Dani's Rebel Log

[Dani_Shugart]

@QuadQueen

SAME! I have a great church and I serve as a greeter,

Okay this is starting to get weird. I’m a greeter too! We have serve teams at our church and last month I signed up to participate in that. It’s pretty fun.

@QuadQueen

I just can’t find a group I jive with.

I’m betting you’ll find one that’s perfect for you. For me, it’s a matter of scheduling and having too much on my plate. Small groups usually meet in the evenings, but that’s when Chris and I are winding down. We’ve been waking up stupid-early. I keep getting up around 4 am, sometimes 3.

So making a commitment to be social at night (with people I don’t know yet) feels a little daunting right now.

@QuadQueen

Maybe we should start a virtual group?

Let’s keep this in mind. I have this goal of reading the entire Bible. In years past, I’d start the OT, get through Genesis and Exodus, then get distracted and peter out when it got hard. Then start over again a year or so later… then again… and again. Finally I just decided to read the NT first, but now I’m back in the OT and getting further into it than I’ve ever gotten. So I’m on a mission to get this done before committing to any other Bible study. I need a better understanding of what took place before Christ’s birth.

And even though certain (smaller) things are confusing, all the big-picture things are coming together.

So this:

@QuadQueen

God > Guns. lol

really resonates. I love lifting and the results that come from it, but setting goals in the gym isn’t enough to give me a sense of purpose or make life more meaningful. And the minutiae people argue over in the fitness world is hilarious. None of it matters in the big scheme of things. It’s just heavy stuff getting moved around, muscles getting challenged, and the body adapting.

It’s neat, but there are much bigger things to mentally wrestle with.

@QuadQueen

Just,

Back 'atcha!

[Dani_Shugart]

I kinda switched to full body workouts.

Today was mainly compound lifts. Plenty of rest. Weight going up. Joints feeling great. Not very rebellious so maybe I should change the name of this log. Any ideas?

I paid more attention to getting close to failure because of that Layne Norton video @Andrewgen_Receptors posted yesterday. So dang good!

I usually aim for failure on isolation lifts and use set-extending techniques when I hit it, like drop-sets and partials. But with compound lifts, I leave more reps in reserve out of fear of getting hurt. I’m also a bit timid about adding plates if I don’t feel like I’ve really owned a weight for enough reps.

For instance, today my heaviest bench press set was 115 for 4 reps. Judging by how smooth and easy the first three reps felt, I probably could’ve added more weight on the next set and aimed for a double or single, but didn’t bother. Instead, I did a back-off set of 10 reps at 95 pounds.

The weight I’m using is completely unimpressive, but I’m loving the bench press right now. It’s challenging the heck out of me, I’m doing enough reps that I only have one or two in reserve (hit failure on the last set), and even though it doesn’t matter at all, my chest is looking kinda jacked right now. lol

Leg Press
Warm-up: 100 reps unbroken
4 sets of 10, 8, 5, 5

That leg press warm-up is my “cardio” for the day.

Bench
95 lbs x 10
100 x 8
105 x 6
110 x 5
115 x 4
Back off - 95 x 10 reps

Overhead Press
4x10-12

Ok I lied. I did straight sets for this. There are times when it feels like going up in weight will put my joints at risk and I’m not sure why. My delts were feeling enough tension that I didn’t think it was necessary to increase weight and I felt like doing so would tweak my left shoulder.

The older I get the more cautious I am with overhead work.

Lateral Raise Machine for funsies
2 long sets with intensity techniques

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@Dani_Shugart

I’m also a bit timid about adding plates if I don’t feel like I’ve really owned a weight for enough reps.

Rep ranges!

I like 6-12 for heavy exercises and 12-20 (should be 25) for light ones. Rest Pause also runs rep ranges to the tune of 11-15, 15-20, 20-30 which all work fine, pending the exercise.

