synced and symbiotic relationship.  I have taken that burning desire and transformed it into action and execution.  I feel that execution every single day in my sore muscles and ability to lift more weight than I ever have in my whole life.  It is what I thrive on.

I am the executioner.

Ok- I don’t normally feel this way about Mondays, but…… Today is the ONLY day I have to work in the office for the next two weeks!!  YIPPEE!

And- Monday’s are my two-a-day workout days which I really actually LOVE because that means I get to feel good about getting my ass out of bed early in the AM to workout (which I am proud that I did that early ass workout with wild abandon today) AND I get to go to the gym and hit the iron HARD with the love of my life!

Now- I know a lot of people would think I am crazy for loving a day when I work out twice… but see- this is my chance to show my drive and dedication.  Getting up before it is light out to work out is extremely tough.  I always feel super victorious afterward.  Knowing that I am going to get to hit the iron later with Chad is like my reward for being so tough.

This morning I did Imax 2 by Cathe Friedrich.  It is an hour long interval step workout that has 10 very tough intervals.  It is considered one of her toughest workouts and I absolutely LOVE it and rocked the shit out of it this morning.

Tonight I get to work Back and depending on how the timing works I may also do Shoulders.  I have to do Abs as well since I ran out of time yesterday and didn’t do them after my leg workout.

What are YOU gonna do today???

I love being a bodybuilder.  I truly love it.  I am working on being excellent at it, though I have a long way to go.  I mean being a true bodybuilder, from what I do in the gym to what I do out of the gym.  Out of the gym is where I struggle the most and where I need the most work.  In the gym I leave it all on the floor.  I work until I can barely move.  I sweat until I am drenched.  Sometimes I work until I bleed.  I read something today that moved me to my very core and made me want to try harder in everything I do related to being a bodybuilder.  It is an Animal ad and it is amazing.  Here it is:

History is a bitch.  It is merciless, weeding out the wannabe pretenders from the true contenders.  It crushes the weak, leaves ‘em behind.  It stops for no man.  But that don’t mean you can’t push back.  Who are the defiant?  When it’s time to spill blood and guts, they come with buckets in hand.  When the chips are down, they rise to the occasion.  When a balls out session calls, they’re always the first in line- and they get right back in to ask for more… More punishment means more reward.  Standing tall, they are warriors.  They are mythmakers.  A breed apart, we are not made, we are born.  Born for this, born to shine in the darkness.  So take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself this- are you a leader?  Or will you be forever resigned to follow?  When history is made, will you be the one making it, unracking the iron and unsettling the dust?  Or will you sit on your ass, reading about it long after the fact?  There is no room for second.  No place for the imitator.  No space for the poser.  History will be made… For the one.

I am no wannabe pretender.  I am not weak.  I am no poser.  I am the one.  I am writing my history now and my history is much different from those women who walk/run at 4.0 on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then call it a day, or who sit on the stationary bike and read a magazine while pedaling slower than I can crawl on my hands and knees, or who lift the 5lb dumbbells or work on the machine at an easy pace with maybe 2 or 3 plates without breaking nary a sweat gland.  You will not find me making excuses for why I don’t have time to workout today, or how I am too sick to give it my all out, balls to the wall effort.  

NO- My history is like those women in these halls.  Who get up on stage and compete, after having sacrificed their bodies and their free time for years to be there.  Whose alarms go off at 4am because that is the only time they have to workout and working out is more important than sleeping.  Who cook 2 different meals each night so they can eat like a bodybuilder when their families refuse to.  Who workout everyday through pain, illness, being up all night with a sick child, a packed schedule, not because it will bring them fame or glory or even money, but because they have the unquenchable passion and drive and are called to create a strong beautiful temple for themselves.   We are all THE ONE- and I am proud as hell to be included in this group.  I will write my history and will never be satisfied.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can make fitness more a part of my life.  It is a total passion of mine and has been a true love for a long time even though it has gotten shoved to the back burner more often than I would like to admit over the years.  Years ago before my children were born (about 10) I took a class at a local health club chain to prepare me to be a certified group exercise instructor (ACE).  I loved step aerobics and group classes and really wanted to teach.  Life got in the way (pregnancy) and I never actually took the certification.  That was before I discovered the love of the iron and now I find myself thinking about certification again.  Now it is Personal Trainer instead of Group Instruction.

