Well, folks. It happened. I missed a workout. Unsurprisingly, it was the run I was meant to do on Saturday. That whole day just got super hectic, and before I knew it I had to choose between running or bailing on plans with friends at the very last minute.
But all is not lost! I got to the gym today, and I was back with a vengeance! I moved up in every single lift, and I'm insanely thrilled. Technically the weight on my squat is the same as last week, but last week I wasn't able to complete all my reps. This week, I did! Hooray!!
Here are the new numbers:
Squat: 45 lbs x 5 reps, 75 lbs x 5 reps, (115 x 5 reps x 3 sets)
Leg Curls: (65 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Leg Extensions: (80 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Note: Done as circuit.
Hip Abduction: (130 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Hip Adduction: (85 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Note: Done as circuit.
Leg Press: 190 x 10 reps, 230 x 10 reps, 270 x 10 reps, 310 x 10 reps
Sit-ups: Set 1: 45 reps, Set 2: 30 reps, Set 3: 20 reps
Diet today is pretty average. I had spaghetti for lunch, I'll be having homemade beef stroganoff for dinner, and lots of protein supplements in between. Gotta make sure I keep these gains going!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Week Three: Day Three
Another successful day! I felt terrible this morning, and it was ridiculously hard to find the motivation to go to the gym, but once I got there and started working out, I was so glad I went. I managed to increase a few of my lifts, and generally felt better after I was finished!
Deadlifts: 65 lbs x 5 reps, 85 lbs x 5 reps, (120 lbs x 5 reps)
Lat Pulldowns: (95 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Rows: (80 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Overhead Press: (50 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets)
Side Delt Raises: (10 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Front Delt Raises: (10 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Sorry folks, but it's been a very long day, so I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.
I'll see you all again tomorrow for my run!
Deadlifts: 65 lbs x 5 reps, 85 lbs x 5 reps, (120 lbs x 5 reps)
Lat Pulldowns: (95 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Rows: (80 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Overhead Press: (50 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets)
Side Delt Raises: (10 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Front Delt Raises: (10 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Sorry folks, but it's been a very long day, so I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.
I'll see you all again tomorrow for my run!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Week Three: Day Two
Today was a little frustrating. Waking up at 4:30am meant I was exhausted all day long. I could barely force myself off the couch to do my run, and when I did, my GPS malfunctioned and said I only ran one mile. The time kept going though, so that's something. I at least know I'm hovering around 21:00 exactly for the 1.8 mile loop. I was hoping to shave off another 30 seconds or so, but it was all I could do just to finish today.
My diet was awful, for the same reason I had to wake up so early. A 24 hour shift for my husband pretty much guarantees that my day will be nonstop running around, so I planned to eat poorly today from the start. I still managed to make sure I got around 125 grams of protein though, so it could be a lot worse.
I'm going to go rest up and make sure I can give everything I've got tomorrow. It's deadlift day, and I'm hoping to increase my weight again. See you then!
My diet was awful, for the same reason I had to wake up so early. A 24 hour shift for my husband pretty much guarantees that my day will be nonstop running around, so I planned to eat poorly today from the start. I still managed to make sure I got around 125 grams of protein though, so it could be a lot worse.
I'm going to go rest up and make sure I can give everything I've got tomorrow. It's deadlift day, and I'm hoping to increase my weight again. See you then!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Week Three: Day One
The start of a brand new week! I'm pretty happy with how well I've stuck with my workouts so far. Normally by now I would have come up with some excuse to skip a day, whether I was "too sore," "too busy," or any number of other excuses I've concocted in the past. Hopefully I can keep that up!
Like I said, it's a new week, and that means new photos!
Before my workout, I weighed in at 154 lbs almost exactly, which means I gained a half pound over the course of a week. I have no idea if that's water weight or real muscle though, so I'm just going to simplify my life a little and say I stayed about the same. After this month is over, I'll compare myself to my initial weight and see how I need to adjust my diet to make sure I'm gaining the way I should be.