I think women ought to be training to failure more often tbh. I don’t remember if it was @Chris_Shugart who wrote the article or not, but it said something along the lines of “men overestimate their strength, women underestimate theirs” (which makes sense for an incredible number of reasons lol). The point being, that if the last 5 reps to failure are most beneficial, particularly RIR0-RIR2, that women are likely not training to this point without doing so intentionally.
My wife is running a Paul Carter program (Valkyrie) and y’all know Paul was pushing for failure… well she was curling something she thought she’d drop at 15ish reps and she sent it all the way to mid-30s. n=1 but it wouldn’t surprise me if you and other ladies saw the same trend.

@Dani_Shugart

even though it doesn’t matter at all, my pecs are looking kinda jacked right now.

This is actually extremely impressive for any woman. Edited for accuracy.

Figure competitors often train specifically incline work because it’s typically the only part that’s visible. I dunno why I felt the need to say that, but maybe it helps a lurker or two.

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

I like 6-12 for heavy exercises and 12-20 (should be 25) for light ones. Rest Pause also runs rep ranges to the tune of 11-15, 15-20, 20-30 which all work fine, pending the exercise.

This is excellent info. Thank you! Any chance your wife might start a log on here? She’s amazing. Tell her we’d love to see her log those Paul Carter workouts. Seriously impressive!

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Figure competitors often train specifically incline work because it’s typically the only part that’s visible. I dunno why I felt the need to say that, but maybe it helps a lurker or two.

What!? That’s pretty cool. Some competition coaches (figure, not physique) have discouraging opinions on pec development. One camp says not to build it, another will say it’s fine, but not as important as delts. So I’m glad to hear a perspective that kinda goes against both of those.

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@Dani_Shugart

Any chance your wife might start a log on here? She’s amazing. Tell her we’d love to see her log those Paul Carter workouts.

She has an account but stopped keeping up with it and her log some time ago. A few minor injuries, an elective stem cell treatment (foot related), and life overall have kept her out of the gym for a couple months - but I’ll let her know the ladies are asking about her.

@Dani_Shugart

Some competition coaches (figure, not physique) have discouraging opinions on pec development. One camp says not to build it, another will say it’s fine, but not as important as delts. So I’m glad to hear a perspective that kinda goes against both of those.

Okay to be honest here, I don’t pay much attention to BBing or female BBing.
I do believe that Physique, and Bodybuilding competitors would do well to have pectoral development.
Bikini and Wellness do not need it.
Fitness and Figure are kind of middle ground from what I’ve seen… they’re basically the same in terms of muscular development, but Fitness has some gymnastics style routine added. I guess I would hold my ground on the belief that it is still a bodybuilding competition, and more muscle should’nt count negatively against scoring.

For visual comparison:

Sidebar: the Bikini competitor in the first picture is Holly Baxter (I believe) who’s either married to or a business partner of Layne Norton. Her contest prep diet and training are posted up on their youtube, if you really wanted to know (you probably didn’t).

[QuadQueen]

@Dani_Shugart

So making a commitment to be social at night (with people I don’t know yet) feels a little daunting right now.

I’m right there with ya on this. At the end of the day, I’m just DONE and going out and being social isn’t in the cards. God’s gonna need to work some miracles to change that for me. lol

@Dani_Shugart

Let’s keep this in mind.

Sounds like a plan! It’s always on the table.

@Dani_Shugart

I have this goal of reading the entire Bible. In years past, I’d start the OT, get through Genesis and Exodus, then get distracted and peter out when it got hard. Then start over again a year or so later… then again… and again.

I’ve done this three times with the OT, I’ve made it all the way to 1 Chronicles and just can’t. I’ve read the NT a couple times and always pick up something new, but I’d like to get through the OT too. We learned in church this week that Jesus fulfilled over 300 OT prophesies, so I’d really like to start to tie things together between the OT and the NT.

@Dani_Shugart

all the big-picture things are coming together.

This is so awesome!!

@Dani_Shugart

None of it matters in the big scheme of things.

This is SO true regarding SO many things that we argue about, think about, and that consume us in this world. It’s all small stuff - God doesn’t care if I get to heaven with small biceps, He just wants my heart and I want my heart to be in God-ready shape.

