scouter99 transformed

I have been messing with my playlist a lot lately and think I have it just about perfect, but could definitely use more suggestions for great lifting music.  My taste in lifting music is WAY different from my cardio music (or just generally what I listen to).  I love HEAVY stuff when I lift.  When I run or do any type of cardio- it is girl pop all the way!  Pink, 3 Doors Down, Britney, Avril Lavigne, Duffy, The All American Rejects, Garbage, Daughtry… that kind of stuff.  

Here is what’s on my Mp3 right now for lifting…. any suggestions along this same vein would be much appreciated!!

Disturbed (LOVE them!): Dropping Plates, Down with the Sickness, Meaning of Life, Voices, The Game, Stupify, Violence Fetish, Fear,
White Zombie: Thunder Kiss ‘65, Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony), Super-Charger Heaven, More Human Than Human
Stone Sour: Tumult, Orchids, Get Inside, Choose
Slipknot: Psychosocial, Sulfur
Butthole Surfers: Who was in my Room Last Night?
Pantera: I’m Broken, Walk
Godsmack: Awake
Buckcherry: Rescue Me
Shinedown: Devour
Blue Felix: Black Cloud, in line 2 die
Killswitch Engage: My Last Serenade, This is Absolution, When Darkness Falls
Stone Temple Pilots: Wicked Garden, Sex Type Thing
Alice in Chains: Man in the Box
Puddle of Mud: Never Change
Seether: 6 Gun Quota, Fake It
My Chemical Romance: I’m Not Okay
Deftones: 7 Words, Nosebleed

I love blogs.  Here on bb.com blogs are where I go for inspiration.  Blogs are where I go to get my head right, to get back in the game, to get back on track.  To feel something when I am looking to feel something.  I am amazed at the talent we have here in our walls and here in our blogs.  

Today I read something by my friend Adina (well- she is a bb.com “friend”, though from reading her blogs I think she would a friend IRL too if we ever met) on broken hearts.  See, she compared the heart muscle to the muscles we work in the gym.  Through the process of breaking them down and making them hurt we become stronger.  I hadn’t thought of it like that before, but you know, I think she’s right!

How many of us have suffered a broken heart?  I should see 100% of you raising your hands or nodding your heads right now.  Of course we all have, in one way or another.  Maybe you are the one who has always done the breaking up, but often our hearts get broken somehow before the break up- and that leads us to leave the relationship.  Maybe you have lost a friendship over the years that caused your heart to hurt.  Maybe you have suffered from an unrequited love that ripped your heart up a little bit.  Maybe someone very close to you passed away, breaking your heart into a million little pieces that you thought for sure would never ever heal.  Whatever the circumstance all of us have suffered pain in our hearts at some point.  The question is- how many of us feel as though we are stronger for having suffered?  If you don’t- why not?

Do you feel as though your muscles are stronger because of the pain you put them through?  Have you ever gone into a workout with a sadistic type of glee at the “punishment” you are about to unleash upon your muscles?  Do you study every twinge and tweak for the next 2 days hoping to catch a little (or alot if you are really cool) of those sometimes elusive DOMS after an intense workout, even feeling gypped if you don’t experience them?  Of course you have!!

Some of you may be wondering right now what all this has to do with bodybuilding.  Stick with me a bit longer.  

See- so many of us are afraid of getting our hearts broken and feeling the subsequent pain that we don’t put ourselves out there and take chances.  This can be in anything that involves the heart, but I am thinking pretty specifically about how this applies to fitness.  Let me give you an example.  I am going to be competing in bodybuilding for the first time in October.  I am totally taking the chance of having my heart broken and failing.  Each week I have to recommit myself to this goal.  Each week I have to talk myself down from the ledge of uncertainty.  Even as I write this I feel twinges of anxiety over whether or not I have it in me to do this- especially since I’ve run my mouth about it to everyone I know and therefore opened myself up to the possibility of public heartbreak.  Does any of that stop me?  Hell no!  Especially not now that I have this newfound perspective on things thanks to Adina’s wonderful blog post!

