sparklebear00’s BodyBlog

Alright, well i am finding that HIIT and lifting don’t go well together. I am hitting the weights harder than I ever have, so when I am done, I am TANKED! Like I’m done for real. And the same goes for HIIT. So, I suppose that it’s lifting and cardio at seperate times of the day now.

I did my 5×5 for upper body for the first time today and I was shocked on many levels. I never work shoulders (bad girl, I know) but I found that my shoulders are stronger than I ever thought they were! My military press wasn’t too bad! I kicked ass on my back, again, but my chest…ooooooh man do I have no chest strength. Which, this is what I don’t get. Even my former trainer was shocked at how strong my back was, but that I could barely do a push-up. How in the world does a person develop their back muscles so well without knowing it? Before anyone says ‘backpack’ know that I haven’t worn one in years.

My bench press was craaaaaappy, but you know what, it’ll get better. I already knew that my left bicep was significantly weaker than my right, and it help true to form today.  When they finally even out I’ll feel much better. But, once again, something that will get better in time.

The most important lesson learned today - don’t work shoulders then attempt to do dips. Key word is ‘attempt’ because you body won’t even let you get in the dip position.  My shoulders were SHOT! Good feeling though.

Tomorrow is lower body, where I feel like I pretty much reign supreme. But then again, I’m female, so my lower body is pretty much designed to be stronger than my upper body. This workout should go even faster now because I know all my weights for various exercises. Woo hoo! Even though I did no cardio, I feel like I lifted so heavy today that I didn’t need to do any cardio. I was just too damn tired for it - and besides, the gym is a 10 minute walk from my apartment anyway. Isn’t that cardio?

So, I am a 6′2 female with a large frame, and all any doctor says is that a weight between 185 and 200 is good for me.  So, I have aimed for 185 as my goal weight, which is about 30 pounds away. But, looking at my body I feel like I have more than 30 pounds of visible fat that needs to go away. I’m trying not to let this get me down, but I don’t want to reach 185 and still feel like I have so much work to do! I remember what i looked/felt like at 287, so I know that 185 will be an improvement from THAT, but it may not make me look the way I want to in my head.

I have also read several BodySpaces where women had an ideal number in their heads for their weight, and the more fit they got the less that number matted. As in, one particular woman wanted to be 160 and she thought that would be it. Well, she kept working at her body past that point and now weighs 130, far beyond her goal.

I want to be able to look past the scale, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that until after I hit 185. But I also don’t want to be cutting for the rest of my life. That is an exaggeration, but I really don’t want to still be cutting a year from now. Cutting is no fun!

Seriously though, I love this place. And, I need something to take over for my love of eggplant parmesan. BodySpace has no calories and I never feel bad after our time spent together. So, BodySpace it is!

I love logging on and reading blogs, looking and progress pictures, and observing graphs. It totally keeps me motivated because the people on this site are mostly just like me. They’re not perfect, their bodies are so-so, but they aspire to be in tip-top shape - which is whatever it means to them. Sure there is a fair share of pro bb’ers  and fitness models, but this site is majority average people trying to do better. I love that. Looking at someone else’s progress pics and reading about them stumbling and them picking up the pieces is incredible motivation. We all have to start from somewhere.
I am a smidge sore after my workout yesterday, so today was LISS and abs. I have to make abs a seperate day because that way I am forced to focus on them. I hate hate HATE working abs! Oh well. I was worried about getting bored for cardio because I was forced to stay indoors because of the rain, but when something good in on TV I can do cardio forever! I watched (and don’t laugh or judge me) the Britney Spears special on MTV and True Hollywood Story: Oprah Winfrey. Good stuff. It’s amazing what you miss when you don’t have cable. TV trash is now an amenity.

Tomorrow is upper body 5×5, and I am stoked. Upperbody means BACK! I looooove working my back!

And note to self - I thought that a wide legged stance on the leg press meant it works the hammies more, like a wide legged squat. I was wrong. It works the glues, and ohhhhh does it work the glutes.  My butt may hate me for yesterday. I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem to be too happy right now.

Today was an awwwwesome gym day! Days like these totally energize me!

I did HIIT on the spinner bike again, and that completely kicks my ass. I’ve done HIIT before with other exercises, but there is something about standing up and peddling with incredibly high resistance that just kills me. I can only do 15 minutes now with 30 seconds on and 1 minute off, but I am going to try to work up to 20 minutes.

So, I began my 5×5 program today for something new. I am tired of counting to 8 and 10, so 5 sounds pretty good. I LOVED IT! I think that, psychologically, it is better because I am moving more weight. Well, duh, because reps are lower I will move more weight, but still. I was a squatting, deadlifting, and other various exerciseing machine!

I am going to be VERY sore tomorrow. Awesome.

Today at the gym I just could NOT get it together. I planned to do LISS, but I couldn’t focus, so I opted for HIIT instead because it would end faster. But, to my credit, I did kick my butt on the spinner bike for the HIIT. I was sweating like you wouldn’t believe and my quads were on FIRE. I suppose this makes up for the lack of a leg workout I was supposed to have done today.

There was a time that working legs was my favorite thing, because I LOVE working my hamstrings. Well today I just could not focus on legs. So, I gave into my leg laziness and did a general upper body workout. It was nice to deviate from two body parts a day. I worked everything a little bit, and I did alot of compound exercises. Oh, I also forced myself to squat so I did SOME legs. But even that squatting was just not my thing today. I don’t know what was wrong with me.

Back has long been my favored body part to work, and today I realized again how much I HATE SHOULDERS. I mean, I’m not a fan of chest, but I will do almost anything to avoid working shoulders. I feel like I have no shoulder strength at all and those exercises fatigue me like no other. I need to get over it.