[TrainForPain]

Quick bullet points (without going back and quoting for context):

1. Love the new log title… as long as Dani doesn’t smell like a hippie
2. Of course looking jacked matters! What else are we doing here? I’ll celebrate someone’s jacked teres minor
3. In terms of chest work, John would focus heavily on incline for women. He hit side delts and upper chest, because it’s visible (as pointed out). He rarely did flat and never decline. The context there, though, is all his athletes had implants and were trying to get on stage - it was a singular focus.

All that said, if you’re loving bench right now, why would you not bench? There’s no such thing as muscle that isn’t awesome.

4. Holly Baxter and Layne Norton divorced!

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

She has an account but stopped keeping up with it and her log some time ago. A few minor injuries, an elective stem cell treatment (foot related), and life overall have kept her out of the gym for a couple months - but I’ll let her know the ladies are asking about her.

Totally relatable. It’s hard to log training sessions when you’re working around obstacles like that.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Okay to be honest here, I don’t pay much attention to BBing or female BBing.
I do believe that Physique, and Bodybuilding competitors would do well to have pectoral development.

I don’t either, but you’re right. There’s more to the female chest than just boobies. And I’m so glad to see women emphasizing that musculature.

Those pics are great for comparing the categories!

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Her contest prep diet and training are posted up on their youtube, if you really wanted to know (you probably didn’t).

Ha! If I had a competition-mindset, I totally would be interested in what she does. But right now my goal is just general health, enjoyment in the gym, minimizing aches and pains, being hot for my husband, and looking like too much of a hassle to predators.

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@Dani_Shugart

right now my goal is just general health, enjoyment in the gym, minimizing aches and pains, being hot for my husband, and looking like too much of a hassle to predators.

I respect this more than you realize.
@Chris_Shugart picked a good woman.

[Dani_Shugart]

@QuadQueen

I’ve done this three times with the OT, I’ve made it all the way to 1 Chronicles and just can’t. I’ve read the NT a couple times and always pick up something new, but I’d like to get through the OT too. We learned in church this week that Jesus fulfilled over 300 OT prophesies, so I’d really like to start to tie things together between the OT and the NT.

You’ve gotten further than I have! And you’ve read the NT more than once. NICE JOB!

I just asked my pastor yesterday if there were any other parts of the OT that are as challenging as what’s in the first 5 books of the Bible, and he mentioned Chronicles. So I’m hoping The Bible Project will summarize the tough parts and help me make it through.

I’ve been watching their summaries at the beginning of every book just to make sure I’m getting the big takeaways. Such a good resource!

[Dani_Shugart]

@TrainForPain

Love the new log title… as long as Dani doesn’t smell like a hippie

Ha! Thanks! I try to smell like flower petals and citrus… with natural ingredients. None of that phthalate-filled endocrine-disrupting crap.

@TrainForPain

Of course looking jacked matters! What else are we doing here? I’ll celebrate someone’s jacked teres minor

YAY! Okay I agree with this. But my mind flips back and forth. Aesthetic changes are delightful but I don’t want to get too hung up on them, ya know?

@TrainForPain

In terms of chest work, John would focus heavily on incline for women. He hit side delts and upper chest, because it’s visible (as pointed out). He rarely did flat and never decline. The context there, though, is all his athletes had implants and were trying to get on stage - it was a singular focus.

Very interesting! I do love an incline DB bench press.

@TrainForPain

All that said, if you’re loving bench right now, why would you not bench? There’s no such thing as muscle that isn’t awesome.

It’s a lot of fun seeing the weight go up, but after this weekend I’m second-guessing it.

We went on a hike and took pictures, and my traps and torso looked super puffy. Not “swoll” but more like swollen. This is not really something I’m after and I’m not sure if it’s from the workouts, from dietary things, or totally hormonal. My diet has been pretty tight though, so no idea.

[TrainForPain]

@Dani_Shugart

Not “swoll” but more like swollen.

This can be pretty transient, though. I look like an absolute marshmallow after flying. Also before and during, but that’s different

[Dani_Shugart]

The Less Obvious Things That Cause us to Store Fat

This morning I heard a podcast that reaffirmed a lot of what I’ve been suspecting about exercise and stress among women 35 and up, like me.