So- How about you?  What goals do you have that could hurt your heart if you don’t achieve them?  What goals are you afraid of setting for that same reason?  How many times in your life have you shied away from something that might be extremely risky for you because you were afraid of getting hurt.  Of failing?  

Well- I’m here to challenge you to give your heart a chance to get stronger just like you do for the rest of your muscles in the gym each week.  Take those risks!!  Create an opportunity to become stronger in every way.   Your heart is the strongest muscle in your body, you know.  It can take it.  Don’t be afraid.  Come on- isn’t it time your heart got a chance to get in the game?  

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what makes people the way that they are.  Some people are positive and mostly happy and like to focus on the good things in life.  Sure they get down, and even talk about it or complain occasionally.  BUT- they spend most of their time focusing on the good and trying to do things to make the world a better place- even in teeny tiny ways (like NOT giving the slow cashier or the annoying person ahead of you in line a hard time).  The believe that they can have a positive impact on their own lives and even the lives of others and live as such.  

Then there are those that spend much of their time being negative.  Complaining about things, bitching at other people and putting negative energy out there.  I know some people like that, and it is not fun being around them.  Instead of being grateful for what they do have, all they can do is focus on what they don’t have.  Instead of working to make their life better, they complain about their crappy lot in life and cry about the hand "fate" has dealt them, wishing for things to be different instead of taking action to make them different.  Doing this occasionally is one thing…. I think we all go there from time to time.  But some people can’t seem to do anything else BUT whine and complain.

I wonder why some people are mostly one way while others are mostly the other way?  Nature?  Nurture?  A combination of both?  Can someone decide to be a different way than they have been?  So if you have been a pretty negative person or tend toward negativity can you just decide not to be anymore?  Is it like the heavy person who decides to change her life and get fit and healthy, or the alcoholic who decides enough is enough and finds sobriety?  It may not be easy but it can be done?

Have you ever heard the expression "there, but for the grace of God, go I" ?  I am so thankful that I am a mostly positive person.  OF COURSE I have bad days.  I do things I don’t feel very good about on those days, like yell at my kids when maybe I shouldn’t.  I complain occasionally (especially lately about my BACK!!!), and doubt myself and my place in this world and my impact on it.  BUT- most of the time I don’t complain, I don’t bitch at others and I do try to leave good things in my wake.  I do believe I can have a positive impact on my life and definitely believe in my own power to change things or my ability to work hard to make things better.

What about you?  If you sit back and make an honest assessement about yourself, what do you see?  Do you have a mostly positive or negative impact on those around you?  Do you keep to yourself or do you try to put something good out there for others to see, feel and experience?

Don’t get me wrong- I am totally not the touchy feely type.  I don’t hug everyone (although for some reason I do hug more than I used to).  I don’t even say hello to everyone.  I am outgoing, but not in your face.  I don’t preach or stand on a soapbox and I definitely don’t think my shit don’t stink.  I make mistakes, big and little.  Sometimes my wake is rocky and not as positive as I would like it to be.  Luckily I was born with a brain that can learn and I take advantage of that!

I guess with things in this country (and world) being so tough and scary right now I have found myself thinking about this a lot.  I think outlook and attitude play such a huge role in a person’s ability to cope and survive.  I just wonder how many people think about these things too.  

Tonight I plan to go to the gym and train the shit out of my legs.  My back is still bothering me a lot, but like everything in life, that is just one little part of what is going on with me.  I won’t let one little thing destroy everything else (or even one big thing, or multiple things… nothing causes complete and utter destruction unless you let it).  I will find a way to live with and work around anything in my life that is not quite going the way I want it to.  Cause that’s just how I roll.

I haven’t been in the gym since last Tuesday.  That is almost 1 week of pure hell.  My back has been hurting so bad that I felt I needed to take some extended time off and give it a really good break.  Tonight I break my vow of celibacy on the iron and am going to get back in there and work chest.  I am still going to take it easy because I am still in pain, but damn if I am going to take anymore time away.  I cannot WAIT to hit that iron tonight!  This day is just dragging by because that’s all I can think about!