What do yall do when you hate to work out a certain body part?

I was trying to explain to my friend what BodySpace was, and she was SO convinced that it was like MySpace where everyone logs on to try to hook up.

I mean, I am sure that people have met off of BodySpace, but that’s not the GOAL of posting up your info. Right? Or am I wrong here? I’m not looking for the love of my life on here, but if I find him does that negate what I just said?

Okay, now I’m confused.

Well, happy match searching! hahaha

5 day detox = done!

I’ve been asked about what the detox actually was, so here goes. It is unlimited raw fruits, veggies, and nuts for 5 days. Any dried seasoning you want except salt and boatloads of water. Sounds painful, but it’s not that bad until you start and get used to it.
Last night I was supposed to eat what I wanted for breakfast this morning for dinner, but I didn’t. I felt like I should eat like complete the detox 100%. So that is what I did! Well that and my crazy roomie was in the kitchen and very angry so i chose to grab 1/4 of a head of cabbage from the fridge and leave him alone in the apartment. But, I thank him for the awkwardness because it encouraged me to eat more cabbage.
I went to two parties last night, both with unlimited alcohol and snacks. And, I didn’t eat a thing except the dreaded veggie platter that everyone stays away from. A few carrots and a few tomatoes. I was very proud. I avoided eggnog (my holiday weakness), pizza bites, oreos, ginger cookies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin tartlets, potato chips, tortilla chips, guacamole, ranch dressing, orange juice, and various kinds of alcohol.

Whoa, now that I write it out, there was a LOT of crap at both parties. And I watched a lot of people mindlessly eat it…and I could see myself doing the same. Eating anything and everything infront of my face, under the false pretense that it is rude to not eat it. It’s ruder to myself to eat that crap.

Waking up today knowing that I have finished all 5 days is an AMAZING feeling. "Mind over matter" is a fantastic phrase that I should believe in more. I found out today that my father did this same detox for 21 days for fun while in college. He only stopped because his footbal coach told him he had to put the weight back on. 21 days is a LONG time, but I bet I could do it. The only problem is that I need to workout more, and by eating what I was for those days I just don’t have the energy to lift let alone lift AND do cardio.

Seriously folk, mind over matter.

It is day 5, and the detox officially ends when I wake up in the morning, but at the end of Day 5, I am allowed to eat for dinner what I was planning on eating for breakfast tomorrow. I was also instructed to write it down.

It’s funny how before I was thinking that this detox would be hell and that I would eat all these fruits and veggies then gain nothing from it. Well, it didn’t work that way. I feel a little more peaceful now. I’m not going to say that it is all because of raw broccoli, but there was no inner turmoil about eating. I could eat unlimited fruits, veggies, and nuts. I like the word unlimited. So, what is there to complain about when I have my pick of 100’s of things to eat? Only that I have to chew a little more and a little harder. Boo hoo. Suck it up.

In fact, I think I can always pretty much eat unlimited fruit and vegetables. The nuts will have to be toned down, but that I can do with no problem. I LOVE the word "unlimited!"

No, after racking my brain for alllllllllllllllllllll the foods I would want to eat after this fast I have come up with oatmeal cooked in soy milk. So, the nutritionist was right - my tastes WOULD change. I don’t want a piece of pizza or a serving of something greasy. I want old fashioned oats cooked in unsweetened plain soy milk. This is a big day.

I had left over pumpkin cheesecake batter from Thanksgiving that I had to make, so I am bringing cheesecake cupcakes to a friend’s party tonight.  While making them I didn’t do anything but smell the batter…and that was only because I was worried that it could be bad. I didn’t dip a finger, lick a spoon, or nibble on some crust - I didn’t even have to tell myself not to do those things. I poured the non useful extras down the drain, where as before I would have eaten them and then licked the bowl.

I am making small steps toward food confidence that I had at one time in my past. I want it back!

Well, tomorrow is the last day of my raw fruit and veggie detox. I have to finish day 5 for ME, not for anyone else. It’s day 4 and I am already starting to crack. Days 1-3 were fine, so wtf is going on? I had a headache today, and I was catching myself daydreaming abut oatmeal and potatoes. It sounds stupid, and I wish I were joking, but I’m not. haha

Tomorrow also marks a big test for me. I am going to a house party where there will be all kinds of alcohol and egg nog. if you don’t already know, I recently blogged about quitting drinking, and eggnog is my holiday vice. My plan is to avoid both. And that I can do with ease….yes. The more I say it the more confident I feel.
When I finish this detox I will be very proud of myself. Last year i tried and quit on day 2. This year I am going to finish it with a bang….or well a hunk of raw red cabbage.

I am itching to get into the gym (I think the live chat with Tiffany Forni caused most of this), but I think I will do some seated bike work while there juuuust incase I don’t feel too hot after a while. I don’t want to push myself, as I don’t know how efficiently the human body runs off of fiber and phytochemicals.

Day 5 will be a breeze, I have complete faith in myself. No carbs, a gym visit, no egg nog, no alcohol, all joy and accomplishment.

I now officially weigh less than I did in the 8th grade. Thank GOD. Even though the scale and I hate eachother, I totally need it for moments like this.

I have been here once before, about a year and a half ago I got down to 211, so once I bust THAT bubble I will be in uncharted territory. But, really 10 pound is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I have almost lost 70, so what’s 10?

It’s really hard not to beat myself up about this, but I gained 30 pounds last year. I wish I could have maintained the 211 or LOST the 30 instread of gaining it, but woulda-coulda-shoulda. I’m here now at 219 and that’s all that matters. 219 is WAY better than the 241 it was in April.

Oh how I love updating my updating my body stats. Now, if I could just find a job in this craphole of an economy everything would be great!