Sometimes the harder we work out, the fatter we get, particularly in the midsection. It’s totally bizarre but I’ve experienced this more than a handful of times without knowing what the heck was going on!

Dr. Mindy Pelz explained it kinda like this: The ovaries are getting ready to retire, so the burden of producing our sex hormones will start getting placed on the adrenal glands. But if the adrenal glands are already working overtime to manage cortisol, it’ll lead to a cascade of hormonal problems, which leads to the body storing fat no matter how little you eat or how much you work out.

I may have butchered that idea, but that’s the way my brain interpreted it.

And I know the CICO people think it’s impossible to store fat if you’re eating less and moving more. But certain populations – especially those who are pros at counting calories but just can’t seem to lose weight – need to consider things beyond the obvious tenets of CICO.

Here’s that podcast on Spotify. She goes over fat loss stuff relevant to men there too.

Today’s Workout

So because of that podcast and feeling like an achy puff-ball all weekend, I decided to just do mobility work, abs, and walking at the gym. It felt really good to do less.

Photo-Dump

We fit a spontaneous hike in yesterday and it was gorgeous! We’re getting TONS of rain lately. How about you?

[Dani_Shugart]

@TrainForPain

This can be pretty transient, though. I look like an absolute marshmallow after flying. Also before and during, but that’s different

HAHAHA so glad I’m not alone in this!

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

I respect this more than you realize.

Awwwww you got me feeling all the warm-fuzzies!

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@Dani_Shugart

the CICO people think it’s impossible to store fat if you’re eating less and moving more. But certain populations – especially those who are pros at counting calories but just can’t seem to lose weight – need to consider things beyond the obvious tenets of CICO.

They also ignore the role of Leptin in regards to hunger response and fat storage.

Leptin: “Oh, you’re eating less? Okay, we’ll slow down your metabolism and make you hungrier.”

Also Leptin: “I see you lost a lot of body fat. Let’s keep your metabolism slow and hunger up until we restore the fat you lost.”

*crickets*

Leptin: “Achktually, we’ve decided to keep your metabolism slower and hunger increased until you regain more fat than you lost, because we care THAT much.”

So when people say “the best way to lose weight is to not get fat in the first place”… they really aren’t kidding.

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

They also ignore the role of Leptin in regards to hunger response and fat storage.

Leptin: “Oh, you’re eating less? Okay, we’ll slow down your metabolism and make you hungrier.”

Also Leptin: “I see you lost a lot of body fat. Let’s keep your metabolism slow and hunger up until we restore the fat you lost.”

crickets

Leptin: “Achktually, we’ve decided to keep your metabolism slower and hunger increased until you regain more fat than you lost, because we care THAT much.”

So when people say “the best way to lose weight is to not get fat in the first place”… they really aren’t kidding.

This whole thing is HILARIOUS. You already have a busy life but I think the fitness world would benefit if you to wrote a book with this type of humor and personality. People would finally be able to grasp complicated physiological things.

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@Dani_Shugart

I think the fitness world would benefit if you to wrote a book with this type of humor and personality

I’d love to Niel DeGrasse Tyson some lifting/dieting knowledge, but then how could I make any monies off them?

I must mislead them to buy my custom program.
Perhaps I could start an MLM or two with promises of Gains and Womens in exchange for $49.99/month OR reposting my videos on Youtube shorts.

In all seriousness, I’ve considered something like what you’re talking about already tbh, but I just don’t see that it would ever pay off financially. Hanging out on these forums and dropping a pointer or two semi-fulfills that urge for me. I’ll consider it more in the future though.

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Perhaps I could start an MLM or two with promises of Gains and Womens in exchange for $49.99/month OR reposting my videos on Youtube shorts.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

In all seriousness, I’ve considered something like what you’re talking about already tbh, but I just don’t see that it would ever pay off financially. Hanging out on these forums and dropping a pointer or two semi-fulfills that urge for me. I’ll consider it more in the future though.

Maybe one of these days we’ll just compile a book of andrewgenisms from what’s already here. Little bits of fitness fun facts.

[TrainForPain]

@Dani_Shugart

wrote a book

He’s a Marine. He needs to try reading a book first