Having this injury has certainly been a HUGELY depressing challenge for me, but I am seeing a silver lining as well.  First of all- I appreciate myself when I am healthy SO MUCH MORE now that I can’t do everything I want to do.  Being able to lift heavy, work out hard, and do all the physical daily activities I want is a HUGE blessing!  You never really see that until you lose it, huh?  I promise when I feel better I will appreciate my body so much more!!  

The other good thing to come of this is that I am going to be changing things up a bit and am so excited about that!!  I am going to add some cardio back into the mix.  I stopped all cardio about a month ago to really focus on bulking and adding quality muscle.  I think that was a good thing- but I am ready to move this body in new ways again.  I feel thick and not in a good way.  I’ve avoided weighing myself because I knew that would send me over the edge.  I’m sure I’m up a few pounds due to eating more calories and adding creatine into my routine…. Don’t need to see it on the scale!  I’d like to drop a little fat and see what this new muscle I’ve added actually looks like!  Just in time for shorts and short sleeve weather to find its way back to Minnesota!!  I also started a round of Animal Cuts to help with that.  I love Cuts!  I always feel so awesome when I take it.  I kicked off the addition of cardio with 30 minutes on the Elliptical at 5:30am this morning.  Even though I really hate when that alarm goes off when it is still dark and way too early I do love the way I feel after doing cardio in the morning.  I hate leaving cardio for the evening.  Lifting- now that’s a different story.  I really hate lifting in the morning and love doing it at night!  I guess that means I was MADE for 2-a-days, right!?!  Cardio in the morning, iron in the evening, ain’t life just grand?!?!

So- with that update on me I’ll leave you to the rest of your day, with just a small request to wrap things up.  If you are so inclined please send me positive vibes that my back will get better soon.  I am still in a fair amount of pain when I bend forward or twist to the right.  I am going with the thought that it is just a muscle strain and am trying to be gentle with myself.  There may have to be a doctor visit in my future but since it has only been not quite 2 weeks I’ll wait and see if it heals on it’s own for a bit yet.  I didn’t really take care of myself the 1st week of this injury (because I didn’t really realize I was injured) but now that I am taking care of myself hopefully I’ll see things get better day by day.  

Train hard everyone!  Extra hard for the girl who wishes more than anything she could too!

I have finally sustained an injury that is NOT related to my knees and is definitely inhibiting my training somewhat.  I pinched/pulled a rhomboid.  I think.  It is in the Rhomboid area and VERY deep (on the left side).  It hurts like a motherf’er!  It hurts when I do SOOO many things!  Mostly when I do anything that causes me to squeeze my shoulder blades together (or lay flat on my back).  

Man it makes me mad!  And I didn’t even do it lifting!  I was just being silly with the kids and all of a sudden it hurt and it’s been killing me ever since.  This was last week.  Later that night (after hurting it) I worked back.  Not such a good idea- but at that point I didn’t realize that I had really hurt myself.  Knew it later, though!  

Man!  I hate this!  Anyone have any advice on how to make this feel better fast?  On Saturday I had started to feel a little better and then did dips.  That was a HUGE mistake and I was back to square one.  

I will not let this sideline me.  I don’t want to hurt myself worse, but I will go crazy if I can’t work out.  This is a true story and not an exaggeration!  On my rest days I am such a crab!  I am absoutely the type that has to work out to be happy.  So don’t tell me to take a week off, k?  

Oh- and anyone taking creatine?  I just started it a week ago- finished the loading and let me tell you- I feel FAT!!!  I feel bloated!!  I hate it!!  Is it worth it to keep taking it?  Because I hate feeling this way so there had better be some HUGE benefits!!  Please sell them to me.

See ya all later!

