Crystal’s Rants

It is no secret that lean muscle burns fat… so my pursuit of lean muscle has been an ongoing battle as I also attempt to gain strength in my legs to work off those problem areas a lot of women have.

Yesterday I met a new personal goal however on my way to this overall goal of tight toned legs, on the leg curl machine I had been working out with 120lbs but always wanted to know if I could perhaps lift the entire stack of 200lbs.  It was doubtful as the 120lbs usually worked my legs pretty intensely but nevertheless I wanted to give it a try on my last leg workout of the week.

I was already a little tired as I had completed one half of my workout already including extensions, squats and lunges but I gave it a try and was able to do a short set of 6 with the weight!!  so exciting to know my leg strength has come along so much from when I began.

HUGE goal accomplished!  Now I will work toward being able to work out with a weight closer to that for my entire 4 sets of 10 working up to being able to do workout with the entire stack for my entire set…

So this morning I woke up at like 2:30 and couldn’t go back to bed… the gym doesn’t open until 5 so i toughed it out and headed to workout…

originally i had intended to do legs and abs along with a little cardio… but lack of sleep really messes with your workout so i did legs and i was spent… i made myself go ahead with cardio but then went to tan and fell asleep for like 15 minutes in there before packing it up… maybe i will make it back this afternoon.. HATE that my sleep being off messed up my workout…

So since I couldn’t sleep looks like I will be making the early bird crowd at the gym… they open in about 20 so I figure if I get there in like 30 it shouldn’t be packed… maybe I can get in a good workout without all the grunting of the normal Wednesday aerobics crowd…

Today I didn’t get to hit up my standard 2 a days so determined to make my gym time count I added back and chest together this afternoon and hit it hard.
When it came time to do chest I was going to put my standard workout weight of 35 on each side of the smith machine, a weight that has me sore after my four sets, but instead the hubby added 45s to both sides.  Keep in mind it is only 20 extra pounds, but still the last time I did this weight I was able to do it only 3 times, with each of those having a rest in between on a max out day just to see if I could.
I was hesitant to say the least but still I was excited by the challenge so I sat down got pumped and repped it out 8 times!!!!  no rest!!
I was soooo proud, that is almost a full set for me (10 reps standard in a set for me)… The gains I have been making in strength are amazing now that I have things under control with my eating and also my pre-workout shake!!
Now new goal is to be able to work out with that weight which will be 4 sets of 10… might not be the easiest of goals but I can do it.. I am now determined!!!

ok so my least favorite part of me happens to be the part which i have decided to torture today… my abs… working abs isn’t by any means pleasant but i am looking to expand my ab workout a little to work different areas now that i have my diet in check.. i have been shedding fat for a while so i feel like it is great timing to work on these…

my only problem… every time i work abs i walk around miserable for some time.. even though i can feel them under there just waiting to bust out it still is miserable…hehe..

i need to start working more of my lower abs.. so i need some suggestions… what does everyone seem to think works best for them???  i have been doing a variety of things but they seem to be working more of the mid to upper abs… short of hanging leg raises i am stumped… thoughts???

Never did I think I would be excited about being in pain…but knowing that I can get such great results and feel the pain knowing that the pain is worth the battle at the gym and results are on the way!!

The only complaint being, why does it have to hurt a couple days after even more than the day directly after…hehe…

I have been struggling all week with my office closing… I had decided to work hard and reopen it following my boss leaving for personal reasons, something which will give me a lot of opportunities but be a really big stress ball for a few weeks…

Today was the day, my boss packed his things and loaded up and left, parting way as friends after 5 years… It was a great day for me as it is the first day of a process which will be most certainly something exciting and filled with new adventure, but a sad day to see something which had been such a big part of me conclude for a new chapter…

Now I am working to input mailing labels and email addresses, preparing for the possibility to open the doors on my new office tomorrow or monday, a great landmark

I began taking SuperPump 250 last week, it was soooo bitter what I think of as a million and five yellow sweet tarts crushed up and served into a drink… i was doubtful about being able to drink it… I finally am getting used to it now and with that I have had some great results in workouts… I think this is just what I needed to take my workouts to the next level!!

After recent news of losing my job I will find out today if things will shape up with me potentially opening my new company, a newspaper, or if I will be searching like so many others in America.  I have determined there is nothing worse than living in wonder, just two days and already I have completely gone through the emotional spectrum from hope to doubt.

The only thing I am drawing away from this stress is that I have had some great workouts, nothing better than stress to make you forget how much you hate cardio and  help you hit the pavement for some deep thought.

This morning I found out that my job of 4 years was finished… my boss decided to close the doors on the paper… putting me in a position to have to make a very interesting decision…I have the option to take over the paper and start it fresh under a new name or I can find a new job and hope for the best…. I have no idea what to do, and while I have a backer for the new paper should I decide to do it, it will be an undertaking I do not know if I am ready to do… so with all that heavy burden i had a lot of aggression and tension to burn so i went to the gym at noon and started the crazy cardio from hell.. i ended up doing an hour and a half before finally i had to stop because i ended up with a blister.. so i moved on and did back… 3 hours after getting there i finally left completely exhausted and still stressed….