It seems that everyone and their brother talks about being a personal trainer.  With all those PT’s out there how can one ever make a living at it?  I don’t want it to be something I do in my spare time- simply because I have no spare time.  I want it to be my life.  I was to live fitness.  Maybe I should also focus on nutrition as well as it seems there aren’t as many people qualified in both.  Total body transformation.  Someone who can help people completely change their life for the better- if they are willing to work hard and be dedicated.

Chad (t9388cs) talks to me about his dream of owning and running a gym.  He has gotten me excited about this possibility.  What if we really could do this?  Not just any old gym…. but one that becomes known by serious bodybuilders and lifters throughout the area as THE place to go when you want to train heavy and hard.  There are plenty of "gyms" around.  You know the ones.  The Snap, 24hr Fitness, Anytime Fitness places that are open 24 hours, have a lot of various equipment, but most of the people who work out there have no clue what they are doing.  They get in the serious person’s way- simply because they don’t know any better.  I would love to train in a gym full of muscle heads lifting really heavy weight and training to exhaustion.  Talk about inspiration and motivation!!  PLUS- as the ONLY girl in my gym (at least that we’ve ever seen) who lifts heavy and sweats and grunts and bares her teeth I won’t look like such a circus freak to that crowd (not that I care what I look like, because I really don’t).

My purpose of this post besides just putting these thoughts down in writing is to see if anyone out there in this community has ever fulfilled a dream like this?  What did you do and how did you do it?  I would love to hear your story.  Please help give a girl a little inspiration- will ya?

Been a busy week and I haven’t had much time to get on here and post.  I miss debriefing on here at the end of the day- have to make more of an effort to do that.  My workouts haven’t suffered though- I’ve beeing going at it hard as usual.  Took a rest day on Thursday- figured since that would have been 7 days in a row with no rest AND since as of that day I had only had 2 rest days all month (not even 1 a week) I should probably take it easy.  It was tough not to work out, though.  REALLY tough.

Last night I did bi’s and tri’s at the gym.  I was able to increase my weight on most exercises and really went for it.  I am feeling it this morning.  Stupidly, though, Chad and I went out and had a few drinks and split a burger and tator tots afterward.  Ok- by a few drinks I mean 2 drinks and 2 shots of Jag.  Dumb dumb dumb.  

BUT- I do have a highlight to report!!!  I did bench dips with my legs on a stool and 70lbs on my lap!!  That would be a 45lb plate AND a 25lb plate!!  I did 12 reps with just 45 and then went for it.  After I did 7 reps with 70lbs Chad took off the 25 and I did 3 more with just the 45 and then I was TOASTED!  That rocked!

Now for my problem area.  I haven’t been the great in the food department these last few days.  It hasn’t been horrible- but I feel as though I am having a cheat meal (a minor one) a day lately.  That is unacceptable and I really need to get it in gear.  I have come way too far these last few weeks to just fall apart now.  I don’t think it has anything to do with the holidays, either.  Just weakness on my part.  I cannot be weak.  So I resolve to getting back to tracking all my food on fitday AND planning my meals ahead, thus not giving myself the excuse to cheat due to lack of time and planning.  I’ve GOT to push forward full spead ahead on this.  My weigh in day wasn’t bad- I was down a tiny bit in weight (not measurements, though)- even though it is that time and I am really bloated.  Let’s keep things going that direction, shall we?

Just finished the workout that I didn’t think was gonna happen today.  And miracle of all miracles- my knees didn’t bother me that much!  YAY!

Since I had to work out in my home gym I decided to do one of my DVD’s so I pulled out Amy Bento’s A-Team Bootcamp.  This is a great circuit workout that works every muscle plus has cardio intervals and keeps your heart rate going through most of it.  I always feel completely worked when I do this one and typically have DOMS in my legs a day or two afterward (bonus!).  

Now it’s time to shower up and hit the hay.  Hope everyone kicked some ass today!