Maybe this is better posted in a forum as that might get more traffic than my little blog…. or maybe there is a forum post on this (note to self: search the forums!)….

But…. I’ll post here anyway since I can and am already here….. for those of you who have competed, are training to compete or are just thinking about the possibility of competing someday, what are some of the best pieces of advice that you have received related to competition?  What is something that you would tell someone you are training that you hope they would apply to either their training or dieting?  If I were on my knees clinging to your ankles and BEGGING you to please help push me down the road to my competition with some advice what would you tell me in order that you could then run very fast away from my crazy self once I released you from my vicelike grip (200+lb deadlifts will do that to your grip you know)?  

Seriously- I am training hard.  Not sure I’m training as smart as I could be, but balls to the wall, heavy and hard, that I have going for me in spades.  I need to clean up my diet- yes.  I mean, I am eating clean, but possibly a bit too much and too high in carbs (though I am bulking right now and they are mostly good carbs!).  But given that I am now 8 months from competition (32 weeks)… if I were you and this were YOUR first ever competition with a long way to go…. what would you be doing right now?

Thank you soooooooo much in advance!!  Now I’m off to do more forum and blog searches on this topic…… la la la la la!!

Hey there, it’s me, the legs.  This is the first time I’m posting here on this blog (or any blog, for that matter).  Since I worked so hard last night and lifted as if my life depended on it I felt I deserved some blog time.  Call it my 15 minutes.

So- got to the gym last night and started right in with squats.  This chick don’t mess around.  Usually she lets me get a warm up on the leg extension but not tonight.  We did a few Alternating jump lunges and squat jumps and then it was ON!  Started off with a light 95 lbs and did about 20 squats at that weight.  Her dude was already there and into the workout, think that had something to do with the fire in her pants to get going.  Anyway- after resting during his set she then loaded a couple more 45’s on the bar and knocked out another 15 or so.  Another rest, another couple of 45’s.  We did about 12 at that weight (225).  I was hurting at this point, and the back was talking to me too saying that I needed to send a message that this felt like PLENTY at this point.  She don’t listen though and next thing I knew we had another 50 on the bar.  That’s right, 275.  I’ve never done 275 before and I don’t know WHY the hell she thought I could, but on went the belt and then BAM!  Felt that heavy ass weight like a brick wall trying to crush me.  OK- if she was ready then so was I (after all the legs are supposed to be the strongest muscle group even though her BRAIN thinks it is).  Down and up, Down and up, down and up (come-on lungs, give me some oxygen here!), down and up, down and up, and for good measure- 1 more time!!  6 reps.  BOOYA!  And that was squats ladies and gentlemen.  

Think I got a rest here?  Who are you kidding?  Right on to the leg press.  We did so many sets I lost count (this crazy girl thinks it is wise to do 12 reps at a regular leg stance and then with no rest immediately go into 10 reps at a wide feet turned out stance- will someone talk to her about this insanity, please?).  I know we started out with 4 plates.  We finished with 8 plates.  No clue what the machine alone weighs but I almost wouldn’t walk for her after that (but for some reason those decisions aren’t mine to make on this body- what was it I said about that freaken brain of hers?).  And guess what she did in between sets?  More alternating jump lunges.  What ever happened to an actual rest???    

What was next?  Seated Hamstring curls and leg extension superset.  Yeah- no rest here either.  Just one after the other after the other for 3 total sets of each.  WHEW.  Now some of you are thinking that is a pretty complete leg workout, right?  WRONG!  

Off to the hack squat machine alternating with calves for yet another superset.  And the hack squat is another exercise where this loose cannonball thinks she can mix things up.  12 reps at a regular stance and then IMMEDIATELY she puts her feet together and does these crazy low pulse squats, pulsing down for 10 and then up 3 times total.  Christ.  This made us dizzy and FINALLY she had to sit down and rest for a few minutes.  Think that stopped her from doing it again?  Naw- we did it 2 more times for a total of 3 sets.  Crazy.  By now the mind was on vacation so I can’t quite remember what weight we used (sure, leave me to feel all the pain).  I believe we started with 2- 45’s, went up to 4-45’s and then did 3-45’s or something like that.  I do remember this machine was 60lbs with no weight.  