Like I said, it's a new week, and that means new photos!
 |
| Unsurprisingly, I look almost exactly the same! |
My lifts today were pretty good overall, with slight increases on about half my exercises.
Bench Press: 45 lbs x 5 reps, 60 lbs x 5 reps, (75 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets)
Flies: (10 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Tricep Pushdowns: (40 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets)
Tricep Kickbacks: 15 lbs x 10 reps, (10 lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets)
Assisted Pull-Ups: (5 reps x 3 sets with 100 lbs assistance)
HIIT: 10 minute circuit, distance: 1 mile
Pretty happy with my diet today. No breakfast, but lunch was a nice piece of my leftover chicken from last night. I had a protein bar after my workout along with a big bottle of Gatorade. For dinner, I made beef ravioli and a protein shake. All in all, I had around 2000 calories and 152 grams of protein. I'm getting the hang of this after all!
Week Two: Day Seven
A little bit of yoga and another full week down!
Yoga was pretty uneventful. Lots of stretching and breathing and yoga. So to spare you all the pain of my less than stellar writing skills, I'm going to skip straight to the diet, since it's the most important part of today's routine anyway.
I woke up ridiculously early today, so I actually had breakfast, albeit a small one. A simple PB&J on wheat toast. A salami sandwich for lunch, and for dinner, I had homemade chicken parmigiana. A protein shake before bed, and I'm at just about 1800 calories/110 grams of protein. A pretty good day, and my chicken parmigiana was delicious if I do say so myself. I made enough to have it for lunch at least a few days this week, so hopefully I won't need to have fast food more than once.
See you all tomorrow with a weigh in and progress photos!
Yoga was pretty uneventful. Lots of stretching and breathing and yoga. So to spare you all the pain of my less than stellar writing skills, I'm going to skip straight to the diet, since it's the most important part of today's routine anyway.
I woke up ridiculously early today, so I actually had breakfast, albeit a small one. A simple PB&J on wheat toast. A salami sandwich for lunch, and for dinner, I had homemade chicken parmigiana. A protein shake before bed, and I'm at just about 1800 calories/110 grams of protein. A pretty good day, and my chicken parmigiana was delicious if I do say so myself. I made enough to have it for lunch at least a few days this week, so hopefully I won't need to have fast food more than once.
See you all tomorrow with a weigh in and progress photos!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Week Two: Day Six
Today was...disappointing. It's "my time of the month" and I had heard that the changes in hormones could have a negative impact on lifting for many women, but I've never experienced it before until today.
I tried increasing my weight on squats by 5 lbs, but failed. The most frustrating bit of all is that I felt I had the strength to lift it, but I just couldn't push myself as hard as I normally can. It was a strange feeling.
Everything else stayed the same weight, with an extra set on a couple of the machines. Hopefully this really is just a hormone fluctuation thing, and next week I can keep moving up in weight. Otherwise, I've got some serious diet revisions to work on.
My lifts for today:
Squats: 45 lbs x 5 reps, 75 lbs x 5 reps, (115 lbs x 3 reps x 4 sets)
Leg Extensions: (65 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Leg Curls: (50 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Note: Done as circuit.
Hip Adduction: (80 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Hip Abduction: (125 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Note: Done as circuit.
Leg Press: 180 lbs x 10 reps, 220 lbs x 10 reps, 260 lbs x 10 reps, (300 lbs x 10 reps)
Sit-Ups: Set 1: 45, Set 2: 25, Set 3: 15
Diet was decent. I had about a 1/2 cup of chicken breast for lunch, a protein drink after my workout, a fast food dinner from Wendy's, and a Detour protein bar to snack on.
As you've probably noticed, fast food is a staple in my life. I'm extremely unhappy about that fact. It will be the hardest thing to change about my diet do to the inherently hectic lifestyle we have to lead. The military has unpredictable hours, super late nights, and not a lot of "free time," but I'm trying my best to learn to work around it to better my diet. It's certainly a difficult process though, so hopefully by the end of this month I'll have made some measurable improvement.
I tried increasing my weight on squats by 5 lbs, but failed. The most frustrating bit of all is that I felt I had the strength to lift it, but I just couldn't push myself as hard as I normally can. It was a strange feeling.
Everything else stayed the same weight, with an extra set on a couple of the machines. Hopefully this really is just a hormone fluctuation thing, and next week I can keep moving up in weight. Otherwise, I've got some serious diet revisions to work on.
My lifts for today:
Squats: 45 lbs x 5 reps, 75 lbs x 5 reps, (115 lbs x 3 reps x 4 sets)
Leg Extensions: (65 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Leg Curls: (50 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Note: Done as circuit.
Hip Adduction: (80 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Hip Abduction: (125 lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets)
Note: Done as circuit.
Leg Press: 180 lbs x 10 reps, 220 lbs x 10 reps, 260 lbs x 10 reps, (300 lbs x 10 reps)
Sit-Ups: Set 1: 45, Set 2: 25, Set 3: 15
Diet was decent. I had about a 1/2 cup of chicken breast for lunch, a protein drink after my workout, a fast food dinner from Wendy's, and a Detour protein bar to snack on.
As you've probably noticed, fast food is a staple in my life. I'm extremely unhappy about that fact. It will be the hardest thing to change about my diet do to the inherently hectic lifestyle we have to lead. The military has unpredictable hours, super late nights, and not a lot of "free time," but I'm trying my best to learn to work around it to better my diet. It's certainly a difficult process though, so hopefully by the end of this month I'll have made some measurable improvement.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Week Two: Day Five
Another Sunday is here, and for me, that means a day of rest. Today, I'll be doing about an hour worth of stretching and trying desperately not to overeat. I tend to eat when I'm bored, and no workout means I'll be in dire need of something to keep myself occupied. That probably has something to do with why I'm writing today's post at 11:00am before I've even planned out my meals, but let's not read too much into it.
All I've ingested so far this morning is a Red Bull that I might have died without. Some unnecessary calories there, but oh well, it's delicious. For dinner, I'm planning on chicken tacos with salsa and light cheese, so probably somewhere in the ball park of 300 calories/30 grams of protein. The Red Bull is about 200 calories, which means I've got a good 1,000 calories left floating around for lunch and light snacking, since today is a rest day. I need at least 90 more grams of protein today though, so it's a safe bet around 450 of that 1000 is going straight to my usual protein shake. My last 550 should probably come from some form of chicken also, since it has a wonderfully high protein-fat ratio, so I'll likely be cooking up some of the chicken breast I've got stuffed away in the freezer. And maybe some macaroni. God, I love macaroni.
Oh hey, would ya look at that. I planned my meals! Hooray!! Well, I'm going to get my rest day started off right and curl up with my puppies. See you folks on Squat Day!
All I've ingested so far this morning is a Red Bull that I might have died without. Some unnecessary calories there, but oh well, it's delicious. For dinner, I'm planning on chicken tacos with salsa and light cheese, so probably somewhere in the ball park of 300 calories/30 grams of protein. The Red Bull is about 200 calories, which means I've got a good 1,000 calories left floating around for lunch and light snacking, since today is a rest day. I need at least 90 more grams of protein today though, so it's a safe bet around 450 of that 1000 is going straight to my usual protein shake. My last 550 should probably come from some form of chicken also, since it has a wonderfully high protein-fat ratio, so I'll likely be cooking up some of the chicken breast I've got stuffed away in the freezer. And maybe some macaroni. God, I love macaroni.
Oh hey, would ya look at that. I planned my meals! Hooray!! Well, I'm going to get my rest day started off right and curl up with my puppies. See you folks on Squat Day!
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