Last but not least we did a final set of lying hamstring curls- but instead of traditional (anyone seeing a pattern here?) we did 1 legged negatives.  Up with two legs, down for a slow 5 count with one leg.  8 reps on each leg then rest.  Do it again.  Rest.  Do it again.  Rest and then we had to pound out one final set of 2 legged hamstring curls for 12 reps.  And then, mercifully, we were done.  Until Friday when we work legs all over again (who came up with the twice weekly legs BS anyway?).

This is the legs signing off.  Over and out.

Does that mean I am officially crazy or just really truly into it?  I have not had the best day today and am DYING to get to the gym and show my legs who’s boss (since I can’t really show anyone else right now).  I get an evil glint in my eye when I think about the weight that I am gonna lift tonight (do so, I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror and saw it!).

Sometimes all that gets me through the BS of life is that 1-2 hours in the gym.  Thank god for physical health and a body that can lift damn heavy weight!

Oh- and my abs and chest are feeling the lbs from yesterday.  YEE HAW!! Nothing better than that baby.

So we officially joined Golds last week.  The one we joined we LOVE because it is a true gym.  There are a lot of hardcore lifters there and that makes all the difference.  They have a MILLION Plates everywhere, so you are never searching around for a plate or having to walk over to another area to get the weight you want.  They also have those preloaded barbell trees (2 of them) with already loaded barbells from 20-100lbs…. THAT is a really nice feature!!  Anyway- the set up and equipment at the gym totally sold us!  The Childcare, on the other hand, leaves a LOT to be desired and the kids don’t really like it so much- which makes convincing them to cooperate with going very difficult.

Today we went to a different Golds- a MUCH bigger one and in a lot of ways MUCH nicer.  It has a really nice childcare room, the locker rooms are awesome!!!  BUT- the gym is not anywhere NEAR as nice.  Well- it is NICE, but not a hardcore gym at all.  It is a HEALTHCLUB gym.  Much different.  And not so much what we are looking for.  UGH!

Why can’t we find one that has EVERYTHING we want?  Great childcare and a great gym? I don’t really care about the locker rooms.  Amenities, no biggie to me (a whirlpool is really nice, though, which we did find out today.  Will be doing THAT after leg and back day for SURE).  Give me a place the kids want to go to and a gym that fits a hardcore bodybuilder please.  That too much to ask??

Please God let me win the lottery so I can open my OWN gym!  Pretty please?  I promise to give back to the community in a big way!  I’m sure I could use the gym to do that as well as the money.

That said- I have been having the most kick ass workouts since joining Golds.  I am focused and at home.  Chad has been the same and now that we are truly working out together we are really going at it hard, heavy and FAST!!  We are much more efficient this way.  One lifts while the other spots and rests.  Occasionally we will do our own thing- he is a boy and I am a girl and we do have different needs, strengths, weak spots and goals.  That’s fine.  

Today I was doing decline bench and on my 3rd set I was trying for 135.  I started getting giggly for some reason (maybe it was the view I had has he stood over me waiting to help me get the bar up )… anyway- because of that I wasn’t focused and couldn’t do it.  I sat up to get my wits about me and he just casually leaned over and said in my ear "that’s fine, I’m not the one who has to get up on stage in a posing suit in October"… that was it.  I forwarded my mp3 to White Zombie’s- ‘More Human Than Human’, put in both headphones (we usually lift with only one in so we can hear each other) and then decided that I was getting that shit up.  I did get it up- for 6 reps unassisted…. damn what a little motivation, ass kicking and determination will do (not to mention a little White Zombie).  All in all I had a good chest day, though it wasn’t quite the same feeling in that clubby gym, but I lifted heavy and went hard.  That’s what counts.

Tomorrow is legs.  You know what that means.  Game on, folks.